There are times you have to walk alone. There are times when no one will be willing to go with you. There will be times when you don’t want to go at all. Keep going.
My closest friend moved away. Right when I have needed him the most. Life can be cruel like that sometimes.
There will be times in our lives when no one will believe in our journey. Still, we must travel our own path. Keep moving forward. continue to build on your legacy. Your labor is not in vain.
Take care of your precious heart today.
asking for A Friend, Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note: My lonely has never felt more lonely. I wonder what God is up to? Keep going. Even if you must go alone. You shall meet many on the journey!
Enjoy this time in your life. We get this one shot. Make this week amazing.
He wanted EVERYTHING to be perfect. We were expected to get ALL As in school. An A- minus was not acceptable.
I played basketball in high school. I was expected to be a starter. I was expected to make varsity as a sophomore/junior. I ended up quitting basketball. It stopped being fun. It is my one true regret.
I was good enough, beloveds, to have kept working towards a scholarship. This next part is not easy to talk about. Bear with me, it gets better towards the end.
During my high school years, my mom’s boyfriend did things an adult ought not do to a child. My father did not defend me. His literal words, when asked by me years later in why he had not stood up or spoke up for me was “It wasn’t worth going to jail over”.
This, of course, left me feeling worthless like a failure, like I wasn’t worth any effort. Even from me.
This thinking bled into every area of my life. I stopped believing in me. I stopped fighting for me. My dad wouldn’t. Why should I?
My grades tanked. I quit basketball. I withdrew into myself. I made a bargain with God that if He left my wounds alone, I would spend my days encouraging others so they would not give up on themselves.
Ha! That’s what God said. He set out to help me heal and to let me know He would ALWAYS:
Choose me.
Love me.
Fight for me.
Stand next to me.
Many years later, I learned how to love me some me. Unspeakable things happened to me. My dad was unspeakably cruel in what he had said to me. That didn’t make me a failure. It just meant dad failed me in that moment. It took years to not see God, My Father, as how my earthly father had been.
I say all that, beloveds, to say this:
Things happen. Sometimes, unspeakable things happen. Sometimes, unspeakably hard things happen. We CAN over come those things. We CAN heal from those things.
We are NOT the unspeakable things that has happened to us. We can lead full and healthy lives.
I find great joy in encouraging others. Not because of what I have gone through. But, because it’s what I do and part of who I am.
In not thriving in spite of what happened. I’m thriving because I make the choice to show up every day. I’m thriving because I work on myself EVERY day. Whether I feel like it or not.
I just stopped by to encourage folk to lift up your head. You do NOT have to carry guilt and shame around because of the past or if you are going through something presently.
Be encouraged. You will get beyond some things you thought you will never survive or get over. You will. Be encouraged, this day.
Have an amazing today.
asking for A Friend, Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note: I did not mean for this piece to turn in the direction it did. Someone needed these words. I’m here best I can be. Reach out if you could use a shoulder. Stop carrying around secret pain. You don’t have to bleed to death in the middle of a crowd. ttnette37@yahoo.com
I have failed repeatedly these past few months. Still, beloveds, I have been exposed to new things. Like Lemon8. Had never heard of it but introduced as folks on my TikTok requested to follow me on Lemon8.
I trucked on over and see they don’t like things over 59 seconds. Alrighty then.
Later, Capcut reached out inviting me to apply for their Capcut Creator Program and I needed to submit three videos using transitions, filters, editing, music etc. The three I selected had fantastic voice-over, music and photos but no filters or transitions as I had not learned much on them.
I submitted them. I prayed. I asked for prayer. I waited.
I heard back. The answer was no. The answer was resubmit, in 7 days, including videos with transitions and filters.
I made notes. I created another video. I added some filters. I will create more and resubmit. I had been praying for direction but this was never in my mindset: To be a template creator.
Now, I have something to shoot for. I never would have had the opportunity had I not been willing to try, fail, try, fail again, put out my imperfect self, fail, try, rinse, and repeat.
This has me thinking higher. With more effort, training, and trying, beloveds, I have the opportunity to keep putting myself out there to be 💰 monetized one day. Hopefully.
I am opening myself up to new ways to present my why to the world. I am willing to be led. I am willing to be obedient to doing what The Universe has asked and not just being obedient to what I want The Universe and God to bless.
The not now did not discourage me. Even I knew they were amateurish in nature. They were. They were some of my first attempts.
I just stopped by to encourage you to keep falling forward. Am going to start including my TikTok, Instagram, and Lemon8 links for folk to be encouraged by.
Let’s keep throwing our why upside the wall, beloveds, to see what sticks!!
asking for A Friend, Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note: I have really been enjoying getting my hands dirty. Each lousy 📹 video is teaching me how to make better ones.
I used to feel like a failure when I failed. I now know failing is crucial in achieving great things. I am going to see how many more times I can fail today. 🥰
Be encouraged. Remember that you are NOT your failures or your mistakes. Have an amazing today.
Note: There are just times where my heart is soooo full of love for God it spills everywhere. Pay me no mind. I don’t mind.
I’m praying for everyone today. Even the nonbelievers. Especially for them. I don’t blame them. Folk use the name of God for every purpose except for intended: Love. Simple as that.
Be encouraged this day. You are loved and not alone. Keep moving FORWARD. Keep looking UP.
