There is a new beginning in the air that is quite contagious in my circles.  

I’ve seen very intelligent people flounder and not realize their goals and dreams because they’ve wasted time on unnecessary things.

It’s not about being busy, it’s about saying no to things or ideas that don’t serve you in your season and focusing on what will get you “there”. I’ve had enough of doing things I am good at. I want to do things I am great at. Let someone else do the things I am good at.

What is the legacy I want to leave for my child? What will I do that will make her proud of me?
What can I do that will give her a step up in her own quest, in her own journey?

We all had dreams when we were children. I remember growing up, thinking that I could do anything, be anything… that the world was my oyster. Sometime after college my feelings were dampened by rains of life and other people’s stories of dreams not coming through, that life is unfair.
But deep within me that dream of greatness remains. I didn’t grow up in a rich home, nor a very happy home, either. Women were second class citizens. All Eve’s fault. Although the Bible states that through Adam sin entered the world. So yeah, judge that, peeps. It was Adam’s fault.

According to my upbringing, I wasn’t meant for greatness, but those feelings just wouldn’t die.
Women weren’t supposed to speak out, but I just couldn’t help it.

Something inside me was telling me otherwise. That spark of God kept reminding me, pleading with me to keep believing.
It no longer pleads with me. It demands that I follow my dreams, run after my passions. Be the best I can be…because I am valuable.

I know, I’ve digressed, went off my focus in this post, but bear with me.
Every word has a place in my story.

Stick with me. What brings you joy? What are your passions? What are your dreams? Those are not just idle thoughts. Enough being “practical”. I’ve heard too much practical counsel. Too much “real talk”. Life is too short. If your dreams don’t scare you, you aren’t dreaming big enough. I always used to say, “Reach for the sun, and you will at least get a few stars”.

I love writing. I may not be the best at it, but my fear of criticism will not stop me. At the end of each piece I derive an immense amount of satisfaction. I’ve set my sights even higher. I want to finish a book. And darn it!, I WILL finish writing that book no matter what comes. I’ve had enough sitting on the sidelines, I am now a full fledged participant in this race.

There are a few more dreams I am working on this year. They scare me. But I will run into the face of fear.

I’ve had to say no to some commitments that were for a good cause but they weren’t developing the greatness in me. I’ve had to make hard decisions that took me away from hanging out with my friends. I’ve had to stay strong and invest in myself. This is the year for culmination of my expectations for myself. This is the year for sticking to a schedule and prioritizing what is the most important for me. This is the year for self-discovery and self-reflection.

This is the year to focus on me.
How can I best serve my purpose and the people around me? What is the big picture?

Make a list of what you want for yourself this year. What is it that you envision?
Break it down into steps and actions that will take you there.
Most importantly!!!!-Keep it simple. One bite at a time. Don’t bite off more than you can chew, you will spit it out eventually.

I want my child to be an achiever of dreams.
How? Through discipline and dedication I will show her how to get “there”.
And hey, don’t forget to pencil in the time for the most important time, time of fun with your family.
It is having fun together that makes the heart grow fonder.

I just want to be brave.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. To me it means to be free to be me.
The bravest thing in this world is to be truly yourself and show that uniqueness to the world.
To not fit in, but stand out. To sing loud. To dance when no one is dancing. To worship God when no one is worshipping. To go out on a limb and look like a fool, but just not caring, because I know and place value on allowing me to be me.
In church, I want to sing louder and not be embarrassed if they think I’m showing off. I just want to praise Him and if the Spirit moves me, hey, I just want to be free to feel it. To truly feel it.
I get embarrassed about raising my arms when no one else is. It is especially hard when the right song comes up and I have to hold back due to my withholding of myself.
 
This is what you are doing. You are withholding.
You are withholding from yourself. From your family. From the world.
 
I want to speak up and share my opinion and then not change it with slight alterations according to the audience and how brave I feel that day.


Walk your own path.

I don’t want to be shaken. I know what I say means something to me and it may mean something to you, but even if it doesn’t, I want to respect myself by saying my truth, honorably, kindly and with elegant maturity.

I was that girl that decided to twirl and spin in the forest one day, to just be free…
And when I opened my eyes… I was surprised to see a couple of journeying girls that were that deep in the forest with me.
I tried not to be embarrassed. I thought no one was watching.
 
When you are not free, you create a lack … there is something missing in this Universe.

 
No one can fill your shoes. Neither can you fill their shoes.
They are uniquely yours and no one can do it better than you.
The society wasn’t brave. It was easier to control a group of the same. It didn’t know how to handle the unique expressions of God. So they minimized God. Made Him small. Un-creative.
 
