The ghost of "honesty"

Thought for today:
Good morning beautiful spirits,
I don't know about you but yesterday was one for the record books for me....there was too much for me to process. I came home full of frustration and "toxins" from the projection of others. I ate and crashed until about 9 PM and I've been "haunting" ever since...by haunting I mean hovering and lingering over some food for thought. I read and pray when everything is quiet and still...

My thoughts led me to think about what it means to be honest; hence the quote about society and family. If you're familiar with the 12 Steps you should know about Step 4...while not in recovery for drugs or alcohol. I am in recovery from a childhood of immense trauma. I grew up in a home with a physically, emotionally and verbally abusive alcoholic father. Domestic violence was the norm (hearing and witnessing my mother being battered by this man, , her husband, my father)
With each blow up, verbal abuse, physical incident - mom battered or excessive child punishment, police presence...my siblings and I were given the same message "don't go out there tellin' people our business..." What a message and responsibility to give a child!!!!

Step 4 Made a searching a fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

I share with my clients that I work this Step every single day...once in the morning for motivation and at night as a means of self-assessment. Some days I feel like I get things right and other days are epic fails.

Let, me get to my point and my pictures. Far too many of us are living our lives in denial and deceit...because of the toxic presence of ghosts and specters (there's a difference between the two words and now you know why I used the aforementioned word haunting)
You ever notice that people who claim honesty and to be honest have the most secrets? They practice omission or make stringent claims to be a "private" person. You ever notice that the "privacy" takes on a Wizard of Oz like wrath and anger when someone gets too close to exposing the truth and frailties?

I share my story without hesitation , no stigma, i rebuke the guilt and shame that people think I should carry. I reject secrets and lies...my closet is for clothes and not skeletons....

Integrity is doing the "right" thing no matter what.....integrity has an audience of one....and your recognition and validation comes when your soul is aligned with the righteousness of God. Integrity is not self serving, integrity is not about the look at me. Integrity sometimes may have pain or consequences attached to it....but again I must remind you that integrity is not of this world.

I may not be aware of all the bones that I have kept during my lifetime but you can best believe I know what to do with them when they're exposed....I make a hearty stock and I use it to the glory...amen..

STOP listening to the empty "honesty and subjective truths" of the people who are in the "business of telling you who and what you should be and do and be about the business of who God says you are!!!

Ok...y'all know I love to get with the "Mother's Board" at church....walk in the light, the beautiful light, come where the dew drops of mercy shine bright ~ KB I love y'all!!!

No Temptation

  

Thought for today:
Good morning kings and queens,
I start this week off with some heavy thoughts. If, you know me, you know I listen...what I listen for is the things you're saying by not saying them. If you know me, you'll also know that I am judicious with my responses to what I hear in the unspoken ( a habit learned from and in prayer)... saying all this to say.That someone said something the other day....and they don't even know they spoke volumes to what I'm about to "preach"....Yes, I said preach....pull up a chair this message is going to be a bit wordy.
Some of y'all don't believe in a Higher Power (God, Allah) or a spirit that seeks to exalt itself against it (Satan, Shaytan)....so I'm going to pose it to you like this:
At some points in life we are at our peak performance; we're up and coming, energy is positive and we seemingly have everything our heart's desire. We're "In the building and feeling ourselves"... and this is when we're most vulnerable to the attack of the "enemy". This is when the negative energy and forces come into play and the "polarity power play" begins.
Matthew 4:1-11 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”

11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Imagine being tempted by your BLESSINGS- you ever think that the if you misuse what you've been given it can become a curse? Of course you haven't... The enemy uses YOU to get YOU!!!! playing on your pride, your faults, your insecurities...He doesn't care what he uses as long as he has your attention...and he has taken your eyes and hearts off God.

some of us are following everything but God....some of us are looking for a God "supplement"...like He needs a "booster"....

