"CANT" part 2

Due to technical difficulties you may have been unable to access the link. So here it is from You Tube.
Sorry about that & again; Enjoy!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnLVRQCjh8c

This is amazing inspiration when you put your mind to overcoming defeat.

"A man only fails when he has stopped trying"

"CAN'T" is not an option!!

So many times we get on our pity pots & the wooooo is me syndrome kicks in after something in our lives happens that we don't like or agree with. Truth of the matter is this; we are all just here for a temporary moment in time. Now we can either sit on the pity pot & whine about how life is not fair & how someone or something did not go/do as you wanted. Or you can get up of your rumpus & let it motivate you into doing what is truly in your heart to do. After all who wants to sit on the pot to long anyhow it is known to cause serious rings on your bottom!!
Those of you that know me know that it is with my deepest passion to make the most of life while I am here & that is why I do what I do. I have made a "choice" to let my circumstances motivate me not paralyze me! Can't is not an option for this lady.

amazingdance.wmv (5346KB)

After watching this video I thought to myself; "there is no accomplishment out of reach if we will do just that; reach for one!!"

Please remember the men & woman from all branches of the military as they do what they do for us so that we may live with the Healthy Freedoms we have all come to love. Keep them in your prayers for a safe return to their loved ones soon.

Enjoy & God Bless.

"ARE YOU TRUELY LIVING"

This was the question today in church. We all know that we are alive but are we truly living? Are we living life to our fullest potential? Are we 100% happy with where we are or do we secretly wish that we were some where else in life? I for one can tell you that I am just OK with where I'm at in life, but I'm more excited about where I'm going in life that drives me.
See right now at this point in time of my life there are all kinds of balls in the air that are all full of wonderful potential. And in just the blink of an eye they can all fall out of the sky & disappear without a trace. It is my job to grab them & make the most of them. Now granted some of them are out of my control as to what may come but then there is alot that I can take ownership of. Meaning that if I want something I need to go after it with everything I have. Those of you that know me & know me well enough; know that I always say God will help those who want to be helped he is not going to just show up at my door & go "look what I have for you". See I am one of those people that believe that God will help us get to where we want to be if & when we ask for his guidance & I'm not talking one of those half hearted attempts either. Believe me I know alittle something about half hearted attempts!! I have done them & been on the receiving end of them. You get no where fast people I'm here to tell you!!
Here is how I see it; with the help of alot of tools I allow myself to use. Who needs craftsman?! LOL Anyhow I see it like this. If we don't set our minds or purposely focus our thoughts & energy on being a person of purpose; then we will ultimately be tossed around & distracted by every situation in we encounter in life. Good and Bad! Think about this for a moment if you will. If you allow your circumstances to control you, then there will always be some reason to be discouraged or you can turn your thoughts around into thinking positive & undefeated thoughts. After all it is sooooo true that all negatives do have a positive.
Let me show you! I recently went through the break up of my family, the family that I did not think I was ever going to have. God answered my prayers & gave me a beautiful daughter. The same daughter that is my drive in life to keep going so that I can show her how to over come with grace & dignity. Some of you are probably going "alright Jen where are you going with this?". My point is this; God had me go through the break up of my family to show me that I have the strength to over come this & get on the other side of it stronger & better off then I was. I'm here to tell you all that the positive in this negative is that alot of really good things have come from this experience & alot of really good people are flying into my life. Sometimes quicker then I can keep up & for that I'm eternally grateful!
As we go about our days trying to live life on life's terms remember that it helps a GREAT deal to step outside of our boxes & help another person be their best! Trust me I've done it. Imagine if we all just did 1 or 2 things to help someone else each day what this world could & would become. WOW looks pretty promising from where I sit.
So I ask you all this. On a scale of 1-5 where are you at when it comes to living your life to its fullest potential? I know I have work to do. Do you?! Lets all try making some healthy choices to allow a life of Healthy Freedoms for one & all that come in contact with us.
As always please remember the men & woman of our military that put their lives on the line for us on a daily basis so that we may remain safe at home.
God Bless you all & keep you safe.

WOUNDS & REVELATIONS

There are all kinds of things I want to post but not a lot of time these days. I promise to those of you that look forward to this I will do my best to post at least every other week.

Now down to business. Who would of thought that lyrics from a metal song would be the inspiration for today's post. Well it is & the lyrics were as such; "wounds can reveal to us..." that is all that had to be said & a light bulb went off in my head. See we allow our self to become very angry in situations that do not go as we had hoped or planned. When instead what we should be doing is looking for the blessing that comes from such events. The song goes on to say "hate me if it makes you feel better..." And when I felt that towards the people that had done me wrong it never made me feel any better. In fact it made me that much madder at the situation because now I was allowing it to control & consume me. This is not how I want to live my life nor is it how I want to teach my daughter to live her life either.

