In my last post, I shared how I struggled with the fear that wanting success somehow made me feel greedy or selfish — that chasing abundance or stepping into my purpose felt like a sin. That mindset kept me stuck for years, holding me back from fully embracing the gifts and opportunities God placed before me.
But through reflection, prayer, and a deeper understanding of Scripture, I realized that wanting success isn’t selfish — it’s stewardship. It’s about using every talent, every resource, and every opportunity to build something meaningful for my family, my community, and the generations that follow.
That was the moment everything shifted. I stopped apologizing for growth and started stepping into it intentionally. I chose purpose over fear, faith over doubt, and clarity over chaos. This is the foundation of Season Two. So, get ready!
Introducing Season Two: This Is Me, Evolved
Season Two is all about clarity, focus, and intentional growth — this is my journey fully unfolding. I’m stepping into each day as “Christina, walking in faith, purpose, and gratitude”. In this new chapter, you’ll see a blend of everything I’m passionate about: mindful home care through Aromatherapy Cleaning and Home Watch, thoughtful lifestyle guidance, and content that inspires both personal and professional growth.
This season isn’t just about services or content — it’s about creating spaces and experiences that reflect calm, respect, and intention. It’s about having boundaries, sharing the messy and the mundane. It’s about being vulnerable so others can learn and grow from my mistakes and successes. It’s about living fully, leading with my whole heart, and building a legacy that blesses those around me- especially my children and the generations that follow.
I’m no longer apologizing for wanting more — I’m celebrating the journey, the lessons, and the opportunities to serve, create, and grow in alignment with faith and purpose. Mostly, I am standing on my truth: I am unapologetically living the life God created me for — creating peace and sacred spaces. I am done hiding in the shadows and feeling uncomfortable, so others can feel more comfortable.
What’s Next: Join Me in Season Two
As I step into this new season, I invite you to come along on the journey. My hope is that you’ll find insights, inspiration, and practical tips for creating calm, clarity, and purpose in your home and your own life.
Catch my latest podcast episode (new episodes coming soon), explore new blog posts, or follow along on social media — wherever you prefer, the goal is the same: to inspire growth, faith, and mindful living in a messy world. Accept this time around, I am not working from a guilty conscious, I am working from a place of gratitude and growth with personal intention.
Let’s embrace this next chapter together. I’m excited to share what’s ahead, and I hope it sparks something new in your own journey.
“We all walk through this life together, but we all experience it differently.”
Follow, connect, and let’s grow in clarity and purpose — together.
“When the people He created start planting good seeds, a harvest of fresh fruit will grow. But those that produce bad seeds, will harvest weeds that will overflow and never produce any fruit.”
Well, can I start by saying Fear of the Lord sure doesn’t mean the Wrath of God is going to come upon you for being human. But it does mean you may want to be mindful of the seeds you’re planting in your life, and in others. I am so tired of “Churchy people” giving false messages and speaking Jesus’s name at the center of fear! God should be at the center of all you do, YES! But God is LOVE! NOT FEAR. Let me make that very clear!
Now, to add to that statement, let me just say, YES, there is a certain way God wants us to live our life. But some people make this so mystical that the average person never feels worthy to take the journey. In fact, salvation is the reason Jesus came to earth. So that, you, me, and EVERYONE may have an opportunity for salvation in this life. Let me give you the definition of salvation since so called “Jesus followers” will try to manipulate this…
“Let those who have ears, Hear.”
WHAT IS SALVATION?
Definition #1 Preservation or deliverance from harm, ruin, or loss.
Definition #2 A source or means of being saved from harm, ruin, or loss.
This is where freaking church people really manipulate you. “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Their words are not encouraging, nor do they offer any long-term salvation. They keep you stuck in your mess, and you never actually move forward. The bible has a lot to say about our tongues being a sharp knife. You should read it sometime. Your tongue gives life or death to people and their situations. So, whatever comes out of your mouth better come from a fruitful and fulfilling place because you just might be destroying Gods plan for His creation.
Contrary to some beliefs, most of these so-called prophesying Jesus followers, are hostile, ignorant, and lack common sense, and enthusiasm for this life. WHICH GOD CREATED! So let me add this statement, harm, ruin, and loss look very different to each of us. (BASED ON THE BODY AND LIFE HE GAVE US) Everyone’s circumstances are different, and we were not created the same. There are no two people the same in this world. Not even twins are the same. But that is an entirely new topic we can save for another day.
Salvation is being delivered (saved, freed, unchained) from a life that is unfulfilling and stressful. When you are saved, you are introduced to a life with possibilities. Eventually, once you begin walking freely, you become unchained from the world’s expectations for your life. Did you hear what I said? “The worlds expectations for your life”. When you have been unchained from everyone else’s expectations, you will begin to choose the paths less traveled, and those paths offer abundance.
However, abundance also means something different to each of us. Jesus tells us that he sent an advocate to help us make better decisions. That advocate is the holy spirit. The Holy Spirit is our guided intuition. Here me when I say, your intuition holds the key to achieving the desires of your heart and your ego will try to distract you. The path you choose leads you to a life of abundance or a life of complete misery. The only way you discover the true desires of your heart, and live in abundance, is when we choose to release all the negative and bad stuff going on in this world and focus on the good things God has prepared for you.
