Category: Blog

The advantages of living life one day at a time may be simple.  Here are a couple reasons why.

1. )  Your focus becomes narrowed to what this day may or may not hold.  Your only concern is for the twenty-four hours in front of you. 2)  You alleviate any anxiety about tomorrow, which could easily take away from your enjoyment or accomplishments of today.  3.)  You learn to accept that whatever happens in this day is what needed to happen in this day.  Let tomorrow take care of itself!

I remember when the COVID-19 crisis first started and I tried to cram so much in each day that it created headaches.  I was worried about not doing enough each day, along with worrying about how I would be able to fill all the time we would have by being sheltered in place.  Finally I devised a new system that works for me.  Remember Don’t Panic — Find the Positive, as we continue to navigate this new normal one day at a time.

Fearless can be deceitful.  Many years ago a friend of mine from my hometown called me “fearless” because I moved from Virginia to South Carolina.  I never considered myself fearless.  I was simply doing what I needed to do in order to make a better life for myself.  As a motivational speaker people think that you always have it together.  You have the ability to change lives by your speeches and words of encouragement.  No one really knows the lonely nights and sad days that you spend trying to move from an empty place inside yourself, when life doesn’t turn out the way you planned.  No one sees your tears as you try to go through your daily routine knowing that you are falling apart inside.  Sometimes it’s a small sore because of something beyond your control, but then another thing pops up that causes the scab on that small sore to fester and become worst.  No matter how hard you to try to get back to that “good” space by doing what normally brings peace, there is an unavoidable loss that only the voice of another can heal.  A loss that only a touch from someone else can heal.  A loss that only time will heal.  No!  No one has died.  No one has gone to the hospital.  No one has hit you.  Life has thrown you a curve ball and it seems that all the bases you planned on touching has moved so far away, that you can barely see the short stop or the catcher because of the tears running down your face.  You reach for the phone to call a friend, but you change your mind because you wish they would call you instead.  You turn down holiday parties because you can’t handle the crowd.  Although you want to be with others, on the other hand you don’t want to bring your negative energy to an otherwise happy occasion.  Fearless can be deceitful!

Dreams Are Often in a Place Where we Don’t Look! There are days when I literally feel like the hamster on the wheel, rolling around and around.  As I prepare for yet another annual “Geri Speak” Conference I find myself at that same place of thought as I am every year this time.  I evaluate the stress, the time, the pressure, the madness, the running around in circles, and all that goes into pulling off such a huge event every year.  After the final analysis, I ask myself is it worth it and will I do it again next year.  My answer to both questions every time is a resounding “NO.”  However, somehow I find myself right back in this place again the following year.  So why am I telling you this?  Because I am a writer of truth.  Like I’ve always said before, my life is an open book.

In my pondering this morning I decided to visualize myself without the Annual Conference, and all the other things that I could get done instead.  I have so many dreams of how I want my speaking and writing to appear, but I spend so much time every year on the conference that those dreams end up taking a backseat.  So, today I’m starting to look in the places where I don’t normally look for my dreams.  You should do the same thing.  More than likely the dream that you are seeking is hidden inside something that you do on a regular basis, but you simply need to perfect it.  If we are honest with ourselves we know exactly what we need to do to get to that next level of perfection in whatever we are trying to accomplish.  The trick is that we have to give up something in order to get something else.  We don’t want to do that.  We want to keep it all and that’s not how life works.  It’s always a give and take scenario.  Change is inevitable and change means replacing one thing with another.  The old ways of doing business or life is no longer working for any of us.  Just look at the world around you!  No matter how much you tell yourself that all is well, it’s a scary place to live right now.  But I don’t want to leave you on that sour note, so here is what I recommend:  Search in the deepest parts of your being and find the one thing that brings you the most joy and perfect that, while making sure that you have a healthy life balance, which includes your physical, mental, social, financial, and spiritual well being, because the bottom line is, our dreams are often in a place where we don’t look! 

We think we know all the answers and have every situation covered because we researched and did our due diligence.  However, despite all the time, work and effort that you put in, there will be nights when your dreams will turn into nightmares.  It doesn’t matter that you fasted and prayed and asked God to fix it for you once again.  As soon as one thing gets handled another thing pops up.  It’s a never ending battle it seems.  Life is moving in such a fast- paced mode that you are too busy to handle the inevitable that you know might be down the road.

If you just pump the brakes for a moment, you might find that God has a dream that can interrupt your nightmare.  There have been so many times when God has spoken to me in advance of a crisis and given me my next move.  Although I don’t always know why things happen the way they do I try very hard to stay in touch with that still small voice that guides and protects me daily.  We have a world full of situations and circumstances that can steal our joy if we allow them.  Quiet time and moments of meditation is extremely important in order to live a life of purpose.  Once you realize that we are all connected one way or another, then you will learn to look beyond yourself and see God at work through you and not just for you.  For a very long time my life was all about what I could get from God.  I never saw the connection between me and my fellow man because of the God in me.  Now I know that how I will be remembered, is more important than how many things I collect while here on this earth.  And yes, there will be days when it seems like a nightmare, but God has a Dream That can Interrupt Your Nightmare!

