 There were many graduations celebrated this weekend, tearful and joyful goodbyes, as the school year came to an end, and many face the fact they won't see some faces again, while others know they'll meet up again next school year. Today is the unofficial start of summer, as families plan vacations, reunions, cookouts, and fun activities for the families to engage in. I pause to reflect on Memorial Day holidays when I grew up. My mother would buy new outfits for my brothers and I, and she and my father would pack us up and head to Piedmont Park, Grant Park, or Stone Mountain. We would anxiously await our cousins' arrival, as we planned what our first activity would be. Now that my husband and I have children of our own, we create new and beautiful memories with our own family. Just like other families, we're planning what our summer season will look like, as well. In many ways some things remain the same as they did in childhood. We run to the grocery store picking up last minute items for our cookout, we look forward to connecting with friends and families, and we search for places to enjoy the fireworks displays. The greatest difference in Memorial Days then versus now, is that my thoughts often venture towards our service men and women. Why? My aunt and uncle are both retired military and I also have a nephew who served in the military. When I was younger both my aunt and uncle served in the military, and at that time it meant nothing more than that I just missed them a lot. I now understand that they were making extreme sacrifices to defend and protect what we oftentimes take for granted. Our Freedom. They were willing to risk their lives, be away from their children, experience and witness events they would not wish on their worst enemy, all so that we can enjoy what we believe is a basic right. So many men and women each day in the states and abroad, are taking a risk that we cannot begin to imagine, just so that we can have our freedom. This day and every day I salute them. Enjoy your cookouts, your fireworks, your family, and your friends. Yet, don't forget to stop and remember those who have and are currently serving to protect this country. Keep them and their families lifted in prayer, and love freely with an open heart. Thanks for joining me for another Motivational Monday Moment! Happy Memorial Day! Please leave a comment below. I'd love to hear from you! To join this blog simply click "Follow This Blog," "Subscribe," or "Email" links in the upper right corner. For exclusive content, contests, cover reveals, and more join my newsletter. 
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 About The Book... Every Place isn’t your typical book about entrepreneurship. It is Philonda’s beautiful and intimate testimony of how she overcame fear, developed a deeper relationship with God, uncovered her Master Purpose and transformed as a leader in her business. Every Place provides an exciting roadmap for Christian entrepreneurs who desire to design, build and launch their business God’s Way. Using the Biblical character Joshua’s legacy as a leader, readers will learn the essential tools and strategies required to experience breakthroughs and success in your Christ-centered business. Philonda pushes Christian entrepreneurs to be audacious and to S.L.A.Y. in their business: Seek God, Love God, Act for God and Yield Fruit for God. This book was written in honor of every brave entrepreneur that has struggled to find their Divine purpose and launch a business in alignment with their dreams. This book was written for you.  Write Now Literary is pleased to announce Every Place by Philonda Johnson, Virtual Book Tour May 15-26, 2017. Genre: Christian, Business Book Release: March 31, 2017 About the Author Excerpt... You made it---you finally made it! You are the guest of honor at the fabulous bash thrown to celebrate the audacious decision you’ve made to pursue a life of abundance, power and liberty. When it comes to getting what you want out of life, the single most important thing to know is that God has already blessed your path. Joshua 1:3 says, “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses.” (NLT) Now, with the realization of this beautiful promise, all you must do is choose. Choose to construct a masterpiece life built on a deep understanding of the God you serve and your Divine purpose. I love to call this your MasterPurpose. Clarity about your MasterPurpose will impact how you will show up in the world and leave your mark as an Entrepreneur. When you decide to step out of your own way and into beautiful alignment with your MasterPurpose, all things are possible. This is a brave c hoice and not for the scared, timid or weak leader. It is a declaration to the world that you believe your life, purpose, message and talents are worth fighting for. To reach our fullest potential, we must train ourselves to have an audacious mindset, which frames how we perceive and respond to situations especially adversity. An audacious mindset is the defining factor between experiencing a life of abundance or scarcity. Remaining connected to your MasterPurpose requires a shift in your thinking and actions. It requires a deep and intimate relationship with God. I yearn to be close and in the presence of God. The battle wounds and scars of life have taught me one important lesson. As I have matured as a believer, I have learned that I am nothing without an intimate relationship with my creator. For in his presence, all things are made new. More specifically, in his presence all believers have access to God’s peace, love, mercy and wisdom. Our close relationship with God activates our MasterPurpose, the Divine plan for our life. He shows us the desires of His heart for us and is the source of our own ambition. He inspires us to dream big and desire radical success in every area and level of our lives. Your MasterPurpose could be a ministry, an entrepreneurial venture, a book, a family or even a school. Your MasterPurpose births your entrepreneurial venture. It could be a book, a clothing company, a law practice or even a school. It is the idea you believe God has commissioned you to lead to benefit His people. We all have been called to be leaders of faith entrusted with an assignment to fulfill while here on Earth.  