April 2021

5TH ISSUE EDITOR: ANITA ANN FORD

Spring

APRIL 2021

PEACE HOPE LOVE

A note from our editor:

ANITA ANN FORD

Classyandchic Gems magazine offers an authentic look at life through believers who are perfectly imperfect and believe in the power of the Gospel. God’s gifts are all around us, but it’s up to us to recognize them.

Renew, Restore...

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Rebuild,

Content C reators fo r April

TMental Health Gems-Anita Ford Military Gems-Carolyn Ford Faith Gems-Reverend La’Shawn Peterson Family Gems-Anita Ford beauty Gems-Joann Aguauo Financial Gems-Reginal Lyerly Beauty Gems-Samira Boubou Teen Gems-BettyJo Minardi photographY Gems- Aerospace Engineer, Professional photographer-Alvin Ford,Jr .

MENTAL HEALTH GEMS

AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS Creator: Anita Ford

F A I TH !

Take the next step. .

I remember having long talks with my sweet grandmother and she would always tell me, "If you don't bear a cross, you can't wear a crown." I always wondered what she meant, but as I got older, I realized we all have a set of circumstances we have to endure in this life in order to bring us to where God wants us to be. The devil has tried many times to take me out, but he won't win. Where others may see losses, I see wins. I've had many points in my life when I couldn't get out of bed because I was physically too sick to move, BUT God had a plan. I remember envisioning myself stronger than I was before. I saw myself where God was taking me. I've walked through the fire and those fires have not only refined me, but they pointed me back to the cross. No one can take away your faith. You may be facing one of the biggest obstacles of your life, but we serve a God who never fails. I encourage you to continue looking to the cross. God knows all of your needs and He will turn your situation around. Lay your burdens down.. You are His victorious warrior.. You are loved and treasured.

ICLASSYANDCHIC GEMS

HEALTHY

LOVE

By: Anita Ford

True love is a GIFT.

If you’re going to call it love, let it be the forever kind of love.

The right person will build you up, pray for you and believe in you. The perfect person for you will not try to criticize you or belittle you. The world thinks that you must accept anything and call it love, but authentic love is healthy. Authentic love is two people that have made the choice to believe in each other always. Wait

Honesty, Integrity and Authenticity

How we begin and end relationship speaks volumes about our character. If he doesn't recognize your worth.. He needs to go.. The man God has in store for you will be straight forward. He won't have layers and layers of secrets. He will be open and honest with you. Ladies, you want a man who isn't ashamed to share his life with you instead of hiding his past. Wait for a guy that God has transformed into a man. A man of God will not only honor you but he will also honor God. Pray for a man that will treasure you, lead you and love you unconditionally. Wait on God's Best.

MENTAL HEALTH GEMS

Beauty

How do you incorporate color into your makeup routine?

Connect with Joann via social media on Facebook and Instagram at @jcindyraguayo.

BEAUTY GEMS

Classyandchic Gems Magazine

BEAUTY GEMS

Written by: Samira Boubou-Sambeautykeup Creator, Beauty Blogger, Wife and Mom

ClassyandChic Gems Magazine

FAITH GEMS

Written by: Reverend La’Shawn Peterson Romans 12:2 As I sat with my coffee and meditated on this subject, many things came to mind. What does it mean to renew the mind? What does it take to renew one’s mind? So, I began to do some research and I found something that leaped off the screen of my computer and into my spirit.

What does it mean to renew your mind?

This word 'renewed' in Greek is ANANEOO which means to be renovated by an inward reformation. Wuestsays that the construction of the Greek makes it a transitional and continuative process. So we understand from this, that it is an ongoing process through which this transition from one state of mind to another, occurs.

When I looked up the word renovate I found that to renovate something is to restore to a former better state (as by cleaning, repairing, or rebuilding), or to restore to life, vigor, or activity : revive the church was renovated by a new ecumenical spirit.

