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Category: Special Thoughts

  • Are You Living Your Life Based on How God Wants You to Live?

    Making important decisions is an integral part of our lives. But how do you go about making these decisions? Do our decisions show that we’re living our lives based on how Jehovah wants us to live? Let’s learn about the future rewards we can obtain if we continue to do this.

    Are the Decisions You’re Making Pleasing Jehovah?

    We all have to make decisions in life-whether they’re small or large. When making decisions, we have to first get the facts about the situation, consider Jehovah’s thinking on the matter, and weigh our options. Some good examples of serious decisions we face are whether to accept a job offer that could cause us to work overtime, whether to go see a movie that has some questionable scenes in it, or whether to move out of state. It’s important that if you want to live your life the way Jehovah wants you to live it, you must take the time to research his counsel from his tools such as the Research Guide and his Word, the Bible.

    woman holding a box
    Whether you’re making a small or big decision, like moving away, make sure your decisions are pleasing to God.

    Why We Must Live for God and His Son

    We must live for our God, Jehovah, and his Son because they’ve done so much for us. They gave us life, delicious food to eat, and beautiful natural surroundings. They gave us the ability to think, show emotion, and help people. But the most important gift they gave us was the ransom sacrifice. Without Jehovah giving his beloved Son as a ransom sacrifice, we wouldn’t be able to enjoy some beautiful future rewards. Let’s talk about those future blessings and what you must do to get them.

    Future Rewards We Can Obtain

    There is an abundance of future blessings that we can obtain thanks to this beautiful gift God and his Son gave to us. The main blessing is the prospect of enjoying everlasting life. Can you imagine living in a world with no crime and violence? Can you imagine living in a world free from going to the doctor or taking someone you love to the hospital? Can you also imagine seeing your dead loved ones again? It’s certainly possible thanks to God’s ransom sacrifice. What do we have to do to obtain all of these beautiful future blessings? All Jehovah is asking of us is to exercise faith in this ransom sacrifice.

    Putting Jehovah and His Son First Will Save Your Life

    When we make important decisions in our lives, we must allow our heavenly Father to guide our thinking. He and his son know what’s best for us and they love us. When we allow Jehovah’s wisdom to guide our decision-making, we show that we are willing to live for him and his dear Son. It also shows our deep respect and strong faith in their beautiful gift, Christ’s ransom sacrifice. So as we all get together to celebrate another Memorial of Christ’s death, let’s take this time to reflect on how we can continue to live our lives according to how God wants us to live.

    What does living your life based on how God wants you to live mean to you? Feel free to share your thoughts about this or Christ’s ransom sacrifice in the comments section below. As always, be sure to like or share this post with the next person you know celebrating the Memorial.

  • Why Taking Care of Our Health Starts with Our Spiritual Health

    In my blog, Good News for the Soul, I share a lot of information about our physical and mental health that we need to know. However, occasionally, I do take a little time to share some deeper information that we all need for our entire hearts, minds, and souls. In this world, we must take care of our spiritual health just as much as other aspects of it. Let’s examine this spiritual health, how it impacts our mental and physical health, and how we can keep it strong despite the challenges we face in this world.

    What is Spiritual Health?

    Spiritual health is defined as our need for spiritual nourishment through God’s Word, the Bible. It’s a little deeper than mental health and physical health in that it involves caring for our spiritual figurative heart. We care for our mental health by doing some deep breathing exercises and our physical health by exercising. But with spiritual health, it’s vital to feed our whole mind and soul with the meaningful words found in God’s Word. Meditating on it deeply is essential to build our relationship with our Heavenly Father, Jehovah.

    You may wonder, does the state of our spiritual health have anything to do with our mental and physical health? Let’s find that out in the next subheading.

    two bibles in English and Haitian Creole
    Taking care of various aspects of our health starts with our spiritual health.

    Our Spiritual Health Impacts Our Mental & Physical Health

    The state of our spiritual health does play a role in the health of our mental and physical well-being. Medical research has shown that your physical health is closely linked to your spiritual health. One professor has mentioned that several research articles finding a positive link between our increased spirituality and the improvement of our health. When we’re more aware of our spiritual needs, our physical and mental health condition is usually more stable. While not every aspect of our health will be perfect, we will see ourselves feel better when our spirituality is strong.

    How We Can Keep Our Spiritual Health Strong

    So how can we keep our spirituality strong? As was mentioned earlier, reading and meditating on what you read in the Bible is great. But what should you do after this? Is it enough to just read, think about what you’ve read, and go on about your day? When I learn something new, I feel compelled to want to practice doing this new thing. It could be like learning a new skill or hobby. Would you be content with gaining knowledge of what you’ve learned? You will probably want to apply it in real life, correct?

