"Forgive Yourself"

I have learned that forgiveness is vitally essential and a key ingredient in and for Life.

We need to forgive the ones that have perpetrated less than towards us even though we have perpetrated greater than towards them.

We need to forgive those same individuals for those same less than acts so that we may pick up the pieces TO and move on WITH our Lives.

In turn, we need to humble ourselves and genuinely ask for forgiveness for all that we have done to contribute to all of the ingredients that forgiveness calls for.

And when it is all said and done and the recipe for forgiveness has been followed, the final act is to "Forgive Yourself" so that you too may pick up the pieces TO and move on WITH your Life as well.

Forgiveness does indeed come full circle and it leaves absolutely nothing for the imagination. It is as bare as naked allows. And one piece of garment at a time, you will become clothed again, with each piece of attire replenishing the portion of you that was stripped away.

If it was done TO you, "Forgive Them."

If it was done BY you, "Forgive Yourself."

Starting today, rid yourself of the guilt. Genuinely ask for forgiveness, Pray for forgiveness and finally, "Forgive Yourself."

Love and My Mother are My Inspiration!
Love and My Mother are My Motivation!
Love and My Mother are My Celebration!
Love and My Mother are My Dedication!

All the Best, All the Time!
Corey

"Half A Chance"

Some of us consume so much adversity that we now monitor the caloric intake. The sodium levels from the contents of said adversity try their best to elevate our blood pressure and silently kill us. Adversity attempts to destroy us wholly AND Holy!

This destruction is done in part, in halves or in whole. But through the example that HE has shown, those seeds of adversity become a thing of the past when they are uprooted, removed and ultimately destroyed!

The DEPTH of the adversity matters not. It just means that GOD has a BIGGER shovel to facilitate HIS uprooting process. And sometimes that means that we need to roll up our sleeves and get to work.

While we are steadily looking for that COMPLETE opportunity, GOD is steadily showing us that all HE needs is "Half A Chance" to show us that EVERYTHING that HE does is ALREADY complete. Our personal "work in progress" is just part of the revealing process, preparing us for what HE has already done.

In order to make us whole, all we need to do is give HIM half, "Half A Chance."

Love and My Mother are My Inspiration!
Love and My Mother are My Motivation!
Love and My Mother are My Celebration!
Love and My Mother are My Dedication!

All the Best, All the Time!
Corey

"Inclusion"

I learned an extremely valuable lesson from a co-worker. You see we work together and from time to time we ask one another what the other thinks about a certain "thing" relative to work.

Here and there I would ask a question or two about a "thing" or two, but most of the time I would attempt to figure it out on my own, without any help. Until the other day, when I needed an opinion on something that I had yet to encounter on the job.

So, instead of asking the question from "across the office," I printed my document, highlighted the area and made my way over to the co-worker to ask for an opinion. They looked up, stood up and listened to my question while taking a look at what I printed.

An epiphany came over me at that very moment. You see, it was a look that I had never seen before and I immediately knew what it was!

Here it is, I go about my daily business, doing my job, which I believe that I am very good at, but I found myself asking a question relative to a situation that I had not encountered on the job.

Now my perception of "the look" could have been totally misconstrued or it could have served its purpose by delivering the epiphany to me. It dawned on me that what we do, whether or not we think that we are good at it, has little or nothing to do with how we treat what we "think" we are good at.

In a nutshell, the message to me was that it is not how good one "thinks" they might be, the TRUE, REAL Blessing is the "Inclusion" of others when you are going through your "process" or "discovery" thereof. It is more important to share and "include" others so that they might either grow WITH you or grow BESIDE you.

My co-worker provided the answer that I needed and I applied 100% of their advice to the "thing" that I had never encountered, until then. I was grateful at the art of "Inclusion" that was afforded to me. And even though I still "think" that I am pretty good at my job, the day that I asked for help, my co-worker made me better.

Cheers to "Inclusion!"

Love and My Mother are My Inspiration!
Love and My Mother are My Motivation!
Love and My Mother are My Celebration!
Love and My Mother are My Dedication!

All the Best, All the Time!
Corey

"If You Only Knew"

When they have not the first clue as to what stands before them, they are destined to lose all of what they don't even realize they already have.

When they treat you like the water in the palms of their hands, you too will fall through their fingers as they desperately attempt to grasp what is no longer tangible to them.

Some people think they are losing what they have when they don't even realize that they have already lost what they once had.

There IS a statute of limitations with respect to your course of action. So, when your inactivity has blatant visibility, do not be surprised by your inevitable reality.

