Unknown Blog

Have you ever stopped to think about the meaning behind your name? Of course there is an abundance of great naming conventions and exhaustive books with wonderful definitions of what first and last names mean. So, have you ever considered what the meaning behind your name is?

Candidly speaking, a name exists to reveal who someone is as well as who they are not.  In and of themselves, names don't make a person great. They don't make a person more or less significant. However, it's the person behind the name that gives a name its potential prowess and helps associate it with an authentic identity.  Take a moment and think about it… Who is the real person behind your name?

PreachingWoman.com was honored with the special privilege to speak personally with nationally acclaimed pastor and evangelist, Azizah Morrison. She graciously accepted our request to be featured on PreachingWoman.com to share insight into her continuous journey of discovering the real woman behind her unique name and meticulously excavating her true authentic self. And, we want you to know that you too have a woman within that the world deserves to know, and we want to help you unearth the real you for such a time as this.

So, you maybe thinking, who is this lady named Azizah? What does her name mean? Well, let us share with you this beautiful woman of God we've come to know and love.

The name "Azizah" means, full of might and majesty. That is exactly what we encountered when we met Pastor Azizah Morrison. Poised as a woman full of grace, kindness, and generosity, God has entrusted her with numerous responsibilities.  Nationally recognized as a powerful and impactful evangelist and dedicated pastor, she is also a wife, mother, pastor, entrepreneur, author, mentor, public speaker and founder of the annual King's Daughter Summit and Fellowship held in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area (Feb. 8-9, 2008 Fairfax, VA), amid numerous other responsibilities.  She is truly a woman after God's own heart demonstrating an anointing that compels the heart of the hearers unto the Lord Jesus Christ. 

With a smile that commands the room and an energy that is uncanny and contagious, Pastor Azizah Morrison emanates the joy of the Lord. However, she will be the first to tell you that it hasn't always been that way.  Suffering from bouts of low self-esteem, identity issues, and numerous personal challenges in her past, Pastor Azizah is on a mission to encourage, empower and equip the people of God to be all that He has called them to be, living a life of victory and confidence in the Holy Spirit.

Now you may be thinking, "Did she really battle with low self-esteem? If so, how did she overcome its hardship?"  Well, in a candid conversation with Pastor Azizah, here is what she had to say about the matter.

"I went through a season wherein I experienced an identity crisis, which attributed to low self-esteem. However, one day as I was praying, I said, 'Lord, just help me to awaken the woman within.' And over time, as the Lord continued to minister to me, I would journal. He began to give me principles through personal prayer and devotion that brought order to my life," said Pastor Azizah.

Now, there are so many women, even in ministry, who are confronted with the challenges of low self-esteem, not understanding how to balance their personality with their anointing.  Due to this, they sometimes fall into the habit of comparing themselves with others in hopes of finding their own place amidst other women of the Gospel.  So PreachingWoman.com asked Pastor Azizah, how exactly do you "awaken the woman within," and she offered this advice:

"Be your authentic self without compromising who God has created you to be. You must learn to align your outer behavior with your inner convictions.  Only look at yourself and measure yourself by yourself…When I did this, it allowed me to embrace my authentic self and this is how you "awaken the woman within!" declared Pastor Azizah.

Embracing the God-inspired concept of, "awakening the woman within," the Lord allowed Pastor Azizah to pen an exceptional book entitled: Awaken the Woman Within: 7 Principles For Developing Your Authentic Self.  Ergo, we asked her to share with us a few of the principles from her book regarding developing your authentic self and here is what she recommends:

1.)  Cherish Your Visions and Dreams: "One of the reasons that most women seem to live a life that lacks happiness and fulfillment is largely due to their inherent distrust of their own visions and dreams…The Truth is that visions and dreams come from God. They are His way of putting His will for your life deep within you."

2.)  Believe In Your Potential: Potential is really having the ability to become something that you have not yet become. Potential is what you can do, but have not done yet.  It knows that you can reach the distance, but have not arrived…Potential is knowing that you have the ability and capacity of doing and being more than you are now.

3.)   Identify and Conquer Your Insecurities: Realize that you are perfect and beautiful just the way you are. You must learn to not send hateful messages to yourself through your thoughts and actions. 

As the founder of Azizah Speaks Enterprises, Inc. and president of CommuniQuest, LLC, a personal growth and consulting firm dedicated to the empowerment of women and girls, Pastor Azizah is a frequent speaker on college campuses across the country. She is also the best selling author of, Here to Stay! How I Made It Back as a Single Mother. Additionally, Pastor Azizah has formed the Sulieman Corporation, a community development corporation in the beginning stages of forming Imani's House, a home dedicated to the ministering and caring of unwed teen-aged mothers.

Currently, Azizah Morrison is the pastor of the Prophet's House, located in Washington, D.C. under the prelate oversight of her loving and devoted husband, Bishop Kevin L. Morrison, Pastor of Lighthouse Deliverance Church in New Jersey.  As an evangelist, her outreach affords her frequent opportunities to minister at conferences, events and various congregations all over the nation.

Pastor Azizah is a graduate of Wilberforce University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Media Communication.  Her journey as a pastor, speaker, and author has brought her across a vast array of audiences, crossing gender, racial and ethnic boundaries.

In closing, we asked Pastor Azizah, how she balances all of her responsibilities while leading a growing congregation? This is advice she offered:

"The gift becomes one dimensional if your life is unbalanced…You must make peace with the balance between your calling and responsibilities. One doesn't out weight the other.  They should all work together…The Lord created me with a Shepherd's heart…He is gracing me with the strength to lead his people.  It is very humbling."