New Year's Reflection Ups And Downs Then Victory

As I reflect on this year the lows and the highs I find myself feeling thankful and grateful for coming through a rough 18 months. During that time I experienced health challenges, job losses, disappointments, and lost several family members. If my life were a photo you'd see the scars left by the battlefield of life. Yet my will to succeed, continue and be victorious is strong. Nothing will get me down, nothing will stop my flow. I am victorious, I'm a winner, I got this!

On New Year's Eve I always take a moment to thank God for keeping me, for blessing me through my storms. In February of this year I was blessed with a job after being off work for 6 months.  That job didn't pay very much but it paid more than the unemployment check I was receiving and for that I was thankful. While at that low paying job I learned sales skills that have sharpened my presentation so that I can close more business. Lesson learned: sometimes you have to start at the beginning in order to excel. 

At the same time of beginning that new job, I received an eviction notice. I knew it was coming, I just thought I would have more time to catch up with my rent. That didn't happen. Time ran out and I had 3 weeks to find a place to live. Being new on the job I had to somehow leave my personal unraveling outside while I went to work to learn how to be a better salesperson. Those days were so trying and the nights were so unsteady. Each day I came home I feared the inevitable, an eviction notice taped to my door. Eventually that day came and the process server left that dreadful piece of paper on my door. When I saw the notice I already knew what it was. In a way I was relieved. Finally I knew my destiny, as if in the darkness of my mind I didn't already know it. Upon reading it I discovered my court date was 8 days away, not enough time to take off work from a job I had just started 2 weeks ago. My stress level was at an all time high, but I had to decide not to let my situation be my death sentence. I had to continue going and not give up. But it was hard there is no doubt about it.

On top of that I was catching the bus then the train to work. It would be dark when I left for work and dark when I came home. I'm sure God sent angels to protect me. When I started making a little money I would Uber to the train station and my work angel would bring me home at night. Those were blessings I will never forget. 

That entire situation taught me to appreciate the little things and to keep my faith. It is so easy to give up but harder to keep going. I believed things would get better. Never did I decide to throw my hands up in defeat. Deep down I felt this situation, these bad things would be a memory one day and that I would be victorious once again. 

That's what this entire post is about, victory. It's about not allowing my circumstance to define my future. It's about perseverance. It's about believing something I can not see but knowing it will get better as long as I keep going. To me this situation is similar to being lost in the woods; you can remain lost or you can try to get out. The choice is yours. 

I hope someone reads this and gains strength to keep going. Don't quit. God has your back but he can't help you if you quit. 

Stay blessed.

How to Rank #1 Using These 7 Free SEO Tools

Check out Neil Patel's advice. He shares how to get to the top of Google using SEO tools without paying a ton of money.

Rank High Here Get The Tools

How Can You Not Cry?

During the Age of Reasoning man woke up from some kind of trans-metamorphic trance and gave credit to thought, intelligence, and things more tangible and less spiritual. Man’s perspective changed. Thus The Great Awakening showed that Man had wandered into a great sleep; an era where slavery, less care and concern about their fellow man, and a pure denouncement of God. Man began thinking ‘it doesn’t take all that’ for religion to be relevant in your life. That if you did right, took care of your family, increased your position in the community and went to church on Sunday, you were good in God’s eye. No emotion, no redemption, no salvation. Just a native realization of religion and God. But how can you worship God without thanking him for bringing you through your tough times? How can you acknowledge Him without feeling something? An awakening must occur in us as people when we realize God is real, that your health, that cancer that went away; your child not dying when the doctor said he would; you escaping an abusive husband when other women and children get killed; you just making it through the week when you only had $10 and less than a quarter tank of gas until payday. How can you not feel some kind of way when all this happens?

I Don't Know Why Bullies Exist I Wish I Did

Yesterday was my birthday and for the first time, I liked/loved or commented to everyone who took the time to wish me happy birthday. That was a lot. It was well over 400 people! Most of the people were folks I know in Detroit, back home. While thanking people I noticed 4 people who are now my Facebook friends once bullied me as a child. They bullied me because I was dark skinned; bullied me because my grandmother pressed my hair too straight; bullied me because I was smart and wouldn't play with them on the playground. You name it. I'm sure they felt bullying me was no big deal and they had their reasons for not liking me. For the first time in a long time, I remembered what it felt like to be scared to walk home from school because my bullies might catch me and make me run home to safety. Or that thiey might be waiting for me in an alley I had to pass to get home. I'm 57 now, and that was a long long time ago. Just imagine a child today being bullied. They live in fear daily, not knowing if they will get beat up for no reason yet knowing they have to go to school or wherever regardless. That child is very brave even though he/she is frightened to death on the inside. What helped me was my family. My uncle and I would talk daily, he helped me grow confidence so I could learn to love me for me. Those talks made me feel good when I was at home, with family. But the real test came when I had to go to school the next day. I thank God for my uncle and his love for me. We still talk, he still wishes me happy birthday every year. I don't have the answers, but I know one thing, we have to have those hard, honest conversations with our kids. Have those conversations in love, not in condemnation. I'm sorry for this long post, but I was feeling this today and I hope you understand. I thank God for who he has made me. I love Him for loving me so much!!

