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Measured, Unafraid, Captivating, and Heroic. These are traits that embody a M.U.C.H. Woman. On the I Am M.U.C.H. Woman podcast, our goal is to deepen women’s relationship with God and grow in their understanding of His Word. Here, we’ll share stories of inspiration and testimonies to help women embrace their God-given identities and live courageously. Discover what it means to live by a higher standard, rooted in faith, and committed to becoming the woman God designed you to be.
Tamika: And it was as if the Lord was saying, “It’s okay that you didn’t get it growing up. You’re not about to miss a beat because I got some ladies that will walk with you.”
Cat: So, I was just acting in the moment. Anything that, kind of, caught my attention during that time is how I flowed. And the result of that was a whirlwind of a life.
Mya: Challenging each other to do better, challenging each other to go further, enriching each other along the way, you know?
CortneyJo: Hello, MUCH Woman podcast family. I am thrilled to welcome you to episode three, where I am joined by my wonderful friends of over 20 years. We are all alumni of the University of Missouri, Mizzou, where we all met, and today we’ll be discussing the incredible blessing of having faith-filled friends who support you on your faith journey with the Lord. But before we get started, I want each of these amazing ladies to introduce themselves and share a little bit about their journey and commitment to a life devoted to Christ. So, with that, Tamika, will you go ahead and share with us a little bit about who you are and your commitment? Why did you decide to choose Christ, and why are you still rocking with him? Tamika, tell us more.
Tamika: Thank you so much for having me, CortneyJo. It’s such an honor to be here with you, and Cat, and Mya. My name is Tamika Valentine. I live in Missouri with my husband, Brian, and our four children. We have two girls and two boys, and they range in age from five to seventeen.
And in addition to me being a wife and a mom, I’m also a homemaker, a homeschooler, and I am absolutely committed to discovering and developing everything that the Lord has given to me. And I’m just blessed to be here. I currently write a weekly newsletter called Diary of a Kingdom Mom, just where I share my thoughts on life, identity, marriage, parenting, homeschooling, just kind of all the things that make up my life in this season. And so, that’s a creative project that I’m working on now. As far as my commitment to Christ, I was thinking about just what it means to me, and it took me back to just the very beginning, just starting with my name, I can see the kindness of God to me in what my mom chose to name me.
So, my maiden name is Tamika [Renee 00:02:38] Duncan. Tamika means child of the people, Renee means born again, and Duncan means brown or dark warrior. So, whenever an adult called my name or a teacher called my name, and I answered ‘yes’ or ‘present,’ I was basically coming into agreement what those names mean. And I could just see the kindness of the Lord to meet in that.
Growing up, I was absolutely a child of many people. Just being the daughter of an incarcerated father and an alcoholic mother, the Lord was very gracious to me that I was still able to be raised by my family and also various other people that he brought into my life. And when I just think about my commitment to him, it just really takes me back to his commitment to us, and I feel like he has, for me to be where I am today, he’s just given so much. It cost him everything, and it is an honor for me to simply give my life back to him in honor and in service. And that is why we’re here. That’s why we do what we do.
CortneyJo: Amen. Amen. Thank you so much, Tamika. Cat?
Cat: Hello everyone. I am Cat Samuel, and I currently reside in North Carolina. I’m originally from Michigan, so for all of my Michigan people out there, hello. It’s very cold there, I’m sure, right now, and it’s warm in North Carolina [laugh]. But my husband and I live here. We are a blended family of six.
When we got married, we were the Brady Bunch. I had two girls, and he had two boys, and then we came together and had two more, a girl and a boy. So, there’s still a war and a debate as to who’s winning, the girls or the boys. We live here, and both my husband and I serve with Wycliffe Bible Translators. We are a US-based missionary, so all of our work is here.
Eventually, we know that the Lord will send us overseas or somewhere else. For now, we are based here in the United States. I currently homeschool, and I’ve been homeschooling since my oldest was entering into junior high, so we’ve been doing it for a while. And we love it. It’s a part of our life now. I don’t think we could do it any other way. It’s pretty fun.
