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 Since it is National Poetry Month I decided to dedicate this blog post to well poetry and my story behind it! Lets get started shall we?

​What age did you first start writing?
I started writing when I was young, I usually say around ages 12 or 14.

What do you usually write about?
​I started off writing little poems about love, then it grew into longer poems about love. Eventually, I started writing about my own experiences with relationships and life in general. Being a Christian poet, I usually incorporate something about Jesus. I tend to write about issues in todays society, in church, and so on.

​Where did your stage name “Chosen.” come from?
​I always wanted a stage name but I didn’t just want to use any name. After some time, Chosen. was the name that seemed to fit me and my life, There are many meanings behind that name, While interviewed at one time I only shared one meaning due to the time and experiencing a blank mind (smh). Chosen. comes from the scripture Matthew 22:14, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” I believe God has a calling on my life (as He may have on other peoples life) and I chose to listen and to follow Him.  A lot of people can be called to complete a mission but not all of them will listen and follow God. This name also comes from 1 Peter 2:9, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;” I mean this is self explanatory. I am chosen, I am different, I am a child of God. Chosen. also pertains to the fact that we go through issues in our life but we should try to understand that God knew what we would go through and what we would encounter. We were chosen to go through it, good or bad. 

What do you want accomplish with your gift?
Honestly, I want to touch the lives of millions. I want to uplift Christ and truly be used by Him. I would love to grow old and look back over my life satisfied because I didn’t sit on my gift but used it and was productive with my time here on earth.

What are some goals you have?
I want to continue to write books, I was never the best at writing but I took a liking to writing. I want to continue my blogs and videos on YouTube and connect with other creative minds. I also would love to travel around the world, ministering in spoken word as well as speaking as a motivational speaker. I want to meet new people and become more out there. With all my goals listed I cant help but say I also will love to eventually get my masters and become a therapist.

What are your fears?
My fears pertaining are not feeling good or creative enough and not knowing my next moves. Being around so many creative people sometimes pushes you to look at yourself and evaluate what your doing. When I am around creative people it usually encourages me to do more and to be more then what I think I can be. There are those moments that we all have though, when doubt creeps in an you wonder if your as good or as successful. I also like to have everything mapped out. Understanding that things don’t always work my way can be a hard pill to swallow. Sometimes not knowing what my next step or move is can be a little scary.

What am I working on?
I always have events I want to throw and things I want to do in mind. I can give you a list of ALL the things I want to do and the events I want to throw but that list goes on. So far, I am in the process of publishing my first book (yay) as well as hosting an event under PhenomenallyCHOSEN. June 2017 for the youth. While working a full time job I am also connecting with more people and attending more open mic events. I am still blogging and posting inspirational videos on YouTube as well.

Words of encouragement:
Don’t limit yourself or place yourself in a box. Dream big and do what you can to bring make your visions reality. Don’t lose yourself in the process.

Its so easy to look at the outer and see how perfect someone has it together. Its so easy to look at the life of someone else and see the beauty radiating from their accomplishments, their promotions, advancements, etc…

​That person you look up to has it all together, everything is perfect. Perfection at its finest.

​You know what…

​I don’t get why perfection is associated with beauty, flaws are seen as ugly and as imperfections.

​A lot of individuals you see “have it all together” but what we fail to see is that the artists, entrepreneurs, speakers, big shots, etc. are not perfect. Majority of the time they went through  some unpleasant situation, sweat and tears to get where they are currently. In my opinion, the struggle is what’s beautiful. It’s what brings out the resiliency and strength in a person. Society has a bad habit of trying to cover up scars and hush hush the unpleasant things and shed light on what their idea of perfection should be.

​Lets talk about the story behind what you see in front of the curtain; lets talk about the years (for example) an artist had to build themselves up, encourage themselves, motivate themselves, promote their own work, book their own shows, step out of their comfort zone and lose relationships in the midst of it all. Lets talk about the doubt, fear and mental battles  that had to be conquered for them to get where there at.

​Its a shame, but society’s view of perfection some how leaked into the church and brain washed the saints. Wow. Maybe if some of the church folks didn’t uplift that idea of beauty in perfection, the world wouldn’t be so quick to point fingers when we slip up and mess up (drops mic).
​I know , I know I may have a few in the bunch that strongly disagrees and that is okay! I’m not mad at ya, but what I am mad about is someone who has a story that can help someone else but instead they sit in the pews every Sunday all dolled up, denying their past battles and acting like they dropped from heaven as lovely as can be!

