The Woman God Created You to Be

So today marks the end of Season 1 of The Woman God Created You to Be Podcast, and I can’t thank you enough for supporting me over these last few months in such a huge way, as it has truly meant the world to me in more ways than I can explain! Today also marks the release of my 25th episode, another wonderful milestone, and while I will certainly miss discussing each of my weekly topics with you, I also know how important it is for all of us to take scheduled breaks so we can rest, relax, and recharge. Although, I will say that before I take a full break, I’ll also be finishing up another project that I’ve already been working on! So, in today’s episode, I share more about that, as well as three things I hope you’ll take some time out to do this summer as well.

So, no matter how strong and confident we may have been taught to be…or how strong and confident we may believe we are, the fact of the matter is, we are still human. Which means that, every now and then, we will experience times in our lives when our faith in God, our belief in ourselves, and our belief in what we’re trying to accomplish may not be as solid as it should be. But that’s okay…because the good news is that whenever we doubt ourselves, second-guess what God has clearly told us to do, or to some degree, even lose our faith in almost everything, we can still make the decision to never give up. We can take a step back, go into prayer, rebuild our faith, and then continue pushing forward. In today’s episode, I share why we must believe, keep our faith strong, and never give up.

Before the year 2014, no one could have told me that I would begin suffering with anxiety or that I would eventually begin having anxiety attacks—one of which became a panic attack that sent me to the emergency room. But here’s the thing: not only would I have never believed this would happen to me…in all honesty, I had no idea how debilitating anxiety episodes could actually be. I had, of course, read about them and heard about them from others, but it never dawned on me that anxiety could affect anyone’s mental and physical well-being in such a noticeable way. Because even when I first began having early symptoms, such as nervousness in my chest, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, and chronic insomnia, I still never thought I was dealing with anxiety. Instead, I just thought my symptoms were a direct result of the way-too-busy writing and event traveling schedule I kept myself on pretty regularly. And yes, while doing way too much all the time was definitely causing my symptoms, it wasn’t until I began feeling many of those symptoms, all at once and during the middle of the day, that I knew something was wrong. In today’s episode, I share my personal experience with anxiety and discuss just how real it actually is.

So, here’s the thing. Whether we believe we’re good enough or not, personally or professionally, we are who we are. We are the individual women whom God created us to be, and what I can also promise you is that He never, ever makes any mistakes. Which means that, right now, at this very moment, you have everything you need to become the absolute best you can be in all areas of your life. And what it also means is that you don’t have to do anything the way you see someone else doing it in order to find success. Instead, all you have to do is be you. In today’s episode, I discuss the importance of being your authentic self, no matter what.

So, if you’ve had a chance to read my book, The Woman God Created You to Be, then you know about the long-time struggle I once had when it came to forgiving others. And you also know that, at one point, I became lax with praying, reading my Bible, and with making God a priority in my life as a whole. And what that meant, was that during those particular times in my life, I didn’t have a true relationship with God. I mean, I did love him, and I honored him in certain ways, but when it came to doing some things that I knew weren’t right, I didn’t much focus on any scriptures that related to those areas I knew I needed to become better in. And worse, what this also meant was that I tended to focus much more on God on Sundays, the day most of us attend church service. What I had become was the kind of Christian who didn’t try to have as much of a relationship with God during the other six days of the week—sadly, I had become a lukewarm Christian. This is a term I learned from my grandmother when I was a child, and sometimes, she would even say that folks were straddle the fence, meaning they wanted to be both a Christian and be someone who didn’t live in a Christian-like way. In today’s episode, I share some of my personal experiences and how you can have a much more solid relationship with God.

You have, of course, heard that old cliché a thousand times…you know the one that says, “Age is just a number?” But here’s the thing…that old cliché is still so absolutely true. Because age really is just a number, and no matter how old you get, your age shouldn’t stop you from doing any of the amazing things you’ve been wanting to do. It shouldn’t stop you from changing careers, getting that new hairstyle you can’t stop thinking about, or from buying or building your dream home…if that is, in fact, what you have always wanted to do. In today’s episode, I discuss why it’s never too late to live out your dreams, and why you should begin focusing on yours as soon as possible.

So, here’s the thing. It really is important for us to carve out some “me time” on a pretty regular basis. Why? Because for the most part…we tend to place ourselves last on our to-do lists. Or worse, we don’t even include ourselves or our own wants and desires on the list at all. We simply focus on everyone we care about, and what their needs are, and we spend lots of time focusing on our jobs, careers, ministries, and other responsibilities. Sometimes we do it because that’s all we’ve ever done, and sometimes we do it because somewhere along the way, we decided that making ourselves a priority on any given day of the week would also mean that we’re being selfish. But what I’m here to tell you is that this philosophy couldn’t’ be further from the truth because, ladies, when we don’t take care of ourselves, we eventually become overwhelmed, exhausted, frustrated, and yes, we even become resentful. In today’s episode, I discuss why you should make self-care and “me time” a top priority in your life.

So, one of the things I am most grateful about is the fact that my mom and maternal grandparents taught me how to pray at a very young age. Because even though when I was in my late teen years, as well as in my twenties, I sometimes became a little lax with my prayer life, well, being taught to pray as a little girl is still what gave me a permanent foundation for the prayer life I have today. It is the reason I pray and talk to God about everything, and it is also the reason I believe that when all else fails, praying without ceasing is what will always help us in the end. In today’s episode, I describe my daily prayer life and share three recommendations that I hope will help you in yours.

It was many years ago when my mom began telling me that for everything bad, something good comes out of it, and even in the worst of times, I have never seen her proven wrong. This is also the reason I share this sentiment with anyone who might be troubled or hurting about anything, hoping they will stay encouraged and know that, at some point, things will in fact get better. Of course, I will say, though, that doing this is much easier said than done because when my mom became terminally ill and passed away, it was a good while before I could even consider the idea of thinking on the positive side about much of anything. I also couldn’t see where any possible good could come out of losing the woman who meant everything to me. I couldn’t understand why my brothers and I had to lose our dear mom when she was only fifty-seven years old, and needless to say, there were times when I was so hurt and I became so angry that, ultimately, I became angry with God for allowing any of it to happen. I was so heartbroken and devastated, and worse, there was a period of time when I just didn’t want to go on. In today’s episode, I share three things you can do when bad things happen to you or someone you care about.

As women, we sometimes ask ourselves if we’re good enough. Now, of course, it is true that most of us do know that God has certainly designed each of us to be more than good enough. But nonetheless, many of us will still ask ourselves if we’re a good enough wife, a good enough mother, a good enough friend, or even a good enough business owner, employee, or ministry leader. Because for whatever reason, it is human nature for us to second-guess ourselves about one thing or another. It’s normal for us to wonder whether we truly have what it takes to be successful in either our personal lives or in our professional arenas…or in both. But here’s the thing, God doesn’t create average people. He also wouldn’t place any passion in your heart that you’re not capable of doing. Because even if you have no experience with what you believe you have a passion for, what I will tell you is this: If God has truly called you to do something, He will give you everything you need to be successful with it. He will give you the ability, as well as all the wisdom and knowledge required, without fail. In today’s episode, I share why we are more than enough and why we should boldly walk in our purpose.