And so, something my husband and I do is that we have a blog that we do for the work that we do in missions, and it’s called Mod Missions, and we update that with fun videos and facts on Bible translation. We are very passionate about people having access to the scriptures in a language that they can clearly understand. Yeah, that’s what we do here [laugh], and currently and probably well into the future as well. And my reason for rocking with Jesus, I would say—so I have a wayward walk [laugh], one where I came to Christ, and one where I walked away, then said, “I don’t know if this is for me.” And then I came back again.
Well, I won’t go into all of the details. I know there will be time to be able to share more and more of my story, but the beginning and the reason why I came to Christ is because I had someone tell me when I was, like, 19 years old, that there’s a God that answers your prayers. And I said, “What?” I think about God is like this, I don’t know, being that was just out there, and set the world in motion, and pretty much, you know, took his hands off and said, you know, “You guys can figure it out on your own,” and stuff like that. But this person had told me about a God who answers prayers, and that made me feel like there’s a God who cares about me, like, he would answer the prayers that I pray, and that he would care to get involved, and, you know, his high self would want to lower himself to be with me, and my troubles, and the things that were causing me concern and hurt, and pain, and laughter, and joy.
And so, I was just like, I want to know that God. And so, when I got a chance to get to know him, and then understand how he is, and how he communicates, and His Word, and then through the Scriptures, that’s what really continued to, I don’t know, just make me want to continue to know more about him, to follow him. And then I understood why I’m here, what my purpose is for. Like, what is the purpose of all of this? What’s the purpose of the universe? There’s answers to all of those things in His Word, and it’s all about his love for us. And so, yeah, it’s just really cool to be able to learn and grow in Him because of that relationship that I saw, that he wanted with me first.
CortneyJo: I love that. Thank you. Well, we’ll certainly come back to what you said about, you know, I came and then I kind of did a little dip, and then I came back. So, [laugh] we want to hear more about that, so we’ll come back to that, okay? Mya?
Mya: Hello. So, my name is Mya McLean, and as you can see, my background is a little different, and I may move around a little bit. I actually live in Centralia, Missouri, but I am the principal of Faith Walk Academy in Paris, Missouri. So, my signal may go in and out, my [brain 00:07:50] may look kind of weird because we are literally in the sticks [laugh]. But I have been a teacher and principal here at Faith Walk Academy for over 20 years.
Much like Cat, I am married, but we also have a blended family. I came to the marriage with no children, he came with three. And we have two children together. We have a total of five, and the oldest is 30 all the way down to 14. We have five grandchildren, and we are currently raising one of our grandchildren. She’s 10, so kind of getting that opportunity to start all over again.
So, I do a lot of things. I already mentioned to you that I’m a principal at Faith Walk Academy. Recently, I have entered into entrepreneurship, and so I own a gourmet popcorn store, Mya’s Gourmet Popcorn, and we have a store in our local mall, and it’s been open for about two years. On top of that, I’m also working on my doctorate. I will have that completed by this time next year; I’ll be Dr. McLean. So, definitely have a lot that I do [laugh].
As far as why I’m still rocking with Jesus and with God, well, I was not raised in a home where God was recognized. Mom had a past where she had some things to happened in church, and she just disconnected from church herself. And so, it actually was a family friend. My mom, she deals with mental illness, has battled with it all of her life, and so when she went into the hospital, one time, I went and stayed with a family friend, and she introduced me to church. And so, at that time, she was looking for a new church home, and so I went with her to different churches and just kind of learned about God, the different aspects.
And then the church that she settled in at is the church that I am still a part of. And so, it is because of her and her willingness to share Christ with me that I have a relationship that I have with Christ. And as a result, then am able to daily pour into the students here at school. Again, I’ve seen Christ come through so many times, like, in so many areas. I know that, like Cat said, he is a prayer-answering God, and I can certainly attest to that. So, why wouldn’t I keep rocking with him, you know what I mean [laugh]?
