Welcome to Ms. Nelly's Sunday School Class by Chetoca Barfield - Book Tour - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hi, lovelies!!  It gives me great pleasure today to host Chetoca Barfield and her new book, “Welcome to Ms. Nelly's Sunday School Class,” here on FAB!!  For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Chetoca and to increase your chances of winning!!

Thanks for stopping by!!  Wishing you all lots of good luck in this fabulous giveaway!!

Welcome to Ms. Nelly's Sunday School Class

by Chetoca Barfield

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GENRE:   Christian Non-Fiction

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BLURB:

Join in on the fun as Ms. Nelly teaches her Sunday school class how to interact with God. Each story in this collection is ideal for reading aloud in just five minutes - a perfect fit for bedtime, story time, or anytime!

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EXCERPT ONE:

Class: Everyone in the class raise their hands except for Cindy.

Ms. Nelly: Thank you, class; please put your hands down. Cindy, would you like for me to repeat the question?

Cindy: No, Ms. Nelly. I believe Jesus loves me…when he’s not sleeping.

Ms. Nelly: Oh really, why would you say that?

Cindy: God isn’t answering my prayers so, I believe he has fallen asleep.

Class: Laughs

Bhatti: God doesn’t sleep, Cindy.

Ms. Nelly: You are right, Bhatti. God does not sleep.

Cindy: Ok, if you say so.

Ms. Nelly: Yes, I do. Class, today we are working on our next Sunday school program. Our program is all about the blessings of God. Each of you will share your story on how God bless you or how you witness God blessing someone else. Would anyone like to share their story?

Theo: Yes, Ms. Nelly. God allowed my mom to give me chocolate chip cookies as a snack. This was a blessing from GOD. Mom never lets me eat anything sweet.

Ms. Nelly: Very good, Theo.

Victoria: God blessed my lunchbox. God allowed my mom to give me a lot of food for lunch. I shared half of my lunch with my friend, who left her lunch bag at home.

Ms. Nelly: Victoria, that was nice of you to share your lunch with someone in need.

Class: Yes, Yep, very nice.

Connor: God blessed me with the best adopted parents ever, Ms. Nelly. They cook for me, they spend time with me, and they kiss me at night and tell me how much they love me.

Ms. Nelly: That’s wonderful, Connor.

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GUEST POST:

Here Are Five Ways That Have Helped Me Deal with Rejection

1.)  Ask for feedback, but don’t try to change their mind.

As a writer I believe every writer is consumed with a laundry list of what ifs to accommodate their reader, publisher, media agency, and so on and so forth.  While I don’t think these lists of questions are a bad idea in and of itself, I do believe as writers we add another level of stress and complexity when trying to solve for each of these things.

I say that because in the event we fall short based on someone’s feedback we find ourselves trying to explain why it was a good idea to move in the direction that we choose, we allow that feedback to second guess our choice, and we create insecurities about ourselves based on the notion of what others thought we should have done.

Feedback is good, but you must find a balance.  If the feedback is something that is moving you in the direction of growth, allowing you to stay true to who you are while serving a greater purpose; take what you can and apply it.  If not, let it go.  BY ALL MEANS UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE DON’T TRY TO CHANGE ANYONE’S MIND ABOUT THE DECISION YOU MADE.

2.)  BREATHE. Your story is not everyone’s cup of tea.

Believe me, there is an audience for everything.  You must put in the work and find your audience.  It’s ok if everyone doesn’t like your work.  Just because they don’t like it doesn’t mean you should stop writing.  It just means it will take you putting in more elbow grease to find the crowd that does and trust me…that is where a piece of the beauty lies.

3.)  Chin up buttercup; keep going.

I had no clue about writing a book.  To be honest writing a book was nowhere near my sphere of things that I wanted to accomplish in my life, yet here I am.  I did everything out of order.  Yes, that led to a couple of meltdowns and a few times where I wanted to quit.  But why would I?  So, I don’t know everything about the writing, publishing, marketing, etc. process.  Just because I don’t know does that mean I should quit.  No, it means that I don’t know everything and that is ok.  As I learn it helps me to understand and know what to do better the next time around. So, when you find yourself…having done things out of order…it’s all good.  Chin up buttercup and keep going.

4.)  It’s a marathon; not a Sprint; Consistency wins the race.

