I can't believe that May is here! GEESH!!!! Where has the time gone? April was a bit of an emotional month for me. In the midst of ...
Hello, 2nd Quarter! So much to blog about...so little time! Geesh!!! This post will be quick and to the point......have some GRACE!!! We can so easily be tough on each other in areas that we are gifted in or areas we have mastered. I see it all the time and I often want to chime in and scream HAVE SOME GRACE!!!!!! My goodness!
I believe that the things that come easy for us are very purposeful on God's part. We must learn to take it easy with one another and make our gifts work for us and not against us. The next time you feel the urge to go hard because someone is not as disciplined as you, as creative as you, or doesn't work as hard as you think they should, I encourage to gracefully lead your brothers and sisters into a new thought process.
We don't have to be cruel and mean to encourage greatness in each other. Think about the area that you struggle in the most and extend that grace to the people you feel lead to encourage! I thank GOD for HIS grace towards me!! Thinking of God's hand in my life keeps me HUMBLE and able to extend grace, love, and kindness to the people around me.
This beautiful dress is from Shein!
I have mentioned before and will say it again...SIZE UP with Shein! They have some pieces that have worrked so perfect for me but I had to size up. I am a size 14-16 and typically between a 1x-2x. For Shein, most of my pieces have been 2x-3x.
Hello, 2nd Quarter! So much to blog about...so little time! Geesh!!! This post will be quick and to the point......have some GRACE!!! W...
Message to the strong friend!
Have you seen that meme floating around social media, the one that says “Check on your strong friend?”
Well, I am here with a message for the strong friend! I think it's time we take a look at who and what we consider to be strong.
How do we determine who the “strong “ friend really is? I believe that the time is now to redefine what stong looks like. Everyone is battling something that you know nothing about or something that you simply can’t relate to. I am here to tell you that we are all the strong friend. Strength looks different on everyone. Each and every person walking this earth has something we are all trying to overcome with strength and with dignity. Challenges do differ based on your calling in life. But, to indicate that there is a “strong friend” means that someone is indeed a “weak friend." And quite honestly, that just doesn’t sit well with me.
So, I have compiled 3 things that I want the "strong" friend to know. Here we go....
So, I have compiled 3 things that I want the "strong" friend to know. Here we go....
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1. We must understand that it is okay to not be okay. Learn your triggers and have a strategic plan for dealing with your pain. As children, we learn when there is an emergency to call 911. Many of us learn 911 before any other phone numbers. You need a 911 for your emotions. When you are feeling high, low, in between who do you call and what do you say. PLAN FOR THOSE MOMENTS!
2. Your friends can handle YOU!! Divine relationships are very important to me. When you are in a relationship that has been ordained by GOD, you must know that person has the capacity to handle your low moments. Don’t rob your friends of the opportunity of holding you down and praying for you. SPEAK UP and remember it is okay to not be okay.
3. Don’t sit and wait for someone to check on you. Send out an SOS! Say something. Learn to articulate your pain, your hurt, and your disappointments. Sometimes it is hard to speak about it. I totally get it. You can designate an emoji which indicates that all is NOT well in your world. It could be a blue heart, for instance, this emoji could represent as an alert signal for your crew. Tell your friends the emoji and they will know when you send it that you need prayer, dinner, a movie, or simply to be checked on. Another way to alert your friends that you are not okay is word vomit! This one is my personal favorite. I know I have struggled with wanting to shut down and assume that nobody could understand. But, I recognize that is the enemy’s way of keeping me in bondage. So, what do I do….I just SPILL IT!!!! I send texts to my close friends or family disclosing my emotional state. Sometimes it’s just a sentence….I am sad. Sometimes, it’s a paragraph. Either way, I don’t assume that they know unless I tell them.
Now, don’t get me wrong. There are times where you may get a random text or call that was just what you needed. Those perfect God curated moments seem to be right on time right? My goal for this post is not to take away from those beautifully supportive moments. My goal is to challenge us all to be more in tune with our own emotional state and how we are handling our emotions. Life happens to the best of us! The fact that you are still living and actually reading this means that you too are the strong friend. I know some of us have experienced more challenges than others, but that’s your story to tell and your testimony to share. BUT…. Don’t isolate yourself as the “strong friend.”
