"Bring it to Him" with Delilah Abu founder of PG-31 Ministry

Meet my amazing guest:

Delilah was born & raised on the South side of Chicago. She’s half Arabian & half Puerto Rican. (Two beautiful blend of cultures) God & her relationship with Him is a huge pillar in her life. By the time she was 22 both her parents passed away. Her faith helped her overcome that trauma. Delilah was a plus size model, however, her focus has shifted from modeling to mentoring & public speaking. She’s the founder of PG-31, a faith-inspired teen girl summer mentorship program. She was a co-host of an event called ‘The Royal Discovery within your closet’ It was an event to encourage women to not only see themselves the way God sees them. But to embrace who they really are, also, to encourage women to work on that inner & outer healing. She is  the owner of The R.O.C.K. Exchange Resale boutique and is grateful to have the opportunity to cater so her clients who can truly witness how fashion is timeless. 

While modeling,  she’s had the privilege of being on the ‘Steve Harvey’ show a few times, She’s walked in Latino fashion week , Graced the runway for ‘The Curvy Fashionista’ & been seen on Fox News. Windy City Live & WGN, to name a few. 

Proverbs Girls 31 (PG-31) is based on the scripture Proverbs 31:25 “She is clothed with strength & dignity without fear of the future.” Our hope is when we come across young women that go through our PG-31 summer program, they leave different with each meet, learning something new. Especially, when it comes to life skills & faith.

In Delilah's free time she enjoys traveling, volunteering, styling women, hanging out with her family & friends & her main highlights are going to church, fashion, PG-31 & public speaking. 

I'm excited for you to listen to Delilah's story. Get ready to be inspired and laugh wit  us😃 
I pray you'll be blessed through her story as I am.

Transcript

0:09

Hey there friends, my name is Ann Calvillo and welcome to Her Scars Tell a Story podcast, a safe space for women from all different walks of life and different backgrounds coming together to share their stories of God's redeeming love. So grab your cup of coffee and journey with us now.

Ann: 0:38

Hey there, friends. Welcome to Her Scars Tell a Story podcast. I'm your host, Ann Calvillo, and today I can't wait for you to meet my guest of honor, Delilah. Hi, everybody.

Delilah: 0:53

Hi. Welcome. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I've been on a podcast before, but this is my first time. In a studio podcast. Wow. Okay. Yeah, I'm excited. There's always a first time for everything. Yes, this is that day. This is that

Ann: 1:10

day. That's awesome. So I just want to say and I have to share with the listeners out there how I met you, right? Yeah. So I was in a boutique for those of you who don't know about hija del rey boutique. She's on 63rd and close to Austin. Yeah. Yeah. So she's not too far from here. Her name is Maria. She opened up her boutique., again, this was a God given vision. I know she opened it up. During

Delilah: 1:38

COVID. Yeah. Right. Oh man. She has a story of her own. I think all of 63rd Street had one of her masks. Yeah. I know I did. I did. There was a line out. She started in the basement of her house at that time. Yeah. And I'm so proud of her.

Ann: 1:56

Yes. Shout out to Maria. Maria. Yes. He had

Delilah: 2:00

the Ray Boutique. Yes. Oh, can I just share something about her? Yes, please. So there was a time where, you know, we had, we were great friends and then there was like a little bump in the road, but when I was starting my business, it was because of her boldness with faith within her business that encouraged me. To be bold with my faith within my business when God gave me the vision. And so Maria, thank you, my dear. And thank you for your obedience and check her out. 63rd near Austin. She's a sister in Christ too. Yes. And if you need prayer, she'll be, she'll bust out the oil and pray for you there. Yeah, we all will. You come to my store too. Yeah. If you need some prayer, come through.

Ann: 2:47

I'm telling you that the minute you walk in. It's like, you know, the presence of God is just engulfed there, you know, and I have yet to step into your boutique and I'm looking forward to doing that. Let

Delilah: 3:01

me style you.

Ann: 3:03

Oh, please do so. So I went to the boutique that day and it was. Right before I started the podcast, so it was just, it was still a vision, right? We were working on things here. So it was Maria's one year anniversary or maybe two years?

Delilah: 3:23

I think it was her second year. Second year. Maybe her second year

Ann: 3:26

anniversary. So, so yeah, I went in, you know, just going to celebrate, her anniversary and she says, Oh, you know, you have to meet Delilah, but you were already there in the store and please share what happened.

Delilah: 3:41

So she introduced us, Maria introduced us and you were telling me about. Starting your podcast and for people who know me, I'll bust out in prayer. I don't care where I'm like, if somebody needs prayer, I will pray for someone. And then I said, do you want me to pray for you or something along those lines? And it was a year ago around this time. Yes, it was. A year ago. It's crazy.

Ann: 4:07

I just had my one year anniversary on Monday. Look at

Delilah: 4:12

Jesus. How he works things out. Um, and then we prayed. I shared some things. When God shares some things with me, I cannot remember. But I know we prayed for your podcast. It would be successful. And we're on the 50th episode. You are the

Ann: 4:31

look at

Delilah: 4:33

full circle. I've never been on the podcast, so check out her scars. Tell a story. If you haven't checked it out and check out, you have the Ray man, if you want some, some. Go big or go home type of thing. You got to check out Maria's boutique. She has some awesome fall things. Beautiful. And, um, she's just, um, a ball of love, man. And, um, even when we had that, if we, transparency is awesome here, right? Yeah. Yeah. It's good to have bumps in the roads with sisters in Christ. Mm. It's not a bad thing. Mm. It develops character within a relationship. Yeah. And I thank God for Maria, we just went out to dinner like a couple of weeks ago and we had a heart to heart conversation and she came by the store. She popped up and surprised me. I love surprises. Y'all. I love somebody. If people, if you don't know me, I love surprises. And she surprised me. We went out to dinner. We had a great conversation. We prayed. And, uh, God was just in that place. And so, yeah, check out Maria. He held a Ray, her store, and I'm big on supporting other businesses too. Um, and, uh, especially sisters in Christ. Yeah. It's this journey is already difficult at times. Yeah. Right. And, um, we don't need sisters hating our sisters, y'all. We don't need sisters hating our sisters, so support your sisters.

Ann: 5:59

Support your sisters. And I'm in agreement with you. We need to be in a position where when we see a sister, right, fulfilling God's given vision, mission, it's for us to say, you know what, I'm here to support you, I'm here to pray with you. I'm here to just, bring people your way, you know, bring those connections your way. Because that's, we're part of the body and that's how we connect and we function better that way. Right.

Delilah: 6:27

And it's easy. You know, you know, the thing is, is, you know, I could look through my phone right now and. I can call my, any one of my sisters in Christ. The Bible reminds us that you will have a friend closer than a brother. And I thank God for my sisters in Christ. Had God not sent me those women, I don't know where I'd be right now. That's right. And the Bible also says that the prayers of the righteous availeth much. There were times, no lie. Sister that I wanted to go like just crazy. Had I not had prayer by pastors, strong women by my sisters in Christ. And also women to pray those my first pastors. They were women pastors actually. And I know some churches frown upon that, but that's who they were strong warriors. And, it was Pastor Cantor and Pastor Pauline. I'll never forget these women and they had a group of women. So I had an example set before me. And I'm sorry this for this sidebar y'all, but I just feel like you have to give credit where credit's due. Yeah. Yes. Had I not had those strong women in my life, I'd be walking in a generational curse. And so I thank God for those women. That were in my life to help pray and change the trajectory for my life. I know it was God, his ultimate plan. Had those women not been obedient to their calling. So if you're questioning your calling. If you're out there questioning your calling, do what God called you to do and do it afraid. Do it afraid. You will be nail biting your way through that. Yes. Sleepless nights. Yes. Question it like, God, is this really you? Yeah. That's when you call them sisters up and say, Hey, I need some prayer. So I thank God for those strong women in my life who helped pray to break those generational curses. And now I know that my next generation, whenever that happens, they too will be blessed beyond me. Yeah. And so glory to glory. Yes.

