Giving Tuesday

As part of La Belle Vie Essentials’ four-point agenda we are committed to servicing the community and outreach via social media to aide in promoting Christ. For 2015 we would like to highlight five other organizations that you can contribute by providing a donation which would help assist the mission and vision for the organization. In alphabetical order:

1. BETA Center – Orlando, FL (http://www.betacenter.org )

The mission of this organization is to give children and parents the knowledge and support needed for strong and healthy families, with a focus on teen moms and at-risk families

2. Black History Project (http://www.blackhistoryproject.org)

This organization is focused on educating African-American children in learning history, understanding culture and building a positive self-image.

3. House of Timothy (http://www.houseoftimothy.com ) / Element 26 (http://www.element26.org/)

House of Timothy is a comprehensive residential center for young adult men, ages 18-25. House of

Timothy makes it possible for residents to work on their goals, complete their education, find or keep a job and grow closer to Jesus Christ.

4. P.U.S.H. (http://www.push4life.org/ )

The objective of the organization is to push people mentally, physically as well as spiritually to reach their maximum individual potential; all the while training the body to be fully equipped to take on an all inclusive healthy life. Most importantly teaching the fundamentals of what it means in wearing the full armor of God. Once you purchase the eBook or make a donation, a portion is given to feed those in need.

5. She Is Victorious (http://sheisvictorious465.com/ )
The objective of this organization is to encourage, uplift and inspire young girls and women of all ages to claim their victory! With the mission to instill confidence and purpose, this organization serves as a constant reminder that no matter what an individual faces “God is within her, she will not fail” (Psalm 46:5)

First Love

Do you remember the first time you fell in love?

The feeling of being in love is at times difficult to put into words. The moment when you realize you are “in love” with someone it is etched in your memory. When you love someone, you put time and effort into the relationship. There is constant communication, date nights and getting to know the person. Let’s not forget the emotions that come with falling in love – passion, compassion for their thoughts and feelings, and excitement. This turns into long telephone calls of nothingness at times. Oh! I cannot forget the butterflies in the tummy. This reminds me of when I first accepted Jesus as my Lord & Savior. In those beginning stages, I was reading the Word, attending church almost every other day and praying all the time. It was as if I prayed, and my prayers were answered instantly. Things were great. I got involved in church, taught Sunday School and assisted with my youth group. I became busy in the “work” which at times came at the cost of my personal relationship and connection with Christ. Never equate “busyness” with spirituality. Your spiritual connection comes with spending time with Christ – your first true love.

In Revelation 2, there is a great depiction of those busy in the work of Christ. A letter to one of the seven churches, and this one in particular is the “Loveless Church” says the following in Revelation 2:2-3:  I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.  You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. These verses give the description best – hard working, persevering, does not tolerate wickedness and knows false prophets. All of those things are awesome qualities and great “works”, however, there is one problem stated in verse 4 - Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. The love you had at first was undeniable and on fire ….. but you got busy.

What I received out of this Scripture is that we begin to fall in love with doing things and not loving on Christ (spending time with Him). Can you imagine a husband and wife living in the same house and not speaking to each other? That relationship would more than likely end in a divorce because of a lack of communication. Can you imagine if all that was said to the wife or husband was negativity? That relationship would be very rocky. It is the same with us – what you give attention to grows. Just as if I had a plant that I neglected, it would wither and die - we need to look at it the same way spiritually. Never forsake your first love.

Ensure you know which direction you are going in. It was once said to me  “Direction is so much more important than speed, many are going nowhere fast”.  I want to take that statement a step further and say that connection is more important than speed, achievements, and accolades, because many are going to hell fast. Knowing Christ requires intimacy and sacrifice. When you stand before Christ will he say “Well done my good and faithful servant” or “Depart from me! I never knew you”?

I challenge you to go back to your first love! Remember how “on fire” you were when you first encountered Christ. Get back to the basics!

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

Share Your Story: Shanise

On the first edition of “Share Your Story”, we have Shanise describing her testimony of coming out of a terrible car accident.

