#2016

"ICE": In Case of Emergency

As you may know, a tragic incident took place on Sunday, June 12th in Orlando, FL. There were forty-nine individuals who lost their lives in a senseless domestic act of terrorism. If you have not kept up with story, you can find updates and information here.

One of the topics that haven't been discussed heavily is the challenge local officials had with contacting next of kin for those injured and those deceased. We all know our phones are locked, but that poses a challenge in emergency situations. This was the case in the wake of this tragedy.

I want to encourage you all to place this information on your phone so it is retrievable even if your phone is locked. Both iPhone and Andriod have this capability.

Here is an article with more information: ICE: In Case of Emergency

After reading the above article or my post and you want to add the "ICE" information/Medical ID information, you can use the following videos as a tutorial.

iPhone users can use this quick tutorial via YouTube be following the link here.

Andriod users can use this quick tutorial via YouTube be following the link here.

 

Please share this information with your friends and family. Although I pray that this will NEVER be needed in your lifetime, I just want everyone to have the greatest chance of survival if anything were to ever happen.

 

My heart & prayers goes out to the victim's families & friends, those who survived and the entire city of Orlando.

 

For His glory only,
XOXO
Danielle J.

P.S. If you live in Florida, there is also a way to link your emergency contact information to your driver's license. Please use this link here to get this completed. Special thanks to one of our awesome supporters Ashley B. for the information.

Declarations

Last month we started a new initiative entitled "I Declare" via our social media accounts.

The word dec·la·ra·tion means a "formal or explicit statement or announcement; the formal announcement of the beginning of a state or condition". This new series of declarations are made to speak to our circumstance, mountains and even fears.

We want YOU to repeat the declaration, believe it and make it your own.

For this declaration  we are standing firm on Nehemiah 8:10 which states "the joy of the Lord is your strength". Declare that God will do mighty things in your life, and your days will be filled with love & laughter. Claim it! Believe it! Receive it!

If you are not following us on our social media accounts - please do so!
We are on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and even YouTube.

There is also a specific Instagram page dedicated to our online store. Check us out!

As always, thank you for your continued support <3

For His glory only,
XOXO
Danielle J.

 

#1 Fan

Genesis 2:18 states “The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."

I simply love this video of Ayesha Curry throwing confetti to cheer her man on! You can tell his entire demeanor changed once she threw the confetti and he saw her. It is a great example of one of the roles we play as wives. We are called to be our husbands “helper”. In this blog I am going to talk about the importance of encouraging your husband. For those who are single – this is still something relevant for you so you are ready for the future.

Let’s face it – we all have challenges in life. On top of the day to day struggles we face, our men carry the weight of being provider, protector and leading. As the head of the household he stresses about being the best and providing the best for his wife and family. We need to be the sense of encouragement when he is down. No man wants a nagging wife!! Be encouraging!

Here are some questions and points we can use to assist is in encouraging our husbands:

  • Think about your husband’s strengths and weaknesses. In what areas does he need your help?

  • Write down 1-3 ways that you can better support him to make your marriage stronger.

  • Write in your own words what it means to be your husband’s helper

    If you are married - write a prayer to the Lord and ask for His help in fulfilling your commitment to the things you wrote down.

If you are single, write your commitment to being that kind of helper.

Goal: Proverbs 31:11-12 The heart of her husband has confidence in her, and he has no lack of gain. She brings him good and not evil all the days of her life.

We will revisit Genesis 2:18 during our #WifeyWednesday segment because It is applicable in so many areas.

I hope this post helps you see the importance of encouraging your husband.

If you have a challenge encouraging your husband, download this great 30 day guide here!

For His Glory Only,
XOXO
Danielle

Worth The Wait

The moment you realize that everything that led to this point [wedding day] …. was worth the wait.I was single for SEVEN years! Singlehood is not a disease or a plague. Through singleness I learned so much about myself and others. I learned my likes…

The moment you realize that everything that led to this point [wedding day] …. was worth the wait.

I was single for SEVEN years! Singlehood is not a disease or a plague. Through singleness I learned so much about myself and others. I learned my likes and dislikes, and the things I would not compromise. I learned so much about relationships, friendships but most importantly I learned so much about God. God taught me to rely on Him and not what others thought, learning to ignore unsolicited opinions and hurtful actions.

Most of us have our lives mapped out for the next year, five years or even ten years. Then God throws us a curve ball. My curve ball came in the sense of ending a relationship with my now husband, and being single for seven years. We ended things not because our relationship was bad, but because of bad timing. Prior to my relationship with him, I was in an on/off again relationship with a gentleman who ended up cheating on me. After that incident, I recall grabbing a prayer rug my mother gave me and cried out to God. I recall stating that the “next man I dated, I want to marry”. When I met my husband [Woody] I wasn’t looking to be in a relationship. After six months of courtship, he stole my heart. During the six months – the way I felt for him couldn’t compare to the prior relationship I was in for 2-3 years. When things ended, I was heartbroken. Partly because of the prayer I did before meeting him.

