Hey beautiful people! I am SoulQueenWu and welcome to my “Brave Hearts' Blog” a place where vulnerability is our strength and our truths set us free.
As many of you may know Lenten season is upon us and many of us will enter into this season of taking the sacred and spirit-filled journey of fasting for forty days and forty nights in deep contemplation of Jesus in the Wilderness right before he entered into full-blown ministry. We will reflect on the life, teaching, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus during this time.
As many Believers and like-minded spiritualists are preparing to give something or some things up in reverence to this spiritual experience, some common things people are going to fast from (temporarily give up) are:
Food, Netflix, shopping, certain kinds of music, social media, drinking, smoking, masturbation, etc. I won't be taking this route. . .
Hear me out y'all... while these vices are great for those who need to be released from them, I am entering this Lenten season with a personal conviction to intentionally fast from or release habits and thought patterns that have impacted my life in ways that no longer serve me or who I am BECOMING.
"Your daily habits and life is a result of what you think or yourself and your life.”
My life has become one filled with a lot of psychological pressure, false sense of control, hesitance, fear, and doubt. As a result of this not only has it limited my trust in God but it has also limited my trust in myself. In full transparency or bravery rather (because this is a brave space), I am petrified of taking the next step in my life. I have tried and failed at so many things I am passionate about that I feel that I can’t trust myself or God enough to make another decision and see if it will follow through (mainly work in my perceived favor).
Have you been there before? Have you told yourself you can’t dream or you can’t try, or it’s not going to work out because you are genuinely tired of trying and failing? Whew. Because this woman right here is SO TIRED (I'm getting a lil emotional while writing this)
The truth is, I don’t like this for myself. I don’t ever want to tell myself to stop dreaming or stop believing in what God created me to do. I don’t want to invalidate my purpose or talk myself out of the worthiness God put inside of me to fulfill it. Moreover, no matter how hard I’ve tried to deny the dream. . . .
THE DREAM WON’T LET ME GO!!! CAN ANYONE RELATE?!
It’s like when you wake up in the morning the dream is on your mind. When you’re working out the dream is on your mind. When you’re trying to go to sleep, the dream then feels like a nightmare because it hasn’t happened yet. The dream just won’t let you go. Can I get an Amen if you agree?
An actual depiction of my dreams following me everywhere I go...
As a result of these revelations, I am prayerfully entering into this Lenten season fasting from (releasing) and embodying different habits and mindsets. I included them below for those who may be interested in taking similar approaches in this season.
Habitual Mindsets Release:
Making Excuses - I have a good, charismatic excuse for every reason I have chosen not to do what I said I would. This practice has only been to my detriment. I am now going to ask myself, “How will my future self feel if I followed through on this?’
Allowing fear to have the driver seat in my life - When I feel scared my heart starts to race, my brain feels suffocated, and my mind scrambles to look for answers to too many questions at once. The anxious experience alone has been enough to stop me mid-dreaming and blow out the purpose flame in me (at least creating the illusion that the flame is being blown out)
Focusing on the HOW? - Not having all of the answers made me feel like I did not have enough clarity to move forward, so I wouldn’t.
Allowing my failures to dictate my future- I tried my best at a lot of endeavors and sadly, things did not turn out how I thought they would. These were tough disappointments to process through. Now, all I have been predicting about future endeavors is the inevitable failure and that genuinely hurts (my heart is literally saddened by this mindset)
Mindsets to Embrace:
Trusting in God - Can I entertain the possibility that maybe God actually knows what She’s talking about? Maybe God is very intentional about this journey? Maybe God will use EVERYTHING for HER Glory and She is not confused about you, not one bit? Who will you become as a result of l
Trusting myself again- I will make small daily commitments to build that trust muscle and nurture that trusting relationship with myself again. #relationshipgoals
Discipline - Do what I said I would do even when I don’t “feel like it”. Pray for a playa because CHILE, this is going to be A GOD THING.
SURRENDER - I will live into this mantra by Beautiful Chorus, “I release all things that no longer serve me, I release all things that no longer work for me” - I Release by Beautiful Chorus
Habits to Release:
Shopping to self-soothe - knowing DAMN WELL my bank account is in a chokehold lol. That’s self-sabotage that I am working intentionally to release.
UberEating to self-soothe - please refer to statement right above lol
Self-isolation - I have a tendency to self-isolate when I am going through things that I have assumed are too unpleasant. I am learning that not only am I not alone in the wilderness but there are people who have made it out of the wilderness and a coming back to journey with me.
Habits to Embody:
Daniel Fast for 40 days - I will be participating in the Daniel Fast for the next 40 days. Click here to learn more about it! (groceries are in the fridge and meal prep is on the way! if you’d like some meal tips let me know)
Discipline - Again, I will BE ABOUT IT not just TALK ABOUT IT!
Daily Devotional - My daily devotional includes: Pouring libations, reading my bible, the 100 Days of Believing Bigger Devotional by Marshawn Evan Daniels, Until Today by Iyanla Vanzant, and my journal.
Making SMART GOALS - In order to be more disciplined and have tunnel vision as I am DREAMING AGAIN, I will access my failures and see where I could have done better. Once I evaluate I will set new visions and strategies using SMART GOALS as a prototype for effective planning.
Philippians 3:13-14 NIV
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Reading a chapter a day - I am reading the last chapter of “Woman Evolve” by Sara Jakes Roberts and WHEW! AMAZING!!!
Volunteer Service - I am going to connect with as many schools and youth programs as I can to bring I AM HERE Collective workshops to their community. IT IS HEALING TIME and we are so worthy of the safety to do so. Please use this link to check out our new site!
It sounds like a lot because it is CHILE. I have been preparing for this mentally for a while and exercising these practices on an inconsistent basis so consistency will be my discipline in this season. As I am embarking on this journey I will be rooting myself in several scriptures, my prayer is that you may find peace and encouragement in God that surpasses all understanding. Please refer to my "Spiritual Guide for 2020" because it SLAPS (stands for, it's really great content and I highly recommend you take a look lol)
I want to be in alignment with DIVINE. I desireto be better for myself. I want to better for my family. I want to be better in my friendships. I want to be better for those who I am called to serve. With my whole self I am entering into to this Lenten season to be transformed and renewed. Maybe, just maube you might be sharing the same sentiments. If so, I genuinley hope you feel seen and found something valuable here. May God be with you and may you get everything you need to BE all you can BE on this side of Heaven.
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Peace be with you Brave Hearts.
A fellow Brave Heart,
SoulQueenWu (DAS ME LOL)
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