Fear of rejection and being judged is the reason many people never release themselves to be all they can be. We begin adopting the habits and mannerisms of those around us to fit in and this peer pressure does not end after school years. In fact, I'm convinced adults yield to peer pressure more often than children.

Long ago, I decided to follow my own path and dance to my own drums. I'm an 808 girl. lol

When you live true to yourself, you'll still make mistakes, still cry sometimes, still have pain. However, you'll heal. You'll smile. You'll find contentment and peace. You'll learn to love and appreciate yourself and the life you've been given. You'll see the purpose in your existence and others will applaud you for what you add to their lives. We all need authentic people, but for that to happen, we all must choose to be authentic people. Be bold enough to be yourself. Don't become someone else's clone, or yield to their expectations. Rather, allow God's design to shine as the one-of-a-kind creation you are. Many won't understand you, but the Bible told us God made us peculiar. Who wants to be a carbon copy of someone else anyway? 

For more inspiration, check me out at Officially Lacresha Hayes fan page.

There are so many things I wish to express and sometimes I feel like I don't have the time, words or skills to express it effectively. Today, I've been thinking about how truly hopeless life is without God. I'm not writing this to win souls or to win kudos from adoring friends and family. This is me sharing another facet of myself.

In 2001, I began a personal relationship with God in Jesus Christ. But throughout my life, I've always known Him on some level. I wasn't raised in church. My family was not religious. But there was something else there that had been there as long as I had existed. You see, God never creates anything that doesn't recognize Him, even if it doesn't want to, including us. The Bible tells us that one day every knee is going to bow and every tongue confess Christ as Lord. But let me get back on point.

During my life, I've suffered some excruciatingly painful ordeals. I remember how pain felt before I surrendered myself to God. I also am quite familiar with how it feels with Him. Without God, life is empty. No amount of money, no amount of companionship, no amount of activity can cover it for very long. And while you'll meet a lot of "successful" people who appear content, trust me when I say there is no contentment when you don't have that first relationship right. In fact, knowing your Creator is the central issue that will affect the quality of your life, not from the outside but the inside where the truth lies.

It was quite by accident, but as the story of Cheyenne's life developed, anger with God became an issue. My character had to get over her preconceived ideas about God, life and fairness. She felt if God did exist, he'd been unfair and unreasonable to take her parents as a child and leave her in the hands of an abusive uncle. Read more in my book, Raw Redemption.

In your own life, there may be times when you cannot understand God's action or inaction. Of course, He can prevent, block and micromanage every life, but wouldn't that defeat the purpose of human existence? God doesn't want to control us like puppets. He wants us free to live and choose what we will do, believe, and love. Thus, this world brings pain to each of us and it has nothing to do with God's fairness or love for us. But because that knowledge sometimes comes late or never at all, many people today walk around angry with God. 

If you've endured hard times, remember that God still loves you. Your hard times does not change one thing about His nature or the plan He has for your life. Time to make peace with God and with yourself. Life is what it is, but the blessing of faith is that in all our changes, we're loved, adored and seen after by God.

I find myself reflecting differently upon the words in the Bible today. I thought about so many of the OT scriptures that refer to God's character. None can doubt that He is a compassionate God. Throughout the whole Bible, He is shown to be someone whose perfect love is not returned or appreciated, yet He never forsakes those He has chosen.

In one passage, God talks about how He found us polluted in our own blood and cast away, the disgrace of people, but He cleaned us up and covered us in His robe. Not just once or twice, God depicted Himself as a loving spouse who cannot help but to keep loving and taking His bride back into His arms. Each word shows a heart that yearns for US.

No matter what you've done or have been through, God is saying you aren't too filthy for Him to love, accept and honor. He wants to make you the joy of His heart and proof of His love to a dying world. Accept the love of God and His extended hand. There is no mistaking that there will never be a love better than His. Pick yourself up because you are still adored in His eyes.

God sees us as we are without any covering or superficiality. He knows us intimately because He created us individually. He knows every issue, every pain, every fear as well as every hope, every dream and every desire. This is the mindful, thoughtful, loving God we serve or refuse. Whether we want Him or not, He loves us all.

Today is a great day to give God a little bit of His goodness back. Open yourself to the hurting people around you. Tis true that we all have some hidden pain that can be healed only by open, honest, sacrificial love. So spread God's unconditional love to others by loving them in whatever state they are in, as God does you.