Worthy or Worthless? Your Choice!!

It has been FOREVER since my last post. I apologize to those that were checking for new posts. I need for you all to start holding me accountable in the new year and start calling me out when you do not see a new post for a month or so. Even though I will be starting a new job soon I made a commitment to God that I would blog regularly and I would like to honor that commitment so please do not hesitate to send me an email, tweet or FB message to keep me on my toes. With that being said here goes an all new post!!!

Have you ever received an award or accomplished a goal and thought to yourself "I do not deserve this" or felt like you were just not worthy. It seems crazy but I recently felt that way after graduating from law school and passing the Florida Bar. I did not grow up in the best of situations and my life was a bit rough at times. As I was thinking back on my early childhood I just felt so unworthy of the things I had accomplished. Thank God I know a man name Jesus who deems things as worthy that others may view as worthless. Here's my story........

I did not grow up in the best of situations. My mom struggled to raise four children on her own. There were times we were on welfare, food stamps and other forms of public assistance. As Christmas is approaching I can remember times when there were very few (if any) presents under the tree. Because five people had to survive off of one income we often lived in crime infested neighborhoods. When I was about 7 or 8 years old I was outside playing with friends one day when I saw a man walk up in a long trench coat, pull out a gun and open fire on one of the apartments in my building while us kids were right there. Around that same time one of my childhood friends died from being shot in the head by a stray bullet on New Years Eve. I did not grow up in the best of situations.

As if that was not enough, I had to endure all of these struggles with no father in the picture. Although I knew my father he made a decision when I was about 6 or 7 to not be a part of my life and for a very long time I struggled with him not being there. I often wondered how a person that helped to create you could make a conscious decision to just walk away from you like you were nothing to never be heard from again. No phone calls or cards ever came on Christmas, Birthdays or other special events just complete silence. Like so many others I was a little girl left wondering why her father did not love her enough to want to be apart of her life. I did not grow up in the best of situations.

The one positive thing I had going for me during these tough times was a love for school and education. The difficulties I experienced at home rarely interfered with my school life. In elementary school I competed in math bowls and oratorical contests and was accepted in to the gifted program. My mom still has all the awards I received for math, English, handwriting etc. For middle school I was accepted into a Aerospace and Aviation Magnet program which lead to my acceptance into a Medical Magnet program for high school. When I entered high school although I had some distant relatives that went to college no one in my immediate family  had ever gone and graduated. However, my 2nd oldest brother had his sights set on going to college and much like I did most of my life I was eager to follow in his footsteps.
I did not grow up in the best of situations

Despite the way that I grew I have been able to achieve things in life that few people have. I earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from Florida State University in 2006, despite the fact that a study done in 2007 revealed that African Americans made up only 13.1% of the population on college campuses nationwide and only 43% of that 13.1% actually received a college degree. Earlier this year I accomplished an even bigger milestone when I graduated from UF Levin College of Law and became a member of the Florida Bar and officially entered the Legal Profession where African Americans make up less than 4% of all lawyers.

I say these things not to gloat or brag, but to testify and show those that grew up (or that are growing up) in similar situations that I did that where you come from does not have to dictate your future. More often than not the trials and tribulations that we experience in life are not to break us down but to build us up. Jesus tells us this in Romans 5:2-5 "Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment.

I have been blessed in life not because I was born into a wealthy family (although I was spiritually) , but because my mom knew that she had to change her life in order to give her children a brighter future. You see when I was in the 4th grade she chose to giver her life to Christ. You see it is because of the decision that she made that helped to shape not only her future but mine as well. The day she met Jesus I met Him as well. Some people think that our futures are predestined and that is true to a certain extent, but God also gives us choices and it is up to choose the right ones. If you do not believe me pick up the Bible and read it. He told Noah to build an ark and Noah made the choice to adhere to the voice of God even though he had never seen rain before. Abraham choose to go to a foreign land that he knew nothing about. Jesus although he was sent into the world with the purpose of dying on the cross consciously chose to carry out his purpose although He really did not want to (remember His prayer at Gethsemane). These people are GREAT examples that although we may be dealt a bad hand, God still gives us a way to achieve greatness. The choice becomes ours when God speaks to us and we have to decide if we are going to heed to the voice of God or do our own thing. My advice would be to always follow God because the road will be less bumpy and the future a whole lot brighter. It is not always an easy thing to do and often time we slip and make bad decisions that may have long term affects, but thanks be to God that He gives us a thing called grace and mercy that even when we mess up we get another chance to get it right.

