Tag: jesus

Inspiration

Changing in Christ

A little more than a month ago, a movie hit the big screen that attracted millions of people to the theatre. Prior to its official release it’s arrival was highly anticipated particularly by women. During the film’s first opening weekend it pulled impressive sales at the box office grossing nearly $30 Million Dollars!

The hype, reviews and acclaim were many as social media went wild on just how good the movie was. As I planned a “Girl’s Day” out with a really good friend of mine, naturally we felt it only made sense to see what all the hype was about! Sadly to say, we both walked away from the experience extremely bewildered.

I found the movie to be a bit repulsive, tacky and tasteless. Both my good friend and I were incredibly boggled by our reactions and why we were not just as giddy over the content as most.

Don’t get me wrong, I did laugh a time or two but it got far fetched at some points and I personally was turned off by at least half of the script. Personally, I certainly would not voluntarily watch it again.

Thereafter, several woman in my life asked if I had seen it. When I shared my view points of the film, I was looked upon as snooty, odd, crazy, and/or too deep.

After a slight confrontation over the matter with some other women just this past weekend, I further analyzed my viewpoints. Why did these women, (including some of the men that overheard the conversation) take offense simply over my personal opinion?

I clearly heard the spirit of The Lord whisper the only answer that makes complete sense, “The reason you did not like the movie is because of ME that’s working in YOU!”

Over the past 4 years my spiritual life and maturity has been a priority. I had to make it that way in order to fight to save my life. Along the journey and in this fight, I’m changing. I absolutely haven’t arrived but change is certainly obvious.

Things I use to do, I just don’t want to do anymore.

Places I use to go are no longer an option for me.

People I use to hang out with don’t fit in my circle any longer and we’ve drifted.

Things I use to hear that never bothered me before now grieve my spirit and I’m just not entertained by it anymore!

Evolving in Christ is inevitable when you are a Christian that refuses to compromise your position in Him for the sake of others.

You’ll begin to see things differently, go against the grain and become remote in your perspective. You may also become viewed as hypothetical especially if your changing is fresh in the eyes of those who knew you when….

When we desire to fit in more with people than we want to stand out in Christ, that’s called COMPROMISE! This blocks blessings, growth and potential. I don’t want this to be an option for me. I want ALL God has and deliberately work on fixing those areas in my life that I truly can control including what gets in my spirit through what I watch and what I hear.

We should always be working on our conduct in Christ being distinct. How else will those who don’t know Him get to know Him? We must represent and not become relaxed by having a greater regard for the world than our Savior.

If we as Believers find comfort without conviction with things that the world accepts, finds entertaining and approves of, we may have begun to plateau in our walk. Be separate from them is what God has called us to do!

Again, I am very much still a work in progress in the things of God. I try not to judge the actions of others while staying open to correction when I am out of line in my Christian journey. But I am grateful and recognize the changes that are coming over me that draws me deeper in Him still. This is my stance unapologetically.

In your walk with Christ what’s one big change you’ve noticed that you know you’re not going back to?

Have you endured ridicule over your strides to be more like Your Savior?

How do you handle the conflict with the world and other believers?

Inspiration, mental health

5 Steps to Going From Awkward to Awesome!

There was a lengthy period in my life when I felt like the poster child of being socially awkward! This is more true as a youth and into my young adult years. I simply hated it!!! I had no clue why and it really bothered me especially when I began to discover that in order to experience success in areas such as business and friendships, one must have some basic fundamental people skills.

I spent most of those years in a shell and excessively introverted. Coming out was about the scariest thing I ever had to face! All eyes on me I never wanted even for a few seconds.

In Christ, I discovered that my awkwardness was due to issues I had with trust, self esteem, lack of experience with people outside of my community and fear! Awkwardness for me wasn’t natural but learned behaviors due to adverse life experiences. I allowed what I was exposed to to shape me and it was indeed crippling!

I don’t like being defeated by my fears so I at least had the courage to face them even though I trembled! Today I am much better in social settings although at times I do still feel like the odd one but I’m ok with knowing I am a little different. (Maybe that or hitting the age “who cares what people think” 40!)

