Raise The Praise

ABOUT THIS EPISODE:

Welcome back to my praises faith friends. Thank you so much for joining me today. 

I have a treat for each and every one of you, I have my friend Latasha Davidson, who's going to be sharing with us from the mental wellness aspect of being in good health and prospering in all things. So as we begin, I want to thank you Latasha for being on the show. And let me just say, that, she is soon to be Dr. Latasha Davidson, and has been in Human Resources and in the Social Services arena for quite some time now.

 

Latasha's Bio:

Latasha M. Davidson, MHR, MPhil Latasha M. Davidson is currently the Integrated Resilience Office Chief at Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany. With over 18 years in federal service, Latasha’s experience spans a variety of capacities; including family life educator, sexual assault program manager, and veterans service representative. In her current work, Latasha serves as a community interventionist; overseeing violence prevention efforts focused on reducing interpersonal and self-directed violence in the Air Force. Leveraging a public health approach to prevention, Latasha implements evidence-based research programming and education to a population of over 50,000 personnel.

Latasha is currently a Human and Social Services Ph.D. Candidate with Walden University. Her specialization area is Community Interventions and her research explores the association between social media use, feelings of belongingness, and suicidal ideation among women. Latasha also earned a Master of Human Relations degree from The University of Oklahoma, a Master of Philosophy degree from Walden University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications from the University of Maryland.

Latasha’s professional associations include the American Public Human Services Association, the American Association of Suicidology, the National Organization for Human Services, and the National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence.

Ready? Let's get started...

 

SHOWNOTES:

•  Well, baseline definition for resilience with being just our ability to bounce back after we go through trials and situations that occur in life. We all on the journey of life, and so just the best line of resilience would be our ability to bounce back.  (3:21)

•  Combining our faith with our mental health, and then you and I both know as women of faith that we lean heavily, and I know we can talk about that with this audience, lead heavily on our relationship with Jesus for our strength. Just as a basic foundation for our mental health. So, when we're combining that faith and mental health, there are some practical things that we can do to strengthen ourselves as far as prayer and reading scripture, surrounding ourselves with other believers, having those crucial conversations that will strengthen our mental resilience as well. (5:00)

•  When we talk about women, one of the key things in research that we look at, as far as overall well-being with women, women and men have very specific differences in how they relate to each other, how they join social groups. Women, we will be in a group, but we tend to drive in those one-on-one environment. I'm talking to individuals, having that close reframe connection as you mentioned, or sister connection, and just having those close relationships. So in this environment, and you've seen that women are not as easily able to connect, and so we've seen an increase in suicide and women since from 2000 to 2016. (7:23)

•  For me, when God place somebody on my heart, maybe I haven't talked to that sister friend in a while, I just want to encourage people when that happens, pick up the phone, shoot a text. It doesn't take long at all. Because here's what I do know, we are always going to be busy doing something, but taking that moment for yourself to say, reach out to someone who's been on your heart, because you never know what that sister friend may be needing you, just hearing your voice, just knowing that somebod

WHAT THIS EPISODES ABOUT:

Welcome faith friends. Let's get ready for today's episode.

So where do I begin?

Well, I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. So I was that little girl, that school girl who always wanted the extra workbooks. After school was out for the summer, and I would play school, and of course I would be the teacher with my friends in the neighborhood.

I grew up in the Church of God in Christ and I was told by my pastor at the time that you are going to be a teacher, and I told him, I don't think so because you know teachers, they don't make any money. I'm going to be a doctor. When I was grown, I attended Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, entered the school to be a doctor, but changed my major to education. God has a plan, right?

So this is my story. The evolution of where I came from. I'm beautifully broken and I'm working on me every single day. 

Listen in...

