The Power is Yours

June 27, 2018 - Janna

Hello readers & Happy Hump Day!

I hope that this week has been going well for you. And if it hasn’t been going the way that you want it to, why not start today to turn everything around? Acknowledge the good experiences you have had so far & make an effort to turn those bad moments into great moments. And if you’re waiting for the week to be over, good news is that you made it halfway through the week. Keep pushing and it’ll be Friday before you know it.

In the midst of all the challenges you face in life, sometimes it can seem hard to stay positive, to see the good and not focus so much on the bad. But in allowing negative energy to plague us, we can never truly experience happiness. Negativity can consume you into an endless sea. It’ll have you only seeing the bad in situations & never accounting for the good. And sometimes, your sea of negativity is brought by the company you keep.

So, I’m going to tell you a story about one of my friend’s and her experiences. And yes she’s fine with me sharing this. I have a friend who is very uplifting, encouraging and all around a girl you’d want to be friends with. But recently she shared with me that she altered herself in order to fit in with some friends. Some friends she later realized were contributing to her sea of negativity. These friends started off being so good to her. She and her friends were so inseparable. However, one day she thought about how their friendship worked. She realized that she had begun feeling left out and had to take an extra two steps to catch up, to feel included, to make them pay attention to her. They constantly talked about people & she found herself doing the same, in order for them to laugh at her statements and make her feel like one of them. But one day the negative comments they made toward others, also began being made towards her. Making her question who she was, how she looked, and ultimately feeling bad about herself. She continued on being friends with them but started saying less and just observing. But there was a feeling eating at her soul that she couldn’t shake, something telling her these relationships weren’t for her. That feeling that made her feel so unsettled, that was the negative energy associated with the friendship, the energy she had adapted as well.

Once she realized that these friendships weren’t healthy for her, she began to slowly weed herself away. This was a process in itself. Getting rid of negativity is not easy. Especially if that is how you’re used to thinking, whenever something occurs you automatically think of something negative to say or a negative emotion to feel. But she overcame this all because she didn’t want to continue being sad or worried because she allowed her negativity to navigate her life. Her story inspired me, and I felt that is was appropriate to share. We all have moments when our thoughts aren’t always positive, where everything seems to be falling apart and we choose to dwell in these unfavorable circumstances. Being unhappy, always seeing the bad, and succumbing to negativity is a choice. You may not see that, but I promise it is. Just how you choose to speak negativity, you can choose to speak positivity. Instead of saying, “I’ll never get the job I want,” say, “I will work hard to make it where I want to be.” How can you expect good things to happen when all you speak about are negative things?

Life and death lie in the power of the tongue. Have you heard this saying before? Well I promise that it holds true. When I want something but doubt my chances of accomplishing it, then it seems things always turn out bad. But, when I want something, pray on it, and speak life over the potential of my victory, it seems that things always work out. You have to positively speak what you want for your life. Say it out loud! You can accomplish any and everything that you put your mind to. The road may be bumpy and unappealing, but it can happen. Nothing can be accomplished without consistency and hard work and hard work is not always pretty. And this is when you feel like giving up but keep pushing on. Do not let negativity win! You have control over your life and how you think/feel about certain situations definitely impact your life.

In life, it’s so easy to speak negativity, to focus on the bad, and dwell on these things. But you have to make a choice. You must decide if you want to be bitter or if you want to be happy. And you cannot have true happiness while being bitter. You will never appreciate your accomplishments because you’ll always think of the negative things that could occur. Today, choose to speak powerfully over your life with positivity. Let go of those negative thoughts, they are only trying to get you down and keep you down. Choose to move forward, choose to be happy, the choice is yours.

Why

June 24, 2018June 24, 2018 - Janna

Hey my lovely readers!
I hope that you all are enjoying this wonderful Sunday. I know that I have been, my nieces & sister-in-law came to visit this weekend and I really enjoyed my time with them. I thoroughly enjoy my family & love spending time with them. I can’t wait to be around them again.

Have you ever thought you had your life planned out & then it seems like nothing is going your way? Have you felt stuck? Like a prisoner in your own life? Well today I just want you to know that you are a prisoner to no one and nothing except Jesus Christ. And if he is imprisoning you, I promise it’s for your own good.

