#BringItBack

       So...are you enjoying #AllThingsPumpkinSpice lately? Maybe you're anti-pumpkin spice. Have you pulled the autumnal layers and woolen vestitures out of hiding? 

This weekend is the time when we 

"Fall Back".

I absolutely enjoy Autumn the most out of each season. The lovely warm layers we wear; the fall earth tones...amber, sage, deep wine, and caramel...best of all... the beauty of God's creation that dots the Creator's canvas as one travels along the countryside, mountains or even a tree lined neighborhood... these are all things that make me smile.

Are you ready? If this too is your favorite season, what are the "Things of Autumn" that make you smile or feel cozy?

I'll add a few more to my list above... are these some of yours also?

1. Enjoying  a crisp walk as my feet stamp onto fallen leaves.

2. Closing my eyes and taking in the woodsmoke of a nearby hearth fire.

3. Pumpkin Spice Lattes 

4. Pumpkin Cream Cheese Sweets

5. Spending Quality Time with Family at Thanksgiving

6. Boots and Leather Skirts =)

7. Riding through Capitol Hill and spying the beauty of the lit row homes at dusk... as families prepare meals or settle in for the evening ahead.

8. Humidity-free Hair Days

9. Scarves, Turtlenecks and Berets

10.  Memories of first meeting my husband in the month of October; and then the thrill of dating him in the Autumn air...

#Let'sGoBack

*Note to self... Turn the clocks back on Saturday night...get that extra hour!

Photo Courtesy: My own 

#HighSteppin'

...but your steps are "ordered"...aren't they?

Ever wonder why we do some of the things we do? As humans, we err.

No one is perfect.

There are various misconceptions of perfection.

We can strive for perfection and maturity in this life; but we cannot crucify ourselves if we've not been able to fit the mold of societal expectations.

Mistakes are bound to occur in one's life. We don't all choose wisely, we may not all have excellent guidance down the pathway of life... for some, options may be slim to none... However, there are goals and expectations that we can set for ourselves if we want to do better... or help others to do better.  Don't hold onto your tricks of the trade for self satisfaction... share how you've obtained goals set, how you've met your own expectations... surpassed them even, and watch someone else flourish in his or her life. Your steps may provide the way for someone who is looking to you for direction. Be careful where you lead...

The steps of a good man are ordered... some people take that and run... they say, "Well some people are just set up to make it...some people are born with a silver spoon in their mouth... and some people are just unfortunately set up to fail..." Hmmm maybe, maybe not. Although circumstances may abound, and there may be things that cause us to make hasty decisions, or no decision at all... we must be prepared to choose.  My aim today is to encourage you... whatever expectations you are trying to reach... you can meet them if you are realistic in your thought process, and in the way that you approach whatever it is...plan along the way... place your feet in a position to properly travel the pathway that is set before you. Yes, you may stumble, scuff your shoe, stub your toe as you go... but hey, we have all done that. Grab some shoe polish or track shoes and keep on running!

#PrepareToChoose

#ComeOnAndEaseOnDownTheRoad

#PressOn

#HigherThoughts

#DustYourselfOffAndTryAgain

*Note to self...Don't trip...keep on steppin'

Photo Courtesy: My own

Tell me What You're Interested in... #SheShares

I've gotten a few requests on topics to discuss...

Let me know via blog comment, FB inbox, Twitter, or @ lashawnanicolemoore@gmail.com if you guys are interested in ...

1. Style tips (OOTD, SOTD) -- outfit of the day, shoe of the day

2. Hair Tidbits

3.More Spirituality

4. Art

5. Music

6. HappyWifeHappyLife

7. RaisingGraciousGirls

8. Sheer Randomness

I am willing to share, based on prior requests, but I am going to always go with my heart, and what I am feeling led to share.  I just thought I'd ask since some wonderful readers have approached me in the areas noted above. If there are topics that I didn't note, don't hesitate to ask. =0)

Peace and Blessings!

