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The news of the death of a 14 year old teenager by suicide has impacted the community and by the end of Monday, there were numerous posts about speaking out and seeking help. Of course, in typical Caribbean fashion, everyone had an opinion about it. Some wondered what could trigger such a young soul to do this, others blamed it on bullies and many just had heavy hearts and hugged their kids tighter that day. As much as mental health has become a hot topic recently, how committed are we as a Caribbean society to really change the narrative?

First, suicide is never the outcome of a singular thought. It is usually an accumulation of thoughts, and feelings. The person who is considering suicide usually believes they are a burden, whether to a person near and dear to them or to society on a whole. In their minds, the world and/ or that person are better off without them in their lives. We know that isn’t true but that person cannot think clearly in that moment. Another thing we must keep in mind is that that person won’t share those feelings. They probably already tried to share stuff and either wasn’t well received or they felt that they were hurting the person they shared with, which only adds to the already growing pile of thoughts. It is not a selfish act, on the other hand, that person feels like they are helping.

When death is involved, we are quick to post about opening up and speaking out. Especially when bullying is or may be involved. We are very superficial in our problem solving. For a day or two, we will be nice and open but reality is, we do not solve the issue at the root. In Caribbean households, you are taught not to talk. Something happens and everyone goes silent because you don’t want others in your business. We are told all the time to be strong and man up. Caribbean families are the champs of roasting people. We also have this notion that a person just has to get over it. Kids do not listen to what we say but they mirror what we do and adopt our ways of thinking.

Life isn’t easy and I understand that as parents, we are doing our best to raise our kids. There may be kids in your surroundings who are listening to how you react to the news of suicide. And the burden is not only on parents, it does take a village. I am glad to know most schools have care teams to support the kids. But I have also heard stories of parents not wanting their kids to speak to that person because they don’t want their secrets revealed or they, the parent don’t like the person. That is not a burden the child should carry. If you are doing something that you don’t want people to know about, you probably should not do it. I am not judging the adults/ parents. I am hoping we all seek some help to change our mindsets and heal our own wounds.

We want to give our kids the best but we aren’t at our best. The change begins with us, the adults and our mindsets. Let’s shed this negative mindset that is prevalent on the island. We can tell our kids every day that they matter and they are important but when we as a collective, constantly show them otherwise with our actions, things won’t change. And it isn’t that any group is stronger, we just live in different times and again, we have painted this wonderful, loving, inclusive world with our words but in reality, our actions paint a different picture. Really take time to get to know yourself and work on yourself, get to know the kids in your life and offer them support and care. Pre- teens and teens believe the world revolves around them so what may seem little to you, isn’t so little to them. Take the time to talk to them. It is our duty to show them the possibilities, even if we did not have access to those same possibilities. As always, you got this!

Happy Tuesday!

Can you believe we are in June? The time seems to be flying and it does not look like it is about to slow down. I am currently on a plane to Washington, D.C to complete a fellowship program I have been taking part in. The U.S State Department funded fellowship is for entrepreneurs and leaders between 18 and 35 in Latin America, the Caribbean and Canada. Through IREX, fellows are matched and placed with a host organization in one of 20 cities throughout the U.S. Fellows and their placement organizations are meant to collaborate and build relationships between the U.S. and their home countries. You are also given a city cohort ambassador who assist with more professional development as well as cultural exchanges and events to learn more about the city you are in.

I was nervous leading up to the fellowship, mostly dealing with imposter syndrome but thankfully I did not allow those feelings to get the best of me. Our group quickly bonded with one another and that made this trip even more special. I feel like I have learned something from each individual. It is also amazing to recognize my own growth over the years. We each had different goals and different businesses, but we were motivated and committed. We each had different experiences with our placement organizations as well. At first, I had some basic expectations, as I was warned not to have too high of expectations. After my first meeting, I was feeling down and disappointed. I took the following day to reflect and assess my goals for this fellowship and for myself. Comparison is the thief of joy! If I continued to base my experience on those of the rest of the group, I would have not accomplished what I have in the time I was here. Always remember your why. Know why you started that business and why you want to keep going. You have to know where your focus is and what you are trying to accomplish. Things do not always go as planned but if you focus on the right things, you will still get where you need to go, maybe even further than imagined.

