Let’s Be Friends

Let’s face it: we’re all over busy, over committed and under appreciated.  Even if you are appreciated by your boss, coworkers, family and friends, chances are good that you’ve probably felt neglected and alone before.  I’ve been there: I started started a business with a cheering/support section of 1, I’ve ended many friendships, and I’ve been attending a church where I knew practically no one, just to name a few.

Matthew 11:28 says:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

I’ve made those choices for two reasons. One, I knew that they would be good decisions for my future, both personally and professionally.  Second, and more importantly, I felt God leading me there and knew He would be there through the whole journey, regardless of who else was.

And you know what?  Along the way I’ve made some great friends on Twitter, have found a church that is right for me at this stage of my journey, have paid all my bills on time, and have been blessed by God in countless ways.

Today if you’re feeling alone, lonely, lost or frustrated, don’t give up.  I’d be glad to be your friend, and I know there are others who would be too. And God would be happy to hear and share your burdens too.  Feel free to share your challenges here at the blog or to me personally.

Dreams with Power

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”
Harriet Tubman

I love this quote by Harriet Tubman!  It speaks to who we all are essentially-people of strength, patience and passion.  This month we’ve been talking about love, love brings out the best in people.  Dreams too are uniquely equipped to bring out the best in people.

Whether you’re African American, English, Chinese, Asian, French or a mix, you have the ability to be both a lover and a dreamer.  Your dreams, and your love, have power.

We all have the choice whether to unleash that passion.  It’s a choice that often gets rejected, squashed, laughed at or buried for many reasons.

This month, as we’ve talked about love and many have talked about the African American heroes, do them a right and choose to love and dream.  Take action on your dreams today!

Love Together

“Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” 1 John 4:11-12

This month we’ve been talking about love.  The thing about love is that we have it all around us yet it only grows when we share it with each other.  We see love in God’s creation of people, the beautiful animals all around us, the beauty in the sky each day, yet we don’t put two and two together and realize that the best love isn’t what we see, it’s what we share.

Years ago family members would say “you’ll have a better life…” to their grandchildren, and for a while it was true. But we’ve slipped in our caring for other humans and the earth.  February is a reminder, a reawakening, that we need to start living and loving.

There are a lot of uncertainties and unknowns in life, but if we were all to put faith in God, in His love, and actually try to love His creations (people, animals, earth), we’ll have a shot at setting up a good future for our grandchildren. Loving someone else is one of the great ways we can not only connect with those in our lives, but also with God while we’re on earth and He’s in Heaven.

Your loving someone today will not only help to complete you, your relationship with them and your relationship with God, it will connect you to future generations.  Who will you choose to love today?

2012 in Words: Love

This month we’ve been talking about love.  Why?  Because love is what makes the world go ’round.  People all around the world live in love each day.  Unfortunately there’s also a part of the world bent on not loving.  There are people out there who have developed, for whatever reason, a bad attitude towards love (and life).

Don’t get me wrong, I know that not everything plays out in a favorable way.  I know that life can get you down.  I’ve been there!  But I chose not to stay there.  Sure, I could stay mad at myself and others for what happened but what would be the benefit of that?

Yes, love is all about the benefits.  If you’re in a great love relationship you’re usually willing to make some sacrifices so your relationship as a whole benefits.  If you’re doing the job or owning the business you love you’re willing to take a pay cut for a bit or commute a little extra. Tom Robbins once said:

“We waste time looking for the perfect lover, instead of creating the perfect love.”

If you really want to have the benefits of love in your life, it’s up to you to choose them.  You can choose to spread hatred through the world, using up your short time on earth doing things that hurt people.  Or, you can choose to spread love in little and big ways to everyone you meet.  Choosing to spread love also means that love will find countless ways back to you, always returning each gift you give with a blessing to you.

Love isn’t about one day in the calendar (February 14th), it’s about the opportunity we each have each and every day to be and experience love.   Starting today, will you join me in opening up to experience and share love?  Click “like” and share your commitment to love others!