Ann: 8:55

You said give credit where credit is due, and that's so true. You know, when we trace back all the people, the women that have poured into our lives, I can think of my mentor from, 19 years ago now since I've been serving the Lord. And I think about how God, I mean, he assigned her. To me, this woman of God, you know, and she poured into me, she was patient with me cause the Lord knows I needed someone to me and, and you know, she encouraged me. She spoke truth and love to me, and thank God I didn't rebel against her. And I believe it was because she was so real and she was so raw with me. She didn't hide anything from me. She just wanted what was best for me. Um, so again, it's, it's going back to, you know, 19 years ago to that first women, that woman that, poured into my life. And now we have that opportunity to do that to the women that God's placing in our lives.

Delilah: 9:56

Right. Yeah. And don't be ashamed of the gospel. Sometimes you'll find yourself in places where, uh, you're like, Oh God, should I bring this up? This is a professional setting. Should I bring God up? Bring it up. If God is telling you to bring it, bring it up. I got saved when I was nine, and I have to thank Titi Damadi. I know she's going to be watching this podcast. It's my mom's sister, and I'm half Puerto Rican, half Arabic. Love being both. I love being mixed. That's awesome. I love that. I absolutely love being mixed. And, Titi Damadi had an amazing testimony. She actually met her husband bartending. Can I share this? Is that, is this okay? Share, share, share!

Ann: 10:49

One thing I, one thing I tell my guests, this is, this is a safe space, so be as raw And real as you need to be. Oh, I'm going to be raw real. I promise. This is a, for those of you, you know, if you are a guest on this podcast, if you've ever been a guest, these are not scripted stories. We, I don't,

Delilah: 11:09

I. We did not have a conversation. We didn't have a conversation. None of that. No. This is real. Yeah, this is real. Real time. Looking back, I had to be saved young because had I not been saved young, I'd probably, Walk into alcoholism and other things that I saw family members were into. But I was saved at nine years old, and at that time, it's crazy. I was actually going to the mosque and to the Arabic school to learn Islam because my father was Muslim, and my parents are both deceased, and I'll share, that's a part of my story. Yeah. But at nine, I remember my aunt. So She was a bartender. She started dating this backslidden Christian. His whole family was saved. You could still get saved in the bar, y'all. My aunt got introduced to Christ right after that. And literally, um, her boyfriend at the time, they weren't married yet. He signs her up for prayer. She's cursing him out the whole way there. For real. And she ends up getting prayer by the pastors, ends up getting saved and ends up doing a 180. She stops bartending. She runs and, and serves the Lord. She was so gifted. She did mime. She made these big, beautiful flags. Um, I, I used to be a praise dancer. Okay. So I believe in all that praise dancing the whole nine yards. And I thank God for Titi because The reason why I know God now is because Titi planted that seed. So what ended up happening is I'm nine years old, she invites me and my sister to this one service. And at the time, the church I used to attend was called His Word to All Nations. And that's where I mentioned Pastor Cantor, Pastor Pauline, these strong women. Yeah. And they had a whole group of women sister. There was sister Mary. Um, there was Tony Gladys. Gladys used to be a nun for years. God's Jesus got ahold of her. She had an amazing story. And, um, so she invites us to this church service. And I remember walking in at nine years old and I felt a piece like a blanket of peace. And something just said, this is it. And from that moment on, I didn't know how to read the Bible. I didn't know, um, what's what verse script. I didn't know anything. And I thank God for my youth leaders because they were so patient. So if there's some youth leaders on the verge questioning whether they're in, if they're making a change, especially in. Today's society. This is a whole different beast. Yeah, let me encourage you I am where I'm at because of Danny and Lizette. I hope they watch this podcast because I literally asked why all the time, had they not been patient with getting me into the word and pointing me to the word and having me do my own research, I would not be here. And I loved the word. I was just like eating it. And that's how I got saved nine years old. So my mom, she's Puerto Rican, fabulous. She was fabulous. She died when I was 19. My mom, when I was 11, she had a lot of heart problems and the doctors. When I was 11, they had given her a year to live. So my mom's name was Carmen. I believe all Carmens have great hearts. I don't know why. If you ever meet a Carmen, I believe they have a great heart and an outgoing personality, but just a great heart. If not the outgoing personality, I believe all Carmens have a great heart. My mother had a great heart. But when she was 30, she had her first heart attack and at that time, they believed women couldn't have a heart attack that young. So when the ambulance came to pick her up, they made her walk to the ambulance. This is crazy. And put her in the waiting room. Crazy. Because they were like, no, there's no way she's having a heart attack. She's too young. And. It damaged her heart so much. And so when I was 11 years old, the doctors had given her a year to live. And my mom had these big time heart surgeons that were like in magazines. This heart surgeon told her, Carmen, you don't stop smoking. If you don't stop drinking, and you don't change the way you eat, you're gonna die in a year. Just like that. He had to talk to her that way. Yeah, my mother being the Puerto Rican, she is, you know how we can be a little bold and up front. I'm not trying to stereotype, but a good portion of us are that way. So my mother, she told the doctor just like this doctor. I'm not going to stop smoking. She used to smoke two packs a day. That's horrible. That's bad, you know, I know it's a struggle. I never, yeah, I mean, you know, anyhow, cigarettes are tough. She smoked two packs of cigarettes a day. She drank. So she told the doctor, I'm not going to stop smoking. I'm not going to stop drinking. She says, I'll have a drink whenever I want to have a drink and I'm not going to change the way I eat and I'm not going to die in a year. So that's when I was 11. Yeah, but that's when my prayer life started intense and so I would always be in my prayer and inward in the word because she would have surgery after surgery. But do you know my mom, my mom did to this doctor every year for Christmas, she would send them a Christmas card. Merry Christmas, doctor. I'm still alive. Yes, she did. See what I mean? She would, and she lived from, her prayer was. Lord, don't take me until my girls are old enough to know right from wrong. My mom had six of us, four boys and two girls. And God honored that prayer because when I lost my mom, I was 19 years old and my sister was 17 and we knew right from wrong at that time. And uh, yeah, she was a great woman, but she had her struggles too. And she, there was times where she drank a lot, but at that time I didn't realize like looking back, I did not realize. That she was dealing with her own demons. And, uh, but she was a great mother. She, we had food at the table every day. Yeah. And when we went to McDonald's or Burger King, that was once a month. Yeah. That was one of the, people, these parents these days, they just go through the dry list, let's get some nuggets. Yeah. It's crazy. I know. But yeah, that's, that's, that's how I went on a whole tangent. Sorry. No, no. But that's part of my

Ann: 18:45

story. Yeah, I think part of this podcast is getting to know the guest, right? And where your story originated from? What did that look like? And I think I love how you put your mom in that light. Right? Like, yeah, my mom struggled. And she had her demons that she was fighting, but she was my mom. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that that's, um, that's really important because even though we do go through traumatic things as children, right? The good that we can take away from that is that our parents tried to the best of their ability, to the best of what they knew because they were fighting their own demons. They were going through their own generational curses, you know, and so now tell us where you are now. What is God doing now?

Delilah: 19:33

Can I just share something else real quick? I'm at that time frame. So when I got saved at nine, so remember I, I told you like half my family is Muslim. Yeah. So my aunt, poor Titi, she got cursed out. And then some, and my, some of my family members are really upset, but I thank God, my father was gentle. He was mad, don't get me wrong, he was upset, but he allowed me to choose my path, and he respected that I was a Christian, and he loved me. And my father, um, he was partially blind. He wasn't always partially blind, but he started to get partially blind, I believe in his 30s. I'm half Palestinian. I know there's tension right now in the Middle East. Um, but my father was a gentle man. And not all, you know, not all people experience a gentle father, but my father, I thank God, was a gentle man. But I have to share this part of the story and then we'll talk about where I'm at now.

