Is God Still On Your Back Burner?

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6:33) When Jesus said this, He was making it very clear that God should be our number one priority above everything else. At times, people find themselves battling various trials and tribulations in life, wondering where God is and how they even got there. But, they don’t realize that some of those challenges didn’t come as a test from God; rather, they were the result of a misaligned relationship with God. We are all guilty of doing things our own way, and then asking God to get on board afterwards—that’s not how God works fam. To live a life surrendered to Him means letting Him guide you. But in order for God to guide you, you have to hear Him clearly. So tell me, what is drowning out God’s voice in your life?

Unblurring the Lines of Friendship

“Friends—how many of us have them?” We have all been blessed with having at least one person in life we call a friend. With friendships comes an abundance of great talks, laughs, support and a lifetime of memories. They should be cherished and valued as the blessing that they are in our lives. Now don’t get me wrong, friendships also come with hardships, difficult conversations and disagreements, but overall, they are a source of great happiness in the midst of the turmoil faced in this world. And it’s for that reason we must take extra precautions and steps to ensure the friendship lasts by addressing the “little” things that we think aren’t a big deal but actually carry a great deal of weight. Those “little” things are boundaries.

Is This Who You Wanted to Become?

Being able to witness a milestone such as entering a new decade calls for a time of self-reflection. Personally, it’s been a time to think about how far I’ve come in the past 10 years; particularly as a result of the environments I’ve found myself in, and the impact they’ve had on my life. But not just my own, but others as well. I get it - we’re all special in our own way thanks to the Man upstairs. But of course, given free will, we make decisions for ourselves. Those decisions have typically been influenced by our environment - whether we were born in a low-income neighborhood or a wealthy one; whether we grew up in a home with one parent or both; whether we went to a HBCU, a PWI, were home-schooled, or didn’t go to school at all - we were all impacted by external factors. But the question is, how did it play a role in how our lives panned out?

February Release: Products of Own Environments

Yeah I know - its March and this is a February release. But this was a theme that kept coming up last month for me, and I'd been taking some time to unpack. The topic is how our environment shapes who we are as individuals. Traditionally, people think of their environment as their living situation - whether or not they were born into an area that was wealthy or low-income. But your environment spans well past physical surroundings. It includes the people, the vibes, the societal beliefs, the upbringing, etc. Because we don't always consider these additional pieces, we don't realize the amount of influence it has on us, and our paths moving forward in life. So let's talk about it - how does our environment shape who we are as people, and what does that mean for us? The post will be released soon!

The Company You Keep

We all have people in our lives that we hold close to our hearts. We call some of them friends, some of them besties, and some we even call family. Eventually, these individuals begin fulfilling some role(s) in our lives- going out with us, tagging along on trips, imparting wisdom when needed, accompanying us to whack events, etc. Regardless of the reason, these are people we have chosen to keep around. We are so used to them that we probably don’t notice how they could be influencing our own lives. It’s crazy to think, right? They already accepted us for who we are; so why would we try to change ourselves? That’s just it; we don’t- at least, not intentionally. We may not realize it but their presence alone does more than we give it credit.

"I Believe the Children are Our Future"

We were all kids once. We know just how crazy a roller coaster ride it was, but all of the things that happened during our childhood are what shaped who we have become. That crucial stage in our lives determined our future, and it was a fragile time where the smallest things could have lasting impacts. That is why its important to make positive impacts on kids while they're still young, so it continues to grow inside of them and helps them become great people.