 

WAYS TO CONNECT WITH ME…

• Website: https://raisethepraisepodcast.com

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jbell2007

• Facebook Group: https://www.choose2praise.com

 

SHOWNOTES:

•    I grabbed a hold of this poem that my mother in-law gave me called 'I Can' by George Washington Carver. I posted that poem right above my door, so every day I walked out, I could see that I can... I can... Long story short, of course I graduated, and as I walked across the stage and I saw that particular Dean of Education sitting there, and I kind of pointed my degree, like... There you go, I did it, I did it. And he gave me this smile, I just remember, I was thinking, either he said those words to me to encourage me, or he really felt that I wasn't teacher material. Either way, I made the decision that I was going to do whatever I need to do. (3:37)

•    He's not only my husband, he's my friend, he's everything. So now we go on and we're doing life and family, faith and careers, we're just doing life. And God has blessed us with three amazing human beings. Kirsten, she's married and she started her life as a nurse, and we have our son, he is in the Air Force and he's doing well, and we have our baby girl who is currently a college student at the University of Texas in Austin, so we're doing life. And, I get my dream job. (6:31)

•    And that call was a call that I got from my hometown to say, You need to come home and see about your mother. You see, my mother has been challenged with Colon Cancer, and it just got really bad in about 2017. I go home, and you will hear from my mother on this podcast, that is my hope that we can get it together, so that you can hear her story. But long story short, four weeks I was there with her in the hospital, I spent the night there, staying with her day in and day out, and saw her declining. All these doctors coming in and going out.. We don't know what's wrong with her. She wasn't in pain, she wasn't hooked up to any tubes, she was just declining. She didn't know who I was, and then the doctors are saying, we've done everything we can do, so we're going to have to move her to hospice. (9:01)

•   God tells me on the drive home, it's time to leave your job. And I'm like, What? If the joy was pretty much gone from doing what I did, because I always said when the joy is gone, it is time to to do something else. I did not know what that something else is going to be. But when I heard God say, leave your job, I thought, Okay, I'm going to leave my job. You all can listen to the episode 01 to get a little bit more about the whole story about me leaving my job and what God had for me next. So, I jump full speed into helping others to live healthy and well, I started to focus on faith community, to live 3 John 2, God wants us to be healthy, he says it in his word, I want you to prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers. (15:02)

•   I activated my faith, and one thing I do know for word, I know we're guaranteed to move the hand of God, and that is Lord, your word says, because God tells us to put him in re

Today I wanted to share with you again, my story and the birth of this podcast.

_______________________

Welcome to the very first episode of Raise the Praise, I'm so glad you decided to stop by.

I just want to give you a little background about the journey of this show and also its purpose. You see after leaving my job as a school administrator, which by the way, was my dream job, I found myself out of sorts, lost and wondering, what was I supposed to do next in life?

ABOUT THIS EPISODE:

Welcome back to my praises faith friends. Thank you so much for joining me today. 

Today, I want to encourage you that better days are coming, and how do we overcome what we may be feeling as being fearful, the unknown, and how to activate our faith in order to get through this pandemic? Well, let me just tell you, I've said these were hundreds of times before, maybe even thousands of times, especially during this pandemic, but I have to say, I've had so many but God moments in my life where there is no other explanation for what has happened in my life, but for God. God saved me. He spared me, he helped me to survive childhood abuse, he's brought me through a health scare while living in a third world country, high-risk pregnancies. I could go on and on, but you know, at that very moment during those times, I mean, in the midst of it all, when I wanted to give up, I wanted to give me an even said, let the chips fall where they may. You know what I'm talking about. Sometimes when we're in the middle of a crisis, we're in the middle of being overwhelmed, we're in the middle of feeling feelings of fear and things of that nature, especially during the times that we're in right now currently, sometimes on the inside, we wonder our better days coming, and then it's like our spirit diaries up and says, you know what, better days are coming, if you just hang on in there, don't give up, don't give in.

Ready? Let's get started... 

