Tag: christianity

Before You Detour

A lot of time has passed since I’ve put pen to paper like this. The past year has taken its toll on a lot of us but God reminds me in the subtle ways that no matter how much time passes, His voice is present and consistent despite our inconsistency. The other day He reminded me that my impatience and need for control is still very much an ongoing battle; leaving me officially “checked.”

It was Saturday, January 1st and I was headed to my fiancé’s home to bring him medicine and snacks as he battled COVID-19 in isolation. It was meant to be a quick trip but as I rounded the ramp there were a sea of what looked liked parked cars on the Beltway. Immediately, my brain went to predicting both the cause of the backup while simultaneously planning my exit strategy. I called my fiancé to let him know the issue and my plan to get around it that would most certainly prolong my arrival.

So I predicted that the Washington Football Team’s home game was the cause of the backup and that I would get off on the very next exit to go into the city and take another route to his house. What I did know, is that I wasn’t sitting in all that traffic no matter how long my detour took!! That was MY plan. Now here’s how it all turned out after fussing and using all that unnecessary energy.

The traffic wasn’t caused by game day traffic (should have known by the way they’ve been playing!), it was due to people rubbernecking at an accident on the side of the road just before the next exit that I was planning on taking. I sat for 10 minutes max and it was smooth sailing from there and got to his house without any delays.

As I’m about to make a fuss at the people slowing traffic by looking at a fender bender, I heard, “Stay the course.”

I immediately knew this was a lesson. Having no clue what lied ahead, I saw what appeared to be a major backup and automatically decided that I knew a better way. I couldn’t see ahead of my own vantage point, similar to how I’m unable to see what the future holds in my life. Those setbacks that I encounter that may look insurmountable have the potential to get me to second guess the direction I’ve chosen and make be get off course. God was using this as a lesson to show me that everything that looks bad isn’t always THAT bad. It could simply be a minor issue that doesn’t require any workaround whatsoever. It only requires that we be patient and wait. A setback could be a set up to get you to get off the course that’s designed to get you to your desired end. So on the first day of 2022, God set the theme for my year. No matter what it looks like, I’m staying the course and fighting every urge to make my own way.

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You Could Have Been An Ant

Writing this blog has been more about accountability and discipline than anything else. I write as though I have thousands of followers waiting to read what I have to say. Or as if  I  have an editor waiting for me to meet a deadline that could potentially put me at risk of losing my job if I don’t get it in on time. It’s a fight to keep this type of mind set because the other part of me wants to revert back to the reason I quit the last time. Who’s checking for it really? I have a laundry list of things that I need to prioritize that actually do have repercussions… bill paying, grocery orders, appointment scheduling… the list goes on. But writing makes me happy. It brings me closer to God and quite frankly it’s the one thing that I do just because I want to. The beauty of being under the radar is that you have no outside influence on what you should write. It’s only what you want to say and how God leads you to say it.

This week’s entry is all about my new favorite podcast “The Same Room” featuring Charlamagne Tha God and Harmony Samuels in episode 2 titled “God’s Purpose For You.” I couldn’t summarize all the gems in this episode if I tried but I’ll do my best to speak on just a few of them that sparked a fire in me in hopes that it will encourage you to check out the full episode and potentially share it with others. Continue reading “You Could Have Been An Ant” →

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The Little Teddy Bear

Before I can fully engage you with my thoughts from the premiere episode of “The Same Room,” I  must first layout how much of a full circle moment this is for me. Six years ago I attended an event called “The Merge Summit” in Los Angeles where I was first introduced to a man name Toure’ Roberts. He was a guest speaker at one of our opening morning sessions and with every word he spoke it was like he was speaking directly into my life. From that day on I’ve been a follower of his ministry called One Church LA (now known as The Potter’s House at One LA and Denver).

Just about 4 years ago I moved to New York and became a listener of his podcast. I would listen to his sermons daily just to push me through the scariest, most uncertain time of my life. One day I selected a sermon and to my surprise it was a voice that I hadn’t heard before. It was a woman named Stephanie Ike who was a guest speaker at One Church LA. I  ALMOST immediately skipped it because she wasn’t someone I had heard of and let’s face it, she was like the substitute teacher. But then I thought that if Toure’ thought so highly of her to have her fill in for him while he was away she had to be pretty dynamic. So instead I listened intently and it wasn’t that long before I was completely drawn in. She had voice, she had a presence, and she most certainly had a Word! Continue reading “The Little Teddy Bear” →

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Cracked Pavement

pexels-photo-343469.jpegIt was a morning like any other morning. Typical rise with the disgruntled “it’s too early for this” stroll across the floor to my closet. I didn’t feel any more reflective or spiritual than the day before. I  stepped out the house with headphones in ear, work bag on shoulder, probably just praying that this day would be an anomaly and I’ll actually get a seat on the train. It’s the little things that make my day. I didn’t realize that a even smaller moment in time would teach me a life lesson just steps outside of my home.  Continue reading “Cracked Pavement” →

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It’s been a tough few days for our country and for the world. I can’t ignore that fact nor can I sugarcoat it. I just have to be 100% authentic when I say that I’m at a loss to how I’m going to address it all. Emotions are high and operating out of them is never a good thing. So I sit here with the rain teetering off my window trying to figure out how to articulate all the thoughts running through my head without letting emotion take complete control so here goes…

