It's #writerwednesday and I'm sharing a scene from the final novel in The House of BeJeweled series, BeJeweled: Standing Strong. Our hearts often desire something more, but it's not always in our best interest. What does a woman do when the man she loves want more than she can give? Read on...

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I believe people enter our life for a reason, and we are to learn from them. Even if it appears that they have little to offer and to pour into your life, don't take them for granted and be quick to judge. The one person who seems to have little to offer, may be the one you learn the most from. If you look closely, pay attention, and respect them, it allows your heart to be open to learn from that person.

Sometimes, we take our friends for granted and do not honor their place in our lives. Take time to nurture the friendships that are in your life today. Every encounter and interaction you have with your friends are to be treated as building blocks. Take away nuggets of information, hope, and love that they offer and build on them to strengthen the relationship, and yourself as an individual. Use opportunities that come your way to build, encourage, and strengthen the other person, as well.

Alternatively, pour into the other person the best you have to offer them. Don't let the friendship be one-sided where you're taking and taking, and not giving anything back. Ensure there is reciprocity in the relationship, where you're both giving and no one is coming up short, or doing more than the relationship calls for. Balance is the greatest thing you both can bring to the friendship, and never take one another for granted.

As the quote indicates, no friendship occurs by accident. It was always predestined and there is a specific purpose for every friendship in your life. Nurture and foster the relationship, and allow it to flourish into the beautiful creation it was designed to be.

It's another Fab Friday and today we're checking out M.C. Walker's novel, One More Thing. This sassy, sweet romance definitely has it's share of drama the way we love. Don't miss your chance to check it out...

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#Writerwednesday is upon us again, and as I write this post it occurred to me that more often than not the women characters I write about are often plagued by some great circumstance that seems to have come about by their own hand. Many people are plagued with issues that life brings about, yet, more often than not my characters create their issues.

Most are on the road to self-destruction, while some err on the path of self-discovery. Whatever their issue may be, they all find deep within the power to get off the pity party boat, and began to carve out their destiny and take the course of their lives back into their own hands.

This past Sunday my pastor stated that "Pain is part of the process." That's true in life, and it's true in my books. To get to the healing and the growing and the restoration, you have to go through the pain. That's the only way you'll appreciate the greatness He has placed within you, is when you've gone through the test. Today's character, Naomi, is definitely going through her own test. Read on...

Convincing Sasha to give her father half a chance was not easy. She wanted no parts of it and let me know she felt betrayed by the fact that I was even speaking to Jaime, let alone wanting her to spend time with him.

“Maybe you fell for his story, Mom, but I didn’t!”

“Sasha Kennedy Blankenship, get back down these stairs, now!” I was standing at the island chopping vegetables for the grilled steak burritos I was making for our dinner. My tempestuous daughter had stomped up the stairs at our latest disagreement about her at least calling her father. This had been going on for almost two weeks now. I was getting worn down and ready to give up. Jaime had called again this morning asking if I had made any progress. It took everything in me not to get angry with him.

Here I was picking up the pieces once again where he had failed his daughter. It seemed as if I had been doing that ever since the day he walked out. I was tired, but I had to know that I had given it my all before I gave up.

She marched back down the steps with her arms crossed over her chest and her lips poked out.

“You know, you look like you did when you were four and I told you that you couldn’t wear your tutu and ballerina slippers to school.”

Sasha didn’t so much as crack a smile. I blew out a breath and set my knife down. I walked to the sink and washed my hands, dried them on a paper towel, and walked over to where my daughter stood. I pulled her into my arms.

“What are you scared of, baby? All these years you wished you had gotten to know him. All these years you visualized him in your head, and now that he’s here, you won’t give him half a chance. Are you worried that he’s going to take you from me?”

Sasha shook her head no, not saying a word. I felt her shoulders shake and knew that she was crying.

“Then, baby, what are you afraid of?”