 

SHOWNOTES:

•  Hello pandemic! Under the weight of real bills and real medical reports, I need the kind of faith that is not dependent on presumption, I need to kind of face that can deal with some ambiguity, I mean, a faith that can be patient with mystery, the kind of faith that’s not dependent on my plans. (4:22)

•  Because I know God is in control. And he has the whole world in His hands. He really does. So what am I supposed to be doing during this? What I’m calling a pandemic pause. Have you prayed? Do you know your purpose? Have you been preparing, making preparations to get into position for where God wants you to be so that you can do what He’s calling you to do? (6:04)

•  We shouldn’t want to rush time, first of all, time is going to pass anyway, but in the midst of this pandemic pause, are you praying for God’s direction? Are you leaning into your faith to know what it is you’re supposed to be doing, are you in alignment with your partners, what about preparation? Have you researched how to start that business, have you taken the time to learn a new skill that’s going to aid you and going to the next level in your job, or whatever the case may be, that preparation time? If you could have everything in order, just the way you want it, right? (6:55)

•   During this pandemic pause, are we praying? Do we know our purpose? With clarity, are you aligned with your purpose? Right. Have you made preparations doing those things that you may not necessarily want to do, but know that it’s necessary in order to get to the next place where God wants you, and then are you in position to receive and go forward with the things that God has designed your fingerprint to do. (7:55)

 

WAYS TO CONNECT WITH ME…

• Website: https://raisethepraisepodcast.com

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jbell2007

• Facebook Group: https://www.choose2praise.com

 

EPISODE AIRED ON:NOVEMBER 11, 2020

ABOUT THIS EPISODE:

Hello faith friends. 

Welcome back to Raise the Praise. I've got a teaching spirit in me today. Listen, if you like the word 'Discipline', I'm telling you, I want to help you out. I'm going to help you out with five things you can do to conquer the D-word. I have a question for you. Are you on the right side? When it comes to making sure you're listening, watching, seeing and doing those things and actions that are going to lead you to the goals that you set for yourself? Think about all the stuff we allow to get into our heart gate that sabotages us from reaching our goals and moving forward. You must learn to...here comes the D word, yes, discipline. Discipline in your physical, financial and spiritual health.

Ready? Let's get started... 

 

WAYS TO CONNECT WITH ME…

• Website: https://raisethepraisepodcast.com

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jbell2007

• Facebook Group: https://www.choose2praise.com

 

SHOWNOTES:

 

•  Discipline gives you the power to stick to your commitments and your decisions, it helps you to follow through with what you said you were going to do, without changing your mind based on how you feel. (2:54)

•  Almost anything you can do to better yourself or improve your life, requires some form of self-discipline. Think about what you've been through over the course of your life, and you've reached whatever goal it may be. It can even be going back to school, it took some self-discipline in order to actualize that goal, right? So, let's quickly talk about the five pillars that I believe that will help us when it comes to self-discipline. (5:16)

•  Will power can be short-lived, but that's okay, this is why people jump from one diet to the next and try this thing and another over here. Your willpower is a great starting point, just like motivation, but self-discipline is going to help you to get to where you're trying to go. (7:47)

•   You just have to be consistent, you have to be persistent, you have to maintain actions regardless of your feelings. Get your feelings out of the way, your feelings don't get you to your goals, they don't. Think about those things, think about pressing towards your goal, even when you feel like quitting. That's what persistence is. (13:09)

 

EPISODE AIRED ON:NOVEMBER 04, 2020

ABOUT THIS EPISODE:

Hello faith friends. 

Welcome back to Raise the Praise. Man, I tell you, when God gave me that phrase, it was at the beginning of this pandemic, around March or April of 2020, I just wanted to be a voice of encouragement, inspiration, and help us all hold on to faith as we continue to grow and live healthy and dwell in the midst of it all. Let go of perfection. It doesn't exist. There's greatness in you, and it's just waiting to come out and be a blessing to so many other people. 

In the midst of preparing and prepping and recording and thinking about the flow of this show. Does this go here? Does it go there? Or does it go nowhere? I became frustrated. I found myself in overwhelm, and to be honest, in spiritual procrastination, so I asked for help. I did, I reached out and I asked for help, help from my good friend, Beth Graves, and she blessed me more than she probably will ever know, but I felt such a release and I told myself after talking with her that I'm going to share what's on my heart and stop worrying about perfection. 

Ready? Let's get started...

