Let love abound within and without. Let peace abound within and without. Let contentment abound within and without.  Let hope abound within and without. Let trust abound within and without. Let faith abound within and without.  Let joy abound within and without.

I will post daily!!
(I've been keeping up with this since June 3rd. It dawned on me that I needed to share with you amazing, wonderfully awesome people!!)

06.03.11- At thirty, you do not feel bad or like it's rude to politely excuse someone from your life without his/her permission.

06.04.11- At thirty, you realize that YOU are YOU and HE loves YOU just the way you are. --Those things I don't like about myself I pray and ask Himto take those traits and use them positively.

06.05.11 -- At thirty, you've learned the value of a dollar and how to make it work for you realizing that sowing into God's kingdom is the best insurance!

06.06.11--At thirty, you can look back at your twenties and say: Thank you for teaching me who I am, thank you for putting up with my indecisiveness, my desire to be a people-pleaser, my apprehensiveness about accidentally stepping on people's toes...

06.07.11--At thirty, you've learned that peace of mind regardless of hardship is the end all be all contentment in Him.

06.08.11--At thirty, you stop making and accepting excuses.

06.09.11-- At thirty, you realize that you aren't perfect and realize that you shouldn't be and having that expectation or allowing someone to impose that expectation on you is beyond ridiculous. And, you don't expect others to be perfect, either!

06.10.11-- At thirty, you've identified your strengths and your weaknesses and you allow both of them to shape you into a better person.

06.11.11--At thirty, you've realized that saying "no" is not a four-lettered word.

06.12.11--At thirty, you realize that balance is key.

06.13.11--At thirty, you listen for what is not said.

06.14.11--At thirty, you don't necessarily look at life through rose colored glasses, but you don't cast hope away either. You understand that reality is present, but you don't allow reality to cause your faith to wane.

06.15.11--At thirty, you understand what it means to love and accept yourself and others--flaws and all! Flaws keep it interesting!

06.16.11--At thirty, embracing one's natural beauty is so completely empowering!!

06.17.11- At thirty, you value your time and understand the difference between spending it and investing it.

06.18.11- At thirty, you can wade through and identify foolishness and see what's really being said or not said.

06.19.11--At thirty, you value the sound opinion of those who care about you without feeling like they're trying to "check" you.

06.20.11--At thirty, you really consider your health and work to maintain or improve it, especially when considering having a family one day.

06.21.11--At thirty, while considering your health, however, you're still not afraid to treat  yourself to good food.

06.22.11--At thirty, you learn to sift through mass amounts of information using your discernment to make the best decision for yourself!

06.23.11--At thirty, you know the difference between being selfish and self-preservation.  

06.24.11--At thirty, you've pegged your sense of style and no matter what end of the spectrum it's on, you rock it with confidence and pizzazz.

06.25.11--At thirty, you appreciate the simple things.

06.26.11--At thirty, you cut the deadweight and feel good about it!

06.27.11--At thirty, you love unapologetically.

06.28.11--At thirty, you give in love and it feels good!!

06.29.11--At thirty, you don't apologize for being who and what you are.

06.30.11--At thirty, you've learned to mentally process things before you digest them.

07.01.11--At thirty, life really is what you make it and you make it good!

07.02.11--At thirty, you know that you are rockin' awesome, but not the end all be all of the universe. ;)

07.03.11--At thirty, YOU ROCK!! LIKE ALWAYS!

Today is Juneteenth. What is the Juneteenth Celebration about?

According to Dr. Charles Taylor:  "Juneteenth or June 19, 1865, is considered the date when the last slaves in America were freed. Although the rumors of freedom were widespread prior to this, actual emancipation did not come until General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas and issued General Order No. 3, on June 19, almost two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation."

http://www.njclc.com/njclchistory.html

Juneteenth highlights and celebrates African Americans/blacks being "freed" in the United States of America. Not to take away from this great occasion or to minimize the fact that I am grateful to be physically "free" according the U.S. government/ U.S. Constitution/Bill of Rights, but I am even more grateful to be free spiritually and mentally! Freedom in one's spirit and mind is such a beautifully divine gift! It is our spirit and mind that motivates and impels us to move forward. Those two components propel us physically to be about purpose/ to unapologetically act on the passion of life that encourages us to fulfill our dreams and goals.

Many of us are physically free, but we are spiritually and mentally bound, which essentially means we are physically bound because we allow our unhealthy spirits (lack of nourishing) and toxic thoughts to keep us stagnant. Many of us are reservoirs that hold in jealously, ill feelings, unkindness, low self-esteem, etc. and because we hold all of that in we cannot receive love, kindness, words of affirmation, and peace etc. We are like standing water that yields mosquitoes and other pests, rather than rivers that allow the current of our Creator-life- to flow through and in us--washing away the unhealthy things and providing us with nourishment and deposits that yield--LIFE.

