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