1/15/2016 1 Comment Black is wack, light is...right?I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
Psalm 139: 14 Last week I watched a movie on the TVOne network called "Skinned". It was about a dark skinned girl who was told that she was not beautiful because her skin wasn't light. She was ridiculed, disowned by her friends, and scarred from years of feeling inadequate. Her inadequacy went past the depths of her soul. She felt worthless. I was really intrigued with the subject so I did further research. Upon my research, I came across a news article that was published about a year ago. The article explained how African-American, African, and Indian women use skin bleaching skin creams to make their skin lighter. This broke my heart and more than anything enraged me. Why is it society's job, or anybody's job to discriminate against someone because God decided to make them dark and lovely? No one has the right to make any kind of judgement against anyone because we CANNOT control how our skin looks. What enraged me the most about the movie is that it wasn't societal norms that were pointing the fingers, but it was other black women who had lighter skin. In one of the scenes, a light skinned girl threw a party and asked the bouncer to do the brown paper bag test. In simple terms, if you were lighter than a paper bag, you were admitted into the party. And those who were darker, were turned away. The brown paper bag test dates back to slavery times. Slave masters gave slaves with lightly colored skin a bit more privileges than the darker skinned slaves. Somehow this mentality still taints the black society. And yes, the light skinned girls vs. dark skinned girls battle has been around for years, but the truth is the grass is not greener on either of the sides. God created us in His image. I am a true believer that God makes no mistakes. If you were blessed with beautiful, gorgeous dark chocolate skin, my sister, you better embrace it. So what? People may have said that you'd look a whole lot better if you were "lighter", or some people have probably called you "ugly." God is a restorer, a healer, a deliverer, and your scars and wounds can be restored. My prayer is that women of all nationalities completely own and LOVE who they are and what they look like. We are always stuck looking at other women and we are constantly comparing ourselves. We always think well, maybe if I had her skin color with her hair. No ma'am! God created only one of you! No one can take your place! No one can complete your mission! You have a purpose! The truth is, I, myself am NOT lighter than a paper bag. But I absolutely LOVE who I am because the God I serve is faithful and when He made me, he did not make ANY mistakes. His plan for our lives is for our good--it gives us peace and is not meant for evil. If you struggle with your self-esteem, your looks, or even the color of your skin, here is a prayer starter. Lord allow me to be content with my portion. You've made me beautifully and wonderfully and I accept your love for me! I am ready to accept my mission and I submit to your will. Use my trials as a testimony and let your light shine through me! Continue to remind yourself who you are in Christ because honey, that is all that matters. Love you ladies, Kristal
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1/2/2016 0 Comments New Year, New You!2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! Every year we make New Years Resolutions with hopes of becoming a better person. We promise to lose weight, make better grades, eat healthier, cuss less, and love more. Then, usually after a few weeks, the excitement lessens and we go back to our old habits. We go back to eating unhealthy foods, we settle for average grades, and we only love the people who love us back. God has called us to do so many more things. The plans that He has for our lives goes beyond our comprehension. This year, I dare to dream bigger. I realized that I settled for average, and OK was always good enough until God revealed to me that He wanted me to do more for His kingdom. Last semester was very difficult for me and I questioned my gift a lot. My entire life people told me that I was a great writer and that my stories were captivating. They told me that I had a voice and what I had to say carried so much weight. But, I crippled my own creativity. I told myself that my writings were inadequate and I felt like the projects that I was creating in my classes were horrible. To be honest, I wanted to quit. I thought, maybe I should become a teacher, or I could work at a daycare. Those are great careers, but that is not what God was calling me to do at the time. Then I began to explore other facets within my major. And I realized that I could do so much more than just write. I was also great at photography, and producing and directing videos. I settled for one piece of the puzzle instead of trusting in the very gifts God has given to me. I understand that I AM capable of doing so much more because I didn't settle. Maybe some of you feel that way. You feel as if you're stuck in a situation because people told you that you weren't WORTHY enough to come out of it. Or, maybe you've sat on a dream that God promised you years ago. Well, my prayer for you is that dead dreams would be reawakened this year. I have talked to a few women who have big dreams to build businesses, mentor and teach children, or even go back to school. God is calling you NOW. If there is one thing that I've learned, it's that every time you sit on something that God has called you to do or make excuses, you are robbing someone else of a blessing, a break-through, a healing, and maybe a chance to experience CHRIST through you! God is calling you to go beyond what you thought you can do and the truth is through our natural eyes, things may seem impossible. But as Christians, we are called to live by FAITH and not by SIGHT. So I challenge you this year to love like you've never loved before, spend more time with God and your family and less time on your phone. Go out and network, and meet new people. Most importantly, pray and ask God WHAT and WHO He is calling you to. I'll leave you with this. Tonight, me and my best friends wrote letters to God. In these letters, we wrote our desires, needs, and thanked Him for everything He is going to do in this year. And then we went to the beach (I said a quick prayer), and we released them into the ocean (corny, right? lol). It was so freeing. In that ocean, I left all of the worry and the doubt, and replaced it with God's promises for my life. Continue to pursue God because He cares for you and wants you to have the BEST of everything. Don't settle for anything less than the best! #NewYearNewYou, Kristal |
Kristal AlstonWelcome to my site! Hope you find all of my works exciting and captivating. Just know that they were all made with passion and love! Archives
May 2016
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