Yes, you CAN.
Yes, you WILL.
Any other questions?
asking for A Friend,
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note: Now that you KNOW you CAN and you WILL, what in the heckamiah Jeremiah are you waiting for?! Get going. You have too many thangs to do.
One step.
One step.
One step.
You are loved.
You are NOT alone.
Keep on being…YOU!
Ow.
Ow!
OWWWW!!!
Disappointment has kicked my tail this year.
Apparently, disappointment has had nothing better to do than to mock me relentlessly.
In my disappointment, I found myself rushing to God to hold up the latest pile of what in the fresh hell is THIS?!
Then, all God has done is told me to take it up with The Universe.
So, I scoop up all THAT disappointment, and rush off to confront The Universe.
Then, The Universe shrugs and tells me to take it up with Life.
Sooooooooooo, I scoop up the now THIS pile of disappointment, and confront life about presenting me with so much THIS and THAT.
Life simply smiles and reminds me I am learning HOW to make mishmash.
How can I argue with that?
In fighting disappointment, I am learning to fight FOR me, not against my current circumstances.
Things change. The only thing consistent is change. I am forcing myself to learn how to graciously accept the change.
Yes, I will continue to try. Yes, I will change what I can/must. Still, I will be good to me until the change comes.
Whatever your circumstances, beloveds, try not to allow disappointment to grow bitter walls within you. Stay open. Tear down your defensive walls.
Allow light to come in. Breathe joy in there.
Whatever you choose, be sure to take a bunch of love to disperse wherever you go.
asking for A Friend,
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note:
One step.
One step.
One step.
You are loved.
You are NOT alone.
Keep on being…YOU!
All you have to do to stand out is to stand up.
All you have to do to show out is to show up.
All you have to do to meet the challenge is to meet the need.
Stand up!
Show up!
Meet the need!
The world is in desperate need of folk who will get out there and love it. Warts and all. Faults and all. Misdeeds and all.
Lately, folk have been urging black women to boycott and not work for or shop in corporations that don’t/won’t value us.
I choose the bigger fight. I choose to love. Period. In whatever setting I find myself in. The world will do what it does. I CHOOSE not to respond in kind.
I will:
Stand up!
Show up!
Meet the need!
Can a sista get some help here?
asking for A Friend,
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note: Apathy is for the lazy. Hate is for the misinformed. Gloom and doom is for the haters.
Let’s go, beloveds. We got thangs to do.
One step.
One step.
One step.
You are loved.
You are NOT alone.
Keep on being…YOU!
I’m taking a break for a few days. I’m relinquishing my need to control things I can NOT control.
The unknown does NOT have to be the terrifying place I have been making it, these last few weeks.
I have been seeing gloom and doom when neither of those things have been near.
I have been secretly prophesying my imminent demise, from my abode.
I have been seeing boogeymen in EVERY corner, when none have been close by.
Unknowingly, I was building a castle of fear. Realizing my error, I gave myself permission to step aside. I needed to regroup. I needed to catch hold of that which had caught hold of me.
I need to step back so I can keep the main thing THE main thing: Standing on FAITH. Standing ten toes down. Waiting PATIENTLY. Free from fear.
Why? Because, I am loved and I am NOT alone. Neither are you, beloveds.
I REFUSE to allow the fear of the unknown to run my right now. Right now, I am here. Right now, I am cared for. Right now, I am enjoying my place. Right now, I have a wonderfully tight relationship with God, a few family members and a couple of friends.
Right now, I have my health, such as it is. Right now, I am in my right mind. Right now, I have amazing life I am reimagining. All I have is right now.
Someone needs to KNOW that things are NOT as they appear. I wonder who has me up this late? Ah, God, we have need. Hear us. I speak also for those who don’t believe in You. Bless them also. Continue to love them also. Give us grace to hang in there. Ah, we are trying so hard not to be tired. We are a smidge on the exhausted side. Be there for us. Uplift every heart. Meet each need. Asking for many friends. Amen.
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note: Things are NOT what they seem. Be encouraged.
One step.
One step.
