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7/27/2020 0 Comments

New Muscles

“New Muscles. New Muscles. New Muscles.” This is what I've been repeating to myself over the last couple of months to affirm that most of my current unease and growing pains stem from exercising new muscles. When we start new workout routines, formerly underused muscles awaken often presenting quite a shock to our bodies. This is also true when we begin new routines to elevate and strengthen our spirits and minds.

God would not bring me this far just to leave me.

     When the Coronavirus first hit, like the majority of us, I didn't know what we were in for and how to deal with the specifics of what was happening. I was in a very happy and peaceful place in my life. I was in the midst of some positive life changes and the pandemic threatened to upend all of my work and progress.
     I was preparing myself for a long-needed medical procedure. I was engaging in the healthiest exercise and diet regiment of my life. Financially, I was blessed that my needs were being met. I was writing regularly. The book that I've been working on for what seems like forever was starting to take shape. Most importantly, my relationship with God was great; I had finally learned to accept, receive, and believe that good things were on the horizon.
     After the initial shock and after a fall-down-on-my-knees, cry-my-eyes-out prayer of desperation, I rose and a couple of things came over me. First, I was reminded that God would not bring me this far just to leave me. He had delivered me from so many situations already. This would be no different. This was not the time to lose faith. In fact, I knew I would need to cling to it more than ever.

God desires that we exude joy in the best of times and that we find it during the worst.

     The second thing was that I was limiting God. Initially, I had asked that He bless me and my loved ones to survive this horrific pandemic. When I rose from prayer, that desire changed. As a child of the King, it seemed like I was setting the bar low to ask God for only survival. I didn't want to just survive the Coronavirus but I wanted to thrive despite it.
     Don't get me wrong, I would be thankful to survive but my God is more capable than that. He wants more than just our survival. He desires that we exude joy in the best of times and that we find it during the worst. He wants the faith that we have in Him to be reflected in how we approach and handle dire situations. I needed to ask Him for more than survival.
     Knowing that God will help does not relinquish me of my role. I still had to do my part. I gathered myself and developed a strategy. I began incorporating a few new things into my life that I had long desired. The most important of which was spending more time with God. I set aside at least half of an hour in the morning and the night just to talk with Him minus any distractions.

The intimidation of the unknown makes it easy to stay in the same mindset.

Click here to read "Amazing!" in its entirety.

     That doesn't even include prayer. It was time set aside to simply talk to Him about my day, about any and all subjects that came to my heart and mind. I wanted to be completely connected with Him. After just a week or so, I noticed a change within myself. My faith strengthened, my attitude adjusted and I felt more capable of accomplishing the things I absolutely feel are part of His mission for me.
     I was changing and though the changes were desired and very necessary, it was still a scary and unsettling time. People struggle with change for those very reasons. The intimidation of the unknown makes it easy to stay in the same mindset to which we have become accustomed. To reject backsliding and regression, I had to remind myself that I was feeling different not just because of the impact of the Coronavirus but also because I was becoming acquainted with new spiritual muscles.
     I had to understand that it was not a lack of faith to not always feel OK during a storm. I had to reassure myself that it was not wrong when I did feel OK. My spirit soon ventured even further by encouraging me that God wants me to be more than just OK. He wants me to thoroughly enjoy my life. I was learning to let go of the guilt and uncertainty that often accompanies moments of progress; no more survivor's remorse for me. No more feeling guilty for feeling good. No more denying myself joy because past mistakes had convinced me I wasn't worthy.

God is our constant regardless of what's new.

Those were feelings that I had been struggling with for a good part of my life. I am amazed but not surprised that amid something so catastrophic as the Coronavirus, God was able to guide me to a new level of spirituality. I had to become accustomed to not just permitting myself to be OK, but I had to become accustomed to feeling good and enjoying life. That was a huge deal for me.
Because of Coronavirus, many of us have had to develop new life norms. These new norms require introducing and executing new routines and patterns which in turn awaken new muscles. God is our constant regardless of what's new. If you are aligned with Him, He will lead you in the right direction. If you are not aligned with Him, He will mercifully and gently steer you. Whatever the goal, trust God to help you get used to your new muscles. Stand your ground and continue to move forward with positive changes. He didn't leave you before and He won't leave you now.

