Hi Readers,

I am entirely behind on my writing. Yes, I’ve skipped several days because I stopped persevering. Really, my work week last week got in the way and I’ve gotten in this weird schedule where I go to bed real late. Partially because I worked late a few days this week and my old habit kicked back in. It’s like when you’ve been sober for awhile and then you decide to have one drink and then you’re right back where you started.

Mmhmm.

I also have some undying habits of staying up late and it’s partially because I’m a nocturnal person and I thrive at night yet I still have to be up early. I can’t win. The other part is the fact that if I get home late (mostly because of work), then to me my night has not begun and I have to “relax” the night away before I go to sleep because going to sleep feels like the little kid that feels like she is missing out. Huhhh. Help my life.

I have so much to share with you but of course it’s a couple of minutes before 11 and I have to be to work at 7:45 so telling you now won’t work.

Please stay posted.

Love,

The Writer aka Quita

Hey Readers,

I haven’t written in a few days because the last two days, I worked 12 hour shifts. I could’ve pulled through though but after long shifts like that, writing is the last thing I was thinking about. It’s safe to say that there is much to discuss and because it’s already late, I will have to share the details tomorrow but here are the topics that I want to focus on:

Forgiveness, Humility & Patience

Friendships & Heartache

Hard Conversations & Knowing God’s Word

By Default… (Lovers of My Life)

These are pretty much the topics that I’ve already reflected on in the last three days. I thought today that I now am understanding why I always have so much to talk about and any I process so much and it’s clear. I am truly a writer. All that I process is meant for me to share and not keep to myself.

Blessings lovely people.

Signed,

The Writer

 

 

Hey Readers,

How was your Sunday?

I’m going to make this short because I am behind time and really need to get to bed.

Today was a good day. I feel like I haven’t said that in a very long time. I’m not even sure if I have ever really said that but I say it because it’s a continuous of last week: the ignited sense of change that I experienced for two reasons and again I say, 1. realizing that I needed an outlet from work (although I really always had one) which happens to be my passion and being super driven to jump into it, hence, the artistic world. With that, it has cause me to take a step back and to refocus myself to gain balance. What is balance and what does that look like? For me, it’s spreading myself evenly across all of my interests. It looks like not putting all of my eggs in one basket with any one thing and allowing myself to be able to enjoy each role that I play in my life without being too focused on one or having to experience any form of burnout.

The other reason for experiencing this ignited sense of change is, well, the fact that my period came after several months of not receiving it. Strangely, I have a pattern where it comes when I experience a change. One being, having secured a new place since me and my roommate have to move and that was quite stressful. What this tells me is that I don’t think I handle stress well as I think I do if after a settlement, my period decides to come. Or perhaps it’s just the way my stress shows up which now that I think about it, how can this hold up well in a pregnancy? I have not thought about this until now; writing has a way of bringing up points for you. Later discussion or when I get ready to cross that bridge. Not something to worry about or stress about now.

Back to being a good day. It was a good day because Sunday school was deeply refreshing and the sermon was equally refreshing. Just the other day I questioned myself and why I find myself going back and forth with the idea of reaching out to others in terms of support for spiritual growth then finding myself running from it at the same time. In Sunday School, reading Romans 7 on law and sin drove me to finally make a decision as it showed me the reason behind my wrestling.

I knew it was time to walk out on faith as I came to the realization today that I doubt God. I doubt that I can trust Him enough to take care of me in the midst of my fears and reservations. I doubt that He can transform me and my circumstances, I doubt that He is sovereign in all ways and situations and as a result, this doubt has kept me where I am, kept me thinking ill thoughts about my salvation and His people, and prevented me from being able to experience spiritual growth in the way that my spirit cries out for. To just come to this realization is most certainly God’s grace and because I recognize His sweet, still, calming voice, I still have faith a bit bigger than a mustard seed.

