No Resolutions...Just Continuing the Journey

Happy New Year everyone! Today is the three year anniversary of RaRa's Style Appeal and 2018 is starting off huge! In just three more days, I will be broadcasting my first Facebook Live interview based on my upcoming book, Styled By God: Styled For A Purpose. (Details in flyer below). I will be interviewing Priscilla Lipscomb Monroe who is the author of "Soul Check" which is a book of motivational quotes. During the interview I will also be sharing the story behind Styled By God. I had no idea that I would be entering into 2018 with a vision to start doing interviews with people who have stories and purpose that connect to the message of Styled By God. The vision of RaRa's Style Appeal™ and Styled By God™ is way bigger than me which is why the photo says, "No Resolutions...Just Continuing the Journey". All I can say is that in 2018 you will see more of my purpose lived out loud and here's the story behind it.

2017 was one of the most life changing years I've lived through so far. No one could have told me that, within a span of only two weeks during April of 2017, I would watch both of my parents pass away. For my father, I was at least given the news ahead of time, along with my siblings, so we could be prepared. We buried my father on April 18, 2017. For my mom, it was sudden and with just me there and her fiance. She passed away the day after we had buried my father. These experiences occurred so quickly and within a short period of time, leaving me only time to process it later, bit by bit.

In spite of just experiencing such loss, life kept right on happening...it didn't stop. The stuff that life is made of, the good, the bad and the ugly, still happened...life didn't care if I had just lost both of my parents. It was painful to process that reality. However, the words of encouragement that my mother's pastor spoke to my brother and I during my mother's celebration of life became even more of a reality. She told us that we were going to experience a closer relationship with God like never before. And she was right. I've received so much more clarity about the purpose that God has placed on my life. I see and understand how God formed me through my parents and that parts of who they were now live through me even bigger.

I am styled by God and styled for a purpose to take what my parents left in me to the next level. My father was a creative through music, fashion and editorial art. From him, I gained the creativity of fashion. I also learned right before he passed that he used to pick out the outfits for his band. So my dad was a stylist too! My mother was easygoing, spiritually attuned and determined. From her, I gained all three and she also invested in my business several months before she passed. She always believed that I was destined for greatness. All of the attributes that I have inherited from my parents, have been infused within me to go to the next level through the vision God has given me for RaRa's Style Appeal™ and Styled By God™. In hindsight, I've had the opportunity to process and realize that they both had let me know in their subtle ways that they would soon be gone. This week as I step out of my comfort zone to broadcast my first Facebook Live interview, I know my parents will be present with me and cheering me on. A very close friend told me, "Your parents have now made room for you...so be ready."

So, my advice for you in 2018 is to simply continue the journey. Your purpose is already nestled in the life you've been given.

To view the Facebook Live interview go to: https://m.facebook.com/RaRaStyleAppeal/.