Distractions!

Distract- 1. to cause (someone) to stop thinking about or paying attention to someone or something and to think about or pay attention to someone or something else instead. 2. To take (attention) away from someone or something.

I am almost positive that my attention span is along the length of a five-year old’s. I can be set and focused on something and bam, just like that, I’m looking at something else or fiddling with something else! And when it comes to my phone..see how my thumb is set up, it has a mind of its own y’all. It really does. I’ll wake up first thing in the morning, take a few minutes to get my mind right, and get ready to get out of my bed to go have my quiet time with God. But if I forgot to turn off ALL social media apps the night before and I see those little red notifications just waiting to be opened, my thumb starts doing its own thing. The distraction is not my fault. Okay, maybe it is to a degree. Okay, okay, it is my fault.

But of course when I thought about how easily it is for me to become distracted, I also had this thought, distractions serve one purpose: TO KNOCK YOU, ME, US OFF COURSE! When we choose to take our focus off of what we’re doing or how we’re living and peak into the lives of others, we make room for couple of things to take place. I’m sure there’s more, but I’ll focus on two for now.

 1. Discouragement~ We look at that chick that has the body from the gods and the hair and face to match. Then we look down at our reality…that little pooch that gently rounds our waists. Our hair that is overdue for a professional touch. And those ever so stubborn breakouts on our face. Almost instantly, the thoughts come in, “Dang, I wish I could look like that!” Or “If I could only get rid of _______ (fill in the blank) I’ll be good.” Or “Must be nice to have kids and still look like that!” And the thoughts keep flooding in.

 2. Disappointment~ We look at social media at the accomplishments of others and then think over our lives and wonder why we aren’t as far as that person or as far as we should be.

Psalm 1:1(NKJV) says, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.” I’m not saying all of who we see are sinful, ungodly, or scornful. But what I am saying is that when we take our eyes off of our own path and set them onto someone else’s, we open the door to disappointment and discouragement.

#AuthenticMoment: When there’s no discipline and focus, distractions grow in strength and power.

The second & third verses of that same chapter (Psalm 1:2) says, “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.”

I understand from time to time our attention will get diverted to something or someone else. However, we have to be intentional not to allow those distractions dictate how we carry on in our own lives. God created every woman unique in her own way and right. We are gifted in so many things and areas. But when we open the door to distraction, we shut out and dull our potential. So girlfriend, turn off the apps, quit sulking over the extra “love” around your waist, slap on a weave, extensions, or what suits you, and keep moving in the uniqueness of your destiny.

#BeYOUtiful #AuthenticallySpoken #AuthenticallyMe #Unapologetic

(Definition source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2016).

What we feed the most is what will grow!

Love The Skin You're In!

Photo Credit: Amazon Fashion Europe

Last week, I sat in the tub soaking in a good dose of Epsom Salt. If my muscles could talk, mine would scream out “Thank you Thank you Thank you!” (cheers to Epsom Salt and my personal trainer). But as I soaked and massaged my aching muscles, I kind of skimmed over my body. Then I really began to examine my body. The contours and scars. The spider veins making their appearance (and apparently their home) on my thighs. The stretched skin and light brown stretch marks to match. I began massaging my wide feet to ease the burn from my workout. As I rubbed my aching muscles, I started to reflect back to how much I used to hate my body. Parts of my body, I hated from childhood but as I got older and started having children, I found more things to hate about my evolving body. I didn’t like the way it was changing its shape and elasticity. And of course, it didn’t help that every time I turned around, the media or magazines always showcased their most statuesque, seemingly perfect bodies.

Image Source: Instagram User: Loveyourlines

Ladies, I know many of you reading this, as a matter of fact, AS you’re reading this, can ramble off in one breath the number of things you don’t like about your body. But here’s the reality, one that took me a long time to realize (and is still taking some time) …we all come in various sizes, shapes, colors, and features. From before the time we are created in our mother’s wombs, God has already etched every characteristic onto our DNA. Whether that be stretch marks, large birth marks, balding hair, acne, or whatever the case…it was all there from before the beginning of our existence! Psalm 139:13 says “You created every part of me; You put me together in my mother’s womb.” Everything that we were meant to be and how we were meant to look and the features that were meant to come through, were all done before being formed in our mother’s womb.