I’m trying to treat my heart with more care. I’m trying to be gentle with me. I’m trying to give myself the time that I need to grow. I’m trying to give myself the space that I need to learn.
I’m trying to be okay with the fact that I’m trying and….
Be gentle with yourself. You are doing the best you can. Let that be enough.
asking for A Friend, Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note: Be good to you. You are doing your best Let this be enough.
I am coming up on the one year anniversary of the tornado 🌪. I’m tired of thinking about it. Tired of dealing with the aftermath.
I’m tired, drat it all. I’m tired of blaming myself for not being stronger “sooner”. I’m tired if blaming God for not having acted “sooner”. I’m tired of blaming Life for lifing.
I am NOT strong. Thankfully, I don’t have to be. I just stopped by to encourage someone who is out there kicking themselves for not having done this that or the other.
I am here to encourage those who are kicking themselves for having done this, that or the other!
None of us knows how we will respond when life happens. We do what we can. We MUST, beloveds, give ourselves permission and room to be:
Wrong.
Afraid.
Doubtful.
Then, we make the decision and be okay with not having been okay in THAT moment. The moment when everyone said you should be over THAT by now.
Things takes time. Healing takes time. Life takes time. In the meantime, it’s okay to not be 💪 stronger quite yet.
I know I have posted a bit today. I have needed these words just to get through these storms today. I remind myself this storm is not last year’s storm. There is NOT a tornado in the yard.
As you go through your hard, remember you are NOT where you used to be! Be encouraged. 0
asking for A Friend, Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note: I promised myself I would encourage someone when I was having a truly disheartening day. Be encouraged. This too shall pass. Geez, tho
I have been asking myself this question for the last little while.
Life is NOT fair. And? So? Now that we all know and understand this, beloveds, what are we going to do with this unfair life?
I plan on enjoying as many moments as I can. How about you?
asking for A Friend, Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note: I have to laugh. I was just in the middle of writing a rousing piece about making the best of things. Suddenly, the television went out leaving me in darkness. Startled, I slapped out and knocked over a perfectly delicious cup of coffee ☕.
Of course, said coffee landed all over my phone and favorite pair of slippers COMPLETELY DRENCHING MY FAVE SOFT, BLACK AREA RUG THAT IS NO LONGER SOFT DUE TO SPILLING SOME OF EVERYTHING ON THE STUPID THING ALL THE….
I allowed myself to be mad 😡 for all of ten seconds. Then…….
Life is not fair. So what? What are you going to do with the life you have? Life is so worth living. Even in the hard parts. Be encouraged. Have an amazing week. Start over as many times as you need to.
I get to go scrub the carpet now. Life just ain’t fair, God. Smh 🤦♀️.
I had a looooonnnng lecture with myself yesterday.
I was slightly disappointed and discouraged that my try is not currently moving the financial needle.
Next weekend will be the first anniversary of the tornado 🌪 that visited last year. I told myself I am NOT going to start commemorating what happened.
Too often, beloveds, we set up a shrine over something that happened in the past. Things happen. Sometimes really, really, really hard things.
Through this terribly hard time, I have learned, in real time, that life happens. Period. It’s what we DO with our lives, AFTER the distraction/destruction/hard thing has happened.
God/Life/The Universe cares about what we DO with US after the AFTER.
Are we going to choose to be:
Bitter?
Angry?
Apathetic?
Apprehensive?
Motivated?
Determined?
Thankful?
Grateful?
What are we going to DO with our feelings?
Will we:
Give in to them?
Allow them to run the show and run our lives into the ground in order to “punish” whomever we are blaming for the happening?
Understand it’s okay to have feelings and give ourselves room to process, be angry, be sad, be mad, be frustrated, be afraid, by whatever we need to be for as long as we need to be it?
To this day, beloveds, I have to remind myself that it is perfectly okay that I needed all this time to heal. It’s okay that I was unable to start working when my former job advised I would have to. I wasn’t ready. I shouldn’t have been forced to choose between my job and my mental health.
I’m glad I chose my health. I’m glad I am giving myself time to chase 👣 my dreams even though my steps appear to be leading to another dead end.
I keep choosing me. I keep choosing my try. I keep choosing faith.
As we speak, the television 📺 keeps going out. The power is flickering. The thunder is rumbling.
I don’t know if I will lose power. I DO know what I have control over: My perceptions and my choices. Simple as that. I am fully prepared should the lights go out.
I trust that God will protect me during this latest storm. I trust.
Ah.
Aha!
Trust.
I am grateful, thankful for the tornado 🌪, because it forced me to look down and see that I had been standing on a bedrock of hidden fear for years.I had to do the hard work of dismantling my foundation of fear, while rebuilding on FAITH, MY faith, my faith in HIM.
I am trying not to sound all preachy for all my nonbelievers peeps. Still, I just want to encourage folk to trust. Trust the process. Trust those you have built up as a source of support and hope.
Trust that you can and that you will.
Be willing to be led. Led by what/whom? Great questions! Keep asking!🤗
You do NOT have to go through a catastrophe to make the needed changes in your life. Don’t wait until you find courage. You’ll never do it if that bd the case. Choose to do what you must. Choose to do what you can.
Keep on leaving your 👣 mark and let the outcome fall where it may!
asking for A Friend, Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note: Things will work out as they were meant to. I will leave things here as the storm is being a storm. Cracker Jacks and orange slices!(This is me 🤬 without 🤬)…
Why Can't I Be Loud?! 