When You’re Going Through Tough Times - Prioritize the Promise

We believe God - Point Blank - Period. Sometimes God resolves our issue quickly.  Other times there is a delay.  We believe God to do what He promised but often there is a process to getting the promise.  You still have to meet with the principal about that wayward child, you still have to meet with that unfair boss, and you still have to get painful treatments for that condition in your body.  It’s in the process – the daily dealing with the ramifications of a promise as yet unfulfilled – that we often despair.

Hebrews 10:35 AMP says “Do not, therefore, fling away your fearless confidence, for it has a glorious and great reward”

The enemy attacks our minds and tries to convince us that God is not going to do what He has said.  In times like these we need to double-down on our faith and say like Job “though He slay me, yet will I trust Him!”  At first this seems like a hard saying but I believe what God wants us to understand from it is that to Job’s natural man it “felt” like God was slaying him because of all the calamities that he experienced.  It doesn’t feel good to experience the death of your livelihood, your children, and your health.  It’s painful, heartbreaking, and frustrating all at the same time. But Job was able to draw on his faith reserves and his spiritual man was able to say “yet, will I trust him!”  Job was able to admit his pain – but prioritize the promise.

We must do the same.  Recognize the pain and frustration of dealing with your situation but prioritize the promise of God that “All things work together for the good of those who love God and the called according to His promise” (Romans 8:28). Prioritize the promise that “God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in glory (Philippians 4:19). Prioritize the promise that “No weapon formed against me shall prosper” (Isaiah 54:17).

This is what we must do.  Talk to ourselves and say “Self, I don’t like that I have to deal with these issues right now but, I trust God enough to know that whatever He is doing through this situation is in my best interests in the end.” That’s Prioritizing the Promise!

Be Blessed & Encouraged!

Tonya

West Coast Week 2 - Los Angeles

Last October I was blessed to attend my first AdobeMax Conference.  I'd heard about from co-workers who when in past years but nothing could do it justice.  It was 6 days of digitally creative bliss + lots of free "good" food.  There were sessions covering almost every Adobe product - Photoshop, Illustrator, Muse, Dreamweaver, Premier, & more. There were concerts and parties at night and creative activity stations to do cool stuff like make your own t-shirt or stamp.  It was a blast!  The lovely gentleman in the King Henry VIII costume is Adobe's Sr. Creative Director Russell Brown telling us about one of the projects we would be working on in the pre-conference. The magical lady in green is my final project printed 8ft. tall.

It was held in Los Angeles and it was my first time visiting LA.  I had very little free time but I was able to accomplish my only sightseeing goal - driving on the Pacific Coast Highway.  I drove from Ventura to Oxnard and I was really thinking that the really scenic parts would not be on this stretch.  Boy was I wrong.  Once I got past Malibu there were times when it was just me, the road, and the ocean. I cannot really swim but I LOVE the ocean!  I could sit on the beach and listen to the waves forever.

The conference was downtown so was my hotel.  I was on the 22nd floor I think.  Here are photos taken of the views.

On my last night there we drove up the mountain thinking we were going to see the Hollywood Sign only to discover it's not lit up at night.  This view of the City of Angels was worth it anyway.

Be Blessed & Travel as often as you can!

Tonya

Studio Dreams

If you're an creative entrepreneur trying to build a business with a limited budget it's all-to-easy to forgo things like magazines.  I want to encourage you to think differently about this magazine - Where Women Create Business Jo Packham of Stampington Press.

At $15.99 list price it's not cheap but I consider it an investment in my own personal development.  Every issues is a peek into the lives of women who have leveraged their creativity and combined it with hard work to build profitable businesses that allow them to live life on their own terms.  This is one of my goals.  Each time I flip through the pages and read their stories I receive motivation, inspiration, and education.  Each time I read an issue I am moved to affirm "Lord if  you can bless these women to live their creative dreams, you can bless me too!"

Invest in yourself!  Whether it's an inspirational magazine, creative conference, or a trip to the spa to rejuvenate your body.  You are your best investment.

Be Blessed

Tonya

Steph Curry's Trudge

Last week I saw Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors accept the 2016 NBA Most Valuable Player trophy for the second year in a row. Amazingly, Steph was the first player in the history of the NBA to to win the award by a unanimous vote. If you know nothing about sports, this in itself is an amazing accomplishment...but there's more to the story.

The photo above is a of Steph at Davidson Collge in North Carolina where he grew up.  He ended up at Davidson instead of Duke or UNC - both basketball powerhouses in the state - mostly because no one in the media or coaching staffs saw any potential in him.

As a sophmore in high school, Steph was 5'6" and 125 lbs but he worked hard to improve. Every day, little by little, practicing when others were having fun or resting.  He just kept working to improve his skills. By his senior year, the Lord blessed him to grow to 6'3" but by this time he still was not considered a national recruit. But Steph kept practicing. When no big schools were knocking on his door, no agents were calling his parents, Steph kept anyway at it anyway.

