Can you Hear me Now?

I've had my eyes opened to an abundance of revelation during the month of October. One thing for sure is that I've accepted the call on my life to ministry. One of the reasons I've downplayed it and gave it other names was because of the rejection from the church. It did not matter if I was in a mega church or small church I was never accepted. However I found out this week that was by God's design, so I would continue to run after Him instead of man.

He is so loving that He will "hide you until the one who can afford you" comes through the door. I realize that statement has a two-fold meaning for my life but for now it speaks to my mentor. God hid me and allowed me not to be accepted until I was ready for spiritual mentorship. He needed me to be processed and broken a little deeper. Why? So when He released me to be trained my hope and focus stayed in Him. When the student is ready the teacher will appear....I know this for sure.

One of the things that have happened in the body of Christ is that we've begun to worship the gift instead of the giver of the gift. Which is why I'm so thankful that my gift is being released through a stripping of everything that does not line up with His will. The amazing thing about this is that most of us in the body won't stay the course of being processed long enough to experience what the end will be. We jump ship in the middle of the process because we don't want to go through anything...no pain, no revelation. Destiny costs and it's not free, if you haven't been through anything, died to yourself, been broken, rejected, slandered, thrown out with the dishwater- you can't tell me "nothing".

Everyone has an opinion about what is going on in and with our churches right now - I have none. Yet, my eyes are wide-open and I have not drunk the Kool-aid. What I am doing is purifying my own heart to make sure my life is lined up with His will. I chose to run after God, repent for all of my own sins as I cry out for the church. (We are the church and not the building)

I'm so blessed that no man told me what the call on my life was; yet it was revealed through studying and mediating on His word. The full vision for my magazine is clearer and I have no fear that every resource needed to bring it to fruition will appear. It no longer matters to me what others tell me about print being dead and the magazine industry not being what it used to be. When you have a God idea and the vision is downloaded through His mind, naysayers have no place in your ear. As long as it was my idea it was confusing words on paper...but now it's in my gut.

When I was younger I use to ask God why He gave the Jackson family all of the talent. I didn't think I had any talent because it was not blatantly obvious to me. However, I would not trade my life for any member of the Jackson family on any level. Look at what it cost to be who man told Michael Jackson he was. He died never fully knowing who he really was as he continued until death trying to perfect an image from someone else mirror.

I heard the call and I answered, Yes Lord. What about you?

What you speak is what you Get

For the past two weeks all of my lessons and learning’s have been around what I speak out of my mouth. I even learned that wrong words can put your blessings and Destiny on hold. OMG! When I sat to ponder over why things have not advanced in certain areas of my life I could trace them directly back to my words.

One of my sisters was whining the other day about her air conditioning being out. The technician finally showed up to look at it but needed to order a part before he could fix it. She told him, “You know I'm going to be dead over here before the part gets here." He said, "Yeah, you'll probably be dead, as hot as it is in here." Can you see the death she spoke out of her own mouth over the situation?

Tonight, my spiritual mentor asked me if I believed I could have what God's word says I can have. My reply was Yes, even though I don't always operate as though I do. My new posture is to be slow to speak and quick to listen, and for a talker (I like to think communicator) it is a work in progress. Everyday I have to take back erroneous words that have slipped off of my lips. When I think about my magazine and how it will speak into the hearts of women the need to Love words becomes more important than ever.

Even when we are disciplining our children we have to be careful that in our anger we are not releasing death over their lives but life. One of my favorite verses in the bible is when the Lord tells Jeremiah, "Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. (Jer.11:9) I'm encouraged that each day I can ask Him to do the same for me.

As a child I was expected to answer any question quick, fast and in a hurry. Out of fear, I was never able to think about the words that were coming out of my mouth. This resulted in me telling you whatever was on my mind as an adult. No thought of being politically correct, compassionate, or justified. If you didn't want the truth, you would most definitely not want to ask me. But as believers we are expected to speak in love even when giving correction.

So, if you're reading this and you know you've put some really wrong words into the atmosphere then go back and pull them down. It's really scary to think that we will be judged by Every word that comes out of our mouth.

That alone gives me new perspective to being slow to speak. I promise I'm working on allowing you to finish your sentence, not ask you what part of this don't you understand, ask you if you're on crack, or say….that's interesting…. when I think what you've said is crazy, or give you my long, Okayyy.

You can have what you say!

Faith isn't Faith until it's Tested

In the past two weeks my faith has been tested on so many levels. Sometimes life come and hits you right in the gut and then moves up to your heart. It’s at that very moment when everything you say you believe out of your mouth becomes a reality or you can chose to let fear paralyze you.

I’m so thankful to know such mighty women prayer warriors who will shut everything down to go to war with and for me. Listening to their prayers, the way they command and take authority over a thing has taken my faith to new levels. The most profound statement I’ve heard during this time is." God is not moved by our tears but by our faith." Amen church!

If your faith is never tested you won’t ever know if what you’ve based your belief system on is true. If you don’t step into the water you will never know if the Red Sea will be parted. If you don’t cast your net into the water you will never know if there is treasure to be caught up in your net. We know that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. And the word says, “ that without faith it is impossible to please God.”

Faith is not asking for what God has already promised. Faith believes in the promises of God. Only little faith hides when it is tested. Big faith stands against the testing. Each time a trail of faith comes our way, we should understand that it is not we who are being proven but the Lord. Only after your faith has been tested and proven will you be able to help and benefit others. In the process, God’s heart will be satisfied, and His name will be glorified.

The real test of faith is found among those who believe God long before the victory is manifested. Tonight, I rest in complete victory.

Called To Be Silent

Day 161-160: These last two days have been very weighty for me and those whom I share a covenant relationship. The news that broke concerning our pastor has hurled us on our knees like never before. It is so wonderful when you know the true and living God and that your faith is squarely placed in Him. So, when you have something of this magnitude happen you have the assurance that He is not surprised. And that all things are working together for the God of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

Sundown began the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) where we are called to rejoice before the Lord for seven days. This is one of the three feasts that God said we are to observe for all generations. Sukkot in plural for sukkah, which most often in the Scripture refers to a small, crude, temporary shelter. As we rejoice in thanksgiving before the Lord for His provisions and sustenance, we remind ourselves that we are still abiding in temporary dwellings. I am so very thankful that I have a very clear focus for the next seven days, and that is to Rejoice in the Lord.

It is very seldom that I am at a lost for words and today is not one of them. However, my spirit has been quite clear for me to keep silent for the battle is not mine it's the Lords. I am praying for my pastor, his family, my church family and the body of Christ.

I declare that every lying tongue is wrong and that truth prevails.

Everything is Time Sensitive

Day 162: If you're going to move into destiny this season it will be very important that you move expeditiously. It's critical that we become more disciplined about the assignment we've been given in our lives. It's time to move out of the emotional realm and become disciplined and decisive about how we move forward.

My visit to the Chiropractor today gave me great pause as he performed extensive testing on my spine and total body. I was shocked by many of the observations he made and had to make a decision right then if I would make the lifestyle changes required. I realized as I listened to the doctor that I would have to discipline my spirit and the decision was in the moment. Today was a day that I would have to get involved in my destiny. Living my life to the fullest means treating my time on this earth as though each day was my last.

I've not been sleeping well for the past two weeks because my lower back is out of alignment and so I slept for only one hour last night. Around 4:45 pm, my body started shutting down and forced me to take a nap so it could get rejuvenated. I have all of these wonderful ideas and desires to bless other people and be a voice that encourages, gives direction and heals. Well, if I don't take care of me first, then nothing else really matters...does it?

Have you ever felt like something great was about to happen, you don't know what it is but you know it's something? That's how I'm feeling right at this moment.

I know that the timing in my life is about to be accelerated and I can't allow myself to do anything that is familiar.

The Power to Believe

Day 163: You are what you believe. So whatever you believe, you conceive in the womb of your heart and become or create. A belief system is a way of thinking, a mental state in which we hold certain propositions or premises to be true. Belief is a state of mind. Beliefs are ideologies, concepts whereas a person can agree or disagree with them. Beliefs are not necessarily true.

Beliefs shape our faith and create our attitude.The difference between belief and faith is that belief is mental and is influenced by the external, and faith is spiritual and determined by choice. Belief is supported by the physical senses ...hearing, tasting, touching, feeling, smelling. Faith however does not need proof to hold on to what you believe.

Your belief system affects every area of your life no matter who you are. I recently read where Oprah was interviewed about being on the Forbes most wealthiest people list. She stated that she never thought about getting on the list because of how she viewed money. Money was never her motivation and the list was nice but only meant she didn't' have to focus on paying the bills anymore. More than money her driving force was rising above the abuse she suffered as a child. She didn't know why but she always believed there was a better way to live.

