Author: Roshonda B

My name is Roshonda Blackmon and I have been known in life as “the encourager” God gave me that gift before I even realized what it was or what it truly meant, the only thing I knew is that a vast amount of people liked to come to me for advice and once that advice was received, I never heard from them anymore until they wanted more advice. That gifting soon became my ministry. I’ve been through quite a bit of challenges in life from dealing with suicide, low self-image which resulted in low self-esteem, to the difficulties of growing up in a one parent household and the list goes on and on. But God in all his Mercy and Grace blessed me to overcome those obstacles and situations and gave me a “second” chance by allowing me to live through all that darkness in order to help spread an encouraging light to others. In a world of uncertainty and negatism’s I want to encourage you to LIVE. Yes, Life does get hard sometimes, But if we keep looking up at the SON; we gain strength, we become empowered and we grow in the process with God’s help; for it doesn’t matter where you are in your life at this moment in time; God is able and will meet you within that dark place and change your life from Dark to Light, I’m not only a witness to this; but JustsumInspiration to show you, That you too can make it.

Can Someone Please Pull Me Out of this Funk?

Published on February 20, 2017February 21, 2017 by Roshonda B2 Comments

Soooo, lately I’ve been feeling pretty – let’s say “unaccomplished.” It seems like no matter what I do, I seem to be moving backwards instead of forwards. My writing if I can be honest has even been way off, everything that I try to say just seems to come out as “BLAH, BLAH, BLAH” sort of like the adults voice in a Charlie Brown episode almost gibberish so to speak. My mojo, aspirations, emotions and sync ALL ZAPPED!

When I pick up a pen to write…..it’s almost like it leaves my hand and goes elsewhere. I have to admit, this emotion didn’t happen overnight, It all started on a rainy day in November, the end of November to be exact, when my best friend; confidante; girl and a bag of pearls left me forever. She was my mom. I loved her sooo much, as a matter of fact – some of my writings have been based on her such as “The Ugly Duckling Experience”, “Give Like you Rich” & “Lord, I need your Help! I Think.”

She was my greatest inspiration and cheerleader; everything I did or accomplished; was because of her. I lived to make her proud but on November 29^th I felt like all of my dreams and aspirations went out the window just as her last breath did. I remember getting the news at work and when I heard the words “Mama Passed this morning” from my sister, I went into a state of shock and disbelief. As I drove what seemed like forever to get to the hospital, my mind went into flashback mode of how she took care of me as a child and fast forwarded to the many things that she rooted and cheered me on about – even the things that weren’t so good.

I could talk to her about any and everything. She always told me “I don’t only want to be your mother, but I want to be your best friend” and that she was until God called her home. I really didn’t want to believe what the doctors were telling us about mama, they weren’t saying anything that they hadn’t said before and like all those other times – I felt like mama was going to pull through this, as she had always done previously. But this time was different…..

The doctors told us in the beginning that they give her 6 months; I ran with that – as Daddy was looking into second opinions and options and we as a family tried to put our heads together on what the next steps would be as far as her care was concerned. 6 months soon turned into 3 months; those months turned into two weeks. They told us that they give her Thanksgiving and that they really didn’t look for her to make it too or past that day but man’s extremity is just an opportunity for God to work. She not only lived to Thanksgiving, but she lived five days after it…I mean, what do Doctors really know – right?

When I got to the hospital; I remember walking into the room and just walked over and laid my body across hers; I cried and cried and cried – almost inconsolable. Why did she leave me? Why did God take her now? Why didn’t he heal her?…..so many questions flooded my mind as I laid across her lifeless body. My mom was a giver, she always gave her best and her last to everyone; she loved to see people smile. All the giving that my mom did in her life and right at the end of hers, I couldn’t give her what she needed to stay alive.

