Spirituality

Interview with Kerie Hamilton

Kerie Hamilton is a remarkable young woman. She’s an entrepreneur, a model, a mother, and the host of her own podcast, I Am with Kerie Hamilton.

Kerie’s childhood was anything but idyllic. Her stepfather was a cruel, demented person who would verbally and physically attack Kerie and her sister. She was deathly afraid to tell anyone because this monster told her, “next time will be worse” if you tell.

Click on the link to listen to her story of healing from her past, including a stalker boyfriend who couldn’t take no for an answer. Somehow, through all this, Kerie is a kind, caring person. Funny, too!

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Spirituality, Uncategorized

I Have Heard That Voice

A little history today. Six years ago I started posting new content to this site every day. Prior to June 9, 2019 it had been an occasional blog. Then things changed.

In late May of the same year, I kept hearing a nudging voice. It was telling me to write every day. The voice wasn’t audible, but the message was clear. And here’s the truth! I didn’t want to write something daily. But the voice wouldn’t go away, and so I finally gave in. I’m glad I did.

Backing up to October 2015, the same voice came out of nowhere on a Tuesday morning and told me to write a blog. There I was, 7:20 in the morning, driving to work and thinking about my day ahead, and there it was. It was bizarre.

So, back to present day, I’m going to take some of what I consider to be my best writings and put them in a book. My hope for the new book as well as my daily messages is this: I want to provide some encouragement, strength and hope for others. Our world needs hope, now more than ever. We all have a part to play.

Thank you to everyone who reads, shares and comments. I appreciate you all…

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Spirituality

Unstoppable

Watching your children learn to walk is both exhilarating and a little stressful. They pull themselves up, take a step or two, teeter and fall. And what do they do? They get right back up and try again! We all eventually got it right because we don’t see adults crawling around from place to place.

Adopt the mindset of a child. You have dreams and desires for your life. Big dreams. Sometimes they fade into the background because, well, life gets in the way. Or perhaps life has knocked you on your ass so hard you are afraid to get back up. Face your fears and get up anyway. You weren’t created to stay down.

When our dreams and desires are aligned with God’s purpose for our lives, we cannot be stopped. This doesn’t mean you won’t have setbacks, challenges or hurdles get in your way. You will. But when you have a white hot determination to succeed, you will.

It’s impossible to stop a person who refuses to give up. So, it’s time to rekindle the fire that lives inside you. Start today…

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Spirituality, Uncategorized

In Agreement

When we were little children we were told we should get along with others. The teachers didn’t show us how to resolve conflicts, though. We learned how to do that through after school fights on the playground!

In life, we like to see the adults play nice. We hope our world leaders can resolve differences without going to war. And we really like it when our politicians show civility to each other after brutal, nasty elections.

In case you haven’t noticed, people are at each other’s throats over political differences. Self-righteousness is on display daily on social media. Lifelong friendships have been left in tatters due to unresolvable conflicts. I believe we can do better, if we are willing.

I don’t have to agree with you to like you. If you are a good person, doing good in the world and caring for your fellow man, I’m okay with you. Over the course of my life I have observed that most people are good at heart. And it’s the heart that matters most.

My encouragement to you is to look for the good in the world. It’s there! Sometimes you gotta look hard to find it, but it’s there. And if you aren’t seeing it, change the lens you are seeing through…

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Spirituality

Choose Your Battles

If you’re on social media, you have probably observed that people like to fight. Something, anything happens and we must weigh in because, you know, our opinions are important! And when we state our case, the algorithm keeps feeding us similar posts to keep our righteous indignation alive.

Enough already! It’s time to change the game by altering our attention. For example, I cannot make a difference by commenting on the political arena. What happens in Washington is going to happen no matter what I say or believe. So I stay out of the conversation.

There are certain things all of us are effective at. By focusing our energy in those areas we can make an impact. Our efforts count for something. And here’s a universal truth: we want our lives to matter.

The time is right to make a choice. You may choose to stay involved in meaningless chatter, or get busy doing what you’re called to do.

Ask yourself a question: How do I want to be remembered? Once you come up with your answer to that relevant question, you get to choose whether to pursue your purpose or not.

It’s your choice. Choose wisely and then make your move into meaning and purpose. Ignore the battles that don’t get you where you’re going because they just don’t matter…

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Spirituality

Build That Wall!

