Book Review: She's Still There by Chrystal Evans Hurst

As I started reading this book, I laughed, I cried, I sat and stared into the ceiling... I saw myself over and over and over again throughout the pages. When Chrystal says she's talking to you, she's telling the truth. The book speaks to the reality of who I am and as I near the empty nest season of life, I am assured that I can find the girl in me who has been so many things to so many people and rescue her so I don't get lost on my journey back. I've learned to be careful of what I say about myself. Remembering that my "drifts, decisions, and collisions don't define" me and so much more! So if you seem to have lost your way as you wind your way through different seasons of life, grab hold of this book, get ready for the ride of lifetime, and put on your cape to become your own superhero and rescue the girl in you!

On a scale from 1-10, I rate this book as follows:
 • Readability - 10
 • Challenge - 10
 • Encouragement/Inspiration - 10
 • Godly Wisdom - 10

I highly recommend this book for any woman looking for encouragement, self evaluation, and self improvement.

If you're interested in learning more about this book and purchasing it for yourself, please CLICK HERE. There's also a study guide available!!

Happy Reading! Thanks, Chrystal for allowing us a peek into your life for inspiration and encouragement. Thank you for being a model for other women!

Book Review: Get Your Head Out of the Clouds, This is Business

As a business owner, I can certainly attest to what is written and couldn't have said it better myself. This is an easy read! However, you need to be open to receive what is said in this book.  Get Your Head Out of the Clouds, This is Business is very straightforward - no sugar coating on this one. It's a great resource for any business person or aspiring business person's library!

Praying for My Sisters today

This morning, I just wanted to take timeout to pray for my sisters - my biological sisters and my sisters in Christ, my daughters, granddaughter, mom, grandmother, aunts, great aunts, friends, coworkers, clients, and so on.

I woke up this morning with a particular sister on my mind who just had it really rough this past year. But, in spite of all the turmoil, even up to the loss of her mom just this past week, this sister keeps on smiling and giving God the glory and praise. She is so amazing! As I prayed for her, I began to think of the many women's lives I've been a part of over the years... I asked the Lord to bring women to mind that I could pray for her and He did!

It's Friday!! Gathering of the Girls Tonight!

Friday morning. I can't wait for tonight! Friday is my catch up day. It's the day I catch up on all of the household chores I haven't been able to finish during the week. It's my planning day. It's my meeting day...sometimes.  It's the day I set aside for business training.  Friday. It's my day to do with whatever I want and I love it!


I think I'll start calling it Freedom Friday!

Wisdom for My Health

My sister in Christ uses the word "fatdemon" to describe her battle with weight over the years. As I've gotten older, I find myself in the same battle. In the past, I would start exercising and trying to eat healthy because I miss fitting into my size 4s. The first 10-15 lbs are always easy but then I get discouraged because the next pounds seem to take forever to come off.  Then I give up and go back to unhealthy eating habits and very little exercise. However, this time, eating healthy and exercising are more important because of health reasons.

In the latter part of last year, I had blood work that came back with some less than favorable results. High cholesterol and inflammation around my heart were my high risk factors and with high blood pressure, aneurysms, and heart issues running rampant in the women in my family, I don't need to play when it comes to my health. So when I visited with my doctor to go over the results, his suggested remedy to bring down the Cholesterol values and CRP levels is aerobic exercise three times a week, for 45 minutes per session, in addition to changing my diet to foods lower in cholesterol. So that's another goal I've set for myself in 2015...

Upcoming Book Review: A Wife After God 30 Day Devotional

A few years ago, I was given the opportunity to join a lovely group of women for discussion and preview the book entitled, Kingdom Woman, written by my pastor Dr. Tony Evans and his daughter, Chrystal Evans Hurst. It was a great read. In a short review on Amazon, I stated:

When Dr. Evans introduced Kingdom Man last year, I yearned for the time when a book would be written to guide and teach me about my purpose for God's Kingdom. I have eagerly awaited this moment and now that it's here, it's all I anticipated and more. I have had a hard time putting the book down to attend to "stuff"... and that's okay! It's inspiring, encouraging, and uplifting from the very beginning, referencing scripture and bringing it down to a level of understanding for application to your everyday life. I love the concept of writing from the Father/Husband, Daughter/Wife perspective because we as women look to our Heavenly Father as well as our earthly one for guidance in the matters of being the type of woman God would have us to be. Thank you, as always, Pastor Evans and Chrystal for humbling yourself and allowing yourselves to be transparent to all for the sake of the Kingdom! May you continue to be blessed and be a blessing to others.

