An Invitation To Pause - Triple 8s

 

     Today is August 8, 2026. The eighth month. The eighth day. And even this year quietly points me back to the number eight (2+6). Whether you see that as coincidence or simply a gentle reminder, today caused me to pause and reflect. For me, the number eight has long represented new beginnings, and today reminded me that beginning again doesn’t always happen because life went according to plan. Sometimes it happens because life changed us. Over the past few years, I’ve realized I’ve been grieving more than the loss of my father. I’ve been grieving the woman I was before illness, before loss, before plans shifted, and before life asked me to become someone I never expected to be. For a long time, I thought healing meant finding my way back to who I used to be. But today, I wonder if healing is really about having the courage to embrace who I am becoming.

     The Bible says, “Behold, I am doing a new thing” (Isaiah 43:19). It doesn’t say God is recreating yesterday. It says He is doing something new. That truth has become an invitation for me to release the expectations I once carried and receive this season for what it is. I may not be the same woman I was in 2024 or 2025, just as I wasn’t the same woman after becoming a mother, an author, or a survivor. Every season has shaped me into someone new. And perhaps that’s what new beginnings really are—not forgetting where we’ve been, but faithfully stepping into who God is calling us to be today. If this season has changed you too, don’t spend all your energy trying to become the person you were before. There is beauty, purpose, and hope waiting in the person you are becoming. Sometimes the greatest new beginning is simply giving yourself permission to begin again as you are.

A New Beginning Reading Journey

     If today has you reflecting on fresh starts, I encourage you to spend a little time with these passages over the coming days:

• Isaiah 43:19 — “Behold, I am doing a new thing.”

• Psalm 138:8 — “The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me…” A reminder that God is still completing His work in us, even when life has taken unexpected turns.

• Lamentations 3:22–23 — His mercies are new every morning.

• Philippians 3:13–14 — Releasing what is behind and pressing toward what is ahead.

• 2 Corinthians 5:17 — We are a new creation in Christ.

• Romans 8 — A chapter filled with hope, purpose, and the assurance that God is working through every season of our lives.

     As I embrace this new season, I’m learning that beginning again isn’t about becoming who I used to be. It’s about trusting God to continue the beautiful work He has already begun. I may not recognize every step of the journey, but I trust the One who is directing it. The same God who carried me through yesterday is faithfully preparing me for tomorrow, and He is doing the same for you.

Today Is What “Different” Looks Like

For the better part of a year, I noticed my body before I noticed the calendar.

The 5th and 6th of every month seemed to arrive in my nervous system before they arrived on the page. I would feel tired. Unmotivated. Quiet. Sometimes I would take naps without realizing why. My body remembered what my mind hadn’t yet acknowledged.

Today was different.

It wasn’t until later in the day that I realized it had been a year and three months since my father passed away.

That surprised me.

Not because I forgot him.

Because grief has changed.

There was a time when the 5th and 6th were filled almost entirely with sadness. They were heavy with the memory of loss. Today, they were filled with ordinary moments that quietly reminded me of him.

My younger son is home from college, and I caught myself thinking about how happy my father would have been to see him and to ask him when is the season starting.

My older son recently worked with a transportation company for a local event, and my immediate thought was, “My father would have loved the vehicle my son drove over the weekend.” He would have wanted to sit in it. He would have looked around and smiled. It would have become one of those ordinary moments that somehow became unforgettable.

I realized something today.

I’m not forgetting my father.

I’m remembering him differently.

For a while, I thought healing meant the sadness would disappear.

Now I think healing means the memories become larger than the moment of loss.

Instead of remembering the day he died, I’m remembering the way he lived.

The things he enjoyed.

The moments he would have loved.

The conversations we would have had.

The laughter we would have shared.

Today is what “different” looks like.

Not less love.

Not less grief.

Just a different relationship with both.

I still miss my father.

I always will.

But today, instead of my heart breaking over the date, it smiled over the man.

And maybe…

just maybe…

that’s part of healing too.

Wellness Wednesday

 

Hello August!!!!

 

Romans 8v28 - All Things Are Working Together

Kelly Price - It’s Gonna Rain

 

Thank You, July

As I look back on July, I realize that while I’m still in an interesting point in my life, I’m still grateful. Grateful for good days and not so good days. Grateful for the memories of my father and being gentle with myself as I continue to navigate grief, healing and realizing that I’m now showing up differently in different spaces.

I try to read more but it’s still a tad overwhelming since by illness nearly two years ago. Each day, I try to not harp on the bad things and focus on the good. 

I’m still learning to count it all joy. 🙏🏾

 

I Hear You Say - Joann Rosario

 

Fab Friday

 

Where my girls at? From the front to back. Are you feeling' that?

This Fab Friday I'm dedicating to all of my girlfriends who stay fly regardless of their situations and circumstances. To those rocking weaves and/or their natural hair. Some people know how to do both effortlessly. To those who can't figure out how to draw on an eyebrow and just work with the arch God blessed them with. To those who'd rather rock a high fashion flat than try to figure out that their heel is too high and you forgot your footies and you can't seem to find your child to go to the car to retrieve them. To those who get overwhelmed with the CVS eyelash display and just stick with the 10-12 natural lashes that you have. (I feel that for somebody.) Ok. Somebody is me. I feel that for me. lol

I will say that I learned here lately while rocking my natural baby fro. Being your most natural self can be rewarding if you rock it how you like it. I love me some weaves but it's something about J. Cole rapping, "Now, is it real? Eyebrows, fingernails, hair. Is it real?" Yaasssss!!! It all is!!!!!

Oh, but wait. Even if those things aren't real we are still fearfully and wonderfully made. Never ever forget that. God made no mistakes when he made you.

Namaste

Have A Fab Friday

(Original written in September of 2019)

Teaching Gratitude In SEL Classes

 

Last Last year I took a Multimedia Course. In that course I had to use different design concepts to create presentations.

For this project the design concept was contrast. I created the slides in Canva, uploaded them to PowerPoint and recorded it in Zoom.

As an Intervention Specialist one of my favorite SEL topics to teach is about gratitude on Thursdays.