"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

Blind Faith

My name is Ludnie Saint Julien.  I was born and raised in Haiti and I moved to the United States six years ago. It has been a good journey for my family and I, and we have been blessed. Like everyone, I have a story and to share it with you.

When I got married 6 years ago, I thought everything would be perfect. When I was growing up in Haiti, I always thought that America was a country where people have a good life. For example, I thought Americans had all have money;  which meant they can shop any time they want, never run out of food or anything just like we see in the movies. It didn’t take me long after I moved here to realize that they were all dreams. God has shown us some ways.

The struggle started about 2-3 months after my husband and I got married. First thing, he was hospitalized & diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. He almost had a heart attack. The struggle continued. He couldn’t find a good job although he was a  licensed Registered Nurse.  He applied everywhere, no one ever called him. Sometimes he would find part time jobs with an agency but work 1-5 days a month.  So you can only imagine how we struggled. How can you survive with that? I recall one time we were looking for 25 cents to buy a gallon of water, we couldn’t find it. We were opening drawers looking for pennies to see if we can reach 25 cents. I just remember that even with everything that was going on in our life, we never stopped praying. We never stopped going to church and participating in anything. We never stopped believing that it was a test that either God was giving us, OR that the devil was mad at us for doing a good thing (which is not living in fornication and that we got married).

Later on, we moved to Kissimmee with the help of a friend who offered us hospitality so my husband could find a job. God blessed him with a job, we didn’t take long to move to our own apartment & things started to get better. It didn’t take until we said that we were ready to have children that the devil started to work again. I got pregnant on the first try. Everyone was happy! I even started having morning sickness. Things were going great …. and then BOOM! one day I miscarried. I simply said ‘’Okay God, if it’s not Your will now, I’ll wait’’.  I just took it to my Lord. It took me two years before I got pregnant again. Everything was going well, and by my 2nd trimester, my body started to go back to normal. My belly was growing, and when we went for a checkup, but there was no heartbeat. The worst part about it was that they found out that I had a partial molar pregnancy. The baby died since 14 weeks, and they had to do an emergency D&C (dilation and curettage) because I was getting infected internally. That day, I felt the same way I was when I received the news about my mother’s death. I was like really God??  NOT AGAIN! But I had to stay strong for my husband and my family.

We had to wait for a whole year to follow up with high risk pregnancy by having blood test done every month. They would monitor my hormone levels closely to make sure that I did not develop cancer before we would be allowed to try getting pregnant again. When they finally told us we were ready, we quickly we started to try. We tried everything. I took all kinds of hormones. Some of the hormones were dangerous. For instance, I was taking some hormones that would increase my eggs maturation to the point to make me release more than one egg each month. The risk of taking it for a long period of time is a high chance of developing cancer. That hormone also had seeveral side effects. A year passed, but still nothing happened. My body was so stressed; it started to shut down. I became frustrated. I was desperate. I used to cry in my car coming from work to home. I cried in my bed. I couldn’t pray anymore. I kept asking God why me. I did everything He wanted me to. I’m married; I go to church, I pray, I help others. Why was everyone else having children and not me. I even went further to say that some people were not even married because I was so mad at Him.

My husband on the other end was complaining about how he was getting old and didn't have a child. It was frustrating. Four years of marriage and we couldn’t have any child.  One day while I was at church, Pastor Danielle was preaching about BLIND FAITH. She came to me and said, God will give you what you’re asking for, but He wants you to go in closet, on your knees, and talk to him. This sermon changed my life. That day, I realized that sometimes God wants us to stop begging and stop asking, but just put your faith into Him. He knows exactly what we want, but He wants us to ask and believe; just wait for Him. So I stopped everything; all hormones, other twins med, and stopped going to the doctor. I went on my knees and did that prayer:  “God you know what I want. I’ve been crying and begging, and nothing happens. Today it is the last day I’m going to ask you this. I am not doing it anymore; I am not crying anymore. I am your servant, and I shouldn’t be unhappy. Now, there is one thing I am asking.  If you give me a baby before the year ends, on the christening day, I will testify, and I will feed the entire church’’. I also told Him that I don’t want to have a high risk pregnancy, and I want to have a normal delivery with no epidural.  TWO MONTH LATER WE WERE EXPECTING and God have given us a beautiful, healthy baby girl named GRACE-ANN. She is my grace from God. Everything went the way I ask Him. After my first trimester at the high risk clinic, the doctor told me to find a regular gynecologist because everything is normal. I was not "at risk". Yes God, yes, just the way I asked Him. I smile with the doctor knowing that I got another the victory. And to make my testimony complete, I had normal delivery with no epidural, and I didn’t suffer at all. That was one of the best experience of my life, and without God, all these wouldn’t happen. 

