All About The Ladies: Special Edition

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Ed it ori al & Wri ti ng Te am

Founder/Publisher ........................................... Sheneè Woodson Editor In Chief ..................................................... Sylvia Koonce

Managing Editor ................................................. Richard Wessenberg International Contributing Editor .......... Fideliz Cruz

Fashion Editor ..................................................... Stephanie Hill Cover Design Contributer ............................. Sarah Grace

Graphic Contributer ....................................... Buddhi Malith

Marketing Director .......................................... Dr. Aikyna Finch Senior Promoter ................................................. Dr. Gerald Smith Journalists ............................................................ Antoine Garrett . ............................................................. Shimeka Dukes ............................................................. Corey D Taylor

Contributing Writers...................................... Dr. Joan Henry-Fields ...................................................... Dr. Danica Myers

........................................ Shimeka Dukes

......................................... Dr. Jia Conway

......................................... Andrea Belmore ......................................... Retta Timmons ......................................... Melia Diana

......................................... Stephanie Slaybaugh Photo Credit ............................................................ Jazzy Photos (Sylvia Koonce headshot) 2

HOME BASE Baltimore, MD PHONE NUMBER 410-645-0629 WEBSITE www.hisfavorministries.com © 2021 by His Favor Ministries LLC. All Rights Reserved Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Printed in the United States of America.

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All About

Letter from the Editor 3.. Sylvia Koonce

6.. Danica Myers "The Price of Favor 7.. Andrea Belmore "The Redeeming Love of God" 8.. Shimeka Dukes "Can God Have Your Attention?"

Favor Girls Work

10.. Rebekah Sharpe 12.. Carla Robinson

14.. LaTasha Briscoe 16.. Dr. Joy'El Ballard

22.. Melia Diana "Dating the Old Way VS. the New Way" 23.. Dr. Jia Conway "Beauty Truly Is Skin Deep"

Feature Spotlight

24.. Dr. Missy Johnson "Living Glamorous & Fearless" 27.. Stephanie Kay "Grief" 28.. Retta Timmons "The Power To Heal Through His Strength"

The Christian-preneur Zone

30.. Kemisha Anderson-Thomas

Global Ventures 4

33.. Introducing Fideliz Cruz 37.. Ruth Saw

The Ladies

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The enemy can't take you out, so he's trying to wear you out!

Push through to VICTORY!

Pastor Kim "Real Talk Kim" (Cover Feature... 19)

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ANDREA BELMORE

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WWW.ANDREABELMORE.COM.AU

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When Faith Is The Main Ingredient

(interview by Corey D. Taylor)

Corey: Hello Carol Robinson! What made you say that you feel "Blessed" when asked "How are you today?"

Carla: Well, it doesn't necessarily mean that your wallet is full. What is means is that your life is going according to God's purpose. I know that I am definitely doing what He has called me to do and He is the one that has opened the doors for me to walk right through them.

Corey: Now that you have talked about why you feel blessed, please share with us, what does God and faith mean to you?

Carla: God is everything to me! He has brought myself and my family through a lot of things and without Him I would not be here. When it comes to faith, my mom was single with 5 kids for years and God always supported us and supplied our needs. On the other hand, I've been a single mom for 21 years. I have never had a bill that was unpaid, yet I work for myself with no set income every month. That is HUGE! My faith is HUGE! I was saved in the church when I was 8 years old, so I experienced early by watching my mom believe God for things. It has been a lifelong relationship. However, the older I got and had my own kids, it made it even more personal. When you are a parent, not knowing what amount of money is coming in from month to month, it tends to deepen your faith in God. Sometimes the things that I would be secure in, would be taken away so that I would only depend on Him. Corey: That is so amazing! I do know some other things you have done in your life. But talk to us about being a basketball player!

Carla: Sports was something that gave me peace. I would stay at the gym for hours and I had a very supportive coach. I was able to get into college and he was even there for me on a spiritual level, like a father. It also helped to take away all of the anxiety and stress that was going on in life during that time. I then went on to play for the WBA (Women's Basketball Association) before the NBA started sponsoring it. It was the first women's professional team.

Corey: Well from getting to know you, although you are very humble, at times you are competitive. Is playing sports where that comes from?

