Generosity

Generosity is normally defined by society as being liberal with your giving.  A definition I found on Dictionary.com has become a favorite:  freedom from meanness or smallness of mind or character.  There should be at no time, where any human is mean to another human being.  We are all created by the same Creator, in His likeness, and should be treated as such.

It is being free from meanness and smallness of mind or character that we are enabled to freely give.  I remember growing up, how my Grandfather use to always say, "Think about somebody else besides yourself."  He instilled in us how important it was to always share what you had.  No matter how small.  Earlier this year I wrote a post on him giving me $5 to feed over 20 people and how I was able to do it.  More on this story can be found here.

We are also free to give words of encouragement .  It is something everyone could use.  Especially those transitioning from one lifestyle to another.  Transition of any form is never easy. It is when we are at one of the most vulnerable moments in our lives.  There will be people who will be our cheerleaders, and those who will be our opposition.  When we encounter those who oppose our better life, we should be generous enough to tell them thank you.  We can use every negative dart as a tool to catapult us to our next level sooner than expected.  For those who are in our corner, we should never forget to say thank you.  Because of them, we are able to keep our heads held high and march forward.   

We must always remember to choose to be generous in our giving, be it money, words, or deed(s).  When we do, it must be done with a cheerful heart.  The only way to do it with a cheerful heart, is to be free of meanness or smallness of mind or character.

Much love,
Granny

Encouragement

Photo courtesy of Google Images

There is never a bad time to give or receive encouragement.  It is the state of being in a place where someone or something gives you hope.  It reminds me of faith (state of hoping for something that has not manifested yet).  Before my Grandfather passed, I was in his bedroom talking to him one day.  We were talking about things that happened in our lives and things that were going on in our lives at the time.  At some point during the conversation, he said, "My life was hard, but it was good."

Granddaddy only had a third grade education.  He came up in a time when children were taking from school to work to help support the family.  As we were conversing one day, he inquired about my classes.  I was in Junior College at the time and I told him how rough it was especially while having to work a full-time job at the same time.  He gave me so many words of encouragement that night, I just couldn't post them all.  The one thing that stood out to me was the summation of his life.  It has become one of my famous quotes during one of my motivational engagements:
 "Man is only as strong as his faith.  The more it is exercised, the stronger he becomes."  ~ Elegant Granny

During my Grandfathers life, he had to endure so many things to overcome not only to help himself, but to assist his family members to have a better life.  As the patriarch in the family, there was always a word of encouragement coming from this man.  He also encouraged us to do the same with each other, and others we come into contact with.

My Grandfather never saw me graduate from college, but there was a surety within him that said I was going to make it.  Today, I am working on my MBA, and still working full-time (plus up to 32hrs of overtime during the week).  I am also working on publishing other work besides my three blogs.  I am so grateful to God for the times we shared.  Those words he gave me were always the best pick me up I needed.

Encouragement is one of the greatest gifts you can give.  My gift to you, is to always believe you're going to make it no matter how hard it becomes.  Whenever you feel as if you won't, remember why you started on your journey in the first place.  Once you realize how far you've come, you won't want to turn around.

Much love,
Granny

Writing

Writing has always been one of my favorite things to do (coupled with reading).  It started when I was a little girl growing up in the hills of Virginia.  Writing has been rewarding, therapeutic, and gratifying, and has become the expression of the settlement of my existence.

At the end of writing, I look back at what I published, and am able to envision with others the heart and the experiences of the writer.  The reward is wanting to connect with the writer and comment to the post as if I were a follower of my own writing  (I really enjoy reading and writing).

How therapeutic is the journey of writing?  During the process, I began to see how all the negatives of what I'm saying become positive.  When I was a little girl, I use to have a problem with anger.  To keep from being disrespectful to anyone, instead of performing the wrath of Danielle on them, I would grab a pencil and a piece of paper and write about everything:  what they did, how it made me feel, and what I wanted done to them.  By the end of the writing, I felt better because I was able to get everything I felt out on paper instead of the person(s) that caused the anger.  For more of this story click here.

Once I sit at the computer at night, I began writing as if it were a full-time job.  Gratifying as it is, it never feels as if it is a job, but a love I can't wait to come home to from work at night. I am reminded of how great it is to be able to get involved with something I enjoy so much.  It is because of this I always say, "Much love, Granny" at the end of every post.

As I embark on the next career of my life, writing appears to be the one thing I really want to do (other than motivational speaking).  Be that as it may, there is so much to prepare for my next career move:  school, managing blogs, learning how to publish, etc...  So I'll end this post with - until next time, good-night.

Much love,
Granny

Acceptance

It takes some people time to learn who they are.  At times, they don't like who they are and venture out being something/someone else they're not.  By the time they get through making things harder for themselves and everyone else by doing so, they come full circle realizing they have to accept who they are, where they come from, and who they are becoming.

Who you are begins in your genetic makeup.  There are some things that are just inevitable.  For instance, my parents enjoyed cooking and feeding people.  I do also.  Unlike them, I do not care how much everyone enjoys my cooking, I do not plan to start a catering business or open a restaurant.  My love for cooking stems from both parents.  My two sisters and I were always around food.  No microwave nor instant food for us.  Just home cooked meals.  I want good cooking and good conversation for everyone just like my parents did.  Although I don't have the heart for starting a business cooking like my parents and one of my sisters, I accept the fact that I will not make plenty of money cooking for people, but I can make something out of writing a cook book with our recipes.  I accept that I am different in a lot of ways.  I am a writer.  Always have been.  Always will be.  My other sister just rather serve the food and converse with the people.  My sisters and I are all different in relation to cooking and serving.