Life is beautiful when we let God keep control over everything. I never lost faith on Him. When my husband and I didn’t have food to eat, we fasted the whole day. God knows your situation. He knows your needs. He will fulfill them when the time is right. He just wants you to be patient. In my situation, my husband and I thought we were ready, but God Himself wanted us to wait. While we were waiting, we were exercising our faith. And today, He puts us in a better place; a place where we can actually share our story, and encourage others to keep walking with Him in whatever circumstances in life. Started from a studio in little Haiti to a five bedroom house; from 5 years trying to conceive, one miscarriage and a dying baby to a beautiful, hyper, smart, and healthy daughter. We are blessed, and we can’t thank Him enough for His blessings upon us.  He can do the same for you. Don’t be discouraged. Just put your faith stronger in Him. Just like me, if you believe, you HAVE BLIND FAITH and start making plans in the name of Jesus because life is too beautiful for you to be sad or crying all the time. He will answer your prayers.

May God bless you and everything in your life including your will and your plans.

Thank you for reading my family’s story! Be Blessed!

Special thanks to Ludnie for sharing her story. This truly touched me because I recall as she labored in prayer to get pregnant. I recall during our Father's Day service I had her pin her husband with a flower in faith that he would be a father by that following year ... and it happened!! This testimony inspires us to have blind faith and not look at our situations but to God. Again, thank you Ludnie! We appreciate your transparency.

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.

#WifeyWednesdays

I was “single” for SEVEN years! Yes, you read that right …. SEVEN before I married my college sweetheart.The journey wasn’t easy, but I made it through and married the man of my dreams.I am happy to announce we are starting something new via the blo…

I was “single” for SEVEN years! Yes, you read that right …. SEVEN before I married my college sweetheart.The journey wasn’t easy, but I made it through and married the man of my dreams.

I am happy to announce we are starting something new via the blog and Facebook page entitled “Wifey Wednesdays”. This segment will include personal experiences, testimonies, love stories, advice and posts related to love, marriage and family. We will highlight the journey of singleness, marriage and motherhood. As I personally grow in this area – I want to take you along in this journey and also share the things that have been instrumental in this season. Make sure to check out the FIRST blog post entitled - “Worth the Wait” which will be posted NEXT Wednesday!

In the meantime, make sure you are actively engaged on all of our social media sites.
Like ourFacebook page by clicking here.
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram as well!

P.S. I'll also be posting some awesome recipes in this segment!

For HIS glory only,
XOXO
Danielle

Share Your Story: God is Faithful

When I was about 16 yrs old, I attended a Haitian church. The pastor’s wife, Sr. Denis led the youth group in prayers and taught us worship songs. She also taught us how to pray and fast to ask God for various things. She told the group full of youn…

When I was about 16 yrs old, I attended a Haitian church. The pastor’s wife, Sr. Denis led the youth group in prayers and taught us worship songs. She also taught us how to pray and fast to ask God for various things. She told the group full of young women to start praying for our mate. She said her prayer for our group of young ladies was to finish school with a degree, marry a God fearing man and have children. Growing up in a traditional family with both a mother and father in the home, I wanted the same for my future family. So I started praying, fasting and seeking God’s face to achieve these goals.

A few years later at age 19, I was teaching my Sunday school class when a man opened the door by error. He was looking for his own Sunday school class but he got lost. I’ve never seen him before. He stood there and he later said he was amazed on how excited the kids were in my Sunday school class. We were playing a Bible jeopardy game and the kids were getting all the answers right and enjoyed the game. He later called my house and asked me to his Valentine’s day banquet at his Christian school. It was the first time someone asked me on a date, I was very nervous and excited. From there, we started a relationship. At that time, my family and friends approved. He was a Christian man, went to a Christian school, preached a few sermons at the church, and he was very funny. Everything appeared right on the outside but things started to shift…and things shifted fast. 

