I can still remember being seven years old, walking into our little apartment with my dad and five year old brother, and realizing that the lights wouldn’t turn on. Our microwave was off, and the hall to the bedroom that my brother and I shared was very dark. I didn’t understand what was going on. But when I looked over at my dad, he was sitting on the couch with his head in his hands, looking a way I had never seen him before. Defeated. I learned years later, that during that month, my dad had to choose whether to pay the electricity bill or buy groceries.

My whole childhood, I grew up having to carry burdens that were never mine to carry. Having to fight battles that were never mine to fight. Having to be tough skinned and strong, when in all reality, I was just a kid. I was raised by a single father, with my one younger brother. My mother left when I was five, but that’s a story for another day. I was not raised in church, but I had a strong father that even though at the time he did not know the Lord, raised us to be kind, thoughtful, hard working and generous.

I lived a good part of my childhood in the “bible belt”. I saw churches on every street. Knowing my friends during the summers would go off to church camp, but I was never a part of any of this. And to be completely honest, I didn’t care much because I just simply didn’t know what I didn’t have. It wasn’t until I was seventeen years old, I was invited to come to church on a Wednesday night to a youth group. I was living in Destin, Florida, no family, rebellious, difficult and living on a friends couch in their flea-infested basement. No one cared where I went, when I got in, who I was with, or what I was doing. So, to say the least, I walked into that youth group desperate and not knowing what for. It was the first time I had ever heard the message of Jesus. It still brings me to tears thinking about that moment, because I was so alone and lost. He filled me with a love that I didn’t know existed. He rescued me from the literal pit I was living in and turned my whole life upside down. Which in all actuality was now right side up.

I’ll share the details in posts to come, of how He restored and healed me. How He saved and restored my family. How He broke generational curses, and delivered me from bondage I was so accustomed to living in. How He showed me the power of His love and of His Holy Spirit. I simply cannot live without Him, because I still so vividly remember my life without Him. I am PASSIONATE about sisterhood. Doing life together, and loving each other through our highs and lows. Leaving the fear of the ninety-nine and reaching out for the one. Walking in the supernatural power of His Holy Spirit, so that others can see that He is real and alive. I don’t have it all together, but He does. And I trust Him. I want to encourage you today, dear sister. Who is the rebellious, difficult, lonely and hurting one around you? No one would have ever guessed that I was walking into that youth group with the background that I had, but I am forever grateful that someone reached out anyways and simply just, INVITED ME IN. All it takes is you opening up your life, laying yourself aside and being Jesus to the ones He has placed around you.

We have a MISSION to tear down the boundaries, the facade of perfection, the fear of man, and walk in the power of His love for a dying and lost world. Ask Him, I dare you, to break your heart for what breaks His heart, and it will cause you to stop thinking about you, and to see through HIS eyes. To take the focus off of yourself and see that there is a mission He has for you today. I’m glad a sister said yes to the mission of me on that summer day of 2005. Who would have guessed that little ole me, would one day be writing and ministering to some many others, telling them about what Jesus did that day in a little youth service. For the past year, the Lord began to birth in my heart, Simple Sisterhood. It is not just to share my story, but the stories and tools of the sisters around me. The Titus women who have recipes and testimonies that we need not only for ourselves, but for our children. The single mom who has the strength of ten, and words of wisdom that came with a price we all need to glean from. Or the teenager, who if just given a bit of time and patience, can fill us with words of passion that encourages us to keep praying for a young generation. Sister, we need each other. It’s not nearly as complicated as we make it. So let’s shake off yesterday, take a deep breath, and link up arms. Welcome to sisterhood.