Consuelo Collins

I attribute everything to God! You see my choice to give an unwavering “Yes” and completely trust in God gave Him full ownership of my life. From the moment I said yes to God at age 8, I learned to trust Him completely, even in the hardest times. I have learned in life that God often uses the storm to protect me, keeping me in the eye of the storm while He destroys everything outside of it. I've learned to thank Him for the hard times and bad things, saying 'Lord, I thank you so much. I am so grateful for whatever it is that you are doing in this season in my life. Thank you for the discomfort.' God sometimes has to uproot us and knock off some of that dirt, which is often family traditions and self-beliefs, because He needs to repot us somewhere where we can grow and become stronger. Even on my worst day, God will not let me forget His love. I have literally stopped mid-cry before because I'll hear that whisper, 'I'm with you.' So I trust God to take care of me because I'm going to take care of His people. If I can just reach one person, like Luke15:4-7 , that is my desire every day.

The most powerful advice I received came from my pastors wife Clarice Johnson long before my career even started . She stopped in the middle of worship service and told me, 'the Holy Spirit said to tell you, go home and study the story of Job. It is going to help you understand your life.' I went home and studied Job, and I still read part of Job every single day since then. I'm 55 now, and studying Job has helped me understand my life not just in the natural sense but also spiritually to a magnitude that I now know I was never a weird kid, I was peculiar. I was never the black sheep of my family, God had already predestined to set me apart. That act of obedience from her guidance pushed me towards my destiny in ministry as well as into psychology because I wanted to understand how people can hurt each other and hurt children and say they love God. The most encouraging advice I’ve ever received came from my mom Thedola Poe. I wanted to quit med school because I was constantly being accused of cheating. She sat across the table from me and said, “ Sweet (she called me sweet-n-low) she said you can’t quit because the world needs people like you. If they think you’re cheating offer to take every test in front of faculty and let God show them. So I did.

First and foremost, be obedient to God. Bottom line. You have to live life with integrity if you’re going to claim God then don’t compromise. He says if you love me, you'll keep my commandments. We don't get to pick and choose which commandments to follow based on our comfort or circumstances. You need to give God full ownership of your life, not just the parts you feel you need him in. He wants full ownership, and you have to give Him that unwavering yes. Don't seek the acknowledgement, validation, and praise of man, because the Word of God says if you're seeking that, there you have it, but when you seek God, you get so much more. Learn to start conversations with God in the middle of your brokenness and mess. Show people what it looks like to stand on God's Word by your example, don't just tell them. We are told in Proverbs 22:6 to train up a child and you do this by letting them see you living the word of God because how we live speaks louder than what we say. Go into your prayer closet, stay before God, and trust Him even when you don't have the answers. Remember that we were created to worship Him, and worship strengthens and equips you to spiritually feed other people. God calls us to be a servant to His people. You don't need a big bank account or own a corporation. All you need to have is a willing and submitted heart to Him. And understand that as women in ministry, we have to understand the importance of biblical order as it relates to the church. We must strive to stand on the word of God and maintain biblical order. The Bible speaks of women who ministered to Jesus of their substance. This means what they had they used to take care of him as well as the disciples. So use whatever gifts God has blessed you with be it finance, certain skills or even cooking use it to support the ministry of the gospel. Don't let anyone tell you that a woman has no place in ministry. We’re just as important to the body of Christ. You just have to know the word to understand a woman’s position.

The biggest challenge is that we have too many ministers and pastors who are conditioning people to be comfortable with sin. They stand before congregations and say things that comfort people in their sin and they justify not with scripture by saying things like 'nobody's perfect'. This completely contradicts what Jesus commanded during his sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:48 he says “ Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect”. This is not by man’s definition of perfect but by God’s and to do this we must be Christ like in our hearts as well as our ways. The church has become set on preparing people to go and sin rather than calling them to holiness as God commands in Leviticus 19:2 . They are making people comfortable with sin and justifying their choices by teaching false doctrine and beliefs instead of teaching them repentance. We have complicated the simplest thing, which is to be obedient to the word of God. Another major challenge is that too many ministers believe that a woman has no place in ministry, even though the Bible clearly shows that women ministered to Jesus and the disciples. We also have churches focused on and centered around politics and gossip. Honoring man-made holidays rather than teaching scripture. We don't know how to command our mornings anymore. We're not thankful or grateful for anything because we have egos that are so big. The opportunity is presented with every single person we encounter to simply share God's Word, to teach people Proverbs 3:6, to acknowledge Christ in all their ways so He can direct their paths. People are hungry for the word and seeking the truth and John 14:6 declares Christ is The Truth.

The most important value to me is complete obedience and submission to God in all things. I believe in acknowledging Christ in everything I do whether I'm arguing with my husband, disciplining my children, or counseling clients. We may start in the situation or problem, but we're going to end up in the Word. I value being a proper representative of Christ, which means I carefully use discipline in my actions , the people I hang around as well as my words when I speak and if God gives me a word to speak to someone I don’t alter it I say just how it’s given to me. His name is attached to me so I’m a reflection of Him. I don't seek the acknowledgement, validation, or praise of man because God's Word tells me that if I seek that, there I have it, but when I seek Him, I get so much more. I value being a servant to God's people, which is why I charge only $3 for my services and trust God to take care of me because I take care of His people. I value truth and standing on God's Word without needing to defend it or argue with people who have different opinions, because that case has already been won. I also deeply value humility and gratitude. I'm just a quiet church mouse, and you only hear me because everything else has stood still. I thank God for the hard times and discomfort because I know He is doing something in that season of my life. My professional life and personal life are one in the same. God called me as a whole person he didn’t say I want to use part of you He called All of me and that’s what I committed to Him. So whether I’m ministering, counseling , parenting, being a wife, sister or friend you get the same fearless Woman of God.