Chelle Ramsey's Blog, page 47

MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY_OPEN YOUR HEART TO LOVE

Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. - Oscar Wilde.

Sometimes in life you experience hurt and pain at the hands of someone you love and trust. That feeling can leave you empty and bitter inside. It becomes difficult to trust again, let alone open your heart to love.

But we have to learn to forgive to move forward with our lives. Staying stuck in that same place and holding on to the grudge and pain of the past inhibits our growth. Progression towards a better future becomes stagnant, and life is meaningless.

It may be hard to trust again, but you have to learn to open your heart to the possibility of love. You have to learn to give someone new the chance to prove themselves, and not hold on to your past. Sometimes we take the past into new relationships with us, without giving the new person the chance to love us.

Release the hurt, the pain, and the past. Learn to forgive and forget. Although you may proceed with caution, open your heart to someone new and trust them to take care of you. We are all perfectly flawed and have our shortcomings because we're only human. So don't hold every little thing they do over their heads, but separate your past hurts from today's disappointments and judge fairly.

Above all learn to love yourself again, because only then can you learn to open your heart to love someone else, and allow them to love you.

If you enjoyed this post, I encourage you to share it with others by clicking the social media icon below. Thanks for dropping in and as always please leave a comment, because I just love chatting with you. You can link up with me online using the icons above.

Come check out my books, and learn more about the woman behind the blog at my website www.cmichelleramsey.com . Until the next time I'm just...
Writing My Dreamsby: Chelle Ramsey www.cmichelleramsey.com

NEW BEGINNINGS_#THROWBACKTHURSDAY

FALL 1986 FALL 2013
As my daughter prepares to embark on her High School journey, I can't help but think back all those many moons ago, when I was preparing for high school. My daughter is 14 and going to the ninth grade, her first year of high school. During my high school years we started high school in 8th grade, there was no middle school for DeKalb County, GA, only high school and elementary. I turned 13 that March and would be in the 8th grade in the fall. The year? 1986.

The cost of living was much cheaper than now of course:

Average Cost of new house $89,430
Median Price Of and Existing Home $80,300
Average Income per year $22,400.00 Average Monthly Rent $385.00
Average Price for new car $9,255.00
1 gallon of gas 89 cents    

SPORTING EVENTS:

WORLD SERIES CHAMPS: New York Mets
Superbowl XX Champions: Chicago Bears
NBA Champions: Boston Celtics

TOP 10 MOVIES:

1. Top Gun
2. Crocodile Dundee
3. Platoon
4. The Karate Kid Part II
5. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
6. Back To School
7. Aliens
8. The Golden Child
9. Ruthless People
10. Ferris Bueller's Day Off

TOP 10 TV SHOWS:

1. The Cosby Show (NBC)
2. Family Ties (NBC)
3. Cheers (NBC)
4. Murder She Wrote (NBC)
5. The Golden Girls (NBC)
6. 60 Minutes (CBS)
7. Night Court (NBC)
8. Growing Pains (ABC)
9. Moonlighting (ABC)
10. Who's the Boss? ( ABC)

And of course we had the best music ever!

TOP BILLBOARD SONGS OF THE YEAR:

December 21, 1985 - January 17, 1986: Say You, Say Me - Lionel Richie
January 18 - February 14: That's What Friends Are For - Dionne Warwick featuring Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder
February 15 - February 28: How Will I Know - Whitney Houston
March 1 - March 14: Kyrie - Mr. Mister
March 15 - March 21: Sara - Starship
March 22 - March 28: These Dreams - Heart
March 29 - April 18: Rock Me Amadeus - Falco
April 19 - May 2: Kiss - Prince (NOT THE ORIGINAL VERSION-REMIX)
May 3 - May 9: Addicted to Love - Robert Palmer
May 10 - May 16: West End Girls - Pet Shop Boys
May 17 - June 6: Greatest Love of All - Whitney Houston
June 7 - June 13: Live to Tell - Madonna
June 14 - July 4: On My Own - Patti LaBelle & Michael McDonald
July 5 - July 11: There'll Be Sad Songs (to Make You Cry) - Billy Ocean
July 12 - July 18: Holding Back the Years - Simply Red
July 19 - July 25: Invisible Touch - Genesis
July 26 - August 1: Sledgehammer - Peter Gabriel
August 2 - August 15: Glory of Love - Peter Cetera
August 16 - August 29: Papa Don't Preach - Madonna
August 30 - September 5: Higher Love - Steve Winwood
September 6 - September 12: Venus - Bananarama
September 13 - September 19: Take My Breath Away - Berlin
September 20 - October 10: Stuck with You Huey Lewis & the News
October 11 - October 24: When I Think of You - Janet Jackson
October 25 - November 7: True Colors - Cyndi Lauper
November 8 - November 21: Amanda - Boston
November 22 - November 28: Human - Human League
November 29 - December 5: You Give Love a Bad Name - Bon Jovi
December 6 - December 12: The Next Time I Fall - Peter Cetera featuring Amy Grant
December 13 - December 19: The Way It Is - Bruce Hornsby & the Range
December 20, 1986 - January 16, 1987: Walk Like an Egyptian - The Bangles


