Bold Manifestations w/ Edwina Findley-Dickerson

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Speaker 1: Calling all my sweeties to the forefront.

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Speaker 2: I'm your host, christ and this is the Keeping Positive Sweetish Show. Sweety's my next guest. I've known for a very long time. She's an actress, a wife, a mom, and she's literally living example that God wings happen if we can take the time to see them.

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Speaker 1: Sweeties, give a very warm.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to my dear friend, Edwena Finley Edwena.

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Speaker 3: He love christal of my gosh for united and we are here.

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Speaker 2: It really does. It feels amazing. How are you feeling today?

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Speaker 4: I am blessed, Holly favor, I feel good.

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Speaker 1: You should. I feel amazing.

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Speaker 2: I'm happy to have you here, excited about your book and all the things you have going on.

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Speaker 4: But I want to take it back.

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Speaker 1: Okay, back in the time.

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Speaker 2: Twenty fourteen was when if Loving Years Wrong came out. I was a costumer, you guys, I used to actually put on Edwena's shoes. In twenty fourteen and twenty fifteen came the costume designer, and that's when I learned that jewel Tones was your jam and still it was this day when you came in, I said, jewel Tones is still in you?

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Speaker 1: Like you remember absolutely.

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Speaker 2: I think as a costume designer, we learned so much about the person, really, even more than the character. We learned what you like, what you don't, like your body, and like what you feel comfortable in. And I always remember you loved Jewel Tones. So it's like something that just was semented into my head. Jill Tones Readwena. Yes, But I mean I know that's when I met you, but I know there was so much more before we got to that point, So tell us everything.

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Speaker 3: So I was born and raised in Washington, d C. I kind of grew up as an arts kid. So my first memory of performing was around five years old.

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Speaker 4: I was doing.

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Speaker 3: Musicals and plays, and I grew up in the church, so a lot of my arts background was in church.

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Speaker 4: Wire, Praise Deem, I'm a ministry all of that.

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Speaker 3: And then when I became you know, only kind of school age, my mom let me go to a high school for performing arts. Shout out Tokellington School of the Arts, Washington, DC. And then when I was sixteen years old, I was at that crossroads of Okay, what am I gonna do with my life?

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Speaker 4: Yeah?

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Speaker 3: Right, And there were some people in my family that said, well, you should be a doctor, you should be a lawyer, you know, get a safe job. But then there were others that said, hey, you've been doing the arts for years, maybe you should continue on that path.

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Speaker 4: And so I really had to pray.

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Speaker 3: And I just remember at sixteen years old hearing God speak and tell me I'm calling you into arts and entertainment.

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Speaker 4: And that was the turning point.

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Speaker 3: I ended up being accepted into NYU's Teach School of the Arts, which office is a very prestigious drama program, study drama there, and then it was okay, God, I'm about to come out of college, like now what.

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Speaker 1: What real world says?

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Speaker 3: And so I was able to fortunately get an agent. Right before graduating, I internarned at the public Theater. That was Shakespeare in the Park Joseph pat Public Theater in New York, and that was under folks that were doing those plays with Sona Lathan, Joe Morton, Jeffrey Wright. And so I was interning with them, right and helping them run lines and making sure that they had what they needed. And it was Shakespeare, so I would, I would, you know, help them with their lines, and then I would memorize all these grand soliloquies, you know, and kind of pretend when everyone went home, I would take the stage and like pretend I was.

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Speaker 4: Playing the role Wow. Yeah.

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Speaker 3: And then but shortly after coming out of college, I was doing a lot of theater and Shakespeare, and then I got cast on The Wire. So it was very funny because The Wire. Any of you who used to watch The Wire on HBO, you know it is a gritty show, right, And so my character Tasha, I was playing kind of a sidekick to Omar Bless Michael K.

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Speaker 4: Williams, Yes, And so.

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Speaker 3: We would like kill Barkstales by day ended at night I would run to the Shakespeare Theater performing well sh don these big beautiful velvet robes, you know, sing classical music.

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Speaker 4: And then in the morning it was like shoot him up Bank Bank.

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Speaker 3: And so that in some ways, it's kind of how my career has been, like moving in and out of very different types of characters and very different types of roles. But that's one of the things I really enjoyed about being an actress.

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Speaker 1: Yes, I can imagine.

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Speaker 4: Now.

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Speaker 2: What was it like working with Michael kay Williams. I got to meet him. I think it was like.

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Speaker 1: Tyler's forty fifth birthday.

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Speaker 2: He was at the house and this is before he passed, and he was the kindest soul. His energy was just like it was crazy. He was so nice, though. What was it like actually getting no work with him? What an honor?

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Speaker 4: You know.

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Speaker 3: It was one of my very first TV shows, and so you know, by that point they had been on for a season and.

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Speaker 4: It had already kind of developed a lot of buzz. Right, so here I am coming in as a young actress.

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Speaker 3: He was so welcoming, so loving, yes, so generous, you know, and he just became like a big brother to me. And there was a point where God put it in my spirit to start writing these inspirational columns. And he is one of the people that kept emailing me. He's like, keep these coming, keep these coming, keep these coming. Theies up blessing me, keep these coming. And it was, you know, scriptures and verses. And I didn't know, like all I knew was God told me to do this.

