The destination is not the most important thing- it is what you glean from the paths along the way that makes all the difference. Ponder well, my friends…..
There are amazing people in this world. Some of these amazing people don’t look like you, talk like you, and may not even have the same beliefs as you, but you will never know how amazing they are because your eyes tell you one of two things:
1) Either you are too good to bother with them, or
2) You don’t measure enough to bother them and their time
I have entertained those thoughts many times and now wonder how many opportunities, friendships, inspirations, etc. did I miss out on? Who could I have blessed? Who could have possibly been a blessing to me?
In the days ahead my friends, don’t listen to your eyes, instead see with your heart and begin to reach out a little more to people. Even if you start with just saying a simple hello to someone that you would otherwise not acknowledge. Safety first and use good common sense! As much as there are good people in the world there are also those who really do have bad intentions and will harm you. It is those people that often cause other to “shell up” and not bother much with the world, but this is also no way to live and enjoy life.
I try to avoid saying goodbye in everyday life. It is a word that has never made me feel comfortable or at peace. Through time and living, I have learned that sometimes you will indeed have to dismiss yourself….your heart, from situations that are of no benefit to you other than the pain, confusion, and agony that it has to offer. If you are like me, you love hard. I mean, once love enters your heart for someone you are locked in a like pit bull and you will fight (not literally – that is never cool or lady like) for that that love, honor that love, be patient with that love, be loyal to that love…. I don’t love easily but when I do you best believe that it is for real. Even that kind of love has its’ limits and when you reach that limit seldom will it ever return with the same fervor and devotion – and sometimes it is just over.
Say something is such a beautiful song. Giving up on someone that you love is never easy, but in all honesty, if you have to beg someone to say something to you, they actually gave up on you a long time ago and you are better off for just stepping away.
“You’re the one that I love, and I am saying goodbye”…..goodbye.
Even if something appears to be true, it is important not to take what one side says as the complete truth. Sometimes people who are operating in a divisive mindset will capitalize on how you falter in a crisis or will rely on that thing that appears to be true to make themselves look good. They will say things like….you know how so and so is, OR she is just like that, I just try to be different, blah blah blah.
These type of people do hold the power as they are able to mask the hatred in their heart for the person that they are targeting and they clothe that hatred in false sincerity, appearing to be a peacemaker,an advocate, the nice guy…just enough to keep you on their side of the dividing line that they helped to create. If you are not careful you will stay on that side of their line, enslaved in deceit and blocked off from truth….a puppet to their agenda.
A nice long talk can solve so much, but if you never get that….know that whether you are on one side or the other, that God knows the intent of everything that is said and done, God knows the very fabric of heart and at the end of the day, we have to rest in that. Peace – Helen
Don’t ever allow embarrassment and humiliation to consume you. When you take a stand against your offenses and decide that you are worth more than the dysfunction that has been offered to you, people won’t laugh at what was done to you, instead they will most likely ponder the strength you must have in order to move forward. People will, on the other hand, laugh at you for being a darned fool… for following up behind what has already thrown you away. People rarely laugh at people for being strong.
A lady went to a vendor show to purchase some product for a project. She walked for a good hour before she came to a booth with the exact specifications that she was looking for. The man at the booth briefly talked about his product but seemed relentless on talking about the vendor that was across the hall. He told that woman about the vendor’s lawsuit over a faulty product, about his products are worthless compared to his, and that the vendor was more or less just a jerk or man. All of these ramblings made the woman so intrigued that she decided to go see the product of other vendor, even though she had her mind set on what she had just saw.
The woman walked a little more but then went across the hall to the vendor. Just as she had walked in the room the lights briefly went out his in his showcase, but he happily welcomed her in to the showcase. He explained that he had just started using a new case and was working out a few bugs in his displays and then ask if he had any questions. They talked for a while, she thanked him for his time, and then proceeded to leave the room. As she was leaving he thanked her again for stopping by and encouraged her to also see his brother across the hall. She stopped. “Your brother?”, she asked. “Yes Ma’am, see, same last name on the card, Ma’am” – he has a good product too, you should check him out, Good day to ya now”.
The woman went back across the hall to the vendor with the perfect specifications for her project. When she walked in the room he belted, “See what did I tell you, he can’t even keep his lights on. Well let’s go on and get your order on the truck Ma’am”. She looked at him and shook her head.
She said, “I was going to buy your product as this is exactly what I wanted. But I will not buy anything from someone who puts down their own brother as you did. If you treat your own flesh and blood that way, how will you treat me later down that line if I need you to honor the warranty on this product? He was having problems with his showcase, but you use that crisis to further try to make your own self look good. That lawsuit you mentioned was over 15 years ago and his product has been tested, tried and true, since then as I saw the quality records. You see sir, I am looking to buy a product that I trust from a person that I trust and I don’t trust anyone like you. While I am sure your brother is not perfect, he treated me kindly and never spoke a bad word against you, and quite honestly I think you are the jerk of a man. There is a murdering spirit on your tongue and while there is no blood from your brother, you are trying to kill him just the same.”
