Isis Smalls Inducted into University of Chicago Athletics Hall of Fame

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On Friday, October 13th, 2023, Isis Smalls was formally inducted into the University of Chicago Athletics Hall of Fame for her impact and influence on the college volleyball program. The former two-time co-captain, was recognized for the following:

  • Being the first Maroon in program history to earn the AVCA All-Region and All-American status

  • Helping UChicago to its first-ever NCAA tournament in 2010

  • Holding single season (490) and career (1580) records for kills

  • Being a two-time All-University Athletic Association recipient

Congratulations on your accomplishment, Isis! Welcome to the Hall of Fame Class of 2023!

Click here to view Photo Album!

Isis Smalls Speaking at Joan Hunter's Women's Conference

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Join Isis Smalls and an incredible lineup of powerhouse women in ministry at the Joan Hunter Women’s Conference. Be empowered, encouraged, and propelled into to the next season God has for you.

REGISTER HERE: https://joanhunter.org/events/

Isis’s Speaking & Singing Schedule

October 13th, 2023

3PM - Isis Smalls Speaks

7PM - Isis Smalls Sings the National Anthem

October 14th, 2023

6PM - Julie Meyer & Isis Smalls Worship

*Breaking News: UChicago Athletics Honors Isis Smalls*

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We are pleased to announce that Isis Smalls has been selected as a member of the University of Chicago Athletics Hall of Fame!

Press Release: UChicago Introduces 2023 Athletics Hall of Fame Class

The Hall of Fame was established to recognize and honor the athletic achievements of exceptional student-athletes, coaches, and administrators. Among many achievements, Isis will be honored for being the first UChicago volleyball player to ever earn All-Region and All-American status.

Isis Smalls will be inducted alongside three alumni on Friday, October 13, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois.

Happy Fourth of July!

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Throwing it back for the Fourth! My family and friends have seen me sing this numerous times at this point, but my very first pro sports gig with the Houston Rockets remains one of my favorites. It reminds me of the kinds of things that happen when you “Don’t despise the days of small beginnings.” {Zech 4:10} This moment didn’t start when they handed me the mic...

This moment started on my morning commutes to work as a teacher, which was when I practiced and daydreamed of one day singing the National Anthem publicly and professionally.

“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin... ”
— Zechariah 4:10a (New Living Translation)

It’s been a privilege to share the journey with so many of you who’ve watched this evolve from singing at “small,” local festivals and events into multiple opportunities with the Houston Astros and ATP World Tour.

But, let this be an encouragement to all of you today who are building and preparing behind the scenes. Let this speak to those of you whose work seems to be bearing little fruit, but you still feel called. Stay faithful!

You have NO IDEA how you preparation is setting you up for what’s to come!

Stay inspired. Love you.

YOLO!! #GoStros

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“YOLO, Miss Smalls!” ⚾️ I heard that about 50 billion times a day when I used to teach my adorable 6th Graders (who I miss dearly btw). You may be familiar with the old phrase: “You Only Live Once.” 💝

It was a bite-size way of saying, “Take risks! Have fun! Live it up!” It carried this underlying sentiment of living carefree and without regard for consequences. Ironically, people used it as a cry for someone to do something they had every reason to be thinking twice about!! 😂But, yelling “YOLO” at them was a call to leave inhibition behind and to be free of all concern.

For me, on the other hand, hearing YOLO has been a reminder to move with intention, live with focus, and walk towards an expected end. Rather than throwing caution to the wind, I began to actively throwing out insecurity, intimidation, and fear. Life is too short to have my days strangled by them. YOLO for real!

This moment, singing “God Bless America” at the 2018 MLB ALCS Playoffs for the Houston Astros versus Boston Red Sox game, is a product of that mindset. I have found that life has a way of moving so quickly and swallowing you up if you don’t grab it by the reins and tell it what you’re going to do. I had been going too many years saying, “One day I’m going to sing for…” That could have stayed on my bucket list for another decade, but it wasn’t until I put in the work to start preparing that I was ready when the call came.

Have you checked your goal list lately? Have your dreams been rolling over from one week to the next and now you’re five years down the road? YOLO, my friend. YOLO!!!!

Today I encourage you to think about the things you want to experience, become, and accomplish. Set goals (even in this fourth quarter) to move actively towards them.