I can prove it! Jesus gave Wisdom in a verse to help you live an abundant life. It goes something like this, “I came to this World, so that you may have life and live it more Abundantly.” Another verse says, “The thief comes only to steal, slaughter, and destroy.” Here is a simple question, what is destroying you? Or better yet, what brings joy to your heart? What does living more abundantly mean to you? The Lord also said, “Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Meaning, set your mind on things that are heavenly (divine, delightful, lovely, etc.) This comes naturally once you DECIDE to listen to wisdom and develop the 9 fruits of the spirit.
Oh, what are the 9 fruits of the spirit, you ask?
Well, It’s “LOVE JOY PEACE PATIENCE KINDNESS GOODNESS GENTLENESS FAITHFULNESS AND SELF-CONTROL”
So how can we experience a life lived in abundance? Easy, by not bringing attention to the worldly things that destroy your personal spirit, but rather living a life that represents these 9 qualities in your spirit. How do we do that? Again, easy! By using the advocate. You will know it is coming from the Holy Spirit when your thoughts, desires and actions represent love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and when you maintain self-control through it all. You produce good fruit by encouraging the broken hearted and keeping your heart on things above. It really is simple, it’s just not that easy to choose the narrow path. Or the path less traveled.
YOUR EGO KEEPS YOUR HEART CHAINED TO BITTERNESS
Proverbs 14:10 says “Each heart knows its own bitterness and no one else can share its joy.” Meaning, no one in this world can share the things that bring Joy to your heart, if your own ego keeps your heart chained to bitterness. It shows in your words and actions. What comes out of your heart pours out of your mouth and onto others. Stop being bitter, angry, hatful people. Stop regarding everything in this world as bad and negative. Stop reminding people of the bad shit going on! I am pretty sure we are all aware evil exists. God created this world, good and evil, and it all has purpose. People with bad attitudes make it ugly! People who have wisdom make it a time to grow and learn in the storms. Being curious and full of wonder is the only way to experience abundance.
There will always be bad things happening in this world, and every world beyond our little galaxy, because people have the free will to make choices. Can I also say you are not the only one struggling! Every soul experience difficult times. There will always be a season for learning, a season for growing, a season for laughter, a season for mourning, and a season to celebrate. There is a season for everything under the sun. If you don’t believe me, check out Ecclesiastes chapter 3. Do you think God makes mistakes? When the people He created start planting good seeds, a harvest of fresh fruit will grow. But those that produce bad seeds, will harvest weeds that will overflow and never produce any fruit. So, salvation is setting your thoughts on everything and anything that is GOOD…. To start over means to renew your mind so you can harvest good fruit.
Remember this…
What’s good for YOU is NOT good for the crew.I will get to the part where I tell you what fearing God really means,
but I must first tell you this…
AFTER SALVATION
So, after you decide to choose the path of salvation/recovery, (becoming new, changing your ways, etc.) you will have to make some new choices and decisions based on what “salvation” looks like to YOU (not to your neighbor, not your sister, not your brother, not your friends, not social media influencers, or anyone else, just YOU). What area of life do you need change? (Relational, financial, health, mental, is there an addiction you need to overcome? etc.) This is different for everyone no matter what religious people or churchy people say! Life comes in seasons and seasons change. And even though we walk this world together, we experience it differently because of the lens we look through.
A true follower of Christ knows they must shadow the footsteps that Jesus left behind. Did you ever see your shadow do something you didn’t do? Living by his teaching, guides a path that is pure and easy. He says his burden will be light. I promise you; life is light once you realize everything happens for you and not to you.
TOO MUCH INFORMATION CLOUDS OUR JUDGEMENT
Unfortunately, our paths get clouded by all the information given out today and it becomes clouded by all the opinions of other people. It’s not just our parents and teachers who influence our beliefs and ideology. No, it’s this entire world of people with different cultures and beliefs. Some of them with no filter and no moral values or respect toward others or their circumstances. Some people live with big egos and have the audacity to call it the holy spirit guiding them. So many people representing Jesus by screaming radical beliefs behind fear. This only creates more weeds in the wilderness, not fruit from the true vine.
Can I just say to those who are in a season of darkness right now, the holy spirit is not arrogant, selfish, fearful, or boastful. The chaos in this world is not created to harm you but to strengthen you. Jesus didn’t come here to get famous. He became famous because his teachings made people feel safe and helped people overcome their fears. His teachings were healing, they were encouraging, and they sent people off with a new outlook on their personal circumstances, and their future. It gave them hope in the midst of their storm, so they could keep going with faith that everything was going to be okay. He never shoved scripture, laws, or rules, down people’s throat. He shared good news about the kingdom of heaven and said, “whoever has ears let them hear”.
Salvation does not give permission for anyone to be a bully! So many people get saved and forget where they met Jesus. I apologize for their arrogance and ignorance.
Salvation is just making the choice to change the steps you take from the time you wake up in the morning, to the time you go to sleep at night. It’s not looking back on the people you hang with, the places you’ve been or the things you’ve done. Yes, those people and places impact you and they can have a positive or negative affect on your life. It means you must constantly forget all the harmful people, places and things in your life and leave them in the past where they belong. Let go and Let God! To have a renewing of the mind you must find new people, new places, and new things that bring nothing but joy to your heart and encourage the soul. Protecting your heart is the most important part of the journey. This has nothing to do with anyone else! This has nothing to do with what they think is true or not true! Your walk in this life is between you and God and that is it!!! Stop worrying what other people will think! Salvation is releasing the past and stepping into a new you! All those people with opinions, have no place in your future. The next step is where you discover Fear of the Lord. You will have to let go of all human beliefs so you can adapt to Gods plan. Which is the only way to abundance.
