Never give up!

                                     Never, Never, Never Give up! -Winston Churchill


Some of us have heard "never give up" so many times it seems common place. It's only when we begin to really push for something worthwhile that we see the value of these words. In the face of rejection and things going not exactly as planned, is the time when we need to hear "keep going" the most! That little jolt of perseverance and inspiration makes a big difference in life.


That's what B.O.L.D is all about. Each day we live things are not going to be the same, or go as planned, in certain efforts there will be a try and a fail. We must keep on going and keep moving forward with each day that life permits.

There is something wonderful about dreams, the bigger the dream we envision, the bigger the failure appears in bringing it to pass. A dream itself isn't useless, because the vision we hold for our lives is closely related to purpose, but a dream without a conscious real-life strategy is just an illusion. We should much rather adopt goals as the lauching post. Goals breakdown the picture into tiny pieces to be achieved as we go. They are concrete and much more attainable.

Sometimes, even when we wake up from a subconscious dream, everything we saw, that happened within it can't be captured or properly expressed, so how much more so, trying to grasp an entire perception for our lives in a single effort. Being overly ambitious can hurt within the context and capacity that we place our dreams, but ambition is the fuel for drive. It's best to have specific goals, set exactly what they are, and go hard relentlessly to achieve them. There is always a way to accomplish goals. Set every goal to the alignment of the overall purpose and vision that you see and never, never, never give up! If they are positive they will give life to even more persistence. You can do it! Go for it!

My Birthday Blessing

Oh Lord! I don't even know where to start. I just brought in my birthday in worship and it was something! God is always so new, no matter how long we live. I'm officially 24 years old and me at this age, is nothing like I thought it would be, or how I imagined it as a kid. I was supposed to be grown and rich by now. I got the grown part, but the rich... not so much.

The state I'm in now is actually pretty bad from an outside perspective: Bad credit, Car-less, broke by my definition, and just messy. The thing is, I love celebrating birthdays and I previously made up in my mind that every birthday I have, I want it to have a theme. Last year I decided on a "Celebrity theme" and decided to go parlay with the celebrities in Atlanta.
That day came together so beautifully, that instead of just going to The Monique Show, like I intended, I was actually chosen as a V.I.P. for the live taping and partied with even more celebs afterward. Needless to say I was amazed, not at the celebrities, but at the love God had for my life and His power to do anything. That day It was really sealed in my spirit that me being labeled as a V.I.P, went so much further than just the taping of a show. Overall, that day it was God who had the best broadcast: He showed up and showed out!
 

My 24: Unfavorably broke, unwaveringly determined.

This year considering my "car-lessness" and financial standing, I had no Idea what I was gonna do even the simple plan I thought about could not work. It made me kind of sad in my spirit, that I couldn't celebrate how I wanted to, but in my preemptive nature, I decided to make the best of it I could.

After I got off work at 11p.m. I bought some sparklers set to celebrate, when I got home I charged everybody in my surroundings to light one in honor of my day. Surprisingly my 10 year old cousin was awake, who of course is still enamored by sparklers. We celebrated for a short time which made me feel a little better, but I was still kind of down.

When we we're done, he looked at the time and told me I still had 10 minutes before my birthday. Like with any monumental occasion commemorating an advancement in time, I decided to "Pray it in". Once I got on my knees I found myself weeping, not in disappointment, but in Gratitude.

 It was like the day wasn't mine, I was just borrowing it because 24 years ago today, God decided to bring a being into the earth. He made the decision to manifest His glory in and through my life, and as I realized that I became more grateful than I ever was before. Also, in that moment I experienced a newness of life unlike I ever felt before. It wasn't the life shaking move of God that I anticipated, but it was definitely one of those major declarative moments.

 I saw myself as completely brand new and the word I kept hearing in my spirit was: remissive-FORGIVEN . I picked up on the shift in the atmosphere of the heavens. I was no longer the April that made the worst, most self-deprecating mistakes someone could think of, and every issue with my mentality I'd ever had was gone. It was like God saying "It is finished, you're ready, you are prepared now for greatness." I am so happy and I definitely claim that blessing.

Last year's birthday, with some special V.I.P's

The need for a theme for my birthday proved to be an excellent vehicle for the voice and purpose of God.  This 24 years of my life is the declaration that: "My life has been brought full circle". To really break it down, as it was stated to me; "There are 24 hours in a day, that makes the day complete" and God has declared a completeness and wholeness in my life like never before.

