I Got You 'COVERED!'

Happy Motivational Monday, Love!

It's January 23 and this month is about to roll on out of here!

I thought it was time to introduce my 'word' of the year. At the beginning of 2022, I began a tradition of letting God lead me to a word that I would lean on or would sort of be my 'anthem' for the entire year. Last year, that word was 'Prepared!' This year, its 'Covered!' Last year, I stepped back into the classroom for the first time in 6 years! I taught 5th grade Writing. It was extremely difficult to teach my students during a pandemic. They had already been through so much with 2 or 3 teacher changes prior to my arrival. We had a blast! I was met with so much resistance at the beginning of 2022 but after awhile, my kiddos opened up to me. There were lots of discipline problems and they had a very difficult time trusting and opening up to me at our initial meeting. BUT God!!! I asked God to lead me and I prayed for him to cover my students. And he did just that! I was 'prepared' last year and this year, I am asking him to 'Cover' me while I embark on the journey of writing a memoir! At times, I am terrified. There is a new level of vulnerability and honesty that I have to have and there is so much that I want to highlight and talk about in my life. God and I are taking it one day at a time. I know that my testimony will change lives! 

I am leaning on the scripture, 'Isaiah 41:10'.. Fear not, for I am with you! I will strengthen you, I will help you. I will hold you up with my righteous hand!

My hope for sharing this with you is to let you know that, it is okay to be unsure of the unknown. We all have doubts at one point or another. But the objective, through God's love and protection, is not to stay doubtful! If at first you don't succeed, dust yourself off and try again! (Shout out to, Aaliyah!) I have had the idea of writing a memoir about my life for at least 10 years, and finally began writing in 2021! It is NEVER too late to go after your dream and change the trajectory of your life. You are not too much of anything. NOT too old, NOT too inexperienced, NOT too anything! It just takes faith and daily action! God has got you 'COVERED' love!

Time Stamp: 4:30AM 

Monday #041

The Soundtrack To My Life!

30 of my favorite songs that have helped me to transition from season to season in my life! I believe that everyone should have a soundtrack to their lives. Music is so healing! It has been my favorite way to cope with difficulties in my life. If you could choose 30, what would you choose?

Here are mine!

30. 8 Ball & MJG-'You Don't Want Drama'

29. Amerie-'Nothing Like Loving You'

28. Kelis-'Get Along With You'

27. Nas-'Summer On Smash'

26. Alex Isley-'Into Orbit'

25. Ryan Leslie-'Never Break Down'

24. Fabolous-'Breathe'

23. Coldplay-'O'

22. Hi-Tek-'Music for Life'

21. Brandy-'Focus'

20. Frank Ocean-'Swim Good'

19. Smashing Pumpkins-'1979'

18. Lupe Fiasco-'The Show Goes On'

17. Jeezy-'I'm Back'

16. Mazzy Star-'Fade Into You'

15. Beyonce-'Disappear'

14. Rihanna-'Yeah, I Said It'

13. Anita Baker-'Caught Up In The Rapture'

12. ASAP Ferg-'Dreams, Fairytales and Fantasies'

11. Yebba-'Louie Bag'

10. Smokie Norful-'I Need You Now'

09. Eric Bellinger + Kiki Sheard-'Counting My Blessings'

08. New Edition-'Can You Stand The Rain'

07. Forever Jones-'He Wants It All'

06. Smokie Norful-'Healing In His Tears'

05. Beyonce-'I Miss You'

04. Beyonce-'Me, Myself and I'

03. Amerie-'Swag Back'

02. Alex Isley-'Gone'

01. Coldplay-'Sparks'

Bonus #2: Fred Hammond-'He LIVES Remix'

Bonus #1: Michael Jackson-'Leave Me Alone'

The Tea 'Without' The Sugar! The ART of Growing Up.

WELCOME to my blog, 'Knetris, The Word Nerd!!'

I guess I should begin by saying, 'Happy New Year!' 2023 has officially arrived and I am SO excited! This is the 10th year that this blog has been on the scene. Myself and this platform have grown tremendously just in the past 2 years! It was actually deactivated from 2013 (which is when it was created) until 2020! I tested positive for COVID January of 2020 and after my healing I began writing again and have NEVER  looked back! God blessed me with the wonderful opportunity to write for 6 months as a Contributing Writer for SHEEN Magazine from October 2021-April 2022! Since then, I have been blessed to add to my resume an ongoing freelance writing position for Thought Catalog, Collective World, as well as DoingGoodTV! I am super happy with where my writing career is headed! I am so excited to announce that I have had the idea of writing a memoir about my life for the past 10 years and as of 2021, I AM WRITING IT!!!!! There are still lots of technical issues to work out, lots and lots of writing to be done but hopefully, I will be done before the end of 2023! As soon as more details become available, I will post them.

This week on my 'Motivational Monday' series, I would like to talk about growth! So, I used to have a very bad habit of driving to McDonald's and buying their sweet tea. It's $1.00 per cup. It's soo good! BUT not only does it leave the most horrible aftertaste but it is so bad for you. The sugar content is through the roof! I had a decision to make. I could continue putting the poison in my body, which was the tea that costed $1.00 OR I could find something else to drink. I started drinking more water. When I felt the urge to have something sweet, I started going to Panera Bread. Their sweet tea cost $3.50 but it was still tasty minus the aftertaste and all of the additional sugar. It cost more but in the long run, my body was healthier and I found that I didn't have to have it but only once or twice a month. Unlike McDonald's, I was going there EVERYDAY! Ugh!

The moral of my story is, we have to grow in life! Although we have choices, we will suffer tremendously if we choose to remain the same. I had to learn that even though the tea from McDonald's was delicious and cost less, it was ruining my health AND it was full of 'sugar!' The tea from Panera had less 'sugar' and allowed me to learn to not be addicted to comfort. That comfort zone is not home, it is a cage! It is amazing that today, I only want water! I made the choice to change my level of comfort and it has taken me to levels that I never thought I could reach so fast! It may be time for you to grow and step outside of your comfort zone! If that is you, I hope this post kickstarts your journey! Every 'Motivational Monday' I will be here helping you along the way!!

Have an amazing week, Love!