The Journey to Me

"Where have you been this year? In a Valley." My year began with the declaration of  The Emergence!   It has long been my heart’s desire to provide practical instruction for managing life's difficulties.  I wanted everyone to find their own Courageous Me! My venue was set and the classes began: Breaking Free ~ The Mind! Little did I know the Emergence was not just an external work for others, but an internal work for me. Today begins a new era for me as I am no longer on A payroll for the first time in 25 years.  For the past 15 years, I've worked for a great company, Cox Enterprises. Before coming to Cox I worked for Verizon for 20 years. God has been good to me in my career. But where have I been lately? In a valley.  I did not know why I was in this valley.  But I did know it was peaceful here.  I did know I was to be silent in this valley, I did know I was to rest in this valley and I did know God was here. Standing here now in my valley and I see tw

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms, Mommies, Mother, Grandma, Grandmommies, G's, GG's, Nana's, Nannies ... and all the rest!   Whatever name we embrace there is one thing that remains there same.  We would not be here without Mothers! There are certain years when celebrating Mother's Day is easier than others, knowing you are no longer here in body, but this is not one of one is not.  As I touch the right side of my head, right above the ear, I remember the barette that was placed there by your hand.  The fresh smell of the hot comb on a Sunday Morning... So, I will just say again, Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers, and I shall spend this day in reflections.      Be Blessed. ****************************************  For more from CourageousMi, please visit :  A Open Letter to My Mother

You are the most important DIY project you have!  Never stop!  Never ever stop working on you. You may have EMERGED!.  You may be bossing, owning it and walking out your purpose ... but are you still struggling with that? What is your that ?   *  a temper, causing you to snap at your teammates, loved ones or employees;  *  physical abuse which makes a simple hug impossible;  *  betrayal, which keeps you from believing the truth when spoken;  *  rejection, which hinders the possibility of authentic relationships; *  "their' adultery" causing you to close your heart from loving anyone *  "your'  adultery", causing you to fight shame through over/under compensating; And now, you find the emotions which are connected to your "thats" are starting to spill out at the most inopportune time.  Again, I say, don't you dare quit!   "What do I do?"  First, pray! Learn to clearly identify your thats .  Then, you must be willing

This is not just a catchphrase for the next, “Tens Steps to a Better You!” conference!  Knowing your "Why" is Critical !   Why are you doing what you do?  Why are you working at “that job” ? And please don’t say for money! Why are you an entrepreneur?   Why do you spend so much time at the gym?  Why did you choose to serve in ministry? What is your Why?  Is your Why or your actions stuck behind the dreadful:  “I should”,  "they are expecting me to”,  “If I don’t do it then who will?”    How about this one, “It brings me satisfaction”!   Well, that sounds like a good reason, doesn’t it?  No, it is not!   Because when the satisfaction runs out; when it becomes too much trouble to maintain or you realize it was a temporary placebo... you will give it up!  Now you have lost the one thing in life you will NEVER get back. TIME! Time is the most precious commodity you have. Don’t waste it.  “ Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of

Can you relate to this scenario?   We come to church on Sunday. We hear a convicting word. “Yes, Lord! That is where I am!”  We come to the altar for prayer.    “YES Lord, I will lay “that” down, discard it, remove it from my life.  It is  done, over, finished!" But two hours, three days or one week later you are reasoning within yourself:   “Maybe there was some more value to it”   “I’ve been this way all my life, it was just part of who I am” “All of him, her or it wasn’t that bad” That my friend is “ dumpster diving ” When God says, “Throw it away, (whatever your “it” is) You don’t need it anymore, He means it! Yet we find ourselves diving back into the dumpster to pull it out of the place it was discarded.  We knock off some of the dirt it collected, we cut off the mold that had started growing on it, I mean,  “ All of that banana isn’t bad, it is still fruit!  I will just cut off the bad part”. Please know, even though you cut the mold off, there is

Y'all. Satan is no dummy.   Deception is his biggest weapon and he is quite brilliant at using it.   He cannot read your mind, He is not omnipresent, omniscient or omnipotent.  Those attributes belong to God and God alone! BUT he has kept exquisite records of your life.  Yes, little ole you!  Satan and his pals know exactly how to use their storehouse of information to bring about predictable responses in you.  He will turn his vast knowledge (accumulated over your whole lifetime) of your unmet needs, unresolved issues, unhealed hurts, bad memories, pain, anger, bitterness, unforgiveness and, hidden sin into arsenals to use against you. YET, one of the most disturbing forms of deception is self-deception !  Self-deception is a form of corrupted consciousness or willed ignorance.  Wow, I know that is heavy, but as my grandmother often said we must “call a spade a spade”. The first step to overcoming any life-debilitating act is to identify it. Are you aware of those

“They drew first blood, not me ” ~ John RAMBO This line is from one of my favorite movies, Rambo: First Blood .   Rambo a simple man, mistakenly considered weak and insignificant., until he found himself yet again fighting for his life.  He wasn't fighting against those that he considered an enemy, but against those who decided Rambo was the enemy. Wow! Can you relate? What they did not know was that Rambo was a former Green Beret … purposed, passionate and, prepared to fight again and again!    During his many battles, he often sustained wounds but he had been well trained on how to stitch himself up long enough to fight another day. Stitched up, yes but not fully healed.  So many of us have learned how to be Rambo, ignoring the pain of life’s many battles.  Some of those battles are ones we signed up for, but some of them were brought to us without our permission.  Yet, each time we stitch ourselves up and prepare to fight again.  Why,? Because we have told ourselves,

In 2018 the word for the year was ARISE! My initial challenge with that word was ... Hadn't I already overcame all of... okay most of my personal challenges?  Wasn't 2018 my time to  EMERGE ! No! 2018 was the year of preparation. In 2018 we first had to ARISE.  Arise in our Love, Arise in our Compassion, Arise in our Social Awareness, Arise in our Relationships!   Now, as we enter the third month of this 2019 year, we find ourself in The Emergence! The primary difference between Arise and Emerge? One is to get up, but the other is to come out and to come out in victory!!! Far too many of us allow the issues, incidents accidents of life to eat away at our God-given purposes and passions. The Emergence classes are not counseling nor therapy classes, but are for ordinary people who want to accomplish the extraordinary! Together we will examine the physical, mental and spiritual/moral components of your life and assess how to reconnect, maximizing your personal