Tune in next time to see what lies Beyond The Pretty!

Why Her???

A couple of month's ago I had a very real conversation with someone that inspired this entry. The basis of our discussion centered around the title to this entry "Why Her." Anyone who knows me knows that my all time favorite singer is Monica who happens to have a song titled "Why Her" Its crazy that a couple of days after I had the conversation I mentioned above, I was listening to my Monica Pandora station and rediscovered this song and I just knew that I had to blog about the title "WHY HER?" here's a little snippet of the chorus for those that are not familiar with the song:

Why her, why her? Did I get on your nerves? Did I give you too much that you couldn't handle my love? Why her, why her? Tell me what she was worth To make you put her first and disown me? You wanna come back, but I gotta know why her? Thought she was all that, then why you at my door? Now look at you, look at us, what's all this for? Hope you got the answer to my question, why her?

As you have probably guessed from reading the lyrics my friend (who I will hypothetically call Keisha) and I were discussing relationships but more specifically when a guy cheats or moves on to another relationship what makes her better than the previous girl? I was really trying to encourage Keisha because she had been in a relationship with this guy for forever and he decided that he did not want to be with her anymore and he moved on to someone else. The crazy part was that everything he was not doing in the relationship with Keisha he was doing with the girl and Keisha just wanted to know why. I began to share with Keisha my own story of dealing with the "Why Her" syndrome and some of the things that Jesus revealed to me when I was going through the same situation. As I'm sitting here typing this part of me just wants to stop and talk about something else because this is very personal story that I'm about to share and I'm imagining the things that people will have to say after reading this. However, as I said in my first entry I decided to share personal stories with you all in hopes that my readers will be strengthened in knowing that someone else has been through the same thing they might be going through now and if Jesus can bring me out he can do the same for you. So here goes.... 

Like Keisha (and a lot of other women I know) I was in a relationship with a guy that I loved (as much as I knew about love then) and thought I was going to be with forever. We discussed marriage and children and spending the rest of our lives together but very unexpectedly the day came where he said it was over he was not in love anymore (well I still loved him but I guess he did not love me anymore). Needless to say I was beyond hurt and I just did not understand what was going on. I mean I had given everything to this person, I would have done anything for him, I had tried to show him in every way that I knew how that I loved him but in the end it was just not enough. I felt just like the Monica song "Did I get on your nerves? Did I give you too much that you couldn't handle my love?" I just wanted to know why?

I did not realize it then but this did a number on my self esteem. In looking back it literally destroyed my self esteem because I began to question everything about myself which caused me to be stuck in a constant state of wondering what it was I had done wrong and what I could do to make things right again. Not one time did I consider the fact that maybe we were not meant to be or that it was his fault. I just constantly tried to figure out what I had done wrong. They "Why Her" syndrome kicked in when I discovered that he was dating someone else. I found myself comparing every aspect of my life to hers. In my head I was thinking what does he see in her? I'm prettier than her, smarter than her, more mature than her, dress better than her, just over all BETTER than her. It never crossed my mind that this had anything to do with my self esteem. Honestly, I never thought that pretty girls could have self esteem issues but God showed me that if the way you think you look on the outside is not matching up with the way you are feeling on the inside than you most certainly can have self esteem issues no matter who you are and how you look on the outside.