I know many of you have heard that God will never put more on us than we can bear. And this holds true even when it seems that we are headed in an unfavorable direction. See, you may have a plan but God has a purpose. Meaning that you may have everything mapped out, but God is giving your entire life, every thing you touch and participate in purpose. What’s a plan with no purpose? That’s like idly pursuing something, but not having a why, a reason for continuing on. And the purpose is the most important factor.

I had plans of being with people who weren’t good for me, either just as friends or as more than friends. But I realized that my plans didn’t align with God’s purpose for me. He removed me from these people in such a manner that made me act. Yes I was hurt and it took me a while to move on, but I understand that he did this so that I could align with what he had in store. It wasn’t easy and it definitely didn’t feel good at first, but looking back at it, I realize that this plan sounded good in theory but not on paper. These plans had no substance, no purpose. It can be so easy to get caught up in desires and wants, trying to plan everything out according to when and how you want things to occur.

But honestly that is not realistic. And it’s surely not realistic if you have no purpose behind your plans. It’s okay to dream, okay to set goals, and even okay to plan. But it’s also okay for things to not go as you planned them to. It’s okay to face some hiccups along the way. It’s okay to not always have every detail planned out. You must remember that all of your story, your journey, your lessons are a part of God’s plan & purpose for your life. He only wants what is best for us. So why not want what is best for you?

Love yourself enough to be patient with your journey. Be patient when things do not go your way. Every lesson won’t be learned in an easy manner and every lesson won’t always feel good. But it is important to listen to your purpose. With purpose you can move mountains, reach the unreachable, anything is possible. Because you will be doing what you are called to do. Unlock yourself from the prison that you have been confided to because you thought you had to accomplish things in a certain manner. Take a step back & ask yourself why are you planning your life the way that you are. Are you planning to have a plan or are you planning to fulfill your purpose? What’s your why? See what you are passionate about, what moves you beyond measure and begin to navigate your life according to God’s purpose for you & not your own plan.

Understanding Ugly

June 17, 2018 - Janna

Happy Self-Love Sunday!
Today’s Self-love message is heavily inspired by today’s sermon from church. Often times we associate the person we used to be with such negativity. We forget that if we never experienced past trials & tribulations, we would never be the person that we are today, or the person we’re growing into. Applied knowledge is power and therefore, it’s essential to understand how our past has influenced our future. And how we aren’t who we used to be, so we can truly understand why we should love who are now even more!

“It’s difficult to be thankful for who we are, if we never remember who we were.”
When these words were stated today at church, I knew that I had to further develop this topic in a blog. I know that I have talked about letting go of past mistakes. But in order to do this, you must be at peace with your past. You must understand how your past has guided you to your future. Who you are is a combination of your past pains that have led you to be better, to not endure the same things, and that challenge you every day to not make the same mistakes. What I am saying is, that you are NOT your past, but your past has greatly influenced your present and will continue to do so. It’s just up to you to decide whether this impact will result in positive outcomes or negative. The choice is yours.

Personally, I know that my past has positively impacted my life. Now, that doesn’t mean that my past was perfect, because it definitely was not. It was filled with heartache, lots of pain, and lots of tears. However, those trying times have shaped me into the lady that I am today. The lady that I am continuously growing to be. My past has made me realize how much I need God, how I want to positively impact others, and my past has allowed me to better understand my strengths, and weaknesses. There’s a gospel song that says, “I won’t go back, can’t go back, to the way things used to be before your presence came & changed me.” So when the pastor mentioned those words above, I instantly thought of that song and what it means to me. I know that I can’t go back to how I used to think and behave, I don’t want to. And I know that God’s presence and having his presence in my life has truly changed me. Made me want to continuously strive to be and do better.

“When you understand who you were, then you have so much more appreciation for who you are, or who you can become.”
When you understand that you used to be bitter, hateful, filled with sadness or rage, BUT you don’t feel like that anymore, then you can have an abundance to appreciate. You can appreciate your growth! You can truly begin appreciating who you are. We are all battle-scarred in some way, shape, or form. The scars come from our past, they come from who we used to deal with, the old ways of thought. These scars do not define you. They just represent a time in your life, when you endured hurt. Pay attention to the word I used, endured. Meaning yes, you dealt with hurt but you also had victory over hurt. The pain, the tears, those trying times did not receive the last laugh. You received the last laugh. And you want to know how I know? Because I used to be so sad, consumed by everything I’ve been through. But one day I realized that I no longer wanted to let those feelings win. I began trusting in God and then, I became victorious over all my pain. I started in one situation, with such negativity, and ended up where I am today. I do not behave the way I used to, nor feel how I used to and therefore, I can appreciate where I am and where I’m going. But most importantly, I understand where I have been and how that ugly made my strive toward the prettiness of who I could be, where I could go.