Our pattern of thinking influences every aspect of our lives. The way we speak, dress, eating habits, the way we love, go after goals or not go after goals, and handle money are oftentimes an indication of what we believe.

What you believe, you become.

A Shopping Day From Heck

Day 164: My daughter says today was a good day because we've been experiencing so much difference of opinion lately. However, the shopping excursion with her and my grand daughter was an out of body experience for me. Because I was not sure what alien had taken over my "baby girl" and turned her into one of those children other people talk about.

In fact, it was so traumatic for me that I was willing to break my fast to have a cup of Starbucks. You must know that I love my grand baby and she actually is like my twin. When I step she steps and she calls my name at least 100 times a day. When I'm working in my home office I have to lock the door to keep her out. Only to have her sit outside and say "open door Meme open door." I simply adore her even though I sometimes feel like I'm raising a child again because she literally stays in my space.

But Meme's "little princes" worked every nerve I had so much that I turned into one of those people who spanks their child in the store. People were looking at me as she screamed bloody murder for all of 30 seconds. She then proceeded to start the same behavior over again, and again, and again. Today we were the family whom people whisper about because the child is clearly running things. She even told me I was not being nice for spanking her and needed to go to "time out." What???

To be clear the "little princess" turned alien is two years and two months old. All I could think about in the car ride home is that we're all suppose to be on a plane together in November. I'm not sure when my daughter lost control or when the Meme stare stopped being a threat. As I looked in on her tonight she looks like a little angel sleeping.

However, I know the truth and that alien is going to get an exorcism.

Women Are Like Oranges

Day 164: Several years ago I actually heard this and watched as the presenter who stated that, "Women were like Oranges and men were like Apples." Of course , the crowd went crazy as we all sat on the edge of our seats with anticipation of how this scene would play out. And play out it did as he broke down all the emotional stuff we as women deal with when we get into relationships.

Earlier today a girlfriend of a very close friend called me on a three-way with him to pull me into a very sensitive disagreement. I was shocked he allowed her to call me as I had only met her over the phone. He knew I thought she was loony to be dating him. But, for some reason he encouraged her to include me in their mess. He said, "I know you will be a voice of reason and can help us both resolve this because I love her so much." Ohhhhhhhh.

As I listened to the girlfriend who was doing most of the talking, I was reminded of the Orange & Apple story. Over the years, I've told him that whatever he has that makes women lose their senses with him I hope to never run up on it. Once he convinced two women he was in intimate relationship's with at the same time to move in together with him. Talk about silly women...

Of course today was about another woman he currently lives with and the one on the phone is waiting for him to move out and marry her. Huh! She's ranting and all the time he is so calm, professing his love and not wanting to disappoint her. He even threw in how he really believes they will be married by January no later than April. All the time I'm thinking about that Orange.

So the story of the Orange & Apple goes something like this. These two people meet in church and the man is not a good looker. He approaches the woman and she is turned off by him and tells her girlfriend how she would never go out with him...never. Sunday after Sunday he approaches her and tells her how beautiful she looking and other niceties. But she is not attracted to him and wants nothing to do with him. One Sunday she decides to move to another side of the church to get away from him. This Sunday no one notices her at all. The following Sunday she moves back to the other side of church and he sees her and tells her how much he missed seeing her last Sunday. Next thing you know he has her number and they are dating.

A few months go by and they are inseparable and she starts to fall and all the while he's peeling her layer by layer. Visualize the orange-and every week she reveals more of herself and falls a little harder- layer by layer until she's completely uncovered. As soon as he got her where he wanted her he told her it was over and she was hurt and shocked. The man who is like an apple has a hard cover and you have to take him on one bite at a time. Moral of the story, if you don't like ugly men then don't date ugly men or you will end up with ugly babies. In other words, if you say you don't want to be in a relationship with a man while he's still in a relationship with another woman then wait and don't compromise.

While my friend said as many of the right things as possible I could see him as that hard core apple. The girlfriend tried to sound tough, but I knew she was in deep and has been totally peeled back and was now uncovered. There was very little room for mediation as they both are delusional and she most certainly will take a hard fall.

I heard a very smart, clever and professional woman on the phone who hears the truth between the lines but chooses to rationalize the grey areas. I'm sure this is not her first time attracting a man like my friend. She fits the pattern of his five baby mama's who all fell for the same Okie Doke . Or did they get exactly what they were looking for?

Compromise always comes at a huge price and when it's a matter of the heart it's even costlier. Stop settling ladies......wait.

Sometimes God Hides You

Day 165: Back in 2001, my pastor preached a sermon and this title was the nugget that I got from it. It has stayed in my head on and off for the last nine years. At different times in my life when I found myself challenged or when things were especially good I would remember this nugget. All the time the question in my head would be, “ What does that mean for me?”

For some reason it was back in my head again all night long. I should probably set the stage for the context of the statement. The message that was ministered back then dealt with a lot of things but the one that grabbed me was about men and women “shacking together.” I wasn’t even in a relationship so it was strange to me that this would so pierce my spirit.

When you take the statement as a whole it has many different meanings, which is why I feel so compelled to share it with all of you. “Sometimes God hides you until the one who can afford you comes through the door...whole statement. For me it has meant being taken out of prime time as I am being prepared for Destiny. It’s meant going from being one of the "100 Most influential Women “ in Atlanta, to people asking me if I moved. It’s meant taking positions where every fabric of your being is tested, to falling off the “A” invite list.

The totality of why this has stayed with me up until this writing is finally starting to take shape and will be a testimony of running the race to the end. It explains the process of the brokenness I've experienced as I’m being refined for the greater work that is to come. Everyone's road is going to be different and how soon you'll get there is based on your openness to be made over. It will require you to take a look at the "man in the mirror."

I've had essentially five careers in my lifetime. Yet, the call to speak into the lives of women all over the world comes at a tremendous cost. Most importantly, it has required me to surrender control to my higher power and be led by the spirit.

This has been a nine year process and I know I'm close to coming out and walking on a new stage with a new name. I'm very close to coming out of hiding (process) and I can't wait to see what and who is waiting for me.

You'll Meet Your Investor on the Way

Day 166: As you all know iron sharpens iron and today I've been sharpened by some pretty savvy investors and financial managers. In a matter of minutes an old friend who called me looking for some resources, had me engaged in conversations that were blowing my mind. At first it was intimidating until the friend said," See you are able to articulate with passion why this venture makes sense." Then he said, "Now let us go to work putting together the plan that will sell in private and public offerings." Wow!

My business venture is traditionally extremely hard to get capital or investors to back unless you know somebody who knows somebody. Today, I realize that I know somebody who knows somebody...yeah. The call stretched me and made me think of angles and offerings the team and I had not yet dreamed possible. Henry Ford once said," I am looking for a lot of men who have an infinite capacity to not know what can't be done."

While in Dallas one of the things I heard over and over again was "move forward and advance" because tradition is being broken off. Something may not have worked in the old season, but it does not mean it won't work in this season in a new way.

My dreams are being rekindled and focused in a very new way and I'm talking Apple and Goggle new way. The fear of the future is being shattered off of us. Dust those dreams off and start having some new conversations with some new folks. Enlarge your territory, your circle and take the "Limits Off". Make it your business to talk to some new people everyday who have some knowledge about what you're trying to do. Borrow their testimony until you get your own. Today, I told a friend she could borrow my faith until her own increased to where mine is if she needed too. No more complaining, no more filling my cup with my own tears. I'm filled up with "living water" and believing that all things are possible because of whose I am.

I'm not letting go until this blessing is mine.

Celebrating When Its Someone Else's Turn

Day 167: To everything there is a season and I believe there is a "set" time for favor as well. Tonight, I listened as one of my close friends told me about the incredible success she is experiencing in her business. All I could say was, "Wow, Wow, Look at God."

If you can't rejoice when those whom you say you love and care for are having their success then don't expect to be celebrated. It will be important in your zeal for your own timing to not covet what is happening in someone else's life. We can not judge our worst by someone else's best.

I don't normally watch much television and in the past two weeks I've seen nothing unless prompted by my granddaughter to turn on "Yo Gabba Gabba or Barney & Friends." But the other day I actually thought of Oprah and was able to catch her show just as she was reviewing some of the trips she'd taken her audience on in the past. Then she started setting the stage for what she was about to do for those in the audience on Monday.

As their anticipation grew, so did mine. Women were crying and holding onto each other based on sheer expectations. I found myself caught up as though it was happening to me. When Oprah announced she was taking all 300 people in the audience to Australia I screamed and even shed a few tears of JOY for them. All of those people were absolute strangers to me but I cheered them on anyhow. We've got to be able to salute and cheer when life’s great outpouring is happening for others.