While for the last couple of months, I’ve been trying to cope with her being gone – it’s been quite an adjustment. I find myself looking back on her past text messages that she sent to me and read them over and over again. Yes, I think about her a lot. Sometimes I can’t believe that she’s really gone and think that maybe I’ll soon pick up my work phone or cell and hear her voice on the other end, telling me; she played a huge joke on me – as she would always state. “I’m a good actress” but I know in my heart that will not happen as the actress took her last bow.

So, I’ve been in what some would call a funk – it’s like I know what I’m supposed to be doing but can’t seem to really do it, if that makes sense. I talk to people and laugh and smile with them but on the inside, I feel so broken and incomplete. Yes, I’ve learned to put on a serious poker face. While mama is in a better place and deep on the inside of me, I’m really happy about that. I have to get out of this funk, I crawled myself into and fast. She always wanted the best for me and my state of mind is one thing I’m sure she would want me to get under control – “You gotta live too” she would say and she couldn’t be more right. I have to LIVE TOO!

Carolyn Annette Blackmon-Greene

10/22/1961 – 11/29/2016

Rest in Peace Mama a.k.a “Baby Mook”

Until we Chat Again, I Love You

You’re Always in my Heart!

Roshonda a.k.a “Mookie”

Have you ever gotten yourself into a Funk? A rough time in your life where you feel stuck, depressed or just discouraged? What did you do to get through your rough patch.

This blog post is a Q&A so please feel free to leave your comments below. We never know what the smiling faces of people that have broken hearts behind them may be dealing with. Let’s help each other and others whom may befacing a serious Funk!

It’s a Bird. It’s a Plane…No, It’s a Distraction!

Published on January 26, 2017January 26, 2017 by Roshonda B3 Comments

According to google’s dictionary the word DISTRACTION means, a thing that prevents someone from giving full attention to something else and/or extreme agitation of the mind or emotions. If you’re anything like me, then I imagine you’ve had your share of LIFE’S DISTRACTIONS! A distraction can come in the form of a job, a spouse, girlfriend, boyfriend, children, co-workers, family and etc.

Distractions are meant to push us off the road to our purpose and destiny, in which instead of moving us forward the smallest distraction can leave us stagnated (at a stand-still) or it can push us 10-50 feet backwards, it can be really hard to push ourselves UP again unless we really avoid distractions altogether. We live in a world where distractions are very common; as a matter of fact it’s so profound until we have actually grown immune to it. “It’s just a part of life,” we tell ourselves; not really giving attention to how disturbing a distraction can really be. A distraction is a silent killer that pops up unexpectedly in hopes to keep you from achieving the things you want and plan to do in your own life.

What’s your destiny? What’s your dream? What’s keeping you from following your heart? While most distractions are things, don’t forget that a distraction can also come in the form of WORDS! Has someone said anything to you lately that completely threw you off course? We have to be careful whom we share our dreams, hopes, ideas, goals and plans with. While people do mean well, they can also be the cause of a person not achieving their dreams, all because they didn’t get an opportunity to achieve theirs.

Distractions come in all forms, such as noise. You can never focus when you have too much noise around; you must get to a quiet place and make some time for yourself. If you don’t – then you’ll never be able to focus long enough to hear from God. Yes…God – he created you so therefore he knows the plans he has for you and the road in which he wants you to travel to get there, but you have to create a quiet place in order to hear directly from him. The phone is a major distraction. I never seen so many people on phones in church services; this could not have happened in my church back in the day. I also have never seen so many cases of phones causing accidents all because of distractions. Social media (while good), sometimes we can spend too much time on it. The 3 hours spent on social media liking friends pages and posting selfies could actually be time in which you could be finishing the next best book or movie that will take this nation by storm (Do you feel me?) Lastly, that brings me to time which is known to be the worlds greatest distraction because we misuse it the most.

I don’t know what your distractions may be today but figure out a way to find peace in the middle of it. Pray if you must and ask God to reveal what it is that is keeping you from focusing like you should or what’s keeping you from moving forward. Some of us should be miles ahead of ourselves by this point but distractions have made a home in our life and kept us from moving into our destiny. If you’re not where you want to be in life, look around you because it just might be a distraction that’s holding you back.

