Please check it out and support!

A Quick Thank You Note

I just wanted to say a quick thank you to those of you who have sent me messages checking on me and asking to see if I was ok. I think it’s only been like a week or two since my last post so I didn’t really think that I would be missed, so thank you so much for noticing my absence and taking the time to check in on me- I really appreciate it (and feel so loved J)!

I probably should have mentioned this a while ago, but I’m currently overseas working/volunteering and things are getting a bit busy in terms of work as I prepare to wrap up my assignment here over the next month or so.  I’ll be home shortly after I’m done here, and then hopefully things will go back to normal in terms of me having the time and attention to devote to writing more often.

(I’ll give y’all the details on where I have been living overseas and what I have been doing once my assignment is over and I’m back home. It’s one of the things I was talking about in one of my last posts here, that I said I would fill you in on soon).

Hope everything is going well for you all!

P.S. I’ll be back in a bit to post a Monologue Monday on 28 random facts that you don’t know about me in celebration of my 28^th birthday coming up soon! So make sure to check back later today J.

Happy Mother's Day

I just wanted to say a quick thank you to all of the mothers out there. Thanks for all that you do.

P.S. To my own mother, you are the most amazing woman that I have ever met in my life. If I can be a fraction of the woman and mother that you are as I continue to grow and learn, then I will have lived an honorable and fulfilling life. I thank God every day for deeming me special enough to bless me with you as my mother. Thanks for everything that you do and all that you are. I love you mom :).

Monologue Monday: Thank You :)

I decided that instead of posting a Monologue Monday post in the form of a story or subject that has been sent in, requested, or that was written by me, that I would take this day to acknowledge all of the new followers that have recently subscribed to the site.

It’s so cool to watch something that you care about grow and prosper, and it only encourages me to keep at it and to strive to give more, be more, and believe more than what I have already accomplished!

Ya'll really did make my week J, so thank each and every one of you for your support!!!

Hope you all have a great week and I’ll be back soon with more posts.

Celebrate Their Success- Giveaway! (Closed)

I have been meeting a ton of new bloggers and readers lately, and it has been fun getting to meet all of the different personalities. Through our meetings, they have introduced me to sponsorships and giveaways, and I believe that this is the perfect way to not only support some of the blogs that I enjoy, but it also helps to inform new readers about this site. (I’m thinking that I’ll only do 2-3 giveaways per year, and focus more of my attention on sponsoring other blogs with great content, but it’s good to be informed of the options and to be able to support others along the way). So today I will be joining with several other bloggers to celebrate the recent successes of SimplyClarke and Carolinafireflies, as they both just reached over 1,000 subscribers! Success is better when shared with others, so let’s help support their exciting milestones!

****Giveaway Info*****

A few days ago, Marquis @ Simply Clarke  and Kristyn @ Carolina Fireflies reached 1000 followers on their blogs!

To celebrate reaching 1000 followers, they have teamed up with some of their favorite bloggers to throw a huge giveaway in order to say thank you to their readers. Take a few minutes and show each of them some love.

ONE lucky reader will win over $400 + of goodies from these 24 lovely bloggers!

 

 

 

Check out each blogger below to see what they are giving away and show them some LOVE!

1. Simply Clarke - Ad Space & $15 design credit to Clarke Creative
2. Carolina Fireflies - Ad Space & $25 Etsy GC
3. Passion, Pink and Pearls - Pretty In Pink Interior Design Package
4. The Dwelling Tree - 1 Month In-Post Ad Space
5. Gratefully Inspired - Ad Space & Floral Journal from Joules
6. Mikaela Rae - Large Ad Space
7. Love, Laughter, Happily Ever After - 1 Month In-Post Ad Space
8. My Name Is Madeline - 1 Month Large Ad Space
9. My Beautiful Crazy Life - 1 Month Medium Ad Space
10. This Little Blonde - 2 Months "Sleeping Beauty" Ad Space
11. Caravan Sonnet -$10 Starbucks GC
12. The Life of a Not So Ordinary Wife - 1 Month Medium Ad Space
13. Hooah and Hiccups - 1 Month Large Ad Space
14. Walking in Memphis in High Heels - 1 Month Large Ad Space
15. Simply Free - 1 Month Ad Space
16. Back Home Again - 3 Months Large Ad Space
17. Faith Love & Babies - 2 Months Ad Space
18. XO, Allison - $20 GC
19. Wifessionals - 1 Month Small Ad Space
20. Life by Rikki - $10 Target GC
21. Chaos, Commotion, and Emotion - 1 Month Platinum In Post Ad Space
22. Classy Living - 1 Month Large Ad Space
23. Simply Southern. Simply Lauren. - Choice of any shirt from my etsy shop.
24. Virgin Monologuez - $10 Paypal Cash