We know that God is "Sovereign" and that His ways are not our ways nor is His timing our timing. But the one thing I know for sure is this- He is always right on time.

It is a season of unbridled power and the wealth is being transferred.

Find A Way To Win

Day 168: "Whoever said winning wasn't everything, never won anything." And then there is the quote that says, "It's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game." I like the first one much better because the other allows you to feel better about losing and open the door for excuses. So, if you're in the game of life then you might as well be about winning.

I was reminded today of the three Astronauts on Apollo 13 when an oxygen tank exploded thousands of miles from earth. If odds were ever stacked against a situation, it was for them. Yet, the lead flight director for Mission Control, Gene Krantz, told his somber ground team, "Failure is not an option."

And for the next four days the engineers on earth along with the three astronauts in space went to work on a solution. The three men finally came home victorious. Why? Because the entire team found a way to win and never gave up on each other. That kind of tenacity is what is needed in tough times.

Women we know how to get blood out of a turnip when things start to looking tough. We know how to find resources and we know how to pull together. This is not the season to walk alone nor is it the time to sit and complain. It is time to be more strategic and deliberate about what we want and how to get it.

Everyday incredible women are taking pink slips, broken relationships, rebellious children, and even health diagnosis and turning it into a win. I'm more convinced than ever before that without a vision the people perish. We must write our vision down and then go after it like our lives depended on it. I am not talking about someone else's vision for your life, but the one you want to get up every day pursuing.

We must diligently seize every and any opportunity to win. Because at the end of the day it is never about you. It is about others who are looking at you and up to you for the future. It's about a generation.

I'm not saying it will be easy, but nothing worth having ever is.

Freedom Can Be Frighting

Day 169:"There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires."- Nelson Mandela. As we start to move into a new season we have remember God's promises for the future. Yet, the word of God and the will of God are not automatic. You can become familiar with bondage and allow it to be sufficient enough.

Moses brought the children of Israel out of Egypt. But as soon as they hit any bumps in the road they started to complain and wanted to go back to slavery. They became comfortable with manna when a land of abundant provision had been provided for them. Their shoes did not wear out and the situation became sufficient. And because they were afraid to move forward and walk into the future they died in the wilderness.

Fast forward and this could be a picture of many of our own lives right now today. I always tell people it was easier for me to stay in a bad marriage than uproot my children and instantly become a single mother. In fact, my ex told me more than a few times that no one was going to want me with two children. The cost of my freedom was frighting and it took supernatural courage to finally leave and ask for a divorce.

Making a decision to get out of a marriage where two people are not equally yoked is never easy for any of those concerned. Yet, my desire to move my life forward and to shake off the bondage of my past propelled me forward and I have never looked back.

There is a new move of God being released into the earth realm and we must recognize that we have not walked this way before. We must begin to see with more than our physical eyes. We can no longer be satisfied to live and ordinary life because we were meant to live an extraordinary life.

Focus on the Future

You are Important to Me

Day 170: The last three day's have been life changing for me and my prayers going into this gathering was that I would not be the same. I can say from the depth of my heart that I am a new creature as I make this post. So many amazing things happened as I gathered with the saints from Alabama to Alaska to England to hear what the Lord was saying for the new year.

Every day was packed with revelations from the throne room of God as each day built upon the next. Tonight culminated with a release of incredible JOY. I'm filled with an overflow of peace and I rejoice at how kind and wonderful the Father is. I marvel that He would have one of my Jewish brothers speak into my life tonight just to let me know how "important" I am to Him. Not only does He hear us when we pray with our mouth, but He hears our prayers through our heart.

My time here can be summed up with "He Loves Me" by David Crowder

He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realise just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

Yeah, He loves us,
Oh! how He loves us,

Oh! how He loves us,
Oh! how He loves.

We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking.
And Heaven meets earth like an unforseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don't have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way

He Love me, Oh how He love me, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves us.

Remember Lot's Wife

Day 171: I am attending the "Head of the Year 5771" conference that Apostle Chuck Pierce puts on every year. To say that this has been life changing would be an understatement. This is a season for moving ahead as God is going to release an end time harvest of wealth to the church. So, the message ministered tonight from Dr. Pat Francis of Canada was get prepared for the wealth and don't look back- Luke 17:32 "Remember Lot's wife."

God confirms His word with two or three witnesses and the last two days everything that I've been thinking and feeling were confirmed. What I am very sure of is that we need to get prepared to walk out our destiny or see it passed on to someone else. It's time to stop sitting on the sidelines and being comfortable with just praising God and being in His presence. We have got to become strategic about our plans and we must write the vision and make it plain on paper. Unless you write the vision you will find yourself wandering from place to place.

The church in the west has a stigma attached to it when it comes to talking about wealth or prosperity. They would rather just worship and sit in the presence of God than move forward and have authority and dominion in the earth. The western church is much like the children of Israel who died in the wilderness because they would not advance to the promised land. They were just about 14 days away from the promise but their religious mindset aided them in seeing God's judgment.

If you despise money, wealth and prosperity then you can't possess that which you despise. The wealth transfer in this new season is not about the bling, or a big house or a fancy car. It's about being a solution to the world!

Are you prepared for the transfer?

I've been at a Crossroads

Day 197-172: I've not blogged in 25 days and for those of you who have come to appreciate my voice I humbly apologize. On the way to helping everyone else with their lives and achieving their goals I became invisible. On last Friday, I saw Julia Roberts latest movie, "Eat, Pray, Love. In the movie her character would lose herself and become invisible whenever she fell in love. About three days prior to seeing the movie it was so clear that I was off course and had somehow become invisible to myself.

So how could this happen? It happens in your quest to always put others feelings and needs before your own. It happens when you are not sure of who you are and what it is you absolutely want out of life. It happens because you don't believe deep down inside that you deserve the best. Even though I can be heard saying time and time again, "people can only do what you allow them to do" I still allow them to do. So what is really up with that?

I think that we as women have been taught if we think about ourselves then we're selfish and only thinking of Me, Me, Me. But, what I've come to learn over the past several months of being tossed to and fro, is that I can't live out my destiny if I don't ever think about me. Thinking about me and following the path that God has destined for my life versus making it up as others see fit has very different endings and implications.

Today, it is clearer than ever the path I want to take and I'm moving down it as though my life depended on it-because it does. I'm taking all the limitations that I've set over myself off, off, off. I'm officially releasing me from other peoples dreams and I'm clipping my own wings.

"I owe no man except to love him."

How Much Is To Much?

Day 198:"God loves us the way we are, and far to much too much to leave us the way we are." Yet, we women are continually trying to figure out just how much is too much. To much is when you have to ask yourself that question. Just a little something to make you go,ummmm.

It's Hard Letting Go

Day 199: "Sometimes letting go, is the only way to get yourself back." I really don't think much more can be said about how and what I'm feeling today. I want me back and so I'm fighting hard to not be and enabling and get myself involved trying to fix everybody's mess when I've got more than enough of my own.Enough already...Rita.

HWhite Luxury Movin on Up

Day 201: "Some men see things as the are and ask why. Others see things that never were and ask why not."- George Bernard Shaw This is the favorite saying of my friend Harriett White. Today we spent 12 hours together getting the HWhite product packages ready for Hollywood. HWhite Luxury has been chose to be one of the vendors in the Red Carpet Celebrity lounge before the Emmy's.

As I watched her pay attention to every detail of our work I felt especially proud of her. The product is fabulous and I'm one of the biggest fans of the way it smells and how its all day effective. It was just a little over two year's ago that we sat sipping cappuccino in a hotel lobby in Israel as she unveiled her passion to make these products for women of color. And now two year's later she's developed products she had that would mirror a Le Muir or J Malone for all women.

I know the products will be a hit at the Red Carpet Lounge in Hollywood and I can't wait to see what the end will look like. It you want a wonderful luscious product that's all day effective be sure to check out the fab merchandise at www.hwhiteluxury.com.

You better do you Harriett!

The Investment is Your Life

Day 209: "Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you'd have preferred to talk."~Doug Larson It's almost midnight, and I must admit that everyday for the past couple of months I have seen midnight. This is however one of the few nights that I'm not falling out of the bed at the laptop.

In fact, I feel very energized and inspired by the multiple, multiple conversations I've had with some incredible people. Today I was really listening to some of the leadership in my business. When you actually fine tune your hearing you start to release your spirit to tap into the spirit of those you are called to. When you listen you can hear when others are hurting even though they are not telling you with their words.

Why Does Good Have to Hurt So Bad?

Day 210:

Things People Say about You to Create Bondage

Day 211: I met a very nice man and his family after a business meeting earlier today. He had us joined our business and I was congratulating him. He then express his concern about being able to tell people about the business because he was shy. At first I thought he was kidding and as the conversation went on I knew he was serious

I've Got an 800 Credit Score

Day 212: The word says, we should owe no man but to love him.

