Ten Steps to Your Successful Summer Weave

1. For curly styles, I recommend synthetic hair. This hair holds up well in water and you have to do very little to it to keep it up!

2. If you are rocking braids or sewn in styles, be sure your stylist isn't pulling your braids too tight! This can cause pain, loss of hair (esp around the hairline), and scalp damage!

3. Take care of your own hair! Take your weave out every 2-3 weeks if bonded in to shampoo and deep condition your hair. If your hair is sewn in, shampoo and use a light spray leave in on your hair and scalp weekly.

4. Seabreeze works beautifully as a scalp cleanser and stimulator!

5. Between weaves, my best pick for shampoo and DEEP conditionong is Nioxin. They have a formula for chemically treated hair and one for natural hair. This shampoo and conditioner is designed to replenish thinning hair and is great to maintain thickness and the health of your hair while you are wearing weaves.

6. Feel free to express yourself with color! Other people don't define your beauty, you do!

7. A good cut makes your weave easier to deal with and style. Go for layers or a cute bob!

8. Its hot yall! So be sure your stylist installs your weave so that you can rock a cute ponytail! Please don't have to raise up the back of your gorgoues hair, only to reveal tracks, naps and everything else! And don't for get to get an edge! Please!

9.Do it yourselfers! Stay away from CREME bonding glue! It does not hold up well against heat, sweat or anything! I have seen very embarassing accidents because of the wrong glue!

10. Choose a style that compliments you! What you see on someone else is not guaranteed to look like that on you. Ask your stylist his/her opinion, if she says its not for you, ask her how you both can switch it up to make it for you!

If anyone has any questions let me know!
sylviashrv@aol.com

and dont forget to check out my Soul Purpose site to join, be nosy or make a purchase! This stuff is not the bomb, its the grenade yall!

sylviawinston.soulpurpose.net

Until next time!

Starting Over......

Starting over............... Wow, what a disturbing thought, or is it?

Starting over from scratch is hard. New beginnings, new places, new jobs, new surroundings, new stuff. No familiar, new.

This is a crazy time in life, an unsure time in life but there is a reason for everything.

In the bible, ( Let me interject and say that if you dont believe in God and His words, then please dont read anything I write.) God has created the best leaders and brought the best out of His people by putting them in a position to where they had to start over. I.E. Mary, Abram, now known as Abraham, Noah, Jesus, Moses, Saul, now known as Paul, etc, etc.

We must remember that God is the master of everything. Half the time we don't know what God is doing but we have to hang on because He is in control. If God places you in a position to start over then He must have your stuff already planned out. He has a reason for placing you where you are and even though this is a rough time (I know, I've been there) know this, God cannot lie and He cannot fail! Phillipians 4:19 says " My God will supply ALL your needs according to His riches and glory." This scripture does not say some or a few but ALL! So in the midst of your starting over, don't forget who you serve and how big He is. Your circumstances do not define God, He defines them!

Until next time!

Check me out!

Hey everybody!

Check out my Soul Purpose website! sylviawinston.soulpurpose.net

also check out hairzoneplus.com (still under construction but still worth a look)

The Storm Does Not Stop The Promise

I just have to share with ya'll a message our guest speaker gave us last night!

The title of his message was "There is a Blessing on the Other Side of the Storm" and it was awesome!

He spoke about how God shows us a promise or we pray very hard for something but before we get our promise, up comes the storm! God told us that we would be blessed but He neglected to inform us of the impending storm! We are sitting there excited about what God is about to do when WHAM! The world seems to come crashing down around us! Then there we are, confused and wondering if God really said anything to us at all. Then there we are, praying. Wondering "where is God now? He was talkin up a storm before but now He is quiet. And if God has something to do with this then why amI going through this mess!?"

Look at this though ya'll! The minister went on to say that it is in the storm that God manifests Himself. He told you the promise before the storm so that you can exersice your faith (the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen)as you go through the storm. Sometimes the storm can be so vicious until you can totally lose focus of your promise. The thing is, the storm does not stop your blessing. It does not disqualify you from what God has for you! It only gives God his time to shine in your life! Think about it, If everything is going great in your life and you are blessed with something, what is the difference? God's promises are best made manifest in the middle of total disaster. Need examples? Daniel in the Lion's Den, Jonah in the belly of the Whale, The Egyptians being freed from Pharoh (the whole Red Sea thing?),The Hebrew Boys, Jesus being crucified, need I go on? Think about your own life. Think about a time when you were at a very low time and God delivered you! See what I mean? If you are in a storm right now, you are right where God wants you and you are about to be miraculously delivered!

