Be Strong in the Lord

I've talked to quite a few friends who have been recently facing really challenging situations. Not only have these situations been extremely challenging, but they've also been leaving a lot of question marks. Have you ever been in a situation where you feel extremely weak and you're not sure what to do?
Well after reading Joshua 1, I think I've found the answer!

We open up the book of Joshua with the understanding that Moses has died. It is now Joshua's turn to step up as leader and take the children of Israel into the Promise Land. Before Joshua moves forward, God gives him a lot of instruction.

"Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:8 & 9, NIV.

1. Meditate on the Word of God day and night. 
You don't literally have to keep your Bible open at every second to meditate on the Word. That's where "hiding God's word in your heart" can come in. Whatever encouragement or command you need to be reminded of from the Lord, put it to memory and meditate on it. Also be sure to take time out to read and digest the Word!

2. Be careful to do everything written in it.
 It's easy to take in a lot of information. You can read devotionals, listen to sermon after sermon, and sing a million Kari Jobe songs but if you're not actually applying the Word to your life (literally), then you are wasting your time. In the video, I use the demonstration of using God's command to be strong and courageous with my experience with the treadmill. I don't particularly like the treadmill but I have to be strong and push through the fatigue because I want to be healthier and lose fat.

3. Then you will be prosperous and successful!
If I continue running through the fatigue, day after day, I'll become healthier and lose the fat! That sounds like success to me! It's the same thing for you and your journey! If you continue to meditate on God's word and apply it to your life, before you know it, that particular trial will be a thing of the past!

Just keep pushing! Keep believing! God has the best in store for His children! Just continue to pursue Him with your whole heart!
God bless you!!!

Who are YOU listening to?!

I'm so excited to be a part of an amazing 21 day soul detox. Ashley Joy is an incredible blogger that I recently found on Instagram. She's currently leading the soul detox. For more information, I'll have her link at the bottom of this post!

I usually try to make sure I get my time in with God on a daily basis but I usually have the following routine: 

1. Devotional Thought

2. Bible reading

3. Gratitude Journal

4. Prayer 

The End :)

However, with the detox plan, different suggestions are encouraged such as prayer walks and listening to music. So anyone who know me well KNOWS how much I love music. Oddly enough, I've never thought to actually incorporate it into my personal devotion time. So music has been the new addition to my devotion and when I say that it's so powerful, I'm not kidding. Music really does help to set the tone and bring me into a place of gratitude and humility while coming before the King. It's really been an humbling experience. 

I only listen to 1-2 songs before I start and so far, here's the few songs that have made the playlist for the week: 

1. Kari Jobe- O the Blood  (can easily bring me to tears. so powerful!)

2. Kari Jobe- Healer ( There's a Kari Jobe trend going on. can't help it though! I love her!)

3. Hillsong United- Healer 

I'm sure the list will grow as time goes on but that song "Healer" is obviously pretty crucial for me right now. Listen to songs that speak to your current situation and promises that you are desperate for God to keep. I'm grateful for this experience. Many thanks to Ashley Joy for leading this detox. I'm grateful for what it's already doing for me. God bless you sis!

Click here to check out her information and check out my vlog below! :) 

Embrace What God Has Given To YOU!!!!

Today, I'm sharing a story that I also shared on my church's blog about two weeks ago. It was definitely an unexpected lesson but still incredibly pertinent! Hope you enjoy it! :)

I’m always amazed at the object lessons Christ teaches me through my interaction with children.  This year, I had the opportunity to serve as a small group leader for our Vacation Bible School program.  I thoroughly enjoyed my vibrant troop of 6-9 year olds. I can’t tell you how many times I laughed till I cried at the comedy those children brought me every single day.  I’d like to share the lessons I learned from a short conversation I had with a little girl on the last day of VBS.

During the summer, I usually wear my hair slicked back into a bun. Buns are low-maintenance and keep my hair out of my way. At night, I usually take the bun out and braid up my hair in a couple plaits to make sure my curls stay moisturized. When I wake up in the morning, I could choose to wear my hair out in what’s called a “braid-out” (the braids are unraveled and let free) but I usually wear the simple bun. However, after taking the braids out on Friday morning, I decided to switch it up and wear my hair out for our last day in Athens.

As the day progressed, my hair got bigger. The bigger my hair gets, the more I like it. By the time I arrived at VBS that evening, my hair was just right. As soon as I walked into the doors and stepped into the registration line, I heard a gasp.

I turned and saw the cutest little girl looking at me in total shock. She couldn’t have been more than 5 years old.

Me: “Hi, sweetie!”

Little Girl: “Your hair!!!! It’s fuzzy!”

Me: “Furry?!”

Little Girl: “No! Fuzzy! Your hair is fuzzy! It was smooth all week and now it’s fuzzy!”

Me: “Oh!! Fuzzy! Well, yes this is what my hair does. It’s very…curly!”

Little Girl: “Yeah, It’s very fuzzy.” (Turns up nose and shakes head in disgust) “I like it smooth.”

There were two object lessons for me:  

1.     When the kids came into VBS, they spent the majority of their night with their tribe and their leader. This little girl was not in my tribe. I might have danced with her a couple times during the Praise & Worship section but our interaction was definitely limited.  What blew me away was the fact that she noticed such a simple change in hairstyle. She was paying attention. It reminded me of being a kid and how much I paid attention to the adult who told another adult to “shut up”. I couldn’t understand how that was okay when I wasn’t allowed to tell others to shut up. If she picked up on a simple change in hairstyle, what else is she picking up? You guessed it. Everything! If you’re like me, it’s so easy to get lost in your own world and think that no one is paying attention to you. Now, I’m not trying to instill a sense of paranoia. Don’t go around thinking that everyone is watching your every move. That will drive you crazy. Just be mindful. You never know who is watching you. You never know who may be admiring you. You never know who might be drawn closer to Christ as a result of the actions they see in you. Out of frustration, you might roll your eyes or suck your teeth. A little person may see that and thinks it’s cool and you’ve just passed on a not-so admirable habit. So be careful!

