“Don’t Wait Until Thanksgiving to Thank HIM!”

 

Read: 1 Chronicles 16:7-36

“O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever” (1 Chronicles 16:34 AMP)

We often think of Gratitude in terms of Gain: Someone gives you a ride to work. A neighbor cooks a meal when you’ve had surgery. Your boss notices your hard work and gives you a raise. The kids clean up the house or your husband cooks dinner. For these things (no matter how rare or how often they're done), of course You’re Grateful! And if you remember your mother’s upbringing, you promptly write a thank-you note or better yet, open your mouth and Tell Them Thank You!

However, it’s even more astonishing to witness people Overcome with an Attitude of Thanksgiving in Dire Circumstances: For example, think of the parents of a terminally ill child who praise God for each day of their daughter or son’s life. How can they possibly visit the cancer center, watch them take needles every day for diabetes, or wait endlessly on the list for a transplant, and yet still praise and thank God for life? You might even be baffled by a family’s ability to be thankful in the midst of disaster, weeping with joy that even though their house and possessions have been destroyed by flood, fire or earthquake, their family has survived, and for that alone they are thankful! 

I’m always amazed by people who can Thank God Regardless of Their Situation or Circumstance. Those who possess a grateful heart even after their car has been repossessed; those who still come to the house of the Lord with praise on their lips even though they’ve been evicted from their own house. I’m in awe of those who receive “death notices” from their doctor’s appointments and yet they go out and still gratefully visit the sick and shut in. It’s mind-blowing those who can preach a message after receiving a pink slip! Or those who can attend a wedding, with gift in hand, and a smile on their face, even though they just received their divorce papers in the mail. Believe it or not, there are people who are Really Just Grateful! Why? Because they know that even when their lives change, their God doesn’t! He is Consistently Faithful, and that They Refuse to Forget!  

“O my soul, bless God. From head to toe, I’ll bless His holy name! O my soul, bless God, don’t forget a single blessing!” (Psalm 103:1-2 MSG)

That’s when your thanksgiving is for real, when someone can look at your life and see not a thing you should be thankful for and yet you continuously offer God your praise, worship, exaltation, adoration, jubilance, gratitude and thanksgiving...ANYHOW! In other words, God has been so good to you already that if He doesn’t do another thing, He is still worthy of your thanksgiving! 

But even deeper than Gratitude for a favor, or thankfulness in the midst of misery, thanksgiving can be viewed as a Testament to an Enduring Quality in Someone we Admire and Respect. For instance, David celebrated God’s divine attributes with a heart of pure Thanksgiving. With great fanfare, the ark of the covenant had finally arrived in Jerusalem and taken its place into the tent David had prepared for it. After the offerings were made and the feast was over, David’s gladness spilled over into a great song of jubilant thanksgiving.

Consider the countless reasons you have to be Grateful. Has something brought great joy to your life? Consider the attributes of those you love; your husband’s faithfulness, your wife’s generosity, your friends’ trustworthiness, your parents’ goodness, your child’s tender heart. Aren't you Grateful? Or do you get so caught up on the negatives that it completely overshadows the positives? 

Truth is, God has been better to us than we could have ever been to ourselves, and better than Any of Us Deserve! Just take a moment to reflect on His provision for you to have a place to lay your head; food on your table; clothes on your back; transportation (by any means) and traveling mercies as icing on the cake! Reflect on how He’s healed you, saved you, delivered you, protected you! Reflect on how many times He stepped in right in the nick of time! Reflect on how He’s kept you in a right and sound mind, despite the chaos around you! Reflect on how He’s kept you in the midst of the mess YOU put yourself in! The list could go on forever, because that’s just how good He’s been! No matter how you look at it, The Lord has been Good to You! You Owe Him a Grateful Heart!

This week is the perfect time to “give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.” Don’t wait for the Thanksgiving DAY! After all, the Lord has abundantly blessed you, and He didn’t wait for a holiday to do it, so why would you wait until a holiday to Thank Him? 