We have all experienced ugly in our life, maybe a lot of ugly, maybe just a little. In order for us to understand the prettiness we now see, or the prettiness we are trying to see, we have to understand that ugly. Understand how it’s allowing us to let go, to move forward, and to appreciate. If you’ve never done so, take some time to understand the ugliness of your past and how your life looks totally different today. Appreciate your growth and strength in your present, because of the ugliness of your past. I guarantee you’ll be amazed at the transition and proud you didn’t let ugly win. Love yourself a little harder today, knowing that you must understand who you were, so you can better appreciate who you are, or who you will become.

Chase Your Dreams All Summer ’18

June 13, 2018 - Janna

Hello my loves!
Are you glad that it’s finally summer? I know that I am! For students, summer seems to open a door of endless possibilities, especially for trip taking and relaxing. This summer, I don’t have the luxury of taking trips or relaxing as much as I want because I’m working an internship. However, I still view my summer as holding endless possibilities, a time to chase my dreams. And I hope that regardless of what responsibilities you have this summer, that you also view the opportunities that are available to you!

Not only am I an intern this summer, but I am also enrolled in summer classes! And I bet you’re like why would you do that? But, I will be graduating in May 2019 so these classes are just keeping me on track for my personal graduation goal. Weekends are my free time, my time to catch up on school work, but my most importantly my time to plan and make strides toward my goals! I am enjoying my summer with all this work and choosing to add even more work, personal work. I am committed to blogging and participating in other writing endeavors. And in order to fulfill my commitments, I have to be dedicated. I am very serious about writing and being consistent is my way of displaying my love and commitment.

I have so many goals that I want to achieve and I am using this summer as the stepping stone toward the endless possibilities I can achieve. I am so thankful that all my classes are online & that I have an amazing internship. Therefore, I am able to maximize my time without having to step foot in an actual classroom. I may get a little tired from time to time, especially when I travel to my hometown every now and then to visit family. But, I understand that my goals and dreams aren’t going to chase themselves. What I want isn’t just going to fall into my lap, I mean it would be pretty cool and easy if they did. Nonetheless, a little hard work never hurt anybody.

I am writing this blog to challenge you this summer. If your summer is filled with vacations and free time, or even if it’s not, actively set some goals and begin developing the blueprint for how you want to achieve these goals. What can you do this summer to benefit you in the future? How can you continually progress towards your dreams? Even if you feel like you have too much on your plate, like there’s never enough time, I promise that you can do it! If you can only dedicate an hour or two a day to laying your foundation, then I promise that is okay. Anything is better than nothing. And you don’t want to reflect on your summer and think about all the ways you could have been progressing.

Go to work, complete your summer school work, volunteer, continue your summer camp, but make sure to make time for you and want you want for your future. Time flies by and every moment counts, even if your acts seem small in the grand scheme of things. Your efforts matters! And if you need a little encouragement, just think about how worthwhile it will be all be once you achieved all the goals you set to achieve.

Enjoy your time off from school or whatever you plan to do this summer, but I challenge you to make time to work toward your future. Do this in whatever way you see fit, whether it be setting goals, planning, or even setting plans in motion. Let this summer be one to remember, let this be the summer you became dedicated to following your heart & your dreams! Start today and make a conscious effort every day to be purposeful in your pursuit of what your heart desires. I have complete faith that you all will achieve your goals, so why not start today?

Be Still

June 10, 2018June 10, 2018 - Janna

Happy Self-Love Sunday!
Have you ever stressed about something that was out of your control? Something that has continuously hindered and bothered you? Something that makes you feel uneasy and restless, but has already occurred? I promise you are not alone and I can whole heartedly relate. And in order to better take care of ourselves, on this wonderful Self-Love Sunday, we must be kind to ourselves & recognize sometimes things are out of our control.

