International Day of the Girl 2020

Motherhood

As a woman and mother to two girls, I believe that girls everywhere should be treated equally, empowered, and safe. This belief is deeply held, both for personal and biblical reasons.

As such, I champion gender equality everyday and especially today, International Day of the Girl 2020. The theme for this day is “My voice, our equal future.” This theme resonates with me so deeply, as it brings a wonderful opportunity to the world to be inspired by and take action for the changes adolescent girls want and need.

Today’s post is dedicated to my two strong girls. I champion my girls as the change-makers this world desperately needs.

It has been said that girls with dreams become women with vision. My oldest daughter, Raegan is girl with dreams that, with her family’s help, is growing into a woman with a beautiful vision. She is an activist in her own right, aiming to reimagine a brighter future for her, her sister, and the more than 1.1 billion girls under 18 around the world.

Today, I am using my own platform to amplify the issues Raegan told me she cares about, in her own words:

  1. Eradicating racism
  2. The environment
  3. Access to food; world hunger
  4. Ending slavery and human trafficking
  5. Girls’ access to education 
  6. Children’s safety from abuse and detainment 
  7. Global mental health 
  8. Girl power 

I’m working with Raegan to cultivate her efforts towards creating the positive social change she envisions. I am so excited to help turn her dreams into a vision!

I challenge you to think of ways you can address the needs of and create opportunities for adolescent girls in your life. Share their stories and their organizations. Amplify their leadership. Give them a seat at the table, even at the head of the table. Most of all, I implore to value women and girls just as God does. Refrain from debasing girls, tuning them out, talking over them and interrupting them. They are speaking. They are worth heeding. They are endowed with God-given talents and gifts that the world would be remiss in ignoring.

Celebrate the girls in your life and champion their voice!

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My 30 Before 30 Gratitude Challenge

October 4, 2020
Uncategorized

So I turn 30 in about a month! I’ve always wanted to do some kind of challenge or bucket list to complete before the big 3-0, but each list or challenge just didn’t resonate with me. Taking stock of missed opportunities from my 20s or trying to finish unrealistic bucket list items just doesn’t fit…

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A Christian Mama’s Fall Bucket List

September 22, 2020
Motherhood

Happy First Day of Fall! Ah, my favorite season. If you’re like me, I adore just about everything in this season. The fashion slays with coats, boots, sweaters, and oxblood and forest green palettes; the cool crisp air;  the crunch of brightly colored leaves newly shed from the trees; and comfort food galore with soups,…

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meloniebygrace

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meloniebygrace

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Nov 26

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This Thanksgiving looks different for many this year, but not for us. Each year we typically spend at least one holiday away from extended family so that my husband can treat patients.  My husband treats some of the sickest patients every year. While it’s tough to work such long hours on a holiday, my husband tells me it’s infinitely harder to be sick in the hospital or to lose a loved one on the holiday. It’s that kind of perspective that makes him the greatest doctor ❤️  As we celebrate Thanksgiving in a different way, I want to thank all of the doctors for the work they do every year. 2020 may feel different for most of the world, but to us, we know they lead the charge for patient care every year. Quite often that means sacrificing time with their own families to care for yours. Without complaint, with the utmost integrity and compassion, offering the care that no one else can. As we think of essential workers today, don’t forget to think of doctors like my Dr. J ❤️  From our family to yours, have a happy and safe Thanksgiving !

This Thanksgiving looks different for many this year, but not for us. Each year we typically spend at least one holiday away from extended family so that my husband can treat patients.