CortneyJo: Amen. Oh, thank you all for just sharing so much. Listeners, I hope that y’all hear these incredible women and all the incredible things that they’re doing in their individual lives, and all that the Lord has been blessing them to continue to do. And it’s exciting, and I’m excited to learn more as we chat throughout this podcast. Listeners, I realize that I haven’t shared much with you all about who I am.
I’m not going to take much time today to do that because I really want you all to hear from Cat, Tamika, and Mya, but I do want to refer you to muchwoman.com, and my bio is there. So, a little bit about me and a little bit about my story is there, and you can just click on that ‘About’ tab when you get to muchwoman.com.
So, let’s transition, ladies. Thank you for introducing yourselves and letting us know a little bit about you all. And the purpose of our episode today is just to talk about how having incredible, faith-filled friends makes this walk easier. Really hard to make the commitment to serve the Lord wholeheartedly, especially living in the world we live in today, there’s so many things that distract us. Like [Laura 00:11:08], you saying, live like this, but woo, how do I do that God, and do that by myself? It’s really hard to do that by ourselves.
And so, I thank God for beautiful friends like you all, and I’m so glad that I can call you all my friends for the last 20 years. Let’s talk about that a little bit more. And I want to start with the fact that Tamika got married 18 years ago, and Tamika chose the three of us, Cat, Mya, and myself, to be bridesmaids in her wedding. And Tamika has shared with us, you know, why she did that, and I want her to share with you all because I just thought it was so special. So, Tamika, can you tell us a little bit about why you chose us to be your bridesmaids?
Tamika: Yes. Oh, absolutely. All the decisions that I make in my life, I try to be just super intentional with them. And I knew that I wanted the people standing with me on that special day to be people that I love, to be people that loved me, to be people that would just speak truth into my life, and people that would love my soon-to-be husband. And I don’t know if you all remember this little detail, but originally I was not going to have a wedding.
And I remember one day I was sitting at a table and just having dinner with some friends, and one of the friends asked me, “Okay so, you know, Tamika, are you having wedding ceremony?” And I promptly said, “No.” You know, we had zero of zero dollars then to be tried to have a ceremony. And Cat promptly spoke up and said, “Yes, you are.” And I said, “Well then, you’re going to have to plan it.” And that is exactly what she did.
So, it was like she established her position and her role in that season of my life, and I could not have been more thankful for her. She took it up on herself to set a meeting with me, and figure out the things that we wanted for our day, that we needed for our day. And we just had very little resources to contribute to it, so Cat took it upon herself to find a sponsor for everything on my list, from my hair and makeup, to the flowers, to coordinating your mother, CortneyJo, making you all’s dresses. Every detail was accounted for. That spreadsheet that Cat created was top tier. And I stay impressed with you all. The Lord has—I consider you all to be just powerhouses, and to be surrounded by you all at that time in my life was nothing just short of a blessing and amazing. And I look, you know, I just look back, and I look on it with awe.
CortneyJo: Tamika, thank you for sharing that. One of the things that I remember about that time, when I say that Tamika was not only intentional about choosing who she wanted to be in her wedding, she was intentional about making sure that we understood that this thing was about really honoring the Lord, you know? So, Tamika would bring us together for, like, lunch and Bible study, and we was, like, getting together. And Tamika says she don’t remember that. I’m like, “Tamika, I remember us getting together.” I have pictures from the times we got together, and you would have us getting together, like, “Let’s study the Word together,” and things like that. Because it was a day to honor the Lord. It was a special time, and it was so sweet. Cat and Mya, do y’all remember anything specific or special about that time?
Cat: I know I’ll say that I remember exactly what you said, CortneyJo, like, us getting together, but like, really understanding what it means to stand there with someone when they are making this life commitment to another person, and that it was a serious thing. It wasn’t a pageant, it wasn’t a beauty show, it wasn’t an Instagram post to look cute, you know? It wasn’t all aesthetic. I mean, we were cute, but [laugh]—
Tamika: Right? [unintelligible 00:15:16] period.
