“So many of us allow bad experiences to get the best
of us and we don’t learn how to turn those experiences into stepping stones for
us to grow spiritually, emotionally, financially or socially.I would be the first to agree that life can
be hard and challenging however if we take a look back and begin to analyze how
to use those bad experiences to help us in one area of our life, we will never
look at bad experiences the same.”
Coming from Paulette Harper‘s new book Completely
Whole, provides women of all ages with keys to living a life on purpose spirit,
soul and body.
Here are her five suggestions on learning how to live
a happier life.
1.
Accepting that sometimes the “Why” will never get answered.When we can accept that many times we won’t
be able to change the outcome and accept what has happened. Realized that
it happened for a purpose and rest in that, we are better prepared to handle
all experiences.
2.
There is no easy way out. Many times we want to escape the bad experiences by
not dealing with them head on, but that won’t solve anything. Stop for a
moment, look at the situation and make the necessary changes that are required
to be more empowered.
3.
Realize that God is in control. Our lives are totally in the hands of someone
who knows how all things will pan out. Trust Him in every situation, knowing
that He will guide you as you look to Him for help.
4.
Forgive yourself and others.In life
people will hurt us. That includes family, spouses, children, and parents.As you forgive others for their trespasses,
people will also forgive you.
5.
Pray that God will show you what it is He is trying to teach you.Allow this opportunity to let God reveal to
you what lessons are to be learned. Treat each experience as a great
opportunity to grow and mature.
Wanda B. Campbell is an extraordinary
and talented writer who brings creativity, a new sense of hope, and restoration
through the healing power of God to the Kingdom, by way of Christian fiction.
She uses real life everyday issues to exhort, motivate, and give comfort.
Wanda B. Campbell believes there is
nothing too hard for God and through His love and power; He can heal you in
EVERY area you hurt. Wanda believes with God’s help our darkest time can become
our brightest moments. Her primary mission is to encourage everyone to
experience the unfailing love of Christ. Wanda is not limited by race, age,
sex, denomination or organization; believing the liberation that comes from
Christ is free to all.
Wanda B. Campbell’s literary
achievements include: Mommy’s Present, a short story appearing in the anthology
The Midnight Clear, November 2006, First Sunday in October, January 2007,
Crusin for Christ I Short Story Contest winner with Illusions, which landed a
multi-book deal with Urban Christian. Illusions, the novel, February 2009,Right
Package, Wrong Baggage, August 2010, and Silver Lining, August 2011. Her fourth
novel, Unresolved Issues, is scheduled for release August 2012.
Wanda is a two-time winner of the
Urban Reviews Top Shelf Book Award, two-time winner of Coffee Time Romance’s
Critical Review Award, and a three-time Black Expressions Book Club Bestselling
Author. She has appeared on the BCNN1/BCBC National Bestselling List multiple
times and was nominated at the 2011 African American Literary Awards Show in
the Christian Fiction category.
Wanda is a mother of three and
currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband of twenty-two
years and two sons and enjoys spending time with her grandson.
About the
Book
Stacelyn thought her life was
complete the day she married Dr. Derrick Garrison. The fairytale life she
envisioned quickly vanishes, however, when Derrick’s late nights and
unexplained absences cause her to question his motives for marrying her. As
secrets from the past and emotional wounds are revealed, Stacelyn discovers the
hard way that it takes more than love to build a marriage.
Alone and bitter after Derrick’s
sudden departure, Stacelyn is forced to face hard truths about the man she
married. In the process, she discovers her own unresolved issues.
Will the revelations drive her to her knees, or send her seeking comfort
from the enemy?
Many times we focus on all the reasons why we can’t do something. “I’m
behind on the bills.” Or a very common reason, “I don’t have the time”.
These limiting thoughts will do just that, limit you. They will keep you
behind on your bills and out of time, pushing your dreams further and further
away. I made every excuse in the book to self-sabotage all my
dreams and aspirations. The truth was, I was afraid. But
today, I celebrate a dream being fulfilled.It has been a year since Sunday Mourning was published.I thought I would never take the step to
complete what God had started in me.My
goal is not to make it look easy, but reassure you that it is possible.
The other day as I was sitting at my desk, a scripture hit me.
“And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. And
Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven
and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to
observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and, lo, I am with you
always, even unto the end of the world.” Matthew 28:17-20. The
promise in that scripture alone makes any situation or circumstance seem so
small.
I thank God that he placed people in my life along this journey to encourage
me, motivate me and keep me inspired. I also thank God for my 5 little
cheerleaders. My children have been my greatest motivation, they deserve
the world and I am going to do my best to give it to them. There have
been so many reasons for me to give up, but I thank God for giving me just one
to hold on.