I write this from a place of love. Right now I am about 10 days from what would have been my daughter’s 7th birthday. I am having some moments right now for real yall. The dark cloud of grief is not easy. I have already sent out a couple of SOS messages requesting prayer. I feel a heavy heart trying to creep in. I am making sure that I am listening to things that uplift my spirit. I let the tears fall as they may, but refuse to be taken in by the grief. Writing this right now is therapeutic for me. I am asking all of my strong friends out there to pray for me during this season. I am the strong friend, you are the strong friend. WE ARE EACH OTHER’S STRENGTH AND JESUS CHRIST IS THE GLUE TO IT ALL.
I LOVE YOU AND THANK YOU FOR READING.
Keep scrolling for outfit deets!
This entire outfit is from Shein! Some people love them and when they sent me these pieces I was in shock of how cute they were. My only warning is to SIZE UP! Now, if you have made it this far I have a deal for you!
Message to the strong friend! Have you seen that meme floating around social media, the one that says “Check on your strong friend?...
The celebration continues!!!
In honor of Women's History Month, I am continuing to highlight some amazing women here on the blog. I am blessed by many people, but my family by far is one of my greatest blessings!
Meet my awesome and amazing Auntie Cynthia!!! My Auntie Cynthia is my Mom's older sister. As long as I can remember my Aunt has been such a poised woman. As a kid, I would admire how she walked in heels in hopes that one day I too could strut so gracefully! lol!
On a serious note, I am thankful to that she is sharing parts of her journey.
In her own words....
On a serious note, I am thankful to that she is sharing parts of her journey.
In her own words....
Staying the Course...
How interesting it is that this is the topic for my expose in your blog!! My affirmation for 2018 is Never Give Up/NGU2018! Thanks for the reminder as we approach the end of the first quarter of 2018 already!!
My life in ministry began as a child being reared in the Pentecostal Church. It was not an option if you served or not. The option was — well sometimes there was an option — where will you serve? So I served in the youth ministry, youth choirs, played trumpet in the church band and Sunday School. Because we lived south and our church was west, we often attended other church activities that other children may not have participated in such as the business meetings. Now, I accepted the Lord as my personal Savior when I was about 9! I received the Holy Ghost with speaking in tongues at age 11. My desire to live for the Lord was passionate!! As a child and even a teen, living for Jesus was fun and interesting. Becoming an adult, I found my life spinning in circles of self-identity, self-worth, and value. I wasn’t sure who I really was. I still passionately loved the Lord and wanted to be who He wanted me to be based on my understanding of Him. Somehow, it wasn’t the same as my earlier years. Pray, fast and read your Bible is what I was taught to get through life's challenges; however, life’s challenges made it seem as if I should fast, pray and read 10 days a week 14 months a year!!
What I learned on this journey is that God really loved Cynthia just as she was — flaws and all! He wasn’t the rigid, angry disciplinarian waiting to crack my knuckles with the ruler or beat me with the belt or kick me into hell. How did I stay the course through ridicule from senior church leaders when I married quickly in an attempt to cover up my imperfections and a premarital pregnancy? How did I stay the course when my marriage failed 5 months in, seemingly proving the church folks right? How did I stay the course trying to identify with adult Cynthia without the “covering and protection” of my protective parents and overprotective spiritual leaders? I never stopped loving the Lord — I never stopped acknowledging His greatness in my life while I went through trials, making lots and lots of errors. I engaged people with impure motives, fell into deep depression, walked away from employment, didn’t complete college, and began to fall prey to government assistance and more.
Thank God for a praying mother!!! Oh, how I miss her but eternally thank God for the days she would come to my apartment and pray for me, pray with me! She rebuked the devil and prayed blood covering over my mind, body, and spirit. It’s interesting as I recall these details that I never considered myself a backslider — because I never ever stopped loving Jesus and didn’t give up my faith. I didn’t understand a lot of the journey but through reading and studying between the highs and lows, I gained a very personal relationship with the Lord. My imperfections continued in a quest for me to exercise compassion and forgiveness with others and to diminish the judgmental attitude I developed in my early walk with the Lord. I remarried my first husband and learned soooo much about myself and him that helps me immensely in ministry today. I remember once saying that certain events of my life were not God-ordained. What I came to realize is that if I hadn’t had those experiences I would not be the woman I am today, walking in the strength and peace of God. The sickness and death of my mother, sickness and death of my first husband, sickness and death of my father have each bred a tenacity of trusting God that I would never have known without those difficult times.
