In this episode I am reading from Chapter 8 - Steps to Wholeness - Step 2: Give Thanks and Step 3: Encourage Yourself from my book Sister to Sister Support for the Abused Woman Beauty for Ashes. I also talk with my guest Brenda Rivers about how she has learned to encourage herself after facing some challenging situations in her life. My book is available on Amazon.com

In this episode I am reading from Chapter 7 - Give Me My Bread and Chapter 8 - Steps to Wholeness from my book Sister to Sister Support for the Abused Woman Beauty for Ashes. My book is available on Amazon.com

Chapter 4 This Storm Will Pass - This is the fourth chapter from my book Sister to Sister Support for the Abused Woman Beauty for Ashes. My book is available on Amazon.com

Chapter 3 My God! My God! Why? This is the third chapter from my book Sister to Sister Support for the Abused Woman Beauty for Ashes. My book is available on Amazon.com

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month. In this episode I share what is domestic violence, how to know if you are in a domestic violence relationship, and I interview Kimberly English who is the Director of Housing at the Crisis Center for South Suburbia.

In the next few episodes I am going to read chapters from my book Sister to Sister Support for the Abused Woman Beauty for Ashes. This episode consists of the dedication as well as chapter one Trauma and chapter two Beauty for Ashes. My book is available on Amazon.com

Pastor Kimberly Simmons is the founder of Beacon in the Storms of Life (Bits of Life) an Outreach Ministry. She is an ordained minister and serves as the Pastor of Ministry Development at Nehemiah Christian Center Ministries. Kimberly is passionate about helping leaders in ministry, who have been wounded and struggle to overcome issues of the heart, to minister more effectively. She has taught bible classes and Sunday school for both adults and children. Kimberly loves teaching and has received a number of certificates in Evangelism, Healing & Deliverance, and Teacher Training. This is a bonus episode: In each bonus episode I will feature past and new interviews I have conducted with various leaders, women who have a story to tell. I believe you will enjoy getting to know them a little better.

Have you ever wondered why your mother, grandmother, and aunt have an aura about themselves that just oozes confidence and resiliency the like of which you’ve never experienced. The world is also beginning to take note that Women over 50 are accomplishing phenomenal things according to a Forbes article titled Women over 50 are Having a moment. In this episode you will hear more about these moments. from some awesome women who will share tips for living life successfully over 50. A world of opportunities opens up when you turn 50. Today, there are entire web sites, companies, and services devoted to the over-50 demographic. Find your niche in that market. -- S. Mitchell. Women over 50 are a powerful market force in today's economy. Women buy 80% of consumer goods and services, and among the 80 million baby boomers, that's power. -- N. O'Reilly. Women over 50 are president, CEO, and the star of their own lives. The entrepreneurial spirit is booming in 50-year-old women. She's following her dreams, starting her own business. She's forming partnerships with other women's businesses. She knows that collaboration is a valuable part of being successful. -- N. O'Reilly. These seasoned Women are even looking better as they age. They are full of wisdom, more self aware, interesting, and vital. So what does it mean to be a seasoned woman. A seasoned woman is spicy, "She has been marinated in life experience. She is at the peak of her influence and power. She is committed to living fully and passionately in the second half of life, despite failures and false starts." according to Gail Sheehy, the over-50-and-proud author of Passages and founder of the Seasoned Women's Network online. Let’s hear what a few of these spicy women have to say about their membership into this exclusive 50 and counting club.

* When you hit 50 you know what you like and what you don't like. -- C. Northrup

* After 50 You really learn who you are as a person, what your likes and dislikes are. This knowing makes life so much more interesting, pleasant, joyful, and simpler when you know. -- J. Ganahl

* A woman over 50 also has wisdom to offer. -- N. O'Reilly

* At 50, you learn the value of being passionate about something -- a lover, a career, your life. Passion is what makes you jump out of bed every morning, and makes you love every moment in the day. -- S. Mitchell

* A woman over 50 knows the value of celebrating life. She's sizzling, not fizzling. She's savvy, not sad. -- S. Mitchell

* After age 60, you feel free to be yourself and even reinvent yourself.

* You learn to fuel your life from your inner wisdom, and from your soul.

* You recognize that talent doesn’t know age and there is value in taking risks. -- S. Mitchell

* You know the wisdom of surrender.

* You realize the wisdom in letting go of your grievances. You begin to know what's important and what isn't. You know which hill to die on. -- C. Northrup

* You realize how young you are. And you realize how much more to life there is. -- C. Northrup Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. Isaiah 46:4

2. Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding? Job 12:12

3. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:16

4. 12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; 13 planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, Psalm 92:12-14 I also want to thank three amazing 50 and counting club members for their outstanding contribution. Many thanks to: Prophetess Barbara Barron, Lady Makeesha Hardy, and Rev. Sharon Robinson.

