The Father was speaking, strategically releasing the Word into the being-formed atmosphere. The Spirit was hovering, bringing life and order to nothingness. (Genesis 1:1-5).

The Word went forth to execute, giving purpose to things visible and invisible. By Him and through Him were all things made. (Colossians 1:16; John 1:1-3).

And then there’s us…

²⁶ Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ²⁷ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ²⁸ Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:26-28

WE WERE CREATED TO COLLABORATE.

We are made in God’s image. We are blessed to create, produce, multiply, overcome, empower, and thrive…together.

Every time I have the privilege of joining forces with a fellow Christ-follower, it is a powerful reminder that we are one body with many members, and every single joint is destined to supply. Regardless of what we’ve identified as our individual calling, our lives (and life’s work) fit together like pieces of a divine puzzle. Without question, we are called to link up, co-labor, grow together, and edify one another in love. (See Romans 12:4-5; Ephesians 4:16).

WE ARE BLESSED TO COLLABORATE & CONNECT.

I used to prefer being an I-got-it kind of girl. No group projects. No delegating responsibilities or allowing others to help lighten my load.

Not anymore.

Time and trials have taught me that working together also means not walking alone. From book launches to stillness sessions, lunch-and-learns, podcasts, and album releases, I have built plenty with many. The true blessing, though, is that along the way, co-laborers became community.

These tried-and-true connections became those who hold up my arms, wipe my tears, and weather storms with me. One or two in the crew are down to ride out if need be, but I digress…

Relinquishing control made space for collaboration. Collaboration taught me to trust and appreciate the gifts, skills, and perspectives of others. Time continues to reveal who to build with and how, because life changes bring capacity shifts. That is normal and acceptable. Assess, communicate, and adjust accordingly. No love has to be lost.

COLLABORATION NECESSITATES ALIGNMENT.

There is something beautiful about teaming up with those equipped to build legacies and tear down strongholds; develop business strategies and demolish limiting beliefs; take territory and testify so transparently and truthfully that others become fully persuaded that they, too, can be free.

¹ Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. Philippians 2:1-4 NIV

The blessing of collaboration isn’t just about what is built. It is also in what is experienced, felt, witnessed, and sustained over time.

Around here, we turn living rooms into sanctuaries. Voice memos become sermonettes. We will go from kee-keeing to calling forth greatness in 2.5 seconds.

We build each other up when life's pressures weigh us down.

WITH COLLABORATION COMES ACCOUNTABILITY.

Iron only sharpens iron where the willingness to initiate hard conversations and the humility to receive truth wrapped in grace exist.

• Does the work get compromised when you bump heads?

• Do you hold one another to a standard of excellence that brings God glory?

• Are those who watch up close and from afar aware that they’re seeing the hands and feet of Jesus at work?

• Is it understood within your community that prayer and rest are vital aspects of productivity?

• What is your initial response to being called out for spewing negativity?

May we all come to know and embrace the life-transforming power of heaven-ordained collaboration.

Sincerely,

LaToya NaShae

Yep, I’m the problem. Although I am accountable enough to own it, I'm not remorseful enough to backpedal.

Surely, you’re wondering what kind of friend I am and why others would subject themselves to emotional distress on my behalf. Simply put, it’s my birthday season! You read correctly: SEASON. I celebrate from 10/01 - 12/15, and part of the celebration always includes a quiz to see who truly knows me.

The results are always the same. I am dearly loved, but bay-beeee, these folks don’t know me at all! EVERYONE FAILS. Miserably, might I add. This cracks me up year after year. What tickles me even more are the few who vow to do better the next year.

They never do.

This year’s multiple-choice challenge was This OR That. I went easy on them. Instead of having 3 or 4 answers to choose from, my tribe worked through 20 best-answer scenarios such as:

I'd rather mop while listening to _ on repeat than _, although I love both.

Last Two Dollars x Johnnie Taylor; Cigarettes & Coffee x Otis Redding OR Cigarettes & Coffee x Otis Redding; Last Two Dollars x Johnnie Taylor

If I were a tree, I would be a _.

Redwood OR Palm

The 2026 scores currently range from 40-60%. Bless their hearts 🙄

This year’s quiz brought to mind something my pastor often says:

As I prepare for the next chapter of life and another calendar year, I am reflecting on how God’s expectations of us are spiritual and practical.

His expectations of me have spiritual and practical elements.

Think about it…

• The God who fights for us also trains our hands for war and our fingers for battle. (See Exodus 14:13-14 & Psalm 144:1)

• The all-knowing One who searches hearts and examines minds also instructs us to ask, seek, and knock as an expression of faith and reliance on Him. (See Jeremiah 17:10 & Matthew 7:7-11)

• Because Jesus, the Word wrapped in flesh, experienced being fully human while still being fully God, He sympathizes with our weakness as He intercedes for us. He petitions the Father on our behalf, and still, we are to go boldly before the throne of grace in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

There is purpose and power in combining This & That.

Learning what my 40+1-year-old body needs on this wellness journey also requires identifying the necessary This & That’s:

Prayer & Preparation

It’s easy to become so hyper-focused in one area that we lose zeal in another. However, God’s will is that we prosper and be in health, just as our soul prospers. Physical wellness should be a byproduct of a well soul.

My soul is only as well as the health of my relationship with Yahweh. This relationship requires abiding in His presence and practicing spiritual rhythms. I also need to meal prep, strength train 3 times per week, and shoot for at least 8K steps daily.

Steadfastness & Self-control

I need long-term endurance and self-restraint. Wellness is a lifetime spirit, mind, and body journey that includes stewarding my temple well. Having revelation and information for defining wellness from season to season helps me remain committed to the process over time.

Knowing what to do is one thing. Doing it is another. Staying disciplined enough to continue doing what I know to do is where I often struggle.

Humility & Hunger

I am not strong enough to remain consistently committed to wellness. There. I said it. I need the strength and guidance of the Holy Spirit for this. As I’m typing this, I am also realizing the need to pray that, as I delight myself in the Lord, He would grant me the lasting desire (aka hunger) to thrive on this journey.

I pray that every milestone and mini victory compels me to keep going and that I rebound quickly from setbacks.

Amen.

Meal Prep from Bottom to Top:

Breakfast: Egg white & spinach omelette on toasted sourdough with strawberries + Yogi tea with Black Girl Vitamins Collagen Powder.

Lunch: Pan-searched chopped chicken with sweet peas, feta, and red pepper flakes.

Snack: Lesser Evil Popcorn

Dinner: Turkey and Veggie Stew (it’s still frozen in this picture) and grapefruit.

LET’S REFLECT

Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know. Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV

Grab your journal, get cozy in a quiet corner, and allow Holy Spirit to reveal areas where you may have plenty of information but lack the necessary revelation to remain committed to spiritual, emotional, and/or physical wellness.

Sincerely,

LaToya NaShae

Surely, you’ve experienced it.

Your life is beyond beautiful. You are flourishing more than you could’ve hoped, wished, or imagined. Prayed promises are coming to pass, and things that are exceedingly, abundantly beyond your expectations are springing up too!

This has to be the “life and life more abundantly” that Jesus was talkin’ about!

And then, it happens. First a prick and then a poke. If discernment and self-control don’t kick in, a soul puncture is sure to follow. So goes the progression of thorns.

⁶ Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, ⁷ or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:6-10 NIV

Thorns. We all have them. Whether we have the self-awareness and humility to acknowledge them is another matter. Our ability to recognize thorns and our willingness to surrender to the Spirit determine how (or if) we thrive even as the nuisance remains.

Thorns are messengers sent by Satan as reminders of our shortcomings that God repurposes as sanctifying agents.

Thorns are mindsets, proclivities, desires, illnesses, opposition, and so on, used by the enemy for our destruction. Our Sovereign Savior, however, utilizes them to keep us reliant on His strength and submitted to the leading of His Spirit.

What our adversary planned as a snare, Yahweh reframes as a reminder:

Knowing and doing are two different things. Comprehending how to live a life of righteous reliance doesn’t always translate to the aligned action we think it does. Knowing God as my Source & Sustainer doesn’t stop me from tripping over the familiar stumbling block of chronic independence, aka hyper-independence.

Please believe my timbers were shivered, ‘cause what?? Here I was thinking I was acknowledging the Lord in all of my ways and not leaning on my own understanding. All the while, I was slowly drifting back into self-sufficiency.

