2012... A Year in Retrospect

In 2012, I learned how to "Return the Favor" (in all aspects) and came to appreciate the power of reciprocation. I learned how to be a time & energy scrooge and stopped just giving it away to opportunists or people who didn't appreciate the effort.

I learned that while a picture is worth a thousand words, so is a person's silence... it speaks volumes. Just remember, closed mouths don't get fed and life WILL continue.

I learned that not everyone is stable or prepared enough for a public platform, and once words are spoken OR written, they cannot be taken back. Although you will never truly know the damage you may have done, asking forgiveness (with sincerity and a humble heart) is a good place to start.

I learned that nothing is ever as bad as it seems, and proof of that is anywhere else you can look. Giving 100% and being content is paramount in realizing just how good you've got it. I learned that misery is a common illness, and those affected by it will eventually infect many of those around them. If you are the one who is miserable, believe me, it's obvious to EVERYONE.

In 2012, I learned to stay away from people who were able to quickly identify flaws in others, but struggled to see all of the flaws they have in themselves. Helpful Hint: A clean mirror may help alleviate that problem. It will show you what you refuse to see.

I learned that the best advice comes from those who have SUCCESSFULLY navigated the way and made it to that place where you are trying to go. Someone at your level can not advise you on how to go further. They need advice themselves!

In 2012, I realized that there is NO need for a New Year's resolution. When you deal with the issues, the matters, and the concerns of life as soon as they happen and leave them resolved, then you can proceed with confidence. In addition, stop saying what you're going to do and just DO IT! If all you ever do is plan, you will never accomplish.

To sum it up, this has been a year of challenges and triumphs. I'm grateful for the revelation that showed me how and who people REALLY are and the ability to move around the nonsense. Trust and believe, when you become more selective, your mind will be clear. Remember, not everyone will be happy for you and not everyone who pretends to be for you really is. Discernment will reveal that truth.

Now... Here's to a NEW Year, and a NEW chapter. Page one, Let's go!

Checkmate (The Vent)

(Every now and then you have to vent and here's mine, so let's go...)

You say you're blessed, but unknowingly show you're burdened;
you say you love everyone, but will consistently loathe anyone.
You say you have peace, but you stay so pissed;
you say you care, but the criticism lingers there.
The same lips that speak words so sweet, can turn around and spit fire and heat.
Full of anger and pure resentment, but in the next breath feign humility and contentment.

Someone who lacks true compassion and is unhappy; appearing to be large and in charge, but in reality, only the display is in HD.
Making endless attempts to hide behind perceived notions and projected emotions, to guard your OWN stuff so obviously!
Since life has been a little unkind, you choose to waste valuable time,
lecturing others on what THEY are doing wrong, when all along, it was YOU who needed to come correctly;
constantly up and down emotionally. Seems like you're in the same boat, a mirror image, but what a delivery!

You have them all fooled, but not me...BRAVO! You deserve an Emmy!

"The Master’s Plan"

Jeremiah 29:11 reads, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Everything God has for you will come to pass as long as your steps lead you back to God. Though you may be led astray, you must always find your way back to Him. As a life application example, let’s consider an inflatable punching bag. When we think of how this bag works, if it is completely filled with air, weighted and planted on a firm foundation, we realize it cannot be easily knocked down. No matter how many times you punch it, the bag will fall back and instantly rise right up. You will exhaust yourself attempting to keep this bag down.

In applying this example to our own lives, no matter how many times the enemy and life’s circumstances attempt to knock you down, and no matter how many mistakes you have made along the way, when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, and willing to carry the Lord’s yolk instead of your own, and when you plant your feet on solid ground, you can make like that inflatable punching bag and rise right back up every time you are knocked down. For out of your faith in God, and in your rising up, you guarantee your hope for better things to come.

“Baggage Handlers”

Traveling around the world, or even from state to state, can be a great adventure full of fond memories. However, everything about traveling is not exciting. There are still tedious tasks to accomplish before the fun can begin. One of those tasks, outside of actually packing for the trip, is making sure your baggage arrives at your destination the same time you do; not only that, but ensuring it arrives in excellent condition.

We expect the same handling of our personal baggage. We selfishly want it to be “Handled with Care” by everyone who comes into knowledge of it, because it belongs to us and we want to look good at all times. When we unload our “stuff” onto the Baggage Handlers, we expect them to manage it well; many times even better than we do ourselves. In the real world, we could all stand to take a lesson from the good Baggage Handlers. No one is perfect.

"The Prosperity of Discomfort"

I am sure when you read the title, “The Prosperity of Discomfort”, you became interested to find out how on earth discomfort could make a person prosperous; after all, Webster defines prosperity as: the condition of being successful or thriving. Now let us “ponder” the meaning for a moment… the condition (something necessary or essential for the occurrence of something else) of being successful or thriving. So how do we get this condition? Keep reading…

Needles, instruments used for getting “under our skin”, can be used as a metaphor to represent people who seemed to have suddenly appeared in our lives only to get on our last nerves! Everything about this person annoys us: their mannerisms, appearance, attitude; the way in which they do what they do EVERYTIME that they do. For some reason, we just can not get past OR away from this person; but do we ever stop to consider that maybe this individual is in our lives to help us grow, by challenging us in the very area where we have yet to prosper?

Some words of wisdom were shared with me many years ago, that have stayed with me to this day: “We cannot grow through, unless we go through.” In order for us to learn how to be successful and thriving, we have to get to the “condition” that will challenge and propel us into it. When we are sick, the doctor will diagnose our condition and many times offer a prescription to alleviate our discomfort. The medicine DOES NOT heal our ailment, but it sustains us in it so once the condition runs its course, we will be BETTER. If we want success, we must first face the challenges presented to help us prosper. So tell me… how is the prosperity of YOUR discomfort?

"Rubber Band"

There was once a man who was walking on a lonely, dark street. Suddenly, he looked to his feet and saw a rubber band. The rubber band looked worn from years of use and abuse, but the man decided to keep it. He was certain he would be able to use it one day, so he took it home and placed it safely away.

Years later, that same man needed something to wrap around some old recycled newspapers he was looking to store. He remembered the rubber band and decided today would be the day to use it. He grabbed it out of the box and began to stretch it to prepare it. Suddenly, he heard a small voice yell very loudly, “Hey, you are stretching me too much!” The man replied, “You are a rubber band; strong, resilient, and able to withstand. If I can’t stretch you, I can’t use you.”

Sometimes, God says the same thing about us. When He is ready to use you, will you be ready?

"Smoke Screen"

Sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees, or the flames for the smoke, ‘til we begin to choke. We become blind to what is right before our eyes, and we allow it to destroy us; take our joy from us. We exist with no sense of benefit and accept it because we truly do not believe there is anything better. So we stop the pursuit of happiness, and we remain right where we are, refusing to reach the unreachable star; because it is easier to give in than to attempt the win. We can see the finish line, but our minds are so consumed with insignificance, disguised as confidence, trapping us in a pit again. How on earth do we think anyone will have faith in us, when it is ourselves we fail to trust? May God have mercy on us…