Conquering awkwardness starts with getting over you and embracing your uniqueness.

Stop worrying about what the majority thinks of you when the only opinion that matters is the one that created you!

If you are socially odd you may agree with the statement that people don’t know what to think of you!

You find it hard to fit in and want to so desperately at times. It takes much mental effort to remain in a social setting without wanting to run for isolated cover.

Breaking the Cycle:

1. Do a self assessment- are you off because of a mental health issue?

2. Identify a circle you want to be in and show up.

3. Identify one person and mingle.

4. Stay as long as you can without falling apart.

5. Repeat until it feels natural!

People WILL get use to you, and God always sends someone to embrace you. You will miss this blessing if your exit is premature. You may not connect with anyone the first time around but keep showing up! No matter how hard or uncomfortable it feels, challenge yourself to break through this barrier in your life.

If you’ve done your self assessment and don’t have the mental problems I mention above, then you may be fine just the way you are! Switch to doing an assessment of those you are trying to fit in with. Are you REALLY suppose to be with that crowd?

A fact about Social Awkwardness:

According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIH), nearly 15 million people in the U.S. suffer from some form of social anxiety disorder. That’s a lot of people! The one you are looking at wondering if they think you’re odd could very well be looking back at you with the same question running through their own minds!

You are fearfully and wonderfully made says the Word Of God who does not lie!

Step into your position of being all that God called you to be! Get out there in all you awesomeness and make the sentiment of awkwardness a thing of the past! You can and Must do this!

hope, Inspiration, Kish Magazine, motivational

K.I.S.H. Magazine – No Way But Up!

Happy Friday RealBoldTruth Readers!

Pray you all are blessed and ready for a wonderful weekend!

Wanted to stop by and share my latest article on the Dreamer’s Blog located on the K.I.S.H. Magazine website!

It’s entitled “No Way But Up!”

I felt the spirit of the Lord leading me to encourage those who are in the trenches of bringing that dream to pass that God put in them but have hit major road blocks.

It’s tempting to get frustrated, throw in the towel and become resentful of the obstacle!

But God!

It’s ok to address our adverse emotions but in a healthy way for when we hit the ground there is truly No Way But Up!

http://kish-magazine.com/no-way-but-up/

God’s still faithful!

Check out the other inspirational articles in this incredible motivational magazine as well.

You can pre-order you next copy which features Pastors Toure Roberts and Sarah Jakes-Roberts. Don’t miss out, printed copies DO sell out fast!

Pre-order at http://www.kish-magazine.com

Inspiration, motivational, Relationships, Testimony, Wisdom

Racism-The Great Form of Evil

Like a great deal of my fellow Americans, my heart simply aches over the recent events that have taken place in Charlottesville VA. It’s a national disgrace and I’m struggling to see a United front in and for “We The People”. Leadership has also delivered a stance a day or two late leaving me wondering if the good for us all is truly a non-biased priority.

My personal experience and view points regarding the topic of racism runs painfully deep. I was once grossly affected by the matter especially as a youth.

Like yesterday I can clearly recall walking to elementary school with my cousins and needing to run through several blocks to safety or risk getting jagged edged rocks slammed in the back of my head. I eventually mastered dodging the blows but only after being wounded on multiple occasions. This was a daily sprint and no way around the confrontation generated simply because of the color of my skin.

In middle school, a boy spat in my face and called me an ugly nigger. I tried to chase him down in flip flops but never caught up to him. I was left feeling like dirt on the ground as his warm thick saliva oozed over my eye and down my cheek. To this day, I believe spitting on another human beings is one of the worst forms of insult imaginable.

Not long after that another approached me and asked me to perform a disgraceful sexual act on him. I remember feeling so frightened for it took him repeating it several times before I understood what he was asking. He was seriously vulgar and I was just about 9 years old.

