Do you struggle with self doubt?

Have you ever struggled with self doubt? Asking yourself, have I made the right decision, am I doing what I am designed for, did I make the right choice this time? Well that is exactly where I am at right now. Thoughts come flooding in and won't leave me alone. So I am forced to look at this topic and see what it is that has brought this on and find my lesson in it. Self doubt is nothing more than not having confidence in ourselves. Confidence in the choices you make or confidence in your ability.
My struggles recently came from a business decision I made. I kept questioning myself that maybe I made the wrong choice or it was the wrong timing. I asked myself if I was doing the right thing. Basically when you don't have anyone cheering you on and it's been quite around, you begin to second guess your moves. It's in the quite times though where you really have to find your faith and remember the big picture. Here's a quote from Matthew Barnett "Your dream might plateau for awhile in order for you to learn the inward lessons needed to rise again. I love this,this is exactly what we need when were in the mindset of self doubt. Everything that happens is according to Gods timing so we have to remember He is in control and it's Him making the next move and in the meantime we can look at what inward lessons He might be teaching us. For me, I needed a reminder that He is the one calling the shots, not the business women who thinks she is making it all happen. I need to take a step back and ask, what's next Father? And it was a good reminder that He is the CEO of my company and I must be very sensitive to where He wants me to go and why.
So next time self doubt starts to creep into your mind , ask yourself what inward lessons do I need to learn right now? Get your mind off yourself and focus on God and He will lead you into a confidence that will out shine everything. Not in yourself but in Him!

Tough situations

Have you ever found yourself in situation and asked yourself, How did I get here?
That's exactly what I had witnessed on our last street night outreach. A group of us girls go out to Strip Clubs once a month to encourage, lift up and inspire the dancers to be all that can be in life. We bring all the love we have, homemade cupcakes, goody bags with earrings, lip gloss and whatever else we can get into those bags and recently we brought roses for each girl. We show up and Love out Loud and it changes people.
Well this one night I met this young beautiful girl (for privacy reasons) we will call her Anna. Anna confided in me that she wasn't sure why she was dancing in this club. She really didn't want to be there and was already thinking her escape plan. She was desperate, lonely, broke and hurting. Sound familiar? I'm sure we all have our story of how we made choices based off our desperate circumstances. Maybe you didn't go into dancing in a strip club but you found yourself someplace you never thought you'd be. Anna poured her heart out to me telling me her plan. I listened intently to her wants and needs. She was a smart girl and she knew that stripping wasn't for her but yet she kept going back. Little does she know we have some good news for her because a few of us girls pulled together so we can help Anna meet some of her goals a little quicker than she expected. So we are looking forward to going back to see her and share the goods news with her. We are glad she opened up to us and was honest. So I just want to encourage you to find someone stuck in a tough spot and ask yourself if there is anything you can do to bring them closer to getting out of it.
I can instantly think of the people that did that for me in my life, especially in my twenties when I was young and making bad choices. Those friends didn't judge me, they just saw the need and went for it. This is what Loving out Loud is! You actions show the love and it has a trickle affect on others! So figure out how you can go Love out Loud today!!