Cat: That was the after effect [laugh]. Because we were already prepared to stand there and say, this is us standing before God, saying that we agree for with this marriage, and we agree to uphold this couple in prayer, and to almost be there with them through the good and the bad, just as though they were making vows. But it was just a serious thing that we were standing there doing that. And I think we had debriefed on this once before, but like, after the wedding, we checked on each other, and was just, like, has anybody heard from Tamika? How’s everything going? Is she okay? And is everything going well? We just kind of took that time, even when she wasn’t there, to check in with each other. And, like, it was a journey that we were going on together.
Mya: Absolutely. I completely agree with all of those things, that it definitely was a commitment beyond just a single day, that we understood the assignment, that this was going to be an ongoing thing, and it has continued to be an ongoing thing. And I’m so honored to be included [laugh] for sure.
CortneyJo: Amen. Ah, amen. I loved all of that. And one of the reasons why I asked Tamika if she would talk about that, is because I know there’s so many weddings where people have, you know, people in their weddings, and right after that day, they may even not even talk to some of those people again. And so, I just thought it was so special that Tamika was very intentional about who she chose, and made it clear to us that, like, listen, you know, my future husband and I, it’s really important to us that we honor the Lord, you know, and made sure we understood our assignment, as Mya just said. And it was a beautiful time together back then, and it has been beautiful to continue to walk with each other throughout all of these years, which we’re going to talk a little bit about as well.
I also, just want to go back to something Tamika said about Cat and them spreadsheets. Let me tell you something about Catherine. Cat is the most organized person I have ever met, and she may be really upset with me sharing this all out loud, but Cat is the business manager of MUCH Woman ministries. And why not, right? Because she is the person to keep everybody together.
And let me tell you [laugh], everybody is together that is doing anything with MUCH Woman ministries [laugh]. We’re very organized and on point. So Cat, thank you so much for your gifts and talents that you’ve given to each of us as your friendgirls. So, I want to move into asking the three of you all to share about how is having a faith—tell us more about having faith-filled friendgirls, how has that encouraged you on your journey? What has that been like for you, having faith-filled friendgirls? Cat, let’s start with you.
Cat: Yeah, I have many things that come to mind, but when I think about this, the things that sit at the top—the highlight of it—is that—I used to wonder this all the time, you know? I used to think about unity, and people being together, but then I thought about how different each of us—like, how we’re made, and how we think, and how we process things, and I would be like, “Lord, why are we so different?” Sometimes, actually appearing opposite in some ways. But then he started showing me, like, these are all my Godly characteristics that I’ve placed inside of them. So, where someone may be really strong in justice, someone else is really strong in mercy, and you know what? God is both of those things.
And so, having faith-filled friendgirls, like, allows you to surround yourself with the different aspects of God’s character, and you get to see him displayed in all of those different ways. And it’s just, it’s so beautiful to be able to see that. And, like, and then they get to call it out in you, and you’re like, wow, I didn’t know [laugh], you know, I am carrying this inside of me. And that’s what girls do. Like, we see wonderful things.
And I know in other aspects, it can be done in a very toxic way. Like, I can see all of the negative things, but when you have faith-filled girlfriends, we see all the Godly things, and we call those Godly things out, and we bring those things to the top, and then you get to carry this diamond inside of you that is a character of God, and you get to see it in all of your other friends as well. So that’s, like, one of the biggest things.
And then the other thing is that—this was the thing—I used to kind of wonder, where am I, like, sinning, and where am I just a human and [laugh] just bumbling along? And I think having faith-filled girlfriends can kind of help you see, “Hey Cat, I think you’re falling here,” or, “You know what? This is, just you being a human and trying to figure this out, and it’s okay.” So, having someone to surround you and kind of divide those lines for you are amazing because it’s like you can look at those human things, and feel like I’m a failure, you know [laugh]? Let me just turn and walk away. But your girlfriends can lift you up.
CortneyJo: Amen. Thank you, Cat. Mya, soon to be. Dr. McLean.
