Author: Cassandra S.

You STILL win.

When life hands you lemons.

You STILL win.

When the math just ain’t mathin’

You STILL win.

When EVERYTHING you have tried has come to naught.

You STILL win.

When the promotion goes to someone else.

You STILL win.

When someone else is chosen.

You STILL win.

Keep trying, beloveds.

No matter the outcome.

You STILL win.

winning with you,

Cassandra

#YourLifeMattersToMe

Note: I got up off the matt. Didn’t think I would. Didn’t know how. Yet, I did. By grace. By FAITH. By hope. By love. Ah, God. Life is worth living. Even when it is so damned hard. Loving me some life. Cassandra.

One step.

One step.

One step.

You are loved.

You are NOT alone.

Keep on being…YOU!

Recovery: It’s okay to rest.

It’s okay to rest.

Nuff said.

Cassandra

#YourLifeMattersToMe

Note: Okay, beloveds. Whatcha still doing here? You are supposed to be resting, remember? You have done enough. Let your try be enough. Asking for A Friend. It’s okay to rest. Get some.

One step.

One step.

One step.

You are loved.

You are NOT alone.

Keep on being…YOU!

Stop judging God by your outcomes.

God loves us.

Period.

Not just when we are good.

Not just when things are sunshine and rainbows.

Folk judge God, ofttimes by what they have or don’t have.

I have to admit I used to judge God based upon the results of my prayers. A check mark, to the good, for answered ones. I check on the ‘He didn’t’ row, for the nos or silent ones.

A check mark when things went well. A check mark when things went downhill.

A check mark when I got praise at work. A check mark when work was being too worky.

I sowwy, God. That was NOT fair of me.

God doesn’t owe me a thing. God does NOT have to do a blessed thing for me. God is NOT My Consierge. SMH. I sowwy, Father. You deserved better.

I hate that churches now tie God’s Prosperity to how much we give, serve, do. God loves and will do simply because He loves us and said He would. Period. End of story.

I have let God off the hook.

I have also let folk off the hook. No one owes me anything. I appreciate what folks choose to send my way. If not, I love them because I love. Period. End of story.

I am also learning not to judge Life and The Universe by outcomes. Just because things don’t turn out like I think they should, does NOT mean I am on the wrong track.

We rarely see the big picture. We are too busy fussing over the close ups!….hahahahahaha!

I’m also trying not to judge ME, beloveds, based upon my outcomes. I can be a tough crowd. I am trying not be such a tough critic. Ow, Cassandra! Back up off yourself!

I am trying to be good to me. No matter the outcome. You do the same, beloveds. You owe yourself better.

asking for A Friend,

Cassandra

#YourLifeMattersToMe

Note: I have been beating myself up something terrible the past few days because of a lack of results. I sowwy, Cassandra. I am trying to do better. SMH. Be encouraged. Stop giving yourself such a hard time. Things are as they should be. Asking for A Friend.

One step.

One step.

One step.

You are loved.

You are NOT alone.

Keep on being…YOU!

God gave me a 🍋 lemon meringue pie. 🥧

I have been angry with God lately. I keep yelling, er, telling Him I need 💵 money, but He keeps giving me other things instead.

It turns out that EVERY time He has done this, it has been the very thing I have NEEDED but not what I have asked for.

Thank God.

Thanks, God.

Ah, God.❤️‍🩹❤️

The other week, when I had secretly given up, I told God I no longer believed in ‘friends’. Not for me, anyway. Turns out, you find out who your current crop of friends are NOT when tough times truly roll in.

After one more hurtache, er, heartache, I told God no!

I was done. I was no longer waiting foolishly, expectantly, hopefully for a friend to stop by and BE a friend.

That very day, someone I had not heard from I’m forever, reached out via email.

Ha, I told God. He can have His Cosmic Joke! I was NOT going to open my heart.

I opened my heart and let care in.

Beloveds, life is short. Don’t shortsight or shortside your life by closing yourself off when God does not come through HOW you think He should.

Do NOT turn away the care of a long lost friend or  loved one. Don’t make the returner jump through hoops to earn your attention. Let their return be enough.