I have to back track a bit. A few months ago, I posted a blog entry titled “Connect the Dots.” As a young girl, I realized early on that I was not skilled at drawing. I could color in the lines perfectly but when it came to creating my own perfect picture, it was a mess. I remember the joy I would get from the books that were designed for a struggling young artist like myself. It started out with a bunch of dots all over the page and no semblance of a picture but as I began to connect the dots it all started to take shape. Though it was super simple there was still an order to the thing. I could have connected the dots any way that I wanted to but the picture wouldn’t have come out right. I had to first either know how to count or how to say the alphabet in order to connect the dots properly. It required attention and a lot of concentration but not on the big picture rather on my knowledge of counting and reciting the alphabet. I did my part and the rest was already aligned to take shape! Sometimes the closest dot wasn’t the dot that I needed to connect to first. It defied what would seem logical in my eyes. If it had not been for the order lined out before me, I would have screwed it up. However, my picture had no other choice but to come out perfect as long as I focused on what I knew. If I tried to figure out the picture without factoring in the order, it would have taken me a lot longer to figure it out and I’m almost guaranteeing you it would have been distorted. Continue reading “#OverIt” →

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“I Sell Women”

BBOG1On April 14, 2014, an Islamic extremist group, Boko Haram, invaded a school dormitory in Nigeria and lured over 200 girls away by posing as military soldiers coming to rescue them. The girls were in hiding during a wrath of gun fire so they believed that the men were there to save them. It didn’t take long before they knew who they really were and it was not for their well being.

Hopefully many of you have been following the story and understand the severity of the matter. These men are against Western education, Christianity, and any Muslims that they believe are traders. After their leader Yusuf was assassinated, it was guaranteed that they would seek revenge. Though many innocent people have died at the hands of these extremist, young girls are the most recent targets. There are reports that the girls are being sold as child brides and sex slaves for as little as $12. The sad truth about the matter is that many people don’t feel at all connected to this tragedy. It’s thousands of miles away on a continent that many may never visit. The girls are without names that anyone beyond their families and friends would know. So many people will write this off as a sad state for Nigerians even after they post #BringBackOurGirls to their social media sites… I mean, it’s all about appearances right?

Continue reading ““I Sell Women”” →

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PURE S.E.X

imagesIt’s taken me FOREVER to write this blog! At this point I’ve had over 7 revisions and there’s sure to be more by the time it’s posted. I thought it was writers block, which is common for me. However, I’m starting to see that I needed to read/see/hear something that would set the overall tone. I believe that happened  after watching a web video called “The Solution Summit.” A forum where people come together to discuss various topics and shed their light on their views in an unapologetic, unadulterated way. Anywho, the question was posed to a Christian on whether he believed in sex before marriage. Here’s his reply:

“My thoughts are it’s okay depending on the reasons for it. If it’s something you get into to make sure you’re getting into the right situation with somebody. But if it’s something different … if it’s a religious thing then it’s a whole other conversation to be had.” Continue reading “PURE S.E.X” →

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PRO-GOD

“I was given grace to carry that story,” she said.“My story is a voice for the voiceless.” – Molly Anne Dutton www.huffingtonpost.com

You’re going to have to trust me on this one. I know many of you don’t know me so you don’t know the integrity that I walk in daily. But please know that I would not say that something came from God, unless I truly believed it did. Trust that I don’t play with that! So when I tell you that I have had a blog with only 3 words saved to my drafts for almost a month I’m telling you the truth. God placed on my heart to write a story on abortion. Yes, abortion and I so didn’t want to get into that. But I had the narrative in my head and knew the direction that God wanted me to go, I just couldn’t seem to get it on paper.  I tried to reason with Him on all the reasons I shouldn’t but I knew that I would eventually lose the battle. I sat in front of my computer each day staring at those 3 words asking Him to show me how to get started. It’s such a heavy subject and a very sensitive area that I wanted to make sure He led the way so I would do it justice. I never want to mess up anything He tells me to do so if it meant that it would sit in my drafts until I heard clearly from Him than so be it! Continue reading “PRO-GOD” →

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Follow the Leader

When God gave me the vision for BASH Films, I had no idea where it would lead or how I would get started. It all began with a grad school assignment and quickly flourished into something much bigger than me. I remember asking God to show me examples of people who are doing what I believed He was calling me to do. You see, I work in entertainment and faith based content back then was pretty much non-existent. The shows that were centered around faith were “churchy” music video shows that only “church” people would watch. But God was calling me to the masses. He wanted me to infiltrate a massive machine that glamorizes promiscuity, drugs, material wealth, and beyond. His vision for me was to represent women in the light that He had created them to be instead of what the limelight had molded them to be. I couldn’t see a pathway to do what He wanted me to do so I second guessed if it was even Him who gave me the vision. Was I crazy? I needed to stick to the script, work my way up the ladder, and be grateful to be in the business period. Continue reading “Follow the Leader” →

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In the Midst of Filth… SHINE!

Since I adopted my dog Milo, my mornings run like clock work. I get up to an erratic, jumpy pup, throw on my sweats, and off for a walk we go. I used to be the type that hated early mornings. Honestly, I’m still not a fan but what I can appreciate now is that I have so much more time before I have to officially start my day. I used to wake up in just enough time to shower, dress, and maybe grab a glass of OJ. Now, I have at least an hour of leisure time to get myself ready and equipped for the day ahead. Part of the day I enjoy the most is my walk with Milo. I use the majority of that time to listen for God’s voice. Continue reading “In the Midst of Filth… SHINE!” →

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