During those seven years of singleness, I went through so many ranges of emotions – anger, anxiety, being stagnant, and sadness. Don’t get me wrong there were so many great things happening in my life during that time. We are sometimes guilty of focusing on the wrong things. Although other areas of my life were moving along wonderfully, I felt like I was missing something. I was angry at God at times because I was doing everything right to the best of my ability and was not receiving what I truly wanted. Like, how do you get angry with God?! At 26-27 I was ending this cycle of going on dates with random guys that my friends, peers or coworkers thought would be good for me. I think that was my pitfall. I wanted to be married at 27 years old and have my first child by 29. Here I was saying “God not my will, but yours” and I was taking matters into my own hands. I made a decision that there would be no more dates. I would earnestly seek God and His direction. Then came the tests and obstacles, and fighting the anxiety. My plans were not coming to pass. Here I was at the age of 28, no man in sight. I had to learn to deal with negative thoughts and emotions, rely on God’s word and trust in His plan.

Woody and I reconnected in the weirdest way after seven years of not dating. We picked up seemingly right where we left off. We reconnected November 2013. I was engaged by February 2015 and married on December 20th, 2015. I often laugh and say “Look at the difference a year makes”.

This blog post is for those women and MEN who feel that they are in the “waiting”. I just want to reach out to you and let you know that God has not forgotten about you. I was once where you are. Hearing people say “You’re almost 30! When will you have kids?!” … and so many other hurtful things. Being reminded day in and day out, you are not where you want to be. Keep focused on the end goal! DO NOT SETTLE! Singlehood is your time to establish a great foundation in Christ. Get rooted in Him. You cannot properly love someone else until you first learn to love yourself and Christ.

I can honestly say that those seven years were needed. God needed to break me down. He needed to remove my need of control. He needed to mold my heart to reflect His. He needed to change my character and get me to the place where I had to simply trust in Him! I can say this now – those seven years were worth the wait for the man that I married and also for the woman that I have become.

I am not sure why you are in the waiting, but I know one thing … If God gave you the desire to be married it will come to pass. Hang in there! Stay strong! I am praying for you!

P.S. In another #WifeyWednesday I’ll share our actual “love story”. Trust me, it is best if you allow God to write your love story.

For His Glory Only,
XOXO
Danielle J.

June - Bible Reading Challenge

La Belle Vie is starting a new monthly initiative for the remainder of 2016. This initiative is in place to encourage our followers to read the word daily. The "Bible Reading Challenge" will either have a general theme or we will read certain books of the Bible together.

For the month of June we are reading Scripture that empowers us to have "No Fear"! Let's walk in authority and know that if God is with us - no one [or thing] can be against us.

Join us by doing the following:
- Read the Scriptures everyday
- Use the hashtags #nofear and #LBVJuneBibleChallenge
- Tag the La Belle Vie page if you post the verse of the day
- Stay tuned for the end of the month discussion on the Scriptures read

 

For His glory only,XOXODanielle J.

For His glory only,
XOXO
Danielle J.

Share Your Story: Jeriele

I understand, in my own way, why David said “if it had not been for the Lord on my side…” So many have been through much struggle whether it be physical, financial, or academic. Those hurdles all require a certain amount of will power and dedication…

I understand, in my own way, why David said “if it had not been for the Lord on my side…” So many have been through much struggle whether it be physical, financial, or academic. Those hurdles all require a certain amount of will power and dedication from within to stand. Some are easier to overcome then others. I think one of the biggest fights is the one from within. It was for me at least. I am born the first born of a renowned family. They were first generation preachers called and dedicated to ministry from the day they accepted the call.

I used to be pushed away from the circle in youth functions because I was the pastor’s daughter. At times conversations would cease when I came around and I would feel so left out and rejected. I didn’t understand my parents call and mantle at the time, but I do remember feeling alone whenever they went away. I was afraid to share my social setbacks with them because it would hurt them and make want to pull me out of youth activities in effort to protect me. So I never told them. I started to find myself and started bullying boys, I secretly liked them but didn’t know how to express it. That turned into fights and disrespecting teachers. One way or another someone in administration favored me and did not report me. Even in my mess, favor followed me.

I remember in middle school I had my first real crush.

Let me say this, there are mental and emotional collisions that happen in a young girl or a young man’s life that may be just as fatal as a head on collision between to vehicles. Their minds are shattered, hearts torn to pieces, emotionally scared. As I mentioned before, ‘even in my mess, favor followed me’, the word of God says that “the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:17-20. Even when we may be in our darkest place in our minds, God is still near waiting for the moment you realize he never left.

