Souled Out, Volume 2: Inspirational Stories on Beating the Odds with Radical Faith & Prayer

By Cheryl Polote-Williamson

When unopposed, pain, loss, and tragedies can leave us distressed, broken, shattered, and hopeless. Yet knowing who we are in Christ and taking hold of His best for us will change every aspect of our being and position us to live unabridged lives without limits.

In this powerful second volume of the Souled Out series, vi

• Language: English
• Publisher: Purposely Created Publishing Group
• Release date: Mar 9, 2021
• ISBN: 9781644843109

Book preview

img1.jpg

SOULED OUT, VOL. 2

Published by Purposely Created Publishing Group™

Copyright © 2021 Cheryl Polote-Williamson

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, taping, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of reprints in the context of reviews, quotes, or references.

Special discounts are available on bulk quantity purchases by book clubs, associations and special interest groups. For details email: [e-mail] or call [phone].

For information logon to: www.PublishYourGift.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated to all of the people like God’s servant Job that have been through the storm but remained connected to the Source (God). To the people that stayed steadfast and Souled Out for Christ even when it looked like all hope was gone. You are an overcomer!

For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. —Jeremiah 29:11

In God we put our trust.

Tammy L. Woodard

Award-winning, bestselling author, speaker, professional certified life coach.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Introduction

Being Prepared to Walk in His Divine Purpose for Me

ROYLETA S. FOSTER

Embracing Your Predestined Divine Design for God’s Purpose

ANDREW FLAGG

Evolving in the Purpose of God to Make an Impact on Others

DANETTE BROWN, MSOP

You Are Stronger Than You Think—Strong as Steel

IESHA K. ARTIS

Liquid Love: The Journey at Peak

MARLO MOZEE

The Dark Cloud That Hovered Over Me

LARRY C. BROWN

The Delicate Tapestry of Healing

CYNTHIA FOX EVERETT

Graciously Transformed from the Inside Out

DR. KIMBERLY B. HARDY

Being Kept by Faith (Beating the Odds)

VIRLINDA STANTON

The Bountiful Joy of Being Unchained

MARIE HART

Broken for a Purpose

DR. SHEILA BUNTON

I Am Not Defined by Titles

FELICIA GUIMONT

My Steering Wheel Experience: The Moment That Changed Our Lives Forever

VICTORIA DAVIS GILBERT, EDS

I Thought He Was Mine

VIVIAN GRAFTON

Armored with Faith in the Face of Death

FATIMA WILLIAMS

Overcoming Fear with Faith

MICHELLE WINFIELD FUQUA

I Took the S Off My Chest and Surrendered

DR. MADGE BARNES

Hanging by a Thread

LAURIE BURNETT

The LORD Trusted Me with Pain: L: Life | O: Observations | R: Research | D: Destiny

DR. PEGGIE ETHEREDGE JOHNSON

The Hole That Made Me Whole

LADY MADELYN PATTERSON

Finding the Strength to Go On

SHAMEKA D. JOHNSON

Stop Being a Thief: Don’t Rob God!

LASONJA S. CAMPBELL

Faith to See It Before You See It

MYOSHI ROBINSON THOMAS

Even the Barren One Is Worth Saving

CATINA SHANNON

Sources

About the Authors

Acknowledgments

God, my Father. There are no new ways to express who You are to me. Your consistency is unmatched and likewise, my awe of You is constant. You never falter in Your love for me. Forever, You are my buckler and my shield. My comforter. My healer. My guide. My friend. All that I am is because of You. All that I have is because I trusted You. Moreover, because You trusted me. I look around and can’t help but give You honor and praise. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in my eyes.

Russell M. Williamson, my dear husband. Here is to another victory. God has been good to us. I’m thankful to have the honor of walking out this journey with you. I am grateful for you, the love and support you’ve shown me, and for always having my back every time I attempt to do the impossible. I love you.

To my beautiful children, Russ Jr., Lauren, and Courtney, and my darling grandbabies, Leah and Russ III: you are my reasons why. I am honored God chose me to be the mother of such amazing children. You inspire me daily. I push because of you. Every victory is for you. I love you more than words could ever express.

To my parents, Benjamin and Greta Polote, Sr. and my siblings: I do not take for granted the amount of genuine, authentic love and support that surrounds me. Thank you for being there. I love you deeply and I appreciate the gift that you are to my life.

Traci Henderson Smith, you are amazing. Thank you for being a true friend—having my front, back, and both sides. Thank you for your unwavering love, support, prayers, encouragement, and hard work. I love you and am forever grateful for you.

Special thank you to the Polote and Williamson families; my award-winning Blessings, Business, and Collaborations Facebook Group; the Soul Series Family; Soul Reborn board members; and the Affirmed Community: all the ways you’ve given and supported simply cannot be measured. Your dedication is matchless, and I love you to life.