Ann: 20:36

Yeah, share, share what you feel

Delilah: 20:39

led to share. Yeah, this right here I have to share because this is how I'm, where I'm at now. Everything you've gone through, people watching, everything you've gone through, the bad, the hurt, the ugly, is meant to bring you to where you're at now. So if you've been beautifully broken like I have been, And sometimes the hurt isn't always from someone you love, like, romantically. Sometimes the hurt comes from people within your family. Yeah. Like siblings. But my father, he was partially blind and when I was about, like, seven or so, my parents got divorced when, or not divorced, separated. When I was about six. But when I was about seven, my father lost a store in a fire. And they didn't pay him the insurance out. And my father Sold tapes on the street in front of a thrift store and I'm sitting on crates and I would sit next to him selling these tapes We sold them for three for ten. And do you know sister and people he? Saved enough money from selling those tapes to get another store. What I kid you not I kid you So don't look down on these people who sell a lot this and selling socks on the streets Respect those people tip them. Yeah, even if you don't buy anything from just give them the money. Yes Yep. Because I was a little girl sitting on crates next to him selling these tapes. And do you know, you know Pastor Sosa?

Ann: 22:23

Yeah, Pastor George Sosa,

Delilah: 22:24

yeah. One day I'm telling this story about my father and selling tapes. He says, I remember you. I started bawling. He said, I used to go to that thrift store to buy work pants. And I remember seeing you and your father. I started bawling my eyes out in that restaurant. Oh my goodness. And... I saw my father open that, that next door, and he started off with like an ice cream, like little rack, ice cream rack. He put his register on there, one rack of chips, and little by little he filled up that store. I've never forgotten that story. And... Going back full circle, here we are now, right? So God gives me a dream for the ROC exchange and ROC stands for Restoring Our Community Kindly. Listen, I'm not that smart to come up with something like that. God gave that to me in a dream. Yeah. And the Bible reminds us obedience is better than sacrifice. This was the third dream he had given me in six years. But the first two, the first two times he's given me that dream, I was so comfortable. And the first time he gave me of the location where I was going to be, he took like He gave me a vision of that location and listen, I call that location and I'm like, there's no way I can afford what they're asking for each month. Right? So I was, I was comparing my pockets to God's pockets. Oh yeah. Sometimes we limit ourselves. Yeah. Because we're looking at our pockets and like how are we gonna do this? Yeah, and and we're looking at our pockets, but not God's pockets. God's pockets, his pockets are limitless. Yeah, so I call and I'm like I can't afford that and I'm telling my godmother my godmother It was another huge pillar in my life. She just passed in last December Josie Soto so I'm telling her mama, I have this vision, like this dream of the store and it's, I really want it there. She's like, well, pray me, huh? I prayed and I called and fear kicked in and I just put it on the back burner. I kid you not, a year later, guess what? Ends up at that location, a thrift store. And not only did it open, it expanded. And I was like, what if I would have been obedient at that time? Yeah. And then the second dream he had given me, I was in Florida. And I was at my sister's house because my sister lives in Florida. Tanya, I love you. So my sister was in Florida. I wake up in the middle of the night again another vision and this one was called like the weekend thrift Right. Yeah, what do I do with that dream? I write down the time I draw the little picture of mine and I literally just kept it in the notebook somewhere one day I'm driving down 111th and worth. Uh huh. What do I see? The weekend thrift. No, I swear. I, I swear. I don't know if it's still there, but it was, I was like, had I been obedient the second time? Yeah. Oh my goodness. The third time I had to be stripped, literally stripped for me to say yes. I was so stripped. I had this 1200 foot square apartment, granite countertops, garage, a whole nine yards. And There was an incident that happened, not anything bad like on my part or anything like that, like, Um, it was just time to move. Okay. Okay, it was just time to move. And I found myself, for a year I felt like I wasn't really settled. And I went to a place of where I knew one of my friends. Her name's Lourdes. I love her. We call her Pat. At that time, I needed to just be around family. And this is where I'm talking, where I mentioned, like, you may have a friend closer than a brother. I thank God for my friends. I said, Hey sis, can I just rent from you for a little bit? Like her, she had like her basement. I said, I really need to be around family. And she's like, yeah, come on through. I thank God for Peck and her entire family because her mother and her father were like parents to me when I walk in, they call me hija and it was, I've never felt like unwelcomed or unwanted in their home. But I remember being in that basement, like, God, what is my purpose? Yeah. Why am I here? Yeah. And I remember I went into almost like a depression. And if you're, you know, some people think that you can't be Christian and be depressed. You can. You can.

Ann: 27:25

Absolutely. Right? Yeah,

Delilah: 27:26

absolutely. And so I remember just being in that basement, bawling my eyes out. Like, God, what is my purpose here on earth? At that time, I was almost 40. So it's never too late to

Ann: 27:40

stop. You're

Delilah: 27:41

over 40. I'm 40 now. I am 40. Yeah. You don't look. I don't feel it either. It's that Jesus cream or something. Holy Spirit. Yeah. And, but I remember being in that basement and I literally had a moment with God. Hmm. And he gives me that dream. He gives it to me in March of last year. like, looking back, this wasn't something that, like, he gave me. Oh man, I just look back and I'm like, oh my gosh. Yeah. Because he was preparing me even before he gave me the vision. I look back and I remember my one of my friends, she calls me up and she's like, man, Delilah, I really want these plus size models. This is a sidebar guys. I'm sorry. I may have a little bit of adult ADHD. So my friend calls me, she's like, Hey, I want to buy these plus size mannequins, but I can't leave. She has a resale shop and she's like, I can't leave the store. I wish I, and I had like this gut feeling. Go buy some mannequins. This is the November before the March that God gives me the, no, yeah, the November, like a year before God gives me. The dream. Okay. So I tell her, I said, I'll go. I'll buy some man. I said, I'll go and we'll split it because I want to buy some mannequins. And I'm like, you know what? If I don't do anything with these mannequins, I'll just sell them and make my money back and then some. Right. Right. Right. So I buy these mannequins and I just store them. That's it. I wrap them, store them. Yeah. And when God gave me my dream, I remember sharing it. Um, with Pastor Sosa, Maria was there and I was telling them how I used to sell tapes with my dad on the street. Yeah. And that's when we had that in exchange, like, Oh, and I just started bawling there. And so God had given me the dream in March of last year, the rock exchange and gave me the name, how it was going to be ran the whole nine yards. So that was March by April, it becomes an LLC. I don't take credit. It's all God. By April, it's an LLC. By July, I'm on the streets selling clothes. Had I not had that experience as a child, Yeah. I would have never been able to do it as an adult. Right. So God allowed me to go back to my roots. So sometimes you may question, like, why did this happen to me as a child? It happened because it's preparing you for now. And then that was July. I'm selling clothes on the street. I would go after church. My car was jam packed. Mannequin and all. Really? I bought, I bought a sign and it was, um, it was on division on the north side and I put this sign up that said forever grateful. There was hands of anointed oil, like, on that wood. Like, I think they're still there. A sister came by and prayed. Alma, thank you, girl. And prayed. And I remember taking a picture with my first customer, so that was July. Go to November. I'm walking into a Bible study with a sister at the store I'm at now. And I'm telling them about this location that was on the north side that I really want. Like, I was trying to force my will into this door. Okay. Sometimes we may want something so bad. Yeah. Oh yeah. Tell me. Go ahead.

Ann: 31:23

And we'll manipulate things. We'll try to force things. We'll manipulate it and even call it God. Still call it God. God

Delilah: 31:33

told me. You have your own visions. You create your own illusions. Yes.

Ann: 31:37

Yes. That's what they are. You know, instead of waiting on God.

Delilah: 31:43

Girl, when I tell you. When I tell you, waiting on God, even with love, women will try to curse their way into a relationship. When I say that, they're like, pray that he's the one. No, that's a curse.

Ann: 32:02

Wow. I didn't, I didn't see it

Delilah: 32:03

that way. That's a curse. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Pray God's will to be done. Hmm. Yeah. I remember, we're going to have to save that for another episode. Part two. Part two. Yeah. About love. Yes. Her scars tell a story. Part two on love. Okay. I love it. But November, I was like, I have this location that I want and I was Just set and there was this development center, the small business development center that was helping me, right? Uh huh with like they helped me find that location and it was supposed to be other partners in there, but I wanted it for myself Yeah Forcing my will On God. Yeah. Doors are closing. I remember Hannah's 4 a. m. Prayer Right. He has it on the second and fourth Tuesday And here I think, here I'm thinking it's the fourth Tuesday and it's the fifth Tuesday. So I'm driving at 3. 30 a. m. to Pastor Hannah's 4 a. m. prayer on a Tuesday. I'm over here thinking it's the fourth Tuesday. I was excited. I was ready. I'm like, the Holy Spirit's gonna let me know about this location. I'm literally driving. Have you ever been, um, have you ever had a time where you're in your car? And you just have a heart to heart with God. Yeah.