    The same applies to learning new principles from God’s Word, the Bible. Putting it into application in your life will help really keep your spiritual health strong.

    We Must Keep Our Spiritual Health Solid

    This world may put a lot of weight on being physically and mentally healthy. But no matter how hard you try to maintain your health on the outside, it doesn’t mean anything if you’re not healthy on the inside. This world isn’t getting any better. It’s advancing from bad to worse. That’s why we must keep our spiritual health solid and strong as we continue to strive in this difficult world.

    Do you think keeping your spiritual health strong is just as important as keeping up with your physical and mental health? Feel free to share your thoughts and feelings about this in the comments section below. As always, be sure to like or share this post with the next person you know who’s conscious of their spiritual need.

  • My 5 Favorite Good News Blog Stories of 2024

    Now that we’re almost at the end of 2024, I think it’s time for me to recap some of my favorite stories for this year. I chose these five stories based on positive reactions from social media, but I also personally liked them. Here they are, in order from the fifth best to number one.

    5. 4 Fun Mental Health Activities that’ll Help You During this Summer

      This simple post I wrote in June received positive reactions from my LinkedIn followers. No matter what time of the year, many people struggling with mental health need some good activities to manage their condition. Whether it’s exploring a new neighborhood in their area, going out for a jog, or having a picnic, you’ll be helping your brain a lot by exposing it to these Vitamin D-friendly activities.

      4. How to Boost Your Gut Health with a Time-Saving 7-Day Meal Plan

        This is a meal plan I still have yet to try, but I’m going to eventually. We could all nourish our gut one day at a time by being mindful of the foods we put in it. What I like about this meal plan is that it does look time-saving. All of the recipes come from the Eating Well website.

        3. What’s the Link Between Perimenopause and Brain Fog?

          Perimenopause is known as the early transitional phase for women before menopause. There are a lot of known symptoms that are linked to this stage in a woman’s life, but I bring up one in particular known as brain fog. This is when you start to not think as clearly as you used to. You start to forget important things like your keys. Exercising more and having hobbies that stimulate the brain could help you alleviate brain fog.

          2. My Beautiful Experiences Participating in the Miami Preaching Campaign

            This year was a busy one for me, regarding traveling. In January, I got the chance to participate in a Haitian Creole special preaching campaign. It was not only my first (of three times already) visiting Miami this year. But it was a humbling, faith-strengthening experience of spreading God’s message that I’ll never forget.

            1. An Exciting, Rainy & Spiritual Fun-Filled Road Trip

            Haitian food
            Savory Haitian Food in Albertville, Alabama.

              This was a special fun time I experienced this year. My friend and I decided to go on a summer road trip to visit Indiana, Alabama, Florida, & Georgia. We enjoyed our time helping a nice Haitian Creole group in Alabama, eating some good food in Miami, and enduring torrential rain. But I’m glad we pushed on through in our rental car and had our adventure. Sometimes, you need to do something extraordinary like that- see more of what the world has to offer.

              Those were the five stories I’ve enjoyed talking about this year. It was a very busy, exciting year for me personally and for women’s health. Let’s see what 2025 has in store as we continue to see our healthcare system evolve and impact us.

              What was your favorite blog post from my Good News for the Soul blog this year? If you’re a follower, feel free to share your favorite one in the comments section below. As always, be sure to like or share this post with the next person you know.

            1. Why Self-Care Will Always Matter for Women in a Fast-Paced World?

              No disrespect to men, but we, as women, are the hardest-working people in the world. We are mothers, wives, caregivers, daughters, sisters, aunts, friends, etc. We are also employees and business owners. Fulfilling all those roles in our everyday life could sometimes become so overwhelming, that we start to forget about our self-care. That’s why this is something that’ll always matter to our health and survival in a fast-paced world. Let’s examine some reasons as to why this is the case.

              How Does a Fast-Paced World Affect Our Well-being

              The world that we live in can be truly hectic and overwhelming. The mounting problems and responsibilities that we have could sometimes feel bigger than we are. As important as our jobs and careers are, we must be careful in allowing them to take over our lives. Not only we will experience endless stress and burnout, but we’ll also start to lose touch with our needs when life moves too fast. Becoming too busy could cause us to lose sight of our mental, physical, and emotional health.

              Why Self-Care Matters to Women Today

              Self-care will always matter to women because we need to fully function in our lives. It can look different for every woman, whether it’s getting enough sleep, going on vacation, getting yourself a makeover, or doing anything else that makes you feel good. Just last week, I just came from an enjoyable Royal Caribbean cruise with my family and friends. We visited the Western Caribbean area of Roatan, Honduras, Costa Maya, Mexico, and Cozumel, Mexico.