It's OK to be different.  Learn how to accept and appreciate what separates you from others.  It will make a difference in your happiness.  It has with us.

Much love,
Granny

LOVE

There are so many ways I could talk about love.  Today, I choose to discuss how I believe as a Christian God intended me to love His people.  I'll discuss why He chose me to love the way He did, why He chose you for me to love, and the benefit of me loving you the way He told me to.

God chose me to love you because just like Him, He knew I would look pass your faults and see your need.  There should never be a time where we, as Christians, should focus on the faults of our sisters and brothers.  Doing so would be a misrepresentation of Him and cause shame for the reason Christ died on Calvary.  Your faults are none of my business.  That is Jesus' business to handle.

God chose you for me to love because loving you shows how valuable you are to Him.  Know your worth.  He created you in His image.  When you look in the mirror, you are looking at a piece of Him.  No matter how flawed, He loves you anyway.  He loved you so much, He sent Christ to take care of your faults.  When Christ ascended back to heaven, He sent people like me to love you with the same measure.  Don't worry about those who don't, God gave you just who you need in your life.

The benefit of me loving you the way He told me to is, He is sterilizing you to love others with the same measure.  We should always choose love when it comes to others; faults and all.  To do the opposite, would be a disservice not only to Him, but also to ourselves. 

Love one another.  As I have loved you, so must you love one another.  - John 13:34 

Much love,
Granny

Beware: It's Be My Boo Season - Part 2

While going over some of the statuses in my Facebook news feed, I came across one that went well with my Be My Boo series.  This lady stated, "Not interested in men who aren't business minded.  Why would a man think that if he has no goal he's aiming for, he will get a woman who is about having a vision?"

Photo courtesy of Google Images

My response to her status was:
Exactly....some come to perform the will of the enemy: to kill the desire God placed within you; to steal any progression (tools given by God) moving you in the direction God is guiding you in; and to destroy the work of God using you to bless those around you by trying to bless themselves with the fruit of your labor.

Of course, this status and response applies to both male and female.  I have seen countless men dealing with the women in their lives with the same mentality.

So how do I deal with them Granny?  So glad you asked.

1) Keep the vision in plain site - create vision boards, get out materials that will assist you in aiming for the goals related to the vision.
2)  Affirm who you are to yourself - the more you remind yourself of how valuable you are, the less you are reminded how valuable you are not by this person.  I learned one one from an event I attended last weekend:
     "I am the most important person I will ever meet"  - Marcia A. Paige
3)  Remember, the desire that was put inside you for greatness was place there by God.  If He didn't think you were the one for the job, He would have never placed that desire in you.
4)  Don't tell them anything - sometimes you have to do as Mary did in the Bible and just ponder on what you are going to do and how you're going to do it.  This person wants you to make it, but only on the terms of how they can benefit from it.

There are other things I'm sure you could do to prevent the negatives of this person to deter you from your goals.  This post would be too long and boring if I put them all in one post.  Feel free to leave a comment if you know of any other suggestions that would help.

Much love,
Granny

For part 1 of this series, click the link below
http://www.1elegantgranny.com/2012/09/beware-its-be-my-boo-season.html

I Hate When That Happens

It's that lovely time of the year when the telemarketers are consistently calling, people knocking on your doors to provide un-petitioned service(s), unwanted mail,etc.....   Here's where I'm going with this:

Last night, as I was attempting to do homework, there was a knock at the door.  There were two young men wearing reflector jackets saying they were from the company I subscribe cable to.  They had all my information, asking me if I were the named person they called out, and recited the information to me after I confirmed I was who they were looking for.  Now in my mind, I'm thinking - here we go again.

They proceed by telling me they were going to bump my payment up $20/month.  I ask why.  One of the  representatives said, "To upgrade your channels so you can receive more and also get a land-line phone."

I hate when that happens.  Don't tell me what I'm going to receive with my money, or what you are going to do with it when I did not petition you for your service.  <-----My only rant

Now I don't recall ever asking for anything. So being me, I interrupt the young man telling him, "No thank you.  I didn't ask for that because I never wanted it.  I'm quite satisfied with what I have."
He replied with, "Okay, thank you ma'am", and went to the next door.  As I was closing my door, I heard the other gentleman say, "Man she didn't go for that at all."  I re-opened the door asking what was meant by the comment and he said, "Nothing ma'am."

As I was about to call the company disclosing my experience with them, I thought, how many people said yes without giving much thought to what was being said to them?  Unfortunately,  some of my neighbors did.  I asked them about their experience as they were going off to work this morning.  How many times are we caught off guard by people talking us into something because we really weren't paying any mind to what they were saying at all?  Whether out of being busy; just plain exhausted; or not wanting to deal with anybody at the time, we need to pay close attention to what the other party is saying.  You never know what agreement you have made when you don't.  In some cases, you never know what relationships are being put into jeopardy when you're not paying attention.

Beware and be safe!

Much love,
Granny