If you enjoyed this post, I encourage you to share it with others by clicking the social media icon below. Thanks for dropping in and as always please leave a comment, because I just love chatting with you. You can link up with me online using the icons above.

Come check out my books, and learn more about the woman behind the blog at my website www.cmichelleramsey.com . Until the next time I'm just...
Writing My Dreamsby: Chelle Ramsey www.cmichelleramsey.com

WRITER WEDNESDAY_BETTER DAYS

So part two of The House of BeJeweled will be coming to you soon. Today I want to give you a sneak peek into the life of Nekana "Nikki" Vincent. She's one of the nail technicians at The House of BeJeweled in the downtown Atlanta location and she's got hopes and dreams, too. But she cannot get past the issues in her personal life. Let's take a peek...





Take a peek »

FINDING THE QUEEN IN YOU

 Life can take you through so many challenges and bring what appears to be insurmountable obstacles. In the storm we sometimes lose our way, blinded by the rain and sand, and knocked down by the wind. We cannot determine which way is up and which way is down, as we tumble through a dark and narrow tunnel of life. We begin to feel like we want to give up because we can't find the light to inspire and lift us up. But something inside of us won't let us quit, won't let us give in.

No matter the challenge you continue to press on, moving and pushing towards something greater. As women we have endured a lot in this world. We have been beat down, pushed aside, talked down to, raped, scorned, abused, molested, and abandoned. But yet we still remain and stand strong.

Our hearts have been broken and ripped straight from within. They have been discarded and tossed aside like rancid garbage. We have been ridiculed and made to feel less than our worth, never knowing or realizing our true value. We carry with us a legacy of hurt and pain that we pass on to our daughters. We fail to realize how our actions, resulting from hurt, affect our future generations of daughters. Instead we teach them how to act out hurt and pain through actions, rather than heal them with words and love. We teach them to continue the cycle of negative thinking, depression, despair and hopelessness, as we pass along a legacy of defeat.

But it's time to break that cycle. We have each been created with beautiful gifts unique to each individual. And we must learn to enhance those gifts as we use them to glorify our God, and inspire others. As women we have to make a determined effort to change our mindsets and way of thinking. Learning to put forth a concerted effort in thinking and being positive, and working hard to change our past.

We must learn to love ourselves if we want to love someone else, and if we want to be loved. It's impossible to love someone, or even accept love in return when you don't know how to love yourself. Instead of receiving that love, you start placing your hurt and pain on them. You begin to treat others like the victim you have been. Instead of being the victim, you are now the oppressor and those in your life are now the victims.

You are a beautiful woman, a gem on the outside and within. Whether you are a diamond in the rough or a refined and polished stone, you are a beautiful woman. Sometimes the enemy tricks us into believing we have been through too much to change, or we've made too many mistakes to turn our lives around. Well guess what? He's a liar! No matter what you've been through it was for a purpose.

But when you look inside of yourself and see how beautiful you are, despite your faults, when you realize He loves you in spite of your failings, you can begin to shine. You have so much hope, beauty, and love within you. And you have the power to unlock these gifts. You have the power to shine, to show the world how great you are, and you have the power to unlock the gift in others, simply by loving them.

