Thursday, September 15, 2016

FORTITUDE

The Devil LOVES it when he thinks he has won and you’re down for the count. Don’t give him an inkling of credit!  When ‘life happens’, it hits hard. My suggestion- "take the lick’n and keep on kick’n”!
Don’t give the Devil the glory for anything you feel has gone wrong in your life. When you do that, you are opening yourself up for more disasters, more mistakes, more wrong decisions, more seemingly unresolvable issues. Don’t let him in! Close that door of negativity. Leave no room for advancement of unconstructiveness, and pessimism. After you close the door, keep it under lock and key! 
Circumspectly, we even open ourselves up for blunders when we trust people. On the other hand, we just "open mouth, insert foot"!  Don’t leave access and room for disaster.   And by that I mean, watch the company you keep, you train of thoughts, your daily travels, circle of friends; even you facial expressions… sometimes the face tells the whole story; usually one you are not prepared to let go- “that’s a whole other book!” Lol.

Now, an optimistic view of the ‘stuff’ that happens is, maybe God is allowing it. You do know that He does allow us to go through difficult times, right? We may not understand it at the time, but ‘in His time’ we will understand.

Remember that adversity is always waiting; a happenstance away, therefore some things, we just can’t prevent. But for those in which we can, stomp on ‘em! 
Get an ATTITUDE of FORTITUDE and march on!

Blessings,

-PJ Payne

Thursday, September 8, 2016

My Escape

I have always heard the term 'Experience is the best teacher.' Over the years, I didn't take that quote to heart, because when I imagined teaching I automatically relegated it to school or books. 
Those who knew me knew that I’ve always had a joyous, happy and excitable attitude about everything. Miss Positive. I saw the glass half full, instead of half empty. And that was and still is who I am. They seemed to think that I didn’t have a worry in the world… always there for the other person; a shoulder to cry on, a listening ear, a sounding board – All those things. Deep down, I HID. But, I had an escape.
Let me give you a peek into my upbringing.
I had a STRONG Mom. Single but took care of all six of her children. From the outside, you didn’t see the struggle. Her statement to us was “Never let’em see you sweat! Be steadfast stand tall in what you believe in"! I understood that completely and carried it into my adulthood and family.
Yes, just like the next fella, I had problems but just didn’t show it; didn’t carry everything on my sleeves; didn't have a permanent print of a frown on my forehead, Lol. It seems I always wanted to portray the zeal and zest for life, a renowned strength, the epitome of positivity and that’s the person I wanted to exude - to be visible to my peers.
But, deep inside
But, hidden within
But, to only my best friend
But, my bad experiences
But, to the only One I can depend
But God knows the key that unlocks my door... to my escape

“…it’s why I write”.

~PJ Payne

Thursday, September 1, 2016

Be Still...

My best time of the day is mornings… the quiet, the nothingness, the peace, innocence, tranquility, but more than anything, its stillness.
Mornings are new beginnings. Mornings are diamonds in the rough. Mornings are the nothingness that can become something big. Mornings are like untouched clay you can mold and make into whatever you want it to be.
If you’re anything like me, you rise up early, just to have that cup of coffee, time alone, read the Word, write or muse. Your 'you' time. The rest of the family and the world are still asleep and don’t seem to exist. Your thoughts are not bogged down with the worries of what’s going to happen next, because your morning is tranquil; the sunrise and stillness. You have that time to meditate or even create.
Imagine this for a minute. Just before God created heaven and earth, there was nothingness.
Genesis 1: 1 states “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep…”
This biblical depiction goes way beyond actuality of what our mornings look like. But the similarity is there for those who can take themselves to that place of the imagination, in the mornings. It’s clean. It's pure. It's uninhabited.
And then in verse 3, “and God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light. 4. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from darkness…" Thus, our day and night!

But before daybreak, if we were to take just a moment - or maybe you're not a morning person, whatever your preference of day or night, just meditate on some things. I truly think it would make for a purer, clearer picture and outlook on life. Just try to find your ‘before creation’ time and Be Still.

Blessings