As we shelter in place....use the time to build your faith.
2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV) Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
2 Timothy 3: 16-17 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Matthew 4: 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Walk in Spirit and Truth y'all ~ KB

This little light

Thought for today:
Good morning kings and queens,
I don't know who needs to hear this message this morning but I just felt this in my spirit.
Some of us seem to be going a bit stir crazy with the quarantine in place directive. Some of us are like the theme song of Good Times because of it...
Good Times.
Any time you meet a payment.
Good Times.
Any time you need a friend.
Good Times.
Any time you're out from under.

Not getting hassled, not getting hustled.
Keepin' your head above water,
Making a wave when you can.

Temporary lay offs.
Good Times.
Easy credit rip offs.
Good Times.

I just want to remind you that there is still a message of hope in the madness...the message being that this Covid madness is our opportunity to be still and think! This tough time is a tremendous opportunity to birth trust; an opportunity to come together and to share....loving and lifting.
WE ALL MAKE THIS WORK - this little light of mine...I'm going to let it shine ~ KB

Look Up and Live

  

Thought for today
Good morning beautiful kings and queens,

Wow, what can I say other than I had to choose all three pics to get my point across. I know that this COVID thing has everyone on edge and the "lock down" has everyone rapt with the question of "what's next?" ...while the issue is serious, is it worth another health issue? High blood pressure, stroke or personal injury because you're distracted?...high blood pressure has killed more people than COVID can or will....keep that in mind also note that by the time high blood pressure is diagnosed, other parts of the body have been affected. Can I just tell you complaining does the same thing but it is a disease of the spirit... Galatians 5:9 "A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough."

When I hear someone lodge a barrage of complaints, I initially try to be empathetic and redirect the "energy" or should I say "entity" to the blessings of hope, the spirit of gratitude and the power of positivity or at the very least try to understand what's driving the thoughts and complaints and attempt to protect my own spirit. What I've learned is that discontentment is a force that is rooted in a spirit of tormented pride; hear me out....discontentment tells you what you should have, what you're entitle to; yet, your insecurities and broken self esteem tells you that you'll never measure up and it's not for you. It's the carrot on a stick held before a starving horse; before you know it you've worked yourself to death.

Let me remind you of the fact that there is ALWAYS something to be grateful for....and let me also remind you of the fact that your gratitude should not be a comparison blessing, contingent upon a negative. By this I mean the stuff you hear in "church script" I am grateful to see another day, somebody set their clock for this morning and didn't get another day.

So what! you're in the house; look at it this way, this COVID is our Passover, what a better time and opportunity to have communion with the Most High....amen🙏
Have a blessed day and look up and live...~ KB

Keep the faith

Thought for today:
Good morning good people,
I chose this pic for a very special reason. I am a mental health worker, more aptly, a substance abuse counselor and these trying times are causing people distress. Their four rooms (mental, emotional, spiritual and physical) are cluttered with fear and anxiety. People have lost sight of the doors and windows of hope and opportunity.

I say this to say, this is where my job and my words become crucial. I have to stay focused and true to what I believe and what I know has gotten me through.

Many of you are off work and becoming frustrated because you're dealing with uncertainty for the now and for the future. Many "front-liners who are working are tired and they want to insure their safety and the safety and well being of their families. Trust and believe I am no different and I can identify with both sides.... but I am not fearful in this time of crisis ...I am holding fast and firm to the PAUSE and the TRUTH in the statement "but, God". Allow me to explain:
They say the virus is deadly; true but God... Deuteronomy 31:8
8 The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

They say it's going to get worse before it gets better; true, but God.....Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Psalm 18: 2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

They say people are panic buying and hoarding, leaving very little for the marginalized; true, but God... 1 John 4:18
18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. John 15:13 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

It's the "but God"...that changes your thoughts from fear to love and it is through this love that we're able to live, move and have our being.... Keep the faith y'all ~ KB

Restoration

        





Though for today:
Good morning beautiful souls,
Ask any of the people who I have had the pleasure of working with as a counselor....they will tell you that I have ALWAYS taught this lesson...

Allow me to give you a short back story on what I'm about to say...Many of the people I work with are in the early stages of their healing process. The very first thing I do is take them back to the messages they received to shape their self destructive behaviors. I highlight the point that these messages were provided by other people who are "walking wounded" and that it's not their baggage to carry . I discuss how they are in the process of rebuilding and that if they are ready to do the work they must first notice the damage and the ease and speed of the demolition done by the hands, and words of others. I tell them that it takes minimal effort to swing a hammer in the demo process.

