...things don't always happen the way you want them To

Things don't always happen the way you want them to. However, things do happen for a reason. Nothing happens arbitrarily. It's part of the master plan for your life. God ultimately has a plan, a straight path. Its always us that deviate from that planned route. He throws up all kinds of warning signs, like the voice on a GPS, but you just have to make that unnecessary detour. You want a hamburger, a car wash, or a new outfit from the mall. The voice on the GPS is hollering, and you ignore it.

The same thing happens in real life. God throws up all kinds of red flags, but you ignore them. You feel that this is something you want to do and it will just take a minute, or its not far from the planned route. You don't realize that you have traveled down the wrong path until you find yourself lost. Even though you have ventured out into the wrong place, God is much like the GPS and He has a way of escape planned. Even though you don't see it, all you have to do is follow His lead, much like you would the GPS if you were lost.

Eventually, no matter how far into the wilderness you have traveled, you will end up back on the main route. The time it takes to get there depends on how far you trusted in yourself or others and continued to travel in the wrong direction. It could be minutes, hours, days, or even years. In life, you might need a GPS, but regarding your life, make God your GPS. When you do that, you can actually look up and see the silver lining in the dark clouds...

...sometimes, you have to be your own Rock

Sometimes your have to be your own rock because there just isn't any other option. People fall to the wayside. You can't depend on others for your personal strength. Be your own rock. Find ways to uplift and motivate yourself. You can't allow yourself to get to the point of being depressed. It just isn't productive. In the times that you feel your lowest, weakest, or most vulnerable, get motivated. Surround yourself around positive things or people. Whatever you do, don't become idle. As the old saying goes, an idle mind is the devil's workshop.

Once you start really thinking and dwelling on your troubles, they can really depress you. The hard thing to do is to try not to think about how bad your situation might be. Instead, think on the positives. Good things do eventually happen. They just may not happen when you want them to. God hasn't forgotten about you. He is still there. Despite all the hell that you may be experiencing, He is there with you. You are not alone.

Bad things often are allowed to happen in your life to set you up for some thing better. If you never went through anything, how could you appreciate the times in your life when you where prosperous, successful, joyous, and all was well? Things may look bad now, but lots of times your right at the cusp of your blessing and don't realize it. You have to stay the path. Remember, even in staying the path, things don't always happen the way you want them to...

...so someone karate chopped you in your 11:59 moment

You say someone came along and karate chopped you in your 11:59PM moment? It happens. You were in a place where you really needed someone and you thought they were gonna actually come through, and they karate chopped you in the neck with disappointment and failure. OUCH! Now what? You only have a minute before your seemingly ultimate epic fail and descent into the unknown terrible abyss. People, this happens. Its not uncommon. People just don't come through sometimes.

Here's the lesson to learn from this. Stop depending on people so heavily. Look, if your in an 11:59PM situation and you can't fix it, at 12:00AM your not gonna die. The world is not going to end. It may feel that way, but trust me, you will be alright. Stop putting ALL of your trust in people and trust God. In addition to that, don't just look for divine intervention to swoop down and rescue you out of all your trials and tribulations. You have to go through some things and put in some work to reap rewards. It's not God's, or anyone elses fault if your needs aren't met when you need them to be. Its your own fault. Quite possibly, that thing you wanted or situation you needed handled wasn't meant to be, at least not at that time. Deal with it.

The sooner we stop placing the blame on others and accept the fact that no one is responsible for us but ourselves, the better we will be. Stop dragging past events into your present and move forward, get positive. So what someone didn't come through for you. Get over it. Its gonna happen again, just wait. If you think that people will never let you down, keep on living. Your poor little feelings will be crushed over and over again as people show you their true selves. When you stop depending on other people, you will realize that you can be your own inspiration. Sometimes, you have to be your own rock...

...everyone who tells you that they are there for you really Isn't

Everyone who tells you that they are there for you really isn't... Come on now people, you already knew that right? Surely you couldn't have possibly thought that every person that said they would be there for you in your time of need would actually follow through on that promise, now did you? If you did, you are very naive. For the most part, we already know that some people are just talking out the side of their throat when they mention those few, but meaningful words that they have no intentions of following through on. We have all been there and can point out the fakers from the real folks. The issue comes when its someone that you thought you could really count on, that leaves you hanging. That is more than a slap in the face. That's like a kick in the crotch with a size 14 steel toed boot. It hurts, your totally unprepared, and your blindsided. Its like you were robbed, but all they took was your self respect. It's an indescribable hurt, nah, it's mainly disappointment.

How do you get into these situations, you might ask? Hmm, that's kinda tricky cause it could happen to anyone. For the most part, as mentioned before, we can point out the fakers. It's the people that are around you all the time, the ones you hang out with, talk to on the phone, go to the store with, your close inner circle that seem to karate chop you to the side in your 11:59 moments...

...be careful of who you confide in. Everyone isn't always who they claim to Be

Be careful who you confide in. Everyone isn't who you think they are. Sad but true. This is true for just about everyone who comes into your life, friends family members, girlfriends/boyfriends, pastors etc. At some point in the time you have had an encounter with someone that you thought you could trust, and they let you down in some way. You told them something in confidence, or trusted them in some way. The next thing you know, the earth knows your business or they have just broken that trust bond. Maybe you confided in someone and they used what you told them against you in an argument or spewed your business at an inappropriate time or place. It doesn't feel nice to suddenly know that others know what you told someone in confidence.

