Living my LIFE like it’s golden. The Queen sits on her throne and she LOVES it ❤️

The Renaissance Journey continues …

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Yours in love – The Renaissance Lady ©

About a week ago, I stumbled upon a ‘challenge’ post by Dakore Akande and Feyi Luther Mbanugo called the ‘Stepping out in Faith Challenge’ – #steppingoutinfaithchallenge and it got me inspired to participate as I have discovered that these days, people lack belief in themselves and the power that is assigned to them. This was a 5-day challenge that ended on Saturday but I would still encourage everyone to participate as this will give you all Food for Thought at the end on what affects and also reflects in your life and how to make the change to allow positivity and also productivity!

Day 1 focused on Gratitude and what we are grateful for: I am grateful for still standing in spite of the adversities that I have faced this year and the previous years. I am grateful for His grace upon my life and the new journey that I am currently on. I am grateful for my son and family who have my back. I am grateful for consistency in my career. I am grateful for my blog and the opportunities that have come for expressing my thoughts on paper. I am grateful for friends who have stood by me with truth and love. I am grateful for much more coming my way so I stand and pose with Style, Grace, and Confidence…

Day 2 focused on being Mindful and turning negativity into positivity. I decided to post a quote which speaks a lot about how I choose to tackle life situations these days: “If It doesn’t CHALLENGE You, It doesn’t CHANGE YOU.” That has been my go-to affirmation on life challenges and negative thoughts. Besides, there is a popular quote by the famous philosopher – Friedrich Nietzsche: ‘What Doesn’t Kill You, Makes You Stronger!

Day 3 focused on Forgiveness: letting go of hurt and pain. Boy, can I relate to hurt and pain? But through it all, I realised through experience that I should never give another person the power to control my emotions so I forgive them and move on (but with wisdom and caution). Besides I’m a LEO and we Queens can’t allow that kind of toxins into our lives now, can we ??!

Day 4 focused on MANTRA which is positive words of affirmation to inspire and encourage us in our daily lives. I have so many affirmations to go by and have written various blog posts on the importance of affirmations like: ‘The Gratitude Challenge’ or Be the CEO of Your Life. My favourite bible verse is from Romans 8:28 – “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” & this has been my daily mantra in all situations. When Travis Greene bought the song ‘Intentional’ – it was as if he took my thoughts and made it into a motivating song… And I end up by saying that the power of affirmations bring us closer to what we want by feeling that they’re already in our reach.

Day 5 focused on Letting Go and Letting Our Light Shine. This challenge has taught me that life does have its ups and downs but through it all; it makes us stronger and we should always see the brighter side in the midst of the storm (yea, I know it is easier said than done). But I truly believe in that concept and that is what has kept me going through the challenges of life… I allow myself to always see the good and brighter side thus it has kept me looking much younger than my true age and I ain’t stopping for no-one. Just Live: Let Go and Let GOD!

Well, the challenge ended on Saturday and all participants were told to wait for an announcement advising of the best inspiring posts. Well today, I got to work only to get a notification from @flm_mamak that I have been given a ‘special recognition’ for my posts on the #steppingoutinfaithchallenge which has been enlightening for me.

Drum ? roll !!!!!! Wow, we had so many amazing posts during the #steppingoutinfaithchallenge and honestly, I would have chosen each and every one of you. Well @dakoreea and I came together and chose the 5 best posts and then we just had to give special recognition to two other followers who just blew us away!! So without further ado !!!

The 5 best posts go to:

And special recognition goes to @therenaissancelady and @oluwalonirosay !! Ladies, your stories, and delivery touched our hearts. We are so blessed that the #steppingoutinfaithchallenge touched you all !! I will be announcing a special event on Friday and hope you guys look out for it!! Much love ? cc @dakoreea ™@flm_mamak

As previously said: I would still encourage everyone to participate as this will give you all Food for Thought at the end on what affects and also reflects in your life and how to make the change to allow positivity and also productivity!

Do like, comment and follow my BLOG for upcoming posts.

Yours in love – The Renaissance Lady © 

Happy Monday Beloveds ❤.

Had an interesting conversation with some sista-friends recently on relationships and life and we touched on the word ‘LOVE’ which brought on loads of emotional outbursts and concepts. The only thing that stood out was when it was stated that LOVE is an Action Word and not just an emotion which has always been how I view it.

What’s your concept of LOVE?

Is it just an Emotion or is it an Action Word for you?

Let’s Discuss!

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Yours in love – The Renaissance Lady © 

Happy Monday Beloveds. So I finally made time to watch ‘Black Love’ which was a 4-part documentary series that premiered on @owntv and has just been renewed for a second season (yipeee ??????).