Unfortunately for me those self esteem issues carried over into my next relationship and after a while I completely lost myself and who I was. I looked in the mirror everyday and wondered who this girl was that I had become and how did she get there. Although, I was a bit shy growing up I always knew who I was and I did not know that anymore. I had lost that confidence that I once had. I remember not wanting to go to church or pray because I was just ashamed of the person I had become. Here I was a beautiful girl in law school accomplishing something that very few people dream of but stuck in love with a man that no longer wanted to be with me. Despite all of this one advantage I had in this situation was a praying mother. I remember my mom calling me one day and she just began to encourage me  and I knew that it was Jesus telling her to tell me just what I need to hear. Despite my insecurities God began to show me how He sees me instead of how I saw myself. My mom always spoke Proverbs 31 over my life and Jesus began to reveal that woman to me. Jesus told me to stop comparing myself to "her" and wondering because He intentionally made us two very different people and there was no need for any sort of comparison. He took me to scripture and showed me the different women in the bible who he had blessed and He said to me that He thinks of me the same way He thought of them and if He blessed them he would bless me also. Jesus gave Leah a husband when she thought no one would ever want to marry her, He gave Sarah a baby when she thought she was too old to have children, He gave Ruth love again after she never thought she would find it after her husband died, He made Esther queen in a time when her people were suppose to be destroyed.

So ladies it is time out for wondering "Why Her" and time to start thanking Jesus that it is her and not you. Quit worrying about them living a happily ever after and start thanking Jesus for the happily ever after He has in store for you. We must truly and without a doubt believe that if we are God's children than He wants the very best for us and when He closes one door He will surely open another. The one thing that I have learned is to no longer dwell on why a relationship did not work or why a guy was a complete douche bag from the beginning because the answer is simple he was just not God's will for my life and I encourage you all to do the same. You will be surprise how much less heartbreak and heartache you can be saved from and how quickly you are able to recover if you simply seek God's will for your life and not your own. Look in the mirror everyday and see yourself as God see you because His opinion is the only one that truly matters. Remember the first person that Jesus revealed himself to after His resurrection was Mary Magdalene a woman from whom he had cast out seven demons and Rahab (the harlot) is listed in Hebrews 11 in the wall a faith. So the next time you want to question "Why Her?" shout "THANK YOU JESUS FOR RESCUING ME!!!"

Tune it next time to see what lies Beyond The Pretty!!          

High Standards

This is one of my most intimate posts yet, but as I have said before I am more than willing to share the most intimate parts of me if it means helping someone else. So here goes nothing.

I have often be criticized for having "very high standards." People that I thought knew me best have said to me that I need to lower my expectations when it comes to a mate. In the last week alone I have been called shallow because I will not date a man that does not have job, is not career oriented, and that does not have a clear plan for his future. I believe that most of this criticism stems from a relationship I had in the past. Yes it is true that I dated a guy with "status", but people have chosen to forget that I was with him, before the "status" came and would have been with him if it had never come. However, despite what I know to be true, I have still struggled with this issue and have often questioned myself and really entertained the idea of maybe lowering my standards. I really considered this after having a conversation with one of my best friends. Apparently, one of our other friends felt that I don't "work with guys" and that any guy I meet I expect him to be already together with a six figure salary. I admit upon hearing this my blood began to boil and I got really upset. I thought that this was one of the people that always had my back when others criticized me in this area. But before I said anything I stopped and gathered my thoughts and proceeded to explain why my standards are so high.

I explained to her that when I made the decision to give my life to Christ I became a joint heir with Christ meaning that EVERYTHING that God would share with Christ he would share with me. This further meant that I should look to the Bible for guidance in EVERY area of my life especially when it comes to what I should expect from a mate. Notice that I used the word expect instead of looked for because I would be out of order if I was out looking and searching for a mate because the Bible declares that when a man FINDS a wife he FINDS a good thing. I gained this knowledge not through self but by praying and reading the Bible. Although Jesus never married He was and is the ultimate example of what EVERY woman (not just myself) should expect from a man, but you can read my previous entry to get that information.