​Lets be honest, in my own experience there were times when I felt like I have been placed a little too high and seen as some form of perfect from Christians and non Christians. Yeah I enjoy writing, I blog, I YouTube, I work full time, I graduated, I am working on a book, I do poetry, I perform at shows, yada yada yada. It looks good right, it seems like I have it all together, but truth be told I don’t.

​(insert crazy maniac laugh here.)

​In all of that, you want to know what I have struggled with? Doubt (what am I doing, no one will ever listen), fear (I am not good enough. I will never reach the level of so and so), self esteem issues (I’m trying to help others when  I am still trying to find myself. I’m worthless, ugly and a waste of space), etc.

​There was a time when I felt like I had to wear one of those smiley masks when the real me was pretty banged up. I mean literally. After getting over that hump (yes, there are times I still have those humps to get over, lets be real) and experiencing what I have experienced I take joy in my story. I feel joy because what I have been through is what made me the way I am today and I look pretty darn good (all glory to God.)
​Being a Christian is not all about perfection. Jesus came down to earth carrying our weight, ugliness and flaws and died for us. He was the ultimate sacrifice. Personally, I don’t think He was worried about looking all handsome when He was hanging on the cross for my mess. Yes, we rejoice at Who He is but lets not forget to rejoice for what He has done. Lets be real, if He didn’t do what He did we would probably be sitting up in hell somewhere with no choice of eternal life in heaven. The story was not perfect but because of God being a sacrifice for my IMPERFECTIONS the story itself is beautiful.

​Truth be told, I am tired of society’s perception of beauty being based off of no scars, humps or bumps.
There were times that I have spoken with people who apologized for their story being the way it is. Don’t apologize  for what is helping in the process of making you who you are and building you up. Don’t apologize for the opportunity to be resilient.
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​God didn’t apologize for His story.

​I’ve learned not to apologize for the struggles I went through, it takes a lot trying to uphold perfection.

​I want you to know that beauty is soul deep. Its that deep, You’re beautiful. To those battling cancer, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. To those downing their appearance, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. To those with physical deformities, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. To those struggling with a mental illness, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. Even to those who done so much work to being perfect and feel like they have arrived, as long as you are beautiful on the inside, you are truly beautiful. To my saints in the first pew with the history of prostitution and addictions YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL and your story is BEAUTIFUL TO! To my saints near the drums who struggled in life and now does not take anything for granted YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL and your story is BEAUTIFUL TO. To my deacons, ministers, pastors and evangelists who know first hand what an overcomer is YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL and your story is BEAUTIFUL TO.
​To all my saints YOURE ARE BEAUTIFUL AND YOUR STORY IS TO! Don’t be ashamed to be transparent and don’t be ashamed to rejoice in the journey you went through! Let us not let the worlds view distort our vision.

​Let me leave this here and Ill catch yall later: (Song of Solomon 4:7) “Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.”

Yes its that time again! Hello beautiful people, my darlings and loves! Hello to the strangers, acquaintances,  friends and family! Hello all!
​(Yes I am very much aware that I am a tad bit weird and at times extra but that is what makes me me right? Okay then so we’re cool :))
​While doing some studying I came across something; I am pretty sure that I read this plenty of times but while reading Hebrews chapter 11, I found myself evaluating my belief.
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​This belief I speak of is my belief about what faith is and my understanding of it.​

Can it be we associate faith with the guarantee for something to happen?

As far as I could remember if I was to pray hard enough, fast long enough and overall assume something was to happen then God would do it and that was that. Now, when it didn’t happen I attempted to deny the feeling of being let down and I attempted to pick up the pieces of my shattered hopes and I continued on my way.

​                                                        Wouldn’t it be wonderful to not have to deal with cutting your hands on shattered hopes?

​Well, after contemplation and reading, that possibility does not seem so foreign at all, it in fact is so close I can fee its presence on my skin!
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                                               Hebrews 11: 1 clearly states, “​Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

​Faith and hope goes hand in hand. Faith is believing that what we hope for can come to pass; faith is spiritually seeing what can come into fruition (2 Corinthians 5:7); it is the confidence in God.

​Can it be at times we use faith to place God in a box as our genie? I mean if we have faith then it has to happen, right?
​Eh wrong, it does not have to.

​I believe that God does focus on the physicality and yes, He wants us to succeed while on earth but his concern is the soul!

                                “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.​” (3 John1:2)

​Take note in, even as thy soul, this scripture emphasizes the importance of the soul prospering and how it is just as important (most likely more) as the materialistic things we try to put first.
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                                        What if faith is ultimately trusting God and understanding and believing that He is able to make the impossible possible?

“And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” (Matthew 17:20)
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​                                                                                                              What if that mountain can be doubt?