Here is the story from her prospective:

The morning of my accident I saw a really bad accident unfold before my eyes. The car accident came within inches from hitting my friend and I. We jumped out to give assistance. I remember driving home at 3 a.m. still shaking and talking about it. We were amazed that the passengers survived unscathed. That night when I got home I posted a picture of the accident, and the details of what happened. I was so thankful to not be involved and thankful for everyone in the car being okay. Little did I know that I would be in an accident FAR worse than what I had just seen...

On Sunday May 3, I was headed to Siesta Key Beach, but before I could make it there my tire blew out on I-75 and my SUV flipped 3-7 times. I was cut out of my truck and spent one night in ICU for a partially collapsed lung, bruised liver, and blood clots. They monitored me around the clock and had me on 100% oxygen. Then I was moved to a regular room, although the doctors were puzzled because I was a trauma patient and they had no idea what to do with me. They released me to a rehab hospital 5 days later, and there they found that I had a broken arm. Everyone including medical professionals, insurance adjusters, and those that have seen my truck are amazed that I did not die in the accident, or at least have more serious injuries. I forgot to mention that none of my air bags deployed! My mom cried when she say my truck because she knew that God spared my life and that He has a plan for me. 

I must say this was an extremely hard time for physically and emotionally, but amazingly my emotions were the worse. Sometimes I would cry for absolutely no reason at all. Or there were times that I would cry because I felt lonely!  Then there were times that I would cry because I was upset that my life was just getting back on track, and the accident would set me back financially. But my mom kept praying for me and laying hands on me with her Holy oil. My best friend's mother would come to the rehab hospital with her bible and pray for me! I got to a point where I had to give in and be thankful, and release my anger. Rehab and the healing process were both a trying time for me and I had to start referring to my favorite childhood scripture, Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me.

Through this situation, I learned that I am so much stronger that I thought I was. I always commended people on their strength, while forgetting that I had that same strength. It just took a near death experience to understand that and to believe in myself!  My accident also showed me who wholeheartedly loved and supported. This has allowed me to eliminate the seasonal people who I thought were friends out of my life! I was able to exhale and experience the real Shanise who was no longer a young woman who was unsure of her herself, but now a strong woman who could see a future. I realized I am a FIGHTER and a SURVIVOR. I am reminded that God always has a way of getting our attention when we are hardheaded. He made me sit down and think about my actions, attitude, abilities, and relationship with Him and others. 

The advice that I would give to others in a similar situation is to find things to be thankful for. I remember being emotional because I had two black eyes which made me look Beetlejuice, but I had to be thankful for my sight. Looking like Beetlejuice or Kung Fu Panda, sure did beat being blind any day. After I thought about what I resembled I laughed to myself so hard! I had to make light of everything and made funny little Facebook post to keep my spirits up ... and boy did it work! 

Life is beautiful because so many people who died yesterday had plans for today. You made it to another day, so do not take it for granted!  Take today to experience, learn, and help others! 

Special Thanks to Shanise for taking part of LBV first edition of the “Share Your Story” campaign!

For His Glory Only,
XOXO
Danielle
 

A Day at Sea, No Worries!

Matthew 6:27 – And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

A rhetorical question that we all know the answer to – no one! I recall going on a cruise with some friends a couple years ago, and my roommate and I had a balcony. Every morning I made it a point to do my daily devotion on the balcony prior to us leaving the cabin for a day of fun. I was going through such a difficult time during that particular cruise. I barely had the money to go, but knew I needed a break. It seemed like everything was crashing down around me. The most frustrating piece was that I was doing things “God’s way".  It seemed everyone else who was doing their “own thing” were advancing in life, while I felt so stagnant. [Side Note: Stop comparing yourself to people, especially non-believers. It does nothing but breed discouragement and envy - Galatians 6:4, 2 Corinthians 10:12] I felt alone, isolated, anxious about my future and honestly scared of the problems I was facing. Although I was going through those things, I remained faithful in devotion and prayer.