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Speaker 4: I didn't know how it was going to be received.

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Speaker 3: And I also didn't know until he passed, some of the things that he was going through at that time. I didn't know we were working together, but I didn't know a lot of the personal things that were happening, and so that meant a lot to have that encouragement from him. So now all these years later, it's almost like a part of my purpose too. Like I remember Michael in just such a beautiful way, and I think about how in our industry a lot of people are experiencing things.

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Speaker 4: That we may not know from the outside.

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Speaker 3: Absolutely right, and so it's important for us to lean into our calling and the things that God calls us to do because we have no idea how we're blessing each other.

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Speaker 2: Yes, that is so true, and I'm glad that you You didn't know the why, but you kept putting it and he was like, he's sitting these I need it. So you know, even if you're reaching one person, you're doing what God told you do.

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Speaker 1: The assignment was understood. That is so good. Do you still write those so?

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Speaker 3: Honestly, a lot of that has been poured into this book. The world is waiting for you.

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Speaker 5: So you were practicing then and didn't really even know it, right, it was just about obedience, and so I feel like along the way, God has just given me these things to do in obedience, not realizing that Oh, as you follow this path of obedience, here's where it's gonna lead.

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Speaker 3: So funny enough, when I was on set not too long ago with the Residents at Shondaland, I was there and this executive in production came up to me and she said, did you used to write a blog like fifteen years ago called it Weena's Words of Wisdom?

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Speaker 4: It was like, yes, how do you know that?

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Speaker 1: Yeah?

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Speaker 3: She said, my mother used to publish them every month in her Christian women's magazine.

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Speaker 1: Are you kidding me?

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Speaker 4: I am not kidding.

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Speaker 3: Wow, it's like even now things that were done ten years fifteen years out of obedience. Yes, and so this maybe about last month they asked if they could put.

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Speaker 4: Me on the cover of the magazine.

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Speaker 3: Yeah. It was like, wow, It's just so funny how everything comes full circle.

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Speaker 1: It really does? It? Really?

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Speaker 3: Does?

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Speaker 1: You talk about playing all these different characters.

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Speaker 2: Your range is so dynamic, Yes, from the Wire to the Power and then recently Shonda Rhyme's the Residence. I don't know if I DMG or text you, y'all. I'm always behind on the shows, right, so I wasn't too behind on this one. But my brother Marquis kept saying you got to watch the Residents. So it's like, oh, yes, I said, my girl ed when it's on there, I gotta watch it.

00:07:44
Speaker 1: Y'all.

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Speaker 2: When I say she stole the show had me hollering. I said, I did not know she was this funny girl. Well, I say stole the show. You were so funny. And then I saw the threads and people coming and I was like, they are loving her.

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Speaker 3: That was miss Sheila, y'all took the cake. That was such a fun character. I loved her down and I was so excited that people loved her too.

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Speaker 1: Yes, Oh my goodness, it was so good. Where did you go?

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Speaker 2: Like what places did you pull from for the comedy part? Yeah, I'm talking about And it was like you weren't even trying. You were just funny. I was like, this girl is a natural, you know what.

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Speaker 4: And thank you for that. You know.

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Speaker 3: It's kind of this combination, like a lot of times my work tends to be dramatic, right, it says, you know, that's the type of work I've done a lot, But then I have done some comedies like Get Hard with Kevin Hard and Will Ferrell Deep you know. But but sometimes when you're a dramatic actor. They don't always know, like you have a whole other side me being from Washington, DC and feeling very passionately about the African American culture of Washington, and in fact, I myself had been creating a show called Chocolate City that was rooted in the African American culture of DC, and specifically that White House culture, because we don't see that expressed on screen, especially when it comes to White House shows. So that's exactly where I was when I got the script from the Residents, and when I read this character, I said, oh, this is my opportunity to really create a multi dimensional character who is herself, who is fully herself, and who's.

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Speaker 4: Not who works in the White House.

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Speaker 3: But it is not from that area of sixteen hundred Pennsylvania Avenue, right, And because I was raised in Washington, I know Southeast, I know from whence others come. So I said, you know, what I want to do is honor the people that are not always honored on screen. And it became about creating that type of character, you know, but also not making her a stereotype, right, like giving her these levels and layers and colors.

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Speaker 4: The fact that she's just funny, you know what I mean?

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Speaker 3: And I feel like when it comes to black women, we get together. You know, there's just a certain humor and a vibe that we can share, and so I wanted I wanted that to be reflected on screen too. So I'm glad that that all came through. And just as an actor, I was also doing improv. You know a lot of elements in the show they allowed me to improv. And also you know I went to UCB and these different improv programs, so it kind of brought it all together.

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Speaker 1: I love it.

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Speaker 2: Now, tell me about how this audition came apart and what was that whole journey? Like, I know, sometimes it's you callbacks and other times it's like you're the one.

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Speaker 1: What was this process like?

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Speaker 3: So this is a very interesting process because, as you know, I'm big on manifestation and big on manifesting the God dream over your life and like I said, with obedience, like sometimes God will call you to do things or maybe drop something in your spirit.