So, my first crush was in middle school. I was so into him and he didn’t know it. I was too afraid to share it and allowed myself to fall into satisfying my desires by imagining what we would be like together. That led right down the wrong path. I began writing explicit poetry and had never read nor watched a second of sexual content. The devil found that emptiness, the hurt, the fear of rejection and silent cry for affection and gnawed at it. He began dating a good friend of mine after I told her how I felt about him. I had even asked her for advice on how to tell him. She betrayed me. We never got together because he abruptly moved back to his island country of Jamaica. I was heartbroken and devastated because though he never knew how I felt, he was my best and only friend. I was emotionally attached to him, now emotionally shattered. Those thoughts of worthlessness and low self-esteem began to lurk into my soul and I began to believe them. I started to believe that I wasn’t pretty enough and not smart enough. I had begun to believe that if I wanted to be with someone, I had to agree to be the side girl. I would never be #1.

I graduated high school and fell for my new crush. He was everything I thought I wanted. Boy was I wrong. Once again I fell for a boy, this time, he in a relationship. The enemy entertained my deep cries for affection and for someone to just touch my soul. Listen, during all this, I was active in my church functions. I had been serving in worship team and working in youth functions. But I must say that I had not yet met with the true and life changing love of God. Not everyone that seems like they have it all together really do. This is where we can miss the mark and never hear the cries behind the bars of teeth of a fake smile.

I must say that my family was always loving and supportive. They did all they could and beyond to show us all (my three siblings and I) as much love and acceptance. It was the emptiness from so long ago that had dug a hole deep in my soul. Caused by social rejection and name calling and struggling with my weight and so many other factors. They had all served as the perfect target for the enemy to try and destroy my future.

This young man and I began dating, and yes, I was the side chick. He touched my insecurities and told me all the right things. He said all the things I wished a man would whisper in my ears from the first sensual poem I had written way back in middle school. I was convinced he was the one. Not only did he touch my soul, but we began to grow intimate. How devastated I was to have fallen so deep, but I was in too far I couldn’t muster up the strength to get out. I was bound and had no idea how to get out of it. The more we saw each other the more my heart and soul was chipped away. He had me. He owned me. I was his and I was bound.

That’s where the enemy tries to capture us. He accelerates us into self-destruction by creating as many opportunities that can tear us down. Notice I said “tries”. The devil tried to imprison my thoughts and forced me to fall into depression and self-condemnation. But God stepped in! My parents sensed the pain and the spiritual warfare and jumped right in to defend me. I will never forget that in a Sunday morning service they stopped church as usual and called a 911 prayer session. They wrapped me up in a white sheet and my mother and father laid over me and prayed me through! The elders and pastors all prayed. It was so powerful and that was my hour of deliverance. About three years of fasting and prayer and building my character and faith in God, I was released and was called out to different preaching engagements. My sound was ready to be heard. I had collided with my destiny that day. I found my identity in God. I was free! No long bound.

God will place people in your life to rescue you from you. Some of our biggest struggles are in our minds. The enemy tries to attack where we are most vulnerable because he knows that that is where my emotions and intellect and will power lies. He makes sure he plants the idea that even our loved ones will never understand and so we pull away. But, if we trust in the Lord we won’t faint. God will help us at break of day (Psalm 91).

I want to encourage a young lady who has had an emotional wreck. You are about to have a collision with your destiny. If you are reading this testimony, you are at the right place at the right time.  I collided with my purpose that Sunday morning wrapped in a sheet. I found love and saw the very face of God. He told me he loved md and his love was far beyond the touch of any man. God’s love touches deeper than the soul, it is eternal! I say just as Paul said, I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love! (Rom. 8:35-39) I share that same love with you and hope that you too will collide with his love, collide with is grace.  When you least expect it, when you have lost control of this vehicle called life - God is right there ready to smash all those pieces back together. You are not lost, as a matter of fact God has been right there with you all along. Trust him to reach out to you right on time!

He did it for me, he will surely do it for you. I found Jesus and now Life is Beautiful. Collision with Destiny.

Jerielle - Thank you so much for sharing your story! We appreciate your words of encouragement!

For HIS Glory Only,
XOXO

Danielle

Happy New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR on behalf of La Belle Vie Essentials and the “Dream Team 2016”. We appreciate all the love and support in 2015, and we are looking to an awesome 2016. Our prayer is that you will “walk in your purpose on purpose” and that you will have a spiritually healthy 2016. At the end of the journey, although we want to achieve our personal goals it is important to keep God first in all that we do. Proverbs 16:9 states “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.” This year allow the Lord to establish your steps. You will not be shaken and you will not be moved! Looking forward to this journey! Be blessed!

 

For HIS glory only…..May God richly bless you!XOXODanielle

For HIS glory only…..
May God richly bless you!
XOXO
Danielle