Mya: [laugh], yes. What came to mind for me is something I thought of often when Tamika and I would hang out and things, and we would talk, and it was that iron sharpens iron. Like, that continuously would come to mind. When you think about just the benefit of having someone up that’s faith-filled as your friend, you know, is that you are constantly challenging each other to do better, challenging each other to go further, enriching each other along the way, you know? So, like Cat was saying, there’s different attributes that each of us bring to the table.
Where one is lacking, one is stronger, and so that opportunity to then take my strength and help pass it on to you, and help see that thing come forth in you, then excites me, it gets me more motivated to keep doing the things that I’m doing. So it’s, again, that constant iron sharpens iron. Like, it’s a nice cycle of just renewing your faith, renewing that relationship with God through your faith-filled friends.
CortneyJo: Amen. Amen. Tamika?
Tamika: Well, I just firmly believe that God knows exactly the experiences that we need, and the people that we need in our lives to learn the skills that we need to learn, to be able to solve the problems that he’s called us to solve. He just knows which person needs to be in our life in which season, how long they need to be there. And I just really appreciate his providence and just the coordination. You know, we talk about somebody that is drama-filled, and maybe for some people that can have a negative connotation to it, but when I think about the drama that God operates in to coordinate our lives, just so, you know, weaving us in and out of different circumstances, and weaving different people in and out of our lives, again, I just stand back in awe. And just specifically for you three ladies, I can name just something about you that was just very pivotal, and life changing for me. And Mya, you kind of kicked things off for me, and just helping to fill in some of those practical life skill gaps that I missed growing up.
And it was as if the Lord was saying, “It’s okay that you didn’t get it growing up. You’re not about to miss a beat because I got some ladies that will walk with you.” I’m talking from teaching me how to drive, to letting me use your car to take my test, giving me my very first car, you know, teaching me how to move around the kitchen, and how to pay bills, and just a bunch of life skills. You were extremely transformational in my life, and I’m so thankful for it. And Cat, one of the things that I will just take—there are so many things I can take away from my time with you, but I mean, it seems simple, but it made a huge impact, and that was me being able to come to your home and sit at your table for a meal.
And it just not only allowed me to experience just the richness of sharing a meal where the Lord is present, but I had no clue that I would, later on down the line, marry a person who is a foodie, and food is very much a spiritual experience for him. So, it’s like the Lord was kind of getting me prepared for what I needed to be thinking about, and how I needed to move around. But it was just such a blessing for your family to welcome me in and to take something that we just have to do on a daily basis and making it a very holy experience. And so, that’s something I appreciate about you.
And CortneyJo, you have been, like, a wonderful mirror to me, and knowing you has allowed me to see myself through the eyes of God, through the eyes of heaven. As Cat was mentioning, you are one that has been faithful to see things in me and to call things forth, all things you know, out of me, and that too has been a blessing. I am just, you know, personality-wise, I love looking for the hand of God in other people. I love giving language to that, vocalizing that, and just calling that forth in them, and to have that gift return to me, you actually have all done that. I just wanted to share those things about you all particularly, and to see how having you all being faith-filled, how these ways that God has wired you, and these things that he’s gifted you with has directly impacted my life.
CortneyJo: Man, thank you so much, Tamika. Thank you all for sharing that. And you all have just mentioned—well, Tamika, you mentioned about, you know, the Lord, he knows who needs to be in your life. And I’m so glad he chose y’all to be in mine, and I don’t know if y’all glad he chose y’all to be in mine—
All: [laugh].
CortneyJo: Because I’m the friend—[laugh] I really do. Like, if it wasn’t for y’all, don’t know what would be going on with me, but y’all have been so patient with me over the years, and y’all so sweet to listen to me. I be calling y’all all the time, and [laugh] y’all just so kind and so sweet. Thank you for doing this journey with me in life, and the highs and the lows and the in-betweens. And it’s been so wonderful to learn from you all.