This docuseries focused on celebration of ‘Black Love’ (I will say LOVE in general cause anyone of any race in a relationship or marriage can relate to it and learn a thing or two). Black Love highlighted love stories from the black community seeking to answer the burning questions: What is the secret to making a marriage work? What is the biggest threat to Black Relationships? Falling down and Tripping over hurdles in relationships? The difficulties of being in an inter-racial relationship? How to deal with infidelity and trust in relationships?

Husband-and-wife filmmakers Codie and Tommy Oliver presented real, honest, emotional and sometimes cringe-worthy love stories from some of the most successful people in business and entertainment as well as everyday couples. It featured couples which included Oscar® winner Viola Davis and Julius Tennon, Hollywood power couple Meagan Good and DeVon Franklin, NAACP Image Award® winner Tia Mowry-Hardrict and actor Cory Hardrict, NAACP Image Award nominee Flex Alexander and Grammy®-nominated recording artist Shanice, gospel singer Erica Campbell and music producer Warryn Campbell, NAACP Image Award nominee Vanessa Bell Calloway and Dr. Anthony Calloway, and many more—each offering a unique take on love. It focused on the couples expressing how they discovered and appreciate this thing called ‘LOVE’ plus also shared Lessons Learned, Sacrifices Made and Lessons still being Learned along this journey of Love and Life.

My thoughts: I wanted to see snippets of laughter, pain and brutal honesty which we don’t generally get to hear from married couples and this was definitely reflected amongst the couples. In the midst of it all there were some real gems could be use for our own romantic relationships, regardless of the stage we’re currently in.  I liked how Viola Davis and her husband – Julius Tennon opened up about the realities of marriage and the hard work and commitment it takes to make it work: “more people would be terrified if they knew what marriage was really about.”

And even though the documentary focused on married couples, I decided that as a single woman, I too have chosen to celebrate ‘Love’: it’s the love I was raised on; the love that I have experienced and received from precious ones; the love I also previously experienced from treasured relationships and am absolutely looking forward to the New & Amazing type of LOVE that I will experience with The One! ❤️.

I am sucker for TRUE LOVE and believe it is out there for all those who desire it but it has to be a Mature Godly kind of LOVE for me, where we are both willing to learn and grow (that’s enough of my thoughts for now). This docuseries definitely reaffirmed my belief that there is a Time and Season and my Season is NOW ❤️!

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#BlackLove #LifeChanger #PurposeDriven #BeInspired #WomenofFaith #Love #Expectant #Oprah #LoveStories #Mumpreneur #Motivation #MyLifeMyStories #LifeLessons #Love #DeepThinking #Faith #Empowerment #DailyEncouragement #InstaPost #BlackLove #InstaPhotos #PositiveThinking #Influencer #IntentionalLiving #LifestyleBlogger #ContentCreator #BloggerLife #NewYorkBlogger #LondonBlogger #MelaninPoppin #SavvyBlogging #therenaissancelady

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Yours in love – The Renaissance Lady ©

 

Do like, comment and follow my BLOG for upcoming posts.

Yours in love – The Renaissance Lady © 

So at the weekend, I decided to return back to my Steve Harvey ‘Jump: Take the Leap of Faith to Achieve Your Life of Abundance‘ audio-book and had it on full blast round the house as I packed to head back home to the reality of the hustle life. Once again whilst listening to the audio-book, I was constantly reminded that ‘failure is not an option in this journey of mine and that the power of mindset is everything.

I had previously signed on to do the FREE 21 Day JUMP Challenge with Steve Harvey which was very enlightening, where we were given the tools to get inspired, stay motivated and take the action to Jump to our next level of Success.

With this book/audio-book: Mr. Harvey shows us through his own experiences, how to discover our gifts, envision our dreams and take the steps to become all were were created to be. 

I have been an avid admirer of Steve Harvey and have literally watched him do the leaping right before our eyes, thus I am so excited that he is committed to sharing the principles and preparations that he and others used to override their fears and surge into their unique destiny!

I remember watching a YouTube clip that Steve Harvey did titled ‘You have to Jump‘ where his message was that ‘one needed to JUMP like our life depends on it and because it does, then we truly want and will get a life of peace and abundance.’ In that clip, Mr. Harvey uses those uncomfortable moments to explain his core principles and teach us what it means to JUMP like:

  • identifying the lesson and the blessing in all that life brings our way.
  • isolating particular moments when we must be still and when we must take action.
  • implementing “humble aggression” to achieve our dreams.
  • placing past mistakes in our rear-view mirror and creating a fresh life story.
  • letting go of people who are weighing us down.
  • taking responsibility in the face of adversity.