WHAT IS FEAR OF THE LORD
Proverbs 15:33 tells us “Fear of the Lord teaches Wisdom” It continues by saying “Humility precedes Honor.”
The bible is constantly telling us to get wisdom. This verse tells us that when we are afraid of the Lord, we learn wisdom. We are not scared of his wrath! We fear the consequences of our bad decision making because we know there will be consequences. We will always face consequences when we go back to our old ways or do something outside of what we know was right. It’s kind of common sense! You get these signs and wonders for your own life when you read the “Word” properly.
I personally Believe fearing the Lord means, we keep searching Him out in our own life. We get deep into the word and when we read it, we hear instructions on how we are supposed to walk in our own life. Please hear me when I say, we are not supposed to read the word so we can point the finger at everyone who lives outside our belief system. The word was not created for other people, it was created for you and your personal growth.
We should strive to become more like Jesus, so we can be less like our selves. Our “earthly being” is tainted by temptations and desires, and we need to learn self-control to overcome our urges and impulsive behaviors. Fear of the Lord means you know better, you strive to do better, and you become a better version of yourself every day. Again, not so you can point the finger at other people and have a big ego, but so you can grow in Christ.
You make the choice to forgive those who treat you badly, but you also protect yourself by not enabling them to continue to hurt you, but instead dismiss them from your life. Yes, there is a scripture on letting your enemy smack you across the face 7 times 7 times. I know! I have wrestled with this verse for years! Ugh, we really must discern (distinguish) between the people who are giving us constructive criticism (giving a healthy assessment and positive view on life), and those who are just wicked (giving an unhealthy perception and negative views of life). He doesn’t want you to burden yourself with people who benefit themselves at the cost of losing your own joy in spirit. That is evil and not good, and you need to eliminate all toxic people from your life.
Keep in mind, the places you hang around govern your thoughts. The things you think of will determine your actions. Be very careful and surround yourself in environments that keep your mind clean, genuine, authentic, and in absolute enthusiasm to learn. Be wise in your decision making. Where your flesh wonders your mind goes. So, keep your mind safe by walking in places that bring clarity and wonder.
THIS IS FEARING THE LORD
Fearing the Lord means making difficult decisions today because you know it will benefit your life tomorrow. You fear the Lord by making difficult decisions for his good and perfect will for your life and His Kingdom. Choosing Gods path is sometimes very difficult, but the burden is light because in the end, you will have peace, and your heart will be filled with joy. There will be no more pain and suffering. When you follow His teachings, you discover His Will for your life. Your faith becomes stronger in the storms of life because you’ve witnessed the miracles before. You are confident in knowing Him so you trust Him no matter what path you’re on.
To fear him is to love him so much that you want to do good by him. You make wiser choices because you want to please him by the way you live your life. It’s like a child who wants to make his/her parents proud. God doesn’t want you around certain people because they don’t bring you joy. He doesn’t want you going to certain places or doing certain things because it is more harmful than good for your life. “For the Lord knows the plans he has for you. To prosper you not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). Maybe you are being asked to eliminate some people from your life this season. Maybe some people have some heart work to do on themselves before you can be around them again. Maybe you’re not strong enough in self-control to go to certain places. Maybe He has a better place for you to work or a better partner in life. Whatever it is God is asking you to do this season, listen to the still small voice inside you and do the thing. Even if you don’t see any results right away, God has a purpose and a season for everything under the sun. Allow the holy spirit to guide you. Remember, the Lord will give and take away for the good of his people.
He won’t just take your troubles away, heal you from illnesses, or change conditions and circumstances. He will take away things that are not serving you and give you the life He knows you are worthy of! The life he created you for. But you have to be willing to do the hard things. It’s easy to do the hard things when you fear him enough to trust that he knows what he is doing. Get wisdom, have self-control, and know that everything was created for his good and faithful servant. “The Lord works out everything to its proper end— even the wicked for a day of disaster.” (Proverbs 16) So, choose to humble yourself this year by being honest about your bad decision making in the past. Own your part! But then choose to have a renewing of the mind and make better choices moving forward.
Let go of your old ways and put on confidence in your new ways…
“When the people He created start planting good seeds, a harvest of fresh fruit will grow. But those that produce bad seeds, will harvest weeds that will overflow and never produce any fruit.”
For centuries religion and politics has kept us divided and at war with one another. So why than, do we continue to follow the fools who lead us to destruction year after year, and century after century? When will mankind seek wisdom for themselves so we can all live together in peace? Life! It is so difficult and has some real challenging moments. And yes, life also has many mountains to climb, but it doesn’t have to be so complicated. There will always be another fire to put out, another illness to overcome, another loss of a loved one, and another storm to clean up after, but we don’t have to burden our hearts with the heavy burden of things we can’t explain or change.