She still refused to say a word, and then it began to dawn on me. I don’t know how I didn’t see it before. Sasha was so much like her father in so many ways. I had told her that throughout the years, and in her head, she had made him up to be fabulous and convinced herself he had died. Now it had to be a blow to her knowing he was alive and not as fabulous as she first thought. I realized my daughter was projecting Jaime’s failings onto herself, and it was impacting how she felt about herself. She was worried that getting to know him would reveal all of his flaws. And if they were revealed, she would be disappointed. That was scary to her, because to her, she was him.

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Being great and being successful starts within. When you stop looking all around you at what other people are doing and what they have, and when you stop making excuses for why you can't achieve something, then you're on your way to great!

Oftentimes people get in their own way, because they're too busy comparing themselves to others. That's the first step to setting yourself up for failure. We were individually created to be unique, designed in such a way that we could never replicate what another person is doing or is becoming in the same exact way. Their flaws, failings, imperfections, successes, victories, and wins are their own. Enjoy your own personal journey to greatness.

Tapping deep within you can discover what your gifts are and where your challenge areas lie. Embrace who you are, and love yourself for the good and the bad. Find ways to enhance your strengths and gifts, and diminish your weaknesses. That's when you take the limits off and discover just how great you are within. The more you focus on your attributes, the greater your strengths will become. The greater your strength becomes, then you began to realize just how great you are.

Read Angelia's newest release by clicking the link below...

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It's a #writerwednesday and the first one since January!!! I don't know about you, but I've missed these days. I have been blessed to release two books this year. The first one was the final book in The House of BeJeweled series, BeJeweled: Standing Strong, and the next was the first book in a duology, A Woman's Design: Afflictions. 

My plan is to release at least two more this year, one of which will be a romance book, a first for me. If you haven't had a chance to read A Woman's Design: Afflictions, yet, here's an opportunity to check it out. Read on...

 
I threw off my old flannel robe over the jeans and t-shirt I wore underneath and tossed it on my bed. I grabbed my slides from underneath my bed, my keys from my dresser, and my purse, and ran down the stairs.

​I set the alarm on our home and jumped into my Camry. Easing out of the driveway, I took a left, heading towards the highway, which I believed my husband would have taken. After about five minutes, I quickly caught up with him and had to slow down so he wouldn’t spot me. We drove onto the highway and traveled for almost half an hour until we reached downtown. I kept a safe distance, knowing he hadn’t spotted me. He was on his cell phone for the entire ride, and it was dark outside.

Eric eased into the parking lot of Candy Stripes. It was the wildest known strip club in the city. Men were already pouring out of their cars into the red brick building. I drove slowly past and turned around down the street in a dark alleyway. I was a little scared, because it wasn’t the best neighborhood. I drove past again, and this time saw my brothers-in-law, Stephen and Marc, getting out of Stephen’s car. They headed inside the club next. I looked at the marquee over the club and noticed the special headliner of the night was a dancer named Taffy. Really? How trifling this all was. I pulled into a parking space across the street and set up for a stakeout.

I sat with my music turned down low and continued to watch the club. A loud rattling scared the heck out of me and caused me to jump and bump my head on the steering wheel. I wiped my hand down the side of my face and realized I had been asleep, and slob was coming out of my mouth. I was disgusted and grabbed a wipe from the open console between the two front seats and cleaned my face off. Then I looked up, and to my horror, saw that it was a police officer.

Rolling my car window down, I looked up at him with a smile on my face. “Yes, officer?”

“License and registration, please.”

“Did I do something wrong?” I asked, fearing I had broken some law I was ignorant of.

He continued to stare at me, and filled with trepidation, I reached into the glove compartment and pulled out my registration and insurance card. Next, I reached into my purse and grabbed my license. Handing it over to him, I stole a peek around him and looked into the parking lot. The lot was still full of cars, and Eric and his brothers hadn’t left yet.

Taking a quick look at the clock, I realized I had been dozing for almost an hour. It was a few minutes after midnight.

“I’ll be back in just a moment. Do not get out of the car, Ms. Caldwell,” he stated, after looking at my license. After straightening up his big, bulky frame, he strode back to his car, and I watched him in the rear view mirror. He was gone for what seemed like fifteen minutes before he returned. Throughout that time, I prayed that Eric wouldn’t come out of the club. I could still see his car parked in the lot as well as his brother’s.