I’ve been in conflictive relationships with church folks, my siblings, and my children. The Lord, thank God, has taught (is teaching) me how to be “the me” He called me to be and stop looking at everyone else. In the words of my dear brother Sconi, “keep the focus on you!!” I never consider myself athletic or competitive; however, I’ve always felt compelled to be a great Christian. Staying the course has meant staying in the face of the Lord, hearing and receiving a relevant Word from Him and being engaged in prayer. So what does the transformation look like? I am true to Cynthia!!! Whew! That’s been a big part of the journey. I enjoy fun, laughter, harmonious relationships and respect for all. So my style of doing things is often different from some traditional norms. This is what has anchored my staying power. I respect and honor who God has created me to be—and I enjoy me and what I do. Lately, I’ve broken through some uncomfortable areas of growing ministry and this continues to grow my trust in God. I’m often reminded to trust God and love people. We have a habit of reversing those principles and becoming gravely disappointed, wounded, hurt and angry. As I learn to follow this process more often than not, my reactions and responses are different and I realize that God is governing my life and emotions. It keeps me staying the course!
Yes, I am human with feelings and emotions but they are not allowed to run me and cause me to run amuck. Proverbs 29:11 basically says that a fool gives full vent to their anger but the wise bring calm in the end. With all that I’m learning, I want to empower others — men, women, boys, girls, young, middle-aged and seasoned — so that the same mistakes aren’t made. My life experiences were/are not “just because;” they are because God has a purpose and plan for my life, to prosper and give me hope and bring me to a great future!
One thing I learned in my journey to truth, outside of traditions, is the unrealistic expectations and demands on the ministry leaders’ families. While everyone else enjoys vacations, sick days and the opportunity to put their families first, many ministry leadership families have been expected to serve and perform in excellence and with their “A” game regardless of personal stuff (family strife, death, illness, financial woes, etc.). Marriages have suffered; ministers’ children have walked away, not just from church, but also from God. Extended families feel neglected, social lives are non-existent or consist of church retreats, ministry luncheons and other church-related activities. And friends...what are those?? Seeing this imbalance while fighting for it in my own life, I always wanted a forum where the ministers’ families could release and rebuild in a safe environment for internal, personal and group healing and restoration.
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| Click Link Here To Register |
The Lord is allowing me to host the first Ministerial Healing Symposium April 14, 2018. The environment will be loving, non-judgmental and comfortable — conducive to supporting newness of life in our leaders. We’ll hear from the ministers’ children, siblings, spouses and friends! Great breakfast, awesome music and powerful dialogue in a warm, supportive atmosphere where the attire is dress down comfortable.
God has been faithful to me for 55 years ... I’ll never, ever give up! Staying the course is not an option; it’s my mandate!
#EmpoweredToEmpower
#NeverGiveUp2018
#NGU2018
Keep scrolling for a couple of family pics!!!
Auntie Crissy, Mommy, & Auntie Cynthia!
The celebration continues!!! In honor of Women's History Month, I am continuing to highlight some amazing women here on the blo...
The celebration continues!!!
In honor of Women's History Month, I am highlighting some amazing women on the blog.
Today's woman is Monique Thomas! Monique was once my Supervisor. Crazy right? She went from being my boss to being my friend. I met Monique in 2010 and our friendship is one that is really special to me. Our friendship has withstood some ups and downs and I am so thankful to have her in my life. Monique has a powerful story and I asked her to share on my blog today. Just as I expected, she provides some amazing GEMS!!!!
Meet Monique.....
In her own words!!
Hey, #SundaysWithTot crew! What an honor it is to be featured during this month’s theme. I am Mo - a mother to four of the most amazing kids on earth, a lover of Jesus who loves to encourage and empower people in all walks of life to believe in themselves, love themselves and know that they were put here on this Earth to carry out a specific purpose.