My husband treats some of the sickest patients every year. While it’s tough to work such long hours on a holiday, my husband tells me it’s infinitely harder to be sick in the hospital or to lose a loved one on the holiday. It’s that kind of perspective that makes him the greatest doctor ❤️

As we celebrate Thanksgiving in a different way, I want to thank all of the doctors for the work they do every year. 2020 may feel different for most of the world, but to us, we know they lead the charge for patient care every year. Quite often that means sacrificing time with their own families to care for yours. Without complaint, with the utmost integrity and compassion, offering the care that no one else can. As we think of essential workers today, don’t forget to think of doctors like my Dr. J ❤️

From our family to yours, have a happy and safe Thanksgiving ! ...

meloniebygrace

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Nov 24

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This week is special not only because of Raegan’s birthday, but also because Honor turned 8 months old. 💐 Honor is standing independently and has tried to take some steps. She enjoyed a very brief trip to the zoo and the desert for the first time, can give me kisses, and said “bye bye!” She’ll be walking so soon!

This week is special not only because of Raegan’s birthday, but also because Honor turned 8 months old. 💐 Honor is standing independently and has tried to take some steps. She enjoyed a very brief trip to the zoo and the desert for the first time, can give me kisses, and said “bye bye!” She’ll be walking so soon! ...

meloniebygrace

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Nov 23

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Happy 8th birthday to Raegan Grace, our Rae of Sunshine ❤️ She enriches our lives and brings so much life wherever she goes. Every year she amazes me more and more, and I thank God He entrusted her to us. Her life speaks to His redemptive nature, His sovereignty, His grace. What an absolute joy to be a part of her story. Our little Queen, we love you tremendously.

Happy 8th birthday to Raegan Grace, our Rae of Sunshine ❤️ She enriches our lives and brings so much life wherever she goes. Every year she amazes me more and more, and I thank God He entrusted her to us. Her life speaks to His redemptive nature, His sovereignty, His grace. What an absolute joy to be a part of her story. Our little Queen, we love you tremendously. ...

meloniebygrace

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Nov 20

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Completed my first week of work 🖤 I took a little more than a year off and was a stay at home mom. It was such a privilege to be able to do that — now I feel refreshed and excited to return to practice, even if it looks a little different by working from home (topped off this week with a brief visit to the office). 🖤  I share this to encourage young professional women to really press into what’s on their hearts, and lean into the season you’re in. If you need to take time off and be with your kids, be prayerful and do so. If you need to work, be prayerful and do so. In either case, recognize the immense inherent privilege in that choice, and be thankful for it. In either case, refuse to let your worth be defined by your season. Staying at home or going to work both hold equal weight, and speak nothing to the value you hold as a woman. #BlackWomenLawyers #TheOC

Completed my first week of work 🖤 I took a little more than a year off and was a stay at home mom. It was such a privilege to be able to do that — now I feel refreshed and excited to return to practice, even if it looks a little different by working from home (topped off this week with a brief visit to the office). 🖤

I share this to encourage young professional women to really press into what’s on their hearts, and lean into the season you’re in. If you need to take time off and be with your kids, be prayerful and do so. If you need to work, be prayerful and do so. In either case, recognize the immense inherent privilege in that choice, and be thankful for it. In either case, refuse to let your worth be defined by your season. Staying at home or going to work both hold equal weight, and speak nothing to the value you hold as a woman. #BlackWomenLawyers #TheOC ...

meloniebygrace

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Nov 15

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Happy Sunday! 💙As a day of rest, today is fitting for another Living Kingdom video. Today’s video encourages us to be people of rest and explains why we should all trust God and rest on the Sabbath.  In rest, we find freedom from endless hustle, hope for the ultimate Sabbath rest to come, and faith that God can do more when we work less.  Check it out on my channel, link in bio 💙

Happy Sunday! 💙As a day of rest, today is fitting for another Living Kingdom video. Today’s video encourages us to be people of rest and explains why we should all trust God and rest on the Sabbath.

In rest, we find freedom from endless hustle, hope for the ultimate Sabbath rest to come, and faith that God can do more when we work less.