Several more instances happened thereafter which I won’t disclose but I remember developing the learned behavior of prejudice by the time I was in high school. All of my insults came from caucasian males and I grew a racist distaste over the very site of them. I put them all in the same category and couldn’t fathom any good at all. As an extended result, I didn’t socialize, befriend or seek to get to know anyone that didn’t look like me. I made the assumption that any race outside of my own automatically hates me and I them.

By the time I was approaching 20, a life changing event occurred that melted away a very deep form of racist hate that had been growing in my heart for years. I had rededicated my life to Christ after hitting some tough places and moved to a neighborhood where most residents did not match my skin complexion. I was overwhelmed by how I was embraced but still had guards up looking for hidden agendas. The acceptance just couldn’t be true as I considered my previous encounters. 

Not long after that I befriended a beautiful Korean girl who had a Jewish boyfriend with the biggest heart I’d ever met. Truly the sweetest in my life up to that point. I genuinely grew to love them both and was blessed for these friendships. 

I made a point thereafter to not classify everyone simply because of the ignorance of a few. God healed my heart of the deepest form of hate and I purposely sought out opportunities to get to know all kinds of people who were also willing to get to know me.

Today my heart is completely open and longs for diversity in my relationships. I no longer find contentment in surrounding myself with only African Americans. In fact I prefer to worship with a congregation with a healthy mix of all kinds of people. My current church fulfills that beyond description and I have sisterly/brotherly like bonds that far exceed color lines. Our bond is spiritual by the DNA we share through the sacrifice of our common father, Jesus Christ.

It’s a beautiful experience and I would have it no other way. Adding God’s revelation to my adolescent ignorance as I matured showed me the true definition of love. Had I remained stuck on my initial experiences I would have missed out on rapport with some wonderful people. That would have been my loss for certain if I had chosen to remain oblivious.

I pray for our country and won’t give up hope that we can put our racial differences aside, bond together as humans and demonstrate respect instead of hate. Globally, those with a racists agenda are truly the minority and can remain as such if the majority commit to condemn their behavior as completely unacceptable! 

This may not come to pass in my life time but at least I’m living proof that with God’s love, even a powerful stance of racial animosity can be healed and conquered in Him. I’m living proof, He’s able.

Soulful Sunday

Soulful Sunday – Kisses From My Daddy


In my lifetime, I have experienced three forms of the sweetest kisses ever. My Maternal Grandmother gave me the longest kisses every time she saw me! I remember as a kid thinking at times that I wish she would stop, but as I grew older I looked forward to them. Now that’s she’s gone, I would do anything for one from her again.


My husband’s kisses still gives me chills after 12 years. His sweetest are those he offers for no reason and those given when he departs from me even if he’s just going to the store for 20 minutes. The ones he insists on right before we go to sleep are expected and comforting.

My son melts me with his sweet innocence like nothing ever has. His tiny precious little puckers turn my heart into a bowl of mush every time! I eat them all up for I know it won’t be long before he’s over being mommy’s shadow and little boy.

I am one of many millions who will never know the love of an earthly father. I can’t relate to conversations with women my age when they talk about their fathers and seeing that little girl in them emerge. I can tell it’s a unique experience that cannot be compared to another just like the three I mentioned above. For those who can relate to my story, the absence of what we never had is a feeling that truly never goes away. There is still a deep longing to be regarded even into adulthood as daddy’s little girl or boy. 

Acceptance can be difficult if one does not learn how God is a Father to the fatherless. His sacrifice should be leaned on and replaced by what will never be in the natural through the Spirit of Adoption.

Several weeks ago I found myself in prayer feeling like a lost little girl. I asked my Heavenly Father to hug me and kiss my tears away. By the end of the day that natural description I was looking for never came. But he showed up in the only way that He can – in the spirit.

He sent sweet little things over the course of two weeks that made the little girl in me recognize, smile, laugh and giggle.

The next morning He sent a butterfly. It was pure white. I was rushing to get coffee but couldn’t help but to pause for a long moment . I watched it flutter and play around a bush on my front lawn. It was the first I’d seen this season. 

He sent not one but two rainbows right over my house after a couple of summer showers. They were distinct with the most brilliant colors! Both were perfectly arched and set just for me. I had not seen even one in 4 years!

