To ‘affirm’ is to declare it so; it is a positive declaration that validates what we believe to be true. In short, an affirmation is our truth.

“Let the weak say ‘I am strong’”, declares the prophet Joel (Joel 3:10).

It cannot fail, it cannot be untrue, and there is no element of capriciousness to it. We believe it with every ounce of energy within. It is so!

Each day we live we are presented with a deluge of opportunities which can make us or break us. We must deal with negative co-workers, grouchy bosses; we begin our day at times with uncooperative spouses; sometimes our money is funny and our change is strange.

How do we discover a point in the course of our day that radically re-alters its direction? By memorizing and repeating affirmations!

We have the power to reshape our thinking, to redirect our energy and refocus our thoughts.

Affirmations can do that; they are short, powerful testimonials of what we believe to be true – even though circumstances may betray that. We become what we affirm.

Here are five such affirmations:

I RELEASE negative emotions, people and attitudes and RESTORE peace, harmony and goodwill into my experience.

What we walk around with through life determines, to a very great extent, the quality of our lives. Holding grudges, not forgiving others and allowing anger to rule us wreak negative consequences for our body, mind and spirit. Think about it. Most of what happens to us involves people who have harmed us in some way. Today let it go and move forward.

I will emerge from this period in my life and move into my future whole, perfect, strong, powerful, loving, harmonious and happy.

How does one person emerge from adversity with a positive attitude while someone from a similar set of circumstances do so with the opposite results?

It’s the ability to let go of the past and move forward. We have been, after all, divinely wired for only one direction in life: to move ahead. No person has ever been created to live in the past. It’s what’s in front of us rather than behind us that matters.

Peace, harmony and goodwill are at the core of my existence.

Truth be told, we can emerge from any circumstances if we consciously follow this mental rule: stand tall. stand strong. stand out. This is the formula for success and its lack is the formula for failure.

This formula will work for you and it will work for others, as well. For, as we desire our own goodwill, we desire the goodwill of those who surround us.

I am upright and walking into the fullness of my destiny.

When your back is bent, people will ride it. When you erect your posture, though, no person can bring you down. You will walk into your destiny with unbridled confidence! What you emerge from does not have to cause you to become bitter. The desire to become better is our birthright.

My body is strong! My mind is strong! My spirit is strong!

Our body, mind and spirit are not disconnected entities; we are a complete whole. I am strong and vibrant and my mind and body are in perfect harmony. This is called the ‘mind-body’ connection.

Harmony is what dictates our experiences. Lack of harmony is the cause of bodily and mental disease. Be careful of what you say, your body is always listening.

We have the power to reshape our thinking, to redirect our energy and refocus our thoughts.

We become what we affirm!

Pastor Croomes can be reached at PastorCroomes@Outlook.com or on Facebook at Pastor W. Eric Croomes Ministries.

As a Transformation Coach I have observed that up to eighty percent of people in any gym at any given time are exercising with improper posture and technique. Bad form and technique over time can lead to low back pain, neck tension and injury. Even worse, bad posture leads to poor results. But did you know that in life bad mental posture can be just as injurious to our well-being?

Many people do not experience success because they are not mentally postured for success. They get out of bed each morning but have already lost the game mentally. Why? Because of a negative consciousness pattern they refuse to change and as a result they move through life defeated, dejected and demoralized. Believers are called to live by a higher standard! In Ephesians 6:10, we are challenged to “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”

The quintessential spiritual and mental posture for success in life – as it is also in the gym – is found in these five principles: feet forward, shoulders squared, back straight, chin up and breathe! This is the believer’s posture!

Principle#1

Feet Forward

Feet forward means that you have been wired for progress and forward movement. Keep moving, no matter the change you are faced with. Don’t resist it. Embrace it. Our universe is in a constant state of change. Right now, as you read this, the earth is being hurled through space at a fantastic rate of speed. It is only gravitational pull that keeps you grounded. The concept is no different in life. Change is dynamic; it is always happening, even when we resist it. George Bernard Shaw said it best, If you cannot change your mind, you cannot change anything.

Principle#2

Shoulders Squared

The shoulders squared mental posture is an indication of a resolute spirit; it typifies the person who declares that he or she will not move through life chained by circumstance or past blunders. Show me a person who moves with their shoulders squared and I will show you a person who diligently understands the words of Marcus Garvey, If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life. I will show you a person who is sure of themselves; who know they have a date with destiny and will allow nothing to prevent that fortuitous encounter from taking place. When your shoulders are squared, you are saying ‘I am a winner!’

Principle#

Back Straight

Why is it important to live with your back straight? Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said it best, the only time someone can ride your back is when it’s bent. People will sense whether you are in complete possession of yourself by the angle of your back! An unsure, mentally limp individual will virtually invite others to ride his or her back by living with a bent-over posture. Do not be one of those people who allow others a free ride at the expense of your pride, character and esteem. Keep your back straight. Stand tall. Walk taller. Think big and act even bigger!

