Tag: journey

Let Providence Be Your Guide

jcladyluv

I was watching Oprah’s Master Class last night and this particular episode was about Morgan Freeman and his long journey to success.  He spoke a lot of letting Providence be your guide.  I know that this is going to sound funny but I had never really heard of that saying and I didn’t quite understand what it meant.  I mean I realized what meaning it had by the context he was using it in throughout the telling of his life lessons but I still (being the constant researcher that I am) had to go to Google and read more about this Providence.  In short, it refers to God’s extraordinary intervention in the life of people.  

When Morgan Freeman continually mentioned Providence intervening at the right moments in his life he spoke of the countless times that he might have been leaning towards making wrong, or worse, desperate decisions to maintain a somewhat decent living while in search for his dream that frankly took way longer to come to fruition than he would’ve liked.  He spoke about his attempt in joining the Air Force in which case he quickly realized he wasn’t cut out for that. Providence had intervened.  

He talked about his attempts at being a ‘clerk typists’ and working for this company as a temp.  When he tried to get the job full time the hiring manager told him that that was not what he was supposed to be doing, and that he was supposed to be an Actor. Providence had intervened again.  He spoke of his collecting unemployment and having to search for a typical, clerk typist job which kept him from looking for acting jobs.  He said that he had gotten frustrated enough to go to the supervisor of the employment agency and told her that by them making him look for typical work that he just wasn’t meant for, they were keeping him from being who he truly was, an actor.  She approved his benefits anyway and gave him six months to get an acting job. Providence intervened again.  There were countless other people in his life that ‘intervened’ with him trying to lead a mediocre existence and steered him even further towards what he was born to do. 

In the beginning of the program he made a statement about things happening as they should and that you are going to have those certain times in your life where you think that you should have been doing something else, something more, but that’s not necessarily so.  He said that you probably should be doing whatever it is you’re doing, just to do your best at it.  I thought about that, and the fact that I always feel like I should be in a much different place, a much better place.  But in listening to the life lessons of Morgan Freeman, a man who didn’t really come into his career until he was around the age of fifty (although I really hope it doesn’t take me that long), I realized that he’s right.  

I mean I would like to not have gone through a lot of the things I’ve gone through in life. I’ve had opportunities pass by me that just seemed like they should have been mine but somehow didn’t pan out.  Perhaps that was Providence also intervening in my life.  Without all of the things that I have gone through, those things I sit and wonder ‘why me’ about, would I be the person I am right now.  Would I be as strong, as determined, as persistent?  Would I be this much of a fighter?  I don’t know that I would be if I hadn’t had all of these tests and obstacles along my journey.  

Perhaps Providence has protected me from something I might not have been ready for.  Maybe the opportunities that passed me by weren’t really mine to begin with.  Maybe I should just do the best at what I’m doing now and be the best writer that I can be right now, in this moment, and let Providence guide me.  Maybe we all should let that spiritual force be the guide that steers us in the direction that we should be going, not necessarily in the direction we think we should be going.  Until tomorrow…Take stock in what you are doing now, it most likely is right where you should be. 

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

https://writetobe.wordpress.com/

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

www.lulu.com/ladybugpress

So Close and Yet Still So Far

jcladyluv

Have you ever felt like you are so close to something but yet so far away?  It seems like I am constantly within reach of something I want only to have it yanked away from me, sometimes slowly and sometimes quicker than I can say ‘how did that just happen’.  Some days (like today) it is hard to see that it is all for some rhyme or reason, that God has my best interest at heart.  But because I know and believe that to be true, on those days I just have to resign to look forward to the next day when the reason becomes vaguely clear, and then the day after that when things get even clearer.  

You know how people always ask the old favorite question, ‘why do bad things happen to good people?’ I was reminded today when I was watching (don’t laugh) The Little House on the Prairie earlier today that God doesn’t always protect good people from misfortune, but what he does do is give them the strength and the willpower to come through it stronger and more determined than ever.  

I just have to keep that thought with me throughout all of the road blocks that I will undoubtedly encounter this year.  I may be further away from attaining what I want but I am still certainly closer to it then I was yesterday.  Until tomorrow…You’re closer then you think you are, stay on the path!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

https://writetobe.wordpress.com/

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

www.lulu.com/ladybugpress

Having Faith in the Bigger Picture

jcladyluv

“No matter how steep the mountain – the Lord is going to climb it with you.”

