Lebron Moves

Hey Everyone! How are you all doing? It has been awhile, but I thought I would jump on here and drop some gems real quick. It's NBA Playoffs time and it has been overwhelmingly exciting to watch these games because there are a lot of underdog teams who have made it. Even though I am not a particular fan of any team, I have to say I do admire Cleveland making the playoffs every year despite all odds. Of course they have an outstanding leader that is working very hard to carry his team on his back. Do I need to say his name if it's already within the title?

There is a lot of pressure put on me, but I don't put a lot of pressure on myself. I feel if I play my game, it will take care of itself. - Lebron James

You've got it! I am talking about the King himself....LEBRON! I actually think that he cries a lot of the time about useless fouls, but I'm not even going to go there. Today I would like to talk about how I admire his leader role he has taken on for his team. Let's think about this for a minute. Cleveland is not as glamorous as Miami by far! For those of you not hip to basketball, Lebron left playing basketball in Miami to go to play in Cleveland. Cleveland is his hometown and he also took a pay cut in order for him to play there.

I make impact plays. I make game-changing plays. LeBron James

From my perspective I believe Lebron felt that there was some unfinished business in his hometown. This had to be hard for him to move back to a town that was heartbroken when he left as if he cheated on a longtime love. In his heart he knew that he had to go back to Cleveland to fulfill a life long dream that he probably has had since a kid. I can relate to the move that Lebron did that shocked the world around him and outside of him.

I am originally from Virginia, but my father took a job transfer to a place called Binghamton, NY when I was the fresh age of 2. We left a nice subdivision cookie cutter home and moved to a place famously known as the twilight zone. My father in polite terms highly disliked this place and being that there was a bar on every corner, it did not help with his liking of alcohol aka addiction. We ended up moving back to Virginia after some of our poorest years to get back to our roots. Fast forward years later I found myself moving back to Binghamton, NY at the age of 25. This is what you call an upset in the NBA Playoffs. A move that no one expected to be played by me.

This move was a shocking move to the world around me and like Lebron I felt there was some unfinished business that needed attention. You see when I left New York when I was eleven I felt that I left a part of me there. That part of me was my artistic capability which was part of my soul. Even though I didn't want to move from the nice lifestyle as well as nice weather, God was waiting for me to make some Lebron moves. By moving back I found treasures within myself, treasures that I can relay to as skills, gifts, etc.

You know, God gave me a gift to do other things besides play the game of basketball. - Lebron James

The move helped me stumble upon skills such as leadership in which I had not paid attention to because I never searched for them. My move helped me find myself and it allowed God to show his favor upon my life. It was almost as if I had made it to the playoffs once I unlocked the skills and gifts that were inside of me. Ever since then I have felt that I continuously work toward the championship goal each year. I make goals for myself to where I am shooting at least 40 points every chance I get whether its Art Showcases or posting on Social Media. I am currently living my best life because the actions I have disciplined myself in.

My advice to my readers is that you and I have to make Lebron moves even in the midst of adversity. The weather is barely sunny in Binghamton, NY, but guess what I still make Lebron moves. I may not have a reliable team surrounding me, but I still make Lebron moves. Do you understand the pattern of this? I including you watch Lebron every year work his butt off to get to the Playoffs with a team that is so so within a city that has been forgotten outside of sports. What moves can you make within your life to make an impact in the world? Challenge yourself to make game-changing moves for the ones around you to witness. Do you find yourself blaming things such as where you live or what car you drive on not living your full potential?  People may not always like you, but they will respect the moves you make at the end of the day.

Peep the Video below and hopefully you are inspired......Enjoy!!!

Does REPresentation matter?

 Today is Monday November 6, 2017 and before my caffeine high goes away, I figured I would birth out another Blog Post. How is everyone doing today? Are you all excited for what the day may bring, or matter of fact what this whole week will bring? Today I would like to write about representation and some other motivational and inspirational stuff! Being a black woman in today’s society is quite challenging to say the least, but in a good way. I have learned how to consciously pay attention to how I represent myself and also my culture. 