Now, I am honored to be given the opportunity to read and write a detailed review on a new devotional entitled Wife After God, by Jennifer Smith. I just got my copy yesterday and I'm already excited about the journey!

Let the Work Begin...

It's a few days post delivery of my daughter and granddaughter to the airport so they could return to their home in Tucson. They arrived safely and are getting acclimated to their new home.  We also did a road trip to return our son to college in Beaumont. He was the last to leave for the holiday and the first to return to his dorm so he had the place all to himself for a day. When we returned home, our oldest was heading to his home. Our youngest overnighted with a friend for the weekend.  The house was soooooooo quiet! Just me and my honey.  We'd talked about this day and I thought I was ready but... I buried my head in his chest and balled like a baby. Now what do we do?

I mean don't get me wrong. I enjoy alone time with my husband. He's my best friend and we've grown a lot in the past few years.  But I'm not just a wife, I'm a mom and a grandmom... For the most part, I enjoy the hustle and bustle, chatter, and even the sounds of electronics coming from every room in our home. I miss seeing my daughter in her role as a mom and wife; nursing, making homemade baby food, cloth diapering, and looking for bargains for her family. I miss my lil puddin pop discovering her surroundings. I miss her laughter and even her cries... 

But I digress!

Roots and Wings...

Today is the day my little pudding pop and her mom head back to Tucson to join her dad in their new home. It's been six months since they blessed me with their presence. Six months to watch her grow from a cuddly baby to a bouncy toddler. Six months to hold her, hug her, play with her, rock her to sleep, and let her know how much I love her with a laugh, a touch, and a smile.

I love my little pudding pop so much and it's hard to let her go. I'm going to miss coming home to her squeals, her smile, and raised arms beckoning me to pick her up and kiss her rosy cheeks. I'm going to miss stepping over her toys in nearly every part of the house. But just like when I let her mom go almost three years ago, all I can do is hold onto the memories, pray for God's continued protection over her and her family, and...

FACETIME like crazy!  LOL

A Suitable Helper

I joined a wonderful group of wives on Facebook. I love the support and encouragement we give one another. We share ups and downs and we even get a little feisty, giving each other ideas on how to make our bedrooms sizzle.  It's one of the best groups I've joined and even if I don't contribute all the time, I pop in to enjoy the conversations.  I usually don't share outside of the group, but this one discussion had my heart for some reason. The question on the floor was...

Why?

• Why does it seem like we as wives have to make everything better in our marriages? 
• Why do we have to initiate everything? 
• Why do we have to make sure everything is taken care of?
• Why is it always wives who seem to get the short end of the stick? 

From newlyweds to seasoned women, many wives are frustrated, tired, and downright fed up with trying to make their marriages right. We are challenged at every turn. We're not Mrs. Cleaver or Claire Huxtable so when things fall apart and we want to throw in the towel, we're to blame because the marriage failed. Sound familiar? We, pray, we cry, we pray, then we cry some more. Why?

Top 10 "Honey-Do" Lists

Have you ever created a "honey-do" list for your spouse? How did things turn out? Were your requests reasonable or impossible feats that only Superman could complete? Was your husband enthusiastic because your requests were within his abilities to do or was he resentful and slow to get started because the requests were out of his league?

I know we believe our husbands can do anything. Afterall, they are our heroes! However, I've learned over the years that people (especially men) do what they WANT to do, not what they're told to do. 

Think about the last time you asked your husband to do something around the house. Was it tailored to his personality?  Is he the DIY type or does he prefer to pay someone else to make repairs to your home? Does he really enjoy landscaping or is he satisfied with just mowing the lawn, nothing more, nothing less? 

Couples Devotion & Prayer Time

I enjoy reading - a lot. Especially, books on self-improvement and encouragement in my Christian walk. When I got married, I just assumed that my husband and I would spend time in God's word together. I mean, we met in church, I heard him speak intelligently about the Lord and I read his writings about the Word of God. I just knew that I would be bathed in the Word when we got married.

Not!

Although my husband said he had personal devotion time, he was not always comfortable having devotion with me.  I would buy book after book and beg him to have devotion together.  He made an attempt a few times but it wasn't consistent. We were dealing with a number of issues during our early years of marriage and his heart just wasn't there.  It wasn't until we were on the verge of ending it all that it clicked. We were missing something very important in our marriage.  Spending time in God's word, not just personally, but together.