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Speaker 4: You may not quite understand why, but you just go for it.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 3: So one April Fool's Day, I got this vision of because my social media manager was like, what.

00:11:01
Speaker 4: Should we do? For April Fool's Day, what should we post?

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Speaker 3: And somehow we got this idea of posting me on a Shonda lamp poster, and so she literally photo shopped.

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Speaker 4: Me and I thought it was ridiculous. I thought it was so.

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Speaker 3: Funny, you know, she photoshopped my face like on to this existing Shonda lamp poster. And then we announced this big new role that I was doing, and so, you know, I thought, oh, this is hilarious.

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Speaker 4: Like you could still see the.

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Speaker 3: Getty Images like label on the picture, but the way people were like, oh, look at God, this is amazing, this is wonderful. Gods open all these doors for you, you know. And I was afraid to be like, y'all, it's a.

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Speaker 4: But as I.

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Speaker 3: Started seeing their comments, it started elevating my face. It was like, could God do something like this? And it helped me to start taking the limits off of my own imagination of what God can do.

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Speaker 4: Well, let me tell you by that exact day.

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Speaker 3: The following year, I was on set at Shondaland filming this new show, The Residents, and of course that poster ended up coming out which had my actual face on it, you know. And so there's this chapter in my book called this Time next Year, Yes, And it's really all about like declaring and speaking into existence, prophesying your next year. What can God do by this time next year? And so for me, you know, when I got that script for the Residents, it just hit me like, okay, Like I had received maybe three scripts that same week, and so I was just kind of going through all of them. But that highlighted for me, Okay, lean into that. And that's exactly what happened with me. If Loving You is wrong, I'd received all these prophecies about Oprah, about Tyler, and about Georgia and about Tyler Perry Studio. So that's four I've received prophetic worries about all four. So when if Lovin You was wrong offer came on Oprah's network with Tyler filming in Georgia at Tyler Perry Studios, I knew, Okay, this is a part of the God dream that has that was over my life.

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Speaker 4: This is a role that I'm supposed to accept.

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Speaker 1: Yes to talk about when you actually went to.

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Speaker 2: Was the open studio and then he went to Tyler Perry and put your feet on the ground.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 3: So in the book, I give this story about how I'd received.

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Speaker 4: You know, I received prophecies first of all Oprah.

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Speaker 3: Then I received prophecies about Tyler and Tyler Perry Studios. So I felt like I need to make a bold manifestation move in the direction of what God is speaking. So in twenty eleven, which is the very year that OWN opened, I went inside of the lobby and I literally just wanted to put my foot on it.

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Speaker 4: And I asked one of the.

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Speaker 3: People that worked there, do you mind taking a picture of me in front of this sign? And it said own Oprah Winfrey Network. Like, I said, will you take a picture of me in front of this sign?

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Speaker 4: She did.

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Speaker 3: I posted it to Facebook that day along with the scripture Joshua one, three wheresoever the soul of your footshel tread, God will give unto you.

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Speaker 4: Well.

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Speaker 3: Later that same year, I was in Atlanta on the way to the airport.

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Speaker 4: I was with Kelvin and I.

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Speaker 3: Said, wait, wait, wait, take me to Tyler Perry Studios. He was like, well, we're going to miss our flight. I said, no, I need you to take me to Tyler Perry Studios. So we drive there. You know, we're at the guard's desk. I was like, do you guys offer tours or can I like sched on tour for like right now?

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Speaker 4: He was like, ma'am, no, this is not open to the public.

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Speaker 3: Here's a postcard which I recently found out postally almost years ago.

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Speaker 4: He was like, here's a postcard. Go on, now you know about your travels.

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Speaker 3: So I was cresfalling got back in the car, but as Kevin was pulling away, I said no, no, no, Sap stop stop. I got out the car, ran to the to the fence, slipped my foot under, set a prayer and declared that same scripture, Joshua one three, where'soever the soul of your foricial track?

00:15:05
Speaker 4: I will give unto you? And I raced back in the car.

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Speaker 3: We drove to the airport and literally my next time there here I was being welcomed by Tyler in that exact same place.

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Speaker 4: That's one of the stars off loving you is wrong.

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Speaker 3: And my next time at the Oprah Winfrey Network, I was sitting on the stage in front of all these press outlets. Yes doing you know, doing this interview? And that was nine to nine. It was nine nine twenty eleven when I first went to Oprah's and it was nine nine, twenty fourteen, when If Loving You Is Wrong premiere the exact same day, and then this year on nine to nine is the exact day that my book was released. And who interviewed me but the Oprah Winfrey. So that's amazing, you know. I always tell people God does have a plan for all of our lives, that it's very specific and even dated, and I, you know, I try to let people know that there's a sense of urgency around the timing of your obi and the timing of when you step out to do the thing that He's called you to do, because the world is waiting for you. We make it about ourselves for such a time as there we're born, for such a time a little rol time, yes, as this, you know, And so dates like that nine to nine, you know, And there's many other stories that give in the book two examples of that. But I think that God does things like that for a reason, to remind us that.

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Speaker 4: He is on a schedule, right He's on a schedule, and.

