Category: Uncategorized

Child welfare nonprofit celebrates 125 years of service in West Virginia | WCHS

The Children’s Home Society of West Virginia held its annual Founder’s Day event Saturday to celebrate a big milestone. The nonprofit celebrated 125 years of service to children and families in West Virginia. The organization was founded in 1896 and provides child welfare, behavioral health and advocacy services to children in the state. “It gives them hope.
— Read on wchstv.com/news/local/child-welfare-nonprofit-celebrates-125-years-of-service-in-west-virginia

To write means more than putting pretty words on a page…

“To write means more than putting pretty words on a page; the act of writing is to share a part of your soul with the world.” – unknown

This is why I feel called to write. God has given me a love for journaling and poetry. I find it very therapeutic, but he’s also given me a desire to want to share my testimony with others. One of my spiritual gifts is encourager. So, I want to share my story with others in hopes that I can encourage someone else with some of the experiences that I’ve gone through.

My Testimony: From addict to free

Seven years ago, I made a post on Instagram and Facebook praising God because He delivered me from smoking and a 20+ addiction to pornography and erotica. Shortly afterwards, a family member sent me a private message rebuking me and made me feel bad. So, after that, I stopped sharing my testimony and sticking with the little everyday miracles that God was doing in my life. 

Well, I’ve since learned that the enemy is a sneaky little devil and will use anyone, especially family, to stop you from being used by God. I also know that men aren’t the only ones who struggle with this issue and that if my testimony can help others then I’m willing to share it. I’m not proud of my past, but I do know that God exists and that He can take what the enemy meant for evil and use it for good. 

I shared my testimony in more detail in this blog post from 2014 if you want to learn more. 😊

https://tabrownwvhome.wordpress.com/2014/05/31/my-testimony-from-addict-to-free/

What a difference 7 years makes

Left picture taken 12/4/13, right picture taken 12/4/20

Wow! What a difference 7 years makes.

The woman on the left was 20 pounds overweight, full of insecurities, suffering from anxiety, depression, and digestive issues. The woman on the right still has days where she deals with anxiety and depression, but the main difference is that the woman on the left struggled with finding her worth and value in what the scales said and what others thought about her.

The woman on the right has since learned that as a child of God, her worth and value are in what He says about her. I have been a Christian since I was 15 and I am now 46 years old. It has taken me 31 years, and many difficulties in my Christian walk, to fully trust God’s word and what He says about me. Once I finally got to the point where I was leaning on God and seeing myself the way that He sees me, then I started taking better care of myself by eating better, taking supplements, and even seeing a Christian counselor.  And, over time, I noticed the weight started coming off without much effort. 

I’m not where I want to be weight wise since I still have a few more inches that I would like to lose. However, I am finally at a place in my life where I am not letting what the size of my clothes or the numbers on the scale say about my self-worth. I’ve also noticed that the more time I spend building my relationship with God, the more confidence and peace I have.