I also looked up what it means to go through a transitional process or continuative process and I came across these two excerpts: Transitioning is the process of changing the way you look and how people see and treat you so that you become the gender you feel on the inside. Transitioning can means lots of different things. It can involve medical treatment and hormones. It can involve changing your name and preferred pronouns.

A continual improvement process, also often called a continuous improvement process (abbreviated as CIP or CI), is an ongoing effort to improve products, services, or processes.

These efforts can seek "incremental" improvement over time or "breakthrough" improvement all at once. Delivery (customer valued) processes are constantly evaluated and improved in the light of their efficiency, effectiveness and flexibility.

So now that we have some pieces to our puzzle here, let’s put this together.

The process of renewing the mind is not a one-time thing. It is a continual thing. As we see in the definitions above, there are a series of processes that come along with the renewal of the mind. We must first allow God to come into our lives (Revelations 3:20), and then allow the Holy Spirit to help us begin to renovation process where everything is inspected and that which is old is restored, given life and vigor, and made to be productive to our mental state of mind.

We also learn here that this is a process where we are transitioned from the old mindsets and habits to the new mindsets and things of God. We also learn that this is a continual process as well. This is not something that happens one time. It is a process that is continually needed as we walk out this life here on earth and experience things that cause battles and damages to the mind.

As I close, be encouraged to allow God to renovate your mind. He is a loving God and a caring God who only wants what’s best for you. Renovations are needed as things become worn and torn throughout our lives. Be encouraged to continue to submit yourself to the inspections of the Holy Spirit as He comes in to sit with you and help you be all that God has created you to be!

ClassyandChic Gems Magazine

RENEWING YOUR MIND WRITTEN BY: BETTYJO MINARDI When some people think of spring, they think of renewal and refreshing. Flowers spring forth from winter’s slumber, renewed from the season before. People will sometimes feel the need for renewal and refreshing in spring as well. What if I told you, you do not have to wait for spring, New Year's Day, or even a Monday to begin your journey. You can start today, anytime you set your mind to it.

If you need help or motivation there are many ways to find what you need. Today’s technology has many apps to choose your topic of motivation. No smartphone, no worries! Paper, pencil, a book or article on the subject, and an alarm clock to keep you on track. It all starts in your mindset! “Renewed in the spirit of your mind.” Ephesians 4:23

Renew your mind and leave the rest to God. TEENAGE GEMS

ICLASSYANDCHICGEMS

Renew and Restore: The Credit Restoration and Reemergence .by Reginal G. Lyerly Spring is a time of renewal and rebirth. Many of us look forward to the blue skies, warmer weather and the breeze that feels so great to the skin. Many of us dread the pollen and the insects. Millions are still dreading and suffering from the economic aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic on their credit histories and their financial lives.

Our recent public health crisis has had countless unintended consequences on our lives and families. Some of the most unlikely people were suddenly furloughed, laid off and had to seek jobless benefits for the first time ever. Conversely, there were also millions who were deemed essential and flawlessly performed to keep our country’s infrastructure functioning at our most critical time. Many essential personnel while remaining employed faced and still face many of the same economic challenges as those deemed nonessential by this crisis.

Our world and nation is doing everything possible to turn the page and transition to a new normal. This is the spring renewal and rebirth that so many of us desperately need.

As a credit repair referral agent, it is an honor to serve the public by helping others gain the necessary tools in order to improve their financial literacy thus improving themselves and their families. This improvement has the propensity to create future generational wealth in ways that would have never existed before.

This is an area of life that should be taught in every aspect of primary and secondary education. So many people learn about this area in life when there is an eventoriented situation that suddenly requires changes in one’s financial habits and practices. I am optimistic that turbulence times will become triumph times for many in relatively short order. The American spirit has always had the resilience to come back from anything it has ever faced. We came back from the Great Depression. We came back from the Great Recession. We will emerge from this pandemic with a stronger resolve unlike anyone has ever seen in this nation’s history.