Prior to this, I have been wanting to connect with my pastor for a long time and have drafted emails but was always to fearful to send. It’s how I fear rejection sometimes when it comes to seeking forgiveness or how I am always thinking that people are thinking the worse about me and the truth is, I have experienced a lot of that and I have allowed it to interfere with resting upon how God sees me rather than how others do. It also has shown me how I live inside my head bit too much (a common human flaw) and that I continue to make things real that are not. I will never forget when I was worshipping at my old church and I was in tears just watching all of the teenagers who after being encouraged to come to the front whom didn’t have present parents in their lives to head to the front. I was in college but I so badly wanted to go up there because I still felt like one of those teenagers, I had spent my teenage life in church weeping many times at the wounds I carried from not having my parents in my life and the burden of loneliness that I carried. While crying, I felt a touch in the middle of my belly that I can’t describe but it caused me to wail a loud sound and fall out. I was conscious but my eyes were closed. Another young lady close to my age prayed over me in tongues and then spoke, “you’re listening to the wrong voice, protect your ears”. I was reminded of this again (and have found myself frequently thinking about this). I have fallen into this many times because now that I think of it, a little girl who has experienced a massive amount of loneliness through her life would have the devil right there to tell her lies and that’s exactly how He has been holding me captive all fo these years. I would be reminded of this and weeping at 3am in the morning just last year when I realized all fo the lies I had believed. I am reminded of this today and now it’s time to do something different. It’s time to abide in God’s Word and to walk in truth and light with the right hand of fellowship with God’s hand. I am reminded of this by both our brother who preached in Sunday school and by our pastor in service today. That is the piece of bread that I carried out in my spirit today.

As a result, I was convicted today and decided that I am going to speak with my pastor. In fact, I did and informed him that I wanted to talk and meet with him. I also thought through the idea of writing a letter of expressing everything necessary because my hope is to open and to be clear. I am seeking spiritual support and I need it. I’m seeking spiritual healing and I need it. I don’t quite know what either of these things look like or how they will play out but this is where I begin to really trust God. I stop writing  and hold my face as tears come down my face at this new found revelation. I see a young girl who has been deeply hurt beyond physical repair and her soul is crying out for help and healing. This young girl has been afraid of coming out and when she does, it’s going to change her completely.

I also have been meditating not for the fact that I can’t be who God wants me to be if I don’t trust Him and if I don’t allow the process of spiritual change. We spoke on spiritual warfare today and this is what it sounds like, seems like, and looks like. Perseverance with the armor of God and His people.

That’s it readers. Have a wonderful night.

Signed,

The Writer

Emotions. A beautiful thing that can be expressed in a number of ways. Some healthy and some harmful. It’s a beautiful human and animal emotion. God often expressed emotion. It’s His creation. I always imagine how God feels. In the likeness of Christ, He must feel many things. I wonder how that is for Him. A God that is patient beyond human comprehension…further than we can fathom.

I say all this to say that within our emotions as humans, we can’t completely understand one another’s emotions and many times we can’t fully understand our own emotions. Sometimes emotions are meant to just be expressed and that underlining feeling just can’t be verbally expressed. Sometimes tears are enough. Sometimes yelling helps. Sometimes, laughter does the trick.

I, for one, am always working on controlling my emotions. It has been a long time duty and process because you don’t change overnight. Human traits and flaws do not magically go away in a short time. It takes constant work, failure, and forgiving yourself and others.

Today, an email transpired between me and a gentlemen who I may have met once but I don’t quite remember. It was a conversation about a topic that clearly he was passionate and very invested in. His response triggered a response within me and while it wasn’t a ‘messy’ argument, it sparked me to defend myself from his hard response. He responded from an emotional place based on his strong stance and while that was not the issue, it created some confusion. I was moved to respond to what he said rather addressing my meaning and I felt I got caught up in something that I didn’t need to be.  I didn’t think of it until after and was beating up myself about it because I thought perhaps I was completely wrong for saying what I said or perhaps I didn’t think things through enough. I thought, oh no, everyone on this email thread is going to think I’m not for the cause and that bothered me the most. It wasn’t until I was just about done drafting another email response to his second email which was more intense than the first that I received a text that would bring about relief and peace for me. He reached out to another who then reached out to me to let me know that he misunderstood the point of the original text and that he was too invested and very sensitive. I felt a bit better but also felt I should’ve received some apology so then that made me think perhaps he just realized that he let his emotions get in the way but still felt the way he did and perceived me to be someone not apart of the cause and that alone bothered me.

I then wanted to email him back to clear the air and while I did draft and email, several times, I had to go back and read what I wrote to check my own self. My truth came out in the email but it didn’t mean that I wasn’t for the cause. It just mean that out of defense and emotion, I felt the need to defend myself and in this transaction, I failed to refocus on the main point of the whole email.

