Words have the power to encourage.

Throughout my life I’ve experienced seasons when I feel emotionally strong and can handle anything and other seasons when I cry or freak out if the wind blows my bangs out of place…

As a Christian and as a black woman, I spent a lot of years juggling “student Jamila”, “work Jamila”, “church Jamila”, “family Jamila”, “friend Jamila”, and “wife Jamila”. I know this makes it sound like I have multiple personality disorder. Praise the Lord, I do not. These are just some of the masks I’ve worn to fit into the different parts and places of my life.

Your core worth as a person is not based on your net worth. Fear will keep you struck, but praising Jesus in-spite of it will let you be greater than the circumstances.

It feels like our world is imploding. Real talk…2020 has been emotionally exhausting and mentally challenging for me. I’m guessing you can relate. The events of the last month have added to my pain and as a black woman, I have to be honest, it’s added to my anger.

Somehow packing gift boxes for others helps me unpack my own emotions.  One of the hardest things about being an entrepreneur (and my own boss) is actually focusing on the numbers and the profitability of the business. My natural tendency is just to focus on serving people and caring for them first and worry about profitability later. 

Overwhelmed with the daily tasks of being a mom to 3 daughters, a wife, holding down a 9 to 5 job, I was exhausted. Did God care? Was He concerned about something as trivial as my day-to-day routine? Then one day, I read something that changed my perspective forever.

God woke me up again for the third day in a row at 5:00 A.M. to pray. I fought to get out of bed. The idea of sitting in silence and trying to pray felt draining; but, I’ve always done this, and it has never felt this way before. Why is it so different now?

I don't know about you, but somehow I've completely confused what I was taught about having a strong work ethic with the idea of constant hustle. Do you find yourself going and going, non-stop? Your hustling might be related to a different area of your life, but I hope that in sharing this journey of how God is showing me that having a strong work ethic doesn't mean that I have to hustle non-stop will help you find freedom too.

Sometimes the best thing to do to calm anxiety is read scripture and encourage yourself. Here are 34 verses to calm your nerves.

We know how unhealthy stress and worry are, yet so many of us struggle with it. While it may take hard work, it is possible to live in peace.

When you're worried about succeeding or fearful of failure a few words of encouragement can make a huge difference. Here are a few encouraging quotes to help you keep failure in perspective and remind you that success may be just around the corner.

When did I become fearful of public speaking? If you follow me on social media, you know I have had a really hard time posting videos of myself. It’s so strange to me that something I was never afraid to do before, has now become something I dread. I get super nervous, mix up my words and am so critical of myself.