I Am Uniquely Qualified

We fail at wearing our problems on our sleeves at times.   We all face hardships, but there are only few who can smile through the storm.   I‘ve always admired people like this.   I sometimes wish I could have the strength to smile through adversity as they do.   Truth is I can and so can you. I guess the reason why I feel it’s impossible to do what others do so easily is because I’m viewing it through two different lenses.   When I see them happy and joyful in the face of an obstacle, I see it as strength.   When I have the opportunity to smile through my problems I look at it as being fake.   There’s a part of me that says, “Why smile? Your life is upside down”.   Rather than focus on negative situations in your life, choose to only see the positive.   Focusing on the bad parts of your life can eventually lead to depression.   Do not claim negative circumstances.   Make the choice to be happy.    We can all pick at least one thing in our life that we’re grateful for.  

Here’s a trick about this thing called life, "Lots of hard work and little play." My father always told me I have two choices in life. He said, "You can work hard and play later or you can play now and work hard later." Let that sink in for just a moment. Which route have you chosen for your life? In high school I played, so this made college very hard. I don’t have the normal college stories of parties and sororities. I was on my last leg of chances since getting expelled my senior year of high school. This meant I had to come up with a plan to get into school if I wanted a college degree. It's by the grace of God that I made it. Today, I vow to work hard at everything I do. The trick is to factor in only a little 'play'. This will take you a far. Let me remind you of another trick- volunteering. There is surpeme power in volunteerism. If you have never volunteered your time I suggest you try it. There was a woman I recently met from the Harves

I've been given the most amazing opportunity- to spotlight amazing people in the community. Is that you? Keep reading... I'll fill you in on the whole story. For a while now I have been lost and confused with my chosen career. I didn't know what I wanted and I wasn't sure what I was working towards. You know that fork-in-the-road when you start to question the path you've been on. I was praying for direction but the answers were blurry. Finally I raised my hands and said, "God you know what, I'm not going to move until you tell me what to do. I don't care if it takes two months or two years I will practice patience until you speak to me." Low and behold a few weeks later (Thank God) he spoke to me and told me exactly what to do. It was scary at the thought but I did exactly what he said and Glory be to God I now have this amazing opportunity to showcase organizations in the community that do amazing work for others. My motivation in doing thi

I was speaking to a friend and he asked me how I got to know God. I think it was one of the greatest questions anyone has ever asked. As he listened I rolled out this long story about how God called me. That's how I feel I met him. I feel he's always watched over me bringing me closer to him one obstacle at a time. Slowly dimming the light on the path I was on and taking me to a better journey. One that is promising, one that endures forever. I really feel God knew me all along. He was just waiting on me to know him. My coworker began to tell me how much he loves hearing stories of how people grow to know the Lord. I encouraged him to write a book about it lol! I would love for you to share. How long did God wait for you? How did you get to know God?

I needed some rejuvenation today so I called a good friend.   W hat the conversation did was put the important aspects of my life to the forefront of my thoughts.   It reminded me that the reason I am feeling the way I do is because I lost sight of keeping God first. When I wake up the first thing I NEED to think about is praising God for another day.   Thank him for my breath, for the birds chirping, for a roof over my head, thank him for loving us all and keeping family healthy.   I NEED to wake up feeling Blessed and eager to give blessings throughout the day rather than turning over and reading emails.   I am always immediately annoyed after checking emails so I’m not sure why I continue to do it. The phone call also reminded me that I need to speak victory over my life. Speak life! There’s much power in the tongue so if you speak depression into your life then it will soon pop up.   If you feel your life is going nowhere then it probably is.   Thank God for the circumsta

People always say who cares what others say about you but what if everyone is saying the same thing? Whether it's good or bad, how much truth does it hold? I remember when I was younger my mother told me, "You may be beautiful on the outside (now this is my mom speaking) but damn it if you're not ugly on the inside". This struck a cord with me and from that day forward I always strive to be a better person. I want to be a beautiful lady, not by looks but as someone who is always kind to others and smiling. I want to be someone who is giving and nurturing to any person they see. This is what I aspire to be. My mom was right by what she said thought.  Back in the day I was not a very pleasant person at all. I was moody and sometimes rude to my friends. If I drank too much I could easily hurt everyone's feelings around me and not even care. I was wrong on so many levels. I remember a few close friends tried checking me about it but I disregarded them becau

It’s so crazy to me how someone can be married for 63 years.   Ro and I always say we want that.   We want to grow old together.   We want to be that couple that looks like each other (lol- I think they’re so funny and cute at the same time).   When we first got together the love I felt for him was powerful.   It was so fast and so extreme.   I almost caught myself wishing we would be a year into our relationship already so it could all make sense.   How can you really tell a girlfriend or a family member that after only a couple of days you’re madly in love? On the flipside I wanted to stay in that moment forever because I know what goes up must come down and the high I was on I never wanted to come down from.   I also remember different people kept telling me enjoy this moment because once the honey moon phase ends you’ll never get it back it’s then that you will have a different kind of love for him.   It’s love that you have to work on.   I didn’t understand it and I didn

