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Talasi Guerra's Joy Like a Mountain

Talasi's Journey

Joy never seemed to come naturally to Talasi. She says, “I didn’t have joy like a fountain. I didn’t even have joy like a leaky faucet or a dollar store squirt gun.” In third grade her self worth began to dwindle when a classmate made fun of her and called her a “donkey.” It devastated her and his words left a lasting scar. Her “donkey” moments continued to multiply over the years causing more damage to her fragile self-esteem. She began to believe she was fat and ugly based on the media’s perception and felt she could never measure up. She began to believe her self worth came from boys’ comments about her appearance and the accessibility of her body. After a few bad choices, she felt she was on longer worthy of God. She developed an eating disorder by the age of fourteen. The destructive cycle continued into adulthood. By the time she was twenty-one, she hit rock bottom. Talasi recalls, “My life was an unqualified mess, laden with addictions, anxiety, and depression.” Healing for her began when God challenged her thinking and began to expose the lies that controlled her mind. He asked her to explore the pursuit of intentional, biblical joy. In 2007, Talasi experienced a radical life-change when God brought her through a period of healing from her long battle with anorexia and depression. 

Mountain of Life

For Talasi, discovering joy used to feel like climbing a mountain, but the mountain is not joy. The mountain is simply life. There are moments when you may face obstacles and hardships and want to give up on the mountain of life. This is when you have to remember joy is a necessary part of the climb. God talks about joy for His people numerous times in the Bible. Without joy you are like a dead man walking. Remember skeletons cannot climb mountains. So, if you want to make it up the mountain of life with your soul, mind, and spirit intact, you must understand what God says about joy in the journey. Romans 5:3-4 says, “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” These verses suggest that it’s not only suffering, but joy in the midst of suffering which produces three essential components you’ll need for a successful climb:

  • Endurance – keeps you moving forward when you feel like you want to quit. 
  • Character – internal compass that directs your decisions. 
  • Hope – what you cling to when your circumstances betray you. It is the most essential element of your climb.  

Gear For the Journey 

Just as a climber needs certain gear to scale a mountain, you need certain gear to help you climb the mountain of life. The three pieces of practical gear Talasi has found useful when it comes to cultivating intentional, biblical joy: 

  1. Gratitude –Trekking poles are essential for hikers to keep balance on their journey. On the mountain of life, gratitude gives you support. You must be intentional to set aside time to express gratitude and to worship joyfully. It is the responsibility of every believer to regularly reflect on and remember who God is and what He has done for you. 
  2. Focus – Climbers can be sun blinded when the rays of the sun reflect off the snow and burn their eyeballs. In life, you must protect your eyes and not allow the enemy to misdirect your focus or cause you to be distracted by circumstances. Keep your attention on God. 
  3. Mission – Crampons give climbers traction on snow covered icy peaks. Ensure that your feet are aptly fitted (with the Gospel of peace) to tackle the mountain of life. As you serve God and live out the Gospel you will tap into a wellspring of joy like no other. 

7 Day Joy Challenge

“Joy isn’t something that you have to somehow earn or achieve. It is something that you experience as you remain in the presence of God and His Spirit enables you to obediently follow His instructions,” shares Talasi. This year our world has been plagued with many sorrows which include a pandemic, racial tensions, and more. She says, “It is time to radically implement the discipline of joy in our own lives so that we can reach out to the world around us with its message of hope and healing.” In her 7 Day Joy Challenge, Talasi shares some of her discoveries about joy that were born out of her personal journey to pursue intentional, biblical joy. To sign up, you can visit Guerra's 7 Day Joy Challenge and receive a daily Bible reading paired with an encouraging devotional and a practical application activity, all designed to help you choose joy.

Talasi's Story 

Talasi is committed to bringing light and life to the world around her by sharing her story, speaking truth, and offering hope to others. She lives to communicate biblical principles in relevant ways that inspire, challenge, and awaken others to live out their God-given purpose. In addition to writing and speaking, Talasi also has a passion for the local church. Having spent nearly a decade serving as the Director of Children and Family Ministries at a large church in western Canada, Talasi loves developing leaders and setting up ministries to win. She has been involved in training and equipping Christian leaders since 2010, and in addition to speaking at conferences and seminars, Talasi also offers individual coaching to family ministry teams.
 

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