It’s a simple piece of equipment that the exercise physiologist gave my husband to strengthen his core and support his overly-aged back. Knowing my core was a bit on the flabby side, I decided to join him on his journey. Using the pressure monitor, we performed various core strengthening exercises that used muscles we didn’t know we had.
The instructions stated that we were not to move on to the next exercise until we had mastered doing the previous one with precise form. In only a few days we mastered exercise #1 and moved on to #2. Ken quickly progressed through exercises #3 and returned for more instruction, while I continued to feel like a newborn giraffe learning to walk.
When he arrived home, he began showing me the next exercises in my future, when suddenly I found myself feeling angry, hopeless, and wanting to give up.  “What the heck is going on?” I thought to myself. “There’s nothing wrong. Why am I feeling this way?” Within just a few short minutes, I felt ready to throw in the towel. “I’ll never get any better. I’m doomed to be fat and out-of-shape. Why even bother?” Luckily for me, I am well-rehearsed in A-B-C-D journaling so I grabbed my handy notebook and scriptures, and went out to the living room to process my emotions.
It didn’t take long to recognize some of the old thought distortions that had taken over my mind…old beliefs that I thought I had banished for good. As I recognized and challenged those old beliefs once again, I could see how I was comparing myself and my progress to someone else. I was expecting years of inactivity and poor choices to be reversed in a matter of days…or at least weeks!
Clearly seeing my distorted beliefs, I was now free to replace them once again with the truth: I am not competing with anyone else. Consistency compounds. Enjoy the journey! Already, I was feeling at peace once again.
Then I opened my scriptures. Would you be surprised if I told you that there on the page was a direct message from my Heavenly Father? Would you be even more surprised if I told you that He sent that message through His servant, Isaiah?
“Awake, awake, put on thy strength…Put on thy beautiful garments…for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit down…loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.”
I was reminded once again that we are all daughters and sons of God. That makes us royalty. With the Lord, we are strong, even when we feel weak. Sometimes we find ourselves lying in the dust, chains about our neck, captive to the will of the flesh or the beliefs of the world.
Today is the perfect time to awake…to not allow unclean thoughts and beliefs to enter our minds any longer. It is time to stand up, shake off the dust, break the chains that have bound us, and take our place as rightful heirs to the blessings of God.
Because you’re human, I know that you have distorted beliefs about yourself. I know there are times when you believe you aren’t worth it…that you will never succeed…that all is hopeless. We all do. My hope for you is that you will learn how to recognize, challenge, and replace those thoughts. Awake! Don’t allow lies into your head any longer. Arise! Don’t wallow in the dust like captives to the beliefs of the world.  You are a child of God. Come. Arise, and take your proper place.

 Oftentimes, people ask me how I got into public speaking and coaching. It’s a hard question to answer. The short answer is, I realized that there are many out there who need to know they are not alone, their worth has never changed, and they can come through their challenges having greater peace and faith than they ever thought possible. So I shared.
 
The things I have learned on this journey have shaped why and how I see the world, and if they can help make the journey of others more peaceful, why wouldn’t I share? Some of these lessons include: the importance to teach our children leadership skills, self-confidence, how to speak up for your needs, how to work through anxiety, and how to find peace with food, just to name a few. I’ve also learned that while our challenges are all different, the lessons we need to learn are very often the same. That’s how speaking and coaching became my passion.
 
Today, I share with you a link to a podcast interview I did this past week where I was asked to share my story of overcoming childhood sexual abuse.  Given that at least 1 in 10 children are sexually abused before reaching the age of 18, I imagine that it might be of help to you, whether you were a victim, or if it has impacted someone you love.  Please feel free to share with any whom you think would benefit.
 
As always, feel free to reach out to me if I can ever be of service to you.

​Listen to the podcast HERE. 
If you'd like to receive these podcasts in your inbox, sign up HERE.

Hi Friends! 
I hope you are holding up OK during all of this Coronavirus craziness! I just wanted to share with you how I strive to hear Him during these challenging times. I hope it helps. 
​Love, Becky Ivory

​I love being a motivational speaker. There is nothing better than sharing your stories…your insights…and learning that it has changed someone else’s life. I also love listening to other motivational speakers. I have found them not only on stages, but in church’s, diners, and people’s very own kitchens. I have found motivation and inspiration from many people, and one of my favorites was a woman named Kris Belcher.
 
Kris was diagnosed with cancer in both of her eyes as a young child and finally lost her eyesight completed as an adult. As a mom with two young children, she was understandably devastated at the loss of her sight. Kris has the gift of finding the gift in almost anything, and one of her stories has never been forgotten.
 
She was sharing how she learned to navigate walking busy city streets by herself. Of course, she learned to use a cane, and listen for the sounds of traffic and crossing lights. But one of the ways she can tell what direction she is facing is by determining where she feels the sun on her face. By determining what time it is and where the sun would be, she can use the warmth on her face to determine what direction she is facing. Ever the motivator, she told us she can also know what direction she is facing in her spiritual life by where she feels the Son…meaning, the Son of God.
 
 Often at this time of year, we are focused on our physical health. How much weight do we want to lose this year? What size will we be by our birthday? How many races will we run? Those can all be worthy goals for the right reason at the right time. But I wonder how many of us are as focused on our spiritual health?
 
Do you know where the Son is? Do you feel His warmth in your heart? Do you check your direction by if you feel Him present? Or is He an afterthought? Do you rely on your own eyes and ears to tell you if you’re going in the right direction?
 
May we lift our face to Him as we seek the directions we are to take. May we make Him our compass in the coming year. May we actively seek to discern where exactly we feel the Son.