If you knew how wonderful you are in someone's eyes...

If only you knew how much love there is for you on this side of creation...

If you only knew how much power is inside you...

Stop being your own worst critic. Stop abusing yourself. You wouldn't put up with that treatment from anyone else, so why do it to yourself? Why stew on all your mistakes? Why ponder over all the things you think you're missing and unable to do? Why put yourself down and give up on your own life?

Today, make it your decision to stop the abusive thoughts and words. Make it your decision to live in a positive atmosphere. Choose to encourage yourself. Choose to love on yourself. Keep believing and it will get better. Listen to your friends, family and strangers when they compliment you. Don't shrug it off. Accept it. Receive it in your heart and think on it. Whatever you think about most is what will manifest itself. Much love.

Join me at Officially Lacresha Hayes and on Twitter. I've also recently launched a new blog called Your Healing Partner. You definitely want to support that movement. I'm here to help restore you to healthy esteem and hopefully provide a starting point for your new life. If you hadn't yet, support me by ordering my books. You can get them on this site or order via Amazon. This helps me minister to the masses and keep an open line of encouragement for everyone. God bless!

Everyone has a story and a past. Everyone has some regrets. There are no perfect lives or perfect people, but there are more and more who are learning to be perfectly content. 

Contentment isn't discussed very often these days. We live in an age of consumerism. More, more, more is the message of media. But contentment is still just as beautiful and necessary to a whole and fulfilling life as it ever was. The age has changed, but the principles to build a good life will never change.

When you learn to quieten the appetite for more, you can fully appreciate what you already possess. Life is not now nor has it ever been nor will it ever be about what you have. Life has so many more facets to it. Contentment helps you to see every aspect, to appreciate every part of the journey and to grow from every experience. Embrace you as you are where you are right now. Be content. For more encouragement, join me at Officially Lacresha Hayes or subscribe to my blog.

Like many women, I've had times when I felt low and empty. I was hungry for affection and so the first kind thing a man would say to me made me think he could be "the one" for me. I went through a few too many relationships with nice guys who were not meant to be my guys.

As women, we're emotional and even the toughest of us are still emotionally susceptible when it comes to matters of the heart. If there is a history of abuse or bad relationships and low self-esteem, then that area is twice as vulnerable. But that emptiness you feel is not meant to drive you from bed to bed. It isn't an emptiness that can be filled by just any man, and in fact, cannot be healed by a man at all.

The hardest lesson is the one that makes us face ourselves. Love has to come from within and not without for it to matter. You cannot hope to meet anyone whose love is big enough to make up for the love you will not give to yourself. That's an incredible burden to place on anyone. The better idea would be to heal first by learning who you are and accepting that person, loving that person unconditionally and then choosing to give that person (YOU) the best life possible. And when this is done, the right person will not be difficult to find and the relationship will not begin with a deficit. Men, you know this goes both ways without saying.

If you enjoy these posts, I know you will enjoy our Officially Lacresha Hayes page full of insight and inspiration. Want to show your support financially? Order some of my books (on the home page) and spread the word. We also accept donations via Paypal. There are a ton of ways for you to help me spread the message and I hope that you will become more involved. God bless you each and every one.

Only a few years ago, I required the use of a walker regularly because of numbness and weakness that would come and go on the left side of my body. Even today, the numbness and pains still come. But I'm so grateful I don't have the physical limitations today I did just three short years ago.

I share my story in my book, CASCADE OF TEARS, and I hope that you will support it. This book is so important in that it deals with the emotional side of healing as well as the physical. Truth is, many of us have physical illnesses that stem from mental and emotional struggles. 

Reading Cascade of Tears will help you deal with depression, anger issues and problems with self-esteem. It will walk you through a journey of healing that puts you back in control of your life, regardless of what you've been diagnosed with or how long you've had it. This book is for chronic illness sufferers and for those who have emotional scars. Please use the order link on the home page of my website. I look forward to your feedback and your testimonies for this website.

Anger is a sneaky thing. It clouds our brain while giving our emotions a super boost, almost like Superman and the sun. The intense burn of a flare-up or the loathing that burns behind a smile, it is still anger. However it shows up, it isn't something that should be ignored or pushed to the back burner for a better time.

The last two years of my life have given me many things to be angry about at frequent intervals. At first, I was a mess. I reacted to everything that came my way. I didn't realize I was becoming reactionary and living on instinct alone. But living that way makes us no better than an animal. What makes people better is their ability to reason. But until I stopped reacting angrily, my reasoning skills were unused and underdeveloped.

I'm very happy that somewhere inside is the power of God to quieten my distresses and comfort my heart. I've learned to stop reacting to every painful thing. I'm no longer overly sensitive. I hope you all can work through anger and angry moments also. The best advice I can give is not to deny that you are angry. Don't accept blame just to make peace because your true heart will reveal that matter again down the road because there was never authentic closure. Don't do anything while you're angry. Sit and figure out why you feel how you feel, what triggered it and how often it happens. If you're a believer, pray diligently for the peace of God. Lastly, don't befriend angry people because it is easy to fall into that temptation. Godspeed to you all! Until next time, catch me on Twitter and Facebook.

It is a miracle to find a healthy, blossoming love. We hear the word love so often, we've forgotten how beautiful and how rare it is for two people to find each other and hold each other for a lifetime.

We've all seen the romantic movies and read the novels or heard the tales of great love. Still, seems love in real life is never quite as simple as the two hour movie special on Lifetime or Hallmark. In real life, we have to deal with distrust and disloyalty. We have to sort through our feelings and decide if each infraction is worth terminating the relationship, or if it is only a kink in the chain that can be fixed. We have to battle our own changing desires and ideas as it relates to our partner. And we're supposed to do it without hurting them or ourselves, which sometimes it comes down to a choice of who will suffer. Sometimes,  you find yourself giving up your primary interests to alleviate your partner of concerns or for his/her better interests. Other times, you push forward in direct opposition to your mate, causing a great deal of friction. Daily living with this one person makes for many challenges if you want to last.

A fact of life and love is that pain happens even in the best relationships. Everyone who is happy together now has not always been that way. They have hurt one another, failed one another, went through disconnects. Furthermore, they remember those things even now while they are happy, but choose each other over the temptation of anger or anguish at the memories.

Not every woman who has been cheated on left her mate. Not every man who has been lied to and used turns away from the woman he loves. People endure lying, infidelity, violent rages, brutal arguments, babies outside of marriage, illnesses, financial strain, family disagreements and even drug abuse or imprisonment just to make their marriages work. Sure there are a ton of people out there telling you that you shouldn't have to go through these things, that it is dysfunctional, that it isn't God, that leaving certain kinds of people is the best option. But there are just as many old married couples who have been through all of it and stayed together. After 25, 30 and 50 years together, they believe they made the right choice.

My point: work out your own relationships. Don't buy the hype of a perfect man or woman, or perfect relationship conditions. All those glittering relationships aren't gold. They are just like yours. They are troubled sometimes. They are joyful sometimes. They feel like all other people, tired of each other sometimes. Sometimes they remember bad things against their will too and suffer from bouts of anger or pain. But they are together, and for that, we must thank every one of them. Each enduring marriage is a testimony of grace, love and mercy.