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.

Loyalty left me broke.

Good morning everyone! It is finally Saturday and we are officially within the weekend! Today I want to talk about loyalty, yes you all loyalty. I've seen the word loyalty used more than ever recently and I started to question my loyalty to my peers. The definition of loyalty is having a strong feeling of support or allegiance. Of course we all have people that we are genuily loyal to without a doubt, but are we loyal to the right ones? Do we really know what loyalty consists of?

I don't  have a great past with loyalty because it's left me broken majority of the time. I tend to get mixed up in what I call trying to please everyone, but myself without knowing how much damage is
being done. People come and go, but when I started to realize who I was supposed to be loyal to all along my life started changing for the better. In this blog I talk about God a lot and you guessed it, he is the one I had to start being loyal to. With his help I started to learn what being loyal to myself meant as well.

“I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.
—JOHN 15:5”

We cannot do nothing without God! We might think we can because we don't feel the effects right away. When I started being loyal to people, I forgot to have a relationship with God. Sometimes people are loyal to a places or things, but we can't forget to be loyal to the person that created, the one that knows us inside and out. As the scripture states above, whoever lives in God bears much (abundant) fruit. My downfall of being loyal to the wrong people made my Fruit spoil.

People are always going to let us down throughout our lives, it's just a given. We that are still on this earth have to learn how to be loyal to God first and yourselves after. What do I mean by this? We have to stop putting people, places and things on false pedi stools. Once we start doing that it becomes a form of idolatry and our God is a pretty jealous God. As far as being loyal to ourselves, that comes with making sure we are good mentally, emotionally, and physically first before we others with these.

'You shall not make for yourselves idols, nor shall you set up for yourselves an image or a sacred pillar, nor shall you place a figured stone in your land to bow down to it; for I am the LORD your God. - Leviticus 26:1

Have you ever heard someone say that they've been treated bad by a person that they've been loyal to? That's because we tend to put too much energy into keeping a person close to us. We probably shouldn't be loyal to that person in the first place. We have to start praying for people to come in our lives that are going to be just as loyal as we are to them. I've been burned plenty of times by people who I was close with, but I'm grateful for those experiences. They taught me how much loyalty I was actually giving people before I got a chance to know them. 

What to be loyal to is still a learning process and honestly I probably won't ever get it down to a science, but I will try my hardest to work on it. I'm tired of seeing my peers be loyal to the wrong people, to the wrong places, and to the wrong things. Don't worry about looking cool to others or trying to follow what everyone else is following. Loyalty is not a bad thing, but put God first, be yourself, and stay loyal to who you really are. 

Check the video below

Trent Shelton - Realtionships/Loyalty is Rare

My Dream turned into a Nightmare

As I sit here reflecting upon another Martin Luther King day I have mixed emotions. The first emotion is grateful for his legacy that carries on within most people's lives from day to day. My second emotion would be sadness because the dream that Martin Luther King had is starting to become a nightmare within America. I sit here wondering am I really fulfilling the dream that he spoke about in 1963 during his Civil Rights Speech in Washington, DC?

As we prepare for our President Barack Obama to leave office as we inaugurate our future President Donald Trump, there seems to be much fear and uncertainty. There are a lot of questions and there are a lot of the unknown circumstances awaiting as time continues to speed past us. The question that I have for my readers is do you feel as if there is such a thing as the American Dream? If you ask me what that answer is I would say no.

Everyone has their own perception and illusion of what they feel the American Dream really is. Some believe it's having a nice job, home, and car. Some probably feel that starting a family and being able to provide for them is the American Dream. Different strokes for different folks I guess, but when I really think about it there needs to be more work done to fulfill the dream Martin Luther King had for this country. I wonder if the Dream was more hope based or was it what Martin Luther King truly believed in his heart.

54 years later we have had a half African and Caucasian President with an African American First Lady! I have to say that this probably made former slave owners role over in their graves let alone made ones who didn't believe start to believe again. But even after all of these great moments we've had there still was tragedy that took place within the years of Obama's presidency. Honestly I would rather not run down that long list, but we all know and feel racial tension is at an all time high and there is tension between everyone more than ever.

"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

If this dream was something that Martin Luther King felt compelled to say on the capital then that only means that it was meant more than just a day off from work. When we have such profound visions and dreams this means God is telling us to meet him in the middle to work for what he wants you to bring to pass. Martin Luther King's dream was so big that it wasn't just for him to work at alone. It was for all of us to come together as one to work for. God just so happened to choose Martin Luther King to bring forth to the public what that exact dream was.

I start to ask myself am I upholding the part of he dream I'm supposed to be working towards? Am I content with how America is today and would rather not even bother? As I get older I start to realize that the dream that Martin Luther King had for all of us is not a joke and it is not something that will fall in our laps. We have to work in order to make this dream come true, just like with any other dream that we have for ourselves. Today I can only hope that I am not only fulfilling my dreams, but fulfilling the ones that the former civil rights leaders marched for.

Fun fact: My son Legend was born on August 28th the same date Martin Luther King gave his now famous I have a dream Speech.

Check out the link below for the full I have a dream Speech......

Competition Everywhere!!!

It's a Saturday morning and I am currently in Virginia awaiting to instruct a HUGE paint party later on this beautiful day! I'm not sure why I'm up so early? Oh yea my son actually woke me up out of my sleep for some good ole juice. (The joys of Motherhood) I haven't had my coffee either by the way so let's see how many grammar corrections you all can count! Anyway the topic of this blog today is Competition, yes competition *sigh*. We can act as if we don't see it or notice that it's going on, but there seems to be a whole epidemic going on with my fellow colleagues around me and with ones I don't know.