I believe everything happens for a reason and we don’t always get what we want but we always get what we need. This trip was personal for me. I had time to see myself through a different lens and learn even more about myself. I know now that I am capable of so much more than I thought. We can learn from any and everyone as long as we listen. And some of the most influential moments are not found in grand gestures but in the simple ones. I was fortunate enough to witness two completely different examples of successful business owners. And while none is essentially bad, it has given me the opportunity to reflect on the kind of entrepreneur I want to be. I am also grateful to have taken this trip at this time in my life, because I was able to connect with each individual person in ways that I would not have been able to when I was younger. We arrived in Miami as strangers, but as we leave, we are family.

This trip was tough, leaving my kids in St. Maarten for the longest period we have ever been away from each other. God used this time to show me parts of myself that still need healing. Prior to this trip, I felt like I wasn’t hearing from Him, and even at the start, I was skeptical. But God is always with us and He speaks to each of us differently. If you feel like you aren’t hearing from Him, first be sure you are aware of the unique way He speaks to you. As crazy as it sounds, one of the ways He speaks to me is through social media. I was reminded of that this trip as I was praying and talking to Him and later a video or post would pop up with the exact answer.  Trust that God is working for your good and He has your best interests at heart. He will provide and protect you. No matter how you feel about yourself, God loves you and is always wanting and waiting to hear from you. Have a wonderful week and remember, You got this!

Hi beautiful people! Hope this Tuesday finds you happy and healthy.

There is so much to share with you and we will unpack some of it shortly. I hope you have been taking in all that life has to offer and I do hope life has been kind to you. I am currently completing a fellowship for entrepreneurs in the United States. I applied last year and was excited when I was accepted although it took me a while to process. We’ve just begun but I anticipate this will be a life changing experience. We had our welcome event last week in Texas and being surrounded by over 250 entrepreneurs from Latin America, the Caribbean and Canada was inspiring, encouraging but also at times overwhelming.

As the only representative from Sint Maarten, a small island in the Caribbean, I felt honored to be there representing my country but it also puts things into perspective. As we went around the room and acknowledged the different countries and their representatives, it was a bit difficult. I think they are all amazing and deserve to be there, I just also think more representatives from Curacao, Sint Maarten, Aruba and the smaller islands deserve to be there as well. But I also felt great when I could share coffee from my country with the others. Although it isn’t a product we are known for, it still felt good to be a part of the group. I had something to share. Representation matters. We need more people in more rooms and then we need those people to go back and inspire others back home. We are capable and deserving. I do believe God put me in these specific rooms at this specific time for a purpose.

God works in mysterious ways and I have been thinking about God the provider. When I found out I was accepted for the fellowship, I went into panic mode. How was I going to leave my kids, my work, etc? Over the course of the year, God had everything fall into place. As the time got closer, things just worked themselves out. Even right before my trip, our plan got a bit disrupted but that did not stop anything. Looking back, I am simply grateful to have been able to make it on this trip. As we left the welcoming event and traveled to our respective host cities, we began to question our accommodations and go over expectations. Let me tell you, if you told me a couple months ago, this is where I would be spending my fellowship. I would not have believed you. We have amazing apartments that exceeded our expectations. I would have been satisfied with something half as good. But I believe God is using this trip to show me just how He provides for us. The plans that He has for us are infinity times better than what we can conceive for ourselves.

Our first weekend in our host city I decided to take part in an artists’ open studio event to decompress and gather myself after an intense welcoming session. I was all peopled out. We were walking along following a map we didn’t really know and our first studio encounter was an amazing experience. I think we spent over an hour with the artist and discussing how to merge the past with the current in art. Even finding the studio was an enlightening experience. We then decided to just follow our hearts and the next studio was also a wonderful experience about keeping the kid inside alive. In my mind, I was hoping for an artist from the Caribbean that I could connect to but I didn’t share this with anyone in the group. As we walked to our last studio, I figured I would miss out on that however to my surprise, our last studio was an artist with a Caribbean background. I sat in awe for the first few minutes and just thanked God. For me that day was a reminder to slow down and be present in the moment but to also be still. Be still and experience. Be still and know that He is God. He truly has our best interest at heart and He hears our petitions. Be still and have faith.