Life is complicated because people complicate it. We complicate our own life, and we complicate each other! Every time we lack wisdom and understanding, we do things that complicate our own life and the people in it. We have so much judgment and way too many opinions. Why are humans so desperate for attention and so rude when life doesn’t meet their expectations? We speak about things we know nothing about, and we have high expectations with little or no sense of purpose. When did we become so impatient? We need to take time to observe and learn in each season of life.
Let me start by saying this, all that chasing your doing, is meaningless! Chasing “Money, fame, and power will NEVER buy you happiness, love, or intelligence!” You may experience these things temporarily but nothing in this world brings permanent joy. But for the sake of this blog let’s say it did! What then? If you had all the money, all the fame, and all the power in the world and you were happy, in love and you had achieved all the knowledge you could ever gain in the world, what would be left for your life tomorrow?
And who is to say what makes you happy and content today, is going to be enough to keep the person you fell in love with, happy tomorrow? Or furthermore, who’s to say the people who follow you (making you famous and rich) are going to agree with you in the next season of their life? They may end up committing suicide because the things you say or do are not in alignment with how they feel or believe internally. As a result, you end up making them feel unhappy, unloved, and lacking wisdom. What then? How can we have personal gain that doesn’t align with the ones we love? Truth is, when you lose one thing it leaves you wanting something more! What is it you are really chasing in this world? And when will enough be enough?
ENOUGH IS NEVER ENOUGH
It seems like people are never satisfied. Life has gotten so complicated, and people are living foolishly. They have no sense of time, no self-control, and they lack eagerness for wisdom! Oh, for those that think their smart, umm, I say this as gently as possible, “smart is not equal to wise my friend”! To live and walk-through life with a “just passing through” attitude, you lose time and miss so many important things that are right there for you to see, feel, touch, learn, and experience. When we go through life with no regard for the way we are living it, (with our words, our actions, how we treat others, our expectations, our choices, etc.) it’s such a sadness. We wreck ourselves and don’t even realize it as we run full force into danger zones, year after year.
What if, you could see life through a lens of “enough”! Enough will only be enough when you chase something that has true meaning to you. And nothing in life has any meaning if the world around you can change the perspective on it. Life only has meaning when it comes with wisdom. But how do we find meaning in life and get wisdom? It didn’t take me very long to realize wisdom was just truth in “Gods Words to me”. In All my mess, behind all my tears, and at the edge of a breakdown, screaming and yelling at God, (who was always with me through all my crap), I had to trust “I was never alone” and then I had to trust in His timing. I had to realize that in my time of waiting for him, I had to sit and be silent. That doesn’t mean I am not doing anything. I am always observing and learning while I wait.
When I decided to just sit quiet and get alone with myself, my own thoughts, my own anger, and all my pain and confusion; I found strength in His Words and in the promises, I heard in those words. In truth, I realized there is goodness in every light and every dark road I have traveled down. Every mountain I had to climb, every fire I had to put out, and every loss in life, there was Wisdom. Wisdom is the ability to understand life through Gods perspective. The reason I trust the Bible is because it is filled with different authors who encourage us throughout our walk-in life. Solomon is one who inspires us to get wisdom!
Those who get wisdom love life; It’s better to get wisdom than gold. Those who get wisdom find life and receive favor from God…”
Those are just a few versus. But he encourages us to chase knowledge and not this life. If we chase life, we will always be fighting our own battles without understanding. Which leads us to make decisions based on our own understanding and we continue making the same bad choices year after year. If we keep our mind open and listen to the words, we become disciplined and discover an understanding in every season. To become wide means you don’t hate discipline and hold yourself accountable to do the things that are difficult. This my friend is priceless and leads you to freedom!
If we go through life never having enough, let us chase Wisdom! We can never have enough wisdom and you are never too smart, or too old to get more understanding. Wisdom means we gain something at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of every season of life. And if your wise enough to clear off your lens, you will discover wisdom every second of every hour, and every day of your life. Life won’t just be filled with seasons of tragedy; it will be filled with experiences that bring insight! You will always take something with you and that something can never be lost, stolen, or taken away. Because it comes in a package that is irreplaceable. Inside your mind, body, and soul.
Whatever people, power, and material things bring you pleasure in this moment, I promise that pleasure won’t last long. So, get wisdom and you will live a long, happy journey you can be excited to explore. Don’t waste time chasing fools in this life who don’t know you or what you’re capable of! Understanding is for the Wise, not the simple minded! Don’t follow people who limit their own worth by chasing a life today, which holds no value tomorrow.
HAPPINESS DEPENDS ON YOUR PERSPECTIVE AND RESILIENCE
What is your perspective, and do you have the resilience to handle adversity in the next year? Did you know your soul gets weaker every time you look through someone else’s lens? Especially if it’s foggy, uncomfortable, and doesn’t speak to you! Your stability is in your perspective, sometimes you just have-to trust in your own discernment and believe that everything in life is moving you forward. When we get lazy because we don’t see instant results, we’ve failed before, or our perspective gets tainted by unexpected tragedy’s, we live curiously and foolishly through the lens of others. We lose so much time and knowledge when we depend on other people’s perspective instead of Gods Word. Some of you may believe this, others may not, but my belief is that God created us each unique with a different perspective, and He did that on purpose!
When you embrace the thing that makes you different, you will discover wisdom behind your own perspective! You just need to shut off all the noise!
