Stand Up! For Yourself: Step Toward a New Direction Using Principles

By Jennie Msangi

Our God is a living God!

He wants us to live too! Are you living life but not necessarily enjoying life? Are you stuck doing the same things over and over and feel like you aren’t going anywhere? You don’t need to stay in negative situations. If you are struggling, then it is time for you to Stand Up! For Yourself and Step Towa

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: May 5, 2020
• ISBN: 9781640889521

Book preview

STAND UP! FOR YOURSELF

Step Toward a New Direction Using Principles

Jennie Msangi

"Now when these things begin to happen, stand up straight and raise your heads; because your redemption is near."

Luke 21:28 CEB

Dedication

I would like to dedicate this book to my parents, Sam and Zelma. They have always encouraged me to Stand Up! and pursue my dreams. Celebrating more than 67 years of marriage, they are a living testimony to perseverance and living a quality life and not a quantity life.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my husband Gill and children Abbie, Alissa, Apollo, Jasmine, and Mary for their ongoing support. It is through their togetherness as a family, their cooperation, and loving attitudes that I have been able to complete this work and share it with others.

Table of Contents

About Stand Up! 13

Introduction 15

The Foundation of Stand Up! 21

Living by the Momentum 27

Stand Up! Pathways to Overall Wellbeing 37

The Principle of Purpose and Vision 47

The Principle of Faith 53

The Principle of Perseverance 59

The Principle of Togetherness 67

The Principle of Cooperative Work 79

The Principle of Responsibility 87

The Principle of a Loving Attitude 101

The Principle of Resourcefulness 109

The Principle of Self Discipline 123

Time for Action 133

Stand Up! Goal Setting 137

What’s Next 147

Appendix 153

References 159

About The Author 167

About Stand Up!

Stand Up! For Yourself and Step Toward a New Direction Using Principles is an action plan for you to improve your current living situation. Stand Up! is dedicated to providing opportunities for you and your family to step toward a new direction by learning and applying the Stand Up! principles.

The goals of Stand Up! are:

To motivate you to explore your current situation and then step toward a new direction through the program principles.

To encourage you to pursue available opportunities to improve your current situations through education and shared resourcing.

To provide you with appropriate tools, tips, and techniques.

You cannot just read this book. You must participate in it! It is a call to action. As a Stand Up! participant, you will:

Complete the Stand Up!Quality Living Continuum to identify your current pathway.

Develop your personal purpose and vision statement.

Learn how the nine principles apply in your life.

Identify your strengths, supports, and resources.

Develop a 10–80–10 spending plan.

Complete the Stand Up!Health Awareness Appraisal.

Complete the Personal Habits Motivation Questionnaire.

Identify and track your goals and action steps.

Begin your daily Stand Up! Journal.

See how you can budget your time more efficiently.

Track your Household Responsibility and I See You (ICU) time.

Introduction

I have to admit that I had a pretty great childhood. My dad worked hard for our family, and my mother stayed home with my brothers, sister, and me. I did well in school, and I had great friends. We lived in a big, old farmhouse and always had plenty of food and fun. Looking back, I guess we would have fit the definition of working poor, but I never knew it. I never had anything else with which to compare it. Every other family around us seemed to live the same way we did, so I figured that is how life was meant to be, and I was satisfied. So, were we poor? Yes. Did we live poorly? No. And that is what I want you to realize about yourself while you read this book. Being poor doesn’t mean you have to live poorly. Stand Up! For yourself and seek to live a quality life as you step toward a new direction.

While my four siblings went on to live in the tradition of our childhood, I ended up living in situations where I was exposed to poverty, addiction, violence, and crime. While most of the people I grew up with never left our small town, I have had the opportunity to travel not only throughout the United States but also to travel abroad. I can tell you poor is poor, no matter in what country you are living.

However, I acknowledge that without all of those events, I wouldn’t be the person that I am today. Everything I have experienced has led me to this point in my life, and I am thankful that I can pull from those experiences and share some strategies with you in the hopes that if you are in similar situations that you will be able to Stand Up! For Yourself and step toward a new direction.

Now, I could choose to state that I was qualified to develop Stand Up! because I have a college degree or that I have over thirty years of experience serving families through public service agencies. However, I feel that my true qualifications for developing Stand Up! are not based upon the education or experience that I gained in the classroom or office, but upon the education and experience I have gained through living life.

I have raised five children over the course of my life. I have lived on government programs. I have faced eviction because I couldn’t pay the rent. I have had to work two or three jobs at a time just to spend most of my paycheck on daycare and gas. I have had to take the bus or walk because I couldn’t afford a car (having a luxury car was simply the luxury of actually having a car), or if I did have a car, there were times where I just couldn’t afford the insurance or the gas.

I have had to go to churches and social service agencies because my utilities were in jeopardy or I didn’t have enough groceries to last or so that my children could have Christmas presents, I have had to shop at thrift stores, flea markets, and dollar stores because I couldn’t afford to go anywhere else. Many times, I just had to learn to go without.

I have lived in homes where almost everything I owned was either given to me or I found it at a yard sale or on the curb on trash day. I have had to borrow money from friends and family, knowing that I had no idea of how, if, or when I would pay them back. I have had my phone