Season 2 (Episode 2) Grief: The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Welcome to Pain, Passion, and Purpose. I am your host, Shakeeta Torres, where I share mental health education, biblical teachings, and tips to help you to heal on purpose so you can walk boldly in your God-given purpose. This podcast is sponsored by Empowered Purpose Academy, a certified online Christian academy where where we provide services such as certification for Christian life coaches, mentorship for master's level aspiring and existing Christian therapists, mentorship for Christians, and continued education courses for the body of Christ. You can visit www.empoweredpurposeacademy.com to learn more and to download your free guide. If you like today's episode, please subscribe and leave us a raving review so that others can tap into the knowledge and wisdom that will be shared on this podcast. Thank you so much for being here.

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Hello everyone, welcome back to Pain, Passion, and Purpose. Today I'm so excited because we have a licensed therapist here today. Her name is Miss Camille Hollis. Welcome Camille to Pain, Passion, and Purpose.

Thank you for having me.

Absolutely. Um, today I'm super excited because I get to hear your story from you. And so before I get started, I want to go ahead and just read your bio and more about you so the audience can know more about who you are. So it says that Ms. Camille Hollis is a licensed marriage and family therapist. She is charismatic, Bible-believing Christian. She loves being led by the Holy Spirit in therapy. She loves to fellowship, minister, and serve at her church, New Day Church, in Paso Robles, California. She's been a therapist for over 8 years and specializes in working with individuals that suffer from depression, anxiety, trauma, and maladaptive grief. Her approach intertwines practical tools, prayer, and the Bible. She has a master's degree in marriage and family therapy. She has been trained in trauma-informed care, treatment utilizing cognitive behavior therapy and grief therapy. Her treatment approach for helping an individual is to assist them with looking at their symptoms through a holistic lens. She chose to become a Christian therapist because of the body-soul-spirit connection. In order to help individuals achieve lasting results, she believes that all these elements should be treated together in order to bring a person to wholeness. Check out her services page for more details. Lastly, here are some fun facts about her. She loves to hike. She loves to praise dance and sing on the worship team, and she's a travel lover. She's also co-authoring a fun and entertaining children's book to help teachers, parents, and child therapists teach kids from ages 5 through 11 how to handle difficult emotions So stay tuned. So thank you guys for taking that time to hearing her dynamic bio. And I look forward to hearing more about her story. Welcome again, Camille.

I'm glad to be here. Thanks for having me.

So I'm going to give you the floor. And I want to ask you to please share one particular pain point in your life that changed your life forever.

Yeah, um, I wanted to talk about, um, when I lost my parents. Um, it's— I— it's 5 children, so I'm the middle child. And so when I was in my teenage years, when I was 15 years old, my mother passed away, and then 3 years later my dad passed away. And, you know, I was— we're PK kids, so not too much pastor kids, but preacher's kids. And so it was devastating because it was like, you know, life was going at a certain trajectory. And then when that happened, and then when my father passed, it was like, it shook my world. It also shook my faith. So that, that would be, I guess, two pain points, you know, in that, that literally, yeah. Change me. So I actually had to go on this journey, not by choice, because all— after all of that, I actually ended up be— um, growing in bitterness, um, anger towards the Lord because I didn't understand. But the funny thing is, I was still going to church, I was still serving, and didn't know that I had this root of bitterness growing against the Lord. And it took when I started having panic attacks, that, that was the sign that let me know, because I had to press it. God, why am I having panic attacks all of a sudden? I'd just be sitting in the car and then started having trouble breathing. It scared me. Yeah, yeah. And that's when the Lord showed me.

Wow, I'm so sorry to hear that.

Wow. That's all right.

And so I also hear you saying too that you were still in a church, you were still serving, but you had all this stuff in your heart built up. And immediately I began to think about in the book of Matthew, the parable of the lost coin, how you can still be in church, how you can still be serving, how you can still be doing all these things for God and be lost.

Yeah.

