All in FAITH

What It’s Like to Live from the Inside Out with Courtnaye Richard

What It’s Like to Live from the Inside Out

When I wake up in the morning, one of the first things that I do is walk into my kitchen to turn the coffee pot on. And while I have a Keurig, I’m still that old-school girl that likes an old-fashioned cup of French Vanilla Folgers coffee poured right from my coffee pot. After that, I’m off to brushing my teeth, putting my make-up on, and doing my hair for the day (because I just never know when I may get an idea to film a quick video for my audience). 

Now, I work from home. I’ve been in ministry for over 20 years and it’s my life. I absolutely love it! I get to create my own schedule for the day, while creating biblical and practical content that is designed to help women all around the globe grow in their walk with Christ, while equipping them to do what they have been called to do. What does your typical day look like?

Don't Waste Your Time Worrying

During my initial three weeks of training with my guide dog, Jackson, we had a lot of new, exciting, and sometimes scary experiences.

One that I remember most is when we were introduced to obstacles.

The trainers set up various objects along the sidewalk that were meant to block our path. Then, as a team, Jackson and I had to figure out how to work around them.

This exercise was meant to mimic a real-life scenario in which our route may become unexpectedly blocked and we would have to decide how to navigate the situation.

As Jackson and I walked along, I did not know exactly what the obstacles were or what the outcome would be, I just knew they were coming.

Focusing On the Good

One of the reasons why blindness is so challenging is because I literally cannot get away from it.

It is something that cannot be fixed with a dose of Advil, a good night of sleep or a quick visit to the doctor.

It is always there, always debilitating, and always a challenge.

Can you relate?

Do you have a “thorn in the flesh” that seems to be stinging you with every step forward?

A Challenge to Focus on the Unseen

If you were to walk into my house, one of the first things that you would notice would be all the pictures. 

Wedding pictures, engagement photos, snapshots from my travels, and photographs of family adorn the walls, shelves, and mantle. 

I have always loved pictures. Before I lost my sight, and, yes, even after.

The third anniversary of my wedding is today, and one of my favorite things to do is to sit and look over all the pictures from our perfect day. 

How do I do this without my sight you may be wondering? 

For my digital photos, I have descriptions of the pictures typed out, which my screen reader will read aloud as I select an image. 

Do Your April Showers Bring You May Flowers?

April showers bring May flowers.”

It’s a saying we all have heard, and we know it is true.

The wet, dreary weather we tend to endure in early spring gives way to a beautiful array of vibrant colors and energizing scents as time passes.

While the rain is not a welcome occurrence, it is necessary for the beauty that we all look forward to each year.

This fun, familiar saying reminds me of a Bible verse found in Romans chapter 8.

Caught on the Corner of Indecision

Sitting in my favorite chair, coffee in hand, I began to read a blog series you might be familiar with––yep, it was none other than Sara Claudia’s Women of Faith Series. But before I knew it, I fell down the rabbit hole of comparison. As I read each beautiful story of hardships overcome and finding God in the harshest of realities, I felt grossly inadequate to tell my own. Life had dealt some harsh blows to these incredible women, yet against the odds, they overcame the unprovoked adversity thrust upon them in the most remarkable ways.  

Dear God, Be Merciful

Are You Listening to God?

Throughout my journey with blindness, I have learned many lessons.

Lessons that could be applied not only to my sight loss but to grief, relationships, and even to God.

While learning to navigate the world without my sight using a white cane, one of the first techniques I was taught was how to use my ears.

At street crossings, I was instructed on how to pay close attention to the sounds of traffic. By doing so, I could determine whether traffic was flowing, the direction the cars were moving, and if it was safe for me to cross the street.

Trusting the God Who Sees When I Feel Unseen

As I walked into another room full of people I didn’t know, my pulse quickened and I felt the familiar dread in my stomach. How many times had I walked into a room just like this one? It was full of smiling faces and buzzing with layered conversations, but I felt completely alone.  

This was a familiar storyline for me, a self-described wallflower, bent on blending in and staying quiet. My introverted personality played into my perpetual feeling of being overlooked. And so I  carefully crafted identities that felt safe to protect my heart. 

Is God Your Sighted Guide?

When I am not using my white cane or guide dog as my eyes, I must rely on another person to be my “sighted guide”…

This means that, as I hold on to my companion’s elbow, they lead me around obstacles and along a safe, clear path.

At least, that is the intention!

In this way, I can navigate by feeling how the other person moves as well as by relying on their verbal directions and cues.

A Much-Needed Peace with Tischa van de Reep

There are times in our lives when everything seems so clear, and times when we’re stumbling in the dark, looking for something, anything to hold on to. Bouncing around in the ambulance that night watching our 8-year-old son, Julian in pain, I had nothing to hold on to, not even the words to pray.

