Tag: dream

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Beauty After Breast Cancer

Beauty After Breast Cancer!  Sometimes beauty is described by our physical body rather than our mindset.  I discovered my beauty from within after being diagnosed with breast cancer at age thirty.  What could have been a devastating moment for me turned into the best thing that has ever happened. Although breast cancer does not define me, it did create in me a desire to live life to the fullest while searching for my purpose here on earth, to make sure that God got all the glory for every day that I lived past my diagnosis.  My whole world changed the minute I heard those words, “You have breast cancer!”  Rather than see this as a death threat I took that diagnosis and created a platform to share my story of survival through my business, “Geri Speak.”  I started with one speaking engagement and after thirty-five years the speeches and events that I have attended and planned are too numerous to count.  Every day that I wake up I thank God for another opportunity to be a light in a dark world.  I ask Him to guide my thoughts, my deeds, my words, my efforts and my every move.

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Be Your Own Rescue

There are a number of agencies and organizations in the world designed strictly to assist people who are less fortunate than others.  No matter how many systems you put in place to screen applicants there will always be someone who will take advantage of the programs.  I recall many years ago when a friend of mine said she was going to put her children names on the “Angel Tree,” a system designed to allow people with more to purchase and drop-off toys and clothes for those less fortunate.  I knew that my friend could afford to shop for her children’s Christmas presents, so I asked her why would she do that.  Her response was, so her kids would get more gifts.

I’m the kind of person who always feels guilty about accepting handouts even if I need them.  I remember when I was on public assistance with my first child, I kept telling my mother that I wanted to find a job because I hated having to depend on that tiny little check and food stamps.  Even today I have to be at my wits end before I go to anyone for assistance.  On the few occasions in my adult life when I lost a job or my financial situation took a turn, I was able to snap back to reality without the world knowing the magnitude of my situation.  I’ve been to food banks but never to clothes closets, and I still visit the food pantry at my church on occasion, because there is always more food than the congregation can take.  It does help when you can pick up a few veggies or occasional meat before you do your grocery list.

Unfortunately there are many in this world who always have their hands out and no matter what you do it never seems to be enough.  I firmly believe that after a certain age in life it is mandatory that you be your own rescue.  I don’t mean that you should never borrow money or a cup of  sugar, but how many times are you going to start over and keep asking people to hold you up while you get back on your feet?

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You See my Light Not my Light Bill

When I think about where I started from as a sixteen year old wife and mother, and becoming a single parent at age seventeen, there is no way that I could have visualized the life that I’m living today. In my prayer and meditation room there is a picture of my two daughters and my two grandchildren, which reminds me of the amazing job that I did as a single mom to both my children.  I may not have been able to give them the latest fashions or the favorite gadgets that other kids had, but I did give them love and I taught them tenacity, and how to survive in a world that judges you by your current circumstances.  I thank God that my daughters have truly grown up to be beautiful women, who are doing an amazing job with their own child.  I must say that I have no regrets.

There are times in life when we look at people who have made it, or made it to the top as some would say, and we tend to see their “halo” and not the struggle that it took to get there. We place people on a pedestal based on their accomplishments or their notoriety.  Nobody is going to tell you the whole story of how they got to the top.  There will always be a secret or two that remains untold no matter how close a friend you may be.  Even husband and wives have secrets because no one needs to know everything that you have gone through.  As you watch me do what I do you are only seeing my light not my light bill.  Don’t allow anyone to dictate what is possible in your life.  Only you know what it takes to light up your world.

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How Full is Your Basket

Ashes Sitoula @awesome

How full is your basket? Recently I was having one of my low moments and I realized that all the things I was concerned about does not identify who I am.  Therefore, I decided to put my thoughts in a mental basket and allow myself to see that what’s in the basket does not define who I am, but it’s a part of who I am.  We need to stop making hasty decisions based on one feeling, one incident, or one wrong turn.  A lot of what we are experiencing is caused by our anxiety, our failures, our hopes and dreams, or our past mistakes.  It’s okay to allow those feelings to go through your body as long as you don’t stay in that place.

With the excitement and the pressure that the New Year brings most of us feel that this is a great time to start new projects.  But not necessarily!  Don’t get caught up in the New Year, New You phenomenon. For most people this should be a time of reflection on what worked, what did not work, and the changes we need to make moving forward.  When you look at your basket you need to be able to see it as something outside of you and not see it as you.  When I gathered my thoughts and concerns and put them in my basket, I must say that my basket was full.  However the great thing about that was, I was able to separate the basket from me.  I could look at it when I needed to or felt like looking at it.  I could also leave it sitting there altogether.  I could add items as they came to mind, and that in itself removed the thought or concern from the immediate forefront of my mind.  It’s almost like writing down what needs to get done.  Once you release it on paper you are no longer bound by your thoughts.  So, is your basket full?  If it is then that’s a good thing. It simply means that you have transferred your thoughts to a place outside yourself where you can deal with them at your leisure.

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Blocked by Your Imagination

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Your imagination is a powerful tool when used properly to get what you want in life.  You are who you are because of who you thought you could become.  When was the last time you set a goal that was beyond your wildest imagination? We don’t do that very often.  If you only knew the thoughts that God has about where to take you then you would be jumping for joy.  Once I started believing in my small dreams and watching them come true, that’s when I decided to believe for bigger and more daring things.  I mean what could go wrong?  As long as you are alive you will be working towards something, so why not work towards something bigger than you can ever imagine?  You never know, God just might surprise you and make it come true.  The worst that could happen is that you get a little less than what you wanted.

The action of being able to dream will keep you motivated and moving forward. That in itself is a good thing.  When you choose to simply exist in life and not dream at all, then you cannot expect to receive more than what you see in front of you.  The Word says, “Ask and you shall receive.”  So you have no one to blame but yourself when you fail to ask.  It took me years before I learned how to go to the source for all my needs, no matter how small.  It does take work to get to this point in life, but it’s such a comfortable space to be in.  When you know that you know, you operate every day as though your challenges are there to make you a better person.  I’m not saying that you wish for challenges.  Nobody does that.  However, learning to see life through many lenses will allow you to see failure as part of your success.  Every time you fail you realize another way that it cannot be done.  The success is when you have the courage to get back up and keep trying.  Don’t be blocked by your imagination!