Proverbs 31discuses a wife of noble character and sets the standard for what EVERY woman should aspire to be. It starts by first letting a woman know her worth (if you do not know your worth you will not know what to expect). It then begins to discuss how a woman is a man's most precious asset, he depends on her and trusts her and she is good to him. (Right about now everything should start to come into perspective for you as to what a woman should expect from a man if he expects all these things from her.) If you skip down a couple verses to verse 23 it tells us that a Prover 31 Woman's husband is a well-known and respected leader in the city (light bulb I should be expecting a man that is well-known and respected in the city.)

I explained to my friend that I have come to realize that sometime we as women feel like we have to lower our expectations when it comes to a mate. I really am not sure where this mentality has come from but its a popular saying amongst black women that all the black men are either broke, in jail, married or gay. So when we meet someone that meets half of whats on the list (your list not God's list) than JACKPOT. But ladies I beg to differ, there are certain things that God  expects from a man and as such if you are a woman of God you should too. Let me put it like this, if you have not settled and have refused to settle in other areas of your life stop feeling the need to lower your expectations when it comes to relationships. You would never say "well she did my hair half right so I'll pay her" or "this outfit is okay so I'll buy it." Therefore, you should not lower your standards when it comes to a relationship.

I then went on to explain to my friend that I have worked EXTREMELY hard to get to where I am and have NEVER settled for mediocre before. As such, when I meet a man I expect for him to have worked equally as hard to get to where he is. Therefore if I meet a man who is around my age or older that does not know what he wants in life or that does not have a solid plan in place (and working on it) to get to for where he wants to be then I know (because of the things God has revealed to me) that he IS NOT God's will for my life so NO WE CAN NOT date sorry (you should NEVER date someone who you know is not God's will for your life it can have dangerous consequences.).

Allow me to give you an example of what happens when a woman gets anxious and chooses to lower her standards instead of believing God for exactly what she asked for. In Genesis 16 Sarah became tired of waiting for God to bless her husband with the son He had promised to him so she took matters into her own hands. Sarah gave her servant  Hagar to her husband. Not long after her servant became pregnant Sarah became extremely jealous forcing Abraham to choose between his son and his wife. You see God had an appointed time for when Sarah would bear Abraham's chosen son, but Sarah chose to lower her expectations and have a child through surrogacy rather than waiting to bare her own.

So you see it is not me that has "high standards" but God himself has set high standards for His chosen people. By God's standards I should be expecting a mate that know's I am far more precious than rubies, that  has full confidence in me, that lacks nothing of value, that is well-known and respected in the city, that is a provider, that loves me as Christ loves the church, and that knows that there a plenty of good woman out there but he regards me as being the best one for him. These are standards that are set by God, therefore if a man lacks any of these when he attempts to date me than it immediately tells me the this man IS NOT God's will for Alkeyvia's life. I am patiently awaiting an praying for my Boaz and ladies you should too.

L O V E

Now that the dust has settled and hoopla of Valentines Day has passed lets talk about being finding love and being loved more than just one day a year. I woke up on Valentines Day with joy this year. I was not sad or depressed that I would be spending the day alone and at school. But I was overwhelmed with a sense of joy knowing that SOON I would be spending this day with a man God created especially for me!! Now that joy did not happen over night as most things in life. During my daily devotion that day with the Lord he reminded me of some of the things that he has shown me over the years in relation to love and relationships and I am going to share them with you.

After breaking up with my boyfriend of three years I really begin to seek God's will for my life in the relationship department. This took me on a journey of self evaluation and rediscovery. I knew that I was not the woman I or God wanted me to be and therefore could not be the woman any man would needed to be. Let me admit that this was a hard thing for me to do because for me because it meant taking a long looking beyond the pretty in order to CORRECT the changes that God was showing me and ACCEPTING those thing that God created in me that made me special. Throughout this process my prayer was also that God would show me what it means to truly love and what it meant to be a wife and what I should expect from a man. The very first thing God revealed to me was that marriage was a foundation built by God and was very sacred and the foundation that everything else on the earth was built upon. He then begin to show me His will for his children. He showed me that He has always given his children the VERY BEST and that is what we should EXPECT in Life if we are His children.