We need to un-do this misrepresentation. God is so huge and so diverse and so splendid.
As His masterpiece, can He not express Himself through you?
He gave you skills and abilities that are unique to you. EVERYONE is equipped. EVERYONE has something of value.
 
When you decide to hide yourself, you decide to hide a spark of God within you.
 
Don’t do that.
 



Let yourself be amazed again.

 

I want to be just like a kid again. To live with the truth and integrity and abandon to being myself. To believe and be curious. 
 
I want to laugh and smile with joy and be free to be happy. Even if that means just letting myself spin and twirl like I used to as a kid. Letting my hands fly free… feeling the air move around me.
Liberation.
Creation.
Spontaneity.
What a lovely recipe for something New. Something New that feels just right for YOU.
People, follow your destiny. They may not believe in you, believe in yourself. Believe in the One that thought you were worth creating.



Let your imagination run free!

 
Write, dance, create, laugh. You don’t have to do anything well, just do it if you like it. You never know, in that freedom of expression you may find something you are so passionate about, so rightfully yours, that it could move you and bring you to a place where your dreams are coming true.
 

Show me your thoughts and I will pinpoint  the reasons why things are going in the wrong direction or why are you doing so fabulously well.

The thought of the day is this: Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Phillipians 4:8)

These types of thoughts are life-giving and life-altering. These type of thoughts will help you wake up in the morning with pep in your step.

You aren’t clever enough becomes: I am super clever and I can figure this out easily.
You aren’t pretty enough becomes: I am super pretty and I will enjoy myself today and give other people loads of compliments.
You aren’t fun enough: I attract the right people who appreciate me for who I am and I will go out and have a super fun day.

I love the word super. It simply puts the icing on the cake.
I tell myself I am a super woman and I can do it all through Christ who strengthens me. Nothing is impossible.

Many times the closest ones to you, for whom you are so desperate to believe, simply refuse to support you or laugh at your “illusions of grandeur”.
I realized that this void or desire is natural but it will not deter me from my destiny. Some people will never give me what I need and I refuse to stop and wait for their acknowledgement that will never come.

You need to believe in yourself because your Heavenly Father does.

He believed so much in you that He sent His only Son as a sacrifice for you. He thought you were worth it.
Oh, yeah. You better believe it.

I don’t ever want to tell my child, “Hey, pick something practical, shrivel up and die inside, but make sure you do something that makes sense to us, mom and dad”. I want her to dream BIG.
So BIG that perhaps it makes even me uncomfortable. Reach all you can or want.

How many of you were told that you are too sensitive, too stupid, unimaginative, or lack something else and you took that cloak on and actually believed it?

I’ve seen failures in high school that, once they’ve left that arena, they are phenomenally successful in college because they left those fake titles behind. They proved to themselves that this was a lie.

What is your belief system?

Parents are scared to tell their kids that they are talented, super clever and strong and brave. Maybe your parents weren’t like mine, terrified of spoiling the child. But that’s a different generation.
I’d rather overdo it and annoy my kid than under do it and leave her wanting. I want my child to know that I think she is the best in my eyes. No one can compare to her. She’s got what it takes to make me proud.

What will you carry forth? The only way to make a change in the world and in your family (perhaps it’s even harder in the family!) is to start from within yourself.

Say nice and kind things to yourself. Love yourself a little. Hey, have a laugh in the mirror at how silly you are. I’ve done it. Great way to turn your mood around.

Let your children hear you. Let them model you.

Every surly teenager wants to hear that their mom and dad are proud and know that they’ve got what it takes to be successful in your eyes.

Trust me. Thoughts turn into words and actions and become the reality around you.

You better believe it… and then you will see it.

I believe I can fly

I’ve never failed at criticizing myself, comparing myself to where I should be now and how my life should be going, so it came as a surprise to myself, and became a source of great pride and sign of maturity when, upon standing on the scales and realizing that after my trip to Europe I’ve gained 10 pounds, my first thought was “I’m going to love myself through it”.

(I want you to pause and reflect on that complex sentence. Perhaps Paul got nothing on me or perhaps he has some solid competition in the ‘complex sentence structure’. Someday in heaven, I will hear his thoughts!:))

I swear, everyone, that was my first thought. I didn’t think, “Gosh, how did I let this happen? How could I do this to myself?”. I didn’t deride myself or put extra pressure. I just instinctively decided to love myself because this is when I needed my own love the most. Mind you, this would not have been the case a few years ago. I was surprised and very happy to discover that I was no longer in that place of bringing myself down, but lifting myself up and that it was now second nature to me.

The inner being, the core of myself within me… spoke out.

Where am I going with this?

Bear with me, put on your cloak of patience and stay the course.

