Look at God!

This picture makes me SO happy for SO many reasons. Folks who know me best, who have been to my home (home is a long story right now, but whatever) know that I absolutely love decorating. Also, one of my favorite things to do is look at magazines and books featuring beautiful and creative homes. I LOVE IT. The picture above is the of living space of a woman I have admired from afar. Shout out to Spirit for bringing us closer. Her name is Alfreda Lanoix. Some call her Rev. Freda. She is a spiritual advisor. She is stunning and graceful and hard working (although I don't know if she would use the word hard) and entertaining. And her hair and clothes are ALWAYS put together. But in an effortless kind of way, you know? Also, and this is the point of the picture, she has a dreamy home. Her home is goals. No, I've never been to her place but we are Facebook friends and she posts photos of her home that I get to fantasize about so it's kind of like the same thing.

Now I direct your attention to the photo above. It is of a room in her house, maybe the living room. Maybe she has a fancy name for living room, I don't know. When I was growing up we called it the livaroom. Judge yourselves. You see those two paintings with the green and yellow and pink colors? Yep, you know where I'm going with this. I painted those! And they are in her space! I'm geeked! She bought them from me last night while I was selling my art at The World Stage in Leimert Park.

Let me tell you about last night and yesterday and a little about me. If you've been reading my blog then you can skip this paragraph, but if you're new, stay with me. I'll try to be brief. My son and I were living in a very small (but fly) apartment in Los Angeles that after a little over five years we outgrew. We outgrew it before the five years but...money y'all. Money. It was an L.A. apartment in gentrified Midtown so read...hella over priced. I couldn't afford to live there anymore so we moved. We floated a bit and then were blessed to rent a house. Eventually the house was sold by the owners and so began our time again of floating. A friend's place here, many hotels, a cousin's place there and now we are back in a hotel. But isn't living in a hotel like crazy expensive? Why yes, yes it is. But God is faithful and we ALWAYS have what we need. FAQ - Well if you're paying all that money in a hotel why don't you just get a place? Because landlords keep wanting me to show them that I make three times the rent and I work like a (insert hard working person or thing here) and my paperwork is funny and I don't have first, last and my mama to give all at one time and then a third of that again thirty days later.

So what I do every day is come up with a money goal. An amount of money based on what our needs are that I need to have when I walk in the door at night. Remember I told you God is faithful? Well, every day I meet my goal. Also remember I told you my work ethic ain't a joke. I have my own home health care service with clients throughout Los Angeles, I teach a community writing program at USC, I'm a painter, a poet, a speaker, performer, I'm the artist in residence for a life changing organization called WomanPreach and I get to travel the country with them doing that good good social justice work! Holler! Also, I can clean a house like nobody's business. Antyway. We have what we need.

Last night was a weird night. Maybe it wasn't weird. Maybe Spirit was just showing me exactly who is running this bad boy. It was 8:00 and I hadn't met my money goal for the day. Not only did I not meet my money goal for the day but I was down to $20 and we had to check out by 11:00 the next morning. I was mad stressed because I had never cut it that close before. Come through, Spirit. Come through! I did what I do. I set up my art at The World Stage during the poetry reading. Now it's 9:00, now 10. No sales. I will insert here that most of my clothes are in my cousin's garage. Partly because I don't have space for them and partly because I've been working every single day and haven't had time to go and get them. Backtrack, somewhere around 8:45, 9:00 the lovely Alfreda glides in with this big beautiful bag. I thought it was a gift for the featured reader, but she handed it to me. Heeeyyyy, a gift from Alfreda, what's this? She said that Spirit had led her to gift me with some of her lovely wears! Go Spi rit! Go Spi rit! And then she glided on to her seat. Now it's 10:45 and the evening is over. The host has said good night and the only thing to do now is pack up my lil paintins and go home. Home? You know what I mean. BUT THEN...Alfreda bought a couple of paintings! Andy bought a couple of paintings! Mike bought a painting! I sold one online! I did cry real tears. The way God came through like that! You not ready for my testimony! Noooooobody there knew what I was going through. And then BAM!

I more than met my money goal. I exceeded it. Went to the grocery store like YEAH! YEAH! And THAT TOO! Happy dancing all up aisle five. And this morning, who showed up at her client's house looking like the best dressed caregiver in L.A.? You so smart. Then I get home and pop on Facebook and what do I see? MY PAINTINGS DISPLAYED ALL PROPER IN ALFREDA'S LIVAROOM! I hope they act like they got some sense. Well that's the story of my yesterday and last night and yesterdays and today. Keep me in your prayers y'all. Just keep praying. I love y'all. I do.