In 2008, I made a life changing decision. I left an abusive marriage. I was extremely uncertain about where my journey would take me. I only knew that I could not continue down the path I was on, especially with my children. I was a very sad, broken individual. I was embarrassed and ashamed. I was financially challenged. It would prove to be one of the best decisions. I could have ever made.
The photo doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of my holistic success. But, it’s a great collage of one photo for every year since I rediscovered myself. Over the past ten years, I’ve started a business, a non-profit, gotten remarried, raised my children, became a proud MiMi, reconnected on my spiritual journey, became a 2x Amazon best selling author, have spoken and presented on some amazing stages, met some of the most interesting people in the fields I love, and most of all, learned how to love myself. One of the most amazing things I came to terms with while putting together these series of photos was recognizing that I am holistically beautiful. You cannot look at the photos and instantly tell which one is from the beginning of my journey and which one is the most current. I didn’t see myself and aesthetically or emotionally attractive.
As we enter into 2019, I am extremely excited about the direction of my life. I have s.m.a.r.t. goals. I have a great support system. I believe in myself. I have definitely experienced some major setbacks. I have disappointed others. I’ve been disappointed. The valley moments have given me the tools and courage I needed to accomplish the peaks and fully appreciate the process it took to get to them. I thank you for reading, and for being part of my journey. Sign up for my newsletter if you haven’t already. I’ll be sharing more news, events, prizes, and surprizes.
This will be a 2 hour holistically strategic WORK shop. Come prepared to be an active participant. This is a personal & interactive opportunity to establish and maintain tools, resources and a realistic and tangible plan of action with an open and honest dialogue based on a portion of my book, Restoring the Whole in My Soul. Before you head into your personal and/or professional ventures for 2019, I invite you to intentionally reflect, release, renew, and restore in the now. ONLY 20 SLOTS AVAILABLE.
This will NOT be your standard listen/lecture type of session. Reserve your spot ONLY if you’re ready to invest a couple of hours of your time towards your written & visual wholeness, commitment to being accountable, willingness to discover & accept your calling/assignment, and try some old school/new strategies. The workshop will be recorded and available for an additional 72 hours for those who RSVP. Once you register, you’ll receive a confirmation email and additional information/instructions relevant to the success of your attendance. Your name will also go into a drawing for one attendee to receive a gift bag of goodies totalling $50 (just in time for the holidays)!
COST: $20.00 RSVP: CashApp: $JoyceKyles or PayPal: joyce@joycekyles.com
Did you know that October is National Book Month? During the month of October, you can purchase an autographed copy of my book, Restoring the Whole in My Soul, for $10, knowing that a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Walking Into A New Life, Inc. The mission is to provide tangible resources to individuals affected by domestic violence. WIANL is a nonprofit that’s been in existence since 2010 and can be found online at www.wianl.org as well as on Facebook and Twitter.
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness month. I am proud to say this year, I am celebrating 10 years as a survivor. Each year, I strive to do something different, fun, reflective, and/or engaging as I continue to live my best life. For me, my best life is one of peace, hope, love, joy, and impact.
When you purchase a copy of my book, you will be supporting a survivor who has fulfilled one of her life’s goals. It can also be used as a journal and is an excellent choice for a book club or women’s group discussion. A 20% discount applies to bulk orders of 15 or more.
To receive your autographed copy along with a special ‘thank you’ from me, you must make your purchase directly from my website. I am humbled and honored to have your support and encouragement. Both ebooks are each available for $2.99.
Greater Faith Tabernacle has been hosting the Daddy’s Girls Conference for the past 14 years. It has been an honor to work with and support the GFT family over the years for such an important event, as the event and the members of the congregation are dear to me. It was especially gratifying to be asked to serve as the Keynote speaker for their annual Kick Off Brunch.
I spoke about the importance of walking in faith, working through fear and trusting yourself and others. I shared my own experiences of abuse and what it means to be an overcomer. I shared about my earthly father and the relationship we had. We talked a lot about walking which was a big part of their theme for this year. Ironically, my organization is called Walking Into A New Life, Inc. And, as I always say, I do not believe in coincidences, so everything said and done that day was as it was intended to be.