Yes. And that was my story. And, and I think— and I didn't even know it. You know how there's some people in the church where they gotta know they're not doing what's right you know, it's kind of maybe what we would call maybe carnal or kind of hypocritical. I didn't know. I didn't know. I, I was literally, you could say, was just existing, getting up and down, but didn't know it, right? Didn't know it.

Kind of like normalize it.

We kind of—

yeah, that experience, I was just, okay, this is normal, right?

Right. And that's the space that I was in, like, this is life now. This is what life feels like now. Wow. Wow.

So what was the breaking point for you to say, okay, God, this is where I'm at? I know you mentioned the panic attacks, but what did you do after you started having those panic attacks?

Um, I got into therapy. I got into therapy because I knew that— I'm like, this runs really deep. And even with God showing me, I my heart still wasn't ready. Even with the panic attacks, I still wasn't ready to let go of my anger because I felt justified. I felt justified in it. And so that was my next step, was sitting down. And she was actually a Christian counselor and had to help me just unpack. And it wasn't an easy journey. I'm not going to lie. It didn't happen overnight for me. But just with consistency, and prayer, and the more my heart softened, yeah, then I could start going to God. Because it was still hard for me to still— even once God brought it to the surface, it was still hard to even go to God because it's like, I was like, yeah, I feel this way because you did all this stuff.

Exactly. I cannot tell you how many clients I've counseled, and I'm sure you have too, who come to you who are Christians and their heart has hardened towards God. And so your job is to help dig up that, that, you know, that fallow ground and help them soften so God can begin speak to them. God's already speaking to them, but listen, God, and hear what I had to say about them and their situation. I love it.

Yeah, and it's so important because sometimes I have too some clients who come and they're like, well, I don't understand why you're dealing with this part. And I'm like, well, you know, when we're Christians, God is our lifeline. And so when there's a rupture there, you know, No matter what we do in this room, you won't experience full joyous if there's a rupture there with God, you know. So we, we do have to— you do have to bring attention to this area. It's all part of the work.

And often I'm also thinking about this too, um, Camille, is because you were left fatherless and motherless And so that does not feel good. I can definitely, um, relate to your story. My mom died when I was 11 years old in a tragic house fire. And so I definitely went through this like process of embracing the fact that God can fill those voids for me. And it took a while for me to really pinpoint, okay, why am I having these issues in relationships with certain people, right? Why am I always being taken advantage of by people? It's because I had this void in my heart that my mom is not here and my father's not in my life either. So can share a little bit about that journey from going to like having, I guess you could say, an orphan spirit, what we call, you know, in the church?

Yeah, yeah, I see what you're saying. Um, I think for me how it manifested, not so much necessarily in that arena, but in the arena of because I was disconnected from my anger, then it allowed me to attract emotionally unavailable friends, people of the opposite sex. They were unemotionally available as well. And so then as my heart healed, then people changed. So that's what I noticed. Yes, yes, I love that.

What you're saying is that you attracted people who were very similar to who you are in that time in life.

Yes, and sometimes it manifests in a different way. Sometimes it's not the same exact thing, but then it's like, for me, because I, um Mine's manifested in the sense of doing, being a doer for everyone. And that's evidence of emotionally unavailable to myself because I'm not checking in with myself or checking in with my needs, or my needs are all the way down here and everybody's needs are all the way up here. So then what it attracted is people who are about themselves. And who are not about others, or takers, or broken in their way, their own way, because they're not healing. And whatever that unhealed, um, part of them is manifesting through being a taker, manifesting through taking advantage of people.

That makes complete sense.

Wow.

Another— listening to Miss Camille, she shared this part about relationships Yeah, this is good. This is good stuff. So also, I kind of want to go back a little bit to the anger. You were saying how you was— oh, you had all this anger and bitterness. And a lot of people don't really fully understand that anger is a part of the grief stages and how anger, if it's not dealt with, it can turn into bitterness and all these different things kind of trickle after that. So as far as your anger, what was your like breaking point? Or what did you do once you realized, okay, oh my gosh, like I've been angry and I'm bitter?