Ann: 33:30

Oh yeah.

Delilah: 33:31

Yeah. Oh yeah. What was that like, like,

Ann: 33:34

for you? What I remember the first time when I had a heart to heart, many years ago, what happened, I was driving, and I just started worshipping. I'm driving! I'm worshiping and it was the first time that I started speaking in tongues. It was the first time years ago and, and yeah, um, my sister was praying for me. My husband was praying for me. And I just, I said, Lord, if it's your will, I'll have the gift and, and, and I left it that way. But I was worshiping so intensely in my car, I'm driving and I'm worshiping and I'm, that's it. I got an utterance. I started to be, and I'm like, and I was just like, is this really happening

Delilah: 34:27

Yes,

Ann: 34:28

I know a thing or two about that.

Delilah: 34:32

Girl, me and God are like this. When I tell you, me and God are like this. So I'm driving and I'm bawling my eyes out. I'm like, God, you gave me this dream. I hold you to your word. You father make a way. And in that prayer, I said, God, I'm tired of being alone. I'm tired of being alone. Father. I don't want to do life alone. God. But you gave me this vision for this dream. Yeah. I hold you to your word. So, man, when I think about God, I'm like, boy. So I get there and I'm like, why are there no cars out here? Cause usually you can't find parking. Oh no. So I start bawling even more. I'm like, whoo. So I'm driving, positioning with God, like on my way back. I'm like, God.

Ann: 35:26

I was going with expectancy

Delilah: 35:28

already. I was ready, like I was gonna give me a word. Like I was ready. Yeah. I was up early, I was gonna get a good parking spot. So I get there and then... I'm on my way home. I'm crying out to God and I'm praying. Your greatest growth, your greatest growth comes from the valleys. Yeah, that's good. So if you're in a valley right now y'all, you're growing. And so your greatest growth comes from being in the valley. I was in the valley at that time. And so my godmother had been diagnosed with cancer the year before her name shows. So she was just like my mother, man, we've did road trips. So God was so good to me. That he put somebody else in place that I could call mom. and Josie was just like a mother man We took road trips. We would go shopping. We do breakfast. I could talk to her about everything and she never judged me never judged me. So It was a Tuesday night. My godmother had chemo That same Tuesday. Okay. I was dead tired. I get to her and I'm working from where she's at. Okay. Her, um, from my God sister's house, I'm working there and I'm with Mama Josie and, the sister who was running the Bible study from the store where I'm at now. Yeah. Or my text, I said, Hey sister, I'm not gonna make it tonight to bible study.'cause I was just so exhausted. Right. And she's like, okay, no worries. But something in me, I hate saying I'm going to do something and not do it. Right. There's just something about me. And sometimes I'll let certain things slip through the cracks, but I try. Right. Like I will try my hardest. So I said, you know what, I'm going to go to Bible study. It was our final Bible study. Okay. And Marissa from Ris Events, you got to check her out. She does balloons. She does events. Yeah. Thankful for her yes. So Marissa,, she says, uh, so I, I drive there and she's locking up. And I said, hey sister, did anybody show for Bible study? She's like... No, I said, Oh, well, is it okay if we just chat? Yeah, and she's like, yeah, sure. She looks down her phone at her phone and she's like, oh my husband just said he's surprising me with tacos. I'll tell you what guys if you're out there surprise your woman. Okay, a woman loves surprises, right? And then tacos? Girl, talking my language, who's going to turn

Ann: 38:01

down some tacos,

Delilah: 38:03

for real, not me, let me tell you, surprise, it's one thing to surprise a woman with some roses, hint, hint, send some tacos, you know, but I love flowers even too, I'm telling you, there's something, surprises, you like surprises, I love surprises. So if y'all want to send me some stuff at the store, 3551 South Archer. We accept gifts and surprises and surprises, good surprises, not any bad surprises. I want no pictures. I don't want none of that, none of that. Flowers. Some good food. That's about it. Yeah. That's where it stops. And your t shirts from your businesses. Did you see this? the story. She has these awesome t shirts. See? And t shirts. You got to be specific these days, even the saved. Let me tell you. Even the saved. Yeah. Some people believe there's levels of salvation.

Ann: 39:09

Y'all. Come on. Okay.

Delilah: 39:16

That's all. Okay. I'm telling you. I told you it's not going to be. We are going to chop it up in your studio. Chop it up. Laughter is good for the soul. It is. So, we're in the store. The store is like empty. And what happened was Marissa had that location changed into an event space. And what happened was she had that I think for a year and a half through COVID. And she did events there. Okay. And she's gifted at what she does. Yeah. Remember guys, risk events, R A S, events. And, uh, we're in the store and she says, you know what, the city didn't renew the licensing for an event space. because it's a residential building. Okay. And she's telling me, she's like, well, I'm gonna make it into like a little store, you know, with a bunch of, you know. Different owners like vendors and stuff like that as it all so I was telling her what happened with the location Yeah, how it fell through it didn't work out the one I tried to force don't try to force anything when God says no No, yeah, right when he says no just okay God It's in your hands if you see that it doesn't there's one thing about Persistence. Yeah, but there's another thing when God just says no. isn't that the

Ann: 40:40

truth if that's

Delilah: 40:41

the truth? Yeah If God has said no, just let it be no. Just know he has something better in store for you. Yeah.

Ann: 40:49

Yes, I agree with that.

Delilah: 40:51

Right? Yeah. Brings me to now. So we're talking there and she's like, Hey, what about here? In the vision that God had given me was big windows. In the dream. I said, like here? She's like, yeah, we can share the space. I'm like, for real? I said, well, let me pray and fast. Let's pray and fast for three days, and we'll get back together and we'll see. So the next day I go to my godmother and I'm telling her about what happened, and she's like, Mija, I have a piece about this. I call up one of my sisters, Uhhuh and Christ, Sandra, um, who's opening an online resource shop. I'm putting all these little plugs out there. That's great. And um, what's her? Hers is Agape. Agape. I think it's Agape. Yeah, agape. And I call her up, I call Sandra up and I said, Hey, I told her about what happened, and she's like, girl, how much praying and fasting you need to do? She's like, do you remember the man on the boat? Do you know the man on the boat story the man on the boat? Yeah, you did you ever hear the man on the boat

Ann: 41:52

story? Wait, I sent you isn't it something like I sent you a boat. Yeah, can I share? Yeah Right now it doesn't come it doesn't come to my mind. So yeah, so there's

Delilah: 42:06

this man on the boat who believes in God right So he's on the boat, and, storms are coming. Don't correct me too hard if this wrong is not paraphrased exactly the way it goes. But this is, It'll do. It'll do. Yeah. Okay.

Ann: 42:23

The Lattice

Delilah: 42:25

Translation. The story was told to me about like 20 years ago, so this is me stretching. Okay. So, so there's a man on the boat and there's a storm coming and there's a big ship that comes and says, Hey, there's a huge storm coming. Come on the boat with us. He said no, God's gonna save me. Mm hmm. Uh huh. So they're like, no, it's really bad. Yeah He's like no, no, God's gonna save me yeah, so the ship leaves and the storm starts to come his way and then there's a helicopter that comes and The guys are like, hey guy, there's There's a horrible storm coming. Yeah, and he's like, nope, God got me. Yeah, God's gonna save me. Mm hmm And they're like, no, come on, you know, like come on and he's like, no God's got me. Yeah, it's gonna save me They leave another boat comes and says hey this storm is like right here. You gotta come He's like, no God's gonna save me the guy dies Yeah. When he gets to heaven, he's like, God, why didn't you help me? He's like, I sent you three forms of help. Ooh. Yes. Yes. Three forms of help. Some people are looking for, yeah, I don't know what, God will open up the heavens and come down to give them. He's like, listen, I have all this help around you, but you're too self or independent. Hmm. Yeah. And you want to do it on your own, but God has placed people in your life to help you. Yeah. Ooh, that's

Ann: 44:03

good. That's a part three. Come on now.