~Helen Steiner Rice 

I am not a stranger to struggle.  I have been knocked down time and time again and even when I get back up sometimes I get knocked right back down within seconds, but I just keep on getting right back up. 2011 inparticular was a really bad year for me, quite possibly the worst I’ve had, but yet I find myself optimistic for the coming year of 2012.  I heard someone earlier say that this year doesn’t feel any different than the last year but I disagree.  For some reason, to me, this year feels like it will be the beginning of bigger and better things that are to come for me.  Maybe it’s just the optimist in me.  Maybe it’s just sheer faith in God and in the person that he created me to be.  

Every time I go through something my mom constantly asks me how I can be so calm and nonchalant and not be worried about whatever it is.  I tell her that I just have faith that God has got my back and that I’m not walking this journey alone as long as I am doing what he asks of me.  In reality what I want to say is that I am worried (terrified really) when things start going wrong and that I am not really calm about it, deep inside I am panicking.  However, I realize more and more that I have a lot more faith than even I thought I had.  Of course I worry but I don’t think that I am nearly as terrified about things going wrong as I probably should be.  

It’s because I have so much faith.  Not only do I have an enormous amount of faith in God, but I have faith that he knows where I will end up (it is his plan after all) and just the trials and tribulations that I need to go through to get me there.  Everything I come up against challenges me but it also strengthens me and obstacle by obstacle I realize that I am stronger than I ever thought I could be.  

For anyone who knows me, they know that I am not the religious type, per say.  I don’t go to church (although deep down I feel I probably should) but I am a very spiritual person.  I don’t always get why certain struggles have to be placed on my shoulders and I admit that I get frustrated because I am that person who likes to know that everything is going be alright and hopefully that it will have a happy ending.  However, because I can’t fully see what God’s plan for me is and I don’t know what will be the end result of his journey for me, I have no other choice but to walk the path that he has laid out with faith.  God has already brought me through so much already, so I have to have faith that he will bring me through the rest.  

My message today is for you to have faith.  Even in times of struggle.  Even if there is nothing that is going the way you want it to.  Even if nothing that is happening to you makes sense.  Even if you feel like you can’t get back up and you want to just quit.  Even when you can no longer see the bigger picture for yourself.  You have to have faith.  We are human and we will worry but in the end you should know that God will never let you down.  Until tomorrow…Have faith that you are stronger than your greatest obstacles!

 

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

https://writetobe.wordpress.com/

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

www.lulu.com/ladybugpress

The Other Version of Me

jcladyluv

There is another side of me.  I would refer to her as my other personality but then people would get the wrong idea and suddenly think that I am crazy and need to be committed (some days they might be right).  Now while I do find myself communicating with my characters from one novel or another on a regular basis, I do not hear voices and speak to them and I don’t think that I have a twin version of myself that I talk to at night.  But there is another version of myself that I am referring to when I speak about my other self.  I am talking about the version of me that I feel that I should be by now, the version of me that I see myself becoming in the not so distant future.  

That version of me is already living inManhattan,New Yorkand is on the New York Times Bestseller’s list for three out of her four published novels.  She goes on at least eight book signing tours a year (and that would be a slow year).  She speaks to elementary, middle, and high schools on the importance of not bullying their peers and emphasizing the impact that the bullying has on the victims.  She also speaks at multiple writing seminars and networking events about nurturing the craft of writing.  She has two thriving online magazines, one of which comes out in print on a quarterly basis; both of which are produced and published through her publishing company.  

Her media empire would be continuously producing movies, television shows, and stage plays that promote self-confidence and self-esteem, empower women of all races, and emphasize the message of people being at peace with themselves and believing that they have the right to be (Write 2 Be) who they are; a Media empire that will eventually give Tyler Perry a run for his money.  She will finally get out of her own way and start singing back up for her best friend Ms. L as she goes on her many tours and perhaps will even sing solo in small venues around town.  She will be in the process of accumulating funding for her non-profit creativity camp for kids (Write 2 Be Creativity Camp) that will help promote and encourage the importance and development of the arts in children.  Last but certainly not least, she will be making moves to begin opening up her local bookstore that will be like no other bookstore.  Whew! This woman is busy!  

It sounds like a lot, I know, but this is the version of me that I am striving to be and who I believe that I was meant to be.  I know that it will take more than one year to get to that version of myself but 2012 is definitely going to be the year in which I begin to clear the path of all of the self-made obstacles that I have created over the years.  It is going to be the year in which I am going to take clear and calculated steps that will further me in my efforts to becoming that person.  The other version of myself (the one I want to be) is standing on the other side of a very long bridge and this year I am making my way over to her.  What a journey I am sure it will be.  I guess when I reach her I will let you know.  What does your “other self” look like to you?  Until tomorrow…Are you who you always thought you would be?  If not, what’s stopping you?