That’s all I have for now but I will document more of my experiences. As always, you got this and I look forward to hearing from you as well.

Happy January! Hoping this year started off softly for you. I have been focusing on spending more time with Jesus and studying my Bible. I am part of a Whatsapp group and its focus is studying the love of God and I also have a women’s devotional that I read. I will link them below if anyone is interested.

Two devotionals might seem like a lot but I am always surprised at how the lessons align. I am in a season in my life where there has been some losses and lessons. I really want to work on my relationship with God and discover how to make the most of it. Losses and lessons are never fun but I have learned that they are beneficial for growth. Today’s devotionals made me think about God’s plan and love for us. Jesus wept for Lazarus even with the knowledge that He was about to bring him back to life. His compassion for us and the ability to feel our pain caused Him to cry for his friend. Jesus doesn’t want us to hurt and although He could not eliminate our pain, He has tried to reduce our hurt. The Bible is a great manual on how we should live our lives. If we follow Jesus and live as He intended us to, we could avoid a lot of suffering.

I’ve lost a couple of people who I considered friends these past couple of years. As the relationships started to wane, boundaries were set to try to salvage the relationships but when those were not respected, I had to remove myself. Those working on themselves are familiar with setting boundaries and upholding them. Boundaries are meant to protect us. Person A does something that we do not like and we are able to establish a boundary so they are not able to do it again. Boundaries are meant to strengthen the relationship. God has also established boundaries for us, because He loves us. Boundaries create safe places for us. God wants us to be safe and He understands that some things can bring us pain and suffering. Boundaries are not meant to limit us. God wants us to have an abundant life. In order to have that, there are some places we cannot be (physically, mentally, and spiritually).

In John 15 we learn that Jesus is the vine, His Father is the gardener and we are the branches. The gardener prunes the vine to ensure that it bears fruits. The branches cannot bear fruit if they do not remain in Jesus. We are also given a boundary. At least three times we are told to “remain in me” by Jesus and then He even tells us to remain in His love. When we move away from Jesus and His love, we can see how our lives change and we begin to struggle. In Matthew we are told to come to Him and we will find rest as His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Yet most times when things get heavy, we run from Jesus instead of to Him. So if Jesus sets this boundary to remain in Him then it must mean that He is our safe place. Why would we run from Him. Pruning is an act of love and is necessary for growth. God wants the fruit to bear but in order to do so, they must adhere to the boundaries set for their growth.

Our walks with God are very personal. Like plants, each person requires something else. The one who knows specifically what we need is God and He has told us to remain in Him. He knows the plans He has for us. If we are to see those plans fulfilled then we need to remain in Him. Remain in His love. Our safe place. As parents, we set boundaries for our kids. Our relationships are full of boundaries and boundaries are not a bad thing. It shows commitment to the relationship and the want to make the relationship mutually beneficial. John 15 gives us one example of a boundary we have but there are plenty more we can find throughout the Bible. It’s time to take heed of the boundaries Jesus has set for our benefit and adhere to them. When we begin to follow Jesus’ example then we can receive the peace promised us. Disregarding boundaries and doing what we wish will lead us down a path of suffering. And that’s a path we are not going down this year.

Bible Study Journal: https://a.co/d/1wcWKqP

Devotional: https://a.co/d/1wcWKqP https://a.co/d/cjfKCAl

Happy Saturday! I hope this finds you in great health and even greater spirits. This post is long overdue and I want to start by saying I am well. My hiatus was a lesson for me to learn. At the beginning of the year, I knew that March and April would be busy months for me and I made a decision that I would put the blog on hold and start back writing in May. May led to June, June to July and here we are ten months after my last post. I don’t even know who is still here with me. For a few weeks now the blog has been on my mind and I have been a bit anxious about it because I didn’t know where to begin. Today I felt a nudge to start writing and I am trying to be obedient.