Wow.

Until next time!

Come On Get Happy!

Short note today! Big message!

Make the choice to be happy ya'll.

I realize there are a lot of reasons not to be. But there are also a lot of reasons to be. People spend their lives in the search for happiness. But with each new level they reach, there is always going to be something else to reach for. With each step you take there is likely that a new challenge will come with it. So at what point do you aquire the happiness?

Happiness should be a state of mind and dont you dare say there is nothing to be happy about! For every bad thing you can name, there is something good God has done for you! Remember my post on keeping a "blessing log"? If that is what it takes then do that but make up your mind to be happy and positve. Positivity goes a long way in our life's journey. I guarantee you, that if you fill your mind with positve thoughts, you will have a better chance at succeeding and moving to higher heights in your life. The enemy's aim is to keep you thinking negatively and doubtfully so to block good from coming to you. Think about it. How easy is it for God to bless you if you are walking around grumbling? If you are in a negative mind state, you are exhibiting very little faith. Faith is what moves God and although life can indeed throw you some curves, you must remember who is catching the ball. If God be for you, who can be against you? Cast your cares on Him, for He cares for you. But my God will supply ALL your needs according to His riches and Glory....... Need I say more? Okay then. Smile! God's got you! Get Happy!!!!

Until Next Time!!!!!

Soul Purpose

Hello Everyone!

This one is especially to my ladies!

I need to introduce ya'll to my latest endeavor - Soul Purpose.

This is a beauty, health and wellness line that focuses on enhancing your beauty from the inside out. (Sound familiar?) This line offers everything from delicious smelling body butters , lotions, creams and scrubs, to gorgeously (if thats a word) scented soy candles. Soul Purpose is also partnered with a company called Youngevity. This affiliate provides Soul Purpose with something no other cosmetic direct selling company offers. That is a world class line up of energy and nutritional products as well as a beautiful mineral make-up line.

Ya'll know me, I have to try things before I can tell you about them, you know, cause I dont like to promote something I don't know about personally. Believe me, I am working on this right now! So far I can vouch for the Brazillian Jackfruit Soy Candle. I am in love with candles so when I opened my box and saw it, I took it out immediately and lit it. It smelled sooooo good! It had been burning probably about 20 minutes when I had gone outside to my car and my neighbor came out and started sniffing. She was like girl, what is that smell? I told her about my candle and she was ready to order then! I just didnt have any to sell her! Not to mention, there is an entire line of Brazillian Jackfruit lotions and washes that I cannmot wait to order!

Ok ya'll! As I blog I will keep you ladies ( and gentlemen) updated on what I try and love! So, if you want to order or even become a SoulPurpose Entreprenuer like me, I can hook you up! I have great expectatons!

until next time!!!!

One Day at a a Time..... Sweet Jesus.......

Ya'll know that song? I grew up hearing it and I honestly used to hate to hear the old ladies break otu with it. Thats because I didn't understand it. But now...... I'm praying the same prayer.. Lord help me to take one day at a time!

I am being silly but this little rule is so important to your sanity and vital to acheiving your goals.

As I have said before, there are many of us (including me) with a million ideas and goals. God is steadily blessing us from day to day but we cant relish in our small victories for focusing on the larger ones. In our quest to conquer the world, we need to remember to first and foremost acknowledge God. We must ask Him to order our steps daily. We are to place our desires, dreams and ideas before Him and ask Him for guidance as to how we are to accomplish them.

The bible tells us not to worry about what we will eat tomorrow. As impossible as this may sound to many of us, the message is clear; Place your concerns before God and watch Him take care of them.

From another standpoint, to those having problems, maybe with money, or wondering what you will do after being laid off a job,etc. I understand ! I know what it is like to have a family,fall in a
hard spot and go crazy wondering how you will make it. Worrying is a natural thing but this cannot solve your problem and neither can sending your self into a frenzy trying to figure out everything all at once. It is a must that we learn to take life one day at a time. God has the ability to fix something that would take us years all at once. I know I sound redundant when I get on the subject of faith but it is sooooooo necessary! In my opinion, you can only take life one day at a time, if you have the faith that God is heading your life.