Emotionally driven. It was for one, interesting to see someone else in an emotional place as it was a good time for me to reflect and think about how I may look when I respond emotionally. Well, I understood his heart and frustrations although they were a bit misguided and misdirected but it was great to understand another human being like myself.

One of the new things that I’ve adopted this year is about thinking before I speak and it goes likes this and is the 3 Question Method:

1. Does this need to be said?
2. Does this need to be said by me?
3. Does this need to be said by me now?

This is new to me and I have yet to get good at it. It’s something that I have to review weekly to remind myself of my emotional goals for this year.

In response to those questions, I added my own method:

If not,

1. when to say it?
2. when not to say it?

If so,

1. how to say it?

These are questions that I do practice answering during disputes and it has been helpful to me. Not something I have mastered  but a work in progress. What’s important for me is to learn how to utilize these when my triggers go off. That is an area very tough for me and honestly, I didn’t think about it until now. Perhaps it’s because the person that informed me of this person’s email response mentioned that it was a trigger thing. Now I need to reflect which I think is going to bring me a whole new way of dealing with my emotions and not repeating an unhealthy pattern of yelling and arguing matches with those close to me.

“Emotional intelligence is the key to both personal and professional success”. – both things that are equally important to me.

I added a quote of mine that goes like, “I can cry, maybe just not in front of my boss.” (which I have done) but the point is to aim to have your emotions under control.

 

I hope this is helpful to someone.

Good night.

Signed,

The Writer

Hey Readers,

I’m always forgetting what I’m going to write about because when I aim to write 3 hours passe dmy usual time, it’s no longer fitting for me to write. My brain has shit down.

Throughout the day I’m reflecting at miles per minute and so many things run through my mind quickly. Some things that are really great that I forget at such a late hour.

This is a lesson that I’m quickly learning.

Nonetheless, I had a day where I felt totally peace and calmness and I’m like man I feel great knowing that I have much to look forward to and getting back into the art world—just the thought of it, brings me a lot of joy.

I’ve decided to host my first musical art/writing event. I’m so excited! I can’t believe I’m going to do this. It’s going to be great 😊😊😊. It will be a time to reflect as a writer and artist, dig deep about what we want to accomplish and actually take time to tackle these things in one night. At least start. It’ll be a creative space and a time to encourage and inspire one another.

Thoroughly excited.

Anywhoo, I should get to bed – grocery shopping in the am. Good night.

Signed,

The Writer

It’s not a secret readers,

It’s when your period comes after months of being on a hiatus and suddenly you feel like you are experiencing the highest high of your life as if you met God or won the lottery and I will tell you, if I won the lottery…lol

It’s when you feel like working with someone is a nightmare and they show up one night with a big smile on their face and telling you how beautiful you are…ummmm what in the world.

All I wanna know, is what in the world….

I told a friend that I feel good and usually around this time of the year, that is not the case – omggggg, what is happeningggg…?

 

 

Things indeed are shifting. I’m so excited that I’m moving not just because the new place is nice but I will be saving money yaaaay. I’m also targeting some of my debt which is amazinnggg.

Anywhoo, it’s long passed my bedtime.

Time for nighty night 🙂

Signed,

 

The Writer

 

 

 

Retire from paying taxes. Check.

Retire from paying health insurance/ check

Retire from paying taxes. Check.

Retire from the 9 to 5 life. Check.

Retire from paying student loans. Check.

Retire from paying bills. Check

Do you ever get overwhelmed?

I type all of this as my head is tilted backwards. So sleepy that this blog post deserves undivided attention

hang tight, I will be back!

…days later: it is what it is until I come back at an earlier time where my brain can understand better.

Hello Readers,

Another night of being tired. I’m not getting much sleep these days as going to bed early and being up at 5 is a bit of a challenge. I’m adjusting.

Adjusting to the transition of becoming a morning person and some how having enough energy to still do my afternoon and evening duties.

So far not good.

I sacrificed a couple of hours of sleep only to not fulfill my schedule (really, what am I doing). I am really making planning look fake. I make mention as a reminder to actually carry out what I say and what I write that I will do.