It can be so easy to beat yourself up over what has occurred, over the mistakes you have made, the way you wished you handled situations. But you must remember, what is done is done. And stressing yourself out about how you wish you could have changed things, is only hurting you more. You have to learn to be at peace by doing better, improving your mistakes moving forward. You must forget the mistake & remember the lesson. Don’t be so consumed over what has already happened that you can not even find any joy. You can’t move forward because you’re stuck on the past.

Now, I am a guilty party of the acts listed above. However, I have realized that hanging onto what has been and dwelling on these things is of no value to me, to my present. I have let these past situations and experiences completely steal my joy and happiness. And ultimately, that has done no good for me, my spirit, or my soul. It’s left me feeling sad, worthless, and helpless. I like to be in control of everything, but the truth is that I can not always be in control. That’s not how life works. I have to be able to trust the process. To trust that people I love will make right decisions and if they don’t, then that’s not on me. I can only love, support, and trust. And if this trust is violated, then I have to let go. I have had to learn to not whole people to their past, we all have one and sometimes we haven’t made the best of decisions, we’ve done things we no longer think about. And sometimes, the past is simply just that, the past. Now this may all sound like common sense, but I promise once feelings are involved, it’s not as easy as it seems.

Sometimes we just have to understand that things are out of our control. It’s simply impossible to always control everything. And we have to learn that things will always go how God planned them to, even if that means we get hurt by the situation. That’s a way of God showing us that it wasn’t meant for us. You may not have made the decision you wanted, you may have said something you didn’t mean at the moment. But I promise you it’s okay. While you may not be able to go back to that exact moment and change time, you can change how you move going forward. You can apologize, make more of an effort, don’t let your mistakes consume you or make you feel that is who you are. Because I promise you, you are not you’re mistakes. None of us are. We’re all human, so of course we all fall short. But, it’s what you do to move forward that makes you who you are.

Tough situations are only here to push us closer to God and make us realize our true strength. We’re always stronger than we realize. We can endure much more than we know. And I truly want everyone to experience long-term happiness. I know that every moment of every day will not be always be full of happiness, but why add onto the unhappy moments of life? Why stress about what we can not control? We must move forward and change the things that we can. Pray about what we can’t change, and ask for forgiveness for those we have done wrong and for those who have done us wrong. It’s all a process.

Our imperfections are the very things that make us who we are. But sometimes we can become so consumed with these things, that we lose sight in how wonderful we are. Remember, you can’t control the actions of others and that’s when the lovely role of trust comes into play. You also can’t beat yourself up over mistakes you’ve felt you made in the past. Today, I challenge you to let go of that hurt, that pain, gained from previous mistakes, from how others have made you feel, and just be free. Be free knowing that everything happens for a reason & that you only have the power to change how things go moving forward, and then that’s not always guaranteed. Be still knowing that you are making an effort to be better and to let go.

Pressing through the rest of 2018

June 6, 2018 - Janna

Hello my loves!
It is officially June, well it’s been June for a couple of days, but you know what I mean. June marks the halfway mark in the year, meaning the year is halfway over. And boy I swear it feels like time has flown! So since we’re reaching this midway point in 2018 I thought it would fit to check-in and maybe refocus.

Maybe you made some goals when the new year began that you hoped to accomplish. Or maybe you want to make some goals to complete before 2018 is over. I’m just letting you know that, IT IS NOT TOO LATE! You still have half a year worth of journeys and memories to experience and make. Take full advantage of this time. And instead of saying, “I wish I would do this, that, and the third.” Actually, go out and do all those things you hoped and dreamed of accomplishing!

I’ve always wanted to blog. I reached out on faith last year and finally achieved my goal. However, I would post whenever I wanted, which was not consistent at all. But I have made a personal goal of being more consistent and intentional this year with my blog. If you haven’t noticed, you see my blogs twice EVERY week now. Don’t you just love it? (lol) Anyways, I didn’t start with this goal at the beginning of 2018, but I do plan to carry it out throughout the rest of the year. I am also stepping out of my comfort zone and participating in endeavors that I never thought I could accomplish. Recently, I submitted samples of my blogs and writing to see if I would be selected as a content creator. And, to my great surprise, I got accepted. I’ll be serving as a content creator for a women’s weekend coming up in November, so of course I will fill you all in soon.

