Day 13. And what a 13th day it was.  I got so angry at someone today that I could feel the rage inside me building.  It's such an unpleasant feeling.  It took everything I had not to lash out.  The tension we had between us was so electric meaning if someone had stood between us I feel like they would have been electrocuted.  Even now when I write this I have such an angry feeling towards this person.  It's really difficult in life when you don't want to be around someone and you have to be.  It takes a lot of self control to get the job you came to do done without having this person effect the work you have to perform.  It's like trying to change your life and having the devil come mess up what you have going.  You have to pick up your feelings, maintain your composure, and continue on with purpose.  It's not an easy thing to do.  I always feel like when things are going well the devil doesn't like it and will battle you until you give up.  Servants of God you can't give up!  He will be at every door, every corner, under every thing you lift trying to destroy you and what you have created.  The poor weak souls give in, the weak and slightly stable souls get lost, but the strong souls, fight with every fiber, every muscle, every bone, and the spirit always wins in the end...and the battle starts over......

What's on my mind?  The people who we care about the most have the potential to hurt us the most, because they know our weaknesses.  They know what buttons are the wrong ones or (to get you fired up) the right ones to push. Some people have a rough patch and unload their trash on you. It's really difficult to not allow these things to get to your heart.  Understanding is key.  Keeping in mind that maybe they are going through something.  Don't do to them what they do to you.  Don't do to anyone what they do to you. Try not to allow them to bring you down.  I truly believe in everything happening for a reason.  Sometimes in life we go through rough times, because they make us stronger.  Some of us should be the strongest people in the world!  However, when you go through these things and come out a campion then you have the wisdom to help someone else who is currently going through something similar.  The challenge today in changing this upside down world is to help someone going through what you went through.  Give them sound advise and support.  Be a shoulder for them to lean on.  I believe this also brings strength to your soul.  Today I will leave you with an educational video.

Anger Management

Keisha

Day 12.  Today I have been on an emotional roller coaster.  I was tired this morning and didn't want to get out of bed...well, that's every morning.  But in the afternoon I was up and down.  The mind is a powerful and serious tool.  I was in a decent mood until I started thinking about negative things and feeling sorry for myself.  It's amazing how self talk can bring you down and lift you up. Being able to speak positive to yourself has to be a learned trait.  I say this because we are our own worst enemies.  No one can talk to me as negative as I can talk to myself.  In this quest of changing this upside down world I continue today to work on staying positive.  I am also being mindful that allowing the negative in can effect my mood and in turn effect someone else's mood who I come into contact with.

What's on my mind today.......LOVE.  Such a profound emotion that when practiced can be liberating and devastating.  It's amazing to me how people are attracted to each other.  Why some people are more attracted to others and vise versa.  I'm sure their are lots of studies that can explain this ideology.  I just think it's amazing how we as people connect with each other.  I really think the first part is finding a common interest.  However, once you are in love it can be amazing.  Being in love makes people do amazing things.  When someone is in love they can climb the highest mountain and brave the coldest storms. Why should this surprise anyone when God basically said of all the greatest feelings love is on top.  I can't image anyone not having experienced this wonderful feeling.  Love comes in different forms, so I would think it impossible not to have embarked on it sometime in ones life.  I think if people love more, then their is less time for loves' arch nemesis "hate."  I challenge you today to be more open minded and love more.  Sometime in life we hold our love back like only a few people deserve it.  It should be the opposite, we should hold back hate and love more, because everyone should be exposed to our light.  Today I will leave you with a verse.

Matthew 5:43-45

Love for Enemies
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Keisha

Day 11. It's Monday again.  I am so drained.  I guess I had to much relaxation over the weekend.  I have so many things I would like to talk about, but I really don't want to get into religion, politics, or race right now.  Those are my topics that I don't discuss with people I don't know.  That always comes out bad, so I'm going to hold off discussing those things for right now.  I've mentioned before how time seems to fly by.  It's almost fall and I really didn't get to enjoy summer like I really wanted to.  Fall is my favorite time of year.  I love when the tress turn colors and the leaves fall off.  It's like art in motion to me.  The only thing I don't like about fall is that winter is right next door.  People who live in warmer climates are so lucky.  Although, they seem to pay for it through the cost of living in those areas.  I always wonder why my ancestors/family moved to the town I live in.  Not that I couldn't move, I just kind of feel stuck here, because most of my family is here.  I always hear people say take a leap of faith.  To me that means jump into the unknown with hopes and faith that things will turn out okay.  Do we do that in life a lot or not enough?

