“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13 Ever feel like you have a millions things to do and not enough time to do them? Or like you have too many different roles that each require your time and energy? Recently, I’ve felt these feelings more than ever. And the truth is that as hard as it seems to balance it all, there is hope and it IS possible. Quite some time has passed since my last blog post. 2019 has been the biggest year of my life and a lot of major life changes have happened. Around the time of my last blog post, I had just finished dental school and moved halfway across the country. Since then I’ve given birth to my beautiful daughter! With all these huge changes, it’s no wonder that I’m having trouble balancing my roles as a mother, wife, dentist, blogger, sister, daughter, friend, etc. Since my daughter was born, I’ve found myself often wondering, “How can I balance all of this?” Is it really possible for me to practice dentistry, be a loving and supportive wife, raise my daughter, keep my household in order, and serve at church? In pondering this question, I’ve found that the answer is yes; it is possible to do all this and not just on a mediocre level but to the best of your ability. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” – Colossians 3:23-24 As evidenced in the Bible verse above, ultimately God’s will is for us to do everything whole-heartedly. What does this look like? It means putting your best effort into each role you play. This takes discipline and organization. If I were to really consider how the hours in my day are filled, I would see that my time could better spent. Here are some tips for finding true balance:
“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” -Isaiah 40:29-31 So next time I wake up at 4am to feed my daughter or spend my few free hours meal prepping for my family, I’ll remember that God will bring me through all this successfully and He will give me the strength. Stay balanced, my friends. <3 Beryl
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“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” -Philippians 1:6 Class of 2019, where you at?! These beautiful ladies are just a few of the friends/classmates I had the pleasure of graduating with a few short weeks ago. On May 17th, 2019 I walked across the stage, culminating a 21-year journey of education. For the first time this fall, unlike every year since kindergarten, I won’t be starting another semester. I finally graduated with my Doctorate of Dental Surgery. To God be the glory! I’ve been through so much along the way but here I am a full-fledged dentist (who still needs a license, but that’s besides the point LOL). Let’s take a trip down memory lane. In 2009 while I was in my junior year of high school, I had braces. My orthodontist was a quirky and friendly, middle aged woman with a warm smile and jokes for days. She always knew what was going on in my life and her ultimate goal was to help me fall in love with my smile. Little did she know that her role as my orthodontist had planted a seed in me. This seed was watered and took root in my general dentist’s office, where my fascination with dentistry grew and bloomed. This was only the beginning. At this point, I chose that I wanted to become a dentist. I didn’t know what it would take to get there but I put my mind to becoming one and no one could stop me. What followed were four challenging and busy years at UT Arlington, studying, going to labs, working, participating in extracurricular activities, serving as a leader, and much more. In that time, I lost my dad and somehow gained a life partner as well. It all culminated in receiving my honors Bachelors Degree in Biology, Cum Laude in 2015. Thereafter were more four years of school, this time filled with all things teeth-related – dental anatomy, pre-clinical labs, biomaterials, operative, dental specialty courses, and finally seeing my very own patients. This four-year journey led to the month of May 2019 – a month in which I completed my clinical requirements, passed my licensure exam, and graduated on May 17th, 2019. All praise be to God! Becoming a dentist was no easy task. It was a long and difficult journey, filled with challenges, tears, pain, disappointment, stress, sleepless nights, and so much more. But it was also a journey of triumph, successes, joy, support, friendship, and love along the way. God has proven himself to be so faithful throughout this journey. It is only by His strength that I could have made it so far. As the following bible verse says, God renewed my strength day by day all throughout the four years.