~LM 

#Beloved

"Be-Love-Ed"

"I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine..." Song of Solomon 6:3a

#TrulyandDearlyLoved

I feel so very loved, and there is such an abundant outpouring of love in my heart for those closest to me these days.  Lately, my Sweetie Pie has been expressing how she loves me because I am the BEST Mommie there is... well, a mother and a father knows that this is the ultimate feeling... to have your child express their genuine and most sincere feelings without asking for a thing in return... yep I waited for it... but nothing... the next words were, "When will you be home?"  Gosh, she melts my heart and takes my breath away so often with her sincerity. I have been hearing in my heart, the scripture written in Matthew 3:17..."And lo a voice from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  To my readers who are parents...please do not allow one moment to pass in your life... from here on out, that you do not make your child(ren) aware that they are very much loved by you, the family, caregiver, guardian, or whomever is in the role of parents. Showing love is the one thing that children desire. People can show love with gifts... but I stress today that we be present physically & emotionally...no strings attached.

Let them know that you are pleased with them, whether it be that pretty picture drawn in art class, the clean room when you didn't have to ask, or the win on the sports team... show them that they are truly loved and respected, and that just them being "them" gives you the pleasure of them belonging to you.

Now... when I read the passage in Song of Solomon, instantly my heart skipped a beat for my own Beloved... my Mister, my husband... my love...my "rescuer". Yes, I say so very often that he rescued me... from a situation far beyond my and my parents' imagination, and we all are so very thankful to God for that! He lets me know that I am his and that he is mine in the littlest of ways as well as the grandest. I am so thankful to my Lord for placing my own beloved's into my life, and for granting me the relationships that I have...beginning with my parents who are #TrulyAndDearlyLoved...my first beloved hearts.  As a child, I used to hear the preacher say to the congregation... "Well, beloved hearts..." I didn't give it much thought then... but if you don't take anything with you after reading today... I just want you to know that you are God's Beloved Hearts... He sent Jesus...His Beloved Son...to rescue you...to reconcile you back to Him (God)...He sees you, loves you... and you should know that you are #TrulyAndDearlyLoved.

*Note to self... Simply love with the heart... and not just with words.

Photo Courtesy: Wallpaperswide.com



#Contentment

Cheers to a New Week!


#BeHappy  #BeContent #BeAppreciative




Philippians 4:10-14  (Message Bible) says this..."I’m glad in God, far happier than you would ever guess—happy that you’re again showing such strong concern for me. Not that you ever quit praying and thinking about me. You just had no chance to show it. Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. I don’t mean that your help didn’t mean a lot to me—it did. It was a beautiful thing that you came alongside me in my troubles."


I love this passage and thought I'd share this particular translation, as I feel that it is so greatly filled with clarity...so much so, that I am considering this version to gift to my daughter.


My note to you today as you look forward to a new week is to be happy and content in the state that you're in. You never know what is just around the corner if you just show your gratitude toward God, our Maker...and be considerate and kind to those who you know are praying for and with you. Today I am grateful for the littlest thing... telework! God knows that after a busy and productive weekend, I very much needed my coffee in my PJ's and slippers. As I watch the deer frolic outside my kitchen window, preparing for my day...a sigh of contentment comes over me. I am appreciative of the little things, as well as the greater. Of course I am grateful for Life, Health, Strength, my Right Mind, Family, Provision...etc. What things in your life are you appreciative of? If your situation is not in the place that is ideal, how can you change your heart and thoughts to see the positive...to look forward with contentment?


Paul wrote while incarcerated...and the tone of his writings are awe inspiring. One may ask, "How can a person be so happy and content while in a dead-end situation?" Hope of a future and expected end which is made possible through Jesus Christ is my answer.


Now, I must start my workday... but I encourage all of my readers to be positive and ready to embrace what is just beyond your reach... while in a position of stillness, or if you feel like you're just plain "stuck"...check your heart to see if it's primed for what's next...prepare yourself for what is to come and #BeHappy #BeGrateful #LittleBecomesMuch


*Note to self... Don't fret over what's not happening right now, but keep focused on the end game.