I keep praying for funds so my needs can be met. God keeps meeting my needs by giving me everything but 💰 money.

Ah.

Aha!

I desire money, IN THE 🏦, in order for me to control my shelter, my safety, and my bearings. Money can never do that.

Ah, God. You are Wise. Help me to trust when the road is long, step and unknown.

Be encouraged, beloveds.

asking for A Friend,

Cassandra

#YourLifeMattersToMe

Note: 🥧 ❤️‍🩹❤️🙏🥰

One step.

One step.

One step.

You are loved.

You are NOT alone.

Keep on being…YOU!

I am not strong: Life is an equal opportunity beatdown artist.

Life: 🥊 🥊!

Me: 🤡😱😡🍋❤️‍🩹🤗😳

Life: 🥊 🥊!

Me: Geeez.

Life: 🥊 🥊!

Me: ☕️🍩🙏🏋‍♀️🥊🥊👣❤️‍🩹❤️☕️📖🤐🙏🙏🎂

Life: Ow. I sowwy.

Don’t take it personal, beloveds. Life is an equal opportunity beatdown artist. Life doesn’t care how much you have, how old you are, how hard you work or try.

Life just does life. Period. We learn to roll with it, deal with it, LIVE within it, laugh in it, love in it, fight alongside it and fifty million other things.

I don’t know why life is not fair. You would think it should be. It’s not.

Life does not always or often, feels like, honor our dreams or our try.

God does. The Universe will. All we can do is to keep on keeping on. Life is not playing with me. I am NOT playing with life either!🥊🏋‍♀️🙏👣

I don’t know, beloveds. Perhaps God is allowing all this hard just so I can keep encouraging you and me.

I do know that I am going to keep using all this hard, all this what in the fresh hell is it now, along with all the unfair to keep uplifting others and myself.

This is all great faith practice. Anyone can claim faith when things are going well. The only way fait can be tested is for faith to be tested. Ow!

Be encouraged.

Keep going.

Keep growing.

Don’t allow the hard to steal your joy, your hope or your laughter.

asking for A Friend,

Cassandra

#YourLifeMattersToMe

Note: Be encouraged. Ah, God. We tired of these stupid 🍋!!

One step.

One step.

One step.

You are loved.

You are NOT alone.

Keep on being…YOU!

Real talk: Don’t lay down on your 😡 mad.

I am 😡 mad.

Livid.

Angry.

Life is being super mean and lifery and I can either complain about it and give up or understand life just is NOT fair and keep it moving.

Angry, I snorted, fussed, fumed and pouted myself out of bed.

I made a cup of ☕ coffee.

I’m drinking said coffee and telling anger it has ten more minutes and then it is going to get the hell outta here as I have thangs to do and plan on having a fantastic tomorrow.

Why?

Because life is just too blasted short to remain angry over things we can do absolutely nothing about.

It hurts when life is being hurtful and we are unable to move from the spot The Universe has cleverly boxed us into.

Remain where you are, beloveds. Be angry, if needed. But be encouraged, have a cup of coffee ☕ and keep it moving. You got thangs to do.

I promised myself a few years ago that I would be sure to encourage others when I am being fought the most.

Why?

Because I need encouragement the most at those times and know how much it hurts to be ghosted, seemingly, by The Universe when life is just NOT being fair.

Hang in there.

asking for A Friend,

Cassandra

#YourLifeMattersToMe

Note: I have eight more minutes of mad time. Who wants to indulge with me and help me hurl more 🍋 at The Universe?😡❤️‍🩹❤️

One step.

One step.

One step.

You are loved.

You are NOT alone.

Keep on being…YOU!

I am torn.

I am torn.

My heart wants to reach out and encourage folk to be encouraged.

Was handed a 🥣 of 🍋 this morning and am angry 😡 enough, STILL, to want to say “F- you!” to the damned Universe and I don’t like swearing.

😡😡😡😡!

Be encouraged, beloveds. Am just too angry/dismayed/disappointed to say more.

