March 2017 issue by That Riverz Gurl Brand

Christian Living

I’ve learned on my journey that God is like a gardener and life is similar to a garden. He placed spiritual gifts inside each and every one of us and He loves to cultivate our lives so that we can enjoy the gifts He’s blessed us with. I like to think of my own life as a spiritual garden. If I want to live an abundant life I have to do the work it takes to maintain my garden. I want my garden to have plenty of beautiful flowers and all different kinds. Knowing that flowers represent the gifts and talents that God placed inside of me. The only way for me to enjoy my gifts is by stirring them up. In order to have the beautiful garden that I want to have I understand that I have to plant seeds, seeds of faith. I also know that faith without works is dead, so it’s not enough for me to just plant the seeds. I have to make sure that I’m ready for the blessings that will blossom. I have to fertilize the soil of my mind, get rid of the weeds of fear, uncertainty and doubt. I have to tend to my garden to make sure the flowers I want will blossom. So, how does this spiritual garden of mine grow? Through my relationship with God. Just like a regular garden, it takes work and patience for my spiritual garden to grow. There are tools needed in order to make my garden grow, faith, the Word and prayer. The Word of God increases my faith and prayer is the tool that gives me access to my garden. My faith is the seeds. God is my gardener and He provides the spiritual water that grows my garden. When God pours His favor over my seeds they manifest into the blessings I’ve planted. See, like any garden, in order for my harvest to be successful I have to do more than just wish and hope for pretty flowers. God is all about order and if I want to be blessed I too need to have some order in my garden. I need to have the right equipment and I also have to plant during the right season. 5

Knowing the right equipment to have and when to plant is revealed during prayer. I have to consult with my Divine Gardener to know when it’s the right time to start planting. Now, before I can plant spiritual seeds I actually need to have them. In order for me to plant my seeds I first have to know what type of flowers I want. Once I know which flowers I want in my garden, I have to invest in the seeds. Without investing in my seeds, I won’t see the full potential of my garden. When I get the seeds that I want, I have to do the work it takes to plant the seeds. After the seeds are planted, I use my tool of prayer to communicate with my gardener so that He can begin to water my seeds. And then I wait until my flowers blossom! We all have spiritual gardens. We all have plans, goals, and dreams that we want to experience. It’s important that we know what we want and how to get it. We have to prepare ourselves before we just start planting seeds. It’s also important to know that the aspirations that we have will not happen overnight. We have to be willing to invest in ourselves, do the work and wait for God to pour out the blessings we seek after. Most people’s gardens fail because they don’t have the right seeds, aren’t planting in the right season and don’t have a great rapport with the Divine Gardener. It’s our responsibility to cultivate our dreams. It’s not enough for us to just pray for things to happen. We need to be strategic, intentional and consistent. We have to be willing to do the work and patiently wait until the harvest manifests. You too can have an amazing spiritual garden. All it takes is building your relationship with God, knowing your purpose and intentionally accomplishing the goals you set. It’s not too late to start your garden. Prepare yourself by Jessica Lee Ann is an author of many books. You can visit her website at www.jessicaleeannwrites.com

Women in History

We Are Women: Our History is Our Strength

As March is Women’s History Month, I wanted to take time to reflect on what it really means to be a woman. As women, we bear children and provide for others. We are the faces which mask pain, overcome challenges and struggles we face. We are the ones who support others when we are in need of support ourselves. As women, we take chances as we create history, just like many of the women leaders who paved the way for us. W-O-M-A-N, is a word with so much meaning, power and in a classification all by itself. When was the last time you really sat and thought about all it means to be a woman? It’s more than a classification you identify yourself as when completing an application or survey. Being a woman is a lifestyle, a way of being, it’s our stance, and an honor. As women…we are mothers, aunts, friends, sisters, leaders, mentors, entrepreneurs, wives, and daughters as the list goes on and on. We are powerful, beautiful, sassy, strong, brilliant, innovative, supportive beings which have been and continue to be instrumental within history. Women pioneers such as Cathay Williams, Qiu Jin, Michelle Obama, Amelia Earhart, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, and Angela Davis, just to name a few set standards and a way of life for us as women. Today, the contributions within history and our society were paved through women such as the ones previously mentioned. It is our time and turn to create and innovate. It is our purpose to create change through walking the same paths. We must strive to be the change we desire to see, not just for us...more so for those women who shall follow in our footsteps. As women, it is important for us to know our purpose and the power we exude.