During the times we are in now there is a need to one up everyone around us. It almost feels like more and more people are awakening to a sense of who they "really" are and investing in what their beliefs are per say. This morning I became curious as I scrolled through my Facebook and Instagram, and I wondered how many people actually feel as if they have to compete not only with strangers, but people that they know and are close to. Thanks to social media I feel sometimes my generation can be materialistic because of what we are always seeing from others.

“For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6:3‬ ‭NKJV‬

Have you ever been so hungry that you ate yourself to the point of being miserable? That's how your eyes can deceive you, they were bigger than your belly. Same thing happens with social media, your eyes sometimes are way bigger than your brain can handle. It almost can make you feel like you can do what someone else is doing. Once you start trying to be something your not, you end up miserable. Before you go down that rabbit hole really seek God in deep mediation to see what's for you and what's not for you.

“As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭27:17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

We should not be competing with our friends and family  to see who graduated college first, who gets married first, who has kids first, or who has the biggest house, etc. Real friends take the time to see if they can help you in any way possible with the race that your running. They may not be able to run beside you all the time, but you know they got your back. As the scripture states above, iron sharpens iron.

At the end of the day we all need a little bit of Competiton around us to inspire us to go "harder" for our goals and dreams. There is also a time to compete and then there's a time to be genuinely happy for our peers and not try to do what they're doing if it's not our lane. When I spend time with God he exposes when I am trying to compete in an unhealthy manor. He also exposes if me wanting to compete is actually a form of jealousy or not. I thank God that he exposes the good, bad, and ugly in me for me to try to correct.

There are three things that I remind myself of every time I step outside of what my goals are.

1. Focus - I can't allow myself to look at what's on my left or right for too long. I have to keep my eyes on my prize.
2. Get rid of distractions - I take breaks from social media every now and then to regroup and detoxify my mind
3. Godfidence - A couple of affirmations in the morning that I read to myself out loud after prayer
and devotion helps tremendously! I have to know who I am in God so I won't feel like I'm less than or beneath someone. God created only one me and my journey is to find what his purpose is for me on earth.

Please take the time to focus on yourself today......Happy Saturday! Check out the bonus clip below of Zig Ziglar speaking about Evaluating where you are...Enjoy!

My name is not Negro

Hello Everyone and Happy New Year!

Okay so there has been A LOT of awesome things that I have been planning and working on for myself within this New Year. I am very excited about what is to come and I have been really feeling a different level of inspiration lately. The other day I was listening to an interview on the infamous Breakfast Club with Political Commentator Angela Rye mostly known for being on CNN. During the interview she was discussing everything from Trump to what solutions black and brown people need in order to get their communities in order.  I have copied the YouTube link below in order for you to check this GREAT interview out for yourselves!!!

What stood out to me during the interview was when she explained that we should take the time to focus on our foundation as a country and focus repairing it. With Trump coming into office soon, there has been a lot of talk about race and racism. I felt empowered and ready to run for any political position that I can help change the world with after watching the whole interview. I started to think about how passionate I am when it comes to my race.  Let’s face it racism is real and it will most likely always exist within my lifetime.  It is a topic that makes everyone uncomfortable and majority of the time leads to anger. Believe it or not politics runs in my blood somewhat due to my Grandfather being the first black councilman in Warrenton, Virginia.

“Racism is a blight on the human conscience.” – Nelson Mandela

Growing up in Warrenton for my Grandfather wasn’t always peachy, matter of fact it was in the thick of segregation. I’m sure he was faced with racism every day without being able to escape because it was very much alive and well within the 1930’s. By the grace of God he was still able to overcome all of the cruelties of racism and ironically ended up being a representation for the town later on in his life. Warrenton, Virginia respected my Grandfather so greatly that they voted to name the street he built his family home raised his children on after him. What an amazing legacy he left for his family and others to always remember!

I have not ever been called the “N” word to my face before which is a blessing, but I know if I was to be called that word it would be stemming from hate. I could only imagine what my grandfather had to face when he was growing up in a world that constantly rejected him. But what I noticed was throughout all of the rejection my grandfather faced in his life, he still had it within his heart to serve the people that hated him the most.  He didn’t serve because he had to, but it was part of his character that ended up forming his reputation. He had gained respect from all races because of this act of humility yet humbleness.  After all we are put on this earth to serve one another right?

“If you have no critics you’ll likely have no success.” – Malcom X

I can only hope that I can be half the person that my Grandfather was when he was alive. He made sure he was a servant to the community he was living within. It all makes sense to why I have an itch to try to get involved in anything to better my surroundings as I grow more into a woman as each day goes by. It is not an easy task because there is sometimes doubt and fear that can start to creep up, but then I precede to drop kick any of those ill feelings. May my grandfather rest in peace and continue to be proud of my cousins and I. Hopefully we are carrying on the legacy that he has left for us in a way he would be pleased with.

With my reflectiveness of his journey I come to the realization that no matter how a person may treat me because of my skin, I still need to remember who I am.  The goal for this year is to work on serving others more the best way that I know how to. I also would like to build upon my character so my reputation will form itself. I’m not going to allow a word that was formed out of hate to define myself or my colleagues. I am still learning to see through the illusion the society forces on our conscious to believe in and stay alive within the truth that is told to be a lie. With being said……politics anyone? Or just maybe continuing to set an example for those around me? Either way, be on the lookout for what is within my future…………..

“God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” – Hebrews 6:10