He sent the tiniest baby bunny I have ever seen up close and in person. It hopped right across my path out of no where! It was all alone and I watched carefully until he bounced away. Just the cutest thing ever!

He sent an exotic bird – Clearly out of its territory for I’ve never seen anything that magnificent in my neighborhood before. It swooped so close to my windshield while I turned a corner in my car and it’s wing span was breathtaking! The details of its rippled feathers was just a work of art.

No earthly father would be able to top that by far! I know for sure my Abba Father was sending me kisses from heaven! It certainly felt like it and I took it as nothing else but! 

God is more than willing; more than able to provide you with all the love that your neglected heart requires. Spend time learning how to hear His voice, how He moves and speaks to you specifically. He will show up in the most unique ways if you are paying attention. He’s a very good father and you are his precious child!

Until Next Time, Happy Sunday!

Soulful Sunday

Soulful Sunday: What’s REALLY Holding You Back?

As weeks create months and months turn into years, decades are formed and reality becomes evident. We are aging and are often faced with “THE” question directly or indirectly; Are we making the most out of the life we have left?

This thought feels irrelevant in our adolescent years when we feel invincible for it appears that there is plenty of time to think on these things later; much later…

Then one day we wake up, look in the mirror and 40, 50, 60,70 and beyond are upon us. Our stark reality is where did the time go and are we living a purposed filled life? You know, the one that God has called us to before we were ever in existence.

If you can say without hesitation that you spend your days doing the thing God put you on this earth for, I certainly commend you! However, if that’s NOT you and you are in those age categories I mentioned above, What’s Holding You Back?

The level of true purpose I am alluding to has nothing to do with that job you slave at every day to earn a living. You can confirm that this statement is true if you feel that something is missing and deep inside, you’re unfulfilled. I’m talking about your primary reason for being. You gift, your talent, that business idea, that ministry, that book, that masterpiece that only YOU can deliver and birth to the world. 

It’s that thing you have been seeing repetitively in visions or dreams. That idea that gives you chills when you ponder on it but quickly dismiss with a plethora of old and tired excuses..

That hurt

That shame

That lack of confidence 

That comparison to others

That envy of your Brother

That previous failure

That finger pointing and blaming

That lack of Faith in your Lord and Savior 

For many reading this, What’s REALLY holding you back from embracing your destiny is directly connected to a matter you have not officially dealt with in your past. If you don’t face it, you will end up like countless others; leaving this earth and taking what should have been shared with the world with you. Now that’s really selfish! RealBoldTruth!

I recently had to deal with an extremely painful area of my life that I have been suppressing for several decades. I really thought I had it under control especially as of lates. I’ve discovered who I am in Christ, learned how to look to Him and trust Him more, have been in constant fellowship to assure I don’t go back to old ways of thinking and I’ve been serving and giving faithfully in ministry. Yet this soul striping thing keeps coming up and I grew sick of it! I couldn’t put my finger on why I’m still struggling with something that should be so old but knew it was the source of what has been holding me back from all God truly has for me.

I was recently put in a setting and was given the option to become vulnerable and transparent about this thing and my flesh felt reservations. However my spirit prevailed by telling me it’s now or never!

I ultimately shared a very private battle with the most unlikely person and found out she had struggled with the very same thing! I was in complete shock for she seemed to have it all together. She gave me a name for “my thing” and it’s called “Rejection ” she shared with me some tools and specific word that I started using right away and a release I experienced almost instantly!

Initially I was so very uncomfortable being this exposed but it has been way past time to “Tell The Truth and Shame The Devil!” I want my freedom more than my security of holding on to this dead stinky thing that clearly robs me of so many possibilities!

I challenge you today to think on these things. What have you NOT faced, NOT confessed, NOT healed from, buried alive kicking and screaming that will NOT die? It’s the very thing that is stopping you from spending more energy cultivating you “Gift” than dwelling on what won’t change. 

God has so much more for you but you’ll never experience the totality of His blessings if you don’t give this thing up! Stop lying, to yourself, and listening to the voice of the enemy more than the voice of the Lord! 