Now that we’ve gotten the preliminaries out of the way, I would like to share a story with you. It’s the story of a dark chocolate girl who grew up in the 80s when being dark skinned wasn’t as “My Black is Beautiful” as it is now. She was raised by her mother and grandmother, had a drug-addicted father who was in and out of the first 10 years of her life before deciding to remove himself entirely. A girl who walked around never really fitting in or having a voice of her own – feeling invisible. Even though she grew up in church and knew of God, she allowed her “Daddy issues” and low self-esteem to put her on the wrong path and she got pregnant at the age of 15. Knowing that there was no way she could raise her son on her own, she fully committed her life to God and her life changed! She finished high school, married her childhood sweetheart, they became a blended family and raised four beautiful children. Life was good. I mean, it had its challenges – bad medical reports, job losses, family issues, car repossessions, times when money was tight and utilities were shut off, but they made it all work. She and her husband were a team in everything they did – family, church and ministry. They had a great balanced life; they loved God, each other and their children. Everything was going good. In 2011, she lost her grandmother to pancreatic cancer and four months later, her husband of 13 years died of a sudden heart attack.
Can I ask you some questions? What do you do when everything about the “norm” of your life is suddenly taken from you? How do you handle the very foundations of what you’ve established for your life dissolving with the sound of a steady beep on a heart monitor? How much is too much? Why do bad things always happen to good people?
I was that dark chocolate girl and after losing my grandmother and my husband, these were some of the questions I asked and that were asked of me. I never really experienced death before and to have two people so close to me die within such a short time was devastating. I had to make a decision the day my husband died – let my children either loose both parents that day or allow God to walk me through the process of grief in order to be healed and have my sanity. I decided to put my hands in God’s and took His lead. Now, I wish I could tell you that in following God’s direction, I had a “Super Saint” cape on and everything went great from that day forward. I wish I could tell you that I did not have moments of wanting life to just stop so that I could catch my breath and wallow in grief. I even wish I could tell you that I made all the right decisions on being the only parent to my children, handling financial issues or moments of feeling lonely. I especially wish I could tell you that I kept my faith and trust in God. Those are all wishes, but what I can tell you is that with God, I’ve learned the proper way to deal with the pain, forgive those who hurt me, and believe again.
Dealing with the Pain
No matter how long or short you have lived on this Earth, I am sure that you’ve experienced some sort of pain or trauma. This could be due to the death of a loved one, a rape, a miscarriage, molestation, a divorce, the end of a friendship, job, or even church membership. There are several other things that I could list here but whatever the situation is or was, know that there is a period of grief you must go through. I like to call it the “grieving process”. Everyone’s grieving process is different; it’s up to you to go through it in a healthy or unhealthy manner. What do I mean? I’m glad you asked! Grieving healthy means being real and open with your raw emotions. Don’t be a lone ranger and think you can handle your pain or trauma alone. Talk to someone and be brutally honest about how you’re feeling. I shared my good, bad, sad and angry days with family and friends that I trusted. I also saw a grievance counselor. This gave me the ability to get those feelings out and deal with them. Holding those feelings in is toxic. They will destroy you mentally and physically. Do not just share your feelings with family and friends – share them with God as well. He can handle them much better than anyone on this Earth can! I found that I received a greater release and stronger peace when I shared my feelings with God. If you can’t put words together, journal your feelings and share them with people you trust or read them to God in prayer. I had days that I didn’t grieve properly and would end up in a pit of sorrow. By God’s grace, I was always able to get from that pit by worship. I’d play some worship music and just cry out to God. Some days I yelled others I could not speak at all. God is a big God and King and He can not only handle our emotions but also help us deal with them.
Forgive, Forgive, Forgive
We all know that forgiveness is not for the person who offended us but it’s actually to help us move forward. I believe that some of us struggle in this area because we believe that forgiving means that we are saying the pain or trauma we experienced was okay. No it wasn’t okay for your uncle or father to come into your bedroom at night while you were seven; no it wasn’t okay for your brother to be gunned down in the streets by gangs. Forgiving the person does not mean that you are saying what they did was okay. It’s choosing to not allow something that happened to you, become who you are. Sometimes you have to forgive yourself. There are also times where you may have to forgive God. What?! Yes honey, forgive God. I had to forgive God for not answering my prayers to heal my grandmother from cancer and bring my husband back to life. I couldn’t blame God for my pain. I realized that God doesn’t make these painful situations happen to us; but He uses them for the making of us and to show us who He is in our lives, if we allow Him. And remember, forgiveness is something you walk out. Just because you still feel the pain when you look at the person who hurt you, doesn’t mean that you haven’t forgiven them. It could mean that you are still healing or just have to remind yourself that you have forgiven that person, yourself or God.