Carla: Well, We all need to strive and be the best at what we do. Both of my businesses have 5 star ratings and I fully believe that whatever you do you should do it unto the Lord. You should also always put your best foot forward. I never want to be known as someone that does something halfway.

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Corey: Tell us about the business prior to starting Carla's Crazy Crunch?

Carla: Since 2005, I am a Neuromuscular Therapist which means I specialize in muscle and nerve issues. I was in banking for years, but I knew I needed to do something else. I did not walk into my true purpose and calling until I was 36 years old. God opened the door for me to go to school, pay for it upfront and was able to receive amazing training and one on one tutoring. The

day that I graduated, the Lord told me to quit my full time job at the bank as a loan officer. I did not have one client lined up and I still had 3 small children to take care of. This was a true leap of faith! Actually, everyone that I graduated with is no longer in the field. I am the only one and made a career out of it.

Everyone thought I was crazy!

Corey: That is so powerful! Now I want people to know about this amazing product that I have not even been able to taste yet! Yet. It doesn't matter because in Oklahoma and surrounding states and now different parts of the world as a whole are now going to be able to experience this product you've created called "Carla's Crazy Crunch". How did this start?

Carla: I did not even know this was even apart of the plan or started from a blessing! This business started out of the real need! My mom was married to my stepdad for 35 years. One day she overheard him telling someone that he was going to kill her... that night! He paid someone $35,000. I went to pick her up and got her away from him. At work that night, my mom talk to a few people because she needed some tax papers.

When she walked in, their mouths dropped because he told them that my mom died the night before.

That is what really started the this business. After the divorce, she was supposed to receive money, but we ended up getting him put in a mental institution, so it took all of the money. She was going to get a job at a fast food restaurant. I was not going to let that happen. So this was a snack that I always made for family and friends during the holidays including people at work and military friends overseas. It was their favorite snack. So I told my mom, why don't we use what we already have. God has given all of us something to use to gain wealth! It is just that some of us do not think it is important enough to do it. So we got licensed! It is now 4 years this past June!

Corey: You have been through so many adversities, can you talk about that?! It seems to me that the devil just didn't want you to be great!

Carla: Yes! It was a year after we received our license, we received our trademark from the Patent and trademark office. Nestle, which is a Switzerland company, filed a suit against me opposing my trademark. Do you know whatever the devil meant for evil, God turned in around for GOOD! It earned us so much publicity and in turn got them a lot of bad press. Within 3 days, they contacted me and asked if we could settled. I was able to keep my trademark, I did not have to go out of business, Forbes Magazine did an article on us and we were asked to be on Dr. Oz's show.

@CarlasCrazyCrunch

@thecarlascrazycrunch

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Dr. Joy’El Ballard is a board-certified Obstetrician/Gynecologist and Perimenopause Health Coach who is deeply passionate about educating and empowering women to initiate and maintain a healthy lifestyle especially while aging. She is a bestselling author of Loving Me, Myself and “Her”: Through Perimenopause & Beyond, which is a self-a firming guide that enlightens, encourages and empowers women approaching the menopausal transition. She is the host of the Midlife-ish:Slay Menopause through Mindful Living podcast. Dr. Ballard has been a contributing writer for the Business Men and Women of Color Magazine and she was featured in the Vision & Purpose Magazine. She has been invited to speak on multiple platforms in the community that provide a space for women to become educated and invigorated about facing di ferent aspects of their health.

She was born and raised in Prince George’s County, Maryland. She received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Syracuse University. She obtained her medical degree from the State University of New York at Bu falo. Her residency training in Obstetrics & Gynecology was completed at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore where she was appointed the Administrative Chief Resident and subsequently received the “Attending Award.”

Since finishing her training, she has been in private practice for 13 years in Annapolis, MD. She shares her expertise in preventive health, contraceptive management, sexual health, perimenopause and menopause. She is certified by the American Board of Obstetrics & Gynecology. She is a member of the North American Menopause Society and a Certified Menopause Practitioner.

She enthusiastically encourages women to adopt simple integrative strategies to transform their mindset for healthy aging and healthy living from the inside out as they encounter di ferent stages of womanhood.

She is married with three children. She enjoys traveling and spending time with her family in addition to participating in school and community activities.