The easiest way to explain is to provide a glimpse into my quiet time…

10/30/2026

Depend - to put trust in; rely on; be sure of

Emotions: confused, ashamed, grateful, accepted, & challenged

After these things, the Word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceeding great reward.

Genesis 15:1

• Shield | Hebrew: meginnah (pronounced meg-in-naw)

Strong’s Concordance: A small shield or a buckler; fig. a protector; also the scaly hide of a crocodile - armed, buckler, defence, ruler, shield

• Osteoderms - A crocodile’s hide is made of bony plates (osteoderms) embedded in its scales that function like a coat of mail.

• Buckler - a small, hand-held shield, 8-18 inches in diameter

• The shield reference in Genesis 15 is significantly smaller than the shield imagery used to describe the full armor of God in Ephesians 6. Moving with skill and agility protected one’s torso, but it was incapable of guarding the entire body at once.

After these things…

• A multi-kingdom war broke out in the Valley of Siddim: 4 allied kings against 5 allied kings. (Gen. 14:1-3)

• The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah were defeated, their possessions stolen, and their people taken captive, including Lot. (Gen. 14:10-12)

• Abram rallied 318 of his servants who were trained for war to defeat Chedorlaomer and his allies. (Gen. 14:13-17)

• Abram tithed to Melchizedek. (Gen. 14:18-20)

• Abram refused the king of Sodom’s offer to keep his possessions to ensure that no human could ever take credit for his riches. Only God would receive that glory. (Gen. 14:22-23)

“Don’t be afraid,” came after Abram experienced victory in battle.

“I am your exceeding great reward,” came after he refused to cart off the king of Sodom’s treasures.

In this life, we will have troubles, and our joy can abound in advance of fulfillment and in the midst of adversity because Christ, the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, has OVERCOME THE WORLD.

Opportunities to fear will come.

Opportunities to hoard tainted treasures will come.

Opportunities to feel exposed, uncovered, and unprotected will come.

Opportunities to make our name great rather than exalting His name above all else are sure to come.

But God.

Lord, help me to remember it is You who made me; I did not produce myself. In You alone do I live, move, and have my being. Apart from You, I can’t create anything with eternal depth and value.

Thank You for graciously calling out my slow drift into the danger zone of self-sufficiency. Thank You for drawing me back to total reliance on You. You have fashioned me for the marketplace to co-labor with leaders, curating work cultures and developing strategies for moving their organizations forward in excellence.

Continue instructing me on relying on Your strength and wisdom, and how to best align with others to scale their businesses as I advance Your Kingdom and bring You glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Sincerely, LaToya NaShae

I agree. I would also argue that we sometimes fail to maximize what’s within our reach because we lack the vision to see never-before-explored possibilities.

Moses purified water by tossing in a branch. (Exodus 15:22-27)

Samson defeated 1,000 Philistine men with the jawbone of a donkey. (Judges 15:15-16)

Elisha smacked the Jordan River with his newly inherited mantle to part the water and cross over on dry land. (2 Kings 2:13-15)

A branch can do more than bear fruit.

A carcass can provide more than old bones.

A shawl can offer more than warmth.

Oh, and an ironing board is certainly useful for more than just ironing!

Yes, I absolutely eulogized my ironing board! It served me well, y’all! Also, this was in 2020; I had time on my hands. I’m running this Facebook post back because it came to mind a few days ago when I overcame a food craving in a way that was new to me.

Boundaries Over Bitterness by my sister-friend Darnella Parker is an introspective journaling experience designed to help identify our triggers, process our emotions, and implement healthy boundaries to prevent bitterness toward others from taking root.

But bitterness wasn’t my problem.

The battle was overcoming the urge to self-soothe with potato chips.

Instead of going to the vending machine at work or stopping by the gas station on my way home, I committed to working through the 4-stage process outlined in Boundaries Over Bitterness: Touchpoint, Trigger, Transformation, and Truth.

TOUCHPOINT

Working for a small company means wearing multiple hats. Human Resources takes up the bulk of my time, but the gaps get filled with Accounts Receivable. Let me CliffsNotes these details:

• A customer placed two orders for the same amount. One shipped to the correct address; the other ended up at a random residential address.

• Plot Twist: The customer issued payment for the received order. However, our Accounts Payable person applied the payment to the invoice for the order that was not received.

• The two people responsible for untangling this madness assured the customer it would be resolved. It wasn’t.

• The payment should’ve been rolled back and applied to the correct invoice. Then, the incorrect invoice should’ve been credited.

• Because the corrections weren’t made, the customer’s valid and technically paid invoice showed up on my past-due report.

My collections call to the customer was pointless because the problem was on our side.

TRIGGER

Forgetfulness isn’t an adequate excuse because our ERP provides ample ways to automate reminders. Nevertheless, a few people rely on scattered stacks of paper and sticky notes to jog their memories. Their memories end up not jogging, walking, limping, or crawling, which leads to internal and external communication misses.

Being annoyed and angry led to craving the salty, crunchy comfort of potato chips.

TRANSFORMATION

Although I wanted chips, I needed to interrogate the craving.

Was I hungry?

Nope, not at all.

The sole purpose of tearing open a bag of Lay’s would be to calm my nerves. However, if the Creator intended for food to supply my comfort, He would’ve never sent the Comforter.

My true need and desire is to continue the work of journaling my way through cravings instead of yielding to them.

TRUTH

¹⁵ If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever. John 14:15-16

Food is not my comforter. Holy Spirit, You are. I repent for reaching for something that can never be what You are to me. Help me to renew my mind to reach for You as my always-available Comforter.

My beloved ironing board was purposed to help me live wrinkle-free, but it came in handy during my hair-hustle days and pulled me through back when counter space was limited.

Likewise, Darnella’s journal was meant to help individuals process their emotions while navigating relationship dynamics with others. However, it came in clutch to help me examine my relationship with food and will continue to do so.

Sometimes a thing can have built-in use beyond its original design.

LET’S REFLECT

¹¹ For the value of wisdom is far above rubies; nothing can be compared with it. ¹² Wisdom and good judgment live together, for wisdom knows where to discover knowledge and understanding. Proverbs 8:11-12, TLB

• What underutilized resources is wisdom highlighting in this season?

• What knowledge and understanding is the Holy Spirit imparting to help you maximize the tools available to you on your wellness journey?

Sincerely,

LaToya NaShae

GOOD IS THE ENEMY OF GREAT

Good to Great by Jim Collins

Eh, not always.

Good doesn’t deserve to be demonized. Sometimes “good” truly needs to level up. At other times, though, good is suitable. It is sufficient. It is water to a dry and weary soul.

Good is contentment that makes room for growth without grumbling about present gaps.

Good is in sync with the season, understanding the times like the sons of Issachar.

Good is intentionally engaging in rest, playfulness, gratitude, and contemplation.

I am embracing the truth of good being a designation that doesn’t necessarily denote a deficit.

The heart can know what the mind is slower to catch up to. Somewhere along the way, my heart stopped focusing on good vs. best and shifted to good and core.

I don’t have a best friend - haven’t had one in years, actually. That’s no shade to those who use the term or to those who consider me their bestie.

“Best friend” isn’t a title that I shake off. It’s simply not my label of choice because my good friendships aren’t inferior relationships.

2023 shaped my life in ways that continue to be revealed. It kicked off with God telling me that He wanted me to be softer and that soft was safe. (We’ll get to that one of these days.) I stepped away from a church that I helped launch, started therapy, jumped into HR, released my first album of journal entries set to jazzy tunes, and experienced my view of friendship being reshaped while reading my pastor’s book, Relational Intelligence.

We have an absolute ball with good friends!

We grow with good friends because accountability looks like iron sharpening iron.

We win with good friends because every joint is committed to supplying curious questions, confirmation, creativity, and challenges.

We laugh, mature, and excel with good friends, but I now have the language to articulate the heart distinction that my mind was slow to realize: Some good friends double as core friends, but not every good friend is a core friend.

Full Body Sculpt w/ Kristina Girod

If you’ve ever worked out with a trainer, whether in-person or online, you’ve heard them shout, “Engage your core!” Glute bridges, Russian twists, dumbbell snatches, planks - so on and so forth - are only as beneficial as the engagement of our core. An engaged core produces good form, and good form yields optimal results.

Good friends pray Psalm 91 over us; core friends war in the spirit with us.

Good friends carry our prayer requests to the throne of God; core friends seek the Lord about how to intercede on our behalf.