My First Love...

By now, most people know that I'm a HUGE Dallas Cowboys Fan. No doubt about it. Been following them since I was 12 years old...when I didn't even truly understand the game. The best part about being a Cowboys Fan these days is that I share this love with my hubby (who, by the way, is a sports fanatic!). It makes for a great date! We have sooooooo much fun hanging out and sharing the ups, downs, heart attack, knee jerking moments and this has been the best season yet!  Our boys made the playoffs AND won their first playoff game.  Woo hoo!

But I digress.

In the sermon yesterday, our pastor reminded us that our first love, our first priority is the Lord. Seeking to please Him first is how we make Him a priority in our lives. To show us how we should passionately pursue the Lord, he used how we approached dating and marriage as an illustration.

Loving God First (Solemn Assembly 2015)

 Our church assembles for a corporate fast annually during the first full week of January. Before I was married, I participated every year. But once I got married, I followed my husband's lead. If he didn't do it, I wouldn't do it. And so, in the almost six years that we've been married, we participated in Solemn Assembly once together as a family.

This year, I prayed about it and felt that whether my husband participated in solemn assembly or not, I was going to participate. Today's sermon confirmed for me that I needed to remember, repent, and repeat the things I did before that were pleasing to the Lord and made Him a priority in my life - above my husband, kids, mother, father, brother, sister, etc.  I was on fire for the Lord in my daily life and I didn't allow people or things to get in the way of pleasing Him.  But I got away from that. I think back to the passage that speaks to being married or being single.

But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and his interests are divided. The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord. (1 Corinthians 7:32-35 NASB)

Authenticity

The word for today is #Authenticity. It is the quality of being authentic; genuineness, bona fides; legitimacy, legality, validity, reliability, dependability, trustworthiness, credibility; accuracy, truth, veracity, fidelity.

It may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it. ~Maya Angelou

31 days of prayer for my husband...

I feel like a Catholic going for confession... It's been over 30 days since my last blog post. Lol. 

So I started a challenge yesterday - 31 days of prayer for my husband. There is power in prayer!

Today I thanked my husband for being a good husband by being a good protector of our home.

Today I prayed Proverbs 3:5-6 for him. If you'd like some guidance, click here... They need our prayers and we need theirs!

Back To My First Love

I'd like to say I've been too 'busy' to consistently blog. However, the truth is I got distracted by life and the many things that come with just living it. Juggling my many functions and roles and responsibilities, feeling off kilter and out of balance, and even sometimes feeling a little depressed have all been factors in my long absence.

But this morning, after reading my devotions and a blog post from my sister in Christ, I realize what my problem is. I took my focus off my first love and focused on my circumstances instead. Focusing on my circumstances created a false and distorted view of myself and others. Focusing on what's going on around me got me off track and set me back months from the path I believe God had me on towards the Destiny and the plans He has for my life. Worrying about things I have no control over had me in a tailspin... But His word says...

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6, 7 NASB)

Thank God He doesn't let His children stray too far before reeling them back into His loving and protective arms. Thank God He is a loving shepherd who cares about every sheep that goes astray.  Thank God He is a loving Father whose unconditional love covers me even when I'm in doubt about who I am and when I get discouraged about daily life.

Thank God He's so good! He's so kind! I'm just so grateful that I belong to Him and He loves me for me, flaws and all. I'm grateful that I can always come back to my first love and He will never forsake me. He values me like fine china. He treasures me like a rare jewel... no matter what. He doesn't expect me to perfect. He accepts me with all my imperfections and loves me unconditionally.  No truer love is there than the love of The Lord!

Surrender and Impact for Destiny

When you take the time to reach out to others and invest in someone's life, you are impacting the world...yours and theirs. ~Joyce Meyers

During Bible study earlier this year, a young lady reminded me of this very thing. While giving her testimony, she mentioned that my loving on her and her daughter while I was a staff member at our church's school made an impact on her life. I never knew that until she said it. Can you say tears? That was nearly 10 years ago. It just goes to show you that you never know how much it may mean to someone when you take the time to smile, hug, or say an encouraging word. 

I try to encourage and love on everyone I meet because I want Christ's love to always shine through me. Now, I'm not perfect by any means. When it comes to people attempting to violate the peace in my home and my relationship with my family, I'm not a very nice person at all. But I'm working on even surrendering my attitude so I can make an impact on others even in this area of my life.