 For each of  those hours in a day, e.g. (the years of my life) there has been a completion, learning experience and issues I picked up that worked with me or against me, even though everything really works for our good, there we're issues that I dealt with just because of my environment, and just as with the end of a day everything that had me still bound and ill prepared is over.
The context of time was used because "It's my time". The day has completely come that I can no longer blame my environment for the circumstances of my life. I am free! However, in this case freedom is not a good thing or a bad thing. My absolute best will only come to the degree and capacity that I put God's will first in my life. Yikes! I can say that's easy, but  I will have to work to avoid any pitfalls.

I created this blog Breath Of Life Daily as a way to acknowledge God everyday, and take life one day at a time, but I am thankful once again for the creativity of purpose. There was another surprise early birthday present that I didn't mention before this, and it came in the form of a great innovative idea for the blog's direction and destiny.

I intend to keep Breath Of Life Daily going and expand it even further, and the idea I got for where this "B.O.L.D initiative" is going is gonna shake the world, that's all I will say for now. Today I just intend to celebrate this beautiful, blessed day that God has made. I Thank him for giving me life in it. Thank you to everyone for your love and support. All the blog fans, my church, and family members as well. God bless you, and I love you all! Happy birthday to me!

BOLD Testimony: Lacey Buchanan

Lacy Buchanan shares her inspiring story about her son Christian that went viral with over a million hits.

Overwhelmed by the response over the past two months, Lacey Buchanan is continuing to boldly testify about the joy of raising Christian – who was born with a bilateral cleft palate and lip and almost completely blind – and her faith in God.

"We are still in the early days of raising Christian. We still have many more blessed years to come in raising our little man who will one day be a big man. In all that in between time, I am praying for guidance in helping Christian to become a God fearing, God obedient, successful, happy, productive, loving adult," she wrote on her blog last week.
The viral video was posted in March, a little over a year after Christian was born. In it, Buchanan recounts her story on written note cards – from the time she met her now husband, Chris, when she was 15 years old to the time they married and had their first child.
When she was 18 weeks pregnant, doctors told them that something was wrong with Christian and throughout her entire pregnancy thereafter, they weren't certain as to what the exact problem was. They wondered whether he would live or be mentally impaired.

Christian was born on Feb. 18, 2011, and the parents were ecstatic he was alive. But the baby's condition was worse than they expected. He was among only 50 people in the entire world with a cleft lip and palate. Additionally, his eyes were also clefted.

When Buchanan took her son out in public, people would stare and make inappropriate comments, with "one girl" even telling her that she was "a horrible person for not aborting Christian in utero."

Read more @: Christian Post

Spongebob Lessons: The Captivation of Being Square

I love how so many cartoons and sitcoms are encompassed by a problem and a solution. In literary terms they are the plot, climax, and resolution.

I was watching Spongebob with my little cousin, yes Spongebob the cartoon, which is one of the most inspirational shows on T.V. Everyone has seen it if they haven't been living under a rock.

Anyway, Sandy the squirrel who lives under the sea with Spongebob and all the other fish, ran out of oxygen, thanks to Spongebob and Patrick. Spongebob now had to find a way to get her air as quickly as possible. In Sandy's own delirium the first attempt failed, so they had to come up with new and creative ways to get this squirrel some air, they tried everything. Of course by the end Spongebob was inspired like only Spongebob can be, and came up with a solution that was so dumb, it was smart.

It worked and the problem was solved. The cycle of problem and solution in the cartoons, T.V. shows, and movies that we watch are a beautiful reflection of life. The problems we have, come along because we have the solution inside of us. When we come up with solutions we grow, so does the capability inside of us for even greater ventures.

Life itself is an adventure. Our ability to get issues resolved shows us the capacity of power we have on the inside that can easily conquer all circumstances on the outside. That demonstrative  power builds up so we can solve even greater problems, and come up with even better solutions, growing wiser in the process. For any problem we have in life, there is always a solution.

The resources we need are everywhere and the inspiration comes when we actively set our minds to do good on purpose. Sandy the squirrel is a cartoon that needed oxygen, but there are many people in the world who are walking dead, bereft of the enlightenment of truth and inspiration. We should set our minds to do good on purpose, letting our lights shine and the power of God flow freely, to give life to dying souls.

The fictional squirrel under water needed life urgently, but there is a real creature that is awaiting the manifestation of the sons of God. We should walk in purpose, reflecting the excellence and glory of God in our lives. We all our children of God, our heritage when we rightfully claim it, causes us to be an automatic blessing and inspiration to others. Spongebob is not incredibly popular for no reason. Be an example of God's Glory to the world and watch your life and ratings soar.

Great Expectations

Sometimes I get paralyzed in a state of thoughts and questions, but the best thing to do really is just to act, to move forward and embrace the goodness of God for life. As I was laying and thinking nothing seemed clear, but when I got up and begin to move none of what I was thinking about mattered.



Sometimes life gets confusing, but the best we can do is embrace those good things and keep moving forward. It's easy to come up with reasons why we can't, we should embrace the reasons why we can.

