Book Review: One Perfect Word by Debbie Macomber

Instead of doing a book review, I decided to answer some of the questions from the guided questions geared towards a reading group. Please keep in mine this is MY PERSPECTIVE on  the questions being asked.

I consider myself a reading group of me + all my blog readers ok?

Link to the complete list of questions Here

Q. In 1977, the word that kept cropping up for Debbie was the word desire. What does that word conjure up for you? If you could name one desire—a secret dream—for your life, what would it be? (Don’t be afraid to dream big.)

To own/run my own wellness center.

Q. In 2004, Debbie was surprised by the word that came to her: surrender. Have you ever been surprised by something God seemed to have in store for you? How hard is it to surrender to His agenda? When we work so diligently to keep control, is it scary to consider surrender? What does it take to get there?

The way I have come to understand surrender is through obedience. I have always wondered, can you obey without surrendering? And how will that look like? 

It's like obeying a set of instructions and completing the task in your own method instead of what the instructions said to do. 

Does the end justify the means if the focus is the end product and not the process?

Where does disobedience fit into this?  I want to get to my goals the way God wants me to, not by my own will, might or ability to hustle +  acrobating my way into it.

Q. When you saw that Debbie picked the word obedience in 1998, what was your reaction? It’s not exactly a motivational word, is it? Debbie says, “We need to recognize that if we ignore His rules, there will be consequences.” Why is obedience so difficult for us, especially when we consider that it will save us untold chaos?

I've always stated that I cannot obey where I lack trust. I think obedience is difficult for me because I like to be in control. HOWEVER, when I'm in an environment where my trust is nurtured and I feel safe, I have no problem obeying or surrendering or submitting. From a Christian perspective obedience is hard because the flesh is weak, the temptations are many and we don't like to make the sacrifices that obedience sometimes calls us to make.

Q. During one of the toughest years in Debbie’s life, her word was brokenness. Look back over your life. Was there a year that seemed to reflect that theme, even if you didn’t intentionally choose it? How did God work through that with you?

My two years of brokenness so far have been 2011 and 2016. One for abruptly relocating to a new city with no job or friends. The second for losing myself in a situation I had no business investing in to begin with. In my case, God is still working on me but I definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel this 2018.

 It's going to be a great year! I can just feel* it .

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If you have any book recommendations for me please don't forget to list them in the comment section. Below I have included a link to some of the books I read recently

On Turning 33: My Gratitude List

Happy Birthday to moi!🎈

The year 2016 was such a dark year for me, it took the daily practice of writing in a gratitude journal to get me through the year. 

In 2017, my journaling process was guided by words of healing, rebirth and self discovery. The evidence is in the pudding. For the past 2 years, I had no birthday reflection; a normal blog tradition  for my birthdays. That's because I was barely hanging in there. 

Don't let an active social media presence fool you about the reality behind people's lives.

Today I want to reflect back . Specifically on the last 730 days journey of healing + recovery in the wake of a life blindside that threatened to destroy the foundations of my identity.
Life gave me limes and I had no tequila shot or water to ease the acidity of the experience.

In the spirit of what turned out to be the beginning of my healing process in 2016( I bought a guided gratitude journal to FORCE myself to write down happy thoughts);

 Here are 33 things I am grateful for this January 2018.

Body

1. Good Health - No doctor's visits where required in 2017
(When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi gave my life new meaning)

2. Strong legs to still run and play soccer in a 25+ women's league

3. A beautiful smile that let's strangers put down their guards*

4. Post college soccer athlete CURVES for days honey

5. A brain that still works and allows me to pursue my passions

6. Having all my toes and fingers to type this blog post

7. Team Thunder Thighs👍👍

8. 20/20 vision. No Extra eyes needed for now

9. Physical fitness/ Lack of disability - that allows me to embark on many adventures and experiences that limit others physically.

10. My natural hair 
( I saw 2 gray hairs the other day. Wisdom is upon me people! and we're not losing hair yet)

Spiritual

11. My International Family Church (IFC) family for praying for me. I mean they call and pray for me! Find you a church that randomly calls you and prays for and with you.

12.  IFC young adults ministry for new like minded friendships

13. Life groups that allow me to fellowship with others and grow 
spiritually. People who pray over my life and I pray for them too👍

14. Being able to take part in mission trips and other community outreach projects.

15. Being able to practise my faith freely. So many are stuck in areas of the world where their religious freedoms are under attack. 

Work

14. Friendly coworkers who keep me giggling like a kid all day.

15. An understanding Director who puts up with all my time off requests to travel + pursue other things*

16. Access to multiple streams of income to support my needs and hobbies financially while many are currently unemployed.

Lifestyle

17. Friends who "show up" during desperate times.
 Am too blessed in this department and am still not sure how I came to deserve the amazing support systems I have in my friendships.
To my friends who read my blog, Thank You! I Love You!

18. Being able to accommodate my love of playing soccer weekly. Go Peabody Triumphs! 
It's my stress reliever. My Happy place. It's better than spending money to see a psychologist #MentalHealth

19. That my work is flexible enough that I can afford to take time off and travel without going completely broke or losing my job.

20. An  open + inquisitive mind that gives me the courage to explore new things. Some people are paralyzed by fears and prejudices they don't realize they're cheating themselves out of experiencing the world at large. I forge on in spite of my fears.

21. The passionate flames🔥🔥🔥 that incite me to keep pursuing my dreams and goals are still burning strong. There's nothing worse in life than either not knowing your purpose or giving up on your dreams because you feel hopeless.

“Hold fast to dreams,
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird,
That cannot fly.” 
― Langston Hughes

22. Being able to harness that "thing?" inside my brain? my heart? my mind? that allows me to get back up after life has knocked me down time and time and time again. I've learned the skill of adapting + moving forward after rejections + failures.