              Self-care is also beneficial to our mental health, which controls our emotional well-being. When you’re experiencing any form of mental illness, you must engage in self-care, along with medical care from doctors. You have to be willing to help yourself cope with your issues. When you implement more self-care practices into your life, you start to build resilience and improve your ability to cope with your mental illness.

              woman reading
              Our self-care should always matter, especially while living in a fast-paced world.

              Self-Care Tips for Women with Busy Lives

              Many of us women lead busy, hectic lives that could make it hard for us to take care of ourselves. Because of that, we must make little fragments of time to do something to benefit ourselves. Even if it’s only 2-5 minutes, take some time to stretch, go for a walk, think, do jumping jacks, or anything else that could make you feel better. As I’m writing this blog post, I’ve got up and walked a few times to help me get through writing it. Some people have found journaling or listening to music to be therapeutic for them. Using our electronic devices too much isn’t beneficial for our self-care.

              Why Taking Care of Your Self is Crucial to Your Health

              Self-care is considered to be crucial to women’s health while living in a fast-paced world. This world could cause us to neglect every aspect of our health. We need our self-care in order to live, be strong, and take care of others. A doctor isn’t going to be of any good use to you if you’re not taking care of yourself. There are times when you have to be your own doctor.

              So do yourself a favor and take care of your physical, mental, and emotional health. Do it for the rest of this year and going into the new year. In what ways do you think self-care matters in a fast-paced world? Why do you think self-care is crucial to women’s health? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below. As always, be sure to like or share this post with the next busy woman you know.

            2. An Exciting, Rainy & Spiritual Fun-Filled Road Trip

              I just had an interesting 3 ½ weeks in this hot month of July. I recently returned from a road trip with a friend where we visited some old friends and made some new ones across 4 states. It was a road trip that I don’t think I’ll ever forget because I have never been to one quite like this. We tasted various cuisines, visited sunny beaches, and took some pictures. The places we visited were Jeffersonville, Indiana, Albertville, Alabama, a few cities in the sunshine state of Florida, and Conyers, Georgia. We had a good time and here are some of the highlights of our trip.

              Witnessing to Haitians in Alabama

              After staying with a nice couple and eating some rich fine chocolate in Jeffersonville, Indy, we embarked on a special visit to Albertville, Alabama where we got to work with a Haitian Creole group. We attended their meeting and went out in the ministry with them. I demonstrated two Bible studies with two Haitian men in the same household and my road trip partner helped start a study with a nice lady. I didn’t realize there were so many Haitians living in Albertville. They have their own store and restaurant in the downtown part of the town. After service, we stopped and ate at the restaurant called Haitian Style and it was truly delicious.

              Haitian food
              Savory Haitian Food in Albertville, Alabama.

              Visiting a Humble, Country Town Called Live Oak

              It wasn’t enough for us to visit Alabama. We had to pay a few visits in the sunshine state of Florida, too. Our first stop was spending some time with a dear friend of ours in Live Oak. She had a lovely home for us to stay and keep her company. Live Oak is a quiet town with long, country roads and a few stores to visit. But I still had a nice time visiting her congregation meeting (the first time in a while giving a comment in English) and going out in the ministry with them. They have some beautiful, forest-like territory. After doing one door, an owner’s dog adorably continued to chase after us down the road as we were driving off.

              Spending Time with More Friends in Other Florida Cities

              We experienced more interchange of encouragement when we eventually made our way to Jacksonville, Palm Coast, and even back to Miami. My friend and I both participated in the Haitian Creole preaching campaign this past January. So it was very special to reunite with our dear friends from the congregations we were assigned. But before we headed there, we made a couple of stops to visit a couple of other friends.

              In Jacksonville, we stayed with a sister who had a nice house and family. They even fed us spaghetti for breakfast. After spending some time there, we headed over to Palm Coast to visit some friends there. It was a lot of rain we had to go through in Florida. But we had a nice time overall in the Sunshine State. We walked on the boardwalk in Hollywood Beach and ate some grilled mahi tacos. We visited a Haitian food truck in Miami that served some turkey wings that my friend loved. Did I mention we visited an ice cream shop in Little Havana? Of course, we also got the chance to practice our Haitian Creole speaking along the way.

              hollywood beach boardwalk
              Walking along Hollywood Beach Boardwalk

              A Convention in Georgia We Must Attend

              Whew, after all this traveling, we still had a Haitian Creole regional convention in Georgia to attend. When the time came for this event, we were ready to leave Florida and head to Conyers, GA. It was a beautiful convention. I saw a lot of old and new friends. We had a good informal witnessing experience at a restaurant we went to in Conyers. The only unfortunate thing about it was that it rained every day that we were there. But I was happy that we were able to get the spiritual instruction we needed last weekend.