Sunday Mourning became more than just a memoir over this past year, but a
vision that allowed me to extend my reach, share my message and help others
do the same. “I show my scars so that others can heal”, a message I used
to sign each book, has not been transformed into a shirt.“I can, I will, I am…We, can, We will, We
are…with God all things are possible”. Someone is waiting for you to hold
on to that one promise that God has told you.So this is what I want you to do
next:
1. Write those dreams down; an unwritten vision is still a dream until
you take a pen to a paper.
2. Even if it’s just one word, write it down, meditate on it and
revisit it as often as you must until you receive clarity.
3. Then by all means, act on it. Do whatever you can and believe
that your help is on the way.
I know it may sound easy, but you and I both know it takes work. I
don’t know about you, but I’ve lost a lot and I am on the road to recovery,
believing God for double for my trouble.I thank God for taking my mourning and giving me joy.
It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!
You never know when I might play a wild card on you!
***Special thanks to Ashley Boyer, Senior Publicist at Random House for sending me a review copy.***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Nick Vujicic is the founder of the international non-profit organization Life Without Limbs. Nick recently made the move from Australia to California, his new home base as he travels the world speaking to a range of different groups such as students, teachers, youth, businessmen and women, entrepreneurs, and church congregations of all sizes. He has told his story and been interviewed on various televised programs worldwide, including “20/20,” “60 Minutes,” and “The 700 Club.”
What Would Your Life be Like if Anything Were Possible?
Born without arms or legs, Nick Vujicic overcame his disabilities to live an independent, rich, fulfilling, and “ridiculously good” life while serving as a role model for anyone seeking true happiness. Now an internationally successful motivational speaker, Nick eagerly spreads his central message: the most important goal is to find your life’s purpose and to never give up, despite whatever difficulties or seemingly impossible odds stand in your way.
Nick tells the story of his physical disabilities and the emotional battle he endured while learning to deal with them as a child, teen, and young adult. “For the longest, loneliest time, I wondered if there was anyone on earth like me, and whether there was any purpose to my life other than pain and humiliation.” Nick shares how his faith in God has been his major source of strength, and he explains that once he found a sense of purpose—inspiring others to better their lives and the world around them--he found the confidence to build a rewarding and productive life without limits. Let Nick inspire you to start living your own life without limits.
Includes a Life Without Limits Personal Action Plan to help anyone determine their unique path to a successful life.
When I received a copy of Nicks book I
knew it would not disappoint me. He shares his heart and give a in-depth
account of the phases in his life: childhood, teenage and adult. Each
phase challenged him in every area of his life: spiritual, emotional and
physical all without arms and legs.
He breaks down the
entire book into sections that helped him along his journey while
finding his divine purpose for living. Some of those include:
A powerful sense of purpose
Hope so strong that it cannot be diminshed
Faith in God and the infinite possibilities
Love and self- acceptance
I
have to admit I was totally at awe with this book. I read how he
learned to accept his physical handicap, live with hospitality and
embraced the fact that he was born different. He definitely has found
his purpose for living. I would encourage anyone living in despair,
feeling all hope is lost or anyone struggling with life period to get a
copy of this life changing book.
My hat goes off to
Nick. What a lesson of humility. The next time we want to complain we
should reach for a copy of his book as a reminder that I can live a life
without limits.
Bravo!
Special thanks to Ashley Boyer, Senior Publicist at Random House for
sending me a review copy in exchanged for my honest review. No monetary
compensation was exchanged.
AND NOW...PART OF THE FIRST CHAPTER:
If You Can’t Get a Miracle, Become One
O ne of my most popular videos on YouTube shows footage of me skateboarding, surfing, playing music, hitting a golf ball, falling down, getting up, speaking to audiences, and best of all, receiving hugs from all sorts of great people.
All in all, those are pretty ordinary activities that just about anybody can do, right? So why do you think that video has been viewed millions of times? My theory is that people are drawn to watch it because despite my physical limitations, I’m living as though I have no limits.
People often expect someone with a severe disability to be inactive, maybe even angry and withdrawn. I like to surprise them by showing that I lead a very adventurous and fulfilling existence.
Among the hundreds of comments on that video, here’s one typical remark: “Seeing a guy like this being happy makes me wonder why the hell I feel sorry for myself sometimes . . . or feel that I’m not attractive enough, or funny enough, or WHATEVER. How can I even think thoughts like that when this guy is living without limbs and still being HAPPY!?”
I’m often asked that very question: “Nick, how can you be so happy?” You may be dealing with your own challenges, so I’ll give you the quick answer up front:
I found happiness when I realized that as imperfect as I may be, I am the perfect Nick Vujicic. I am God’s creation, designed according to His plan for me. That’s not to say that there isn’t room for improvement. I’m always trying to be better so I can better serve Him and the world!