Delilah: 44:10

Let me tell you. it's awesome that I'm in a space where I can just talk about God. That's a blessing within it. When it's woven into your DNA. Yeah, and you're in a safe space where you can just talk about God. Mm hmm, and not being so holy there's some people who are like, Thou art, yeah, it's not that, man, it's just like, man, God is cool, y'all. Yeah, he is. He's just so cool. my friend tells me, Sandra says, hey, how much praying and fasting do you need to do? Uh huh. Haven't you been praying and fasting? I'm like, yeah. Yeah. She's like, well, how much more praying and fasting need to do? It seems like God has given you the answer. Yeah, I still prayed and fast, though I'm not even gonna lie. Yeah. And then sure enough, I had the peace. God gave me the green light. And yeah, in November, God gave me the dream in March by November. Yeah. I was, uh, November. We had the talk by December. I was in the location by January. We have the grand opening. Even in that shared space. Thank God, I took over the whole location. Marissa wanted to just focus on her events. That's her gift. Yeah. That's her purpose. If you ever check out her work, it's amazing. Yeah. And, she's actually gonna be one of the balloon vendors at, so I had also have an organization called PG 31. It stands for Proverbs Girls 31. That gave me that in a dream two years ago. And we go based off the scripture. Proverbs 31 25. She's clothed the strength and dignity without fear of the future. And we serve as girls between the ages of 11 to 17. It's a summer program now. And we're having a fashion show November 10th. Come on through. General admission tickets are only 50. November 10th. November 10th. Make it a day night. It's a Friday night. The venue is gorgeous. And Marissa is one of my balloon vendors. She's going to make this awesome Eiffel Tower. That's all I'm going to tell y'all. I cannot wait. Okay. And it's just$50, just general admission's.$50. Okay. By the time this airs, VI p's gonna be sold out. Okay. Okay. There's gonna be like Paris theme. So the, the fashion show is called A Night in Paris. Okay. And the girls came up with that. They came up with each of the scenes. of the fashion show. We've been working, um, every Friday towards the fashion show. One of the girls is designing some of the, the blazers that are going to be on the runway. And the girls have been working so hard. Yeah. And I thank God for my team of people who've been helping in the background to Tia, Maria, Liza, Nadia. I love you, girl. Nadia. She has her own company too. Yeah. It's called, um, Glow Bath and Body. Okay. Girl. Feel my skin. Smooth. That's all Nadiah, girl. Nadiah hit her up. Glow Bath and Body Co. Okay. Hit them up. I can, you know, I'm giving y'all nuggets. Haha. Nutt. You can Google her. Glow Bath and Body Co. Okay, I'll have to

Ann: 47:24

Google her. Yes,

Delilah: 47:25

it's

Ann: 47:26

so good. Yeah, because you know,, as we age our skin, it needs that little extra love. So it's, you know, soft. Her

Delilah: 47:33

body scrubs are amazing. I love her. That's my number one product. And then there's this other lady, um, Not the other lady, but another friend of mine. Her name is Bridget. She has, um, this product called Sassy Scents. S A S S Y. Sassy Scents, she has the best body butters. Girl, when I tell you, if your feet are wrong, they will make them right. If your feet are wrong, dry, and crusty, hit up Sassy Scents Bridget. I'm telling you, I'm giving you all these nuggets y'all. To make you right, you can't be in the church, not right, and your toes out and not lotioned. It'll offend the Holy Spirit, y'all.

Ann: 48:26

I'm

Delilah: 48:26

just kidding. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. I'm telling you, laughter is good for the soul. It is. So yeah, so that's happening, um, November 10th. Get your tickets. You can go to www. pg 31. org to buy your tickets, hit the events tab and you'll see the link there or Zephy, um, on my Facebook page, Delilah Abu. You'll see it right there. You'll see the event. You'll see a cute video of the girls. Our goal this year, all the proceeds is going to raise money for a van so we can do road trips. We want to do road trips. It's coming up here. I want the girls from the inner city to experience things we may have not experienced. So when they get our age, you're doing greater things than we are. Let's do it. Right? Let's do it. Let me tell you, it's about memories. Life is about memories. Yeah, it is. And experiences. So I want them to experience things younger. So when they get our age, we're not trying to live through our kids to have, I see, you have no idea how many times I've seen that, where parents try to live through their kids. No, let them live. Yes. You did your thing. Yes. You made your choices. Let them live their life. And so we want to raise money for a van. So all your donations, if you can't make it, donate. Donate. It's going all there. I don't get paid for PG 31. I don't. I work for it to make it happen. And so I thank God for the people who have donated. Yeah. And for the people who have invested their time. Liza, man, she was a sister in Christ too, um, who believed in me early on. And still believes in me. Right.

Ann: 50:21

And... Can I ask you how many girls are in the program

Delilah: 50:25

now? So every, so this year six girls. Okay. Um, last year I had 12. But because I switched locations, Um, it was harder for those parents to get the kids to where they're at now. So next year our goal is to raise money for a building. That's,

Ann: 50:42

see that's amazing. And so what, what kind of... Teaching or training happens, in PG 31.

Delilah: 50:49

Great question. Yeah. So we talk about things people don't like to talk about. So we talk about like hygiene, I have a friend who's a nurse, Sinette, she's my girl. Um, she's awesome. So we teach them hygiene, um, how to dress for their body type, how to properly wipe as a woman. Yeah. The effects and the importance of waiting. And the effects of STDs. Hmm. Yeah. So we're a faith inspired program. So I'm not here. We sprinkle Jesus. We don't shove it down their throats. We present. We visited NBC studios this past summer, so they got to experience what it was like, at the news, station. For many of you who don't know, I used to be a plus size model for years. I absolutely love curves. Yeah. And I love styling people. So that's what I do at the Rock Exchange. I have clients who come in. Let me see. You're

Ann: 51:43

stylish right now.

Delilah: 51:46

This right here is from Africa. I was in Africa for a mission trip. And they made this out there. I was like, I got to show up right to Anne's studio. I can't just be out here. I need to have a statement piece on this show. So

Ann: 52:00

yeah. I love this. The design, the material. It's

Delilah: 52:04

beautiful. And it's comfortable. Yeah, it's comfortable. Um, but we teach them and it's

Ann: 52:09

flattering too. Yeah, that's a

Delilah: 52:11

peplum. The curves. Let me tell you. Well, let me tell you what's uncomfortable. These skims underneath this top. Y'all let me skims Kim. Okay,

Ann: 52:24

Since you work with curvy women, you need to improve those skims for curvy women.

Delilah: 52:29

So I already wrote a review on this, so they put it out there that it was great. The one that I got, I can't say all of her things, but the one that I got. So I came out, I joke around and I say, I count, I came out hips first out of my mom. I have hips. There's no, there's no line. And I love, I love them. Let me tell you, it took me a while, but when I got into plus size modeling, that's what helped me. Your hips. My hips and my legs. I used to be ashamed of my legs. I absolutely love

Ann: 52:59

my legs. Yeah. I was like, it was hard to always find pants because I don't know about you, but For them to fit around my hips and then to be, uh, like even with the, yeah, to be tight at the waist, that never happened. Are you still having a hard time? A gap. Are you still having a hard time? Now, no, because I use, um, the, what are they, like the

Delilah: 53:19

stretchy jeans? Yes. Who, who, what company do you use? I

Ann: 53:23

just go to Marshalls. Marshalls

Delilah: 53:24

is cool too. They're cool. They got those big butt lift jeans. I see.