Yeah, for, for me it, it was a very slow process. I'm gonna be honest, it was very slow process. Um, but for me it was literally begging and asking the Lord to help me. To help me. And it was really like, I, I can't do this on my own. Not even just because the words we say in church. No, I literally felt like I couldn't do it on my own. Like, God, I need you to help me. Journaling has always been my cathartic method of, you know, therapeutic tool. And so I have tons. I would just journal for hours. And hours and hours, and just being transparent as I could and vulnerable with God with where I was, the space that I was in. And it was hard sometimes. I end journaling screaming at God. I'm like, you know, and I'd be like, oh God, help me. But, you know, I just kept pressing in and pressing in and pressing in and pressing in. And there were times where I did do fasting and things of that nature. Um, also too, wise counsel, getting with people, being honest where I'm at so people can support me in prayer and things of that nature. You know, the Bible talks— there's so many scriptures on counsel, on wise counsel. So the Bible supports therapy.

Yeah, people are so interested. I mean, I've heard people say they love therapy, even, you know, I hear so many different responses when it comes to Christian therapy. Um, you know, we had the hashtag, uh, therapy and Jesus, mental health and faith. And some people get upset you put those two together in the same sentence. I've seen that, and I've really had to address that because I'm like, we're not saying that we're taking the place of Christ. We're saying that we are a mouthpiece for the Lord. We are his vessel. We are— because think about it, think about this. If you are broken and you were hurt You're not hearing the Lord, you know. And if he's speaking to you, you're not trying to hear that because you are broken. Your heart is broken, no matter how minor it may seem, no matter how major it may seem. And so we are literally interceding for you. Yeah, Christian therapist. Yeah, that's the way I see it. And so when you get to that place where you are walking in a, in a level of wholeness of where you need to be, then God can continue to deal with you, deal with your heart. And so I often say, one man sows, one man waters, and God is the only one that can bring the increase. So we're not We're not saying that we're God or we're the Savior, but like you just said, the scripture supports seeking wisdom.

And there's a lot of scriptures. Yeah, I think there was like— I tried to do a Google search and I'll have to, um, but it was like over 100 scriptures in the Bible.

Wow.

Let's talk about counsel. And even says the man that is successful is surrounded by— the Bible says multiple counselors. What I hear often in the church is like, well, you can get everything you need from God. You don't have to go to a therapist and pay $100. But I'm just going to give you the revelation God gave me personally. He said, when you're praying for something, don't make how I answer your prayer an idol. When you're praying for something Don't make how you are expecting me to answer an idol. So what God was saying, and the revelation I got from that, is yes, you can be praying for healing. Yes, a person can be praying for God and the Holy Spirit to, to have a way, but he may use a therapist. But some people, they're praying, they're expecting it to come one way. But God may come another way. So that's why some people may miss it, because they have this image of what it looks like when God is supposed to come in and heal them.

Yeah, I feel the spirit on that. Amen. Amen. I feel holy heavily on that because that is so true. I'm sure we all are guilty of that at some point in our lives on walk with Christ, but we expect God to answer us in one way. When God say, here, here's the solution, but it's our responsibility to take hold of that solution. I can't tell you how many clients I've had who say, oh my God, I was searching for a therapist and I landed right on your website, and your website spoke to me, your pictures spoke to me, I feel drawn to you. And they'll, they'll start therapy. On the other hand, I had people who, they will like, they'll see me and they'll reach out and say, oh my God, God sent me to you. But then they don't want to invest in their healing. They don't want to invest in what God wants to do in their life. And I mean, I've had clients that say, Shakeeta, when I began my first session with you, it's like God began to open up doors for me, and it really blessed me because I put some seed in the ground, you know? Yeah. So like, I know your soul is healthy. I know my soul is healthy. So whatever we sow into where we, you know, what we need, God will expedite that thing. Yeah, that happened too for my client, but God will expedite it. And then I have some, I said, oh God, God told me to start, but then they don't start. I'm like, you don't understand what you're doing. You're, you're hindering what it is that God wants to do in your life because you're not obedient to what he's giving you. He's giving you an answer. Here's the answer, you know. And so, oh my God, I see across the board some churches are really like catching up today. Yeah, we'll be pushing their members to go to church— I mean, to go to therapy. And then you have some that are like, okay, uh, don't really want to talk about it too much, right?