​                                                       What if by having faith and trusting God, doubt has no choice but to move out of the way?

With that thought in place, we are able to put our trust in God and in His will and plan for us.  If it doesn’t go our way or how we would like it to go it’ll be okay because Gods way supersedes our way and 300 out of 100 times His way is better!
​Faith is the confidence in God and in His Word. It can be the confidence in the fact that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), in spite of our plans not going as expected or it can be the confidence in knowing that as a Christian we are heirs of Christ and that what He says we shall receive in His Word, we shall receive.

“16The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:16-18)

​Here is what I am trying to get to, if God says it, it will happen and despite the odds we must stand on His Word and believe that as heirs of Christ we shall receive it.
​If we want it, we must believe God can make it happen despite the odds, we must trust Him in every aspect of our life and trust that He is able to do the impossible and if its not in His will for it to come to pass, our faith and trust should not be altered. Now that’s trust.
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​                                                                    Trust is a big deal, without it how can a relationship be maintained?

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.​” (Hebrews 11:6)

​If you want to get a run down of individuals in the Bible who had faith, I mean literally, read Hebrews 11. It talks about those who had faith and received, and those you have not received but still had faith,
Maybe if we perceive faith in a different  light and focus more on the heavenly rather then on the earthly and overall place the heavenly desires as our foundation, things would be easier. When I say things I mean, stress, anxiety, broken hopes, dreams and ultimately life.

​Lets try to see the broken hopes as a puzzle piece that only God can put together, in which He can make it look way better then the  boring picture on the box!
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Cheers to another year, another month and yes another blog post!

​Wow oh ow! Look how far we have come beautiful people!

​No lie, I was like man oh man what am I going to say? Honestly, for the last few days I was not feeling it (whatever it may be).
​As this day approacehed (my birthday-yay!) I was doing alot of soul searching about what I have accomplished, where I am at in life and how I have started off the new year thus far. For me, the new year started off great but I felt like as soon as it started I gave in to the tactics of the devil and some areas of my life I slipped up and fell. Yes, it is so easy to say just get back up but when it seems like you have been fighting and fighting to do something right and one thing that you know you could have handled properly you handled like a fool that in itself personally did not make me feel cool (insert emoji with sunglases). I felt like a failure and at that point I felt like I was “grieving the Holy Spirit” which resided in me.
​As the day went on I felt the atmosphere of sorrow starting to surrond me and the clowds of sadness hang over my head. I began to think too much but in it all I tried to gather the little bit of hope I had to keep fighting. Fighting for peace, happiness and the strength to keep on enduring in this Christian walk.
​As today hit (my birthday) I woke up with a great joy and happiness and readiness to move forward. The previous night was a tough night yet I managed to take sone time and really commune with myself and most importanlty with God. A time that I really needed. I purchased a a book  called Chasing Real and so far the book hit straight on the nail with what I am dealing with.
​His manifestations may look different from your expectations (p. 13), a sentence in the beginning pages of the book that really was a wow moment for me.
​I am  over here tearing myself down for where I am not and what I have not yet accomplished; I failed to accept that  His plot for my life may be different then what I envision yet it will be just as beautiful most likelymore radient.
 
“A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.” -Proverbs 16:9
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We must always keep in mind that the little picture we paint does not compare to what God has in store for us, let us give it all to Him and let Him diect our steps. Lets us trust Him. Sometimes its easier said then done but it is possible and each day I learn that more and more.

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”-Galatians 6:9

​This is my go to scripture, when I feel like all my efforts are in vain or if I fall down and feel as though I do not have the strength to get back up. As I type this my heart and mind is being reminded once again, KEEP GOING! IF YOU FALL KEEP GOING! IF IT DOES NOT TURN OUT HOW YOU WANT IT TO, KEEP GOING! DONT GIVE UP KEEP GOING! (Imagine Jesus Christ screaming that to you and cheering you on as you run to reach the finish line.)

​Yes, the last few days I was feeling weary and my mess up made it 100xs worse but as God gives me breathe I will keep going. For me, my loved ones and especially for Him. My being on earth does not warap around how I feel but what He has called me to do and who He has called me to be.

​As i conclude this, I want to encourage you all to keep your head up and keep on going. Even when you mess up or it looks ugly and icky, dig your way through and dont only see the light at the end of the tunnel but embrace it. Let God be your vision and you strength.
​Lets leave our downfalls and bad habits back there and lets strive to be a better from here on out. It may take some gloomy nights or beating yousrelf up but remember what matters is your heart. If you have the heart to succeed then succeed!

​I am off to enjoy my birthday, another day to make a change!
​I love you all beautiful people and God bless ❤