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