First Born Sons

Days 215-213

Starting Over With A Paint Job

Day 216: I've made the decision to stay in my condo until I can afford to purchase the home I want in Buckhead which is a fabulous part of Atlanta.Since I don't have to move I just desire to move I'm going to stay put for now. So, tomorrow the place new paint job for starters.

Then I'm going to give it a total make-over but I first have to unpack the boxes that are stacked up in my office....laughing. My daughter was not excited at first about the decision to stay here but she's gotten over it. I've got big dreams about my next house and I am even excited about what making this house a home. Which is something I have not done in the last four years'. I have treated it as a temporary space and so its always felt that way.

But we're shifting our mindset and being appreciative about he really lovely space we are graced to live in right now. I looked out the kitchen window earlier to see a homeless man sleeping on the park bench across the street. Please do not despise small beginnings ans don't ever look at other folks best and compare it to where you are now.

No house is ever a home until you chose to make it one

Decided to Stay Still

Day 217: Last night I had another one of those Aha moments. The previous week had not been a good one in my business and it left me numb. I struggled to attend my Zamzuu meeting because I feared if I didn't attend I may very well not go back again.

I knew that I needed to go on a fast to cut out all the noise so I could hear from the Father. Yesterday was my first day of a three day fast of turning my plate down and spending time in the word and in prayer. To my surprise, I would begin to hear at the meeting as my spirit was rejuvenated and my focus renewed.

I want to move and I can not figure out how to make that happen for myself right now. There are new challenges to getting financing when you're a start up entreprenuer. But more than that the home I want seems so out of reach. So what do I hear, go buy some new furniture an make this place your home. Wow!

Not only that but I was just telling a friend how much I wanted to have the financing for my magazine so I could really start working on what I love. Then our meeting outlined what is coming up the pipeline for my network marketing meeting and it blew me away.

So, I can see a little clearer now as I move and keep understanding that I need to lean not to my own understanding.It's almost 12:00 am and one of my goals this week was to get in bed earlier as I work on being healthier.I didn't accomplish it today but this day was very productive for me and I turn in feeling good. I'm standing still but by no means am I still.

Things may not come when I want them but I do know that God is never late and He is faithful to what He promises. Not for our name sake, but for His own name.

Figting For What I belive

Day 218:"Believe that with your feelings and your work you are taking part in the greatest; the more strongly you cultivate this belief, the more will reality and the world go forth from it."- Rainer Maria Rilke

We have to be careful how we allow distractions and noise to enter our lives as they are designed to get us off course and destiny. You can be walking along and minding your own business and all of a sudden the big bad wolf shows up ready to eat your lunch. How do we stay focused and keep the mission we say we're own ever present? Sometimes it will require that you turn off the television and the telephone. It might even mean that you have to let some people go.

What it really gets down to is how bad do you want it. If you really want it then are you willing to fight for it? Fight for the right to have a voice when you know you're right and you know you have the answer. Fight to save your children from people and things that don't fit. How about fighting just to live the best life you know God intended for you.

Of course, the biggest fight you may ever face is the one you'll have with yourself. There will be an hour somewhere in the midnight hour when doubt will creep in and get snugly as it tries to smother you with unbelief. Sound like, "maybe I'm not suppose to be an entrepreneur." "What if this doesn't work and I have to face all of the folks who didn't think I could do it anyway." What about all those who said,"if you ever need anything just let me know but aren't around when you need them?

When you know that you've been given a destiny that will touch other people's lives you have to be prepared to fight to continue on. Fight to see destiny and vision through. Fight when the contract doesn't come through and pick yourself back up and go on. You got to believe in the call on your life so much that no matter how many times you fall you will get back up, and you will dust yourself off, and you will start again.

There are to many people waiting for me to get my business and magazine launch. How many other people's lives are attached to yours. Every time I hear about someone committing suicide it saddens and grieves me that they quite on life. When you fall and don't get back up it does not only effect your life but all of those who love you and have to go through it with you.

One of my son's friend's told me once that he said one of the things he loves about his mom is no matter what happens she always gets back on top. That's because I never quit. I don't care how hard it looks or even gets. Not even when friends turn their back on you or if you lose the car and the house. After all if God is for you who and what can be against you.

You've got to make a decision to get up and get back in the fight of life. omone else is depending on what you do today..

I Can't Hear You

Day 218:

If you Lie Down with Dogs, You'll Get Fleas

Day 221-219:My Pastor Bishop Long actually used the title of this post in his sermon today and so I'm borrowing it from him.

Blessings in the small stuff today

Day 222: "Our life of poverty is as necessary as the work itself. Only in heaven will we see how much we owe to the poor for helping us to love God better because of them."-
Mother Teresa.

This quote absolutely summed up everything I was experiencing today.

Several times today, my thoughts were on the how I was not doing enough to get more business. I was concerned that I was spending more than I had budgeted and worried that God was thinking He still can't trust me with wealth....ahhhhhh. If you read this blog you know I constantly struggle with distractions all around me. They seem to come out of the woodwork on any given day. Today was no exception as I fought hard to get focused and back on task. We women are so use to multi-tasking that it's usually not until the end of a thing that we realize we totally missed what we were aiming for.

Being in a network marketing business will expose lots of things about yourself and those whom you call friends. This business for me is about adding new business partners weekly to achieve my financial goals an assist other' in reaching theirs.

I want to move as well I need a new car but I seem to be struggling on how to actually get these two things that I want.The banks are being impossible about lending anyone money and the down payment for a new home is enormous. I have a dealer looking for me a car but he is having a hard time working within my budget. Even though I have the funds to go higher I don't want to move on what I'm willing to spend.

All in all, I just don't want to compromise so I've chosen to stand still for now. I actually don't know how to move ahead and that is simply not like me. I believe God is shifting things for me right now and I need to just stand down until He shows me my next steps.

This evening I got text messages from relatives asking to borrow money and the first one caught me totally off guard. This person has never asked me for anything and I could not believe I was on their ask for money radar. At first I started to get offended and then when I asked what they needed it was so insignificant and I felt so small. I was then reminded how much I tell the Lord how I just want to live in the overflow so I can bless others. I immediately began to thank God for being in a position to bless my relative.

No sooner had I gone to Western Union than I would receive another text from another relative asking assistance. This time I did not hesitate and I could feel the joy and relief coming through the airways because of my response.Sometimes we ask God for things and when He shows up in a different than we expected we sometimes miss it.

I thank God I did not miss the opportunity to be a blessing to others this day.

Your Brand Identity

Day 225-223

School Increasingly Becoming More Challenging

Day 226:I just uploaded my assignment for this week which counts for 20% of my grade literally a few minutes ago. Now what is wrong with that picture? Just about everything on so many levels. It says, I waited until the last minute and while that was never the plan it is how it played out.I totally misjudged the degree of difficulty and the amount of research needed to complete the assignment.

I actually like this course on Branding and Storytelling but you could not tell by the mere fact that I was in the same place this time last week. So for all of you out there considering going back to school on-line be sure you have the time and discipline to pull this off. Yes, you can do it on your time schedule and the only problem with that is life. Life creeps up and when you know you can work on your time you will find Time starring you in the face. I have got to do better and get and A out of this class.

My family came back this evening and my granddaughter was so happy to see me it melted my heart. She is so potty trained and it's a beautiful thing because she is to smart to be in pull-ups any longer. I guess she is only one week past her second birthday and tomorrow we're going to test out the training panties.

I know I need to plan my day for tomorrow but my brain is so over tired and so are my eyes.I have been on this computer for over six hours and enough is enough. I know work is going to heat up tomorrow as my major client sent emails on today. There will be lots of motion as the other team members start scrambling and covering their butts.

Going to try to do cardio twice on tomorrow so I can step up my game as I need some quicker results. I know walking is good for me and I'm doing something but this weight has got to come off quicker than this. So I'm going to push myself a little harder on tomorrow.

Goodnight

It's Amazing What A New Bra Can Do

Day 227: Bra shopping is like going to a funeral for me. When you're very endowed like I am you already know the selection will be minimal. The whole going to the mall to be measured and praying for something that looks a little good is a confidence killer. And today was no exception from the word go.

I'm sure many women share the same experience as I watch women from all shapes and sizes with the wrong kind of bra on. When I see young girls in the wrong bra I imagine how different their self esteem could be with a small adjustment. It's really kind of hard to imagine that a bra holds so much power as to how a woman feels about herself.

I believe after my second child I started to seeing my breast getting larger and then as the weight came on so did the size of the breast. Having a mammogram when you have large breast is one of the most humiliating things a woman has to go through.I once has a technician make an unfaltering comment during my mammogram that stayed with me for years. This January I decided to slay that dragon by walking in with my head held high and posturing myself for a positive visit. In fact, the sensitivity in which every part of the visit was handled erased those past memories.