If we cannot love ourselves truly, and please don’t confuse this with doctrines of self love=selfishness, we cannot love others.
When we are able to love ourselves, be kind and compassionate and uplifting to our own very self, only then we can make the sort of impact on ourselves and others that will withstand the test of time.

How often are we kind to someone but to ourselves we don’t show that compassion? I am sick of hearing people say how stupid they are, that they never get it or will never be fit or cannot do it because they were never able to do it before.
Try again, I say. Forgive yourself and at least start with examining your thoughts. We are to hold captive the thoughts that do not serve us.
If you start sliding down the ” you are unworthy and etc.” channel, grab those thoughts quickly and replace them with good thoughts, sweet thoughts, noble thoughts. Double down on the holy thoughts.

So when I responded with my thought “I’m going to love myself through it,” I knew I arrived at a new place for me.
I could love others better. I  could be more compassionate because I was no longer broken in that particular painful sector of my life. I was healed.

We all need so much healing. Be gentle to yourself.

Hey, these are tough times for many. The election has brought many to their knees.
We are broken. Our nation needs healing. We’ve seen many symptoms of discord and disease within the last few months and more…
Healing starts from within each one of us. Get over the disappointment. Stop dwelling on the negative. Stop avoiding looking in the mirror (as I’ve done on many occasions!). This is the time of truth and reevaluation.
Disease and discord will not be eliminated with more of the same.

Christians, God is still on the throne. What are you being depressed about? Rejoice, because you have someone to rely on, Who is always good no matter the circumstance.

People, you are beautiful. You are wonderfully made. You are the masterpieces of the Creator.
Treat yourselves as such. Honor who you truly are. In doing so, you will automatically treat others better. Love others more strongly and inspire everyone to follow suit.

We need love.

I love repetition, although sometimes redundant, it can hammer down the simplest of truths.

Be gracious to yourself and extend it to your family. Families, extend grace and kindness and respect to other families in your communities. Communities, set an example of unity and honor to the rest of the city. Cities, rise up and be the beacons of light this country needs so much.

I love this country. I love this land and I thank God for bringing me here.

I am not placed here randomly, like a Lego piece that flies out of the bucket. I am deliberately and strategically placed where I can make the most impact.

You as well.

This is the time when we all must learn
                             …to love ourselves through it.

Our country needs us. We need our country.

My beautiful baby in Paris

I don’t know about you, but in my family, we learned to get along. Amidst the eight of us, plus the parents, there were a lot of personalities and opinions swimming around. When I lived with my parents, I recognized the delicate art of give and take and the mutual appreciation and respect, opinions notwithstanding. We had to share the same space and with that fact of life comes responsibility, at minimum a desire to survive and be happy.
But I am not here to talk about survival. I am here to tell you how to thrive.
We live in this country, and want it or not, like it or not, that’s a fact. Face it, this country is your family, filled with estranged uncles and crazy cousins. We need to learn to get along to survive… but to thrive, we need to learn to love.

Love will save the day.

Which day? Every day. Election Day. New Year’s Day. The day we have to face other countries but face them not with opposition but with an example. Enough idle talk. Let’s walk the talk.
We say we are so great. The greatest country in the world. With that position comes great responsibility.
If we want to be the oldest brother, it is our duty and pleasure to model the right behaviors and the right desires. That comes either through experience, collective wisdom or both.
Being the oldest child in my family, I was measured by a bigger stick but I also had some privileges as well. The greatest privilege I’ve ever had was the ability to change or affect the course of my siblings’ lives. The reason being? They look up to me… but I’ve earned that privilege.

This is not the time to grab the others by force but to earn their respect and admiration through consistent application of wise moves such as showing compassion, consideration, dedication, appreciation and love.

This country needs love.
We need love.
Our children need love.
Not division and derision.
Love. Plain and simple.

So I dare you to go out and show a little kindness. Sure, they may have a few different opinions, but be patient. In the end, your patience may pay off and you will gain that respect and be able to speak into their lives.

What’s the point of beating the air with your words that just fall to the ground or dissolve because they had no meaning to the other person… because you tried to take their attention and belief by force? The quickest way to storm the castle? Through love. People will invite you.

We can do this. The Pilgrims stood for something at one point. They believed in a better future.
So do I.
So do we.
So I will be hopeful today and tomorrow because I believe in the inner goodness of each one of you. I believe we are capable to take the higher ground. It is time. Enough of the muck, hate and stone throwing. We are better than this. Don’t participate in becoming what you hate the most: someone else. Not you.
So I will love today. I will love tomorrow. I will love myself through it all and I will love you all through it… because I know that precious truth…
Love is the answer.
                      Love will save the day.