Getting over fear can sometimes mean getting over self focus. There are so many key take aways from this episode that you can’t help but feel responsible for your knew knowledge and now it’s time to turn it into wisdom. Over here, we know it’s not easy at first but in the midst of the journey your trust in Him will grow and so will you.

well I want to thank you for being a

part of this this is something so I have

a podcast and on my podcast it’s usually

just like stop you’re the best podcast

you’re incredible I love you so much I

thank God for your voice I thank God for

your authenticity like everything about

you I I think from the moment I met you

I felt like I’d known you forever and I

think you’re that way with everybody

like that’s so much about who you are

and I think that you walk out your face

in a really genuine way that teaches all

of us as we watch you just to how to

have faith how to hold on and how to

fight through thank you thank you that

means so much to me I have

really just been trying to figure out

how I can be a good Steward of the

influence God has given me and I think

authenticity and being real and meeting

people where they are has been really

instrumental in me being able to just

tell people like hey we got this and we

can move forward

and I feel like this podcast is just an

extension of that it’s my way of being

able to connect with women who I am

inspired by women I admire and just kind

of sharing their voices and and their

story with the women who are connected

with our platform just so that they can

see that we all have different walks of

life but we’ve chosen Faith sometimes we

have to navigate fear before we met

manifested our faith but that we found a

way to believe again and so I think that

you have a story that is so incredible

what’s so funny to me is like you are

like so beautiful okay and you have this

sweet kind Spirit like you are just

such a gift whenever you walk into the

room you bring so much light and so much

joy like you can’t help but be happy

when around you’re when you’re around

Don sherim and then I see these videos

of you preaching and you’re like telling

hell no like I rebuke that I I reject

that I’m like you better you better let

them know that there is some fight down

on the inside of you but you’re like

from Louisiana right yeah

you’re from Louisiana is that right

I’m from Shreveport Louisiana so my

parents still live there my sister some

of my brothers and my grandmother and

yeah I’m A Raging Cajun through and

through okay so we’re okay so you are

definitely raging and you have become

man one of the most preeminent voices I

think for Faith especially women in

faith I think that you are showing us

that it is okay to be beautiful and

classy but to also have fight and fire

and I couldn’t wait to make sure that

the women who I have influence over are

introduced to your voice to make sure

that they recognize that we come in all

different shapes sizes and form but we

all have fire down on the inside of us

have you always had this fire or is this

something that you kind of cultivated in

life

you know what I think what you said is

so powerful that we all have that fire

because it’s the fire the Holy Spirit

right and he is the same like he’s bold

and and he gives us the confidence that

isn’t our own because it’s it’s not in

ourselves it’s in who Jesus is and when

I was growing up I I dealt with a lot of

fears and fear is really paralyzing I

grew up in a home that was committed to

God’s house I grew up with parents that

walked out their faith authentically

that were confident and fun and laid

back and creative and passionate about

God that their faith wasn’t enough for

me I needed to have my own relationship

with God and so I gave my life to Jesus

at a young age in church that there was

this fear this intimidation and inward

focus on myself on what other people

would think of me

um a pressure to be perfect a fear of of

making the wrong mistake and looking

foolish in other people’s eyes and there

came a point when I was about 16 years

old had a conversation with my dad you

gotta love those convos with your dad

yeah

it was a pretty Congo but he pretty much

just told me he’s like John tree if you

don’t step out and get rid of this fear

like God’s gonna put his hand on someone

else oh good and it’s crushed me like

that’s a tough thing for a 16 year old

to hear

it was about singing Because I grew up

singing with my family and I would hide

and I would figure out reasons to get

out of church so my dad wouldn’t call me

up to say I would try to avoid it at all

costs because I was so afraid and I

remember going up to my room and crying

on my bed having a total like girl

moment emotional feeling like how dare

he say that to me I’m just a kid like I

should be hanging with my friends why is

this pressure on me and I’ll never

forget my mom came upstairs she sat on

the bed with me and she said don’t

Street your dad is not mad at you he’s

speaking to the Warrior inside of you to

stand up into fight

and it was a turning point for my life

the heavens didn’t open Angel didn’t

come down it was just it was more like I

had a decision to make yeah and that’s

how life is like we just have decisions

to make and I had to decide to fight

that and it how I decided to fight back

is to choose not to say no when asked to

walk through doors and they trust God I

think that’s really all it takes

sometimes you know if you’re bound by

fear you don’t have to create the path

in front of you you just have to take

the steps when God leads you and so I

started to say yes and every single time