“Growth is the only evidence of life.” – John Henry Newman

When I speak of culture I don’t mean just black, but I mean culture of women, culture of entrepreneurs, etc. All of these attributes make up the person who I am right this moment, on this very day. I would hope that you, the reader, would not just base your representation upon your skin color only. Your skin color is a small portion of who you are regardless of the media magnifying a culture of racism consistently. When we look at the verb definition of the word culture within the dictionary, it says maintain (ytissue cells, bacteria, etc.) in conditions suitable for growth. 

With that being said we have to find spaces that are suitable for us to maintain and grow. We have to be realistic and not try to reach for everything all at once. Once we have too much on our plate we will not be able to represent ourselves in a healthy manor. For example Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites are filled with stressed and frustrated people who like to express and represent themselves by posting negativity. If those people would like to start a business or something that they would like people to support, guess what will happen? Strangers will begin to scroll through their sites and see who they are based off of their posts. 

“If we’re growing, we’re always going to be out of our comfort zone.” – John Maxwell

We are no longer able to get away with doing anything, saying anything, and looking like anything. Everything seems to be front and center also known as lights, camera, and action. Now I know some people will say to themselves that they do not want to be fake because that’s just who they are. Sorry to tell you some changes need to be made in order for us to grow. What direction should grow in you ask? Remember the plants that we used to have to grow within the Ziploc bags when we were in elementary school. This was an experiment to see which plant sprouted faster with or without the sun.  

Our focus should be to position ourselves towards the sun and not towards the darkness. If you haven’t noticed, plants to not grow properly without sun. The climate is rich with knowledge pertaining to how we are able to maintain our character, it is also rich with access to the information we may need to start new ventures. Since today is Motivation Monday, according to Twitter, let us not waste the day that has been given to us. Instead let us work on placing ourselves in a position to not only grow, but to work on our representation of ourselves. 

“ Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness;” 2 Corinthians 9:10 

In the clip below watch Michelle Obama address the judgment of being an “Angry Black Woman”. Enjoy and Happy Monday!!

Stop the Violence, no more silence.

Hola Everyone! Today is October 1st and it’s officially my birthday month! It is also Domestic Violence Awareness Month which is an issue I’ve been through before. With that being said I decided to start this month off by sharing my story of Domestic Violence Abuse. This story is not a story that I try to use to make people look at me with oohs and ahhs, but it is a reminder of how God’s hand has been placed upon my life in order to protect me.

“Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) evolved from the "Day of Unity" held in October 1981 and conceived by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.” - www.nrcdv.org

I was 19 years old when I met this guy we’re going to call Joseph. Joseph had been introduced to me through a friend and he seemed pretty cool. We had started to take a liking to each other so I figured that since I was single we could start a friendship that could have led to dating. In the beginning there were  no red flags or signs of anything wrong. I was trusting the opinion of my friend so I was oblivious to what was to come.

“I was trusting the opinion of my friend so I was oblivious to what was to come.“

It had only been a couple of weeks into knowing Joseph and looking back now, there were signs that lead to something deep and dark that  was going on with this person. When we went on dates we never went anywhere he lived. He always seemed paranoid and looking over his shoulder as well as into his surroundings a little bit further than usual. He also didn’t talk about his parents or lived with them at the time being.  Little did I know I had walked right into a trap. It was not a good situation he had going on prior to meeting me.

“ Little did I know I had walked right into a trap.”

Regardless I went along with having “fun” and continued to talk to him. One particular night it turned for the worst. I had went out with some friends earlier that day and my phone had went dead.  I figured since I wasn’t able to talk to him all day I would just stop by anyway unannounced. When I arrived to his house he didn’t seem pleased and was upset,  but I didn’t think nothing of it. So he proceeds to say let’s go to his room and hang out.

Once again, me not thinking I went and followed him up the stairs because I knew he couldn’t be possibly mad at me. When we got to the room I was thirsty so I put my purse and phone down and went downstairs and grabbed a cup of juice. When I came back upstairs he had closed the door. As I was drinking my juice he asked me who told me I could go get a cup of juice? I just looked and laughed at him while brushing  it off as if it was nothing. He asked me the same question again, but this time the tone was more aggressive.

