January Spotlight

🔷 January Spotlight: Heart & Soul Beware 🔷

This month’s Spotlight was originally meant to honor a remarkable woman whose story is one of faith, survival, and perseverance. After thoughtful consideration, she chose to step back and protect her peace. Her choice deserves respect. Some stories are still unfolding, and courage sometimes looks like waiting until the telling feels safe.

So, this January, I am turning the light both inward and outward.

This new year invites clarity. It asks us to name what matters, release what no longer serves, and step forward with intention that quiets the noise. My hope for this year is simple and steady: that we choose truth over performance, depth over speed, and meaning over momentum. That we honor growth even when it is quiet or slow.

I am consistently moved by people who show up with integrity, compassion, empathy, and resolve. Those who lead without spectacle. Those who build, nurture, advocate, and hold space for others even when no one is watching. Inspiration does not always arrive with applause. It lives in consistency, courage, and care..

Gratitude

I want to extend heartfelt gratitude to our 2025 Spotlight participants. I am deeply inspired by those who have stepped forward to share their stories through the Heart & Soul Beware Spotlight.

• Marchele teaches me that care can be crafted by hand, that warmth can be woven with patience, and that creativity can hold space for healing in quiet, powerful ways.

• Kelsey Nicole Nelson inspires through her unwavering belief that literacy is liberation and that access to knowledge can reshape entire futures.

• Dr. Wanda S. Briscoe embodies faith in motion, showing that even life’s deepest wounds can become pathways for restoration when met with courage and purpose.

• Kimberly Bannister reminds me that resilience is not loud, but deliberate; her ability to rebuild, serve, and lead with integrity shows what it means to rise with intention.

Each of these women reflects a different expression of strength, and together they remind me that impact does not require perfection, only presence.

Moving Forward

As we move forward, upcoming Spotlights will center on hope, joy, perseverance, and philanthropy. These themes are not abstract. They are lived choices, made daily. They are reminders that impact is not measured only by reach, but by resonance.

If you know someone—woman or man—whose story deserves to be honored, an organization that aids while uplifting, or if you feel called to share your story, I invite you to nominate a Spotlight.

For those interested in learning more about how the Heart & Soul Spotlight is shaped and stewarded, additional information is available here.

This space exists to uplift voices that move with purpose and heart. Your recommendation may be the encouragement someone else needs to keep going.

Thank you for walking this path with me. The year is young, but there is much light ahead. Let us share that light far and wide.

With gratitude,

Heart & Soul Beware

Every Life Has a Story. Every Heart Holds a Truth.