I had went through alot of pretty sticky & quite honestly sucky things in life, but when I allowed myself to stop feeling the pain of the situation & starting looking for the positives that come from such an experience I was actually grateful for the opportunity. Its like sitting in an AA/Alanon combined meeting & people say I'm grateful for my alcoholic. Meaning they are grateful for the experience because now they have a positive, hopeful out look to pass on to someone else.
I am a firm believer that we all go through things in life to share with others. Am I the only one it bothers when people say to you "I understand..." when they have no clue what you are going through?! I am a show me don't tell me kind of girl, so you better really know what your talking about or your no better then the other liars in the world. I would rather someone tell me the truth even if its not what I want to hear versus being lied to no matter how big or small the lie is.

Like they say the only thing that is constant is change & whether the change is welcome or not, we must respond to it. Our main choice is not what will change but how we respond to the change. I promise if you make peace with the change that takes place you will grow, you will come out a bigger better person. One of Paul Harvey's (rest in peace) favorite authors wrote this: " hope you learn humility by being humiliated and that you learn honesty by being cheated. I wish for you tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness. To me, it's the only way to appreciate life." written by Lee Pitts.

I was given the privilege to attend a 7 habits seminar & the main thing that stuck out is that we should live as though we have a camera taped to our shoulder & the world is always watching what we do & how we act. Is how your living life something you would be proud of letting the world see?

That my friends is what I got out of those 5 little words "wounds can reveal to us..." and it is my wish for you that you got something out of this blog to help you go on in trying times.

Please remember to keep our men & woman of the armed forces in your thoughts & prayers for a safe return to their loved ones.

Good night & God Bless. Or as Paul Harvey would of ended; and that is the rest of the story.

CELEBRATE BEING DIFFERENT...

A dear friend of mine asked me to part take in celebrating black history month with her & some of our closest friends. OK it was a whole church full of friends. I have to say this was a first for me, I've never been given that opportunity let alone asked to be a part of any black history celebration. I was asked to write & deliver a speech on "United we stand; Divided we fall"
On my way home tonight it dawned on me as it does so many times that I am one very lucky & blessed woman. I have so many people that love me & want to help me succeed & all I have to do was just be me.
So family I would like to share with you a little part of what I read today in my small part of the black history celebration.

First off a quote by the late great Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?"

I believe that the best is when we share our heritage with others whether they are like us or different. When I get back to South Bend every other weekend I attend a wonderful church called "Faith Temple" & they have always made me feel very welcome. This is where I was able to be a part of the celebration. The church not only tries to do good for the sake of the community but they invest alot of time & energy on the youth who attend. They show the youth there is more to life then the streets & that not all people judge them. This is what they do for others. As the great Rev. once asked.

In the bible Ecc. 4:10 states this; "If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls & has no one to help him up." Notice it does not say anything about the color of ones skin, rather just being ones friend. The one thing that people compliment me on is the ability to be who I am & be it with a big heart. I don't look at people for what they have or don't have. Because we all have a story & one thing I have learned over the years is that things are not always what they appear; not necessarily in a bad way either.

Another quote by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. "I have a dream that my children will one day not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

My dear friend Pat that asked me to be a part of her celebration walks the talk! She does not get sucked into the every day gossip or chaos of the world; she stays focused on what it takes to live right. She does this with grace, dignity, leaning on God & her friends to get through bumps in life. Bumps that we all experience from time to time. This is a great display of character!

President Obama was quoted as saying; that we must push pass the racial division that has been simmering for centuries in this country. I agree!! There are some pretty wonderful people of all walks of life, nationality & of different races. God sees all of us as equal, he does not love one more because they are lighter or darker but because we are all his children & he loves all of us the same.
When we are pointing the finger & passing judgement on others we have to remember that there are 3 more pointing back at our self. So who are we really judging then?
So here is what I get out of all this. When we clasp hands & stand as one this is when barriers get broken, mountains get moved & 2 become 1. That my family is when harmonious solidarity happens!! It is when the chain of unity is broken that we then fall divided. Not a Healthy Freedom I'm willing to sacrifice are you?!
Please remember to keep our men & woman of the military in your prayers for a safe return to their loved ones.
God bless you & keep you safe.

Gods Little Angel

It is with great sadness that I post this today family. On Friday Feb. 6,2009 we lost a dear friend, Mrs. Judy Mitchell. She went home to be with God & her family that has already passed including a dear friend of mine, her son Brian S. after a 13yr battle with ovarian cancer.