I know I am not the only one who had a lot to deal with this year. Most of what I dealt with was actually pleasant and good. It just felt like the buildup to the holidays every month. As one experience was over, there was something else. So much so that I have not really indulged in my wins or been able to wallow in my losses. My mindset was focused on getting through the next ‘thing’ and the next ‘thing’ after that. Spiritually, I have always struggled with giving things to God and relying on Him instead of myself. In April I took part in our Carnival as a vendor, which was an intense two weeks. I was proud of myself for maintaining a close relationship with God throughout that. Although it may seem weird to read Carnival in the same sentence with God, I received a message and vision and I followed through. I had a horrible toothache the entire time and barely slept as I worked with my parents from 9 AM until about 3 PM and then went into the booth for Carnival around 6 PM and didn’t leave until 2 or 3 AM. Trust me, I was weak and I turned to God and He sustained me. Of that, I am sure.

2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV: But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ‘ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

It was a great experience but there was loss and disappointment associated with that experience and I believe that stopped me from writing as well because I needed time to process what was happening. After that I was focused on my kids and getting my daughter ready to travel to New York for her dance intensive program. I was also trying to check more things off of my to do list and I was able to check a few. I was also focused on my finances, reducing debt and investing in myself and my business. I left New York a few days early to work on a festival and then it was time to get ready for back to school. My dog then had puppies at the end of August and taking care of 11 dogs has been hectic. Luckily, I am down to 6 as the others found homes. Simply put, life was life-ing. Although I did maintain a relationship with God, I can be honest and say that these past couple of months it was not as close as I would have liked it. One of my flaws is relying on myself when things get hectic.

Last month I took a look at my year and I am proud of all that I have accomplished but it was also a reminder to get focused on God again. I believe that can be intimidating because you know you should do better and then you don’t feel worthy but those are lies. God wants a relationship with us, a close one. Seasons of our lives may change and our relationships fluctuate as well. God is asking us for a perfect relationship, He is asking us to continually seek Him. He knows we are flawed yet He loves us. Just like in the garden, He doesn’t want us to hide from Him. Once we realized we have strayed from Him, we need only to turn to Him, repent, ask forgiveness and start moving towards Him again. Straying does not necessarily mean going back to a life of sin and wild abandonment. It could simply mean not spending enough time with Him or not surrendering our hearts fully to Him.

As we near the end of the year and you do your audit of the past months, do not forget to check your relationship with God. If you are satisfied with your relationship then continue to maintain it. If you aren’t happy with it, this is your reminder that you can improve it every day. Find comfort in His word.

Lamentations 3 :22-23 – The Lord’s love never ends; His mercies never stop. They are new every morning.

You can never stray too far from the Lord. He is patient and He is waiting for you to come to Him. The first step is the hardest but it is worth it. I pray this holiday season treats you well. As always, you got this!

I pray your Wednesday was kind to you. It has been forever since I took the time to sit down and share with you. (almost 6 weeks!) I thought I needed a little break because things were getting hectic yet truth be told, it was extended as I allowed myself to focus on the distractions rather than getting to work. A lot has not really happened in that time but also a lot has happened.

This year I decided to check some things off of my to do list that have been sitting there for a while. Thus I decided to focus my efforts on those and allowed the blog to suffer a bit. I have realized that my writing brings me clarity and allows me to get my thoughts together. I actually wrote a complete different draft this morning but now that I am behind the laptop, this is taking a complete different turn. Partially because writing that draft inspired me to complete a task I was procrastinating on and it turned out better than I expected. And by focusing on that small win, I am inspiring myself. Sometimes we listen to the negative voice in our heads or we suffer from imposter syndrome causing us to procrastinate. There have been numerous researches on why we procrastinate and one of the reasons is we doubt ourselves. We talk ourselves out of it before we even begin the task. By focusing on the win, I switched my perspective from being concerned that it would not come out well to embracing that it did and it was much easier than expected. That thought snowballed into me being more productive in an hour than I had been all day.

