I Go to the Rock
This past Saturday, August 10th, something phenomenal happened. I had the opportunity to adapt the Fueling Educators' Emotional Development (FEED) program, which I usually use for teachers and educators, into a women's conference titled "Mastering Your Emotional and Spiritual Health: Becoming the Best You!" at my church, Christ Community Ministries in Kannapolis, NC. The conference began with me adapting the current curriculum and adding new biblically based materials. Let me tell you, it was an amazing process to weave the Fruit of the Spirit, the concept of people, places, and things, and other teachings into a program designed to uplift and heal the souls of women.
Our church, whose motto is "Where Love Lives," is a special place. Although our congregation is small— about 35 people—it is filled with love. We had our technical rehearsal on Friday to prepare for the conference on Saturday. A crew of about 10 people was on board, preparing for the event. I had planned to arrive at 3:00 PM and leave by 5:30 PM. However, I was at the church until 9:30 p.m. due to technical issues. Let's not forget that I drive an hour each way to church every Sunday. I didn’t get home until 10:30 p.m. Even though the technical rehearsal didn’t go as planned, we were undeterred.
After three hours of sleep the next morning, I picked up three wonderful young ladies—Brooke, Zaqeria, and Jolianny—at 5:30 AM to get to Kannapolis by 7:30 AM. These are three young ladies that I have been assigned to watch over emotionally. The setup crew had already done a beautiful job the night before, and Charlene’s Café, run by my girlfriend Charlene, who prepares the most amazing food made with love, was ready to feed participants with delicious home-made quiche, fresh fruit, sausage balls, and our signature fresh donuts from the Donut House. The snack table was built for a king because we knew the work required us to nourish both body and spirit.
People arrived ready to learn and be emotionally healed. There were many apprehensions about being there because I informed everyone that we would talk about their feelings on a level they had never experienced before. One of my signature practices in presentations is asking, "Are you ready to learn?" The response is always a resounding, "I am!" Michelle, the ying to my yang, who had been uncertain about attending due to caring for her mother, showed up, and when she did, I knew that the workshop was on and popping! We started with a welcome from our Pastor Lisa Hall, and prayer from Ramona Byrd.
While the Holy Spirit filled the room before we entered, we saw the manifestation of His presence all day.
With this conference, I intertwined emotional intelligence with biblical scriptures and music. During the segment where we discussed the places in our lives and the emotions attached to them, there was no other song that could have been sung at that moment but Whitney Houston's "I Go to the Rock." The rock is a significant place because, like with The Feeling Friends, Lotta Love sits on a rock, and the foundation of her house is made of stone. On Feeling Friends Island, love is the most important feeling. This message set the tone for the day.
Saturday was amazing, filled with healing work that couldn’t be rushed. Saturday was our inaugural event for this presentation, where everyone agreed that spiritual and biblical healing would take precedence. Women talked, had critical conversations, sang, wrote mantras, and laid some emotional burdens down. Since we didn’t get through all the material, Part 2 will come soon. While I had seen the vision of what was to come for Christ’s Community Church and The Feeling Friends Community Center for Culturally Responsive Emotional Intelligence (our non-profit), Saturday allowed me to experience the new partnership in real-time. Pastor John, Lisa, and I will write the vision down for the community and make it plain.
When I returned to church on Sunday morning, women from the conference walked and danced joyfully. They brought supernatural love into the building. Something had shifted in our church; some things had been lifted, and the devil no longer held their thoughts and feelings. We loosened some emotional chains that had people bound and created a healing space for people to move forward. Through our powerful discussions of adverse childhood experiences yesterday, women gained a deep understanding of how they became who they are today. We also gave them tools to become who they want to be. The work done on Saturday will impact these women in their homes, workplaces, and other places where they appear. Yes, they will appear in their jobs differently. They will not lead from the lens of emotional deficit; they will lead from the lens of emotional love, which begins with self-awareness and self-love.
Daniel, a handsome young man whom I love, approached me and stated that he had heard about the conference from one of our participants. Daniel stated that he understands there will be Part Two for the women when we have not done Part One for the men. I agreed to facilitate the workshop for Daniel and other men who need exactly what we gave the women. My message will not change. My delivery will be different because they will get it real in the language they understand from John Cuthrell’s daughter. There will be sports analogies galore. I hope they will be ready.
Saturday’s conference at Christ’s Community Ministries in Kannapolis, NC, was phenomenal. Ordinary women attended and received an extraordinary blessing from God. I am humbled to be leading this transformative work.
Reflecting on this experience, I realized that God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things, and I am just an ordinary person doing His work, which I love deeply. He provides me with all the resources I require to help others transform their thoughts and experience renewal.
In this chapter of my journey, I am more committed than ever to continuing this healing work that changes lives. I know that the most important feeling is love, and God is love. More to come.
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