Yeah, I, I really— I'm seeing it as well. I'm seeing more churches kind of— it's a movement, there's a momentum coming. And I'm like, I thank God I'm getting to see it, and my eyes are— because I, I told someone, because I'm going to be doing at my church, um, their first, and it'll be my first, inner healing and deliverance workshop. And I told— so I was talking to someone about it, and I said, I grew up this wasn't a thing. This wasn't a thing, you know what I mean? Inner healing, it wasn't. So to be a part of it and to see more churches— and I see the areas where there's some churches at where they're at in the space that they're in— but to see more churches welcoming and being open to the idea, I'm like, man, when the people of God get healed The work and the— where it'll take the kingdom even further.

Exactly, exactly. Oh God. And I'll go on this topic a little bit too. So oftentimes, I'm sure you do too, I'm only licensed in North Carolina as a therapist, but I'm also a coach. It is not the same. It was definitely a lot of— it's very different but also similar in some ways. So you do have to be careful about how you treat your client because, you know, North Carolina So people will reach out and say, well, how do I find a Christian therapist? Like, how do I know which one to choose? Because as you and I both know, yeah, you know, not every Christian therapist is really operating in the vein of the Holy Spirit. Yes. They're really giving people the biblical truth. I have definitely counseled people who can't— other Christian therapists.

Yeah.

And I say, you're different. I'm like, what do you mean? They're like, it's just like I can feel God's presence here and you're not giving me any— it's like you meet me right where I'm at that, but you're not giving me anything that's contrary to the word of God, and you're doing it in love. When I went to this other therapist, they would encourage me to engage in, you know, what we call like witchcraft type activities. Yeah, engaging in like, you know— and I had one client tell me before, she was having issues in her marriage. Her husband was watching pornography a lot, and the therapist told her to like watch pornography with him. Oh, and she was so angry. She said, I stopped going. And so she and her husband came to therapy together, um, and I told myself, of course the word of God says that. I said, you know, it's between you and the Lord. I said, I can't resources to help you. I said, but also it's up to you. I don't have to judge you. You already, you're already condemning yourself. Yeah, you know, the enemy's already trying to condemn you. And the wife, I'm like, you need to worry about you and the Lord. It was, it was a lot of different moving pieces in that, but I was definitely being led by the Lord. And like, the Lord was able to give her some breakthrough of trying to like not be controlling. It was just a lot of dynamics going on there. And so to me, that's the power of having Holy Spirit, because Holy Spirit like guide you. He would give you nuggets and pieces about what to do with your client along with your clinical knowledge, which is so important to have too, right? Right.

I'm glad you mentioned that because that is my concern even with the church moving people towards therapy is there does need to be that disclaimer, you know, that you can't go to everybody. You, you cannot go to everybody, and you do need to be discerning who you sit down with because you're opening up your soul. When you— we sit down with that person, we're, we're connecting on some different levels spiritually and emotionally. So it is very imperative that you screen that person. So I'm glad you're putting out that, because that disclaimer does need to be out there as we're pushing that, as we're moving. And also too, because there are some parts to psychology that are very demonic, that are doctrines of devil. And so us as Christians, we have to discern and hold up to the Bible. Yes, what we are going to see Yeah, what we are gonna— like I heard somebody said, with this, just like chicken, you eat the chicken and then spit out the bone, right?