Reginal is the Senior Managing Partner for RGL Marketing, LLC based out of the Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina area. He specializes in the functional areas of digital marketing, network marketing, credit repair/restoration referral, advertising and promotions. He can be contacted by email at rlyerly@outlook.com, by DM on Facebook @ Reginal G. Lyerlyor by DM on Instagram at the_differencemaker.

Financial Gems

Classyandchic Gems Magazine

A Mama’s Heart Army wife, educator, .sister, best friend, Christ follower and mother, Carolyn enjoys encouraging and speaking life into mothers.

Someone once asked me, If I had it all to do over again would I choose to marry a man in the military? And, my answer was yes.

As a military wife and mother, I had many moments in my life where I was both the mother and the father. While my husband was gone, I was expected to take the reigns and step up and guide my children. There’s nothing more important than knowing that you are raising resilient children. My children adapted fairly quickly to change and I also had the opportunity to witness my 3 children grow in their faith as our Army journey continued.

Writer: Carolyn Ford

You are valuable because God planted gifts inside of you that no one else possesses.

Mama’s you’ll have many opportunities to stay defeated if you allow the devil to have a foothold in your life. But, behind every uncertain moment God is still there and He is in control. I challenge you to see your worth through God, your family and your loved ones. Even when it seems as if everything is stacked against you, there comes a point when you must acknowledge that God has entrusted you with a family for a reason. And, He knew that you were strong enough to stand be a helper to your husband. So, I encourage you to stand, Mama! When times get hard, acknowledge the times but don’t let the times define you.

Loved, Empowered, and Set Apart MILITARY FAMILY GEMS

Classyandchic Gems

Faith of a Mustard Seed...

CHOOSING JOY AT ALL TIMES!

WRITTEN BY: ANITA FORD

Seize the Day! 4 very short years ago, God gave me a dream and He placed this dream inside a fashion blog. He told me that I was going He would use something people always compliment me on for His good. I have a background in pageants and modeling, but this world I was about to dive in would take a lot of hard work to even be recognized.

So, God took this small town woman who knew absolutely nothing about blogging and set her into a brand new world. Along my journey, I’ve met a lot of people. I’ve had people speak life into me and pray for me. A year ago, I opened up my own boutique. A year and a half ago, I started my own faith based blogger group. And, five months ago, my magazine launched. Every single thing I do is faith based. God gave me this platform and He entrusted me with having the ability to hear from Him and speak life into others. Now, here’s where faith over fear has to come in. When you start walking in your purpose, you’ll see a lot of people for who they are and that’s okay. God starts shaking the leaves off the trees in your yard and just like the leaves fall to the ground in the fall, God weeds people out of your life who are no good for your destiny. So, every time someone whispers a negative word about you or your dreams, these are the people who not only reveal to us who we shouldn’t be but they also reveal to us why they don’t have a place in our lives.

FAITH GEMS

Classyandchic Gems

by Anita Ford Photo by Alvin Ford

Photography Gems

What do you see when you look at this picture? While the world is slowly regaining a sense of normalcy, I encourage you to safely explore the great outdoors. There are so many wonderful health benefits involved with quieting your fears and stepping into God’s country.

Fear is all around us, but we serve a God who reminds us not to let fear overtake us. So, it’s during times like this that we are reminded to continue allowing God to move in only ways that He can move.

Faith often involves taking a step in order to arrive at new territory. How will you step out in faith?

Alvin Ford is an Aerospace Engineer, Travel Blogger, Aviation, Landscape Photographer who enjoys sharing his talents with the world from behind a camera lens.

PHOTOGRAPHY GEMS

ITS AN AMAZING THOUGHT TO KNOW THAT GOD MAKES NO MISTAKES. SO, NO MATTER HOW MUCH WE WALK THROUGH IN THIS LIFE WE HAVE TO BE COGNIZANT OF THE FACT THAT GOD IS ALWAYS IN CONTROL. INSPIRATIONAL SPEAKER ANITA FORD

Happiness AUTHENTICITY, HOPE AND PEACE