Ann: 53:29

No. I don't need a lift. I just, I just. I'm like, wow. I need. I

Delilah: 53:33

need stretchy jeans. I need squats. That's what I this. No, no. But American Eagle. Okay. So this is, let me tell you. For my curvy women. Mm. A lot of people think American Eagle jeans are just for skinny people. Okay. They have some of the best. Long lasting. Now you're gonna pay a little dollar for them. And sometimes I have them at my store. They're not crazy priced like the actual store. But American Eagle jeans are amazing for women with curves. Okay. You'll pay probably about anywhere from 60, 50 depending, but 50 to 70 for a pair of jeans, but it's worth it. They'll last. Okay. Okay, especially with us women with thighs. Uh huh. Right, they rub and they start to wear it at the middle of the thigh. So I have American Eagle jeans now on. These are nice. Pull them, check, feel that stretch. And

Ann: 54:32

they're not flimsy, but they're comfortable. They feel comfortable because they've got a good enough

Delilah: 54:37

stretch. And you can wear your jeans without fajas. Okay. Okay. Because you know, when you're curvy, we have dimples sometimes, sometimes not everybody. Some people are gifted without dimples, but if you got dimples, you can wear these jeans without a faja. Okay. Okay. So American Eagle, y'all that's a plug. And with the store, that's what I love. You know. The Rock Exchange, I, it's, it's not just another resale shop. It's an experience. Yeah. I have consistent clients that come see me for, especially if they have events. I've had women cry in the store because they've never been able to wear jeans. I know that sounds, this may sound crazy, but I kid you not, I had a lady and I've never experienced anything like this, but it made me realize this is why I'm here. I'm here to encourage women to embrace who God created them to be, starting from the young ones to the old. Yeah. Right, seasoned, not old, seasoned. There you go, there you go. Like, who's old, who's old? Yes, yes. And so I've had one, this one lady, she had like an apple shaped body. So, thin legs, and just more in the midriff. Right? And she's told me, she's like, I only wear stretchy pants, I've never been able to find jeans. I said, I have the jeans for you, don't worry. She puts on these jeans and they fit her like butter. She literally looked in the mirror and started crying because what would happen to her is, other jeans that she would try on would give her the saggy butt. Yes, and she didn't have a butt. Yeah. Yeah, I mean she had a butt but it wasn't one to fill the jeans, right? It was

Ann: 56:27

in the shapes not proportioned. So you have that sag back

Delilah: 56:31

there. Exactly So I found her the right Jean she started crying and that was another window of opportunity for prayer Yeah, and she was able to Look in the mirror and just smile It's beautiful. And she walked out that day with like three pairs of jeans, two to three pairs of jeans, a few outfit a dress. She was, she walked around. She was walking in my store. Like it was a runway. I'm like, girl, walk it, walk that runway, own it. But you gave

Ann: 57:06

her that safe space to do that. Yeah. See, because we are so particular, especially when it comes to the clothes that we wear. Right. And when something I'm in. You know, when we know that something doesn't fit right, it's like, Oh, I don't even want, I don't want to look at it. I don't want no one else to see it. Right. And so you're kind of self conscious about yourself and how you look in clothes, but for you to give her that space for you to say, you know what, I have the right genes for you. She comes out. She's like, wow, in tears, you gave her that space to be able to do that. You see what I'm saying? Like, God, that's beautiful. That's beautiful. And I

Delilah: 57:44

feel like, Oh, I'm like, Lord, like, I love it. Like,

Ann: 57:49

it's like, God, I get to, yeah, I get to, I get to see this woman smile. I get to see this woman feel so confident in her own skin and in these jeans, you know,

Delilah: 58:02

It's beautiful. And I've seen women throughout their transformation. I've seen women who were in the process of losing weight So they saw me when they were thicker and then they're seeing me when they're thinner Yeah, so they're wearing like things that are a little more attention seeking. I absolutely love it. My job here Yeah, while I have this store. Yeah Is to make women feel beautiful. Now, I do have guys things. Don't get me wrong. I've styled guys too. But my section is pathetic. I'm not gonna lie. It's one rack. That's it. But the whole entire rest of the store is women's clothing. And if a woman, if I don't have what someone's looking for and they need something, I will go shopping. Okay. To find it. That's amazing. Yes. And, and so, I will go shopping to find it. I had a client this past Friday. She's like, Hey, I'm coming. I'm coming and I had her dressing room ready when she came and she ended up buying about 90 percent of what I recommended. Wow. 80 to 90%. That's amazing. Because I know their body types. Yeah. Before, and I don't mean to keep talking, I'm just like da da da da da. No,

Ann: 59:13

I love this. This, this is, this is you! Share your

Delilah: 59:17

story, keep sharing! So I just didn't, like, arrive in the fashion industry. I used to be a bridal consultant for years. For years. Yeah. For years. I did that, oh, oh, a long time. I started at David's Bridal, went to Eva's Bridal. And when I was at Eva's Bridal, I used to envision women in their dresses they end up buying. Crazy story, but this is what used to happen. Yeah. And once again, I learned from great women. There was this woman named Ellie Joyce, um, Susan I've worked with, um, and I've trained women who were bridal consultants who ended up being thing, you know, great consultants. Yeah. But I learned from women who were more seasoned. So women who were like in back in the day, um, what they used to do in bridal salons is they would put older women that would like mother figures. Okay. Yeah. Um. the boutiques in the bridal salons. Okay. So the woman would make a decision there as if it was their mother.

Ann: 1:00:26

That makes sense.

Delilah: 1:00:27

I'm telling you, they knew what they were doing. I, so I learned from those women. So I sold dresses that range from 500 to 30, 000 for just the dress. That's not including shoes. That's not including. Accessories. Yeah, they can get pricey. They can get, but I learned body type. Yeah. See, everything you go through y'all. Yeah, is designed and to prepare you for where you're at now. So I thank God for that because I learned body type. So when I look at somebody, I know what their size is for the most part. Yeah. And I can style somebody quick and then give me a couple of times to understand what your style is. Okay. Okay. And then I got it like, okay, so now my clients, I have one client that I absolutely love when she walked into my store, she would wear like these long sleeves. Uh huh. Like, like long sleeves. Now, that woman, after dealing with Delilah for a couple of times, now, no lie, and she's a client now. She's a client. She left. She came in as a stranger and she left as a client and a friend thank God. Thank God. Thank God. So yeah, she wears short sleeve shirts. Her daughters are like, What? What? Where? Who's this woman? Who's

Ann: 1:01:43

this woman?

Delilah: 1:01:46

Yes. So I enjoy moments like that. Yeah.

Ann: 1:01:50

So let me ask you this. Is your store geared toward A plus size curvy women's or do you still for every size and

Delilah: 1:01:57

body type every size and body type. So, okay. Um, from two on up. Okay. Um, I have a friend who has a store. Her name's Rachel secondhand curves. That's another flag. Y'all she's geared for women 12 and up. Okay. Um, and she's in the suburbs and Rockford. So that's about two hours away, Rockford. But the other one is about close to like 45 minutes to an hour outside of the city. What size do you go up to?

Ann: 1:02:21

24. Okay. Okay. Three to 4X. Just so that you

Delilah: 1:02:25

know. And if there's someone who is beyond a 4X, hit me up. I will shop for you and because I want the woman who's a size two to feel confident just like I want the woman who's a size 24 to feel confident and look good for what she's in. So I encourage you ladies, um, come through to the store at 3551 South Archer Avenue. And you help them out. Oh yeah. And I have a young lady who works with me too. She helps them out just like I do. Okay. When I'm not there, um, and we're open from Tuesday to Saturday. Okay. Um, Sunday is the Sabbath, my, my Sabbath. Uh huh. Okay. Yeah, yeah. And Monday I prepare, um, the store. I'm debating if I want to open on Mondays. Okay. I'm kind of like torn right now. But for right now, on Mondays, we're closed. Okay. Um, but yeah, I help women. I love it. But we go up to a size 24.

Ann: 1:03:24

Okay. so we have all kinds. What, what kind of things do you sell? Do you sell shoes? Do you sell belts, purses? Like, what kind,

Delilah: 1:03:29

accessories? Yes, so I, accessories. Okay, so these earrings I got on now, I'm gonna just move my... Yeah. So... Ooh, those are beautiful. Aren't they? So I have these at the store. So if you want some cool earrings... Girl. Yeah. I got the best, coolest earrings ever. Statement pieces.

Ann: 1:03:49

I love earrings. I love, love, love earrings. Come. Come, come, come, come, come. I have to go. I'm definitely going to go. Yes. I think I'm going to surprise you.