The mean lessons learned from the clip is how the power of ‘faith’ works – on how the confidence in knowing that leaping will elevate our lives and that we will be caught when we fall. As Steve mentioned: “don’t stand on the cliff of life and watch others soar by.” Jumping is taking a leap of faith and opening ourselves to possibilities that has been placed in front of us.

Mr Harvey, your words of wisdom is the extract from your pains and experiences so many thanks for this… 

Well, you can imagine my excitement when on Tuesday, I saw that my initial weekend post was now re-tweeted by the one and only Steve Harvey. Yeaaaa, this just got me more pumped up to run this race so well.

Mindset even more geared up now. Thanks Mr. Harvey ??

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Yours in love – The Renaissance Lady © 

I have tried to stay away from American politics even though I am so opinionated about this ‘thing’ called ’45’. But listening to trump’s comments at yesterday’s press conference was a total disgrace to Americans and The World as a whole. His responses in relation to the incident that happened in Charlottesville, Virginia during the violent white supremacist rally over the weekend (where one person was killed and dozens injured) was just unbelievable, despicable and not acceptable at all in any shape or manner. Note that this is the follow-up to his initial response which came 2 days later… 

Well, lil man and I whilst on our way to Central Park that afternoon came across a protest in response to the fascism that happened in Charlottesville and especially due to trump’s lack of speedy response (seeing that his hands type faster than he thinks). So in light of that, we felt it was the brotherly & British thing to do and join the protest by showing our support to our Americans counterparts on what a disgraceful man they have as their leader: a man who does not represent their views or morals …

Yesterday, I was speechless and that’s all I could say. But for how long will it be …?

How long will it take for this man to be removed from the office (that was so sacred to the world) which has now been abused since he came into power.

  • What president gives white supremacy, alt-right and neo-nazis the benefit of the doubt by subtling endorsing them?
  • What president lies through his teeth as if he is slipping water and expects you to accept his lies without questioning?
  • What president claims that the white supremacy, alt-right and nazis groups were partially to blame for the disgraceful disturbance at Charlottesville?
  • What president speaks unfiltered without any remorse to a country which he is supposed to lead?
  • What president gives white supremacists an unequivocal boast in this era in America?

I guess this type of secret messaging was a way for trump to signal his continued support without playing into “MSM (mainstream) media” narratives. On Saturday, he did not denounce the racist mob about the events that unfolded after hundreds of neo-Nazis, white supremacists and Ku Klux Klan members first marched through the city. Instead, he blamed “many sides” for the violence without specially identifying any group. These people support ideas which cost the nation and world so much pain, and yet, he sees nothing wrong with that…

Then yesterday, he turned around and said that counter-protesters did not have proper permits to march and claiming there were good people “on both sides.” The words spilled from his mouth apparently left his WH staff so stunned. As part of a quick PR strategy, I would have thought it will be wise to fly down to Charlottesville to weather the storm of the city and the nation but according to White House officials, there are no plans for ’45’ to visit. Instead of constantly attacking the press (which should be his constant companion at this stage in his seemingly failed leadership), he should step back and listen as they have covered years of other presidents and know the game to help the leaders win over the country.

So until trump hastily calls out racism as a systemic issue in all scenarios instead of the moral failing of a few individuals (as he frequently does), his responses will always be too little too late for the country to accept.

So my advice to ’45’; take time out to study past presidents and their diplomacy and you ‘might’ see yourself admired and respected but then again, going by your business history and presidential history so far, I doubt it…

So again, back to my question: how long will it be …?

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Yours in love – The Renaissance Lady ©

New Week, New Dreams, New Beginnings!!!

Happy Monday Beloveds ❤️

#lifechanger #purposedriven #womenoffaith #lifestyleblog #motivator #mylifemystories #deepthinking #Faith #dailyencouragement #instapost #instaphotos #PositiveThinking #Influencer #IntentionalLiving #lifestyleblogger #blogger #londonblogger #lifestylebloggers #bloggerlife #ukblogger #bloggerslife #africanblogger #melaninpoppin #blackbloggersunited #bb_blogger #browngirlbloggers #nigerianblogger #blackgirlswhoblog #savvyblogging #therenaissancelady

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Yours in love – The Renaissance Lady © 

Happy Monday Beloveds ❤️. Yea I know I sound so happy but it wasn’t like that early this morning. There’s always something about Monday mornings that leave me gloomy and just want to sleep in some more but then I remember that some people didn’t have the opportunity like I had to experience this Monday or any other Mondays afterwards so I had to ‘check’ myself and be thankful for the grace for another day to make an impact wherever I go. Now I can’t promise that I won’t moan on Monday mornings but having this on my wall is a reminder of what gratitude is all about. Seize the day and make it Impactful ??