Throughout the destiny series, several things happened which has brought me to the point I'm at today. I had to take a break from everything to just sit still and hear what God was telling me. He made it very clear that He was weaving some things together that made room for my gift of encouragement and hospitality. All I had to do was surrender, say yes, and allow Him to continue to pull things together.  The urging was like "fire shut up in my bones".  I talked with two pastors and the doors literally flew open. So now, with the surrender, I'm finally doing what I feel God has called me to do in this season of my life to make an impact for His kingdom.

With the encouragement of our pastor, I've started a blog for encouraging single parents called Single Parenting in the Kingdom. Additionally, I've been given the privilege of working together with the Pastor of Fellowship and Singles Ministry Pastor to develop the Single Parent Family Ministry at our church. It is an honor to be able to serve in this capacity and I look forward to the lives that will be impacted as much as mine was when I was a participant so many years ago. 

Finishing Well

In John 17:4, Jesus says, "I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do." This is saying that following God means finishing what He's called us to do. ~Joyce Meyer

It's always amazing to me how The Lord works in our lives. You know how you never notice a particular type of car until you get it yourself? It's kind of like that for me. When I really start going deep in the word and my relationship with The Lord, it seems like everything I need is brought to my attention more than before. It's like POW! BOOM! Here I am, come and get me!

For instance, when I asked The Lord to show me my purpose, all of a sudden my plans seemed to start shifting and my life started moving in directions that were pointing me to places I'd been before but with a future focus, if that makes any sense.  He always gives me a choice in which path to take, but when I'm in this place of alignment, my choice is to be on the same page with Him - not my will but His. 

The thing is, God isn't surprised about where He's taking me. He's not confused about the plans He has for me. He doesn't have to ask what I should be doing. I believe He just waits for me to get out of the way so He can do what He does best - WITHOUT my help - and bring me to a place of purpose and destiny. When I'm completely surrendered to His will and His purpose, He can do His best work in me and through me. That's where I want to be for the rest of the days He's given me.

He's so amazing! 

As I prepare to share my single parent journey, I began reminiscing on the days when I was completely dependent upon Him for everything for me and the kids. All I can say is, had I not gone through what I went through, I wouldn't be prepared for this moment. And I keep going back to what Pastor Evans said yesterday...

Destiny is your customized life calling for which God has equipped or ordained you in order to bring Him the greatest glory and maximize the expansion of His kingdom.

Not only do I want to reach my destiny, I also want to finish what He's called me to do and I want to finish it well.  He's been preparing me. 

Wow... One of my favorite songs is playing as I write... Tears!

That song brings me to tears every time I hear it. Listen closely to the lyrics! If you've ever been through something and you were delivered... Look back and you'll cry, too!  Especially if you know that it was only the Lord that brought you through it. You can't help but praise Him and give Him thanks. I know I can't help myself. I couldn't see what He was preparing me for when I was in it but when I look back - oooooooh wee!!  

Anywho, I digress. LOL. My mom-in-law and I were talking about Sunday's sermon and what's been going on with me because she also wants to share with younger women about her journey. With over 45 years of marriage under her belt, she has a story to tell, too! She ministers to me regularly as a new wife.  We talked about Naomi's journey and her submission to her husband even when she wasn't in agreement with the direction he was going.  God has truly blessed me with a wonderful mother-in-law and I'm sure my husband would say the same about my mom. They are God-fearing women who have been through some 'THANGS'. 

I think we all want to finish well and make an impact on others in our generation.  We all want to hear the words - well done my good and faithful servant.

Finding My Destiny...

When you reach your limit, go to God, just like Moses did. He will help you find a saner, healthier lifestyle. ~Joyce Meyer

Have you ever felt all over the place, overwhelmed, or burnt out?  In Numbers 11, Moses was overwhelmed. The people he was leading from Egypt to the promise land were pulling at him from every which way. Has that ever happened to you?

Sometimes we need a break from outside influences and distractions so we can hear clearly from God about where He wants us to go. Sometimes it's okay to just say 'no' when you're being pulled at from every angle; just 'be still and know' that He's God (Psalm 46:10) and take time to meditate on His word about what's happening in Your life.  

To that end, I'm actually enjoying my break from social media this week. I don't miss trying to keep up with LIKING, SHARING, and RETWEETING posts to show I'm actively supporting all of my friends. I can show support in so many other ways! But mostly, I'm happy to refocus my energies on more important things like finding my destiny. It's amazing how much you get done when you're not being constantly distracted.