She walked across the hall, made the purchase and left without speaking of his enemy, clothed with the same DNA, just over yonder.
Should she have told him? My guess is that he probably already knew, so why bring it up – after all, with that purchase, he got the victory. He will probably continue to gain the victory every time as long as he keeps his focus as he did.
What is the moral of this story?
When people tell you things about other people, if it is going to affect how you deal with them, then you have the absolute responsibility to check it out. Even if it appears to be true, healthy people don’t go around destroying other people names, works, etc. unless they are trying to hide something about themselves. If you don’t find out for yourself, then you are nothing more than a pawn who is working someone else’s scheme. If you don’t, then you are part of the problem.
People have grown far too comfortable with sharing….each other. Yes, I said it. If I were to ask someone if they wanted to chew on the piece of gum that is pictured, they would say no. Tell me, why would the same person decide that it is okay be a side chick or tolerate their man having his cake and eating it too??? If the thought of chewing this gum makes you shutter, then the thought of being with a married man or with a man who you KNOW if not faithful to you should make you literally cringe.
So the next time you think it is cute to sneak around with someone that you know is in a relationship, I want you to remember this chewed up piece of gum. The next time you feel so lonely that you decide the best thing to is to go back to the man who humiliated you and desecrated your body by dragging the world between your legs…..I need you to remember this gum and know that you are worth more than that.
To my ladies: Can we just have some honest talk right here?
If a man wants to be with you, then he will be with you. It doesn’t matter what you think, what you think might be, or how you think it will be – if he is not making the honest effort to make you and ONLY you to be part of his life, then you are not it. In other words, you have lost the game of eenie meenie mynie and mo. Oops, party’s over and you don’t have the time to sit around and wait on the great pumpkin that has no intentions on showing up in your life the way your heart needs him to.
I can say that I have made the mistake in my life of hoping and wishing on that star, and I am telling you now, don’t do it. You see, it is not about what a man tells you….it is all about what a man does and not only what he does, but what he does consistently.
New International Version I Peter 5:8
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
The video below is long and difficult to watch, but this is what is happening to many every day. The enemy comes in looking like your surroundings and you think everything is just fine until you are caught off guard. In this case the buffalo were off on their own, but in some cases the enemy drives a wedge between you and the family that is there to support and protect you. These lions caught her in her most vulnerable state, she had just given birth and probably getting her senses together to head back to the herd, but the enemy is keen and knows when to creep in….and that is exactly what they did. Who did they attack first? The mother. They knew that once they got her distracted and hurt, that the baby would be easy pickings.
Question: How are you like this mother?
The enemy is catching people in their vulnerable states. They are looking for love, can’t see to do without a man, lonely, broken, hopeless, no one will want me after this or that… you name it. What ever your vulnerability is, there is an enemy assigned to defeat you in that particular state. When the enemy can distract and hurt you enough he will move in on you and sometimes will even have the audacity to bring in someone else to destroy your babies, your hopes, your dreams, your destiny.
I am pleading with you today, do not allow the enemy to wedge you away from or catch you out and away from your herd….away from God. Once the enemy separates you he will dominate and devour you at his leisure and anything that is close to you and near you will be destroyed as well.
The Full Armor of God Ephesians 6:10 10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.11Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.…
I am always amused at the sneaky ways the tongue is used. How can someone give a compliment and throw shade at the same time? I don’t even think that it is shade but more of a perpetuation of what they would like others to continue to think about you while they play the victimized peacemaker. Oh, and it is an Oscar winning performance worthy of a standing ovation….and the “world” will provide one time and time again, but God knows different.
Someone times people will take what you have done in the past and continue to use that to smear who you are now to make themselves look good. For example, there is a beast that sits on my tongue and at one point in my life, when provoked, that beast would run wild and tell you off in a heartbeat. Time, wisdom, and the good Lord above have tamed that beast and I don’t handle things like I used to, but that does not stop some special people in my life from constantly making sly remarks, implying that I haven’t changed, or making pedestal posts about who they pretend to be.
I am learning that you have to rest in what God knows about you, people and situations. You can’t chase down lies and the more you continue to try to explain and defend yourself the worse things may sometimes become. You have to allow God to be your defender and rest in the fact that God knows even if everyone else believes a lie.
Scriptures:
Psalm 12:2-3
They speak falsehood to one another; With flattering lips and with a double heart they speak. May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, The tongue that speaks great things;
Psalm 5:9
Verse Concepts
There is nothing reliable in what they say; Their inward part is destruction itself Their throat is an open grave; They flatter with their tongue.
Psalm 55:20-21
He has put forth his hands against those who were at peace with him; He has violated his covenant. His speech was smoother than butter, But his heart was war; His words were softer than oil, Yet they were drawn swords.
Psalm 62:4
Verse Concepts
They have counseled only to thrust him down from his high position; They delight in falsehood; They bless with their mouth, But inwardly they curse. Selah.
