Sitting Down With Tessa

In this light-heart/very real episode, I want to talk candidly about my own motherhood journey right now and reveal some of the things that I have been struggling with as a mom. In this episode, I want you to feel empowered to know that you're not alone, and that your struggles are VERY REAL. But I also want to create an urgency to accountability in your parenting as well. That phrase, "it takes a village" didn't get birthed out of a bunch of women doing motherhood alone! It was created out of a need, a very REAL need! We need community in motherhood, but we also need accountability. "Parenting" isn't a special talent that only a select few get, it's a skill that we must acquire and equip ourselves in. We need to sharpen ourselves against the "greats" that have come before us and the ones that are in the thick of it with us. We need to understand that we will never be "perfect parents" and that's ok! We have been given specific authority and ownership over our children for a very specific reason, now it's time to learn how we can partner with the Father to raise them up in the way they should go!

In this episode, I want to speak directly to all the hearts of moms. There is such a desire in today's society to be "more" than we are right now, to be more than the title that we hold at work or as a stay-at-home-mom. And my desire in and through this episode is to challenge your hearts, to ask all of you if where you're at, you're at because the Lord told you to be there or because you felt the "need" to be there out of obligation or expectation. This episode is meant to create a space amidst the ongoing noise of social media and comparison to give you the permission to check in with the Father's heart for your life; it's a reminder that the Father wants to have a say in what you're doing if you'll allow Him. Through this message I hope to inspire some of you to either step out in a big way or step back. Maybe you've taken on too much and the Lord's calling you to let somethings go, or maybe it's time for you to step into something new and the Father wants you to feel the permission to do that. This message isn't meant to condemn or shame any mom for doing what they're doing; whether working or stay at home, but rather it's an invitation to discern the calling on your life more freely and openly and to know the that you are more than enough!

In this incredibly raw, and emotional episode I take my previous podcast to a WHOLE new level. I'm calling this one the "sequel" to episode 14 and you'll understand why once you've listened all the way through. "How Big Is Your Faith" is a behind the scenes look into our season of financial struggle and the revelation that God see's you through it all and wants to even bless your smallest hearts desire. This truly is a tale of how God has become that much more tangible in my life by reminding me of His faithfulness even when I seemed to lack my simple faith in Him. I hope that this episode uncovers God's truest desires for you; in that He loves to show you His undeserved love for you in even the smallest of ways. So this week, I want you to ask yourself....how big is my faith? Because chances are, He wants to make it that much bigger!

In this weeks episode I am sharing on a VERY vulnerable topic...MONEY. I hate that money isn't something that we talk about more but I feel like it's time to divulge the misconception that your success is reliant on your finances. In this very honest episode I open up about our current financial situation and how this season of having very little has opened up our eyes to the fact that we've been giving money so much power. I want people to listen to this message and hear that just because they don't see the number they want in their bank account doesn't mean that God doesn't care about your dreams or that He's holding you back from them. In fact, this might be a time that He's calling you to a more steadfast and reliant faith on who He is and who He says YOU are as well. He has so much more in store for you than just money, and your riches aren't the definition of who you are or what you're to become. He can take the least of things and turn them into the most abundant of things. Let this message of hope give you the faith you need to keep trusting in the Father with your future and your finances.

In this week’s episode I wanted to talk about something that many of us bustling “momprenuers” and influencers think about on the daily…growing our Instagram numbers. After taking a much needed hiatus from Instagram for about 3 months and watching my Instagram following plummet, I decided to make my entrance back onto the social media market that had stolen so much of my joy in the months prior. And what I implored next, literally shocked me when it came to watching my numbers explode. I had done next to nothing strategy wise but yet I was seeing a huge increase in my numbers. What was so different about what I was doing before and what I was doing now? Check out today's episode to find out!

In this rather packed full episode I wanted to get intentionally deep with you guys. And I wanted to take you on my own journey of discovering what it is the Father has designed me for so that you too can begin to discover and uncover the thing in your life that you were designed to do. This is not a magical equation you plug into your computer or phone, but one that will take you deeper into an understanding of self and I'm sure that this understanding will begin to unlock doors to your world you didn't even know existed; it will take you into a place of your life that up until this point you doubted could ever play a leading part in your life. Give the next 20 minutes of your day over to listening to this episode, and I promise you will not be disappointed. I pray that through it God speaks in and through you to unlock your God-given destiny.

This is a very special episode because I break down one of my most recent blog posts and put it into audio format. "Striving To Thrive" comes from a very deeply rooted place in my heart, where I've believed I need to "do, do, do" in order to receive or "be seen" as worthy and acceptable in the eyes of others AND the Father. In this podcast, I want to take the "Martha's" on a quest to truly understand where their worth and truth comes from instead of what they can do to gain their worth and truth. I want to unveil my own struggles with "doing" and reveal how the Father has been working to show me HIS perspective of me. If you find yourself striving/doing/looking for ways to be productive, then this episode is for you! I hope that through this, you can be encouraged with just BEING who God made you to be and to know that you don't have to do anything for the Father to love you anymore. You are enough, because He paid the price for you so that you don't have to. You are His complete mission here and He wants to use the unique gifting that He's put specifically inside of you.

