#OprahBeKnowing

    So I don't often indulge in the OWN network. Most of the time I can't find the channel when I want to watch something on there, but I do like to catch the Life Classes every now and again. I was watching one night and this statement was made "You get out of life what you are bold enough to ask for." Now to me this statement is profound, but not profound at the same time. I mean surely most of us know that we can speak things into existence or speak of things as if they were already so. When I heard this I let it linger in the front of my mind for a while, turning it over and over to see what it meant to me and for me. I let it marinate and told myself I would come back to that at a later date. Today is that day and what better day than NYE. 

   The New Year entails so much for all of us. So much promise. Clean slates. Another chance at that failed thing you didn't do last year. Most of the time we make weak resolutions as to what we MIGHT like to happen in the upcoming year. Honestly, I don't think we believe half of the stuff that we put out into the atmosphere. We say things that we don't mean all the time such as, "If you need me call me", knowing good and well you have your fingers and eyes crossed hoping that they never call. Shaking my head. We have to do better. I implore you to release that "lying spirit" in the new year. Rebuke it in the name of Jesus! 

  In this New Year, let's realize that our resolutions involve a little something called WORK. You can't just say "I want to lose weight", you have to work to lose it. It will require some sweat and probably some tears because, unfortunately, it won't be easy.

Sorry. Oh, you say you want to stop smoking? Great! What's the plan? What work do you plan to do to make that happen? As the good book says, the harvest is plenty, but the workers are few. We can not expect things to fall in our laps like that. We have to sow in order to grow. I complained most days about the job I have currently, but what am I doing to get out of that situation? What have I done to change it? Nothing thus far. Absolutely nothing. I'll be leaving that "complaining spirit" behind and those who possess it.

    I believe we are capable of receiving the things that we ask for, but we need to know that those things come with responsibility. Let's not make promises to ourselves, and others, that we know we won't be able to keep past midnight tonight. At some point you have to be all in for the change you want to see. A friend of mine does this thing called a "Want List" for the year. It's basically a list where you put some things that you would want, self explanatory really. Below I will show you a few things on my want list. Wants require work also, in case you did not know. If you want it you have to grind for it. You have to take the necessary steps my friends. There is no way around it or under it. What are you boldly asking for in 2014???

My want list 2014 as of now (Some things could be added or subtracted):

Better Relationship w/GOD

Even Better Attitude

More Compassion

Career

Twins( It can happen and I don't mind the work it entails…*wink wink*)

MacBook Air (For all my writing needs)

Trip to Nappa Valley

Trip to Jamaica

Random Trips

Dresses Galore

30lb weight loss

etc…

My Resolution: Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Happy New Year Everybody, let's do 2014 right!

WOLVERINE

I've wrestled with myself,constantly, about what I am about to share. Needless to say, it is a very touchy subject for me, but in honor of "No Shave November" I figured, it is what it is. (Who gone check me?) I have to be comfortable in MY skin. So, this post is entitled "Wolverine" for several reasons, but I'll share the two main ones. First being that I NOW find it most amusing, but not so much back in the day when people took liberties with calling me this name, among several others, which is the second reason for the title.
  
  I grow facial hair. There. I said it and it's "out" in the open though , technically, it's always out in the open.  I don't grow it because I want to, I don't grow it because I like it, I certainly do not grow it because I am of the male species or because I use to be nor because I intend to be. It wasn't a choice I would have made for myself, but it is here. Having a hormonal imbalance, can do that. It can also make males grow breast, but that's neither here nor there my friends.  How was I suppose to know that back then though? How could I have known that in 8th grade it would begin to grow? Or maybe it was always there and I never noticed until I was made, painfully, aware of its presence waaaaaaaay back in the 8th grade.
  
  Ladies and gentleman, cats and dogs, this has been the bane of my existence for so long andddddd I'm over it.  I consider this to be one of my deepest darkest secrets, but it's out in the day light now. Feels good to "say" it out loud, to put it out into the atmosphere. To let people know that yes, I am aware of it, and no you don't have to make me aware. Thanks.  Oh and here's a "real" shocker, I'm not the only one. Gasps! Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean its not there. Remember that.  I've met plenty of females with mustaches, beards, and the like. Or stachee-o's( pronounced Stash-She-O) as my beloved husband would say. It's kinda not a big deal unless you are dealing with idiots most of the time like I did/was/am.
   
  It's so easy to pick up on the so called "imperfections" of others to take the attention away from our own. Sigh. So sad, truly that people kill themselves all the time for stuff like this and less. I won't lie, it was/is definitely a struggle trying to keep the hair off, just to be acceptable to others. Doing everything I could to keep the hair off, except using a razor. I'm just now figuring out how to kinda sorta control it and I'm 28. 14-15yrs, I've been dealing with this thinking that it was more than I can bare when it's really nothing compared to what I COULD be going through. I thank God for his covering because I could have been one to do harm or even kill myself and for what…Insecure people who are dealing with their own lack and intend to make me(you) feel lackluster about myself(yourself)? No thanks. I could easily be negative toward others right now, because I truly have enough ammo, but I won't because I'm cool like that.

  Bless the hearts and minds of those who still find great joy in finding and exploiting the flaws of others. I pity you. Really and truly. You'll never experience TRUE joy. SO, in conclusion, while you are busy focusing on someone else's beard, you NEED TO BE taming your own. #everybodywontcatchthat #noShameNovember

Reflection from the Couch

It's official. I have turned into one of those people who can sit for hours and watch allllllll spiritual television channels. I can remember my grandparents, or any older person for that matter, when I was younger watching either The Price Is Right, Murder She Wrote, Matlock, the Andy Griffith Show, or anything spiritual. I also remember believing that this was prime time torture for me! Who in their right mind can sit and just watch this stuff. Was I being punished? What did I do to deserve this?!? I couldn't stand it, but as I grow I understand the significance of the spiritual shows. The jury is still out on the other shows. You probably won't catch me watching any of those at this point, but you may catch me watching me a little Joyce Meyer. 

I realize that it is all about my personal growth. Of course, as a kid I may not have understood the purpose of listening to people preach on television. It wasn't speaking to me back then, but my God, it is speaking to me now. As I learn and grow in Christ it is evident that I am being changed from the inside out. He speaks to me all the time now. I don't always listen, but he does speak. I now value the things that had no value at one point. I don't want to confuse anyone and have them to believe that I "live next door to Jesus" because that is not the case. I am ME all day everyday, but I am a new and slightly more improved ME. I am different. I am changed. I am being changed and I accept that change. The good part about it all is that God loves me as I am today, not as I will be in the future. He knows that I am a work in progress. The problem comes when people don't understand that WORK that God is performing in me/you. It's all about the connection being made with God. Nothing else matters. I thank God for my new/renewed understanding.