Good friends are present to witness the miraculous unfold in our lives; core friends witness our weaknesses during Gethsemane-like moments.

Good friends are the nine; core friends are the other three.

To be clear, good friends and core friends are God-ordained. Both have their place and purposefully add value to our lives, just in different ways. Core friends, however, are more intimate connections, meaning they are permitted to see into us to a greater degree.

Engaging core friends requires discernment, wisdom, and vulnerability. We must allow the Holy Spirit to reveal who they are, instruct us in honoring the rarity of the relationship, and help us to bravely show up with our masks off, willingly revealing who we really are, not just showing some sanitized version of ourselves.

Fully engaging core friendships requires a blend of honesty, empathy, and humility that first demands self-awareness. If we desire core friendships and aspire to be a core friend, we must ask ourselves:

• Am I emotionally mature enough to express my relational expectations, admit when my feelings have been hurt, and respectfully disagree instead of going along to get along?

• Am I able and willing to hold my core friends’ emotions as they do for me?

• Am I capable of confessing my faults and remaining open to wise counsel?

Similar to core workouts, engaging core friendships brings balance, stability, and ease to our lives.

Balance | He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed. (Proverbs 13:20)

Stability | For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. (Ecclesiastes 4:10)

Ease | Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. (Ecclesiastes 4:9)

May we all follow the Spirit’s leading as we learn to fully engage our core.

Sincerely,

LaToya NaShae

No, seriously.

People talk about love at first sight, but have you experienced love at first listen? Oh, it’s definitely a thing! The Happy Cell Song captured my heart within seconds of hearing recording artist and social-emotional healing practitioner Karega Bailey and his kiddos belt out the words on IG. Shout out to Jared Burch of Burch Bear Holistic Care for inviting the internet on a 30-day cell-affirming challenge!

Every single cell inside my body,
Every single cell is happy and well
Every single cell inside my body,
Every single cell is happy and well
I’m so glad, every single cell
In my body is happy and well
I’m so glad, every single cell
In my body is happy and well

VibraPulse Vibration Plate

Whether spoken or sung, words have power. They are impactful. Declaring that every single cell inside my body is happy and well is more than an affirmation to me. It’s a call to accountability. Our cells are divinely designed to thrive. However, their ability to do so depends on how we care for our bodies at the cellular level. I’ve already confessed to being a science kid at heart. I know how cells function, but knowing isn’t enough. If I truly desire to be well, I have to care for my cells well, starting with lovin’ on my mitochondria. Stick with me. We’re going somewhere…

Mitochondria and our metabolism go together… real bad. You may remember learning that these small but mighty organelles are our cells' powerhouses. They convert nutrients from food into a form of chemical energy known as adenosine triphosphate, aka ATP. Their role doesn’t end there.

Mitochondria don’t just make energy. They act as a sort of antenna to link your psychological experiences to your organ health, your rate of aging, and your sense of vigor, meaning your mental energy.

Improve Energy & Longevity by Optimizing Mitochondria - The Huberman Lab with Dr. Martin Picard

The health of our mitochondria has body and soul implications. Our vitality, from physical movement to metabolic functioning and emotional health, is dependent on their vitality. Mitochondria rely on us to properly fuel them so they can properly fuel us. Ya know, circle-of-life type stuff.

Groups of healthy, energized cells that can carry out all their duties become healthy organs that carry out their jobs. Every cell has the blueprint it needs to work; it simply needs the resources. But when mitochondria don’t have the right conditions, or they get inundated with the wrong materials in the wrong amounts, they don’t produce enough ATP for the cells to do their jobs.

Good Energy by Casey Means, MD

Malfunctioning mitochondria impact every organ and system in our body. Our endocrine system doesn’t get a pass. Our digestive system doesn’t get a pass. Our reproductive health? Yep! Mitochondria play a role in that too! Throw the heart, brain, kidneys, and every other organ in the mix also! Simply put: MITOCHONDRIA MATTER.

Stewardship is the responsible management, oversight, and protection of something entrusted to one’s care.

Before the Pharisees come for me, hear me out. Yes, in context, this passage refers to fleeing from sexual immorality. Got it. Annnnd honoring our bodies as the temple of the living God also includes properly fueling our bodies (and cells) as unto the Lord. Actively (not perfectly/legalistically) practicing wellness is a facet of worship. That includes stewarding our cells.

CELLULAR STEWARDSHIP

Cared-for cells are happy cells. Here are a few quick tips for managing our mitochondria, ensuring that every single cell inside your body is happy and well:

• Food is Fuel - Before we think of food as comforting or celebratory, we should first consider that its primary role is to supply our cells with nutrients for functioning optimally. (By “we”, I mean me. This is my struggle.) Ask yourself, “Am I eating to fuel or consuming to soothe?”

• Move with Intention - A friend once told me that there is a whole lot of space between all and nothing. He was right. You don’t have to be into CrossFit or miles-long runs! Brisk walking is movement. Cardio drumming is movement. Chair aerobics is movement! Find your flow, and the joy of movement will meet you there.

• Reframe Rest - Rest is more than sleep, although good sleep is critical. Rest is also allowing ourselves to slow down, breathe deeply, and be present. Those dishes and that laundry can wait. I promise you it’ll be there tomorrow. Rest isn’t a reward; it is just as much of a necessity as your next breath. Treat it as such.

LET'S REFLECT

⁵ Get wisdom, get understanding;
do not forget my words or turn away from them.
⁶ Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;
love her, and she will watch over you.

Proverbs 4:5-6, NIV

Grab your journal, get cozy in a quiet corner, and allow Holy Spirit to reveal:

• How He is calling you deeper into His presence and further into discipline/self-control

• The wisdom He is imparting to you about stewarding wellness in this season

Sincerely,

LaToya NaShae

We commit to turning over a new leaf.

We fervently believe to see what God said.

We start on fire. But as the weeks pass, the steadfastness begins to fade.

OUCH! As hard as that statement hits, I can’t argue against it…

Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but happy is he who keeps the law.

Proverbs 29:18

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines restraint as control over the expression of one's emotions or thoughts. In an ideal world, vision for the future shapes our present values. Those values govern our actions. Thus, closing the gap between what is and what shall be. Boundaries/discipline/restraint protect our values and our God-breathed vision.

More often than not, I think of faith as what fills the space between revelation and manifestation. And it is that.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1

Faith is a sustaining substance that serves as a bridge between what God declares and what our eyes perceive. Faith undergirds vision until fulfillment comes. But Pastor Mike asked, “What is the vision for our faith?” We can easily identify the visions that require faith, but pinpointing the vision for our faith requires introspection. It requires getting still in the Secret Place.

What is the vision for my faith? In other words, what is God’s will for the measure of faith entrusted to me?

How has He ordained my faith to exist?

²² So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. ²³ For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. ²⁴ Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

Mark 11:22-24

¹⁴ Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

1 John 5:14-15

The size of the mountain is irrelevant. Is moving it within God’s will?

Is what I’m petitioning Him for aligned with heaven’s reality and backed by Scripture?

Is my faith in God or the mountain’s willingness to obey my voice?

If my faith truly existed according to God’s will, it would be boldly, boundlessly convinced of His love and faithfulness toward me. It would unwaveringly believe that His mercies are new every morning, His compassion does not fail, His decrees are free from fickleness, and His joy is indeed my strength. Faith according to God’s will believes that my victory is secured and my freedom is sure because Christ is my Redeemer and His Spirit fills me with dynamic power.

If my faith existed as the Lord prescribes, it would rest in the steadiness of His nature. It wouldn’t waver because God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

My faith would believe what God says more than what my eyes see, because He is not a man that He should lie.

If my faith were fully in God, my life would look and sound like surrendered discipline.

Lord, help me to place my faith wholly in You.

Sincerely,

LaToya NaShae

Roll with me as I unpack my thoughts…

Submission to the Spirit’s leading produces reliability. He guides us in being steady and dependable, leading us to align with the Father’s will as it is made known. This isn’t about perfection. We aren’t called to be perfect but rather to allow ourselves to be perfected over time by the Holy Spirit at work in and through us. This yielding produces predictability in character. A surrendered person is a reliable person, and a reliable person is consistent.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Galatians 5:22-24, NIV

Self-control looks like prepping tasty, nutritious meals on Sundays and Thursdays and eating what’s been prepared.

A lack of self-control looks like eating my planned meals and still making a random, late-night trip to Wendy’s because sleepiness felt like hunger.