Now trust me, I truly understand the sometimes desperate need to rid ourselves of some of these unappealing things. I mean, I can list off a whole lot of things I’d like to get rid of RIGHT NOW…I digress…But here’s the thing sisters…Half of what we see displayed in front of us in the media or on magazines is not real. Let me say that again, in all caps…IT’S NOT REAL! Okay, let me dismiss the ones who say I’m hating because I’m not. But let’s keep it 100%...there are some women who were blessed by God with incredible genes and barely need any alterations to their image and I applaud you (well, while giving just a little bit of side eye). But then there are the REAL bodies. You know, the ones that bear evidence of some wars. Bellies that bear witness that lives were carried. Bodies that display the faint and sometimes not so faint trails of stretch marks, that sometimes vary from tiger claws to spider webs. That extra “love” right under the bra strap that tells on us that we shouldn’t have eaten that extra cupcake. Or the checkered skin that looks like artwork but is the result of vitiligo.

I can go on and on. But ladies, sisters, please hear me out. Every single one of us can point out several “imperfections” as we call them. However, when we learn that we were created this way on purpose or that the way we look serves a purpose, we learn to embrace our scars, marks, and everything else. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.” We were intentionally created in certain ways for certain purposes. When we look outside of that truth and start measuring ourselves with other women, not only do we make ourselves even more miserable, but we begin to discredit God for His mighty works.

Now, please, hear me out…I’m not saying that I have it altogether. Because as I mentioned earlier in my blog, there are still things that I wrestle with. My “love” around my waist can stand some trimming. However, I am learning with every moment God gives me, to love all of my “love” and to embrace every imperfect part of me and to realize I am enough…MORE THAN ENOUGH. And in knowing this, this is a part of what gives me confidence and what makes me attractive…oh and I have an amazing husband who loves ALL of me!

Sisters, none of us will ever be 100% satisfied with the way we look. But I want to encourage you and even challenge you to look at yourselves differently. Whether you catch a glimpse of yourself walking past your mirror or you’re in the tub or shower, look at those things that are deemed “ugly” or “imperfect” by yours or society’s standards and say “I love you, every part of you. Every part serves a purpose and I’m going to embrace that!” Girlfriend, say it because you are worth it. You are #BeYOUtiful! Own it and be #Unapologetic about it! Blessings ladies!

Photo Credit: Peter Yang

Our Happy, Sweet Spot!

Photo credit: Jennifer Dukes Lee

#AuthenticMoment...growing up, I thought I was weird. Aside from the nasty names I was called and the abuse I suffered from, I thought I was different. I realized I wasn't like the other kids around me. I thought differently. My happiness wasn't found in typical things. One of my "happy places" was high up in a dogwood tree daydreaming for hours. Or at the dining room table drawing or writing for hours. I got lost in those worlds.

💫As I grew up, I tried to mask those quirky things about me and follow the status quo. I got money. I got men and attention from men. I got attention, period. I got nice things. But I still wasn't happy. It wasn't until I started tapping back into those forgotten places deep within me that I started to become happy again. The joy bubbled over...not just because I had found my "sweet spot" again, but because I acknowledged the One who gifted me with those sweet spots...God.

💫So now, I write or sometimes draw. I don't climb trees anymore but I find that quiet place of solitude and allow my God given gift of imagination and creativity to run wild.

💫Sisters, each of us are incredibly unique. We all have our own sweet spots to which we draw our happiness from. Allow God to help you retrace those steps back to the hidden places and bask in your God given gifts of happiness. Because you/we are #BeYOUtiful #AuthenticallyMe #Authenticallyspoken and should be #Unapologetic about every bit of it. Blessings today!!😘😍❤