We have seen these characteristics within trailblazers for centuries stemming back to biblical days through Ruth and Esther, just to mention a few. Even looking back and knowing their stories charges us to remain aware of our identity and purpose within life. Our identity is what allows for us to fulfil our purpose. Our purpose is our identity. We live in such a world where we must desire to unite to execute purpose as women. This is important for our future generations of women to see. We are to influence our future women leaders in ways to strive to be all they were created to be. There are so many negative examples among us such as reality TV shows which depict the true value of all it means to be a woman. It’s up to us ladies, to maintain our dignity and pride as women as our pioneers have taught us to. Ladies, I charge each and every one of you reading this article to dig deep into your vault and pullout everything needed to walk, live, and execute in purpose. This may be easier for some than others. However, we must remember we are standing on the shoulders of women who created legacy for us. As women, know you are more than enough to lead, create and to rise to greater heights. Make sure to take time in March to reflect on not just history, but Women’s History, our lives and legacy!

Toccara N. Steele, is known for her zeal and enthusiasm about life. Steele is an Empowerment Speaker, Author, Mentor as well as a Branding/ Concept Strategist. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and traveling, most importantly spending time with her friends and family.

A Life With a View I took a leap of Faith in 2013 when I decided I wanted to start a blog and then two years later I wrote my first book, A Life With A View. I wondered what to write about and how would I publish a book? The blog was easy at the time – I wrote and wrote for days…whatever came to my mind, I wrote and wrote. Themes at first didn’t come too easy so I asked myself: “How am I going to do this?” I stepped out, leaped out and latched onto Faith. I thought about: "What would a theme look like?" I think I was trying too hard to plan it out and initially, I didn’t let things flow. Once I let go and let things flow, I came up with words that inspired me with the first one being Faith. It took a lot (and I do mean a lot) of Faith to get started. I was scared, nervous and thought about things like: "Will people read this stuff?" "Am I good enough to be a writer?" All of the self-doubt began to cloud my Faith and my focus. Being determined to not let any of those thoughts take shape, in 2014 I became serious about my writing and serious about taking the blog forward and eventually publish my first book.All of this stepping out on Faith with starting and growing the blog and then the first book, I wondered what I could do next. Could I help someone else on their journey? If I can do this, I know others can too. After taking the first leap of faith and getting over the initial hurdle called fear, I have grown a lot in three years; a self-discovery of sorts that I never could have imagined would have happened. Through prayer, positivity, strength, grace, peace and serenity - I was able to discover what Faith means to me. It turns out for me, Faith is not only spiritual but also a daily renewal of one's self to face your fears, affirming your Faith, going after and possessing infinite wisdom, making timely decisions and remaining happy, healthy and continuous healing. Here we are 3.5 years later and I am now able to put this into words; even more words than I originally thought of and planned to do. The start of my second book began to take shape in Summer 2016 as many people asked me when my second book would be released. I was working on so many things at the time. I decided I wanted to brand A Life With A View and move to a new website that would inspire not only me, but my readers and offer them the opportunity to connect with me much easier. With all of this going on, who had time to write a book? Not this girl! Nope!! At least that’s what I told myself…It wasn’t until the last two months of 2016 I realized I wanted to write and claim the second book. With all of the connections, collaborations and the push in the right direction, it was up to me to make it happen.

Lynda Mallory is a blogger, writer, motivator and author of her first book called “A Life with a View: www.alifewithaviewblog.net 15

Stepping Out On Faith Who knew November was National Write a Novel Month? Wow! What a great way to get this done and keep me on task. I accepted the challenge of writing 500 words per day but not just any words; words that have meaning; words where I could take action on and share with other people. Stepping out on Faith was key to getting started – there was no other way to get around it. I thought I had it down – discovered my Faith, believed I could write another book and help others. Reading this you would think so too, right? Well, life had and has other plans. I had to go back to the basics and discover what Faith really means to me. It turns out we are not alone on our journey, right? In order to get the jumpstart I needed, I wanted to engage my readers more so I came up with #creativespark – a writing challenge to help spark those inner thoughts around the theme for my blog and eventually the new book. What better way to help not only myself with my writing and expression, help others since most people are very passionate about the things they care about. #creativespark is an expression of one’s inner thoughts and feelings through writing. I can’t teach Faith but I can certainly walk in Faith, show others how I got there and continue to lead by example. So what about the second book, you ask? Well, it is written and it is on the way. I took a step back as to not rush things. Stepping out on Faith also allowed me to see things more clearly while being intentional with my actions. There is so much to do for this next book; pray, get a cover designed, edit and proofread again to name a few things. The pages in the book are backed up by the Faith and to keep pushing forward, you need Faith to guide you every step of the way.

Religion and Spirituality