My hair, really?

Yesterday while at work this man asked me if we had a dress code for our HAIR. WHAT? He went on to tell me that his ex-wife has hair like mine (I'm rocking wearable two strand twists). So I asked him if he "thought" we should have a dress code. Needless to say he could tell by the tone of my voice that he needed to choose his words wisely. His response "no, I don't think that".

So now here I am with words too numerous to write in this blog but I thought I'd give it a shot. On so many levels his remark opened up avenues of thoughts I dared not venture. Why? Because for so many years I've been my own worst critic about what's wrong with me and why no one (meaning a man) wants me in his life. I could tell by this mans attitude that he wants back in his ex-wife's life but for some reason her HAIR is a drawback. She may have reasons of her own for staying the Ex but on yesterday I would have been ok with her turning down his offer to reconcile. 

When I got home, his comment still bothered me. I looked at myself in the mirror and said these words "but this is the way WE looked when YOU first fell in love with us as little boys. This is the way OUR Mothers combed our HAIR when we were little girls!" We're (let me speak for myself) - I'm not trying to keep you away by looking like the person who raised me or the young and carefree person I was when I wore braids and an Afro in my youth. I'm certainly not trying to "get back to my roots" - whatever you may think that means. What I am doing is trying to be as healthy on the outside as God has made me on the inside. 

Sure, I would love to have long flowing bouncing and behaving waves and curls in my hair. But that's no longer possible outside of wigs and weaves. You should have seen me when I got a perm every two weeks when I was in my twenties. But somewhere in my thirties those perms took a toll and I needed to make a change in order to have HAIR for the rest of my life. 

So to say that my company needs to have a dress code because women are rocking their natural hair cut a little deeper than I expected. For years I thought I had to be lighter, thinner, smarter and even in some cases dumber to even be considered a prospect for some men. Only now to come face-to-face with a mindset that limits a mans potential for true happiness just because of a hairstyle. 

Believe me guys, that's ALL it is - a hairstyle. It's not ME: The caring, compassionate, sensitive to the leadership of the Holy Spirit woman of God you see every day. It's the Journey in one area of my life with a public view. The one that's thinner on top than I'd like and no matter which side I part it on, everyone can see. The one where the shrinkage is truly real when I want to wear a wash and go. And the one that was slightly wounded when told the woman who is doing ALL she can to keep it healthy was told that it should be bound by rules and regulations to make sure it conformed to someone else's view of what a hairstyle should look like. 

Phew, now that that's off my chest... I am encouraged to know that when faced with a challenging belittling mindset, I was able to pull from my past and remember the good - sitting at my sisters feet as she braided my hair. Protect my present and Enjoy the Journey- by watching YouTube video after YouTube video trying to perfect these two strand twist. And by favoring my future - by walking in love with that man with his off-center mindset. 

Be at Peace

If ever there was a time for Peace, its now.  That is true on so many levels but the Peace I'm talking about begins and ends in You.  The kind of Peace that allows you to be unmovable as well as unstoppable in any situation. No matter what comes your way at any given point during your day. . .Peace!

It's truly amazing how even though each video was created months in advance, the content is always relevant when it's time to post.  I call that Peace that surpasses even my own understanding.  Only a God who cares for you and is concerned with your day-to-day life can give you an everlasting Peace that surrounds you and is capable of sustaining you each and every day.

           In today's video, I talk about the events that tried to "take my peace" as I went along my day.  I'd purposed in my heart to fully walk in the peace of God and on that particular day it seemed as if any and everything was determined to take that peace from me. I also challenge You to walk in peace with God, yourself and others.  To let the peace of God surround your heart, mind and spirit. No matter the journey you are on, the peace of God will sustain you so that you can Enjoy the Journey! 

Just for You!

Hi, it's me Tracy. I just wanted to take the time to Encourage You and Thank You for reading my blog posts.  Being "fairly" new to blogging - meaning, not a lot of people know about my work yet, I am able to see which blog posts have and have not been read.  The other day, I noticed that the posts that had been read 0 times each now had 1 beside them. I became very excited because to me that meant that You found my blog and took the time to read what I've posted.  You really made my day.

As I went about my day yesterday, I considered the fact that hopefully you gained some insight on matters of your own heart through the words I'd written from my heart. On last night, I prayed earnestly for You.  I spoke increase, blessings and peace into your life and heart.  I pray you receive ALL that God has in store for You.  He does have a wonderful plan for your life and He needs you to be in agreement with Him that IT IS POSSIBLE!

No matter what it looks like now, remember, situations are subject to change. My very first post was born as a result of having been scammed on a dating site and I wanted my words to affect positive change in people's lives.  Not be used by a scammer to scam the next unsuspecting person.  Each day you wake up, speak positive, good and God-filled words over your life and those you are in relationship with.  Don't try to change the world, just change Your world; those God has given you the opportunity to sow into.  

