Meet Shaquenia Monique

We were lucky to catch up with Shaquenia Monique recently and have shared our conversation below.

Shaquenia, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I learned early on that my God-given purpose was attached to my passion. As a survivor of physical, sexual, mental/emotional, and even spiritual abuse, I’ve always been pulled toward women like me. Women who were broken, bruised and battered. Women who, like myself, had suffered so much trauma in their lives from childhood to adulthood, that they needed a mask to face each day. Women who birthed their babies through bruised birth canals because we’ve always been taught to press on, push through, and ignore the pain. For years, I sang, spoke, and performed poetry in churches, schools, shelters, wherever I could, to be in the same spaces as these women. In 2018, I wrote my memoir and shared my story, with all its raw, painful, and glorious peaks and valleys. This opened up another door, and women flooded in. Their tears, their pain, and their eventual freedom from that bondage is my purpose, and I will keep running to them, wherever they are, until we’re all free from the prisons of our pain. I AM the spiritual Harriet Tubman.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

My ministry, S.H.I.P.P Ministries Worldwide is in the process of applying for 501(c)(3) status. This is a huge step for me, as I’ve been hesitant and afraid to step out into my calling for years. The path was always clear, I was just too stubborn to take it, lol. In March of this year I was affirmed as an Apostle of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and I take this charge seriously. Our motto is “Faith Without Boundaries, Church Without Walls”. I believe in going where I’m needed, meeting people on the street, at the store, in their homes, in the park, in other nations, WHEREVER I’m called, so we can get to the other side. Checkout shippmin.org to follow us, pray with us, book us, and be a part of this amazing journey.

We celebrated the 7-year anniversary of my book b.o.n.d.a.g.e by releasing a hardcover version for the first time since it was published. Since I graduate in June with my Masters in Theological Studies, we’ve also reopened my books for engagements. I also have a new book coming out later this year. It’s a 365-Day Devotional for the everyday woman called “Sis, What Is We Really Doing??”, written to speak to the heart of the woman as she endures her daily trials and tribulations. You can purchase all of my books on my website, smoniquenelson.com or on Amazon (pen name: Shaquenia Witherspoon).

Now that I’m done with this leg of school, we are bringing back the Breaking Up With Bondage podcast, the Radical Rebel clothing line, and the Modern Day Mary course. Follow us on social media to stay up to date. There is MUCH on the horizon!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

First, always operate on the LOVE principle. Do all things in love. Bring love in the room. Respond in love. Give in love. Speak with love. Correct with love. Move in love. By doing so, you show God to someone who may otherwise have never seen Him. When we learn to BE love, we drive out darkness and discord.

Second, know who YOU are. I lived in a full identity crisis for 38 years of my life where I became whoever other people needed me to be. I didn’t recognize my reflection, didn’t even use my own name. It took me years to understand my value, worth, and identity, and how that connected me to Christ. Being able to see myself as God sees me completely changed my thought process. While I am still growing in this area, it has helped me tremendously as I walk in confidence and purpose, and lead others on this same path.

Finally, SHARE!!! The biggest lie so many of us believe is that no one understands what we’re going through. Culturally, we were taught that what happens in this house stays in this house, and so we learned early to keep secrets, to walk in shame, and to bury our pain. Secrets create wounds that fester and become infected. Infected wounds cause mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual illness when left untreated. One of the greatest things you can do is share your story, share your testimony, start that blog, write that book, or have that conference. By doing this, we allow others to see and feel our humanity, and stop being ashamed of theirs.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

IMPOSTER SYNDROME! WHEW!

This is SO real! If you knew how many projects are just sitting in my cloud because I’ve allowed fear to convince me that I’m not good enough, that I don’t deserve it, that I haven’t done enough, that it will never work for me.

When I look at my list, it seems exhaustive: author, editor, podcaster, clothing line designer, singer, intercessor, psalmist, speaker (or preacher, depending on who you ask, lol), teacher, coach, mentor. Somehow, I always get the nerve to start, but I don’t always have the nerve to finish. Why should they listen to me? Who am I to teach these things? All of this goes back to identity.

My resolve? I’ve simply decided to do it afraid. Do it with my hands covering my eyes. Do it with my knees shaking. Do it if nobody shows up. No matter what, do it. And be PROUD of it. The only way to feel the water is to get in the pool. So I’ve jumped in head first, even though I can’t swim. I’m determined to have the same faith for myself that I have for everyone else in my life. Perfect love casts out fear, so as I continue to operate in the love principle, share my testimony, and do it afraid, this perceived weakness will dissipate. My gifts WILL make room for me!!

Contact Info:

• Website: smoniquenelson.com, shippmin.org
• Instagram: @smoniquenelson
• Facebook: Shaquenia Monique
• Linkedin: S. Monique Nelson
• Youtube: @shaqueniamonique