Let me tell you about my little angel.

She was so loved by so many people. Anyone that met Judy loved her. She was the face of hope. She was the face of determination. She was one of my inspirations. She was ALWAYS there for anyone that needed her. She helped alot of people over come a lot of hard times. My little Judy taught me a lot about being kind to another in need & how to get out of self to help another. We use to joke about the school of Judy when it came to putting on a function. She always gave 110% of herself and never anything less than that.

Someone recently sent me this read and it made me think of Judy right away. This is so very simple and wraps up Judy for many of us. You see I call her "my little angel" but truth of the matter is she is alot of peoples little angel.

Hope you enjoy this read called "When you thought I wasn't looking"

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you feed a stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind to animals.
When you thought I wasn't looking I heard you say a prayer, and I knew that there is a God I could always talk to and I learned to trust in him.
When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you take meal to a friend who was sick and I learned that we all have to help take care of each other.
When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you give your time to help people who had nothings and I learned that those who have something should give to those who don't.
When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you take care of everyone in your life and I learned that we have to take care of what we are given.
When you thought I wasn't looking I saw how you handled your responsibilities even when you didn't feel good and I learned that I would have to be responsible when I grow up.
When you thought I wasn't looking I saw tears come from your eyes and I learned that sometimes things hurt but its all right to cry.
When you thought I wasn't looking I saw that you cared and I wanted to be everything that I could be.
When you thought I wasn't looking I learned most of life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and productive person when I grow up.
When you thought I wasn't looking I looked at you and wanted to say, "Thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking."

You fought a very courageous fight. May you rest in eternal peace now.

Thank you "our" little angel.

Good night and God bless.

"Be'fe Noir"

It has been brought to my attention just how much work I have ahead of me to repair something broken.
My spirit! Ok maybe just bruised for a moment and bruises heal just as I will. Lets face it there are people in the world that claim they stand for something different then what their actions display. We then are left holding the bag of; I should of or I could of maybe if... You see where I'm going with this?! Why is it that we allow people to steal our joy or rent space in our head, when the only one it ultimately hurts is our self and the ones directly around us.

That is my Be'fe Noir or Black Beast (meaning in French).

I'm not looking for any kind of pity out of this piece. What I'm trying to demonstrate is that we are ALL just human beings with a funny thing called feelings. And from time to time we all can relate to getting them stepped on or hurt. For me its hurts the worst when I know that I have done almost everything I could, yet still get accused of not doing enough. When in my heart, gut and conscious I know the truth. Life is full of things that will try to hold us down, but it is our responsibility to hold one another up when needed! To remind each other that what people say or do DOES NOT have to define who we are! To be reminded these trials will show our faith as being real. I know that God always rescues me, pulls me along and calms me down. When I let him! He is always by my side, I am never alone.

See folks I'm just a human being and just because I have a blog that I try to keep up beat, positive and inspiring does not mean that makes me exclusive to having bad days. While I try to inspire all of you it also keeps me grounded and better able to stay focused on what my passion is. Helping people with their Healthy Freedoms to be inspired to take the steps in getting what they desire. I am a person that is more inspired by some one who lets me see the real side of them; good or bad. Therefore; I'm not afraid to show you who I am and be open to receiving constructive criticism to become a person of my full potential.

Isn't it funny how we are more loving with our friends and family when they need us then we are with ourselves. Psychologists Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey say that we beat ourselves up over lack of willpower, laziness and weakness amongst other things for a good reason. It is a protection of something with an underlying problem caused by anxiety. One of the most important, least understood & very private emotions that some people suffer with. Lahey says "we all have anxiety, just by virtue of being human." Well that makes me feel better already. :) They both continue to add that this is a condition specific but not isolated to people who were traumatized as children or survived some harrowing event. Now don't read that and justify having a reason to be the way you are, instead look at it like this. We have 2 choices. You can greet each day afraid of all things we have no control over nor can control, or we can greet each day being open to whatever might be around the bend for us. I don't know about you but I want to be open to whatever it is that our higher power (I call God) has in store for me.
A change in perspective is often the most powerful and positive way to make a healthy change. Funny that when in times of difficulty, it is then we find our strengths and hidden talents. So open up to whatever undiscovered joys may be out there waiting to cross paths with you on your journey in life. I dare you!

Our best life's are waiting to unfold. If a dream dies, dream another dream and remember that God has a purpose for all of us--stay strong, keep hoping and keep believing in whatever keeps you going.

Please keep our service men and woman in your prayers so that they may be returned to us safely.

Good night family & God Bless.