Epic Fail!!!

I failed miserably at the A-Z Blog Challenge. Not only did I not complete this brilliant opportunity to express myself on a daily basis, I failed to write anything good in the four days I eeked out. My reason? I have several. For starters, I am a hot mess. Disorganized. Unmotivated. Lazy. Yeah, I'm being a little hard on myself, but it's the truth. I didn't complete the blog challenge quite frankly because I didn't want to write crap. By crap, I mean simply words that clog up a page. Or in this case, a computer screen. So, I am making my attempt at redemption by deciding to write more meaningful blogs unscheduled or unplanned. Wish me luck.

C is for Cupcakes

This post is gonna be a short one. I love cupcakes. And when I find a bakery that sells really good ones, I get excited. cupcakes are a little bit of happiness, fun and comfort rolled into one. My favorite kind is red velvet cupcakes and it brings me back to a happy place. If you find a good place that serves cupcakes, enjoy it!

B is for Beatitudes

It’s always good to remember your roots. And with me, my roots are firmly into the church and the teachings and examples of Jesus Christ. In this crazy world we live in, it’s easy to forget some basic simple principles. But every now and again, I like to remind others and remind myself of the things that matter the most in this world. Be Blessed today and always! Matthew 5:3-12 3Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled. 7Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy. 8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God. 10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Aint Nobody Got Time For That

Anxiety, Annoyed and Angry: Aint Nobody got Time for That! We’ve all seen her on You Tube. Our friends have picked up the phrase and annoyed the crap out of us by delivering the overused line over and over again. And the sad part about it, it’s gone viral. I think there was even a segment on local and national news. “Aint Nobody Got Time for That!!!” All due respect to Kimberly Wilkins, A.K.A. Sweet Brown, I understand the struggle. Once she received media attention from saying “I Got Bronchitis”, she took her 15 minutes of fame and ran with it. That led to a commercial for a local dentist and her explaining “Aint nobody got time for that” toothache. I get it. I would have done the same thing. This year, I almost didn’t participate in the A-Z blog challenge because I had too much going on. I have a full time job, social life and other things that keep me busy. And then the words for Ms. Brown came into my head and challenged my level of anxiety. I came to the conclusion that being anxious was not a good enough reason to share one of my greatest passions with others through this blog. For the next month please feel free to join me as I remind myself of this phrase each time I get a little frustrated or a little angry or a little annoyed. The catchphrase is irritating, but it’s also very true. Because let’s face it: Anxiety, being annoyed, getting angry—“Aint Nobody Got Time For That.”

Get yo life!!!

Get yo life! I love that expression. Tamar Braxton sparked something on the inside of me for speaking that little bit of inspiration. “Get yo life!” Powerful. What I think “get yo life” means is pretty simple. Live the life of your dreams. Live the life of your heart. But most importantly, live the life that God has planned for you. What I have learned in the past few months is we often don’t “get our life” because we become distracted. Our faith is tested and often times we get stuck. Instead of getting our life, we get stuck on stupid. Sometimes, we get so discouraged when something doesn’t work out or an obstacle gets in our way and we don’t push ourselves to accomplish our goals. We don’t get our lives because we get complacent and frustrated and overwhelmed. It’s all so exhausting. Minutes roll into hours that roll into days that roll into weeks, months and sadly years. We get frozen. I have neglected this blog and getting my life as of late. I have not done the things that I know in my spirit God has called me to do. I am realizing that life is short on this Earth and there is a specific reason that He has us here. There is a specific reason and plan for each and every one of us to be here. Not just existing and not just taking breath after breath without purpose. It is my decision to find out what exactly it is God wants from me. That is my life’s mission. Hopefully along the way of “getting my life” I will experience many joys and lessons that will influence that cause. The older I get I realize that if I don’t work at constantly getting my life, I know that uncertainty and emptiness will forever fill my time here on this planet. I honestly didn’t think my life would take the path that I have so far, but I also can honestly say I am the reason for how my life has evolved. The words that come out of my mouth and the thoughts that occupy my head are the direct result of me not completely getting my life. I have been off course and it’s been a hard journey. However, I know with God’s continuous grace and mercy, not only “get my life” but I will encourage, inspire and make a positive difference in the lives of others. So how I continue to choose happiness is to invest the time it truly takes to “get my life.” When God gives you a gift and you don’t use it to His glory, you run the risk of not getting your life. Every so-called successful person has managed to embrace that small significant truth. You have to “get yo life” before your life gets you. I encourage my readers to embrace the thought of getting your life. If you have been off course, distracted, uninspired, neglected, mistreated, misunderstood, unappreciated or all of the above, dust yourself off and keep it moving. Like what Bishop T.D. Jakes and many grandmothers have said “eat the meat, leave the bones but keep it moving.” If you don’t, nothing in your life will fall into place. Not only will you not “get yo life”, but life will surely get you. Don’t let that happen. Don’t miss out on your destiny. Don’t stay unfocused and distracted. There is so much greatness out there for each of us. All of those who dare to go out and “get yo life.”

Z is for the end.

And I thought the letter X was difficult to write about. But Z? The final letter in the alphabet. The final blog that I have to post for this challenge. I feel a little disappointed because I wanted to go out with a bang. I even asked my Facebook buddies to help me think of a great topic. I heard many good suggestions. Zenith, Zebra print, Zodiac signs, Zen. All of those were really good suggestions.

But I really couldn't think of anything that would sum up what this experience meant to me. It's been great and I can't think of an appropriate word that starts with Z to express my feelings. I think Z is is a beautiful letter. But I still couldn't think of a great Z word to end this part of my blog. I feel that this has been a very good experience for me. If anything, I learned how to come up with something to say, whether it was the best I have ever written or not. I learned to be disciplined. I knew I had to post something everyday, and it had to be within the rules of the challenge. It kept me on my toes. I learned how to write tired. I learned how to write upset. I learned how to write uninspired. I got a lot of positive feedback, but I also got some negative reactions too. I lost a couple of Facebook friends. (Kinda glad, tell you the truth. They beat me to the delete button, lol.) I got a little backlash on language. It's all good. People are entitled to their opinions. And so am I. And while I will admit I am going to take a little break from writing in this blog for a minute, I will be back. With more structure and tons of new creative ideas. I want to thank a friend of mine from High School who encouraged me to participate in this experience. I also want to take time to thank everyone who took time out to read me. I really appreciate it!

Y is for Youth

I am actually at the age where I am not young. That's not to say that I claim old just yet, but I acknowledge that I am not a spring chicken. Youth is one of the most coveted things in this life. When you are young, you feel as if you can conquer the world. No obstacle seems too complicated and time seems like an infinite thing. Nothing seems as real or permanent and choices are endless. Usually it's in youth where people make the most mistakes in life, but those same mistakes are often times are the same ones that dictate the rest of your life.