Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Count Your Blessings...

     As we come upon the Thanksgiving holiday, we should take time to thank God for the many blessings that he has bestowed upon us.  It is great that we have family and friends to spend our holidays with, but remember that someone, somewhere has no one to spend their holiday with.  Remember that someone is not going to have a big holiday feast, as we may.  If at all possible, invite someone to dinner who may not have anywhere to go for Thanksgiving or provide them with a gift card to a restaurant that will be open on Thanksgiving Day.  Remember that God is love and that giving is a part of exercising His love...

Enjoy your holiday...

LaTorya L. Nettles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwKlR5vNs6E

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

LaTorya's Motivational Space: When in Doubt, Praise!

LaTorya's Motivational Space: When in Doubt, Praise!: "As Christians there will be many times when we may doubt the word of the Lord, but always remember that this is what the enemy wants. He wa..."

When in Doubt, Praise!

As Christians there will be many times when we may doubt the word of the Lord, but always remember that this is what the enemy wants.  He wants you to believe that the words of God are just words with no power and that they are not true.  It was His words that were used to create the earth.  Now that's powerful.  He just spoke and things came to be... (see Genesis 1).  Because we are to walk by faith and not by sight, we have to stand  on His word no matter what our circumstances look like in the natural realm.  When those tough times come and it looks like God is not going to do what He said  He would do, this presents an opportunity for you to exercise your faith by praising Him and by continuing to speak His word - His promises to you.  So remember, when in doubt, let out a shout...and everything will be OK.

LaTorya L. Nettles

Friday, November 19, 2010

Forgive & Move On...

I was watching The Color Purple Cast Reunion on Oprah the other day and was reminded of how important forgiveness is.  For years, Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg had no communication after filming the movie.  When they finally sat down on the show to discuss the movie, they both realized that their communication really ceased because Oprah thought that Whoopi was mad at her and Whoopi thought that Oprah was mad at her.  When it came down to it, neither individual was mad at the other.  They both, in essence, kissed and made up.  That's forgiveness!  Jesus says in Matthew 6, "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

Do you ever think about something that someone did to you years ago?  When you think about it does it continue to bother you?  If you answered yes, then it is time to put forgiveness in motion.  It may be that the person really hurt you, but in order to live a Kingdom life, you have to forgive.  Don't let something like pride keep you from letting go and letting God work a wondrous miracle in your life. 

Forgiveness is so freeing...Why don't you start living life without limits by forgiving those who may have caused you any pain and see how liberating it is...

LaTorya L. Nettles

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Older Women Need to Take The Lead...

Many of us have seen an older woman with her wrinkled skin, gray hair, clutching her purse tightly under her arm.  You think, what a sweet little lady, but as soon as you complete that sentence you hear words come out of her mouth that would make a sailor blush.

I have often heard many older women say whatever comes to mind (nothing nice, of course) and think that they are justified by their age to say whatever they wish.  And please don't get me started on the 'mothers' of the church.  Some of them have some of the worse attitudes than anyone you will ever run across.  Many stand with judgmental attitudes, wondering why none of the young ladies will listen to anything they have to say, but as it is often said, we lead by being the example. 

In the second chapter of Titus, older women are instructed to serve as an example to younger women - teaching them what is good.  It seems that in this day and age, many older women are doing the opposite of this and are trying to relive the days of their youth.  We often see older women in super-short dresses, living under the same roof with a man for years to someone who is not her husband, and gossiping about everything that goes on in someone else's household.  And we wonder why the youth of today is in disarray.

We hear so much about the younger generation is doing this, or the younger generation is doing that when many of the older generation are doing the same things in which the younger generation is.  The younger generation is only mimicking what they are seeing the older generation do. 

We need for the older women to step up to the plate and take the lead.  Embrace those that are younger and show them how to talk, walk, and live in excellence....

Monday, November 15, 2010

You Have An Idea...Use It, Before You Lose It!

After undergrad, I moved to St. Louis, Missouri to stay with a close friend who had landed a job in the city a year earlier.  She was gracious enough to let me stay with her until I could find a job and get on my feet.  She and I used to laugh and talk about the things that we wanted to do in the future - business wise.  We always had really creative ideas and we knew that one day those great ideas were going to bring in the bucks.