I'm a child of God, daughter, sister (the oldest of 17 younger brothers and sisters), physician, wife, mother of 3, best-selling author, entrepreneur, podcast host, and perimenopause health coach… in this order. I wear many di ferent hats and I strive to lead with faith, integrity, and excellence in each one.

I have enjoyed connecting with so many women in my practice over the last 13 years, but the pandemic threw me into a hat that I was not expecting, a full-time Homeschooling Teacher. I'm grateful for this time with my children and the opportunity to fully pour into them. This transition has also given me an opportunity to pursue entrepreneurship, really share my journey through perimenopause with more women and encourage them to harness the Power of the PAUSE™ in perimenopause and menopause so they can live in their brilliance.

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Dr. Joy'El Ballard

"It's A Perimenopause Kind Of Life (Interviewer: Shimeka Dukes)

SHIMEKA: What are you most passionate about and why?

Walking in my purpose! Which is to educate, encourage and empower women to make themselves their top priority to optimize their health & wellness because the greatest wealth is great health and I want every woman to live their BEST life at every age, especially after 40! I aim to build a legacy of faith and service for my 3 children.

SHIMEKA: When did you realize that you wanted to become a physician? What led you to specifically practice in women’s health?

I went to college with the plan to become a Child Psychologist and realized after my freshman year that this path was no longer attractive. Frankly, my child psychology class was boring! Then, I started to volunteer at a local hospital and became intrigued with the doctor-patient interactions in the pediatric unit. So, I decided that I wanted to become a Pediatrician. My path to medical school was a little rocky-I was not accepted the first or second time I applied due to low MCAT scores-but I made it! I persevered through college and beyond with a sticky note on my desk that I had written Phillippians 4:13, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

After my pediatric rotation in medical school, I realized that this did not ignite my spirit like I expected. Then I did my OB/GYN rotation and quickly realized that this is where I belong. I was captivated by the opportunity to help women through the different stages of womanhood and fascinated with the moments of bringing life into the world. I grew up with a bunch of sisters, so sisterhood is important to me and I love the ability to bring that sisterhood into the way I practice because I want to see EVERY woman win in life, especially those who look like me.

SHIMEKA: What is your most memorable moment in your career, or personal life, where you have impacted someone else's life greatly?

This is tough because I have so many memorable moments in my career because being an integral part of someone’s birthing experience includes some amazing moments. But if I must choose, the most memorable would be during one of the worst parts of my job, which is telling a couple that they lost a baby. I remember one couple that lost their first pregnancy in the second trimester and had to deliver the baby in the labor & delivery unit. I remember hugging them and praying with them before and after the delivery. I saw her for a follow-up a few weeks later and she thanked me for my sense of calm and compassion during the most devastating time of her life. She told me that it really helped her cope through this difficult time.

Throughout my career, I believe that it is important to make each woman feel seen and heard through their good moments and their worst moments because this impacts their overall wellness.

SHIMEKA: Lastly, how can readers connect with you after today? (website, social media links, upcoming events, etc.)

Connect with me on my podcast, Midlife-ish:Slay Menopause through Mindful Living at www.linktr.ee/drjoyel. I am excited to share my new online group coaching program, The Power of the PAUSE™!!

My website is www.drjoyel.com.

Connect with me on Instagram and Facebook @drjoyel- www.instagram.com/drjoyel and www.facebook.com/drjoyel.

Connect with me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjoyelballard/

Connect with me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/JoyElBallard1 17

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Talk Kim

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Dr. Missy Johnson

Living Glamorous & Fearless

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It's never too late to have the favor in your life. You may look like you're delayed but you're never denied. You just gotta keep pushing, keep believing and have fearless faith. I say have fearless faith, meaning having faith the size of a mustard seed, and then watch it grow into a mountain. When God puts his favor in all your mustard seed, then the world is yours.

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(Interview By: Dr. Aikyna Finch)

Dr. Missy Johnson is the CEO of Fearless Women Rock LLC, a platform created for women to share their courageous stories so they can leverage themselves to become a speaker, coach and author. She is also a John Maxwell certified trainer and recipient of the President Barack Obama Lifetime Achievement.

Dr. Missy, we're so happy to have you today with His Favor Magazine. We would like to start o f with you telling us a little bit about yourself?

