It's not who you know that contributes to your success, it's the choices you make.
-Don Savant
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Excuses Excuses
I'm blessed. There's no doubt about that. I'm so very grateful for what I have, for the things that I can do and for having the ability to share things with people that can possibly help them in their journey through life.
I often ask myself though, why am I not satisfied? Why do I feel so ungrateful at times? Sometimes I'm in a place where I feel as if I can do more and be more than what I am. I ask why I haven't accomplished more than I have. Again, I'm grateful, but my mind stays busy wondering how I can achieve more and I sometimes get stuck in a hamster wheel so to speak trying to figure things out.
Life has absolutely no limits whatsoever. We have been blessed with a power so great within us that we don't even realize. What we speak becomes our truth. I'm guilty of second-guessing myself, of doubting my talents which is a blatant slap in the face to my gifts. The one thing about gifts is that they can be taken away if they aren't used properly.
After all the thinking and the doubting and the wondering I now realize that it's me. It's not the people around me, it's not my family or friends, it's me. I am holding myself back from where i need to be.
All this time I've focused on the things I want to do, the things that I need to accomplish and have in my life but when it comes down to it, it's all about God. God has a very specific plan for our lives. He places us in situations and around people to teach us something. When we learn the things we are supposed to learn then He moves us. He moves us to our rightful spot in this world. If we listen and pay attention to the things that He is showing and telling us we will see that He offers us a road map to our lives.
I now know that procrastination is my enemy and that my trials are the tests that fuel my testimony. Everything I've learned must now be applied and once that application has taken place I will begin to move forward. God is always present in our lives and He moves us by faith so if you don't believe in yourself, it's as if you're saying that you have no faith in Him because He made you to be something specific, to do something specific on this earth.
It's time that I tuck away my inhibitions, release myself from the bondage of shyness and stop letting fear run my life. God is here with me...He always has been and now is the time for me to truly recognize and follow Him to the place that He needs me to be.
Father I'm listening now...I have no more excuses.
-Don Savant
I often ask myself though, why am I not satisfied? Why do I feel so ungrateful at times? Sometimes I'm in a place where I feel as if I can do more and be more than what I am. I ask why I haven't accomplished more than I have. Again, I'm grateful, but my mind stays busy wondering how I can achieve more and I sometimes get stuck in a hamster wheel so to speak trying to figure things out.
Life has absolutely no limits whatsoever. We have been blessed with a power so great within us that we don't even realize. What we speak becomes our truth. I'm guilty of second-guessing myself, of doubting my talents which is a blatant slap in the face to my gifts. The one thing about gifts is that they can be taken away if they aren't used properly.
After all the thinking and the doubting and the wondering I now realize that it's me. It's not the people around me, it's not my family or friends, it's me. I am holding myself back from where i need to be.
All this time I've focused on the things I want to do, the things that I need to accomplish and have in my life but when it comes down to it, it's all about God. God has a very specific plan for our lives. He places us in situations and around people to teach us something. When we learn the things we are supposed to learn then He moves us. He moves us to our rightful spot in this world. If we listen and pay attention to the things that He is showing and telling us we will see that He offers us a road map to our lives.
I now know that procrastination is my enemy and that my trials are the tests that fuel my testimony. Everything I've learned must now be applied and once that application has taken place I will begin to move forward. God is always present in our lives and He moves us by faith so if you don't believe in yourself, it's as if you're saying that you have no faith in Him because He made you to be something specific, to do something specific on this earth.
It's time that I tuck away my inhibitions, release myself from the bondage of shyness and stop letting fear run my life. God is here with me...He always has been and now is the time for me to truly recognize and follow Him to the place that He needs me to be.
Father I'm listening now...I have no more excuses.
-Don Savant
Monday, July 18, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
The Toll of SC's Domestic Violence Grows
Anyone that really knows me, knows exactly how I feel about domestic violence. It is such a huge problem in our communities. It is very hurtful to the people involved as well as any children that may be witnesses to those acts. Let's build more loving households for our children to grow up in. They learn from the things they experience, so let's teach them how to love!!!
This is a blog post by NewsChannel 7's Tom Crabtree and he was nice enough to let me share it with all of you. Thank Tom!!!
The Toll of SC's Domestic Violence Grows
by Tom Crabtree
SPARTANBURG, S.C. --
The news business gives me a front seat to what's happening in the world, especially the Carolinas.