Principle#4

Chin Up

Show me a person who lumbers about with their chin down and I will show you a person who has gotten beat down from life. Les Brown often says, if you can look up then you can get up! Chin up means you refuse to be defeated. You live by the mantra: I will not be stopped! Chin up means you’ve taken your blows but you are still standing. Chin up is bounce back! It’s keeping your head to the sky. It’s knowing you were born to soar!

Principle#5

Breathe

From the earliest times we have been taught the power of breathing. We know that breathing is more than just a signal that you are alive, but it’s also your connection to your inner Divinity. Marina Abramovic writes, To control the breathing is to the control the mind.

Your breath is your most powerful ally in the struggle against internal and external oppression. It alone means that you still have the ability to change your life at any given moment. Breathe deep – in through your nose and out through your mouth – several times a day and renew your inner peace, purpose and power.

Believers must practice good spiritual and mental posture to experience the well-being, success and personal freedom that is ours through Christ!

Pastor W. Eric Croomes can be reached at PastorCroomes@Outlook.com or on Facebook at Pastor W. Eric Croomes

It’s still a New Year! Take a break from the hustle and bustle of living and exercise self-care. Ask these three questions!

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” ~II Timothy 1:7

A criticism is the expression of disapproval of someone or something based on perceived faults or mistakes. We live daily in or on a bubble of criticism or at least the fear of being criticized.

Criticism moves on a loop; we get an idea, take action and meet success. At each point we face judgment. This criticism loop – or the fear of it – has kept many people from achieving their fondest dreams. We all have suffered from it at some point in our lives.

Here’s the point: God did not create us to give into our fears; we we made to rise above and beyond any fear and do great things.

But we have to do the work and recognize what we fear most. We fear these three types of censure.

Criticism of Idea

The first judgment we tend to wilt under is the criticism of idea. We have dreams, we have aspirations, we have goals; the problem is that when we endeavor to present such grand and lofty schemes to the world, we open ourselves to analysis and judgment of the merits of our ideas – and that is where the problem lies.

Our idea withers, like a raisin in the sun. Charles F. Haanel put it like this:

The criticism of the world is bitter only to those who cannot compel room for their ideas. It is fear of this criticism that causes many ideas to fail to see the light of day.

What idea did you have that you were afraid of people knowing about, fearing they would not go along with it?

Criticism of Action

Plato once said, When men speak ill of thee, live so as nobody may believe them.

Closely connected to the knock of idea is the criticism of action. Its actions – or lack thereof – that define us. We are harder on ourselves when we fail to act upon our idea. But, just as the idea if often criticized, so is the action attached to it. Consider this: Noah was criticized for building an ark, the likes of which the world had never seen. He took action, based on an idea, divinely presented, that the rains would soon come. We, too, have been divinely inspired with dreams – but we must take action!

Criticism of Success

First the idea. Second the action. Then, at some point, success comes. But it, too, is subject to fierce opportunism and derision.

Elvis Presley once quipped, Don’t criticize what you don’t understand, son. You never walked in that man’s shoes.

Great advice, indeed! No person has ever walked in your shoes – so commit yourself to succeeding, regardless of what’s said.

It is the enemy’s last ditch effort to compromise your success. Or, even worse, it may be the one act you commit against yourself because – after birthing the idea and commencing the action – you are nonetheless unconvinced that you will reach success. The point is, whether from others or from you, you must not fear success. It is the final landmark on the road to fulfilling your dreams. It is the book published; it is the business now up and running; it is the skill sharpened.

Do the work. Stay in confidence. Move toward your fears and live inspired!

Pastor W. Eric Croomes can be reached at PastorCroomes@Outlook.com or on Facebook at Pastor W. Eric Croomes.

On September 4, 1622, the Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de Atocha set off from Havana, Cuba, with a flotilla of nine ships bound for Spain. Loaded with a cargo of silver, gold and other New World riches, the ships ran into a wicked hurricane as they entered the Florida straits the following day. Hundreds perished when the ships sank. It is estimated that the worth of the treasures aboard in today’s currency would total $400 million. Many expeditions have been launched in modern times to recover the sunken riches, but only a few have succeeded.

Like the haul at the bottom of the Florida Keys, many of us are searching for the ‘lost treasure’ we believe will lead to our ultimate happiness.

Money, relationship and career are the paragon of the American dream, the dream that so many people pursue – to the detriment of their emotional, spiritual and physical detriment.

When we consider the expenditure of emotions, energy and tears, it becomes apparent that money, relationships and career don’t really give us the payoff we imagined. Many lives have become casualties of that expedition.

In 2020, let’s focus our energy on something greater, something bigger and something more lasting – the treasure of gratitude, goals and God.

This is worth discovering and the good news is it is within us.

Show me a person flummoxed by life – someone who doesn’t know if he or she is coming or going or up or down – and I will show you someone who has not paused long enough to consider how blessed they really are. They are lacking in gratitude.

Really, though, it’s not that they are ‘ungrateful’, as much as they just don’t know how ‘comparatively blessed’ they are – they don’t stop and think about the fact that, whatever they’re present condition, they are doing better than ninety percent of the world’s population.

