...know your worth, and never accept less than that out of Life

Sometimes in life, you have to do things that you don't really want to do, such as take a job that you dislike. It could be something more in depth than that. Sometimes when you sit down and analyze a situation, you realize that some things are just beneath you. It's not that your better than someone else, it's just that you know your self worth. When you know your worth, then you will strive for bigger and better things.

Never forget where you came from and people that may have helped you along the way. Know your self worth. Too many times we compromise out happiness for temporary gains. In the end, it only leaves you angry, and you have wasted your time with whatever endeavor you have embarked upon. Know what your worth and never accept less from life. If you truly know your self worth, you will never be caught hanging with Stupid...

its how you deal with lifes little love taps that makes you a stronger Person

It's how you deal with life's little love taps that can ultimately make or break a person. Life has a funny way of vetting you quickly. Life can sometimes be great, and sometimes life can be pretty cruel. In whatever situation you are experiencing in your life, its how you deal with it that can make or break you. Some experiences are meant for you to grow as a person, and some experiences happen because you did something stupid. When you sit back and look at a situation you where in once it is over, you should be able to reflect and see that you have gained valuable knowledge and experience from what you've gone through.

Never should you be about to look back at a troubling experience and not be able to see the good that came from it. If that is the case, you did not learn anything from the sitation, and you will more than likely repeat your mistakes. It's not meant for you to continually fall into the same patterns in life. Entering into repetitive inane cycles will just make your life miserable and you will become stagnant. If your going through a situation, you should be a stronger, more knowledgeable person when you come out of it. Know your worth, and never accept less that that out of life...

...remain positive, because hope is all that you have Left

Remain positive, even in bad situations, because the hope that things will get better may be all that you have to hold you over. Things will get tough from time to time and things may not always go according to plan. When the ship seemingly starts sinking, its up to you to grab a bucket and start pailing water back overboard. You can't let your ship sink, or in other words, you can't stop bailing water because you have no life preservers.

In life, you have to bail water out of that ship like you have no life preservers. You have to act like there is no back up plan, even if there is one. You are the only person that you can depend on and if you give up on yourself, who is going to be there for you. No one is going to just come swoop down out of the sky and solve all of your problems. Even when things get better in your life there is always something that will come along and pose some sort of problem. Most of the time though, it isnt the problem or situation that makes you a better person, its how you deal with lifes love taps that makes you a stronger person...

...you have come a long Way

...you have come a long way. Its only been a few short months since you seemingly hit naked rock. God is truly a good God, and you have been tremendously blessed. As you sit at your desk in your new office listening to soothing music and reflecting back on the past summer, seems like a distant memory. Yet,it wasn't all that long ago that your troubles seemed insermountable. Before, you were wondering how you were going to pay your bills, and now your out looking for furniture and new clothes. Times have definately changed. Since things have changed for the better, reflect and thank God for the things He has done.

Don't forget where you were a few short weeks ago. Thank and appreciate those people that were with you when times were hard. Pray for those who let you down in your time of need, and most of all, don't be bitter towards them. Everything happens for a reason. The people that seemingly made an about face out of your life when things got tough didn't need to be in your life to begin with, and it took a life altering experience to weed out the bad people from the ones that meant well. Just because people say that they will be there for you doesn't mean that they really will be when you actually turn to them in a time of need.

Knowing the things that you do now and looking back on the past few months should make one thing crystal clear. Having a positive attitude toward life and situations will help you make it though very hard times. Giving up is never an option and if you hold out and remain vigilant, you can be victorious in the end. Remain positive, because sometimes hope is all that you have left...

...there's a silver lining around that dark Cloud

There is a silver lining around that dark cloud, even though things haven't been going quite like you would have hoped them to. You have to keep focus and always remain positive. Capitalize on every opportunity, no matter how small. You never know where it might lead you.

When you step into a new venture, never forget where you came from. When things seem as though they are hard and not looking your way, think about where you came from. Think about the time when you didn't have the job, house, or car to complain about. Things could always be worse, much worse. You have come a long way...

...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...