The bible says that a MAN should love his WIFE as Christ loves the church. When I thought about this I was amazed because I know how much Christ loves the Church. Christ died for the church which is the ultimate showing of LOVE. Outside of my mother and my three older brothers I can not think of anyone that would lay down their life for me, but this is exactly what Christ did for the church. Immediately like any other time I'm talking with the Lord, doubt attempted to creep in and I asked myself "Keyvi is it really realistic to hold a MAN to that high of a standard?" And God immediately began to correct me and explain to me that the standard is really was not set high if a person is guided by the Spirit, but through natural eyes it would seem insurmountable. God began to show me in laymen's terms that this Love that a MAN should have for his wife is very achievable and we as women should not wish for it, but EXPECT it from a MAN. He revealed to me that Christ was MAN and that he displayed this LOVE EVERYDAY of his life. Christ NEVER LIED to the Church he was very truthful with them in loving way. Christ NEVER CHEATED on the Church in fact he was more FAITHFUL to the Church than the Church was to him. Christ NEVER PLAYED GAMES with the Church breaking hearts along the way, instead Christ came so that broken hearts could be mended. Christ ALWAYS FORGAVE the Church no matter what they did to him including putting Him to Death. Christ also PROVIDED for the Church and never allowed the Church to go without anything.

Therefore, if Christ displayed the true essence of a MAN and HUSBAND (Yes Christ was also MARRIED to the Church) than why is it that we as women (or men) are willing to accept less than the example set by Christ. Part of the reason is that we believe that if we tell a man (or woman) what we truly want they will leave us and the other part is that we have truly been tricked by the enemy into allowing ourselves to believe that there just are not that many GOOD MEN in the world anymore so we have to take what we can get. Ladies (and Gentlemen) I'm here to tell you that this could  not be farther from the truth. Ladies (and Gentlemen) if boy (or girl) (sorry he/she does not deserve the title of a man/woman) is willing to leave you because you know who you are in Christ and what Christ says you DESERVE than he is not God"s will for you and you should be the one running from him. Quit lowering your standards for someone that WILL NOT lower theirs for YOU!! One of the first and clearest signs to know if a man is God's will for you is to check and see who is doing the pursuing. The bible says that when A Man That FINDS a wife FINDS a Good Thing and receives favor from God. So Ladies if you are the one that's keeping the relationship afloat you might want to think twice about continuing in it because you are really out of order. The other most recognizable sign is if this person is not willing to commit to you and take you off the market. As I stated above, Christ is MARRIED and COMMITTED to the Church. From the moment he laid eyes on the Church He showed her and the world that she belonged to HIM. Jacob was slave to Laban foe 14 years just to marry the women he loved and thats the kind of commitment and devotion we should look for in a mate. And Ladies contrary to what we see on TV there ARE still GOOD MEN out there SEARCHING for a GOOD Woman, but you have to be patient and SEEK GOD in order for this man to FIND YOU and fellas you have to do the same. You have understand that if you are not in the right place at God's appointed time you WILL miss OUT and like Jacob you may have to wait another 7 years before you get another opportunity. Sit back be patient and let God do his job and stop trying to do it for him. It WILL get hard sometimes (trust me I know), but I have made up in my mind that I would rather spend my days alone and happy than with someone who is not God's will for me. I'm not saying don't date but be careful when you are doing so and more importantly stop giving up the milk to these boys that do not want to purchase the whole cow and fellas stop taking it when you know you have no intentions of making the purchase.