There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.  I don’t know whether or not it’s age or attitude, but I have noticed that I no longer rush to get anywhere these days.  Most of the time when I am driving I know that the person behind me is wondering if I am taking a Sunday stroll on a Monday.  Thank God that I have a part-time job where I don’t have to be to work early in the morning.  On those rare occasions when I do have somewhere to be before 9am, I find myself in a world that is very unfamiliar to me.  Even when I stay in the right lane people still try to run me over.  It makes me wonder if everybody else left home late.  No matter what time I have to be somewhere, I always allow myself an extra fifteen minutes; sometimes a half hour if I don’t know exactly where I’m going.  I think it’s very unfair to get on the highway at the last minute and jeopardize everyone else’s life for your failure to leave home on time.  Maybe it’s just me or maybe it really is old age!  I’ve heard that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.  Perhaps someone needs to tell my GPS system that!  But the interesting thing is that whenever I follow my GPS I get to see things and places that I did not know existed.  Sometimes I even find shortcuts to other places that I have traveled.  There are times when I am discussing a location with someone and they call out a street that I have passed a few weeks ago while I was taking my Sunday stroll.  An unfamiliar journey just might show you things that you need to know or see.  So go ahead and take the road less traveled today, and stay in the right lane as others pass you by, while you’re enjoying the beauty of God’s creation.

Photo by Charity Beth Long on Unsplash

Be successful because of setbacks, not in spite of them! When life gives you lemons don’t just make lemonade, make it and sell it!  That’s what I do.  The minute I see lemons rolling my way I start asking, “What can I do with these lemons?”  My brain goes into overdrive while I sort out the possibilities until one of them sticks and before you know I have pitchers of lemonade and a stand all set up ready to go.

It is easy to allow one setback to reproduce itself.  We need to learn how to tackle each situation with all that we have at our disposal.  Sometimes something as simple as a phone call can make all the difference in the world.  Yes we serve a God who is able to do more than we ever imagined, however, He does expect some action on our part as well.  We can’t just lie around and expect God to show up and say, “Here’s what you asked for!”  That’s not the way life works.  We need to stop saying we are doing good in spite of our circumstances.  A lot of times we are doing good because of our circumstances.  It’s all good when you really think about it.  Some of the best results can come from circumstances that we try to prevent.  What we perceive as a setback most of the time is a setup from God!

When I moved from Virginia in 2009 and made my way to Charlotte, NC I had no idea that it would be a stopover and part of the divine order to eventually get me to South Carolina.   Arriving here with no job and no paycheck for weeks gave me a better appreciation for money when I did receive my first paycheck.  After being here for nine years it really feels good to not have to rush to the bank before a check bounces.  That was my life once!  Immediate gratification of material things will steal your future if you allow it.  Learn to live below your means and within your needs.  It’s a very comfortable place to be.  This did not happen for me overnight.  It took a lot of discipline and sacrifice and total transformation from a lack mentality.  It happened because God and I both worked hard the minute my feet hit the ground in South Carolina and I haven’t stopped since. I don’t recall being a big spender because I was never in a financial situation that would lend itself to that, although I didn’t always live paycheck to paycheck.  I remember my sister-in-law telling me over thirty years ago that you don’t have to save a lot of money when you get paid, just save something and watch it add up.  I took her advice and decided to pay myself first.  Of course God gets the tithe, but then I get paid.

This message may not resonate with everyone and I truly understand and I pray God’s bountiful blessings upon your finances if you are reading this and still struggling.  If you are on the bottom then there is no other way but up.  Even a small step is better than taking no step at all.  We all have a purpose, and the person who chooses to help you will be serving their purpose.  The day that you can look back on your life and realize that your struggle was to strengthen someone else is the day that you begin to live life to the fullest.  You will find yourself fighting battles with such ease that you feel like you are standing on the outside of your own life.  You don’t just pinch yourself, you look around to make sure you are not dreaming.  Your testimony will be different than mine but you will have one.  Just trust God and start where you are and let Him do the rest!

Are you the right recipient.  We like to talk about how God will not put more on you than you can bear.  He also will not bless you with what you cannot handle.  Your blessing is not held up!  When’s the last time you did something for someone else?  Did you do it in secret or announce it to the world?  We all love a good pat on the back.  We find it hard to do good with no recognition whatsoever. We wonder when our day will come.  Where’s the sunshine on my side of town?  Where is my blessing?  The question we need to be asking is, “What would I do if God truly blessed me with what I want?”  Everybody wants to win the lottery, even the ones who don’t play.  We think we will give more to charity and would do such great things for others.  But that’s not true for all of us, and we know it.  We try to convince ourselves and God that we would be a different person if we only had more to work with.  That’s a lie.  What you do with what you have is exactly what you would do with more.  Money and success does not automatically make you a caring and giving person.  Yes, you will probably give more to the church if you tithe.  That’s doing what you have always done!  The real test comes when you look at your checkbook and see a very little, but you give anyway.

We want the benefits and blessings of what we ask for, but we don’t want to do the work.  You will only discover excellence on the other side of hard work.  We don’t want to love as we should but we want others to love us.  We don’t want to put in the extra effort of looking good but we want a good looking person to approach us.  We are part-time lovers expecting full-time benefits.  Stop wondering where your blessing is.  Be the blessing and become the right recipient!