How To Get Through Discouraging Times: My Testimony

It's so easy to become discouraged in life. Especially when you've have done everything to fix problems in your life but they still remain broken. Perspective, how you look at things, no matter how bleak, can change the outcome of your situations. For instance, money is low, rent, car note, light bill, need to be paid. But you only have enough money to pay 1 or 2 of them. You're not making enough money on your job so you're always coming up short. Discouragement and disappointment set in, and all of a sudden we find ourselves worrying uncontrollably. That's never good. I try to walk as close as possible to Jesus as I can. This morning I was talking to God, trying to get some wisdom and understanding to my situation. I've been out of work since October, and my job search hadn't yielded anything. I had even begun applying for jobs in Florida! Everyday I applied for 5-10 different sales jobs and nothing, just plain ole crickets! Now last week I interviewed at a Marketing company downtown for a position as a Social Media Marketing Partner (what I have my degree in.) I felt good about the interview and I loved the culture of the company! So the company sent me an assessment -- you know the ones that ask you the same question 50 different times 5 different ways. It's like a psychology assessment to see just how crazy you really are! Well that assessment frustrated me! It was 75 minutes long and my mind felt like spaghetti halfway through the process! I called my sister and ranted as long as she allowed, but she calmed me down and I began to look at another perspective of the situation.

So last night before I went to bed I finished the assessment. Mind you I didn't feel I had done well. This morning as I was reading a Bible Study article on "5 Ways to Stop Discouragement from Getting The Best of You," my phone rang. It was the company I interviewed with last week inviting me for a final interview! I am so happy! Because I know it's all in God's hands and I gave it to him 3 months ago when I started this journey. The training class starts next Monday, so I believe God's will be done not my will. This scripture reminds me of Paul's sojourn: He says, “Therefore we do not lose heart.… So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:8–18). Paul never minimized the pain of the temporal, yet discouragement didn’t win because he knew that God’s purposes were at work. I won't deny, being a Christian requires us to be a soldier, and a soldier's life is not easy. Just because we tell God, "I will," does not mean our lives will be free of troubles, quite the contrary. It's not that we'll be free of troubles, but it's how we get through those troubles that makes the difference. I thank you Lord for all you continue to do in my life, in my family's life, my friends life. I don't know what I would do without you.

Wild Turkey by Day, Superhero by night!

I once dreamed of being a screenwriter all because I have a super active imagination. Here is an idea I came up with for a stop action animated short film. Maybe I'll do it on YouTube I don't know. Here is one scene of Frank W. (Wild) Turkey. Frank is a Wild Turkey who is tired of turkeys being slaughtered every year for Thanksgiving Day meals. He has decided to save all the turkeys who are too dumb to save themselves. With his band of animals who serve various roles, Frank has a showdown with his nemesis Farmer Dell. Check it out let me know what you think.

Frank W. (Wild) Turkey

Dialogue only Screenplay

SCENE: Farmer Dell (Antagonist) and Frank W. Turkey (Protagonist) square off in a cornfield at night. Farmer Dell hears a loud ruckus outside his living room window and grabs his shotgun and goes to investigate. He finds his nemesis, Frank W. Turkey, only Frank isn’t alone.

EXT. Cornfield outside of living room window – NIGHT

FARMER DELL: Who’s out there? I said, who’s out there? (A LIGHT SHINES IN FRONT OF FARMER DELL REVEALING HUNDREDS OF WILD TURKEYS. A LONE WILD TURKEY STEPS FORWARD.)

FRANK: Hello Farmer Dell…

FARMER DELL:  Frank, is that you? I told you never to step foot on my land ever again!

FRANK: We have a score to settle. I’m going to ask you once and only once, let my Turkeys go!

FARMER DELL: Frank you’re crazy. I told you before, these Turkeys are made for eatin’. This is my livelihood, and you or no other wild, ugly black Turkey is gonna tell me what to do. Now get off my land before I blast ya’ off!

FRANK: Ahhh Farmer Dell, Farmer Dell. You have yet to learn. You see, shooting me would only expedite my plan. We’re going to leave your land, but understand, I won’t ask you again to let my Turkeys go. The next time we meet, it won’t be on such cordial terms. You have no right to enslave turkeys no more than I have a right to enslave you and your family.

FARMER DELL: Wait, is that a threat Frank? Are you threatening me and my family? With what? You gone peck us to death?

FRANK: I wouldn’t threaten you, actually Dell, a threat is too good for you. Instead I’m gone promise you this, our next get together won’t be so nice. It will be like a thief in the night, and you won’t know what hit you.

FARMER DELL: Oh yeah, like the time you stole that broken down mill wagon and tried to kidnap my Turkeys. That was so funny, me and Farmer Grey still talk and laugh about it. Frank when are you gone get it through your simple, little brainless head, that this is the cycle of life.

(This is just one scene from the Turkey Chronicles. Want to help me shoot this, and make The Turkey Chronicles a reality? Comment below or call me at 314-922-0106.)

New Job Listings | Employment