#lifechanger #purposedriven #womenoffaith #lifestyleblog #motivator #mylifemystories #deepthinking #Faith #dailyencouragement #instapost #instaphotos #PositiveThinking #Influencer #IntentionalLiving #lifestyleblogger #blogger #londonblogger #lifestylebloggers #bloggerlife #ukblogger #bloggerslife #africanblogger #melaninpoppin #blackbloggersunited #bb_blogger #browngirlbloggers #nigerianblogger #blackgirlswhoblog #savvyblogging #therenaissancelady

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Yours in love – The Renaissance Lady © 

How many ‘once upon a time…‘ moments have you had in life and how has that affected you in this present time?

I still am encountering the ‘once upon a time …‘ moments at this stage of my adult life (which has been rather interesting and somewhat overwhelming) but have decided to journal each step or moment and reflect on the aftermath!

What about you?

#lifechanger #purposedriven #womenoffaith #lifestyleblog #motivator #mylifemystories #deepthinking #Faith #dailyencouragement #instapost #instaphotos #PositiveThinking #Influencer #IntentionalLiving #lifestyleblogger #blogger #londonblogger #lifestylebloggers #bloggerlife #ukblogger #bloggerslife #africanblogger #melaninpoppin #blackbloggersunited #bb_blogger #browngirlbloggers #nigerianblogger #blackgirlswhoblog #savvyblogging #therenaissancelady

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Yours in love – The Renaissance Lady © 

 

After this past weekend events of laying to rest Richie and the turn-out of people who came to celebrate his life; the stories told amidst the cries and laughters of the impact he had on people; it left me thinking of what my legacy will be when I leave this mother earth cause death (as much as we hate to admit it) is inevitable to us all. So, What’s my Legacy?

Oprah says that no amount of money can fill your life with substance, and calls on us to offer ourselves in service and think about the legacy we’re building (extract and commencement video via Goalcast – Oprah: What’s your Legacy?).

She continued by saying ‘“You’re nothing if you’re not the truth. The biggest reward is not financial benefits, though it’s really good, you can get a lot of great shoes. Nothing wrong with great shoes. But, those of you that have a lot of shoes know that having great shoes, and a closet full of shoes, or cars, or houses, or square footage, doesn’t fill up your life. It doesn’t. But living a life of substance can, substance through your service, your offering of your whole self. The baseline for how do you live a life of substance, is whatever is the truth for you, what do you stand for? Oprah ended her speech by saying: Your legacy is every life you’ve touched.’ Your legacy is every life you’ve touched. Feel everything with love, because every moment you are building your legacy.” 

This talk on leaving a legacy is constantly something I have heard along this journey of my forty-something year-old life and I have often questioned its definition? My mother always says: “everyone is known for something but Yvonne, what do you want to be known for?” And truthfully, I have never truly thought about what my legacy will be but just live my life the way I have been living it; hopefully impacting people along my journey with love, compassion, giving how I know how either through a word of wisdom, or either through physical or financial help or just being a friend in need whenever I am called or needed. 

A legacy does not have to be something physically handed down to your children but I see it as your name being ‘the’ legacy that is handed down from generation to generation impacting your community and the whole world. If we think of our legacy as a gift, it places an emphasis on the thoughtful, meaningful, and intentional aspects of legacy. 

How do you want to be remembered? How do you want to change the future? How do you want to inspire change in the world? What actions would it take to create your legacy?

Start viewing your goals as the legacy you will leave. Actionable steps to make your legacy epic.

For me: knowing the legacy I want to leave behind helps me stay focused on what I’m doing in the present so my goals are in line with that. My legacy will be a world made better while I am here, and a world left better when I am gone.

So, again I ask: What’s your Legacy?

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Yours in love – The Renaissance Lady ©

At the beginning of the year; I truly had to define relationships and what it has or hasn’t contributed in my life especially the love-interest ones that failed and concluded how grateful I am that it didn’t work out (even when I so wanted it to) cause in this new age of the Rebirth; my eyes and head have opened up to ‘my worth’ and what I truly deserve.

So I patiently await The One that my soul needs and in the meantime; consistently work on what will make me the best Me for Me, for Him and for US! So here’s to practicing my African name: Ndidi (which means Patience) and wait for that ‘One Day’?

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Yours in love – The Renaissance Lady ©