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Speaker 1: He's waiting on us to get on it.

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Speaker 4: Thank you. The world is waiting for us.

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Speaker 3: And I think that if we really lean into that, that we will allow ourselves to show up in the world in an even bigger way.

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Speaker 1: I love that.

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Speaker 2: Now our industry is over glamorized sometimes you know it's a very glamorized industry. But you talked about sometimes we can limit our imagination. But in those moments, that's when you activated your faith or took the limits off. What were some times throughout your career where your imagination really wasn't kicking in and you were feeling like, come on, Lord, I need you to make something move, make something shake, Because I know those moments happened. But we see the wire, we see the loving you is wrong, we see the residents and the power, But what are those in between moments.

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Speaker 1: Like how do you navigate those?

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Speaker 3: Well, actually one of those was connected to when when if loving you was wrong ended?

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Speaker 4: Right?

00:17:24
Speaker 3: And so when if loving you was wrong ended, I knew it was ending. So of course now it's I need another job, right, I need my next show? What's my next show going to be? And so I just started praying about it, like just putting it out there. Okay, God, you got me right, Like, what's what's the new show going to be? And so from January when we had pilot season, it just became all about get the new show, Get the new show.

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Speaker 4: Now.

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Speaker 3: The caveat is that I was also pregnant during that time, so I felt a time table ticking as well, because May was when the baby was due, so I was pregnant. My and my husband were going to name the baby Brooklyn because we met.

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Speaker 4: In Brooklyn, we got married in Brooklyn.

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Speaker 3: So we're like, yeah, let's nay the baby Brooklyn. Well, maybe I don't know. A couple of weeks later, my husband was praying and he said, he said, God is saying, name the baby London. And I said, why would we name our baby London? Everything, like, our whole love story is Brooklyn. And he said, God said, Brooklyn is our past, London is our future. She's going to bring great joy to our family. Name her London Joy.

00:18:27
Speaker 1: What wow?

00:18:28
Speaker 3: So by faith we name the baby London Joy. Now for me, internally with the job thing, I'm still like, okay, it's January February, by ch April Bay. You know, I wanted to show in LA because I'm about to have a baby. I wanted it all right there, and it didn't happen, and I was like God, and so I started wondering should I like, should I continue pursuing acting?

00:18:53
Speaker 4: Is it over? Are you telling me that I should do something else now?

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Speaker 3: And literally, by August I received.

00:19:01
Speaker 4: A call about a show.

00:19:06
Speaker 3: Called The Power that literally was filming in London, and they moved my entire family to London to begin filming an entire new show.

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Speaker 2: Your husband's a man of God too, because he's the lyric spoke to him and told him and told him.

00:19:30
Speaker 3: And these little girls grew up with British accents, and their names were all over London, London, and Victoria London and Victoria everywhere. The street that we walked down to take them to Nursey was Kelvindon Road, my husband's name is. And then we go to another part of London and it said Weena circle, at Weena Square, and Weena close, said Weena everywhere. So God was letting us know, Oh, I had this set up for you the whole time. It wasn't according to my timetable. And I thought that because my timetable wasn't working out, that that meant, oh, I need a shift course.

00:20:12
Speaker 4: But no, delayed is not denied.

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Speaker 3: And so I talk a lot about that in the book too, about that waiting season and how we just have to continue to keep our faith and move in obedience, in obedience. We named her that Wow, and then God brought the manifestation up.

00:20:28
Speaker 1: It really did.

00:20:30
Speaker 2: I feel like your whole life is just a trail of obedience, you know, And if people could really just learn to hear the voice of God and trust it and obey it. And when you get those prompts to why do I keep feeling like I should do this?

00:20:42
Speaker 1: Because that's God telling you to do it?

00:20:44
Speaker 2: Do it, you know, and move swiftly because we are on his timetable and a lot of times things aren't moving when we wanted to because we're not in the will.

00:20:53
Speaker 1: That is so oh my god, so profound.

00:20:56
Speaker 2: Wow. I am just like speechless right now. That is beautiful, Thank my goodness. So you are a wife, you're a mother of two beautiful daughters. You are a powerhouse. How do you even manage it all? You know now that you your career, you got a book. Now you're traveling the world, the world, y'all. She didn't just do a state side tour. Okay, you went to Dubai. You were just in Africa. You were in Cape Town and then Where else did you go to London?

00:21:27
Speaker 4: Yeah? I was justin you had to go to London, New York. I haven't been in London yet.

00:21:30
Speaker 1: That's coming, Okay, okay, you gotta go to London.

00:21:33
Speaker 3: Ye.

00:21:33
Speaker 1: Yes, in New York and you're bunting everywhere?

00:21:35
Speaker 2: How are you balancing at marriage and the children and everything?

00:21:40
Speaker 4: You know?

00:21:41
Speaker 3: One of the things that I realized as far as calling, yes and even vision right. And so in the book and the World is Waiting for You, I talk a lot about vision and a lot about calling and how you know, our our purpose stays the same, but the method shifts, right and the things that we're called to shift as well. And so there's seasons maybe when you know, and you know as a performer, where the performing part is like the main, main part.

00:22:12
Speaker 4: And then there's.