RULES 1// Giveaway is open to US RESIDENTS 2// Winner will be notified via email on Wednesday 3/27/13 or Thursday 3/28/13. You will have 48 hours from the timestamp on the email to respond, or a new winner will be chosen. 3// WINNER WILL BE VERIFIED!!! 4// View the Terms & Conditions listed on the Rafflecopter below

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Love Yourself Campaign Starts Tomorrow!

The entire month of February join me in celebrating yourself!!!

Either visit the website or leave a comment on the Facebook Fan Page telling yourself one thing a day that you love about yourself. Do it because you are worth it!!! (And you deserve to hear it)!

You Are Invited!

 

 

Monologue Monday: Blogging While Single and 30

I am so excited about today’s Monologue Monday’s guest blogger!

Her name is Jessie, and she’s the creator of the site Blogging While Single and 30. She’s also extremely nice and very kindhearted. I stumbled upon her site a while ago, and I was instantly drawn into her personality and her story telling abilities. After stalking checking out her site for a while, I finally decided to just ask her if she would mind sharing her story here and she happily obliged. (Needless to say I was over the moon, but that’s just because she’s so fabulous!)

Anyway, enough of me trying to tell you about her…. I tend to ramble from time to time…sorry about thatJ…. but her site and her story speak for themselves.

I will add one more thing though…when I told her how thankful I was for her sharing her personal story with us she simply stated “My testimony is not for my journal. It’s for the world”. She even shared a personal poem that she wrote in hopes that it might speak to someone else who might be going through the some of the same things. If that’s not one of the most selfless and compassionate attitudes, I don’t know what is!

(You should really check out her site… if you haven’t done so already!!!)

Here is her story in her own words:

“November”

***Disclaimer*** This poem was written when I was a teenager. This was my view at that time.

 

November was the month it came,

All the temptation; all the pain

Nights so lovely; nights so sweet

Days so dark; soul so week

November was the month it came,

Shattered my heart; made tears of vain

Nights sinful, full of evil

It was okay to the world, but in the Bible illegal

November was the month it was gone

Took my right; left my wrong

Night’s full of passion, nights so uncommon

Took my childishness; In its place left a woman

I lost my virginity at 16. It was Thanksgiving Day. Why that day? I wanted it to be special. Never mind that it would have been more special to wait and give myself to my husband. In my mind, he was going to be my husband. In my mind, we were going to live happily ever after. In my mind, I had found the one! Hmmmm, not so much. That same person that said he loved me to the moon and back cheated on me, had a baby by someone else, hit me, talked bad to me, and so on and so on. It was hard for me to grasp or understand what love truly was. What it truly meant and what it felt like.

Fast forward to now. I know how it feels to be truly loved. God has shown so much grace over the years. He’s allowed me to excel at my job, serve in ministry, and walk in my purpose. That’s love. No matter what I’ve done in the past; He keeps loving me. Through the love He’s shown, I’ve learned to love myself. I’ve learned to respect myself. I’ve learned to not let hurt or shame hinder me. I was able to move on from November and enjoy new seasons.

 

***P.S. Friday, 1 February 2013, starts our “Love Yourself” campaign. Please stop by and join in on the fun. Celebrate yourself!!!