I then teach that their tries and fails were a result of their attempts to rebuild without blueprints; in essence becoming a patch "good enough" job until something happens that shakes the foundation of their work...think of the house from the old TV show Green Acres. While my clients are chewing on their ideal and concept of construction and healing.... I then provide the essential message of hope from Psalm 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.

Noting that when you attempt to fix something using the materials from the "accident" it's considered SALVAGE...and that's what the healing process is Salvage, salvation, restoration and "righting" and who better to do it than the Most High...

I allow the person to identify their Higher Power but I stress that it must be a power greater than themselves because if they could have fixed, restored, renewed, righted themselves then they would have and there would be no need for a Higher Power.

Ok, I've preached enough...let me just note....we have power, and we've had it throughout whatever ordeal we've experienced. Our power is in the ability to recognize the things that damage our souls, spirits, psyche, what have you, and to say yes, to our healing.... Be bold and brave and tap into your power. Start your "righting" ~ KB

Know Your Heart

Thought for today:
Good morning beautiful people...
I chose this pic to set the tone for this week. As I was checking in over the weekend I saw a video posted of two sisters in a battle royal over rolls of toilet paper.... I know you're thinking what does that thought have to do with this pic? well, allow me to elucidate...

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Many people do not know their true heart or have really given thought to the intent of their actions other than the thought of how they will benefit from them....

Consider this thought - if you throw a pebble in a pond you will initially experience ripples...those ripples will eventually die down and the waters will return to a state of calm. What we don't consider is that the pond is forever changed by the addition of the pebble. Now, the pebble may not seem like a big deal but it is when you consider just how many you've added to your life and the lives of others. YOUR pebble just might be THEIR breaking/tipping point.

I know I quote a lot of scripture, this is MY reference book for life; in saying this I'm going to share two very important scripture to further highlight my point with this pic...

Above all else, guard your heart for everything you do flows from it. – Proverbs 4:23
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. - Matthew 5:8

It's never too late to have a change in heart; let's get this right good people~ KB

I have faith in these desolate times

Thought for today:
Good morning good people..
I am going to jump start my weekend with a little infusion of positivity because Lord knows we need some cheer..

Yesterday, I was able to get in and out of the grocery store w/o seeing a birthday come and go because that's just how long the check out lines have been for the past 2 weeks.The store shelving was still a bit sparse but I was able to grab a few things. As I was driving home with my groceries, like a bear headed to the cave for hibernation, I thought about how people are capitalizing by using the fear mongering and pandering. I juxtaposed this thought to what I KNOW about God.
Now, don't get me wrong, I have been accused of minimizing the impact of this pandemic, I know it is a very real health issue and I take my precautions seriously but what I'm not going to do is let the enemy take the driver's seat by reacting (instinct) rather than responding (prayer and forethought)...<-- hope that makes sense. Again, I am not downplaying the health risks and I am not poo pooing what this "plague" is doing....I am highlighting my God!!! You know when you hear "oh magnify the Lord"? Well, when we magnify everything else is small in comparison...ya feel me?!!!

Now, I'm about to take you to my "church" of thought beginning with:
Luke 12:25-31 (NIV)
25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

27 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

(Isaiah 41:10; Psalm 56:3; 2 Timothy 1:7; Joshua 1:9; 1 Peter 5:7)

The word says : I came that you might have life and have it more abundantly - can you do that in fear?

Yes, this is a stressful time, things seem dark....but you have the choice to look to the light and live. There was life on the Ark; There was life in the Red Sea; There was life in the river floating away from Pharaoh; The was life on the run from Saul and there was and is life on the cross..~ KB🙏😉

The Experience

Good morning beautiful people,

I saw this pic and I had to do a "Boondocks" and say PAUSE out loud.
God is truly an experience!!! Some of you may have had the experience and just kept it pushing; missing out on the beauty of it all....just take time to think about something that you've experienced that had you the ropes mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically...that experience where you found yourself saying "God if you just get me through this!"