 

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

https://writetobe.wordpress.com/

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

www.lulu.com/ladybugpress

Even When No One Is Looking

jcladyluv

So I didn’t necessarily feel like blogging today but I’ve already taken a two day break over the Christmas holiday and I didn’t want to risk missing anymore.  I was having trouble figuring out what to write about today and I found that I wasn’t feeling all that motivated because I took a look at the stats of my blog and saw that there weren’t that many people reading what I had to say to begin with.  I think I need for my best friend Ms. L. to share her secrets with me because she can go from having a bad blog day to a good blog day in a matter of minutes with just one post.  Maybe it’s just not my blog moment yet. I guess that I just have to wait my turn in that area too.  It feels like I always seem to be waiting for my turn at something.  Well they say that the best things come to those who wait and since I don’t plan on ever giving up on writing, I guess I’ll just keep on blogging and writing my novels and doing whatever else my journey as a writer brings to me even if no one is looking (or in this case reading).  Until tomorrow…Always do what you love doing whether people are watching or not!

 

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

https://writetobe.wordpress.com/

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

www.lulu.com/ladybugpress

Where Credit Is Due

jcladyluv

“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”

~Mahatma Gandhi 

I am reminded every morning when I go to the gym to workout that I am a lot stronger than I think I am.  Each day when I do something else that I never thought that I could do or that I said that I would never even try, it reminds me that I sometimes don’t give myself enough credit.  A lot of us tend to do that in general during the course of our everyday lives.  We get it in our heads that we are only as good as the limits that we set for ourselves, not realizing that we often set the bar too low and don’t give ourselves nearly as much credit as we deserve.  

If we think about it, each time we reach an obstacle and find ourselves saying that we can’t handle anything else, not only do we surpass that obstacle but it builds us up stronger for the one that is sure to come after that.  They say that which doesn’t kill you can only make you stronger, and while sometimes I find myself wanting to throw a certain finger up at whoever started that phrase, I find it to be very true.  My struggles have not only made me stronger but made me more ambitious and determined.  I feel that with each road block I face during the course of my journey I am made to be hungrier and more driven to reach my destination.  

Someone at the gym told me that I have been coming to the gym lately with a new drive and as if I was on a mission for the year 2012.  I am on a mission.  I plan on setting that bar increasingly higher for myself and raising my own expectations right along with it.  I am strong enough to achieve anything I desire despite the struggles I have to face along the way.  I am going to stop counting myself out before I even make it to the starting line and start giving myself the credit that I deserve.  Until tomorrow…Ask yourself if you are giving yourself enough credit? 

 

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

https://writetobe.wordpress.com/

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

www.lulu.com/ladybugpress

No Shortcuts

jcladyluv

We all seek something meaningful out of life.  We have a sense of purpose that is sometimes beyond all rationality.  And when it seems like it will take forever for us to reach that destination that we are striving to get to, we all sometimes wish that we could just wake up one day and be there, right where we feel we need to be in life.  Unfortunately life does not work that way.  Or maybe it’s fortunate for us that it doesn’t.  

I was watching my soap opera today (Young and the Restless) and something was said on there that really struck a chord with me.  What good is reaching your destination without having the experience of getting there?  What good is it, it means nothing, and you learn nothing?  I never thought of it like that.  

If I were to just wake up one day and have it all handed to me, everything that I want in this life, without having the struggle of actually getting to those proud and joyful moments, then would it mean as much?  Without all of the blood, sweat, and tears put into making my dreams come true, would they mean as much and would I work just as hard to hold onto them?  I can say that I would but I don’t know that.  

Sometimes it is the struggle of the journey that makes the end result worth every bit of hardship that you went through.  Sometimes there are no shortcuts in life, and I am discovering (though it took me a while to realize) that taking the long way to your destination can sometimes be the best thing you could ever do to satisfy your purpose.  Until tomorrow…Don’t always go looking for the shorter way around things.

 

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

https://writetobe.wordpress.com/

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

www.lulu.com/ladybugpress

While I’m Planning, God is Laughing (a lot)

jcladyluv

Writers are supposed to be established by a certain age right?  By the age of thirty-one you would expect them to be published, either with articles in national magazines or a book on the shelves of every bookstore.  If not that then they would certainly be working in a magazine or a newspaper getting first hand experience in their craft and getting the chance to use it on a daily basis.  If you’re lucky you would have some five or six figure book deal that ends up being turned into a phenomenal movie and you’ve finally made it to the bestsellers list.  