Long story short, he locks the room door and proceeds to start trying to choke me. Somehow I got from under his grip and tried to grab my keys and leave. He chased me and threw me on the bed face first. At this point I didn’t know if I was going to get raped, live, or die. Never in a million years could I imagine myself in a situation like this since I was just having “fun”. I ended up being able to get out of the house but he was still chasing me.


According to   https://ncadv.org/learn-more/statistics

• 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have behhen victims of [some form of] physical violence by an intimate partner within their lifetime.1

He ended up wrapping my ponytail up in his hand and hitting me with a closed fist on my head couple times. There were a few people outside witnessing this and finally proceeded to get him off of me by putting me in my car with my personal belongings. I was in complete shock while crying and sobbing. The witnesses told me while whispering to not come back.  By the grace of God I had a friend that lived up the street that I went to church with and I was able to stay at her parents for the night.

There’s A LOT more to this story, but my so called fun ended up making me date a guy who was a criminal and a womanizer. This incident lead him to be found by the police because he had a search warrant out for his arrest  for a prior incident. I’m telling this story to make sure that more females wake up to what Domestic Violence truly means. It’s not always within the home and it could happen
to ANYBODY! I survived that one incident, but there are people who live in this turmoil daily! Please watch the story of Leslie Morgan Steiner during her TED Talks Video. Her story is truly amazing and I hope both of these bring insight to such a heavy topic.... Enjoy!

What Kyrie taught me

I always have allowed people get in the way of what I truly wanted for myself within my life. It was the silent persuasion, the constant opinion based advice, and the never ending doubt. Until one day it finally clicked for me, it finally clicked that I wasn't being myself. I was not making decisions that were making me truly happy. I was allowing everyone and their opinions to overshadow decisions that should've came automatically.

Recently I was feeling down about a particular situation that I felt bad for walking away from. I had people say to me that it was a good opportunity, but in my gut I knew by me deciding to walk away would benefit me more than if I would've stayed. Watching the Kyrie Irving interview the other day on Firsr Take helped me realize a few things.

1. I have to believe in myself no matter what it cost.

2. Everything that seems good for me, may be damaging my true self.

3. Make decisions that benefit you, and you only. 

Clearly everyone felt that Kyrie shouldn't have made the decision to leave the Cavaliers for the Celtics, but he made the decision anyway. It taught me that although I didn't decide to go with the popular choice, I was able to create my own path that worked out for the better. I remember one day so vividly while getting dressed God told me I was not going to be popular the rest of this year. I was shocked because it was something that didn't feel good to hear. That resignated with me for a couple days.

Soon after that things started happening that referred back to what God had told me. As I watch the slander that comes towards Kyrie for his decision and how he stands by it makes me feel better with my decision. No one can determine your future, but you. Lebron did not need to make a decision for Kyrie that he was capable of making for himself. At the end of the day make the decisions that are going to benefit you in the end.

woMAN

woMAN

Woman you are the rib.

Woman you are the verse to his ad lib.

Woman you are beautiful.

The heart of a woman should make a man's heart pull.

You are created by God mixed with heart, passion, and soul.

When a man finds you he sees you as gold.

A woman helps make the world go round'

When a woman is in labor do you ever pay attention to her sounds?

That's the sound of strength.

That's the sound of length, the length of the journey that carried her to this joyous time. 

She will never admit that sometimes it feels as if loving you is a crime.

You see that woman is smart, and even though she may feel uneasy, it's never to late for her to start.

We are all that woman, just take the time to look and see.

Because that woman could very well be me.

GEMnastics 💎

Hello everyone! I have decided to dust the cobwebs off my blog and get back into this thing!!! Today I would like for my readers to focus on "Balance"  ...balance in life is more of a healing aspect. When we are off balance we do not grow in life effectively. Balance is also the foundationary skill needed in Gymnastics.

