Last night I could not sleep so I decided to browse around on a social media site.  I came across a page dedicated to getting justice for a 22 year-old female who was recently shot and killed by police officers.

My heart goes out to her three-year-old son who woke up today, as he will everyday for the rest of his life, without his mother.

There are conflicting stories as to what actually happened.  I am not writing to debate what did or did not happen.

I just want to remind everyone today how precious this life is that we have been blessed with. We should not take it for granted.

• I encourage you to hug tight, kiss and love your loved ones everyday because we do not know when it will be their last.
• I encourage you to not “sweat the small stuff” that happens in life.  Remember, “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it.”
• I encourage to live without regrets and fear.  If God put something on your heart to do, dare to do it.  For one day, you may wish you had and it may be too late.
• I encourage you to bless someone with kindness and love today.  It can be something as simple as a smile or a kind word.  You never know whose life your encouragement will change.
• I encourage you to stop today and “smell the roses” and recognize the beauty in this life you have been blessed with.  Count your blessings one by one.
• I encourage you to laugh and laugh some more.  It is therapeutic!  In addition, it is hard to be angry or upset when you are laughing.
• I encourage you to make peace with someone you have been at odds with.  Ask yourself if the reason you are not talking is worth not having that special someone in your life.
• I encourage you to “taste your words before you spit them out.”  Once you release them, you cannot take them back.
• I encourage to find the “jolly” in every “moment” life brings your way.  I know sometimes that is hard to do, but if we magnify, or focus on the good in our life, the bad will not seem as important.  We will be a lot happier and less bitter for it.
• In the rare case that someone who believes in violence as the solution to their problem is reading this blog, I encourage you to think before you pull the trigger.  That’s someone’s mother, father, brother, sister, son, daughter, husband, wife, or friend.  Whatever it is, taking a life is not worth it!
• Finally, I encourage you to “live a life that measures up to the standard God set when he called you.”(Ephesians 4:1 Good News Translation)

Every day, LIVE with PURPOSE and DO IT on PURPOSE!

If you liked this post, you may also like “Giving Thanks: A Lifestyle Not a Holiday“, “Count Your Blessings, Not Your Problems“,  “When Life Happens, How Will You Respond“ and “It Takes a Village”
~Keishawna