By Faith...!

At the culmination of 2013, I vowed that I was taking 2014 by force. With this force I created a motto, "I am walking in faith, love, style, favor, happiness, joy and prosperity." I needed to speak this mantra daily, setting the atmosphere for what I believe God to do in my life. Each area represents where I have struggled, in need of improvement or should maintain, but the most important area for me was faith.

I must be completely transparent, there are some days where my faith is strong and other days where I feel defeated and powerless because of current circumstances called life. This past week was one of those weeks. In the mist of my faithless state God sent what I call faith agents, total strangers to my internal struggle to remind me of His goodness and deposit seeds of encouragement. It is not that I am unaware of His goodness, grace and mercy towards me, but what I see now is contrary to where I want to be and opposite to what He has shown me. 

I have been told that you have to give God something to work with and this is true. Our faith is what God uses to activate our blessings. If we serve a God who is all powerful, and I do, why are we faithless? Do we REALLY believe that God will do what we ask for? In an effort to get this faith thing right I started reading Mark 11:24 daily and it states, "Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." What are you believing God for?

This week I decided that I would increase my workout regime to 5 workouts and challenge myself to one spinning class. Previously, I made up all these excuses as to why I wouldn't be able to attend the spinning class; I need new tennis shoes, My heels are going to hurt, I haven't attended a spinning class in years, I'm not physically fit. Basically I allowed fear to consume me. I am so elated to report that I reached my goal of 5 workouts this week and I attended 2 spinning classes. Wooohoooo! #teamfit One of the classes I attended a faith agent was waiting for me, all I needed to do was take the step. God is telling us that all we need to do is take the first step... It's your time. All God wanted was for you to make up your mind. 

Looking at the facts things seem impossible, but reading God's word we learn that God specializes in making the impossible possible, just trust Him! T.D. Jakes Ministries posted this quote this week, "It's not necessary to see His entire hand but as you move forward in faith and prayer, be assured that God has a blessing moving to meet you."

I challenge you today to believe God and watch His favor, goodness and mercy follow you. 

Got Fear?

Last week I dealt with the subject of waiting and the purpose of waiting. I'm elated that many of you all were blessed by this post. This week I am lead to touch on the subject of fear. 

On May 2, 2011,  I started my company Styling Purpose, LLC then a wardrobe and personal shopping company and now July 2014, a multi-facet creative firm (I invite you to visit our website http://www.stylingpurpose.com/) . Excited about this new chapter in my life, I booked my first paid styling gig with Sunnie Morrison of First Class Productions and started the planning phases of my first fashion show, The Great Switch with the assistance of my parents, my best friend Victoria Curry, former runway model Stephanie Warthen and a host of other supporters. Check it out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0VUVI624b8&list=UU45UyFWvQq4LcLtNbYR3weg As God would have it, June of 2011 I was laid off my job as an accountant; a job I had worked for close to 3 years. Notice I said job and not career. If you have never been laid off this feeling is comparable to a heartbreak. Consumed with mixed emotions - devastation, confusion and a sense of relief; what would I do now? Do I search for more accounting jobs or do I pursue styling full time? Prior to my lay off, I had lived such a structured and well planned life. I knew every two weeks how much I would receive and what that would pay for. I was and still am a budgeter. I didn't have the courage to quit my job, for fear of what my parents would say, what others would think and financially I couldn't afford it, but God divinely intervened. Also during this time I was in the middle of saving to purchase a home and now I was walking or should I say styling in unfamiliar territory. There was no road map or set of books on how to obtain clients or how to become a successful wardrobe stylist. I couldn't call up celebrity fashion stylist, June Ambrose and ask her for advice. However, when I built up enough courage I did tweet her once for advice and she responded in a direct message. #SHOUT To be honest the greatest feeling I felt from this experience was freedom. I was now able to pursue my dreams full time, what a blessing! 

Many times we view closed doors as God's way of punishing us, but in reality it is His method of opening new opportunities for us to conquer. The beautiful thing in this revelation is knowing that God is the only one that can open and close doors for us. Sometimes we take things personal and think that this person doesn't like me or this person is jealous of me that's why this happened to me, which is probably true, but who cares any way. God is using those people, those 'haters', 'frienemies'  to push you into your destiny. In my heart I knew God had something better for me and the only way I would leave that job situation was if I was let go.

