#StillinMyStory

I must say that I am starting this post with a convicted but absolutely thankful spirit. I was brainstorming some hashtags for an upcoming campaign (keep your eyes peeled), when I decided to revive the hashtag from the beginning of this year #Fight4U. For some reason using the hashtag again bothered me. I couldn't figure out why so I said maybe it's being used by somebody else...So, I googled it. Sure enough my search yielded a number of responses. I tried a different variation #fightforyou, tons of stuff a gospel singer, fitness people and a bible verse. I said okay God let's see what you got for me...of course, God would give more than expected and not necessarily what you expect.

You see the whole idea behind #Fight4U was to be empowering, to encourage us Moms/Wives/Women that we can achieve our dreams and that we don't have to sacrifice them because we are Moms, Wives or Women. That we should fight for those dreams. Well, here is what God says:

Exodus 14:14 The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.

Deuteronomy 1:30 The Lord your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behlaf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 

Deuteronomy 3:22 Do not fear them, for the LORD your God is the one fighting for you.

Joshua 23:3 And you have seen all that the LORD your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the LORD your God is He who has been fighting for you. 

Nehemiah 4:20 At whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.

Yep, verse after verse! Then God led me to this thought. This year has been especially tough for me and I spent a lot of time praying through situations that I had no control over that seemed to arise one after the other. Many times I wanted to crawl in bed and call it a day but God! I can only think, if I had to fight these battles alone. Hello...a couple of times I had that white flag pressed and ironed, ready to wave. I say again but God! Sometimes I went still because that I was all I could do. But there he was fight after fight slaying and moving as I followed behind when the coast was clear.

So today I officially bury the hashtag #Fight4U because I now realize that at the end of the day, there is no possible way I could ever truly fight for me alone. Instead I choose to be #StillinMyStory because I'm still here thanks to God and I ain't fighting no more because I don't need to and neither do you!

Stay Fruitful,

Renee

The Tribe Inc. presents

Wrangle the Masterminds

The book "Think and Grow Rich" mentions creating a group of "Masterminds", coming from the era of Michael Jordan's greatness, I prefer to call them a "Dream Team". What is a "Dream Team" you ask? This goes back to the section I mentioned in the "Jot Down Your Goals", when I asked you to list 3 people you could use to help further each one of your goals. Well a dream team is a group of dedicated people that you have gathered to help further an objective.

What The Greats Do

These individuals that you pick should be reliable and supportive of your vision and most importantly possess talent, experience or expertise in an area you lack yet need to accomplish your goal. I recently watched a documentary about Jay-Z the doc referred to Jiggaman as a genius, why...not because he managed to get out of the projects, not because he makes a lot of money but because of the ability that he has to be real with himself! Mr. Carter is able to see a goal or trophy and then look inside himself and assess his strengths and weaknesses. He supplimented his weaknesses with able bodies, the masterminds of that area.

Know Your Resources

A lot of people let their weaknesses deter them from what they want, whether due to fear of failure or embarrassment. The thing to do is figure out how to compensate for what you lack. You could spend time going to school or classes to learn (not that it's a bad idea under certain circumstances) or hire someone to do what you can't. Make them a part of your "Dream Team". The role of a "Dream Team" member is to advise and teach, so that one day you CAN do what you once couldn't.

If implemented correctly this technique saves you tons of time and gives a higher return! It allows you to delegate more tedious, time-consuming tasks so that you can pay someone else to do. While allowing you to focus on bigger tasks, like acquiring new clients or sales. Keynote: Only a fool fails to use his resources.

Stay Fruitful,

Renee

Life Ain't A Movie: End Comparison

We've all been there, especially around this time of year. Scrolling down our timelines to a barrage of vacation pictures. As the Spring season hits, people are bit by the travel bug, and head off to places of sandy beaches and sunshine.

Sometimes being overexposed to other people's lives can cause us to drift into the dangerous territory of ungratefulness. Envy is a totally normal emotion of the flesh but it is important for us not to allow that emotion to consume us to the point that we become dissatisfied in our own lives and act in a way that is unpleasing to God. That is the time to pray, to detach from social media/TV and to ask God to remove those feelings and just help us to be thankful where we are.

As wives' and mothers' it's not easy for us to take off and go on a girl's trip or even to just head out to brunch with friends, but it's important that we are serving a grand purpose to be available to our families. We all have that one friend in our timeline who's "life is a movie". She's headed out to live it up, every time you turn around, she's shopping, she's jet-setting and all while looking good.  It's totally normal to have overwhelming times that cause us to want to break-free but that's when it is most important to capture our grip on reality and delve into God's word and really do some introspecting.

There is a season for everything and although it may not be your "care-free" season at the moment. It is important that we not compare our lives to others. 2 Corinthians 10:12-14 says:

"12 For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. 13 But we will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you. 14 For we stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as though we reached not unto you:"

It's not always easy to be obedient but having a will to do what's pleasing to God, praying and reading his word gives us the strength we need in weak moments to make it to those times of abundance.

Thank you for reading & Stay Fruitful!

Your Dreams are Non-negotiable

So you've strategically laid out your dreams (you Jot Down Those Goals), you think you have a winning plan whether it's a business idea, a desired degree, a promotion or professional achievement but you can't bring yourself to take the next step, why?

Society has programmed women to believe that having ambitious career goals somehow makes us selfish and unfocused on "what's really important". Women of power fight everyday to negate these negative stigmas associated with successful women, by proving we can in fact have it all, the husband, the kids, the career, even hobbies and a social life.

It's not just you, there are countless women who feel that by going after their own endeavors they are being:

   A) Selfish

   B) Greedy

   C) A fraud

   D) Guilty

I think that as women we take on so many "I ams" (I am a mom, I am a wife, etc), that we forget that most importantly we are individuals, separate from our families and friends and communities.

As individuals, born in this world with a purpose it is our right and job to figure out what we are meant to achieve, that "thing" that fulfills us as a person.

Don't let other people's ideals snuff out your chance to live fruitfully. Living fruitfully includes going after your goals and you deserve to love yourself that much!

#Fight4U

Be Fruitful,

Renee

Jot Down Those Goals

Storm the Brain 

This article is going to start out with a reality check! Wa are now more than half-way through the year...where do you stand with your 2016 goals?

Did you start this year out with your eye on a couple of great undertakings, and all of sudden realize you haven't even started on them. It could be because you failed to do one very important thing when setting goals...write it down!!

You can have the most amazing (and possibly, profitable idea) in the world but without writing it down and working out a strategy it's just that...an idea.

So here's a quick way to jump start this process, grab a piece of paper and I want you to write down whatever it is you want it achieve no matter how big it is. Remember this is the year that we Head In Bold! Under your goal I want you to write 3 things at the moment that you would need to achieve to bring your vision to life.

Wrangle the Masterminds

Once you have tasks, write the names of at least 3 people you can ask for help with your project. If you're like me you probably just cringed and I get it as women we have a tendency to have an "if you want something done, do it yourself mentality" which is often damaging and counterproductive because the truth is we can't do it all and we don't know it all. Only a fool would fail to make use of the resources around them and the choice is yours.

Be Bold and Be Fruitful,

Use Natural Time to Set Your Goals

Use Natural Time to Set Your Goals with our 6 Month Moon Phase Planner! Great new way to set both short-term and long-term goals, from New Moon to Full Moon!

Download for Free!