jj thames...naked.

"Dare to love yourself as if you were a rainbow with gold at both ends." -Aberjhani you have to...must got to...please need should...dire imperative burden heavy... pertinent...can..will...shall... believe in yourself... There's going to be wolves... there's going to be demons... there's going to be haters... that will all tell you that you aren't good enough that you can't do it without whatever you seem to be missing at the moment... that you aren't enough... they will sneer at you...they will envy you...they will even hate you... then smile in your face, and then there's you... wishing for others' sparkly "dazzling thing-a-mabob" or "gee-whiz wallah-kazam" that you've convinced yourself that if only you had...you'd be so much farther,..so much better... struggling to keep your eyes on your own paper...like the anxiety riddled 4.0 student that doubts her answer on a mid-term...so much to los...

"When you are going through hell...Keep going"  -Winston Churchill #Motivation 2012... Matt's House- StewPot Homeless Shelter- Jackson, MS This picture brings tears to my eyes... I took it while living in a homeless shelter with my boys... My car had been totaled by a woman who ran a red light...and I wasn't able to make it to my five jobs..resulting in me being fired from them all and evicted from my apartment in Detroit, Michigan. I was able to get the money for a bus ticket to Jackson, Mississippi...and after staying in an extended stay hotel...I was fired from my job (Didnt have a babysitter) and was evicted from there too...leaving me and my 12 and 2 year old sons...homeless. To my children, it was just a new adventure...(my oldest kinda knew what the deal was...but, he graciously took it in stride.) To me...it was one of the darkest times of my life...which in turn ended up being the most blessed times of my life. I experienced so many precious God mome...

"Never. Never. Never. Give up." -Winston Churchill I have learned over the years that disappointments, let downs, betrayals, misunderstandings, hiccups, and devastation happen...regardless of how much you plan...no matter how many precautions you take. It doesn't matter how talented, how gifted, well-liked, popular, wealthy, well-connected you are, or how good your intentions are...S*** happens. And it sucks...every time. However, what I have als o learned is...The old adages and cliches are certainly true: It truly isn't how many times you fall...but, how many times you get up... It really is true that everything does happen for a reason... It also has been proven that tough times don't last, but tough people do... In the midst of adversity...Your attitude really does determine your altitude. It's okay to be bummed and cry...but, joy will come in the morning (even if that morning isn't necessarily the very next day...it WILL come.) Good things fal...