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7/20/2020 0 Comments

When Your Help Ain't Helping

Have you ever done everything in your power to help someone and your help seemed to be ignored and taken for granted? In some cases, your help may have been not so politely rejected? You became frustrated or even angry that all your efforts amounted to nothing. You became upset that your great intentions weren't producing the great change in the person's life that you had hoped for and planned?
You may have even lashed out at that person with an “everything I've done for you” speech that only further crippled your attempts to introduce positive change. Your frustration eventually led you down a road of anger and judgment. You wonder how you ended up there when all you wished to do was help someone that you care about.

You are a child of God. You have the means and desire to help.

Click here to read "Always" in its entirety.

The help you are trying to provide is motivated in your deep love for this person. You see things in them they can't see. You see a way out of their predicament that they can not yet fathom. You have a list of modifications that if only they'd adhere to, would put them in a much better situation. Your desire to assist them is rooted in the best of things. You are a child of God. You have the means and desire to help.
I have been on both sides of this coin. I have been the one that people were trying desperately to reach but just couldn't break through to at the time. It may have been my lack of trust in their advice. It may have been that I wasn't ready or open to change. I have felt the anger that stems from rejecting a loved one's efforts to lead you to a different life.
I have also been the person eager to lend a helping hand; doling out what I knew was needed counsel. I was convinced that if that person listened to what I had to say, they would be fast on the road to seeing their circumstances improved. I didn't have all of life's answers but I had more than enough to help them with their problems.

Trying to force my unwanted opinions on someone going through a storm backfired.

     My counsel may have been needed but it was unwanted. What is worse, trying to force my unwanted opinions on someone who was already going through a storm backfired. They began to see me as a source of negativity and drama rather than positivity and peace.
     Like many of us would-be helpers, I had to learn to withhold my judgment and try my best to refrain from anger. I had to overcome feelings of rejection and disappointment in my failed attempts to alter their life's trajectory. Trying to so forcefully assist them led me to a dark and helpless place.
     That's because they were a couple of things I was forgetting. First, we don't always know the complete story of someone's life. We are not always privy as to why they think differently from us. We are not always aware of and do not always understand what experiences shaped their personalities and influenced their decision making. We do not always possess the knowledge of why they made decisions that produced such negative or poor outcomes.
     Sure, we may know a few of their specifics but since we are not that person or God Himself, we don't know everything. Even when we do know most of the facts and those facts do portend to bad results stemming from bad decisions, it is not our place to judge. Our frustration though often justifiable helps no one. Instead, it only decreases the likelihood of that person turning to us when they've finally had enough.

It is up to God to decide who the channel of change will be.

     The second thing I forgot is that it is up to God to decide who the channel of change will be. We may be fighting the good fight but God could have other plans. Maybe, we are not the ones to bring this person into the fold. Perhaps it is someone or something else that will lead them to deliverance from their dire situation.
     Their rejection of our help may not be about us. We just might not be the one who God sent in this particular situation. I had to learn how to get out of God's way. I had to set aside my pride and agenda to recognize that all my so-called help wasn't helping at all. Instead, not only did it push them further away from me, but it also caused them to question the God who I was supposedly representing.
    If we can't help, then we certainly must not cause any additional harm. We should not let our desire and determination to aid that person turn into another negative in their life. If they are unwilling to accept our help, we must let go and let God. We must know that we've done all we could to be a positive and loving force in their life.
     When we can do nothing else, we can still pray. That is always within our power. Our prayers activate God's blessings so we must pray to Him knowing that He loves that person even more than we do. In fact, He loves them more than we possibly ever could. Remember always that God is God. He can change things even when we can't.

