#speakpositive

Stop Complaining…

~ authorlasharnda ~ Leave a comment

change-the-worldI think it was Gandhi who said “Be the change you want to see in the world.”  This quote really resonates with me because I truly believe that we can change things if we would try.

You might say, “But I don’t want to change the world.” Well, shut and stop complaining. That’s right, stop it. I don’t know about you, but I get tired of hearing folks complain about every thing. If the weather is hot, they want it cold and if it is cold, when will it be hot. It is always something. In fact, there is always something that we can complain about!  What annoys me is that those who are constant complainers, never step up to do anything. Except complain!

I am no different that others, at times; I complain too.  That’s when I have to remind myself that I need to stop. If whatever it is that I want to complain about persists, I tell myself, “ok, what can you do about it? Can you add anything positive to it?” Guess what? My perspective of the situation changes. So instead of sitting on the sidelines and pointing out all that is wrong in the world, step up and do something to help the world.

.I have always had a special place in my heart for people like Gandhi. People who step up when others draw back. I admire those who don’t have much but are willing to give what they have.  People who don’t look at their resources as  being limited, rather they look at the condition of others and they take what they have, as limited as it may be, to help. Listen, small acts become major movements of social change.

Many see Gandhi as a great person, but I see him as so much more.  I say that because our definitions of what or who is great can be based on the superficial.  However, people like Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Teresa, and others like them, are great because of their willingness to make a difference in the lives of others, thus changing the entire look and feel of the world.

great people

How about you?  Do you see yourself as being put on this earth to do something significant? Do you ever feel that you want to do something but you just can’t? You just don’t know where to begin? I bet at times these people felt that way too, but guess what? They did something anyway. If you are like most of us, you want only the best. We want the comforts of life. We want nice homes, big homes, nice cars, luxury cars, higher education, we want to marry well or simply to be independently wealthy.  We want it all. There is nothing wrong with having the good things in life; nothing at all. However, having the niceties isn’t all there is to life.

If you think about the nice things you have, one day they will be gone, or you will be, and then what? Nothing. I have talked about the value of positive attitude and the purpose of life many times.  I don’t believe that our purpose has anything to do with how much material stuff we accumulate over a lifetime. I do believe however, that being able to accomplish our purpose starts with the right attitude, which is a direct result of having the right heart. With the right heart, we can make a huge impact on the world.

Hmmm, maybe if we looked more at the lives of noble people, rather than at the lives of the super rich and famous, maybe  those noble lives will spark a flame in each of us that will help  us believe that we can make a difference too.

Love Without Conditions…

~ authorlasharnda ~ Leave a comment

loveI read someone’s post recently that listed a whole bunch of things for his reader’s consideration. He said that someone asked him what advice would he give to his children.  He listed so many considerate, loving and well-articulated things he would tell his children;. Clearly he loved them.  But out of all the things he listed, what resonated with me the most was “love without condition”.  During the time I read his letter, I had just received mail from someone telling me of an issue in their family with a teenager.This parent was clearly upset and so totally disappointed with what had just happened.  I had already responded to the friend and then I read this guy’s post.  I immediately thought about the situation that had just been described to me and although I had pretty much said the same thing, the phrase “love without condition” would not leave me alone.

I began to think about it.  I pondered it and asked, What is “love without condition” anyway? Well, immediately Jesus came to my mind. He is the only person that I can think of who ever loved without condition. He loved humanity so much that He died for us. Yet, there are so many in this world who refuse to believe it. They say that this is just a story that someone made up.  That Jesus was indeed a good man, but there is no way that he is the Savior of the world. My simple response? But He is. You might say, prove it. I can’t. I just believe.

I believe that Jesus is the ultimate example of unconditional love. He reached beyond His little home town, His little team of disciples, He reached beyond His own people, the Jews, to embrace and include people that nobody else would  even dare sit with. Hey, but Jesus did. Jesus didn’t mind being around hookers, drunks, the lowest of the low, He didn’t mind sitting with women or people of different races, because He loved without conditions. He forgave regularly and He knew how to meet people where they were without condemning them. He loved them without conditions.

You might say, well, there are conditions, you have to change your life to be a Follower of Jesus; to be a Christian.  No, that’s not true.  I was messed up, like many others, and He accepted me as I was and then as time went on, my life began to change because I wanted to change.  Unless you have lived in some secluded & remote place where you have never had to interact with others or you have only been around people who are exactly like you, maybe you don’t know that. But even you and those like you, are not perfect. When you met Jesus, you were not then and you are not now! Yet He still loved and continues to love you.  In fact, the Bible says, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

I am not going to even pretend that I have mastered, nor that I am anywhere near loving unconditionally, but I hope that each day I get a little better at being loving, patient, & kind,. I hope that step by step I can become what we are told to become by Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 :4-7 when he says, “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

Hey, that’s a picture of what unconditional love looks like!  And unconditional love is not just for the people we like, it’s for everybody no matter color, gender, creed or (wait for it….!) sexual orientation.  We are to love people and let God handle the rest. Look, don’t judge me because I believe in loving others regardless of where they are. Hey, my sin and your sin may be different, but it’s still sin.the-new-commandment

Do You! Maybe the World Would be a Better Place…

~ authorlasharnda ~ Leave a comment

Beckwith photoI am always put off when I see or hear of others trying to dictate how another person should live. You know what I mean, don’t you? They want to dictate how the other person should write, talk, and behave.  I have always wondered what’s the deal with those people who think that they have been put on this earth to tell everyone what they should do.  I am also baffled by those who constantly critique others as if they were given the keys to heaven alone and no one else has been nor will they ever reach their level of superiority.