Start by expressing Thanks for some of the things David included in his prayer:

“God’s Wonderful Acts…” (vs. 9, “Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; meditate on and talk of all His wondrous works and devoutly praise them!” AMP);

“His Miracles…” (vs. 12, “[Earnestly] remember the marvelous deeds which He has done, His miracles, and the judgments He uttered [as in Egypt],” AMP);

“His Salvation…” (vs. 23, “Sing to the Lord, all the earth; show forth from day to day His salvation” AMP);

“His Glory And Marvelous Deeds Among All Peoples …” (vs. 24, “Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all peoples” AMP);

“His Holiness…” (vs. 29, “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name. Bring an offering and come before Him; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness and in holy array” AMP).

Everything About God is Worthy of Our Praise! Let us not allow anyone or anything to rob us of the gift of a thankful, grateful heart! No matter what your situation is today it can always be worse! 

Believe it or not but someone is standing online at a soup kitchen grateful, while you throw half-eaten food in the garbage for which you didn’t even say grace over to thank God for His provision. Someone is grateful to have enough coins to put in the bus to get from point A to point B, and yet you mumble and grumble about the gas money you Do Have to put gas in your car. Someone is grateful that Medicaid/Medicare covered enough of their prescription cost that they could get their necessary meds, while you fuss that you have to go and pick up your meds of which your health insurance covered in full. Someone is grateful to wake up even if it’s alone, while you roll over next to an imperfect spouse who loves you perfectly, and yet you’re ungrateful. Someone is excited that their child came home from school safely even through a rough neighborhood, while you have yet to give God thanks for your straight A student, in a private school, in a good neighborhood! There is always someone somewhere that would love to be in your shoes, but while they are in their own (no matter how painful), they are walking with God…Grateful...ANYHOW!

There are people pushing their entire lives around in a shopping cart that are still thankful; there are people sleeping under the bridge in a cardboard box that are still grateful; there are people standing on the bridge who are thankful God sent someone right on time to talk them off it before they took a leap to their death; there are people riding the subways to stay warm who are still grateful for a little temporary heat and shelter; there are people who had a half-eaten butter roll from the garbage can this morning, and knowing that it will be their only meal for the day, they still thank God for something to eat. There are people singing God’s praises in the hospital; people are worshiping Him while enduring chemotherapy; radiation and dialysis; people are thanking Him even as they go into surgery; people are grateful to Him while struggling through rehab; people are adoring Him behind prison walls as they’re so grateful to Him for saving, healing and delivering them right where they are; people are eating His every Word passionately even as they sit alone in the nursing homes with no one to visit them but the presence of the Lord; people are sick and shut in, and still they have praise on their lips and worship in their spirits. 

Surely, you can think of a reason also to give God thanks?

Are you getting this? Being thankful has nothing to do with a holiday; being thankful should be a believer’s everyday way of life. Because truthfully, we have so much to be grateful for! After all the mistakes, fumbles, failures, flaws, bad choices, and sin-filled days and nights, God still loved all of us so much that He would send His only begotten Son to save such a wretch as we were, and still are! How can we not be thankful? How can we not be grateful? Our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life; we’re placed in the palm of the Father where no man can pluck us out; we’re kept securely in the midst of the Father’s Will where there is safety; we have Heaven as our hope and home. We indeed have much to be grateful and thankful for, and none of us should ever need a holiday or calendar to tell us that!

We should all sing with David, “Let the heavens be glad and let the earth rejoice; and let men say among the nations, The Lord reigns!” (vs. 31 AMP) Because despite any of our circumstances, the Lord yet rules and reigns and treats His children as the sons and daughters of a King, which they are (even when they don’t look like it or live like it). We need to stop complaining, grumbling, murmuring, because the Lord loves us, looks out for us, and lives in us, who wouldn’t be grateful for that?

So, Today, no matter what happens, Give God Thanks! Remember: No Matter What Road You Travel Down In Life, No Matter How Bumpy, Or How Many Times You Feel Detoured and Even Derailed…GOD IS ALWAYS IN CONTROL! YOU WILL REACH YOUR DESTINATION! So Why Not Enjoy Jesus Along the Journey?! Give Him Thanks Always, For All Things! 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “THANK [GOD] IN EVERYTHING [NO MATTER WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES MAY BE, BE THANKFUL AND GIVE THANKS], FOR THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD FOR YOU [WHO ARE] IN CHRIST JESUS [THE REVEALER AND MEDIATOR OF THAT WILL].” (AMPC)

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1.       Do you think your friends and family would characterize you as a grateful person? Why or why not?