I was telling Mya, we were chatting before I said, Mya, do you remember me always just hugging on you? Like, you wasn’t even a person that liked to hug people, and I was just sitting next to you, close and hug you. I’m the friend—everyone that’s listening, I’m the friend that I be hugging them, I kiss them on their cheeks, I’m just like—that’s why I said I’m not sure if they’re okay with God assigning them to me. But anyway, [laugh] I love you three, and I’m so glad that we’re in each other’s lives, and we’ve been able to encourage each other on the journey. And there’s years and years to come of this. I don’t I really don’t know how I would do this without you.
So, as we get ready to wrap up here, we can’t leave without talking about the MUCH Woman philosophy, since this podcast celebrates the MUCH Woman philosophy—or the MUCH philosophy, if you will—“Measured, Unafraid, Captivating and Heroic, encouraging women to live according to God’s high standards. Being a MUCH Woman is about more than just labels. It’s a lived experience, and a commitment to faith and excellence.” So, I’d like to hear from all three of you all, if you can share from your own life as women of faith, what does it mean to you to be a MUCH Woman, and how have these ideals influenced your approach to challenges, opportunities, and daily living? Anyone can start. Let’s start with Mya.
Mya: Okay, so I jokingly said that when I, you know, thought about MUCH Woman, literally, I do too much. Like, I would probably be the epitome of the Too MUCH Woman, [laugh] just because I do so much. But the acronym, the lettering for MUCH Woman for me, the unafraid part, really stands out to me, too, that to take what God has given me and then move forward with it, unafraid into things. I know I tend to be the one that jumps out there to do it, you know? And it’s that ability to be unafraid, jumping into starting a popcorn business.
I mean, you know anyone that knows me, like, how in the world do you do popcorn? You were a teacher, and how does that relate? But getting an unction to do something and going after it, you know, really just not having the fear, knowing that God is going to back you up in what you’re doing, and that he is going to support you and provide for the needs, and the support that you need around you, like, all of that will fall into place if I would just step out there and do it. Like, that to me, is what stands out most about the MUCH Woman. I get that kind of goes into the heroic part as well, and just in how other people view me. People come up to me and go, “How do you do it?” You know what? Well, you know, when you have God supporting you and behind you, can do all things through Christ, right? And so, I can then be that testimony to them that they can do all things through Christ also.
CortneyJo: Amen. Thank you. Catherine?
Cat: This resonates with me a lot because, like a little bit of what I said, with my testimony, I have spent time with the Lord, and then I have walked away, and then I’ve seen the results of both of those lifestyles. And so, what you have listed out here, you know, the Measured, the Unafraid, the Captivating, the Heroic, I have experienced [laugh] multiple times the opposite of all of those things. I’ve experienced all the acronyms of the opposite way. I don’t know if it’ll make a cool word like MUCH, [laugh] but like, as far as—instead of being measured, I have been—you know, made all of my decisions based off of my emotions, things that I was just feeling at that time. And I was taught that by the things that I saw in my culture, in my family, maybe the things that I encountered as I was growing up in school, things that I encountered in media what I was taking in, either that was on TV or, you know, now we have things that we’re taking in via social media and things like that.
So, I was just acting in the moment. Anything that, kind of, caught my attention during that time is how I flowed. And the result of that was a whirlwind of a life, like, a tornado of a life. Hence, I know that you know walking in a measured way, being deliberate in your actions, and praying over your issues, those are the things that are going to produce wise things in your life. They’re going to produce things that accomplish things for you in your life.
And then as far as being unafraid, I walked in fear [laugh] all the time, fear of my identity, fear of failure, fear of what others were viewing me as, my status, and things like that. So, I made all of my decisions making sure that I was taking care of myself, and I wasn’t necessarily moving boldly in the will of God, but just trying to make myself look the best that I could, for fear of being unaccepted, or failure, or things like that. And when it came to being captivated, I lacked those things because I was actually captured. When I think about being captured, I think about a—I used to fish a lot with my grandfather, and so I can think of, like, a fish getting, like, [laugh] in the jaw, and that’s how I felt. You know, when I was not living for Christ, that I was hooked in the jaw, and whatever thing, you know, the society told me to do, that’s what I did, you know? Whatever was popular and trending and social during that time, I was doing it, and that led to a life of destruction as well.
