I moved to Austin, Texas two weeks before my wedding to my wonderful husband, Michael in 1975 when I was 18 years old. I always say that I made two life-changing decisions that year, I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal savior and I married my sweet husband. Those decisions have made me The Kitchen Diva! I am today. I call myself a DIVA because I am Divinely Inspired Victorious and Accomplished through Christ.

When I first got married, I couldn’t cook or as we say in Texas, I couldn’t even boil water without burning the pot! I felt like such a failure that I would sit at the table and cry almost every day while Michael struggled to eat what I’d attempted to cook. He never complained and was always supportive of my feeble efforts in the kitchen.

Fortunately, my mother, Angeline Shelf and several elderly women at my church taught me how to cook. All I had to do was ask for help. Admitting that you’re failing and acknowledging that you don’t know what you thought you did is the first step in the learning process.

The second step is finding a teacher that is an excellent example in everything they do. Accepting what you’ve been taught and putting it into practice is the next. Learning to be a good cook, like almost everything else in life, requires practice. A crucial part of the whole experience is learning from your mistakes and recognizing and accepting that failure is part of the learning process.

Setting a good example and passing on what you’ve learned to others is the last part of the adventure. It took about five years before I felt comfortable in the kitchen and started to enjoy cooking. It took another 25 years before I realized that learning to cook is a metaphor for my life.

I noticed that when I changed my attitude about what it really means when you prepare a meal, that my cooking improved. I started looking at preparing a meal as a way to show love to my family and friends. I stopped dragging in from work and thinking of preparing a meal as a chore. I’ve applied having a positive attitude to everything that I do.

I’ve become a woman who lets the Lord lead and teach her and that has changed every aspect of my life. He has blessed me to have an exciting career as a writer and a culinary historian. I love creating recipes, and doing cooking demonstrations. I’ve also written 85 award-winning children’s books and four cookbooks.

Researching and writing cookbooks have become a way for me to preserve some of the most unique experiences of my life—overcoming my fear of failure; the beautiful way that a delicious meal can express and celebrate my love for my husband, my family, and my friends; discovering my passion for culinary history and cooking; and taking a giant leap of faith to start a production company and produce The Kitchen Diva! cooking show.

The catalyst for change happened when I began hearing the word of God instead of just listening. I heard one of many sermons that tumultuous year that changed my life. My pastor, Salem Robinson, Jr., is a wonderful preacher and teacher. His subject that particular Sunday was IS WORRY A SIN? That sermon taught me to replace my fear of failure with faith and a relationship with Jesus Christ. I stopped spending hours worrying at night and started learning how to pray earnestly.

It has truly been a blessing to be taught how to live my life in faith and without fear. Even though I continue to have perplexing obstacles and numerous struggles, I wouldn’t trade a minute of anything I’ve experienced and I’ve gained an armor of faith to shield me for the battles to come.

I’m so much better and stronger because of the fires and trials that I’ve been through. My feather boa is a little singed, and it’s tattered and torn in places, but I’m still wearing it fearlessly and I look good in it too, honey!

I love my life and I created The Kitchen Diva! television show so that I could teach others how they can be healthier spiritually and physically. The Kitchen Diva! show contains some great recipes sprinkled with some of the things I’ve learned with the help of the Lord along the way.

I’ve found a recipe for life that I enjoy sharing. I pray that you will find the same joy and contentment in your life that I’ve been blessed to experience. Get some Diva-tude, honey and let’s cook!