This morning was weird for me. As far back as I can remember I have always been a person who wants to go to church, someone who looks forward to Sunday mornings. For whatever reason my parents didn't raise my brothers and I in the church. We went to Sunday school and occassionally hit up church for holidays but it certainly wasn't a part of our childhood. My church days started with my first boyfriend. Going to church with him and his dad sparked something in me that I didn't realize I was missing. After I bought my first car I started going to church by myself. There are times I make excuses not go to church. You may be able to relate I'm not sure but I say things like I'm too tired or I rather spend a couple hours with Ro before I go to work. I have even went as far as saying I don't have enough money to tithe (how horrible?). Typically, whenever I make excuses it takes days for me to forgive myself because I'm so angry for skipping service. Today

In church yesterday we sang a song about standing.   It was simple yet very beautiful.   I put it in context with my life.   I am in a battle ground as so are you.   It’s one of those places you hit in your life where every day you are diligently trying to win against the devil but he constantly places negative thoughts in your mind.   Thoughts like you’re never going to be able to save money again, you’re stuck and there’s no way out etc.? I wake up and say a prayer to Jesus.   I read my devotional.   I read a passage in the Bible daily.   I listen to my praise music.   Every day I try to remain positive so I can show Jesus in my walk.   Yet, every day I feel the devil has managed to break me down at some point.   Maybe I find myself complaining all day long or being judgmental.   I feel a negative spirit come over me and it disgusts me.   I feel worry come into my thoughts and then I begin to feel defeated. BUT this song yesterday reminded me of how nurturing it is to be Saved.

 Jaybeato, Ma Dukes, Jacinda & Landon I am very close with my family. By family I mean my immediate family- my mom and 2 younger brothers.  My brothers live here in Charlotte and my mother lives in Florida. I would drop anything in a second to be there for any one of them if they needed me.  Recently I was stuck fighting myself on a decision that would ultimately hurt one, if not all of my family members. My brother Jaris "Jaybeato" is a musical genius. He raps, sings, and produces. He's been making music since he was a child. His music in my opinion is 'real music'. He rarely curses in his music and he rarely uses distasteful lyrics. I didn't say never, I said rarely. I love him with all my heart. I want my brother to succeed in a way that HE defines true success. Now to the problem. I have a hard time trying to find it in my heart to help promote his craft. I.E via social networking. In SOME of my brothers music there are lyrics that kind of c

 Have you ever went through life knowing that something is completely off... just downright wrong? I'm in that zone. Everyone is happy for me. Everyone is looking at me. I should be happy about it too but my stomach is in knotts. It's not for me. I did it. I tried it. Now I'm fighting with it. What did I get myself into? Now I'm searching for a way to get out but all I can do it look up. God lead me. Govern my steps. Did you want me here for some particular reason? Should I feel this way? Did you lead me here or was I misguided? I regroup daily to put on that smiley face. On my good days I am great but on a bad day I can't hide it. I've been down this road before. I was happy to see that road come to a dead end. I know this one is coming. Am I going to ruin it? Should I be grateful for it? It's hard. Being stuck between a rock and a hard spot is the saddest place to be in life. Life should be enjoyed. This is why God put us here. When do we draw the li

Love that makes me smile so big. Love that makes me cry so hard. Love that scares me to my soul. I know love is an action but have you ever felt so much love by just looking at 'The One'? I love him. More than words can describe. More than my actions can show. When he looks at me I see love in his eyes. Love so tender and so sweet. I feel love in his touch. I see kindness in his approach for we are still learning each other's movements. The love I have for him is more than I ever felt in my life. It's something I always yearned for. Its what so many told me doesn't exist. I believe in miracles and I believe in love. I love him. I am ready to give my all for this man. Ready to fight the big fight. The reason why I know so pure is because things that use to bother me dont anymore. When I notice something of distaste I simply whisper, "I love him" and in an instance it's gone. The issue then becomes my past and he has returns as my present. I

I am rich in Faith. I am rich in Good Health. I am rich in Love. I am rich in Freedom. I am rich in Happiness. I am rich in Peace. I am rich in Family. I am rich in Friends. I am rich in heart. God has given us so many Blessings. Everywhere your eye can see there are Blessings for us to enjoy.   Such Blessings include the sun to warm our skin, the breeze to blow our hair, wonderful smells to enlighten our senses, stories to warms our hearts, music to move our feet, and food to speak to our souls.   Why on earth would anyone think of themselves as anything less than rich? The answer is simple.   There are many differentiations of the term rich.   For example, the definition of rich is to have a great deal of money or assets.   According to the Wall Street Journal, a net worth of $1.4 Million will put you in the top 5% of Americans.   Yet, the wealthy today view this figure as chump change.   This just goes to show you we all view being rich differently.   I decided to