I was five years old when I believed the lie that I had no voice.  I was sitting in my bedroom, rocking on an old hobby horse, back and forth, the springs making an awful squeaking noise, I almost couldn't hear myself thinking, “I can’t wait until I am a grown up, so that I can be heard.” 

The conversation I heard in the other room going on between my mother and her friend made me realize how much I wanted to be heard.  But no voice, no value and no permission to speak up kept me under lock and key for another three decades.  I had become a product of my past and my pain a victim of neglect and abuse and without a voice, I had no way out.

Thirty years later, I found myself sitting in front of a counselor my head hung low, ridden with guilt and shame, my heart completely broken and my mind unable to put together a clear thought. 

A simple question broke me even more.  She wanted to know who I was. I sat in silence until the tears came uncontrollably down my face, I could not answer and I became angry.  She persisted in asking.  She wanted to know what I liked, where did I go to play, have fun and just be me.

Friends, little did I know back then that what she was doing was helping me find my voice.  A voice that had been buried, beat up and shut up for over three decades.  It was there, where I started to know my voice, understand my story and embrace my dream.

Our voice is more then what we say, it is a sum of who we are.  God has made us by nature, body, mind, heart and spirit, these four areas overlapping create our voice. 

4 Steps to finding your voice..

1.  What are you good at?  This is your mind.

2.  What do you love to do?  This is your heart.

3.  What need can you serve?  This is your body.

4.  What is God asking of you?  Your purpose.  This is your legacy.

God created all of us to have a voice, to live, learn, love and leave a legacy.  This is not for a select few.  Granted, sometimes it is much easier following the voice of the crowd or those trying to control us.  But, your gift to this world that God has entrusted you with is your voice.  I challenge you to ask, seek and knock.  You will find some amazing truths about the way God created you. 

I am good at empowering people.

I love to connect people into community.

I listen well so others can be heard.

I have been called to create a community of confident people.

This is my voice!

Cris