I do believe my life has no limits. I want you to feel the same way about your life, no matter what your challenges may be. As we begin our journey together, please take a moment to think about any limitations you’ve placed on your life or that you’ve allowed others to place on it. Now think about what it would be like to be free of those limitations. What would your life be if anything were possible?
I’m officially disabled, but I’m truly enabled because of my lack of limbs. My unique challenges have opened up unique opportunities to reach so many in need. Just imagine what is possible for you!
Too often we tell ourselves we aren’t smart enough or attractive enough or talented enough to pursue our dreams. We buy into what others say about us, or we put restrictions on ourselves. What’s worse is that when you consider yourself unworthy, you are putting limits on how God can work through you!
When you give up on your dreams, you put God in a box. After all, you are His creation. He made you for a purpose. Therefore your life cannot be limited any more than God’s love can be contained.
I have a choice. You have a choice. We can choose to dwell on disappointments and shortcomings. We can choose to be bitter, angry, or sad. Or when faced with hard times and hurtful people, we can choose to learn from the experience and move forward, taking responsibility for our own happiness.
As God’s child, you are beautiful and precious, worth more than all the diamonds in the world. You and I are perfectly suited to be who we were meant to be! Even still, it should always be our goal to become an even better person and stretch our boundaries by dreaming big. Adjustments are necessary along the way because life isn’t always rosy, but it is always worth living. I’m here to tell you that no matter what your circumstances may be, as long as you are breathing, you have a contribution to make.
I can’t put a hand on your shoulder to reassure you, but I can speak from the heart. However desperate your life may seem, there is hope. As bad as circumstances appear, there are better days ahead. No matter how dire your circumstances may appear, you can rise above them. To wish for change will change nothing. To make the decision to take action right now will change everything!
All events come together for the good. I’m certain of that because it’s been true in my life. What good is a life without limbs? Just by looking at me, people know that I faced and overcame many obstacles and hardships. That makes them willing to listen to me as a source of inspiration. They allow me to share my faith, to tell them they are loved, and to give them hope.
That is my contribution. It’s important to recognize your own value. Know that you also have something to contribute. If you feel frustrated right now, that’s okay. Your sense of frustration means you want more for your life than you have right now. That’s all good. Often it’s the challenges in life that show us who we are truly meant to be.
A Life of Value
It took me a long time to see the benefits of the circumstances I was born into. My mum was twenty-five years old when she became pregnant with me, her first child. She’d been a midwife and worked as a pediatric nurse in charge in the delivery room where she provided care for hundreds of mothers and their babies. She knew what she had to do while she was pregnant, watching her diet, being cautious about medications, and not consuming alcohol, aspirin, or any other pain-killers. She went to the best doctors and they assured her everything was proceeding smoothly.
Even still, her apprehension persisted. As her due date approached, my mum shared her concerns with my father several times, saying, “I hope that everything’s okay with the baby.”
When two ultrasounds were performed during her pregnancy, the doctors detected nothing unusual. They told my parents that the baby was a boy but not a word about missing limbs! At my delivery on December 4, 1982, my mother could not see me at first, and the first question she asked the doctor was “Is the baby all right?” There was silence. As the seconds ticked by and they were still not bringing the baby for her to see, she sensed even more that something was wrong. Instead of giving me to my mother to hold, they summoned a pediatrician and moved off to the opposite corner, examining me and conferring with each other. When my mum heard a big healthy baby scream, she was relieved. But my dad, who had noticed I was missing an arm during the delivery, felt queasy and was escorted out of the room.
Shocked at the sight of me, the nurses and doctors quickly wrapped me up.
My mother, who’d participated in hundreds of deliveries as a nurse, wasn’t fooled. She read the distress on the faces of her medical team, and she knew something was very wrong.
“What is it? What’s wrong with my baby?” she demanded.
Her doctor would not answer at first, but when she insisted on a response, he could offer my mother only a specialized medical term.
“Phocamelia,” he said.
Because of her nursing background, my mother recognized the term as the condition babies have when they are born with malformed or missing limbs. She simply couldn’t accept that this was true.
In the meantime, my stunned dad was outside, wondering whether he had seen what he thought he saw. When the pediatrician came out to speak to him, he cried out, “My son, he has no arm!”
“Actually,” the pediatrician said as sensitively as possible, “your son has neither arms nor legs.”
My father went weak with shock and anguish.
He sat stunned, momentarily unable to speak before his protective instincts kicked in. He rushed in to tell my mother before she saw me, but to his dismay he found her lying in bed, crying. The staff had already told her the news. They had offered to bring me to her but she refused to hold me and told them to take me away.