Everybody, God wants to take worry off of us. He wantsd us to stop living life in a rush. He wants us to understand that He has it. Once we understand these things, we will be able to live richer, fuller, more satisfying lives.

Until next time!

Do you need to press the delete button ?

Hello Everyone!

2009 strikes me as a year that a lot of ambitious and goal oriented people are making huge efforts to change. We have a new president, new opportunties presented to us, and many of us are just sick and tired of being sick and tired. I am personally right there with you. That is one of the beautiful things about life, God has given us the ability to change our current situation and not stay stuck in one mindset.

There are plenty of ways to begin again. I love the fact that no matter where you come from or what you have done in life, regardless to whatever, God can change your situation and make your life great. The only thing is, you have to want it. You have to want change and a lot of times it does not come easy. There are steps some of us have to take that are specific to our own situations.

The one step I want to focus on today is one I feel is very important. Particulary because I had to do it.

Delete- meaning to erase or rid your self of.

This one small word could have a very big impact on the outcome of your life. Ya'll it is a fact that those you surround yourself with, whether they are loved ones, friends, relatives, whatever, can influence your way of thinking. Sad to say but, if they don't feel the way you feel or believe in you, it is very likely that your faith in yourself will waver. You may have every great intention in the world but you may feel held back. You may always find yourself dreaming and not doing or you may find yourself in a rut. Whatever the case may be, it could very well be your surroundings and/or the people you are associated with.

In my case, that is excatly where I was. I have wanted to accomplish major things in life for the past years and I always found myself talking about it. I began to look over my life and wonder what was going on? Why do I keep going with the same motions? It was because I needed to see something diffrent to do something diffrent. No one around me had accomplished anything major. Just about neveryone was satisfied where they were. Some of the people closest to me seemed to be happier with me doing bad. It seemed that when I began to make better moves they got angry and even resorted to trweating me diffrently. It took me a while to put all of this together but once I did, what an eye-opener!

If you find yourself in this position with family or friends, don't get angry with them. They can't understand something they have never done. You have to think very clearly about what you want, write it down and go for it! I moved to another state and though I have had some struggles here, this has been one of the best things I have ever done. Many times when you make big moves in life whether it is a career change, a move, a body change,etc. You will encounter adversity. A lady I used to work with was grossly obese and wanted to loose weight. She became tired of talking about it and did something. She went on to lose over 100 pounds in a liitle over a year! She was beautiful! As a result, her husband left her. He actually hated the fact that she looked so good! Pitiful! We can't let people define our lives. Those that are for us will want us to prosper, those that aren't won't. They will feel threatened and try to discourage you. If you find your self dealing with this. Stop. Pray and ask God to remove you from these negative forces in your life and lead you to those who support you. He will! He did it for me.

You only live once. There is no sense in looking back at your life 10 years from now with regrets. The time is now! Use our wonderful president for your example. Imagine how many naysayers he had to delete. And now, he is President Barack Obama!

Until next time!

You Reap What You Sow.......

When you hear that saying, what do you think of?

Through the years when I have heard this, people say this when referring to someone hurting another person or mistreating someone. You know, "He better stop doing her like that cause you know, what goes around comes around."or " She needs to stop treating people that way, cause she's going to reap that." I could keep going, we've all heard it.

Though this may be true for the negative things, it is also and even more so true for the positive things in our lives.

This is a note to encourage those of you whom have done good by people and don't feel as though their good is being reciprocated. I know that the bible gives us all these guidelines on how we should be:

Love your enemy
Give to the poor
Bless them that curse you
Forgive, forgive, forgive
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
Love everyone
Feed the hungry

That is a lot! And that isn't even all! And in being a good Christian person in life and relationships is hard!! Most of the time people don't make it easy (your loved ones included!) My message is to keep doing good. God sees you! I understand what it is like to feel weary and tired of unrelenting people. I understand what its like to feel unappreciated. I totally understand when you want to say Forget it!!!! But remember, God sees you! God feels your pain and He knows your feelings. He is the one who said what you sow is what you will reap! Those were His words and since that is the case, He cannot lie! The good you do and have done will be returned to you! The awesome thing is though is when God returns it to you, it is sooooooo much better than when you gave it out!!!! You will get your good back!!!!!!!!

Until next time!

Be Thankful!!!

Hello Everybody!!!