2.       What are the characteristics of God for which you are thankful?

3.       How often do you remember to thank God for His work in your life and in the world around you? 

4.       Are you a complainer? If so, what are you going to do, starting today, to change your behavior?

5.       When something “bad” happens, do you still thank God? Do you still trust God?

6.       Who are 5 people you are grateful to have in your life? Do they know you’re grateful for them?

7.       How do you show your loved ones your gratitude for them?

8.       How has someone shown you gratitude that you will never forget?

9.       What is your favorite Thanksgiving Scripture?

10.   If you had to express your thanks to God in only 3 words, what would they be? (And no it can’t be thank you Jesus)…lol, surely you can be more creative than that!

RELATED SCRIPTURES:

Psalm 100:1-5, “Shout with joy before the Lord, O earth! Obey Him gladly; come before Him, singing with joy. Try to realize what this means – the Lord is God! He made us – we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Go through His open gates with great thanksgiving; enter His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and bless His name. For the Lord is always good. He is always loving and kind, and His faithfulness goes on and on to each succeeding generation” (TLB);

Colossians 3:16-17, “Remember what Christ taught, and let His words enrich your lives and make you wise; teach them to each other and sing them out in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing to the Lord with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, and come with Him into the presence of God the Father to give Him your thanks.” (AMP)

HOMEWORK: READ: Psalm 136:1-26

“Thou Who hast given so much to me, give me one more thing – A GRATEFUL HEART” (George Herbert)

“There’s always a blessing to thank God for; the ones you are aware of, and the ones that you are not. Be grateful to God every day.” (Author Unknown)

“Sometimes I just look up, smile and say, ‘I know that was You, God, thanks!’” (Author Unknown)

“God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say thank You?” (Dr. William Arthur Ward)

“I am grateful to God for all His many untold blessings upon my life.” (Lailah Gifty Akita)

“Gratitude is our ability to see the grace of God, morning by morning, no matter what else greets us in the course of the day.” (Craig Barnes)

“Dear God: Today, I woke up. I’m healthy. I’m alive. I’m blessed. I apologize for all my complaining. I’m truly grateful for all You have done in my life.” (Author Unknown)

“The best way to show my gratitude to God is to accept everything, even my problems, with joy.” (Mother Teresa)

“When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs?” (Gilbert K. Chesterton)

“Gratitude is Thanking God After it Happens. Faith is Thanking God Before it Happens.” (Mark Batterson)

Much Love, Dr. Shermaine 

#EnjoyTheRead #BeInspired #BeEncouraged #BeEmpowered #BeChallenged #ShareTheWord #BeThankful 

“You Are Beautifully Imperfect!”

“So God created man in HIS OWN IMAGE, IN THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27 AMP)

Imagine the following scene: Holding her hair back with one hand, the woman kneels and leans forward to drink from the clear pool of water. As her cupped hand reaches for the clear liquid, she draws back, startled. Who is the long-haired stranger staring back at her in the waters reflection?

Perhaps even since the time Eve first caught sight of her reflection in the Garden of Eden, women have dealt with the question of Image.

Polls consistently reveal that the majority of us are dissatisfied, to say the least, with our appearance. Not to mention being confronted daily with a barrage of airbrushed photos of supermodels and celebrities adorning magazine covers, further aiding the “average woman” to think she is too short, too fat, too dark, too light, too unattractive, too imperfect etc...

Now, some will say “but we’re Christian Women, we shouldn’t think like this.” Well, in that case, what do you do when even in the BIBLE you’re confronted with a long list of “physically beautiful women” staring you in the face?