I don't know if you believe in a Supreme Being or not ...but you cried out because you knew that there was something greater than you...something outside of your abilities and power that you had faith in
We all have things that we go through just in living life....I'm not talking about those things. I'm talking about the things that have you laid out and leanin' like a sister at a Baptist funeral (y'all get the picture)

What life altering and vision changing experiences have you been through? Have they made you better or bitter? Do you want to get well? What are you doing to heal? Did you know that your healing is your responsibility?

Now, I could get really preachy and start proselytizing but that's not what I do...I just pose questions as food for thought...with that being said I'm posing the questions Are you living the life you want to live? and What's your experience ~ KB

I see MY true colors

Thought for today:
Hey, Good morning good people...
Now, this pic will preach a message... I share this pic because I hear so many people's hurts and frustrations day in and day out. Many people are so unaware of the fact that what they say in everyday banality is so telling about their experiences and their lens on the world.
I chose this pic because I hear the frustration, see, and yes, even lived of the damage of the act of people pleasing....the "I gave my best" but let me tell you what I have learned when I took the time to step back to heal.
First, I learned that people are not their behaviors; we all go through things that shape our experiences; things that either clear our lens or narrows it. Just know that you can't see the big picture through the squint of distrust and suspicion.

Second, I learned that if I ever find myself pleading my case to anyone, with the words "remember that time" or "I did thus and so for you" and I gave my best" those words tell me that I did it for the wrong reasons; I had a motive and an agenda. Those words tell me that I set someone up to take a test that they didn't know they were taking and their outcome is going to be a fail because they didn't know that my expectation was hanging on it.

Third, I learned to believe people when the show me who they are....and to allow them to be that way knowing that every plant is not meant to be in my garden and that certain plants cannot be paired.

That being said... I have nothing to give but me - raw and unfiltered and I am constantly asking am I the best me that I can ...think about it ~ KB

Hologram

If it’s Tuesday KB must be “on one”…yup!!! No diggity, no doubt. I dunno…I got in the habit of speaking real on Tuesday’s because I used to work for an agency that had meetings all day Tuesday and it was like being in a WWE death match. Everyone’s job insecurities came out and they would tear into people at the table in the most passive aggressive ways.
I consistently told people that I am not going to get in front of the designated “emperor” and be a gladiator for entertainment; for what? Self- aggrandizement?!! I chose to stand on the virtue of who I am …period-t!
All of which brings me to my point, a few years back there was all this hoopla about a concert featuring a hologram Tupac... with people either loving or hating it. As I sit here today just marinating on some scripture, it dawned on me that many people are living hologram lives…
We have created a narcissistic society that has phrases like “IG model” and living for “likes.” We’re living programmed lives based on other people’s perceptions or our own beliefs of what we “should” gleaned from negative messages from people that we NEED to validate us; lives that are just as fake as a Hollywood backlot.
Am I flashing on a passage in Exodus which speaks of false gods and graven images… oh, surely you haven’t forgotten the 10 commandments?!! Not the Charlton Heston pic…although that’s about as real as some of our lives…
Don’t get me wrong, I have had my days living a persona…..but it got old and it got expensive and it was very hard to maintain….believe it or not maintenance on “false” is expensive.

What I’m getting to is who does God say you are?
God thinks you’re worth fighting for – Exodus 14:14
God thinks you are His masterpiece – Ephesians 2:10; Psalm 139:14
God thinks you’re capable and an overcomer – Romans 8:37
God thinks you are perfect just the way you are; flaw, faults, frailties and all – Jeremiah 31:3; Colossians 2:10
God thinks you are delightful – Zephaniah 3:17

The first syllable in hologram is “holo” – hollow ….Stop frontin’ ain’t no future in it…. Man’s accolades and titles have no sustainability we’re always off to the new, latest and greatest. Transcend time with the “I AM” ~ KB