2.     As cute and sweet as the little girl was, she made it clear she didn’t like my “fuzzy” hair. I might have days where my hair is not doing what I really want it to, but one thing is for certain. No one can successfully convince me that my hair isn’t beautiful.  However, that wasn’t always the case. I used to be insecure about my hair. In elementary school, kids used to pull my hair and make fun of me because I didn’t have pretty Shirley Temple curls and a perm like the other girls. In those days, it wasn’t about embracing what God gave me. It was about embracing the fact that Mom wouldn’t let me get a perm so I had to deal with it. However, the less I fought what came naturally to me, the sooner I saw the beauty in it. If I truly embrace EVERYTHING that God has given me, inward and outward, the sooner I’ll see the beauty and any insecurities I have will fade away.

There may be a part of your story that you may struggle to truly embrace as a gift from God. Learn to embrace it. Cultivate it.  For example, ladies with natural hair usually go through a two-step process called moisturizing and sealing. The first step is to moisturize the hair with a water-based product to keep the hair from getting dry. Sealing is the second step when oil (preferably coconut oil) is placed on the strands to keep the moisture from getting out.  Just as natural hair needs water-based moisture daily, our spirits need the Living Water daily. Nurture the person who God has called you to be. Remind yourself of His promises. Affirm yourself in the Lord. Meditate on the FACT that you are fearfully and so wonderfully made!!! Then seal that in with love from God and believers who continue to validate, celebrate and affirm what He has created in you. This two-step process is a great way to help you continue to, beautifully and gracefully, grow in the Lord.

I really hope this message encourages and inspires you! 

Oh yeah and before I forget, #teamnatural!!!!

Immediate Obedience

Hello! Happy Monday!!! It's the beginning of a new work week and I'm so excited to continue my journey here on my blog! The video listed below is simply an account of how I learned the importance of immediate obedience.

1st Samuel 30 is a chapter that tells the story of David's conflict with the Amalekites. In short, David and his men set up shop in the city of Ziklag. On the 3rd day, they traveled and went outside the city. However, when they came back from the day's journey, they found that the Amalekites took their women, children and belongings. In addition to that, the Amalekites had the nerve to burn the city down. So David and his men were understandably upset. Their grief was so intense that at one point, the men were tempted to stone David since he was the leader. David took the time out to tap into God for strength and encouraged himself in the Lord. He consulted God and asked what he should do next. God told him to take up his men, go find the Amalekites and fight. God also told them that they would win the fight! There are so many lessons in this first part of the story but I'd like to hang out in the obedience concept for a second.

Nowhere in the text  does David hesitate to be obedient to what God told him to do. Oftentimes, God will give us a command and we will spend time worrying about the what ifs, whys and hows. If God told you to do something and the command goes right in line with who He is and what He can do, hesitation shows our lack of trust in the one who created us. It is a slap in the face to Him. Trust God. Believe His Word. He cannot lie. Listen and take action the first time around. Don't delay. Be obedient today!

I'm a baby entrepreneur. I am learning the ropes of developing business plans, marketing strategies, campaigns and all that jazz. It's exciting and challenging. When "they" (whoever they is) say it's not easy owning your own business, they're not kidding. I'm really overwhelmed with everything but I'm sure that it will all work out. Below is a video sharing the aftermath of a disastrous day and the lesson I learned. All in all, put your business first. You can't really help anyone else if you don't have your house in order first :) Lesson learned!

Twists, Ties, Protective Styles- Oh My!

When dealing with natural hair, one of the tips that I've learned is that moisture is ESSENTIAL. Many of you may say, "Duh! I knew that!" Sure! But how many of you actually implement that into your DAILY routine? When I first moved back to Maryland from Atlanta, I found that my hair was super dry. I even went to a hair dresser and she couldn't stop talking about how dry my hair was. Her recommendation was to deep condition with heat. So I started to deep condition with a heated bonnet on a weekly basis. It's def. helped. However, I've found that the daily routine of moisturizing and sealing has proven to be beneficial in terms of keeping my hair soft, nice and moisturized. So what's the process? I'm so glad you asked! :)

1. I moisturize my hair with a water-based moisturizer. It's okay to just use water too. I switch between water, African Pride Braid spray, and a homemade aloe vera mix. The key is to make sure the hair gets some type of water in it. 

2. I also use a leave-in moisturizer after I put int a water-based mix. I really like the leave-in conditioner by African Pride. It's on the watery side and I prefer it because it's not super heavy. 

3. I seal my hair and pay close attention to the ends. I usually seal the hair with Vatika Coconut Oil. It's my absolute favorite. It's infused with a bunch of aryuvedic herbs and I really love it. I buy it at my local Indian grocer but I'm sure you can also buy it online. 

4. Once I finish sealing, my hair is usually twisted into 8 large twists. I have been wearing a lot of twist-outs lately so to style them, I've been using a little bit of Shea Moisture's Curl Enhancing Smoothie mixed with Eco Styler gel. I really like that combo. However, if you want to be a good naturalista, you might want to wear more protective styles like twists. Twists really keep the ends protected and can really help keep the moisture in. Protective styles are also key for length retention. Here are a few pics below with the products in addition to one of my protective styles :) 

 

I'm Grateful and You Should Be TOoOoOoO!!!!!!