🙌🏾Good luck tonight, ‘Stros! ⚾️
#HoustonAstros #GoStros#BostonRedSox

Diya Patel's Bharatnatyam Arangetram - Celebrating Indian Culture & Dance

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Huge thank you to Rena & Ritesh Patel for the honor of attending Diya's Bharatnatyam Arangetram. It was a wonderful evening of celebrating Indian Culture and the incredibly mind-blowing hard work of Diya Patel's training in Classical Indian Dance for the last 11 years. I was grateful to present the "Young Role Model" award to this impressive young lady for her shining character, community service, and academic excellence. Click HERE to take a look! 

Don't Devalue Your Start

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Reading Time: 1-minute

Hello, my friend!

Last week I encouraged you with a Prayer for Maximum Focus & Productivity. As you take advantage of this downtime to birth the dreams God's given you, let me remind you of this:

DON’T DESPISE THE DAY OF SMALL BEGINNINGS.


In March 2017, I published my book “Beauty in the Making, but what most people don’t know is that many of these chapters came from a blog I started in 2015.

Often I hear people discredit bloggers by saying they aren’t “real writers.” This is not only snooty, but ri-dic-u-lous. There are former “bloggers” KILLING it as we speak with New York Times Bestselling Author now following them name. It turned out these “poor bloggers” had a world of readers waiting on them!

My point: Don't allow other people’s insecurities to cause you to devalue your start. Refuse to allow it to keep you from living out what’s on your heart. It might be on a small scale now and you may be grinding it out for a while. But, just because you don’t have all the clout in the beginning, doesn’t mean what you have in your hands is not great.

If you shrink back, you might just miss your moment to be a blessing. So start already! Let the product of your life speak to their useless opinions!

~Isis Smalls

Copyright © 2020 Isis Smalls. All rights reserved

Prayer for Maximum Focus & Productivity During COVID-19

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Dear Heavenly Father,

I thank You for the gift of time. I thank You for every seed of purpose, destiny, and greatness You have planted within us. I thank You that we were created to live in a time such as this and we will not shrink back in it!

Father, I ask that in this divine halt, when everything seems to be on hold, “up in the air,” or “postponed until further notice,” that You would quicken our hearts to operate with a sense of purpose and intentionality.

God, I ask for focus. Let us not allow the days to drift by, but rather, show us how to maximize every moment. Teach us how to take every opportunity to move forward in the ideas, dreams, projects, and aspirations that You have placed on our hearts, the ones You have designed us for from the beginning of time.

God, I rebuke every spirit of apathy, lethargy, doubt, overwhelm, and self-defeat.
I release clarity, witty inventions, productivity, and divine creativity.
I rebuke anxiety, overwhelm, and a sense of helplessness.
I speak confidence, courage, and hope over Your children.

Father, breathe life into the greatness that we have allowed to lay dormant for so long. Reawaken us from the inside out so that we might live with a sense of passion and expectancy once again. 

Make us diligent. Make us productive. 

Lord, Your Word says that we are masterpieces and we were created for good works (Eph 2:10). It’s my prayer that in this season, You would give us the strength and wisdom to unleash them.

In Jesus Name. Amen.

Isis Smalls<3

Copyright © 2020 Isis Smalls. All rights reserved

The 2020 Courageously Beautiful Tour is Postponed

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Family & Friends: In alignment with the COVID-19 precautions, the 2020 Courageously Beautiful Tour will be postponed until further notice. Thank you for your incredible encouragement and support thus far. In partnership with Humble Middle, Peck Elementary School, and RARE Pearls, the tour reached nearly 300 girls in its first week. We thank every organization that graciously opened the doors for us and we look forward to joining hands to reach more young women when the tour resumes in the future! Thank you as well to Jade Simmons of JadeMedia Global for the sponsorship that made this possible. Wishing you all happy health and abundant peace! <3 
Girls Inc. of Greater Houston
Covenant Preparatory School
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Houston
Creekwood Middle
Girl Up Southeast Texas Coalition
Celebrating You, Inc.
Hope Active Restoring Hope International Fellowship Church
Alief Independent School District

2020 Courageously Beautiful Tour - 3 FREE Events Open to the Public

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Girls Inc. of Greater Houston Be Bold LeadHERS Summit 2020 

Saturday, March 14th, 2020

8:30 - 4:30pm

Location: HCC Southeast Campus - Eastside (Learning Hub)

6815 Rustic Street Houston, TX 77087

Cost: FREE Event.