Every mistake, every flaw, every turmoil and challenge happened to you for a reason. Even those created by your own hands. They were meant to build you stronger and better. Think of each storm and raging wind in your life as a refining process. Just as the sand wears away at the stones until it becomes a polished diamond, that's what each of your obstacles were for.






Baby, you're just going through the refining process and you're gonna come out gold. And the world better watch out, because it will be a much better place once you know your worth.








How do you do all of this you ask? By simply finding the queen in you.


  If you enjoyed this post, I encourage you to share it with others by clicking the social media icon below. Thanks for dropping in and as always please leave a comment, because I just love chatting with you. You can link up with me online using the icons above.

Come check out my books, and learn more about the woman behind the blog at my website www.cmichelleramsey.com . Until the next time I'm just... Writing My Dreamsby: Chelle RamseyXOXOXO www.cmichelleramsey.com

IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO CHANGE YOUR PATH

"When obstacles arise, you change your direction to reach your goal, you do not change your decision to get there.”
Zig Ziglar

So you're so close to that goal that you've set for yourself. You're so close you can almost smell, and taste it. As a matter-of-fact it's right within your grasp and if you can stretch your fingers a little further, you can almost touch it.

But now an obstacle has arisen and it seems as if it's slipping from your grasp. You've put in so much hard work, late nights, and sacrificed so much family time. Now obstacles have arisen and your dream is dissipating before your very eyes. You have begun to question whether or not this dream is for you, or have you been wasting your time.

Sometimes the hardest challenges arise right before the breaking of dawn. As your dream draws closer, so many obstacles are going to pop up. You can't lose faith now, or give up the hope of your dreams. Now is the time to dig your heels in and fight. Now is the time to stand strong and know what you have to do.

Your path may have come to a dead end, but that doesn't mean that you cannot turn around. That doesn't mean that you cannot find an alternative route. Maybe when you took that right at that fork in the road, you were meant to go left. Back up, review your route and change the path you are traveling along. You still have to pursue your route and decision to follow your dreams. It just might mean you have to change the path you are taking to pursue it. But that doesn't mean you give up.


If you enjoyed this post, I encourage you to share it with others by clicking the social media icon below. Thanks for dropping in and as always please leave a comment, because I just love chatting with you. You can link up with me online using the icons above.

Come check out my books, and learn more about the woman behind the blog at my website www.cmichelleramsey.com . Until the next time I'm just... Writing My Dreamsby: Chelle Ramsey www.cmichelleramsey.com

JUST ANOTHER FABULOUS FRIDAY!

  So what are you doing this weekend?  PUTTING MEAT ON THE GRILL?       COOLING OFF WITH A DIP IN THE POOL?




 BRINGING OUT THE INNER KID IN YOU BY BUILDING CASTLES IN THE SAND?      COZYING UP IN YOUR HAMMOCK WITH A GOOD READ?    HERE'S A GREAT SELECTION TO CHOOSE FROM...CHELLE RAMSEY -OR- C. MICHELLE RAMSEY    If you enjoyed this post, I encourage you to share it with others by clicking the social media icon below. Thanks for dropping in and as always please leave a comment, because I just love chatting with you. You can link up with me online using the icons above.

Come check out my books, and learn more about the woman behind the blog at my website www.cmichelleramsey.com . Until the next time I'm just... Writing My Dreamsby: Chelle Ramsey www.cmichelleramsey.com

THROWING IT BACK TO 1994_#THROWBACKTHURSDAY

Today's Throwback Thursday post takes us to the wonderful year of 1994. I was a new mommy still trying to figure out how to take care of another life, and protect and nurture another wonderful little person.

My firstborn, Gambit, as we like to call him was born in 1993 and was going on
9 months old on the picture above. He was the joy of my world and it was so fun learning all about being a first time mom, and all the wonderful rewards that come along with it. But he was also a bit on the stubborn side, which I would soon learn was just his way. Everything he does, he does it in his own time, from being born a week late to getting started on his career.

