June Journal ’19

I’m embarrassed – this post is one in a long line of posts that is really overdue (I missed 3 months already). I don’t even have an “in my defense” excuse. I just juggle too much and at the end of each month I think “nothing particularly interesting happened” so what’s the point. THE POINT is that this was never supposed to be about sharing fascinating or glamorous snippets of my life – I love my life, but it is neither glam…nor ‘rous’. This is supposed to be a way for me to document this period of my life where so many things are going wrong, while SO MANY things are going exactly right. Most of the things that are going right are things that I can’t see and are out of my control. I don’t know if that makes any sense? You know that just because things look good on the outside doesn’t mean they’re good on the inside. I’ve gotten pretty good at putting a game face on, but I’m really only held together by God on the inside and out. That’s not just something I’m saying (/writing), it is the God’s honest truth. But I’m finding out soooo many things, and I’m being pushed out of my own complacency, and it’s just wonderful. Anyway, before I ramble on…😄 Here is my journal for June:

Fashion

So, it’s officially summer. The sun is out (well, most of the time), the temperature is up and we’ve finally put away the fun layers. Even though I’m not a fan of the heat, the outfits that come with the season change are something to look forward to. That being said, I’ve been wearing lots of t-shirts and outfits with lightweight fabrics. That’s what you want in the summer: cotton, linen, and tropical lightweight wool (some find it surprising, but wool has a wide comfort range for all seasons). Also, I ditched jeans! It’s just so hot and I can’t stand jean pants in the heat. This summer, it’s all the comfortable and practical clothes, but stylishly. Always, stylishly.

What else? I wore a lot of red this month! My IG feed is color themed so I try to live that out a little bit; it’s frivolous but it’s a lot of fun to plan.

Listened & Watched

P!nk put out new music, so I (of course) listened to the album obsessively. If you know me even a little, you know that she is an all time fave of mine. So, forgive my bias but Hurts 2B Human is one of her best work.

I also have to mention the How he loves cover by Covenant Worship + David and Nicole Binion. I may probably be the last person to have heard this song because it’s old, but it’s new to me (thanks, Ayo). More so, it is so wonderfully relevant to my current season. You can never be over-reminded of how extremely loved by God you are.

Some other honorable mentions: Susan Boyle’s Anniversary album Ten? Great work of art! That’s all I’ll say. And the Paradoxology album by Elevation Worship is heaven.

Books & Podcasts

I spent the month reading (and re-reading) Crushing by T.D. Jakes, ‘cos your girl is going through it. Pray for me 😃 Besides making me intensely research the process of wine production and aging, this book does exactly what he intended, I think. It encourages and inspires anyone going through a rough patch – I guess unless you’re a recovering alcoholic. It’s just so full of wine metaphors. If you’ve listened to Bishop Jakes over the years, you’ll know he’s never met a wine allegory he didn’t like! Don’t get me wrong, the analogies are beautifully inspired and effective. It just feels like one of his sermon series has been mushed into a couple of pages – which, again, is not a bad thing in my opinion.

Podcast: Most mornings (not all oo), I’m tuned into Elevation and Joseph Prince Ministries Podcasts. That always helps to start the day right! Recently though, I found some real gems y’all. My friend, Whitney, introduced me to LeVar Burton’s podcast LeVar Burton reads. It’s so good! Burton is know for his charismatic storytelling, how voice-over work, and his acting. I expected nothing less than what I got, that is listening to him narrate the most captivating stories with great soundscapes. Everything just comes to life.

P.S. If you’ve been wanting to read and find it hard, this may be a way to kill 2 birds with one stone. Ease yourself into it!

Then I plugged into Oprah’s Super Soul Conversations – two in particular. The conversations with Janet Mock on The Path to Authenticity: Embracing Otherness and Dr. Shefali on The Awakened Self. With deeply personal stories and humorous memories, they speak on the lie that we’ve been taught that “normal” was the path to success and contentment. And how sometimes, in the process of growing up (or adulting) we lose our most authentic self because we become self-conscious. On my commutes, or lazy mornings I just turn these on, turn up the volume and I learn/am encouraged.

Outfit Details

Shirt Dress: (find here) | Sunglasses: (find here) | Shoes: DSW – sold out (find alternative here) | Baker boy hat: (find here) | Purse (borrowed from my sissy’s closet)

Goals for July

July is looking to be filled with a lot of activities, most of which are somewhat life-changing 🤞🏾. However, at the top of my list, is finding ways to efficiently monetize all of this. Which means putting myself out there more, and being totally dependent on God to pull me through. Others are to:

• write more and write better
• take responsibility for all the things I’ve been procrastinating.
• keep my work space constantly tidy
• make a conscious effort to exercise
• sleep earlier and spend my mornings in better, more productive ways.
• launch an extension of my blogging business, which I’m so excited about and I can’t wait to share.

My Mantra (Say with me): I will DO amazing. I will BE amazing. I am wildly capable, and I am proud of myself. Through all the bending and breaking, I will remember that I am wrapped in grace.

Finally, I’ll leave you with this…

We’re only halfway through the year. I, for one, can say for a fact that I’ve LIVED (and am living) more in the past 6 months, than I had in the preceding 25 years of my life. It’s wonderful, learning the art of surrender, and the courage to let go in the wild of the unknown. So if you haven’t yet, I just want to encourage you to start here and start now. Take your own leap of faith. I hope this will still be the year you go after courage. ❤️

Here’s 🥂 to a fantastic July, and rest of the year.