Psalms‬ ‭34‬:‭1-11‬ KJV states,"I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord : the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord."

I challenge you today to walk in faith and not in fear. I pray that God will deliver us from the opinions of others and the expectations of others. That we will live our lives not to please others. We will be free! Free to be who God created us to be. Free to be individuals, comfortable in our own skin. Free to love. Free to worship. Free to dance. Free to pursue our dreams without the criticism of others.

I ran across this quote by Joel Osteen Ministries that blessed me .

Fear and faith are mutually exclusive, where one is the other cannot reside. To have faith in God, is to trust Him and to trust his timing. When we fear and worry we are not keeping our responsibility of the relationship. Who wants to be in a relationship where there is a lack of trust? It all goes back to faith. What do you believe? 

Anyone who is an entrepreneur knows that this journey isn't easy. I write this post today three years after starting my business and being laid off. God is faithful and a promise keeper to me. He has continued to order my steps and open doors of opportunity. Earlier I stated there is no road map to success, but the bible is the ultimate tool for success. Combined with His word, prayer, faith, favor, consistency and a positive attitude we are destined for success.

I want to leave you with this song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04zvUhA_EkA.

Got Faith?

They That Wait

Goggle defines waiting as the action of staying where one is or delaying action until a particular time or until something else happens. For some reason I am lead to write about waiting, the power in waiting and the purpose in waiting. Waiting is nothing new. We wait at the hair salon, barber shop, in line at the movies or at fine dining restaurants. Even if we have an appointment, sometimes that can be delayed by a couple of minutes, which means more waiting. On a deeper level many of us are waiting for spouses, jobs, financial loans to be granted, business opportunities to open, family members to become saved and a host of others.

In the spiritual sense we are taught that while we are in a season of waiting, we should pray, believe and trust God to fulfill his promises. The worst thing you can do while waiting is to worry. When we worry we are essentially telling God that we don’t trust Him, his word and his ability. Instead of worrying, just pray. I’ve learned there is power in prayer. Giving everything over to God and I mean EVERYTHING in prayer and believing he will do it. Sometimes God will have us in a season of waiting to remind us of what He has done for us in the past and to show us that He is ultimately in control. One of my favorite Fred Hammond songs is “They That Wait featuring Pastor John P. Kee

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRbv1I8SQ6w. *grabs tambourine* Lol

What I love most about Google’s definition of waiting is the latter part "delaying action until a particular time or until something else happens". I almost shouted! Let me reiterate that statement again, delaying action until a particular time or until something else happens. Until a particular time? Something else happens? We've all heard the saying delay is not denial and this is factual. God's delay doesn’t mean his answer is no, it may mean not now, but later or simply no because He has something else in store for you. Something bigger, better, and greater. God is showing me that he has something else. There were some past relationships that I wanted to work out, jobs that I wanted and God said nope, that’s no it matter of fact he said HECK NO!!!

This past Sunday my pastor, Bishop Curry started a series entitled Advance Praise. While you're in a season of waiting praise God in advance for what He will do. Act like it's already done. Before God blessed me with a new car in May, Faith is what I call her, I acted as if my old car, Diamond Princess (ratchet name yes I know) was a new car with all the new car amenities like, XM radio. I drove DP like she was a beamer, although far from it. I often joke with my friends and family and tell them that I switched phone carriers because if Tyler Perry calls me I need him to be able to get in contact with me with no problems. #RealTalk #FaithTalk

Currently, I’m reading Sarah Jakes book Lost & Found, in the infancy stages of my reading, but a pretty great read thus far. In the foreword of the book Bishop Jakes, states that all storms have an expiration date. While you wait be hopeful and rest assure that trials - unemployment, family issues, singleness, debt, loneliness all have an expiration. I want to end this post with William Murphy's song "It's Working."  This song has truly blessed and encouraged me at a point where my faith was diminishing. Everything is working together for my good and yours too!

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxKm_ZJfofA

Be encouraged. God has not forgotten about you.