Surround Yourself. Tell Yourself. Be Yourself.

Hey Chile!!

What’s been going on? How have you been?

Well I do hope!

Alright, lets get to it! I honestly don’t have a specific subject to chit chat about with you today. However, I am overflowed with so many topics I would like to share with you. So, how about a open forum on this, that, and the third? Lets talk. Get you some snacks and get comfy cozy. You better believe I already have.

First thing first. Chile, the devil is busy! So you have to be busier! You have gots to stay prayed up and then some. Mm…k. Ya feel me? At any given moment he will step in and try and take you out. That’s why you have to wake up with a praise! Speak life over yourself and your day before you click on social media. Thank God for the day ahead and share with Him your expectations of your day ahead! Question? Have you ever, woke up on the wrong side of the bed? You feel defeated and nothing is even wrong? Like you just woke up, and you just feel, blah? Your feet haven’t even hit the floor yet and you done already threw the whole day away before it even started. That’s because Satan tries to capture our thoughts early in the morning as soon as we wake up. He wants to get you all frazzled up and discombobulated in the mind to effect the rest of your day, and if you keep allowing him to get away with it then he will effect you for the rest of your life. The devils whole intent is to steal, kill, and destroy! He wants to steal your peace and destroy your thoughts. His job is to always work towards upsetting us. Consuming our thoughts with the opposite of what God promised us. I say that because I KNOW! I have been at great peace for months now. Even when I was sick as a junk yard dog for three months, pregnant as you know what. Oh yeah, you can read all about that in my latest blog, ‘First Trimester Blues’ if you haven’t already. So, yeah like I was saying. I have been at great peace. I’ve been around good vibes and good people. Life is good. God is great. But just like you know that, the devil does too. That’s why you have to defeat the devil early on in the morning, everyday! Everyday is a fresh start. The devil doesn’t want you to start fresh. He never takes off. It can be the most tedious, minuscule thang eva to set you right on off! And don’t think he won’t use the people and things you love the most to stir the pot. Chile you gots to stay ten steps ahead! And to me and for me that is why it is so important for me to surround myself with people who don’t stir the pot but instead add season to it!! I am very big, no scratch that. I am HUGE on good energy and positive vibes. I am big on being around and incorporating myself with people who feed me. To whom much is given, much is required. I can get along with anyone. But vibing with everyone, nah. It’s a difference. Life is too short to be wasting time with nothingness. Learn to let people go! FOR YOU! The same way we are taught to be good and kind to folks. Take that initiative with your dog on self! No, like for real. Some folk treat people better than they treat themselves. Come on now!! Why is that? Some people don’t even need help getting knocked down. They take they own self slam out with their self- deprecating tongue. Some people speak more ill of themselves then their own enemies do.

STOP! Tell yourself, you can, you are, and you will!

Now, let me get back to that pot I was talking about. The folks that stir it and the folks that season it. Now, for me I need folks thats gone talk me off the ledge not make me want to jump off of it. Meaning, I don’t need someone to stir my pot. When I call or show up at your door step with a problem in need of help. I don’t want that friend that is going to pour negative energy into me with a whole bunch of hooping and hollering like me. I don’t want help fueling my fire. I want my friend to help put me out. I want and need a friend that is going to season me with knowledge, encouragement, ya know, some get right. Call me out, tell me to pray, pray with me! I want you to talk some sense into my silly self. Cause you know when you get mad and bent out of shape you get silly. Always remember this, ten percent is what happens and ninety percent is how you react to it. I have been in enough situations where I have walked away like, “Dang April you ain’t have to do and say all that.” And once something leaves ya mouth its a wrap rizzle. Self-discipline and self-restraint is something I strive for on a daily basis. Even on the tiniest level. Ya know self-control is needed over our thoughts, our emotions, our words, and shoot our appetites too. Self- control is so important to me. More so now than ever because I have a daughter who is not just listening to me, but who is watching me as well. I want to master my own spirit. I don’t have time nor do I want to make time to have opinions about someone else’s life, and what they gots going on when I ain’t swept around my own front stoop. You know those folks. The folks that are quick to say this, that, and the third about what someone else has going on while their own life is going down a shredder.