Moment of Truth & Male Week

“Sometimes you have to be your own cheerleader. Regardless if you have other people encouraging and supporting you or not, you still have to be there and encourage and support yourself. Don’t give up…you can make it! J”

Moment of Truth

Ya’ll this past week was hard for me. Really hard actually. I was feeling under the weather and just very blah….

Despite how I felt though, I couldn’t stay in that state of mind so I had to encourage myself and push myself to keep going (even though what I really wanted to do was lie in my bed under a bunch of covers and watch a ton of movies), but I couldn’t do that. I have work to do and deadlines to meet, so I couldn’t allow my physical or emotional state to get the best of me.

Staying positive and reminding myself that it was ok to feel however it was that I was feeling just as long as I didn’t stay in that place, (as well as getting some rest so that my body could rejuvenate), made the world of difference.

I’m still not feeling a hundred percent like myself, but I’m ready and willing to take on anything that life is going to throw at me this week.

So remember to cheer yourself on and to encourage yourself no matter what is happening around about you. If you think better, you feel better…

And don’t think that I’m some optimistic romanticist (…and maybe I am…but that’s not really the point!). The point is that I have real problems just like anybody else, and there are some days that really try to get to me, but I realize that life is short and my time is precious, so I refuse to spend it being angry, pessimistic or negative.

So stay encouraged and be positive! Life is too beautiful and full of wonderful experiences not to.

Male Week

Oh, and in other news, a couple of days ago one of my guy friends called me up and reminded me that I have male readers reading this site too! So in an effort not to alienate anyone (and because I think that it would be fun), I decided that this entire week I would dedicate to the chaps following this site J.

So, we are going to start off with a Monologue Monday post on “How to Treat A Guy” (a requested post…by a male reader), then on Wednesday or Thursday we are going to do a post on “Can Guys and Girls Just Be Friends”, followed by Part 2 of my brother’s Male’s Perspective Interview (on either Friday or Saturday). In between these times, I might post little things here and there in appreciation towards all the guys out there doing their thing and making a difference in the world.

 So enough talking for now… off to edit Monday’s Monologue…..talk to you in a bit.

-Virgin Monologuez

Monologue Monday: Blast From The Past

Hi everyone,

How’s your Monday going so far?

So the site has gotten several new followers lately (and even a few more Facebook likes- thank you very much by the way!), and so I thought that it would be a great day to just recap the top five Monologue Monday posts which received the most reads. Below you will find a brief intro of the person (from my own perspective) and then a link to their story.

All 5 of these women are ABSOLUTELY AMAZING, so I’m sure that you will enjoy each of their stories. (And there are tons more Monologue Monday posts from many more incredible women, so if you enjoy these please feel free to check out the archives section on the lower right-hand side of the screen to read the rest).

Top 5 Monologue Monday Posts

·         HeatherLindsay- If you haven’t heard of her or don’t follow her posts, you need to! She is not only a great writer, leader, and person; she keeps it real with you and tells you exactly what you need to hear…not sugar coating anything!

·         Krystal- I was so excited when I found her page and started corresponding with her! Her blog is so inspiring, and her personality is extremely kind and compassionate….I was beyond excited when she agreed to share her story. Definitely a must read!

·         AnAthlete’s Wife- She was the very first person to do a Monologue Monday post for the site, and she set it off in the direction that I was hoping for. After her posts, readers and emails started flowing in, and I will be forever grateful to her for the candidness and transparency that she provided in her piece.

·         GreaterThan The Game- She is one of my favorite guest posters! She has done a couple of posts for the site and she also is the creator of the new site “Wives in Waiting”. She is so inspirational and so caring, I really am happy any time that we get to do anything together.

·         MzNuBeginnings- Someone that I know personally, MzNuBeginnings is a woman whose walk exemplifies what she is saying. She’s honest, loyal, and makes everyone around about her happy. I’m glad to say that I know her personally J.

 

In addition to that, please check out the post that I wrote this weekend about beauty and feeling as though you don’t measure up. (You can check that out here).