Do it NOW, before YOU and IT simply become a memory.

Until Next Time, Happy Sunday!

Kish Magazine

Kish Magazine – The Uncontainable God

Hello RBT Readers! I pray this post finds you all well in mind, body and spirit. My articles have been infrequent lately due to a very demanding schedule which includes starting a new job, BUT GOD!

He remains faithful, ever present and renews my strength from day to day! I recognize this and know if it was not for His hand consistently moving in my life, I simply would not be able to sustain!

Speaking of recognizing, someone needs to be reminded today just how incredibly BIG your Heavenly Father is. He’s quite uncontainable!!

This month I wrote a very short yet powerful article for KISH Magazine on this very matter. Please do check it out. It will take you 5 minutes to read but may serve as the ministry source to get your faith moving in the right direction again.

http://kish-magazine.com/the-uncontainable-god/

If your experience today is an impasse or you are growing faint, be reminded of your position and who your Daddy is!!

KISH Magazine is an inspiration Christian Publication that is distributed all across the country quarterly. The website is consistently update with soul stirring articles, testimonies and features of new authors. RBT ministries has a column that also features new material every month. Check out and share the content at:

http://www.kish-magazine.com

Blessings and be encouraged!

Heart Ministry Radio, talk show

RBT Show – Angels – The Discovery

Hello RBT Readers!!

The Talk Show on Heart Ministry Radio this past Sunday was a little different. It was a live video taping in the studio!

I’m sharing it here since it is now permanently housed on YouTube and the station’s television branch. 

This show is a combination of the last two audio shows that played a couple of weeks ago. My book entitled “Angels- The Discovery” will be here very soon in 2017! This video show is a sneak preview into the introduction of my penn name “Starr Lee Bryant” and a summary of the book itself!

Check it out and stay tuned for more information including a book trailer in the coming weeks.

Finally, this picture below is of an Angel that I have had for nearly 20 years. I was initially inspired about the presence of Angels around the time I purchased this trinket. She has riding with me in every car I have had in that time frame and reminds me by the inscription on her wings that “I Must Do The Thing I Think I Cannot Do!” An Eleanor  Roosevelt Quote. Who would have thought that she would have been such an intricate part of my spiritual creativity so long ago!

Finally, I’m also sharing the song that initially gave me the vision into the activity of Angels also nearly 20 years ago!  Richard Smallwood & Visions – “Angels”  – Listen and be blessed!

Soulful Sunday

Soulful Sunday – In God We Trust

As we all know, our country has been faced with dramatic and unpredicted changes recently. It’s unfortunate and distressing when considering the alarming number of crushed hearts of at least half of all Americans. An intense level of betrayal, deceit and devastation concerning the reality of our government system is felt today by hundreds of thousands of people. 

Have our voices been silenced? Do we have a say? Have our concerns been diminished to trivial values amongst those who have never had to be concerned about economic provision, healthcare, workforce security and other means of survivor essentials? These and many more are the questions of the middle class and a percentage of others who feel disrespected by recent outcomes. 

In spite of it all; our perceptions, feelings and personal predictions, we really have no other choice but to make plans to move forward. There is no benefit of remaining stuck and planted in a dead place of division. 

I personally have tried desperately not to speak on this matter after seeing the incredible outpour on the news and on social media. I initially took the position that if I can’t say anything of worth then I must remain silent until wisdom prevails. 

So today I will address the matter indirectly and more so from my spirit. I will share that my greatest concern to date is that our international adversaries are watching, finding humor and pleasure in our partition. They are scrutinizing our conduct closely and have deemed our nation as less powerful than we use to be. In my opinion, if we don’t get a grip we are creating a man-made perfect storm for disaster that we have yet to experience. While our backs are turned pointing fingers, causing riots and hating one another, they plot to scheme and destroy.

My words do indeed mimic those of others who have encouraged our country to come together as a united front in this very hour. We need as many voices of reason as possible. The greatest of these is from The word of God who has not changed His mind or position concerning us, His children.