Yay!! Guy and I could not be more excited to announce that we are expecting our fourth baby! The last 14 weeks have been long and tiring to say the least but we could not be more excited and grateful for this precious life. I wanted to do a little bit different style of a podcast and open up the "floor" to some questions pertaining to this pregnancy. So this episode is me answering all of your questions and talking more in depth about what this pregnancy has been like, what you can expect, and MORE. I hope you will join me over on Instagram (@tessaannkirby) and the blog (www.tessakirby.com) where you can stay up to date with our week to week progress among other things! As always, thank you for tuning in and I hope you come back next Monday for a new episode of "Sitting Down With Tessa."

In this episode I open up about our first week of kindergarten and what that looked like for me and our family, along with some of the fears, insecurities, and doubts that came along with it. This episode is all about being vulnerable, as well as, dealing with the feelings that come when you just want to "fit in" and "belong." I'll also be diving into what it's been like to experience the opposite of those feelings, being the fear of not fitting in and not belonging. In this very real episode I walk through realizing the root issue of my insecurities, as well as, how I feel God is preparing me to walk through this next season of motherhood. Join me this week, as I expose some deep, hidden truths I have believed about myself and hopefully along the way you too can experience freedom and redemption from some of your own inner conflicts.

In this episode of "Sitting Down With Tessa," I wanted to touch base on a topic that is rather cliche in the Instagram world, but one that is defining and redefining an entire generation. That's right, I'm talking all about follower count on today's episode. In this very real chat I expose my obsession with "my number" and how the constant battle to please others created a "never enough" mentality. No matter how hard I reached, or how far I'd stretch to get to where I wanted my follower count to be I was never satisfied. I hope this message speaks to the hearts of those that feel this tension in their own lives and perhaps it will maybe even give you the permission to stop worrying and start living.

In this "off the script" episode, I wanted to talk more candidly about what life looks like behind the scenes (BTS) as a blogger and full time mother. So often we get caught up in this lie that other peoples lives are as perfect as their instagram feeds and that is just not the truth. There is so much more than meets the eye and I wanted to "go there" with you al; To "pull the veil" off my perfectly curated Instagram life and start talking about what actually happens everyday. This refreshing and truthful episode is more about learning to love one another in all of our differences and less about how we can be the next "instagram sensation." I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed sharing my perfectly imperfect unfiltered stories with you.

This is an insanely special episode for so many reasons but mainly because I get to talk more about my two favorite things 1. hearing God's voice and 2. Joanna Gaines. Ok, ok...all jokes aside. In this episode I share about the time I received a personal letter from Joanna Gaines and how God used her to help me start this very blog. Learning to listen to God's voice has been an incredibly hard journey but one that has pushed me outside of my comfort zone to fully trust that He has my best interest at heart. I hope this episode challenges you to rethink how the Father speaks to you and gives you the affirmation you needed to go after the promptings of your heart.

In this very special episode, I invite my very first guest on the show to talk about the importance of using social media to empower women to walk about their calling. My friend Blake Guichet, powerhouse instagramer and talented website and brand designer of Magnolia Ink is here to talk about why she felt called to use social media as a means to influence women. In this comedic and fun interview, Blake talks candidly about the struggles of being a women and mother in todays society and the importance of being connected with women that relate with you. I promise you don't want to miss this incredibly special episode, filled with so much truth and inspiration. And if you haven't already, be sure to follow Blake over on Instagram (@thegirlnamedblake) and check out website: www.magnolia-ink.com.

This episode is packed full of vulnerable moments about life before marriage, sex, failures, misconceptions, and unbelief. In this message, Tessa bears all from her life before marriage to the many struggles her and her husband faced as young newlyweds and soon to be parents. Tessa pushes the envelope with this message on what it means to not let your past dictate your future, you don't want to miss out!

In this episode, Tessa breaks down the harsh reality of internet influencers; are they influencing based on what’s most popular or are they influencing to create change and inflict positivity in the hearts of their followers. The truth and self awareness that Tessa brings to this topic challenges all influencers to take a look at their motives and ask themselves if they’re influence is seeking what’s most accepted or what’s most life changing.

In this episode, we will continue to unpack this topic of why we feel the need to so easily count ourselves out from running the race that only we were created to run. We will look at the different reasons WHY things like social media have this ability to create comparison between those that are running their course and our own. And most importantly we will look at YOU and why YOU and only YOU were created uniquely, with a very special purpose and it is through you that God wants to do a great work. His desire for you to live your BEST life runs deeper than you can imagine, now let’s figure out together how we can partner with HIM to do just that.

In this episode we are unpacking this idea that we need to embellish on our God given identity to fit into this unforeseen mold that grants our life perfect or imperfect based upon what we do or don’t do. We will dive into the importance of community and connection in accordance to how God created us, as well as, our deep need for affirmation.