Tag: positive

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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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Preach to Yourself

Filip Zrnevic @filipz 

I imagine it has to be hard for a preacher to stand before a family during a funeral, and tell them how good God is when they have just lost a loved one. I often wonder if my pastor ever feel like not preaching on Sunday.  There has to be some down times when she wonders where her God is.  I’m sure there is a teacher who wakes up and would prefer not to teach that day?  There has to be some sad moments when they think about the school violence and killings.   How do you continue to bring a word of healing to a family, a congregation, or a classroom?

As I looked at my little notes of paper with statements on them, which I use each month to create my column, I realized that I am that preacher and that teacher. So I decided not to follow any of the notes, but instead I will preach to myself.  No matter how hard it is to do what God has called you to do, there is always a silver lining to be found.  I thank God that I have not lost a loved one to death.  None of my family members who are in school have experienced a school shooting, and yes there are days when I don’t feel like writing or speaking, but somehow I manage to make it through, because someone needs to hear my message.  I urge you today to push pass possible and do the thing that you feel is the hardest to do, because that may be the thing that will bring you the most joy and God the most glory.  Continue to preach to yourself!

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Making Decisions Based on Wrong Problem

Don’t make decisions based on the wrong problem.  Most of us have heard the saying, “Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.” There are so many ways to look at that statement.  At times we are so quick to try to resolve a problem before we have weighed all the options on the table.  When you panic you cause your brain to stop processing information in a logical way.  Your focus becomes the end result rather than looking at things from the perspective of the “why.”  We all want things to go as planned and we hate when that doesn’t happen.  But let’s be clear, all things happen for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.  So, the next time your world gets turned upside down know that this did not take God by surprise.  He saw it coming way before you experienced it.  And the greatest part of the story is, He knows the intended outcome.  Relax and watch the situation work in your favor.

Although you may be the best planner and organizer, that does not mean that the universe will always be in alignment with you.  We live in a world of humans, therefore our plans may sometimes be contingent upon others.  Many things are beyond our control but God is the ultimate conductor of MY orchestra, and the final song always belongs to Him.  I’m a small instrument that allows myself to be used in His song.  Together we make perfect music!

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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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Underneath the Drip

Underneath the Drip! Are you so blindsided by what you don’t have that you fail to see what’s right under your nose? What about the days when it seems like the world is against you and nothing you do is working?  Remember that one thing that you knew was a sure go and it turned out to be a mistake in the end?  You cried your heart out because you just knew she was the one.  You spent hours in the kitchen preparing his favorite meal because you were told, “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”  Well, all is not lost!  There are times when we are getting exactly what we need for growth from a very unlikely source.  We are so conditioned to micromanaging our results that we can overlook our blessings.

During my bible study today there was this story about a man who saw a beautiful flower growing up through a crack in the concrete. He wondered how did this plant manage to survive with such hostile surroundings.  When he looked up he saw that there was an air conditioning unit dripping water directly above the plant.  The plant received the help it needed from the water above.  We are just like that plant.  We need to appreciate the help that is sent even if the source is not what we expected.  Are you underneath the drip?

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What is it Really?

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There are so many general statements that we make every day. Think about it.  We say, “It is what it is.”  We say, “That’s just the way I am.”  We also say, “I don’t do this or that, or that’s not me.”  You fill in the blank.  I have said them all.  Let’s focus on ‘It is what it is.’  That statement is something that we subconsciously tell ourselves, and we speak it out loud without thinking.  When you say it is what it is, you are telling the universe that you accept the status quo.  You are saying that you have no say over what comes into your life.  You are agreeing with whatever circumstances you face.  But it doesn’t have to be that way.  NO, it is not what it is!  It is what you say it is.  It is what you believe it is.  And most of all, it is what you want, prepare for, and expect.  So stop saying, “It is what it is!”

Goals, dreams, and visions play a major role in what shows up in your life. If all you want to do is exist, then that’s what you will get.  In order to do better you have to see yourself doing better.  You cannot get to a place that you have never visualized yourself being.  I have seen myself writing and speaking full-time for over thirty years.  It has been a long time coming but I was willing to wait.  Today I do what I love: write, travel, and speak!