Food Noise: 1

Mr. Sandman: 0

Is this an unsurrendered area? Eh. The fact that I’m even sharing this means the desire to be free is there. Efforts are being made. The problem is that it sometimes feels like I’m entrusting this battle to the Lord, and then taking it back one scoop of ice cream or slice of pizza at a time.

I’m disciplined and consistent in so many areas, though! That’s what frustrates me. Food just isn’t one of my disciplines…yet. I have no shame in admitting that my willpower falls short. Everyone has their struggle. This is mine…for now. I need the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to conquer craving empty calories and ultra-processed foods.

The Lord’s grace is sufficient, but my want to has to become consistent. Surrender precedes consistency. God will strengthen me to push the plate away, but the choice to move my arms and lock my lips is on me.

SURRENDER > SELF-CONTROL > CONSISTENCY > DOMINION

²⁶ Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ²⁷ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ²⁸ Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:26-27, NIV

We have been pre-blessed to rule and reign. If dominion is our portion, then surely I can have victory over portion control! I WILL develop a healthy relationship with food. In Jesus’ name, amen.

LET’S REFLECT

¹⁴ For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. ¹⁵ The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. Romans 8:14-15

• In what areas do you sense the Lord leading you deeper into freedom in Him?

• What will life look like on the other side of surrender?

Sincerely,

LaToya NaShae

WAIT. Me?

I was the problem??

The disappointment was real. Like, really REAL. I cried through it. Prayed through it. Journaled through it. With Holy Spirit as my guide, we waded through the muddy waters of confusion and the disappointment of deferred hope. We navigated the tension of having heard, seen, and felt only for the sum of those experiences to fall super short of my expectations. We worked through it all…or so I thought. This is where my pastor would slide in one of his signature phrases: It’s not wrong; it’s just incomplete.

Completeness showed up during the casual twists and turns of a seemingly regular chat with a friend. Regularity gave way to a rhema word when I unknowingly snuggled up in the hot seat for a divine appointment with Truth.

Completeness sounded like ownership. It was more than admitting that I pursued instead of allowing myself to be pursued or failing to properly steward instructions received in the Secret Place. I’ve identified and come to terms with those faults. Realizing that I mismanaged his trust, though? That hit different.

This question arrested me some days ago and has yet to let me go. Its persistence is pointing to a limiting belief that painted me as the victim. The lie? I was unseen, unappreciated, and unpursued. In reality, he desired a friendship that I never allowed space to exist because the desire of my heart was for more. The idol of control had me going above and beyond to convince him to swap out my last name for his.

But he wanted (possibly needed) a friend.

So, he pressed into my calmness but retreated when life (and I) became too intense.

He shared glimpses of his heart: vision for the future, struggles in the natural, wilderness seasons, career wins, ministry moments, and Spirit-led creativity.

He shared because he trusted me with his heart. I see that now. Yet, I immaturely dismissed the offer as inadequate because it wasn’t wrapped in the promise of forever.

So, I cheered him on…and attempted to coerce him into desiring more than a friendship. Thus, making me a manipulative (which the Bible equates to witchcraft) and emotionally unsafe person. Jesus!

¹ Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
² Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.

Psalm 51:1-2, NKJV

It isn’t the Word we know, but rather the Word we live that produces life transformation. Truth requires a response.

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 2 Corinthians 7:10, NIV

Father, I’m so sorry. Thank You for graciously opening my eyes and pricking my heart. I repent for mismanaging the heart of your son. Instead of seeing him as one made in Your image, worthy of honor and friendship, I tried to conform him to my image of what I hoped we could be. Forgive me, Lord. I repent for pushing my agenda instead of submitting to Your will, order, and timing. If our connection never developed into what I wanted it to be, it could have flourished as what You prescribed it to be had I not interfered.

You are still Jehovah Rapha. I pray Your healing power continues flowing through our lives and ministering to our hearts, healing the places that disappointment, mismanagement, and manipulation have damaged. Bless your son with authentic friendships - relationships where his heart is safe, and his greatness is nurtured. Continue shining Your light on the unsurrendered places of my heart, teaching me the power of yielding to softness by way of mind renewal. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Sincerely,

LaToya NaShae

Although my life’s work consists of discipleship, leadership development, and creating organizational structure, the sciencey part of me does not go neglected. Adding books like Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford and The Fertility Formula by Natalie Crawford, MD, to my library for “pleasure reading” and religiously listening to The Huberman Lab podcast are how I get my fix. I ingest and digest information, coupling it with godly wisdom to put protocols in place because total life prosperity - that nothing missing, nothing broken kind of existence - is my aim.

The scale, though? It taunts me something serious! My weight has been a lifelong battle, but a bit of strategic reframing has me committed to this wellness journey because health is so much more than what meets the eye or tips the scale. I am finding that this endeavor requires more data points.

The more information I have, the better equipped I am to develop healthy habits and change the trajectory of my life as an almost forty-one-year-old. This decade will be the difference-maker!

About 74 percent of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, and 93.2 percent have metabolic dysfunction. These numbers sound high until you realize how many levers of modern society are stacked against our mitochondria and metabolism: too much sugar, too much stress, too much sitting, too much pollution, too many pills, too many pesticides, too many screens, too little sleep, and too little micronutrients. These trends—with trillions of dollars behind them—are causing epidemic levels of mitochondrial dysfunction and underpowered, sick, inflamed bodies.

Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health by Dr. Casey Means

The quest for more insight into what’s going on inside me led to Vitals Vault, a preventative health platform that empowers individuals to understand their bodies and create pathways for healthy living without jumping through hoops for insurance providers.

NEWSFLASH: I’m healthier than I look 🙌🏾

• Five vials of blood were drawn effortlessly.

• 145 biomarkers were tested.

• 108 biomarkers were in the normal or optimal range.

• 28 markers were undetectable, with no action required.

• 9 were abnormal and are either being treated by the low-dose prescription I’m currently taking for a thyroid issue or will be remedied by adding iron and omega-3 to my supplement regimen.

• There were ZERO critical findings.

Oh, and I’m biologically younger than my years would have you to believe.

As the saying goes, knowledge is power. It can also be comforting and an advocate of sorts. This broader view of my health not only educates me; it will also inform my primary care provider on how to best partner with me in achieving my wellness goals. Just as I am not fumbling around in the dark, trying to find my way to “healthy,” I’m also not going at it alone. My PCP, chiropractor, hair stylist (because sheds light on our health, too), friends, and YouTube trainers are all on this journey with me.

Obesity will NOT maintain its hold on me.

A plethora of prescription medications will NOT be my portion.

The Lord my God WILL satisfy me with a long, healthy, thriving life.

LET’S REFLECT

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. II Corinthians 5:17

The internal newness of salvation is instantaneous. Our minds, words, habits, and lives become new over time.

Grab your journal, get cozy in a quiet corner, and allow Holy Spirit to reveal:

• The area(s) in your life where He is calling forth newness

• The additional information that needs to be added to your toolkit for this round of growth

• Those called to walk with you during this season of becoming

We’ll chat again soon, friend. Be well.

Sincerely,

LaToya NaShae

• Believing for

• Contending for

• Actively engaged in the stretching of your faith and the shattering of strongholds as a result of

The Father’s declarations of a hope and a future for His children require us to be doers of the Word, not merely hearers.

⁵ Those who sow in tears
Shall reap in joy.
⁶ He who continually goes forth weeping,
Bearing seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
Bringing his sheaves with him.

Psalm 126:5-6

One day, we will find ourselves living in the reality we dreamed of. Hoped for. Warred against our flesh and false narratives to step into.

One day, Egypt will be a forgotten memory, its impact understood only through epigenetics.

One day, newness will morph into normalcy.

Manasseh, the one who caused past pain to fade away, will mature into an entire tribe.

Ashes will become something beautiful; mourning will become joy; seeds sown will become a bountiful harvest; tomorrow will become today.

For now, though, our dreams are holy whispers wrapped in expectant imagery.

I receive intercession insights in the Secret Place, equipping me to stand in the gap for the yet-to-be-known watchman whose discovered “good thing” I will one day be.

Glimpses of the little ones who will call me mommy sporadically pop up in my dreams. I see their faces. I speak their names into the atmosphere and carry the promise of them in my heart.

I feel the weight of the wait - the slow burn of hope deferred.

One day, right?

Surely, one day.

When wrapped in hope, “one day” feels like a set day - like an extra special Wednesday worthy of a countdown.