Weakness comes when we’ve failed too many times, and we no longer trust in our own skills and talents. I get it, we need immediate results in all we do, or we think we are unworthy. Some of us on spiritual journeys think we are not loved by God because of our mistakes. Others believe He is just not listening. Some of us may not even believe in a higher power, at all! While others believe in many Gods. Sometimes, we do things in life based on our own understand, which comes from other people and their opinions about us. Sometimes we deceive ourselves by adopting other people’s beliefs which inevitably make our situations worse. But what if we decided to chase wisdom above all things in this world? What if we started listening, and keeping track of the disciplines that life offers to give us wisdom?
What if life is happening exactly the way it was supposed to, because you still need wisdom to handle the things that are waiting for you on the other side? How many times have you said, “Thank God I went with my gut and didn’t go there? How many times did you take someone’s advice and realize it was a bad idea? But still, we try to do things without thinking or listening to the influences and voices around us. We push time and rush things because we are so impatient! When we sit still and quiet the noise, life will give us wisdom. By teaching us something new in every minute of every moment, we discover happiness in all of it. But if we don’t take the time to get Wisdom, we never increase our resilience in this world. So, hold on a little longer and chase wisdom in this moment!
HOLD ON A LITTLE LONGER
What if you held on a little longer? What if the difference between your happiness and failures is somewhere in between your perspective and your ability to sit still this season? How many times have you overcome what others thought you couldn’t? How many times have you surprised yourself? How many times were you happy you embraced your intuition and made a new discovery in the unknown? If you know that you have experienced a time in life where you had a breakthrough before, who is has any say in what you are or are not capable of in this next season? You don’t know what you’re capable of, so don’t let others assume they know what your capable of! Don’t make decisions this year based on the seeds other people planted in you. If in doubt, I promise all your answers are somewhere in-between Wisdom and your uniqueness. What if this season you didn’t give up and instead, decided to get quiet and chase wisdom?
Okay, what I am about to say to you may be even more difficult to understand but stick with me for a moment! Try to hear my words! I promise at some point in my life, I have been where you are! Searching for answers, seeking for something more, and stumbling through life season after season. What if this season you did something different? What if you sat quiet with yourself and did something unordinary? What I am about to tell you is something that I have done before, then turned away from, and then came back to. And I can tell you this “my life has gotten easier when I came back”! I can’t tell you if this is going to feel natural for you, or how this will change your life, because I don’t know you personally. But what I can promise you is this, “you will discover a wisdom like no other person around you, and your life will change drastically and miraculously”!
Take a moment, any moment, in the morning or in the evening, when you can hide away in a room by yourself. Take that moment to look through some of the words in the Book of Proverbs. I know! I know! Churchy religious people preaching about their God! First, let’s make something clear. I am not churchy or religious. And second, I have attempted life so many ways and I can tell you that every area of my life has never been clearer then when I get instructions from the WORD! You want the key to a happy life? Get Wisdom! Seek for Wisdom! Crave Wisdom! I promise there is a God (I call it God, you call it whatever you want), who created you and He hears all your thoughts, emotions, and concerns about your life. He won’t just hear your thoughts and concerns; He will show you the answers to all your questions. They are right there in the words of the many authors who contributed to the Bible.
I get it! So many churchy people think God speaks audibly and they mystify everything! It’s kind of annoying! But I am NOT here to dictate what you should and should not believe, I am here as a friend and a witness. And I am here as a witness to say “the bible is not a mistake”. It is full of men and women like us who stumbled through life with struggles, illnesses, pain, loss, and trauma. It’s fill with wisdom and information from people who walked side by side with a man who had enough faith to give up all the pleasures in his own life, to just be present with people who were different then him. He walked his life being a living example for us so that we could have a ‘Heaven like experience’ here on earth. This man never took advice from people, but rather gave Knowledge to the people! I have experienced a different kind of God then most. It’s personal!
I believe we were all created differently on purpose. I also believe we were created to interpret things differently, but not dispute all our differences. We were created to seek wisdom in our journey and get understanding for the things we can’t comprehend. To get Wisdom and understanding, we must allow “God”. Who always moves in silence and teaches me to do the same.
So, before you allow another distraction in your life, Hold on a little longer. Give yourself time to build strength, wisdom, and knowledge this season. Move silently forward so in the next season of life, your burdens will be light. If we want to experience a life filled with blessings and happiness, our perspective on life must be transformed. We need resilience to hold on in the unknown moments of life that offer blessings. When things get confusing, sit silently in the Word and you will see all the blessings in the wilderness. You will discover wisdom in all your experiences.
CONCLUSION
Sitting still sometimes means doing what you know brings joy to your heart but could also add value to others. What do you love doing that could result in helping someone else? Sometimes it means you need to let go and let God! There are just some things we can’t control. Do the things you can and stop doing things that distract you and burden you. To break chains means, we must stop forcing ourselves to hustle, grind, work, and chase things today that hold no real meaning tomorrow. Stop keeping busy on things that offer no value to your soul. And whatever you do, even if you do something you don’t really like, do it as if you’re doing it for God. You will find the joy in it, and your burden will become lighter, because you’re paying attention. Your survival and life depend on how well you handle adversity. You can’t handle adversity if you’re not paying attention to yourself. Your life is filled with experiences that offer you an opportunity to gain strength and wisdom! So go out and chase wisdom!