So today, I ventured out with the express intention of getting new bras because the one I owned are ready to be put to rest. But the whole thought of it was intimating as heck because of my past experiences. Believe me it did not start off good for me and I actually came back home and parked the car. All of this over a bra? Of course, you know this is so much deeper than a bra and the root lies in me not feeling good about my body as a whole.

My need to break bondage off of every area of my life required me to get back in the car and go back and purchase some bras. This story does have a happy ending. I found a wonderful woman in Dillard's who wore my exact same bra size. She knew where each bra was that was right and I could not be happier. Even though I'm losing inched and a little weight I need to step up my game and really chnage my eating habits.

Becoming the best me possible involves healing from the inside and out and facing anything that would hinder or hold me back. Are you in need of a new bra?

Successful People Don't Drift to The Top

Day 228: "It's so hard when contemplated in advance, and so easy when you do it."- Robert M. Pirsig. I'm reading the book "The Power of Focus" by Jack Canfield and two other authors and this quote was in chapter one. I read it over and over again until it's meaning became branded in my memory. So simple and yet so profound when you really ponder it's meaning.

Our habits really do determine our future and successful people have successful habits. Unsuccessful people don't- period. So what is a habit? A habit, is something you do so often it becomes easy. Simply put, it's a behavior that you keep repeating.If you are consistent a developing a new behavior it eventually becomes automatic.

For example, I challenged myself to blog everyday for the whole year. At first it was very difficult to post on time and other times my day was so crazy I didn't want to share it with anyone. Then as days turned to weeks and weeks to months it became a labor of love even if I missed posting and had to double up.

According to Canfield, if you want to distance yourself from the masses and enjoy a unique lifestyle, you must understand this-your habits will determine your future. Successful people don't drift to the top. It takes focused action, personal discipline and lots of energy everyday to make things happen.

This week I sent my daughter and granddaughter on vacation to Florida with her father. At first I had decided I was off to the Myian Riviera for three days as a last minute get away just for me. Then I thought a better use of my time would be to get focused and organized around my goals and dreams. I love my girls but it's hard for my daughter to understand that I work from a home office but I'm not just at home. Not to mention my granddaughter wants to be in my room or office 90% of the time.

I took these five days to change some negative habits that are spiraling out of control. I pushed back because my future is to bright to allow distractions that feel like I'm swatting at gnats to keep me off course. The good news is I'm having a blast getting my house in order and loving on myself.

Believe me I've not magically got it all together over the course of these few days. I'm making changes but it will take time to completely change my behavior. I have owned this behavior for a long time. Allowing my children's agenda as well as other folks to come first must be cut off at the root.

If you've drifted off your goals and dreams just make a decision to take them back and start living again. It may be hard at first to take control of your life and change your behavior for the first couple of weeks. But stay focused and give your self mental pep talks.

Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can immediately command when we focus all of our resources on mastering a single area of our lives.
Tony Robbins

After Four Years He invites Me to Dinner

Day 229: "Independence"... [is] middle-class blasphemy. We are all dependent on one another, every soul of us on earth. ~G.B. Shaw, Pygmalion, 1912

A Heart for Giving

Day 230:"When I chased after money, I never had enough. When I got my life on purpose and focused on giving of myself and everything that arrived into my life, then I was prosperous."-Wayne Dyer I realized today more than ever that God created me with a heart for giving. Not so I can boast about how much I gave or what I did for another person but because giving allows others to see the Christ within me.

The word says Christ went around doing good and healing all. Two women colleague friend's both lost their husbands recently and suddenly even with month's of each other. One only needed my worlds of encouragement while the other needed both my word's and my finances. Each lent itself to the occasion that I could let the light shine within me to give of myself.

I especially want to be a blessing to other women as we women sometimes find it hard to help each other. We sit back and judge each other and some don't want others to climb up any higher than us.I can't even begin to express how amazing it feels to see other women empowered to live their best life. Knowing you played even a small role in ushering in happiness and joy to another makes for a very humbling experience.

You can't be God's giving no matter how hard you try.

Let Your Yes Be Yes & Your No Be No

Day:231

Dancing at your blessings

Day 232: "Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request.1 Chronicles 4:10

Skyy Julia's weekend

Day 235-233 I's hard to believe it's been two years since Skyy Julia came into the world. I can remember like yesterday how devastated I was when I learn of the news that I was to be a grandmother. To say I was overwhelmed would be an understatement. I'm not sure where I mustered the strength to be supportive instead of lose my mind. The hurt and disappointment was so great I just wanted to run and never be found again.

And then my pastor told me I was blessed that my daughter had chosen to give birth to her daughter instead of abort her and I may never have known.

I don't Mind Waiting

day 236: To be contiuned

Developing A Mastermind Team

Day 237:“When one door closes another door opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not
see the ones which open for us.” -Alexander Graham Bell.

No creature can look at a closed door longer or spend time trying to revive a dead thing like a woman. Which is why I've made a personal decision in Act 2 of my life where God's promises that my latter days would be better than my former to chose my team.

Tonight I was having a conversation with one of my brother’s who I affectionally call my father’s son. We have the same father and so that makes us half-brother and sister but neither of us has ever referred to each other as such. Well, I guess if I call him my father’s son then I’m calling him my half-brother without saying it…umm. If there was ever two unlike minded people it would describe the two of us.

I explained to him how I was being very deliberate about the people with whom I invited to join my business or be part of my inner circle. Even with this declaration I informed him that I had gone against my better judgment and the voice in my knower screaming, "don't do it" and allowed him on my team. I’ve come to learn of late that you can determine where you’re going in life by looking at your cell phone and analyzing the three people you spend the most time talking with. I was blown away when I heard this and knew at that moment I needed to reorder my day. This meant accessing exactly whom I’m allowing to occupy the majority of my time and my talents. What does your top three say about where you're going?

As I noodled what my mastermind team would look like in business it became very clear that I could no longer settle for who so ever will. I have to be strategic about how I chose partners as I run the most important race of my life. I'm in a race to build a legacy for my children’s, children, children, children. I mean to stamp out poverty in my bloodline by any means necessary. This go round I refuse to dumb down who I am so other folks can fit. That goes for my personal life as well as professional. I issue a challenge to the hundreds of women who read this blog everyday to take stock of your team.

There is to much at stake for us to just hang out with the familiar and mundane and then wonder why our tomorrow keeps looking like our today. You will have the life you create for yourself and what you do today determines what will be your tomorrow carrying to much baggage from yesterday.

If you’re still looking at closed doors then make up in you mind that you want to walk towards some new open doors and start walking. If you are holding on to a dead relationship, business partner or career purpose in your heart to get a plan and move on. Life is for the living and if it’s dead that mean’s you cannot bring it back to life even if you fake it.

What does your Mastermind Team look like?

Listen To Your Body & Rest

Day 228:"Have fun in your command. Don't always run at a breakneck pace. Take leave when you've earned it, spend time with your families." -Colin Powell

I' must admit that I'm sleep deprived these past couple of days and maybe even weeks. My body has decided to shut down tonight and I have to listen because it has taken control. There is no magic number of how many hours of sleep me need each night as it varies from study to study. But I am sure it's more than 3 to 4 hours back to back. With that said, I promise to come back tomorrow refreshed and hopefully on a better schedule than the one I have been keeping.

Good night all and God bless.

You Can Have What You Speak...Really

Day 229: Ventured out today to look for a new home and was not sure if I was looking for a house again or another condo. So we just went in the direction I wanted to live which is Buckhead in Atlanta. Buckhead is full of million dollar homes and for years as I drove pass the neighborhoods on my way to the office, I decreed one of them to be mine.

Not sure why I didn't do my research on the Internet first but there was something about just driving through the many neighborhoods that set me to dreaming again. I find it so interesting how we as women don't believe we deserve the very best. We are always willing to give everyone else in our lives the best. We will even help others achieve the very best for their life but when it comes to having our desires met we tend to settle.

It was hard to actually believe the number of homes that are on the market and we only covered about a 10-mile radius from where I currently reside. We passed at least three -dozen magnificent homes in our quest to have the spirit lead us. I keep decreeing, "In all thy ways acknowledge thee and I will direct they path." I spoke the word to keep encouraging myself when in my heart of hearts I didn't believe I could have one of them.

So it got me to really thinking why the word doesn't work in most Christians lives. In my spirit I believe its because we speak the word but we don't really believe what it says. We don't really believe that the promises in the Bible belong to us in God's appointed time. Do we really believe that we can speak to our mountains and they will be removed? And because we have doubt it does not work for us. So, I set out to encourage myself this evening with the word because sometime you just have to encourage yourself.