We’ve heard the stories, though. One day is less like a particular day than it is a trickled-in reality that eventually announces, “Oh, I’m here.”

No matter how much prayer and fasting precede “one day,” fulfillment inevitably gets tucked into routines because every appreciated God-thing becomes supported by stewardship.

So, we celebrate and plan; love and provide; nurture and correct. Then, in the middle of folding the umpteenth load of laundry or while feigning interest in football stats, gratitude wells up and so do the tears.

The weight of that quietly uttered “Thank You, Jesus” is unmatched. The authenticity of the impromptu solo worship session that breaks out catches heaven’s attention. Our great cloud of witnesses so understand the feelings that words can’t fully capture.

I sense Holy Spirit nudging my shoulder, providing reassurance that pushes back against the inner intimidation experienced in the interim.

Just as the realization of “one day” having manifested randomly arrives, the start of fulfillment begins with one day.

One moment.

One hello.

One divine intersection of two paths.

One day could be today.

Sincerely,

LaToya NaShae

PICTURE IT.

The year was 2020. We were masked up, shut in, and inundated with conversations about “pivoting” and “the new normal.” Meanwhile, my waistline was OUT OF CONTROL. The pounds needed to pivot far, far away from me! Something had to change, and my mindset was that something. For the sake of my health and self-esteem, I was committed to charting a new path.

Restrictive dieting had never been a long-term fix for me. Planet Fitness was one of my least favorite places on the planet. Nevertheless, I could make excuses or make moves. I chose the latter. Instead of mentally punishing myself for gaining weight, the goal became honoring God with this here temple by embarking on a wellness journey for which there is no end on this side of eternity. The mindset shift was viewing wellness as worship, an opportunity to move and fuel my body unto the Lord.

Variety is the spice of life. Since I’m all for well-seasoned experiences, I started pulling from several sources to satisfy my craving for options in August of 2020:

• Early-morning bike rides with a church member

• Strength training with Juice and Toya

• Living room twerk sessions with And8 Fitness

• Cardio Barre with PopSugar Fit

• Fighting for my life during Hip Hop Step Aerobics with Bowflex Barbie

None of this felt like punishment. To be quite honest, I was lovin’ it! Watching my body go beyond perceived limits still blows my mind. Being aware of my tendency to go hard and then fall off, a layer of accountability was added with the launch of Thickness Management. This private Facebook group existed as a place to celebrate our wins, confess our losses, and claim victory over unwanted inches!

Thickness Management did the trick! I was down 40 lbs by May of 2022 🙌🏾Never had I EVER remained consistent that long or pushed beyond my usual 13-pound plateau. Shout out to JJ Smith’s 10-Day Green Smoothie Cleanse for playing an integral role in my gut-brain connection reset. Praying my way through hard workouts, clean eating, and scheduling non-food-focused meetups with friends were game-changers, too.

THEN CAME GRIEF.

Loss hit…and it continued hitting from every direction, often with names attached. (Check out Joy. for more about that journey.) I held steady until Tese took his last breath. Losing him felt like having my heart ripped out of my chest. Simply breathing became a battle.

A snack here and a snack there became my solace. Self-soothing with ultra-processed foods led to a pound here and a few pounds there.

May ‘24 came with a double-whammy: Ms. Alice and Chris became absent in body but present with the Lord just 9 days apart. As the weight of grief tried to rest on me, 30 of the 40 lbs I released made their way back by the start of 2025.

BUT WELLNESS IS STILL WORSHIP.

So, here I am, reclaiming my waistline:

One workout at a time.

One thought at a time.

One prayer at a time.

One plate at a time.

Interestingly, I never stopped moving my body. The issue was being inconsistent with properly fueling it. Thickness management is good stewardship, and I desire to steward my body well.

If you have read this far, here WE are on this journey of:

Pursuing wellness.

Worshiping with wellness.

Advancing together in wellness.

LET’S REFLECT

There is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:1

Grab your journal and sit with the Lord, exploring the areas in which condemnation has you bound.

• List each area.

• Lean in to hear what the Father is speaking to you.

• Search out Scripture to identify the promises of freedom made to you.

• Pen a vision describing the spiritually, emotionally, and physically well version of you.

We’ll chat soon, friend. Be well.

Sincerely,

LaToya NaShae

Yep, you guessed it. I booked with the quickness! Without knowing exactly what to expect or anyone slated to attend, I went.

RecFest is the WORLD’s largest talent acquisition event. Not Nashville. Not Tennessee. Not America. THE WORLD. I know that now. Many attendees caught flights, rented cars, and booked hotel stays. Meanwhile, I only had to drive 23.3 miles.

Why venture into an unknown-to-me outdoor event based on the invitation of a stranger?

Because it felt like something - some insight, a connection, something - was there for me. The purposeful pull felt tangible enough for me to step away from the office for a professional development day.

To be clear, I didn’t choose the Human Resources life; it chose me. What started as managing hiring for a 60-person manufacturing facility via staffing companies while keeping a handle on accounts receivable has morphed into being their HR Department of one. As crazy as it sounds, I love it! Sure, navigating rising healthcare costs, multilevel compliance, the employee life cycle, and a recent merger comes with plenty of challenges, but being part of an organization that allows me to serve the business needs and the people makes the growing pains worthwhile.

Even though I didn’t intentionally choose to become an HR professional, I continue making conscious decisions to grow as one because, for believers, excellence should be the standard. Hence, attending RecFest 2026 to gain tips on better meeting our workforce needs.

I should’ve assumed that someway, somehow, the Lord would slip a word in for me.

My brain understood the speaker was referring to maintaining a culture of trust and employee buy-in during organizational transitions. Her words hit my soul differently, though. I’m still sitting with the hard questions:

• How well do I maintain trust in the consistency of God’s character when faced with unexpected change?

• What happens to my faith when mayhem ushers me into a situation that warrants a miracle?

• Why do I find myself reaching for abrasiveness to self-protect as ambiguity increases, knowing full well that the Lord is still calling me to be softer? When life starts life-ing, it’s easy to forget that meekness isn’t weakness. It is strength stewarded by wisdom.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him. The Lord is their strength, and He is the saving refuge of His anointed. Psalm 28:6-8

Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Psalm 37:1-3

He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, but he who trusts in the Lord will be prospered. He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered. Proverbs 28:25-26

Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Proverbs 30:5

Change is inevitable, and its pathway is often unpredictable. I’ve lived long enough to know that God-ordained processes - those unknown spans of time between believing what God can do and seeing the manifestation of His promises - never unfold the way we imagine.

Eleven days turn into a forty-year nature walk.

A dried-up well becomes the precursor to a position of authority wrapped in luxury, but nestled between the two realities is a decade-ish prison stint.

Surely, spending one’s last dime should’ve put an end to incessant menstrual bleeding and ostracization, but nah. Reaching out to touch His hem was the solution.

Is it just me, or is it wild to read that committing one’s life to spreading the Gospel and penning almost half of the New Testament books started with temporary blindness followed by a stoning, shipwreck, snakebite, and house arrest?

Whew, chile! Living, loving, and leading like Jesus while in HR ain’t so bad after all!

The point is this: We know change will come. What we don’t know is when or how it will come. Let us commit to managing our trust in the One who manages our change.

Sincerely,

LaToya NaShae

My response to her question? “It probably got added after someone’s arm was chopped off.”

The aftermath of unforeseen variables teaches us how to cover our bases better…but better isn’t perfect. No perfectionist or chronic planner wants to hear that there will always be gaps in our best-constructed strategies and ambiguity stitched into our unfolding destinies. That’s life in all its topsy-turvy glory, though, right?

There is an adage that says to be surprised by the inevitable is naive, and to be unprepared for the inevitable is irresponsible. I am neither naive nor irresponsible, but I only agree with this maxim to a degree. The Apostle Paul wrote, “We see in part, and we prophesy in part.” God is all-knowing; we are not.

A skilled project manager can understand the importance of leaving margin for unknown unknowns and still have their project totally derailed by a tornado leveling the construction site weeks before the facility is set to open. The need to tuck away a rainy-day fund is common knowledge because, sure enough, life will eventually send a downpour that only cash can catch. However, we can agree that a stage 4 cancer diagnosis feels more like a tsunami than a blown transmission ever could.

