Speaking it out loud can set you free!

Saying it out loud could set you free! I've learned this over and over again. When you have something on your mind and you don't know how to get it out and it's all you can think about. Then you say it out loud to someone or write it down and then the freedom of letting it out is overwhelming. For instance this Saturday morning, I actually had two hours to myself to have complete silence to read and pray. I still can't believe Grayson slept till 8:30!! It was glorious. I finished Healing Out Loud, by Sandy Brown, and the last five chapters that I read in two days' time had my head spinning and the tears flowing. This book is written by our one and only JOYFM founder and her therapist. This book had me talking out loud to Jesus and getting real with him.

Chapter 8 in particular where it talked about how your perception will soon become your reality brought me back to sitting on the couch in our marriage counselor's office and he told me that I didn't believe God. I remember being in so much shock by those words. Talk about a slap in the face to someone who loves God so much. But as I let the words sink in over time I realized he was so right! I didn't believe the truths that are all over the bible. My perception of who I thought I was ran so deep down in my core that I started to believe these lies. That I am a giant loser who her whole life has felt ignored and rejected. This book encourages you to dig deep to where you first felt these feelings so I did. It had me back at my Grandma's house which was always filled with people and yet I always felt ignored, scared, and alone. It brought me back to first grade where my teacher made me feel stupid because I wasn't as smart as the other kids in the classroom. It brought me back to my teenage years when not one boy looked my way. Going into our past is rough, but realizing where it started and realizing that teacher had no right to make me feel stupid. That in high school a boy probably didn't look at me because I hid behind baggy shirts and was so shy that I probably wouldn't have noticed.

We all have stories that are filled with lies that we once told ourselves. It's when we realize they are lies we can start to fight back! We need to say who we are out loud. We are created so beautifully in God's image. Tonight we saw a hawk on our fence post that was so beautiful and you could tell he knew what he was created to do. He knew he needed food so he was on the prowl. You could see his confidence in the way he sat up tall. He knew he was in created God's image and he knew his purpose! That's where we need to always be. We need to start believing the truths over the lies!! We need to fight our thoughts as our lives depend on them because it does. How we think about ourselves is how we will show up to the world. We are badasses who need to shine!! God is in our stories and wants us to start believing his truth over us. There is so much freedom when we realize who we are!

There are a few more thoughts that came from Saturday morning, but I will share those over time! :) If you can, get some time to yourself to be quiet, read, pray, open your heart and speak your truths out loud! Let yourself be vulnerable to our creator.

It felt great to write again! :)

Always Smile,

Michelle