One day, I had this really great idea.  I had it all worked out in my mind, commercial and all.  I shared this idea with my friend when she returned home from work and I thought that she would be just excited as I was about my idea, but she laughed so hard that I thought she was going to hurt herself.  So that was that.  I never mentioned the idea again and kept other ideas to myself. 

But, guess what happened one day?  We were watching television and on comes this commercial.  What was the commercial about?  The very product that I had once discussed with my friend.  What was my idea? It was an enhancement to an existing product - adding a camera to the cell phone.  OK, laugh if you may, but someone else had this vision too and are laughing all the way to the bank.

Have you ever had an idea that you thought would enhance an existing product or service?  What did you do with that idea?  Did you write it down with hopes to use it one day?  Did you start researching the project but lost the motivation to complete it?  Maybe you ran your idea by a friend and they laughed at you.   Whatever your idea is, rest assured, someone else has probably had the same or similar idea and it truly comes down to who is going to be the one to execute the idea.  You will learn that you can't always share your ideas with everyone.  God gave Y-O-U the idea or vision and they really won't be able to see where you are headed with it. 

Todd Greene is a great example of someone who had their idea laughed at but is now laughing all the way to the bank.  Mr. Greene is the creator of a product called HeadBlade(RT).  Mr. Greene was going bald and was having problems shaving his head with a traditional razor so he created a razor that would allow users to more easily control the razor while shaving (http://www.headblade.com).  Mr. Greene ran his product ideas by some of the major companies that sold razors and related products and was turned down.  He then took matters into his own hand and used funds borrowed from family and friends to create his product.  The same companies that turned him down are now his clients.

Your idea may seem far-fetched and hard to reach, but remember that with God, all things are possible (Philippians 4:13).  Don't let fear set in, take the vision and run with it (Habakkuk 2).  Take those ideas and use them!!!!!!

LaTorya L. Nettles

Sunday, November 14, 2010

New Format

I am still working out the format for this blog.  I can't tell you how therapeutic it is to express my self via blogging.  Now, instead of blogging every day, I will blog only three days a week.  Those days will be Mondays, Wednesdays, and on Fridays.  As things progress, there may be a need to blog on other days, but I will be sure to keep you posted. 

Mondays will be dedicated to conversations pertaining to walking in your purpose.  So get ready on Mondays to operate in your purpose and to walk towards entrepreneurship.

I am so looking forward to hearing from you as we continue on this journey...

LaTorya L. Nettles

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Regrouping

So, I didn't blog yesterday, although I still have plenty to say.  I am still trying to find my groove and I am thinking about incorporating some of my own daily activities into my blogs just to switch things up a bit.  I don't want to sound too preachy all the time, although I do believe that there is a message in just about anything that we do.  As I continue to work things out, thanks for your patience.  Suggestions are always appreciated at latoryanettles@gmail.com

LaTorya L. Nettles

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Don't Speak Your Fear...Believe God

The other day I was having one of those moments where I was questioning God about some things that He had promised me some years back.  I was still praying and believing God for these things but nothing had manifested in the natural realm yet.  I realized that when I got frustrated about these things, I would speak negatively about the blessings.  I would say things such as, "Oh, I don't even care anymore if it ever happens," or "Hey, if I don't have it by now, it must not have been mine in the first place." I have done this many times, but on this particular occasion, God rebuked me.  He literally showed me that I was saying these things out of fear.  Fear says that you can't have or that you don't deserve.  My fear was that God wasn't going to make good on his promises.  I had to ask God for forgiveness and I quickly rebuked the negative words that were spoken because the power of life and death are in the tongue (Proverbs 18:21).  We should always be careful of the words that we speak.

In Genesis 15, God makes a covenant with Abraham (who at the time was still called Abram).  God tells Abraham that he will father a son.  Now even though Sarah (who was Sarai at the time) was past her child bearing years, Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.  When you move over to Genesis 18, the Lord visited with Abraham and reminded him of His promise - that Abraham would have a son.  In this passage, Sarah was listening in on what was being said and she began to laugh to herself, and God questioned Abraham about her laughing.  Sarah denied laughing; she did so out of fear.   

Sometimes God will make us a promise that, to the natural eye, seems so unbelievable. This is where your faith has to step in.  Don't speak fear over your situation, speak life...Believe God for He will do what He says He will do.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Have a Great Weekend!