How do we prepare our hearts for the guarantees of life, like disappointment, grief, heartbreak, and betrayal? How does the Blood-bought believer preemptively stabilize their soul in expectation of hopes being shattered, the back-to-back loss of loved ones, and a trusted confidant proving to be untrustworthy? What’s the plan or checklist for getting ready to take emotional blow after blow after blow? I didn’t have the cheat code for simultaneously counting the cost and counting it all joy when an extended season of compound grief wreaked havoc on my nervous system.

Maybe you don’t have the cheat code either. And that’s okay. We’re all learning. Sometimes our aha moment comes before an arm gets chopped off. At other times, we figure it out after we metaphorically lose a limb. I will share with you what layered grief taught me and maybe, just maybe, it will help to strengthen the guard of your heart.

For me, grief looked like so many close-to-home deaths from January 2022 through May 2024 that even now, I refuse to count them for fear of being thrust back into overwhelming sorrow. Add to that stepping away from my church home of four years and, subsequently, losing some friendships that I held dear, the final release of long-hoped-for love, a mentor whose spiritual covering turned into an unhealthy grip, and the rise and fall of poorly timed new love. If being emotionally asthmatic is a thing, that was me. Thriving wasn’t even a goal; I just wanted to breathe with ease.

“The light in your eyes is gone.”

The straightforward yet compassionate indictment cut through me like a double-edged sword. Pastor Pops, as I call him, heard beyond my words. Although I claimed to just be tired, he knew I was on the brink of growing weary in well-doing, if not already there.

“Take a week off from work to be with the Father.” When I countered that since I only worked three days per week, seeking the Lord on my off days would suffice, he made it crystal-clear that he said what he said. I lacked the strength to wrestle with him or God, so I relented.

There, in a quaint Airbnb in Franklin, Tennessee, the long-overdue inevitable happened. I peacefully broke. The sobs and tears gushed out with no opposition from me. I prayed…cried…journaled…repented. I admitted to having projected my disappointment in people onto God. I owned the immaturity of running swiftly with revelation rather than returning to God’s presence with curiosity that would have reduced the likelihood of hearing correctly but interpreting incorrectly.

As cleansing as my getaway was, more healing was on the horizon. The “more” was gaining awareness of the enemy’s true intentions. The compound grief I experienced was real, visceral, and weighty. Still, the adversary wasn’t nearly as determined to inflict sadness on me as he was to sneakily erode my joy without me knowing. Yes, depleting my joy was his goal. The more his fiery darts struck the bullseye, the more my joy diminished.

But God.

In the weeks that followed my much-needed solitude, gratitude poured out from my heart as light began breaking through the dark clouds that had loomed overhead, first as a trickle of thanksgiving and then as impromptu testimony services. I felt myself returning to me, the God-breathed version of myself. The gifts and callings of God are without repentance, so creativity never left. (Romans 11:29). Now, though, bits and pieces of clarity were trailing on the heels of joy! With joy and clarity came hope!

The return of hope testified to the truth that the joy of the Lord is indeed my strength. (Nehemiah 8:10). Thus far, my greatest aha moment on the Light side of layered grief is this: Hope is weighty. The joy of the Lord provides the supernatural strength required to stand in hope and to hold onto hope.

Cheat Code: Practice gratitude in every season. Declare it. Write it. Live it!

Life is inevitably going to life, sometimes in the most severe ways. As cliché as it may sound, gratefulness truly shifts our focus from our circumstances to the unchanging nature of our Lord. As we draw near to Him, He draws near to us. (James 4:8). As we release praise in His presence, the path of life is seen more clearly, and joy comes flooding in. (Psalm 16:11). Joy gives us the strength to hope and keep hoping; believe and keep believing; persevere and keep persevering.

My dear friend, the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Sincerely,

LaToya NaShae

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13, NKJV

Every word carries meaning. They are vehicles that transport messages and concepts not only to our ears but also to our hearts. Words are seeds that burrow into the recesses of our souls, their unannounced roots growing long and strong. Their shoots spring up as thought patterns and belief systems that bear the fruit of habits and character traits.

As a familiar phrase rolled off my tongue this past weekend, Holy Spirit nudged me to interrogate my use of the word just.

Just (adv)

1. within a brief preceding time; but a moment before

2. exactly or precisely

3. by a narrow margin; barely

4. only or merely

5. actually; really; positively

Let’s lean into the highlighted definition for a bit. This meaning suggests normalcy at best and inadequacy at worst. Because words have the power to embolden or restrict, “just” is not just a word.

We clothe ourselves in phrases like:

I just have a high school diploma.

I’m just one person.

I’m just a mom.

All the while, “just” is acting as a skilled brick mason, building a fortress between us and the Word’s mirroring power, blocking the rich revelation of us being made in God’s image and surrendered to His lordship.

“Just” downplays the mountains we have climbed and the wildernesses we have crossed. It leads with the assumption that current circumstances are a challenge for the Author and Finisher of our faith, as if His plot twists aren’t second to none.

“Just” overlooks how what we do with ease is the strategy, system, or artistry that unleashes the locked-up potential in the lives of others.

I’m just obedient. This has been my go-to response for years when being thanked for acts of obedience, like creating spaces for greatness to gather and the oil to flow; setting my journal readings to music and releasing them as albums; publishing a devotional for men as a reminder to rest in their divine sonship.

These seven red-letter words stuck out to me as a teen. The verse took hold in my heart. I internalized the connection between love for God and obedience to God, but not in a fearful way. This wasn’t about adhering to rules; it was (and remains) a call to walk intimately with my Redeemer, who doubles as my Teacher. It is knowing that being led by the Spirit causes us to live, love, and lead like Jesus.

“I’m just obedient” wasn’t rooted in churchiness or false humility. It was my simplified way of articulating my commitment to the “big three” that every believer is called to: Love God. Love people. Make disciples. What other people perceived as unusual obedience, I viewed as hearing and obeying from a posture of devotion. Until a few days ago, “I’m just obedient” served as an underdeveloped explanation of my why. Now that I’ve been checked by the Holy One, allow me to explain it better:

What others witness and commend is (I almost typed just) my submission in motion. It is willful obedience - the result of giving my yes without knowing exactly what it will produce. Sometimes I leap into the unknown. At other times, the journey is a slow walk of placing one foot in front of the other while hoping and praying that ambiguity gives way to understanding. Either way, I am moving forward by faith rather than sight. I am following the Holy Spirit’s lead.

I am not just obedient. I am lovingly surrendered.

Sincerely,

LaToya NaShae

Whom the Son sets free is free indeed. Freedom is accessible through the Son, and still, to dwell in freedom requires warfare.

⁴ The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵ We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:4-5, NIV)

freedom (noun) - exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc.

I sense Holy Spirit compassionately shouting, “THE FIGHT IS FIXED!”

The war for freedom is indeed a fixed fight. Christ secured my victory on Calvary and empowers me by His Spirit to win every battle.

The adversary uses every chance he gets to remind me of the lingering sting of disappointment and confusion that ensues once hearts are revealed. He calls to my attention the embarrassment of regaining almost all of the weight I released during my pandemic-era wellness journey. I feel ashamed for having consumer debt after tasting the satisfaction of being debt-free.

As fulfilled as I am in life, being asked why I’m still single and why I don’t have kids makes me feel insecure. Deficient. At fault for my relationship status. Is singleness a curse? No. Is marriage evidence of unwavering faith?? Nope. My mind knows these things, but my emotions are forgetful. Nearing 41 doesn’t help. Family members, coworkers, and medical professionals refuse to let me forget that my biological clock is ticking. I know, y’all. I KNOW. Holding onto a promise becomes warfare when concerned questions morph into mini crowbars determined to pry your fingers off those thus-saith-the-Lord journal entries pertaining to becoming a wife and mother.

Yes, freedom is available. Also, the idea of freedom can be just as foreign as it is alluring. I know what it is in theory, but what does it look like to continually live in freedom? As I write, Holy Spirit is reminding me that peace once sounded foreign to me. Peace is home now. Joy was once far away. Now, it is seen in my eyes and my smile. Joy fills my heart and radiates from my life. Even strangers will attest to that.

The enemy wants me to believe that fear is foreign, because holding that belief close to my heart keeps me in a state of self-sabotage. If I bravely admit that fear is more familiar than foreign, I will also admit to being afraid of the unknown costs associated with unapologetically contending for the promise of freedom. Being honest about allowing fear to hang close causes the scales to fall from my eyes, revealing the areas in which self-sabotage has strategically resurfaced. Ahh, there it is! We’ve come this far. Might as well unpack it:

Self-sabotage prevents me from trusting my ability to discern God’s voice concerning matters of the heart. One too many almost-but-not-quite experiences weigh extra heavily on the heart, especially when alignment takes a sharp turn toward apathy and consideration turns cold.