              It was my first time being out of town this long. Taking a vacation like this is a good way to clear your head away from all the stress of the world. It was so nice to visit a few southeastern states and come to learn about their sights and sounds. Take a little time this summer or next to go on at least one road trip with some friends. You’ll be glad that you did.

              If you’re thinking about going on a road trip or you’ve already gone on one, feel free to share your travel story in the comments below. As always, be sure to like or share this post with the next traveling buddy that you know.

            3. New York State of Mind During Another Beautiful Campaign

              After I attended my circuit assembly in Newburgh, NY, earlier this month, my partner and I drove over to Queens Village to participate in New York’s Haitian Creole campaign. This is now the second campaign that I’ve been a part of. The first one was in Miami this past January. I must say, “Mesi anpil, Jewova” for giving me the strength, energy, health, and confidence to participate in not one, but two preaching campaigns. I almost didn’t apply for New York’s campaign. I’m glad I changed my mind.

              me posing behind a taxi frame
              It was a joy to participate in New York’s Haitian Creole Preaching Campaign
              new york campaign sign
              New York Campaign Welcome Sign

              Enthusiastically Giving a Witness to Haitian People

              While I did get the chance to witness to some Haitians in Miami’s campaign, it seems like I took it to another level during New York’s campaign. I was able to demonstrate the free home bible study program to four people. I remember being so excited to share a video with a nice lady at the door about how our bible study program works after sharing the brochure with her. There was even one man I gave a witness to who looked so amazed at me speaking Haitian Creole to him. He even asked me why I wanted to learn this language. I told him (in Haitian Creole) I wanted to help more people learn about Jehovah and his son, Jesus.

              Developing my Creole Speaking Skills

              I really got the chance to build up my conversational skills during New York’s campaign. The brothers and sisters in the congregation my partner and I were assigned to really practiced with us. They disciplined us to have more conversations in Haitian Creole. One of the sisters made sure to not interrupt my partner while she was trying to get her point across. The friends at Queens Village Haitian Creole challenged us to speak more in this language, whether we were doing it correctly or not.

              Making More New Friends in Queens Village

              How nice it is to visit another congregation somewhere and make some more new friends! The friends there were so amazed by our self-sacrificing spirit. They were also seemingly amazed by me and my partner willingness to drive many miles from Chicago to New York for their month-long campaign. We not only preached and ate like “queens” with them. They even invited us to go bowling with them. That was a lot of fun. My partner and I were assigned such a very warm Haitian Creole congregation and it was hard to leave them.

              A Joy to Be Part of a Second Campaign

              Initially, I thought participating in Miami’s campaign was enough for me. I was in a major city in Florida that is the closest thing to Haiti. But I was wrong. It was an absolute joy to participate in New York’s Haitian Creole preaching campaign as well. I’ve really practiced my Creole speaking, witnessed to several Haitian people, ate really well, and made even more friends. These friends hardly didn’t want to see us leave. What a joy to be a part of Jehovah’s worldwide organization!

              Have you ever been on a memorable, spiritual trip? What about a preaching campaign like me and my partner were a part of? Please feel free to share in the comments section below. You could talk about any other memorable trip that you were a part of. As always, be sure to like or share this post with the next dear brother and sister that you know and love.

            4. 4 Ways We Can Continue to Show Appreciation for the Ransom after the Memorial

              We’re almost at the most important event of the year. This event is none other than the Memorial of Christ’s Death. Many of us are looking forward to this day, which will be held on March 24 this year. As important as this day is for my dear friends and myself, it’s also important that we continue to show our appreciation for it every single day. How can we do this? Here are 4 ways we can show our appreciation for Christ’s beautiful ransom gift even after it ends.

              Read the Bible Daily

              If we want to continue learning and deepening our appreciation for the ransom, we must be diligent in reading and studying the Bible every day. We should do more than just merely read the Bible. It’s also important to do some background research on what we’re learning. Consider making use of tools such as the Watchtower Library, JW.org, or JW Library. People who are attending the Memorial for the first time could ask for a free home Bible study. All of these things help you to deeply take in knowledge and strengthen your appreciation for the ransom.

              Meditate on the Ransom

              After we deeply study the Bible, we must take the time to think about what we learned. As you’re thinking, it’s important to analyze what Christ’s ransom sacrifice means to you. The more you meditate on this loving sacrifice, the more it’ll draw you closer to the Father and his Dear son. Meditating more on the scriptures from the Bible allows you to think about other questions such as what does this scripture account teach me about Jehovah. You may likely find yourself getting emotional as you read about God’s greatest gift to mankind.

