Set Goals

We're embarking closely on Christmas Day but many of us have already completed all of our shopping and made plans for the day arrival. Some of us have set our heights on New Years Eve to establish new goals for the New Year. And a few of us would like to bypass the Holidays bliss. For those of us establishing new goals we should not forget our old ones. Setting goals is like writing History. History repeats itself and some of our goals should too. Even if you have not started or finished your goals put them back into motion. We don't set goals for today but we set them for tomorrow. We set up our distant future with the plans that we do for today. I for one is setting a goal to continue writing for this blog. I never thought that I would actually continue something that I started and to be consistent with it. Over a hundred blogs completed but still realizing that I haven't reached the cusp of what could be done. If you set your goals high I believe that you can achieve your goals as your level of maturity increases. You become aware of realistic goals verses idealist goals. Your status doesn't change by completing goals your status changes by setting them. Once your attitude changes your whole world is set. Make an attempt to establish goals that reflect your new outlook and adjust your old attitude. 


Duly Noted and Marked

Take The Load Off

On this past Sunday a word message went forth and it reminded me of the constant  plague that many of us is bound too. I know that we are embarking on a season of giving but many of us still want the benefit of receiving. How often do we get things that we do not deserve. How many times have we been blessed when we have not been a blessing to anyone? And for those who give and ask for the gift back, what was your intent? Sometimes I think we choose what we want to do in spite of doing what we know to be right.God recognizes our heart over our actions. Many of us live our lives for the approval of others. I read part of a passage on yesterday that said, “if God has proved you, who’s approval do you need?” People are being exposed of hidden agendas. Everyone is looking for something and finding what they need in the wrong thing. We want better but we live worse off. Our living is only in vain if we are living according to our selfish desires. You want but you don’t need and you have but you’re not willing to give.This generation can solve the co-existing problems we have in society today, but no one wants the responsibility.To carry burdens of other people are heavy weights to bare. Especially when you are functioning off of what you have to carry for yourself. Burden barriers have the strength of Samson but the weakness of his heart.
When we look at our own hills we see defeat but when we have people who can stand beside us to encourage us it enables us to become stronger. We don’t necessarily have to count on one, we can now count on two. God has placed people in our lives to be our strength when we need it most. Not everyone is experiencing hardships and even so God makes light of them all. People in Leadership positions and power need our help. The way we can help is by taking the load off of their shoulders by using our God given gifts and talents to be of service. Talents are applied skills in areas that you have knowledge in. What are you doing with your talents? I challenge each of you to start thinking of places that you can be a benefit to.What have you not done that you know you could do. God provided His service to us and He displayed many acts through which He was called to do on this earth. And He has called us all to do greater things than He. Life’s practical lessons are first instituted in the home and if it starts there then there should be a display of reaction from which we receive. I can’t make it without you and you can’t make it without me. I urge each of you on today to display some form of service. It is our responsibility to give when we have the means to and to give out of  what we are required to. No one needs to force you into using your talents for servitude but your greatest gift comes from putting a smile on someone’s face.



Duly Noted and Marked

Truth in Waiting

For the last four months I have been contemplating on making life decisions based off of emotions and based off of past experiences. It left me in a state of turmoil. I had no real answers and I saw no real solution. I started to distant myself from my relationships because I felt the need to be alone. I was hiding behind a smile but all the while I wasn't smiling when I was left all alone. I gravitated toward things that desired more of my attention than I could give. And I was left feeling so empty. When you are under spiritual distress the only thing good for you is what you pull away from. Even though I was asking God for the answer and the answer didn't come when I expected it to. It came when I was ready to hear the truth. The answer came while I was waiting for His response. The reason why my go through was as intense as it was, because the underlying reason why I was in this state of being, was because of me. To hear the truth didn't make me run and hide, the truth allowed for me to finally set my heart and mind free. The cause of everything was me. My ears and eyes were congested with what I wanted to see, hear and believe. I didn't ask God to help my disbelief for the fact that my belief in me was disbelieving. It had nothing to do with Him but all to do with me. The truth in waiting was for me to finally see myself in the image that He created. What a loving God we should want to serve. He sees pass our mishaps and finds something special in each of us that made Him say, it is finish. We are all remarkable prospects in the eyes of God full of grandeur and potential that can set this world axis off course. Who you are and what you can do there are no limits. You set the stage and you orchestrate your own performance and the one who's been applauding has been waiting on you all along. 