Hey guys,

Have a a great weekend.  You know that we will be picking things back up on Monday.

LaTorya L. Nettles

Thursday, November 4, 2010

God Will Direct Your Path...

By now, I believe you should have a pretty good idea as to what your gifts are and how they can be used to bring wealth into the Kingdom and into your household (Deuteronomy 8:18).  If you are still questioning your gifts, the #1 source for answers is non other than God.  Ask God!  Proverbs 3:6 states, "in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."  Seek God and He will show you what you are supposed to be doing.  Just be open!  I'm always available for additional questions at latoryanettles@gmail.com.

LaTorya L. Nettles

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Be Careful of Some People While Discovering Your Gifts

In Rediscovering Your Gifts II, I asked you to ask family and friends what were their thoughts about what your gifts are.  I received some pretty interesting emails on the subject and thought that I would take a little time today to discuss P-E-O-P-L-E. 

On the journey of life we will have people that are either for us or against us - but if God is for us, then who can be against us (Romans 8:31).  Not everyone is going to be happy that you are stepping out on faith and taking the gift(s) that God has given you, to walk down the path of entrepreneurship.  Don't be alarmed when people who are close to you begin to fade away during this walk.  Many people don't understand why someone would want to own their own business. All they can think of are the risks, and all you can think of are the rewards.  Their faith may not be where yours is and this is truly a time when you will begin to see the true character of some of the people around you.  Keep the F-A-I-T-H! Don't let someone else bestow their fears upon you.  Only you and God know the vision for your life.

There are going to be some people who totally get what you are doing. Every day that you take a step on the path that God has chosen for you, watch and see how He will bring the right people into your life at the right time.  Surround yourself with people who you truly know have your best interest at heart. No matter what, God has got your back!

LaTorya L. Nettles

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Rediscovering Your Gifts - Part II

For as long as I can remember, my dad has always owned his own business.  Additionally, my dad was a pastor, which makes me a PK (Preacher's Kid).  With his brick mason business, he frequently had to submit bids to actually bid on work.  At an early age, he began to show me how to write the bids.  He also had to keep his resume/bio updated to submit to churches where he would be a guest speaker so that they would have some information about him printed on their programs.  Guess who started writing them?  If you guessed me, you are correct (sorry that there's no prize to give).  If you read yesterday's blog then I hope you can see where I am going with this.  While I was young, my dad was assisting in further developing my writing skills. 

Sometimes our parents, friends, or even co-workers can see in us what we can't see ourselves.  One way to rediscover your gifts is to ask those around you what do they see as your strengths.  Take some time today to ask at least 5 people what they think are your gifts/strengths.  Be sure to only ask people that will be honest with you and who will not be critical of what you are trying to do.  If you don't know how to break the ice try saying that you are thinking about starting your own business and you would like for them to assist you by stating what they think are your strengths - what could they see you doing.

Well, get to working.  Feel free to send me your results via email at latoryanettles@gmail.com.

LaTorya L. Nettles

Monday, November 1, 2010

Rediscovering Your Gifts...

Growing up, one of the things that I enjoyed doing with my sister was not playing dolls or school like many young girls - you could always find us doing newscasts or infomercials before we even knew what infomercials were.  We would grab anything that we could find to create commercials and to give speeches to our non-existent audience.  We were always writing books, writing songs, and writing poems.  When I look back on those days, I now see that these were gifts that God gave to us that He was slowly cultivating in what we thought was just playtime. 

Somewhere along the way she and I both started to follow other paths but were never able to find any peace or pleasure in what we were doing.  It took a while but we both now are on the paths that God was trying to lead us on from the beginning.  I finally rediscovered my gifts and decided to get back on the path that God had set.  That non-existent audience has now transformed to live audiences who want to hear about finding their purpose, enhancing customer service skills, and enhancing management/leadership skills. 

If you are still trying to figure out what you are supposed to be doing, looking back to the days of your youth is a great way to rediscover your gifts and to see what path you were being led to follow. Think back to the days of your youth and write down anything that you can think of that you enjoyed doing when you were younger, no matter how silly it seems.  What things came naturally to you?  What, of those things, have carried over to your adult life? 

This should help some of you who are still struggling with what you should be doing...Stay Tuned

LaTorya L. Nettles