This post is deliberately long because I trust that someone will read this that really needs to be encouraged an have their faith ignited. The lyrics of this song have blessed me and pushed my faith to new levels as I learned to put the word into the atmosphere.


"Let The Word Do the Work"
One word away! One word away!
The power of life and death is in what you say
Ooooh
One word away! One word away!
If you start confessing, you will start possessing
The key to your success is a word away!

Seek the work speak the word to life
its in the book LOOK
read the verses twice
You can posses the best of the best
And yes
If you could confess, it could be yours unless
you don’t believe’
but we got faith and we speak life
I wish that y'all could see y'all face
cause I see prosperity greatness all over you
Just speak and then God will start showing you
Your ministry is built on faith
Your talents about to be booked for 12 months straight
See -Certain levels was unreachable
But if you just speak it, who am I preaching to.
I’m not hear to rap I’m just teachn you
The word works but first you gotta speak it
to
Your life every goal is still achievable
So Believe it and receive it, release it right now!

One word away
Cause it’s only
One word away! One word away!
The power of life and death is in what you say
Ooooh
One word away! One word away!
If you start confessing, you will start possessing
The key to your success is a word away!

I speak
New homes affordable mortgages
Acres of Land Lord I want all of this
I speak
A new job that doubles my salary I believe God will make it reality
To sow seed and reap the harvest
It’s in the word I’mma bless you regardless
I speak
A new car whatever you send to me
But let the gas prices drop tremendously
Lord I speak,
That you bless me abundantly gimme the strength whenever the enemy comes for me

I will pass this test
This is God’s work at it’s best.
I-I-I I speak
Wealth in your life Health in your life
For all the pain you felt in your life
Break out let God break in
Just watch the places that God will take you
It is
One word away! One word away!
The power of life and death is in what you say
Ooooh
One word away! One word away!

If you start confessing,
you will start possessing
The key to your success is a word away!

Let the word do the work. Let the word Let the word do the work
Let the word do the work. Let the word,Let the word do the work
Let the word do the work. Let the word Let the word do the work
Let the word do the work. Let the word Let the word do the work

I speak
Healing Prayer is the answer The doctor said there’s not more cancer
I speak
Increase so you could live, set free forget how the economy is
I speak
Your family members locked in jail new trial second chance my God don’t fail
I speak
Blessing purchase possession, by faith just make your professions

If you start confessing you will start possessing
If you start confessing you will start possessing
If you start confessing you will start possessing
If you start confessing you will start possessing
If you start confessing you will start possessing
If you start confessing you will start possessing
The key to your success is a word away.

Making Some Changes to the Blog

Day 232-230:If you follow me everyday you know I had a root canal done a few day's ago. It has been a butt kicker and caused me pain even up until today. But I 'm happy to report the antibiotic is working to rid me of the infection and the face swelling is going down as well. Hopefully all the swelling subside by the morning and my face will be back to normal. So please forgive me for not blogging these past three day's but I simply was not feeling up to par.

Today is July 4th,it's Independence Day 2010 in America and marks 135 days of blogging for me. I've decided to change the direction of the blog to line up with my purpose and passion to speak to the hearts of women. So, instead of the post being just about what's going on in my day to day it will focus on messages and topics that speak to the heart of women.

We're working on a new look and design along with a national call for women. We will be sharing all kinds of business, relationship and spiritual nuggets designed to enhance and empower.

The good that came out of having this dental procedure is it forced me to get some rest and allowed for time of reflection and creativity. I'm so very excited about the great downloads the Lord has given me thee past few days.

Today, Bishop Long ministered from Proverbs 3:9-10 and talked about when God gives you wisdom to accomplish your purpose or goals don't then ignore God.

In other words, don't then start to ignore God when He allows life to go your way and and starts giving you what you have been praying and believing for. . As well, while God is schooling us we need to learn patience. As you walk out you destiny and go through the process it's extremely important to be patient. When god asked Solomon what he wanted he asked for wisdom and because that is what he asked for God made him the most wealthiest man to ever live.

Insight + Ability= Income

It's Never To Late To Start

Day 233: "We have two lives - the one we learn with and the life we live after that." ~Bernard Malamud, The Natural

Stay Thirsty and Stay Hungry

Day 234: "Connect the dots looking backwards." Steve Jobs

I'm Writing My Own Story

Day 235: "So go ahead. Fall down. The world looks different from the ground."-
Oprah Winfrey

Changing my Address

Day 236: "Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can't ride you unless your back is bent."- Martin Luther King Jr.

Riding on the Fresh Winds Of Change

DAY 237: Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us. Ephesians 3:20. I love this scripture, and today it was elevated as I reflected on just how good of a day it really was.

Most times when this verse is spoken the last part about which states " according to the power that works in us" is left off. The sooner that we realize that God has already given us everything we need to live out our destiny the sooner we will be able to do just that. But it does say that He is able, and He is able means it's His good pleasure to do so. I love this verse so very much because I have the assurance that He is ABLE.

I hosted my first Private Business reception for my Zamzuu business at my friend Dwight Eubanks home this evening and it was a huge success. I was pleased with the diversity professionals that attended and certainly those three new business partners. My team is really growing and I know the one that got started today are going to work it and keep me busy.

Well another class under the belt and I did survive with only 10 more to go. It's almost midnight and I want to get an early start so I'm going to call in a night. I so know that God is doing a new thing. There is a shift going on and I can feel it and almost taste it.

Lord I give you thank for all things that you have done.

That Time Has Passed

Day 238:"I always tell my kids if you lay down, people will step over you. But if you keep scrambling, if you keep going, someone will always, always give you a hand. Always. But you gotta keep dancing, you gotta keep your feet moving."- Morgan Freeman. Tonight I was engaged in conversation with an old friend regarding an old friend. I expressed my concerns that our mutual friend was not happy and appears to be just sad.

As she began to give me a clear understanding of the real world circumstances that brought our friend to where they are to day it became clearer. We went through the what ifs and could have, would have , should have. I expressed my desire to just be our friend's friend because I believe they truly are in need of just that. And then she set off sparks with," Rita that time has passed."

I almost jumped out of my skin. I was so very relived that I didn't have to go down the path I thought i did because I wanted to keep the memories in tack. Yet, that time has passed and I we can't go back and changes thing. In fact, our friend isn't even my assignment. So there goes Rita getting in her own way...again, I say again. When will we women get it through our heads that everyone isn't assigned to us and that's okay. We do not have to fix everything and everybody. Nor do they want us too.

Enough about that..

Finding Your Tipping Point

Day 239: “To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best day and night to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle any human being can fight; and never stop fighting”
- E.E. Cummings

Everything pushed me over the edge today. Being bogged down writing a Literature Review paper is absolutely crazy for me right now. I want to focus on my business and this just seems to have me way off course. I really did think at this stage in my life that graduate school would be a little easier but it's not. And so now my posture is I only have 9 more months left.

I have this huge passion now where I just want to focus on my business...so many moving parts. This is a life lesson for me and for any one reading this. Please stop, pray and then wait for and answer when making decisions that so affect your future. I'm sure I will look back on this time when I'm crossed the finish line and I'm celebrating and be very glad that I did this. However, I do know with all my heart that if I could have do over I would not be doing this. Better decisions Rita.

Well enough self pity for tonight. I have midnight prayer at the church as we have been on a 30 day prayer focus and fast. (have not fasted on day this month) I'm so out of sink with what is happening at my church as I have been on the road. But, I do know that I need to be in the house of prayer tonight among the congregation. Thank you Lord for grace and mercy....I've needed a big dose this month.

What I realize more than anything is that I have this burning desire to walk in my destiny. I want to work on my magazine, talk show and women's conference. I've got distracted along the way with life and stuff I added to life. Yet, today I reached a very pivotal tipping point I know exactly what I want! That my friend's is so refreshing and powerful. I'm a finisher so I will forge ahead.

Going to lay it all down at the altar tonight and not pick it back up again.

Let's Hear It For New York

Day 240: The first time I heard Jay-Z and Alicia Keys perform the Empire State of Mind I was hooked on that song. It brought back all the warm and fuzzy feelings that I hold dear to my heart about New York. As soon as I get in the yellow cab at the airport the energy of the city begins to draw me.

This all came back to me tonight as I co hosted a call with New York plugged in from all five Burroughs.

I've Got Two Advocates

Day 243-241: I resolve to live my life to the fullest each day and to the best of my ability. I have but one life to live and I chose to live it laughing and running towards the wind. I especially love the winds of change. It is a reminder to me that God said, "I will do a new things shall you not know it, I will make rain in the wilderness." I love change for it is the only constant in life. And the fact that I get that makes me smile and it keeps me youthful and open to all kinds of possibilities.

