JustSyai

Have you ever been told something that has stuck with you longer than it should have? Were you ever told something repeatedly as a child or even as an adult and it affected you mentally, emotionally or spiritually? Growing up I would hear kids say, "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me". Honestly, this couldn't be further from the truth as words hurt more than sticks and stones, their wounds take longer to heal because they cut deep. For years I endured hearing negative things about myself in a hurtful marriage that ended in divorce. Those words affected me and I carried them into my current marriage. I can now say that those words have no power over me, I have been doing the work to ensure that I no longer believe them. How about you? Words once said can never be taken back, they hurt as they pierce through a person's integrity, their being and mental thoughts to be processed. Once words are taken in and ran through the mind over and ove...

  Have you ever struggled with your appearance? Like really struggled? I struggled for years with my outward appearance. I never really considered myself a great looking person, the picture above does not tell the tale, and the truth is, I pushed through this photo shoot with the help of a great friend. I was the ugly duckling for years. I was the darkest, the tallest, the skinniest, girl with the roughest hair texture. Go ahead and add in that I loved school, reading books and had a small group of friends who I only saw at school, didn’t help at all. Growing up around my family that was lighter than me, had some meat on them bones and flowing hair was not easy. I always felt like an outcast, the black sheep of the family and ugly. My upbringing and adding a very hard first marriage should have shattered me to pieces, truth be told, it did. I have slowly, with the help of the Lord, my wonderful husband, and trusted friends, began to build up the confidence to say I AM BEAUTIFUL! ...