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7/13/2020 0 Comments

Our Same Differences (Part 2): Equal In God's Eyes

Last week on Candie's Blog, I talked about how God was meticulous in His creation of all life; that though all life forms share certain characteristics of the group to which they belong, they are still unique individuals within that group. This applies especially to His creation of mankind. I believe that God did this on purpose because His magnitude is so great that one person could not fully capture it. Our same differences are intentional. They are important and are meant to be cherished.

God invested that same love and energy into their creation as He invested into yours.

     Try looking at yourself through God's eyes, try to list some of the beautiful things that went into the recipe of your creation. The characteristics that you share with fellow humans are pretty evident. What about the attributes that make you unique? We all have specific attributes that distinguish us from each other. Your sense of humor, your strength, your courage, and your intelligence are just a few of the limitless list of what makes you an individual.
     Now with those same eyes, take a closer look at your fellow human beings. God created them too. He made them in the same manner as He made you. God invested that same love and energy into their creation as He invested into yours. You share human characteristics but you also differ. Each one of God's billions of human masterpieces possesses their own individual and unique identity.
     Our same differences are part of God's divine plan. They are a blessing. However, some people do not value those differences. Those differences for some elicit hatred and fear. Some people outright shun those differences by overtly discriminating against and mistreating others. Others practice more covert methods of disseminating harm and hurt. Still, some devalue others by negatively yet subconsciously judging them based on their differences.

No man is above the other in God's eyes.

Click to read "Watch Me Die" in its entirety.

     Whichever category these folks fall under, one thing is for certain: God is not pleased. No man is above the other in God's eyes. When people harm someone, they are harming God's creation, an act that undoubtedly angers Him. How can one person decide that another person whom God made is not worthy of the same love and consideration they themselves enjoy and receive? How do they reconcile mistreating a person based on hatred and fear?
     Unfortunately, many people who deem themselves Christians are active participants in this cruelty. They claim to be believers and followers of Christ; yet when they hate God's other creations, they are only Christians in name, not in deed. God desires true followers and believers. You can be neither if your heart is consumed with hatred and fear.
     Hatred and fear are not God's inventions. They are weapons that the enemy Satan uses to weaken and devour our souls. When people succumb to those destructive impulses and act accordingly, they are falling prey to the devil's antics. They are giving Satan the win instead of glorifying God.
     The destruction produced by mistreating others based on differences is clear. The evidence is in the news every day. People commit unfathomable acts of violence against their fellow humans based on nothing more than those humans not being the same. Not only does that victim suffer but that victim's family and loved ones suffer as well.

Judgment, discrimination, and mistreatment have no place in God's kingdom.

     Society is weakened as a whole because we aren't able to benefit from the contributions that others can make. When racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination rear their ugly head, everyone gets the short end of the stick. That victim who is assaulted because they are a different race from their assailant may have very well eventually discovered some miraculous invention that would have positively impacted all of us.
     Judgment, discrimination, and mistreatment have no place in God's kingdom. Those who love God must be vigilant in making sure that the devil's plan to divide God's human family based on differences is not successful. We have to love one another. We must respect and cherish those same differences so that the devil fails. It is important that we not react with anger or seek retribution and justice in unhealthy and unproductive ways.
     We can BE angry, it's just essential that we do not allow anger to take the lead, that is exactly what the devil wants. We must proceed to combat all forms of discrimination in ways that demonstrate our trust in and obedience to God. Though it is difficult, we must not hate those who hate us. God is love and our lives should reflect that regardless of what the devil throws at us.

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7/5/2020 0 Comments

God Did It On Purpose: Our Same Differences (Part 1)

Among God's plethora of creations are blades of grass, raindrops, snowflakes, and grains of sand. All are part of a group with the same characteristics but all are uniquely different within their group. No two are exactly the same. God did the same when He created mankind. We share most characteristics but each human has DNA and fingerprints so unique that they can be used to identify that person. Even identical twins do not share the same DNA. Why did God create things so alike but so different all at the same time?