Listen when you're being spoken to. Raise your hand if you don't understand. Of all the times Love has been there for you and now I find myself left with, "If You Only Knew."

Love and My Mother are My Inspiration!
Love and My Mother are My Motivation!
Love and My Mother are My Celebration!
Love and My Mother are My Dedication!

All the Best, All the Time!
Corey

"Lead BY Example"

It is so easy to be a verbal mouthpiece, dictating what should be done, what could be done and what someone else needs to do. But if you are truly in it for positive results, then your actions will precede your words as you further illustrate your point when you begin to "Lead BY Example."

Always in the ears of my children, I decided to flip the script and do what it is I would have them do so that I can be the example that they need to see and not just the verbal mouthpiece that I already knew I could be.

Its tricky being a parent, but I have learned that if you go about Life in the same or like capacity, coupled with the power of Prayer, the immovable will be moved and the impossible will become possible.

I find this to be true because people have a tendency to gravitate to what it is that they want or what it is that they want to be. And if they witness "that" within you, your actions have BECOME the verbal mouthpiece that leads the way, thus allowing you to "Lead BY Example."

No, it's not rocket science, but putting the wheels in motion has to start with the driver of said change, that reflection that stares back at you every time you happen upon a mirror. You have to be the change that you wish to see within the world, first starting within YOUR world, with you, in your home.

The more you do, the less verbiage needs to be heard. The less you do, the more likely your verbiage will fall onto deaf ears.

In every facet of your Life, "Lead BY Example" and witness the positive results that will undoubtedly come about. It is equivalent to earning your "interest" even before having made a single deposit.

Be Blessed!

Love and My Mother are My Inspiration!
Love and My Mother are My Motivation!
Love and My Mother are My Celebration!
Love and My Mother are My Dedication!

All the Best, All the Time!
Corey

"But A Dream"

They possess all of the talent in the world, yet they keep it bottled up like its their own little personal genie. With every chance to be everything that they so desire to be, they have chosen to lock THEMSELVES up and throw away the key.

But as soon as they witness what they want "in action," that "could've, would've, should've" mouthpiece gets louder by the second. And at the end of the day, the only thing that ever tends to materialize are the same old words that you have heard time and time again. Those same words that you no longer believe!

Sometimes you wind up fighting a battle that is riddled with time. And every orifice is representative of that leakage of time and all that you have wasted, thus far.

The timekeeper does not guarantee us what we "think" we're entitled to, which is exactly why the maximization of EVERY situation should be aided by our prioritization and impromptu ability to handle fluctuation. A lot of those self-imposed impacts are only perceived, not realized.

My Momma used to tell me, "Corey, nothing comes to a sleeper, "But A Dream." Wake Up!"

Love and My Mother are My Inspiration!
Love and My Mother are My Motivation!
Love and My Mother are My Celebration!
Love and My Mother are My Dedication!

All the Best, All the Time!
Corey

"Comprehend the Possibilities"

My Pastor said to, "Comprehend the Possibilities."

When I learned that I can do EVERYTHING through Christ Jesus, I also learned that the enemy couldn't tell me NOTHING!  I am learning to "Comprehend the Possibilities."

I am waiting for HIM to fight the battles on my behalf and allowing HIM to beat up the "bully" so that I can take back EVERYTHING that was once stolen from me!  I am learning to "Comprehend the Possibilities."

I am restoring the Faith WITHIN my Faith so that I may walk the same example that I talk, by illustrating it in EVERYTHING that I do. I am learning to "Comprehend the Possibilities."

Today, I am doing EVERYTHING that I am destined to do because I now "Realize the Possibilities" and am proactively doing not just SOMETHING about it, but EVERYTHING about it!

Whether it is my Pastor, your Pastor or just you coming to the realization, it is time to start to "Comprehend the Possibilities," restore the Faith WITHIN your Faith, take back EVERYTHING that was ever stolen from you and allow the enemy to tell you NOTHING, as you make your way down a path that permits you to "Realize the Possibilities."

But first, you need to learn to "Comprehend the Possibilities."

Thank You Pastor!

Love and My Mother are My Inspiration!
Love and My Mother are My Motivation!
Love and My Mother are My Celebration!
Love and My Mother are My Dedication!

All the Best, All the Time!
Corey

"Get It When They Get It"

You know, you can talk until you are blue in the face to someone about something that could be life-altering, beneficial to them or in their absolute BEST interest.

You can illustrate your point of view in the best Van Gogh impersonation with all of the brilliance emanating from the canvas, staring right back in your direction.

You can carve your thoughts into a slab of wet concrete and rest assured that the recipient of your intended point, your thoughts, will step right over them, walk right on them, spit upon them and not even "get it!"