Last night I saw the horrific toll of domestic violence, one of South Carolina's biggest blights.
In Union County, a man goes to the convenience store where his girlfriend works and shoots her. Somehow, despite being wounded four times, the woman survives. The man steps outside the store, refuses to drop his gun, and a SWAT officer fatally wounds him.
A short time later, two lives are lost in Laurens County. Authorities say a man shoots and kills the mother of his three children as she sits in a car at the plant where she worked. The man is accused of then shooting and killing a deputy. The suspect is now hospitalized after being wounded by officers.
Three lives lost.
The root cause: domestic violence.
The web site of the South Carolina Attorney General's Office says, each year, more than 36,000 victims report a domestic violence incident to a SC law enforcement agency.
According to the SCAG, the state averages 33 women killed per year by their intimate partner.
The SCAG describes domestic violence in South Carolina as a "crisis."
The Palmetto State ranks ninth in the number of women killed by men.
The problem's causes are many. Experts cite past violence or aggression, being a victim of violence as a child, drug or alcohol use, a stressful life event such as being unemployed.
Of immediate concern is the safety of victims and potential victims.
If you are caught up in an actual or developing domestic violence situation, please don't let it continue even one more day. There are steps you can take.
First, l recommend the following link for the South Carolina Victim Assistance Network:
http://www.scvan.org/domestic_violence_qa.html#a. This site answers many questions of vital concern to domestic violence victims, including how to put together a plan to get away from your dangerous situation.
Http://www.scag.gov/criminal-domestic-violence-in-south-carolina has information about the programs of the S.C. Attorney General to fight domestic violence.
And keep this number: 1-800-799-SAFE (1-800-799-7233). It's the number of the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
9-1-1 is at your disposal too.
If you need help, don't hesitate to ask for it.
Use these resources to protect yourself and loved ones.
Here is the link to his blog post.
http://www2.wspa.com/blogs/tom-crabtree/2011/jul/14/toll-scs-domestic-violence-grows-ar-2113101/
Ladies and gentlemen, please utilize these resources. Let's take a stand against domestic violence right now. Let it be known that you're not going to take it anymore and take the proper actions to receive the help you need to remove yourself for that situation and get the other party the rehabilitative help they need to make them better. We are losing far too many people to this disease. Love is so necessary!!!
-Don Savant
Monday, July 11, 2011
Born Day
On this day in 1975 a baby boy was born. Ironically, Baby Boy was his name until his parents finally agreed one. They called him John.....
I'd just like to take a moment to display a little gratitude for my life. As human beings we go through life wishing, wanting and waiting. In between all of that we live. Some of us live better than others, but we all have a reason for living. I've been through some things that others may not have and others may have been through things that I have not. The bottom line is, we're still here. God places a will in us that surpasses everything on this earth except for His. God's will is the strongest that exists and it's the most important will in our lives.
I have grown so much over the years and I still have a lot of growth pending for the years to come. I celebrate each moment...each triumph, each failure...heartbreak and great moment. I treat each moment whether it's big or small with the most respect I can muster simply because I know that it's the small things that build you towards the bigger ones.
With that said...I'm so glad to be blessed to see another year come to me. It's been a long, rough, yet necessary road to get to where I am right now but there have been some of the greatest times ever in the midst of it all. I look forward to other moments as well, whether they surpass those moments or not.
I realize that no longer am I that baby boy that was presented to my parents all those years ago. I also realize that I'm still not where God plans for me to be but step by step through faith and patience I'm climbing the ladder that He built for me and let me tell you, I've been looking up every day and I have yet to see the top rung. Many people would be discouraged by that but it inspires me. It makes me want to reach higher because my life has no ceiling, my top rung does not exist because the higher I reach, the higher God takes me.
Never allow discouragement into your life. Always stay hungry and ready to be fed knowledge and learn as many lessons as you can while you're growing. That thirst within you should be one that's never fully quenched. Want more, do more, be more, achieve more and with every blessing you receive, be sure to pass something along to someone else.
Yours Truly,
Don Savant
I'd just like to take a moment to display a little gratitude for my life. As human beings we go through life wishing, wanting and waiting. In between all of that we live. Some of us live better than others, but we all have a reason for living. I've been through some things that others may not have and others may have been through things that I have not. The bottom line is, we're still here. God places a will in us that surpasses everything on this earth except for His. God's will is the strongest that exists and it's the most important will in our lives.