Philonda Johnson is the dynamic combination of successful entrepreneur and engaging speaker with valuable insight to share. Her mission is to help others fight for their MasterPurpose by empowering them to realize their Divine value and need for faith-fueled courage. She is the Founder and CEO of The Leadership Playground, a development company that focuses on kick-starting the growth of a leader by focusing on the power of play, creativity and wholehearted living. She often draws from her background in Psychology and a decade of experience as an urban educator to inspire her coaching and leadership work. Philonda’s employment expertise is derived from serving 9 years as the Founding Principal of a successful charter school in Washington, DC. Philonda has a deep heart for and is dedicated to advancing women of color leaders, spirit-led entrepreneurs, and school administrators. Philonda hosts her own motivational online radio show and podcast, The Audacity to Shine with Coach Philonda, and Every Place on her newly launched Network, the Brave Entrepreneur Radio Network. She is excited for the release her first major book, Every Place: When our intimacy with God transforms how we experience fear and launch our MasterPurpose Business. Philonda’s book will be released March 31st, 2017. She incorporates her professional expertise, personal trials and life triumphs into every presentation and conversation to have a transformational impact. She can connect with and inspire her audience. Philonda can weave her training goals into a beautiful story that makes key concepts sticky and actionable. Her energetic and audacious approach is refreshing, honest and leaves the audience ready to achieve their goals. Her mission is to help others fight for their MasterPurpose by empowering them to realize their Divine value and need for faith-fueled courage. Social Links Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/P.Chivon Website http://www.philondajohnson.com Buy Link: https://everyplace.selz.com/item/pre-order-every-place Tour hosted by Write Now Literary www.wnlbooktours.com  Please leave a comment below. I'd love to hear from you! To join this blog simply click "Follow This Blog," "Subscribe," or "Email" links in the upper right corner. For exclusive content, contests, cover reveals, and more join my newsletter.   It's a wonderful #writerwednesday and I'm sharing a snippet of book 2 in A Woman's Design series. In Book 1, A Woman's Design: Afflictions, Naomi has sacrificed her personal life to raise her daughter. As a single mother, her love life was always pushed to the back burner, but with Sasha off at college, she's ready to stir things up a bit. She's got a new attitude! In this excerpt, she's at a sports bar and she's approached by a good-looking brother, who...well read on... Strut Your Stuff... By the time I made it out of the restaurant and to my car, a tall, dark-skinned brother was approaching me. “Excuse me, Miss. Can I speak with you for a second?” he said, smiling down at me. Whereas, Felix was about my height, this gentleman was easily seven inches taller than my five foot, six inches. I turned around with all the strength that I could muster after being offended. There was no politeness left within me. “What is it that you want? To offend me more, by telling me that I just stormed out of there like an angry, black woman, and made a fool of myself to the astonishment of the entire establishment?” I huffed. The smile on his face and in his eyes never left, as he released a soft chuckle. “No. I wasn’t going to say that.” “Good. Because I think I’m doing a swell job of raking myself over the coals.” “Actually, I wanted to apologize on behalf of my friend Felix. I noticed you sitting alone at the table and was preparing to approach you when I came up with a brilliant idea.” “Oh, yeah?” “Yeah. I thought about Felix and all the misery he’s been going through. You seemed like a strong, beautiful woman. Something that he needs after all he’d been through and I suggested he come over and talk to you. I was kind of leery about it at first, because I know how he can be. Sometimes he comes off offensive without meaning to. I warned him about it before he approached you, but obviously all of my advice went out the door.” “And his good sense along with it. So, why are you here?” I asked, clicking the lock on my key fob. “To apologize for his behaviors, apologize for sending him, and to ask you to give me one more chance.” “One more chance for what?” “To be the right man to approach you. I knew all along that it should’ve been me and not him. I didn’t go with my first instinct. I’m Larry,” he said, extending his hand. I looked down at his hand for a few moments before I grabbed it. “Naomi.” “Can we walk to the end of the block and grab a cup of coffee?” he asked, pointing to the Corner Stop Café at the end of the street. I hesitated for a moment, wondering what his true intentions were. A part of me feared being rejected and ridiculed. The insecurities that rose up in me, made me feel like that overweight teenager again. The one that Jaime first approached after his basketball practice, when some of his teammates teased him about hollering at the big girl. I pushed that former fear and teen Naomi down deep inside, thrust my girls forward and with a smile on my face and pride in my spirit, I said, “Sure.” I looped my arm through his and we strutted down the block together. Not once did I look back to see if his crew was watching or teasing. Book 2, Coming Soon... |
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Your problem is you’re … too busy holding onto your unworthiness.” - Ram Dass
Motivational Monday Moment...