Check it out on my channel, link in bio 💙 ...

meloniebygrace

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Nov 12

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Happy Veterans Day to my Daddy, Grandaddy, stepmom, and my sister ❤️ Words could never express enough gratitude for your sacrifice and outright courage. #HappyVeteransDay #proudArmybrat

Happy Veterans Day to my Daddy, Grandaddy, stepmom, and my sister ❤️ Words could never express enough gratitude for your sacrifice and outright courage. #HappyVeteransDay #proudArmybrat ...

meloniebygrace

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Nov 9

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Palm Springs, you’re amazing. So much beauty in the desert (that’s a word).

Palm Springs, you’re amazing. So much beauty in the desert (that’s a word). ...

meloniebygrace

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Nov 7

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A couple weeks ago I celebrated the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote. 50 years later black women were included in that right.  Now, we have America's first female, first Black, and first South Asian vice president-elect. As a mother and Black woman lawyer, I am beside myself today. Regardless of your political affiliation, HERstory is made. Largely thanks to Black women’s votes.  Madam Vice President-Elect @kamalaharris. I met you at a sorority function in 2011. Now, you just made history and broke another glass ceiling for me and my daughters.  (I may have to let out a good Skee-wee and hair flip on today, it’s been shut up in my bones💗💚)

A couple weeks ago I celebrated the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote. 50 years later black women were included in that right.

Now, we have America's first female, first Black, and first South Asian vice president-elect. As a mother and Black woman lawyer, I am beside myself today. Regardless of your political affiliation, HERstory is made. Largely thanks to Black women’s votes.

Madam Vice President-Elect @kamalaharris. I met you at a sorority function in 2011. Now, you just made history and broke another glass ceiling for me and my daughters.

(I may have to let out a good Skee-wee and hair flip on today, it’s been shut up in my bones💗💚) ...

meloniebygrace

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Nov 7

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Believer. Wife. Girl mama. Attorney. Encourager. 30 years in and I’m just getting started.

Believer. Wife. Girl mama. Attorney. Encourager. 30 years in and I’m just getting started. ...

meloniebygrace

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Nov 7

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A surprise 30th birthday trip away in the desert ❤️ Planned by my husband, of course. Who else could pull something off like this? ❤️

A surprise 30th birthday trip away in the desert ❤️ Planned by my husband, of course. Who else could pull something off like this? ❤️ ...

meloniebygrace

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Nov 2

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It’s my birthday ❤️ The biggest and best lesson I’ve learned: a simple life does not lack impact. I just want to lead a simple life with simple joys: continue to worship Jesus with my life, and to love my husband and children with my best. That’s the mark I want to leave on this world, because that’s what matters most. #thisis30

It’s my birthday ❤️ The biggest and best lesson I’ve learned: a simple life does not lack impact. I just want to lead a simple life with simple joys: continue to worship Jesus with my life, and to love my husband and children with my best. That’s the mark I want to leave on this world, because that’s what matters most. #thisis30 ...

meloniebygrace

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Oct 27

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Last week, I took my babies with me to drop off our ballots! I want them to know why it’s important to vote and to be with me as I engage in one form of activism. This is particularly important for them as Black women. This year marks the centennial of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which granted women the right to vote. It’s worth celebrating. But, it’s also worth noting that the women’s suffrage movement wasn’t universal. The suffrage movement was selective, to the exclusion of Black women. It would be nearly another 50 years before black women could exercise their voting rights. You can imagine, then, why voting is so critical from a historical perspective, and you can see that voting is also an important tool for shaping our American society. I want my girls to get a firsthand glimpse of the weightiness in exercising their right. I vote as a tool for the political enfranchisement for me and my daughters. I vote for a fuller, better life for them this side of Heaven. My hope isn’t in man, but I dare not limit what God can do for this nation in my today and my girl’s future. I hope you’re compelled to exercise your right to vote. Visit vote.org for more guidance! #BlackWomenVote #RockTheVote #Vote

Last week, I took my babies with me to drop off our ballots! I want them to know why it’s important to vote and to be with me as I engage in one form of activism. This is particularly important for them as Black women.

