Wow,
It is amazing how time keeps on ticking, ticking, ticking into the future~ We all are growing, getting older, and making life changing decisions. I could tell a lie and say 2009 was an excellent year but truly it was not. Now don't get me wrong I had my health, my mind was strong, my kids were healthy, a roof over my head, and a job that paid some income, completion of my Masters degree etc. So when I say not my best year I am not saying it all bad, simply was not my best year. This year was truly the year of change, a change in jobs, the way I view marriage, friendships, career options, the way I raise my girls, my understanding of the true tribe of Israel etc. This was the year where the last 3 years of my life finally came to a point and I had to face all what has occurred from the summer of 2005-2007 all the way through winter of 2009. The good, the bad and the ugly~ Talking to many of you it appeared 2009 was a time of reflection and change to prepare us for our new journey.
Some amazing things happened to all of us, from getting promotions during a recession, getting a new job due to lay offs (loving it or hating it), separating from friends and family, reuniting with friends and family, losing income, sustaining income, getting degrees, starting school again etc...etc...! So what are you all planning to do with your new found information?
Well what ever you are facing in the New Year, remember this is just what it says, this is a NEW YEAR. A new year means to start off new, make the changes in your life to assist you. Keeping your eyes on the prize, your head to the sky and making YOU a priority. Your husbands, boyfriends and children are all wonderful but without you being their it means nothing. So before you can be any good to anyone else, we must each take care of ourselves first. Now for those who do not have an open mind, or are only reading specific words, you may find this offensive. For that I feel sorry for you, and if you don't like what you are reading, you have a choice not to log onto the post. For the other 99.5% of you who have been supportive, and emailing and texting me for more info on the blog, I am speaking to you! As women we are so much to so many people and often we forget about ourselves in the process. We don't take care of our health, our skin, our teeth, our eyes, our clothes, the food we put in our body, etc. We must change this in the New Year. When we place our focus on God, and attention on ourselves we become better for our friends, family, children, boyfriends, husbands, and even jobs/careers. It is a difference from being selfish and making ourselves a priority. All I am sharing with my lady bloggers is to say in this New Year, make YOU a priority!
If you are with me, look in the mirror and say "In This New Year, I will be a Priority". I want nothing but blessing, love, and happiness for all of you, may you all receive what you need and you want in 2010 and the years to come!
A special thank you to all of you who have been supportive with blogging our site in 2009, and if I have not mentioned you, charge this to the head and not the heart!
Kimberly Jones, Karen "keke" Mitchell, Michelle,Nicole,Monique, Melissa,Chandra, Lisa,
Robyn,Dolores,Eunice, Alice, Corene,Domminiqe, Dwan, Karen JP,Kenya, Kim Williams,
Landa,Lisah,Nina,Nyah,Pam,Schjuana,Shana,Tara,Tia,Tiffany,Tracie,Weezee
Along with all of the rest, and the new viewers~
God Bless~
Our Hearts 2 Yours!
knedwards-montgomery
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Thursday, October 8, 2009
A Response To October's Topic of the Month
Hello from the founder's,
This has been a busy 3rd quarter for us, their has been positive changes to our team not to mention life's challenges we all have been facing. I have received numerous emails and voice mails asking what is happening to Our Hearts 2 Yours. So I wanted to give you an update and address the October Topic of the Month.
So I will begin with the response and end with providing you all an update. We each have been a recluse because we have been trying to manage through life changes. Finally when we all got together to share our stories we realized we each have been carrying personal burdens which needed to be released. We spoke with numerous friends and found out they too were carrying burdens which needed to be released.
Many people have lost their jobs, have pay cuts and simply financially are not in the same place they were a year ago and 2 years ago. It looks pretty bad, as people have gotten sick with swine flu, cancer, vertigo and high blood pressure. Some people have gotten their home foreclosed, vehicles repo and homes broken into. Some have found out their spouse were cheating on them, boyfriends and girlfriends have been tempted, relations have broken up from couples to family members, or a grandparent have passed. While others have watched their savings dwindle as they have worked to maintain a basic comfortable standard of living. Now this list could go on and on and on... This looks pretty bad! Ya know what, it is not as bad as it seems. With every drought their is a harvest, we simple have to work and support each other during the drought until we reach the harvest.
I shared this with my cousin Domminique the other day on facebook so I am going to share this with you, as knowledge is power! In my masters program I had to take a micro and macro economics course, only because it had been over 17 years since I took these courses in college. This was the best thing I could have ever done, because I learned one thing to equip me better during the harvest. Did you know that every 15-20 years our country and our world goes through a recession? Think about it back in 1993-1994 we were in a recession! Back in 1981-1983 we were in a recession! Now ask your parents and grandparents about the 60's, ask your grand parents and great grand parents about 20's and 30's. Hey I have one better, read your bible from beginning to end, you will find the exact same thing, a recession in some shape fashion or form. Now back in biblical times the value was cattle, grain, wheat, barley, today its cash, retirement and CD's. If you know this, then you also can see, we do not always stay in the drought stage, we will make it through some of us will make it out only pinched, some bruised, some cut, some with a few broken bones. But you will make it through, what does that mean for you? It basically means right now if your situation is bad its not that bad, you will get through. When you do it will be a time for harvest. Which means things will get better, improve and you will have more and able to sustain yourself, but knowing in 15-20 years we will experience this again means we have to prepare better so when the drought comes again we will be better prepared. This means during the harvest invest smart, save good, spend nice, and support fair, as we begin to approach the 12-13 year itch again; it will be time for you to re-evaluate your current situation. You may have to change your investment strategy, take money out one place and put it some where else, slow down on spending and have enough essentials. Much like are forefathers did by storing up enough in the storehouse to last through the winter, or the 7 year Canaan drought. You will come out better, richer and wiser than you came in.
I wish I knew this information in 1997, I would be in such a better place today, but guess what now I do know and I am still young enough to make better choices to prepare me for the next 15-20 years. I now have to prepare my daughters, and Karen prepares her son and daughter and all of you prepare your children, nieces and nephews for what's to come. We will come out of this in 2-3 years, but 15-20 years from now my daughters will be 28 and 31. They will be on their own, in their own careers, making their own money. This means they have to start preparing when they are 24-28 for the drought. Some may say how do you prepare your young child for this, they wont listen. You teach them, just like they learn their ABC's, play on the Wii, this is their life and they need to be prepared. Those who live in Jerusalem today have been teaching their children this for over 2000 years, they are the one race who does not feel the drought today as hard as anyone else. This should be a lesson for us today, we can enjoy the harvest and sustain our families during the drought un-touched.
So I say to you, it looks bad but it is not as bad as it looks! We have been given a promise that we will make it through, so standing on that lets you know all will work out. My question is for you is this- if we have seen the recession since biblical times it is clear GOD is trying to tell us something that we are not grasping, except for those who are living in modern day Jerusalem. This may be a time to go into your closet and find out, are we not being obedient in other areas of our lives by following his word-are we polluting our bodies with fast food, are we eating fish without scales, are we eating shellfish and pork. So we pollute our bodies and we cant truly hear him speaking to us. Do we use our tongue incorrectly to gossip, hurt or curse or cause pain to someone, do we pollute ourselves by having sex with numerous men who are not our husbands, do we lie and steal even simple pens, pads and pencils from work. What ever it is, it is clear GOD IS trying to tell us something, so until we get it we will go through the drought and the harvest.
I want us to enjoy the harvest more than the pains of the drought, I believe we can have this because the good book tells us so, all we have to do is ask and we will receive and knock and the door shall be open. Take this time and go in your closet and see what you are doing, get so quite that you begin to hear his voice through your holy spirit, then make the necessary changes so we can enjoy our harvest. So with that I say to you it looks bad but its not as bad as it looks!
To give you an update on Our Hearts 2 Yours- we have been redesigning our focus and what we want to do and stand for. We brought in another sister who shares the same vision and we have gotten approval from the state to begin our non-profit. We are currently putting together a team Our Hearts 2 Yours to walk over 33 miles over two days to raise money with Avon for a cure for cancer. We are also preparing for our winter clothing drive for women and children. We will provide additional details in the next couple of weeks. We will also have our first face to face meeting for all of our Houston Metro sisters Thanksgiving Weekend to kick off the new year and prepare for the Avon walk in the new year. So busy, busy, busy and we are so happy to continue to share our hearts with yours!