Self-sabotage is the altar that beckons me to kneel at the feet of self-sufficiency, all the while luring me away from softness. Its aim is for me to exalt lion-likeness over lamb-likeness even though the Lord leads me in living at the intersection of both! Wisdom has taught me that a soft answer turns away wrath. (Proverbs 15:1). Leading with the lamb gives the lion time to rest, recover, and emerge only when righteously necessary. Self-sufficiency leads to self-protection, and self-protecting is evidence of my distrust of the Father’s favor that rests on my life - the favor that secures me within a hedge of protection and guards me with angelic forces.

Self-sabotage leads to overeating and unnecessary spending as a means of self-soothing. I am filled with and encompassed by the Comforter, yet choosing lesser, damaging faux comforts. Lord, help! Less of me and more of You is what I need.

Strongholds can be pulled down. Arguments can be cast down. Anti-freedom thoughts CAN BE TAKEN CAPTIVE.

I can be free because whom the Son sets free is free indeed. I am willing, able, and empowered to walk in freedom. It’s time to contend…

Sincerely,

LaToya NaShae

The way you see me

Sometimes I see pain, Lord

When you see victory

I see where I am, Lord

You see where I shall be

Open my eyes, help me believe

I am what you see

I Am What You See, led by William Murphy

Do you have pull-through albums? I’m talking about those anointed projects that serve as lights in the darkness, compilations of songs that speak to your soul during the heaviest of times. Bishop Paul Morton’s Cry Your Last Tear album is in my Top 3. From 2008 until now, it has faithfully served as a spiritual defibrillator when I need to be shocked back to remembrance of who God is and who I am in Him.

Imagine my surprise when the shock of conviction hit my heart as Holy Spirit brought the lyrics of Track 7 to remembrance earlier this week. The problem wasn’t actually seeing myself incorrectly.

Yeah, that one stung a little bit. Did you clutch your pearls, too? Maybe I’m not alone in wrapping myself in the reassurance of “Behold, all things are made new,” while struggling, forgetting, or refusing to see others beyond their filthy rags.

But plenty of people have called out my name in the Secret Place.

Someone has boldly taken their concern for you before the throne of grace.

Individuals, known and unknown, have prayed for us with tears streaming down their faces.

And they continue doing so because we have yet to “arrive.” We are works in progress who aren’t where we are in life (naturally or spiritually) by our merit alone.

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

By grace we are saved. By grace and the effectual, fervent prayers of the saints, we go from glory to glory.

Self-centric vision is evidence that pride has slithered into our quiet time with messages of hopelessness. It’s not that we believe we are hopeless or that our situation won’t divinely encounter a suddenly. Oh, no, no. We believe we are clothed in righteousness and pursued by goodness and mercy! The problem is we cling to the belief that he/she/they are hopeless.

A lost cause.

Unworthy of our intercession.

We rejoice in our now and look forward to the future with expectation while selectively forgetting the previous unrefined versions of ourselves.

The love of God flowing through His children compels them and continues compelling them to intercede for us. They stand in the gap to war against our shortcomings and to contend for our breakthroughs and the need for a deeper revelation of mercy.

Glasses and contact lenses correct nearsightedness and farsightedness. However, humility is the remedy for shortsightedness. Sanctified vision equips us to see that people are more than their current state. A good memory humbly reminds us of our unredeemed selves, not for the sake of condemnation but to ensure that compassion abounds. Who someone is at the moment isn’t who they always have to be. The chains of right now can be broken!

Gideon moved beyond cowering in a wine press.

Elizabeth broke through the barriers of biology to birth John the Baptist.

Paul awakened to the truth of the Risen One and laid down his murderous ways to become a minister of the Gospel.

You are more than able

You are more than able

You are more than able

You are more than able

Who am I to deny what the Lord can do?

More Than Able x Elevation Worship feat. Chandler Moore & Tiffany Hudson

I am eternally grateful for those who didn’t count me out when I spewed truth void of grace and leaned toward judgmentalism.

I am thankful for the ones who held up my arms in the spirit when hope became too heavy and for those who allowed me to feel grief while earnestly praying for me to not become its prey.

I thank God for the many who simultaneously see where I am and where I shall be in the months, years, and decades to come. They stitch those visions together with intercession. Their prayers fuel me forward.

Surely, you have testimony after testimony of how the Love-led prayers of others altered the course of your life.

Let us commit to doing for others what countless souls have done for us.

Our willingness to stand in the gap for frustrated men, burdened women, deprived children, and the forgotten elderly shifts them beyond their current circumstances and limiting beliefs to a personal revelation of, “Behold, I AM MADE NEW!”

Lord Jesus, our High Priest, You are more than able, and we are humbly willing to bathe Your image-bearers in prayer.

Sincerely,

LaToya NaShae

Certainty is a beautiful thing! Don’t you agree? Although chronic independence stays at bay for the most part, every now and again a good ol’ false sense of security feels well with my soul. Something about crossing every t and dotting every i allows me to forget, if only for a moment, that there are 24 more letters of the alphabet running amok. No matter how well I manage the mundane, some curl loses its coil, my eyes miss bell peppers on the grocery list, or a pricey car repair pops up out of nowhere. Dangit!

It is human nature to believe we can be hypervigilant enough to ward off surprises, inconveniences, and uncertainty. Alas, we cannot. Furthermore, a life of faith comes with guaranteed ambiguity.

Case(s) in point…

Abram walked away from family and familiarity before “ham” got tacked onto his name and a promise was decreed. He took steps toward destiny without an inkling of what that meant, where it was, or who he would become. Abram went anyway.

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Get out of your country, from your family, and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1)

Ruth didn’t know what awaited her in Bethlehem or if there was anything there for her at all! What she was certain of was that her devotion to Naomi meant nothing was left for her in Moab. That was enough. Ruth went anyway.

But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. (Ruth 1:16)

The sun-scorched brookbed of Cherith had nothing left to offer. Yet, the instruction to expect provision from a polytheistic widow couldn’t have felt promising either. Elijah went anyway.

Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you. (1 Kings 17:9)

Jesus -the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world- came to earth knowing that suffering, humiliation, and a brutal death were inevitable. He descended and ascended, lacking clarity regarding the time of His return. Jesus went anyway.

But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. (Mark 13:32)

Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.

Corrie ten Boom

Certain (adj.)

1. Free from doubt or reservation; confident; sure

2. Destined; sure to happen

3. Inevitable; bound to come

What will you do?

What will I do?

What will we do?

We are unsure of when “due season” will come, and growing weary in well-doing is naturally justifiable, but we choose not to lose heart.

We believe for breakthroughs and suddenlies. We hope for miracles, signs, and wonders while traversing through wilderness seasons and marching around metaphorical mountains. Having done all to stand and hoping against hope, we tether ourselves to the faithfulness of El Shaddai. We trust Holy Spirit to guide us through the unknown that He knows.

We go anyway, certain that He who began a good work in us will finish what He started. (Philippians 1:6).

The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that My word is fulfilled.” (Jeremiah 1:12)

Sincerely,

LaToya NaShae

Kept. Covered. SECURED.

My Source and Sustainer - the Lord God Almighty - called me away from my job of four years. Interestingly enough, the instruction was posed as a question:

Do you trust the stability you create for yourself OR the security I provide?

The weight of His words hit differently as I now explore the question with 20/20 hindsight. As frustrated as I was with life back then, there was comfort in the predictability of a bi-weekly paycheck, truly affordable healthcare, and a hands-off supervisor who couldn’t care less about my random outbursts of laughter induced by whatever show I listened to while crushing my goals. The dichotomy of that role was interesting: it was cushy and suffocating. My insight was pulled on, but my intellect was never challenged. I was valued and respected but never invested in. Simply put, I was trading time for money to live beneath my potential. Not going to lie, writing that stings.

Enough faith journeys trailed behind as proof that (1) my faith in God usually overrides my fears, and (2) things never pan out the way I assume. Ever. Oh, but please believe the assuming ensued nonetheless! This good ol’ imagination of mine gift-wrapped my yes in the most beautiful vision of increase and ease, topped with a fancy, suddenly-embossed bow. Of course, reality wasted no time tearing through that delusion.