When gymnasts are on a balance beam, there's a high chance that they can slip and fall. As you’re watching them perform their routine, they tend to shut everyone else out and focus on achieving the perfect score. This is the same perspective I use when it comes my life. I have to stay focused on on flipping, jumping, bending, etc., all while continuing to balance on my “beam”. Life has a way of frequently throwing us curveballs, to the point that we’ll have to flip, jump, and bend, in order to dodge these things.

"Often those that criticize others reveal what he himself lacks." -
Shannon L. Alder

Expect both the positive and negative in the world because they are both alive and well.  In order to have balance in anything you do in life you have a little bit of both. There will be a good influence and there will be a bad influence, but at the end of the day people are still being influenced nonetheless. 

When Gabby Douglas won her Gold Medals in the 2012 Olympics, people only focused on how her hair was not done to their standards. 

Why would they focus on something that's so minor, to such a major goal?

People will sometimes find the negatives about you, just to make themselves feel comfortable with their reason for not liking you. 

 Instead of realizing how much work it took for her and the other team members to win gold medals, her achievement was being discredited due to other people’s jealousy and small-mindedness. Not everyone is going to be happy that they are influenced by you. They know you possess something that could possibly fill a void inside of them, but because it's coming from you, - the competition - they reject it. 

We all should be working together, sharpening each other. In life you can gain something from every encounter you have with someone, in order to shape the person you’re becoming on your journey. 

 When you allow jealousy to consume you, not only can it blind you from a mental standpoint, it can also interrupt your spiritual growth, and block you from reaching new levels on this journey we call life.

Check out the video below for some more GEMSTONES:

Lazy Christians

What’s up people? So this is a topic that I have been resisting talking about on my blog because for one it can be potentially be offensive if you don’t read with an open mind. Have you ever thought about how much demand you put on God daily? Sometimes within my prayers I have to recognize and be cautious of how much I’m asking for versus how much I am returning to God. There are many thoughts and questions that I have when I see my fellow peers hoping and praying for certain things which are majority of the time material. Not to say that is bad, but I constantly try to do a self-evaluation for myself to know my limits.

Do you ever sit back and reflect at how lazy you may be when it comes to having a relationship with God?

Now you may be reading this and thinking that this is not for you, and if it isn’t then you can read for pure enjoyment. I think to myself and sometimes and think why I feel God HAS to do this or that for me. The biggest reality check is that he DOES NOT have to do anything for me, he can stop all the blessings at any moment at any time. Even when we don’t deserve any of his love, he is still there and loves us as usual without skipping a beat.  

My life for the past couple of months has been about learning to come to him not only about what I need from him, but what does he need from me. Seeking the full examination of my life has led me to build up the courage to tackle the goals I have for myself. For me it is about meeting God in the middle so that he can not only change my surroundings, but to change what is within me. You see we as people can’t be lazy with our relationship with God.  If we want to get to a certain level in life no matter where or what that may be there has to be effort put in. People don’t get promotions by just sitting or standing on the sideline wishing and wanting to be in another place.

Proverbs 10:4 “A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.”

Sleep and rest is vital for our bodies so that should be thrown in the mix as well. All I am saying is that God is not a Genie in a bottle because things are not going to happen the time that you would like them to. Sometimes it takes years for things to come to pass that God has for you and I’m a living testimony for that as well as others in my circle. The key is to stay consistent, faithful and keep up the good work. Eventually you will look back and realize all the work you put in had a purpose. Stay Faithful and keep your prayers up always! Good Day!

For MOTIVATION purposes check the video below “How to Take Your Life to Next Level” by Trent Shelton

It's EASY to Fall in Love, but Committing takes work.

Hey everyone! Its Sunday night and others including myself are dreading Monday to come knocking at our door due to the weekend being over in seconds. I decided to blow the dust off my blog and get back into the groove of things. Being that I can't sleep I figured I'll catch up with you all and use this time as a Theraputic release. Side bar my blog has had over 3,000 reads/views!!! Thank you everyone who takes the time to read the thoughts of little ole me, I really APPRECIATE it.