I take the limits off of God and I'm letting Him lead and guide me like never before. He's downloading creative ideas and strategic business strategies to me and today it was hard to keep up. I like knowing when I step up to the call on my life that I have two Advocate working on my behalf. On earth, The Holy Spirit pleads our cause. The things we can not say right, He says for us; the things we do not understand, He interprets for us. In heaven, Jesus is our Advocate with the Father; He pleads our cause. Just think, we have the two greatest Advocates in the universe. With two Advocates or Attorneys, how could we ever lose a case?

I didn't blog for the last two days because I came back from the beach with a head cold that tried to shut me down. As I lay in bed last night with body aches I wondered if this attack on my body was for the prayers and scriptures that went forth for Vicki. Or maybe it was just the combination of swimming and the very hot air. No matter for I was determined to get under the covers, rest and beat it right out of my body. Tonight there is very little evidence that I felt yucky from head to toe.

I've not worked out in three days so tomorrow I have to hit the tracks and get back on game. Tomorrow night my mentor Donald Bradley and I start our "Straight Talk Live-New York" call and that's pretty exciting. Then on July 5th, I'm launching a national call for women and we're noodling a name for it...more to come.

I have a Private Business reception on Sunday and I'm expecting to sign up at least 7 new business partners to reach my goal of 10 this month. I know the month is only 7 days away. But I believe it's not over til its over. For I can do "all things through Christ who strengthens me , the hope of glory."

After all, I have two Advocates working on my behalf.

Waiting Behind the Veil

Day 244: Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal. ~From a headstone in Ireland In memory of the beautiful women that I'd only had the pleasure to know for a very short time. But she and her husband touched my heart in a very special way.

Salute Vicki O'Neal, there are so many wonderful people waiting to greet you behind the veil. I will see you again in paradise.

Leaving shortly for home and this has been an amazing three day's for me and wonderful memories have been made and stored for a lifetime. I feel brand new.....

Today is Your Tomorrow

Day 245: The day was filled with a wide range of emotions as the day was eventful from the time my feet hit the floor. I prayed with my brother Dane as he went to his baby mama's house to try to bring his daughter home with him. I prayed with my friend Noy as she wept because tomorrow is Father's Day and she lost her day in December.

The I called one of my Zamzuu business partners to tell him I was sending him healing Scriptures he should pray over his wife Vickie as she lay clinging to life after 3 aneurysms. An aneurysm is a bulge or "ballooning" in the wall of an artery. I felt anxious for her as I texted him each scripture. I could only hope that Sid would be bold and put God's word into the atmosphere. I could barley get the scriptures sent to him quick enough as I felt so strongly in my spirit that he needed to speak them over her.

I felt so blessed that I was able to pray with three dear people to day and humbled that God was using me to do so. I felt empowered that I was walking in my calling and doing ministry outside the walls of the church. I felt God presence so strongly and I was happy that I had gone to be studying the word and woke up on my knees. The word says, we should have a word in season. And the only way for that to happen is to study to show yourself approved.

I swam today and that is something I have not done in year's. It was a little scary at first until I got my grove back and then I didn't want to get out of the water. These three day's are a mirror of what my life is going to look like from this day forward. Today, I'm in someone's second home and one day that will be my reality as well.

Just as I was coming in from the beach the phone rang and I saw it was from one of my other business partners in Zamzuu and my heart started racing. She said, " Rita I'm so sorry to have to call to tell you this," and I went weak.. Vicki O'Neal had just lost her life and succumb to a premature death. She tried to assure me that all the scriptures I'd sent to Sid were sure to have ministered to him.

Vickie lost her life because she let the stress of life and assisting grown children and all of their mess overtake her. That's why I called it a premature death. What we do today will determine what our tomorrow will look like. If we allow life to over take us instead of us taking control of it we will find ourselves coming up short in our health and eventually our life.

My heart is broken for Sid O'Neal as this is his second wife to pass over before him. He and Vickie appeared to really love each other and she smiled like a school girl when she told the story of how they met. They had just vacationed together and he simply adored her. I had the pleasure of visiting heir home on two occasion and they were so excited to have me present to their guest for them. When I would see them at some of our weekly meetings they would make sure their team got a chance to speak with me. They made me feel very special each time I was in their presence.

I trust the scriptures I sent Sid ministered to his soul and now to his broken heart. I now need them to minster to my broken heart.

Santa Rosa Beach

Day 246: All I can say is WOW! This place is fabulous and I have such a wonderful peace just being near the water. Everyone we've met thus far has been extremely nice and it even feels like I'm part of the neighborhood.

We're visiting the second home of one of my business partners in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. It would be amazing if it were my first home but to think its someones second home just got my baby leaping. As I walked around taking in each room being more splendid than the other it got me day dreaming. Which I have been doing since Wednesday morning.

I just love that God is the God of impossibilities. I keep telling myself if I can think of this how much more does God have planned for me. I plan to read the "Alchemist" and "Outliers" on the beach tomorrow. And I plan to use every minute of my time here loving on myself and drawing closer to the Father.

This me time is something I've been needing for quite awhile now.When I started this blog I promised to fall in love with myself. This weekend represents a very basic step towards doing just that thing.

Please Remind Me Why I'm In Grad School?

Day 247: Make me want to holler who dropped you on your head as a baby Rita Owens. Oh my goodness, grad school is so darn hard, hard. One day I think I'm as smart as I cant be. Then you turn around and have a day like I had in Second Life and you just ask your self why.I don't need another degree as I already have two

Tonight here I was in Second Life which is a virtual environment where people go to play and even live out heir fantasies with about 40 other classmates. Why am I on a team where none of us know anything about the virtual environment? While I was tripping at some of the younger kids profiles i.e. gamers. You can believe me when I say I so wish one of them had landed on my team. Just goes to shows you when you start to judge people by what's important to you. I'm sure no one else has ever pre judged someone based on who we want them to be?

My avatar Twinkle Darmoset had the body of the girl next door pink polka dot dress and all. I was by far the wackiest person at the professor virtual house tonight. Even the professor's avatar was a sexy hot red head and that is defiantly and alter ego thing going on.

I'm going to the beach tomorrow still having to do homework all weekend. I just want to let everyone know that timing is everything. And the timing for me to be in graduate school could not have been worse. I really want to quit school but that is not the option on the table for me. I'm not a quitter but I sure feel like kissing this idea good bye, sirrah nara, see you. But atlas, I have to lick my wounds, get back up and start where I left off.

That's the good thing about God. Even when we are messing up He looks at our hearts and allows us to get back up again. Ah, grace!

Playing around in Second Life

Day 248:

In the Locker Room

Day 249: "Looking back, you realize that everything would have explained itself if you had only stopped interrupting." ~Robert Brault

Tonight the LA Laker's and the Boston Celtic's are playing Game 6 of the NBA playoffs tonight. But, I 'm so blessed that I'm in the Locker room with my millionaire mentor having real talk on how to be a championship leader.

Renewing my Mind

250-251: This post is a culmination of my weekend in Detroit and coming home on today. The weekend truly revealed that yet another door to my past was opened and closed. Even coming home today I wasn't able to sync my time with a cousin who I'm not seen in about 25 years until this past October. He took it as a negative that I was not able to meet up with him when his schedule changed. I took it as another door from my past was closing back and being sealed.

I refuse to own other folks stuff anymore in this Second ACT of my life and as well I refuse to dumb myself down so you fit. So this will serve as notice to all those folks who should have never been allowed into my life and who certainly don't belong now. I will no longer move out of my place in being who I am so you can be a part of my life or I can be a part of yours. If it don't fit...keep it moving period.

Even when people are part of your family it does not mean they are suppose to be actively in your life. We don't get to choose our family but we do get to chose our friends. My, my that will preach! And I chose to decide even if you're part of my extended family if you fit in my world. If you don't let's not make it personal but keep moving forward and nurturing and loving on those relationships that do belong to you.

This weekend gave me such new perspective on life and I was able to have transparent and open conversations with self. Self said, "renew your mind and walk in the fullness of everything that God has purposed for your life." Self said, "don't ever look back."

I love me and I love how I'm evolving. I can't wait to see the finished product. Tried by the fire and coming out Pure Gold. My life is totally surrendered unto God so that He can make me over until I please Him. Not man, only Him.

Is this the Life You Were Meant to Have

Day 252-251: "I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see."-John Burroughs This post encompasses Friday and Saturday blogs as my The time Live Reunion didn't allow me to post last night.

Stop Passing the Ball

Day 253: Okay, so enough sitting and watching presentations to my friend’s and colleagues that are just plain unprofessional. I keep hearing my new mentor say” you’re Rita Owens and why are you under the net but passing the ball.”

