Keeping it Real

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Posted by Ms. Tausha.  Ms. Tausha is a regular contributor on Keeping It Real.  You can find her on Twitter and YouTube.

The other night I was on the phone with a good friend of mine who is also in the music business.  I recalled our previous conversations when we first began networking. When he would refer me to certain people to get things done he would tell me, “My name is your leverage.” Simply by affiliation, I would be able to gain access to certain people and areas I otherwise would not be able to gain access into.

The following day, after our conversation, I googled my friend’s name just to see what new articles were out there about him; there were pages and pages of articles, interviews, etc. On a whim, I then googled myself; to my surprise there were pages and pages of things that held MY NAME. At that moment, I came into full realization of something: first and foremost, my “leverage” is the name of Jesus; there is no other name that will open up doors for me. Second, I have FINALLY come to a place in this journey called life where I’ve found ME. I stand on my own. Before Christ, I strived to develop relationships with certain types of people. For instance, the types of men I wanted to date were always the ones who had a popular name; everybody knew them; every woman wanted them. I believed that my identity was found in the people I surrounded myself with. When I was at an event where I was meeting and greeting different people, I would introduce myself as being affiliated with that person; it was never just, “I am Tausha”, it was always, “I am Tausha, so and so’s friend.”

Do not get me wrong, I do know there are people that God has placed in my life to assist me in accomplishing what He wants me to accomplish in this earth; however, those people are sent by God. I no longer desire to seek out relationships with certain people in order to appear important; in order to feel like I am somebody. As I received this revelation in my heart, I was absolutely blown away! The power, the prestige, the identity that I so adamantly sought out in those men I have right here in me! And it’s been in me, I just had to realize it. Through Christ, I am all of those things that I was trying to get from a man. It isn’t found in any man, it is found through Christ in me.

With this revelation has come a whole ‘nother level of confidence in God, as well as in myself. As Paula White says, “If you don’t know who you are, you don’t know what you can do.” I can now proceed being fully persuaded, that God can and will do everything He has ever promised.  With this in mind, you can proceed the same way. It doesn’t matter who you’re affiliated with if you’re not “affiliated” with God. Everything in the earth is His, and the fullness thereof (Psalm 24:1). Think of it this way: Donald Trump is a very powerful name in this world. If you were good friends with Donald Trump, you would gain access into places you may never get to on your own. Now, referencing the aforementioned scripture, think of how much more you will gain access to if you are good friends with God! Everything is His!  Knowing who you are starts with knowing who’s you are.

Sincerely,
Ms. Tausha

The fall season contains one of my favorite holidays… Thanksgiving.  In Canada Thanksgiving just passed on October 12.  This year my girl learned a lot about thanksgiving in school and had questions for me about it so I shared with her what thanksgiving means to me.

Simply put, it’s a day to express gratitude for all that is wonderful in our lives.  It has been a hot topic and, lately, my girl has been talking my ear off about things she is learning in school.

Then, this evening, my girl surprised me with the following prayer that she wrote after she was done her homework.  She recited it as she prepared for bed.

Lord,
Thank you for the food we eat,
Thank you for the friends we meet,
Thank you for our families too,
Thank you for everything including you.
For all this we pray, Blessed be to God
Amen

I figured it needed to be published to my site.

Comments?

Posted by MsTausha,

Am I the only one who thinks the world is too engaged in unhealthy competition?

For example, when people find out that I am an artist, the first thing they want to do is compare my look and/or sound to another artist they are familiar with. One of the first questions people ask is, “Who would you compare your style to?” “Whose music would you say yours sounds like?” My answer is always the same, “My own…”

I’ve LEARNED, that what God has for me is for me.  I was not put on this earth to mimic Karen Clark Sheard or Beyonce Knowles in sound or action; I was put on this earth to be me…the best me that I can be, through the grace afforded to me…

It takes nothing more than a quick glance around the entertainment industry, or in your everyday space, to see the “cookie cutter mold” society is engaged in. With reality shows that aren’t really reality shows, and the mess that is called “music videos,” no one has a true sense of what’s real anymore. I truly believe that a majority of the issues we see in people today, especially our youth, are identity issues. A woman’s worth is now defined by how she measures up to the women seen on TV,  and a man’s worth is defined by how much money he has in his pocket or how successful he is considered to be. Everyone is trying to be like someone else. People are disfiguring themselves or losing their lives to plastic surgery because they are trying to “fit the mold.” Life has become more about what you look like on the outside, or what you own rather than true character. Ladies, you could be a straight up brick house: pretty face, slim waist, beautiful skin…but if you’re ugly on the inside, your life will still be miserable. Fellas, you could drive around in the most expensive car and have the grandest house; but money cannot buy you the true love and pure joy your heart desires.

Forget who the world says you are supposed to be, and dare to be who God says you are! A lot of us are afraid to be ourselves because we’ve been pretending for so long; we honestly don’t know who to be. Allow me to introduce YOU to the real YOU:

• You are made in God’s image, after His likeness (Genesis 1:26)
• You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14)
• You are the HEAD and not the tail; above ONLY and not beneath (Deuteronomy 28:13)
• You are FORGIVEN, set apart, and justified (1 Corinthians 6:11 AMP)
• You are the one God loved so much, that He sent His only begotten Son to die for (John 3:16).