 

WAYS TO CONNECT WITH ME…

• Website: https://raisethepraisepodcast.com

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jbell2007

• Facebook Group: https://www.choose2praise.com

 

SHOWNOTES:

 

•  I think mid-life is when the universe gently places her hands upon your shoulders, pulls you close and whispers in your ear, I'm not screwing around, It's time, all of this pretending and performing these coping mechanism that you develop to protect yourself from feeling inadequate and getting hurt has to go. Your armor is preventing you from growing into your gifts. (4:47)

•   So, I'm doing it afraid and letting go of the unknown fears that have nothing to do with me, it just feels good, it feels so good, and it's like a heavy burden has just been lifted off my shoulders. Have you ever felt that way about anything that you strive to do or you want to do? (6:26)

•  And you know what the word says about being anxious... right? Philippians 4 and 6, as we are anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God.  (6:53)

•  Go ahead and Raise the Praise in the areas of your life where you've allowed fear to stop you from moving forward. Let go of perfection. It doesn't exist. There's greatness in you, and it's just waiting to come out and be a blessing to so many other people.  (8:15)

 

EPISODE AIRED ON:OCTOBER 28, 2020

ABOUT THIS EPISODE:

Welcome faith friends. 

To Raise the Praise, where we choose to reclaim our joy and thrive in every area of our lives that's physically, mentally, financially, and of course, spiritually, to do all that God is calling us to do with a spirit of excellence.

Are you in asking for those things that you can do for yourself, those things that God has already told you to do? Stop the spiritual procrastination. What is that? You've prayed about giving generously and being a blessing to someone, you don't need to pray about that, just take action. God said, to GIVE and it will be given back to you.

Ready to stop procrastinating? Let's get started...

 

WAYS TO CONNECT WITH ME…

• Website: https://raisethepraisepodcast.com

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jbell2007

• Facebook Group: https://www.choose2praise.com

 

 

SHOWNOTES:

 

•  What you need to do is just take action, quit praying about that program and go ahead and apply for it. Quit praying about starting a business or joining a business, and go ahead and just take action, because opportunities, they don't go away, they just go to the next person. (2:13)

•    Alright, are you asking God to do something that you can already do for yourself? We can't just keep praying, we need to pray like It depends on God, we need to work like it depends on us. Think about that combination. We pray like It depends on God, but then we work, take action, put our fate to action, right, actually behind it, that faith that we're asking God for, and watch and see what the results will be. (4:23)

•    Well done, good and faithful servant, go. God didn't say, well planned, well thought out, well said, or well prayed. Well done, means, you've done something, you put some action behind what it is your fingerprints are designed to do. (5:38)

•    And only because of him, those are the kind of prayers that God's just waiting on us to do. But everything else... You know, God gave me the strength to do X,Y &Z. When he wakes you up in the morning, you have the strength, but you have the choice also to take action or not. (7:22)

•    I'm telling you it's up to you, so stop spiritually procrastinating and start taking action on the things that you know, you need to do research. You don't need to pray about researching, you don't need to pray about learning a new skill, go and do it. Connect with me. We have mentoring, I'm going to show you step-by step how to do it. (10:13)

 

EPISODE AIRED ON:OCTOBER 21, 2020

ABOUT THIS EPISODE:

Welcome faith friends. 

I am here today to encourage you to push, keep pushing through, don't focus on the process, keep your eyes on that promise. But, here's what I do know, sometimes we struggle with that motivation to keep going. We struggle. Everybody struggles with something, right?

I just want to encourage you to keep pushing...if we do not want to be in the same place 365 days from now, then we have to keep pushing. I'm going to talk to you about what I mean by that, because if you want to see results, I don't care what it is you're doing, if you're going back to school, if you're working out, if you're learning a new skill, and it starts to get a little difficult, and you want to quit, I want to encourage you to keep pushing, push until something happens.

Ready to push? Let's get started...