You know, that's a great question. It's so easy for people, it might be enough for people to talk about themselves to say a little bit about yourself. The first thing I will have to say is that I am a child of God. That's very important to me. It has di ferent meanings for di ferent people. I'm fearless. I am courageous, I am bold. I'm resilient. And I'm just a girl, a church girl from Detroit, that just decided to live in her purpose. How about that?

I know that you are an evangelist, and that your ministry is outside of the four walls. So, tell us about that ministry and how did it evolve?

Well, you know, it evolved, as a little girl even though I didn't know that it was evolving. And I was the little girl in church that was always misunderstood. Some people will call me a disruptive person. I just never fit it inside of the walls of the church. I always had my own opinion. I always challenge the status quo. But one lady said, “You leave her alone, because she is going to be bigger than anything.” But I remember, always being misunderstood.

I took being misunderstood into my marriage, into my friendships, just into the world, because I was always trying to fit in. So the evangelist piece came when I was young, a prophetic female minister saw it in me, as she said, “God is going to use you because you're not inside the four walls of the church.” From there, she tutored me and I became an evangelist. I was really surprised, because I didn't see that coming.

Let's talk about Fearless Women Rock that was birthed from your cancer experience, can you please tell us more about that?

Well, there's a saying that people see in you what you didn't see in yourself. So, they saw me as a fearless woman that rocked but I did not see myself as a fearless woman. If that's the case, I have always been fearless ever since I was a little girl. But before my cancer experience, I was the survivor of a 60 MPH head-on collision. I was in a coma for 47 days. Shortly a ter that, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. And I will say that that was probably the turning point for Fearless Women Rock. I said if I'm really going to be this fearless woman, this resilient woman, the woman of hope that people see, let me just go ahead and just run with it. Fearless Women Rock was really birthed out of fear. Because I was afraid that if I did not do what God had me to do, that he was going to stretch the life out of me. My fear was that if I did not honor God for bringing me out of all those things what is it all for?

So that was the birth of Fearless Women Rock.

Can you tell us about how the items that were birthed from Fearless Women Rock and how they support others?

Oh, absolutely, I'm like a glam girl. You know, I'm spicy. I always wear extension lashes and when I got my cancer, I lost hair everywhere on my body including my eyebrows and my lashes. During that time, I said, “I'm going to create a lash line” and as I think about it, I didn’t even have the strength to go to the store to go get lashes because I was so weak. So, during the times that God gave me strength while battling and healing from cancer, I got on the computer and searched how to create lashes so women who had cancer if they wanted to wear lashes then they could. So, that is how Fearless Lashes was created. I also have a T-shirt line that says Fearless Women Continue on page (26) 25

Rock. They bling, but the Fearless is in red because I believe that I'm covered by the blood. The Fearless is also right up on the heart because the heart has blood running through it and I'm covered by the blood, that is why the Fearless is by your heart.

I understand that you recently had a screenplay turned into a movie on BET? When is it coming out and what is it about?

I don't have all of the information. But I can tell you it's going to be happening in Breast Cancer Month, which is in October. It's still about being fearless but it's not my story. I've been script writing for a minute. When I was younger, I wrote poems and books. When I became an adult, I started writing screenplays. From that, my friend said, “You're writing something about breast cancer, right? Can we submit it to BET because they're looking to do a faith-based initiative for Breast Cancer Month.” One day my friend called me and she said, “Check your phone, BET is going to produce your movie. They got in contact with me to get in contact with you.” So, from there, BET produced my movie in March of 2021 and it's going to be on television in 2021 for Breast Cancer Health Initiative for season three. I'm just grateful and humble. It's still kind of surreal for me.

The thing that really blessed me is I didn't change my story. You know, That's what I want everybody to know.

You don't have to change your story to try to fit in and stop trying to fit in. Whatever your story is. It can be books, brands, movies, or on the stage, but stick with your story. The Bible says, your gi t will make room for you and it's making room for me.

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God's favor is everything. I believe that, if you stick to what you're supposed to be doing, that your favor is going to show up because people see your work. So what favor means to me, is staying diligent, in whatever you're doing. Even when other people who you think should applaud you don’t applaud, don't worry about them. Remember that it is God's favor, not man's favor.

God's favor has his hand on you.

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IAmDrMissy.com

@AskDrMissy

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