Stay Strong and Lots of Love,
From Our Hearts 2 Yours,
knedwards-montgomery
This has been a busy 3rd quarter for us, their has been positive changes to our team not to mention life's challenges we all have been facing. I have received numerous emails and voice mails asking what is happening to Our Hearts 2 Yours. So I wanted to give you an update and address the October Topic of the Month.
So I will begin with the response and end with providing you all an update. We each have been a recluse because we have been trying to manage through life changes. Finally when we all got together to share our stories we realized we each have been carrying personal burdens which needed to be released. We spoke with numerous friends and found out they too were carrying burdens which needed to be released.
Many people have lost their jobs, have pay cuts and simply financially are not in the same place they were a year ago and 2 years ago. It looks pretty bad, as people have gotten sick with swine flu, cancer, vertigo and high blood pressure. Some people have gotten their home foreclosed, vehicles repo and homes broken into. Some have found out their spouse were cheating on them, boyfriends and girlfriends have been tempted, relations have broken up from couples to family members, or a grandparent have passed. While others have watched their savings dwindle as they have worked to maintain a basic comfortable standard of living. Now this list could go on and on and on... This looks pretty bad! Ya know what, it is not as bad as it seems. With every drought their is a harvest, we simple have to work and support each other during the drought until we reach the harvest.
I shared this with my cousin Domminique the other day on facebook so I am going to share this with you, as knowledge is power! In my masters program I had to take a micro and macro economics course, only because it had been over 17 years since I took these courses in college. This was the best thing I could have ever done, because I learned one thing to equip me better during the harvest. Did you know that every 15-20 years our country and our world goes through a recession? Think about it back in 1993-1994 we were in a recession! Back in 1981-1983 we were in a recession! Now ask your parents and grandparents about the 60's, ask your grand parents and great grand parents about 20's and 30's. Hey I have one better, read your bible from beginning to end, you will find the exact same thing, a recession in some shape fashion or form. Now back in biblical times the value was cattle, grain, wheat, barley, today its cash, retirement and CD's. If you know this, then you also can see, we do not always stay in the drought stage, we will make it through some of us will make it out only pinched, some bruised, some cut, some with a few broken bones. But you will make it through, what does that mean for you? It basically means right now if your situation is bad its not that bad, you will get through. When you do it will be a time for harvest. Which means things will get better, improve and you will have more and able to sustain yourself, but knowing in 15-20 years we will experience this again means we have to prepare better so when the drought comes again we will be better prepared. This means during the harvest invest smart, save good, spend nice, and support fair, as we begin to approach the 12-13 year itch again; it will be time for you to re-evaluate your current situation. You may have to change your investment strategy, take money out one place and put it some where else, slow down on spending and have enough essentials. Much like are forefathers did by storing up enough in the storehouse to last through the winter, or the 7 year Canaan drought. You will come out better, richer and wiser than you came in.
I wish I knew this information in 1997, I would be in such a better place today, but guess what now I do know and I am still young enough to make better choices to prepare me for the next 15-20 years. I now have to prepare my daughters, and Karen prepares her son and daughter and all of you prepare your children, nieces and nephews for what's to come. We will come out of this in 2-3 years, but 15-20 years from now my daughters will be 28 and 31. They will be on their own, in their own careers, making their own money. This means they have to start preparing when they are 24-28 for the drought. Some may say how do you prepare your young child for this, they wont listen. You teach them, just like they learn their ABC's, play on the Wii, this is their life and they need to be prepared. Those who live in Jerusalem today have been teaching their children this for over 2000 years, they are the one race who does not feel the drought today as hard as anyone else. This should be a lesson for us today, we can enjoy the harvest and sustain our families during the drought un-touched.
So I say to you, it looks bad but it is not as bad as it looks! We have been given a promise that we will make it through, so standing on that lets you know all will work out. My question is for you is this- if we have seen the recession since biblical times it is clear GOD is trying to tell us something that we are not grasping, except for those who are living in modern day Jerusalem. This may be a time to go into your closet and find out, are we not being obedient in other areas of our lives by following his word-are we polluting our bodies with fast food, are we eating fish without scales, are we eating shellfish and pork. So we pollute our bodies and we cant truly hear him speaking to us. Do we use our tongue incorrectly to gossip, hurt or curse or cause pain to someone, do we pollute ourselves by having sex with numerous men who are not our husbands, do we lie and steal even simple pens, pads and pencils from work. What ever it is, it is clear GOD IS trying to tell us something, so until we get it we will go through the drought and the harvest.
I want us to enjoy the harvest more than the pains of the drought, I believe we can have this because the good book tells us so, all we have to do is ask and we will receive and knock and the door shall be open. Take this time and go in your closet and see what you are doing, get so quite that you begin to hear his voice through your holy spirit, then make the necessary changes so we can enjoy our harvest. So with that I say to you it looks bad but its not as bad as it looks!
To give you an update on Our Hearts 2 Yours- we have been redesigning our focus and what we want to do and stand for. We brought in another sister who shares the same vision and we have gotten approval from the state to begin our non-profit. We are currently putting together a team Our Hearts 2 Yours to walk over 33 miles over two days to raise money with Avon for a cure for cancer. We are also preparing for our winter clothing drive for women and children. We will provide additional details in the next couple of weeks. We will also have our first face to face meeting for all of our Houston Metro sisters Thanksgiving Weekend to kick off the new year and prepare for the Avon walk in the new year. So busy, busy, busy and we are so happy to continue to share our hearts with yours!
Stay Strong and Lots of Love,
From Our Hearts 2 Yours,
knedwards-montgomery
Thursday, May 21, 2009
A Response To June's Topic of the Month
Hey Ladies,
I hope the start of summer has been great for many of you. As we approach July, and living through a recession and all the other host of summer activities I thought it would be a good idea to talk about cutting expenses while still living a comfortable life.
Many have called, text or simply responded by phone and shared how things are really tight for them this year. Many of my circle have been laid off from their jobs, thankfully most found all new career opportunities, but much like myself either took a significant pay cut, or some got a pay increase but no longer receives a bonus. Some have even taken a career change by choice to be more fulfilled and happy but in doing so took a financial cut. So lets talk about some cost saving alternatives for the summer. Budgets are tight, and prices are rising. The first thing you want to do is be honest with yourself and your current financial situation. Get to the root cause of why are you in this situation. Not the surface issue (I just lost my job, paycheck is less), no get to the root cause so this wont repeat itself again. Did you over extend yourself in credit, did you buy new items because they were fashionable but did not need them, did you over indulge your children when you really did not have it, did you buy a new car when the old one was just fine, does your spouse not work, is their a viable reason why he does not work, are you enabling a family member by always financially supporting them, and coming up with excuses for why you are or have to help them? Again ask yourself the root cause of the problem, then develop a plan for tomorrow to correct past bad habits. Get yourself an old excel spreadsheet, or go to Susie Orman website and she has a financial worksheet to help. Write down every single thing you have to pay (lights, gas, phone, cell, insurance, car notes, credit cards, mortgage, lunch money, salon appt, movies, drinks, grocery, gym, kids camps etc) and basically go old school add up the bills per month, then add up whats coming in the door. If you have a negative balance in the end, go back up and look at your list and look at things you could cut in half or remove. Remove them temporarily until you can get back on your feet. If your financial hole is greater than 100.00, something will have to change, which may involve you working a part-time job, or your spouse working a part-time job, or even Hell, you both working a part time job. Now I can not lie, working a part-time job is not appealing, but losing your house, apartment, car is much worse then working a part-time job to get your household in order. If you have dead weight which is extracting from your incoming an causing this negative impact on you financially you may need to think about why you insist on holding on to the dead weight. Usually you will find this has nothing to do with the other person or your circumstances, it is usually fear of letting someone down or even being alone. Never a good reason to let someone drain you. Set some financial boundaries and if they can not comply you decide with the help of praying how you want to live the remainder of your life.