One step.
You are loved.
You are NOT alone.
Keep on being…YOU!
God, I’m tired.
I’m tired of wondering.
I’m tired of waiting.
I’m tired of wishing.
I’m tired of Your Silence.
I’m tired of of ALWAYS having to keep my act right acting right.
I’m tired of fighting with/against fear.
I’m tired of watching the wicked prosper whilst the gentle/meek inherit hard times.
I’m tired, God. You tell us not to be weary in well doing as in due season we will reap if we faint not. I’m tired of wanting to faint and be weary but not being able to.
That said, I shall NEVER tire of You.
Your Friend,
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note: Sometimes, it’s necessary to let friends know how you feel. Their response is up to them. Never be afraid to be honest with your true feelings. Too many folks are running around in pretend mode.
I AM tired. Doesn’t mean I am giving up. I have too many thangs to do. There is much too much love I have left to give.
My heart wanted to encourage folk. My spirit was tired. Initially, I sided with spirit. I turned off the phone. My heart asked what if there was someone who needed a bit of a boost? I sided with YOU. Be encouraged. Rest as needed.
Give yourself permission to be a tad weary. We are human. We can’t go 100 miles an hour all day. Rest, then keep looking UP. It can be hard to look up when all you see are storm clouds coming.
One step.
One step.
One step.
You are loved.
You are NOT alone.
Keep on being…YOU!
My latest mishmash turned out to be hogwash! Bah humbug.
Instead of wasting a pound of ground beef and pasta, I decided to “reimagine” my mishmash.
I added a bit of this.
I tossed in a bit of that.
I let this and that simmer…
Presto!
Mishmash II. Tadah!
These days, beloveds, I feel as though ALL I am doing is concocting nothing but mishmash: A dash of this. A bit of that. Leaving nothing but a bunch of mishmash.
I want to be angry. I’m much too tired to be angry. I want to bargain with The Universe to let me go back to BEFORE.
Before, things got so hard.
Before, I became another person.
Before, I forgot what it’s like to feel safe.
We don’t get to go back, beloveds. We get to move FORWARD. Keep moving FORWARD. Don’t let the unknown scare you into looking back.
We can’t get THAT back. We can’t ever do THIS again. Yet, too often, we find ourselves wasting time chasing after THIS and THAT.
It’s time to move beyond THIS. It’s high time to seek higher than THAT.
I love talking about THIS and THAT. Only those who are truly trying will even understand what I am saying. Everyone else is wondering “What’s all THIS? What’s up with THAT?”…lol.
Don’t be discouraged/disappointed with your try, beloveds. You tried. You made mishmash out of the leftovers of your life. Most folk just complain about what they have been left with.
Celebrate your mishmash. Or, turn the mishmash into mishmash II!
asking for A Friend,
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note: Stop giving yourself such a hard time. You are doing amazing. The results have not yet shown themselves to you. Be patient. In the meantime, help someone else. Cheer on others. Love someone. Starting with you.
One step.
One step.
One step.
You are loved.
You are NOT alone.
Keep on being…YOU!
Write again.
Laugh again.
Sing again.
Dance again.
Try again.
Believe again.
Begin again.
LOVE again.
The Universe has said this to me EVERY time I have gone through an especially rough patch/ passage.
There are times when I have listened. Other times, I have told Him to kick rocks
Then, I begin. Again.
Do it again, beloveds.
Try again.
Hope again.
Love again.
LIVE again.
asking for A Friend,
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note: Starting over can be tough. Starting over, again, can be maddening. It IS frustrating 😤.
Today, my want to doesn’t want to. It’s incredibly disappointing applying for jobs that don’t pan out. Being one, among many, is daunting. My try is not standing out. I am not standing out.
I feel helpless. I REFUSE to allow myself to BECOME helpless.
I dragged helpless out of bed so I could encourage someone today. Be encouraged. Keep moving FORWARD.
The greatest gift The Universe presents me with EVERY day is another opportunity to stand, ten toes down, on FAITH, on BUSINESS, with HOPE, bringing JOY with me.