God was meticulous in His creation of life.

Like everything, I believe He did it for our benefit. God was meticulous in His creation of life. He created our bodies with the self-healing capability of mitosis and the growth capability of meiosis. He created a system of precipitation wherein the rain that falls from the sky replenishes the Earth. The Earth then uses that rain to grow the fruits and vegetables that nourish our bodies as well as the vegetation that produces the air that we breathe. He was very specific in His creation of the cycle of life.
God was also very specific in His creation of mankind. Humans share the same biological structure yet we can be vastly different from each other. We are different races, heights, and body shapes. We have different eye colors, hair textures, skin tones, and skin types. These are just a few of a long list of physical attributes. When we consider mental and spiritual attributes, the list of differences is exponential.

When we fellowship with others, we are given access to their relationship with God.

Click here to read the full poem.

    I believe God created us the same but different as a reflection of His own complexity. One of the tenets of Christianity is fellowship. When we fellowship with others, when we witness their testimony, we are given access to their relationship with God. We get to see and experience God from their point of view. We have the opportunity to present our own perspective of God to them as well. We give ourselves more ways to experience and get to know God when we strive to connect to His presence in others.
     This would not be possible if we all were exactly the same. God is so much that seeing Him through the lens of one person's experience is impossible. One person could never present a full and accurate picture of God. One thousand people, not even a million people could fully capture His magnitude.
     Our God is so great that He can meet the individual needs of billions of people yet He is the same God to each of us. To know more about God and to enjoy more of who He is, it is a great start to get to know His creations. That includes getting to know His other children.

I like talking with people about their specific and unique journey with God.

     When I meet someone new, I try to connect with them on a spiritual level. No, I don't start asking them questions about their religious beliefs or their spirituality. That may seem invasive or rude to some. I try to connect with people on a spiritual level by finding out a tiny bit of information about what brings joy and strength to their souls. I try to find out what makes them happy. What do they want out of life?
     I like talking with people about their specific and unique journey with God. I love to hear others' points of view about Him. When and how did they first get to know Him? When did they first realize Who He was? When was the first time they felt His unconditional love? The answers to these questions are unique for each person because we are each unique.
     We are supposed to have our own individual relationship and connection with God. It's almost like the chicken and egg. Which came first? Are we different because we have different relationships with Him or do we have different relationships with Him because we are different? I'm not going to even try to tackle that question. I'm just going to live in the truth, the beauty of our same differences. I will rejoice to know that God gave us each other so that we can all enjoy His marvels together.

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Author

I want to help uplift, inspire and empower others and to help leave the world a little better than I found it. I am an author, deep thinker & optimist. I know God is love. I am the author of "Candidreams: I Remember the Beginning" and "Role Reversal: Turn Pain Into Power".
It is never my intent to push my spiritual views on others. I'm just sharing some of my own story in hopes that you or someone else will gain from it and can find some strength and hope in it. As I am fond of saying: I'm just giving you a little personal information and insight. What you do with it is completely up to you!

YOUR CART

New Muscles

God would not bring me this far just to leave me.

God desires that we exude joy in the best of times and that we find it during the worst.

The intimidation of the unknown makes it easy to stay in the same mindset.

God is our constant regardless of what's new.

When Your Help Ain't Helping

You are a child of God. You have the means and desire to help.

Trying to force my unwanted opinions on someone going through a storm backfired.

It is up to God to decide who the channel of change will be.

Our Same Differences (Part 2): Equal In God's Eyes

God invested that same love and energy into their creation as He invested into yours.

No man is above the other in God's eyes.

Judgment, discrimination, and mistreatment have no place in God's kingdom.

God Did It On Purpose: Our Same Differences (Part 1)

God was meticulous in His creation of life.

When we fellowship with others, we are given access to their relationship with God.

I like talking with people about their specific and unique journey with God.

Author

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