00:22:12
Speaker 3: Seasons where God is calling us to expand our territory and that includes family and to be honest. At first, like I received prophetic words that I was going to have a baby, you know, and that I was going to be married, like all these things, I was very focused on career. But as the Lord began to open up these other parts of my life, just like we say about vision, if he.

00:22:34
Speaker 4: Gives you the vision, he'll give you the provision.

00:22:36
Speaker 3: So it's really been about, Okay, having these specific things in place to accommodate that enlarge territory, right, So like being able to structure my time in such a way that I'm giving my husband the time that he needs, that I'm giving my children the time that they need, while also being called to write a book and also being called to travel the world in these different things. And so there's some practical aspect of the book If Love You is Wrong as well, I mean gets wrong, there's some practical aspects of the book The World Is Waiting for You as well, where I like, take people through a time map and help them to identify what are the top.

00:23:14
Speaker 4: Either goals or roles that you have in life, and.

00:23:17
Speaker 3: How can you begin to structure your time every day to match the things that you've been called to in the different areas of your life and your abundant life.

00:23:26
Speaker 2: Yeah, that is so good because a lot of times, especially people who have dreams like we did, a lot of times, the resources that they really have in reality don't match the dream, you know, so they need those practical tips to help them get there or even like to be prepared, cause you talk about make sure that you are ready for what you're praying for, because a lot of times like, God, I'm ready for this, and he's like, no, you are not, And you wonder.

00:23:47
Speaker 1: Why he's like delaying it. What you think is a delay.

00:23:50
Speaker 2: Because you're not ready, right, So he has to get that toolbox fool, so that when it's time for any to be like all right, gone, then you have everything you need.

00:23:57
Speaker 4: It's so true.

00:23:58
Speaker 3: And I think also we as women also, like you know, we want to have it all, right, you want to have it all. We want to be successful in our careers. We want husband, we want children, we want all these things. But what I've noticed is that there are adjustments that we have to be prepared to make in our lives in order to accommodate these new things. Okay, if you want to be if you want to be a wife, right like, okay, then you have to start preparing in that way. And there's and a lot of that is service. A lot of that is rooted in service. And so I think that, like you said, as far as the industry and how glamorized it is, if you adopt an idea that everything's supposed to be about you.

00:24:39
Speaker 4: Then you may not be prepared to be a wife or a.

00:24:41
Speaker 1: Mother because hello, because I've heard you become last.

00:24:45
Speaker 4: When even Jesus.

00:24:48
Speaker 3: Said, the greatest is the least. Yes, right, the greatest is the least, and that and that really is true when it comes to being a wife and a mother. So so you're negotiating these different roles like in the public, you baby an author, you maybe a podcast, your baby an actor, all these things. But then, and honestly, I learned a lot of that from Viola. From Viola Davis, I learned.

00:25:09
Speaker 4: A lot living with her.

00:25:11
Speaker 1: Yeah, let's talk about that your life. I'm just like this moment, like God has really had his head, like he's over, like boo boo boom.

00:25:21
Speaker 2: You live with Viola Davis, and she's like still someone very near and dear to your heart and prominent in your life. Let's talk about that, because that is I'm just like and Wita, life is crazy.

00:25:33
Speaker 3: Well when I told you that, you know, God told me to start writing this inspirational column at uenas words of Wisdom. She also along with Michael Kay would receive them and say, keep going, keep going, keep writing this.

00:25:45
Speaker 4: This is so inspiring to me.

00:25:48
Speaker 3: And so not long after I came out of college, she and her husband ended up commissioning me to help write this one person show for them, and so that's really how our relationships started. And then when I was casting a show in LA they said.

00:26:04
Speaker 4: Oh, well you can live with us.

00:26:05
Speaker 1: Wow.

00:26:06
Speaker 3: And so my introduction to Hollywood was really with them and through them and living.

00:26:13
Speaker 4: With an introduction, yeah, you know.

00:26:15
Speaker 3: And she would take me with her everywhere the late night talk shows, to interviews, you know, and to magazine shoots on set, and I just got a chance to soak it all up, to learn to experience. And so that level of mentorship and love in those very intimate ways were so key. And through her, I saw how public life and private life like, I saw the difference. I saw, you know, being a star but also being a servant, yes, right, and she modeled that in such a beautiful way. And so these are some of the lessons that have also poured into the book and that I've also just cherished in my own life that I received from Viola.

00:26:54
Speaker 1: Yeah, man, that is amazing. Shout out miss Viola Davis.

00:27:00
Speaker 2: She is an icon, a great in our industry and even in our culture, something we look up to. So that's amazing that you had that firsthand mentorship from her.

00:27:09
Speaker 1: What does mentorship mean to you? And how are you giving back?

00:27:11
Speaker 2: So, I know, you and your husband you founded co founded Abundant Life.

00:27:15
Speaker 1: You or you're paying it for it, So let's talk about that.

00:27:19
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I've been doing Abundant Life University for over fifteen years, you know, before.

00:27:24
Speaker 4: Ever getting into the industry.

00:27:27
Speaker 3: You know, like it was always important to me to be pouring into other people's lives.

00:27:32
Speaker 4: And that's another thing. No matter where.