But anyway, let's take stroll down memory lane and see what happened in that year.
Take a peek »

BRINGING THE DRAMA TO THE "A"_WRITER WEDNESDAY

Today I'm sharing a little bit of drama with you. In life it won't always be a bed of roses. Sometimes we're on the up ride of the roller coaster, and sometimes we're headed down. And you know what happens when it's time to go down. Your stomach drops, the fear kicks in, and the adrenaline starts rushing. And you've got to make a decision...keep your head up, hold on, and be strong, or scream and holler for dear life.


Today Angel's facing one of those decisions. She's planned a day with just her and her husband, but unfortunately she hears something she may not want to. Is Black up to his old tricks again, or is she misinterpreting things?
Take a peek »

COULD IT BE YOU'RE HOLDING YOURSELF BACK FROM GREATNESS?

Sometimes I find myself so busy, inundated with tasks and activities that I have created for myself. Then I find myself complaining that I don't have enough me time, or not enough family time. It wasn't until my husband pointed out to me one day that I was the one who created this that I realized just as easily as I created the problem I could find the solution.

In today's world between working, raising families, nurturing extracurricular activities, and starting our own businesses we don't have time for the most important things. Life was not always this full of things that needed to be tended to. But as society changes it's almost like we have a mindset that tells us if we aren't doing something, then something's wrong.

That's simply not true. Filling our lives with so much "stuff," keeps us too tired, worn out, stressed out, and drug down to enjoy the life we were designated to have. It keeps us from enjoying the peace we need, and rather has us chasing after that next "extra something."

This is simply no more than the enemy keeping you so busy that you don't have time for God. It's a trick from the enemy to keep you out of God's Presence and from keeping you from spending time with Him.

When you spend time with God, you are empowered, strengthened, and refreshed. When you're so busy that all you do is rush through spending time with Him, you don't have time to be built up, empowered, restored, and strengthened. Instead you start finding more and more excuses to stay away from Him, which takes you away from who you are and the greatness you have to offer the world. It takes away from your unique gifts that He wants to nurture and polish.

Communicating with God can occur in that one-on-one time you spend with Him in that private room at home. It can occur on your daily drive to work, or while you're doing laundry. There are so many opportunities to speak with Him throughout the day, that He never has to be neglected.

Find that time to get alone with Him, to spend time in His word, and in His presence praying. He will strengthen, empower and nurture you. He will give you what you need to have a balanced, plenteous, and successful life, and to be prosperous in all your ways. He will implant in you those seeds of greatness you need to live a thriving and abundant life.

If you enjoyed this post, I encourage you to share it with others by clicking the social media icon below. Thanks for dropping in and as always please leave a comment, because I just love chatting with you. You can link up with me online using the icons above.

Come check out my books, and learn more about the woman behind the blog at my website www.cmichelleramsey.com . Until the next time I'm just...
Writing My Dreamsby: Chelle Ramsey www.cmichelleramsey.com

WONDERFULLY & PERFECTLY FLAWED_MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY MOMENT

Today I choose life. Every morning when I wake up I can choose joy, happiness, negativity, pain... To feel the freedom that comes from being able to continue to make mistakes and choices - today I choose to feel life, not to deny my humanity but embrace it. - Kevyn Aucoin





Yesterday I was so upset with myself because I made a couple of errors during my dance performance at church. My frustration made it difficult for me later to focus on what was being said and enjoy the atmosphere we set in the church, because I continued to reflect on where and why I went wrong. Later, I reviewed the video and realized it was not that noticeable. Only to me.

In life we oftentimes make mistakes because we aren't perfect, we're simply human. We are flawed, imperfect, susceptible human beings. Sometimes we are our own worst critics, and it prohibits us from becoming better. When you're hard on yourself and do not allow room for error, it's difficult to allow room for improvement.

Making mistakes actually defines who you are and allows you to grow as a person. It's not the moments of mistakes that define us, but it's how we handle and learn from them that defines us. It's okay to be wonderfully and perfectly flawed.



If you enjoyed this post, I encourage you to share it with others by clicking the social media icon below. Thanks for dropping in and as always please leave a comment, because I just love chatting with you. You can link up with me online using the icons above.

Come check out my books, and learn more about the woman behind the blog at my website www.cmichelleramsey.com . Until the next time I'm just...
Writing My Dreamsby: Chelle Ramsey www.cmichelleramsey.com