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. -Isaiah 40:31 So here I am, on to the next chapter with the challenges associated with practicing as a new dentist ahead me. The bible verse at the beginning of this blog post gives me comfort that I will be successful in this next chapter. Congratulations to everyone in the class of 2019! Just know that your hard work has paid off and that there are great things in store for you. No matter what happens next, relish in your achievement and recognize that you are equipped and able to handle whatever comes next. <3 Beryl “See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.” - Song of Songs 2:11-12 As of just a few weeks ago, spring has officially begun! With it comes the end of winter, warmer temperatures, blooming flowers, and all the beauty that is spring. Spring means that 2019 is flying by! We’re already a quarter of the way into the year and the question that remains is: What have you accomplished so far? The beginning of April is a great time to reassess your progress towards goals for the year and take some time to reflect on what has happened and what’s next. For some, the first three months have been extremely productive and full of personal, financial, and professional growth. For others, maybe the first three months of 2019 haven’t gone quite as planned. Regardless of which group you fall into, just know that it isn’t too late to change the trajectory of your year and truly make the most of each day. “No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.” - Hal Borland God has been extremely faithful to me over my lifetime. He has brought me through many challenging seasons and revealed his faithfulness in countless ways. My journey to faith isn’t a dramatic one but rather filled with triumph in the midst of tragedy. I was born into a Christian home with God-fearing parents who displayed the love of Christ to me early on. I knew who Jesus was growing up but I never really knew him personally. It sometimes felt like emphasis in my church was on doing the right things and keeping appearances, so my understanding of faith was that if I did the right things, I would make it to heaven one day. I had a legalistic mindset and over time, I recognized that I was struggling to measure up. In 2007, my family moved to Texas. Around this time, I was 13 and beginning to understand more about salvation and the grace of God. Though I already knew that Jesus had died for my sins, at this time I was slowly developing a personal relationship with God at this time. I read my Bible on a regular basis and prayed for transformation by the power of the Holy Spirit. I began to see my need for Christ. I recognized how flawed I was as a person and simultaneously recognized the grace that God was showing me in the midst of all this. I also slowly became involved in a ministry called YG Church. This was a vibrant ministry for young adults featuring a contemporary worship service each week and small groups. Here I learned how to fall in love in Jesus through the messages and how to worship freely through song and my life. Soon after this, I was baptized. I officially began my new life in Christ and made a public declaration of this! Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come; The old has gone, the new is here! -2 Corinthians 5:17 This ministry came at an opportune time in my life when the Lord was slowly speaking to me. My dad enjoyed attending YG with my sisters and I occasionally. Around this time, however, he was diagnosed with stomach cancer. My dad was diagnosed with stomach cancer in summer of 2010 and this rocked my family to the core. We were fearful, confused, and saddened. I began to pray earnestly that God would heal my dad somehow. God did answer that prayer in his own way. My dad underwent surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation and eventually after all this, began to regain some strength and normalcy. He was even able to go back to work as an emergency room nurse after some time. Throughout this time, I never saw my dad sad or discouraged. He continued to rely on God and remained hopeful. His resilient faith led him to have a positive attitude, which came as a shock to many people around him and served as a testament to God’s power. Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. -James 1:2,3 In the summer of 2011, I graduated from high school! This was such a great occasion that I will always cherish. Many family members and friends joined my family to celebrate and it meant all the more because of everything we had been through. We even traveled as a family to the east coast that summer for my cousin’s wedding. Unfortunately, toward the end of 2011 things took a turn for the worse. My dad’s health worsened and he was told that his cancer had spread and was terminal. All we knew was that he had a short time left. The cancer eventually spread causing my dad to slowly deteriorate. Throughout this entire process, he was encouraging everyone around him. He had strong faith that somehow God would take care of us in his absence and that we would all meet again in heaven one day. As we cried sitting next to him on his deathbed, he just hugged us and shared a joke or two. I didn’t realize it at that time, but in hindsight, these moments built my faith tremendously. God was working in the midst of a dark situation. On February 5th, 2012, my dad fell asleep in the Lord and now awaits the day when Jesus will call him by name and welcome him into heaven. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever been through, but it encouraged me so much to see my dad’s faith in his last days. A huge part of my testimony is that losing my dad drew me closer to God. I still have unanswered questions. And it was and still is hard to have lost my dad. But God has provided strength, healing, and restoration in ways I could have never imagined in the aftermath of loss. Seven years later, and I’m still walking with the Lord. It isn’t easy but I know that it’s worth it. Great is His faithfulness! His mercies are new each day. I look forward to heaven one day and all the joy of seeing both my earthly father and my heavenly father. <3 Beryl Think back to where you were ten years ago. #10YearChallenge For me, I was in finishing my sophomore year of high school and starting my junior year. I got my braces off and I had just gotten my driver’s license. What a great year! I’m willing to bet that if you really look back, you’ll realize that you’ve come a very long way. Physically, we all change over time and glow up, but in what other ways have you grown? Perhaps you’ve grown mentally and are more in control of your emotions and mind. Or maybe you have grown closer to God and your faith is increasing. Or it could be that you have achieved many professional goals and are on your way to having the career of your dreams. There are so many ways to grow but what’s important in the midst of all this success is to stop and celebrate how far you’ve come. People sometimes spend more time looking forward to what will happen next than they do appreciating the momentary achievements and little victories in life. It’s important to celebrate these achievements because they are all milestones along the journey. And if you never see the beauty in what is happening currently, it can facilitate an attitude of discontent. Discontentment is a disease that plagues many, and it can rob you of your joy. I think that a big part of being thankful is celebrating the ways God has been good and helped you succeed year after year. And by celebrate, I don’t mean throwing a party every time something good happens. I mean, allowing yourself to be joyful and thankful for the little victories. It’s a matter of intentionally reflecting on what has happened and being proud of yourself for what you’ve accomplished. For me, one thing I love to celebrate, especially in this last semester of dental school, is the fact that I’m finally so close to achieving my dream of becoming a dentist. In 2009 as a junior in high school, I decided that I wanted to become a dentist. At that time, it seemed so unachievable and far away. Now in 2019, a full ten years later, I am just three months away from that dream. God has been so faithful to me. Through the ups and down of my last semester, I’m celebrating how far I’ve come. So celebrate how far you’ve come. Celebrate the small and big successes in life. Celebrate that you know more today than you did yesterday and that you’re still growing as a person. Celebrate each time you overcome a challenge or difficulty. Celebrate that you’re another step closer to achieving your dreams. Celebrate how far you’ve come. <3 Beryl See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. - Isaiah 43:19 There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. - Proverbs 23:18 It’s officially 2019! Here comes what is sure to be a huge year in my life. This year I will graduate dental school and finally become a dentist. This year I will move across the country. It’s sure to be a year full of many life changes and exciting transitions. In the midst of all of this transition and change, I have several goals that I hope to accomplish. And in an effort to actually achieve these goals, I made a decision to write them out and commit to referencing them all throughout the year. I love the atmosphere surrounding a new year, the promise of a new cycle of life and new beginnings. Although making new year’s resolutions tends to be a bandwagon that many of us quickly fall off, writing concrete, achievable goals can be one way to begin the process of attaining them. When you write something out, it’s a way Here are a few of my goals for 2019:
I hope my #GOALS inspire you to write out some goals of your own for 2019. If you do, feel free to share some of them with me in the comments below or on my instagram @bloom_beryl. Happy New Year! <3 Beryl Tis’ the season to put on a beautiful face of makeup and be glam for the annual holiday dinners, banquets, parties, and other festivities! My good friend Joan created this gorgeous gold and rose look for me. She is the creator of Poised Beaute, a beauty and lifestyle brand, which also highlights her faith. Stay tuned for a full video of how to achieve this look in the new year! When asked what Poised Beaute is all about, Joan shared she has always had a passion for beauty, fashion, makeup, and lifestyle. She wanted to put a spin her interests and make them into a ministry. Joan believes that whatever we are called to do is to bring God glory, so she wants to incorporate her faith and love for Christ into her beauty brand. The concept behind her brand is: “A woman who is poised is not easy to come by…The epitome of grace, elegance, and confidence. The definition of poise is ‘A graceful and elegant bearing; composure of dignity and manner.’” The Poised Beaute equation is: Faith + Lifestyle = Beauty (Faith shapes you which creates a lifestyle and the beauty comes out of this lifestyle) Joan believes that all of these traits tie into the concept of a confident, graceful, and elegant woman whose beauty shines through her. She believes that as women of faith, we should be poised and bring a graceful manner and warmth into every place we go. We should show love to those around us and bring something different to the world around us. She further believes that in everything we do, we should have confidence because we know God is with us. Our presence should bring love, joy, peace and beauty out of everything. Joan has been doing makeup, hair, and styling for the past 5 years, and