Registration: https://lnkd.in/eQttcJ4

Contact: jennifer@girlsinc-houston.org

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Celebrating You, Inc

Sunday, March 29th, 2020 

3:30-5:30pm

Location: Workforce Solutions

12148 Gulf Freeway, Houston, Texas 77075

Cost: FREE Event.

Registration: www.eventbrite.com

Contact: info@celebratingyouinc.org

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Hope Active of Restoring Hope Fellowship Church

Friday, April 3rd, 2020

7pm

Location: Restoring Hope International Fellowship Church

1801 FM 528 Rd, Webster, TX 77598

Cost: FREE Event.

Registration: http://restoringhopeifc.org

Contact: shemecam@gmail.com

The 2020 Courageously Beautiful Tour Hits Houston This March

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We are excited to announce that the inaugural 2020 Courageously Beautiful Tour will begin this March 2nd through April 4th. In partnership with 12 local organizations, the tour is poised to reach over 2500 girls around the city in celebration of Women’s History Month. All events are FREE and 3 stops are OPEN to the public, thanks to a sponsorship from Jade Media Global's CEO, Jade Simmons.

CLICK TWICE to view the full poster & Find a stop near you today!

Who Are You Bringing to the Party?

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By Isis Smalls
(Reading Time: 1 minute)

People are often shocked when I share that the #1 thing I’ve had to fight for is: confidence. If you know my story, you know that this former Miss Houston was even more formerly a painfully shy wallflower with no desire to stand, let alone speak or sing, on a stage like I do now.

For years, I wrestled with releasing my full self. I would constantly edit who I was to fit into different settings. I would decide “which Isis” would best appease the people in the room. I would even dress down to avoid any scrutiny, comparison, or competition. I was fearful of coming off as “too much of this” or “too little of that” and above all else, I wanted no attention.

But you and me both know: 

No matter what you do, you will never be everybody’s cup of tea, so you might as well bring your full self to the party. 

Working for everyone’s stamp of approval will have us conforming to the ever-changing preferences of this world and evolving away from who God designed us to be. It’s not only a hindrance to us, but an insult to Him. Moreover, the people we are called to reach cannot be impacted when we choose to function as something other than His uniquely designed masterpieces.

When I say “impact,” I am not just talking about the big dreams, visions, and missions God has laid on your heart. I am talking about the impact you have on your friend over coffee or a co-worker at lunch. I’m talking about how you show up at the dinner table tonight and the Christmas party next month.

Here’s my point:When you are not yourself, something on this earth is missing. I encourage you to own ALL of who God made you to be and let her or him shine without revisions!

So, who are you bringing to the party: your full self or an edited one?

Matthew 5:16 (King James Version) "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

"When God Calls You Out"

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Reading Time: 1.5-minutes

By Isis Smalls

I would be lying if I said the last few months have been easy. Nothing tragic has happened. No major life shifts, twists, or turns. Nope, none of that!

“Well, what happened?” you ask. 

Simply put: God has help me to really SEE me. 

He’s been taking “the scales” off of my eyes and clearing up the fog on my spiritual glasses. He’s been showing me what I look like without Him, His grace, and His covering. 

It’s been an especially humbling six months, but can I also share this with you? 

It’s been FREEING! 

When God called out jealousy, insecurity, and fear in my heart, He didn’t leave me hanging. He gave me wisdom and insight to see the root.

When He put His finger on dishonor, pride, and a critical spirit, He never left me to my own devices. He revealed the cause and gave me solutions to rise higher in humility.

My friend, what I’ve learned is that: God calling us out, His critique, and His correction, doesn’t lead to a dead end. It leads to LIFE!

It’s always easier to stay the same and to avoid change, but

I would not trade the confidence, the peace, the joy, or the passion I have now, for the comfort I could have had, if I chose to ignore God’s voice.

What is God “putting His finger on” in your life today? Are you partnering with Him or resisting His guidance?

As uncomfortable as it may be, I encourage you to give in. He will use the process of growth and maturity to bring you to new levels of freedom and victory!

Hebrews 12:6 (Message Version) reads, “It's the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects.”