23. I am grateful that my heart has not become hardened because of failed friendships and betrayals. That in spite of all the bad experiences, I am still open to love and willing to trust people. I chose to hold on to the good memories.

24.To my young friends, the high schoolers and college lads, who keep me young at heart, thanks for keeping me in the know., especially when it comes to social media...I'm not ready to lose my cool adult card just yet. Your generation is so fearless it scares and at the same time inspires me. Shout out to Lauren and Nike who are going to be like OMG you put my name in your blog! lol yes I did.

25. Freedom of Speech; a luxury that my fellow countrymen in Cameroon are currently fighting for, alongside a whole bunch of other civil rights issues. It's not an Anglophone or Southern Cameroon Issue - It's a Cameroonian Issue and his name is President Paul Biya.

26. Free Access to the internet, something the cameroon government earlier in 2017 blocked in English Cameroon in an effort to suppress their protests and prevent information from being spread internationally.

27. I am grateful that in the greater scheme of life, my family is pretty sane, I know my heritage and am proud of my southern cameroon roots.

28. A roof over my head, a car to drive instead of public transportation during this harsh winter months, and being able to afford to keep my heater on 24/7 at 70 degrees. 
#Teambringthesaharaheat
#TeamNoWinterblues

29. The Manfriends in my life. For their continues chivalry, love and education on how their specie's behave. Every woman needs a tribe of gentlemen to decode the mysteries of the XY chromosomes. 

30.  My saker girls Sisterhood. Once a Sakereth , always a Sakereth

31. My pallet has no medical allergies and I can eat whatever I want. Hello chocolate covered walnuts

32.Am grateful for parents who don't add on to society's pressure for me to be married by a certain age .

33.Lastly, am grateful that I get to live in a century where freezing my eggs until I am ready for motherhood is an affordable + viable option.

_____________________________

Here are a couple of my previous birthday posts. It's always interesting to look back and see how my perspective on life is constantly changing.

2012 was my year of waiting. By 

2013 I was definitely hearing the GONG of the annoying invisible biological "clock"  and resented it.

2015 I turned the dreaded big 30 and had a panic attack. 

Now am so over it. Life goes on.

So cheers to 2018 and as usual I can't wait to see what exciting adventures I embark on this year. 
 Bonne Annee!

10 Volunteer Organisations to partner with in 2018

In my  2018 New Year Resolution post, I mentioned how one of my goals for this year was to partner with a local non-profit organisation. I currently work part-time for one so am debating if I should invest more non-paid volunteer hours towards our community events or if I should just find something else to do.

 MLK Service day is a perfect time to kick off this goal. With the marathon holiday season from Thanksgiving to the New Year Celebrations sometimes we get so caught up in our lives...

(which is not a crime, we should celebrate our blessings).

...but sometimes it's also nice/neighborly to pause and reach out to those who are less fortunate.

Location: Massachusetts, USA

Christmas holidays are a difficult time in general for most people.

 For some the lack of food, shelter or the ability to have a heated home during these cold winter months, makes for a more difficult  experience.

Volunteerism should extend beyond Martin Luther King Jr holiday.
We've turned into a people who share, like, and hashtag causes but don't actually do any real life measurable actions that will bring about change.

In the pass I've volunteered in nursing homes playing games with the elderly, Athletic events like last year at the Boston Marathon youth Jamboree, building homes with Habitat for Humanity and also through my church. There are many avenues to find out volunteer opportunities and typically most organisations will find a way to use your skill set not matter how novice or experienced you are.

Location: Ecuador, South America

Here are is my biased😊 list of 10 volunteer organisations to check out this 2018. I have  either already worked with some of them or I am a club member in others  

1. Big Brothers Big Sisters of America - Youth Mentorship
2. Wounded Warrior Project - Veterans
3. ***Salvation Army *** Everything
4. Appalachian Mountain Club - Mother Earth
5. Doctors without Borders - Health Care
6. American Cancer Association
7. Feeding America - Hunger
8. Hospitals -  No one dies alone programs.
9. Nursing Homes - The Elderly
10. The Special Olympics - Disabilities

If you still don't know where to start, you can also check out this website

VolunteerMatch.org

A lot of time we limit our concept of helping to financial donations. But the reality is most non-profit organisations need people to perform the day to day tasked required to run their programs. So if you don't have money to give donate your time, your skills, your hugs, your words of encouragements, your smiles and your presence. Some where in the world or your main street, there's someone who's desperately seeking for another human being to just acknowledge their existence.

Happy New Year: My 2018 Resolutions

Happy Near Year!

Pittsburgh, PA

This new year's eve was a first one for me. An intimate dinner  in pittsburgh, pennsylvania surrounded by friends sans alcohol listening to faith filled evangelist Jonathan Shuttlesworth from Revival Today, encouraging us into the new  year. 

2017 made me a benefactor of many blessings from friends and strangers.
 I was all about self preservation, self mental health, self awareness, protecting my joy, self love , self discovery etc etc...

It was a year of me stepping back from social media 
( I quit facebook + twitter + barely blogged)
retreating inwards and focusing on myself spiritually, financially, emotionally.

For 2018, I am filled with so much gratitude + peace, I want to be a giver and not a taker.
I want to challenge myself to give more this year than I have ever before.

Volunteer my gift/skills to a LOCAL non-profit organisation.
Financially support ministries am passionate about
 [Medical Missions + Homelessness]
Give my support, patience & time to family + friends who stuck around in 2017.

As they say, you can't pour out of an empty cup.
Well guess what? My cup is currently overflowing and I feel like sharing this 2018.

What are your new year resolutions for 2018?