Believe Again
This my friends is probably the hardest part of overcoming pain and trauma. It’s great to grieve properly and to forgive your offender, but believing again can almost seem impossible. I struggled believing that I could have another marriage as good as the one I had. I even struggled believing that I could trust God again with my future. After all, the future He originally told me I’d have with my husband and children went away with no warning. So how do you believe again? How do you trust again? I began to take baby steps. I couldn’t fully believe and trust God for my entire future so I began trusting and believing Him in my “today”. I’d wake up each morning and thank Him for that day, for Him being with my family and me and leading us and providing everything that we needed for that day. I also clung to Psalm 34:18 - The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Find a scripture that relates to your situation and write it out, make it the screensaver on your phone, pin it, post it – do whatever you need to do to get that scripture memorized and down in your heart. Then repeat it every day until you believe the words down to your core. I believe and trust God now more than ever with my future. I also believe that I will find another great husband – so if you know of any tall, handsome…. LOL!
I want to leave you with this… When I first lost my husband, I thought that no one in the world could understand what I was going through. I felt as though no one’s situation was exactly like ours, that they didn’t love each other the way we did. But I soon found that I wasn’t the only one who lost a spouse at a young age, with children. You are never alone. But remember, while there are others with similar stories, your story is uniquely yours. Allow God to heal your scars and pain so that you can see the other side of it and help others. I’ve helped more people from my place of brokenness than I ever did before the pain, trauma and loss occurred. I wouldn’t wish my life on anyone but I will say that I never knew God to this magnitude before and I’m grateful that He saw my loss and trusted me to handle the process so that I can help others.
What is God trusting you to handle?
The celebration continues!!! In honor of Women's History Month, I am highlighting some amazing women on the blog. Today's woma...
One of my many passions is saving money! I
even have a part of this blog that shares my secret life of couponing.
I am all about shopping smarter and making
wise financial decisions all while looking GOOD!
I have shared my 7 favorite places consign here on the blog. I have shared a few times about Gwynnie Bee but I haven’t
gone into detail on this amazing company in a while.
I received this super cute and comfy sweater in my latest Gwynnie Bee box and it's perfect for this Friday's #FunDaysWithTot!
So, I
have a few questions for you that I had to ask myself….
How
often do we buy something and only wear it once?
How
often do we pass up items in the store because it's just not practical to
purchase?
Have
you heard of Gwynnie Bee??
GwynnieBee is a clothing subscription service for women size 10 and up, think of it as a Netflix for clothes!
1. Sign up for your free 30 days with this link here and choose how many items you would like to have out at a time. The options range from 1 item out at $49 a month to 10 items for $199 a month. I currently have the 2 item plan for $59 a month. I have found that this plan works best for me. In 1 month, I have received as many as 15 items on this plan. The cool thing is that you can keep the items as long as you want. Just be aware that your next pieces won't ship until you return or purchase the items that you have out.
2. Once you are all signed up, you can begin adding items to what Gwynnie Bee calls your closet. Once you have 50 pieces in your closet, they will begin to send you pieces depending on which plan you picked. The only downside is you cannot pick which items you receive, you can only label an item as "priority" and they will push that to the front of your list, to ensure that you receive your priority items sooner.
3. Once you wear your garment from Gwynnie Bee, you return the item using their prepaid packet. That easy! No cleaning or anything. If you find that you love it and want to keep it, you simply log into your Gwynnie Bee account and purchase the item.
I have discovered new brands, tried clothes that I normally would look over, and had the luxury of even beeing in one of Gwynnie Bee's commercials.
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| Oh, just me in a Gwynnie Bee commercial! |
Totally Tot loves Gwynnie Bee!
One of my many passions is saving money! I even have a part of this blog that shares my secret life of couponing. I am all about sh...
Welcome to March beautiful people! #SundaysWithTot for the month of March will be used to highlight some amazing women who have made an impact on my life from both near and far. I am starting this Women’s Celebration off with the amazing Ivey Smith! I met Ivey or Elder Ivey as she is called by many at my church, All Nations Worship Assembly here in Chicago. We initially connected over a fringe jacket that I had on! Ha! Since meeting, she has really made a positive impact on my life from afar. I asked her to share her journey to greatness with me.
Elder Ivey and I decided to sit down for a Q& A for the blog.