Don’t you want to tell them to bug off? To mind their own business? You know, if we could find the strength to tell them to mind their own business, as we mind our own, maybe we can get a lot more done than we expect. Maybe, just maybe, the world would be a better place.  If we would stop interfering with other’s lives and let them be who they are, maybe the world would be a better place. If we would just encourage others and not tear them down. If we would push them to write that book they dream of writing without requiring them to have the same publisher we have or the same style of writing or the same well known friends or publicists or whatever it is that we require of them before they can be good enough, maybe, just maybe, the world would be a better place.  If a person wants to sing, dance, start  a company, invest in a relationship or do anything that they dream of doing, and we not judge, but simply support them, maybe the world would be a better place.

seuss-youIf we would just let people be who they are; let them live out their dreams with our encouragement; if we would just shut up and keep our negatives opinions to ourselves, do you think that maybe the world would be a better place?

The fact is, there really isn’t any real formula for success. Some may achieve success following a formula and others have stepped out of the box and accomplished great things not following any formula at all. Your way of doing something may be great, but there are other ways. Each of us may do things differently than another, but that’s okay.

Why not allow others to live their lives? Let them “do them” and you “do you”. If we would do that, maybe the world would be a better place.  Seriously….

God Is Faithful…

~ authorlasharnda ~ Leave a comment

faithful-god-results-dayDo you believe that God keeps His promises? Do you have problems believing that? Is it particularly hard to believe that when you have unanswered prayers.

These are questions that I know we all have struggled with at some point, but I am here to assure you that without a doubt, God keeps His promises.

I am sure you have had challenges in your life. If you haven’t, just wait. No, I am not going to speak anything negative over your life, but just living will offer each of us some challenge at some point. Some reason to wonder if God cares enough about us that He will do something about whatever it is that maybe consuming us.

Over the last month or so, I have experienced one challenge after another. I am not complaining and that’s probably why they haven’t overtaken me; nonetheless, I have had them. My stress level has been very high. Many days I have had to remind myself that I need to stop and take a break away from everything. You see even with those who may be strong Believers, we can still become overcome with stress and anxiety.

I was thinking about all that has gone on in my life over the last couple of months and all of a sudden, I felt that God spoke to my heart,“ God is faithful.” Those words were powerful and stuck with me. They stuck with me because things were about to turn from dark days to days of sunshine even as a tornado was about to pound upon this part of Texas.

The Word of God says, “All things work together for good to those who love God.” If we aren’t careful, those familiar verses can become ordinary; they can become just common sayings for Believers, but I want to caution against taking familiar passages for granted. God is God and we can count on Him. He has proved his faithfulness over and over again. He was faithful from the time I was born, through relationship issues, self -doubt, mistakes, through my illness in 2011 and through too many other challenges I have faced in my life. He will be faithful to you too. His faithfulness isn’t just for someone special because to Him, we are all very special.

Whatever you go through, whether it is a super duper surprise or something that was coming for a while, nothing is a surprise, nor is it so huge that it will overtake Him. Things happen in our lives, good and bad, to help mature us. Other times, things will happen to test us and at other times things happen to help us learn to

What Do You Say To Yourself?

~ authorlasharnda ~ Leave a comment

speakwellofyourselfI have always listened carefully when others speak.  I don’t just listen when they speak to me, I listen to all sorts of conversations that go on around me too.

I learned a long time ago why many people do not live well. I understand why they have problems at work and in relationships; they just don’t hear how they speak to themselves.

Have you ever asked anyone what they wanted out of life? Have you asked them about their goals and the things that they wanted to accomplish?  Of course you have.  Now, how many of those that you have had this conversation with have automatically said to you, here are my life’s goals and then watch them lay them out systematically? How many? I bet one or maybe two. I can almost guarantee that you had more people say that they did not really know what they wanted out of life.  Or maybe those who knew what they wanted, but wasn’t doing anything to accomplish them.When you asked them why weren’t they pursuing their goals, they gave you a million excuses why not. Excuse ranged from “I am waiting for my children to grow up and get out of the house” or “I just have too much going on right now”

Well, we tell ourselves many things, don’t we? Evaluate what you tell yourself about you.  Look deeper at your excuses.  Is it that you are waiting for your children to grow up and get out of the house? Really? Is it that you just have too much going on right now? Seriously? Or could it be that you have just talked yourself out of believing that you can? Do you tear yourself down? Do you tell yourself constantly how stupid you are? How dumb you are? How unintelligent?  Maybe that’s the real problem.  Maybe you have talked yourself out of pursuing your goals because you just don’t think better of yourself.

I want to challenge you to think about what you say to yourself about yourself. If you tell yourself that you are beautiful, smart, “all that” you will probably feel that way, even when you don’ feel that way. However, if you are constantly reminding yourself of all of your faults,  your shortcomings and your areas that are weak, you can bet when you are having a tough time, these will become more pronounced.

love yourselfLove yourself. There is only one of you and you are uniquely wonderful.