I decided to stand tall in my faith way too late in life. But still, at the end of each day I’m faced with the reality, that is my story. This is called LIFE! I am the only one that can answer for all my mistakes or all my miracles! I have to decide each day to “be the main character” in my story and I have to remain “in character” throughout the story. Because let’s be honest, no hero in a movie wants to go out as a coward! And I am no different!
In order to remain in character, you must stay true to yourself. I had to make some choices. Hard ones! Some easy ones! Sometimes I had to choose between My way or God’s way! And God offers a lot more Grace than we give ourselves! Bottom line! It is disciplined and enlightening! I believe the foundation Jesus gave us is a beautiful example that shows us the pathway to happiness. He gave us the key that opens the door to a life filled with amazing experiences! A life filled with people, communities, culture, instructions, messages, and yes sometimes lessons that may hurt a little. But they are there to help you grow your character! I promise! Nothing bad comes into your life without it being an opportunity for something greater ahead!
In the same way He became the example for us to follow him, we are to be the example so that others may find their way to Him too. It’s not our job to scream, yell, shout, force or dictate our beliefs to others, just to encourage and lift people up when they are down! Your character becomes infectious. When we experience a feeling of freedom by discovering a foundation that helped us create the pathway to that freedom, we become happier and healthier people living life compelled to share the stories that lead us here. The Word is free and there is Freedom in the word! You just need to give yourself the gift of Grace in the process. That doesn’t mean you keep doing the same things over and over. NO! You Recognize your weaknesses, you stay far away from the people or things that keep you weak, and you engage yourself with new tasks that give you strength. I am not perfect or better than anyone else. In fact, I mess up a lot! But when I mess up or get off track, I give myself grace, pick my magic carpet back up, learn to have self-control, and then I get a handle on myself so I can do better next time around. And season after season I do this so that I can consistently learn more about the character in my story. Getting to know yourself in a deeper way is the most magical journey in life you will ever take!
PICK UP YOUR MAGIC CARPET AND MOVE FORWARD
If you want to start reading the bible, and I would advise that you do, start with the book that brings you encouragement! It’s all good but the book of John Chapter 5 tells an amazing story that just hits me no matter what season of life I am in. It is a book of encouragement for an eternal life and discovering your identity. It is an easy read too so that helps! Here is the short version of John chapter 5 which is where I discovered my magic carpet analogy.
“So, Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Jewish feast. There was a pool called Bethesda which people would go to for healing of illnesses, disabilities, blindness, and other amazing miracles. That day a certain man was there which had an infirmity for thirty-eight years. 6When Jesus saw him, and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, do you want to get better? 7 The man answered him, Sir, I have no one to help me to the water, to put me into the pool: while I am going, another person goes down before me. 8 Jesus replied to the man, “Rise, take up take your mat, and walk”.
Ugh, That, just moves me so much! The man picked up his mat, walked away and was healed. 38 years of illness gone, just like that! However, the story doesn’t end there. A bunch of drama happens because Jesus did this on the Sabbath, but for the sake of this blog, I will keep it short. Here is another point people miss. So, Jesus sees this man later on that day and said, “Your healed now go and don’t sin no more” Like dude! “DON’T SIN NO MORE”. How do people miss this? We all interpret the bible differently. I get it! Some people take it literally others base it on their own circumstances. However, in every season of life we get thrown into different situations and that means our interpretations of what we read will change too. This is called WISDOM! If we are self-aware and willing to GROW & CHANGE in each season, we will expand our mind with wisdom, and enthusiasm for a life filled with experiences. Furthermore, if we share our experiences with humility, we end up finding pleasure in our own journey just by teaching, encouraging, and uplifting others. Just as Jesus did with this man and many, many others he came to know during his walk and throughout his life.
TO THE POINT!
The point is this, we can choose to pick up our Cross, our Magic Carpet, our Mess, or our flesh, whatever you wish to call it! But each, and every single one of us must be held accountable for the words we use, the people we trust into our life, and the actions we take every moment of every day. If we don’t want the same burdens year after year to occur, we must be aware of our own words and the actions we take daily!
So, I ASK, DO YOUR WORDS MATCH YOUR ACTIONS? How many of us talk a good game but the things we say are not a reflection of the character we represent? We change the way we walk, talk, and act, when we are around certain people, on social media, or in certain social groups. We camouflage ourselves to fit into the trends! But the truth is, we’re not even happy acting like that, and our magic carpet is taking us on a constant roller coaster ride. Which is our life, constantly spiraling out of control! When you mess up or get off track in any area of life, you need to be aware of your surroundings and your own actions. This way you recognize danger when it tries to come back around a second time.
Use your “magic carpet” to help you recognize the red flags before you do something you don’t really want to do. Do you not understand that you carry yourself with you everywhere you go? When we get this, we find the strength to pick up our carpet and get a handle on ourselves, so we can fly off before we do the thing we will regret! It’s okay to give yourself some grace because you’re learning to sustain yourself with healthy boundaries! But please listen, we can only give ourselves so much grace! When we pick up our “magic carpet” with all our past mistakes, all our illnesses, all our mess, and all our bad choices, we can embrace the blessing that comes with letting go and have self-control moving forward! Can you contain yourself alone? We MUST let go and let God take the wheel sometimes, or we will never know self-control!