Can someone PLEASE drag me out of the doors of work at 4pm?? I mean, I only get up early enough so that I can! Yet, I’m finding myself there after 4 and it dawned on me why: just like anything else that needs preparation, I have to prepare myself to leave. I need an entires hour just to be sure that I leave on time. I need an hour to wake up before I actually wake up.

I’m going to give this a shot. Usually when I do mentally prepare myself ahead, kt works out for the better. I’ll keep you posted.

Ok, shortest post thus far .

*falling alseep as I type*

Yours Truly,

The Writer

Hi Readers!

I’m super sleepy as I type and yet still, I always have so much to say. Last night after pushing through to plan and write, today, I had a very peaceful day at work. In fact, in my planning (if I haven’t mentioned already), I decided that I needed to incorporate an hour break. A real break. I realize that it has been impossible for me to take care of any personal business and it has been a huge setback. Also, I need to take a break (as that’s what it’s intended to be) and break away from work for a bit. Although it went quick (and I started late), it was so realizing. I left my cafe to go down the street to the other cute little cafe. Just my cup of tea 🙂 I had a cappuccino, ate lunch, and made a call. That was perfect. I felt prepared for the day and had the end in mind. I knew exactly what I was doing :). The ease was real.

The more I plan, the more I realize how much I really can’t live without it and that was my issue all along. I didn’t have a plan so I was just all over the place. It sure feels good to know where I am going within each hour of the day. I thought it was something so odd for me but it’s like I tapped into a part of me that was lonely! The organizational side that was starving for help! Heeelllllp meeeee.

I digress.

I have been learning what it means to love. I remember when I would easily cut someone off at the first offense. I just couldn’t BELIEVE that they would DO such a THING to ME! lol That was me all of the time. Now it’s like, we fight, and we fight, and we fight and I love you more and more and more but it doesn’t come easy. I see why friendships and relationships end. Communication problems are the number one reason and communication can be very difficult because it’s a shared muscle that has to be built throughout the relationship.  It’s how bonds are created. It’s developed through misunderstandings, personalities, and through getting to know someone. It’s very easy to give up and often it’s because of emotions that cloud our judgment, sometimes hurt and disappointment, but I believe that it’s ultimately because we have different paradigms and we have a hard time seeing and understanding other paradigms. We often want each other to live by how we see and understand the world and so we intend to force that onto those we love. Worse, sometimes the paradigms are unhealthy.

For me, I am learning what unconditional love looks like. You don’t know what loving someone is like until you’ve almost hated them. This is very well literal for some but I’m using it as figurative speech to just emphasize the pain that can come with loving others; the anger, the frustration, the sadness, the betrayal, and so forth. Relationships are always tested because we are flawed human beings and it’s in our nature to disappoint one another to some degree. It’s also within our nature to overcome the challenges of relationships. Some of us feel too hard and can’t handle the tension or being uncomfortable that comes with the territory of sustaining a relationship with someone; we quickly want out. Out can be very cowardly. Out can be a quitter. Out is sometimes a failure. Yet out is sometimes what is best.

Relationships aren’t perfect but love is because it can overcome anything that may seem impossible to overcome and that’s because God is love and nothing is impossible or too difficult for God. Ironically, while relationships are meant to be filled with joy and laughter, they also exist as reflections. They’re often hard ways of teaching us lessons and showing us hard things about ourselves that we can’t always see when it’s just us alone. Sometimes God places people in your life to show you who you are and what you need to work on. These things WILL come up in DUE time as long as you spend time with someone and get to know them because we can’t really hide who we are or our flaws; all of it is bound to show.

But the real question is, can you still love someone in spite of who they are? In spite of their ways that bug you? Is it worth it? Is it safe? Is it healthy? Is it even them?

The answer is that love should always be no matter what because “what does love got to do with it?”. We are so quick to put everything in the name of love and blame love for heartache, mishaps, misfortunes, ruins, despair etc but really it’s just flawed nature. Don’t mistaken what I’m saying for tolerating any level of harm or toxicity. Don’t even mistaken it for accepting someone’s harm towards you in a way that would force you to still be around them. No, not that. But forgiveness. Patience. Kindness. And being able to live freely because of the power of love.

Love is God and all the beautiful things He embodies so how then can we keep love from one another? How then can we not love because we were hurt while “in love”? Well, we can’t go on blaming love, we gotta continue this wonderful free gift. See, when Jesus died on the cross for humanity, he didn’t give us any conditions. He made Himself available to the world despite the world. Despite His pain, hurt, anger, and betrayal. We are so called to love that way too.