Some cost cutters, if you have a cell phone, change your cell phone plan, get unlimited texting, and text more than using the phone, and only use the phone for emergencies, or after 7pm or 9pm depending on when the plan starts calls for free. Talk on the weekend when its free, join a friends and family free plan, or talk unlimited to those who have the same carrier as yourself. Cut that cell phone bill down by 50-60 dollars. Do you have to have cable? If so do you need 500+ channels, probably not. Shrink that cable bill down by 50-60 dollars with basic, or basic with one premium channel. Do you have a house phone but you talk on your cell phone majority of the time, cut that home phone bill from 70.oo to 11.00 dollars by having a basic line, do you really need 3 way calling, call waiting etc. Probably not. Do you buy a new outfit once a week or once a month, cut that bill down to every 60-90 days and stay out of the mall. If your pants are too big, take them to the cleaners to take them in, if they are too small or worn, try shopping on line through Ebay, Overstock or other online discounters. You can find a designer pair of pants for 20.00 with shipping 23.00 versus going into a mall. Do you eat out, cut that out completely for right now. Make your own pizza, make your own chinese food, grill your own hamburgers, shop on a budget, use coupons on line or in the paper, don't be afraid to buy Great Value or Safeway products. Don't buy unnecessary wants, get the necessities right now, remember you will not have to live like this for ever, this is temporary. Unplug your computer when you are not home, turn off lights and TV's, keep your blinds closed until after 6pm so the sunlight will not overheat your home. Take a shower instead of a bath, wash your clothes with cold water instead of hot water. Shorten those hair salon visits from weekly to bi-weekly, or from bi-weekly to monthly, ensuring you use good products on your hair in between those skipped visits. Again these are just some small changes which can add up big. Instead of your children going to several summer camps, shorten this down to one or two. If you pay for day care, see if you can pay a family or friend to watch them for 50-60 dollars less, or a registered income day care which could be significantly less.
Regardless of how you chose, create a plan. If you can consolidate your loans into one payment, or work with a debt management service to work out pay off and payment plan try them also. If you have family members you could get a loan to pay off your debt, then you write a contract and you all sign and you pay them back monthly, try this (but only if you are serious and intend on paying them back, if you are not, then don't ruin a relationship over money you can not or don't intend on paying back) Most of all if you are going to pay day advance locations STOP! They are rip offs and this does not fix your problem long term, only fix the problem for today, tomorrow you owe them plus extra.
Lets make this summer the best financial move forward planned summer as possible, it may take a little discipline, a little sacrifice, but remember this is temporary, not permanent. Temporary could be any where from 6 months to 3 years, but it is not your life time. God wants to see what we can do with a little to ensure when he gives us a lot we will appreciate it, and not foolishly squander it. He is waking America up, the world up, and all of the readers of Our Hearts 2 Yours up. Lets be obedient and listen to his instruction, then see how we are doing in July of 2010, I bet we all will be in a much better place financially tomorrow than today, by making some slight changes for some it may be major life altering changes as we remove dead weight. In the mean time, can I get a financial gift of 10,000???? Okay, ok, I get it too. My family and I have much work to accomplish, but all good things are worth the sacrifice, just a little uncomfortable for right now!!!!!
Our Hearts 2 Yours~
I hope the start of summer has been great for many of you. As we approach July, and living through a recession and all the other host of summer activities I thought it would be a good idea to talk about cutting expenses while still living a comfortable life.
Many have called, text or simply responded by phone and shared how things are really tight for them this year. Many of my circle have been laid off from their jobs, thankfully most found all new career opportunities, but much like myself either took a significant pay cut, or some got a pay increase but no longer receives a bonus. Some have even taken a career change by choice to be more fulfilled and happy but in doing so took a financial cut. So lets talk about some cost saving alternatives for the summer. Budgets are tight, and prices are rising. The first thing you want to do is be honest with yourself and your current financial situation. Get to the root cause of why are you in this situation. Not the surface issue (I just lost my job, paycheck is less), no get to the root cause so this wont repeat itself again. Did you over extend yourself in credit, did you buy new items because they were fashionable but did not need them, did you over indulge your children when you really did not have it, did you buy a new car when the old one was just fine, does your spouse not work, is their a viable reason why he does not work, are you enabling a family member by always financially supporting them, and coming up with excuses for why you are or have to help them? Again ask yourself the root cause of the problem, then develop a plan for tomorrow to correct past bad habits. Get yourself an old excel spreadsheet, or go to Susie Orman website and she has a financial worksheet to help. Write down every single thing you have to pay (lights, gas, phone, cell, insurance, car notes, credit cards, mortgage, lunch money, salon appt, movies, drinks, grocery, gym, kids camps etc) and basically go old school add up the bills per month, then add up whats coming in the door. If you have a negative balance in the end, go back up and look at your list and look at things you could cut in half or remove. Remove them temporarily until you can get back on your feet. If your financial hole is greater than 100.00, something will have to change, which may involve you working a part-time job, or your spouse working a part-time job, or even Hell, you both working a part time job. Now I can not lie, working a part-time job is not appealing, but losing your house, apartment, car is much worse then working a part-time job to get your household in order. If you have dead weight which is extracting from your incoming an causing this negative impact on you financially you may need to think about why you insist on holding on to the dead weight. Usually you will find this has nothing to do with the other person or your circumstances, it is usually fear of letting someone down or even being alone. Never a good reason to let someone drain you. Set some financial boundaries and if they can not comply you decide with the help of praying how you want to live the remainder of your life.
Some cost cutters, if you have a cell phone, change your cell phone plan, get unlimited texting, and text more than using the phone, and only use the phone for emergencies, or after 7pm or 9pm depending on when the plan starts calls for free. Talk on the weekend when its free, join a friends and family free plan, or talk unlimited to those who have the same carrier as yourself. Cut that cell phone bill down by 50-60 dollars. Do you have to have cable? If so do you need 500+ channels, probably not. Shrink that cable bill down by 50-60 dollars with basic, or basic with one premium channel. Do you have a house phone but you talk on your cell phone majority of the time, cut that home phone bill from 70.oo to 11.00 dollars by having a basic line, do you really need 3 way calling, call waiting etc. Probably not. Do you buy a new outfit once a week or once a month, cut that bill down to every 60-90 days and stay out of the mall. If your pants are too big, take them to the cleaners to take them in, if they are too small or worn, try shopping on line through Ebay, Overstock or other online discounters. You can find a designer pair of pants for 20.00 with shipping 23.00 versus going into a mall. Do you eat out, cut that out completely for right now. Make your own pizza, make your own chinese food, grill your own hamburgers, shop on a budget, use coupons on line or in the paper, don't be afraid to buy Great Value or Safeway products. Don't buy unnecessary wants, get the necessities right now, remember you will not have to live like this for ever, this is temporary. Unplug your computer when you are not home, turn off lights and TV's, keep your blinds closed until after 6pm so the sunlight will not overheat your home. Take a shower instead of a bath, wash your clothes with cold water instead of hot water. Shorten those hair salon visits from weekly to bi-weekly, or from bi-weekly to monthly, ensuring you use good products on your hair in between those skipped visits. Again these are just some small changes which can add up big. Instead of your children going to several summer camps, shorten this down to one or two. If you pay for day care, see if you can pay a family or friend to watch them for 50-60 dollars less, or a registered income day care which could be significantly less.
Regardless of how you chose, create a plan. If you can consolidate your loans into one payment, or work with a debt management service to work out pay off and payment plan try them also. If you have family members you could get a loan to pay off your debt, then you write a contract and you all sign and you pay them back monthly, try this (but only if you are serious and intend on paying them back, if you are not, then don't ruin a relationship over money you can not or don't intend on paying back) Most of all if you are going to pay day advance locations STOP! They are rip offs and this does not fix your problem long term, only fix the problem for today, tomorrow you owe them plus extra.