Seeking God is the first step to finding TRUE LOVE and the second is being WILLING to allow God to PRUNE and PREPARE you for that Special Someone that He has created just for YOU. You can not TRULY LOVE someone else until you have ALLOWED God to cleanse you of the PAST and show you how to LOVE YOURSELF!! And you WILL NEVER be able to set STANDARDS until you KNOW what you DESERVE!!

Until Next Time, Start Working on the YOU Beyond The Pretty and TRUE LOVE will follow!!        

Broken Systems

I told you all in my first post that through this blog you will get to see the many sides of Alkeyvia. I am also blogging for my Critical Race Theory class so I have decided to post my entries here as well. So for the next 8 weeks in addition to my regular posts you will get to see both the law side of me and my passion for children. 

Hope You Enjoy the Many Sides of Ms. Walker!!

For the last two years two things have been weighing heavily on my heart, the American Education system and theAmerican Criminal Justice system.

In grade school I had heard the story of Brown v. Board of Education and how it changed American education and nullified the separate but equal doctrine, but it was not until first year con law that I really began to think of the implications of that Supreme Court decision. I remember calling my mom after we went over the case in class and asking her how was it living during those time and all of a sudden being able to attend school with whites. To my surprise, although Brown was decided in 1954 and my mom not being born until 1959, she said that it was not until high school that she attended school with white students. She went on to tell me that she remembers still seeing white only signs throughout the city of Miami and around school as well. By this time I was not really understanding or comprehending for that matter anything that she was saying to me. I really think that I drifted away while flipping through my con law book trying to find the date that the Supreme Court decision that declared racial segregationunconstitutional and a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment was decided. Once I got to the page and did the math I had to stop my mother and ask her if she was sure she was speaking from her own experience or my grandmother's. She assured me that she was correct and proceeded to finish with her story. After hanging up the phone I was completely speechless and somewhat dumb founded. It was at that point that I began to realize that although Brown was a very important case in American History the implementation of its decision was slow and the after affects were still lingering to this day, so much so that it has spilled over into the juvenile and criminal justice systems.

Growing up in inner city Miami I learned about the criminal justice system early in life (way too early if you ask me). The police was always in our neighborhood and I saw people (most young African American) men being arrested at least once if not several times a day. Since I was the youngest in the family and the only girl, my mother and older brothers attempted to shield me from a lot of it, but some days it was almost if not completely impossible to protect me from REALITY. The harsh realities of our criminal justice system really set in when I was in high school. My cousin who fell victim to the harsh inner city streets at a very young age was accused of 2nd Degree Murder. I remember sitting in the court room and hearing the State Attorney painting this picture of a person. Although he was talking about my cousin I had no idea who this person was. My cousin was not the person in the picture that he was painting. It was true that was living a life that would not be approved of by most, but I knew that it was not a life that he chose to live, it was life that he felt victim to. When the jury came back with the verdict my entire family live's would be changed forever. My cousin was taken away from us in handcuffs and his young life stripped away from himFOREVER. He would never be able to hug his mother again or be a big brother to his sisters or spend Thanksgiving with the family anymore. My cousin from that day forth would be known by a number instead of his name.

The two very personal stories that I have shared have shaped the way in which I view both the American Education and Criminal Justice systems. This blog will focus how the law has created a harmful overlap between the two systems starting with an overview of the way in which these two systems overlap with a discussion on the School to Prison Pipeline. I will then discuss the conditions of the American education system through a series of blogs that will focus on the periods post Plessy,  pre Brown, and post Brown and the affirmative action era. Following those entries will be an entry on the status of American education today which will lead to the. Finally I will conclude with a recommendation on what American needs to do to cure the harmful overlap between these two systems.         

Its Not All About Being Pretty

People, especially Women and Girls, are obsessed with being PRETTY these days. It does not help that  celebrities are making careers out of their Pretty and society and the media has embedded in our minds that anything less than Pretty is useless. As I flip through the channels on my TV and read people's Facebook and Twitter pages I often say to myself "Umph if they only knew", "Its Not All About Being Pretty!" 