Your First “Yes” Isn’t Enough | The Leader’s Cut w/ Preston Morris feat. Tim Ross

Cousin Preston hit the nail on the head with that one! I thought the Lord was calling me away from the life of an employee to catapult me into a full-time entrepreneurial trifecta of life coaching, publishing, and speaking. Nah. In actuality, He secured my yes and then ushered me on a layered journey that continues unfolding.

The call wasn’t misleading; it was strategic. Leaning into suppositions rather than curiosity was my choice; Jehovah-Mekadesh’s will was that His Spirit lead me deeper into spiritual formation. To ensure that I got the memo, He sent a semi-stranger messenger with an on-time word:

I know you really do not know me well. I would like to share some things with you that came to my heart as I’m praying, even now.

LaToya, your face came before me as I was praying, as well as others. Then yours came back very clear, as if you were standing before me. I could envision laying my hands upon you under the direction of the Holy Spirit, praying and speaking to you from the Lord.

I know from following you on Facebook that you are doing many things. Here is what I heard: I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. (Psalm 32:8)

LaToya, my dear, I encourage you to increase your intimate time with the Father God - more times of fasting, worship, prayer, and His Word. It is a MUST.

There is something (the Holy Spirit disclosed what) that is missing, or that needs alignment in or with you. This I know for sure; it is only something the Lord can do. He is making it very clear to me now, in this moment, that He really desires to do this. I just heard this word: SURRENDER.

The woman whom I now affectionately call Mama Patricia inboxed me on February 1, 2020, the day that would’ve been my gramma’s 86th birthday. Our Father always knows how to get our attention. I entered into three days of prayer and fasting - no food, only water and unsweetened herbal tea. The time spent in consecration pushed back against my ego, allowing revelation to flow:

You are self-sufficient to a fault.

Does the Lord gather y’all like He gathers me?? I couldn’t even argue. It was true. Coping mechanisms that served me in past seasons were now working against my trust in Yahweh. I could throw a spiritual temper tantrum or surrender. I chose surrender.

My faith-boosting savings shrank with each passing month. My money went from sitting pretty to being funny and then hilarious. I was broke and breaking. All the while, revelation kept coming. I had peace beyond comprehension. I can testify that I never missed a meal or a bill, but reducing this refinement process to finances misses the point entirely.

A light was being shone on the shadowy areas of my soul that were hindering my ability to be a living epistle. Feelings of being less than enough weren’t my problem. Being too independent, too hard on myself and others, too convinced that I could help people who didn’t desire help, and fully persuaded that I needed to assist God with being God - those were just a few of my vices. Stepping away from my self-constructed stability and embracing this lesson of security in Christ required increased spiritual and emotional maturity. It necessitated transforming into a fully surrendered version of myself, for which I lacked vision. The call was to walk by faith, not by sight.

Would I trust whatever stability and false sense of control I manufactured for myself, or would I wholeheartedly rely on security in Christ?

My Ever-Present Teacher was training me to match new faith leaps with new faith levels. These aren’t in contrast to or a replacement for previous levels. Each one builds upon the next in the same way that pre-cal prepares one for calculus. If you’ve experienced the duo, you know both are beasts!

Faith level-ups demand an increase in dying to self. Yeah, so not the increase I had in mind. Nevertheless, I surrendered… and continued surrendering… and keep surrendering.

Dr. Dharius Daniels

It’s been seven years, and guess what! My business never fully got off the ground. As a matter of fact, I received a holy heads-up to dissolve it earlier this year. Ha! Get this: I am still single, still childless, back to being an employee, and THRIVING. Who knew flourishing was possible while promises are still pending!

What started as a temporary part-time job in January of 2022 has morphed into a 35-hour/week role as a department-of-one HR professional for a privately owned manufacturing company. Here I am strategic and creative; the policy creator and prayer warrior; the coach and confidant. The general manager is my work bestie, and our team members think of me as their work mom, even though the vast majority are older than me. I have the space and privilege of being all of whom God created me to be, an experience I once assumed only entrepreneurship could provide.

As this completion-year anniversary neared, I reflected on the past seven years: the wins, losses, laughter, breaking, and rebuilding. I marvel at how the God of the universe is using a 60-person, dirty manufacturing facility to soften my rough edges, further develop the nurturer in me, and reveal that a thriving solo entrepreneurial endeavor would’ve driven me further into self-sufficiency and away from His will for my life.

Secured Lessons

• We are all called to be co-laborers with Christ. I am also called to co-labor with others as a marketplace minister. Joseph didn’t proselytize Egypt, and yet his presence saved the nation because the Lord gave him strategies. Sometimes our presence in organizations is what ensures adequate vessels are gathered for the oil to flow.

• Being sustained by the Holy One of heaven includes some necessary stripping away. Chronic independence had to go. The need for control had to go. Assumptions about what God meant when He said what He said had to be released. Limiting beliefs connected to not being able to build with others are still being torn down brick by brick. (I’m pretty sure pride is the mortar holding those bricks together.)

• Ambiguity fills the space between our present reality and the manifestation of God’s promises. Not seeing the bridge from here to there doesn’t mean a way can’t be made out of no way.

I have grieved what I thought would be and continue to express gratitude for the goodness of God that presently engulfs me. Life is lovely, and I truly mean that…

I’m safe

Sustained

Always

In the hand of God

Hand of God x Todd Galberth & Chandler Moore

Sincerely,

LaToya NaShae

Or something better came along.

Or the situation is toxic.

There are simply times when our eyes become open to the deficits in our reality. The Holy Spirit gently shifts our gaze to the areas where:

• Accepting good has caused us to fall short of greatness.

• We are in committed relationships with distractions as destiny two-steps against the wall, waiting for the opportune time to cut in.

• Cozying up with comfort has pulled the wool over our eyes. We blamed clarity for being evasive when, in reality, we turned a blind eye while snuggling up with familiarity because, well, it felt more familiar.

Stepping into wide open spaces of promise and possibility requires boldness. Doing so takes faith and grit and tenacity.

If only stepping into the unknown were merely about mustering up faith, resolve, and courage! More is required of thee. Ugh! More is required of me. More is required of us. Like looking back to extract life lessons that were left unharvested and looking ahead to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, trusting that His faithfulness accompanies us through every plot twist and hard place. Wait, though. We still have to look around...

Where are the welcomed resource thieves? Y’all been kickin’ it, haven’t you?

Who are the beloved culprits who steal our time, tone down our talents, and tie up our finances? Who is reinforcing the notion that we are less than/not enough/insufficient?

But they...

But they what? What are they being allowed, invited, and possibly encouraged to do? Blame-shifting is too easy. Let’s lean into the hard work of accountability, shall we?

Accountability requires awareness.

I walked through two breakups in less than four weeks. Aht, aht! Before you prejudge my character, get curious about my predicament.

The first one was extremely difficult. I vacillated for three months - I’m talkin’ 90 WHOLE DAYS - before calling it quits. Something about that experience emboldened me, though. It proved that I am still capable of embracing change, even if slowly.

Then came the second breakup. Baby, that was light work!

This time, hesitation was replaced by immediate resolve. An early morning email, reminding me of our commitment to one another, was enough for me to arrive at, “Nah. I’m done. Go in peace, love.”

I AM BUILT FOR THIS.

For being done. For being decisive. For being determined to live in the awareness that I am the Father’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which He prepared in advance for me to walk in. Live out. Thrive in. (See Ephesians 2:10).

So, yeah, just like that, it was a wrap for my Netflix account. I bid adieu to my Squarespace website too. I’ve long since ghosted Facebook and Instagram, but I’ll give the dynamic a little shine. We were cool for a good lil’ minute, but good things come to an end. Honestly, we touch base here and there, but the thrill is gone. We don’t vibe like we used to.

Once things change, they are never the same. I am learning to be okay with that. Change is just as necessary as it is inevitable. No need in fighting it. It is possible to be done or insert distance without any love being lost.

“Toya, is it really that serious?” I can’t and won’t speak for you, but for me, it is.

This iteration of becoming the me necessary for this season/level/era demands focus. Decisiveness and alignment are paramount. I am ever-learning just how much alignment calls for strategic releases.

I am finally at peace with peacing done. I am letting go of that which reflects past seasons of fun and even fruitfulness to better focus on releasing my voice as an instrument of wisdom and truth wrapped in personality.

Sincerely,

LaToya NaShae