In this season of “Pick up our magic carpet (all our words, all our actions, all the people, and everything we’ve been carrying around with us our whole life) Pick it all up, means having a little grace for ourselves, and knowing when to walk forward and not look back. I believe for some of us, if we do this, God will give us the key to the door that will lead us to unusual acceleration in this next year! As I go through life in my own learning phases, discovering the main character of my own story, I am compelled to share with you my struggles, my wins, and my losses. My hope is that these foundations can be witnessed through my journey of discovering who I was, who I am, and who God knew I would be. Maybe by sharing my truth, you’ll be able to discover the main character in your own story too! Because I truly believe there is a hero in each, and every single one of us!
“We just have to trust our own paths, pick ourselves up, and decided to
take an extraordinary journey to unordinary places”.
CREATING YOUR MAIN CHARACTER IS LIKE CREATING YOUR OWN FAIRYTALE
Just like the fairy tale of Aladdin, the “poor boy”, or “street urchin” who created his dream life. But it all started when he got on his magic carpet, took a princess out of her normal environment, and then showed her the world through a new lens. Maybe in this season, Jesus wants to show you, your life through a new Lens too. What if we didn’t just go through the motions of life anymore? What if playing a character in everyone else’s story wasn’t enough for you anymore? What if all those people came into your life to show you the kind of character you don’t want to be, so you could become the main character of your own story? What if you read this article and it was the first of many signs and wonders for a whole new world ahead of you? Would you take up your magic carpet and go for an unfamiliar ride to unordinary places?
If you got this far into this blog post, I hope you can give yourself some grace today and let go of the things that happened yesterday. Pick yourself back up and go on an extraordinary journey and do it for yourself not to impress others! It’s okay to carry all the crap with you, you need to bear some of the burden of your own mistakes, and carry the carpet that holds all your secretes, all the guilt, all the shame, all your bad habits, and all the people and things you regret, so you can recognize them in the future. YES! Absolutely there will be a burden placed on us all when we are rebuilding up our character! But the burden will be light as time goes on because you will recognize patterns of people and read the red flags that are there to warn you along the way. But you have to allow the holy spirit to guide the way and stop trying to do it all on your own strength.
IN CONCLUSION
Remember this, “our burden comes from what we over-come, and we overcome only the burdens we are willing to face head on”. See I think if we are ever going to get our words to match our character, we need to remember where we’ve been and have some idea of the kind of life we want to live. Whether we are a mess or blessed, we will always have to leave room for learning and growing as our character changes from season to season! Struggles will always come and go constantly throughout our life, as we experience the trials and tribulation of unexpected events that we have no control of. However, reflection on one’s own life, is not only healthy, but also essential to walk a life worth witnessing. So, the next time you get upset because you messed up, did something you hate, or maybe jumped off track temporarily, remember to give yourself some grace. Pick your carpet and yourself back up, learn to have self-control, and then get a handle on yourself so you do better next time. You can do better next time, every time! Year after year progressing into the heroic genius you were created to be, as the main character in your own story!
Let me start by saying this, “there are just some people you need to eliminate from your life”! The people we surround ourselves with are a direct reflection of who we are, and that is usually who we don’t want to be! There are some people, that we know are not good for us or our character and yet we allow these people to have a hold on us, and we don’t know why. You know the people I’m talking about! Every time you’re with “this person” or “those people” a feeling of regret overwhelms you, or you end up frustrated, stressed, and upset with yourself for not saying the thing, or making better choices when you’re with them. Staying away from such people is the only way to live life free from all that guilt and shame you carry around with you. It will give you space to move into a life filled with grace and mercy, for yourself and for others.
There comes a time in one’s life when we feel compelled to make choices that may not fit the views of those around us. But when we allow room to reflect, we leave space for wisdom and understanding about our own choices in life. To learn, grow, and change our spiritual walk, we must be willing to face the reflection in the mirror and walk different. In other words, we can stop doing (and saying) the things we hate, but we must change the way we think about life and view the world around us. We can start living a life that reflects the kind of character we want to be. And stop the role we play to appease everyone else who expects us to act a certain way. This truth (our true character) that lives inside of us is different for each of us, and we change in every season of life. Well, we should be changing and growing in every season of life! Please understand that! Get that last statement! Because when you know “your truth”, you don’t just build character, you become the main character in your own story! And that story becomes a God given life full of potential, opportunities, and unexpected blessings. If you want your words to match your actions, you must leave some people behind and out of your story! They can be there for a moment as a lesson for you, but don’t keep them around too long, because you will end up playing a victim role in their story! And as a result, you just end up being a villain in your own story or the main character in someone else’s! And that is not good if they are the one’s creating your character!
PAY ATTENTION TO THE RED FLAGS
The red flags are always there for you to see! They come to you as feelings through emotions like discomfort, fear, anxiousness, and/or annoyance. In my case I would say it’s mostly annoyance! (Giggles at self for being annoyed that I allowed other people to get me out of character! ha, ha! Funny, not funny!) There are thoughts that come to mind before our emotions provoke us into action. But for some reason it’s easier to ignore the red flag and just go with the flow. Or just react to what seems familiar, just to make other people comfortable. So many of us end up doing the thing we hate most! We do things that will sometimes even hurt us later, and we do it just to please other people in the moment. This is a behavior many of us have adapt to and it’s become normal behavior for many of us. Mostly because religion tells us to be kind and courteous of others. I mean, of course that is a great value to have! But I am here to help you and say, “we have the power to take control of our own words and actions”! Which builds our character!
