Live. Love. Lead.

     Currently, I am on a journey of shifting priorities so that my lifestyle can be more catered to and for my family.  Yes, as a single woman I am shifting my priorities and practices to prepare for my future family.  Talk about some faith...I am not even dating anyone so the prospect of family is a hazy dream at best and definitely a journey of trusting that God can and will provide.      So, why would I try to discipline myself in matters of time, finances, fitness, health, spending time with God, and career when God's timeline for when my family begins is a complete mystery to me?  One answer...Proverbs 31:12.      This verse reminds me of my "why."  It reminds me of why I work hard, by His grace, to discipline myself in matters that will assuredly impact my family in ways that right now I cannot even imagine.  This verse reminds me of the type of woman I am pursuing to be and in so doing I am becoming it. ...

     How to get a slimmer waist.  How to get the bubble butt.  Make him fall madly in love with you.  Hot body moves.  Make any man better in bed.  Toned Legs.  Get better hair.  8 hour diet.  Get the best abs ever.  These are just a few promises of popular magazines justified with the physical evidence of women with: flawless skin, perfect smiles, flowing hair, matching make-up, killer wardrobes, perfectly toned everything, confident eyes, bodies, beauty and attitude that would make most men crazy and most women feel just a little (maybe a lot) more body/hair/looks conscious.  Trust me, I am not anti-self improvement (I'm on a better fitness training regime now); but I am anti-self-evaluation based on a standard that finds its substance in subjective desires. So with that said... Dear Beauty Magazines,      The next time you are in the board room perhaps considering what new, exciting, innovative cover...

     Guaranteed success?--Who does not want to walk into every meeting, event, date, relationship, etc with the mindset of "I KNOW I've got this!"      For this post success is defined as the "accomplishment of a purpose" (Google) and I would suggest "the accomplishment of His purpose."      I have recently been meditating on Numbers 13 & 14.  The quick context is God is about to take the Children of Israel into His promise.  They had been victorious over slavery and were beginning to find their freedom.  They were experiencing a physical manifestation of God's leading with the pillar of fire and cloud.  Now, God was positioning them to fully embrace His promise of the land.  The spies came back with a bad report, with the exception of two, that accentuated all the reasons why the people would not be successful in this venture.      Then Caleb speaks up, "Do not rebel against the Lord! You should...

     "Stop thinking like a loser."  This statement reminds me of the verse that states "You are not the tail; you are the head..." (Deut. 28:13).  So often in the stillness of life's moments the enemy lets loose an array of mental arrows purposed to pierce even the strongest moments of faith. You know what it's like when you are in the regular grind and suddenly accusing thoughts of inadequacy, doubt, fear, and many others try to take over your mental space.  It is truly in these moments where "Finally, brothers whatever is TRUE...think about such things" (Phil. 4:8) must take effect.  In Phillipians 4:8, the first thing Paul encourages us to think about is TRUTH! Yeshua said that the "truth sets us free..." (John 8:32).  The only way to escape the ever-locking chains of negative thoughts that seek to undermine God's workmanship (us) is to think about what is TRUE! Our self-talk must constantly be true words from His word! Imagine con...

     This year for me as a rookie leader was great and tough all at the same time.  One of the areas I wish to do better in is slowing down and investing all my heart in quieting the noise and hearing God's voice.  My goal is to create sacred spaces where I refuse to allow interrupting thoughts a foothold in my mind.      Lately, I have been pursuing a dream that I have had from a young age.  As I struggle between whether I should invest time and money into something that is not so "safe" I have been reading the book of Judges.  One of my favorite passages is about Gideon hearing God's voice in the overwhelming currents of fear.  The first time Judges records that God spoke to Gideon and Gideon heard His voice was when the Angel of the Lord came to Gideon.  Gideon was threshing wheat in the wine vat because there was fear the Midianites might take the wheat (Judges 6:1-12).  The first thing God tells Gideon was an affirma...

     In my last post I wrote about how we can easily place so much emotional energy into asking the question of "how do I know if he likes me."  The post centered on how we should respond when we find that this particular man for which we prayed does not have those feelings for us.  It is incredibly simple for us as women to deposit so much emotional energy into the potential of a relationship.  You know what I mean...when in our daydreams we imagine perfect dates, sharing dreams with him, what type of tux he may look best in, and we find nervous anticipating delight thinking this man might truly be the one we have sought God's heart for.      The previous post focused on responding to the deferred hope of when we find that he does not have romantic feelings for us.  The thesis essentially was that we must press ourselves into uncovering what it means to be God's workmanship and in so doing find our true and complete worth as a woman in...

     How many conversations have we had with our lady friends asking that same question, "Girl, how do I know if he likes me?" As soon as the question comes out, we begin to dissect his actions, looks, second or third glances, the way he hugged us, the ambiguous and random texts, what we thought we heard him say, the way he spoke about us, and the list truly goes on and on.  We analyze, diagnose, and try desperately to catch a glimpse into his heart about us.  Then after the conversation, we internally grapple with the question.  And when we see him again we look for more clues to add to our quest for an answer.  Perhaps I am one of few women who have lived and re-lived this process...but I doubt it.      After some reflection, much prayer, and honestly frustration, God is working me through a process that addresses "how do I deal when I find the man, I thought was His choice, does not like me?"      Currently, part of m...

     You know that pull in your gut and the lump that grows in your throat when you finally realize that a particular man is not for you?  Especially one of those ones that you prayed really hard for and he just seems to be so right.  I mean the way you met was unforgettable and surely all those "signs" you thought you saw were his way of pursuing you...this must be God's man for you right???      I can remember recently asking the Lord to show me whether a particular man was for me or not.  The funny thing is that I already had what I thought should be God's answer to my question. Which of course was "YES!"  So I allowed my emotions to cultivate and move forward in hopes of a relationship that the Lord had not created for me.  Finally, when I realized God's answer to my prayer was a resounding and loving "No" my heart had to catch up with that truth...and it hurt.      How do I move past the frustration, disappoint...

     If I could have a dollar for every time I have heard this statement or a version of it I would make a substantial amount of money.  Today, I was sitting in a large group of men and we were dialoging about some critical subjects in the world of education.  We got to one particular portion where I got visually adamant, passionate, and demonstrative.  During the break a tinge of guilt and shame hit me.  The guilt reminded me of a past experience when a man I admired made a comment about how my passion would be a source of intimidation for men.  He said, "Wait, hold on now. You cannot come with all that. You're gonna scare a brother off. You have to tone that down because he's not going to be ready for all of that."  My heart sank.      Today, that thought came back up, "Brandy maybe you should tone it down? Maybe you should just be quiet more and not so passionate?  What if you scare them?  Why did you have to say ...

     It feels like I often hear people say, "Well I know who I am" in response to times of critique or anxiousness.  This statement is helpful; but if devoid of the practice of becoming who one is...or I should say "who one is intended to be"; then such a knowledge is ineffective for the individual mission we all are commissioned to carry out.      From everything I see and read in the Word, we are created to know who God has intended us to be and then work at becoming it everyday.  Let's not leave knowledge of our identity at the theoretical level; nor allow our identity to be birthed out of the anxiousness that exists in our world which so yearns to determine who we will be.  Instead, let's take that God-given knowledge and discovery to our feet and work at it.  Why?--because "who we are" will be put to the test by things/people that push our buttons, situations that question the very core of who we thought we were, and the ever-pres...