I remember the first time God showed me that there was a whole lot more to life than being Pretty. It was back in high school and I was running for Miss Northwestern. At my high school in addition to having traditional Queens like Prom Queen and Homecoming Queen that reigned for One Night Only, Miss Northwestern reigned All Year Long, so to me this was a more prestigious title. Now this was not something that I thought about doing once I got to high school, but I had look forward to it since 1994-1995 when my uncle's girlfriend at the time held the title. I still remember the day she came to my house wearing that beautiful white gown. I just knew that I was going to one day be wearing one as well. 

However, like most things in life God had other plans for me. Despite an awesome campaign filled with hats, buttons, T-Shirts and Flyers I LOST. I was CRUSHED (which is probably a complete understatement for the pain I felt)!! I cried and despite the comfort of my best friend I was heartbroken and just did not understand how I lost. I mean after all I was sooooooo much PRETTIER than the girl that won! It was because of thoughts like that that God began to deal with me and show me that IT IS NOT ALL ABOUT BEING PRETTY and boy did He show me. My senior year I ran for Homecoming Queen and LOST. I was nominated for most attractive and LOST that as well. The Pretty girl just kept on losing!!

I realized that God was showing me that because I believed I should have won all these things based on my Pretty was in fact the reason why I lost. God has shown me that it is okay to embrace and love my Pretty because that is how He created me, but that is not the person He created me to be. He created a Proverbs 31 woman that is praised because of her "noble character" and her "faithfulness to God, her family and community." This woman wears a crown because she fearfully obeys the Spirit of God and not because of her Pretty. 

God has created all of us in his BEAUTIFUL image. But it is when we let our Pretty define us and we think that it is the BEST thing we have going for us that it becomes a PROBLEM. Yes some may be attracted to us by what they see on the outside, but if there is no INNER PRETTY what is on the outside will be WORTHLESS. Our INNER PRETTY is the sweet smelling fragrance thats radiates from the inside and is what TRULY counts. It is the fragrance that draws people to us and causes them to want to know more about us. It is the sustenance of who we REALLY are. All the tools God has given us to be successful in life lies within us and not on the surface. He has fearfully and wonderfully made us from the inside out and not the other the way around. Therefore, it should be our Inner Pretty that we are to work on beautifying everyday.   

Therefore, I challenge you to ignore (not neglect) the person that you see in the mirror and began to embrace and nurture the Inner Pretty that God has given you and allow people to see what lies beyond your Pretty. As the bible says charm can be deceiving, and beauty fades away, but a woman who honors the Lord deserves to be praised.

Stay Tuned For More of What Lies Beyond My Pretty!!

Something New

Today I start a new chapter in my life! Although I can not recall the chapter number (there have been sooo many I have lost count lol), the chapter title reads "Blogger." This was not my idea, but God has been putting it on my heart to start this since late last year. I can admit that I questioned Him at first because I thought "Who wants to hear what I have to say?" Then Jesus told me "I am using you to tell your story so people can hear what I have to say." So you do not have to worry, this blog will not be about me. However, you will learn a lot about me through the life lessons Jesus has taught me. Hence the name "Beyond The Pretty". I think when people usually see me or any pretty girl for that matter, they see a pretty girl. But few get to see what lies beyond the pretty face. For me, this is partly because I only allow few to see anything beyond my physical features and the other part is because some just refuse to look. Whatever the reason, those that read this blog will get to see that beyond my pretty lies a woman that loves the Lord, her family and friends; a woman that is passionate about sports and the law; a woman that is dedicating her life to ensure that no child is left behind; and a woman that now knows that its really not about me but about the God that lives on the inside of me. God has really done a work in my life these past two years and although I can admit that I am petrified of exposing myself to the world, I have to shake it off and do God's will. After all I know God does not give his children the spirit of fear. So I hope that you will tune in to see what lies "Beyond The Pretty"!!!!!