What goes hand in hand with the reasons we can is the Gospel a.k.a "the Good news" not just in the form of the biblical word, but through uplifting music. This song by Jonathan Nelson just came at a great time for me, I love it! It's an all around feel-good song with a positive message: "Expect The Great"!

When we operate in the great, we can just keep going, expectation and the things we perceive are very powerful. We can expect bad or expect good in the end the choice and the outcome is up to us how we are really gonna feel about certain situations. It's like waiting for something good in the mail, just the anticipation of it, keeps you motivated and inspired. So each day as we live we should live not worrying, but in whatever we do, just expect the Great.

The goodness of God is over our lives no matter what situation we are in, we should embrace this goodness. If we expect it, we make ourselves prepared for it. God is able, so do at all times don't just expect the mediocre or even the good, EXPECT THE GREAT!

Have a wonderful weekend!

BOLD Testimony: Sarah Hyland

Sarah Hyland, who stars in ABC's sitcom "Modern Family" recently got the relief of her life. She let the world know about the disease she has been struggling with since childhood, which is the one that is no more thanks to the donation of her dad.

The 21-year-old actress suffered from kidney disease all her life. In need of a kidney transplant the perfect match turned out to be her Father Edward. Sarah is expected to be making a recovery this summer while the show is not filming.

The touching story hit the news circuits yesterday. Sarah's second chance through the giving and familiarity of a loved one. Shows the organization and the timing of God, to help us in places so close,  we might not even expect it. Receiving such a vital organ for renewed life is a gift that Sarah should not take for granted. 

Sarah says: "If you ask 'why me?' ...well why not you?"

Also, "you are not alone" Sarah added . She overcame at such a young age and is now continuing to thrive in Hollywood. In strength, perseverance and faith, amazing things are possible. I hope she has a blessed recovery, and now she goes forward in life with zeal and thankfulness to God.

Watch her story:

The End of Dreams, The Beggining of Destiny

--May 1, 2012 at 11p.m. Breaking News in Atlanta, Georgia.: "Tyler Perry Studios have caught on fire and has severe damage..." a night for me in which minutes before was the beggining of a break down, but the epoch of  a breakthrough.




I was contentious, angry at myself and wondering why I kept hesitating to write an article that God ordered me to write months, but seemingly ages ago. Writing the article was what I meant to do for that day and something that was aligned in my vision, but instead I continued in the usual tuesday routine when I'm off work: Watch "Glee", tweet needlessly about the episode, and continue to procrastinate.

However, that night in particular proved to be a major upset. It made me sit back and assess my life. what Exactly was I doing and where Exactly was I going. I've had big dreams for as long as I can remember, and just having them never seemed to be getting me anywhere. In fact, sometimes dreams have a tendency to cloud your mind and effect good judgement. I have always been a perpetual dreamer, but the life I live and the life I've seen are so completely opposite that the creative tension in between finally broke and made me miserable. Something had to give and that something was me. It struck me that even though I have all these dreams, if they aren't truly based in the plan of God, they're useless. Not only that, but everyday does not run the same, each and every day requires communication with God for the strength, victory, and prosperity of THAT day, period.

It's necessary to put God first in whatever we do for it to generate the most purpose and extremely awesome results. That night, In that very moment I realized maybe some, Ok well maybe all of the dreams I've held in my life we're not based on the foundation of God. Most of the aspirations I clung to the most we're completely out of His perspective. It was a breaking moment, but it also a waking moment. It was definitely a life altering experience. That night really woke me up and made me the most conscious I have ever been. Even though I have had a lot of breakthroughs in my spirit before, I felt like I could see life for the first time. I decided to get and stand in the specific position God has given me, regardless of what goes on the outside.

I dedicated that night to God, praised Him for the revelation, and decided to leave all those dreams at the alter. No later than five minutes after the desicion was sealed in my spirit, the breaking news update blasted from the television: "Tyler Perry Studios On Fire" I instantly got the message. I have always recognized Tyler Perry as the trail blazer and magnate for everything I wanted to do in the media and communications industry. So the sacrifice of those dreams at the alter, was now so official that it was on the outside of me. Basically God was saying, "It's not about Tyler Perry paving the way or anyone else, It's about your adherence to my will".

Message Taken! It's been days since that faithful fire and more news has been given only confirming the message, and incidences are occuring that are linking me so directly to destiny, that I've literally been kicked into action. I can now definitely say that this Breath Of Life Daily has never been so real.

If you have ever had dreams or high aspirations, don't be afraid to give them up, and put your life's perspective and purpose into the plans of God for your life. He knows what's best and the ultimate outcome is in your favor. Be Blessed.


Have a Great Weekend!!