You know My Mother used to give me this sly, little smirk whenever, as an adult, I finally realized that 2+2 was not 3 nor 5, but actually 4. She didn't say too much, but I grew to know what that look was all about. "I've been trying to tell you this the whole time, Corey." I KNEW what she was thinking and SHE knew that I knew what she was thinking. Hence the reason for not an utterance, but rather a quiet, sly, smirk.

GOD knows that I miss those smirks, those words, that advice, hearing that voice telling me that "everything's going to be alright."

Be patient with the people that do not "get it until they get it," because once they get it, they got it and they shall never relinquish it.

They WILL "Get It When They Get It" and not a moment sooner.

2+2=4, quietly, slyly, smirking.

Love and My Mother are My Inspiration!
Love and My Mother are My Motivation!
Love and My Mother are My Celebration!
Love and My Mother are My Dedication!

All the Best, All the Time!
Corey

"I'm Never Going Down From This"

My children keep me on my toes! How they think, what they say, what they do and how they react is as unique as each of their personalities. At the drop of a dime they can conjure up laughter at the somberest of moments, invoke a thought deep enough to prance around my mind all day and bring about an immense joy that cannot be replicated by any store with something to sell or by nothing that money can buy.

We TRULY practice random acts of Love, for it is part of our daily bread, our daily requirement, a part of who and what we are. I am what I wish them to be and demonstrate it in such a manner that it requires the same of them in Loving response.

Their playfulness at the most serious of times reminds me that there are indeed more important things in the world than what I THINK I might be going through at the moment.

No matter how tired I might be, how broke I am or how broken I have been, I HAVE TO make my contribution, my deposit into this Blessing called Life. The seeds of today shall flourish within the harvest of tomorrow. And that is why I proactively claim my itemized contributions and not my itemized deductions.

When I kneel down to embrace my children, they wrap their little arms around my neck, squeeze tightly and they always ask me to "lift them up." I said, THEY ALWAYS ASK ME TO "LIFT THEM UP!" I didn't get that until recently. Amazing it is to hear the "verbal commands" or witness the "physical illustration" of someone or something talking to you, imploring you to do what you are called to do.

I lifted up my daughter to an impeccable embrace, putting her on my emotional level with her "physical illustration."

I lifted up my son to hear his "verbal command" that informed me, "Daddy, "I'm Never Going Down From This.""

Each of your verbal requests to "Lift Me Up" are happily obliged in such a manner that it requires the same of ME in Loving response. For the same rule applies to Daddy. When I need you to "Lift Me Up," the laughter comes, the thoughts prance and the joy cleanses.

So NO, "I'm Never Going Down From This" either.

Thank YOU for always "lifting me up" and using my children as a conduit in which to get your message across, so that I can in turn "lift someone else" up.

"I'm Never Going Down From This," he said.

Well, neither am I son! Neither am I!

From on high, "I'm Never Going Down From This."

Love and My Mother are My Inspiration!
Love and My Mother are My Motivation!
Love and My Mother are My Celebration!
Love and My Mother are My Dedication!

All the Best, All the Time!
Corey

"Back Into"

Sometimes we fall out of GOD's good Graces. Other times we fall out of Love with Love and/or the person that we said that we were in Love with. Being human means that more often than not, we will find ourselves trying to get "Back Into" what we intentionally or inadvertently fell out of.

Perfection does not define our existence, it is only a benchmark that we already know we will not be able to achieve. But that does not mean that we cannot challenge ourselves to strive for something higher, something better. I mean eventually, one day we shall all perish, but that does not stop us from going to see our physicians, getting our check-ups, screenings and shots, now does it?

I have recently experienced immeasurable growth that has instantaneously altered what I thought LAST WEEK with what I now know THIS WEEK. That is just how quickly HE works when we humbly seek HIM first in all that we do. I have learned to BE READY when you pray for and ask HIM to be a constant presence in your Life.

Getting "Back Into" what we once took for granted is at times, not an easy task when we lead with the flesh. But should we fondly recall the permanent example that we have in Jesus, our stubbornness should subside and be replaced with forgiveness, the single ingredient that is needed to move on.

If you have fallen down, then get back up!

If you have fallen off, its time to get back on!

If you have fallen out of, do not back off, step "Back Into." For we should ALL step "Back Into" our rightful places, with those familiar faces, "Back Into" HIS good Graces.

The time has come, to get "Back Into."

Love and My Mother are My Inspiration!
Love and My Mother are My Motivation!
Love and My Mother are My Celebration!
Love and My Mother are My Dedication!

All the Best, All the Time!
Corey