Over the past couple of weeks a passion has ignited in me for my Zamzuu business. My light bulb so to speak finally came on and I know this business is something that I’m going to be very successful and happy doing so.

Having spent most of my life in corporate America has given me unmeasurable experience in how to present myself and whatever I'm marketing in a professional manner. This really is not about other people but more so about me. I've chosen to become involved with a business model that allows people from all walks of life to become successful in their own right.

People who become successful in the network marketing businesses come in every shape. form and fashion. Many who rise to the top have been average and ordinary all their lives until that found a product they believed in that would ultimately change their lives. And they will be able to attract others who are just like them as their followers.

So the moral of the story is their is someone for everybody...really. The measure of a leader is if someone is following you. However, it does not mean that I have to or will follow you. I'm seeing the Second Act of my life out of very crystal clear glasses and everything I run into something that does not line up with what I want for my life..see ya.

Kicking butt and taking no names.

Easing into Running

Day 256 Today I was so excited about what the day would bring I got an early start on my exercises routine. I'm trying to build momentum and walking instead of the gym and wights is certainty the slower process. Some little bird inside kept telling me to run/walk/run/walk as much as I could. I mean I've never worked out on the track as hard as today.

Well by four o'clock my lower back telling me just how much it did not appreciate me overdoing it this morning. I couldn't even take my granddaughter to the park this evening for our walk and then give her time at the playground.

I hurt in any position I try to assemble myself and I'm giving in to a muscle relaxer and some rest. The morale of the story is give yourself some time work up to a more aggressive routine especially if you're over 40 years of age. I have nothing to prove but I was trying to prove something to me. I will take this as a minor set back for tonight and give my body and mind time to rejuvenate.

My business mentor called tonight and wanted to talk strategies for the ne to hear me sweat. A lot is riding on me looking the part for my business and I have to keep pushing myself back to a healthy place not just for physical appearance but as a testimony as well.

See you tomoorrow

Leading From the Front

Day 257:

Success takses on so many diffreent forms

Day 258:

Women Friends

Day 259:

Mindmapping to Destiny

Day 260: If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours." -Henry David Thoreau

My team and I sat and mapped out our dreams tonight and it was the most exhilarating three hours I've had in a long time. The wonderful thing that came out of it all was our interdependence on each other. All three of us realized we need each other to make our individual and collective dreams come true.

Treasure in my own backyard

Day 261: "Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have - life itself.-Walter Anderson

Back in 1973 James Shepherd suffered injuries that would keep him in a hospital in Brazil for five weeks. His injuries were like threatening and only by the grace of God and three physicians He worked through is he alive today. That was 37 years ago and because there was no place in Georgia to treat his type of injuries his family built the Sheppard Center. The Sheppard Center specializes in spinal cord injuries and rehabilitation.

I took a tour conducted by Alana Shepherd who by the way turned 80 years young today and it was nothing short of amazing. It was so evident this has been her life's work as she maneuvered us thorough almost every aspect of what they do. The patients were courageous and each one was fighting through all kinds of intensive therapy to get back some semblance of what they lost.

I thought I was well versed in the kind of facility the Shepherd Center was before I was invited to this intensive tour. Only to find out that I knew nothing in comparison to what I experienced today. I went thinking this tour was going to be heart wrenching and sad. Yet, it was full of people pushing themselves to the limit with support from family to stay in the game of life. It was doctors, therapist, nurses and volunteers spending hours upon hours committed to making a difference in the life of those who have come to depend upon and trust them.

We were allowed to watch as a young man was being taught how to cook a meal in a simulated kitchen with all the gadget's that would make it possible for him to be independent. All the things that I take for granted everyday flashed before my eyes. We heard the story of a couple from Nashville who were sitting at a red light after an evening stroll on a scooter. They were just sitting at the light as a car plowed into them killing her and making him a quadriplegic. Just sitting there waiting for the light to change. How courageous is he get up everyday and go through eight hours of intensive therapy. He has given up on life but has decided to try with all his might to get some of what he had back no matter how small.

My feet hurt from the hour and fifty minute tour in my cutiest heels...didn't know it was going to be that long. Even as I teased about needing a leg rub I felt small. How blessed was I to have been on this tour and to have experienced the treasure of the Sheppard Center sitting in my own backyard. I will forever be grateful to my friend Carl Nelson and to Dana Shepherd for sharing this with me. And I am forever a committed donor to the cause.

A heartfelt salute to Harold and Alana Shepherd for your sacrifice and your labor of love. Just imagine God trusted you two with this assignment.
To learn more about the Shepherd Center log on to www.shepherd.org and please feel free to donate.

Asking for What You Really Want

Day 262: "Understand that you, yourself, are no more than the composite picture of all your thoughts and actions. In your relationships with others, remember the basic and critically important rule: "If you want to be loved, be lovable. If you want respect, set a respectable example!" -Denis Waitley

This day has been filled with wonderful and I mean wonderful favor. When you have favor with God He will give you favor with men. I'd heard this quote used before and as I searched for one that would line up with my spirit this one stood out.

During a business negation today I heard myself getting ready to lowball my bid. Why, you may ask and the answer is that I thought the client would not think I deserved what I wanted. Where do we as women get this kind of thinking? Why don’t we think we deserve to be fairly compensated for our work?

The truth is you never get what you deserve in business you get what you negotiate. Ask for what you want....period!

We are at War abroad and at Home

Day 263: Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind."
John F. Kennedy

I give pause to remember all of the men. women and children that have died in our war's. I also gave pause to think about the active war's that our men and women are currently fighting. I pray they can all get home safety and back to their families and friends that love them. I pray that America will not forget to remember these men and women in their prayers everyday until they come home.

(Composed by Francis Scott Key, "In Defense of Fort McHenry" in September 1814. Congress proclaimed it the U.S. National Anthem in 1931 -- history follows.)

Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?

Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream:
Tis the star-spangled banner: O, long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Flag draped from the roof of the Pentagon

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause. it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Things don't always go the way you planned

Day 264: "Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are. ~Malcolm S. Forbes Sometimes things don't go the way you planned and we have a high propensity to just give up.

I can't begin to tell you how many times I have attempted something or thought I was headed down the right path only to hit a dead end. Some of the time I have been stunned and moved on and other times I got stuck. Getting stuck can be crippling and the longer you stay down the easier it is for the world to count you out.

I spent twelve of the thirteen year's I was married in Lakeland Florida and I thank God that I worked in New York 10 out of the those twelve months. While I was getting on a plan and being exposed to all things New York my then husband was sitting in Lakeland Florida his home town living out his paradise.

When I finally got him to come to New York for a long weekend all my vendor friends laid out the red carpet for us. It only served to intimidate him and he found fault with every moment. I didn't realize it then but he was stuck in fear of anything outside of his small town experience. The thought that there were people in my life that could put us up at the Ritz Carlton and then take us to their weekend home in the Hamptons played out in jealousy.


I could say my marriage didn't go as I had planned it. But they would not be true because I didn't have a plan when I married. Neither did my husband understand that the man is the head and not the tail. He only understood that he was a man and he was suppose to be in control of his home. But the problem was he did not understand what it meant to lead his family only how to control them with his fears. Our marriage didn't work out for many reasons but it certainly didn't end the way either thought it would.

I've been divorced for as long as I was married so it basically could be called a wash. It was a decision that I made and I repented to God and have never looked back. I stayed stuck in the relationship until I was sure I had exhausted every bit of me to make it work. The truth is it didn't work out because it was never ordained by God. This post really isn't about my failed marriage but more about how I pursue my future.

How many times do we venture off in directions and take on things that were never planned for our life? All weekend I've watched people taking risk and stepping out on faith and living out there dreams. If you don't have a vision for where you want your life to go then life will just go. You'll wake up one day without the hope you started out with.

Last week's "Coffee Shop" call by one of my business partners Demond Crump propelled me into a renewed mindset about my business. He talk about he Shane Mosley/Floyd Mayweather fight. He went on to exposed how he never liked Mayweather because of his perceived arrogance. But Mayweather gained his respect because he went the diastase even when it looked like the fight was over and Mosley had it in the bag. His point was, " you've got to get out of the locker room" and into the fight. Without faith its impossible to please God. I keep saying "faith is an action word." You cannot win the fight if you're in the locker room and not in the ring.

It's important to remember this that just because it work out the way you wanted it will go the way God ordained.

Habakkuk 2

1 I will climb up to my watchtower
and stand at my guardpost.
There I will wait to see what the Lord says
and how he[a] will answer my complaint.

The Lord’s Second Reply ( you need to stop watching and get to work)
2 Then the Lord said to me,
“Write my answer plainly on tablets,
so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.
3 This vision is for a future time.
It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled.
If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently,
for it will surely take place.
It will not be delayed.