The nurses were crying. The midwife was crying. And of course, I was crying! Finally they put me next to her, still covered, and my mum just couldn’t bear what she was seeing: her child without limbs.
“Take him away,” she said. “I don’t want to touch him or see him.”
To this day my father regrets that the medical staff did not give him time to prepare my mother properly. Later, as she slept, he visited me in the nursery. He came back and told Mum, “He looks beautiful.” He asked her if she wanted to see me at that point, but she declined, still too shaken. He understood and respected her feelings.
Instead of celebrating my birth, my parents and their whole church mourned. “If God is a God of love,” they wondered, “why would He let something like this happen?”
My Mum’s Grief
I was my parents’ firstborn child. While this would be a major cause for rejoicing in any family, no one sent flowers to my mum when I was born. This hurt her and only deepened her despair.
Sad and teary-eyed, she asked my dad, “Don’t I deserve flowers?”
“I’m sorry,” Dad said. “Of course you deserve them.” He went to the hospital flower shop and returned shortly to present her with a bouquet.
I was aware of none of this until the age of thirteen or so, when I began to question my parents about my birth and their initial reaction to my lack of limbs. I’d had a bad day at school, and when I told my mum, she cried with me. I told her I was sick of having no arms and legs. She shared my tears and said that she and my dad had come to understand that God had a plan for me and one day He would reveal it. My questions continued over time, sometimes with one parent, sometimes with both. Part of my search for answers was natural curiosity and part of it was in response to the persistent questions I’d been fielding from curious classmates.
At first, I was a little scared of what my parents might tell me, and, since some of this was difficult for them to delve into, I didn’t want to put them on the spot. In our initial discussions my mum and dad were very careful and protective ...
As children of God, we want an easy life without interruptions and difficulties; yet we live in a world where our homes, jobs, families, government, and churches are engulfed in turmoil. We often seek the easy road to circumvent the hurdles. Hurdles hinder our progress; unfortunately, we cannot simply go around them.
Whatever you are trying to evade, whatever you are plagued with, remember this: You are not the only person who has petitioned the Lord for deliverance. In the Bible, we see what the apostle Paul wrote as he pleaded for God to set him free from his situation:
“And to keep me from being puffed up and too much elated by the exceeding greatness (preeminence) of these revelations, there was given me a thorn (a splinter) in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to rack and buffet, and harass me, to keep me from being excessively exalted. Three times I called upon the Lord and besought [Him] about this and begged that it might depart from me; but He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and complete) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness” (II Corinthians 12:7-9 AMP) .
In this passage of Scripture, we learn that Paul suffered with a nagging, tormenting aliment that he called a “thorn.” The dictionary defines a thorn as: “Something that causes pain, irritation, and discomfort.” It’s that annoying, frustrating, and bothersome irritant that always seems to raise its ugly head at the worst possible moment. This “thorn” is a constant, painful reminder that we still reside in the flesh; yet we attempt to live, behave, and conduct our lives by the Spirit. It’s that issue that relentlessly wars against our soul. Is the apostle Paul telling us that we will live with and carry some type of thorn or nuisance all the days of our lives? It certainly gives us reason to ponder.
“It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn Your statues” (Psalms 119:71 AMP) . Psalms 119:67 (AMP) states, “Before I was afflicted, I went astray, Your word do I keep [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying it] ”
If God does not allow afflictions or thorns to bother us at times, we might fail to seek Him. In order for us to remain humble and not become arrogant, God knows exactly what He needs to do to keep us from experiencing the repercussions of a haughty spirit. I’m sure David believed that the affliction was a great annoyance and brought much suffering. Later, he realized why God afflicted him. Eventually, David humbly admitted that he brought the affliction on himself by his own selfish behavior.
Here, David attempts to offer insight on the cause of his affliction.
First, David admits that he went astray. His affliction was divinely designed to get him back on track and on course with God’s will and purpose. God will permit painful experiences to get us to align with His will, especially when we clearly lack a sense of focus. This is the primary reason the enemy places distractions in our path. Distractions are designed to derail us, to sidetrack us, and to redirect our attention, ultimately causing us to miss our mark.
Distractions can create the illusion of being important issues, but in reality they aren’t. They’re merely illusions.
A distraction can be anything from a previous issue resurfacing to perhaps an old boyfriend, girlfriend, or business acquaintance fighting to recapture your focus. Have you ever experienced a former acquaintance calling you from out of nowhere? These kinds of distractions can trigger an emotional imbalance, causing you to entertain thoughts that are far from the truth. Distractions will take your focus from what God is doing, thereby causing confusion.
The enemy knows that if he can divert your attention away from the Father, he can draw you away, causing you to meditate and ponder on things that only have the appearance of reality.