“In God We Trust” is a more powerful statement today for me personally as a believer. It should be for us all. It’s not just a cliche scribed on our monetary exchange or just something to say because other words are far and few. Our Nation was established on the saying and analyzing what it TRULY means is more critical now than ever before.

It means that if we do not, we will remain devastated, hopeless and face failure in countless areas of our lives. Emptiness will remain:

If your trust is in your job.

If your trust is in your money.

If your trust is in making your own way.

If your trust lies in one man in the Oval Office.
If your trust solely depends on your Pastor, teacher, mentor and others wrapped in human flesh that have been placed on a pedestal only meant for The Lord!

None of these have the ability to affect, change or redirect what was already predestined for your life! 

Developing and being rooted in Trusting a God that we cannot see can be difficult living in the natural. But when the odds are weighed we cannot afford to operate in this realm indefinitely. Focus on the spirit within you to quiet the noise, fuss and opinions you hear in order to elevate that assuring small voice who is sure to remind you, “I’ve got this, STILL!”

Until next time, Happy Sunday!

#marriage, Forgiveness, Inspiration

Sins of a Female Saint – Part II

This post concludes my testimony of my darkest secret; my deepest pain. Click here for Part I 
http://therealliferealtalk.com/2016/10/19/sins-of-a-female-saint-part-1
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I didn’t think I deserved it. After what I did the first time around certainly I will never be worthy again. 

As a believer, I failed miserably! Not keeping promises I made to myself, my 1st spouse and most of all to God. I’ll live the rest of my days and find a way to accept the errors of my ways, conceal my deepest secret and try to get back to being a good Christian; someway and somehow….

But as days turned into weeks, months into years, I battled with chronic depression and insurmountable soul crushing guilt. Like Adam and Eve in the garden after their disobedience, so did I try to hide from God.

Yes I came back to Him and repented for how I contributed to the breakdown in my 1st marriage, but there was so much more spiritually to deal with and I didn’t know how to start. So instead, I suppressed and buried that stinkin thing alive still screaming to breath and heal under mounds of emotional debris. That’s where it shall remain and no one will ever know how much I hurt. It will have to die eventually….

But 8 years later, it’s still screaming. In fact, sounds louder than ever before. Im now scrambling for more creative ways to stifle the noise. But the difficulty is even more complex. I initiated the divorce for matters were truly irreconcilable. Thereafter, my love, affection and adoration for the one I fell for has gotten deeper and now I carry his child. After 22 years of being barren, I conceived with the man I committed adultery with.

I know him more intimately than I ever knew my ex-husband. The good, the bad and the very ugly! We didn’t come into each other’s lives unscathed of life’s scars. We both were extremely broken as individuals; struggling both mentally and spiritually. Yet we clung to one another in the best friendship I have ever experienced. Our souls over the years are bonded and completely tied together. 

After a year of staying away from my love, he returned and asked for my hand. How dare I try this again and try to make it holy especially considering the way we started….

The attraction is just as magnetic as day one nearly 9 years prior. The adoration so much deeper and a beautiful child born between us. How could this natural messy situation ever be made right?

This feels hypocritical beyond description! Would God bless us, can I really be happy, and what consequences will we face individually and collectively? 

Despite all these natural questions, we stepped out on faith after 10 months of Godly counsel and married. 

Two years later, it has not been without challenges. On top of the normal circumstances that most married couples face, without spoken words we still look at each other and silently wonder, “Will you do the same to me?”

Despite our flaws, we hold on to our family, our faith and our God who healed what we thought was unhealable.

We are both being set free and elevating in ministry. Turning what the enemy intended for evil into good. I’ve grown so much spiritually. More concrete in faith, knowledge and the power of God than I ever was a decade ago. The test and trial was excessively painful and I lost a lot. But he restoreth my soul and Great is thy faithfulness!!

Finally I can breath! Without guilt, condemnation and shame. My fervent prayer is that someone facing similar circumstances be encouraged by my journey and make some healthy decisions. My Realboldtruth is indeed my testimony!