I realize I’m one of or the only woman in this group. Which doesn’t surprise me one bit. I’ve always been a black sheep, and there’s no reason to stop now. I am a spiritual woman, and I love to empower my growing community. I am a YouTuber and a spiritual influencer. I resonate with other influencers who are genuine/good people who truly want to uplift and inspire others. I truly feel that I can make a difference in people’s lives. I’ve been on a healing journey since 2020, and that’s also when I had my first spiritual awakening. This awakening opened up my entire world to the possibilities of life. I started to realize how powerful I truly am, and that I could take control of my life, and change for the better. My whole life I over indulged and had little to no self discipline. This was not something I was taught as a kid. I had to learn it on my own, later on in my adult life. To be honest, I am still learning, but I am much better off than I used to be. In my early 30’s I gained a significant amount of weight. I had severe health concerns that debilitated my daily life. I could barely get around, and I was hospitalized several times. My addiction to food almost killed me, when I got Covid at almost 700lbs, I’m lucky to still be here. Now, enough with the somber, today I am in a really good place! I have lost over 130lbs and counting! My health concerns are almost nonexistent, they’ve healed significantly. I can move easier, and walk longer. I can breathe better. Overall my life has improved in tremendous ways. You know the one thing that kept me going? It was my faith. My faith in the Divine, and in my future was the very thing that kept me going. I never gave up on myself, despite every single step being a massive struggle, literally. As I was decreasing my body, I was growing in spirit. I am in such a good place now, spiritually, physically, emotionally, mentally.. All the things. I am consistently bettering myself everyday, and I’ve done this all on my own. My insurance does not allow the weight loss medication. I’ve done this with a lifestyle change and dedication. I will continue to share my journey and experiences in hope that I can inspire others to keep fighting no matter how difficult life may seem. I believe we all deserve happiness, and I’ve learned that self discipline is the highest form of self love. 💕 Thank you guys for allowing me to join the black sheep club. I’d love to make some life long friends. I’ve needed a sense of community. I think this is a good place to start.

A revelation I had yesterday. Nothing new, but a deeper reminder that I feel called to share here: Faith requires you to believe in something you cannot see. Hebrews 11:1 says “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” On the surface it sounds straight forward, but if we are honest it can also be unsettling. It’s scary to think about stepping forward into the unknown. Moving before we have clarity or certainty. But, something we often miss or overlook: fear operates the exact same way. Fear also asks you to believe in something you cannot see. It paints pictures of outcomes that haven’t happened, losses that aren’t guaranteed, and failures that exist only in imagination. On 1 hand Faith says “I cannot see what is ahead of me, but I choose to step forward in Faith anyway and trust in God that it will work out.” On the other hand fear says “I cannot see what is ahead of me, so I choose to stay here where at the very least I recognize my surroundings.” Often even if you’re unhappy with those surroundings. Both require belief. Both involve uncertainty. One keeps you moving forward while the other keeps you stagnant - frozen in comfort until it becomes a cage. The game changer is when you realize WHO you’re putting your trust in. Is it yourself? People around you? Or is it God? You don’t get to choose whether or not you’ll believe. Those thoughts arise all on their own. Belief is already there. However, you do get to choose which voice you’ll follow! Today, identify an area where fear has kept you standing still. Then take one intentional step, no matter how small or big, toward what God has placed on your heart. Share that step here if you feel up to it! Let’s choose faith together and move forward, even when we can’t see the whole path yet. I’ll go first. I’m saying yes to being on a small, relatively new, faith-based podcast I’ve been invited to as an opportunity to share my testimony. I don’t feel ready, nor do I feel worthy, but I do feel called.

