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It’s My Man Monday! Hey Guys, You’ve got Mail…

Published on October 9, 2017October 9, 2017 by Roshonda B8 Comments

I have a message for the man who’s struggling with knowing not only who he is but whose he is today. The man whom doesn’t quite see himself as good enough, the man who has given it his all but still seems to come up short, no matter how much he tries.

I have a message for the man who is troubled because of a failed relationship or marriage and can’t seem to forgive himself because of it. The man whose a great father to his kids but is under appreciated for it. The man who isn’t a great father, but desires in his heart to be. The man who feels he can’t get a good job because of his past mistakes. The man whom can’t seem to kick the habit, any habit. The man who feels trapped in his own body but afraid to tell people his issues because he’s afraid he’d be shunned.

No matter what man issue you have today, whether it’s something that was written here or you have your own unique circumstance. I want you to know that God loves you no matter what you have done and no matter where you may be right now in this so called world called “LIFE” – God sees and he knows and I want you to know that he cares for you.

Do you know that God created you in his own image?, that means that you look like your father and when he created you, he created you to be BOLD, to be GREAT and to be ONE OF A KIND! and that you are, so don’t feel sorry for yourself because maybe you’re not where you feel like you should be right now, maybe you feel as though you made so many mistakes that God wouldn’t want to have anything to do with you and I hate to tell you, but you’re sadly mistaken.

Just as the father embraced the prodigal son (Luke 15: 11-32) when he was far off. The son, walking in shame was getting prepared to become a servant in his fathers home because he felt embarrassed by the wild lifestyle he lived and awfully bad about the portion of money he took from his father to support that lifestyle but when the money ran out and the friends disappeared, he was left with nothing. He took a job working for a farmer whom had him to feed his pigs – the prodigal son was so despaired and hungry, until the food he was feeding the pigs began to look mighty good to him, soon he began to reminisce about the servants in his fathers house and how good they ate. He then decided to go back home and ask his father to become one of them. But the father wouldn’t have it, he embraced his son, kissed him and threw a big party for him because the son he thought was lost and feared for dead, was alive and home again. This was surely not the behavior the son expected his father to give him for the bad decisions or the wrong things he had done but just as that father embraced his lost son, so your father is waiting to embrace, love and bring restoration to your life, he doesn’t even remember what you done or the path you chose to take, he’s just glad that you came back to him. And while you’re being restored, the angels are having a massive party on your behalf.

No matter how far we’ve gone out – God is able to restore us again! Take courage my friend and don’t give up – but look up! and see your father in the distance, hands raised awaiting for you to come and lay in his arms of forgiveness, mercy and grace.

May the video above bless you and put a fresh wind into your journey and let you know how AWESOME you truly are!

Roshonda N. Blackmon – Creator of JustsumInspiration, Author, Speaker & Encourager

Let’s Live Well, Laugh Loud, Love Hard & Inspire Often!

Women, not to worry – I have something for you on Wednesday!! Stay Tuned…

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie & Giveaway News, Anyone?

Published on October 5, 2017October 5, 2017 by Roshonda B4 Comments

Before you ask, NO! that is not a picture of MY pumpkin pie smoothie in the featured picture, instead it’s one that I got off of Bing, in which I wish I could say was really my own creation, Lol.

Okay, so I’m no Rachel Ray in the kitchen – anyone close to me would tell you that. However, you might ask then why did you agree to do recipes all month long and I have an answer for that:

Because it was “supposed to be simple”
Because it was “supposed to be simple”

And simple it definitely was, although I had a couple of mishaps along the way but, before I get into those – Let me show you the simple ingredients you’ll need to make this gob of goodness.

Pumpkin1 — Yes, only 6 Ingredients – This is my type of recipe!