In general, I feel like we have all taken on a bit more. We have realized or have been forced to realize that life is fragile. The pandemic has shown us that both young and old can die. So we have decided to do better and be better. But we are juggling more in an uncertain environment. We are tired yet every day we push on. Collectively, we need to take a breath. Or maybe it’s just me. This is a friendly reminder that we can’t be everything to everyone all of the time and we need to give ourselves grace. When we begin to feel overwhelmed, a quick prayer and some deep breaths can help. We are capable of being productive, creative, helpful and so much more. We need only to do the next task well and then so on and so on. Do your best day by day.

Death is affecting us all in some way. You may have lost someone, know someone who lost someone or concerned you may lose someone. In an effort to keep going, we may not always process the emotions associated with loss and grief. Grief is a heavy burden and it can knock the wind out of you. We can get caught up in a cycle that does not serve us well and not even realize how long it has been going on. Our routines get disrupted and we adjust for what we think is a temporary time and then that becomes our new routine. I feel like these times call for us to be more aware of and evaluate our routines and habits more often. Are these habits making me happy or am I just going through the notions? Try to do something daily that makes you happy.

Be kind to yourself as well as others. We could all use a little more kindness in our days. Schedule breaks throughout your day to take a little breather. Create small moments of gratitude. There is beauty in everything. Celebrate the big and small wins. You are doing your best and you deserve happiness. Take time to celebrate you! You are amazing! Let’s spread a little more love and positivity this week and who knows, maybe we can lift each others’ spirits.

Happy Thursday! I hope this week is treating you well.

Let me be real for a minute. I feel like this week was lowkey about to kick my butt. I was feeling tired, I missed an important deadline and Tuesday came and went and there was no blog post. I really had to sit down and take inventory of what was happening. I had to take responsibility for my actions. Although I was aware of everything I had to do and kept reminding myself about it, I did not take any actionable steps to avoid my poor performance. The 5 Ps are: Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance. I was not planning my days properly to maximize productivity. I was not sticking to my bedtime or the kids’ and it was affecting my energy. I knew I had an assignment due but didn’t start working on it enough in advance and I kept telling myself to write the blog post but did not actually open the laptop to do so.

I love to plan so really this should not be a problem. I was holding myself back with the mentality that because I did not have my planner yet, I could not properly plan. Last night I sat down with an empty notebook to write the schedule for an online class I am taking. With that info, I then created a bite- size daily action to avoid missing any other deadlines. I reviewed my morning and nighttime routines and made adjustments to those. I also realized I was spending too much time on social media. My goal this week is to cut back on the mindless scrolling and fill that time with intentional work, whether reading class materials or prepping for the next day. Today I plan to make a cleaning routine again. My biggest hurdle has always been preparing a weekly menu for family meals so I will try to work on that as well and allow some wiggle room.

In the mornings, I am intentionally setting time aside for prayer and worship. My relationship with God cannot grow if I don’t spend time with Him. I also know from past experience that this quiet time benefits my daily life and overall wellbeing. We have 24 hours in a day and if we plan and utilize those hours correctly, we can accomplish a lot. Start by cutting back on social media by 20 minutes. Wake up 30 minutes earlier than usual. Read a few pages during your lunchbreak. You may be writing your goals down this week or maybe you already did. Knowing what you want a year from now is great, but do you know the daily steps you need to take to get there? Your life changes day by day. That’s the beauty of it, every day you have a new opportunity to do better than you did the day before.

Be realistic about what you want to accomplish because we are still limited by time so don’t overload yourself. Pick a couple goals and then break them down. You will realize that daily it turns out to be a lot. Focus on those, achieve them and then strive more bigger goals. Step by step and little by little you will accomplish all you have wanted. Being intentional and not procrastinating will allow you to reach the end goal so much faster. The better prepared you are, the more confident you are and the better you perform. Life happens and things can change in the blink of an idea, being prepared helps you pivot easier when that happens. Instead of feeling harassed and stressed, start the day prepared and ready. You will be surprised how much time you end up having and how much you can accomplish.