When Jesus talks about the narrow road in Matthew 7, He’s not talking about random rule following. He’s describing alignment. “Enter through the narrow gate… small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life.” Matthew 7:13–14 NIV The narrow road is restrictive by design. That’s the point. It requires intention. It forces choice. You cannot carry everything onto it. Ego, comfort, distraction, approval seeking, excess, comparison. There isn’t space for it all. The wide road is easier because it demands nothing. It allows drift. It accommodates appetite. It lets you blend in. You don’t have to think hard on the wide road. You just move with traffic. The narrow road requires awareness. For you specifically, this isn’t about salvation theology. You already believe. This is about daily decisions. The narrow road shows up in small, practical ways. It’s choosing discipline when comfort is available. It’s saying no to an opportunity that looks good but isn’t aligned. It’s guarding your inputs when everyone else scrolls. It’s building slowly when shortcuts exist. It’s staying faithful when you could leverage something for faster gain. Here’s what’s important to understand. The narrow road often feels lonely at first because fewer people walk it. But loneliness is not the same as wrongness. In fact, in high performance environments, narrow paths are usually the ones that produce excellence. Same spiritually. There’s also something biological happening. The human brain is wired to conserve energy and seek reward. The wide road feeds dopamine easily. The narrow road delays gratification. Over time, that delay builds capacity. That capacity builds authority. Authority builds impact. So when you feel tension choosing discipline, that tension is not a sign you’re off. It’s a sign you’re crossing from instinct into intentional living. Another thing to consider. The narrow road isn’t about intensity. It’s about consistency. You don’t sprint a narrow mountain path. You walk it carefully. Step by step. Attention forward.

I’ve been thinking about something lately. I don’t know if what holds us back is some massive failure or obvious mistake. I think it’s smaller than that. It might be the habits we’ve slowly made peace with. The late nights that chip away at tomorrow’s clarity. The constant stimulation that keeps us from sitting with our thoughts. The comfort we lean into when something feels uncomfortable. The hard conversation we keep postponing. The standard we quietly lower because we’re tired. None of it feels dramatic. That’s what makes it easy to justify. I wonder if potential doesn’t collapse all at once. Maybe it erodes. Quietly. And maybe the hardest part is that the habits that slow us down feel normal. Everyone else is doing them. They aren’t extreme. They don’t look dangerous. They just don’t fully align with who we say we want to become. There’s a verse that always makes me pause. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2 NIV I think the word pattern is important. Patterns aren’t loud. They’re repetitive. Daily. Familiar. Sometimes I catch myself calling certain habits “deserved” or “harmless,” and if I’m honest, I wonder if they’re actually just dulling my edge. Not ruining my life. Just slowly reducing what I’m capable of. And drift is strange. We don’t feel it in the moment. It’s only when we look back that we notice how far we’ve shifted. So maybe the better question for us today isn’t dramatic. It might simply be this. What habit have we been protecting that doesn’t really serve who we want to become? No shame in that question. Just honesty. Let’s take a few quiet minutes today. No noise. No phone. Just stillness. Ask God gently. Is there something small that’s quietly costing me more than I realize? And instead of trying to overhaul everything, maybe we just change one thing. Go to bed a little earlier. Put the phone down sooner. Move when we’d normally sit. Speak up instead of staying silent.

Can I be real with you for a second? I don’t think you’re stuck because you don’t know what to do. I think you’re stuck because you’re waiting to feel ready. Waiting for confidence. Waiting for some kind of sign that makes the decision obvious. I’ve been there. Still am sometimes. But here’s what I’ve learned the hard way. Clarity almost never shows up first. It usually shows up after you start moving. We all want the full plan. The clear picture. The reassurance that we won’t mess it up. But God doesn’t really work that way. He gives just enough light for the next step, not the whole road. There’s a verse that always grounds me. “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” Psalm 119:105 NIV A lamp doesn’t light everything. It just shows you where to step next. And honestly, that’s usually enough. I think sometimes we call it patience, but it’s really just fear in a nicer outfit. Fear of choosing wrong. Fear of wasting time. Fear of failing in public. So we wait. And waiting feels safe. But staying still for too long starts to cost more than moving ever would. I see this all the time. Research instead of action. Planning instead of building. Praying for direction while ignoring the thing we already feel nudged to do. Here’s the shift that helped me. You don’t get clarity and then move. You move, and clarity follows. You don’t need the five year plan. You don’t need everything figured out. You just need to take the next honest step. So let me ask you this, and I mean it in the best way. What’s the thing you already know you should do, but keep putting off? Take a few quiet minutes today. No phone. No noise. Ask God straight up what that step is. You’ll probably know the answer faster than you expect. Then do something physical. Go for a walk. Lift something heavy. Move your body so the decision doesn’t stay trapped in your head. And if you need words to pray, here’s what I’ve been praying lately. God, bless me indeed with courage. Enlarge my territory as I take steps forward, even when I can’t see the whole path. Let Your hand be with me as I move in obedience, not fear. Keep me from comfort that keeps me stuck and hesitation that slows me down. Amen.