The Pumpkin Pie Smoothie recipe called for:

3 medium bananas

3/4 cup of pumpkin puree, pure

1 can of coconut milk

1 tbsp of Maple syrup

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp vanilla extract, pure

For this recipe, I used organic bananas and as you can see, they weren’t medium sized. I also just purchased the coconut milk (the one that’s housed on the shelf) instead of the can. I did this because the can was $1.77 and the milk was $2.08 (I got more in the carton) and because I like to get more for my money, I opted for the carton. The ingredients also called for pure maple syrup (organic), in which was a little on the pricey side to m, So I opted for the Great Value sugar free syrup instead and for a fraction of the cost – to me it all does the same thing, I guess…lol.

I put my milk in the blender in which since I didn’t have the can, I just measured out 2.5 cups and preceded with the other ingredients which looked something like this:

Pumpkin2 — *Yummy! It smelled soooo good too!*

Although the recipe didn’t call for it, but I also added a tablespoon of chia seeds, see them in the back…I don’t have a fancy shmancy blender with all the bells and whistles so for me, blending this mixture took a little more time than it probably would have had I had a better one, but hey – it did the job!

The consistency was very thick so if you have a blender like me, you might want to add a 1/2 cup of water to make sure it blends well and all the way through. Once I finished blending everything up and glassed it, this is what it looked like.

The finished result. I topped it off with some whip cream and a Pirouline Pumpkin Spiced creme filled wafer and Viola!

This tasted so good while it was warm – okay, so let me tell you about my boo boo with this recipe. Because it was hot and while it tasted good; I felt that it needed to be refrigerated, what did I do that for…

I put some in the glass (pictured) and also put some in my smoothie bottle. I was so excited to see what this would taste like the following morning…oh my, when I went to drink it, it was so thick. It literally thickened up overnight and did not taste as yummy as it did the night before. So, what did I do? I put a half cup of coconut milk in it to loosen it up and that was a Big Mistake, Huge, Grossly did I say Big? MISTAKE! it thickened up even more, so on my way to work I was like you should have put a little water in it Roshonda, duh! (sometimes I have to give my own self a slap in the face)

Once I put the water in it, it made it a little looser but not much – the smoothie kept getting thicker and looked as if it was getting bigger and bigger by every drop you gave it, I suddenly felt as if I was feeding the plant in little shop of horrors.

little shop of horrors — photo gif courtesy of **Bing**

I have to be honest, not only was it ever expanding but the taste seemed to go right out the window and I ended up throwing it out. “Shame!” because I hate wasting things..Oh well, maybe you’ll have a better go at it (Word to the wise, Drink it warm..lol). If you want a more organic, let’s say vegan approach to your smoothie, you can follow Demeter – Beaming Baker on Pinterest. The recipe above came from her site, although I it called for vegan ingredients in which I didn’t use obviously. Demeter is a great baker and has amazing recipes that are either Paleo, GF (Gluten-Free) or Vegan, check her out – your taste buds and stomach will thank you!

To kick off the pumpkin festivities I thought I would do a giveaway – I love to receive things and I know you might too. I’m giving away a $25.00 gift card, here’s what you have to do and how to enter:

Follow @justsuminspiration2u on Instagram

Post a picture of you with one of the 5 recipes featured this month with the caption: “Pumpkins Up! @justsuminspiration2u is doing a giveaway! Enter for a chance to win at justsuminspiration.com.”

That’s It! That’s all you have to do – Remember, you have to make one of the recipes, follow me on Instagram, post your picture of you and the recipe of choice and include the italicized statement with your post. Good Luck!!

The Winner will be announced November 3, 2017 at 1:00pm on the Justsuminspiration blog, Facebook and Instagram pages. Winners will be selected randomly from the list of entries submitted.

Roshonda N. Blackmon – Creator of JustsumInspiration, Author, Speaker & Encourager

Let’s Live Well, Laugh Loud, Love Hard & Inspire Often!

If you missed the blog displaying all the yum we’re cooking up this month, click on the link below to catch up!

Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice, It’s Time for the Great Pumpkin!

Gifted Apparel NYC – Bringing Out The Gift in All of Us

Published on October 4, 2017October 3, 2017 by Roshonda B2 Comments

Ever wonder where people get the cool sayings on their shirts from? Well, there’s one company that’s definitely allowing you to express yourself through their line and that’s Gifted Apparel. Follow the link to not only get to know the brand but the mastermind behind the Gift – Mr. Kevin Bennett.