And being heroic was not even the thing because I was actually a coward. When things got tough, things got hard, then I would just, you know, run away because it was easier to run away from the situation than to deal with it, or to stand in the courage and the determination that God places inside of his children. And so, it’s like for each of those things, I know what the opposite feels like, and I know the results of it. So, it’s not even just what I felt, but what did it produce in my life? It produced things that were fleeting, that went away, that were destructive and counterproductive for my life. But when you were living in the opposite way, in Christ, with your friendgirls, and with your community that’s around you, you’re now building that strong foundation in a house that’s on a strong foundation, and then it stands. It withstands the test of time.
CortneyJo: Oh, Cat, [laugh] thank you. Oh girl, as you were just sharing all that, I just was having chills all over. Girl, thank you for your realness. Oh, my goodness. Thank you so much for being open and honest, and thank you for sharing that with us, so much. Thank you. I can’t say that enough. And I’m so happy that you were able to learn the difference in how being with the Lord is it’s just a greater experience. Amen. Tamika, wrap us up.
Tamika: Yes, that was so good, ladies. Oh my.
CortneyJo: It was.
Tamika: When I think about the MUCH Woman, I think about just how powerful this woman is, and I also think about how a good portion of my life was marked by powerlessness, and me just feeling like I had to take what life brought to me. I had no framework for thriving, I spend a lot of my days figuring out how to survive, figuring out how to get to the next day. And just as I think about each piece of the MUCH Woman, I think about, again, how God has been very intentional to develop these characteristics in me, and they’re still being developed. But oh my goodness, when we talk about being unafraid, when we were all in college, I struggled with fear something serious. I mean, even to the point of, I remember always sleeping on my stomach because I felt like sleeping on my back would just make me too vulnerable to anything that could just come during the night and try to get me.
So, if something did try to come and get me, at least I wasn’t facing it. So like, that is the torment that I used to live with, and it became a normal thing until I began to just learn and understand that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind, and just begin to start appropriating these things into my life. And measured, I would say, is the one that just, kind of, has these blaring lights that are speaking to me because it is a blessing to be able to see being measured as a good thing, whereas there was a time in my life where I saw being measured the very opposite. Because when I think about a woman who is measured, she takes her time to think about things, to consider things, she doesn’t move in haste, she’s very intentional with the things that she does.
And the Lord has wired me such that I love solitude, I love quiet time, I love being able to just be alone with my thoughts. And there was a time in my life where I highly despised that, and it was because I didn’t have the understanding that this is an attribute of God that he wants to build into us all. And so, you know, often being surrounded by such powerful women, I often wondered where I fit in, you know, because all of these powerful women, they seemed so productive in my eyes, and they were going to and fro in the earth, accomplishing, you know, just the things that their heart set out to do. And I would just sit back in awe of you all, and just of what God allowed you to do.
And I wondered, well, what? What’s wrong with me? I just don’t have those desires to go and do like that. But now I see being quiet, being measured as a gift, as a strength, as an asset. And even when I’m interacting with other people, you know, that’s one thing that they will say, “You know, I learned that from you, Tamika, you know, just being able to observe you and how you move.” I would say, though, those two being measured and unafraid probably stand out to me the most.
CortneyJo: Thank you so much for sharing. Oh, this has been such a lovely time with all three of you all, just to share and chat about, you know, just what it’s like to do life with women that also love the Lord. Mya, you said it best about iron sharpening iron. It really helps us be at our best when we have other women in our life that are literally, like, I’m trying to do this thing just like you are. And Cat, I loved what you said about just, you know, being able to see the different things in each other, and like, really, you know, like, hey, let me call this out, and you, you call this out in me, type thing.
