Today is a brand new day. A day full of opportunity. Regardless of your current situation you hold within you the ability to achieve amazing strides.
We are all given opportunities to choose our paths in life. Often that task seems daunting but if we can keep the faith and just hold on, victory is on the way. Today you were given a gift that many were not given – the gift of life. Every moment that we are allowed to stay on this earth is a gift which should not be taken for granted.
I have learned the hard way to walk in my purpose. Regardless of what your purpose may be or even if you don’t know what your purpose is, there is a plan for your life. There is overwhelming grace waiting to be received. Just ask and it shall be given.
Know that you are not alone and everything worth having is worth working for. You, beloved, are very precious simply by virtue of your existence. You hold the key and you are not alone. You will be amazed at the strength inside of you if you can just reach in there and pull it out.
What matters most is that you are loved by God, you cannot earn it and you cannot lose it. Do not allow your past to determine your destiny. Everyone has fallen short but what matters is that we get up. There is a reason pencils have erasers, keyboards have delete buttons and phones have redial.
Remember, if you stumble and fall again (we all will), it is an opportunity to learn and become a stronger, wiser person. The ultimate sacrifice of life has been given – all we have to do is believe and press forward. The strength will come. Speak life over yourself. Sing, dance, scream if you need to, then breathe. Feel that? It’s the breath of life.
May God’s love and overwhelming grace shine upon you today and every day.
Dr. Sandra D. Smith is a results oriented executive with nearly 20 years of experience. Dr. Smith has an earned Doctorate of Human Services and a Masters in Science in Administration with undergraduate studies in Business Administration. She is currently the Associate Director for the Association of Persons Affected by Addiction. APAA is a Peer Recovery Support Services Community Center in Dallas, TX which assist individuals seeking recovery from substance use and co-ocurring mental challenges. Prior to APAA she served as Regional Associate Dean to the largest geographical area within Strayer University Onsite Programs. Dr. Smith has also served as Executive Director to thirty four (34) grant funded youth development service programs ranging from k-12 at Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York. She supervised a staff of 130 employees with 34 direct reports.
Dr. Smith has vast experience in Higher Education Administration and Secondary Education with an unwavering commitment to the highest educational standards in order to support and encourage today’s youth and adults. She has an understanding and experience in facilitating today’s complex and rapidly changing student populations. Additionally, she has an established record of achievement in challenging work environments which emphasizes high performance standards including attention to detail, deadline sensitivity, and excellent organizational skills.
Dr. Smith's most recent accomplishment has been the completion of her true life story "Choices". Choices was written during her 18 months incarceration {which began at Rikers Island in New York} and has become a message of hope and redemption for many. This story is resonating with both youth and adults because of the courage and tenacity in which it was written. Choices is also available as a Criminal Justice Study Journal.
Recent Releases
- Choices: My Way Home To Me
- https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=choices+criminal+justice+workbook&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Achoices+criminal+justice+workbook
Thank you for the great words. I really needed them at this moment. I will always remember to ask for the grace I need to get through each day.
Blessings to you.
Amazing Sandra, that you are loved to. You put how I feel about my life, and how I believe it is to live it, so easily.
Thank you for your inspiration.
You are welcome!
I seem to be losing my senses. When I first read this, I thought it said ‘new brand’ rather than ‘brand new’. It fascinates me the way words develop meaning and we receive from them what we need. Currently I am wary of all the marketing virtual connections present us with. You can see that ‘new brand’ would feed into that; but you, Dr Smith, are talking about ‘brand new’ – in other words just-born creativity. You do not shirk from the falls we all make but focus on our transformative powers.
I am looking for stability at the moment. I need to stretch beyond one day at a time. I wonder what I need to do in order to do that. Maybe if I record points of significance in each day, I can learn something of eternal significance. It feels like a precarious balance. Do you know the poem by Dawna Markowa?:
I Will Not Die an Unlived Life
I will not die an unlived life
I will not live in fear
of falling or catching fire.
I choose to inhabit my days,
to allow my living to open me,
to make me less afraid,
more accessible,
to loosen my heart
until it becomes a wing,
a torch, a promise.
I choose to risk my significance;
to live so that which came to me as seed
goes to the next as blossom
and that which came to me as blossom,
goes on as fruit.
. © Dawna Markowa
Thank you. Great point and supportive words.
Thank you for your inspiration, do keep sending as we all need mental / physical and spiritual strength
to carry on and succeed in life.
You are welcome. Have a blessed week.
Sandra
Namaste! x
Namastate!
Very nice advice Dr.Smith to begin the day with.To perceive shortfalls as an opportunity to get up and give the best.To keep in mind that the past is history and today is a gift and that is why it is called the present! Positive follows when we put efforts with a positive mindset.
Thank you for the comment.
Sandra, there are times when the words from another can deeply touch one’s soul, without evening knowing.
Today I thank you for sharing at just the perfect moment in time. Your writing this morning was a blessing.
With sincere thanks and Peace,
Very welcome!
Love this message! All of it! Thank you!
You are very welcome. Blessings!
Thank you Dr.Sandra for this timely inspiration. Yes,we all fall at times,the main thing is truly to get up again.Many of your lines touched me deeply. What a blessing to receive mail. Namaste!
Thanks for your response. Blessings!
Totally agree with you. We need to take the time to do all we can to enjoy this beautiful gift of life.