The RSCOGIC Youth “Daring To Be Different” Department presents the 2012 Youth Crusade
KEEPING IT REAL! YOUTH ON FIRE FOR GOD (Rev. 3:16)
After being asked to speak at the RSCOGIC Youth Academic And Achievement Awards Night, I began to reflect. “How have I managed to get where I am today and still have my focus on fulfilling the plan God has for my life? Not wanting to be the center-of-attention for too long, how can I make this short and sweet? What do I have to say to the youth of today?”
This is what I cam up with:
Fresh out of college I began to seek out wisdom to figure out my purpose in this life. During that time I began a fast lasting a month, asking for wisdom to distinguish my purpose, and guidance for the execution of my purpose. At the end of my fast I was given a visualization to capture the stories of women of color with natural hair. With me being natural I knew the significance of the vision immediately.
Since 2011, my vision has been that every woman realize and enjoy her own natural potential. With a natural hair movement again on the rise, women know now that their “black is beautiful”, but I would like to add that “natural is beautiful.”
Spinning off from the vision of my book I began a mentoring organization called Stand4UrStrand, Inc. which offers opportunities (for the youth and adults) to be a part of community service projects that emphasize the importance of character building and leadership development.
And at the end of every event we have, we pass out our “I Love My Natural Strand” buttons. Everyone wearing the ILMNS button show that they are supporters of the Stand4UrStrand message; We are caring and competent servant leaders transforming communities one student at a time. The ILMNS buttons have been requested from various locations such as: Virginia, Florida, California, Texas, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Lebanon, United Kingdom, and Canada.
I would like to leave you with this:
If God lays something on your heart to do, it is your responsibility to put it into action the best way you know how. But don’t worry, He won’t give you more than you can handle.
I will be handing out buttons at the end of the program. I look forward to what God has in store for this organization and the people it will touch. I would like to thank my family, my church family and the Helen Jo Ann King Committee for believing in the youth in this church. Thank you.
I am not sure what God has in store for me and for this organization, but whatever it is, I know it will be awesome. All glory goes to Him.