Have you ever looked at your situation and wondered,”Why me?”. I know I have especially at the start of this year.  But, this year I’ve decided and challenged myself to look at my situations with the attitude of, “Why not me??!!”  I decided to call 2015 : The year of Purity: Pure Heart, Pure Mind, and Pure Spirit.

The pure heart aspect is really the main reason I titled my blog “Just love them anyway”. People will always let you down,break your spirit, damage you emotionally and cause you to falter spiritually… if you let them! This year, I’m not going to let them 🙂 I’m going to keep my heart pure and just “love them anyway”.

Pure mind ties in with pure heart. When your heart is unclean, your thoughts will soon follow. There’s a quote that goes something like this: “What others think of me is none of my business.” Not everybody is going to like you, and that’s okay! Once I learned to be okay with that, life became so much easier. Not that you should be a nasty,mean-spirited person and shun and completely disregard people’s thoughts or opinions… Just stop putting so much merit into what they think! Like one of my favorite YouTube vloggers , Shameless Maya says, ” Do YOU BOO! 🙂

The third part, Pure Spirit, pulls it all together. Once you have made the commitment to live with a pure heart and a pure mind, It becomes easier to draw in a spiritual aspect. Renewing my commitment with God, and striving to live a life that is pleasing to God, is again my goal this year.

Sometimes we spend so much time complaining and not enough time giving thanks! I finished a book this past week called,” The 72 Hour Hold” by Bebe Moore Campbell. ( It was a book in my last Wednesday Weekly Reads blog  and was on my list of books to read in 2015: check out those blogs here:

https://justlovethemanyway.wordpress.com/2015/02/25/wednesday-weekly-reads/

https://justlovethemanyway.wordpress.com/2015/02/03/my-2015-to-be-read-list/

Umm…why did I wait so long to read this book??? It was so insightful into the true face of mental illness and how it affects not only the ill but all those who surround them. I won’t divulge too much in this blog post,but check back on Wednesday for a full review 🙂

However there was a quote in the book that really hit me. I mean it was a real aha moment. The quote reads: ” You can’t always beat what is difficult in your life. Sometimes you have to let it win and shout Hallelujah anyhow..” Okay…. wow. Just wow…

Situations will always arise in your life. Good,Bad and Ugly. Some, you will be able to bounce back from quickly and others may take a little time. Some situations will drastically change your life and you may find yourself in a rut you just can’t seem to get out of. However, it is important to change your mindset of your situation. If you let your situation control you,you’ll never overcome it. Easier said than done! How can you not let your situation control you? This is what I find works for me:

• Change Your Atmosphere: Don’t stay in the same place, wallowing in your sorrows. Get up out of that room, go for a walk, take a vacation (if your finances allow,) take a day trip somewhere , go to a library or a farmers market, do anything but sitting and dwelling on your problems.
• Change your Attitude: If you keep an attitude of,”Woe is me” your life will always resonate the air of woe is you! As bad as your situation may be ( and im not discrediting anyones situation) someone out there has it worse!
• Change Your Crew: Surround yourself with people who uplift you not drag you down. The quote, “Show me your friends and I’ll tell you who you are is true. Find a core group of people to keep your spirits up when you are at your lowest. Find a group of people who will bring out the “best you” when you don’t feel at your best.
• Find your passion: One of the best ways to channel positive energy into your situations, is to become involved in activities that invigorate you. Write a blog :), get involved with your community, paint, draw, whatever it is that you love just do it!
• Take care of you: If you don’t take care of yourself, you physically won’t be able to handle whatever situation comes your way. Drink lots of water, eat balanced meals, exercise, get lots of rest
• Finally the main thing I do to get through my situation is PRAY! Talking to God always fills me with a sense of peace that no matter how bleak the situation may seem, someway somehow, things will all work out.

Some scriptures that I have been holding super close to my heart this year are:

1 Corinthians 16:13-14, (New Living Translation) Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous.Be strong. And do everything with love.

Philippians 2:14-16 (New Living Translation)

¹⁴ Do everything without complaining and arguing, ¹⁵ so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. ¹⁶ Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless.

Sidenote: I grew up in a predominantly Jamaican pentecostal church and my children’s ministry workers forced us to learn a song derived from this verse and I actually found it on YouTube LOL! Keep in mind this is a song i heard for the first time over 20 years ago 🙂

I refuse to let my situations control me. As bad as it may be, it could be a heck of a lot worse! Instead I choose to let God take full control of my situations and let Him work them out! Have a blessed Monday guys!

This weeks song reflection is: Give Me by Kirk Franklin( feat. Mali Music)

xoxo