00:27:34
Speaker 3: You start, you don't have to have, you know, some big podcasts or some big TV show or anything like that to affect the people around you.

00:27:43
Speaker 4: The world is waiting for you.

00:27:44
Speaker 3: That's your neighbors, that's your your schoolmates, you know, that's the people at church. That can be anyone in your neighborhood community. You know, you don't have to have some big platform in order to do that. And so when I started, I started very small. I was feeding almost you know, doing all these things. And meanwhile, during that time, my income was right near the poverty line, Like I did not have much, but I did have a calling yes, and so I knew that whatever it is I have, that's what I'm being called to give. And so as the platform has grown, you know, that just means that more and more people can come in, right, And so with Abundant Life you and now this program, the God Dreamers Academy, we are just inviting so many people from around the world to participate, to go through the book and then also to join us in manifesting that God dream that's over their lives. My husband, Kelvin and I just really believe that God has a purpose and a dream over everyone and if people need that help, that that guidance to help pull it out of them and bring it to past, you know, that's that's what we do. So yeah, so anyone you can go to the world is Waiting dot org and find out more about the God Dreamers Academy.

00:29:00
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's amazing.

00:29:01
Speaker 2: Yes, please tapping you guys, you have said that your faith has been the anchor in this industry for you. Can you share a moment where leaning on God really changed your trajectory in your career?

00:29:12
Speaker 3: Yeah? You know, early on I received this offer for this huge contract and it was so much money, and I told you. I was like, I was living in low income house and I did not have a lot of money, and suddenly this contract came with all this money attached to it, and it was in Hollywood, and it was just you know, I was like, Wow, this is my big break, Like, oh my god, this is that.

00:29:35
Speaker 4: But it came with a nudity clause.

00:29:38
Speaker 2: Don't they always all the big ones come with It's a heavy I was like, why, oh why, what do I do right?

00:29:47
Speaker 3: And that was a place of conviction for me, and I felt like I want I want what they're offering.

00:29:55
Speaker 4: I want the opportunity.

00:29:57
Speaker 1: I love the role.

00:29:59
Speaker 3: But if that means that I have to perform nude in order to get it, then that might mean I have to wait a little bit longer.

00:30:06
Speaker 4: And so I didn't sign it.

00:30:09
Speaker 3: And I and I went back to hearing the sirens outside my window and the rats running across the street and people, you know, stopping drug fights and all these things.

00:30:20
Speaker 4: But I just believed.

00:30:21
Speaker 3: I was like, God, I honored you, and I just believe that you're going to open the door for me. And three years later, I was invited to Hollywood again. This time it was not with this huge contract it was not first class everything.

00:30:35
Speaker 4: It was literally two minister.

00:30:37
Speaker 3: It was to speak to other artists of faith, and I was phone out there to do that. And the next day a friend invited me to a place called Running Canyon.

00:30:49
Speaker 4: Yeah.

00:30:49
Speaker 3: You know, it's like kind of this big mountain, you know, like this hill right in the middle of Hollywood.

00:30:53
Speaker 4: So we're hiking, hiking, hiking.

00:30:54
Speaker 3: We get to the top and you know, up there, you feel like you're just like you can see everything. I literally felt like I was overlooking the Promised Land. Wow, it just just swept over me. And there was this sign in the distance that called my attention, and I couldn't make out all the words.

00:31:11
Speaker 4: I was trying to piece it together.

00:31:12
Speaker 3: Yeah, and finally my friend was like, come on, let's go.

00:31:15
Speaker 4: Let's go.

00:31:17
Speaker 3: And so two days later, my last night in La, I'm walking with another friend and my camera suddenly takes a picture by itself and flashes.

00:31:28
Speaker 4: So I'm looking at her the same way you're looking at me.

00:31:31
Speaker 3: We're looking at each other and then looking at the camera like, how did that happen? So I picked up the camera to turn it over to see what it took a picture of.

00:31:41
Speaker 4: It was sign that I saw.

00:31:44
Speaker 3: I got the seals of Running Canyon, Wow, two days prior, now up close and perfectly framed inside of my camera, and it said, from Harlem to Hollywood, You're a star.

00:32:01
Speaker 4: Congratulations.

00:32:03
Speaker 1: What literally the breakdowns?

00:32:11
Speaker 4: I collapsed.

00:32:13
Speaker 3: And then when I got back to New York the next day, you know, I'm sitting with all of this, And then I remembered that my uncle, uncle Howard, he was a pastor in Maryland who passed just a few days before my trip. I remembered that before he passed, he a prophesied to me, but I couldn't remember what he said.

00:32:29
Speaker 1: Wow.

00:32:29
Speaker 3: So I started looking everywhere. I remember that I recorded it. I video recorded it, so I was looking for the video. I finally found it. I pushed play, and here is my now deceased uncle looking into the camera, prophesying to me that God is about to take me to Hollywood and the instructions that the law wants me to know, scriptures, instructions, everything. Soon there after, I was casting a show in Hollywood, living with Viola on red carpets.

00:32:57
Speaker 4: My entire life changed.

00:32:59
Speaker 3: And while we were on the red carpet Forget Hard with Kevin Hard, Will Ferrell.