Delilah: 1:03:58

Surprise me. Surprise. Whether I'm there or not. I don't know. But I want to be there. So don't surprise me. I want to make sure I'm there. Um, but 90 percent of the time I'm there, but some days I'm not. I have to be at other places, but, um, I have statement pieces to answer your question. I have tops, pants, dresses, um, and I accept donations. What people don't know, I do accept donations, um, but I buy clothes. The donations that I really accept, I donate to three organizations right now. Every week one organization helps the homeless. Okay. And the second organization, um, is another resale shop that helps missions. Uh, the third organization that I, uh, help from time to time is for the, uh, our friends that came in. Hmm, our friends that are in town.

Ann: 1:04:55

I love, love, love that you support missions. You have your ministry with these young women. You have the store, but you also support missions. That's,

Delilah: 1:05:03

that's beautiful. It's, within our community too. Yeah. And I have clothes for, for children that I'm storing. So, our goal this coming up year is to be in schools in less fortunate areas, so kids can shop for free. So, if you have gently used clothes, for children, I do not sell children's clothing. I do not sell children's clothing. Okay. But, I am accepting donations for children's clothing. Okay. Make sure it's right, y'all. Because somebody's kid is wearing this, y'all. Yeah, yeah. And so. I like that you said that. Somebody's kid is wearing that, and if it has a little stain, that's cool, you know? Yeah, yeah. So ROCK stands for Restoring Our Community Kindly.

Ann: 1:05:46

That is good. I really like that. Yeah,

Delilah: 1:05:48

so that's all glory to God. And so we give back. That's our, that's our purpose. We give back. But I buy clothes. At a percentage of what I sell it for. So if you, there was a time where I needed cash. And I needed money. I, this is me being raw. And so I sold some clothes. I didn't make much money, but I sold them. And they were good clothes. Right. If I would have known I was going to have a store, I would have kept them for the store. Right. But, um, but yeah, I buy clothes. And I don't have anything like high, high end, like Louis Vuitton's in the store, anything like that. Mm hmm. My goal is to price the items for people within my community. So you're not gonna, you may pay like 25, 30 for like Michael Kors shoes or something like that. And those range about 100 or so. Oh yeah. And I make sure that I go through my items and uh, And, but yeah, I buy clothes and uh, so dresses, pants, jeans, tops, jewelry, necklaces, bracelets, statement piece earrings. I love my earrings. I'm not gonna lie. My earring game at the store is amazing. And we provide styling services too. Yeah, and you can tip us. You can tip my girls that are there. Okay. The tips go straight to the girls that are working that day. They work hard. Yeah. Show them some love. Yeah. Slip them a five. Right. I'm not saying slip them a hundred. If you want to slip them a hundred and be generous, it comes back to you. Yeah. Break it down, shake it together, and running over, but um, but yeah, so you can tip. The girls that are there. Um, and yeah, just come on and show support to another small business. So yeah,

Ann: 1:07:33

I love what you're doing there at the Rock Exchange. Um, you recently had another grand opening, right? And, and so like, I see that the community sees you that you're there, not only that, but it's also drawing people from outside of the community right there, um, to just to see that type of growth and know that God. It's all in that. Yeah, that's such a beautiful blessing. And I want to support you. I want to make sure to put those links out on there, you know, and I want to make sure that people know you, that they know what you're doing your heart behind

Delilah: 1:08:13

your mission, right? I thank God so much. I know what it's like to struggle. So that's why I like to give. Yeah, I know what it's like to need prayer. That's why I pray. Yeah. And so I know what the need is. I'm not one of those people to act like I have it all together. I don't. Right. I'm a work in progress just like the next person. That's right. And sometimes you got people who are hating on what you're doing and not support why. We're all in the body of Christ. And, uh, just, Support your people, support your people. And even if you didn't have that support, sometimes you'd be like, well, they didn't support me. No, no, no, no, no. Go out and support your friends and show them that love. Right. And it, it might just come around and bless you back. Yeah.

Ann: 1:09:08

Yeah. And you know, when I think about, you went through so much, right? You went through that wrestling with God and for, like, just your story. There's, it's been a process as you mentioned. This didn't come like, boom, here's your building, boom, here's your, it wasn't just like, boom, boom, boom. This, this was a journey. It was a struggle. There were tests. There were, I'm sure nights when you were just like, this is not going to happen. I'm sure you went through that, and now that the Lord has blessed you with this. You know, um this storefront and,, I've seen it in your reels and it's beautiful and I see that when women go in there, they're blessed, you see them smiling, and why wouldn't we support something like that,

Delilah: 1:09:58

and sometimes people, look at somebody and they may say like, why did God do it for them and not me? Hmm. Yeah. It's time to water your own grass. Hmm. And be appreciative of your own grass. Yeah. And the seeds that God has given you. If you love daisies, the seeds of the daisies are in your hand, but you're so, um, busy paying attention to the rose bushes. Hmm. In someone else's garden. You see the beautiful flower, but you don't see the thorns. water what God has given you and plant it. And sometimes that's why I feel like if I had been obedient six years ago, who knows where I'd be now? And so I thank God for the people he's placed in my life. I thank God for God. I thank God for God. There's moments where just like everybody or just like some people, not everybody. I go through moments of depression, and I'm like, God, and there's that battle inside. And what that is, is you just need to spend more time with him. Yeah, that's it. And worship, like you said, in the car. Yeah, you worship. Wherever

Ann: 1:11:05

you're at. Cry out to God. Cry out. If there's someone we can be honest with, if there's somebody that we can be bare with, it's Him. Yeah. It's Him. Right? He invites that. Yes. We don't, we don't have to pretend that we're okay. We don't have to pretend. No, no, no, just Come as you are to the Lord. Bring it all to Him.

Delilah: 1:11:29

Yes. Right? Yes. Oh, that's so good. That is so good. Bring it to Him. Yeah. Bring it to Him. Now, do you, do you title your, your Hirsgars Tell the Story? What do you mean? Like, do you put a title on your, your episodes?

Ann: 1:11:44

Yes, I do. You do? I do. I title them. Yeah. What would this be

Delilah: 1:11:48

titled? What

Ann: 1:11:49

do you think?

Delilah: 1:11:55

Yeah. Bring, what did you just say? Bring it to him. Yeah. Bring it to him. Bring it to him. bring it to him episode. Yeah. You came up with Yes. Bring your cry out to him, your heart to him, bring it to him, bring it to him episode, which he brought to you the 50th, he did a year. So y'all just so you know, this is our first time really like talking to one another. Like we prayed that day. It was like literally, yes. We met. Yep. Right. Yeah. We prayed and I left. Right. And, um, I think it was Olga who tagged me and said, or tagged you and said, you need to have her on your podcast. Yes. Thank you, Olga. I love her. She's a teacher. She just, oh man, I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud of you, Olga. She, girl, when I tell you I'm proud of that woman, when she got her teaching certification, graduated from college.

Ann: 1:13:08

Okay, Olga, you're going to have to share your story too. And her

Delilah: 1:13:13

scars tell a story. Yes. Um, but she's awesome. And, uh, she tagged and then this is our first like interaction. Yeah. That's why I was kind of nervous. I'm like, what am I talking about? I don't want to be one of them people like, well, me, me, me. You know, but, but podcast, it's a podcast. It's a

Ann: 1:13:32

podcast. This is about the woman, the guest, the woman that's sharing her story, right? I'm just here to facilitate it. But this is

Delilah: 1:13:49

your story and, and when I tell you it's all God, his fingerprints are all over my life and I love him so much, man. When I tell you, I don't know where I would be. If I had not God in my life, I thank God, I thank God and for the part two, I know there's got to be a part two. I got to tell you like the details of seeing what my mom went through and the trauma from certain things, um, and how God brought love in my life. Part two for sure. We'll talk about

Ann: 1:14:32

that. Maybe we can do

Delilah: 1:14:33

part two in your store. Let's do it. I'm down. Yeah, I can bring my equipment. Let's do girl. I got the space. Yes, you do. Part two is gonna be her scars. Tell us that we got to bring this. We're gonna put it on like a try like a yeah, yeah, bring it on a tribe like a tribe or something. Something you gotta bring that in. Yeah, that would be a great idea. Do it. Yeah, let's do it. I'm down. I'm down. So y'all gonna see Wait, I love y'all. That's all I'm going to say. Wait

Ann: 1:15:08

on it.

