I have been enjoying this much needed vacation from social media. I've had a lot of time to read, write, and I am excited and at the same time in awe of God's presence in my life. In the midst of this change, God sent me a friend that most people would die to have; a compassionate, affectionate, and honest person who loves me unconditionally despite my flaws and continues to amaze me on a daily basis.

I have battled storms as many of you have over the last few months, and one of the things that I always do is teach you while I am being taught. This blog goes out to my friend who has / continues to teach me what it's like to be Christ-like.

The pain and frustration of learning that which God yearns to teach us can sometimes be overbearing, but to survive life you must be a warrior and adopt a stronger demeanor than the average person.

What are YOU going through that you CAN'T talk to anyone about?
What dreams have YOU ALLOWED to become DEFERRED in place of fear, doubt, and worry?
What is YOUR MOTIVATION?

Below are 3 Things You Must Know About God and Your Breakthrough...

ADVERSITY IS GOD'S WAY OF GIVING YOU GUIDANCE AND INSTRUCTION.
I remember when I was losing weight and I really wanted to push myself to the limit. I had never been bungee jumping before but had always wanted to go. I consider myself to be daring, and the idea that I would be jumping off a bridge was too tempting to refuse. The hike was the most challenging part of the whole trip. Though I had been hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains for weeks, I was not prepared to depend on my balancing act on a fallen tree and a rope to get me across the swift current that had me afraid of being carried away. I can recall zoning out and all of my thoughts went to crossing safely while still having fun. All of a sudden, I became "G.I. Self-Esteem Queen"and crossed right on over with no problem! I WAS BEYOND EXCITED! God showed me that once I took the fear off crossing and put my thoughts on the fun I was having, it became a joyous experience for me.

DELAY IS NOT DENIAL.
I have learned that what God does for others He more than desires to do for you. When I'm longing for Him to be closer to me, He's longing for me to be closer to Him. That feels so good! I stood there on the podium afraid that since I was close to the last person jumping that the cords somehow had gotten tired and would definitely give out on me - THE WRONG THOUGHTS TO BE HAVING BEFORE JUMPING OFF A BRIDGE! I stood there and thought about all the choices I made and how they affected my life. I thought about how God always came through in the nick of time when I would have to smile in public and cry in private at things I went through in my personal life. Delay is not denial when the goal is to learn by example even if the example is you learning from yourself. I looked down, smiled at God for allowing me to see just how much fun everyone before me had, and I jumped the heck off that bridge!

FAITH REQUIRES YOU TO TRUST BEYOND THAT WHICH YOU CAN UNDERSTAND.
Sometimes when you're in the midst of your trials you want to give up and throw in the towel. It's difficult to deal with broken hearts, unpaid bills, uncertainty about job security, and surviving in a city where innocent people are gunned down at random. At my lowest point, I was reminded of the following from a dear friend; I have been here in this exact place before at some point in my life, so this place is not foreign to me (and should not be foreign to you either). This is the time to put on the armor my friends. The enemy we call bitterness, rage, guilt, frustration, setbacks, hold-ups, and things of that nature are outside waiting for you to come from your retreat. You, therefore, MUST remember what Ephesians 6:11-13 says,

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the
devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against
the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and
against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on
the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to
stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Today is the day to return to that hobby, activity, or goal setting that had you fired up for life long ago. I'm not afraid of failing, I'm afraid of not trying my hardest to achieve my goals. I am always inspired by those who I see around me reach their goals and beyond. I stand before you encouraged for your future, and humbly accept my lessons so that my future can be bright and full of wisdom.

I love you, and there's absolutely, positively, nothin' you can do about it!!!

SEQ

I thank The Creator for Anthony Goulet every single day. You see, it's so important to have friends who understand you, believe in you, and support you as you travel the World, honing in on your purpose while deterring your mind from the naysayers.

Someone needs to know today, that the detours are SO necessary for the trip to your final destination. There isn't a successful person today who will tell you different. Successful people will tell you that not everyone listened to their dreams with sincere interest, and they might tell you that they got most of the negative feedback from those closest to them.

Stop telling everyone what you plan to do, and just do it. One of your biggest assets (whether you know it or not) is the ability to keep your mouth shut. Telling people who aren't really happy or supportive of you your dreams could be putting you in danger. What if I told you that some people are really praying for your downfall, and by you telling them your dreams, you're helping them to pray for specifics?

One of my marketing mentors told me, "Some will, some won't and so what?" That changed my life, literally. I hadn't yet discovered The Four Agreements, and at the time I was taking everything people said and did to me, personally. I wasn't angry at the World, I was simply angry at the people who dared to contradict my thoughts of greatness that I had for myself.

I had to learn that not everyone is privy to my life details. Sure, there will be people you let slip through the cracks, but start asking God for CLARITY and DISCERNMENT. Start asking God to take people who are "fake happy" for you out of your life. Start asking God to clear your mind, and allow you to discern who needs to know what in your life.

Some people are going to love and support you.

Some people are going to follow you to see you fail, and will sometimes want to stand by your side watching in real time.

Some people will support you, and you might never meet them.

Some people you've never met will become family.

Some family you've known your whole life will despise your drive and tenacity.

Some colleagues will blaspheme your name out of fear you reach more people.

Some people will compete with you when you didn't even enter the rat-race.

Some people will stay past their season in your life.

Some people will exit without a goodbye.

Some people will praise you in your face, and blast you to others in private.

Some people will send subliminal messages online, and swear it wasn't aimed at you. You know different.

Some WILL.

Some WON'T

SO WHAT.

You are here on this Earth to LOVE, to SERVE, and to REMEMBER.

You are not here to look for validation from others. My life has changed since I dropped all of my social networking. All of a sudden, my mind is flooded with my own thoughts, not the thoughts of what I see on Fakebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, etc... I was so distracted that I got jaded. I watched people argue online, bully others online, then, post about God the same day. It was too much for me. I'm not perfect, but I don't like to watch people make a fool of themselves online. I don't like to see family members air out their issues online instead of picking up a phone and calling their, "loves ones". I need human interaction to survive. I don't want to correspond with people online, via email, or text. I thrive off of human interaction, and at the same time, I am limited to the number of people I can interact with on a daily basis. I have to make the people who are important count, and the ones who aren't can't have any airtime in my brain. I understand that I have to be free from needless banter and social clutter. Just because it's popular doesn't mean that I have to be doing it.

Please take some time today to consider letting go of people who don't serve you; that is, people who aren't genuinely happy for you, supportive of your dreams, and active in cheer-leading you along from the sidelines. You'll thank me for it later!