The Bible says be angry but sin not. So as NOT to sin, I am going to shut it and head to 🛏 early.

I am angry. I will have to rinse and repeat tomorrow the today I did NOT want to have to do.

🤬!

Keep going, beloveds. Even when you are angry enough to chew nails and pelt 🍋 at The Universe.

asking for A Friend,

Cassandra

#YourLifeMattersToMe

Note: Someone enter some nice encouragement here for the rest of us. Asking for me.🤬😡😭😳🤯💔😥❤️‍🩹❤️

One step.

One step.

One step.

You are loved.

You are NOT alone.

Keep on being…YOU!

Keep telling yourself the TRUTH.

I had been prophelying to myelf.

Yep, I told myself I was okay.

I was not.

I told myself I had not given up.

I had.

I told myself I could live a life of quiet desperation.

I can’t.

This being the case I chose to tell myself the truth:

I felt lost.

I felt beaten.

I felt forsaken.

By God.

By everyone.

Especially, by me.

Why?

I can’t even tell you why. I suppose I figured I would have a better handle on my emotions. I shouldn’t be upset. Still. I shouldn’t be afraid. Still. I shouldn’t be anxious. Still. Still, I found myself all of those things and more.

Why?

Because I was looking at my empty bank account and allowing it to scare the fresh hell out of me.

I put down my faith and donned an outfit of deep despair. I told myself I was NOT anxious, afraid and wondering where on earth God and His Promises were.

It was ONLY after I chose to tell myself the TRUTH that the darkness took off and ran. See, darkness cannot stand the truth. Nope, darkness can only flourish as light refuses to show itself.

I shined truth upon my darkness. Darkness fled. Check and checkmate.

My circumstances are still the same. So is God. Both things being equal, I trust God. Simple as that. I shall wait and see what He shall say to me. Ah, God. I have some needs. Can Ya help a sista out? Please and thanks.

asking for a friend(me),

Cassandra

#YourLifeMattersToMe

Note: Keep speaking the truth over your circumstances. Things are NOT always what they appear to be. In the meantime, continue to love on some you. Asking for A Friend…

One step.

One step.

One step.

You are loved.

You are NOT alone.

Keep on being…YOU!

Good habits got me out of bed.

Good habits got me out of bed super early this morning.

Fresh heckamiah!

I wanted to spend another day feeling sorry for myself.

Good habits smacked me upside the head and told me I had thangs to do.

I got to doing thangs.

I made coffee.

I turned on my laptop.

I got to studyin’.

I got to learnin’.

I got to being about being about it.

Good habits would not allow me to go back to bad habits. Nope. Nada. No way, good habits said to me.

I’m thankful.

Continue to do that which you know to do, beloveds. Sooner or later, your good habits will be so ingrained you won’t be able to hide from life anymore.

being about it,

Cassandra

#YourLifeMattersToMe

Note: Do something towards your dream(s) today. Doesn’t matter what you do. Doesn’t matter how long you do. Just DO. Then just be…YOU! Asking for A Friend.

One step.

One step.

One step.

You are loved.

You are NOT alone.

Keep on being…YOU!

Beloved, you already are.

Beloved, you already are enough.

Beloved, you have already touched lives.

Beloved, you are already indispensable.

Beloved, you are already loved.

Beloved, you are already seen.

Beloved, you are already heard.

Beloved, you are already immeasurably valuable.

Beloved, you are already accomplished.

Beloved, you already have merit.

Beloved, you are already forgiven.

Beloved, you are already chosen.

Beloved, you are…already!

Therefore, beloveds, go!

Live!

Love!

Explore!

Try!

Lift up YOUR voice.

YOU matter.

To me.

To God.

To Life.

To The Universe.

Let THIS be the moment, YOUR moment, FINALLY, when you declare to all…

I AM!

ALREADY!

being enough with you,

Cassandra

#YourLifeMattersToMe

Note: You are! Nuff said. STOP judging your priceless heart so ruthlessly. Asking for A Friend.

One step.

One step.

One step.

You are loved.

You are NOT alone.

Keep on being…YOU!