I can tell you this, Camille, I have attended trainings over the years that was supposed to be Christian type training for, um, for like trauma and different things, and I went in this setting and my spirit was just literally screaming because of the things they were teaching did not line up with the word of God. I'm just like, God, I gotta get out of here. Yeah, I gotta get— I'll get my hours, I, I don't care because I can't take all this in because my spirit is coming up against it because it's not of you. And so I don't— I honestly don't truly understand, like, if the world— you can go to any counselor you want to, you could— they can be secular. Honestly, God can still use them too, but you have to be powerful and be in tune with Holy Spirit to make sure you get— it's accurate, right? But I— for me, I can't understand to figure out if you're going to call yourself a Christian therapist or you're going to serve Christians Why can't you operate in the spirit of the Lord? It's not— to me, it's not hard. If you—

right, it's either who you are. Yes, it is.

Exactly, exactly. And so I've heard so many different stories. I've encountered pushback from other therapists too who are Christian therapists, like, what do you— who do you think you are? I'm like, who do you think I am?

I am the I Am that sent me.

That's who I am. You know, and I'm like, I just don't understand. So I was so happy to come across your profile on Instagram because I was looking for people who I could see that flow in the spirit of the Lord, because God is calling, you know, therapists to rise up to the occasion and truly operate in his spirit because he need us. Yeah, need us to be positioned to hear him, to help his people to heal the way he designed for it to be.

Now looking back, I see what the enemy was doing, because when I would tell people, oh, I want to be a Christian therapist, and I had went to, um, a school that was faith-based— you're not going to make any money like that.

Exactly, same here.

You know, they're gonna— yeah, they would go to their pastor over going to it. So I was just like, well, why did God put this in my heart, you know? So I had to kind of— could— even though it did get to me, I was like, I'm still gonna continue because I feel this so strongly in me. I feel convicted not to do it. And I'm so glad I continued because now looking back, I'm like, that's so far from the truth. But I look back and I'm like, the enemy was trying to put that seed of doubt in me and discourage me early on. Yeah. And I think that's what he does to others. Other therapists. Like, why they gonna go to you? They ain't gonna make no money. You ain't—

exactly. Question I had a lot was, what makes you a Christian therapist? Because oftentimes people think you have to like go and get all this education and all this stuff in order to be a Christian therapist. Now to me, you definitely need training. You did invest in yourself. I know I've invested in so much like courses and trainings and yeah, spiritually, books, all the Bible, spending time with I. So to me, that's a whole different component than the clinical part. Then on the clinical side, we have to make sure that we are equipped with the tools and the resources to help these people to have coping skills, to give them language to their pain. And so to me, as a Christian therapist, it's like we carry two— like, we carry multiple hats, you know, we carry multiple hats. And so I tell them, I'm like, there is no law that says that you cannot call yourself a Christian therapist. There's no law. I know people who have actually went to school and got— and went to theology, and they still don't have the mindset of Christ, or they still don't understand Holy Spirit. But like you said earlier, it starts with you in your lifestyle. How are you living your life, okay, behind the scenes, outside of being who you are in Christ to the people? Wow. Oh, that was so good.

Amen. Amen. It's like, yeah, it's like I— and, and where God had to start to challenge me, because I had to be challenged in this area, to be honest. Because, um, in the last 2 years is where God said, I want you to stop doing secular counseling. Just like that. And I still kept trying to go, and then he started convicting me in session. Yeah. I meant what I said.

Yeah, you know.

And so when God was starting to just switch me and detour me in this area, the Lord was just like, how come I can't show up in every area of your life? Like, why are you just living— so your anointing only works in church? And I'm like, okay, God. And so that's where God began to say, you know, take me into your therapy room, take me into your session. And so if it— like you said, cultivating our life and our— the presence with the Lord is so important because it's just going to come right with us in the session.