Lets make this summer the best financial move forward planned summer as possible, it may take a little discipline, a little sacrifice, but remember this is temporary, not permanent. Temporary could be any where from 6 months to 3 years, but it is not your life time. God wants to see what we can do with a little to ensure when he gives us a lot we will appreciate it, and not foolishly squander it. He is waking America up, the world up, and all of the readers of Our Hearts 2 Yours up. Lets be obedient and listen to his instruction, then see how we are doing in July of 2010, I bet we all will be in a much better place financially tomorrow than today, by making some slight changes for some it may be major life altering changes as we remove dead weight. In the mean time, can I get a financial gift of 10,000???? Okay, ok, I get it too. My family and I have much work to accomplish, but all good things are worth the sacrifice, just a little uncomfortable for right now!!!!!
Our Hearts 2 Yours~
Sunday, April 5, 2009
A Response To April's Topic of the Month
This has been another great Month of learning, growing and interacting with each of you. So in the spirit of this blog let's get started.
We have been talking about growing in your relationships, making better choices and things you want to change for your life, but another thing we must remember as we move forward in this process is the COMPANY we keep, or surround ourselves with. This requires taking a closer look at the friends you have aligned yourself with, co-workers and the organization you have aligned yourself with, the business partner you are interested in, the boyfriend you have selected and yes even your spouse you have as your life partner. The company you keep can be either a blessing or a curse. The bible talks about this in the old and new testiment, so isn't it about time we begin to examine this aspect of our lives and make the changes to correct or remove. Now I am not saying end a friendship, a business partnership, dump a boyfriend or divorce a spouse. Only you can know what your next move should be, and this will come with asking yourself some hard questions and having this conversation with GOD for your instruction. My famous line to many of my close friends is this "if you hang out in the bottom, eventually you will enjoy the bottom". Now let me be clear when I say bottom I am not saying if you own a house and your friends do not, you toot your nose up at them and call them bottom; or if you are in a sorority and your friends are not you toot your nose up at them and call them bottoms. When I speak of the bottom I speak of people who enjoy being slick, taking from others, hurting others, stealing, and cheating. Those who hustle up on people to get ahead instead of through hard work, those who enjoy drinking all night and sleeping around instead of taking care of their responsibilities. Okay let me be more specific, you have a friend you have known for years and 10 years ago you were both on the same page or even same level, but you have begun to grow, grow in your walk with Christ, grow in your professional and personal life. You tell this friend you are going to start your own business and your friend response is "why you going to do that, you bet not do that, we are in a recession no one is going to buy what you are selling". They sit and tell you all of the things which could go wrong and not because they love you but because they are no longer on the level you are on and see or even understand the vision GOD has given you because they are in another place. You have that cousin who remains on public assistance because it is easier to get governmental assistance than to work and purchase no-name items. You have a spouse or boyfriend who does not work, or does not keep a job because it is easier for him to live off of you, but instead of being grateful he spends your money and runs the streets and even has the nerve to cheat on you with other women with your money. You work on a job where you know they have no integrity and possibly are practicing in some questionable things, but because you want to move up in the organization you join in to the practice even though you feel it is wrong. Again I could go on and on, but I hope you get the just of when I say the company you keep.
How do we even expect for the lord to pour us out a blessing over our lives where we will not have enough room in our storehouse if we are aligning ourselves with people, places and or things which are not good for us. Its the company we keep which yes could cause static in us receiving our blessing. The company you keep can warp your thought process without you even being aware. The bible mentions over and over about surrounding yourself with saints, do you think God just said this for no reason? No he had a reason for this, some people will not go with us on our journey, some families members will not go with us on our journey, and if not equally yoked and appointed by God, then yes even your spouses will not go with us on our journey. The company you keep should be honest, have integrity, working to live the best life God has for them, not only reads the bible but walks in the light to becoming a better person. If your circle of friends, family and co-workers do not line up with what God has for you, then don't be sad, don't shed a tear. You drop those things, in the most respectful way as you continue on your journey. This is not a bad reflection, this is simply you can not go forward when you surround yourself with a backwards mentality. Where you are today, may not be who you were 15 years ago, if you have friends or families members who are still in the same place they were 15 years ago, you simply pray for them and you move ahead. You can not prosper surrounding yourself with bottom and negative individuals. Helping and volunteering your time in the bottom is not the same thing is surrounding, hanging on or hanging around the bottom. Contrary, we should go into the fields, the hoe houses, the ghetto's, the slums, etc. and volunteer our time to help others, as their are some who are in the bottom or in a bottom mentality and they need our help, guidance and light to shine to know they too can get out. This is not the same as spending your days and nights surrounding yourself with those who are not growing, who does not care to grow or are too engulfed in mess, the past and negativity to walk in line with you on your spiritual growth professionally and personally with God. You have to let them go. I will give you an example. I had a friend, that I loved or should say still love, but I could no longer keep her in my immediate circle of friends; not because she is a bad or horrible person; but because we are moving in two different directions and where I am going and what she was doing was not in line with where the Lord wanted me to be. To give you a short snipped of what I am saying without giving you all the details, This is a friend I have known for only 4 years, but was the best 4 years in my life. We talked, we supported each other, we spoke the word of God in each others lives and things were great. About a year and a half ago, my dear friend began to change but not maybe the best change, but I remained faithful and her friend. She began hanging out with true bottom people, I mean people who stole, cheated and lusted. These were people who would hustle you for a dime, these were people who drank sun-sun, and neglected to pay the rent, lights, gas or phone, these were people who thought of ways to hustle someone out of something than to get it the right way, even if it meant being a little uncomfortable, this turned into my friend having a relationship with a knowingly married man, now this was not the deal breaker the deal breaker for me was simply she knew this was wrong but refused to let it go. Letting it go simply means you step back and out of the situation and allow this man to clean up his house. Even more she indicated she knew this was toxic, felt bad for the wife and their child, but did not want to give it up. I asked what exactly do you not want to give up, the part-time visits and spend the nights to your home, the secrets and lies, the blessing which you are blocking etc. Knowing first hand what an affair can do to a marriage, a family and children knowingly staying involved in this type of relationship as you wonder why you are having difficulty paying your rent, car note, child care etc. I could no longer support my friend, where she was headed and where I am heading is in two different directions. I could not agree or condone this and it was not for me to judge, but I can decide who will be in my circle of friends and where and what I am trying to do and my walk with God. The walk is not easy, but those who are in my circle have to align with a certain piece of my believe system. Its like the old saying you can love someone, but if I am a Christian and my spouse is a Devil worshipper, no matter how much I would love that spouse eventually we will clash because our basic believe systems are different. This is not the same as opposites attract. So very respectfully I had to tell this friend that I love, that I did and do love her but would have to end the friendship as we do not align at this point. I have no idea if God will have us meet again, but as for now it was not healthy for me and my growth to share my circle with conversation about infidelity, cheating, sneaking and lying.
So ask yourself about the company you keep, is your company walking and growing? Is your company in line with your believe system, is your company supportive and loyal? Is your company the company God wants you to have? If you said no, talk to your company to determine their is no mis-communication and make critical life changing decision to either let them go, or keep them at bay. This may mean family members may have to be kept at bay, a spouse which was not appointed to you by God has to go, this may mean a friendship will end etc. Do not think of what you are losing, as you have wonderful memories, think about what you will gain. Don't be afraid to step out on Faith, for faith is the substance hoped for, ask again what do you want out of life, what does God have for you and ask God to provide you the wisdom to make the best choices for your family. Don't be afraid to figure out how you will pay a bill, who you will call when you are sad, who you will hang out with on the weekend or vacations. If God wants you to dump the company you keep, feel good in knowing he will fill the void with something or someone who he feels will support his cause for you. Continue to pray for those who you walked away from, but keep your eye straight ahead on the Lord. He truly will take you places your wildest dreams could only think of. Don't allow the company you keep to prevent you from what and where the Lord has and wants you to be.
Continue to ask the lord for wisdom to teach you to think like him. Remember God has told our great, great, great, ... grandparents this statement and it still hold true today " My plans for you are good and not evil, to give you a future and a hope! Continue to speak positive words of faith. If you pray and are instructed to remove some of the company you keep, no matter who they are, you must be obedient and listen. Kinda like what we said a few months ago about taking out the trash, but this is more specific to people, versus habits and thoughts. Look around, and look at the company you keep. If they do not line up, you must politely step back and tell them no thank you, and forge ahead, remember the lord can pour SOME blessing, but don't you want ALL blessings?