I’m learning to love despite flaws of human nature because it’s not love’s fault. We just gotta press on in the name of love. Now thats worth mentioning in the name of love. We are to become like little children who are quick to forgive and innocent in their ways. Love is free to be love and doesn’t withstand chains.

Anywhoo, it’s time for bed.

Good night readers,

P.S New habits are starting to form…

The Writer

Omg Readers,

It’s happening. The very thing that Napoleon Hill wrote about in his book, “Outwitting the Devil”. Success does come by way of determination backed up action. Might I add, today marks 2 weeks of writing for 14 days straight!!! Record-breaking! Who am I becoming??! OH! I know! The new Quita! Have ya’ll met her yet?! HERE SHE IS!!! 😀 I’M Amazed at this…let’s go one month! I might even push it to two months before publicizing.

Today and all week the understanding of commitment. I have always had commitment issues, all the way from something as an idea and all the way to people. The more I move towards my role of being consistent at things, new understandings arise. I am determined to master commitment which is embodied with so many other things. I am determined to conquer my emotions that give out and leave projects unfinished, ideas incomplete, and participation upset because I always choose to give up.

Today, as I sat in church, I pondered more about my gifts and talents and how to get back into the swing of things. Amazingly, one of our pastors mentioned an upcoming talent showcase and of course I was immediately excited. The opportunity presented itself and I would be silly to pass it up. My prayer had been answered! I quickly thought of one piece that I wanted to perform with music and pondered a second (I have several works to choose from, shouldn’t be hard).

 

I have also been thinking a lot about singing lessons. I have always loved to sing and I am a bit self-taught but also recognize the great need for voice lessons. For nine years, I lived next door to a singing school. ha—I assume it was there for that long but either way, I never was able to seize the opportunity because I didn’t have the funds. I am sure looking forward to the opportunity to utilize my funds correctly. I am committed to getting back into the swing of art and that makes me committed to utilizing my income more responsibly. It just hit me. I think that is one of the issues that we have. People don’t have enough worthy investments or long term goals and so they burn through their funds in the now over and over again because they don’t have a future for them. My favorite saying: “if you fail to plan you plan to fail”. Speaking of planning, i was badly thrown off tonight by stress and before I knew it, 7 hours had passed and I had not did my planning for the week. The one thing that I said that I wasn’t going to do, I did but then I quickly turned that lack of commitment around and told myself that I was going to complete my planning for the week and I did. I am very new to planning and it does not yet come natural for me. I didn’t plan last week and the week before that, I half planned. I planned for about two weeks. I believe I was overwhelmed at all that I had to do (and I am learning how to plan effectively and practically in a way that works best for me which doesn’t come easy until you practice implementing your schedule to see what does and doesn’t work) and it just backfired on me. Napoleon Hill mentioned how your ‘other self’ arises when you continue to push. Others also have said this in different ways that when you really focus on changing you start to change. New ideas come. New thinking arises. It’s literally like another voice (not an audible voice) is encouraging and inspiring me and it’s quite amazing. I’m amazed that this is all true.

Lately, I have been thinking about how doing the opposite of how I feel will propel me since it’s so easy to give into how we feel. Also, I have been thinking about the organization I chose to join with excitement and how much I allowed my feelings and distractions to get in the way. I fell off. I thought, boy here I again but lately, I have been really thinking about this organization and how close it is to my heart. How much more I want to do and I was thinking of one of the persons that are really running with the idea and working diligently with others to make it a reality. I was pressed to contact her to just make mention that I really want to be apart fo this and I just need a bit of accountability. Honestly, just saying that freed me from my constant running. I feel that it is now prevalent in my mind and really, I have no choice but to live by those words. I am happy to do so. I then was encouraged to hear again that my input would be of great value. People really do see that I have great ideas and that makes me oh so warm inside because it confirms that I am on the right track with pursuing my focus for school.

Anywhoo, this commitment is stretching some ways. I am officially more excited now that I am starting to see the fruit of my labor.

“You can’t be committed to anything else until you’re committed to yourself.” -Marquitta S. Niles

Alright readers. Have a gnite.

Signed,

The Writer