Meet Ivey Smith also known as Elder Ivey
I was born in New Jersey and moved to Colorado when I was 10 yrs. old. to one of the most random places, but my Father’s job took us out there. I hated everything about Colorado! I think it was the unknown and I felt like I didn’t fit in. Although I didn’t know exactly what “fitting in” meant, I knew I felt very different from the other children. I had this East Coast accent and everything that I knew as a child had changed because of this move. I was a very active child, I was a Girl Scout, I ran track, I was in ballet, and I was even in soccer. My parent’s goals were for me to be well rounded and it worked. I went to college in Virginia at Hampton University. Once I got to Virginia, I knew I was not going back to Colorado. I had an internship that offered me a job in Colorado, but I had to say no thank you because I had tunnel vision! I had a goal in mind and that did not involve me staying in Colorado. I received an offer for a position with a company here in Illinois and I stayed there for 10.5 years. There was no creativity, and I was quite honestly ill placed with this company. There were many struggles in this position from Managers calling me average to being told that I lacked follow through and more negative experiences. There were days I would cry out to God for a shift in my career. I started to ask myself what would you do if you didn’t have a mortgage?! I went for the American Dream in life, graduated college, purchased a home, and should be content… but I wanted more. I had a beautiful home but I was unhappy with my career. This is when a shift started to happen. My church pushed me to keep trying!!! There was a driving force to KEEP GOING! I knew there was more out there for me!
Do you have anyone that you look up to?
I don’t have one person that I look up to. I get pieces of inspiration from many different people. If I know that I am lacking in confidence in an area, I look to the confident people in my life for inspiration.
My Mother made a lot of sacrifices. My Dad worked full time and one of my siblings were handicapped and our household felt normal. My Mom was creative in making our household fun and normal. I believe that I get my creativity from my Mother. Dr. Pam Ross is my mentor and there are pieces of her that I admire and look up to. When we get together the energy is POWERFUL! We both have a fun and quirky side that we can relate to.
We all need someone that we can feel close to. I have some distinct close friends. My relationships have layers, but I think everyone should have a Gayle to their Oprah and vice versa.
One thing I noticed is how graceful you are….your thoughts on being graceful?
That is definitely the expression of a declaration. I am very much a tomboy. I grew up with boys so I naturally was a tomboy. As I grew up I would pray, Lord help me to do this in a graceful way. People also would release the spirit of grace upon me. When people would release a prophetic word, it may not happen right away but it’s to create that expectation. You may not be that now, and you may not see it right away, but it will happen.
Let’s talk leadership. What are your thoughts on being a leader?
Well, I am a leader. I am learning my responsibility as a leader to be real and transparent. If I have a struggle, I don’t try to act like I don’t. I don’t mind sharing my insecurities. I am learning to accept that people do watch me from afar. I am learning about my influence and what that actually means. There is a responsibility there, and if I promote or share something it has to be quality.
One prayer that I pray every day is, “God let my influence be a reflection of you in my life” I am not trying to tell people what to do, but when they look at me I want them to see GOD. I want my influence to encourage them to be better in God.
How do you feel about being an Elder?
I have become comfortable with being an Elder. I stopped fighting a long time ago. Once you become comfortable with being who you are, it’s easy. I went through an intense training program with All Nations Worship Assembly to become an elder. I have been an elder for 6-7 years now.
What are the duties of an Elder?
You take care of the needs of the house. There are different types of Elders. I take care of the needs of the house and I represent All Nations in the Marketplace. I light up when people ask me questions about my church and the major conferences that we put on. It is an honor to represent God and my church in this way. I am ordained as an Elder, and I work fulltime as the Conference Coordinator for my church.
Tell me a bit about you and your business My Skin Is In
My nickname in High school was Baby Shy. I was very shy! I had to disconnect with that name and pray to God help me when I do feel nervous, intimidated, or shy. My business, My Skin Is In, encourages SELF CONFIDENCE. My shyness came because I am dark skin, tall, and all of the other things that most would consider negative to be a woman, I am voluptuous AND opinionated. Growing up this was not popular. As I grew older, I wanted to inspire people who had something to say. I notice the body language of girls who want to disappear because I was once that girl. I had to get CONFIDENT, I had to get BOLD, and I want to do it in a very LUXURIOUS way!
