Author: Bianca A. McCormick-Johnson

In short, I'm a work of ART (Aptitude, Responsibility, & Talent). My goal is to Attract, Retain, and Teach an audience between the ages of 14 to about 50 and beyond the disciplines of life. I've been blessed with the gift of giving knowledge and creating peace within the souls of many who are starving for spiritual satisfaction. I'm no prophet, but I do believe that I am one of God's chosen spiritual leaders and sources of information on how to walk a straight path down a crooked road.

Surround Yourself With Love

In a world full of hate, you must surround yourself with love. People who genuinely love you will never make you question the relationship. They will stand with you in pain and defend you in private or public, but they will also tell you when you’re wrong because they love you. You may see them or talk to them every day, but they’re always just one call away. These types of people create healthy environments, but they may not always include your family members.

Identify your circle of love

You should know who really loves you. If not, now is a good time to find out. If you’re not sure of how, call them up and tell them you want to see them. If they don’t sound a bit excited, they care nothing about seeing you and clearly don’t love you, unless there is some reasonable explanation for their reaction.

I only interact with people who are delighted to see me. Their energy tells me everything I need to know. When I visit my family and friends, their smile is big enough to light the room. If I don’t feel positive energy when I enter a room, I won’t feel welcome and will keep my distance.

Prioritize the relationship

Good people should never be placed on the back burner. However, some people have a habit of hanging around people who don’t love them. That’s how important acceptance is to people. So many people have told me they don’t have many friends but keep an entourage everywhere they go. I understand the concept of keeping your enemies closer, but if you’re always surrounded by negative energy, how do you expect to have a positive outlook on life?

Instead of hanging out with your enemies, pray for them instead. You need to be as closest to people who value you, appreciate you, love you, and care about you. Those are the ones who will show up for you, listen to you, make you feel special, and remember you. Your name will always be at the top of their guest list.

Pray for them

Whenever someone asks you to intercede in prayer, you should. Prayer is more powerful than anything else you can give. Plus, it only takes seconds! However, it’s those prayers that people don’t ask for that are more meaningful.

If I tell you I lost my job, I shouldn’t have to ask you to pray for me. If I tell you I’m ill, I shouldn’t have to ask. If I tell you I just haven’t been myself lately, I shouldn’t have to ask. No matter what the situation is, if you are made aware, I shouldn’t have to ask you for prayer.

Speaking of prayer, when people you love announce their loss, pain, or hardship on social media, don’t just throw prayer hands up without words of encouragement. Better yet, take the time to type a short prayer or send a private message. The phone always works too.

Sometimes God meets your needs through the people he places in your life. Take a few minutes to think about all the times someone from your circle of love has helped you, even if it was just emotional support or prayers.

“Your safe space of grace should consist of people who love you. They are anointed by God to give you immediate access to his blessings.”

-Bianca A. McCormick-Johnson ✍🏽

You Woke Up Today

If you’re reading this, it means you woke up today. Not everyone did. So be grateful. Whether you woke up in good or bad spirits, you still woke up. Whether you woke up to good or bad news, you still woke up.

My take on waking up is this: 1) I defeated the devil by doing so. 2) I’m given another opportunity to show love, grace, and mercy to someone. 3) I get to soak up another day of life’s blessings. 4) I’m one day closer to achieving my goals.

“I defeated the devil by doing so“

Waking up is a blessing from God, not Satan. Satan fills us with enough stress, worry, and anxiety to kill us in our sleep. That’s why it is important to go to bed with positive thoughts. You must keep the enemy from attacking you, even while you sleep.

Natural causes of death will occur. That’s fate. But if you don’t get control of your thoughts and emotions, you’ll become a lifeless, miserable soul. You might be physically woke but dying within. Thus, God also wakes us up to give us another chance to choose happiness.

“I’m given another opportunity to show love, grace, and mercy to someone”

I believe that as long as God continues to breathe life into me, the least I can do is give life to someone else by showing love, grace, or mercy. It’s called, “paying it forward”.

You don’t realize how much of a blessing waking up is until you’ve learned that someone you knew did not wake up today. Therefore, I try to treat every day like it’s my last. I will show love to someone in sometimes the simplest ways like sending a kind text message. I will help whomever I can whenever I can. I will forgive quickly and keep it moving.

Obedience is my priority, and I lead by example. That’s my mission.

“I get to soak up another day of life’s blessings”

The biggest blessings I enjoy waking up to are God’s grace, my family, and my health. Nothing else matters more. Some people wake up to the stock market. Some wake up to social media or television. Some wake up to music or whatever floats their boat. I can’t weigh your blessings on my scale. However, some of the little things I enjoy waking up to are a bed, a home with A/C and heat, transportation, and good food!

“I’m one day closer to achieving my goals”

Whether it seems like it or not, every calendar day counts toward achieving your goals, short and long term. Weren’t we just in 2024? Aren’t we already in April? Before you know it, you’ll be paying off that debt, owning that car or home, graduating from college, starting that business, taking that dream vacation, or saying “I do” at the alter. But one of the easiest ones you can achieve is getting closer to God.

Say it with me, “I am blessed because I woke up today!”

“If tomorrow isn’t promised, then don’t take today for granted. Happiness is a mindset. You just have to demand it.”

-Bianca A. McCormick-Johnson ✍🏽

The Government Is Not God

Whether at local, state, or federal level, you’re not safe in the hands of any government. The events occurring around the world today are evidence of history repeating itself and living in the last days. You cannot change what is destined to happen. However, you can change your attitude about what’s happening. Fate is a force of nature, but your faith can prepare you for what’s about to happen.

I’m not happy about the way our current president is handling the economy, but he was not appointed by God. The people put him in office. Some regret their decisions, and some still support his administration. To each his own. You can rant and debate about politics on social media, or you can give it to God. Put most of your energy on your knees to meet your needs.

It is our civil duty to cast our votes at the election polls. Faith doesn’t change that. Maybe your vote matters or maybe it doesn’t. Nonetheless, faith without works is a dead end. What I’ve learned is that our actions don’t stop at the polls.

We must pray for our leaders and promote change within our own communities, starting with your circle. Start having those tough conversations and healthy debates with your family members, friends and colleagues in an effort to understand their point of view. A polarized discussion can lead to a harmonized decision.

The goal is not necessarily to change people’s minds but to make them aware of how their decision may negatively affect someone they love or care about. It’s also important to know that many voting decisions are for selfish reasons, not the greater good of the people. Usually when people have one-sided debates or advocate for a particular change, that’s all they care about. Be a voice of love and reform for everyone, not just yourself.

I’m impartial to politics because they keep us divided. I don’t agree or disagree with everything from either party because neither is righteous. We print “In God We Trust” on our currency, but we took prayer out of public schools. So, to whom do we trust now?

I really don’t think God would be pleased with many of the proposed changes because they go against his teachings. If we’re not going to run our country according to God’s will, then his name shouldn’t be on our currency.

Fix what you can of yourself because you can’t fix this economy with worry, whining, and complaining. No president has ever been able to please everyone. Only God can do that.

“There may be multiple parties, but there’s only one God. Your mission may seem impossible, but for him, it’s never hard.”

-Bianca A. McCormick-Johnson ✍🏽