I have a short but sweet message I think we all need to hear!

My cousin gave me the ideato keep a running log of all the blessings both big and small that God gives us. This may sound really crazy to some but think about how easy it is to get wrapped up in what is wrong today, what yiu need now, what bill isnt paid, who let you down today, etc....

Sometimes the new challenges we face can take our minds completely off of what great things God has done for us. I, myself have been guilty of this. For example, I prayed and fasted, seeking God concerning a move my family and had to make. Our realtors had to liquidate our and a couple other of their properties so we had to move quick! We had no extra money set aside for a move and to make matters worse, we didn't even know where we were going to move! I was lost! I was like " Ok Lord, I know you got this!?" (Notice the question mark) I spoke with my realtor/friend and she told me not to worry because she had a place to transfer us to. I told the Lord thank you but then got worried about actually moving! I was literally afraid to begin packing because I didn't see how this move was going to take place! The next thing I knew, the Lo9rd had opened a door that provided us with a moving truck, boxes, dollies, help--- the whole nine yards! I said a quick thanks to God but then began to worry about how we were going to pay to get the utilities turned on. Needless to say God fixed that situation and an d everyonte thereafter both big and small that we encountered. After moving in, I noticed our funds were low (which, if you remember they were from the beginning). I got ready to say something to God when I thought, "Hold up fool! (Forgive me. But for lack of a better word) God has answered your every whim and you have never really stopped to say and really mean ThankYou!" As stupid as I felt, I immediately asked God for forgiveness and thought back on how many other times I had done that.

I gave you this info on myself so that maybe you can apply this lesson to your own lives. God is constantly answering our prayers, but the enemy's job is to take our focus off of what is right and to steer our minds to what is wrong.

Lets be thankful ya'll!

God is good!!!

Until next time!!!

Be Still.............

I will bet if I was in a room filled with people and I asked them to raise their hands if they were dealing with some major life issus, 90% would raise their hands. Some might even get up and wave for added emphasis!

Boy! Can I relate to this one!

Does this sound familiar?

-You have tried to get loans
-You have begged and pleaded with God
-You have gone to relatives
-You have lowered your standards in hope of getting the man/woman/job,etc
-You have become overly frustrated
-You feel like a failure because you feel like there is nothing more "you" can do

I could go on and on butI think I had better get to the point.

One question: Where is your faith?

Do you realize you are serving a God bigger than any circumstance you could ever face?This is the same God that delivered human men from a fire that never once burned them? This is the same God that placed you in your mother and allowed her to bring you into the world. This is the God you are turning your back to in your time of need!!!!

The bible tells us to cast our cares upon Him because He cares for us. To cast means to throw! So throw God the mess you are dealing with, the desires you have, the relationships you desire to be mended! He will catch it and handle it! Notice above I put quotes around the word 'you'. This is meant to say that you are not supposed to do anything! What you ca do is irrelevant. God wants the glory! Imagine that? God wants to take care of you, your needs wants and desires and you are not letting Him! He wants to help you and He will if you would just back up, be still and know that He is God!!!

Until next time!!!!!

Just Do It!

Hello Everyone!

I was so inspired by one of my mentors today! I just had to share it with you guys!

Ever notice how a lot of people do a lot of talking about the things they want out of life? They make all these plans but when you see them a year later and ask them about things they are like, " I didn't have time" or " I don't know, I (fill in the blank)". Do any of you see this in yourselves?
Man, I do or should I say, did. was encouraged today to " Walk by faith and not by sight!"

Let us stop letting doubt and fear ruin what our lives can be! If you have an idea, a goal or dream, do what you have to do and go get it! Just do it!!!! Those thoughts and dreams are dropping into your spirit for a reason. I am a firm believer that nothing happens by accident! Our thoughts are stepping stones to what could be. Think about it. You start to think about a bowl of Vanilla Ice Cream with chocolate and caramel drizzled over the top of it. You imagine its creamy texture and its delicious taste. You think about it until those thoughts lead you to your freezer or the very nearest grocery store! You created that vivid picture in your head until it became a reality! You had to have it!

I said this to say, let us stop making excuses as to why we can't and start figuring out how we can! Don't focus on the now, focus on the faith. Focus on the dream. Tyler Perry started out homeless, broke and starving but he never stopped praying and writing his plays. Look what happened!

Let's pledge- no more excuses!! Just Do It!!!!!