He does. And I realized that, you know, some people who are Christian, the therapist— God can still use us in secular settings, but for some of us, he has called us specifically to work with the body of Christ. And I know that's me because I was like you. I struggled. Okay, God, I don't want to leave anybody out. I don't want— yeah, like I'm being biased or I can't served them because I'm a Christian, because I love people. I genuinely love people, whether they're Christians or not. I'm not going to treat it differently, right? Right. When it came to the matters of the heart and healing, I noticed that's where I flow. That when I began to narrow down my niche and say, okay, I'm a Christian therapist, it was like, to me, like a big breath of fresh air.

Me too.

I could breathe. I can just really flow and be free. Uh, it's just so much to unpack there, and I'm sure you you've had your encounters.

And too, for me, my experience was, um, getting, getting people where they were coming in with these lifestyles where that were extremely contrary to the word of God, and they were wanting validation in it. And that's where they hear—

my question, as far as, you know, your grief and your pain and your story You know, what would you say to that person today knowing what you know?

Yeah, yeah, I would say to, to that person that maybe they're in that— we call it lingering grief or inspired grief. You know, there's a normal process of grief, but there's a part where sometimes grief for some people can take a turn where it's actually maladaptive.

Yeah.

And so, um, if that person's kind of struggling with that in that place, I would say a couple of things. Like, first of all, thank you for listening in, because that shows that there's something in you that wants help, that's something in you that wants to change, that there's something in you that knows that there's more for you. And so I would say, one, of course, invite the Holy Spirit into that place. Also too, I forgot, there's GriefShare. I don't know if you've heard of that, but I remember getting— the church had GriefShare, and I remember going to a grief support. So hearing other people's story made me not feel isolated and made me not feel alone and like it was just my story, but that it was other people who have lost significant people to them. And so I would want to encourage that Also too, and I think Grief Share is Bible-based, so it has the word in there, plus, um, the support groups with that. Also too is realizing that you were left here for a purpose, you were left here for a reason, and that God has whatever he placed in you, that there is someone that is— that needs you, that needs your story, that needs your words, that needs your prayers, that needs the Holy Spirit working through you so that they can continue to live on. And so honoring your— your— the person that you has passed on, honoring their memory by living, by choosing to continue to live that you actually bring them honor for doing that. And also too, as well, you need to seek professional help. I had to do it. Go ahead and do it so you can get that freedom. And then there's also just great, you know, grief books. I think even GriefShare has a book. I think one of, um, the therapists who used with me was called Grief Recovery. That's a workbook too. I I really love that. And the beauty is you could sit with God and he can sit with your pain. And just— I had to just keep coming back and keep coming back and keep coming back and keep coming back. Yeah, but it, it— that hardness got smaller and smaller and smaller and smaller and smaller until it wasn't there. So I, I pray that for you. I pray that for you.

Oh, I love that. And I'm— you're so right. I often tell people, and I, and God also told me this time and time again, I don't care how you feel. If you're angry with me, come to me. If you're sad, come to me. When you're happy, come to me. Whatever feelings you have, he said, I can handle your emotions. The goal is for you to stay connected to me. Don't focus on me because I can handle all your emotions. Yeah, I love it. I pretty much, you know, that's what you're saying, like, come to God with everything you have— the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Yeah, yeah. Because sometimes we want to run. Sometimes we want to be like, oh, I'm not in the spiritual place I once was. But God is— God is for, for every space that we're in, for every space that we're in. And my pastor this past weekend was talking about how, uh, Paul, who wrote half of the Bible, persecuted Jews. He ended up being an apostle.

Yes, great, great apostle. A great apostle at that.

Oh, God could forgive that. Yes, ma'am, absolutely.

So we're going to take a break, you guys, and we're going to come back and hear more about Camille's passions and her purpose. So stay tuned. Hey, hey, hey! I hope you are enjoying this episode so far.

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So that's it for our little break. Let's get back into part 2 of this episode. Welcome back, everyone, to Pain, Passion, and Purpose. We have our guest Camille Hollis, who was talking about her story with grief, um, how she went through her journey of grieving her parents and how she has been healing from that. She's healed from that today, thank God. And so now God uses her in her practice as a therapist in the church and all this good stuff. And so Camille, let's go into your passion.