Now that I have said my future Awards speech, I wanted to talk a little about the act of falling in love. All of us fall in love within our lifetime and the act of falling seems to happen very fast. The key word here is falling so hopefully you get my drift. According to https://www.illicitencounters.com/ a british dating site for married people, they surveyed 1,000 people and found that 55 percent of the group fell in love between the ages of 15 and 18 years of age. That's over half of the percentage out of small group of people so imagine millions!

If we are falling in love with a person at such an early age why does it take us so long to fall in love with our purpose? We tend to form a commitment to another human faster than we do to our future. Having a commitment to our purpose takes WORK and it's not easy to always feel like wanting to actually commit to what we want in our lives. There's fear, doubt, opinions of others, self hatred, and many other negative emotions that get in the way.

Deuteronomy 13:4

"You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.

If we start to fall in love with our purpose just as fast as we do with humans I believe it would help us dive into God's plans for our lives  quicker. I've said this before and I'll say it again, there are multiple leaps of faith that has to take place when we are walking within our purpose. Falling in love with our purpose is the easy part, but the commitment will make us feel like we want to give up sometimes.

Below are steps that I believe and go by daily:

1. Have FAITH! - A strong belief in God that will carry you through no matter the circumstances.

2. BELIEVE - We have to BELIEVE that God's Plan WILL take place within our lives. We have to BELIEVE in GOD first, and BELIEVE in ourselves afterwards.

3. TRUST - Trust in the plans God has for your life and trust the relationship between you and God.

Isn't it AMAZING and BEAUTIFUL that we always have an open form of communication with God also known as the act of Praying. I pray that my readers learn to pray and ask God for anything and everything they need in life with boldness and much courage! It takes much commitment to take your purpose and run with it, but in the end you'll realize the love that God has for you and fall in love with him and your purpose even more.

Check the video below from Steven Furtick - Put your Passion in its Place for encouragement and motivation! 😃

The American Dream

It was all a dream I used to read Word Up! Magazine....Well not really, but I did read magazines and wish that I could succeed to be just like the people I would scan the pages to see. What I seen in the magazines, television, etc. literally looked as if the lifestyle was untouchable and what everyone should want for themselves. I didn't realize that wanting what others have could be detrimental to my future if I didn't pay attention to the Dream I had for myself. I eventually learned to not set myself up for failure trying to live someone else's American Dream.

What is the American Dream? The definition seems to be after high school go to college, get your ideal job after, get married, and buy a house. My American Dream has been more nightmares in a sense because it hasn't always went in this order. Majority of the time the peers around us  tend to put pressure on us without even noticing. We can start to look around and see what everyone else is doing, but questioning what WE ARE supposed to do. Planning seems to be overrated these days, but all in all there is still a course that needs to be followed and that's God's plan for YOU and only YOU.

I was reminded recently that I had fell off track and forgot my soul purpose of being on earth. Every now and then I get distracted and side tracked from the dream that God has planned out for me. I only knew this because I started to feel as if the world was caving in on me and felt like I needed some time to myself. What also has been brought to my attention is me losing track of who's the center of my life and why I have a purpose in the first place. This may seem a bit shocking, but I don't always stay the course like I'm supposed to because I'm human and that's just what humans do sometimes.

The great thing about my relationship with God is that he forgives me before I even ask for forgiveness. He's waiting right there when I don't necessarily always turn to him. God is the only one that has created a dream that was specifically made for me. I have to remind myself of this constantly because it could feel as if everyone is moving ahead while I stay stagnant. In reality I'm not being stagnant it's just called Gods timing.

We could be so caught up with not being caught up with others that we hold ourselves back from working in our true purpose. All of our American Dreams differ because all of our paths are not supposed to be the same. What's meant for you is for you and not others. Learn to block the distractions of television and social media and learn to feed your soul with food it wants and needs. Just remember don't be so busy chasing the American Dream that you forget what your reality is supposed to be. Stay prayed up and keep the faith.

Check out this AMAZING clip from Zig Ziglar speaking about DREAMS! Enjoy!