Real talk, beloveds, it’s NOT easy to keep rising. Rising, only to be smacked down by another no or nothingness, hurts. Still, WE MUST get through these tough nos.
Christmas is almost here. Another Christmas without mom. Worse, Christmas is now a scary object that is hurtling, far too fast, in my direction as I scrape my way back into the working world.
I miss normal. Even a normal I could no longer bear to continue. Who knew?
This time HAD to come. Else, I never would have overcome fear enough to try and live my dreams out LOUD, in REAL time.
Someone needs to KNOW they ARE on the RIGHT path. If you are currently feeling as though you are walking a tightrope, with NO net, with NO safety rope or ability to do anything other than continue…
…
…
…YOU are. EXACTLY where The Universe has positioned you to be!
Keep moving FORWARD.
Keep looking UP.
Keep on keeping on. Use your fears to propel you. Better still, tell your fears to stop lying to and on you!
This time is not here just to scare the bejeez out of you. This time is here to force you to MOVE. We over analyze things to death. Go. Fail. Go. Succeed. Go. Screw up spectacularly. Go. Rinse. Repeat.
One step.
One step.
One step.
You are loved.
You are NOT alone.
Keep on being…YOU!
I feel a pull.
I feel a tug.
From, my heart.
Towards, people.
Away, from people.
At the same time.
AT THE SAME TIME!!
My heart is trying to go one way. This way, is pulling me away from folks and into deep solitude to meditate, to write, to continue healing.
My heart also is trying to go the other way. Towards folks, to share all that I have been learning.
I want to tell folks to go away AND to come here, all at the same time.
Such an odd place to be.
God and Life wants to take me someplace where no one can go but me.
I am ready to go.
I have been longing to go.
Yet, I feel a bit lost.
Just a tad.
Lost as the older I get I want to get closer, not further away.
I hear Him tell me to let them go.
Let things go.
Let, expectations, go.
Let everything go that has been silently holding me back from…
*shrug*
The older I get, the less I expect from folks. Meaning, I am doing my best to release all the strings inadvertently placed on folks.
Yea,
What are you going to do now?
Life asks me this EVERY day now. It’s maddening.
God asks me this EVERY day now. It’s annoying.
The Universe asks me this EVERY day now. It’s daunting.
What are you going to do NOW, Cassandra? What are you going to DO with/about all the hard that has befallen you?
Life does NOT care how you feel about it, beloveds. Life just needs you to keep being about it. Periodt. Whether you FEEL like it or not.
What are you going to do now, beloveds?
Keep on keeping on. No matter what. ALWAYS forward. Rest when need. Then, rise and move FORWARD. Don’t allow fear to cause you to run backwards to the comfort of what you have always known.
Your dreams are up ahead! Go get them. Take hard with you. Just go.
asking for A Friend,
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note:
One step.
One step.
One step.
You are loved.
You are NOT alone.
Keep on being…YOU!
Fear, ALL you have done is given me the ammunition to fight you with!
I shall fight you with faith.
Hate, ALL you have done is given me the ammunition to fight you with!
I shall fight you with love.
Discouragement, ALL you have done is given me the ammunition to fight you with!
I shall fight you with effort.
Apathy, ALL you have done is given me the ammunition to fight you with!
I shall fight you with empathy.
Hardship, ALL you have done is given me the ammunition to fight you with!
I shall fight you with prayer.
Unbelief, ALL you have done is given me the ammunition to fight you with!
I shall fight you with God’s Word.
Beloveds, be encouraged. Use your hard as weapons in your hands. Fight back! Fight on! Fight!
We are NOT victims of our circumstances. We CHOOSE how to respond to EVERY circumstance.
I no longer see obstacles as mere obstacles. I see them as choices to be made. I see them as opportunities to expand my try. I see them as gifts that brings me new chances to strengthen my faith muscles.
Keep using ALL things for your good. You got this!
asking for A Friend,
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note:
One step.
One step.
One step.
You are loved.
You are NOT alone.
Keep on being…YOU!
Why Can't I Be Loud?! 