The most important relationship in this world (to me) is the relationship you have with your kid(s). I sincerely want my girls to be proud of me. So yeah, I am one self help bad mama jamma. I believe in a immense amount of prayer, counseling, church, self help books, work books etc. All the good things that feed your soul, not take away from it. I’ve said it before, but the older I get the more I have gotten to know myself, like really learn me. That’s a whole other blog for a whole other day though Chile. But I have really enjoyed getting to know me more than I have enjoyed getting to know anyone else. We’ll outside of my daughter, and yeah, my husband too of course. I love and like a lot of things about me. But then there are some things that are like nails on a chalk board. Woo whew. However, that’s the beauty and the beast about the whole thing. Because I have learned myself and I know who I am. I know what bothers me, triggers me, irks me, and what gets all up on my nerves! I stay away, faaaar away from those people, places, and things. Because you know what? It’s not about them. It’s about me. Who I am, who I strive to be, and who I want to be. But mostly who I don’t want to be. It’s like I’ve discovered myself! When you know better you do better. I don’t have to be on front street anymore. I don’t want to or have to confront every single thing anymore. I don’t have to react to everything that is said about me. I am who I say I am! I fall all the way back. I be so out of sight, out of mind so strong, most days I could forget about myself! And I am sincerely good with that. I have peace with that. I read a post just the other day that said something like this, “Blood ain’t thicker then peace.” I know a lot of people, if not everyone can relate to family issues to some degree. Whether we speak about on it or not. Some people don’t want to let go of folk for their own peace because of what someone is to them. Now, you tell me what does that have to do with the cost of tea in China?

Chile! PEACE BE STILL!

I legit say thank you Jesus multiple times a day! I am just so grateful and thankful for what I have because I know there are many things I could be lacking. I look back and see what I didn’t have and what I have now.

I was in the kitchen today washing dishes, cooking dinner, ya know. And I saw my daughter and husband running around making a mess of everything I spent time cleaning up. Ugh. But instead of getting frustrated like I do sometimes. I just simply said, thank you Jesus! And every time I say it. I mean it! “Thank You Jesus for love and life. Thank You for togetherness, health, and happiness. All the things we take for granted until we no longer have it at all. I don’t give two hot pots what anyone says about Jesus. I will forever praise His Holy name. And that is what it is honey. I don’t care if He is black, white, poke a dots, or pin stripped, I will fall on my knees and cry out until the roof falls off the sucka. My neighbors probably think they live by a church sometimes. But that’s alright though because I pray for them too!

So look, my sister friend ordered me this book right. It’s called, ’30 Days To Taming Your Tongue.‘ “What you say and DON’T SAY will improve your relationships.” Listen this here book is everything. Everything! It’s very enlightening, profound, and most of all it can check the heck out of yourself. And to me, self awareness is major key. Because you know what? Its not always everyone else. Sometimes its you. I know I haven’t always done everything right as a friend or person in general. I know I could have gone about some situations differently. I don’t regret the outcome of the decisions I have made with people, but more so the delivery of it. I haven’t always said or done the right things. I don’t want to be someone who knows I have a issue or issues in certain areas of my being and just be okay with it. Ya know, like its whatever when it comes to me. But always calling someone else out on their dysfunctions. No, not cool. However, I do appreciate the fact that I do have the gift of goodbye. That has been a prayer for years. That I prayed many, many years ago when it comes to people who don’t have the best interest at heart for me. That doesn’t necessarily mean that something is wrong with that person. It just means everyone can’t go with you. When you grow and mature you don’t do the same things. You don’t talk the same. Listen sometimes you don’t even want to talk about or listen to certain things. I am definitely someone who can let go of people that I feel aren’t beneficial to me. Or hey, I may not be beneficial to them. Either way, I’ve found a lot of peace in letting people and their problems go. Now, I can focus on me and mines. I know what it is like to pull myself out of a hole. It was like God pulled people away from me so I could see myself. That is why in my opinion I feel like it is major importance to not allow everyone to have access to you. You have to find peace and have peace in the smallest things. How you spend your time? Do you spend time alone? What are your habits? What do you do when you get up in the morning? Do you have a routine? How do you speak to yourself? What are your private thoughts about you? What do you read? Do you read? What are you engaging in on social media? Who are you entertaining? So forth and so on. Some of the simplest changes have changed my life drastically. I stopped entertaining that were killing me. Killing my spirit, my emotions, and my thoughts. I got fed up with feeding my dysfunctions! Chile listen, you will miss your blessing entertaining and being loyal to your dysfunctions. Its a daily job to resist the sensation to act like the old dysfunctional you. The devils antics knows your weaknesses. He knows what troubles you. He will hit you where he knows you’re venerable! It is work to have peace of mind ad joy in your heart. The devil don’t fight fair. So you can’t either.

Not following the crowd ain’t easy! But some things, people, and habits you will have to let go of to discover you. That way you can really go after what you deserve and what is for you. A lot of folk are in love with the idea of things because they have no idea who they’re.

I’m Just Saying…

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