One morning while on the cruise, in the middle of the ocean, I opened my devotion book. The verse of the day was from Matthew 6:26 which states: “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more value than they?” Right at that moment, as I read that verse, in the middle of the ocean, two birds flew up out of nowhere. [I still get goosebumps repeating this story]. It is as if God wanted to show me right then and there, the Scripture was real. I just smiled and in my heart said “God, I get it”. During that “Day at Sea” God wanted me to realize that I couldn’t add an hour to my life and worrying was not going to get me anywhere. I made a decision that day to stop worrying about my current situation and focus on the Scripture and God’s promises over my life. In the coming months I began to see such a drastic change. Since my outlook changed, my attitude towards my problems did as well. Then as my attitude changed, so did my circumstance.

Scripture states “fear not”, “do not be dismayed”, “do not worry” so many times and it serves as a constant reminder that we need to put our trust in God. He is the author of time, and more specifically our story. If He takes care of the animals, do you think He will forget about you? You may be going through a tough time, but if you only knew what the view was like on the other side of the mountain you would keep pressing forward.

In conclusion I leave you with this; don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today (Matthew 6:34). Each day has enough challenges as is, do not add to it by worrying about EVERYTHING else. Relax! I challenge you to look at things from a different angle this week. Allow God to mold your outlook on your current situation and your life in general. Many times it is in the season of despair God is shaping you. I know it easier to ask God “When will this be over”. Instead ask God “Help me to RELY on YOU” and “What are you trying to teach me”. In every season there is a lesson to learn. Be open to the lesson, so you can pass the test and there will be no need to repeat the course.

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

The Wife Mentor Features LBV

During the summer I had the wonderful opportunity to be featured by “The Wife Mentor” via Facebook. If you have not liked the page on Facebook, I encourage you to do so. It is an online community geared towards encouraging women regardless of their relationship status. There are posts featured from single women, engaged women, and married women giving their prospective and story about their journey.

Here is a snippet from my feature:

I am recently engaged (March 2015), and will be married within the year - however, many do not know that I was single for roughly 7 years prior.

My fiancé and I dated back in college and broke up shortly after graduation. I was so heartbroken. During the first couple of years of being single, I will say it was my “wilderness” period and I felt like God was no longer listening to my prayers. I did not commit to anyone else because I wanted to be sure they were the person for me. I learned so much about myself, and realize now that God had to work on me and also my hunny so we could reunite and be the best for each other. I went through so many cycles while single– cycles of sadness, cycles of frustration and even a cycle of going out on dates just to fill time (not very proud of that one). I just got to a point where I said enough is enough. I realized I was not only hurting myself but those around me.

I began to get really involved in church, joined a local group for young professional (CFULYP), got my Master’s degree in Human Resources Management and began my work in starting my non-profit organization La Belle Vie Essentials. The cycles turned into cycles of understanding, growth and blessings! Beauty is birthed out of adversity. Through that period of staying busy, God saw it fit to reunite Woody and I, and there are days I can’t put into words how amazing God is. Woody is definitely a testament to God’s faithfulness and that His plan is best.

My advice to the ladies that are currently single: STAY IN GOD & STAY BUSY!! Do not fall into the trap of “everyone around me is getting engaged” or “everyone around me is getting married” and settle. Stand your ground. Live life. Travel. Join organizations. Like my dad always told me “No deal is better than a bad deal; no relationship is better than a bad relationship”. You don’t want to be the one racing to the altar and then later racing to the courthouse to get a divorce. Not worth it. Learn yourself and know who you are. This will help you establish the guidelines and foundation for a great relationship and then marriage. Pray. Surround yourself with wise counsel (i.e. Wife Mentor, godly women), and PRAY!

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. In the near future I will post a video that will give a bit more insight to this journey.

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

Walk In Your Purpose, On Purpose!

I recall preaching this message to the group of youth within my congregation. We are intentional about many things in our lives. When we want to lose weight, we take the necessary measures to attain that goal. We work out, eat right and ensure we remain consistent. When we want to do well in a course, we study, read the textbook, hand in assignments and actively participate in the class. We are purposeful in the areas we want to see results. We are disciplined in our work ethic, careers and education. What about the things of Christ?