And Tamika, you talked about being measured. It’s the thing I’ve loved the most about you. I had the honor and the pleasure of being your roommate for three years [laugh] in college. I don’t know why you agreed to that, Tamika, but it was like a slumber party every night, at least for me, it was. I enjoyed living with you, but one of the things I loved so much was you—I mean, that quiet time was real, Y’all.
Like, she would be off somewhere in the apartment doing her quiet time, and it was serious for her. And I remember, for me, it was good to see, and to witness, and I admired it so much. And so, I love that quality that God is put in you. And the qualities that he’s given all three of us has just made life so much richer. And so, for any friendgirls that’s listening out here, any friendgirls of the podcast listening, I pray that if you don’t feel like you have those type of women in your life that are encouraging you to do your best for the Lord, just pray for the Lord to bring those women around you and to surround you with those type of women.
And if, for some reason you got to, you know, maybe say goodbye to a few people for even just a little bit of time, you know, until you can find that crew, make sure you do that because it does make all the difference in you being able to stay focused and just keep forward on the path. And so again, ladies, thank you for your time. Where can we keep up with y’all? Y’all have such interesting stories. And Mya, you have your own popcorn shop.
And I have—listen, when I went to Mya’s popcorn shop, I bought all of them. I just bought all the flavors. And [laugh] that’s what I ate on my drive back from Columbia to Tennessee, and it was all really good. Mya, Tamika, please tell us how we can stay in touch with you. Where can we find you? On social media? Do you have websites we can connect with you on? How do we get in touch with you, if we want to? Or at least, how do we stay connected with your ministries?
Mya: [unintelligible 00:38:54] with the popcorn lead-in [laugh]. We have a website, we are www.myaspopcorn.com, and you can actually order from there, and we do ship. We do special events and parties and all kinds of fun thing. On all the socials, we’re at Mya’s Popcorn. And then, of course, the Christian School, which is, of course, my passion and my heart, we are www.faithwalkacademy.org, and we’re also on Facebook, and so definitely you can connect with us there, connect with me, there, order some popcorn, and certainly we would love to provide for you.
CortneyJo: Thank you. Tamika?
Tamika: Yes. So, you can find me writing my weekly newsletter on the Substack app, and my newsletter is called Diary of a Kingdom Mom.
CortneyJo: Thank you. Tamika. Cat?
Cat: Cat, hey, we are on Substack as well. You can find us, it’s www.modmissions.com, and it’s ‘mod’ like “Modern” modmissions.com. That’s both for my husband and I with our missions work, but we also have our family updates and things like that on there. Also direct ways to connect with us there regarding any other things that we may be doing. We have a wonderful homeschooling community here, and I help lead some of our moms, and so [someone 00:40:18] to reach out and—
CortneyJo: Awesome. Thank you so much. Well, I know it’s going to be several people reaching out and getting connected with all that you do. Thank you so much for your time, your gift of time, and all of the wisdom you shared. Listeners, just want to remind you about MUCH Woman ministries.
And you can go to our website and get more information about, you know, just connecting more with MUCH Woman, connecting more with myself, any speaking engagements or coaching. Ladies, if you are interested in strengths coaching, you like to know more about your strengths, that’s something that I love to speak with women and others about, and how to leverage your strengths for what’s good in your life. So, that’s amazing there. So, you can see all of that at muchwoman.com.
Tamika, Mya, and Cat, Thank you so much for joining me on this episode of the I Am MUCH Woman podcast. Your stories have been truly inspiring, and I hope you’ll join me again for future episodes to explore other important topics. After this conversation, I know many of us are eager to hear your insights on other areas of life. You three embody what it means to be MUCH Women. Thank you so much. I love y’all.
Tamika: Love you too. Thank you.
Mya: Thank you.
Cat: Thank you. Can’t wait for the next one.
CortneyJo: Thank you. Can’t wait. Stay updated with the latest episodes of the podcast at muchwoman.com, and tune in on Apple Podcast, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever fine podcasts are available. We look forward to seeing you next time.