What's on my mind today....I was talking to a past client and the light bulb finally went on for him.  He called me out of the blue to tell me everything that I used to tell him he now sees.  Things that I had been telling him for months and maybe even a few years finally set in.  I tell everyone that if you want to change the perception that people have of you then change your behaviors.  If you don't want to be considered a liar then stop lying.  If you don't want to be considered a thief then stop stealing.  Some people don't realize that if you change your behaviors it can change the way people see you.  We also discussed how drugs give you a sense of a false reality.  Being under the influence of a drug, and doing it often will make you believe things about people, about yourself that aren't true.  Until your body gets clean and your mind gets clear from the fog you may not be able to see it, or see things clearly.  For me being healthy means being spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically sound.  I call it "SEMP" sound, because it's simple.  That means taking care of yourself spiritually by meditating, yoga, the Bible, and/or Church.  Taking care of your emotional well being by thinking positive and/or surrounding yourself with positive people.  Being mentally stable could mean seeing a counselor or talking to a trusted friend.  Venting about issues and dealing with life by having good coping skills are important.  And lastly, but not least doing what is necessary physically like eating healthy and working out keeps your body happy.  If you follow these things then you are "SEMP" sound.  Not taking care of these areas in life can cause all sorts of problems that can devastate your well being.  I challenge you today to make sure you are doing something in each of these areas to stay SEMP sound.  Try it for a day and the next day and the next day.  I promise you, you will feel like a different person.  Today, I will leave you with a verse.  For all the juveniles that I have ever spoken to, and who at times don't believe in themselves, anything is possible and for you I leave an inspirational song of the seemingly impossible becoming possible.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

The seemingly impossible becoming possible


Keisha

Day 10...celebrate and be who you are.  I know in this quest we are working to change this upside down world by changing the things we do not like.  Even changing things we do not like about ourselves.  I hope their are lots of beautiful and wonderful things you like about yourself, celebrate those things and be yourself.  Smile at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself how smart, beautiful, and wonderful you are.  Oh, and while you are at it, tell someone else how smart, beautiful and wonderful they are.  This week I had moments of fear, and became discouraged in my thinking.  I believe this to be my own insecurities.  I quickly realized what I was doing and encouraged myself to not give up and keep going.  For me this requires a "pep talk." When life gets hard and things get busy or tedious I have a tendency of wanting to give up and give in.  This is from fear mostly.  I believe fear is the number one thing that keeps us from reaching our true potential.  If we allow fear to win we put ourselves at great risk of failure.  If we face fear and continue on then we are at a greater potential for success.  Life is short, so why not battle fear and the things we are afraid of?

What's on my mind is how hard it is to change.  I am an impatient person.  I am like our current trends wanting everything fast and in a hurry.  Change takes time and man now that I am actively working on being a better person I see a lot of my flaws.  I make epic mistakes and often.  If I worry about all my character defects I will get overwhelmed so I am taking this one step at a time.  One of my character defects is that I realized my need to lie when I feel it will hurt someone's feelings.  I don't like not being truthful, even if it will hurt someone's feelings.  I guess it's not what you say, but how you say it.  Today, I am so passionate about being truthful.  It's not easy!  What do you say to a new parent of an ugly baby?  "Awwww, he has so much hair, he looks like his father."  I didn't lie, I was being truthful!!!  My challenge today is for you to fight the fear of sparing ones' feelings and be truthful.  It's how you present the material that makes the difference.  It is true that truth will set you free.  Try it for an entire day!  Today I will leave you with a truthful video.

To Tell The Truth

Keisha

It's day 9. I'm feeling wonderful today, because it's Saturday and I don't have to work, and I can just relax.  I can allow my brain some time to chill out....one of my very most favorite things to do in this world is laugh!  Yep, I love talking with someone and having a great laugh.  I was at work this week and I went to speak with a friend in another department.  She was telling me she was having one of those days when she didn't feel like being at work.  We all have those days!  She is one of the funniest people I know.  We started talking about things that I knew would get her worked up and laughing.  Before, I left her department she was almost in tears laughing.  She then thanked me for making her laugh, because that made her day.  We were laughing about raw chicken legs and this one you just had to be there to understand, so in the middle of the day I emailed a picture of a raw chicken leg and I knew she had to be at her desk cracking up!  Laughter can brighten the worst of days, so use it.  Laugh and make the heart happy, make someone else laugh and make the soul happy.