00:33:03
Speaker 4: We're on Hollywood Boulevard in front of the Chinese Theater.

00:33:07
Speaker 3: I'm doing all this press, you know, and then look up and I see that I'm standing in the exact same spot where I was when that camera took the picture by yourself.

00:33:20
Speaker 2: Oh Lord, this God is just winking out over your life, just winking.

00:33:24
Speaker 1: He's like.

00:33:26
Speaker 3: I looked up while I was on the red carpet and literally almost collapse right there. And so the first chapter of the book is from Harlem to Hollywood, and it's all about that prophetic journey and the fact that God already his vision for us is already ahead of where we are. Just take the steps in obedience because he already hasn't planned out.

00:33:46
Speaker 4: But that's just an example. You know.

00:33:48
Speaker 3: Sometimes we're being called to say no to things yes, and we don't know how it's going to turn out. We think, oh, we have to say yes. I have to say yes, because if I say no, then what's going to happen to me? But when we honor God, yeah, he also honors us.

00:34:02
Speaker 2: He does, and it's always way more worth it than if you said to say yes to that thing.

00:34:07
Speaker 1: You know, you're suppoed to say no to I'm.

00:34:09
Speaker 2: A living testimony and yeah, you know, and it's always that when and then you look back, like I knew I shouldn't have done that, you know, and there was always that still small voice that was trying to guide you in the right direction.

00:34:24
Speaker 1: So you have to listen to that. This is God has his hand on your life.

00:34:32
Speaker 4: Do you hear me, not.

00:34:34
Speaker 1: Good Edwin, I'm glad we're sitting down because.

00:34:35
Speaker 4: I did not. Yeah, like we hear time were able.

00:34:40
Speaker 1: To do me too. This is so good.

00:34:44
Speaker 2: Lord have mercy, Okay, because even like when it comes to nudity app I'm the same way, like that's something I won't do because I haven't had children yet.

00:34:52
Speaker 1: But I'm like, if I do, that's just.

00:34:54
Speaker 2: Something I don't ever want to have to explain or just have it out there because now they can do anything with your body. And it's just like there are certain things I just want to keep sacred, you know, There's certain things I'm not gonna show. I was like, if there's a way we can do it where I will not show these things, then we can work around it.

00:35:09
Speaker 1: But I'm not. These are my hard lines.

00:35:12
Speaker 3: In the sand that I'm not going to cross, and I think that's so important to share too. Sometimes we can be afraid to have clear lines yes right. And so as a young actor, I mean literally, my agents were like, well, if you're not willing to appear nude, then you'll never work in this town. Like I received that kind of messaging and felt, you know, it was like God's voice and their voice was just always in conflict. So I just want to encourage anybody that's watching. If there are certain things that you know that you don't feel comfortable with, whether it's in your industry or whether it's in your life, lean into that spirit that that's telling you, that's gently guiding you no, no, it's okay to say no, while also believing that there's a yes that's going to come straight from God and that's already prepared for you. That's gonna be even and better than the no.

00:36:01
Speaker 1: Yes. Oh that's so good. I just got a script.

00:36:04
Speaker 2: I'm doing a movie in Houston in like two weeks, thank you. And I remember he was tak telling me about and I was like, oh, yeah, this sounds great, got the script great?

00:36:14
Speaker 1: And then oh, I just got this idea.

00:36:17
Speaker 2: Have you can I remember the name of the movie and I was I was like, okay, so I want to see you that. He was like the two couples, He's like, they were sitting in chairs, they were in the nude and this idea just came to him.

00:36:26
Speaker 1: And that's how I was looking.

00:36:27
Speaker 2: As I'm on the phone like say why not And I was like m I was like, I don't. I don't do that.

00:36:34
Speaker 1: I don't do nudity, and he was like, no, it's gonna be.

00:36:37
Speaker 2: Then it went to even further, well you know, it won't even be your breast, like we can like yeah, that's exactly how they'll like, it'd be a I like, it won't even be it won't even be you. And I was like, no, we're not doing that. And the script, the final script came out. The contract comes and I see nudity in the contract and I'm like, my writer says no nudity, like I only have certain things that I'll show that I'm okay with. And so he's like, yeah, I want to call you and go over the script and I said yeah. So it was so funny he cause and we're going over the script. He said yeah, he was wren thing and I was like yeah, seene six. Let's go on and get to that. Let him go over heres, and it says in the nude. And I was like, so this is what I will do and what I want to do. And he was like, I can work with that, but if you have to stay in your ground, you know, because if not, you'll be doing things that you'll look back and regret. Yeah, and I don't want to look back and regret.

00:37:35
Speaker 3: Can I just insert this story because this is really important. I had a very dear friend in the industry who got a huge break, like when we came out of college. I mean, he got a huge break and said yes to it. But there were a lot of things. There were a lot of things in it that really compromised his values and morals.

00:37:55
Speaker 4: But he said yes to it and became a big star.

00:37:59
Speaker 3: Big star was on the cover of buzzes and on the cover of magazines, and on the cover of billboards.

00:38:04
Speaker 4: And you know, all these things.