And finally, please check back some time later in the week because we have a new Male’s Perspective Interview from the perspective of a frat guy….It’s really interesting! And I guess in the spirit of recapping, here are the top 5 Male’s Perspective Interviews. Please check them out and let me know what you think.

Top 5 Male’s Perspective Posts

·         An Athlete’s Perspective: My Younger Brother

·         The Male’s Perspective: My Interview with J.D.

·         Flipping The Script: He Interviewed Me

·         The Male’s Perspective: Aaron Rose

·         The Male’s Perspective: My Interview with K.C.

P.S. If you have any questions that you want answered or any suggestion topics for new posts, please feel free to comment below. Have a good week J

-Virgin Monologuez

What Is Beauty?

Why do we hate on each other? What does another person’s success have to do with our own? Why do we dislike someone else because they are attractive, wealthy, have a family, or for whatever other reasons that seem to make sense in our heads?

We have no idea what they go home to at night or how their “ideal life” might not be that ideal at a deeper glance. But even if it is a good situation, and they really are blessed and walking in favor, why does that bother us?

Why are we secretly envious or disheartened that its not us? Why can’t we come together and love each other as a group of women? We are all beautiful in our own rights. We each have something unique and incredible to offer the world; we are all special and worthy.

In spite of this truth, we have allowed “society” to tell us that if we looked liked, acted liked, or were so and so, then we would be more successful or possibly have a better life. Who are other people to tear you down or make you feel less than you are worth?

Before you read any further, I sincerely want you to grasp how special you are because it’s going to change your life. When you take away the comparisons and don’t have to measure up to someone else’s standards, you are left with you and you are enough. You are AMAZING!

The moment that we allowed our standard of beauty to be defined by an unrealistic image of an airbrushed simulation of a woman, the moment that we set a bar for ourselves that was out of reach. We can’t celebrate our own beauty, because we have been told so many times what beauty should look like and we look different than that….Of course we look different than that.

We are individuals who form a collective group of people, and normality is only normal because a wider range of people share some of the same characteristics. Just because a group of people look alike, and you don’t fit into that image doesn’t make you abnormal or unattractive, it makes them general and typical.

You weren’t created to fit in though, you were created to stand out and to love yourself regardless of the physical attributes that you possess.

Don’t hate who you are, and you will find yourself beginning to love and support other people for who they are. When you love and respect yourself, you celebrate you for every aspect of who you are; your flaws and your assets.

You are beautiful.

Beauty is more than a size, body shape, or facial characteristic. Beauty is a distinctive attribute that attracts the world to you. It is your character. Your identity. Your confidence. Your attitude. Your personality.  Your intelligence. Your swagger. Beauty is you J.

What’s makes you beautiful? Your journey.

You are living life, you have experienced some things, you are ever evolving, but most importantly you are you.

Beauty is relative. No one can define that for you, but you.

Stop comparing yourself to the girl next door (whoever she is), and start celebrating you. You will never look like, act like, or be her so stop trying to do so. Be you and be you well.

Imitation is not flattering; it’s robbing you of your identity.

What does your life amount to if you have lived it trying to fill someone else’s shoes or emulate their identity? In the end, your life would not have been your own, but a weak attempt at someone else’s.

Let’s stop tearing each other down and decide today that no matter what the person beside us is doing: whether she just got a huge raise, just started her own business, is always getting complimented on her appearance, or whatever else, that we will put the strife and feeling of not measuring up aside, and love her.

Just because she is living her dreams, doesn’t mean that you can’t live yours. The two can coexist, but it starts with you taking your eyes off of her, and looking at and loving yourself.

We will no longer compare ourselves to one another, but we will love each other for our differences and our unique experiences. What a bland world it would be if everyone looked, acted, and dressed the same.

You are beautiful. You are an individual. Love yourself.

-Virgin Monologuez

 

International Shout-out

I just wanted to stop by real quick and to say thank ya’ll SO MUCH for all of the love and support that you have shown me. I’m so excited about the new followers to the site, as well as the vast range of countries that have been checking it out for the past few weeks.