Thought for today
Good Monday morning kings and queens,
I made it through the weekend. Friday I was both shocked and appalled by the fear and panic responses to the covid -19 pandemic. I went to the supermarket to pick up a few items and I saw lines stretching halfway through the store. I went to 2 other locations to find empty selves and panicked and rude people...I found myself experiencing supermarket road rage based on the behavior or others....which leads me to my point...
what is our hope based in? Have we as a race of people, I'm speaking the human race, succumb to an "every man for himself" mentality all the while claiming some type of caring and empathetic religious dogma?
I'm going to set Monday off with this thought:
Imagine - John Lennon

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people living for today
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace, you
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharing all the world, you
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be as one

I'm going to leave you with a bit of scripture: Matthew 16:26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? ~ KB

Kintsugi

Thought for today:
Good morning kings and queens,
I am going to set the week off with this thought.....
maybe the reason you don't heal is because you're trying to return the person you were before the trauma...you can't return that person has changed. Have you ever given thought to the fact that you also can't return because that person was also the person who either made the decision that led to the trauma or will embody the pain and confusion of the situation?
I'm saying this to tell you to KNOW that there the trauma has created a fragility that you must handle with care. You know that a fissure has been created but it should not render the vessel useless...practice human "kintsugi"
"Kintsugi (金継ぎ, "golden joinery"), also known as Kintsukuroi (金繕い, "golden repair"), is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum, a method similar to the maki-e technique. As a philosophy, it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.
As a philosophy, kintsugi can be seen to have similarities to the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi, an embracing of the flawed or imperfect. Japanese aesthetics values marks of wear by the use of an object. This can be seen as a rationale for keeping an object around even after it has broken and as a justification of kintsugi itself, highlighting the cracks and repairs as simply an event in the life of an object rather than allowing its service to end at the time of its damage or breakage, and can be seen as a variant of the adage "Waste not, want not"

Be you, love you....embrace your frailties and flaws...they too are part of your beauty ~KB

I will trust

Thought for today:
Good Morning kings and queens,
Let the church say amen on this pic....for real and fo' sho!!!
I have to say this week has been one helluva ride. I make it a practice to show kindness and understanding to others because I know we have all been through some things and we will continue to go through some things; I know that sometimes it just takes someone listening and the medicine of empathy to help others get through.

Y'all this covid-19 hype has a lot of people in a panic and running scared with no destination in mind. Please allow me to share some facts and thoughts on the matter:

FACTS: The reality of this virus is many of us have already been exposed to it or will most likely be exposed to it. Many of us will show no symptoms or have mild symptoms. What we need to do is protect the people who are most vulnerable - the elderly and the medically frail. People with compromised immune systems and people with chronic respiratory issues.
THERE IS A CAUSE FOR CONCERN BUT NOT A NEED FOR PANIC!!!

https://www.linkedin.com/…/notes-from-ucsf-expert-panel-m…/…

I work at UCSF and I receive regular updates.

THOUGHTS: By now, with my many shares, you know I am a person of faith...I know God is a God or order ..so I'm posing the question from Luke 12:25-31. I am presenting the conviction of Isaiah 12:2; Psalm 62:8 and Proverbs 3:5-6. I am giving instruction and support as demonstrated in James 5:13-15

be blessed kings and queens and be good to one another...

Don't worry, be happy

I am back, I had to take a break for a minute because I was apartment hunting. I've moved and I am all settled in. I hope you're still interested in what I want to share with you... thanks for being here to read.

Thought for today:
Good morning kings and queens,I'm just going to keep it simple today....this pic right here! Boom!!!Yesterday, I was talking with one of the sheriff's in the building. I asked how he was doing he said "I can't complain" and then he tried to remember a quote about complaining and he couldn't recall the quote, so I shared my philosophy on the subject with him:Complaining is a 50/50 proposition 50% of the people don't care and aren't listening and the other 50% are glad it's happening to you and not them.
Train your mind to see the best in things....every beautiful flower has to spend a little time buried in the dirt....the struggle is very real but it is never permanent ~ KB

"Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone's face? Did I say words of healing? Did I let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love? These are the real questions. I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will bear many fruits, here in this world and the life to come."
Henri Nouwen