At the children’s hospital, hooked up to morphine, Julian finally stopped crying and drifted off to sleep. Everything was quiet and still around us when finally, the words came, but I wouldn’t exactly call them a prayer.

“WE DON’T WANT TO BE HERE!”

Are You God's Vessel?

When I was little, I was a bit different from many of my friends.

I never donned a dance leotard, ballet slippers, gymnast suit, or cheerleader uniform.

No, I was more comfortable in boots, brushing ponies, and riding in a dusty arena.

I did try gymnastics lessons once, though.

Quickly, I realized it wasn’t for me.

In an attempt to find an excuse to gracefully bow out of the sport, I told my parents that I didn’t want to do gymnastics anymore because my instructor had a ponytail…it was the logic of a 5-year-old, but it worked!

So, I never learned how to do a cartwheel, stand on my hands, or be flexible.

My Most Important Ministry with Rebecca George

As I started my day, I looked around my house with frustration. Everywhere I turned there was something to do. Clothes on the couch that needed to be folded, dust on the furniture, dishes that had dried and needed to be put away, and a host of other household chores that were beginning to feel like a to-do list that would slow me down in what I truly needed to accomplish for the day. I already felt behind and my day had just begun. Maybe you can relate?

How are You Planning to Remain Faithful to God?

During a playful conversation with my husband, he offered me a piece of advice.

He proposed that, in addition to pursuing a career in professional counseling, I should also consider a job as a professional planner. In this role, I could plan people’s trips, meals, day-to-day activities, and overall lives.

As you can probably tell, he was poking fun at my tendency to construct plans in my own life, which can sometimes be excessive.

The topic of planning reminded me of a passage I read recently in the book of Daniel.

Where Is God in Our Suffering?

As many of you know, I am currently pursuing a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling through Liberty University.

During this program, one of the most surprising and enlightening things I have learned is that skills or techniques are not the most important factors that make an effective counselor. Rather, the most powerful way of helping to facilitate healing, growth, and change in the lives of clients is a counselor’s way of sitting with hurting people.

This is known as presence.

Faith in the Wilderness with Meshea Ingram

We celebrated our son’s second birthday in heaven yesterday, which would have been his fourth birthday on earth.

I find it no coincidence that God in all His divine will would allow me to share a story of faith just one day after our belated child’s birthday, and just two days after Christmas. What should be a celebratory season, filled with hope, joy, and fulfilled prophecy, is riddled with such sadness for so many, including myself. As we celebrate the birth of a Savior, we mourn the loss of our very own promise, our only son, Briggs. I will never forget the utter joy of finding out I was pregnant with him, just one year after losing his unborn sibling. The immense pain, tears, questions, and prayers that preceded Briggs arrival were ever-constant, and were, then, one of the darkest times of my life. 

Grief Is the Grinch That Stole Christmas

2015 was the first year that I ever remember not looking forward to Christmas.

It had always been my absolute favorite holiday, filled with family traditions, magical memories, and lots of Christmas cookies! That year, however, as the season approached, I began to dread adorning the tree with lights, watching my favorite holiday movies, and enjoying all of the beautiful decorations.

Why? Because I wouldn’t be able to see any of it.

I had lost my sight that May, so in my mind, no amount of Christmas cheer could prepare me for all of the changes that my blindness would bring to the beloved holiday.

Women of Faith Series with Dorina Lazo Gilmore-Young

When I was younger, I used to play piano. The piano is one of those instruments that needs to be tuned periodically. I remember watching (or rather listening to) a man tune our piano in our home.

He used a lever or “hammer” to turn the tuning pins inside the piano, an action which increases or decreases the tension of the strings.

A good piano tuning results in two things: accuracy (in tune) and stability (staying in tune). Depending on how accurate your ear is, you can hear when a piano or other instrument is out of tune, because it emits tones and notes that sound “off.”

It's What Inside That Counts

We all are guilty of making some questionable decisions when we are young.

Especially in high school, we get pulled into strange fashion trends, risky behavior in an effort to fit in, and going to great lengths in order to be seen as appealing to others.

When I was a senior in high school, I let one of my friends talk me into dyeing my hair. My natural color, a dirty blonde shade, had never been touched with color before, but I wanted it to be blonder.

Thus, the bleaching and dyeing began.

3 Ways to Pursue Peace

Jazz and Jambalaya, bayous and banana fosters, Cajun cooking, and riverboat cruising

New Orleans has long since been on my travel bucket list, and I was so excited to get to visit a few years back with my parents. 

Now, we all know that NOLA has a bit of a reputation, so before my arrival, I braced myself for the noise and chaos that I would inevitably encounter on Bourbon Street.