The Emancipation of the Woman

Dear Queen,

It’s OUR season!

Over the past couple of years, I have become a podcast junkie. So, every Monday, I listen to my virtual pastors, Toure’ and Sarah Roberts, PREACHHHHH on the Potters House at ONE LA Podcast. This week’s message was called, “His Role, Her Movement, Our Reward” and one thing that stood out to me was the theme around “The Emancipation of the Woman.”

Emancipation is defined as “the fact or process of being set free from legal, social, or political restrictions; liberation. The freeing of someone from slavery.”

Are women enslaved in our current US society? Maybe not physically, but mentally we are still very often oppressed. And what about our sisters in other countries? More than likely they are even more oppressed. But one thing is becoming evident, WE are breaking free and we can’t be stopped.

Queens, are redefining every “norm” that culture has placed on us. We are reshaping what it means to be a woman every, single day. We have easily become CEOs, Presidents, and Directors of various leading companies and organizations. We are doing this and still manage to be PHENOMENAL wives, mothers, aunts, sisters, daughters, etc. There is literally not one thing we cannot do.

Though we make these things look so flawless…truth is, it’s not easy. In a world, where we are constantly fighting battles simply because we were born a Queen…we MUST support each other.

This weekend, I was in New Orleans with a few of my favorite Queens (Niy, Dime, and Jiy) and our good King friend, Lionel. One late night/early morning we had a very deep conversation about oppression in the workplace, spanning from gender, sexuality, race, etc. One thing that all of the Queens have experienced is what we call “man-splaining.”

Man-splaining is when a Queen is speaking and a rude peasant of male descent feels the need to cut her off and explain what the Queen is saying, as if the Queen needs a translator. Uh, no sir...not requested. (Please note, Kings do not suffer from man-splaining.) But how do we overcome this trend without appearing as though we are being “aggressive” or “over-reacting”?

We support each other.

A perfect way to handle a situation as such is to speak up for your fellow Queen in a meeting. If you notice that she is speaking and is cut off by someone else (male or female) stand up for her. You can say something as simple as “Hey (rude person’s name), I’m positive you have some valuable thoughts to offer but may we allow (Queen’s name) to finish contributing her thoughts first, please?”

By doing simple acts like this, we help assure that our fellow Queens are not being silenced. We are also shedding light on the “man-splaining” issue without being "rude" or “aggressive”. It may seem a bit uncomfortable the first time around but the results will be so rewarding in the end. 

Make supporting another Queen your daily attitude.

Queen, when God created women, he created us extremely special. We are able to withstand a lot but I must also caution that asking for help is not a sin. When things become a bit overwhelming, don’t be too independent or prideful to ask for help. Make sure your support system is solid. This is a Kingdom of Kings and Queens that have nothing to gain when you ask for help. These are the people that aren’t afraid to tell you what you need to hear rather than what you want to hear.

Your season is now. Not tomorrow, not next week. So that means that your energy must be protected and expended only on things that enhance you. This season is going to call for you to let go of dead weight so that you can move more freely.

Whatever it is that God has called you to do…execute it without delay. He wants to take you to a new level but He needs you to do your part.

What is it that God has called you to this season? Are you struggling with getting started? If so, share below to allow another Queen to support and encourage you this season.

With Love,

Queen Lennea

Detours, Not Stop Signs

Hey Queen (or King),

This week has been pretty interesting for me to say the least. A common theme that seemed to take place was "Change of plans...or a lack thereof." For those of you that don't know me very well, here's a fun fact about me...

I, Queen Lennea, plan everything to the T.

I do not enjoy being surprised, I refuse to be lost, and I do not like not having an itinerary. No, this does not mean that I'm boring lol.

Moving on, that being said this week's common theme has had me pretty overwhelmed. But thank God for family and friends that have qualities you don't possess, right?

My family and friends helped me realize that even though we may have these grand plans for our lives, they're just plans. Plans are meant to be adjusted the more you execute against them. But, that does not mean you will never reach your destination. Will it take a little longer? Maybe. Will it take less time? Quite possible, also.

One thing for sure though, is that you still arrive if you keep going.

