I’ve heard Steve Harvey say every morning when he began his radio show “prayer changes things”. Even my mom says “all you need is prayer”. I agree 100% and I’m thankful for those people that GOD placed in my path that continue to pray for me and bless me with favor because if it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be where I am today. That’s real talk!
One particular person you don’t know (but you will know her now) is a friend and a sister of mine who I was blessed to know about 8 years ago and am blessed to know today because GOD knew I needed her spirit around me to guide me and guide you in the direction you were purposed to be in.
I shared some of her posts on her Facebook page, Sisters United In Verse which helps people of every age, race, cultural, or professional background find their inner voice, peace and self love.
Sonya Caldwell and her staff bring prayer, inspirational quotes, personal testimonies and more to readers through her website, www.sistersunitedinverse.com, from across the world.
Here is my One on One with President and Founder of Sisters United In Verse, Mrs. Sonya Caldwell. I pray it touches your spirit:
How did you get started with Sisters United in Verse?
I left corporate America as an executive a year ago after over 20 years of a hectic demanding career. I knew when my season for change came that I desired to serve God in a new way. It was 10 years of preparation for leaving corporate America. I prayed often for the change, but I didn’t know it would take that long. When I left it was definitely a walk of faith, I asked the Lord to lead me to my purposed life and he began showing me things that led me to Sisters United In Verse. I wanted so much to spend my life serving others and pleasing God that I was willing to submit to HIS will to do whatever he called me to do.
Why did you think it was important to start up this site?
As I matured more in Christ, I started wanting ways to share with women about my learnings and journey. I was seeking and desiring a fellowship with other women and I realized most of my friends were still in that hectic corporate life and they didn’t have time to talk and explore with me as much as I wanted. So I prayed about it and was given this vision to reach out to women around the world who may be experiencing the same need for connection. As I shared the concept to a few women at church, they would get so excited about it… I knew then that I was on the right path. They too were feeling the same as I was… we enjoyed our Sunday services, Bible Study, women’s ministry but on a day-to-day basis we thirsted for more. When you truly understand walking in the presence of Jesus daily and all that is requires to do so, you acquire a strong desire to connect with Him as often as possible and others who feel the same.
What did you do before you started the website and why was it necessary to switch gears?
I was an executive in Corporate America, traveling like crazy. One year I traveled over 100,000 miles by air, I had a demanding role and my health started shifting from all the stress. I knew over 10 years ago that I was ready for change, I wanted so much to live my life more freely and healthier. I wanted to spend more time with my family especially after the birth of my grandson. That “BIG CORPORATE LIFE” wasn’t appealing to me anymore, I desired to have more in my life. After many years of seeing good people lose their jobs without notice and people making changes about my career without notice, I didn’t want to allow anyone else to control my destiny, I simply had enough. I couldn’t live like that anymore.
What’s been the biggest response from people?
Absolute excitement and amazement….those who are close to me and on the team are really excited about this journey. We have men and women supporters. Those who don’t realize my background are amazed that I designed and built the site myself. I often hear, it’s a much needed product. I know that are thousands of sites out there with a similar mission, we’re not trying to be all things to all people, it was important to me to offer what God placed in me to do. That included a fellowship with girls and women of all ages from around the world. Reaching 4,000 Facebook followers the first month of launch has many people asking me “How is that possible for a grassroots website?.” I love hearing that because it shows the power of God!
Why do you think it’s important to have spiritually based websites like yours?
In this day and age, different outlets affect and impact different groups. Newspapers – my mom’s generation, TV News – my mom and grandmother’s generation, Internet – my daughters and my generation and so on…..
Life is fast-paced for most people and the internet provides a way to keep up, make it exciting, make it accessible, make it diverse and make it affordable. There are a lot of things out there competing for our attention in the marketplace and unfortunately most of it is negative or inappropriate for those who desire and often struggle with a closer walk with Christ. When we have positive, faith-based, news and messages available to us online, we as Christians have a way to spread the gospel, get connected and serve through ministry while promoting the teachings of Christ. We need this, there is so much pain, crime, hatred and violence in this world and it affects us in such a way that we can’t even imagine for the most part. Having spiritually based websites can save lives, lift spirits, ease pain, feed the spiritually hungry souls, teach the unteachable, nurture the broken and save the unsaved. It’s so important.