Delilah: 1:15:09

Pray on it. Pray on

Ann: 1:15:11

it. Trust, trust the Lord for it.

Delilah: 1:15:15

Because if he can do it for me, he can do it for you. But that's what we're going to talk about at another time at the Rock Exchange. There you

Ann: 1:15:22

go. So before we Close this episode out. Can you just tell us more about this event awesome.

Delilah: 1:15:30

So the fashion show is going to benefit PG 31. PG stands for a property girls 31. It's a night in Paris. So it's going to be an experience y'all. Um, and I have to thank Taco Burrito King. They're sponsoring the food. So y'all know, we just talked about tacos. Why are you making me hungry at night? We have to go to Los Gamales or something. I'm telling you. But it's all the proceeds go to PG 31. We're trying to save money for a van. So listen, if there's some people who are richly blessed, blessed PG 31, we need a van. The money is going straight to the van. Or if there's some people who like to write, write to Ford for us, they may need a tax write off before the end of the year. And we need. A van. Lord. A transit 350. Yeah. Those vans run close to like 60, 000. Okay. Okay. So all the proceeds from this fashion show is going to PG 31. We're trying to raise money for a van. This is our first time doing something like a goal towards something. Last year was our first banquet. We broke even. I didn't know what I was doing. Okay. We didn't even make much money. Okay., But this year we're, it's for a van. So to answer your question, a night in Paris. General admission is 50. Okay. So to skip the fees, just hit other. Okay, there's some fees that the the platform that we use that's designed for nonprofits. They charge like a fee but some of their they kind of got ridiculous this year with that fee so you can hit other and you can choose a donation you want or you can put zero it's up to you and you won't get charged those extra fees put zero okay And it's just gonna be a great time. We have a couple of, um, PG 31 alum, a couple of girls that are going to be there who own their own businesses now. And so they're going to be selling their products. Okay. And then we have, like I mentioned, Taco Burrito King. Thank you, our food sponsor. Uh, we have RIS. We have, um, Victoria's Magical Balloons, who's another sponsor. Okay. So, November 10th. At 6 30 p. m. It's a Friday night at the Thatcher Woods Pavilion. In River Forest. I'm not far so it's between Berwyn. Right. Yeah. It's like in that area. River Forest, right. Yeah, River Forest. So it's about maybe 25 minutes from here. Yeah. Yeah. Something like that. Yeah. And it's a beautiful place. Looking back I should have picked a bigger place. But I just picked the same venue as last year because it was so beautiful last year. So it's surrounded by woods. Okay. And it's just a beautiful place. Yeah. And so we have a lot in store. Um, so it's gonna be from six 30 to nine 30. Okay. On Friday night, November 10th. You can go on my page. Delilah Abu, D-E-L-I-L-A, HABU, and you'll see the link right there, or go to the PG 31 page like it. Share it with your friends. We're doing a lot. With the girls and yeah, whenever any, anytime that anyone donates to PG 31, it's going straight to them. So a night in Paris, November 10th, it starts at 6 30. General admission is 50. Come out for a good show.

Ann: 1:18:47

Yes, and then the Rock Exchange, can you share that with them, your

Delilah: 1:18:51

Facebook page? Yes, the Rock Exchange. So, it's the Rock period, O period, C period, K period, Exchange, Resale Boutique. And yeah, follow me there. You'll see some cool reels. Yeah. Love you. See me modeling. I love your reel. They're cute. So they're so, they're cool reels, but we have cool stuff. Mm-Hmm? We're at 35, 51 South Archer Avenue in Chicago. Yeah. So we're right in your backyard, y'all. Yeah. My, my Chicago folks. And if you like to travel, travel in from Indiana. We love you. We're right by the expressway. Okay. And we're across the street from the Orange Line. So you can take a train, so if you don't drive, take the train.

Ann: 1:19:28

Delilah, thank you so much for being my guest today. I am so blessed to have you. Like, I look forward to part two and part three. Girl, you're always invited here. Oh, thank you. could host

Delilah: 1:19:43

your own podcast. That is not my call. I don't mind being a little...

Ann: 1:19:47

I love having you as my guest,... I love your realness. I love your personality. I love that, you're not ashamed of Jesus. You're just you, you're just you. And I love that. And I know our listeners, they're going to really enjoy just hearing this episode. And I believe that. They're going to show up at your boutique,

Delilah: 1:20:11

I will help you come through. I will help you and my friends on Facebook, follow her scars. Tell a story. You may have a story you want to

Ann: 1:20:20

share. Yes. Thank you for sharing that because right now, I'm looking for women who like you. Delilah have a story that encourages women to continue to trust God, seek God, stories of redemption. Take a listen to Delilah's story and the other women's stories. She's actually my, uh, 50th recording. So there's other stories that will really speak to your heart. Some will make you cry. Some will make you laugh. Some will just minister to you. Each woman that I've sat across from. I've taken something, a nugget away from each one of their stories,, so I, I really hope you do listen to it. You can listen on Spotify, Apple podcasts and Google podcasts. Also watch some of the shorts on YouTube. and also on Facebook, y'all have options, Instagram. There's options. There's

Delilah: 1:21:14

all have options, no excuses. Are you like, Oh, I was driving. I couldn't, nah, just boom, boom. Spotify, Spotify, Apple, Google, Google

Ann: 1:21:23

prime options. Yes. I love options.

Delilah: 1:21:29

So I got the store. We have options in clothing. Come through. Come through to the

Ann: 1:21:35

Rock Exchange, but again, thank you so much for being my guest. And I just want to ask you, so a year ago you prayed for me, and so I want to ask if you'd do the honors of closing us out in prayer.

Delilah: 1:21:50

Let's do it. All right. All right. Father, we just thank you for today. God, we ask forgiveness for all of our sins. We thank you, Father, for who you are, for you are faithful, God. You are mighty, Father. You are holy, God. You are true, Father. I pray, Father, for the woman watching who's lost hope in her dreams. I pray, Father, you ignite that fire within her to pursue her passions, God. But you remind us, God, in your word, Father. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened. For he who seeks shall find, and he who knocks the doors will be opened, God. But the key is to seek You, God. I pray, Father, that the woman who's trying to do it on her own will, that she just trusts in Your will, God. That you guide her steps. The woman battling with depression. God, I pray against oppression right now in the name of Jesus. I pray also for women who are battling with the thoughts of suicide. I've come against that right now in the name of Jesus. We cast it back to the, those thoughts back to the pits of hell where they came from. We send a bomb of confusion to the enemy's camp. No weapon formed against you will prosper. I thank you, Father, for the women watching. I pray, Father, that they are encouraged. God, that this seed of a testimony, Father, that it's water for their trees. God, I thank you for the women watching. I thank you for Anne, Father. Her scars tell a story. I pray you bless this podcast. God, I pray, Father, that you show Anne what doors to walk through. God, I thank you, Father, for this time. You remind us in your word when there are two or more gathered, you are there in the midst. You are here, Father, and we love you, God. We love you, God, because you first loved us, Father, and we thank you, Father, for your unending love. You remind us, I pray, Father, you remind the woman watching who doesn't feel loved, you remind us in your word that you love us more than all the sand in the beach, God, that you know the numbers of hairs on her head. I pray for the woman dealing with cancer. God, I speak to that cancer in the name of Jesus to go. I speak healing in the name of Jesus, that it is your blood, Jesus, that flows through her veins. God, I pray healing. Father in the name of Jesus. I pray healing God and we thank you for tonight God another day For breathing breath in our lungs God. We just thank you for who you are for you are faithful God You are mighty father. You are holy God. You are true father And I just pray you bless this place, God, that it shall never be the same after tonight, God, that this podcast will be blessed, that her husband's podcast will be blessed beyond measure, God. And we give you praise, glory, and honor. We seal all these prayers in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Ann: 1:25:04

Thank you all for tuning into this episode. Thank you, Delilah, once again for being my guest and sharing your story, sharing just all the good information you provided for us, especially including this event that's coming up on November 10th. Come check us out. Yes. Thank you all for listening to this episode of Her Scars Tell a Story.