The following is quoted directly from Greater Faith’s website to better provide the history of Daddy’s Girls and why it’s so important. I do encourage you to visit GFT if you’re living in Memphis or there visiting. Pastor and 1st Lady Johnson are beautiful souls and so is their entire congregation.
“Getting Families Together (GFT) is the nonprofit arm of Greater Faith Tabernacle Ministries, an edifice established for the community by the community. GFT is housed in the Institute for Success Center, a 15,000 square foot multipurpose community family life center, that opened its doors in 2004.
During the construction of the IS Center and approximately one year prior to its completion GFT’s founder, Pastor Orlester Johnson, received numerous women bearing similar experiences during altar call. Although their ages and nationalities varied, each woman spoke of the need to break free of the secret bondage holding them. These women shared similar stories of enduring sexual molestation as children, intimate partner violence (IPV), various other forms of domestic violence (DV), and other abusive situations. They spoke freely about the abuse they had suffered as a child and some confessed that they continued to suffer from violent situations in adulthood. Each of these individuals had grown up in households that did not include their biological father. Several spoke of being subjected to abusive stituations with men who were a relative, teacher, coach, pastor, or other person holding a supposedly “respectful” leadership role in their lives and that of their family.
As a direct result of receiving numerous disturbing accounts of this nature, the first annual Daddy’s Girls Conference convened in 2005. “
To know me well is to know my love for movies. In fact, my husband tells me ALL the time that I need to find out how I can get PAID to become a film critic, discover a way to share my writing and love of little known facts, etc…lol I’m not sure where I’d need to start, but I do think I’d enjoy doing it. I’m a huge fan of James Bond, Mission Impossible and Bourne Identity Franchises. If it’s detective based, drama or action, I want to see it. But, there are a few people and movies that are extremely close to my heart for personal reasons. One person-Robert Townsend. One movie-The Five Heartbeats. To meet Mr. Townsend in person, have the opportunity to interview him AND for HIM to sign MY book, was one of the biggest highlights of 2018 but also of my life.
I don’t mean to sound over the top or overly dramatic. But, he’s one of the best storytellers of our time. He’s also one of the most hardworking and talented individuals in the film industry. Black Panther (which I absolutely love and have watched three times) was NOT the first Black Superhero to be featured on the big screen. It was actually Meteor Man, created by none other than Robert Townsend. He’s also known for believing in his own project so much that he went into his own pocket and funded what would later be recognized as the cult classic, Hollywood Shuffle.
When Heal the Hood Foundation brought him to Memphis to lead a panel discussion about film, I was just excited to have the opportunity to hear him share his words of wisdom and MAYBE take a picture with him. I took notes and recorded a couple of points with the intention of going back to see what I could pull from for my own journey. But, after the event, I was hanging around the interview area with my notebook and phone in hand listening to others interview him. All of a sudden, one of the attendants told me I could go ahead and ask my questions, just be quick. Seriously!?! I get to INTERVIEW him? So, of course, I took advantage of it. I’d just applied to be a freelance writer for the TriState Defender a couple of weeks earlier. I submitted it and it got published along with another article. I’d never been a PAID freelance writer before then.
Now, to the picture and him signing my book. He was allowing photos, so I stood in line with the intention of taking a photo with him and giving him my book. But, after listening to him share his insights, I decided to ask him to sign it so I could keep it as a keepsake. He did and gave me some great advice on staying in pursuit of my passions.
All of this is personal because in addition to it being a great movie filled with lessons, it gave me and my children (specifically my oldest) an escape during some dark times in our lives. There was a period where we had no cable and watched a lot of movies. We’d reenact them as well.lol The 5 Heartbeats was definitely one of the favorites. And, because I have been following Mr. Townsend for years, I felt a different kind of connection to the storyline and his vision for the movie. And, in all of this, I think the BIGGEST thrill was that my oldest daughter was able to attend and meet him as well. It was an amazing afternoon of bonding and learning from one of our favorite people.