FOCUS! Because your DESTINY is so much better than a distraction…

Getting to Know All about You…

Published on January 4, 2017January 4, 2017 by Roshonda B7 Comments

CAN WE HAVE A CUP OF TEA AND CHAT A MOMENT?…

You know when I was younger, I didn’t have any friends as a matter of fact; because I kept to myself people deemed me as the weird kid and stayed away from me. But when people did stop and talk to me; I noticed I had a voice – and a good ear for listening. My voice provided comfort, support, encouragement, upliftment and my ears provided safety for their secrets and most precious thoughts. It was then that I discovered that while I may not had the outer beauty a physicality that I wanted so desperately to gain attention. I had something so much more beautiful on the inside of me. Something more precious than just being the cute girl next door….I had an encouraging voice.

Now I know that doesn’t sound like much, but we all have at least one thing about ourselves, one unique thing that makes us stand out in the crowd.

Encouragement was my gift. Do you know what your gift is?

In 2015 JustsumInspiration was born, I had finally accepted the call on my life to do what God had already equipped me to do and that is and always has been to encourage others. So, everything that’s placed on the justsuminspiration page was geared to do just that. But now that we are in 2017, almost 2yrs since the page was created; I now want to change things up and instead of writing all the time, now I want to hear from you. What are you facing in your life right now that you need help with, do you need a listening ear or do you have a question that you’ve been pondering and don’t know who to talk to? Well, JustsumInspiration is changing to be more than just a page that features pics, graphics and words……It’s now a place where you can talk to me and I talk to you, just think of it as having an extra friend to communicate with.

So you may message me through Facebook, or email me at justsuminspiration@gmail.com and I will answer your questions about God, Love, Marriage, Divorce, Being Single or even How to act on a job when your boss is acting crazy or just random things that you would like to talk about in general. These responses will be in video format (your name excluded, if you want) that will be posted on the justsuminspiration page. All that I don’t have answers for will be prayed about and researched. I want this page to be more than a place where you come and see words, but a place where you can come and feel comfortable with speaking what’s on your heart.

P.S. I am also thinking about sending out a monthly 7-day devotional, so if you would like a copy, please make sure you sign up on the popup link on the justsuminspiration page with your email address to receive yours or other notifications regarding the site itself.

P.S.S. I’m sure most of you noticed that I didn’t post anything for the month of December, Well since my last post on 11/23/16 and 11/11/16. My mom’s health had declined, she passed away on 11/29. So the month of December was hard for me in that respect, I cherished; loved and adored my mom so much. When I’m able, I will do a post concerning that situation but I can’t bring myself to do it right now. Please keep me and my family in your prayers.

So I appreciate your patience as I make a couple of changes to the site and the Facebook Page & Stay Tuned for more inspiring content!!

Sincerely,

Roshonda N. Blackmon – Author & Creator of JustsumInspiration.com

Here Comes the Builder

Published on November 23, 2016 by Roshonda B2 Comments

I was honored to be asked to be a guest blogger for shanaeartis.com – check out her site. Just wanted to share what was written – Do you know any Builders, could you be one?

Here Comes the Builder

By Roshonda N. Blackmon a.k.a JustsumInspiration

builder-pic

I was talking to a girlfriend recently and she began to talk about most women’s main conversation “MEN” – she began to go on and on about how she wanted someone in her life and how she would just like to go out on a date every once in a while with someone. My conversation back to her was a little different as I began to express how afraid I was of dating; I mean let’s face it, at this point in my life I’m afraid of MEN! PERIOD!!

I guess it’s because I’ve had my share of failed relationships and have experienced un-fulfillment in each one of them. I went on to tell her how, I too would love to be in a decent relationship but for some reason; every relationship I’ve encountered; the men have always came to…

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LORD, I need your Help – I Think?