This one gets me every time.  I am an impatient person.  So, I want the fruits of my labor now.  Ugh, it doesn’t work like that.  I mean sure for the rare 2% of writers it does, but for most writers it doesn’t.  Through this process I’ve learned to slow things down and just work on the quality of things.  I’ve set goals and made a schedule to help keep me on task.  Looking at these things daily helps me to keep moving forward.  Remember your only competition is you.  So, the next time you are impatient and want things to scurry along to get to the result…remember to stop and really enjoy the journey.  Celebrate yourself for how far you have come and keep going.  The only way you won’t get to the result is if you stop.

5.)  Rejection is redirection.

I mean, NEED I SAY MORE PEOPLE…I could, but I won’t.  Think on this and allow this to be your daily affirmation.

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AUTHOR BIO:

My name is Chetoca Barfield. I was born and raised in a small town located in Eastern North Carolina with my parents and 2 siblings; and older brother and younger sister.  Growing up I had dreams of becoming a lawyer.  There wasn’t anything that sparked this interest, but I knew early on in grade school that I loved to research and explain how things came to be.

Graduating from high school I knew that I would pursue criminal justice studies at Elizabeth City State University (i.e., ECSU) with hopes of having a career as a criminal prosecutor.

My freshman year in college I laid eyes on my dream guy who has been my husband for the last 19 years.  I knew the moment I saw him walk out of the café I was going to marry him.

I know that may sound weird, but it’s the truth. Michael (my husband) and I didn’t begin dating until one year later.  It’s funny how things happen, but that is a story for another day.  In 2000 I graduated from ECSU and began working in corporate America a customer service representative.  At the same time, I was studying to taking the LSAT to enter law school.

In 2003 Michael and I wed.  Marriage was fun, enjoyable, and I didn’t want anything to interrupt our marital bliss 😊 except for the mini dachshund I adopted; his name is Baxter.  Baxter was a welcomed interruption, but I thought that was all the interruption we needed.  I made the decision to no longer pursue law school.

To be honest studying has never been my strong suit.   Law school demands a lot of time and at that point in my life I wasn’t ready to commit. I enjoyed working in corporate America but knew staying in a customer service role wasn’t my “forever” career choice as I wanted to pursue a leadership role.

In 2006 I received my MBA degree from Strayer University.  During this time my corporate career was starting to take off.  I moved into a supervisory role and lead an operations team for a few years within the financial industry.  In 2011, I was offered a higher-level leadership opportunity with a different financial institution.

It was the best decision I could have made for my career goals as I have thrived promotionally ever since.  Leading teams for the last 15 years led me down an unexpected path; mentoring.  I’ve mentored many colleagues and peers from a career development perspective.  I must say this was an un-disclose passion that I didn’t know I had until I was knee deep in it.

As time progressed, mentoring evolved into to helping individuals, groups, etc. navigate life challenges.  Growing up in my household my parents had a rule for my siblings and me.  If we didn’t attend church on Sunday’s, we couldn’t go anywhere for the rest of the day.  Every Sunday we were in church.

While I didn’t appreciate going to the church as much as I did at that time, I’m thankful that I did.  It was through my Sunday school teacher that I learned how to develop a relationship with God.  As I’ve grown in my walk with Christ this vital lesson has helped me through many difficult moments.

When COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 all our lives were altered. The daily routines that were once in place was replaced with social isolation, mental health challenges, social injustice, and doubting faith.  The need of having a healthy support system was magnified and this need lead to the birth of Treasured Possession.

Treasured Possession is a mentoring community that I created to provide encouragement, support, and tools to equip the body of Christ to lead healthy lives in body, mind, and spirit. The name Treasured Possession comes from Deuteronomy 7:6 (ESV) “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.”

You & I are his most Treasured Possession.

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CONNECT WITH CHETOCA:

Website:

https://treasuredpossession.org

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/chetocab

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22753453.Chetoca_Barfield

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62217799-welcome-to-ms-nelly-s-sunday-school-class

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BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon US Kindle eBook:

https://amzn.to/3SMFyBy

Amazon US Paperback:

https://amzn.to/3RB6YsV

Amazon US Hardcover:

https://amzn.to/3SC5vnF

Amazon CA Kindle eBook:

https://www.amazon.ca/Welcome-Nellys-Sunday-School-Class-ebook/dp/B0B6RMDKFP

Amazon CA Paperback:

https://www.amazon.ca/Welcome-Nellys-Sunday-School-Class/dp/1649535546

Amazon CA Hardcover:

https://www.amazon.ca/Welcome-Nellys-Sunday-School-Class/dp/1649536283

Barnes and Noble Paperback:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/welcome-to-ms-nellys-sunday-school-class-chetoca-barfield/1142351242

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Chetoca will be awarding a $10 Amazon Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this blog.  This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those fabulous community outreach projects and awesome giveaways on here**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.