It's funny, because I wrote all of the above prior to attending church service today. After going through the month of September talking about Detours to Destiny using the life of Joseph, we're now entering a series on Destiny and I've been anxiously awaiting to begin. As Pastor Evans ministered to us, I jotted down some of his points taken from our main passage, Acts 13:36:

For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep... (Acts 13:36 KJV) 

The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want. (Proverbs 21:5 KJV) 

Focus on where God wants to take you... your Destiny.

1. David served the purpose of God

Destiny = Your customized life calling for which God has equipped or ordained you in order to bring Him the greatest glory and maximize the expansion of His kingdom.

You are created for a divinely designed purpose.God is the 'manufacturer'. He does things because He's going somewhere.

If you want to know your destiny, God must be at the center, not the peripheral. God wants to be the centerpiece, the sun in the solar system when planning your activities.

You should be saying:  God I want to make YOUR name great in whatever my destiny is and I want to expand your rule in my world.

2. He did it in his own generation.

When you're serving God, people will be impacted. David made an impact for God while serving others. If you cannot see people benefiting from what you've done, then you've failed.

When you've been delivered, reach back. Whatever your destiny is, it's bigger than you so you'll need God to pull it off. If you can do it without God, it's not your destiny.

3. He fell asleep.

Your destiny will be shaped by your perspective. As Christians, we are in the land of the dying headed toward the land of the living, not the reverse.

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. (Psalms 90:12 KJV)
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. Hebrews 9:27 (KJV)

To fail to reach your destiny is a wasted life.

But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. (Acts 20:24 KJV) 

Your heart = Gods heart. Not my will but thy will be done. 

And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. (Acts 13:22 KJV)

Like a runner in a race, you can't go back to the starting block, pick up the pace where you are.

I'm ready to step into my destiny. My first step is to become aligned with God for His purpose and my prayer is as Pastor Evans said - "God I want to make your name great in whatever my destiny is and I want to expand your rule in my world"! Secondly, I want the things I've been delivered from to be my testimony to others and where ever the Lord takes me to do that, I want to be willing and available to do it for His glory. I want my words to be His words and impact others for the expansion of His kingdom.  Lastly, knowing that my days are numbered in this lifetime, I want to be like Paul and finish my course with joy and pick up the pace right where I am! I know I'm no spring chicken! LOL. So I need to get on it. I'm glad we're going to be hosting the bible study in our home for the next six weeks and God brought us four couples to share with on this journey.

To Him be all glory and honor and power!  

Breast Cancer Awareness: Celebrating Life Foundation's Sister to Sister event

I was blessed with the opportunity to participate as a vendor at the Sister to Sister 12th Annual Fitness Festival & 5k Race/Walk today in exchange for helping to promote the event. I supported last year through our company, The Lyons Group, but did not have an opportunity to attend. What a difference a year makes! I started selling Avon in June and decided it would be a great place to showcase my new biz as well as support the presenting organization's Founder, Sylvia Dunnavant. I was completely blown away. If the Lord allows, maybe I'll even walk/run next year.

Every year, The Celebrating Life Foundation provides culturally relevant information to the community and raises money to continue the work of the foundation. According to their website, walkers, volunteers, corporations and community supporters from throughout the Dallas/Cedar Hill community unite each year to walk and address the risks of breast cancer among African American women and women of color.

They also provide mammograms for uninsured women who qualify at this event.

Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. Luke 6:38 (KJV)

I remember standing by my friend as she watched her mother slowly pass from this life into the next after her battle with breast cancer. I remember singing 'Always Remember Jesus' as her mother lay there with a look of peace on her face. As sad as it was, I thanked God that she would feel no more pain in this life. It was my first close-up experience with the disease. That was back in the late 90s when there wasn't as much information available in our community. Thanks to organizations like our church, Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship and The Celebrating Life Foundation bringing awareness and opportunities to learn about the causes and treatment and links to various resources, I've since encountered several women who were diagnosed in the early stages and have survived! I also had my first mammogram a few years ago and after examination was sent to lab for follow-up because of some concern. Thankfully, I was cleared but it was quite a scary moment so I'm very grateful for early detection and information.

This organization has been blessed and is a blessing to others and I'm looking forward to participating again next year!

For more information on how to become a sponsor / vendor at future events, CLICK HERE or call the Celebrating Life Foundation at 972-501-9981 extension 110.