We are all often reminded to give thanks and be grateful for the many blessings we have.  God’s most important gifts of life, love, health, family, and friendship are often overlooked until something tragic happens that reminds us that they are in fact blessings that we should give thanks for on a daily basis.  What’s really funny to me is, that when we do remember to give thanks for those things, we say trite things like “God is good.”

No, let’s be clear here and note that God is neither good nor bad. God simply is.

God is constant and our current state of mind, past and present life circumstances, or fickled human happy-o-meter should not be barometers by which we determine His goodness. In 2015, I challenge everyone reading this to be bold enough to put down their human ego, expectations of what they deserve, opinions of what is fair, and cease leaning on their own understanding and seek to become available and receptive to God’s voice and to follow His direction for your life.  Those of you that take the challenge and commit to it as a daily practice, will discover that it is us that ebb and flow from good to bad, not God.

Fashion magazines have perfected the art of fabricating truth. They take a photo of a real person then proceed to airbrush, embellish, erase, and nuance it in until the image presents what they want to project as the truth. Unfortunately, many people use social media to present fabricated truths about themselves in the same way. They carefully select pictures to post that make it seem as though their life is one big well-orchestrated party. They only post perfectly posed selfies, glamorous parties, fabulous dining experiences, and high achieving kids.  Or they post comments that belittle or poke fun at others as a way to lift themselves and appear to be in the know. This to me is a sad but true reflection of lack of self-love, self-esteem, and self-worth.

My life is blessed beyond measure in so many areas. I’ve traveled the globe, dined in some of the world’s finest restaurants, hiked through some of the most lush jungle terrains, and scuba dived in some of the most beautiful and tranquil waters imaginable. I have been asked on several occasions why I don’t share those things and have more of a presence on social media as it relates to my personal life. Well the answer is simple. I am a very private person. Those amazing life moments that I get to share with my family and close friends are special and intimate and are not for public consumption.