Ladies, look around and make some hard decisions~
A few Scriptures to Help-
I Corinthians 2:9
Jeremiah 29:11
Proverbs 16:3
Proverbs 4:25
March was not as interactive as we would have liked, I hope we can make April truly a month to dialog, you can always sign in and comment anonymous. I don't want this to be something we are excited about for a few months then it falls off. We women are so strong an we take on everything, lets take a few minutes out of our lives to read, and dialog, reach out for help or help others through this blog site. We at Our Hearts 2 Yours are looking forward to what we can accomplish together.
Have a fantastic April, as this is the time our Lord sacrificed the unblemished lamb of Christ for our sins. This month unlike any other month means so much, with out this time we would all live in madness. I pray you have a fantastic Resurrection month, Feast of Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Feast of First Fruits and more. Where ever the Lord calls you to be, I pray you listen and obey as this is a time for blessings and not curses, and this begins with you and me!
We have been talking about growing in your relationships, making better choices and things you want to change for your life, but another thing we must remember as we move forward in this process is the COMPANY we keep, or surround ourselves with. This requires taking a closer look at the friends you have aligned yourself with, co-workers and the organization you have aligned yourself with, the business partner you are interested in, the boyfriend you have selected and yes even your spouse you have as your life partner. The company you keep can be either a blessing or a curse. The bible talks about this in the old and new testiment, so isn't it about time we begin to examine this aspect of our lives and make the changes to correct or remove. Now I am not saying end a friendship, a business partnership, dump a boyfriend or divorce a spouse. Only you can know what your next move should be, and this will come with asking yourself some hard questions and having this conversation with GOD for your instruction. My famous line to many of my close friends is this "if you hang out in the bottom, eventually you will enjoy the bottom". Now let me be clear when I say bottom I am not saying if you own a house and your friends do not, you toot your nose up at them and call them bottom; or if you are in a sorority and your friends are not you toot your nose up at them and call them bottoms. When I speak of the bottom I speak of people who enjoy being slick, taking from others, hurting others, stealing, and cheating. Those who hustle up on people to get ahead instead of through hard work, those who enjoy drinking all night and sleeping around instead of taking care of their responsibilities. Okay let me be more specific, you have a friend you have known for years and 10 years ago you were both on the same page or even same level, but you have begun to grow, grow in your walk with Christ, grow in your professional and personal life. You tell this friend you are going to start your own business and your friend response is "why you going to do that, you bet not do that, we are in a recession no one is going to buy what you are selling". They sit and tell you all of the things which could go wrong and not because they love you but because they are no longer on the level you are on and see or even understand the vision GOD has given you because they are in another place. You have that cousin who remains on public assistance because it is easier to get governmental assistance than to work and purchase no-name items. You have a spouse or boyfriend who does not work, or does not keep a job because it is easier for him to live off of you, but instead of being grateful he spends your money and runs the streets and even has the nerve to cheat on you with other women with your money. You work on a job where you know they have no integrity and possibly are practicing in some questionable things, but because you want to move up in the organization you join in to the practice even though you feel it is wrong. Again I could go on and on, but I hope you get the just of when I say the company you keep.
How do we even expect for the lord to pour us out a blessing over our lives where we will not have enough room in our storehouse if we are aligning ourselves with people, places and or things which are not good for us. Its the company we keep which yes could cause static in us receiving our blessing. The company you keep can warp your thought process without you even being aware. The bible mentions over and over about surrounding yourself with saints, do you think God just said this for no reason? No he had a reason for this, some people will not go with us on our journey, some families members will not go with us on our journey, and if not equally yoked and appointed by God, then yes even your spouses will not go with us on our journey. The company you keep should be honest, have integrity, working to live the best life God has for them, not only reads the bible but walks in the light to becoming a better person. If your circle of friends, family and co-workers do not line up with what God has for you, then don't be sad, don't shed a tear. You drop those things, in the most respectful way as you continue on your journey. This is not a bad reflection, this is simply you can not go forward when you surround yourself with a backwards mentality. Where you are today, may not be who you were 15 years ago, if you have friends or families members who are still in the same place they were 15 years ago, you simply pray for them and you move ahead. You can not prosper surrounding yourself with bottom and negative individuals. Helping and volunteering your time in the bottom is not the same thing is surrounding, hanging on or hanging around the bottom. Contrary, we should go into the fields, the hoe houses, the ghetto's, the slums, etc. and volunteer our time to help others, as their are some who are in the bottom or in a bottom mentality and they need our help, guidance and light to shine to know they too can get out. This is not the same as spending your days and nights surrounding yourself with those who are not growing, who does not care to grow or are too engulfed in mess, the past and negativity to walk in line with you on your spiritual growth professionally and personally with God. You have to let them go. I will give you an example. I had a friend, that I loved or should say still love, but I could no longer keep her in my immediate circle of friends; not because she is a bad or horrible person; but because we are moving in two different directions and where I am going and what she was doing was not in line with where the Lord wanted me to be. To give you a short snipped of what I am saying without giving you all the details, This is a friend I have known for only 4 years, but was the best 4 years in my life. We talked, we supported each other, we spoke the word of God in each others lives and things were great. About a year and a half ago, my dear friend began to change but not maybe the best change, but I remained faithful and her friend. She began hanging out with true bottom people, I mean people who stole, cheated and lusted. These were people who would hustle you for a dime, these were people who drank sun-sun, and neglected to pay the rent, lights, gas or phone, these were people who thought of ways to hustle someone out of something than to get it the right way, even if it meant being a little uncomfortable, this turned into my friend having a relationship with a knowingly married man, now this was not the deal breaker the deal breaker for me was simply she knew this was wrong but refused to let it go. Letting it go simply means you step back and out of the situation and allow this man to clean up his house. Even more she indicated she knew this was toxic, felt bad for the wife and their child, but did not want to give it up. I asked what exactly do you not want to give up, the part-time visits and spend the nights to your home, the secrets and lies, the blessing which you are blocking etc. Knowing first hand what an affair can do to a marriage, a family and children knowingly staying involved in this type of relationship as you wonder why you are having difficulty paying your rent, car note, child care etc. I could no longer support my friend, where she was headed and where I am heading is in two different directions. I could not agree or condone this and it was not for me to judge, but I can decide who will be in my circle of friends and where and what I am trying to do and my walk with God. The walk is not easy, but those who are in my circle have to align with a certain piece of my believe system. Its like the old saying you can love someone, but if I am a Christian and my spouse is a Devil worshipper, no matter how much I would love that spouse eventually we will clash because our basic believe systems are different. This is not the same as opposites attract. So very respectfully I had to tell this friend that I love, that I did and do love her but would have to end the friendship as we do not align at this point. I have no idea if God will have us meet again, but as for now it was not healthy for me and my growth to share my circle with conversation about infidelity, cheating, sneaking and lying.
So ask yourself about the company you keep, is your company walking and growing? Is your company in line with your believe system, is your company supportive and loyal? Is your company the company God wants you to have? If you said no, talk to your company to determine their is no mis-communication and make critical life changing decision to either let them go, or keep them at bay. This may mean family members may have to be kept at bay, a spouse which was not appointed to you by God has to go, this may mean a friendship will end etc. Do not think of what you are losing, as you have wonderful memories, think about what you will gain. Don't be afraid to step out on Faith, for faith is the substance hoped for, ask again what do you want out of life, what does God have for you and ask God to provide you the wisdom to make the best choices for your family. Don't be afraid to figure out how you will pay a bill, who you will call when you are sad, who you will hang out with on the weekend or vacations. If God wants you to dump the company you keep, feel good in knowing he will fill the void with something or someone who he feels will support his cause for you. Continue to pray for those who you walked away from, but keep your eye straight ahead on the Lord. He truly will take you places your wildest dreams could only think of. Don't allow the company you keep to prevent you from what and where the Lord has and wants you to be.