wanted to finally launch a brand that united what inspires her most. This is why she will be incorporating faith into all aspects of her brand including makeup tutorials on youtube, beauty inspiration on Instagram, makeup services for events, and lifestyle content. This won’t just be fashion and beauty but also inspiration to love yourself as you are and to present yourself in a modest and poised manner. Please follow this new and inspiring beauty brand at poised_beaute on Instagram and YouTube! Stay tuned for many great collaborations to come! “Learning to love yourself, flaws and all, is an ongoing journey.” – Beryl Otchere My journey of self-love has been an ongoing process for years and began early in my life. Specific experiences and negative ideas that were planted in my mind in childhood by some of my peers took root. And it wasn’t until many years later that I realized these ideas were so predominant in my psyche. I went to a primarily Caucasian elementary school. This experience showed me that when you look different from everyone else, it can easily become a basis for teasing by other kids. I’m a dark-skinned, Ghanaian girl with typical West African features like big eyes, a wide nose, defined cheek bones, etc. My features were very distinct from that of my classmates. From kindergarten, I have a few very distinct memories of two boys in my class making fun of how dark my skin was and how big my nose looked. As the cliché would have it, I don’t remember what exactly they said, but I do remember how they made me feel. I felt ugly, odd-looking, unwanted, and an outsider just by their words… Side note – our words matter. Words can build a person up or break them down. And we oftentimes never know the full impact of the words we say. So we should all be mindful of the words we speak and endeavor to speak in a way that is positive and builds people up. So throughout my childhood and teenage years, I walked around with a false perception that I was ugly. It was an idea that I accepted wholeheartedly and it led me to also believe that it would be a miracle for a guy to like me one day. When people told me that I was pretty, I never believed them. As I look back on those days, I wonder why I maintained this mindset. One day, however, my paradigm of self-love began to shift. Around 2012-2014, even as I had recently lost my dad, my faith was beginning to grow and I was beginning to believe so many truths – that I was redeemed by the blood of Jesus, that I was valued more than I could ever imagine by the God of the universe, and that I was fearfully and wonderfully made. As I grew closer to God, I began to realize that my worth was found in Him and that I was created uniquely and beautifully in His image. Meanwhile, I started following Youtube channels ranging from beauty and fashion to vlogs to religious content. At this time, many of the voices I was listening to were speaking on the idea of self-love and how we should all believe in ourselves and see our own worth before anyone else can. It was the beginning of a movement to empower women. This was the beginning of my own empowerment. From then on, I was inspired to begin to view myself differently. The combination of God revealing to me the importance of self-love along with listening to people I respect speaking on self-love led me to take the steps needed to love myself. As fate would have it, just as I was beginning this journey and valuing myself more highly than ever, I met the man who would one day become my husband. What perfect timing on my journey. Here are some steps in the process of learning to love yourself…
“You is kind, you is smart, you is important.” - Aibileen (The Help) Just believe that you are all of these things and more. You are beautiful. Keep on learning to love yourself. <3 Beryl We live in an age when many people are oftentimes distracted. Our eyes are glued to our phones, laptops, or other screens all throughout a significant portion of the day. Technology has taken over and this is especially obvious when you see two people out at dinner, staring at their phone screens, communicating virtually instead of communicating with each other in person. I love and appreciate technology, especially social media. I love seeing what my friends and family are doing, sharing in their milestones, and supporting them from the comfort of my bed. However, all of this endless scrolling takes up more time than we realize. And as a Christian, one issue I face in my faith (also as a busy dental student, wife, friend, etc) is finding enough time to spend with God every day. I make all sorts of excuses and find myself struggling to spend even 30 minutes in devotion and prayer. Why is this so difficult? Because maybe I still need to learn how to maximize productivity and minimize distractions – more specifically, how to maximize spiritual growth and minimize distractions. This is a concept I’ve been thinking about for some time now… How can I spend my time in a way that is spiritually productive? Although I’m referring to spiritual productivity here, the principles discussed can be applied to other areas of life as well. Due to all the newfound ways to be distracted, this generation of believers is struggling to concentrate in prayer and devotion. What can we do to combat distraction, particularly from technology? Here are a few ideas that Lord has led me to on my journey to seek Him more.
