Unsilenced Truths

"Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders. Let me walk upon the waters wherever you would call me. Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander and my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my Saviour"
-Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) by Hillsong UNITED
^^^^ another great song
I am super excited to share this episode with you guys.  I have really been enjoying the Cuffing Season series by Pastor Mike Todd. These sermons have really helped me uncuff from things/habits that I love that don't love me back. Every sermon has been a transformational which makes sense since the church is Transformation Church but I would recommend that you guys watch all of the episodes on your own time and to take notes! The topics have been cuffed to: comfort, convenience, comparison, condemnation, cake (gluttony), comments, the crowd, constant, to control, contamination, cash, construction, the cuddle, cap, climbing, and the clock. This series has been 10/10! Thank you Mike Todd for your authenticity, transparency, and obedience. Thank you Tim Ross for showing us the cool, calm and collected side of christianity. I really enjoy watching your videos as well. I love your simplicity.

I hope that my testimony of crazy faith and the examples I shared inspires you to lean into your own crazy faith. To trust the faithfulness of God and know that your needs will be provided for and to not lose sight of him. To constantly seek him and know that he desires to do good things for us. He has prepared a path for you and even walked that path first so he knows what you will encounter. If you just tap into that faith and remain obedient you will be able to step into those blessings God has set aside just for YOU.

The songs I mentioned in this episode were:

• Promises (ft. Joe L Barnes)- Maverick City Music & Naomi Raine
• Reckless Love (Of God)- Native Kingdom
• Healer- Kari Jobe
• God Will Work It Out ( ft. Naomi Raine & Israel Houghton)- Maverick City Music
• Never Lost ( ft. Joe L Barnes, Lizzie Morgan & Melvin Crispel lll)- Tribl & Maverick City Music

This episode just talks  about needing other people in our lives and the benefits of opening up to others even when we are afraid of intimacy or afraid of being hurt down the line. I had a bottle of water and wasn't as dehydrated this time while talking so I am happy that I was speaking more clearly in this episode . I hope you enjoyed the pre-recorded conversation that I added in this episode. It was a brief moment where the over all theme of what I was saying, I wanted to be able to remember for this episode. Not all people are bad. The people you love the most will sometimes hurt you the most. Your needs are not too much and you don't have to carry everything by yourself. I would also like to clarify while asking for better people to come into your life does not mean that that all the people currently present will disappear and no long matter. Just in that particular season you may need to love from a distance and as you grow individually they just might actually come back around in the future as a better person for themselves and you. Hope is a beautiful thing to have and hold on to it. Don't let your experiences and circumstances to harden your heart.

*Proverbs 4:23 ~ Above all else guard your heart for everything you do flows from it. 

It is the Monday of finals week for the Fall '22 semester. I was in a  rush recording this episode and dehydrated so if you hear "Pure shate" (1:11)  feel free to laugh (I thought it was funny) but you guys know what I meant and as always bare with me even through dehydration and poor enunciation. I was super excited to share this revelation with you because as I said it has been a rough week or two. Yes, numerous good things have happened and I am certainly grateful for this growth that I have experienced, still for me the suffering I endured was very heavy on my heart. I had to really stay my course and not give up. Once again resting as needed only to turn around and keep going. Pastor Steven Furtick of Elevation Church said in one of his sermons that "Confidence in God's promise without commitment to His process is not dependence it's delusion"; to me that meant if I am operating within my faith in God's ability to do what he has promised me whether that's what he has promised all of us in his word (the Bible) or what he has spoken specifically to me I cannot quit the process because it is hard.  I was anxious (eager) recording  this because to come out on the other side and see a victory in another unexpected way really made me feel fulfilled and hopeful in other endeavors in my life. There were a lot of technical difficulties with recording and publishing this episode. My computer and storage device seemed to just want to delete this and I really had to be patient with myself to find a way to preserve what I had already recorded.  Nevertheless, episode 5 is here even if the process was more difficult than the past four and to me that is what makes this even more worth the trouble. Finding a way through problems and still coming out stronger and more knowledgable on the other side. Your hard times may break you and it may take time to put the pieces back together but in the end you are worth the time and energy you put into yourself. Stay the course and run your race!