There truly is no such thing as perfection...my husband made this statement to me a long time ago. It seems that so many of us are running around trying to be better, do better, and comparing ourselves to someone else that we haven't learned to love ourselves and accept ourselves for who we are.
I have made many mistakes in life and I am convinced that I will continue to do so until I expire. There are some mistakes that I truly wish I could undo, but wasting time regretting them gets me nowhere. My husband also expressed to me that I should learn from my mistakes, rather than spend time worrying about them, because those mistakes are what made me the woman I am today.
You may think "Chelle, that's easier said than done," or "You don't know my past, Chelle," and while all this may be true, I know that we serve a God who forgives us of our sins. He wants us to draw nearer to Him, and stop raking ourselves over the coals for what we have done in the past. A lesson that I have learned, is that the Lord has forgiven me of my sins, but I had to also learn to forgive myself. That continued flood of guilt that tends to permeate our soul stems from the enemy's plan to destroy our future and the confidence we should have within ourselves.
When we allow him to hold that much sway and power over our attitudes, behaviors, emotions, and thoughts, he wins. That's not the Lord's plan for our lives. We were destined to live victorious according to 1 John 5:4 "For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith." You simply have to believe and let go of the recriminations of the enemy, start thinking confidently, boldly, and step into the life of victory the Lord God Almighty has predestined for you.
Once you move beyond the allegations and reproach of the enemy, you find that you will get out of your own way. You're no longer blaming yourself, expecting to fail, or believing you deserve every bad thing that comes your way. Instead, you began to recount what the Word of God says about you, and you speak life over your life.
So, yes, you are unworthy, and so am I, but to God be the glory, because He has redeemed us and justified us because of His grace. He simply is waiting for you to get out of your own way, accept your flaws and all, love Him, and learn to love yourself. Then you can begin to propel forward, walk in righteousness, and live victoriously on purpose!
I have made many mistakes in life and I am convinced that I will continue to do so until I expire. There are some mistakes that I truly wish I could undo, but wasting time regretting them gets me nowhere. My husband also expressed to me that I should learn from my mistakes, rather than spend time worrying about them, because those mistakes are what made me the woman I am today.
You may think "Chelle, that's easier said than done," or "You don't know my past, Chelle," and while all this may be true, I know that we serve a God who forgives us of our sins. He wants us to draw nearer to Him, and stop raking ourselves over the coals for what we have done in the past. A lesson that I have learned, is that the Lord has forgiven me of my sins, but I had to also learn to forgive myself. That continued flood of guilt that tends to permeate our soul stems from the enemy's plan to destroy our future and the confidence we should have within ourselves.
When we allow him to hold that much sway and power over our attitudes, behaviors, emotions, and thoughts, he wins. That's not the Lord's plan for our lives. We were destined to live victorious according to 1 John 5:4 "For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith." You simply have to believe and let go of the recriminations of the enemy, start thinking confidently, boldly, and step into the life of victory the Lord God Almighty has predestined for you.
Once you move beyond the allegations and reproach of the enemy, you find that you will get out of your own way. You're no longer blaming yourself, expecting to fail, or believing you deserve every bad thing that comes your way. Instead, you began to recount what the Word of God says about you, and you speak life over your life.
So, yes, you are unworthy, and so am I, but to God be the glory, because He has redeemed us and justified us because of His grace. He simply is waiting for you to get out of your own way, accept your flaws and all, love Him, and learn to love yourself. Then you can begin to propel forward, walk in righteousness, and live victoriously on purpose!
Thanks for hanging out with me for another Motivational Monday Moment. Drop me a line so that I can know your thoughts.
To join this blog simply click "Follow This Blog," "Subscribe," or "Email" links in the upper right corner.
For exclusive content, contests, cover reveals, and more join my newsletter. - See more at: http://www.chelleramsey.com/beautifully-inspired-blog/doin-me#sthash.RPp0I4DG.dpuf
To join this blog simply click "Follow This Blog," "Subscribe," or "Email" links in the upper right corner.
For exclusive content, contests, cover reveals, and more join my newsletter. - See more at: http://www.chelleramsey.com/beautifully-inspired-blog/doin-me#sthash.RPp0I4DG.dpuf
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