Yes I always thought that at this age (31) that I would be already inNew York, working for some national magazine, or a publishing company as an editor with my own book deals in the work simultaneously.  But as you all know, life (and God) often times has very different plans for you that you didn’t anticipate.  You know they say when we plan, God laughs.  Well he must have been having a really good laugh with me for the last few years now.  I am certainly not where I would like to be within my career but perhaps I am where I need to be and wherever God has planned for me to be.  

I was reading a magazine interview with Walter Mosley and what I never knew about him was that he didn’t even start writing until he was 34 years old and wasn’t first published until he was about 38 years old.  Now he is 59 with 34 books published (so far).  This gave me hope.  There is still time for me to make the mark on the literary and media world like I want and perhaps God’s plan for me included a long lengthy journey of good old fashion struggle on my way to success (probably along with a lesson in patience—cause I really need to work on that).  I am hopeful that my journey will be worth it in the end and confident that I will carry out exactly the plan that God has tailor made for me, at the precise time he plans for it to be carried out.  Until tomorrow…Don’t give up hope, his plan IS your plan too! 

 

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

https://writetobe.wordpress.com/

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

www.lulu.com/ladybugpress

The Importance of Finishing

jcladyluv

“Winning isn’t always finishing first.  Sometimes winning is just finishing.”

~Manuel Diotte 

Earlier today I was reflecting on how good I felt about completing National Novel Writing Month yesterday (50,002 words) and I began to think about the fact that if I finished everything as strong and with as much determination and staying power as I did those 50,000 words I might be further along in my journey to being successful.  Looking at my list of what I was supposed to accomplish in this entire year I ran over the things I started and just didn’t finish.  For whatever reason, be it frustration of it not working fast enough (I admit I need to work on my patience), or just pure self-doubt that I wasn’t good enough to have the success I was trying to carve out.  There is something to be said for finishing what you start and not giving up halfway through the mission.  

I was listening to the news earlier this morning and they were discussing the whole Herman Cain controversy and there were claims that he was “reassessing” his campaign, which of course people automatically took as him contemplating dropping out of the race.  Now before I say this I want to make it clear that I am not a Herman Cain fan, neither of his politics nor how he chooses to govern his personal life, however, having said that, if he is in fact considering dropping out of the race, I do NOT think that he should.  Yes he is struggling right now on so many fronts but no person is perfect and the person running for the President of theUnited Statesis not going to be an exception.  He started something, and I believe that he should finish what he started.  If he doesn’t I am almost certain he will forever wonder what would have been and what could have been if he had just finished. 

Now no one likes to lose or have that feeling of defeat.  But isn’t it defeat if you have a continuous pattern of starting these grand missions and then never finishing them and seeing them through?  I have a notebook full of a lot of things that I got really excited about and jotted down all of these notes and ideas for projects and how I was going to put those ideas and plans into action and then I would hit a snag and it would seem impossible to envision me being able to complete that project.  I got it in my head that because I hit that snag, there was no use wasting time on an idea that could never really go anywhere.  I just wouldn’t finish.  

When I look back on several moments of my life that is where the majority of my mistakes have been.  That I didn’t finish.  Here’s what I’ve learned from all of those unfinished mistakes.  It doesn’t matter if you’ve started something if it never gets completed and put into action.  Even if you finish and find it not to be a success, at least you’ve finished.  This month I will be making my lists for what I want to accomplish next year.  I can tell you that no matter what, I intend to finish whatever it is I start from now on.  No more unfinished business for me. 

Until next time…Always, Always, Always, finish! 

 

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

https://writetobe.wordpress.com/

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

www.lulu.com/ladybugpress

It’s National Novel Writing Month Time!

jcladyluv

Regrettably I did not write any blog posts last week but it was for a good reason.  I was making sure that I had everything prepared for National Novel Writing Month, which starts tomorrow, and I was mapping out my plan on how to go about achieving my maximum word count per day so that I can reach that goal of 50,000 words by the end of the month.  This will be the third year (I think) that I have done this and although many might think that it should be easier the more often that I do it, it most certainly is not.  Especially since this year my story is a little different for me.  I am stepping out of my typical comfort zone and writing a story that is not in the genre that I have experience in writing (which is typical mainstream fiction) but one that I would like to definitely gain some experience in (mystery, suspense, with a little romance for good measure).  This year this will be a little more challenging for me, but then again I always like to be challenged.  So I thought to maintain my blog during November instead of completely abandoning it, that I would blog about my NaNoWriMo experience as I go along.  I hope that you will follow along in my journey this year and perhaps even go sign up this year and take the plunge yourself.  Well I better go make sure that I have all last minute details of my characters ironed out before tomorrow.  Until next time…Start planning, you have a novel to write too! 

 

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

https://writetobe.wordpress.com/

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

www.lulu.com/ladybugpress