You have heard the saying, “hurt people, hurt people.” Broken people try to break you apart. You are never good enough, smart enough or kind enough to satisfy them. There are some who will do whatever they can to tear you down.

Everyone has some brokenness in them. We are an imperfect people living in an imperfect world. Conflict is unavoidable, but you can protect your peace and calm. Here’s how.

You must be willing to set boundaries and say no to the people who aren’t good for you. Sometimes this includes family members. Saying no is only hard the first time, and it’s one of the most self-respectful actions you can take.

If standing up for yourself is difficult, my encouragement to you is to go to work on yourself. Find out why it’s hard to set healthy boundaries. You will find the reason if you keep looking.

Self-work is difficult, I know. I speak from experience and with conviction. Personally, I have worked with a brilliant psychotherapist for 15 years. The work is hard, but the growth makes it so worthwhile.

Remember, the healthier you become mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually, the more healthy people you will attract into your life. It’s time to get to work!

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Spirituality

Delayed, Not Denied

Do you ever get frustrated with God’s timing? Admittedly, I do. I’m an impatient person and just because it’s God and his perfect timing doesn’t change my impatience.

There has been one constant in my life who has never let me down. Of course I’m talking about God. He is responsible for me waking up this morning, my heartbeat, getting me to work safely. Everything good is a direct result of God’s provision.

Knowing that God will consistently come through is a good reminder to trust his timing. If I received everything I asked for immediately I would be a spoiled brat. Being delayed has a reason behind it. Perhaps I’m not ready and God has some work to do on me. That’s okay because he only wants what is best for me. And you!

Ask God for patience in the waiting. Learn to trust Him more and yourself less. Keep your focus on what you are grateful for. Everything will happen in its perfect time…

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Spirituality

I Get To

A couple of weeks ago I was having a conversation with a young woman who said something that stuck with me. She said that instead of “having” to do something, she changed the verbiage to “I get to.” This one little word is a game changer.

For the past couple of years I’ve been struggling to write a second book. There’s so much inside my mind and heart that I want to share with the world. Yet, I had become the Mt. Everest of coming up with excuses to avoid writing. It doesn’t matter how impactful my written words might be if I never put them into print. Graveyards are full of unfulfilled dreams.

Changing this one small word in our verbiage makes a huge difference. We approach life’s challenges with a willing attitude instead of one filled with dread.

And remember to thank God along the way. After all, He’s the one who gives us our time and abilities…

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Uncategorized

Parents

When I became a father, I had no idea how to do the job. I had no skills because I had a terrible father. He was a cruel, angry, abusive man. All I knew was I didn’t want to be like him.

Fortunately, there are tons of good books available about parenting. So, I read many of them. And I sought out the advice of men I knew who had raised good children. I’m proud to say my two sons turned out well. They are good young men who have solid character. I will say their teenage years gave me a head of grey hair!

When my kids were in school, I saw parents who believed their children could do no wrong. If they got in trouble at school, it was the teachers fault. Some parents even lobbied the school to give their children better grades than they had earned. Those kids were being set up for failure later in life as they learned how the world works.

Parents are the first teachers children have. The little ones are always watching, learning their behavior from dad and mom.

If you are fortunate enough to be a parent, teach them well. And if you, like me, didn’t have good parents, you can learn

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Spirituality, Uncategorized

There’s Always a Critic

Have you noticed how the court of public opinion passes judgment without knowing all the facts? People can look at the world through a lens of biases which cloud clear thinking.

The “Make America Healthy Again” movement has no shortage of uneducated critics. Since it’s associated with the Trump administration, it must be wrong! No, it’s not wrong. Obesity, especially in children, has risen to epidemic levels. Autism has gone from 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 31 children. Science is constantly asking why. It’s a good and fair question.

The pharmaceutical lobby is the largest in the world. They certainly have their own share of biases. Keep America fat and unhealthy and they have a customer for life. There is solid research dating back to the 1940’s that demonstrates the efficacy of psychedelics. They remain schedule 1 drugs because the pharmaceutical lobby says they should.

Do your own research. Remove bias from your thinking. If you conclude that your opinion is supported by facts, then stick with it. But if you learn something new that’s different from your prior beliefs, be willing to accept it…

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