These are just a few of the ways to maximize spiritual growth and minimize distractions. What do you do to make sure you’re connecting with God every day? I would love to hear more tips of yours in the comments. Until next time, continue to make the most of the time you have and #bloom. <3 Beryl “For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.” -Ecclesiastes 3:1 Don’t you love it when the seasons change? I sure do, especially when the Texas summer gives way to fall or fall to winter. Personally, I love the fall and winter in Texas so it’s very exciting for me when the first round of cold weather comes through, signifying the beginning of fall. The beauty of a new season is the promise of a new landscape, a new atmosphere, and new possibilities. Often, the excitement of a new season begins to dim over time. Typically there comes a time in summer when the initial excitement from continual sunshine and heat decreases. Likewise, there comes a time in winter when the enthusiasm from the allure of colder temperatures and upcoming holidays in December lessens. The initial winter weather bliss can easily become the fatigue from experiencing constant freezing temperatures, shoveling snow, and scraping ice off cars in January. You see, each season of life bring joys and challenges. This is true of weather but also of the seasons of our lives. There is beauty but also adversity in the changing colors of the leaves in fall, in the newly fallen snow in winter, or in the blooming flowers of spring. When seasons change, so much changes for better or for worse. In my own life, I’ve seen so many seasons. There was a season of being a pre-dental student then a season of being a dental student. The latter season will soon transition into a season of working as a new dentist, bringing with it all the joys and challenges of this new phase. There was a season of living with my family then a season of independence. There was a season of singleness then a season of dating and now a season of married life. Among other things, there have been seasons of unemployment, then employment, not knowing Jesus, then coming to faith, not believing in myself, then developing self confidence. The list goes on and on. Seasons always change. If seasons are always changing, then how can we make the most of each season? As cliché as it sounds, I believe that every day is a gift. Every day really is an opportunity to be thankful, to learn, to grow, and to experience joy in the present. The problem with us as humans is that we’re always looking forward to the next season or back at the previous one, when in reality there is beauty in each and every season. There is always so much to be thankful for. There are always opportunities for growth. There are always ways to find contentment regardless of the season. As the seasons change, we can choose to be content regardless the difficulties that come along. For example, many people who are single stress over how they will find their future husband or wife. They can spend substantial amounts of time wondering when they will be married and idolizing what it would be like to be married. Then when they finally find their future spouse and enter a season of dating, they worry about marriage instead of enjoying their new relationship. This is just one example of why appreciating each and every season is so very important. There are blessings in each season as well as opportunities for growth, happiness, new experiences, and blessings. In the same way, almost every student spends time and energy counting down until graduation. All those days of hard work will one day culminate in a degree, which many idolize. But once you walk across the stage and get that piece of paper, real life begins. This begins a season of obtaining a real salary but also a season of experiencing real challenges in a working environment. Yet another season begins. There is indeed a purpose for every season under heaven. Let us approach life with thankfulness and joy in every season, recognizing that God is working regardless of the season. Soon autumn will end and winter will begin, but for now, let’s enjoy the yellow and orange foliage of fall. <3 Beryl |
Author - BerylBeryl has a passion for writing pieces that uplift, inspire, and encourage you to bloom. She's been blogging since October 2018. Archives
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