Continue to ask the lord for wisdom to teach you to think like him. Remember God has told our great, great, great, ... grandparents this statement and it still hold true today " My plans for you are good and not evil, to give you a future and a hope! Continue to speak positive words of faith. If you pray and are instructed to remove some of the company you keep, no matter who they are, you must be obedient and listen. Kinda like what we said a few months ago about taking out the trash, but this is more specific to people, versus habits and thoughts. Look around, and look at the company you keep. If they do not line up, you must politely step back and tell them no thank you, and forge ahead, remember the lord can pour SOME blessing, but don't you want ALL blessings?
Ladies, look around and make some hard decisions~
A few Scriptures to Help-
I Corinthians 2:9
Jeremiah 29:11
Proverbs 16:3
Proverbs 4:25
March was not as interactive as we would have liked, I hope we can make April truly a month to dialog, you can always sign in and comment anonymous. I don't want this to be something we are excited about for a few months then it falls off. We women are so strong an we take on everything, lets take a few minutes out of our lives to read, and dialog, reach out for help or help others through this blog site. We at Our Hearts 2 Yours are looking forward to what we can accomplish together.
Have a fantastic April, as this is the time our Lord sacrificed the unblemished lamb of Christ for our sins. This month unlike any other month means so much, with out this time we would all live in madness. I pray you have a fantastic Resurrection month, Feast of Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Feast of First Fruits and more. Where ever the Lord calls you to be, I pray you listen and obey as this is a time for blessings and not curses, and this begins with you and me!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
A Response To March's Topic of The Month
I was recently watching TV and a commercial came on and it mentioned don't be afraid to chase the wind. I pondered the commercial, and even became very excited saying "you know what, I am going to start chasing the wind". Then I turned to Ecclesiastes on the same day, not more than 10minutes later, where the instructions said "don't chase the wind". Okay to be more specific it read "Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don't have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless-like chasing the wind".
So ladies here is my interpretation of this verse as well as conversations I have had with other women over the last few weeks. Many times we as humans can get caught in a place where we begin to complain or even become complacent and complain. We complain about our bills, our husbands, or partners, complain about our children, our jobs, our churches, our grocery stores and gas stations. It just seems today not very many people are happy with what they have. On another note though, not only being dissatisfied with where we are in life we are not making the necessary steps to make things better. I am a true believer God has blessings not curses for all of his children. I truly believe he is ready to pour us out a blessing to where our cup will overflow because our cup will not have room to store all the things God has in store for us. Sometimes we make it difficult for God to bless us in over abundance when we can not be satisfied with where we are. Now this does not mean do not aspire for more, or like the good book says, want for more. Simply dreaming about what we want and complaining about what we don't have is not going to cut the mustard and comes off a bit ungrateful.
An example of this is working at a company you don't like, but instead of being thankful for the job you currently have, and actively looking for something better. You sit in that job day after day, complaining about how you don't get a raise, or the raise is small, you can not get a promotion, or you have to come in early, stay late or work weekends. Because of this you start coming into work late, taking longer lunch breaks, spending more time at the water cooler, coffee pot or restrooms, you call in if its raining, snowing, cold, you have a headache or simply wake up and say "hey I am not going to work". So you dream of having something better but you don't take personal responsibility for your part at the job, and your dreams do not move into action with looking for another job, finding a recruiter or a headhunter.
I will never forget about eight years ago I took one of my famous cruises with my group of traveling friends, five of us traveled this time on the trip and we had landed in St. Thomas. So as we began shopping (St. Thomas was known for great jewelry at exceptional prices), we stopped in a jewelry store and one of my dear friends said something to this affect "yall go head and look, I am not a dreamer I realize I can not and will not afford this mess so I am about to go". I am sharing this to say, it is okay to dream, but dreaming alone will not help you to accomplish what is rightfully yours on this earth. I wish I would have said to my friend then what I am saying today. You know, you are correct dreaming alone about traveling, buying something or owning something will not accomplish anything, instead make yourself some goals. Then do what is necessary to accomplish those goals. Having nice things are not only for the privileged, you can own a house, own a car, own property, have investments, travel to Italy, Greece, Morocco and Egypt and so much more. You may not have the ability today to obtain those things at this very moment, but you plan and move the plan into action to reach your goals. Just because you are unemployed today, does not mean you can not dream, then set yourself a goal, then put the goals into action to own a home or travel to Greece. Simply means you have to prioritize and plan accordingly, you may have to purchase your home in 2011, or travel to Greece in 2010. Instead of going to the movies every week or buying a new outfit at Macy's three day sale, you may decide to tuck away your money. You may say I am going to save 100.oo a month, and call this your closing money fund or your trip to Greece fund. Hang a picture of your favorite home or next vacation spot or what ever else you want then do what is necessary to make that dream into a goal and that goal into a reality.
Chasing a dream is meaningless without a call to action! We have to stop assuming because of our current state and circumstances we can not achieve greatness. We have to stop accepting things which are below standards because we can not appreciate our worth. If you are not married today, does not mean you will not be married tomorrow, sitting around and complaining about not being married and all of your friends are married is not going to change your circumstances, accepting trash of a man because you want to be married is not moving towards a positive goal and will ultimately result in your personal, physical and mental demise. Along with sitting in the house or on the Internet is not assisting you in moving you towards your goal of being married either. We can go on and on with different examples of how one chases the wind without action. If you have gained weight in the last 10 years, don't complain that nothing fits, or wonder why our husbands or partners do not find us attractive anymore, and continue to eat fast food, frozen meals and fried foods everyday while the weight continues to stick to you like glue. If you dream of losing weight, dream no more. Set yourself a goal, start off saying I am going to lose 5 pounds in 1 month. Then move your goal into actionable steps by cutting out all pops, sodas, sweet teas and start drinking water. Cut out fried foods from 7 days to 1 day, shrink your portion sizes, shrink your carbohydrates and sugars and increase your vegetables and less sweeten fruits, and you know what walk to the corner and back again 5 times, 3 days a week. Nothing hard, nothing major, small steps to achieving your goal. In 30 days you would have lost those 5 pounds and more. If you fall off the wagon, get right back up and start again. Don't go out to eat, or if you do don't eat the whole plate, eat half and throw the other half away, I know I said it throw it away (how much you wanna bet you will stop eating out until you get your weight under control).
So as we have been talking for the past few months about communication, throwing out the trash and now stop having meaningless dreams like chasing the wind. Chasing the wind alone will not yield any results, as you can spend a life time chasing the wind. Lets put those dreams into goals and goals into action! Rather you are looking for a new job, change of jobs, buying a new home, taking a vacation, purchasing a car, making an investment, getting out of debt, losing weight, adopting a child etc. Don't just dream about it, be about it! Okay my net work of women, as we are taking out the trash, let's turn our dreams into goals and goals into reality. I don't know about you but in the next 4 years I am going to Morocco, Italy, Greece, Spain, Istanbul and Libia and I will own some investment properties which will help pay for my daughters college. Just so you know, this is not a dream, this is a goal I am actively working in making into a reality. What every your dream is, dream no more, stop chasing the wind, move that dream into a goal. It may take 6 months or 5 years, but make the necessary plans to move into reality.
As you do this lean not to your own understanding, pray to God on the next move you should make so he may order your footsteps into the right direction. Keep good circle of saintly friends around you who will support you, and keep a faithful heart even during times of what appears to be uncertainty, as even what appears to be uncertainty is a learning lesson for you!
Useful Scriptures:
Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
Ecclesiastes 5:3
Ecclesiastes 6:9
Ecclesiastes 9:11-12
From Our Hearts 2 Yours,
knedwards-montgomery
(As always this blog is meant for us to have dialog about the topic of the month or anything else you feel we should discuss. We should support each other, if you know of a good investment opportunity share the information, if you have some job leads share the information, if you know a great weight loss program or doctor share the information, if you attend a great church share the information, if you know a good marriage counselor share the information, if you know a good divorce attorney share the information, if you know great summer camps for children share the information. If you are going through some difficulties and want to reach out for a caring hand don't hesitate to share the information. This blog is for us women to encourage, share, laugh, cry and sing.)