I woke up this morning and felt like talking about some of my experiences with ADHD.  This episode provides a broad overview of medication, emotions, cognitive and physical side effects of ADHD (diagnosed). In the future I would like to like dive more into the emotional impact that it had on me and my development, but for now I have provided a rushed time line of how I have managed it with the help of my mom, coaches, and other people in my life. I would love to do an episode later on with my mom on how she helped me figure out the medication side of this and developing habits for school, as well as, an episode with my dad on the functional side of every day living. I didn't speak on how ADHD is related to procrastination which is something I am still working on or even going  in depth on processing information medicated vs unmedicated. I meant to say prominent rather than pronounced! <<< that makes me laugh adding that part into the description..... I also want everyone to  know as I talk about certain aspects of my childhood all of these things have been discussed with my parents (and in counseling) and the past is the past. I do not hold resentment and I also understand that all parties did the best they could for where we are at in our lives. I love my family and working with me through ALL of  the various events I went through was hard and took self-development from each of us. This podcast is a moment of reflection of my growth and insight to where I would like to be so I hope that as you listen you are able to extend grace and not judgment.

The topics I discussed were a bit difficult for me to openly express. However, I wanted to be transparent in how I was feeling and also share those mentioned topics that have been brought to my attention today. Sometimes it is hard to believe that the things we hoped and prayed for are happening, especially when we are in the middle of them unfolding and it does not look/feel how you expected it would. In this episode, I wanted to address holding on to your power and controlling the thoughts that steal that power away. The mind can play dirty tricks on you if you let it. Thankfully, a change in mindset and an evaluation of what thoughts come and go can reveal important information about yourself. Everything may not be how you want it to be and if it is, you may not have fully grown into your new position in life. Neither of those mean that you are not deserving of the good that IS happening so appreciate it and celebrate your growth where you can. You are right where you need to be so shine your light the best way you know how. 
To clarify some of the things I discussed:

• The Hebrew words often translated into "I am who I am" from Exodus in the Bible (which is how God referred to himself to Moses in the burning bush) is best explained as "to come to pass" or "it will be what it shall be". The bible says that the tongue has the power of life and death so be careful of the words that come out  of your mouth and the things you speak over your life.
• Cognitive Dissonance in short terms is the discomfort experienced because of the perception of  contradictory information in the mind and the mental toll causes. It is your beliefs  lining up with your actions causing an uncomfortable feeling stemming from contradicting thoughts/attitudes towards about the same thing.
• Limiting beliefs are a state of mind or beliefs that restrict you in some way; they can prevent you from pursuing goals or desires.
• Imposter syndrome is a phenomenon that occurs mostly in high achievers where they attribute their success to luck and have a hard time accepting or feeling deserving of the things they have accomplished. It is an internalized feeling of being a fraud and doubting the skills, talents, and hard work that have brought success. 

Thank you so much for tuning into my first episode. I am home for Thanksgiving break and wanted to share a few things that have been on my mind the past few days. This has been an interesting learning experience for myself with using technology, trying to confidently speak and being informed on my topics, and even releasing the high  expectation that the content I am putting out has to be perfect. In this episode I discussed helpful relationships and what that look likes to me currently. I also shared some of the things I am learning from my Leadership Development class so feel free to check out my professor's book "The H-Factor" by Matthew Sowick. I will have another episode soon with a more concrete topic but for now here is just some food for thought.

The day I recorded my first episode with the intentions of uploading the audio was my mother's birthday and I wanted to just show my appreciation for her while also giving a small introduction to myself. I hope this episode despite being "unpolished" gives some insight as to where these discussions could take us and can be another baby step in this walk of life. Thank you for listening and I hope you enjoy!