Welcome to my blog where I make it my mission to encourage you to remove the (metaphorical) makeup and enjoy the journey to where God is calling you to be!
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| Me and my guys |
Removing the Makeup is about Transparency:
As a young child I was a witness to Domestic Violence in the home and those are images that stuck with me well into college. I was silent in my confusion and often times felt alone in my experience. From having extensive experience working with children, adolescents, and families I recognized that it was naïve to think that there aren’t other children and young adults in the same shoes that I once was in. Writing (poetry) was an outlet for me in the midst of chaos. It was what kept me focused on doing well in school and it gave me a sense of peace in my spirit. I wrote and published Smeared Eyeliner and Faded Lipstick in 2009. Helping children who witness Domestic Violence is the platform for the book in which a fundraiser has been created to help those in need. My book is a compilation of relational poetry igniting empowerment within us to live freely by removing the metaphorical makeup and building healthier foundations. My goal as an activist and poet is to ultimately change perspectives and encourage a passion within each of us to stand up for something greater than ourselves.Removing the Makeup is about sharing your story:
I envision Smeared Eyeliner and Faded Lipstick having an impact on women young and old around the world that have ever felt like their voice didn’t matter. Women who have sat silent in their abuse and young girls who have suffered in silence witnessing the deterioration of strong, healthy relationships not only in their city but in the country. I wants my words, my expression, and my transparency have an impact on every person that reads my writing whether they share in my experiences or if they know someone who has. 
From being angry with the church, having to short sell our house to avoid foreclosure, being uncertain of what my purpose was and coveting the gifts of those around me I was in a place where I felt completely abandoned by God. In a season I labeled winter, God revealed to me that I was harboring bitterness; I had become a professional church attender who was too busy trying to make God into an entity instead of allowing Him to be exactly who He is, and the very purpose I was searching for He had revealed to me over and over again. From that season On the Heels of My Father, my devotional, was birth. I pray it encourages every person who shares in my stories, scriptures, and my transparency equipping them with the confidence to face life’s struggles with peace.
Behind the Makeup you can expect:
God is Real.
How God has impacted my life and changed my heart is more than any words could express. I am thankful for His mercy and He has given me life to share His goodness with the world!
I am a Woman Stories.
I started this blog out of a place of expression. When God spoke to me and told me to write the vision I realized that, although I had been writing all along, He wanted me to make it plain on the tablet for those to read it. (Habakkuk 2:2) So this is the passionate me. The random me. The music lover me. The FREE me. The mother, wife, friend in me who discovered along the way that my voice is God's gift to speak to those on the road towards becoming true to who they are being called to be removing those man-made walls.
Poetic Stories.
I was a poet long before I began blogging. Picked up my first poetry book in 6th grade and wrote my first poem that same year. Poetry became my outlet and way to express my pain and the world around me through my eyes. Poetry is everywhere! Make sure you take a moment to capture it in motion.
Marriage Stories.
There's this image that people have of marriage that primarily entails a wedding dress and a party but what do you have when the bells and whistles cease? You have each other and you better be certain that the person you said I Do to is the person you are able to say I Do to everyday! My experiences, my prayers, my journey as a wife!
I bet you wouldn't believe I never imagined being a mother! It was so scary to me and a responsibility I did not want to have. God graced me, I trusted Him and now I can't imagine LIFE without my babies! My journey as a mother, my fears, my celebrations, and my best advice can be found here!
Growth Stories.
In each stage of my life I am constantly seeking growth. I don't desire to be the same woman I was in 2005 when I began this blog and if you start from the beginning until my most recent post you will see that to be true! I want to encourage you to grow! I want you to WANT to grow and my prayer is that through my stories you will be empowered on your own journey towards becoming a new and improved you!
Pressing On.
After walking through a very cold season spiritually and physically God spoke to me and told me to keep pressing. So many times I felt like God had forgotten about me. So many times I felt lost and confused and lonely and drowning in sadness. I even stopped praying and just stopped this "god thing" all together. But what I learned in that season is that god is always a capital 'G' God! Despite what your circumstances look like you are not forgotten. He is El Roi, the God who sees and in those most difficult times in our life we must learn to press into Him and keep pressing forward towards the mark. Pressing On has become my theme and the overall message of what #nomakeup represents! This is where I share OUR truth!
Thank you so much for stopping by! Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss what we are doing Behind the Makeup! Questions, need advice or prayer requests?
Email me: contact at removethemakeup {dot} com
All my Love,
Caneeka