Tell me the most touching story that inspired you to continue on.
I have two… a young woman in Africa sent me a message that read… “Sisters please pray for me” I responded that we would do just that and I asked her if there was anything in particular we can pray about for her…she responded “Yes, I want so much to have a better life, please pray that I finish school and I do good on my grades” I was so moved by her because she was all the way in Africa asking me for prayer. That was an incredible moment, I realized then that God intended for this ministry to be international and was humbled once again.
The second time, a First Lady from a church in Michigan reached out to me for prayer and that really caught me off guard. We emailed one another several times and we were both blessed. The fact that she would share so candidly moved me to tears because I realized at that moment, that I was being led to do something great for HIS Kingdom and all I could do was pray and read the word. That moment taught me that I was going to experience things that only God could bring to pass and I want to be prepared for each step. I don’t want to miss a beat nor displease HIM in any way.
In 5 years, where do you see yourself and your organization?
Well, I’ve already been working with the team to prepare for that… I see God moving us to a higher level with significant growth and unimaginable results. Every day I wake up excited to see what he has for me to do. Each week I get a new opportunity presented and as I pray about the direction HE has for me, I can’t help but to think about how great this will all be in 5 years! We are gearing up for launching products through our online store this month, we are launching a book club this month for our young readers and next month we’ll launch the book club for our 18-35 (MPIII’s: Millennials Praising The Trinity) and the book club for our Sisters United In Verse. We are working on a few cool brands for the MPIII’s to get more involved and excited about. We are launching Brothers United In Verse next month, I have many brothers ready for that launch, they keep asking “What about us?”, now that they’ve seen the excitement around the Sisters site. We also have some very exciting things ahead that I can’t talk about right now, but when I get to that point, you’ll be the first to know!!!
This whole operation is a subsidiary of Dayson Companies, LLC., I own Dayson Companies, LLC. This week I’m launching Dayson Marketing, it’s a concierge of services to support faith-based organizations/churches, non-profits and small businesses with website development, marketing and social media. You’ll see a navigation drop down on the site titled Services and there potential clients can learn more about the offerings of Dayson Marketing. I have a lot of folks inquiring about work for churches, faith-based organizations, small businesses and non-profits and I hear a lot of bad stories about their previous experience with other service providers. I just shake my head, I don’t understand how anyone can take money from people and then not care enough to deliver what they paid for, that just blows my mind. But I’ve personally experienced it, so I know first-hand how much of setback it can me to these organizations. I want to help fix that by giving back and be a blessing to others who struggle with getting great, quality services at an affordable rate WITH respect and care. I already have a client geared up for Dayson Marketing!
If Sonya of today could speak to Sonya of 20 years ago, what would she say and how would she respond?
Sonya today would say, “Don’t waste your time trying to create a life filled with joy, accept the peace that God offers now and begin that life today.”
Sonya would respond “I do want that now and I need to release people in my life for that to happen. Thanks for the heads up.”
What is your favorite quote and why?
Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity. Horace Mann
It’s speaks to living a life of servitude and sacrifice as did Jesus and it demonstrates what we should do with our gifts and talents… and have the character to pursue victory for the good of all mankind. That’s an unselfish life, pleasing to God.
How can people reach out to you?
sonyaldukes@gmail.com
Follow Me On Twitter/Instagram @JustKiKiBrown
Fan Me On Facebook @MsKiKiBrown
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ThisRadioChickRocks 
It’s been awhile since I had time to read and catch up with my sister’s jus now finished reading the interview Sonya Caldwell along with Kikki Brown to me a lot was said and helpful I enjoyed it a lot it’s like u both should do a radio show would u consider it .
Sheree in Raleigh
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