Published on November 11, 2016 by Roshonda B3 Comments

Portrait above is by artist Debi Starr – entitled ‘Uncertain’.

When I was 20 years old (which seems like only yesterday = ) – I started working in a nursing facility, I always loved helping people and always had a heart for the elderly; even at a young age. I used to love hanging out with my Aunt Sally and Great Grandmother growing up because they had so much wisdom; I loved staying at their house although the 100 degree furnace going on the midst of what seemed like 200 degree Arkansas heat was not always good; but I adjusted all because I wanted to spend time with them. So when the Lord blessed me to the Nursing Assistant job working with the elderly, it was a good fit for me. Within the year and a half of working there, I learned so much. Each resident had their own specific agenda in what you had to do to care for them. Some were easy as they could partially help themselves, while others were a challenge. While most people had help on their halls, I sometimes was left alone on mine. But I prayed and God came to my rescue every time I called on him. From the smallest patient to the heaviest, God always gave me the strength and the patience to take care of them; from picking them up to putting them in the bed or giving me the strength to be patient with them when they weren’t in the mind frame to be that way with me. I had one resident whom liked to be in the middle of the bed; most nights I stayed in her room for over an hour trying to make sure she got her wish. I learned a lot of patience in those days.

After a little over a year, I decided that while the experience was great – I wanted to further my career in the office world and never looked back on those days but the valuable things that I learned during that time, never left me. Years later; my mom took very ill and those same skills that God blessed me to learn; came in handy for me as I have used those skills and talents to take care of my terminally ill mother. But most recently I found myself forgetting those tools when my mom was put in the hospital; this was not her first rodeo to the emergency room. My mom is bed bound, and is unable to walk and depends heavily on the care of the family to take care of her. Since she’s been in the hospital the nurses have alleviated some of the work; they come in when they can to assist but lately I’ve noticed they’ve been very short staffed and when my mom goes to the bathroom on herself she has to sit there until someone decides to come in and change her. This past Saturday, the inevitable happened and mama needed to be changed – I called the nurse’s desk and they said they would come but 45 min later and they still hadn’t come to assist. My mom was getting agitated because she didn’t want to keep sitting in urine and feces and who would…

As I stepped out the room to go and get the nurses’ – I was told “Well, she’ll have to wait” because they were short staffed (again). As I went back in the room and looked at my mom’s disfigured and stressful face; I began to pray to the Lord to perform a miracle and gather up some nurses from somewhere because I couldn’t change my mom by myself she’s extremely heavy and I just couldn’t see a way of me doing it all alone. As I got my towels and garments ready to change her, I kept looking at the door – hoping that the nurses would suddenly appear – But they didn’t….What do I do??????, How am I going to do this??????And that’s when the Lord had to remind me of the position I had so many years ago as a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) – I watched God during that time, help and give me the strength Samson to do things that people still today wonder how I did – all alone. The same God that came to my rescue then, was the same faithful God that was ready to come to my rescue now; you see I was standing there in a panic asking God to send help for something that he had already equipped me to do a long time ago. It was there all the time, I just had to activate it. Once I calmed my mind and asked God to assist me, I turned my mom over with no problems and cleaned her up; by the time I got finished and got her positioned – The Nurses came in. Sometimes God wants us to use what we got – I had a friend on this week to say “God has already equipped us with talents and gifts – we just have to use them”. The jobs we work on (present or past) and the things we go through in life are all experiences for us to help someone or even improve our own life. It’s okay to ask God for help, but God also wants us to tap into the resources and gifts that he has already placed in us – Your help is there on the inside of you and most times God won’t come in until you begin to use the gift that he has placed inside of you. Yes, I needed to call on God for help but he had already equipped me for the journey, a journey in which he knew I would need the experience he allowed me to go through all those years ago.

Are you calling on God for Help For Something that He has already given you the ability and the tools to accomplish? Look real close, because he just may be waiting on you to use it before he sends help.