This article by Tam Pham written after he won MVP last year outlines the story

What caused Steph to believe in himself when everyone else counted him out as a major basketball concern? What made him keep practicing and playing and practicing some more, year after year, all the while being overlooked by scouts and coaches?  This is the work of God in the life of a believer.  I'm sooo inspired by this young man and the God I see in his life.  When everything around us says "No you can't" and "You're not good enough" - God speaks to our hearts and says "Yes you can!"

The bible is full of stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things because of their faith in God and and His Son Jesus who is described as the author and finisher of our faith in Hebrews 12:2a. Hebrews 11:1 which defines faith for us as "the reality of what we hope for, it is the evidence of what we cannot see."  The chapter goes on to tell stories of the impact of faith in God on the lives of those living during old testament times. Kingdoms were conquered, promises were obtained, foreign armies were fended off, and from weakness men and women were made strong - all because they trusted in God who is able to do more than we can ask or think (Ephesians 3:20).

By his own testimony, Steph is a believer in God and His Son Jesus Christ.  We are all fortunate enough to be able to enjoy his faith with every three-point shot he launches.


Be Blessed!
Tonya

Vintage Fashion Love

One of my favorite time-wasters is browsing the internet for vintage photos.  I love the style women had especially in the 1920s to the 1960s. I love that most of the clothing was handmade with hand stitching and made from natural fibers.  I love that before we had factories everything was OOAK (one-of-a-kind).

I love the longer hemlines of the 1920s which made everyone look tall and sleek.

I love the accent on the waist found in most of the designs.

Visit Pinterest to see some of my favorite images. As Olivia & Ruby builds our brand I want to get by to creative roots as a fashion designer and add some modern vintage apparel pieces to compliment our hats & fascinators. Exciting times are a' coming!

Be Blessed!

Tonya

Olivia & Ruby

New in the Shop - Soap & Sugar Scrubs

I'm all for efficiency so I'm really excited about my latest concoction - Soap & Sugar Scubs! I'm a shower girl and I've been using my scrubs in the shower to get rid of the dry skin and reveal the lovely new skin underneath.  My normal routine was to lather up with a soap or shower gel and follow that with the scrub.  Then [insert lightbulb or thunder bolt here] the idea came to add soap to the scrub to get double-duty with a single product!  Yes!

Introducing the Soap & Sugar Scrub!  I love this because it has enough soap to get you clean and enough sugar to slough off the dead skin cells.  The first varieties I made are Tropical Sunrise, Asian Green Tea, and Snowfall.  #Love

Be Blessed,

Tonya

Olivia & Ruby

Celebrating Mom

This week is a celebration of Mom.  More specifically Mothers, Step-Mothers, Grandmothers, Aunts and everyone engaged in raising the next generation. I salute you for - as Anne-Marie Faiola calls anything that's hard but necessary - Taming the Trudge. 

In today's world where most Mother's work full-time, it's a trudge to take a sick child to the minor med at 11:30 pm.  It's a trudge to leave work and drive 30 minutes to your child's school because they forgot their lunchbox.  It's a trudge to figure out how to build a pyro-technically correct volcano when in high school your science teacher told you never to come into his class again after you almost burned down your desk.

This week we as a society say Thank You for the things you do for our next generation of doctors, teachers, artists, business owners, event politicians.  To celebrate I've come up with some gift sets that should make your heart smile. The one below features a vintage-inspired hat covered in bunches of pale pink silk petals accented with aurora crystals in the center. Rounding out the "MomBox" is our signature Olivia No2 body cream, sugar scrub, solid perfume, and a pair of earrings.

This MomBox is listed on our Etsy shop and it's ready-to-ship!

Be Blessed,

Tonya

2x4 Conference Recap

I was blessed to attend the 2x4 Live conference with presenters Donna Maria - Indie Business Network, Lela Barker - Lucky Break Consulting, Anne-Marie Faiola - Brambleberry, and Kayla Fioravanti - Selah Press.  It was fabulous and very motivating.  I could tell that the ladies were friends who respect each other and value what each one brings to the table.  It was like a personalized startup weekend for bath & beauty brands.  Loved it!  

Key points for me were...

The dreaded "D" word.  No matter what I do - building a business, taking care of  my physical body, and serving as co-parent to my niece and nephews.  Nothing works without discipline. 

The trudge is the stuff you don't like to do and may not be particularly good at.  The trudge is different for everyone and you can probably identify more than one thing.  I am multi-trudge individual - exercise, going to the zoo, being outside in Memphis during July & August - the list goes on.  In business I can say that I find about all of it interesting as evidenced by the amount of time I spend staring at a computer screen. My trudges on the business side are things like scaling down the number of products or scents I offer or limiting the new ideas that I work on, Name your trudge? 

Scarritt Bennett Center

I live in Memphis and have been to Nashville many times over the years but had never heard of the Scarritt-Bennett Center which is downtown not next to Vanderbilt University.  The place is gorgeous.  Here are some of my photos.

Be Blessed!

Tonya