Foreword

Every trial, grief, and season of suffering has an expiration date on it and God in the midst. As author Cheryl Polote-Williamson and the 24 conquerors in this tome for the soul remind us, our joy in life and our faith in His ability to see us through can only be altered by the circumstances that we allow to have control over us and our perspective. Faith is nothing if it’s not defining your life, in fact, the very definition of being souled out lies in having no vacancy or availability to doubt. When you know who you are and whose you are, your faith can’t help but impact how tenacious and strong you’ll be on your watch, no matter what life throws your way.

We’ve all got a story to tell about the goodness of God on the mountaintops of life as well as in the valley of challenge. If you’ve been through anything seemingly insurmountable, you know that His faithfulness is unequaled and His love is immeasurable. In truth, we never know when adversity is going to knock on the door, but like the sister-friend that she is, Cheryl and her coauthors share message after message herein to prep us, disrupt our pity parties, and remind us that deception has no place in the lives of those who believe.

Souled Out, Vol. 2 not only shares insights on the power of trusting God without measure, it reminds you that without a test, there is no testimony. It confirms that tests and trials mean you’ve got a story to tell and it rests with you to show what God has done in your life.

For certain it will propel you to be bold, not shrink back, or let challenge flicker your faith. In fact, I dare you to spend any amount of time in Souled Out, Vol. 2 and not come away knowing that no matter what you may be dealing with—hurt, sickness, betrayal, anxiety . . . whatever it may be—there’s nothing too hard for God.

As you move through this journey, you’ll also recognize the importance of identifying and surrounding yourself with empowered people who support you, because supportive relationships promote your growth, sure up your faith, and keep you on purpose. You’ll also recognize the importance of guarding your heart by choosing where you spend your time and what you give access to. As you’ll see, this calls for you to use the Word as your gatekeeper and those who support you, to hold you up by its truths. This is essential because what lies inside of you has the power to motivate or defeat you, so you’ll want to take care not to give an all-access pass to those who can’t see the big picture in a storm and the God who can say, Peace be still!

So, Warriors and conquering Queens, remember that you weren’t built to break but to dominate every adversity that comes your way. I encourage you to begin this journey and make those all-important notes to self as you comb its pages to let it enrich your prayer life, build you up, and most of all give you a personal say about the matchless love of God.

Mikki Taylor

Author, Speaker, Editor-at-Large, ESSENCE magazine

Introduction

There is great power in realizing who you are in Christ. Before going any further, I feel we should pause here and examine that statement. There is great power in realizing who you are in Christ. It is a statement that bears repeating over and over until the revelation of it pierces you in places the mysteries of God haven’t yet reached. It is not a cliché nor is it intended for rhyme. It is more than an emotional high point of the best- crafted sermon. It is a fact that will change every aspect of your life if allowed.

Grasping the revelation of who you are on the inside of the One who became flesh for you, sacrificed, died, and rose with ALL POWER for you is a critical first step in unleashing every stored treasure that has your name on it. Then, when you couple this revelation with the fact that GOD IS FOR YOU, something happens. Something unexplainable comes over you. You feel invincible. You figuratively, literally, and mentally, take on the posture of who can be against me? Who? The Greater One is in me. He is with me, on me, in me, and working through me and I in Him. In Him I live and move and have my being. I am one with the Father. I am one with the Creator. I am one with the One who is and was and forever shall be. We are one. Who can stand against me? This posture is the key to unlocking all your hearts’ desires. It is the key to living an unabridged life without limits. It is the catalyst to every yes and amen you need in this life to live out the God-appointed, God-ordained destiny that was planned for you before the foundation of the world was laid. It is the answer to carrying out God’s good plan for your life. And it is without question, the reason I wanted—no, needed to produce Souled Out.

It wasn’t until I took a long hard look at myself—the me I never thought I would be—broken, shattered, scattered, and acknowledged how far I was from God’s best for me, that I was able to pull myself out of my pain and turn it into purpose. After a devastating blow, I found myself living beneath every promise and privilege God granted me. How could I be in Him defeated? How could I—His child, a child of the King, sit inside of Him and His power and His might, defeated? Something wasn’t right. He was for me. That hadn’t changed. So, what was the problem? The problem was, I needed to get up and be for myself. I needed to see me the way He saw me. I needed to think and believe about me what He thought and believed. I needed to speak about and over me the way He spoke concerning me. I needed to get sold out. Go all the way in. Tear off all of my worry and stress and push through my pain into hearing His voice again, not just for comfort but also for instruction. I had to get bold and do everything I even thought He said to do and not be afraid to fail or miss Him.

I pulled on the confidence of His Word and the love I knew He had for me. I settled within me that if by some chance I missed the mark or heard incorrectly, that the power to redirect and set me on the right path rested with and in Him. Armed with this assurance, I went for everything! And I do mean everything! I took back all the devil stole from me first! Then I went storming into the gates that held my treasures.