Everyone has a purpose, function and role in the kingdom of God. Purpose (noun), is the reason for which something is done or created. Simply put: why something exists. As a verb (action), it is defined as one’s intention or objective. To walk in your purpose on purpose, means to walk in the reason you are alive and put on this earth with intention. The body of Christ needs to move to a place where we are intentionally walking in our calling and spiritual gifts. The enemy attempts to put us in a place of fear, where we are reluctant to step out and do the things of God. We are frozen in place, while God is waiting on us to take the necessary steps.

There is a difference between spiritual gifts and the five-fold ministry. Spiritual gifts are mentioned in several Scriptures but here are some: wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, distinguishing between spirits, speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, healing, help, prophesying, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leadership and mercy (1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 1 Corinthians 12:28, Romans 12:6-8). Now, looking at that list you can’t say you do not have at least one spiritual gift. If you feel you don’t – pray, fast and ask God to reveal it to you. There are also online tools such as: http://www.spiritualgiftstest.com/test/adult that can be of assistance after you diligently seek Him. The five-fold ministry are the following: apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher.

Living in your purpose is being a servant of Christ. Mark 10:44-45 states: whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. If we are to follow the example of Christ (and we know He lived and died in His purpose), we are to be servants. We need to serve our church, community and nation and bring the word of God to the forefront.

Finally, work with what you have. You have goals and see yourself doing more, but work with what is given to you. Luke 16:10 states: “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” Before God gives you more, he must trust you with the smaller items first. You can’t expect to be a CEO if you have not experienced serving customers. You need to understand the different aspects of kingdom work, and the starting point is servanthood.

There are souls to be won, lives to be impacted and people in need. No matter how big or small you view your role, know who you are working for – Christ alone.

Walk in your purpose on purpose.

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

This is My Testimony!

You can view my testimony here! I pray that is blesses you, and gives you an understanding on why I started this organization. Be Blessed!

For His Glory only,
XOXO
Danielle

Your Foundation & Identity is in Christ

The title of this blog post seems very simple and easy to understand, however I feel that sometimes we forget “who we are” and “whose we are”. Let me explain.

Foundation is defined as the lowest load-bearing part of a building; an underlying basis or principle for something. As believers, our foundation is Christ. With this foundation we cannot fail, we will not be overcome by the enemy and we will rise above our trials with success. The same way a building needs a strong foundation or it will crumble, we also need the same strong foundation in our lives. Matthew 7:24 states “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock”. When Christ is your foundation, there is a difference. There is a difference in the way you interact with others, the way you deal with situations and the way you live your life. You are not easily tossed around by the beautiful struggle. You rest in Him knowing that since your foundation is Him; all things will work together for good. He has given us His Word to keep our foundation strong. The question is are you reading it, applying it and living it daily. This will keep your foundation strong. As the old hymn says “On Christ, the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand”! The story found in Scripture (Matthew 7:24-27) gives a depiction of a foolish man and a wise man. The foolish man built his house on the sand, and when the strong winds blew, rain descended, and floods came – the house fell. The wise man built his house on the rock, and when the strong winds blew, rain descended, and floods came – the house did not fall. That is the same way when the floodwaters come, the wind is blowing and we do not know whether we are coming or going in life…. Christ is the foundation, YOU WILL STAND!

Identity is defined as the fact of being who or what a person or thing is; a close similarity or affinity. We identify ourselves by many things: male vs female, tall vs short, corporate office vs entrepreneur and the list can go on and on. We identify ourselves by our race, religion, career and even relationships. The issue is, we become so wrapped up into these “identities” and allow them to categorize when our true identity is in Christ. The danger in this is we allow those things to define who we are. We let our career, salary, economic status, and relationship status define us. What if we were to lose all of those things? How would we react? Since Christ is your foundation, your identity is also in Him. So with that said. most importantly... you must reflect Him. That means the size of your home should not matter (Christ was born in a manger), you should not be overcome by trials (Christ was persecuted to the point of death), betrayal and losing relationships/friendships is part of the journey (One name: Judas). Regardless of what is going on around you – take the high road and always reflect Christ.

When things are difficult and challenging, remember where your foundation lies and where your identity is.

Stop looking at earthly things to define who you are. You are defined by Christ, and Christ ALONE!

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