              Talk to People about this Ransom Sacrifice

              When people are really appreciative of something, they’ll more than likely tell people instead of holding it in. That’s why we go out in the ministry to share with people about this sacrifice. We want others to come to deeply understand and appreciate God’s greatest gift as we are. Hence, the reason for our Memorial campaign is that we strive to invite as many people as possible to this important event. We want to help others draw closer to Jehovah and his son. Jesus commissioned us to “go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations.”

              Strive to Live our Life for Jehovah and Jesus

              The fourth and last way is one of the most important ones to express our appreciation for the ransom even after the Memorial celebration. It involves us living our lives for our heavenly Father. This means doing our best to live our lives based on the way that Jehovah wants us to live. He wants all people to come to know and love him. But he also wants us to obey him by living a morally clean life that pleases him.

              child looking up at the sky
              We all can show appreciation for Christ’s ransom sacrifice by choosing to live for our Heavenly Father.

              Those are some of the most important ways we can continue to show our appreciation for the ransom sacrifice after the Memorial celebration. As we all come together to have our annual celebration, let us not only think about acknowledging this ransom gift on March 24. We must also think about how we’re going to keep it in our minds and hearts by showing our appreciation every day.

              Share your thoughts and ways how you will continue to show your appreciation for God’s ransom sacrifice after the Memorial in the comments section below. As always, be sure to like or share this post with the next person you love and care about who’s celebrating the Memorial of Christ’s Death with you.

            5. My Beautiful Experiences Participating in the Miami Preaching Campaign

              I know you haven’t seen me in a couple of weeks. That’s because I’ve been preparing my mind and heart to go to Miami, FL for a special Haitian Creole preaching campaign. When I arrived there the weekend before last, I was excited to be a part of this beautiful privilege of helping Haitian people learn about Jehovah and his son, Jesus Christ. I was also very excited about improving my Haitian Creole speaking skills. Let me share with you some of my beautiful experiences participating in this campaign.

              Sharing God’s Life-Saving Message to Haitian People

              As Jehovah’s Witnesses, we come from various nationalities and ethnic backgrounds. This is because God desires for all people to come to know and love him. Being a part of this month-long campaign in a city with a high population of Haitian people allowed me to imitate Jehovah and express that love to them. Whether we’re going door-to-door, doing informal witnessing, or standing behind a cart of literature, we’re showing our love for all people, including those of Haitian nationality, by sharing God’s message of everlasting life. I had the pleasure of doing that when I witnessed to a couple of people during door-to-door work, informally at a store and the Miami airport, and at the carts.

              me holding my badge
              Me holding my badge as I begin to participate in the Haitian Creole Special Preaching Campaign.

              Really Practicing My Haitian Creole Speaking Skills

              With so many Haitian people in this area, I really had to flex my Haitian Creole language-speaking muscles. My partner and I were assigned to help out a local congregation’s territory that had predominantly Haitian people. I find myself speaking in this language more often than usual. While I wasn’t perfect, I think I did get my point across in sharing the good news with those who were willing to hear it.

              welcome to little Haiti sign
              Welcome to Little Haiti sign outside of the Haitian Heritage Museum in Miami.

              Making More New Friends

              Of course, when you go away somewhere, you’re bound to make new friends. But in Jehovah’s organization, you inherit a whole new family. My partner and I met so many different brothers and sisters from various states. Most of them attend Haitian Creole congregations or groups and some attend English congregations. The friends from the congregation we were assigned fed us well each day and even treated us to a special evening show filled with music performances, interviews, and a brother playing the sax. They even gave us a few sweet gifts.

              Why It Was a Joy to Be a Part of This Campaign

              Being a part of the special Miami Haitian Creole preaching campaign was truly a joy beyond compare. I never got the chance to do something like this before and it was truly a humbling experience helping Miami East Haitian Creole congregation with their amazing territory. I only hope that the people I gave a witness to while I was there become productive students of God’s Word and come to love and serve Jehovah. I’ll miss all of the friends there. However, I look forward to allowing this experience to help me think more positively about my own Chicago territory. There are still Haitian people in this territory who are eager to learn the truth. My friends and I are determined to rely on Jehovah and lespri sen l, or his holy spirit, to help us find them.

              Have you ever gone on a very memorable trip or vacation like I have that you’ll never forget? Where was it and what made it so memorable? Feel free to share this special trip in the comments section below. As always, be sure to like or share this post with the next dear brother and sister you love and care about.

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