Duly Noted and Marked

To My Dad:

You are more to me than anyone could ever be. You saw past my inadequacies and gave me hope for a future. You love me when I couldn't stand to see a reflection of me. You gave me what I couldn't give myself. In the time of need you supplied all. For the rest of my days I will long to be with you forever. And when I failed you, you held me in the palm of your hand and you kept me close. Through sickness, heartache, failed relationships, near death experiences you signed my name across your heart. And I am forever indebted to you. How many ways can I tell you how much I love you ....dad..for my life will be a living reminder of how much I do..... 

your daughter

Perception

The unpredictable nature of life’s consequences and outtakes tend to arrive in a person’s life when circumstances are unforeseen. People measure pressure based on the weight of the problem. With distinction we can view our problems with the ability to decipher if it’s based on a situation that we can handle or one that we can’t. Many of our problems are caused by using bad judgment. No one likes to make a mistake and no likes to payback. It is possible to see the problem through different perceptions. Our perceptions are outlined by the intake of what we would like to see but in reality it’s what’s hidden from us that we don’t see. That's why you have to know when it's a matter of vision or a bad glare.  If there is no truth to back it up it becomes invalid. Always go to the source before you make a decision based off the perception. It's hardly ever what it looks like but if it is then it’s a reality check. Just as your season changes so does your perception. Every encounter is not meant to throw you off course. Some are meant to put you back on. The choices you make are yours to live with it. No matter what no one else says? The only time you can go back on a choice is when you have options. Do not take options for granted they are your way of escape. Use them when needed. Otherwise you’ll lose your focus.

 

Duly Noted and Marked

 

Balance

Balance is a figurative word I rarely like to use. I thought motion sickness came from driving or flying but balance is one of those words that tend to make me nauseated while thinking. Trying to balance love, life, relationships and ministries adds its own frustrations. Learning how to accommodate them all is not impossible but the reality is you can’t balance them all. I believe in putting things in systems, functions and perspectives.  I believe that in order for one to complement the other you have to allow room for error and repeats. The balancing act never allows room for mistakes because if one fails then they all fall. People are usually caught in the middle trying to even out both sides by alternating back and forth from one side to the other. This seesaw act is impossible to remain steady or in control. Your time and attention will never fully develop this way. We have to learn to place our lives, our jobs, our ministries, our passions, our attentions to details in a system that works and functions properly. The key to mastering them all is never allowing you to get ahead of yourself. Set boundaries and limitations that you must follow along with those following you. Each individual has a unique way to adapt to climate and changes.  If you set the bar other must meet up to your expectations. Proper planning is the way to succeed in life. No plan, no balance, no system and nothing will function.

 

Duly Noted and Marked

Insecurity

Insecurity is a false sense of hopelessness. Often times we have insecurities because of what we are unsure of. You have to beware of your insecurities in order to overcome them. It is not always a superficial thing, majority of the time it stems from a lack of self-awareness.  Not knowing who you are plays a part on your insecurities. Inadequacies, promotion and validation from others stems from insecurities. You never realize how insecure you are if you’re always surrounded by people who address your ego. Being alone allows you to see what people tend to overlook. Drawing attention to yourself or having the attention drawn away from you shows a lack of security. People who like attention cling to other people that will give them what they are looking for and eventually those types of relationships feed off of each other. People who draw away from attention lack the desire and company of people for they lack security within themselves. Insecurity is the inward mobility that stops production. Lack of Faith is insecurity. We are aware of what we can have in God, but we are too afraid to allow God to dwell in us for the lack of security.  Insecurity will kill everything alive surrounding your life. It will withhold from you prosperity. It’s not what people say or think about you, it’s the bottom line that separate you from being insecure and feeling secure about who you are. Where you draw the line will distinguish how far the line should go. Insecurity can hold us back from moving on in our personal and business life.  When we are afraid to leave relationships and jobs because of losing our security, we hinder our own development.  Your value depletes when you know your time is up. Taking chances is the way of life for those who have a Plan A and stick to it without ever having to make use of a Plan B.  If you feel that you cannot make it on your own you will live in someone else’s shadow.  Never be afraid to admit your insecurities to yourself. Confession is good for the soul because it sets your insecurities free.

Duly Noted and Marked 

Connections

It’s hard to see those that are in connection to you to suffer silently. Suffering will have you to believe that no one cares and it will make you feel that you are all alone. Pain is a constituent to those that are in connection to you.  Emotions and forms of embrace are ways to connect. That is why when a friend is overwhelmed with emotion and exert in a way of tears, tears from our own eyes tend to flow because of what we have experienced through the connection.  Connections keep the focus of all people involved.  We stay connected because of what we feel for each other. That is why it is so hard to let go, because we share a connection. No one is ever meant to be alone. This journey is meant for us all to help each other along the way. Selfish pride and anxiety of our past gets in the way of us admitting to our own faults. No one is perfect and we all make mistakes but secluding yourself from those that love you and placing yourself in complete isolation only hides you from your own truths. It breaks my heart to see what a person could be in their future but they never invest in their own potential. We have all been let down by people who we have trusted in connection. No one is exempt.  If you continue to allow the challenges of this world to make the choice for you and how you will live, then you make God into a little god. One of the greatest fears that people never admit to is the fear of love. For love, has no barriers and in connection with people you can’t keep one up.



Duly Noted and Marked