Counting Yourself Out

Have you ever found yourself facing a situation & you feel defeated before you even start? You could be facing something out of your comfort zone & instead of relying on God, you're trying to rely on your own sheer will. Well...the bad news is that you can't do it alone, the good news is you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength!

Recently my sisters & I went to hike Crowders mountain...it was going great until we faced some steep hills & we didn't think we could make off.  This mountain was challenging but I knew that I had to have the right mindset to make it to the top. I had to tell my self & my sisters that this hill that we haven't even attempted yet will not defeat us. But we had two options: either turn around & admit defeat or pray & know that God gave us the strength to get up this mountain. God gave us the authority to tell the mountain to move if we so needed to. One of my sisters said "I'm not gonna make it" I said "So you're gonna let this mountain that we haven't even attempted defeat you sis?" My other sister & I slowed down to make sure we all did it together because:Ecclesiastes 4:12 says:

                     A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. 

If you would've told me 2-3 months ago I'd be where I am today, I wouldn't have believed you. My lifestyle has completely changed for the better from the inside out & it's nothing but GOD! It took from me to go through some really rough patches to truly submit to God & dig deeper into His word! Sometimes God takes us through tests to test our faith. We can either trust in Him to get us outta the mess we are in, or let the mess consume us. I chose to trust in Him to get me out & I have so much more clarity & peace. Standing at the top of this mountain gave me so much peace! We prayed when we reached the top and thanked God for all of His glory!

 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5

I am a complete control freak, I like to know whatI'm doing, when, with who, for how long, etc. So surrendering it all it all to God was a challenge for me, but the peace and the reassurance that comes along with it feels so much better than trying to do it on my own!

I challenge you all to not allow your thoughts to consume you, focus on God.  The enemy loves to get in your head and tell you what you can't do and leave you defeated before you even attempt to do something.  But when you are focused on God and you listen for His voice, your paths will be made straight! 

Be Anxious For Nothing...

In the African American community it's a stigma to admit that you have any kind of mental illness. You're labeled as "crazy". Although many people deal with fear, anxiety & depression, it's swept under the rug or it's the elephant in the room that no one wants to address, so we tip toe around it. God forbid you're diagnosed with something more serious, you're really considered crazy & people tend to shy away from you.

So what do you do? You disassociate yourself from others for fear or judgement, for fear of being a burden to them, for fear of them just not understanding how you feel on the inside. You deny that there's anything wrong & attribute it to just being overwhelmed. You feel like no one can understand the way you feel on the inside, so you keep up your facade on the outside. All along, you engage in self destructive behavior, whether it be addition, promiscuity or spending money you don't have.

The cliche is admitting that there's a problem, well yeah...you can admit that but what next? Do you try to handle it or do you seek professional help? Seeking professional help means you REALLY have a problem & if others find out they'll look at you differently. Dealing on your own leads you to crash because this weight is not meant for you to carry, it's meant for God to carry. It's prideful to think that you can and or should carry your own burdens alone, give them to God He wants them, He wants to give you peace about any situation you may be experiencing.  

Matthew 11:28-30 says: 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls.30 For my yoke is easy and my burden.

When I first started this blog I stated that I would be as honest and transparent as I could.  I'm not normally a transparent person.  I tend to keep things to myself and deal with them the best that I know how and that is an unhealthy way of coping with things.  I know what God has called me to do and honesty, until yesterday I did not think that what I said mattered to anyone, it was more of an outlet for me.  It's easy or the encourager to encourage and motivate others, hard to be encouraged and motivated yourself.  

The key to finding your true self is to a face your inner demons head on and give those burdens to God,  He never intended for you to walk this journey alone.  Don't disassociate your self from your friends, God has placed them there to help you along your journey and they may have a different perspective on things.  Most importantly, don't be so hard on yourself! 

Life is going to give you so many trials and whether they make or break you is up to you, don't be broken.  Use these trials as a learning experiences. Use these as part of your testimony.  God won't ask something of you that He has not already put in you. 

Honestly, this was one of the most difficult blogs I have ever written, but I pray that my story and my experiences encourage someone else, and maybe one of you can encourage me!   

The story about Peter getting off of the boat really resonated with me, when he got off of the boat, he first had to have faith...next he had to leave behind the worry, fear  and anxiety.  We have to do the same thing, had Peter carried those things with him he would have sank! When you make the decision to have faith in what God is going to do in your life, you must leave the fear, doubt, worry, anxiety, ect. whatever burden you may be carrying has to be left!

1 Peter 5:7 says : Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

I pray that whatever you may be going through you find strength and encouragement in the promises our Lord has given us! Understand that you have to go through these trials and tribulations because it builds character and you come out of the storm a better person! 

I love you all! Happy New Year!!

You Are Enough

How many times do we tell ourselves that we are not good enough? How many times do we compare our situations to other's situations? How often do we not attempt to do something because we fear that we will be judged or rejected? Do you know that you are ENOUGH?  God created you to be the exact way that you are and that is enough!  It is ok to love yourself! It is ok to believe in yourself! It is ok to want the best for yourself! These are things that God already knows about you to be true!

When you feel inadequate, remember God says: You are CHOSEN.

“‘You are my witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he’” (Isa. 43:10).

When you feel unloved, God says: You are LOVED.

“You are precious and honored in my sight, and . . . I love you” (Isa. 43:4).

When you feel forgotten, God says: You are REMEMBERED.

“See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (Isa. 49:16).

When you feel insecure, God says: You are SECURE.

“Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders” (Deut. 33:12).

When you feel unable or unstable, God says: You are ABLE.