I knew I wanted to Encourage You to know that I truly appreciate You taking the time to get God's heart on those things that concern You.  I thought last nights prayer would suffice, then this morning as I read today's passage of "Our Daily Bread", I was impressed upon to urge someone to keep on in their faith journey with God.  To Encourage someone to keep living for God.  Then during morning service at church, that same urgency to Encourage someone was present. I chose You! Not because you read my blog posts but because the love of our Father has brought us together even though we may never come in contact with one another.  He has transcended time and distance and joined us together by His Spirit so that we each know that with Him ALL things are POSSIBLE!  Enjoy the Journey!

Dear Lord, thank You for encouraging me through Your Word to keep living for You.

Why wait?

What are you waiting to happen before you start Enjoying life? For me, I've waited on a man to come into my life before I could be truly happy.  I've waited on a better job that would enable me to not only have but be able to give to others freely.  I've even waited on Me to not be so scared to Enjoy what I did have because I worried about what I didn't have.

I'm challenging you to stop the waiting. . .Now! Make the most of THIS day and every day thereafter; whether you have it all together or not.  Who will know, other than yourself, how much you have to bless others.  Just be a blessing! Who will know how many movies you've attended alone because you didn't have a significant other in your life. Just get out there and Enjoy life! And who will know that you have an iPhone and iPad but still worry about getting an iMac unless you tell them. Just live your life on Purpose and Enjoy the Journey! 

                   
Today's video is about deciding to put the "waiting on things to change" before I can be happy, blessed or truly live idea behind me and purpose to Enjoy every day of my life as the gift it truly is meant to be.  Not gonna be, but already has been, is and will continue to be.  So, why wait? to be happy, blessed and truly live sometime in the future when you can be those things right now. 

Don't Look at me Now

I'm writing this blog from today's perspective-meaning concerning those things that are going on in my life right now, even though the video was created about seven months ago.  If you had told me then that what I'm experiencing now would actually be happening in my life I would have said "yeah, right!"  That just goes to show you that things, situations and circumstances are subject to change.

The more I think about how that declaration I made seven months ago is manifesting in my life today in areas that seemed impossible or resistant to change, the more excited I get about walking in the fullness of all God has spoken to me about my life.  I simply made an adjustment in my confession of faith and positioned myself to receive from God not only in my finances but in every area of my life.  Today I can honestly say my life does not look the way it looked seven months ago when I dared to take God at His word and align my confession with His word.

                                  In today's video I talk about a specific event that led to my proclamation to "Don't look at me now" because when you see me later things would not look the same.  How could I boldly declare such a statement? Because I knew that once my words aligned with God's will for my life, change for the better was inevitable. I pray you see an area(s) of your own life where even the smallest of changes will bring positive results to your life.  Enjoy the Journey!

From my Heart

It's no secret that I desire to be married.  Over the years, my friends have often encouraged me to stand and believe that "one day my Prince will come". To not give up on the fact that I truly want a Godly marriage.  And even though at times I've wanted to just throw in the towel and give up hope that there really is a Prince for me, at one time or another, they've each inspired me to hold fast to my confession and BELIEVE.

As the years have gone by, I've often watched the ups and downs of my friend's marriages and at times wondered how they could stand and endure this thing called Marriage. It seemed like when it was good, it was very good.  However, when it was bad, it still could get worse.  And that "worse" is the  deciding factor that shakes the foundation of the very marriage we all hoped, believed and prayed for.

Today's video is my heartfelt plea to my friends who are "going through" in their marriages. They've been a source of encouragement to me and I so wanted to encourage them but I was at a place where I was limited as to what I could do to change the situation and had no words to say to calm the circumstance. What I could do was pray for them, believe with them and encourage them From my Heart.

Spirit and Truth

Today I watched a YouTube video commentary about a "good girl" celebrity hooking up with a "bad boy" celebrity.  The host was basically dealing with all the negative feedback people were giving the "good girl" for hooking up with the "bad boy". The host commented on how people only know the image portrayed by celebrities and that maybe they each discovered the "real" person in each other and that's why they are together.  Not for publicity-positive or negative- but because they want to be together.

When it comes down to living life on purpose, you must choose if you want to walk in the "real" of being you in every area of life or just the perception that you are "real" in order to be accepted by others.  I've chosen to be as real and true to myself in my everyday life and my interactions with others.  That doesn't mean that I'm always understood but I'm open to communicate so that a win-win situation could arise to improve the quality of the relationship.

In today's video, I discovered the "real" person behind the facade of the person I was beginning to think of as a friend. When faced with a perception that seemed totally against what this person believed I was saying, I was attacked and totally written off as evil when in fact, just taking the time to understand the meaning of mere words could have saved a budding friendship.  Even during times like these I'm determined to Enjoy the Journey!