Latest / Stuck No More Voices / 298-A Year of Battle, A Year of Breakthrough

Transcript

298-A Year of Battle, A Year of Breakthrough · Stuck No More Voices

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: What if the fire that tried to consume you was really meant to refine you?
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Hey friends, welcome back to the Sec No More Voices podcast.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Teresa Croft.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: So glad you're here with me today for this special end of the year episode.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Now, right off the top, for me personally, it's been one of the hardest and most transformative seasons of my life.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: And today I want to invite you into a sacred space, a conversation from the heart.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Because even the valley has a view.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: And when you walk through fire with God, you don't come out the same.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I encourage you to think back on your year.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: I'll be sharing some of my struggles, victories, and then I got three key reminders for you that I help will position you for a year of bold new beginnings in 2026.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: So if I reflect back this year, I walked through something I never expected, and I will say something.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: I was being called back after something showed up on my mammogram.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I knew something was up.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's like I just knew it.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: I even was sitting in front of the of the hospital and I said this.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: So marking it.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Day one of the journey.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: Of this is just a diagnosis.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: Ultra sign guided core biopsy.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: I ain't scared.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: It was a day to remember because they not only took another mammogram, but the next step, a biopsy.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: Well, someone had canceled, so I could be sent in there right away and not have to wait anymore to wonder what was going on.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: I'll never forget it.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: It was cold as I lay on the table waiting for the doctor.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it was really cold.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: I always get cold.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: And then I distinctively heard the heart of the Holy Spirit that shot fire into my bones.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: He said, T, can you let this be another story for God's glory?
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'll be honest, my first thought is, hey, I have a tough gory story, okay?
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: I but I knew that was God personally meeting me at that moment.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: So I said, Yes, Lord.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: Another story for your glory.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: I want to pause and emphasize that yes, because I believe that yes made the healing happen, I'd say more quickly in my mind, and could become a scar I could easily speak from readily instead of waiting sh years to share this.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: But from the start, I had to face fear head on as the biopsy revealed what I feared.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Another biopsy on the other breast, a visit to MIR, MRI, and it was confirmed breast cancer.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Now listen, I know many women face this and may have more of a problem than I did because the cancer was contained at the moment.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: And my decision was quick.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: Get it all out.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: This part of my body is not my identity.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't want to fool around with chemotherapy or radiation.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: I saw my dad go through that when he was 48 years old.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: So I knew, take it all.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: So I went through the double mastectomy.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yay! But something terrible was wrong.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: As the days went by, then a few weeks, I had a severe hematoma causing problems.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: And then it split open.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: It's graphic.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: I I'm sorry if I even say that is graphic.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: After a few visits with the wound specialists, it was confirmed.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: I needed to go under the surgeon's scalpel again to remove the hematoma and even clean up the other side.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: And even though the surgeon said to me in bewilderment, this has never happened before.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: I will not go into details how I at home alone had to care for that area before surgery.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: I can't say, thank you, God, no infection happened.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: But even in the darkest nights in pain, I kept sensing God's whisper in many different scriptures.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: One in particular, Isaiah 43, verse 2, which says, When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: And when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: God didn't promise a detour around the fire, but he did promise his presence in it.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: Can I share a story?
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: I was in the MRI.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: 30 minutes, she said, as she wheeled me into the incubator of Jesus.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: New meaning to an MRI machine.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: She did you want some music?
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: I said, Yeah, I press your music, please.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: And then the second song was the song I started my morning at.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: That relaxed me a little.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: Then I felt a touch on my back.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: Bear with me.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: I said the same too.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: And then he sat on my back.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: And then she yelled out 15 more minutes, and I was like hanging in there.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'm still hurting my dear.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: Keep on delighting and God.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: Came out of that MRI machine and I heard the chorus of angels.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: Oh no, no, I didn't hear that.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: The others were straight.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: And the story continues.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: And so I sat in there, and instantly the second song that came on as the song ended, there was another song.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: And it was a song I just would worship to that morning.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: And then the minutes kind of go by, and then I felt like someone was sitting on my back.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: I said, Jesus, is that you?