I pray you have an amazing week! Take some time to review your routines and adjust if needed. Put proper plans in place to help you excel this year! Ladies, you can also review Proverbs 31, the Proverbs 31 woman plans properly! Guys proper planning can help you find your wife of noble character! As always, seek God and consult with him about your routines and daily life. Chat with you next week!

Happy 2022! I wish all of you the best for the new year. Some of us may still be processing the past two years and that’s O.K. We are here, we are living and we can and will make the most of it. There has been a lot of debate lately about new year’s resolutions and social media seems to be divided. Whether you decide to write resolutions or not is up to you and you should do what works best for you. I do believe in reflecting at the past year and having some vision for the new one.

It is easy to plan and have goals but it is important to consult God about it. That is where a heart check comes in. The new year represents new beginnings and new opportunities and we may be tempted to run full speed ahead. But where is your heart? How can you know which direction to take if you don’t know what season you are in. Many of us lost loved ones this past year or two. We have been forced to isolate more and more. We have dropped some of our habits and picked up new ones. Have you taken some time to reflect and see what is working and what is not working? Are we still seeking God with our whole hearts?

I was recently doing something and I heard a soft voice asking where was my heart. I was shocked but I realized that I was simply doing it without actually questioning myself about the reason. Life happens and we get swept up in routines but sometimes we cling to the routines even after they are no longer assets to us. Where your heart is, there your treasure will be also. Is your heart in the right place? Are you doing things for the right reasons? Are you seeking the right things? Take some time to pray about it and seek His counsel. Now is the best time to take a moment before going over your goals to see if your heart is aligned with what you say you want. Pray that He will reveal the areas you need to work on as we start this new year.

We may be quick to ask God for the desires of our hearts but we should check in and be sure that the desires of our hearts align with His purpose for our lives. Are we living intentionally or just going with the flow? Remind yourself of what He has promised and trust that He will bring them to fruition. Just like we take our cars to service, we should check our hearts to make sure all is functioning well. We consume so much daily between social media, news, movies, and music. Ask yourself if you are immersing yourself in His word enough daily or if you need to spend more time with Him.

I pray this week started well for you and I pray this year you are ready to receive the desires of your heart. Have an amazing rest of the week!

Happy Saturday! Happy December!

I hope this post finds you and your well and with a jolly holiday spirit. If not, I pray you know that it will get better and to take it one day at a time. I think I have been avoiding writing this post because I am unsure of how it will take shape. As I learn more about myself, I learn more about the issues I care about. First, let me start by speaking about healing in general. We all go through things in life that we need to heal from. Trauma is not always physical. Sometimes we need to heal from things we learned in childhood or things that were said to us. As we grow and learn about ourselves, we also uncover things (mindsets, patterns, etc) that no longer serve us.

Healing cannot happen without self- awareness.

If we are not honest with ourselves, we will be unable to truly change our ways. I believe every person at some point of their lives, had something they did not like about themselves. It can be hard to face the person in the mirror, especially when we know we can do better. But if we never take an honest look and become aware of our negative traits, we can’t expect to fix them. Healing also isn’t linear. You will make great progress some days, and then others, it will feel like you barely made a step in the right direction. Don’t let the slow periods get you down. Some times we are tested to see where we still need to heal. Acknowledge it and move on. Next time you will do better. The other thing with healing is, as we fix one problem area, others may arise. We tend to try and fix what we can see but there are usually other things that caused the gaping wound and only by trying to address the wound, do we find the cause. Our actions are fueled by our thoughts. A lot of thoughts that we have held on to for years. It won’t be a quick fix to change our mindsets. As you learn and grow, you access more information and need to adjust your mindset continuously. You may be able to identify the way in which you self- sabotage (drinking, drugs, etc) but then you need to work on correcting the mindset that causes you to self- sabotage.

Our environments play a big role in our growth and healing. We may outgrow some relationships as well. It isn’t because any one person is bad but the relationship may not be beneficial to either anymore. Consider an alcoholic. He or she may be doing the work, is aware that they are an alcoholic, aware of what causes them to drink and has decided to be sober. They have done a great job but they still have a friend or two who drinks too much around. They may think they are helping those friends but if after a period of time, those friends do not adjust their behavior, they then pose a threat to the sober person. Over time, that person may feel frustrated and revert to their old ways. You have to make sure that the people you surround yourself with are supporting you (and vice versa) to be a better person and respecting your decisions. You can’t always be the fixer for others.