Sooooo, CONFIDENCE, BOLD, & LUXURIOUS is my tagline for my skincare business. When people use my product I want them to feel like OOOHHHH! I want them to receive an impartation of these things that my company represents. I had a customer purchase my body butter and my body scrub for their Mother who had a skin condition and some other illnesses. She told me that she used my products and she felt like YEARS of issues were wiped away. LORD!!! I was like Jesus, what have you given me??? She was able to sleep well after not being able to sleep for some time. A TRUE TESTIMONY!
I always pray when I make my product. My prayers: Lord, whatever they are in need of or asking you for let it be released to them. If they need peace, God give them peace! If they need hope let this scrub renew their hope. The sugar scrubs remove dead skin and the old is washed away literally and figuratively. May the body better help them be bold and let them shine bright!
My belief is that everyone deserves a “My Skin Is In” experience.
My belief is that everyone deserves a “My Skin Is In” experience.
What does the journey to greatness mean to you?
Journeys are not easy and I think that’s another misconception that people think. Maybe our parents warned us and we just didn’t listen. The journey to greatness means that I am always looking for ways to do better and be better.
Tell me something that scares you!
If I had to say something it would be failing and not trying again. Giving up scares me!
One thing you know for sure?
I CAN DO IT!!!!!!!!! My best friend and I often have these conversations of things we need to do, only to realize that WE ARE DOING IT! We are living the dream right now! I am in the dream right now! That’s why it’s called a journey. We go back and see things we wanted to accomplish and look at us now……DOING IT!!!! I love Facebook memories because it gives you the chance to track your progress. I don’t have to be afraid anymore, I can just fearlessly DO IT and if I fail, I will try again.
What’s something that amazes you?
One of the things that I love about Chicago is the HUSTLE! There is this grit and grind here that is truly amazing to me. I think of the guy on the corner who is selling socks, towels, and candy, he has a whole empire there! It’s like seriously a whole enterprise there! I love to see people who take small beginnings and build empires! THAT AMAZES ME!!
What is the latest lesson that you’ve learned?
LET IT GO!!! I just recently purged my condo of a ton of boxes and containers. I was feeling like I didn’t have any space for a while. I realized that I had a lot of space being filled by empty containers. Once I left these things go, it opened up my space a lot. A close friend said to me this may is be a reflection of what’s going on the inside of you! WOW! I had to let go of empty ideas, and things that were just, taking up unnecessary space in my heart. My Feb 2018 lesson has truly been to LET IT GO!!!
Are you more inclined to build your own empire or unleash the potential in others?
My answer may be a bit complicated. Building my own empire unleashes the potential in others! I am very intentional with the vendors that I use for my business. I know every time that I patronize a black woman’s business that I am encouraging her to keep going. I will grow my empire while unleashing the potential in others.
What in your life has given you the greatest satisfaction or fulfillment?
Leaving corporate America and going after every dream that I had! Working for my church has always been a dream. I recognize that this is not a normal dream to have, but I am very interested in the church doing GREAT BUSINESS. I am still learning about it all, but I sold my house, moved to the city from the suburbs and decided to take a real leap of faith! Leaving a stale job and going into the fullness of my dream has been my greatest satisfaction to date!
On Confidence:
I look like the girl I dreamed about! I stand up confidently. I wear makeup. I am trying my best to live it up! I used to think that my confidence would come when I got married, but God saw different. So when my husband comes he will get the full package, he will get an amazing PRIZE! Packaged very well by GOD!
What do you think about more than anything else?
How can I serve better? How can I serve better and did I make the people I encounter feel SAFE? There are too many stories of people being in church or at work and they don’t feel safe. MY prayer: God let me be that person who people feel safe with.
Name 3 things that you want people to know about you
1. I am still trying and I am still learning.
2. I like adventure and trying new things!
3. I love my legs and wearing my favorite pumps to show them off.
2. I like adventure and trying new things!
3. I love my legs and wearing my favorite pumps to show them off.
What’s next?
My goal for "My Skin Is In" to become known in Chicago as a premier and luxurious skincare brand.
I have grown into the tagline of my business. Luxurious. Bold. Confident.
I hope you are inspired as I was!!!
Grab your My Skin Is In today and use promo code SundayTot for $5 off $25 purchase!
Welcome to March beautiful people! #SundaysWithTot for the month of March will be used to highlight some amazing women who have made an...