You may ask yourself, how did I end up in this situation in the first place? To start, you talked too much. Secondly, you talked too much to the wrong person or group of people. I know some of you will say, "well I only confide in those closest to me". To that statement, I say, silly people, don't you realize that those that are closest to you are the ones that always hurt you the most? Let me dive into this a little. Some people are opportunists. They want you to tell them all your business so that they can use it against you at at later date, (IE: an angry girlfriend/boyfriend or coworker) Some people pretend to be things that they are not to try to get close to you and know all your business because they have ulterior motives. When they discover that you are not what they thought you were, or find out that you have nothing to offer them they move on, sometimes telling all of your personal business as they make their exit stage right.

Now there are the people that blindside you. Everyone isn't out to tell all of your deepest darkest secrets, but they can hurt you just the same. Have you ever put your trust in someone only to be let down real hard? For instance, your dating someone and find out that they cheated on you. You begin attending church and you start hanging with that good ole' sanctified soul, only to find out that they were 'less than sanctified' and had ulterior motives? We've all had a friend that said that they'd be there through thick and thin, but turns out they were only there when it was convenient for them. How about that person who was always around while you were on top of the world, but when things changed, they ran away from you like day from night. These are the types of situations that seem to be common. We allow people into the most personal places in our lives only to have our feelings violated. That's what it feels like.

How do we get into these situations you might ask? Well we put too much trust into people. We put people up on pedestals that they don't deserve to be on. Just because your a celebrity, pastor, teacher, singer, counselor, police officer etc; doesn't mean that you get automatic trust and mountains of respect. Everyone should be on an even playing field. God should be the only one you ever slap up on a pedestal. People are fallible. Often times we forget that. You have to remember that some people are out for personal gain. Sometimes that means destroying the next person to achieve that goal. You will find that everyone who tells you that they are there for you really isn't...

...in life, take the wheel.. you should always be in the Drivers Seat

It seems as though you are going through something that no one can relate to, something so horribly bad that it is unfixable. The truth is, that isn't true. In just about every situation, someone has been through it, or is going through it. What we fail to see is that there is always a bright side to every situation, no matter how bleak it may seem at the time. When it gets to the point when you feel that your life is a complete #fail and nothing or no one can help you, take a step back and examine your situation closely. Take stock in who you are confiding in. Look at the people you keep in your inner circle. Are they positive? Are they optimistic or are they putting their foot on your throat now that your down?

The other aspect to examine closely is just how much information are you sharing about yourself? Are you telling the earth the most intricate details about all your life's issues? Are you talking to the right people who will be supportive to you even if they can't help you out of your situation? Honestly, a lot of times we just plainly talk too much. Giving too much information to people who would otherwise have no place in your life gives them power and control over you.

When are you going to sit in the driver's seat and take the wheel in your life? No one or no thing should ever be the controller of your you, your present, or your future. Anyone or anything that powerful is definitely something bad in your life. If you can identify something that is in your life that seems to fit this description, remove it! These sorts of distractions can be very detrimental to having a healthy and positive outlook on life. The key here is to not tell the earth all of your business. You can talk about things, but tell the right people limited but detailed information. Be careful of who you confide in. Everyone isn't always who they claim to be...

...congratulations! you've officially hit naked Rock

Congratulations! You've officially hit naked rock. Now that you are homeless, broke, and on the streets, what do you do? Everyone familiar with your situation would have you run back to your old pitfalls, the things that have done you harm, much like a dog returning to its vomit. It's quite depressing that people would rather go back to the things that cause them great distress rather than be free and have peace of mind. Sure, not having a roof over your head isn't the most pleasurable experience in life, but you have peace. No one is going to come kick you out of your car (lol). Its paid for. The worst thing that could happen is that you get a parking ticket for sleeping too long and not moving your car on a street sweeping day!

As for being in the predicament itself, no one is responsible for taking care of you but yourself. Therefore, you can dislike what people have done to you in the past, or for things they have done to make your current position a million times worse, or thank them for the limited amount of generosity that they have afforded you. Choose to take the high road. Being angry never helps any situation anyway. Things are said that you don't always mean. Once you say something hurtful, you can't ever retract those words, no matter how many times you say your sorry and you didn't really mean it.

Rather than be angry, choose to use that energy to be productive. Let it motivate you to strive for more, even though you have nothing and no one at this time. Things will get better. There is light at the end of the tunnel, even though your in the tunnel, its dark, wet, cold, and you can't see a thing. You have to gain control of your life. Take the wheel! You should always be in the drivers seat...

...a continual series of unfortunate Events

Sometimes it seems that you just can't catch a break and you get to the place of feeling utter despair. This is a point in life when you just can't do anything more to help your situation, when there seems to be no hope, no way of escape. You are alone, in need, and can't do anything about it.

This becomes less and less about people and more and more about survival. How am I going to eat? Where am I going to sleep? What am I going to do tomorrow? These are very tough things to think about but they are very much a part of your reality. Sometimes you just wish that you could find a suitcase full of money. Other times, you just wish that life itself would end. Truthfully, you begin to question why God would allow such horrible and terrible things to happen to you.

You try to think positively, but your all positive'd out. You call your friends, only to be told what you should be doing even though you are doing everything humanly possible to change your current situation. So whats next? Just when you think that you've skinned your butt on naked rock and convinced yourself that things can't get any worse, they do. Then what? You have done all that you could do, called on everyone that you could call on, prayed, talked to the Pastor, but nothing has changed for the better. Seems that things keep turning for the absolute worst case scenario. What now? You are alone and have nothing and no one. Congratulations! You've officially hit naked rock...