 

WAYS TO CONNECT WITH ME…

• Website: https://raisethepraisepodcast.com

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jbell2007

• Facebook Group: https://www.choose2praise.com

 

 

SHOWNOTES:

 

•     You have to put in the effort, keep pushing. But, you have to do something. So, when those struggles come, don't just stop, it's all up to you. It's a choice. It truly is a choice. You are unique. Now, what you're going through is not unique to other people, everybody is going through something, but you have to make up in your mind that you are going to push through. (3:23)

•    You're stronger than you think. Think about those times when it was so hard, you don't know how you made it, but by the grace of God, that's what you lean on when you're trying to push through where you're trying to go next. And the H says, you know what? You gotta have hope. I have this word hope right there in my office because without hope, what are you pushing for? (4:56)

•     I got through six years of college and two years of grad school, I can write a book, remind yourself of what you've gone through to help you go through the next thing that you're doing right now. I have hope that one day this book is going to be written and is going to bless other people, that is my hope, so I'm going to continue to push until something happens. (6:16)

•    I'll never know if I never try. Keep pushing, persistence. You are unique, you can do this as you're stronger than you think, you gotta have that hope. And I'll leave you with this my life scripture which is on my wall, For I know the plans that you have for me says the lord. A plan to prosper me and not to harm me, to give me a hope and a future that alone encourages me to push through whatever I have to get through. (10:05)

•  You know how to speak the Word, I can do all things through Christ. He gave me the strength. God, you said, I'm am the head, not the tail. You said that I could speak to the mountain, and the mountain will be removed. You said in your word, for your word is guaranteed to move the hand of God. (11:01)

 

EPISODE AIRED ON:OCTOBER 14, 2020

Let's get ready for today's episode. Today I am taking a nice walk around the lake, and I hesitated to come on and share this, but I feel in my heart that I need to.  I want to share with you what personally happened in my life and how I try to rise above it. It is really hard to live it and also defend it.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE:

Welcome faith friends. 

Just imagine what you can do when your mind, your body and your spirit are inline with God's purpose for your life. The Bible says to occupy until He comes. Meaning we should be doing something in the earth, not just waiting for him, as if we're waiting on a bus right? What's holding you back from pursuing your destiny in Christ? Does it have to do with your mind, your body, and your spirit?

Y'all, I love the Lord, I love my family, and I love encouraging the faith community to reverse the conditions of our traditions, to take back our health and live the life we deserve, and complete our purpose on this side of heaven with the spirit of excellence.

My prayer is always that you will hear and or learn something that will encourage you to make the necessary changes to improve your health and your wellness, because God truly wants the best for you.

Are you ready? Let's continue our conversation about being prepared to fulfill our destiny.

 

WAYS TO CONNECT WITH ME…

• Website: https://raisethepraisepodcast.com

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jbell2007

• Facebook Group: https://www.choose2praise.com

 

SHOWNOTES:

•   My Bible says, I shall know the truth and that truth that I know shall make me free. Do you want to be free? I sure do. So that whatever God is doing in this season, I don't want anything, I don't want anything keeping me bound, I don't want anything to stop me, including my health and my wellness. (4:01)

•   Americans have managed to secure a place in the top 10, obesity is now a global epidemic. Now, take a listen at this, according to an article I read in the Journal of American Heart Association, it's gonna blow your mind...By the year 2035, more than 130 million adults or 45.1% of the US population, are projected to have some form of cardiovascular disease. (5:35)

•   Diabetes is the third leading killer among African Americans, 50% of Americans have a blood sugar disorder. 217,000 American have kidney failure and are on dialysis. 40 million Americans suffer from arthritis, and 35% have arthritis after the age of 35. Over 30% of Americans are obese and spend 32 billion annually trying to lose weight.  (9:00)

•   Let's not be passive about our health any longer and start, if you haven't already, taking responsibility for by making healthy our choices and moving your body daily. (12:57)

•   So by day 19, I realized my clothes were fitting loser, my knees weren't hurting, I was sleeping like a baby every night, and I was present with my family. I mean, I was attentive to them, I had energy and I felt amazing! Now, I have no idea what the three simple steps will do for you, but guess what? You don't either. All I know is when you couple the three simple steps with lifestyle changes, sprinkle wisdom, Jesus, honey, be prepared to look, feel and be amazing. (15:30)

 

EPISODE AIRED ON:SEPTEMBER 30, 2020