I suppose my real question is what are you going to do "When God Whispers Your Name?" This is the question I kept asking myself for years, except I didn't know what the question was but I always had an answer. The Lord gave me the vision of this Foundation, Keep Kids In School 12 years ago in 1997 we became a non profit organization. He told me then that I needed to do something to encourage kids to stay in School. To make school fun and exciting for those children that would be left behind and that would fall through the cracks of the system. In 2005 we added Shoes4School.org a non profit dedicated to providing shoes to our KIN (Kids In Need). We quickly discovered that 1 in 4 children in Harris County live under the poverty level. The Holy Spirit told me specifically to do Shoes4School and how to do it. O.K., O.K. I acquiesced half-heartedly. I started, built a few web pages, stopped. Started, passed out a couple of shoes I stopped. Got distracted.
What did I do then ? Well, I did everything else. I started my Real Estate firm, was an Associate Remax Broker, over in my own building in the Montrose area, hired 20 Realtors (well set up a training camp for competitors that is). My husband and I opened a Retail Store "African Arts and Gifts" (right across the street from Lakewood Church, right between Tokyhana and Party City) Boy, what a lot of traffic that would bring right? Wrong! It didn't matter to us that the rent alone was $7,000 a month or that my husband had to live at the store and had little time for our 5 small children. We still helped out schools with charity Golf tournaments and school supplies but still did not do what God told me.
I Did a little volunteer work here and there with my Seniors group- took them all to lunch at a nice restaurant occassionally getting them a little food here and there, bought them all Valentines and Mother's Day presents (that kind of soothed my conscious a little) but I still didn't do what God had asked me to do. Went on to open my own Insurance Firm "Texas American Financial Services". It did great. Really great. Learned a whole lot about investing and the world of Finances.
Went on to build two incredibly large Network Marketing groups "Fruta Vida - brought it to Houston so I was in the top 5 income earners since it's inception in 2005 and couldn't shake the title of "The Leader" and then Bitron Global (The Free Gas Company out of Canada) "Those free trips to Canada to see real snow sure was a treat for a Native Houstonian Gal. I remember being at a conference there so enamored by the big white snow flakes that seemed to fall to the ground in slow motion but then remembering I was Still - not doing what God had told me to do.
Then, after being tired of all of that - in 2007, I asked my talented artistic husband to show me how to make jewelry. I remember the day he made me the most beautiful 24" swarovsky crystals - boy that was it! And with his help I launched my own Jewelry line "Lani Phillips Collections. Well, I thought that was it. I was at a cross roads cuz I wasn't sure which business model I was going to utilize. Was I going to take it MLM, home party plan method or straight direct sales? The thought process became overwhelming and taxing to say the least.
Then, one day it all happened. I went over to the Stafford Elementary School to see the Principle on some business. While I was in the office waiting room there was this little boy. I mean he was as cute as they come. While he was waiting although he looked cheerul, I noticed that he made a concerted effort to tuck his feet under the chair as though he was trying to hide them. Finally, it was his turn to go in and visit the nurse and that is the day my life turned around. I have 5 small children and I have never in my entire life seen a pair of shoes that worn. That little boy's feet actually protruded at least a 1/2 inch out of that child's shoes. I was disturbed to say the least and quickly felt guilty for not having already totally launched Shoes4School - Well, to say the least,that was the turning point that turned my ears to the Open Sign to Listen to God. I didn't know exactly where to start since I had been peddling with it for so many years and had bits and pieces of the business plan on at least 3 different computers. I just didn't know.
I got home that evening and sort of calmed down because I redirected my focus to my little kids. They are happy and started telling me all of their adventures from school that day. But soon my attention drifted back to that little boy I had seen earlier. Then, right then and there, (this is an absolutely true story, Something serendipitously happened - a Bishop I had known (not for a very long time) called me up on the telephone and said "Leola - I have a truckload full of shoes - I don't know what to do with them. Do you know anyone I can donate them too?..." The words came to me as though God was in front of me in Person saying "NOW LOOK - I HAVE TOLD YOU IN EVERY WAY YOU SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT I HAVE FOR YOU TO DO WHAT IT IS THAT I NEED FOR YOU TO DO!" Bamn! It hit me like a thunderbolt "When God Whispers Your Name You Had Better Listen and Do What He Tells You."
I knew then that I could run but I could not hide. I knew that it was time for me to put down my entrepreneurial hats and put on my Social Entrepreneurial Hat. Now, I am still an Entrepreneur just one that make sure whatever I do is to advance God's Kingdom and further man-kind. As Einstein so eloquently quoted "All I want to know are the thoughts of Jesus. Everything else is just details".
We took those shoe donations and we have since given out thousands of pairs of shoes to women and Children in Need. The irony of it all is that things that use to take me months or years to do, I have been able to do with relative ease with "God Speed" because I have now finally realized that "When God wispers your name - That is Your Claim to Fame!"
So my question to you all on this network is "When God Whispers Your Name are you going to answer or are you going to keep on doing it your way - The Hard Way? What are you going to do to give back po the communities you serve? If you need ideas on where to volunteer, Shoes4School has plenty of ways you can help your community and brand your business in the process.