Sometimes we trust people and then later find out that they did not deserve our trust. It is easy to beat ourselves up but we assessed the situation with the information we had at the time. As we grow, we have to learn to let these people go. They may not be ready to confront themselves. Or maybe they have started the healing process themselves but are stuck on a level you have already passed. If they are unwilling to face that part of themselves and that part is detrimental to your wellbeing, you have to let that person go and allow them to do what they need to do. Hurt people hurt people. There are a lot of people walking around with trauma, who are either refusing to see their trauma or refusing to see how their trauma affects others. It is O.K to protect yourself from them. You have worked too hard to do and be better. You deserve to put yourself first. Tough times do not last but if we remain too focused on the bad, we will never see the good.

This Holiday season, I hope you celebrate your journey of healing or if you haven’t started yet, I pray this is the moment you decide to heal. You deserve to. You deserve to be happy now in this life, in this body, in these times, at this age. So put yourself first and heal.

Happy Tuesday!

I am excited just typing those words because 1) I am meeting my self imposed deadline and 2) I am excited about today’s message.

Every time I miss a week, I usually run into someone who randomly brings up my blog. At first I thought it was just God showing me that people do read my blogs but it happened the past two weeks and I was like, maybe that’s God nudging me to sit down and type my blog post. Thank you to everyone who reads my posts and everyone who has subscribed. I am grateful for all of you. Usually when I am not posting, it is because things are a bit difficult but the past two weeks have been good. I did change my schedule a bit so my usual “Dominique- mom- entrepreneur” balance was a bit off. I also decided to take on some more opportunities. There is no science or formula to balance everything. I read once to think of the things we are juggling as balls and determining for ourselves which balls are rubber and which are glass. Some are obvious glass balls and you do not let those drop because they can shatter. Rubber balls can always be picked back up. I dropped a few rubber balls which is not a bad thing. My issue was leaving them on the ground too long.

I was also hesitant to write because there is a new opportunity that I have been excited about. I knew it would be a challenge and did not want to share too much too soon. For the purpose of this story, I will say everything was falling into place perfectly. Now this particular opportunity is also a test of my faith. Anyway, I was over here excited and finally told someone about it last night. Today I had a call and all was well. Then I received an email that knocked the wind out of my sails. My initial reaction was that all was lost. After some deep breaths and a message to the same friend I spoke to last night, I realized God wouldn’t give me this opportunity just to take it away from me. I took a moment and prayed and then that same friend called me and prayed with me. And maybe even more than the prayer she prayed, was her being there and helping me fix my heart’s posture. As I hung up from the call, I received another email. That situation that I thought was hopeless wasn’t so hopeless after all. I’m leaving all of the juicy details for my future blog post with the full testimony.

I have already spoken about making sure you have the right people in your corner. The people who are truly for you will always push you to be a better version of yourself. They will do it lovingly though amd they will be there for the journey. I also want to talk about emotions and our heart’s posture. Our emotions are real but they can be misleading. Today I felt disappointed and sad and I could have wallowed in those feelings. Granted someone was being positive and I was just like “blah” but I realized that I was choosing to be negative. Sometimes we question others’ trust in God because our faith is wavering. Instead of widening the gap, we should pause and check ourselves and see if we are trusting and believing God or trying to handle everything on our own. I am also grateful that I have been surrounded by persons of great faith. The kind of friends who would climb a roof and lower me down to God.

A dream deferred is not a dream denied. Sometimes the storms come to strengthen us. Sometimes we exaggerate a shower of rain to be a storm as well. This week, renew your trust in God. He is still a way maker, miracle worker and promise keeper. He can do above and beyond what we could imagine. If He has brought you to it, He will lead you through it. Also check your heart’s posture. At times, we need to remind our hearts of what we know to be true. Bless your friends. Just because. Pray for them because you never know when they will be the pillars you lean on. Have a blessed week all and speak to you on Tuesday!