Nothing is too hard for God. Nothing is impossible for Him. He lives in me and I in Him, so that means NO-THING is too hard or impossible for me. I sold all the way out and I went for it. Then something else happened. Something broke in the spirit. I hit a place that I can only describe as Heaven on Earth. Zero fear; total dependence and reliance on God; fully open eyes, ears, and heart to all He says and has for me; fully led by His voice; assured at every turn and a yes at every door (and when there was a no, there was a resource, relationship, or alternate route revealed).

I realized in those moments that I didn’t need anyone’s permission. I didn’t require pats on the back or even confirmations. Confirmations are great, but I found myself not requiring them. I was living the most unapologetic life imaginable—flying right past all the naysayers, disbelieving sideliners, critics, bad-mouthers, and everyone that laughed. God was my source! God was my help! What anyone else believed or didn’t believe or had to say about my path simply no longer mattered. I was now in a rhythm and flow that made all things possible through Jesus Christ. I was Souled Out! God had every part of me, and no good thing was He withholding from me. I wasn’t about to derail that rhythm and flow because someone else didn’t approve of the steps of my journey.

For several years now, I’ve held tighter and tighter to God, and stayed with this rhythm and flow. God has revealed more and more of Himself to me, and the blessings of this beautiful union continue to abound. The revelation of who I am in God paired with knowing He is for me, locking into my oneness with Him and declaring that nothing can stop me, and being fully aware of Him and open to His voice of direction has all culminated in a life filled with victory for me, gratitude toward Him, and joyful service to others.

I don’t own a monopoly on what happens when you take the posture I’ve taken. I walk heavily in it, but I certainly don’t own the rights to the power. In Souled Out, Vol. 2, the seventh installment from the Soul series, you will meet others who also have come to the conclusion that true breakthrough and the power that accompanies it comes from being sold out for Christ. You will read stories that will lift, motivate, encourage, and empower you. You’ll read testimonies of great triumph from authors who generously shared their life’s experiences and who clung to God through every dark time and valley experience and came through on the other side with great power because they chose being Souled Out for God regardless of what came their way. By the time you get to the end of this book, I pray a change and a power you’ve never known washes over you and you will have settled in your heart that the benefits and fruits from being sold out, a.k.a. Souled Out, are also available to you.

Being Prepared to Walk in His Divine Purpose for Me

ROYLETA S. FOSTER

img2.jpg

But the Lord is faithful, who shall establish you, and keep you from evil.

—2 Thessalonians 3:3 (KJV)

You will never make it out of high school, and if you do, you will have a house full of children and be on welfare. I remember those words as if it were yesterday. It was 1986, my freshman year in high school. My special education social studies teacher was sure this was my fate. Life was already uncomfortable for me being an overweight dark-skinned girl from one of the worst inner city projects in Raleigh, North Carolina. I was bused to an upper middle class school where I was sure they did not want the likes of me. Each morning I woke up, got dressed, and went off to the bus stop to meet my friends who were only my friends at the bus stop.

Over the next four years, I would meet peers who were bused to school from other areas. During lunchtime, new friendships were developed. In my sophomore year of high school, I met a young lady who we will call Deborah. She invited me to attend a college prep program with her at Shaw University. That experience introduced me to others who would become counselors and mentors, which made me reevaluate what I wanted for my life. One of my high school teachers’ statements of me not being capable of completing high school let alone attend college echoed in my head, and I started to wonder if college could really be in my future. I had never imagined going to college for one second. Getting a job and moving my mother out of the projects was what I had always planned to do.

On June 6, 1990, I present to you the class of 1990 was what I heard. Excited I yelled, I did it! It was my high school graduation. Now it was time to move on to the next stage—college. I was excited and a little nervous at the same time. Thoughts of being the first in my immediate family to attend a four-year college and the scary feeling of not fitting in filled my mind. I thought to myself, Can I really do this? It’s one thing to be in a college prep program, but now I am a student. That was August of 1990.

I managed to make it to my junior year of college before my life took a turn down a road I was in no way ready for. I was faced with the consequences of being irresponsible. I was nervous and afraid of disappointing everyone because I was expecting my first child. What was I supposed to do? I didn’t know the first thing about being a parent. On August 3, 1993, I gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Determined not to disappoint myself or my family, I returned to school to finish my degree. In May 1996, I earned my bachelor of biology degree. Recalling the fate placed on my life by my former high school teacher, I thought to myself, Yes, I proved her wrong again!

Over the next years, I endured ups, downs, and hard hits; but, life offered good days as well. On May 19, 2006, I received a call from my older brother telling me to come to the hospital right away. I left work dreading what I would be met with at the hospital where my dad had been taken one month earlier due to a sudden heart attack. On the drive from Butner to Wake Medical in Raleigh, my chest tightened, my breathing became shallow, and my heart felt an unbearable ache. I knew within my heart that I had seen my dad for the last time the day before. In an attempt to stop the pain and end my life, I started to think,