1. SARAH: “Then a famine came to the land. Abram went down to Egypt to live; it was a hard famine. As he drew near to Egypt, he said to his wife, Sarai, “Look. We both know that you’re a BEAUTIFUL WOMAN…” (Genesis 12:10-11 MSG);

2. RACHEL: “Now Laban had two daughters; Leah was the older and Rachel the younger. Leah had nice eyes, but Rachel was STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL…” (Genesis 29:16-17 MSG);

3. TAMAR (Absalom’s sister): “Prince Absalom, David’s son, had a BEAUTIFUL sister named Tamar…” (2 Samuel 13:1 TLB);

4. TAMAR (Absalom’s daughter): “He had three sons and one daughter, Tamar, who was a VERY BEAUTIFUL GIRL.” (2 Samuel 14:27 TLB);

5. BATHSHEBA: “One night he couldn’t get to sleep and went for a stroll on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of UNUSUAL BEAUTY taking her evening bath. He sent to find out who she was and was told that she was BATHSHEBA, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah.” (2 Samuel 11:2-3 TLB);

6. ABIGAIL: “His name was Nabal and his wife, a BEAUTIFUL and very intelligent woman, was named Abigail…” (1 Samuel 25:3 TLB);

7. ABISHAG THE SHUNAMMITE: “So they searched the country from one end to the other to find the MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN ALL THE LAND. Abishag, from Shunam, was finally selected…” (1 Kings 1:3 TLB);

8. VASHTI: “On the final day when the king was feeling high, half drunk from wine, he told the seven eunuchs who were his personal aides – Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas – to bring Queen Vashti to him with the royal crown upon her head so that all the men could gaze upon her BEAUTY – FOR SHE WAS A VERY BEAUTIFUL WOMAN.” (Esther 1:10-11 TLB);

9. JOB’S DAUGHTERS: “…He also had seven sons and three daughters. He named the first daughter Dove, the second, Cinnamon, and the third Darkeyes. There was not a woman in that country as BEAUTIFUL AS JOB’S DAUGHTERS…” (Job 42:12-15 MSG);

10. THE BELOVED: “I am dark but BEAUTIFUL…” (Song of Solomon 1:5 TLB);

11. ESTHER: “This man had a BEAUTIFUL and lovely young cousin, Hadassah (called Esther), whose father and mother were dead, and whom he had adopted into his family and raised as his own daughter.” (Esther 2:7 TLB).

What do you do as an “average woman” and you’re daily being bombarded with beautiful (granted, mostly airbrushed) women on various magazine covers? Not to mention, women IN THE BIBLE, who are called Stunningly Beautiful, Beautiful and Intelligent, Most Beautiful In All The Country, Most Beautiful In All The Land, and to top it off even Unusual Beauty?! How can we ever measure up with the media’s standards of perfection? Or even the physical beauty found throughout the countless pages of Scripture?

Well, the first chapter of the Bible supplies the answer. We were created in the Image of one Paradigm of Perfection: OUR CREATOR!

Our height, weight and skin color may indicate our human origins, but our Soul and Spirit Reflect Our Sovereign God! Who Can Compete With That?!

Now, when a child is born, it’s not unusual for someone to claim she’s the very “Image” of a relative. But what does it mean to be created in the Image of Our Heavenly Father? Or better yet, in the Image and Likeness of the Fullness of the God-Head?!

Well, an “Image” is a “Likeness or Resemblance, as in a Reflection Seen in a Mirror”. Scripture therefore teaches that Jesus Christ is the “…EXACT LIKENESS of the unseen God…” (Colossians 1:15 TLB). And as we continue to grow in faith, we who believe will likewise gradually “…reflect the glory of the Lord with uncovered faces; and that same glory, coming from the Lord, who is the Spirit, transforms us into his LIKENESS in an ever greater degree of glory.” (2 Corinthians 3:18 GNT). In a nutshell: When we become like Jesus, we begin to look more and more like Our Heavenly Father. Which means we have more work to do on our Inner Beauty than our Outer! And I know they say “Fruit” is good for the body, but it’s even better for the soul and spirit! “But the FRUIT of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance…” (Galatians 5:22-23) It’s your inner beauty that will reflect the beautiful image of the God-head, not your outer beauty!