Finally, the officer strode back to my vehicle and handed my paperwork back to me. “Why are you parked outside of this club, Ms. Caldwell?”

“I was…I was…doing some light surveillance work,” I stated. There wasn’t any law against that, was there?

“Who are you doing surveillance work on and for?” he asked, with a confused look on his face.

“Well, um, I, well, see…today my husband told me that he was going out with his brothers. And they were at my house, too. They all said they were coming down here. But then I thought maybe my husband wasn’t, because he said the same thing a few years ago. But then I learned that he was having an affair. So, when he started acting strange again lately, I began to think maybe he wasn’t coming down here. So, I decided to—”

The officer held his hand up, stemming my flow of words. “Ma’am, that’s enough. I really don’t need to hear anymore.” He no longer held a stern expression on his face, but a slight smirk, which also lit up his dark brown eyes. He chuckled just a little before continuing his statement, “Mrs. Caldwell, trust me, you aren’t the first one to do this. But as I tell the others, you can’t park out here.

There’s a clear no parking sign there,” he said, pointing to a sign just ahead of my car. “You can park on the side street over there,” he said, gesturing with his hand. “But this is a really dangerous neighborhood. And just like I tell the dancers, you shouldn’t be out in this area without an escort,” he explained, lifting his eyebrows at me. “I won’t give you a ticket this time, just a warning. Why don’t you head on home, Mrs. Caldwell?” the officer suggested. “I’m sure your husband will be home soon enough.”

I felt like a chastised child, but I caught the hint and thanked him for the warning. I started up my car and planned to go to the side street he had pointed out. But he followed me as I went around the block and rather than doing a loop, I hopped back onto the highway and headed home. 

Time after time again you will have failings. Time after time again you will have success. Time after time again you will have letdowns and disappointments, but don't give up and don't give in. There are certain things in this life that we are sure of. Some of those come in the forms of gifts that have been placed upon our lives. Yet, when we don't see the road that we're attempting to take as clearly as we did when we first began the journey, we have the inclination to get discouraged.

Trials and challenges will come, but that's to strengthen your skill, desire, your fight, and your passion. No matter the obstacles, don't allow life, or society, or your many failings to convince you that you're not meant to do what you think you are. When you began to question yourself, it sets you up for another failing, and another opportunity for the enemy to creep in and steal your joy and your dreams.

The Word of God clearly says the enemy has come to steal, to kill, and to destroy. He does that through our hopes, dreams, aspirations, and anointing, but more often than not it's our thought life that gives him a foothold in the first place. If we trust that the Lord comes that we might have life and have it more abundantly, as it says in His Word, then we will be too busy pursuing our passion and we won't have a chance to give the enemy room to creep in.

Be about your business, which is that dream or goal He has set before you. Know who you are and what your purpose is on Earth, that way no one can come in and persuade you differently. When you believe in yourself, no one can stop you from aspiring to the endless possibilities that lie before you. Don't let fear set in and keep you from pursuing your passion. When that burning fire sets in that urges you to spend more time doing that thing that you're passionate about, or causes you to light up within...that's your ultimate purpose. Go after it, light that fire, and let it burn baby!

It's been another Motivational Monday Moment. Leave me a comment to let me know your thoughts...

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It is greater to celebrate the successes of others, rather than to wallow in a pit of self-pity and despair. I believe when we recognize and celebrate the wins and accomplishments of others, two things occur. The first is that it inspires the other person to continue to move forward in giving their best, and it brings joy to our own hearts and minds.

The second I believe is that when we open our mouths to recognize and celebrate others, the heavens above hear. I believe the promise that God has already set forth in our own lives, must come into alignment with our rejoicing and stir up the atmosphere for great things to come our way.

It is not an easy feat to stare adversity and challenge in the face, kick that door down, and move on towards victory. Yet, when someone can accomplish that, it deserves to be recognized.

I would love to hear from you on something (whether past or present) you have accomplished that required you to overcome challenges. Drop me a comment in the comments section...

It's been another Motivational Monday Moment.

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