Writer Loureva Slade Inspiring Others to Fulfill their Life’s Mission

As a pastor’s daughter, there’s a lot of high expectations, while at the same time, a lot of temptations that often cause that very same pastor’s daughter to veer off course. Writer and motivational speaker Loureva Slade was no exception but decided to make it her life’s work to not only right herself, but enlighten others to keep them on their chosen path.

“I was born and raised in the church and my father was pastor of the church. There are a lot of stereotypes about that and I went astray but came back to my ways. When I came back, I had to share my testimony and discourage others from making the same mistakes,” Loureva explained.

It was a natural fit for Loureva to write since she always felt as if writing was a gift that God had blessed her with and a means to use her voice. In keeping with that philosophy, most of what she writes is geared toward young Christian women.

She began a blog in 2010 that was aimed at her young daughters but soon expanded in scope.

“In 2010, I didn’t think it would encourage others outside of my children. I had so many stories to share with them, but it is bigger than my kids. The point is to inspire and encourage.”

Continuing in the vein of encouraging young women, Loureva, along with three of her friends, developed the C.A.L.I., or Christian and Loving It, newsletter where they looked back at their past and wished they had somebody “beyond mom and pops said that if we do this or that, we will get burned.”

“I felt a responsibility to teach young girls whether it’s fashion, finances or whatever issues might relate to young women.”

Since then, the newsletter has grown beyond her expectations and reaches a much broader audience.

“When we first started, it was for girls and young women 13-25 and now it’s women and men of all ages. I’m always hearing back about how encouraging it is and how people are getting things that are helpful.”

Loureva had this advice to young women who are navigating through an increasingly complex world with conflicting messages and images.

“God is awesome and you are made the way you are for a reason. God has a purpose for you and you are beautiful the way you are. So many women are altering themselves to look like somebody else and like a friend of mine said, ‘You being yourself is better than you being the best impersonator of Kim K.’”

Branching out in her writing, Loureva is a contributor to “The Dating Game,” a collection of short stories where writers share their experiences in the hopes of helping others toward their forever love. Lou’s piece entitled “Holiday Party” describes the pitfalls of withholding information from a loved one.

“Basically, the idea is when you first start dating, you don’t share everything about your past. You don’t waste all of the details on somebody who may not be around. This story is about a guy who withheld something from a girl he was dating and they got ended up getting married. This could be to readers about how they didn’t tell somebody something and how it could negatively affect that relationship.”

Loureva is also a contributor of “Love.Hope.Faith.,” an anthology of fiction and non-fiction short stories which is authored by best-selling Christian author Vanessa Miller who holds a special place for Loureva.

“She was the first person who showed me that writing inspirational Christian literature was possible.”

Loureva’s piece in this anthology is titled “The Visionary,” where she explores when God gives a person a vision, not everyone will see it but He will show up in ways beyond a person’s wildest dreams.

Loureva has a full plate where she is looking forward to releasing her first full-collection of stories that focus on different aspects of love and everything that love represents. Brown Girls Publishing, which published “The Dating Game,” will have a launch party on Saturday, September 26 in Raleigh, NC, where readers and authors can meet and greet.

No matter what Loureva is going through or facing, she has this simple piece of advice.

“You can get through [anything] with God’s help.”

To find out more about Loureva Slade, go to www.lourevaslade.com, http://www.loureva.blogspot.com and http://caligirlnewsletter.wordpress.com.