Yes, um, definitely. So So having that story of just me kind of walking through and noticing like, wow, I was in the church, I was serving, everything felt normal, and I had so much in my heart. So once God brought me through that work, it was like, I know this is the story of other Christians and I want to do this as well. And then recently God just gave me a mandate because we are entering into, you know, some end times, entering in the atmosphere sphere has changed. It is now more important than ever for Christian therapists, like you were saying, to rise up. Because I believe on the heart and mind of God is mental health for his people. Because what does the Bible say, that in Revelations about end time, is that people's hearts would fail them because of fear. And so I believe God is going after his people and saying get these tools because the season and the times and things like that, all the stuff that's going on, even all the stuff that's currently going on, God wants his people to have inner wellness tips. Just like physical— physically, physically take care of ourselves, God wants his people to have the knowledge about, um, the inner wellness for our soul. So I just— I believe that with all of my heart.

Today, as far as like your purpose, like, yeah, I know that you're, you know, you're a therapist. What other things does God have you doing in reference to your purpose?

Yeah, um, well, I'm also a minister, so definitely just, you know, encouraging people, equipping people. Also too, um, I noticed the demographic that draws to me is the ages 25 to 35, so I just believe, you know, in that mentorship, depositing into and raising up, you know, young women that know who they are in Christ, know who, um, what they're called to be, and stepping out in purpose. Because, um, I taught a sermon last month how one of the things, even from working with Christians, I notice how much Christians deal with feelings of inadequacy. And so when God is telling us to do, we will talk ourselves out of it. Or even if we know he's telling us to do it, it's like, but God, like almost like Moses, but I stutter. Yeah, you want me to do it?

I stutter. Yes, it used to be so bad when I was little, but it came from, you know, childhood abuse, sexual abuse. And so that's when it started for me when I was like 8 years old. And so over the years, like, I really struggled with stepping out too because of that. And so God, you know, showed me a scripture about Moses and how he stuttered. And so it's healed me a lot. And so I definitely had to overcome that for me to really step out in purpose. Um, I still sort of today I have moments where I get tripped up, but people said I don't hear it.

I'm like, I don't hear it either. I don't hear it at all.

Yes, but I love what you said, the inadequacy. So I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you.

Yeah, but that's what I noticed, that that is huge in, in the body of Christ. So, um, so that, that's along with that. So just ministry, ministry along with that.

And so as you know, season 2 is, um, about your words carry weight, speak life. And when God gave me that, I was just in a complete like awe. I was like, oh my God, this is so powerful. And so what would you like to say about that in reference to this purpose and ministry and everything that you've experienced in life?

Yeah, and I love that because God has— right now has to keep reminding me about words and what I'm speaking and what I'm declaring and what— and he's like, okay, you praying, but are you declaring? What are you speaking? Speak those things in the ground. And so it can be really hard if we're seeing something different, you know, and it's like we feel like we're speaking and speaking, but power and life is in our tongue. And the world has picked up off the principle. So that's where you see people talk about affirmations and manifesting and stuff, but it's actually a biblical thing that God has put in the earth that they, they feel like, oh, well, we're discovering this, but actually It's a Bible principle that God has put in the earth for us to speak, to declare, to prophesy, to prophesy of ourselves, our families, and our marriages. And so that is something I'm trying to work with the Holy Spirit, even with me, to be consistent and to do so that I could see the fruit of it. Yes, that's so true.