You betta ask somebody!

Leave a comment with your thoughts?

- Tausha

Posted by MsTausha,

When I started writing this I was listening to a friend tell me about, yet another questionable relationship he’d gotten himself into. Once again, he was telling me that a woman he was dating turned out NOT to be who she originally claimed to be. God had given him signs; little “happenings” here and there that were intended to slow him down and prove that the relationship might not be what God had for him, but he longs for a mate so bad that he ignored the signs and kept pressing forward…again. So there we were, having a conversation about how he is disappointed in another relationship that’s gone “bad.”

I wondered what I could say to him that would help him see himself in the situation. We have all done this at one time or another; we let our heart’s desire become our heart’s dis-ease. We become so enamored with getting what we think we want that we ignore the red flags intended to make us go in the opposite direction. When it ends (and it will), we are disappointed and disgusted in the other person’s actions, without fully taking accountability for our own actions. Recognizing the other person’s faults is the easy part; but admitting where you went wrong is a completely different story.

As I began to reflect on some of my own past relationships, I was reminded of something God spoke to me several years ago: “What is it on the inside of you that makes you susceptible to these types of relationships? What is the root? What is it that makes YOU put YOU in these situations?” What I came to realize about myself was humbling…

I was desperate…

I was so desperate to have a mate that I was compromising.  I was clinging to relationships I KNEW were not ultimately what I wanted because I was trying to fill a void. Little did I know, that void could only be filled by surrendering that part of my life to God, and facing things about myself that I had been running from; things that made me vulnerable in this area.  If you feel there is a void in your life, whatever you are turning to in order to fill it is a cheap imitation of what God would do if you turned to Him. Desperation for things or people will only leave you disappointed. The only thing we should be desperate for is an intimate relationship with God.

As far as relationships, I have learned that when a man/woman causes you to act out of character (degrade not upgrade); do things you would usually oppose; and/or neglect your purpose/calling, then that relationship is not the will of God.

In God’s will, there is peace…not confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33)

In God’s will, there is freedom…not bondage (Galatians 5:1)

In God’s will, there is security…not insecurity (Proverbs 3:5)

You can sit around and talk about the other person’s faults and wrong doings all day long, but until you get down to the root of why YOU keep subjecting yourself to relationships that are not good for you, you ain’t talking about nothing.  Don’t be desperate…be destined!

Please leave a comment with your thoughts or stories.

Grace and Peace,
Ms. Tausha

Originally Posted by MsTausha on Sunday, August 23, 2009.

“Lord, help my boss.” I was in the restroom at my job, preparing to have a difficult conversation with my boss. It’s never easy to go to someone and tell them you do not appreciate something they’ve said or done to you; however, the uneasiness is ten times bigger when it’s your boss and you have to confront them about placing you in a compromising position AND issue correction…

Whew!

As I stood in that stall praying, asking God to prepare my boss’ heart to receive what I had to say, I began to reflect over the incident in question. I was disgusted about it; I was aggravated about it; and to be honest, I was flat out ticked off about it! I found it hard to interact politely with my boss because of my offense. I was so mad, there was tightness in my chest and I had a serious headache. One thing about prayer though, is that you cannot stand before the throne of a holy God if you have mess brewing in your own spirit. As I continued to pray, God began to speak directly to my heart about ME! I realized that the reason I felt so heavy about the situation was because I was harboring resentment for this person. I quickly asked God to forgive me and just as quickly this scripture popped up in my spirit, “But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:15, KJV). The light bulb came on; I had not forgiven my boss for offending me.

I humbled myself and confessed forgiveness for my boss. As soon as I did so the tightness in my chest began to loosen, and my headache began to ease up. Slowly but surely my prayer for the “confrontation” grew more fervent; more heartfelt. I began to feel compassion for this person because, through prayer, I was gaining an understanding of what caused her to act the way she did. I walked out of that restroom and went straight to my boss’ desk. I spoke to her from a place of love rather than a place of anger, and she RECEIVED what I said! She even thanked me and apologized for her wrong!  In that instant, I learned how truly powerful forgiveness is. When you forgive, you open up the door for God to turn the whole situation around! I left my boss’ office feeling free of the situation, and feeling confident in God’s abilities to handle the cares that I cast on Him (1 Peter 5:7).

We are all forgiven. Jesus died on the cross for us while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8); He didn’t wait for us to realize our wrongs before He forgave. With that kind of grace made available to us, we should all be striving to display that same grace to others. Before I had forgiven, I was ready to treat my boss with contempt. Forgiving her released me from the bondage of feeling like I had to vindicate myself;  it released me from feeling like I had to hurt her because she’d hurt me. I am reminded of this lesson every time I face a situation where I experience hurt or disappointment: where would I be if Jesus decided to treat me with contempt when I hurt or disappointed Him? Everyone has faults. Cast that care on God, let it go and let Him work.

If we treated people from the place of them being forgiven, rather than from the place of them being a sinner; the world would be a much better place

Please leave a comment with your thoughts or stories of forgiveness.

Grace and Peace,
Ms. Tausha