00:38:06
Speaker 3: Became a big star, earned lots of money. But then he became an alcoholic because it was very difficult for him on the inside to grapple with what he was doing every day. It was like the stardom and the fanfare and the money was not enough to fill him up compared to how he was giving his soul every day. And unfortunately he's no longer with us. And so I just want to say that as a cautionary tale. We can think that the money, that the fame, that the followers you know, are all just like, oh, that's what life is about. And then you get there and it's not enough. But if you know that you are rooted and grounded and you are in the place where God has called you to be, there's a sense of peace that there the prosperity is coming. But you don't have to compromise your peace for prosperity. You can have both.

00:39:08
Speaker 1: You can really have both.

00:39:10
Speaker 2: Eduena, I don't know what's left to say.

00:39:14
Speaker 1: That was good. I've been blessed.

00:39:17
Speaker 2: It's funny you said that because I just had tied Trivin on and he was talking about when he got his first two Grammys and he said he got back to the room, he said, look about the box, and it was just like it was a reminder of everything he sacrificed, his family, children, time, and it was like was it worth it?

00:39:34
Speaker 1: And it didn't feel him the way he thought it would.

00:39:37
Speaker 2: And that changed his mindset and perspective on how he looked at it. And I said, yeah, and I said, you wanted the next time because you weren't coveting it.

00:39:46
Speaker 1: He got it again.

00:39:46
Speaker 3: He wasn't even because he wasn't what he wasn't hitting. He wasn't coveting. Did you see that biblical language? He wasn't coveting it, and therefore the Lord gave him even even more.

00:39:59
Speaker 2: Yeah, but it's a real thing, like we think, like the followers, like you said, the money, all these things are gonna make us happy. And yes, you have upsense of peace when you don't have to worry about how you're gonna get your next meal. You know, it does bring that, but it does not feel your soul, especially when you're selling it. Honey, you just you ap preach for me. Y'all, going and get the book. The world is waiting because it is waiting for you. All right, this is so good? Is there anything else you want to share with us?

00:40:27
Speaker 1: Is?

00:40:27
Speaker 4: I would?

00:40:28
Speaker 2: We would love to follow you or we can find where we can we buy the book, all the things we want to support you.

00:40:33
Speaker 4: Thank you, thank you. So I know, right, so far and so like.

00:40:39
Speaker 3: Oh but I knew we were going to be this full, And I do want to say to you, Crystal, because I feel like you embody a lot of the things that I'm talking about and that we're talking about in this conversation.

00:40:51
Speaker 4: You from the moment I met you, I feel like you've had such a servants heart.

00:40:56
Speaker 3: You've had such a servant's heart, You've had such a humble heart, and it's been beautiful to see how God has exalted you. Thank you, you know, and the fact that you know it's not lost on me that you started this interview saying I used to I used to put on her shoes on if loving you is wrong, right, And now you're an actress yourself, and now you have this great platform and great career.

00:41:19
Speaker 4: You know.

00:41:19
Speaker 3: But but that just goes to show those when we humble ourselves, we will be exalted. A lot of times we think we have to exalt ourselves, we have to exalt ourselves. We got to tell everybody about ourselves. We got to make sure we put ourselves out there.

00:41:33
Speaker 4: You know. But like you started your career serving.

00:41:36
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I loved it and loved.

00:41:39
Speaker 4: It because you have a gift of service.

00:41:41
Speaker 3: And now even through the podcast and all the other wonderful things that are happening. You're still serving it's but it's now a greater level. So I just want to express how proud I am of you who you are, who you've become, but you are the same person.

00:41:55
Speaker 1: Thank you so much.

00:41:56
Speaker 2: Yes, I mean that, and you are to thank you you as well, and you are still in Waena like, yes, thank you so much.

00:42:04
Speaker 4: Yeah.

00:42:04
Speaker 3: For those of you who want to join the community, the world is waiting for you. You can get the book everywhere books are sold. You can also come on over to the website The World is Waiting dot org. We have the Dreamers Academy. You can also connect directly in with me. You can also follow me on Instagram, on Twitter or x on Instagram, on x TikTok at Edwena Findley and on Facebook Atwena Finley Dickerson.

00:42:33
Speaker 4: Come on the journey.

00:42:34
Speaker 3: The world is waiting for you, and I cannot wait to see what God is going to do in your life by this time next year.

00:42:41
Speaker 1: Thank you so much, Adwena.

00:42:43
Speaker 2: I am proud of you and I'm just this is amazing. This conversation has blessed me. I am fool Yeah, thank you. I see everybody shaking their head behind the scenes is yeah.

00:42:55
Speaker 1: Everybody's like, yes, this has been good. Thank you so much.

00:42:58
Speaker 4: Welcome, Yes the counsitive sweetie.

00:43:01
Speaker 1: Yes, the world is waiting for you. Get it now because I'll say it so you're like, this is all we gotta do. That video was like this is my friend and Weena, she wrote a new book. You better go get it. And then they be like, no time about your book, Sonase, thank.

00:43:21
Speaker 2: You so much for joining me for another conversation. Remember you don't have to have a big platform to affect the people around you. The world is waiting for you until next time. He did positive sweeties,