How many times have you been told that you would never amount to anything or you disgraced yourself and your family because you are or were a teenaged mother. Then keep listening we have words of hope for you. Today’s topic is Teen Mom Don’t Let This Be the End of Your Story! Born in the south suburbs of Chicago, Alicia T. Bowens learned the meaning of perseverance at a very young age. Although she was an honor student and star athlete, Alicia became a teenage mother during her sophomore year of high school at the age of fifteen. However, she didn't let having a child at such a young age stop her. Alicia kept up with her classwork while she was out, and returned to school, going on to graduate on time with her peers in 1997.

Immediately after high school, Alicia went on to attend the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, taking her then three-year old son with her. In 2001, she graduated, and soon after obtained a position in the IT industry. In 2005, Alicia went on to obtain her Masters in Business Administration and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School. She is currently consulting as a Project Manager.

Alicia is an active member of the National Black MBA Association, Chicago Chapter, having served on the Executive Board and Marketing & Communications Committee from 2006-2010. She also participated in the Leaders Of Tomorrow (LOT) program, a mentoring program for high school students.

Alicia has also been involved in other teen mentoring programs, such as The Legacy Initiative and Your Time Is Now (YTIN), and has done multiple speaking engagements at area high schools on college and career planning, as well as sharing her experiences of being a teenage mother. In 2010, Alicia became a certified life coach. As a life coach, it is her desire to share her experiences - both successes and failures - in an effort to empower others to achieve their goals despite the obstacles that may present themselves in life. I’d like to thank my special guest Alicia Bowens for bravely sharing her experiences as a teen mom and how she triumphed in the face of adversity. Being a teen mom is life changing but it doesn’t have to end your life. Being a teen mom is not a death sentence but it is a life sentence. You have been granted the opportunity to love and care for a precious life. Being a teen mom is hard work but nothing worthwhile in life comes easy. The choice is yours will you remain a victim or will you line up on the winning side. Teen mom don’t let people, family, or friends determine how high you can rise. Set goals and stick to them. God will send people to help you on your journey but you must keep traveling. You don’t need help to sit and do nothing. Remember: A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. So teen mom keep stepping and know that you are loved by God. Thank you for listening and May the blessings of Abraham overtake you.

Hello and thank you for joining in today. The topic of this episode is 8 Lessons I Learned on Becoming a Woman of Valor. Hey everybody, I did it! I got married l had four wonderful children, a car, and a house with all the amenities. Wow, did I have it all? Oh wait, the best part was my husband was also a Christian just like me. I thought my life couldn’t get any better. My life was perfect so I thought! I truly was the Proverbs 31 woman. Nothing could have shattered my world!!! Or could it?  Ugh, what is that sound? Oh no, it’s the sound of the judges gavel. “Your divorce decree is granted”, he says sternly. Then he asks, “Do you want to keep your married name or go back to your maiden name”? Dazed, I chose to keep my married name because I didn’t know who I was without it. No one warned me that there would be days like this. Especially not for me a born again Christian. In a moment divorce instantly took my life away. I was no longer a wife, spouse, or helpmate. Oh and did I mention that I was now friendless because my single friends didn’t understand why I was divorcing my husband because I was married to a preacher which was what many Christian single women secretly yearned for. Then to add insult to injury my married friends’ husbands were afraid for their wives to be around me for fear of their wives catching the plague. The plague you say, yes the “divorce plague”. So how do I sign my name should I sign is as Mrs., Ms. or what?  Well that might not seem so important but who am I now? I used to introduce myself as Mrs. Calvin or I was the wife of Elder Calvin. That was my reality for twenty seven years. After my divorce I felt completely lost because I had lost my identity. I also felt unimportant which was not new. I had felt that way for a number of years anyway, especially when my ex-husband and I belonged to the same church. As soon as I would enter church and my husband wasn’t with me people would immediately ask where is Elder Calvin? Barely acknowledging me at all. It wasn’t easy being a minister’s wife. Oftentimes when life deals you a severe blow like divorce, illness, loss of a job, death of a spouse, loss of a limb or a child many people struggle with their identity. Just the day before you were a couple, had good health, were gainfully employed, had all of your body parts, and you were a parent. It takes real effort to put the pieces of your life back together after such devastating losses. My self-image and my sense of who I was had been totally diminished. However, God lovingly reassured me that I could get through that dark period of my life and that I could emerge stronger and even better than I was before. God even called me a Woman of Valor. Valor is defined as strength or courage, particularly in the face of great danger. Valor also means to be of value, or worth and to be strong. So who am I now? I am who God says I am. I am a woman of Valor. I am a woman of Valor because: I have been broke and broken I have been stepped on, stepped over, and passed over I have been acquainted with grief I have been desperate and in despair I have wept and cried all night I have wanted to give up many times But… I learned how to take a licking and keep right on ticking I learned to keep on going in spite of naysayers, difficult situations, and life challenges. I refuse to give up, give out or give in I learned and have experienced the unspeakable joy that God dispenses after long nights of gut wrenching agony I learned that it is in my best interest to lean and depend on Jesus I learned that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me I learned how to look trouble, problems, disappointments, and failed relationships in the face and declare, “You no longer have power over me!” I learned to confidently declare that if God is for me than why fret over who is against me Finally I have learned that I am a woman of courage, and faith So who am I now? I am who God says I am. I am a woman of Valor.