I stepped out and obeyed it got easier

and easier the path didn’t get easier

battles get harder but the ability to

obey there was an assurance because I’d

seen God be faithful you know and so

that was just getting over fear uh it

was just self-focused it was a

selfishness it was that insecurity of

what people would think of me and I had

to come to a place where I was willing

to look foolish or make mistakes and

choose to accept God’s grace for what it

is if we act perfect all the time where

would Grace ever come in and we don’t

act perfect all the time we’re fooling

ourselves so just that constant Journey

that we’re on but yeah I had had an

experience of the Holy Spirit when I was

in middle and high school and that

boldness is real the holy spirit gives

us the boldness and a confidence when we

open up our hearts to him and invite him

into our everyday he is that fire that

that allows us to to be who we’re called

to be in Christ I can’t tell you how

much I agree with that I had a member of

our team because you know we’re

preaching in empty rooms like most

people are these days and he goes do you

have like an alter ego because like

you’re like this way and then you like

get up there and you’re like that way

and I’m like it’s not an alter ego I am

just completely surrendered to whatever

it is God wants to do in that moment and

I think part of the reason is when you

start obeying God starts doing things in

your life that you know are specifically

connected to the fact that you started

obeying and so now if I want to continue

to see God show up in my life in this

way I have to obey that means I have to

do it when I don’t feel like like it I

have to do it when I don’t feel

qualified I have to do it when I don’t

necessarily feel totally prepared

because I just don’t want to live in a

life where I no longer obey that voice I

did it I tried it for a really long time

where I didn’t feel like I was good

enough I didn’t feel like I was

qualified and I said you know what I’m

going to do it my own way and I’ll kind

of know God but not be in relationship

with him but now that we’re in

relationship he keeps revealing these

things to me that he knows about me that

I didn’t know about myself and exposing

me to these rooms and opportunities that

are a reflection of how he sees me and I

just I love that the ability to obey it

is not necessarily something that comes

innately to everyone but it is something

that can be practiced and when you

practice it it gets easier and easier to

do

it does and obedience to God is equal

across the board whether it’s me

apologizing to my husband or stepping

out and saying something that I feel the

holy spirit’s led us to say to thousands

of people in the auditorium obedience is

obedience and we’re to Value Every Act

of obedience you know and it’s like I

think valuing the things that we might

think are little actually are the big

things to God uh

stewarding our spirit our attitude the

way we talk about people the way we

protect others you know I think that’s

the kind of obedience that God’s looking

for in women because we have this innate

ability as a reflection of the God who

created us to create Community yeah and

when we obey in reaching out making room

at the table for more women being

accepting not being backstabbing or

gossiping all those things I think are

acts of obedience that God can place an

anointing on and that he can show favor

in our lives first what you’re saying is

so true about a woman’s ability to

create Community because we create

community over Petty things you know

like I look at shows sometimes like The

Real Housewives of Atlanta and they are

in community now the community may be

toxic the community may not always be

healthy but because women are together

there is a culture that is created that

has community in it and so I think that

when we are stewards of our spirit we

have the opportunity to create a

community community that is one that is

honoring of what God is not just placed

in me but what he’s placed in you too

and I really I mean woman evolve is all

about honoring the gift of the woman

beside you because it’s not fair if you

win and I don’t win because your win is

connected you’re supposed to inspire me

when you grow and you’re empowered and

I’ve seen you I saw you if they’re

pregnant I’ll never forget that video

whereas like you’re I think you were

like 36 weeks pregnant and it said

you’re gonna have cramps and you’re

gonna have this right back and you said

I reject that and I was like yes what

can I reject today there was something

about seeing you say I don’t have to

stand for this now the kids are

downstairs asking me for dinner I’m like

I reject that I don’t have come on but

we do we like we have the ability I

think as followers of Jesus we get to

have this community that is

counter-cultural yeah it doesn’t look

like everybody else’s community and has

like a depth there’s a lot of great

things to build community around but at

the end of the day I think that what

covet is showing us is that if your

community isn’t built around space yeah

like there really isn’t a foundation and

a lot of people my friend says it this

way like in their lives like snorkeling

at the top when you got to go into those

deep Waters and have those genuine

conversations and I think when you and I

start to talk about the acts of

obedience in our life like yeah I think

I life is an Ever evolving path of

obedience for following Jesus for being

shaped In His Image that’s what he

showed us 2000 years ago he’s he was

just honoring and obeying the fathers so

for us to evolve as women it’s a passive

obedience