Ya’ll are absolutely INCREDIBLE and I’m so appreciative of your support, comments, and feedback.

While I genuinely appreciate everyone everywhere who continuously comes back to hear what I have to say, some of the countries that have shown up the most frequently over the past month that I really would like to acknowledge are:

The readers in United States (my home J), U.K, Russia, France, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Canada, Columbia, Botswana,  Israel, Sweden, Australia, Ukraine, Guyana, Germany, Belgium, India, United Arab Emirates, and Brazil.

Thank You!!!

Check It Out: Wives In Waiting

Hi everyone J,

How’s it going? I just wanted to stop by and share something with ya’ll real quick about this new endeavor that a friend of mine has embarked upon. Ya’ll were introduced to her a while back when she told her story here in a piece called MonologueMonday: Greater Than The Game.

Well, she contacted me last week about this really amazing project that she just started and we thought that it would be cool to share with those of you who are interested. It’s called “Wives in Waiting”, and its purposes are to assist women of all backgrounds and statuses to develop a greater since of passion and love for Christ as they seek to strengthen their relationship with Him.

She states that although the organization is founded on Christian principles and is Bible based, that she welcomes and encourages all women to come and share their thoughts and ideas…supporting one another through the various phases of life.

I am so proud of her and her newest endeavor, so please check it out if you get a chance or if you just want to learn more.

That’s all for now but ya’ll have a great weekend, and I’ll be back on Monday with a story from AaronRose as he shares with you his personal story about dating and physical intimacy.

Be safe and talk with you soon J

-Virgin Monologuez

The 411

I’m so pumped right now!!!!

There are literally at least a hundred things running around in my head and all I want to do is write. (I L♥VE writing btw….it may not always be grammatically correct J, but there’s always passion behind it).

First off, I just got crazy excited when I received Sally’s Monologue Monday guest post for today. I’ll post it in a little bit, but she basically said words that I’ve been thinking but haven’t ever been able to capture into the right set of words to portray my own sentiments on the matter. Sally does it perfectly!

Secondly, over the last few months I have met a load of new people and I’m so excited to pick their brains and to see what they think about the various topics that we talk about here at Virgin Monologuez (i.e. virginity, pre-marital sex, abstinence, self-esteem, self-worth, health, respect, loving one’s self, the male’s perspective and so forth).

And speaking about the male’s perspective, I have gotten a few emails and comments asking when is the next interview coming, and I promise I’m working on it now for ya’ll! Not only is my youngest brother’s Part 2 coming up (youcan read Part 1 here), but I’ve also asked several other guys (either that I’ve known for a while, or that I’ve just met) to participate in these discussions/interviews as well.

The thing is though is that ya’ll are slowly becoming like family to me in the sense that I want to protect my younger girls who are reading this and hold my guest posters accountable for the content that they submit. Not saying that I’m trying to control what they say- I truly believe in free speech and people expressing themselves- but I do feel responsible for what I present to young, impressionable minds and thus I try to maintain the integrity of this site accordingly.

And lastly, (just so I can wrap this up and not bore you anymore than I probably already have), I have been working on updating and changing the content of some of the tabs for the site; so be on the look out for these new changes soon. While there was nothing previously wrong per say with the About Us, The Author, and Contact Us pages, I wanted to make them even more AMAZING!!!

(…No really, the real reason is that I started this site back in January and in the few months that I’ve been writing and having other people guest post, God has made it clear to me what areas I should be focusing on…When there is a mission and focus, plans can be made and dreams can come to fruition; so let’s see where this more concentrated road takes us. The sky is the limit and ya’ll are my amazing pals along this journey, so let’s see what happens from here).

Hopefully this wasn’t too long, and please come back later today for Sally’s guest post (my girl seriously laid it DOWN in my eyes…or at least she spoke to me), and always feel free to share with me anything that your heart desires.

Have a Happy Monday!

-Virgin Monologuez