After a couple months, we experienced our first fight. I’ve never met someone who got so angry during a disagreement, so angry that it would turn physical. I needed some wisdom so I called his sister that lived in New Jersey at that time. I met her a month earlier and I knew she was someone he looked up to and respected a lot so I sought her opinion on the situation. She warned me. She said that her brother had a bad anger problem and told me to break up with him otherwise things will get worse. Boom! Just like that, she kept it real with me. If that wasn’t a warning, I don’t know what was. Only a fool wouldn’t take heed but I was the fool for 8 years after that. Yes, 8 years. 8 years of manipulation, lies, physical abuse, emotional abuse and depression. 8 years, on and off because whenever he felt like being single he would just break up with me and pursued other girls. And within those 8 years, he did propose marriage to me. We was engaged but that engagement lasted for a few months before that ended over an argument. I became so depressed that I dropped out of school, quit my job, stepped down from Sunday school and I isolated myself. With all this happening I lost faith in God’s promises for me.

New Year’s Eve 2011, I did something I’ve never done before. I rang the new year in a nightclub. I always spent New Year’s in church but that year he wanted to go dancing so I went. When I went home, I felt extreme guilt. I prayed and cried to God that night. I told Him that I was sorry for not being in church. I also told God that this relationship didn’t feel right but I didn’t have the strength to end it on my own. I asked God to intervene, end the relationship and heal my heart from all the hurt that came in the relationship. I asked God if this wasn’t the man for me to marry, just allow him to leave. 3 weeks later, that’s exactly what he did. He left in a terrible and hurtful way. But God gave me the strength to not run after him to come back. I thanked God for answering my prayer. My prayers then started changing. I started asking God for restoration to restore everything I lost in the past 8 years. After that break up, I felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. I was hurt on how it ended but I made a decision that I wasn’t going to allow that to bring me down like it did in the past. If he broke up with me before I would get depressed and isolate myself. All that changed in 2012. I enjoyed myself by going on vacations, going out to different events with new people I’ve met. I made a decision to let go and allow God to direct my steps to happiness. 

In the same year, a good friend of mine told me that he wanted me to meet someone. He told me that this man was a male version of myself. He was surprised that I didn’t already know him since he was very popular in the Haitian community. I agreed and I met Jean at a concert. He was such a gentleman. He kissed my hand when he met me, said I was beautiful and that I blew him away. He was very respectful, sweet, a family man, caring, patient and strong. He had all the qualities of my father which I admired. I always prayed for my mate to be like my father. As time passed, Jean and I fell in love. What I love most about him is that he loved me despite my past relationship. A lot of men would have not taken a woman seriously if she was in a dead end relationship for 8 years but he was not like most men. We loved each other and that love was so pure. We got married in court in November 2013 and later had our wedding in July the following year. We found out we were expecting a child in June. We were overjoyed when we learned we were going to be parents. I was able to wish him a happy father’s day on Father’s day, that was another answered prayer. Today we are happily married and have 2 beautiful baby girls. Our firstborn daughter Jordyn and our second baby girl Jenesis. They are our joys.

Life is beautiful because my God is faithful. For years I prayed for what I have today. Despite the rough 8 years, I came out victorious after making a decision of being obedient to God and to allow Him to be God in my life. That was a huge lesson. 

So let’s do the checklist:

I prayed to finish college, to have a degree and to have a career. ✔️

I prayed to marry a God fearing man ✔️

I prayed to have children (preferably girls) ✔️

The lesson is God is faithful even through your disobedience. Just make it easier on yourself. Save yourself from the pain, wasted time and headache. Be obedient to God, wait on Him and He will bless you more than what you can think or ask for yourself. 

Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful Godwho keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.


Thank you Sophia for sharing your testimony with us! We serve a God that is faithful and able to restore!  So encouraging to know that even in our moments of despair, God is working!

For HIS glory only,
XOXO
Danielle