We naturally get these great ideas and we believe that they’ll come to fruition the way we envisioned. What we tend to forget is there are tons of external factors we have no control over that impact us. Or maybe we do have control but we fail to consider the relationship or potential impact to the current plan. The point is, the plan is never perfect.

So, what do we do? We keep going. We do not stop. We do not turnaround. Failure is inevitable but success is worth the lesson.

None of us are perfect, we strive to be but we can’t be. As long as we’re giving honest effort and learning every day we are on a great path.

So, the next time you get to a bump in the road…slow down, readjust, and keep going.

You can even use the chart below to help think through your uh-oh.

Keep Going Love,

Queen Lennea

Power of the P

Hey Queen! (or King)

I'm sure you've heard that the "Power of the P" is real. If you use it correctly, it'll get you pretty much anything you want. We've seen it far too often in this generation...people being glorified for their sexual abilities. However, I don't equate your power or mine to a physical organ...like whaaa?!?! Is the "P" between our legs precious? Heck yea! But...that's not what I want to address today.

The powerful "P" that I'm referring to is Purpose. This simple, 7 letter word packs so much power. Funny enough 7 is the number of completion...purpose will most certainly bring a sense of completion to your life. Living in your purpose will open doors that you could never imagine. But how do we get there? How do we unlock and unleash our purpose so that we can have full access to our power?

Writing these blogs have been something I've always enjoyed and wanted to do. However, putting myself in the spotlight isn't my thing. But I had to get over it so that I can reach my full potential.

Below are 4 things I think are vital to start you on your path in purpose:

1.  Be true to you. To even be capable of tapping into your purpose you HAVE to be true to you. True to your experiences, good or bad. True to your habits. True to your happiness. True to your desires.  Dig deep and figure out who you are. 
2. Die to yourself.  Yeah, I know. I get it. Why spend time being true to you just to die to yourself? Well, its necessary. Dying to yourself means you no longer identify with the limited thoughts of who you think you are. While purpose is surely meant to excel you it is not meant to serve you. Your purpose is meant to serve others. Someone's life depends on you being aligned. Be humble.  When you don't feel like doing it, do it anyway. It's a matter of life and death.
3. Embrace failure. Most people have negative feelings towards failure. You try something, you feel like you've given it your all but it still didn't work out. You wonder why nothing ever works out for you. Then you're ready to give up. CHANGE THAT PERSPECTIVE.  Rather ask yourself questions like "What can I do differently? Do I need to seek additional guidance? How can I stand out?" Then...TRY AGAIN. Put yourself out there. Fail fast, learn, apply, succeed, repeat. It's a cyclical process.
4. Be persistent. You know what you want...let nothing get in the way. There's no such thing as lack of time, prioritize. One door closes, keep knocking. Stand firm in what you believe and don't waiver. It may take days, weeks, months, or years to get there but you MUST get there. Don't settle and don't compromise for less.

I'm sure there's more and by all means feel free to share in the comments if you have additional advice. But these are the things that I'm learning to fuel and power up my purpose. I'm just getting started and I'm excited for where I'm going. I'm even more excited for you to discover your power through purpose. I know you have amazing ideas in you and the world is waiting for you. Start today.

Signed

Queen Lennea

Takes a Queen to Grow One

Hey, Queen!

I want to personally say to you, "Change is coming your way!" On this journey together we will go through a lot. Laughs, pain, tears, and joy are inevitable but each experience will propel us to a new version of ourselves. My hope is that these letters help to bring healing, new perspectives, understanding, and encouragement (to you and I) that will be passed on to the next Queen you encounter.

I will share personal encounters as well as not so personal ones. I'll share thoughts that may have been triggered by something I saw or heard and I'd love to hear your feedback or questions in return. All I ask is, if you leave a comment, sign as "Queen (insert name here)."

Why you ask?

I truly believe that you are royalty. The day that God decided to form you, you were marked with greatness, so let's address you as such. You're beautiful, smart, powerful, innovative, and worthy...remember that. Shoot, write it down and repeat it to yourself everyday because it is true!

Wow!  I'm so excited to share the letters I've written to you because I see the value in you and you deserve to be appreciated! Let your light shine on the world, Queen.

But in the meantime, subscribe and pass this on to the next Queen so she can take her rightful place in the Queendom as well.

Toodles!

Queen Lennea