Truth is, “Cover Girl” can only cover but so much, for so long. Which is why you need to Beautify Your Spirit! After All, How Will Beautifying Your Body Help the Body of Christ, Look More Spiritually Beautiful? Remember: We Serve a God Who Is SPIRIT! Therefore, We Must Focus On Our Spirit! “God is a SPIRIT: and they that worship Him must worship Him in SPIRIT and truth.” (John 4:24).

God created us to convey the distinctive imprint of His divine nature to a world often blinded to His existence. As the people of God, we are Designed to be Distinct: “But the Lord shall make a DISTINCTION between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, and nothing shall die of all that belongs to the Israelites” (Exodus 9:4 AMP) So, why continuously try Fitting In when you’ve always been designed to Distinctly Stand Out?! Remember: Distinction is a Blessing, Different is an Honor!

And guess what? Even our Differences reflect the One who delighted in creating a world of dazzling Diversity. Think about it: We have peculiar penguins and flashy flamingos; majestic eagles and clucking chickens; towering redwoods and dwarfed pines; long and short hair; straight and kinky hair; brown and blue eyes; dark-skin and light-skin; blondes, brunettes, redheads, gray-streaks and everything in between. Furthermore, some women are comfortable in jeans, a t-shirt and sneakers, and yet others shine brighter than the sun with their tailored, rhinestone suits and stilettos’! Some women have 20/20 vision, others if they didn’t wear magnifying glasses on their faces wouldn’t be able to see a stop sign. Some go to the gym daily, others are couch potatoes. Some like to go to the movies, dining out and dancing, while others prefer pajama’s, a head scarf and ordering in pizza! We like every genre of music, movies, vacations, colors, style etc. And that’s just how our Creator created us…DIVERSE, DIFFERENT, DISTINCT, UNIQUE, ODD and any other term you can think of! And that’s okay, why? Because every person is created with their own individual imprint of the Creator’s hand to bear His image!  

Just as the Seasons are Distinct (Summers’ Heat; Winters’ Cold; Springs’ Flowers; and Falls’ Leaves) so are we Beautifully Distinct in our Diversity!

Remember this Scripture: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;” (1 Peter 2:9).

That word “Peculiar” means “Strange, Different or Odd”. But its Latin Origin “Peculiaris” from “Peculium” literally means “Of Private Property.” How Awesome is that?! You, with your Peculiar, Strange, Different and Odd Self are Still God’s Private Property!

In addition, the word “Strange” means “Unusual, Not Previously Visited, Seen, or Encountered, Unfamiliar”. It’s French Origin “Estrange”, from Latin “Extraneus” literally means “External Strange”. Sisters, Be glad you are NOT like anybody else, nor do you need to compete or compare yourself! Truth is, Yes, You are Strange! You are Unusual, No One Has Ever Seen YOU before because there has only been and will only be YOU! And with all the “External” stuff you don’t like about your appearance, it’s actually what makes you Uniquely, Stunningly, Unusually Beautiful! You are like no one else, and no one else is like you! And That’s a Good Thing!

Sisters, you are “Different” and the word “Different” means “Not the Same as Another; Distinct” Like it or not, you my sister are not like anyone else, and no one else is like you! I reiterate, And That’s a Good Thing!

So, the next time you began to become “Image Conscious” remember this: “Oh yes, You shaped me first inside, then out; You formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank You, High God – You’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration – what a creation! You know me inside and out, You know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, You watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before You, The days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day.” (Psalm 139:13-16 MSG) Sister-Girl, if that don’t make you feel Special nothing else will!

Lastly, remind yourself that IN THE END, it will be the DIVERSE that remain! “After this I looked and a vast host appeared which no one could count, [gathered out] of EVERY NATION, FROM ALL TRIBES AND PEOPLES AND LANGUAGES. These stood before the throne and before the Lamb; they were attired in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.” (Revelation 7:9 AMP)

It’s not all the long haired, size 2, light-skin, pretty women that will stand before the throne. But there will be women from all ages, complexions, races, hair, eye and skin types that will stand there. They will have varying educational backgrounds, marital statuses, different amounts of children or no children at all. Those who had clear skin, those who had acne; those who had stretch marks, those who had perfect abs. In other words, diversity is a good thing, for if you think about it, that is the essence of Heaven. People from anywhere and everywhere entering this one place and dwelling in harmony together there forever. And since that is our ultimate goal, why not start practicing now by learning to love ourselves (imperfections and all), and love our neighbors just the same.