I have grown so much over the years and I still have a lot of growth pending for the years to come. I celebrate each moment...each triumph, each failure...heartbreak and great moment. I treat each moment whether it's big or small with the most respect I can muster simply because I know that it's the small things that build you towards the bigger ones.
With that said...I'm so glad to be blessed to see another year come to me. It's been a long, rough, yet necessary road to get to where I am right now but there have been some of the greatest times ever in the midst of it all. I look forward to other moments as well, whether they surpass those moments or not.
I realize that no longer am I that baby boy that was presented to my parents all those years ago. I also realize that I'm still not where God plans for me to be but step by step through faith and patience I'm climbing the ladder that He built for me and let me tell you, I've been looking up every day and I have yet to see the top rung. Many people would be discouraged by that but it inspires me. It makes me want to reach higher because my life has no ceiling, my top rung does not exist because the higher I reach, the higher God takes me.
Never allow discouragement into your life. Always stay hungry and ready to be fed knowledge and learn as many lessons as you can while you're growing. That thirst within you should be one that's never fully quenched. Want more, do more, be more, achieve more and with every blessing you receive, be sure to pass something along to someone else.
Yours Truly,
Don Savant
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Trust Yourself
Every situation we face in life requires some degree of trust. Whether it's trusting someone, something or even yourself, there's always somewhere in the midst.
When we face decisions in our lives, we often wonder which road we should travel. There's usually an easy way and a hard way; then sometimes there's something in between. Most of the time, we operate on a trial and error basis. However, there are times when the choices we must make may have a great positive or negative impact in our lives. These are the times that we must trust our natural instincts. Usually, if something doesn't feel right, it usually isn't. There may be some instances when fear will take over and stop you from doing something in particular when it's exactly what you were supposed to do. That fear produces a completely different feeling. We have to learn to be so in tune with ourselves that we can tell the difference between the two automatically.
We have to trust ourselves enough to make the right situational choices in our lives. I'm not saying that we shouldn't or will never fail at anything because failure is ultimately a major component of success. If you've never failed at anything, then you've never experienced true success.
Never be afraid to fail. That's another part of that trust. You have to trust that if and when you do fail that you will learn and grow from it, not allowing it to deter you from trying again because I can promise you that on one of your attempts, you will succeed.
If you're a singer, you have to trust that you will carry your notes well. If you're a writer, you have to trust that your reader(s) will read and be able to relate to your stories. If you're facing peer pressure, you have to trust that you won't give in to it If it's something you know you shouldn't be doing.
There are so many situations that can lead you to somewhere, someone and /or something great. But, there are also situations that can be harmful and/or fatal to you. Always trust that God will lead you to the right situation and that your gut feeling is usually the one to listen to. Take care, be blessed and be a blessing.
-Don Savant
When we face decisions in our lives, we often wonder which road we should travel. There's usually an easy way and a hard way; then sometimes there's something in between. Most of the time, we operate on a trial and error basis. However, there are times when the choices we must make may have a great positive or negative impact in our lives. These are the times that we must trust our natural instincts. Usually, if something doesn't feel right, it usually isn't. There may be some instances when fear will take over and stop you from doing something in particular when it's exactly what you were supposed to do. That fear produces a completely different feeling. We have to learn to be so in tune with ourselves that we can tell the difference between the two automatically.
We have to trust ourselves enough to make the right situational choices in our lives. I'm not saying that we shouldn't or will never fail at anything because failure is ultimately a major component of success. If you've never failed at anything, then you've never experienced true success.
Never be afraid to fail. That's another part of that trust. You have to trust that if and when you do fail that you will learn and grow from it, not allowing it to deter you from trying again because I can promise you that on one of your attempts, you will succeed.
If you're a singer, you have to trust that you will carry your notes well. If you're a writer, you have to trust that your reader(s) will read and be able to relate to your stories. If you're facing peer pressure, you have to trust that you won't give in to it If it's something you know you shouldn't be doing.
There are so many situations that can lead you to somewhere, someone and /or something great. But, there are also situations that can be harmful and/or fatal to you. Always trust that God will lead you to the right situation and that your gut feeling is usually the one to listen to. Take care, be blessed and be a blessing.
-Don Savant
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)