In episode 1, that's what I talked about, you know. I love the scripture, you know, power and life is in your tongue. It's like 'You will eat the fruit thereof.' It's in Proverbs, um, I thought chapter 18. I forget the verse right now. And I love that verse. I've been saying that verse for years, right? There have been times, like you said, where, oh my God, I'm praying and I've been praying on this thing for a long time, I feel like, but I'm not really seeing a break. And like, then I came across, uh, Pastor Stephanie Ike's, uh, YouTube video she did about speaking life. And honey, the Holy Spirit was hitting me all upside the head. It's like, look at this. And then she gave so many biblical examples of the importance of watching our words, even whenever we get frustrated. And one of the things that she said was that, you know, David said in the Bible, he asked God to guard his mouth because he didn't want to speak against things that God was doing, or he didn't want to come out of agreement with what he prayed for and what he was seeking God for. So I've been praying that prayer myself. Lord, guard my mouth.

Out.

I like that. But Lord, let me continue to speak life even when I get frustrated. Like, nope. A lot of people will say that's called denial, but I don't think that's called denial. I think that what happens is we have emotions come up, these thoughts come up. So take it to God. Say, God, in this moment, this is how I feel. I feel like it's not working. I feel like this, this is what I see. But Father, I still stand on your word. Help me on your word. Help me to stand on what you've shown me about me, about my family, about my— about everything you have called me to, right? So it's not denial. You can still acknowledge it, but don't stay there. That's the goal.

Yes, I, I love that. And I love the way you put that, because there is that balance there, right? That balance there where we're acknowledging in order to heal. Like, we're acknowledging with the purpose of healing versus acknowledging for the purpose of I just want to say it because that's the space that I'm in and that's it.

Exactly, exactly. So let everybody know how they can find you on social media, how to contact you, Miss Camille, for services and for, um, to get their, you know, mental wellness check-in and all that good stuff.

Okay, absolutely. So I'm on IG, so that's where I just give a lot of faith and mental health tips. Sometimes I preach sermons. So, uh, it's @CamilleHollisCounseling, and then on Facebook it is Heaven Inspired Counseling. So that is, uh, the name of my counseling practice. And then I have my website, which is heaveninspiredchristiancounseling.com. So come, come check me out.

I love it. Oh my God, thank you so much for being a part of, um, this season. I look forward to constant communication. I look forward to— yeah, that God's gonna do through us.

Likewise, likewise.

Yes, we definitely will. So thank you so much again. And you guys, listen, go back, go back and listen to the podcast episode, take some notes. It's so much to unpack here during this episode, and I'm just happy that she was able to be a part. So thank you again so much, and we'll talk to you guys next time. Thank you so much for staying to the end of this episode. I hope that it truly blessed you. If you are an aspiring or existing Christian therapist, I hope it blessed you. If you are a person who is struggling with grieving, I hope this blessed you too. And so don't forget to go to the description box to read more about Miss Camille and how to find her services. Also, my online academy called Empowered Purpose Academy. It is robust, full of information that God has called me to create for a time such as this. I have courses in there on grief. That course is power-packed with information, it's power-packed with coping skills and teachings about grief, how to help children who are grieving, and so much more. You can go to Empower purposeacademy.com to purchase that course. Also, I have a mentorship program for aspiring and existing Christian therapists. You must be at least in a master's program to get the most benefit from this program. It is amazing. I have enjoyed it so far. The members are amazing. You will have community, you will have support, but you can read all about that on my site. Also join my email list. My email list is always full of great content. I send my list, like, good tips and nuggets about mental health, about what's going on with my practice, what's going on with just everything that I'm doing, you know, from week to week. And also, there's some things coming down the line that God has put on my heart to do aside from the podcast, and so I'll be working on that. I don't want to share too much. But if you keep tuning in, or if you join my email list, I will be sure to share those updates with you. It's going to be fire, okay? And so also, if you, you know, need a therapist, there's so many ways to find a Christian therapist if you're looking for that in particular. But as Camila and I both said, be sure you pray, be sure you be led by Holy Spirit to make sure that you find a good here for you. But you can go to www.psychologytoday.com, and you can also go to www.therapyforblackgirls.com. So again, thank you so much for listening. I hope that it blessed you, and I will talk to you guys on next week for our next guest.