For the rest of the year, and years to come, I am dedicated to being more intentional. More intentional with my relationships with people, my actions, and most importantly with my relationship with God. I think school may have drained me this year, but I feel rejuvenated and restored. And with this new-found energy, I plan to do better and be better, continuously. So I’m tasking you all with helping hold me accountable. When it’s getting late in the day on a Sunday & Wednesday and you don’t see a blog, message me, check me lol. Trust me, I will know that is coming from a place of love.

Sometimes to achieve our goals, we must have accountability partners, especially when we feel like giving up. I have an outstanding accountability partner who always pushes me, even when I feel lazy or discouraged, he’s always there. And his determination and personal goals are motivation enough, check out his website (lucasfrinktbe.com) or catch him on Youtube, Instagram, or Facebook @LucasFrinkTheBossExponent. I promise he will leave you inspired. I also have an amazing friend who is a fellow blogger and such a woman of power, check out her blog A Journey with Jordan (ajournerywithjordan.wixsite.com/ajwj). And I have an incredible support system filled with wonderful friends who always encourage and push me. I know that I can achieve what I set my mind too, but when I get disheartened a little reinforcement never hurts. Who can you trust to hold you accountable on your journey to your dreams?

Anything can be possible once you set your mind on achieving something. The goal may not be reached overnight, it may take a while. But the fruits of your labor will be rewarded once you’ve obtained you heart’s desires. So make sure you set some long-term and short-term goals, even if you don’t plan on accomplishing them this year. Then find someone or more than one person to hold you accountable and be there when you feel you can’t go on. Set your goals so that they will continuously push you each day, just as your accountability partners will as well. Make the rest of the year, the best year for you!

More happiness

June 3, 2018June 3, 2018 - Janna

Happy Self-Love Sunday!
I thought I had today’s blog all prepared and ready to publish. I went to church this morning & I felt God furthered confirmed my message for today with today’s topic and what was said. However, on the way home I had an unsettling feeling and I feel God is telling me to hold that topic for next week and speak on something else. So that is what I am going to do, it’s weighing heavy on my heart & I definitely feel it’s appropriate for our Self-Love series. So enjoy!

Have you ever been happy about something you have accomplished and shared with the world, but then felt bad for sharing maybe a little too much? Have you ever been happy but felt it was at the expense of others? Or, have you ever diverged your happiness because you felt you didn’t deserve to be? Or compromised your happiness to comply with someone else’s? Then this blog is the one for you (I apologize in advance if it’s a little lengthy.)

Your happiness is significant. And regardless of how others may feel, you deserve to be happy. If you think others deserve to be happy, then why don’t you feel the same about yourself? Don’t feel bad about being happy, because then you take away your joy. It’s okay to feel for your friends and want the best for them. But you have to do the same for yourself. Sometimes, you have to put your own happiness first & sometimes that entails putting you first as well.. I’m not condoning being 100% selfish. But let’s be real, if you never do what you love, what you want, or what makes you happy, then maybe you need to be a little teeny bit of selfish for once.

I am guilty of the above. Guilty of putting others happiness before my own, going above & beyond to make them happy. And I am not saying that is terrible, cause it’s not. I want all my friends and loved ones to be happy. However, I can’t make that my number one focus, 365 days of the year because then I drain myself and have no time to make me feel good. Help your friends feel happy when you can, and then help yourself too.

Life is already pretty tough. Therefore, it’s important to delight in what we can, when we can. Every day isn’t going to be filled with rainbows and lots of joy, and I know we can all agree to this. But when happiness presents itself in front of you, you better embrace it with every ounce of you!

God makes no mistakes. So when he allows feelings of happiness to warm your body, he meant for you to be happy! Don’t doubt or second guess. Just be open & receptive. And if you feel led to spread the happiness you feel, then do so. But be cautious of tiring yourself and stretching yourself too thin. We are blessed by God, so whatever blessings come your way are truly meant for you. And if they make you happy, then be happy! I’m learning to indulge in my happiness, to embrace it, give thanks, and help others when and if I can. But first I had to completely accept what is meant for me, is meant for me. So are you going to love yourself enough today to choose to be happy?

Unveiling Janna Alane

Inspiration to be true to yourself.

Month: June 2018