After you read the interview, then visit their site and purchase a GIFT of your own. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed because as the tag says below, you want to definitely be unforgettable and Gifted Apparel has the right type of gear that will make sure you’re not.

Follow the Link below, to read more of this story and get your own “Gifted” Tee:

http://respect-mag.com/2016/10/respect-interview-gifted-apparel-nyc-bringing-out-the-gift-in-all-of-us/

To The Victims & Families of Las Vegas…

Published on October 4, 2017October 3, 2017 by Roshonda BLeave a comment

Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread and forgive us of our debts as we forgive our debtors, lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.

Amen

I wanted to start with the Lord’s Prayer because it’s a montage as to what we should pray in times of despair, need, understanding and forgiveness. I can’t say that I understand what you are going through because I don’t and I can say that I have empathy for what you have experienced, but I can’t even begin to say that; because there’s nothing in the world that you can say about something so tragic in which you’ve experienced and/or have gone through within the last couple of days.

It hurts to constantly see things of this nature being committed within our world, it’s also hard to believe that we’ve had 50yrs of mass shootings, taking out over 949 people including innocent children and teenagers. As you watch the news you can’t help but to think “Really?, Again?” – And each time gets harder and harder as the number of precious lives whom had so much to live for, so many things to accomplish and so many goals to reach, be taken out without warning or notice. In times like this it almost makes you feel like going in the house and not ever coming out again…but, then that gives the culprits the upper hand in having control and dictating how we should live our lives and we cannot, shall not, live this life in FEAR!

As you try to piece life back together as you know it, I pray that your heart heals daily and that your thoughts are overshadowed by good memories and thoughts of the countless people that put their life on the line to stop and grab someone to safety, either by pulling them or driving them; there were people that made sure no one (as much as they could help it) was left behind; in which despite tragedy, shows the strength and courage of our country . I’m a firm believer and it’s my motto that every negative situation has a positive one, it might be very hard to find at first but it’s always there. And believe it or not there is a positive in this tragedy.

A lot of times we don’t understand why people choose to be evil and mean or even why they do bad things and it makes us sad when you hear someone has done something that was wrong or mean to someone or to people that did nothing to them, But God is in control even of people, God created people to be good and very good and everything he created was a Blessing but it’s the road that people choose to take in life that can either lead them to be good or bad – it’s their choice and sometimes their choices are not good.

But don’t be discouraged, for in the midst of chaos and despair, know that God loves you and has a plan for you, there’s a scripture in Jeremiah that states:

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

This scripture has helped me through some really tough times and it just lets me know that no matter what, God has my back and through my tragedies and many disappointments he still has plans for me no matter what has happened or what I may have done, God has a future for me and I know he has a plan and a future for you in the midst of all you’ve gone through and while you may be shakened, I know you’re going to be okay.

My prayers and daily thoughts are with you. Be Blessed and know that God and a whole nation of good people with you, supporting you and praying for you during this time.

Roshonda N. Blackmon – Creator of JustsumInspiration, Author, Speaker & Encourager

Let’s Live Well, Laugh Loud, Inspire Often & Love Hard!

Don’t Trip Over Small Beginnings

Published on October 3, 2017October 3, 2017 by Roshonda BLeave a comment

Featured photo courtesy of Bing

I think I talked about this topic more than once since I started blogging but it still remains true. Are you tripping over your small beginnings? I know I have and still do at times because I fail to sometimes see the bigger picture amongst the very small ones on the wall.

Well, if you’re still having issues with accepting the smaller gigs of life. Maybe this next post will give you an added boost. I was very honored to have been asked to do a write up for the Daily Mastro. Check out the link below of the post that I wrote but also check out the site in general.

The site is filled with great topics that include tips on cleaning, new trends, travel and SEO information. The Daily Mastro is a small start up company chock full of young, talented and capable people whom specialize in web development, design and can even offer SEO help. You can visit that site here: Zenerom