Pain always brings Gifts

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5:8-10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Pain is something that we all have to deal with no matter how much we may try to dodge it. Pain can sometimes feel like it's waiting right around the corner for us to be in a good space. Have you ever heard the saying "every time I turn around it's always something"? I can relate to pain in a lot of ways because I have been through so much in this short lifetime. But I have also learned that the pain I've went through has always brought me gifts.

When I was younger I always was able to use writing, drawing, and reading to help me forget about what I was going through or what my family was going through. As life kept moving ahead I formed a habit of expressing myself through dark times, and dark times are still relevant today. It may look like it's easy for me to create or write a blog, but there is much test, trials, and tribulations that come before to bring creativity of me. I don't just create things cause I'm bored, or want to make money, I create because it heals my heart, mind, and soul. I would also hope that it can heal others heart, mind, and soul when they look at what I created originally to help me.

“Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭100:1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Any form of Art to me is like making a joyful shout to the Lord in my own way. It takes me to another place where there is no pain and I simply enJOY it. There was a time that I pushed this joy to the side because I was trying to be a so called adult and not childish. Ironically I had to reach back to my childhood to see what used to give me joy during difficult times. Art has repaired my heart in many ways of course with God's help. God doesn't always want us to be deep and try to please him with major things, he simply just wants us to be ourselves by using our gifts.

God gives us trials and tribulations so we can know what our gifts are to get through the darkness. The journey that I continue to be on sometimes feels like there is no light coming anytime soon. Then when I think about what I have discovered within myself because of the darkness, I become more grateful. This life is not meant to be easy and everything is not going to drop in your lap right away. There is much preparation that has to take place to make us all tough. When there is pain just know that there are gifts coming directly after. Have a blessed day!

In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present. Francis Bacon 

Check out some motivation below from one of my favorite movies Remember the Titans!

Life after Death

Hey there everyone! Long time no blogging, but today I wanted to talk about a heavy topic that has became a peaceful one for me. Excuse any typos by the way! 😂 As all of you know I am a mother and have been almost for 3 years now in which I can't believe it! I became a mother at the ripe age of 24 and during this time it didn't seem like it was perfect timing. My father had became ill a couple years before hand and was almost at the end of the road of his illness once I had found out I was pregnant.

With that being said I had to leave my beloved apartment behind and move in with my parents in order to take care of my father with my mother and sister. We were all very stressed trying to figure out our schedules to make sure he wasn't lacking the attention he needed. Of course I did not want to add to the stress of telling my mom that I was pregnant, but I felt that she needed to know right away. I ended up breaking the news to her at the Chinese buffet out of all places. She wasn't too pleased, but started to become excited as time went by. Little did we know what the future held ahead of us.

The next nine months would be the most stressful months of my life. My father would end up passing away in my fifth month of pregnancy. I remember praying to God and asking him to prepare me for what was about to take place with my father cause I didn't know if I was strong enough. He gave me a vision of speaking at my fathers funeral that same day.  I didn't want to believe it at first, but I had to accept what was taking place. After being what I felt was numb during the planning process of my dads funeral, I came to the realization that I wasn't numb.

God actually gave me the grace and mercy that I asked him for to carry me through this difficult. I ended speaking at my fathers funeral and I was hoping the message got across to the audience. In summary I was stating to keep in touch with your love ones before it's too late. Before my father passed he was the first one to say I was having a boy. A couple months later I ended having a son named Legend. He came at the perfect time for us, it was almost like God giving us gift in return for the hell we went through the months before.

Legend was the medicine that everyone needed when he came. He brought much happiness and joy so we would all be able to move on. Legend has a lot of my fathers character by continuing to make us laugh. I miss my Father tremendously, but during the time of his passing I learned a valuable lesson. There is life after death and if you are a reader of my blog I want you to know that everything happens for a reason. Just because my father is no longer here does not mean I have to stay in misery and not continue to live. I chose to live within his honor because I knew he wouldn't have wanted it any other way. I hope this helps someone in some way, have a blessed day!

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.