Michelle McKinney Hammond - The DIVA Principle®: Secrets to Divine Inspiration for Victorious Attitude

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Verses marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Verses marked NBV are taken from The Modern Language Bible; The New Berkeley Version in Modern English copyright 1945, 1959, 1969 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Verses marked RSV are taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1946, 1952, 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Verses marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189 USA. All rights reserved.

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Cover photo: Tom Henry / Koechel Peterson & Associates, Inc.

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THE DIVA PRINCIPLE is a registered trademark of The Hawkins Childrens LLC. Harvest House Publishers, Inc., is the exclusive licensee of the federally registered trademark A WOMAN AFTER GODS OWN HEART

THE DIVA PRINCIPLE
Copyright 2004 by Michelle McKinney Hammond
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McKinney Hammond, Michelle, 1957

The diva principle / Michelle McKinney Hammond.

p. cm.

ISBN 0-7369-1153-7 (pbk.)

1. Christian womenReligious life. 2. Attitude (Psychology)Religious aspectsChristianity. 3. Women in the BibleBiography. 4. SuccessReligious aspectsChristianity. 5. Conduct of life. I. Title.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America.

07 08 09 10 11 12 /VP-KB/ 14 13 12 11 10

Contents

Divas

I HAVE MET OR KNOWN PERSONALLY

The Women in My Family

My motherNorma McKinney

My sistersNicole Neal, Yaaba Panford-Faquir, Jacqueline White

My grandmothersAlexandra Petrona Branker, Louise Fairchilds and Sarah Appiesam Hammond

My auntsMildred Squires, Ernesta Branker Forde, Eglantine White, and Marion Arkaah

My Mentors

P.B. Wilson, Terri McFaddin, and Lois Blackwell

Mighty and Special Women of God

My Faithful Inner Circle

In alphabetical order because they are all important!

Brenda Blonski, Sheila Frazier, Lydia Garlington, Nancy Heche, Kristi Jordan, Charlotte Kroot, Peggy Matthews, Karen McDonald, Theresa Hayden Powell, Pamela Shine, Jan Shirtz, Yvonne Holdbrook-Smith, Michelle Taylor, Holly Virden, Cindy Wierzba.

Calling All Divas
and Wannabes!

Well ladies, here we are! Welcome to the beginning of a whole new attitude. Diva-tude. Youve heard it a million timesattitude is everything. And indeed it is. What you believe definitely affects what you do. What you do affects the response from others or results you receive. What you receive affects your attitude toward life, which then affects your next move, which further affects the outcome of your actions, which will then have a profound effect on your joy level, your success, your fulfillment, your everything whew! See how easy it is for life to fall into either a cycle of defeat or victory?

Were about to change all of that and get you on the road to success in every area of your lifefrom finance to romance. How? By renewing your mind so your life can be transformed into one of endless possibilities.

Can you achieve this diva-tude? Absolutely, but a little elbow grease is required to accomplish the task. Some dismantling of old unvictorious ideas and concepts needs to take place along with a rebuilding of your inner woman. Be forewarned, old habits die hard. This will be a workout for some and a welcome change for others. We are going to take a serious look at not only our inner attitudes but also our outer habits. The things we dont do as well as the things that we do do well and adjust where necessary. Someone once said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results. What changes are you ready for in your life? Are you willing to do the work to have your dreams come true? Here is where the rubber meets the road. Where the girls are separated from true women. The average from the divinely set apart.

Because you picked up this book, I believe you are searching for more. With that in mind, know you have just chosen a tool that can change your destiny if you apply the principles you learn. In the pages that follow, we will take a look at several diva profiles and glean attributes from their lives that qualified them for divahood. Some of the people I chose just might surprise you, but stick with me and the path will become clearer as we travel together. Remember, there is no such thing as an overnight success. For those who are successful, it is because of their diligence to refine themselves and their gifts. They are always prepared for the moment when opportunity knocks. Oh yes, opportunity will indeed knock. But if it doesnt find a prepared vessel, it moves on in search of someone who is ready to welcome success, love, or whatever the heart desires.

On that note, I encourage you to delight in the process of your transformation, taking it one day at a time. Give yourself a pat on the back for achieving a goal and dont beat yourself up if you miss itjust promise yourself youll do better next time. Greatness takes time to achieve and you are already on your way to becoming a totally divine woman. Are you ready? Well lets get started

Websters Dictionary

Diva: \n.\ [It, lit., fem. of divus, divine]
1a: PRIMA DONNA

Get Your
Head
Together,
Girlfriend!