If this all sounds familiar to you and you get completely out of character around certain people, most likely your words don’t reflect your actions! You’ve probably become a gossiper, a liar, bitter, always stressed out, and you may have even lost good people in your life at the expense of pleasing people, who have ulterior motives. This becomes a problem for you, your character, and the lifestyle you live! If you don’t learn to read the red flags, get a handle on yourself, and have the ability to initiate boundaries, you will be headed for a dreadful story filled with drama, loss, anxiety, health issues, and so much more trauma!
Now, if you’re a church person or a religious person you were most likely raised with certain beliefs that inevitably dictates how you look at others and how you look at yourself. For example, I was raised Catholic with very restricted Lebanese family morals. Through my own choices (influenced by others that I allowed to control me), I left home at a young age. I lived a wildlife that led to unexpected trauma which eventually lead me to a personal relationship with the Trinity. (God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) Yes, I was introduced to God at a very young age, so it came back around later in life. But let’s make it very clear, “The standards I have for my life and my children’s life, are not equal to the restricted standards my parents held for me!”
I didn’t always believe in a purpose driven life. I just lived life going through the motions with no real awareness of myself, my surroundings, or the people I hung around. It wasn’t until I was affected by all the Red Flags that I ignored through the years, that I and ended up in Jail, homeless, and losing everything. Eventually when I realized no one was coming to answer my cry’s for help, I turned to God for real help. I now live as if every moment counts and every person who crosses my path was placed here with purpose. That is not to say every single person is meant to stay in my life. Some people are meant to give a message to me or to get a message from me. While others may be in my life for long seasons others may be with me for a lifetime. Either way, we all go through certain experiences, and we are all on our own journey! However, the faster we read the red flags, the faster we get back on track, and in the main character of our own story! Your personal growth and life depend on how well you recognize the red flags of distraction that come into your life! So, pay attention to those red flags and get a handle on your reaction to them.
GET A HANDLE ON YOURSELF
To overcome different trauma or different circumstances you must change the way you handle yourself. It is imperative that we grow as individuals and become stronger for all the amazing things we desire in life. What does YOUR story say about you and YOUR character? The only way to grow as a person is to learn new behavior and change old ones. The key here is to learn new behaviors, but to do that you must be held accountable for your own actions and stop blaming other people. You allowed these people into your life with all their red flags and toxic drama. You don’t get to blame them for your own idiocy year after year! You can only blame other people for your own actions once, after that its on you! You need to get a handle on yourself before you wreck yourself again and again.
THE FOUNDATION THAT FORMS OUR CHARACTER
How does one form a new character when we’ve been so impacted by others and hurt by so many things in life? Well, we decide to do all of the above, let’s recap
We eliminate people
We read the red flags
We hold ourselves accountable
We build the foundation that forms our character
Number 4 is probably the most enjoyable of the list. When I think of the trauma and drama, I have been through in the past, and then I think of the things I desire in the future, I go back to the examples and lessons Jesus gave us throughout the bible. I try to keep His words with me as lessons, constructive criticism, accountability, boundaries, and a base structure for a healthy, happy walk through life. All the foundations you need are there in the bible, I promise! And it is different for each, and every one of us! I am well aware that I may losing some of you by bringing up the bible and Jesus’s talk! But just hear me out for just a one minute! The foundations we use to build our character is so important to the life we live moving into each chapter! If you want to see major change in the next season, I promise these four simple steps will change not only your perspective on life, but your entire role in this life!
What is important to you? When you can answer that honestly you will discover the point in time where your life meets pure enjoyment and pleasure in the journey! Many churchy people say we can’t enjoy life and a walk with God is nothing but pain, struggle, and spiritual warfare. But I am here to tell you those are all lies! Jesus was the coolest sneakiest dude in his day! He literally hid in the crowds and ran from psychopaths who He didn’t want to be around all the time!
I was not raised to have a personal relationship with Jesus, or even understand the foundations of the bible, but there were values I grew up that are in the bible. And there were values I grew up with that the bible warns us about too. Maybe you live by some of those foundations right now. I don’t know! But you’re reading this article and I do know this, “there are many of us who have been hurt by the church and by the beliefs of other people who manipulated and dictated” and now we’ve found ourselves acting and living in ways that are not conducive to the lifestyle we desire. If that is you, and you are uncomfortable in your own skin or struggling to find confidence in your own life, I am here to tell you, that “the foundation you build today will impact the character you become tomorrow”.
In fact, if you spend time alone and read the WORD and then take the instruction you get from it and use the foundations in your own life, you will see an instantaneous change in yourself, and miracles will begin to happen in your life daily! I can say this with full confidence because I have done life both ways. I have tried it following other people, I have tried it my own way, and I have done it Jesus’s way! Can I just say, His burden is so much lighter than the burdens of other people, and the burdens I placed on myself when I did what I wanted. The main character in YOUR STORY depends on the foundation you use to build good character traits. So, what does the main character in your story look like? Who are you? What foundation will you utilize to build your character?