So ladies here is my interpretation of this verse as well as conversations I have had with other women over the last few weeks. Many times we as humans can get caught in a place where we begin to complain or even become complacent and complain. We complain about our bills, our husbands, or partners, complain about our children, our jobs, our churches, our grocery stores and gas stations. It just seems today not very many people are happy with what they have. On another note though, not only being dissatisfied with where we are in life we are not making the necessary steps to make things better. I am a true believer God has blessings not curses for all of his children. I truly believe he is ready to pour us out a blessing to where our cup will overflow because our cup will not have room to store all the things God has in store for us. Sometimes we make it difficult for God to bless us in over abundance when we can not be satisfied with where we are. Now this does not mean do not aspire for more, or like the good book says, want for more. Simply dreaming about what we want and complaining about what we don't have is not going to cut the mustard and comes off a bit ungrateful.
An example of this is working at a company you don't like, but instead of being thankful for the job you currently have, and actively looking for something better. You sit in that job day after day, complaining about how you don't get a raise, or the raise is small, you can not get a promotion, or you have to come in early, stay late or work weekends. Because of this you start coming into work late, taking longer lunch breaks, spending more time at the water cooler, coffee pot or restrooms, you call in if its raining, snowing, cold, you have a headache or simply wake up and say "hey I am not going to work". So you dream of having something better but you don't take personal responsibility for your part at the job, and your dreams do not move into action with looking for another job, finding a recruiter or a headhunter.
I will never forget about eight years ago I took one of my famous cruises with my group of traveling friends, five of us traveled this time on the trip and we had landed in St. Thomas. So as we began shopping (St. Thomas was known for great jewelry at exceptional prices), we stopped in a jewelry store and one of my dear friends said something to this affect "yall go head and look, I am not a dreamer I realize I can not and will not afford this mess so I am about to go". I am sharing this to say, it is okay to dream, but dreaming alone will not help you to accomplish what is rightfully yours on this earth. I wish I would have said to my friend then what I am saying today. You know, you are correct dreaming alone about traveling, buying something or owning something will not accomplish anything, instead make yourself some goals. Then do what is necessary to accomplish those goals. Having nice things are not only for the privileged, you can own a house, own a car, own property, have investments, travel to Italy, Greece, Morocco and Egypt and so much more. You may not have the ability today to obtain those things at this very moment, but you plan and move the plan into action to reach your goals. Just because you are unemployed today, does not mean you can not dream, then set yourself a goal, then put the goals into action to own a home or travel to Greece. Simply means you have to prioritize and plan accordingly, you may have to purchase your home in 2011, or travel to Greece in 2010. Instead of going to the movies every week or buying a new outfit at Macy's three day sale, you may decide to tuck away your money. You may say I am going to save 100.oo a month, and call this your closing money fund or your trip to Greece fund. Hang a picture of your favorite home or next vacation spot or what ever else you want then do what is necessary to make that dream into a goal and that goal into a reality.
Chasing a dream is meaningless without a call to action! We have to stop assuming because of our current state and circumstances we can not achieve greatness. We have to stop accepting things which are below standards because we can not appreciate our worth. If you are not married today, does not mean you will not be married tomorrow, sitting around and complaining about not being married and all of your friends are married is not going to change your circumstances, accepting trash of a man because you want to be married is not moving towards a positive goal and will ultimately result in your personal, physical and mental demise. Along with sitting in the house or on the Internet is not assisting you in moving you towards your goal of being married either. We can go on and on with different examples of how one chases the wind without action. If you have gained weight in the last 10 years, don't complain that nothing fits, or wonder why our husbands or partners do not find us attractive anymore, and continue to eat fast food, frozen meals and fried foods everyday while the weight continues to stick to you like glue. If you dream of losing weight, dream no more. Set yourself a goal, start off saying I am going to lose 5 pounds in 1 month. Then move your goal into actionable steps by cutting out all pops, sodas, sweet teas and start drinking water. Cut out fried foods from 7 days to 1 day, shrink your portion sizes, shrink your carbohydrates and sugars and increase your vegetables and less sweeten fruits, and you know what walk to the corner and back again 5 times, 3 days a week. Nothing hard, nothing major, small steps to achieving your goal. In 30 days you would have lost those 5 pounds and more. If you fall off the wagon, get right back up and start again. Don't go out to eat, or if you do don't eat the whole plate, eat half and throw the other half away, I know I said it throw it away (how much you wanna bet you will stop eating out until you get your weight under control).
So as we have been talking for the past few months about communication, throwing out the trash and now stop having meaningless dreams like chasing the wind. Chasing the wind alone will not yield any results, as you can spend a life time chasing the wind. Lets put those dreams into goals and goals into action! Rather you are looking for a new job, change of jobs, buying a new home, taking a vacation, purchasing a car, making an investment, getting out of debt, losing weight, adopting a child etc. Don't just dream about it, be about it! Okay my net work of women, as we are taking out the trash, let's turn our dreams into goals and goals into reality. I don't know about you but in the next 4 years I am going to Morocco, Italy, Greece, Spain, Istanbul and Libia and I will own some investment properties which will help pay for my daughters college. Just so you know, this is not a dream, this is a goal I am actively working in making into a reality. What every your dream is, dream no more, stop chasing the wind, move that dream into a goal. It may take 6 months or 5 years, but make the necessary plans to move into reality.
As you do this lean not to your own understanding, pray to God on the next move you should make so he may order your footsteps into the right direction. Keep good circle of saintly friends around you who will support you, and keep a faithful heart even during times of what appears to be uncertainty, as even what appears to be uncertainty is a learning lesson for you!
Useful Scriptures:
Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
Ecclesiastes 5:3
Ecclesiastes 6:9
Ecclesiastes 9:11-12
From Our Hearts 2 Yours,
knedwards-montgomery
(As always this blog is meant for us to have dialog about the topic of the month or anything else you feel we should discuss. We should support each other, if you know of a good investment opportunity share the information, if you have some job leads share the information, if you know a great weight loss program or doctor share the information, if you attend a great church share the information, if you know a good marriage counselor share the information, if you know a good divorce attorney share the information, if you know great summer camps for children share the information. If you are going through some difficulties and want to reach out for a caring hand don't hesitate to share the information. This blog is for us women to encourage, share, laugh, cry and sing.)