Photo Courtesy: My Own

#FarAndAway

#FarAndAway

How many of us can think of someone who we love... but we just can't stomach some of his or her ways, dealings, lifestyle and such?

Today I am thinking of how in life, people sometimes make mistakes; and these mistakes are very much lauded and praised by members of our society.  People make conscious decisions to travel the wrong path... for monetary gain, for false praise or flattery, to make themselves happy selfishly... sometimes it all boils down to making oneself look good in the eyes of others.  Well... those who know the truth... see it for what it truly is. 

I had to take a long hard look at myself and say..."Self...it's not your problem." I had to learn how to turn the mirror on me, still trying not to judge or point fingers... but realize that what other people do with their lives does not affect the way I live mine. If we are well adjusted in our own lives, we can't behave in a way that causes ourselves to fret over the shenanigans of others. If there are people who we encounter in life who consciously make poor decisions, we must pray for them and show the love of Jesus... all the while... #LovingThemFromFarAway

#KnowYourTruth

#SheIsNotAnEnabler

*Note to self... Keep your own nose clean.

Photo Courtesy: artblart.files.wordpress.com



#ShineOn

#ShineOn

It's not so bad getting older... some say...

What woman smiles when she discovers a new strand that has lost its rich hue, only to give way to that glistening silver...or grey... or white?

Men look debonair,  handsome, distinguished... women... well... we look old, haggard, grandmotherly... we rush to hide it, rinse it, dye it... but why?

Proverbs  20:29 says in the New Living Translation, "The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old."

Well after taking this in, I said to myself... #Splendid

I shine, you shine, shine...ladies and gentlemen...Shine with splendor! One of my cousins shared with me that he loves his grey, and encouraged me to stop cringing over my own that surfaced at my college graduation. What a "welcome to the rest of your life." Soon after, I did embrace it, and ceased from artificially coloring my hair. (Thanks Anthony! )

#SheShines

If you look at it as if you've been blessed beyond measure with health, wisdom, substance, and the wherewithal to obtain and enjoy these things... you may see a few beautifully splendid shining hairs which have solidified their right to stand tall, or wayward, or wiry...  

Shine on friends...embrace your splendiferous crown of experience and knowledge. 

*Note to self: Shine... shine, let your light so shine! 

Photo courtesy : My own 

#SheIsMoreThanAConquerer

Who is Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?

#SheIsMoreThanAConquerer

Romans 8:37

"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us."

Today was the third time that I was given the opportunity-- Made to give a presentation to new hires to our illustrious Agency. Yes... the strikethrough is purposefully done. I hate to stand in front of others and speak... especially when it's about true subject matter, of which I am deemed an SME (Subject Matter Expert) Ha! I love terms of work-related endearment. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my job, my leaders, and it's content... I just hate delivering. Many readers would say, "but you take the microphone and sing for the Lord without any problems..." Yes, under the absolute ANOINTING... where is the "presentation anointing"? Where is the "Gift of Gab" anointing when you need it? I digress... so I just want to share that I am no longer afraid of that Big Bad Wolf called public speaking... well, at least for the next few months. My turn will come around again in a few months... and I again will have to face the proverbial wolf... staring me down, snarling, teeth gnashing and all. At that point, I will have successfully provided a bit more input into our presentations which should quell my anxiety a bit more, and relieve the newbies just arriving to the Agency. Don't you just love when you are given a task that others find you so well equipped to handle with ease? I wish I could see me the way they do! Ha... until then... I am more than a conqueror.  I meditate on the Word and I adore this little quote I've embraced. I would love to share it with each of you who find yourselves in the same quandary as I have...

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure... we ask ourselves who am I to be brilliant, talented and fabulous, actually who are you not to be." ~ Marianne Williamson

 #YouCanDoIt

#SheSurvives

*Note so self... You are stronger than you think, believe it... breathe it in and out... become it...just be.

Photo Courtesy: www.dreamatico.com