“The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights” (Hab. 3:19).

When you feel worthless, God says: You are CALLED.

“You are a chosen [woman], a royal [priest], a holy [daughter], God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Pet. 2:9).

Today I looked at myself in the mirror and said "You are amazing and I love you" it felt weird doing so, but it also felt invigorating! Other people can compliment you all day, every day, but if YOU don't love you, then those compliments bounce right off of you.  If you don't love you, when people compliment you, you feel as though they aren't genuine and they are really judging you for your imperfections.  Learning to embrace my flaws is something that I work on daily and its not easy.  I encourage you to encourage yourself daily, hype yourself up! When you accept your flaws, no one can use them against you! Speaking positive affirmations daily will plant positive seeds, that positivity will rub off on whomever you come in contact with.  

"Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right"

I pray that if you ever had feelings of doubt, insecurity and inadequacy that you find peace in knowing that God created you exactly the way you are, He knows every strand of hair you have on your head. He created you with a purpose! Your purpose is unlike anyone else's, so there's no need to compare yourself! When you feel like you are being rejected, God is protecting you! When you are scared to fall, remember that God will either catch you or teach you how to fly! God will never ask something of you that he has not put in you! Be encouraged to encourage yourself, don't be afraid or ashamed to be in love with yourself.  
In Jesus Name, Amen! 

-Peace and Blessings! Love, Teairra

One Bad Apple

We have all heard of the saying "one bad apple spoils the bunch".  I wanted to know if one apple really spoiled the rest of the apples that surround it.  What I found is that apples give off a hormone called ethylene which is a ripening agent.  The riper the apple is, the more of this hormone it will give off.  Eventually it will lead to a concentration of the gas that is enough to overripen all of the apples.  So one fruit that is riper than the others can cause the other ones to get ripe prematurely! 

Think about the people you have in your life.  Do these people assist you in your walk with Christ? Do these people pray for you? Can you count on these people's faith when you can't seem to find your own? Or do these people look at you crazy when you say you aren't interested in doing the things you used to do? Are these people always complaining? Always trying to find something negative? That one seed of negativity can throw you off.  You may be thinking you have it all together, but get around those bad apples and they make you feel as though other people have it better than you do and you start to doubt God and yourself.  You may start thinking you should be further in life than you are currently, instead of being thankful for where God pulled you out of.  When you sit back and think about it, why would you even want to be around people who aren't on the same mission as you? There will come a time when you approach a fork in the road and some of the people you thought were your "ride or die" friends will look at you crazy because your destiny is to the left and theirs is not.  It is ok to love and pray for people from a distance.  God will start to confuse your languages, what was once familiar about a person becomes unfamiliar.  Things you use to do with those people or that person will now feel uncomfortable and you will have no interest in doing them.  God has to separate you from bad company so He can position, then propel you! Thank God for the people He took out of your life, don't grieve or wish them back, He removed them for a reason.  I am so thankful for the people I have in my life.  When things start to get uncomfortable and people start being removed from your life get ready for the breakthrough that God has for you!

The Journey To Becoming Me

Your journey is not like anyone else's journey and the moment you realize that you are able to live peacefully.  You aren't competing with anyone else because you understand that your journey is yours alone.  You don't wake up one morning and just realize this though, especially living in the day and age of social media.  You have to be intentional about your journey.  Social media can clog your vision because you see other people on their journey and may feel lost in yours or feel as though something they have was meant for you...it wasn't! How awesome is it to know that God gave you your own lane to stay in, your own blessings, your own vision and a mission for your life? 

My Moment Of Truth

I asked God what I was suppose to be doing with my life, what was my purpose, what vision did He have for me...it was one of the first times I heard Him speak clearly to me.  He told me that my vision was to challenge, motivate and encourage others, to be transparent with my story as it will help others who feel as though there is no light at the end of the tunnel.  The issue I had with what God told me to do was my introverted nature.  I am a true introvert and I am a very private person, I do not like to give information to people that I don't deem necessary, so this was a direct conflict with what God told me.  To motivate and encourage people you have to speak to them...obviously, you have to be transparent with them and you have to be approachable.  I read all of the cliche posts about needing to be pushed out of your comfort zone to grow...I may have even posted a few myself, but who really wants to be taken out of their comfort zone? Not me! I kept asking God what I was supposed to do and continued getting the same answer, in my head I was thinking the answer would change if I continued to ask.  So when the answer didn't change, I asked the follow up questions how was I supposed to motivate and encourage people? What encouraging or motivating words could I say and why would people listen to me anyway? God then said start a blog...a blog God, really? Reading and writing has always been a passion of mine, but it's always been personal, I hide my writings to make sure they are not found and read by anyone, so why would I want to publicly display my writings? I was then directed to this Bible verse: 

For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. 

John 12:49

I'll be honest, starting a new blog alone is scary, what if its not well received, what if I don't know what to say, what if...there are a lot of "what ifs" that I could put on here, but the one that matters is what if I touch someone with what I share on this blog? 

This is my journey, I understand that not all will make it on the journey with me and I am learning to understand that my journey is my own.  My obedience to the Lord is that of my own as well.  Since He told me to write the blog, He will guide me and direct me on the things I need to say.  

I am super excited to be on this journey with God, I pray that through my blog you are able to continue on your own journey and be comfortable and confident in doing so knowing that you OWN it!! I'm not perfect, I slip, fall and stumble, there are days I just want to sit there and dwell in my disappointments, but that is not the calling over my life. The best part about being down is the fact that you can only go up!! I hope to inspire, motivate, encourage and challenge anyone who crosses my path! 

Love you all and welcome to my journey