Monday, February 2, 2009
Response To February's Topic Of The Month
Over the last several weeks I have had countless dialog with women, friends, associates and family and the conversations seems to echo over and over of someone holding on to something they should let go. Let me be more specific as this topic has lead me into different types of conversations regarding holding on to something. Why do we hold on to a job or career we no longer find fulfilling? We sit and complain everyday about the job/career, the hours, the lack of this or lack of that, but we do nothing to change our situation. What are you holding on to that job for if it makes you so unhappy? Why not find a recruiter or headhunter to assist you in your job search? Why not go back to school to obtain your bachelors degree or masters degree, or obtain additional certifications to leverage your heighten skill level. Another subject around this is why do we hold on to our children and not allow them to experience life by placing barriers which do not allow them to grow and become productive citizens? Why do we hold on to them so tightly and think because we give them money or cater to their every need that we have done our job as a parent? Are you living the life you wish you had through your children until it is a hindrance? Another topic which was discussed is why do we so called progressive strong women get involved with knowingly married men, and we hang on to something which is not biblical ours to hold on to? Why do we hang on to another women's husbands when we know deep down this is toxic for all parties involved, yet we make excuses of true love, destiny or it feels so right that it possibly can not be wrong? Why do we stay in a loveless marriage without communicating with one another to determine if the marriage is worth fighting for, if the partners are equally yoked? Why do we attract dead beat loser men who use us mentally, physically or even financially? Why do we enable those men? Why do we attract and yes stay with them? Why do we hold on to complaining our finances are not where they should be, yet we go to the mall and spend on items we don't need or during Thanksgiving and Christmas spend money on gifts and presents we can not afford? Why do we do nothing to change our social economic environment? Why do we complain and hold on to the fact we have gained some weight and our self esteem is low, but we do nothing to truly change our dietary intake and even exercises? Ask yourself this question, are you holding on to something which has run its course and is no longer healthy for your way of life? If you truly ask yourself this question, you may also see there is a reason why some of the unfortunate drama you may encounter occurred. To truly obtain the life GOD has for you, you must let go the things which are not mentally, physically or financially good for your mind, body and soul. Are you hanging on to these things out of fear? Fear of being alone, fear of failure, fear of what others may say or think about you, fear of taking a financial risk? FEAR, FEAR, FEAR is an ugly root which plants itself in your mind into making you come up with the best excuses on why you should hold on to what I would consider TRASH. A trashy relationship, a trashy career, a trashy friendship, a trashy affair, trashy finances, simply put trashy living. The good news, now that you have asked yourself what are you holding on to out of fear, you can release that burden and fear to GOD and allow for him to speak to you as only he can, to provide you instruction for the next stage in your life. So in the words of my Pastor, it is time to take back what is yours in 09! Now this does not mean take what does not belong to you, simply release those holds which are keeping you stagnant from progressing and move forward and take back what is yours in 09. For me, it is taking back a career which was slightly cut short at one corporation due to layoffs, and forcefully moving forward to obtain what is mine and what the lord has for me. Now we can not take back what is ours on our own. We still must continue to read God's word, pray, communicate with healthy relationships and friends, network and do what is right. Let us stop using excuses for our trashy behavior and lets agree to take a stand and say no more! No more staying in a position at a job in which we are unhappy, no more getting into relationships with knowingly married men, or staying with a married man because it feels good or we think we are in love, or we don't want to be alone, no more getting involved in a relationship because we don't want to be alone, or we think a man will bring us happiness, no more spending on items we don't need or does not benefit us to simply say to others we have the Gucci, Hermes, Coach, Jimmy Choo, Range Rovers and BMW's. No more eating unhealthy or large portions of food which does not benefit our body, no more suffocating our children because of mistakes or tragedies which affected us as children or young adults. No more living in a household with your spouse and you don't communicate to correct issues or opportunities which are presenting themselves and simply living as roommates. No more laying down with men when you are not married because you want to feel wanted or loved, or simply as I have heard "ooh he is good in bed"; after being sexually filled do you truly feel whole or satisfied (okay I don't just mean sexually satisfied lol)? GOD has so much in store for his children, but we must stop the generational curses which have plagued our race, and community. Our bible has said fear is not of GOD, so knowing this should give us comfort when we release the wheel and let him drive he will take us to new and better places. Letting go may not always be easy, you may even fall down, but pick yourself back up, call your God, call your friends, hey call us on this blog for sincere support from our ladies community, we all can share our personal testimonies as you move through the process removing judgement and scorn. So I close with saying, lets release what is trashy in our lives, lets lean on our circle of friends, family and most of all the lord to help us through the time of release. While doing that lets take back what is ours in 09! Hey Ladies Are You With Me?
A Few Scriptures To Remember:
Matthew 14:27
Mark 5:36
Isaiah 6:10
Deuteronomy 8:17-18
(Many of you have called the founders about how you most enjoyed the blog, lets make February 09 the month we truly dialog and or comment on the topic of the month)
A Few Scriptures To Remember:
Matthew 14:27
Mark 5:36
Isaiah 6:10
Deuteronomy 8:17-18
(Many of you have called the founders about how you most enjoyed the blog, lets make February 09 the month we truly dialog and or comment on the topic of the month)
Friday, January 2, 2009
Response to January's Topic of the Month
We all have been reading the news and watching television, each month individuals are suffering from job loss or job cuts resulting in high unemployment, a few of you have even lost your jobs in the last 6-9months, while health insurance is increasing and health benefits are decreasing. Industries such as Financial, Automotive and Retail are being hit the hardest with more industries to come; or at least this is what we are being told. It is very easy during this time to allow fear to consume and prevent you from focusing on the one true God who can move all challenges, obstacles, concerns, and doubt. Now don't get me wrong the recession is real, and to be honest my household is feeling the affects of job loss as the NFL is having administrative job cuts, the AFL has completely folded until further notice and trying to manage off of a shrunken income budget is difficult. As it is easy to think about what is Not going well in each of our lives and the financial strain each of us may be enduring. I have learned as we go through these cycles of change the one constant is keeping our heart and mind open to hearing God's voice and the direction he has for our lives. This requires trusting and believing in God especially when times are good and even when times of what we believe are bad. This requires praying, and also praying with your husband or partner, praying his word over your life and your circumstances and reading his word. Now I have not always been true to following the advice in which I am giving, but I do know when I focus on my God and not my problem, when I pray and read his word my life and situation always turns out for my good. Life is too short to spend in fear, doubt or even complaining about what we do not have. I am a living witness that GOD will make a way out of no way. I can not think of the many times in the past few months when I wondered how in the world am I going to pay the light bill, my mom sends a surprise check in the mail which covered the cost of the light bill; or when a visa gift card came right in time for the holidays, or when I was traveling on business and an error with the airlines resulted in refund of funds to cover another bill. Now I am not advocating living check to check LOL LOL... This is actually foolish, and we as a society and people have to do better to spend wisely and save properly for not only difficult times, but for our children and childrens childrens; but there are times and circumstances which are out of our control where this will happen. The key is learning from the experience and making the proper provisions to overcome. I for one can see my breakthrough and it is close, and I am and will use my personal testimony to say even if you have suffered job cuts or job loss, it is not the end of life or your livelihood. The key is working through the difficulties and coming out stronger, wiser and yes even more prosperous than before. Which is why it is important for all to read GODs word, meditate over his word so you may hear his voice in what he has in store for you and your family. During tough economic times it is very easy to blame each other, or for bitterness and resentment to creep into the marriage. Arguments begin and you don't know why, even affairs can begin during financial strains, don't allow the devil to penetrate your thoughts and cause confusion within your marriage and relationship as we know God is of peace and the devil is of confusion. Remember economic strains only endure for a moment while joy endures for a lifetime. If you are equally yoked with your spouse or partner you must understand you are going to experience difficulties, but keeping love alive and strong through communication, laughter, hugs, kisses and yes if you are married making love while also reading God's word will ensure your marriage and relationship weathers the storm. Now I am no doctor, or Psychologist , but what I am is a child of GOD who has gone through experiences which have shaped me into the wife, mother, sister, friend and daughter that I am today. Here are some scriptures I read or have read during times of difficulty:
Matthew 5:27-37 (teaching of adultery, divorce and vows)
Matthew 6:25-34 (teaching not to worry about day to day things, money, food etc.)
Matthew 7:24-27 (ensuring each household builds a strong foundation)
Matthew 19:4-12 (discussion about divorce and marriage)
Proverbs 5:1-23 (discussion on how husbands should treat their wives)
Proverbs 31:10-31 (discussion on how wives should treat their husbands)
Philippians 4:6-7 (discussion on how to overcome fear and worry)
I could go on and on, but these are things both you and your spouse can read to strengthen your marriage especially during tough times such as what we are dealing with today financially; also remember if your spouse has not fully come to know who Jesus Christ really is or his role in your marriage, no problem, don't you fret, you continue to pray for your spouse and your marriage, GOD hears all and how many times have we been saved by the prayers of someone else. So I end my post with I hope you have gotten something from me sharing a piece of my heart 2 yours and please post your thoughts or shared experiences you never know you may be a latern of hope and light for someone else.
Take Care and Always, GOD Bless~
knedwards-montgomery
Matthew 5:27-37 (teaching of adultery, divorce and vows)
Matthew 6:25-34 (teaching not to worry about day to day things, money, food etc.)
Matthew 7:24-27 (ensuring each household builds a strong foundation)
Matthew 19:4-12 (discussion about divorce and marriage)
Proverbs 5:1-23 (discussion on how husbands should treat their wives)
Proverbs 31:10-31 (discussion on how wives should treat their husbands)
Philippians 4:6-7 (discussion on how to overcome fear and worry)
I could go on and on, but these are things both you and your spouse can read to strengthen your marriage especially during tough times such as what we are dealing with today financially; also remember if your spouse has not fully come to know who Jesus Christ really is or his role in your marriage, no problem, don't you fret, you continue to pray for your spouse and your marriage, GOD hears all and how many times have we been saved by the prayers of someone else. So I end my post with I hope you have gotten something from me sharing a piece of my heart 2 yours and please post your thoughts or shared experiences you never know you may be a latern of hope and light for someone else.
Take Care and Always, GOD Bless~
knedwards-montgomery
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