11
Oct 2010

Motivation Monday: Not Being A Victim Pt. 1

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I was on Facebook last night and went to my pastor’s (A.R. Bernard) Fan Page and saw this note about not being a victim. It is very inspirational. So I am here to share his thoughts and teachings with you all. Hopefully this helps someone!

Words and Teachings of Pastor AR Bernard:

Do everything readily and cheerfully-no bickering, no second-guessing allowed!

Philippians 2:14 MSG

” Happiness is a choice-it depends on how you interpret life.  To be happy, you must learn to interpret the world and its events in a positive fashion.  This means that you begin programming yourself to see the good in everything-no matter what happens, no matter what goes down.  Then, when you find the good in every situation, you take that good, and you build upon it.

It’s amazing how many people, especially those who portray themselves as “victims,” conclude that the lives they’re experiencing have been chosen for them.  But they’re mistaken.  In truth, their lives-all of our lives-are composed of our choices…and we become servants to the choices we make.”

Stay Tuned for Pt. 2!

Categories: HGB Go Getter Tags: , , ,
16
Aug 2010

Vintage Motivation Monday: Determination

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“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” -Winston Churchill 

Yesterday’s service was so inspiring. I know I say that a lot, but it truly was. First we were blessed by the musical talent of the Escobar Brothers from Queens also known as Nuttin’ But Stringz. They finished 3rd on America’s Got Talent a few years ago. That was my 2nd time seeing them live and those brothers are TALENTED!!! Their gift is truly amazing. One of the brother’s (Damien) talked about how he broke his neck last summer and the doctor’s said he would never play violin or speak again, and there he was yesterday standing on stage in front of the CCC congregation at 8:30am blessing us with his musical talent. All I can say is that God is truly amazing.

Pastor Bernard’s message was about determination. It was so powerful! Here are a few of my notes:

  • Successful people take risks, in other words, they have faith. Faith is taking a risk with enthusiasm and passions while putting your trust in God.
  • Successful people know how to accept failure. Failure is the wound for success. If they fail they keep trying and that takes determination.
  • Many of life’s greatest victories are born out of failure. If you fail don’t whine or cry about it. Go back to the drawing board and find a way to accomplish your goals.
  • God would rather see the cluttered pages of your trying rather than the blank pages of you giving up. (This is what got me moving)
  • If you are afraid of failure and rejection you will  never experience success. You have to get beyond rejection
  • There will be mountains (0bstacles) in your way and sometimes God may not move those mountains and so you have to CLIMB your way to the top. The bottom of the mountain or ladder is crowded with people who do not try and are not determined enough to succeed. Be a CLIMBER and start heading to the top.

Wow! I left so inspired! There are many things that I want to accomplish, but I have just been sitting around waiting for an opportunity to fall in my  lap rather than me trying to do something to change my situation. What I learned yesterday is that I need to increase my faith and work. Faith is an action word so I can’t just sit around and expect what I want to happen without putting the work in.

Persistence + Determination = Omnipotence. With persistence and determination you have the power to accomplish all of your hopes, dreams, and desires. Remember: If God be for you, who can be against you? Have faith and be determined. Don’t only wish, hope, and want things to change, but put in the work to make the change.

I hope this inspires someone to move forward.

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02
Aug 2010

Motivation Monday: The Good Life

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“Life is meaningless only if we allow it to be. Each of us has the power to give life meaning, to make our time and our bodies and our words into instruments of love and hope.” -Tom Head

LIFE IS GOOD!

Yes life is good and this has been the message in church for the past couple of weeks. Some people may look at their circumstances and allow that to prevent them from enjoying life, but my circumstances do not determine my happiness. Every morning that I wake up, I thank God for allowing me to see another day and giving me the chance to enjoy life.

I know for some it would be extremely difficult to find any type of joy or happiness when bills a past due, a loved one is sick or in jail, you have just been laid off from a job, or any other bad thing that could happen, but when you focus on the negative your life will be negative. Instead of focusing on what you don’t have, focus on what you do have. Every day that we wake up, we are given another chance to change our circumstances. We have to be wise and make wise decisions. The negativity in our lives often comes from bad choices and decisions. We sometimes act on impulse and don’t really think things through which is why we end up in certain situations. Those consequences that we face are because we used poor judgment.

We cannot always put the blame on some when something bad happens in our lives. We have to take responsibility for our actions and decisions and learn from them so we won’t make the same mistake. We can also use our current situations to plan for a better future because life was not meant to be “hard.” We make life hard on ourselves.Yes, there are some situations that we have no control over like the MTA and their fare hikes, but what is complaining and cursing the MTA getting us, absolutely nothings so we need to find a way to make this situation work for us. How about we use our talents and gifts that were given to us to generate more income. We cannot change what the MTA is doing so let us find ways to be creative producers and not just consumers when we are faced with a challenge.

Life is good, if we want it to be.  So what do you choose?

Quote Source

Categories: HGB Go Getter Tags: , , ,
26
Jul 2010

Motivation Monday: Get a Life!

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So I spent last Friday night at church with other 20-something and 30 something year olds having “Real Talk” with my pastor A.R. Bernard. They are starting a new ministry for people within this particular age group, because many people believe that being a Christian you can’t have “fun,” which is simply not the case. So Pastor Bernard wanted to talk with us to find out how the church can better serve us in finding our place and a good balance as young developing Christians. The meeting started at 8pm and ended around 10:30pm, but none of us wanted to leave. We were having such a great time with great discussions and A LOT of our questions were answered. It was a very interactive meeting that provided a lot of clarity for many of the young adults in attendance.

One theme that Pastor Bernard focused on, is also a theme that he has been preaching about for the past few weeks which deals with different aspects of life. Here are just a few notes from the meeting on Friday…enjoy

  • Establish a clear sense of self. When you know who you are and know your goals, values, and self-worth, your relationships and life will greatly improve.
  • We do not only relate to people, we relate to God, self, places, and things. We need to have a great relationship with ourselves before we can relate to other people, places, and things. If we don’t establish self-control then people, places, and things will control/dominate us.
  • The most important thing to bring in or to a relationship is : A LIFE! Get a life! Without a life it shows you are looking for a sens of self, security, and identity in someone, some place or something. You will find that what you are searching for can only be found within yourself and this causes hurt, pain, anger, and resentment
  • You cannot look for an external solution for an internal problem.
  • Having a life is more than having something to do- it is about protecting yourself. If you breakup with your significant other, lose your job and your possessions what is left? Don’t use people or things to define you because they can be taken away.

How to get a life

  1. Establish a sense of self- self-worth, self-esteem, self-concept.  Who am I? It can’t be what you do or what you have.
  2. Get a social life. Learn how to be social
  3. Set personal development goals. Invest in yourself.
  4. Think with your brain! The ultimate decision we make is emotionally based but use reasoning because it helps you get beyond the fairytale illusions

Ok so this is just the beginning. I can’t give you all of the goodies at one time. Stay tuned for more!

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