Cry...But KEEP GOING

By Candice "Ordered Steps" Johnson

Silence carries a bullet; tears provoke healing. In "Cry...But Keep Going" author Candice "Ordered Steps" Johnson uses testimony, transparency and good old-fashioned encouragement to empower and uplift readers who feel down and defeated. "Cry" is a collection of personal anecdotes, devotions and prayers designed to infuse hope into the helpless heart and not only identfy the source of the tears, but embraces the opportunity to face and overcome them. An accomplished choreographer/dancer, author and inspiriational influencer, Johnson's down-to-earth prose not only sparks internal evaluation, but promises to ignite readers with the passion they need to get the tears out - and keep going!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Candice "Ordered Steps" Johnson
• Release date: Jan 5, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386139621

Book preview

Because sometimes, the EYES tell a different story than the SMILE.

FOR EARL.

Sickle Cell Warrior...you KEPT GOING until the end.

Auntie Candy loves you always.

R.I.H.

December 18, 2017

Dear God,

I dare not open the gateway to this narrative without acknowledging YOU. You are all that we are, deserving of all GLORY, HONOR & PRAISE! Just to behold You is reason enough for us to continue on the path that You have ORDERED for our steps.

Lord, the impossible is always possible with YOU. You are consistent in Your love, consistent in Your faithfulness, consistent in Your protection, and consistent in being our COMFORTER. Though the tears may come, You hold them in Your hand. It is my heart’s desire that anyone You have purposed to read the text on these pages will be uplifted and that You be glorified! I would not even be here to type these words if it had not been for Your GRACE covering my life. I’ve cried early and often; it is my prayer that self be removed and the kind Readers be pointed toward You when the tears begin to flow. Your promises are YES and AMEN...I pray that each Reader will say YES to submitting their FAITH to YOU.

Please help us, GOD to keep from being submerged in that which provokes us to cry, but focus on what YOU say. Let not the aftermath of our sorrow bring us to a stopping point and draw us away from You! We embrace Your will for us, Lord.

...and we understand that will is for us to OVERCOME.

Thank You Lord. Your compassion makes us whole.

With love and humble submission,

Your willing vessel.

cj

GOD did not create us to be DEFEATED.

He created us to be VICTORIOUS!

The Anatomy of the Cry

First, we have the infant cry. You know, the one brand new mommies and daddies wearily eek out after baby’s fifth sleepless night in a row. Nothing makes baby happy...Mom & Dad are WORE OUT.

Then there’s the happy cry. The Disappointed, Let-down sniffles. Anxiety tears. The Why Me pillow soakers. Oh and we can’t forget one of my favorites: The go-to UGLY CRY.

Church cry. I can’t believe I just did that cry. Mourner’s Bench & Mother’s Board cry. Injured cry. Hungry cry. I messed up cry. Rejected cry; Didn’t Get The Job cry.

Eviction cry. Repossession cry. Overlooked cry. Proud Of Myself Or Somebody Else cry. I’m Over It cry. Graduation cry. Elevation cry. Success cry. Failure cry. Angry cry. Reap What You Sow cry. Broke cry. Cry Because You Don’t Know What Else To Do cry. Laugh Until You Cry cry. Throw Your Hands Up & Quit cry. The Break Up cry – followed by the Make-Up cry. The fake cry, the casket cry, the ministry cry, the misery cry, the lonely cry, the forgotten cry, the sentimental cry, the Missing You cry, the I May Possibly Be Losing My Mind cry, the Real Men Do Cry cry, the compassionate cry, the overwhelmed cry...and the ultimate: Cry Because I Feel Like Crying cry.

Our tears make others uncomfortable. Folk expect us to be strong – save our tears for the pillow. Shame on us for displaying our emotions on our sleeves; keep our depression to ourselves. That’s why depression is a KILLER...SILENCE carries bullets.

The thing is, whatever the reason, whatever triggers our tear ducts publicly or privately...we CRY.

There’s no shame in crying.

Crying isn’t a sign that you are weak. Crying is being strong enough to reveal your vulnerability.

Weary souls need rest.

Battered spirits need GOD.

There’s a wave of It’s ok to not be ok saturating inspirational messages these days. Yet it seems like it’s only okay if you’re QUIET.

If you are the church administrator coming into the office day after day, smiling while no one is aware that you just received a bad doctor’s report. If you’re the mother who appears to have it all together, knowing things are falling apart. Including your sanity. The husband trying to make ends meet, but the check-to-check method is catching up faster than the cost of living allows. The background singer that sings life down from Heaven...all the while catching hell on the homefront. The dancer who has an engagement to get to – but the gas tank is already past E, and your spirit is holding even less fuel. The dreamer who has goals bigger than Jericho...but the walls just won’t seem to come down. The preacher whom everyone props up on a pedestal, but no one thinks to ask how you are.  The community