Sunshine Rodgers's Blog - Posts Tagged "inspiration"

I updated my blog to talk about the vows we make and the decisions we take that influence not only us, but the audience around us.

http://sunshinerodgersblog.simplesite...

I was at FYE looking through CD's. And I picked up one of a girl who was naked on the cover. It made me sad because I remember watching this same girl on a Disney show. I then pick up another CD and it had a warning on the label for explicit lyrics. Again, this same person I also watched on the disney Channel. What happened here? I look at them now, far from the girls who made me laugh and who were so cute and adorable on these G-rated shows, now almost unrecognizable..completely different in who they are and what they stand for.

I then made a vow to myself, and yes, to you. I never want there to ever be a time in my life when you look at me and wonder 'where has the old-Sunshine gone?' I never want to be on the shelf, unrecognizable and completely straying away from my original message and positive impact. I don't want you to ever look at me and ask, "What happened to her?" I never want you to be ashamed of me. I am as transparent with myself as I am with you. I take my actions and my words seriously. I have to represent my faith well and I have to showcase who I am in Christ.

My vow: I will never change to gain attention, to gain exposure, to gain more sales. With God's help, I want to continue to be the best Sunshine I can be, and that includes staying positive admits all outcomes and giving you the most glorious moment I can as we stay close to God in everything. The cover of any of my 'CD's' should say nothing different than that.

Quote to remember: "Integrity is truthfulness. Integrity is simply doing what you say you will do. Integrity is being what you tell others you are." - Mike Murdock

If you need prayer for anything, please let me know. I would love to pray for you!

Just recently, I had a matter that I wanted to talk about. Of course, I spoke to God about it and to my husband about it. And I decided at first to 'let sleeping dogs lie' and didn't poke at the subject any further.

Well, the situation involved people and I didn't want to bother those specific people with my thoughts about the issue. But I'm reading through the book "Unstoppable" by Nick Vujicic and his words really touched me. He said not to 'suffer in silence', to let people know how you feel, to reach out and be transparent as to work on the inner issue at hand. I read that and immediately reached for the phone and my younger brother and I had a good heart-to-heart about a personal issue affecting my family.

I say this to you. If you need to reach out to someone today, don't be afraid to. Don't be scared to share how you are really feeling. Don't hesitate to ask for help over a certain problem or insecurity or dilemma in your life. You are not going through life alone and you are not the only person who feels the way you feel. We are not living this world alone; let's live opening our hearts to each other. It will only benefit you as you hold out your hand for love and support.

Quote to remember: "As long as you are living and breathing, there is a possibility of better days ahead. As long as that possibility exists, you can put your faith in it and go from there, one day at a time." - Nick Vujicic (Book: Unstoppable)



If there is anything you need prayer about, let me know. I would love to pray for you and believe God to move in your situation!

So my publisher sent me this long email this week, talking about the hiccups the company has been having. My royalty statement was also shared, but there was a lot of 'pending' sales in which the email explains why I was not getting paid at this time and when I should be expecting a more accurate sales report as certain things were settling into this new year.

At first I thought, I don't need to know all of this. But my second thought was, I am happy he is being transparent with what is taking place. I am happy because though some things can happen that are out of our control, at least we can be honest and upfront about it, especially when it comes to the benefits and needs of others. And it made me more appreciate and loyal to my publisher who was being truthful in the moment, promising positive changes as the months continue.

I just wanted to encourage you to always be honest, even if the situation is difficult to be truthful. You will always win out in the end if you can share with others and be transparent with your feelings. If you are brave enough to be completely you, and people leave, let them. Those who stay and embrace all of who you are will be loyal friends and followers and that is a gift worth more than gold.

So I'm writing my 5th book now and it's incredibly challenging! I had to get up out of my chair multiple times because I didn't know know where the story was going to go. Further, the location is not located on Earth so the descriptions of the scenery and the small details were holding me up as I desperately yanked the unwilling descriptions out of my imagination. Though I pray to God each time before I sit down to type to help me, there was still this unexplained hinderance in this new work. And I was turned off by the story, nearly threatening to put the whole thing in the trash.

Then one day, I was out running around my neighborhood when instantly I saw it! I saw this incredible world I was trying to create! I saw the characters around me. I saw the action taking place in front of me. I saw the goodness of God I was trying to depict, his conversations with angels, the interactions I wanted to describe. I saw the artistry, the perfection, the colossal magnetism of Heaven. And I saw the story take place in front of me, this beautiful story I was trying to type but couldn't. Not without God's help. Not without *this* being revealed in front of me! This story had to continue and this book had to be created.

I would encourage you today. If there is a stumbling block in your way and you can't seem to move forward no matter what you do and you also feel like giving up, I just wanted to remind you to pray about it, release it to God and let him take your nothing and create something amazing from it. I suggest just letting it go and walking away from it, surrendering what you want to God and letting Him come through for you in a way that you wouldn't expect. I do pray your passion will come back and what you consider lifeless will resurrect from God's love! Let God give you what you want - what you you desperately want - but can't seem to get on your own. Just trust Him.



If you have any prayer requests, let me know. I would love to pray for you!

So Valentine's Day is coming up and LOVE - of any kind - is something that ALWAYS needs to be celebrated!

1 John 4:7-8: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

I think on this verse. "Let us love one another." Let's do that this V'day. Let us take time out of our day to love one another. Yes, this needs to be practiced every day! But there are those extra-sensitive, extra-down, extra-needy people who need some love on V'day. Get out of your own agenda and focus on the needs of others around you. Call your loved ones. Send out 'I Love you' cards to friends. Let your family know that you are thankful and appreciative of them!