The fact is our greatest challenge is nothing less than an opportunity to recognize the greatest gift at our disposal: the gift of gratitude.

What’s your obstacle? Is it finances? Are you searching for love but frustrated? Have you reached the proverbial glass ceiling? Stop for a minute. Consider what you do have.

Underpinning the life which lacks gratitude is a life absent of goals. Goals are the magic of life; they are the rudder that keeps the ship afloat and headed in the right direction. Without goals we severely reduce our chances of happiness. Ask the person who lacks gratitude what it is they really, really want and you will likely get a blank, long stare and subsequent reply, “I just want to be happy”.

Happiness is not a goal, nor is it a destination. Happiness is a state of mind – it’s a choice. Be happy now.

And where would all of this be without the source of all that we are and hope to become? However we may refer to the Higher Power we choose to recognize in our lives, God is the foundation of our gratitude and our goals.

God is our faith commitment, and as such, our experiences in this domain contribute much to our success in life and measures to a great extent whether our lives are fulfilling or empty. We now know that high levels of faith commitment correlate with lower levels of depression and stress and give us a greater ability to cope with stress.

Gratitude, goals and God are the true treasures of life.

Pastor W. Eric Croomes can be reached at PastorCroomes@Outlook.com or on Facebook at Pastor W. Eric Croomes.

There aren’t too many people who are not touched by the passing of NBA legend, Kobe Bryant. It’s surreal and it saddens us. It’s a sucker punch. Especially in light of the equally tragic losses of his daughter Gigi and her teammate, Allysa.

From family members to athletes to literary and musical figures, generational deaths – the passing of someone rising into their prime – happen so infrequently that we hardly notice ourselves in grief. Not this one. Kobe’s death shakes us to the core, even for those who aren’t basketball aficionados.

Kobe transcended basketball, much as Nipsey Hustle transcended rap. Somehow it just doesn’t seem fair. If you are as emotionally impacted by the events of last Sunday as I am, it’s okay.

You have every right to be, even if you are angry. It only means you’ve returned to be being human; you’ve been reminded of your mortality. But let Kobe’s greatness – as short lived as it was – remind you of your own God-given greatness and to live each day walking in that greatness. Because you have greatness within you!

Listen to Can You Run with the Horses? by Pastor W. Eric Croomes on #SoundCloud

To ‘affirm’ is to declare it so; it is a positive declaration that validates what we believe to be true. In short, an affirmation is our truth. It cannot fail, it cannot be untrue, and there is no element of capriciousness to it. We believe it with every ounce of energy within.

In John 17:17, Jesus prays for his disciples: Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

Each day we live we are presented with a deluge of opportunities which can make us or break us. We must deal with negative co-workers, grouchy bosses; we begin our day at times with uncooperative spouses; sometimes our money is funny and our change is strange.

How do we discover a point in the course of our day that radically re-alters its direction? By memorizing and repeating affirmations. Stand on truth.

We have the power to reshape our thinking, to redirect our energy and refocus our thoughts.

Affirmations can do that; they are short, powerful testimonials of what we believe to be true – even though circumstances may betray what we believe. As believers, this is our truth.

Here are five such affirmations.

One: I RELEASE negative emotions, people and attitudes and RESTORE peace, harmony and goodwill into my experience.

What we walk around with through life determines, to a very great extent, the quality of our lives. Holding grudges, not forgiving others and allowing anger to rule us wreak negative consequences for our body, mind and spirit. Think about it. Most of what happens to us involves people, people who have harmed us in some way. Today let it go and move forward.

Two: I will emerge from this period in my life and move into my future whole, perfect, strong, powerful, loving, harmonious and happy.

How does one person emerge from adversity with a positive attitude while someone from a similar set of circumstances do so with the opposite results?

It’s the ability to let go of the past and move forward. We have been, after all, divinely wired for only one direction in life: to move ahead. No person has ever been created to live in the past. It’s what’s in front of us rather than behind us that matters.

Three: Peace, harmony and goodwill are at the core of my existence.

Truth be told, we can emerge from any circumstances if we consciously follow this mental rule: stand tall. stand strong. stand out. This is the formula for success and its lack is the formula for failure.

This formula will work for you and it will work for others, as well. For, as we desire our own goodwill, we desire the goodwill of those who surround us.

Four: I am standing tall and straight and walking into the fullness of my destiny.

When your back is bent, people will ride it. When you erect your posture, though, no person can bring you down. You will walk into your destiny with unbridled confidence! What you emerge from does not have to cause you to become bitter. The desire to become better is our birthright.

Five: My body is strong! My mind is strong! My spirit is strong.

Our body, mind and spirit are not disconnected entities; we are a complete whole. I am strong and vibrant and my mind and body are in perfect harmony. This is called the ‘mind-body’ connection.

Harmony is what dictates our experiences. Lack of harmony is the cause of bodily and mental disease. Be careful of what you say, your body is always listening.

We have the power to reshape our thinking, to redirect our energy and refocus our thoughts. As believers, this is our truth!

Pastor W. Eric Croomes can be reached at PastorCroomes@Outlook.com or on Facebook at Pastor W. Eric Croomes