Let us be rivers that flow freely to our main source-God--like Nile and the Mississippi Rivers. He has enough love, peace, kindness, longsuffering, assurance, and favor to go around for all of the rivers connected to Him. Consider  the Nile River and the Mississippi River. Think about the number of rivers that flow from them and as a result of the connection to the main source, think about the other areas the rivers permeate/touch. Think about the number of areas that experience the same nourishment. Isn't it phenomenal? Connection that keeps on giving, yielding, producing, growing, and providing.

Be free and uninhibited in the amazing canvas of Life. Be free!

(Songs that inspire me and came to my thoughts when writing this: "We Speak to Nations" by Lakewood Choir and "Give Me" by Kirk Franklin. Movie(s) that inspire me and came to my thoughts when writing this: "Braveheart" by Mel Gibson.)

That’s my twenty-nine cents. Blessings.

I just finished a book about living a single life and being happy, content, and joyful in spite of occasional bouts of and with sadness, emptiness, and loneliness, which essentially are all distractions that keep anyone, not just singles, from seeing the beauty of life and from remembering that no matter what our state we are extensions of His love and channels of Him.

Thinking about present-day society, one would think that single is a four-lettered word and marriage is the end-all-be-all really when we are all aligned with God’s purpose.  There is no difference in Him because whatever season we are in in life, it is for a reason and for His glory.

Honestly, our mainstream society catalyzes our need for more or for what we do not have.  But the way to counter that is to believe the opposite.  Believe the opposite of what pop culture says is acceptable or the ‘the thing to do’ because nine times out of ten the opposite of the action/decision is better for us anyway—at least when it comes to having peace of mind, having our emotions intact, and having/maintaining health bodies. Believe the opposite and know that we all have different journeys.

You know, I can honestly say that I have wrestled with being single some days.  Partly because my peers are married--this is weird because I have never been one to conform or adopt something because it seems like everyone is doing it. Maybe it is a sign of maturing and desiring one of the things that He placed within me-- and partly because it is expected of me: ‘Okay Jasmin, you have your education, now what about a husband and children?’

Spiritually, I pray for God’s will, but I have honestly allowed myself to be distracted by external factors that God is the least bit phased by.  He is not moved by our circumstance. He is moved by our faith and knowing that we completely entrust our very lives including each and every aspect of it to His ever stable arms and loving care.  He is moved by our faith because it shows Him that regardless of the questions from people, the statistics, the seemingly “right one” or “ones” we trust Him immeasurably. I mean is not that the least we can do with the infinite, omniscient God?

Trust, period. Believe, period.  Know that He knows your amazing end and it is good, period.  Trust it without question. Believe it without question.  Know it without question. 

Why not? His track record is impeccable.

Trust. Trustworthy. Truth. Trueness.  Trusting is the present progressive form of the word trust and in that state is signifies a consistent action, not something that ceases, something that is constant. When we trust our loved ones, our trust is not like a jacket that we take off and put on, but it's something that cloaks/covers the relationship. Our relationships covered in trust lead, inspire, and provoke us to be true/truthful in our relationships. We cheat ourselves and our loved ones when those two characteristics do not provide the framework for a healthy relationship, whether it's with our parents, siblings, friends, or significant others.
 
In a world riddled with deceptiveness and the bombardment of the lie that everything that glitters is gold, truth is not celebrated as it should be. But if we think about it, anything that is decorated/hyped up/ amped up in our society lures us in and leaves us empty. Those things don't provide us with the framework of trust and truthfulness and anything that doesn't should indicate to us that we need not entertain it, engage it, or allow it into our space. 

We deserve to be true to ourselves/our principles. We deserve to have truthful and trustworthy relationships. We deserve to engage in, entertain, and allow things based on truth and trustworthiness in our lives. We have to know that we are worthy of something before it becomes a part of who we are and before we expect it from the people and things in our lives. Truth is and should be the standard for living--the unadulerated truth. It's sad that we live in a day and age where we have to put adjectives in front of nouns to highlight authenticity. Why can't truth just be that TRUTH instead of the unadulterated truth? Why can't love just be LOVE instead of unconditional love? Why can't a wo/man just be a WO/MAN instead of a real wo/man? The need for qualifiers would not be necessary if people would just be TRUE!

That’s my twenty-nine cents. Blessings.