LOVE is not A NOUN; Its an ACTION VERB.

Let's celebrate V'day actively loving those who need a little extra attention, a little extra reminder that they are loved and that they are valuable and that they are important. And in the process, you will feel loved knowing that you are blessed on every area with loved ones surrounding you.

Quote to remember: Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be Kind. Always.

Happy Valentine's Day! I love you!
Sunshine

If you need prayer for anything, let me know. I would love to pray for you!

I hope you don't think I know what to write about all the time, that I am always inspired to sit and write for hours on end! I hope you don't think it's always that easy! There have been many times when I don't feel motivated to write and I awkwardly sit down and have no idea where the story is going and what the characters are going to say next.

My trick?

Just start. Just start writing. Something. Anything. Follow the next line. Write more descriptions on the page. Just carry the action. You can edit it later. Just write *something*. Because I might not have been inspired the moment I sat down to write, but suddenly, as I sit and write, the words come, the story continues and soon, I am in the zone! I just had to agree to sit and start!

I want to encourage you. If there is something you need to work on to get that passion in your life to come out and that fire in your spirit to be ignited, but you don't know how…just start. Start with the first step. Just take one foot forward. It doesn't matter that you don't know where to go from there. Don't wait for inspiration to strike…your imagination, your goals, your dreams… are waiting on you!

Quote to remember: "Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." - Martin Luther King, Jr.



If you need prayer for anything, let me know. I would love to pray for you!

So the frustration with me comes when I want something and I see that other people have it, but I don't. Am I alone in this? Either you want a spouse, kids, a house, a better paycheck, a better job, a healthy life, on and on. And you yearn for that "lack" in your life, see others enjoying the fruits you desperately are working towards, asking all the while, "How were they able to attain this?" "I have been working so hard and it hasn't happened for me, yet" and "why not me?"

Trust me, I might have to turn to God several times a day and just surrender to Him and know that His will for me right now is more important than my desires for tomorrow and that I need to bury myself in the importance of NOW instead of stressing about the can-and-cannot's. There is a better use of my time and energy if I can give my jealousy, envy and impatience to God and let him replace it with his encouragement that tomorrow is going to be better than my today if I keep my eyes on Him and trust in His timing.

Oprah Winfrey gave this great advice about being in the moment: "The reason why you're always stressed is because you want this moment to be something that it's not. You just stop and you accept this moment for what it is. Just breathe right into that moment and it takes the anxiety and the pressure away of wanting this moment to be something it's not. Just this moment, one moment at a time."

The Bible talks about Trust and Faith: Hebrews 11:1 says: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

Jeremiah 29:11 says: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

It's the age-old saying: "I don't know what the future holds, but I know the One who holds the future." Today, let us trust God that He will satisfy us in this moment by His love no matter what we have or what we don't have. Let's surrender our desires to Him, pick up the purpose and plans He has for us today, and rest in His timing and care knowing that something good is right around the corner!



If you need prayer for anything, let me know. I would love to pray for you!

Are you climbing a mountain right now? And you have been climbing for so long and it seems you are nowhere near the top. And all the while you're wondering, "What is this for" and "Maybe I should just stop and get off." It's too long of a climb, you're too tired, you're not seeing anything from your efforts, and you just feel ridiculous to have wasted all your strength and energy…for what?

If I've learned anything climbing metaphorically tall mountains, I think on the truth from the movie Mortal Kombat; the advice Princess Kitana gives Lui Kang. You will have to face your enemy. I have faced the difficulties of the climb: the nasty co-workers on the job, the outside guests who make things frustrating, the factors that just get on my nerves each day! The little and big things that make the climb downright hard.

You will face yourself : You will face your own fears, your own doubts, your own insecurities. I had to learn to walk right past this negative side of myself…she doesn't know what she's talking about.

And facing your worst fear? That's different for everyone! The fear of rejection. The fear of failure. The fear of success. The fear of approval. Is there something bigger holding you back? And it it a good enough "reason" to give up and leave the mountain. The only way to let that fear not have any control over you is to keep going, one foot in front of the other.

So, whenever I want to "stop climbing" and just quit, I always think of these passages that keep me going.

For I can do everything through Christ,who gives me strength. - Philippians 4:13

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 3:14

Every mountain's a new adventure! The view from the top will be worth it. Keep climbing!



If there's anything you need prayer for, let me know. I would love to pray for you!

Cinderella had one decision. Does she go and dance with the prince for that one night? Or does she decide that it's not worth it, because after all, at the end of the night, she's still the same servant girl cleaning the same basement day. Why bother? It's just one night. What can one night do? What can this one decision change?

It's the choice you choose everyday. The decision when we can meet a new friend. When we can let someone in. When we can forgive someone. When we can take a risk. When we can walk through opportunities. When we can decide to move forward, just one step.

Why bother? Things won't ever change. What's the point? It's not going to change anything. I'm still stuck in this same ever-going-rut and no matter what I do, things are still the same. Life doesn't seem to want to work for me. There's really no reason to leave and try something new. I know it will fail and then, where does it leave me?

Let's go back to Cinderella. She didn't know that she could even get to dance with the Prince! She was just hoping to go there and find out. She left her doubts, her fears, her weary life behind to just take a chance…just one time. And that moment changed her life forever.

What is that opportunity you are running from? What is that moment you are scared to embrace? Who is that person you won't let in? This is your time. You've gotten this far. You have every opportunity to make it happen. Just get to the ball. Let's see what happens from there. You have until midnight to make something magical happen! To make your forever happen. Don't miss out!



If you need prayer for anything, let me know. I would love to pray for you!