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: And then the lady shouted out, 10 more minutes.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, okay, I'm thinking.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: And then I heard a voice in my ear, this ear, of a dear friend.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: It was her voice.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: And she said, T, remember, take delight in God.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: It just was a phrase, one of many phrases.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, thank you.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: And so I went through the MRI.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: And it was actually like having those two encounters were like, it was like, I went through MRI.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: Let me tell you the story.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: So those were some of the happenings around before the surgery.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: So here I am.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: You know, what was the key that that what happened in MRI was very personal.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: I could even talk more to you.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: But what really is God didn't, you know, promise that detour around the fire.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: And he showed up.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: He showed up in the restoration and the care of my adult children.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: And he showed up with a friend who stayed.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: They didn't leave the mess of my table.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: So she'd call me and we'd have coffee chats.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: And they're kind of funny because I think I was on some pain meds.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: But they stayed.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: My kids stayed.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm now months later living with my adult children, learning how to cook.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: So those are victories.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I really do.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I think, did that really happen to me?
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: So the story doesn't end in the value valley.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: This year I saw victory.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: I saw a healing.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: I saw God show up in ways I had could never have orchestrated.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: You know, by the way, I started the year with Amazing Retreat in California, which blew the flame in my heart for where I believed God was leading me right before the diagnosis.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: But then after the diagnosis and post-surgery, I got to go to two amazing conferences.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: I was an armor bearer for my friend, who's an amazing speaker and dear friend.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: So I had some little highlight moments in the midst of the healing.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: This voice just wasn't saved.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: It was sanctified by fire, by faith, and by fierce surrender.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: So looking back, this was a year where my voice grew stronger, not just on this mic, but in how I showed up in the world, in my calling, and even at home with the kids, you know, learning to cook, making on some mails.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: I got more hours on the radio station by by a way that hired me back after 18 years.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: So I got to I've been being able to speak life on the air, something that really lights me up.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I did go back to work on the Suck No More Voices Podcast Academy, which I had to pause as my surgery was ended for season one.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: But I am being careful to take care of me before I launch the academy.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: I'll launch it in this next month.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm now living with my adult children, as I said, and I'm still having neural maintenance and added weightlifting and treadmill work.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: I you get this body in this life for one time, and I'm realizing that's an investment.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: But I will say I've also learned to invest in my business.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll be able to help others more.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: This horse may have gone through the fire, but I'm coming out as a war horse, ready to go in the fierce fires of your life, and pulling out the gold in your voice.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: So I want to pass the torch with you as I come to the end of this podcast.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: Three keys I believe are essential.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: Get a pen and paper and write these down.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: I'll wait.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: Here we go.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: No, I just want to say as we step into 2026, these three keys I want to share.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: That's why I said get a pen, are things that have been cemented in my own spirit this year.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I believe it will bless you too.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: Key number one begin again boldly.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: No matter what this past year held, loss, change, or hardship.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: God is still writing your story, friend.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: 2026 is not a repeat year, it's a reset.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: So release the thoughts that you're not enough or the fears and anxiety that keep you stuck.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: New beginnings often start with surrender, not striving.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: Abiding in the vine, abiding, not striving.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: Key number two, live loud in your own truth.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: Get quiet enough to hear God's voice above all others.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: Who did he really call you to be?
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: What dreams, boundaries, or shifts is he calling you to honor in this new season?
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: You may know you have a message, but you don't know where to start, let's say on a podcast.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: Personally, I shifted to still not be afraid to invest in myself so I can be the best and help others more effectively as a podcast.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: But God a couple of years ago said he called me a voice revivalist, so I had to recommit to commit to the things he called me to, not just to radio, but weekly podcast episodes, just to rise above it all and start speaking from the scar.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: So this is the year, friend, to take care of you.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: Invest in yourself and live undivided.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: Key number three, finally, speak to set others free.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: Friend, your voice matters, not just on stages or podcasts, but in your home, in your business, in your circle.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: Say the hard things, share the story, ask the questions.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there is so much freedom when you stop shrinking and start showing up fully.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: Galatians 5, verse 1 says, It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: Let 2026 be the year you walk in that freedom.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: So that's my heart for you as we close out this year.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: But thank you to so many for being part of my journey.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for the prayers, the messages, the support.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, people poured out love, they poured out some finances, and they just really were there for me.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you if you're one of them.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: If you're not, let's just be friends and you can let's continue on.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: But listen, I'm gonna thank you for not giving up on your journey.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm praying bold, beautiful prayers over you for 2026.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: Let it be a year of new beginnings, true alignment, and unapologetic impact.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: Let it be the year you speak up, stand tall and shake rooms and atmospheres, not because of who you are, but because of whose you are.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, stay rooted in the vine, Jesus.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: Stay rising and trust in God for your visions and keep walking in bold purpose.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: When it's all said and done, it's not about you, it's not about me.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's about the people God is calling you to speak to.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, stay rooted in the vine.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: Stay rising and trust in God for your visions and keep walking in bold purpose.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: And be sure to check the link in my show notes so you can get an advanced start, maybe, on your voice in the academy.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: When it's all said and done, though, it's not about you, not about me, but it's about the people God is calling you to speak to.