This year marks the centennial of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which granted women the right to vote. It’s worth celebrating.

But, it’s also worth noting that the women’s suffrage movement wasn’t universal. The suffrage movement was selective, to the exclusion of Black women. It would be nearly another 50 years before black women could exercise their voting rights.

You can imagine, then, why voting is so critical from a historical perspective, and you can see that voting is also an important tool for shaping our American society. I want my girls to get a firsthand glimpse of the weightiness in exercising their right.

I vote as a tool for the political enfranchisement for me and my daughters. I vote for a fuller, better life for them this side of Heaven. My hope isn’t in man, but I dare not limit what God can do for this nation in my today and my girl’s future.

I hope you’re compelled to exercise your right to vote. Visit vote.org for more guidance! #BlackWomenVote #RockTheVote #Vote ...

meloniebygrace

3,226

meloniebygrace

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Nov 26

Open
This Thanksgiving looks different for many this year, but not for us. Each year we typically spend at least one holiday away from extended family so that my husband can treat patients.  My husband treats some of the sickest patients every year. While it’s tough to work such long hours on a holiday, my husband tells me it’s infinitely harder to be sick in the hospital or to lose a loved one on the holiday. It’s that kind of perspective that makes him the greatest doctor ❤️  As we celebrate Thanksgiving in a different way, I want to thank all of the doctors for the work they do every year. 2020 may feel different for most of the world, but to us, we know they lead the charge for patient care every year. Quite often that means sacrificing time with their own families to care for yours. Without complaint, with the utmost integrity and compassion, offering the care that no one else can. As we think of essential workers today, don’t forget to think of doctors like my Dr. J ❤️  From our family to yours, have a happy and safe Thanksgiving !

This Thanksgiving looks different for many this year, but not for us. Each year we typically spend at least one holiday away from extended family so that my husband can treat patients.

My husband treats some of the sickest patients every year. While it’s tough to work such long hours on a holiday, my husband tells me it’s infinitely harder to be sick in the hospital or to lose a loved one on the holiday. It’s that kind of perspective that makes him the greatest doctor ❤️

As we celebrate Thanksgiving in a different way, I want to thank all of the doctors for the work they do every year. 2020 may feel different for most of the world, but to us, we know they lead the charge for patient care every year. Quite often that means sacrificing time with their own families to care for yours. Without complaint, with the utmost integrity and compassion, offering the care that no one else can. As we think of essential workers today, don’t forget to think of doctors like my Dr. J ❤️

From our family to yours, have a happy and safe Thanksgiving ! ...

meloniebygrace

View

Nov 24

Open
This week is special not only because of Raegan’s birthday, but also because Honor turned 8 months old. 💐 Honor is standing independently and has tried to take some steps. She enjoyed a very brief trip to the zoo and the desert for the first time, can give me kisses, and said “bye bye!” She’ll be walking so soon!

This week is special not only because of Raegan’s birthday, but also because Honor turned 8 months old. 💐 Honor is standing independently and has tried to take some steps. She enjoyed a very brief trip to the zoo and the desert for the first time, can give me kisses, and said “bye bye!” She’ll be walking so soon! ...

meloniebygrace

View

Nov 23

Open
Happy 8th birthday to Raegan Grace, our Rae of Sunshine ❤️ She enriches our lives and brings so much life wherever she goes. Every year she amazes me more and more, and I thank God He entrusted her to us. Her life speaks to His redemptive nature, His sovereignty, His grace. What an absolute joy to be a part of her story. Our little Queen, we love you tremendously.

Happy 8th birthday to Raegan Grace, our Rae of Sunshine ❤️ She enriches our lives and brings so much life wherever she goes. Every year she amazes me more and more, and I thank God He entrusted her to us. Her life speaks to His redemptive nature, His sovereignty, His grace. What an absolute joy to be a part of her story. Our little Queen, we love you tremendously. ...