What's on my mind is this week I was sitting in a training thinking about how we are taught at a young age that being number one is the best.  That we should aspire to be number one and if we aren't then we have failed.  This is really a cruel teaching.  Think about it; little kids line up and fight over who's going to be first in line.  My kids are always fighting over who's going to get to the car first, so they can get the best seat which happens to be upfront.  At work people compete against each other to be the best. As humans we need each other, but everything is one big competition.  However,  no one can run a successful company by themselves.  Why don't we teach partnership and networking?  The funny thing is that this is were the break down is, because we are so busy competing we don't want to share information.  Because someone might get ahead of us with our own information.  We tend to care a lot in this upside down world about things that are petty.  Being the first and being the best can ruin relationships.  God even says that who is first must come last.  With the premise that being last you are watching out for others not just yourself.    The challenge today is not to compete with others, but compete with yourself.  Work hard for self improvement, not with the desire to be the best standing alone.  I don't know, but I imagine it would be a great feeling to climb the highest mountain and reach the top with your best friend then by yourself.  Some people climb that mountain and end up by themselves, because in the scheme of things they left everyone behind or worse stepped on people to get to the top faster.  I challenge you to not just be the best, but help someone else to be their best as well. I will leave you with a verse and a laugh!

Mark 9:35
Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all."

He had a bad day, but he's still smiling.

Keisha

Day 8. I was watching a popular television show on cable television and was flabbergasted to see what I would call soft porn.  The television show came on at 10 PM.  I could only imagine children's who's parents don't monitor what they are watching and how this could effect them emotionally/mentally.  The truth is that we have parents who don't monitor or don't care what their children are watching on television. It's really sad to think how they will develop emotionally/mentally with what is going on in society.  I believe it takes a village to raise a child.  It's really difficult for a person to raise children and if they are forced to do it alone it's even harder.

What's on my mind a lot lately is self perception.  How I see myself seems different sometime from how others see me.  In this quest to change our upside down world self perception and change should be first.  How can we change the world if our own morals and values are corrupt?  So, self examination is necessary.  Even when I look in the mirror I believe I see something different then what other people see.  It's like being at a scene of an accident and their are like 7 different accounts of what went on, because everyone's perception is different.  If your perception is closed and negative it doesn't benefit anyone, not even yourself.  Work on changing what you don't like about yourself one day at a time.  I challenge you today to truly look at yourself and change what you feel will benefit your life.  Each night reflect on the kind of person you would like to become and ask yourself are you moving in that direction?

Today. I will leave you with a quiet thought....think positive.

Keisha

Day 7.....today is September 11.  The day we remember all those who lost their lives on 9/11/01.  We have all been through so much.  Last night President Obama announced that we are facing threats of  terrorism from within the Middle East and North Africa.  It's a sad day when our children can't go to school without the fear of being killed.  This isn't just from terrorism, but also from mentally disturbed people within our own country.  It's really sad that their are children and people in other parts of the world who are traumatized by war and violence.  As I write this I am at a park watching my children play without a care in the world.  Isn't that how it should be?  We are plagued by greed, anger, and the desire to control.  Imagine a world of peace were adults weren't afraid to walk in there own neighborhood, where their wasn't sexual assault, violence, trauma, or criminal activity.  I'm a dreamer, but if everyone took responsibility for themselves we could have this peaceful world.  I believe one person can cause chaos that leads to war.  I would think that the feeling of being treated unjustly would invoke one to act out.  Again, if we were just responsible for our own actions and behaviors.  If one person can cause chaos another can cause restoration.  If we continue on the path we are on our children will continue to live in a world that fosters the very things we try to protect them from.  In my quest of changing this upside down world I am going to be fair and treat others with respect, even when it's not returned.  I challenge you to do the same.  I challenge you for all those who lost their lives on 9/11, for our children's future and our world to be fair and just.  I challenge you in this difficult time to invoke restoration.  Please remember how our actions can effect another person.  Take responsibility and be accountable for your own actions, words, and behaviors.  I will leave you with a verse.

John 13:34-35 New International Version (NIV)

34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”