Kindness and Blessings

This week is a week of Random Acts of Kindness, as dedicated by the RAK foundation.  It’s a week that we’ve got the opportunity to focus all our actions on doing good in the world.  This month we’ve been talking about love and our hearts, and I think random acts of kindness fit in here really well.

“You don’t pay love back; you pay it forward.”
Lily Hardy Hammond

Lily’s words are inspiring because love should inspire all of us to do good for others, to spread love and ultimately love makes the world a better place.

Just like love, our spiritual beliefs should inspire us to do good in the world.  I don’t think there are any world religions that actually encourage doing bad things, but some teach that your bad deeds will cause certain things to happen in the future.  So what it comes down to is all of us, each in our own way, working to make the world a better place.

This week as you do random acts of kindness, remember that you’re doing it not because you have to or because it’s the “right thing”, but because you are grateful for what you’ve received and what you will receive and the joy that you feel when you bless someone else.

Loving Life

“For you see, each day I love you more today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow.”
Rosemonde Gerard

We’re approaching that time of year that’s really hard for those who are single.  Personally I believe February is a great opportunity to express love, whether you’re single or in a relationship.

I chose this quote for today because it isn’t just a quote for lovers, it’s a quote that you should believe about yourself.  Sure there are some days that you’ll get up and not be happy with your partner or with yourself, but that new day is an opportunity for you to learn how to love yourself and/or your partner more.

Life shouldn’t be an exercise in how to hate yourself and others, it should be a learning experience of what love really is.  True, some people are hell-bent on creating pain in the world, but hopefully you’ve found that those people are few and far between.  If not, take some time to wander around Twitter and Facebook and get connected with a group of people who are love-minded like yourself.

By making choices that support me personally, I’ve been able to give more love to those in my life.  I’ve chosen to love myself more, do things that I love and let myself be the person I know I am.  And in return I’ve been able to help and support others in their journey to being who they want to be.

Life is a journey-a journey that goes much better when you’re focused on loving yourself and others.  What can you do today to show yourself love?

Love Your Heart

“Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside.   I was so foolish and ignorant— I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you.  Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand.” Psalm 73:21-23

This month is not only Valentine’s Day, but it’s also American Heart Month. We have American Heart Month because we don’t all take good care of our hearts and need a yearly reminder of how important that little part inside our bodies are. It’s a realization that we can do better.

For those of us who are spiritual, February is filled with reminders of how important our spiritual love and hearts are, and that we have to tend to that aspect of ourselves too.

Every day is a chance to realize what we’ve done wrong and make changes. We should feel guilt for what we’ve done wrong, but only until we decide to do things differently.  The good news is that just like with your physical heart, you can decide to make changes to help your spiritual heart.  You could try reading some devotions while you’re enjoying a healthy fruit or vegetable snack.  Just changing your attitude will do good for both your spiritual and physical heart and life.

Take a moment today and check out your heart and your life.  Are they in line with a healthy and spiritual life?

Grasping Joy

“Let a joy keep you. Reach out your hands and take it when it runs by.”
Carl Sandburg

In January we spent a lot of time talking about joy.  Why?  Because the quality of joy is missing from many lives and a new year is the perfect time to learn what role joy plays in your life. This month we’ll talk about love, both in line with Valentine’s Day and with learning to love ourselves.

What I love about this quote by Sandburg is that it’s exactly the attitude we should all have towards life: life is full of opportunities just waiting for us to grab them.

My question for you today is why don’t you grab those opportunities? 

There are many things that can hold you back from grasping the fullness of joy, love and life that is available to you.  The good news is that you can have what you want in your life. You just have to be willing to reach out there and get it.

This year I’ve changed my theme from “Sharing Hope in 2011” to “Hope in Action”.  Why?  Because I believe that not only is hope essential for getting us through the situations we’re in, but we all need to do our part to make the necessary changes.

What are you wanting in life?  If it just seems out of your grasp, I’d love to talk with you about how you can get there.

What in your life brings you joy?