Back in July 2013 Rico and I had started what we now call a \u201cfamily tradition.\u201d The tradition was to gather our friends and family around a table so we could all come together and fellowship over drinks, cards, board games, music, and of course good food. I remember one year we cooked, someone helped themselves to all the banana pudding and the tuna macaroni salad but when questioned, no one knew what happened to it! Let\u2019s just say over the years, much more food other than the banana pudding and tuna macaroni salad came up missing. Looking back, we count it all to joy! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
During that time Rico and I both were working but it wasn\u2019t enough to make ends meet. Often times we went without or we bargained shopped, accepted other persons hand-me-downs or had to go to the local mission centers to receive assistance. It got so bad at one time (personally speaking) I went through depression, anxiety, and felt like an unfit mother. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taking courses down the line and attending free seminars I learned some things about poverty that I had never known. I was in \u201csurvival mode\u201d for years. I mean looking back I remember trying to breast feed William and couldn\u2019t produce enough milk so I had to supplement with formula. Without the money and not wanting to go to my mom embarrassed because I could feed my son I would take a container and fill it with formula just to feed my child. They say a mother will do whatever they can to provide for their child, and speaking from experience, I know it to be true. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If I would have known what I knew now I would not have had to struggle the way I did. I could have went to places for help but I guess it was a mixture of pride, shame, and guilt- guilt that I couldn\u2019t even afford to feed my babies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So one day at 1801 Sunset Blvd. the social worker asked me had I applied for EBT\/TANF. Growing up we didn\u2019t get EBT so I didn\u2019t know what it was but I knew if it was a way I could feed my children then, I would sign up. Fortunately we got approved and we were like the Jeffersons, we were moving on up! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the next months we began cooking more and feeding folks in the neighborhood. I remember Aunt Classie Mae would always ask, \u201cwhat is Whitnee\u2019 down there cooking now?! Chile make sure you bring me a plate, you hear?!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then folks like Lil Bit, Big E, B Hall, Marlo, Kellen, DeAnna, and Texas would smell the food from Gold and Eastman Street and come by for a plate. Sometimes I would feed them before I fed my family but it was all love. I got a kick out of feeding the people around and it was all in a labor of love. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So one day Rico was cooking on the grill\u2026.he is a BEAST on the grill y\u2019all! Kellen kept going on and on about the food. He said the famous line, \u201cfood so good make you wanna slap yo momma!\u201d Oh how we laughed. Ate. Drunk. And ate some more! We were daydreaming and came up with an idea to have a barbecue joint. We came up with a name, a lingo, came up with flyers, and the whole nine yards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dream never became reality. The truth of the matter was we had all the hopes in the world but didn\u2019t have \u201ca pot to piss in or a window to throw it out.\u201d Even with the food stamps helping to feed our family, we couldn\u2019t afford to do anything above keeping the lights on and clothes on our backs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Years went by and we struggled. We rose above the struggle. We fell flat on our faces, ended up back at my moms house, saved up some money, and then finally through Faith, persistence, hope, and prayer we got on our own. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
FAST FORWARD ALMOST 10 YEARS LATER:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We never lost hope. We never stopped dreaming. We never stopped believing. We never gave up! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sure we put it on the back burner and got jobs to pay the bills, but it\u2019s never been our heart. Through make up, break up, make up, and break up again we have seen our ups and downs. I\u2019ve had more heartaches trying to be in love then I ever without it. Crazy right, but that\u2019s just how the story goes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m not here to talk about the good verses the bad nor am I here to talk about all the things we coulda, shoulda, and woulda done. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m here to proudly announce that WE DID A THING! Taking it back to where it all began, where we first met, where we dreamt and dreamt BIG, we took it back there and reached for the stars, and we grabbed the biggest one called hope. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Hope has kept me on my knees daily. Hope has kept me grounded and never forgetting where I\u2019ve come from. And hope has made me thankful of where I have been, and hope is putting a smile on my face for where I\u2019m going. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Bible says, But He answered and said, \u201cIt is written, \u2018Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n And for the sake of todays message although the scripture of today is Matthew 4:4, I want you to read Matthew 4:1-11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Verse 1 says, then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. It does on to say in verse 2, and when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The devil tried to tempt Jesus and he tried to mock whom He was. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus was led to a desolate place but He did not fall into temptation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Have any of you ever been led to a barren place and temptation was present? I\u2019ve been there and fell for temptation by stealing. Even though it was to feed my baby, it was stealing, and it was wrong. It\u2019s hard to be open and honest and have people look at you differently but I\u2019ve come before God asking for forgiveness. He is the one who holds the key to my salvation so what man has to say, I don\u2019t care to be honest. That\u2019s an example of temptation. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I wasn\u2019t relying on God and trusting in His word. I took things into my own hand. Often times I have come into situations when I have to trust God blindly. The Bible says \u201cWe walk by Faith, and not by sight!\u201d Oh y\u2019all don\u2019t hear me. I don\u2019t know if you have ever gone through sickness and pain, not being able to feed your baby, going through a trying time in your relationship or marriage and couldn\u2019t stand the site of your spouse and the men or women around you starting looking \u201cmighty good,\u201d but you didn\u2019t want to be a ho so you stayed committed even when that person wasn\u2019t worthy of eating the crumbs from your feet. Wow Jesus, BUT GOD!!! <\/p>\n\n\n\n I digress and I\u2019ll move on \ud83d\ude09. <\/p>\n\n\n\n My sisters and brothers I want you to know that through our struggles, through our fears, through the unknown the devil will get us to try and doubt God. He will try to make us do things the worldly way or our way but then when we mess up, cry out to God for help. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The other day I sent a word of encouragement to show others what being obedient can mean for your life. What it means to trust and to obey God. This morning I sent a few messages to plant the seed of positive speaking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve always heard what we put out in the atmosphere will come to us. So today ask yourself, what are your words cultivating? Where are your thoughts leading you? Where does your trust lie? Do you believe your dreams can become a reality? <\/p>\n\n\n\n I want to encourage those reading todays message to never give up on God. Like the song says, He won\u2019t give up on you!!! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t allow the things that are trying to hold you back, stop you from reaching and achieving what God has for you. I cried a few tears thinking \u201cwhat God has for me, it is for me!\u201d I\u2019ve said if my whole life but I didn\u2019t believe it because I couldn\u2019t see it. I said I was walking by Faith but because I struggled so much in so many ways and especially during the time I lost my dad, I was lost. Years past and I lost my mom, y\u2019all don\u2019t know just how lost I was. I wanted to give up. I wanted to quit. I just knew it was the end of the road for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n God saw me in the midst of my depression (IM CALLING IT WHAT IT WAS) and He picked me up! He gave me the burning desire to start speaking life over my family, life over my health, life over my marriage, life over dead friendships, life over positive thinking, optimism, and much more. I was self destructing all the while trying to lift others up, I was killing my self inside. <\/p>\n\n\n\n By the grace of God I didn\u2019t stay there. I truly believe God allowed me to go through that period in my life so I could be able to testify of His love and mercy and shout praises for His grace, and also to be able to minister to someone who may be where I\u2019ve been. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not over until God says it\u2019s done! Y\u2019all we still have life and we have a lot to live for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus was able to overcome temptation three times. He simply said \u201cIt is written!\u201d He fought the devil with God\u2019s word. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Y\u2019all don\u2019t use the Bible as an arm rest or a foot stool but open it up and feast on God\u2019s promises. If you been where I\u2019ve been you would shout glory hallelujah. Some of you been to worse places, I don\u2019t take for granted or take lightly anyone\u2019s struggle but I know where you are today is not where you will be tomorrow, and it\u2019s not where you were yesterday. Praise God somebody. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Keep on dreaming my friends and allow God to make good on His promises and provisions for you life. He said we will have life and have it more abundantly. Yes we have struggles, yes we have pain, yes we have trials and tribulations but it won\u2019t last always. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Back in 2013, sitting on the porch of the little house on Prescott that many people frown upon, my friend and I found our passion and we\u2019ve dreamt ever since. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Our desire falls in line with Matthew 5:6. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Through each plate we have ever served and will ever serve, it is my hope and burning desire that we lead people to God where they feast on His word and get full of His holy spirit and share their story with others. We strive to \u201cbring people together\u201d through the love and nourishment of food in hopes that physical food had a seed of spiritual food sown into it. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It is my hope we all long for Jesus and that we find Him and be filled. It is my prayer through the loving hands of prepared food our Durty Kitchen <\/em><\/strong>that started on Prescott will grow into place God has placed on our heart for 11 years now and that is currently vacant and that the restaurant will go mobile with the food truck that has been for sale since January 2020 (we stumbled upon it today) going back to our old stumping grounds- Prescott.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m going to say this and I\u2019ll end todays message: the dearest most heartfelt memories I have and hold on to where I saw God move mountains and truly knew He would never leave me nor forsake me was when I struggled and struggle the most. Prescott was some of my darkest times but it\u2019s where I found my God given purpose which I know to be: encouraging others, feeding their body and minds, and sharing God\u2019s love to others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n