Just a thought: How about we stop competing and comparing and simply learn the beautiful art of contentment?

In a nutshell: Learn to love you for who, what and where you are, and to love others just the same. You, as well as others, are beautifully imperfect. Your flaws when seen through the right perspective are actually beauty marks. Your scars are badges of honor, that prove you are a soldier that fought and survived, even if you didn’t always win.

So the next time you get caught up in the latest fashion, magazine ‘perfect’ cover model, flawless hair, makeup, smile and size…remember this instead: “So God created man in HIS OWN IMAGE, IN THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27 AMP)

It is absolutely impossible to be created in the image of God and think that He made a mistake!

“By being yourself, you put something wonderful in the world that was not there before.” (Edwin Elliot)

“There is Nothing More Rare, Nor More Beautiful, Than a Woman Being Unapologetically Herself; Comfortable in Her Perfect Imperfection. To Me, That is the True Essence of Beauty.” (Dr. Steve Maraboli)

“We are all wonderful, beautiful wrecks. That’s what connects us – that we’re all broken. All beautifully imperfect.” (Emilio Estevez)

“Imperfection is Beautiful.” (Pinterest)

“When your flaws are stitched together with good intentions, your flaws make you beautiful.” (Pinterest)

“I’m perfectly imperfect, beautiful in my flaws, sure of my insecurities, absolute chaos, a beautiful disaster.” (Pinterest)

“She is a beautiful piece of broken pottery, put back together by her own hands and a critical world judges her cracks while missing the beauty of how she made herself whole again.” (JM Storm)

“She’s not perfect, she is madness. And madness is a beautiful irony where perfection and flaws are the best of friends.” (JM Storm)

“People were made to be Imperfect and Different, that’s why the word Original was invented.” (Pinterest)

“I am nothing; I am but an instrument, a tiny pencil in the hands of the Lord with which He writes what He likes. However imperfect we are, He writes beautifully.” (Mother Teresa)

“I love imperfection. I love laugh lines. I love a face irregularly sprinkled with freckles. I love sweatpants and bare feet. I love it when makeup gets smudged from wiping happy tears. I love off-white teeth. I love big, loud laughs. I love reading poetry someone’s scared to share. I love mismatched eyebrows. I love the weird conversations people have late at night or early in the morning. People ask, ‘why? Why do you love imperfection so much?’ I tell them why. Imperfection is beautiful. Imperfection is honesty. Imperfection means a person is real (being real is rare). That is why I love imperfection.” (Tasha Double)

“She was BEAUTIFUL, but not like those girls in magazines. She was beautiful, for the way she thought. She was beautiful for the sparkle in her eyes when she talked about something she loved. She was beautiful, for her ability to make other people smile, even if she was sad. No, she wasn’t beautiful for something as temporary as her looks. She was beautiful, deep down to her soul.” (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

“There’s no need to be perfect to inspire others. Let people get inspired by how you deal with your imperfections.” (Pinterest)

“Being happy doesn’t mean everything is perfect. It means you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections.” (Pinterest)

“I always find beauty in things that are Odd and Imperfect – they are much more interesting.” (Marc Jacobs)

“Your imperfections are marks of authenticity – and that is the beauty of you.” (Isaac King Fowler)

“Being perfect is being flawed, accepting it and never letting it make you feel less than your best.” (Jessica Alba)

Much Love, Dr.Shermaine #HealthyBodySoulAndSpirit #BeEncouragedBeautiful

"It's Not Selfish to Love Yourself, Take Care of Yourself and to Make Your Happiness a Priority. It's a Necessity." (Mandy Hale)

"Self-Care is Not Selfish. You Cannot Serve From an Empty Vessel." (Eleanor Brown)