Southern Yankee

  MOVING FORWARD WITH JOY in 2026 As we say goodbye to 2025 I have to say I'm thankful for all the ups and downs but more importantly the people who made the hard times bearable. I appreciate and love each of you.  This year(2026) isn’t about proving anything to anyone. It’s not about shoving negative or positive things or happenings in critics’ faces or making doubters eat their words. This year will be about God, Faith, Family and Me and the work I'm going to put in to be the best I can be(spiritually, mentally and physically). It's going to be about showing up with everything I have. The good, the bad and the ugly. It's going to be the realist I have been in a long time. It will be saying NO to things that steal my JOY and only saying yes if I want to not because I feel I have to. It's about trusting the process and enjoying the journey and believing in what’s coming. I’m moving forward, not in spite of the critics(mainly myself), but independent of them entirely...

There is A LOT I deal with or maybe I should say I don't. I have been working on this for years and I'm slowly getting to a place I feel like I can truly be myself. The right people will stand with you, support you, catch you when you fall but more important will love you just the way you are. When things  get hard they don't leave. The others "so call people" who love you with conditions will get upset when you tell them no or when you are trying to better yourself, they don't listen and they truly don't understand. When things get hard or too emotional they blame you, they make you feel bad. Most, not all will walk away. Hard times expose real people and fake ones. This devotion hit hard. If you know me and what I have been through you know I have come a long ways. Ready to walk into my 50's with God leading, not feeling bad for doing what I have to do for myself and family. Some people will continue on this journey with me and others will be left be...

 Happy Birthday Jesus! For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah, chapter 9, verse 6 Today is Christmas, I haven't been looking forward to today as this year we are having to do things a little differently. With my parents health they didn't want to do anything and with my daughter and me having to work we said that's fine. We will do a Christmas dinner on Saturday when I am off. We are also not giving any gifts this year as none of us can afford it. It's all good because the true spirit of Christmas is to celebrate Jesus birthday and what He did for us. We must remember He is the reason for the season. I just feel bad as I couldn't do a little something for the people in our life's that have been there for us this year. I pray they know how much their friendship, prayers, text, ca...

  This past weekend(12-13-25) my bestie and I went to a sip n shop event. If you are not familiar with what that is I will tell you. You go to a venue and they have tables set up where people sell their stuff that they made or sell things they are buying in lots. There is also multiple table setup with wine at the tables. You are given a sheet and when you are tasting the wines and you find one you like you mark it down on your sheet. Then you either buy said wine or you don't. This is the wine I bought. It was very light and had a good sweet taste about it with a hint of fruit. I especially like the looks of the bottle. I would say that is why I bought it was more for the bottle then what was in it. Looking at it once I got home had me thinking about how we look at people. We see a good looking guy or a fine looking lady and think wow would I be lucky to have them on my arm but it's not what is on the outside that counts it's what is on the inside. Like this bottle it hold...

  There’s a clock ticking over all of us. We can’t see it. We don’t know when it runs out. But one day it will. So love hard. Say what you mean. Hold the people who matter. And stop wasting time on the ones who don’t. Because the truth is, tomorrow isn’t promised, and one day, the clock will hit zero.