Christian singer and songwriter Tasha Layton is including one thing new to her repertoire – she’s now a first-time writer too.
Her new e book is titled Look What You have Achieved, which can also be the title of her wildly well-liked single. Layton sat down with CBN Information’ Studio 5 through the Virginia cease of her tour with TobyMac. She shared life tales from the pages of her new e book. And she or he shared tales from her busy day-to-day schedule.
“We’re busy bees. It has been a really full season of life. A whole lot of exhibits I believe I did 150-something exhibits final 12 months. You already know, being a spouse and a mother and having a husband who excursions too. You already know, it is advanced. I like to explain it like a 3,000-piece puzzle the place all of the items look the identical and so they’re all the identical coloration, and your job is to place it collectively each single day by 8 a.m. It is loopy, in order that’s a little bit of our life. We toured so much final 12 months and we’re doing it as a household now. Now we have our two littles with us… and that has been a candy season and in addition laborious. It is laborious, but it surely’s price it,” she continued.
Household is essential to Tasha. She usually excursions in an RV, simply so everybody can tag alongside for the musical journey.
“It is a big RV that may sleep 8 individuals and we’ve got it slam-packed some weekends. However it’s been enjoyable. I imply, I’ve had a studying curve with the RV. What host goes to what and do not combine them up you recognize. And you recognize the generator went out, what will we do? What will we do with this? What will we do with that? It has been a studying curve. It has been enjoyable,” she advised CBN Information.
Tasha managed to jot down the brand new memoir whereas touring and nonetheless being a spouse and mom. She shared why this e book was so vital for her to jot down and extra vital for individuals to learn.
“Nicely, curiously sufficient, plenty of the content material on this e book I wrote years in the past, earlier than I even had youngsters, I had began to jot down down tales. I felt like I had lived in 10 lives. So, I began to jot down down tales the place there was possibly an attention-grabbing factor about my life, however one thing that God had proven me throughout that season. And I simply began to jot down them down so I would not neglect. After which over time, that grew into 40 some thousand phrases. And I used to be like, okay, possibly there’s one thing to this. That is when final 12 months we type of pieced all that collectively in a method that was accessible for the reader. I like it as a result of it is quick chapters which you could decide up and put again down, and somewhat little bit of my life meets psychology, meets scripture. It is type of like a memoir meets devotional,” Tasha continued.
“I believe with how susceptible I used to be within the e book, I actually tried to only say issues I believed would assist individuals. I believe if you find yourself totally sincere about your story, that is the factor that actually helps individuals. That’s what helps individuals know I am not loopy, and I am not alone. So, I actually did get susceptible within the e book, and after I went again to file the audiobook,” she continued.
“I went residence the primary day, and I used to be simply fried, I used to be mush. I advised my husband, I stated, ‘It is one factor to jot down about one thing on paper. It is one other to learn it aloud or should reread it and never get choked up, or not, you recognize. Simply should take a break.’ There have been moments I did should take a break as a result of I believe I emotionally relived plenty of that alongside the best way.”
There may be additionally a message within the e book’s subtitle, which reads, “The Lies We Consider and the Fact that Units Us Free.”
“Yeah, I believe one of many largest lies that I believed began as a baby. I used to be seeing issues by that lens as an grownup and did not even notice it was. I’ve to show to the world that I’m good. It stemmed from a nightmare I had after I was 5 – 6 years previous, and I used to be sitting on a counselor’s sofa in Colorado at 30 years previous.”
“I had by no means shared that dream with anybody. As I shared it, I believed it was simply going to be some insignificant factor that’s regular for a kid to expertise or no matter. Little did I do know as I shared that dream the tears began to move as a result of I spotted I took a message from that early on. I’ve spent my life attempting to guard myself and show to the world that I am good. It was exhausting, and after I shared it I believed, ‘Oh my gosh, like, I did not know the ability this had over my life.’ The enemy acquired a hook in me from a younger age that that prompted me to consider that.”
“An enemy shouldn’t be robust sufficient to take us out. We’re made within the picture of God. However, if he can get us to consider a lie, we’ll simply self-destruct, and so that is what I used to be doing. I used to be self-destructing and attempting to show to myself, God, others, that I used to be good, and it took me re-imagining that state of affairs and asking God the place he was in that second and telling him how I felt. Then permitting the area for Him to talk again to me. That was what supplied true freedom as a result of I have been to counseling, I studied psychology group within the church, knew the Bible, however there have been issues about my story that I actually wanted to listen to straight from the horse’s mouth. I wanted to listen to Jesus say, You might be worthy, you might be good, you might be harmless, you might be pure. After I heard these phrases over my life straight from Him – that is after I simply felt so free. And I felt free ever since. From these lies when He got here in and broke them. He broke them. He changed them with fact and set me free. There actually is one thing to ‘you shall know the reality and the reality will set you free.’ There’s something to be stated of listening to fact straight from Fact as a result of He’s the best way, the reality and the life. So, if you hear it straight from Him, man, it is highly effective,” she advised CBN Information.
The lies took Tasha to some fairly darkish low factors in her life.
“I share within the e book about attempting to take my life and I share particulars within the e book that I do not usually share after I talk about that topic. And, you recognize, after I tried to do this and after I was experiencing these feelings, I’ve to say I nonetheless did not know the reality. A failed suicide try that was a lowest of low, but it surely did not free me. The truth that I used to be nonetheless dwelling, the truth that it did not work, the truth that somebody walked in, it didn’t free me. I nonetheless needed to expertise freedom later in life now. That lowest of low did shock me sufficient to trigger me to alter my trajectory.”
“I positively wanted to listen to fact. And it wasn’t till my 30s that I heard that fact. I believe I had needed to be happy my entire life. It wasn’t till 30 years previous sitting on that sofa that I talked about that I truly felt free. And I really feel just like the freest particular person. I do know now as a result of that course of that I used to undergo stuff previously, I nonetheless use right now. Like after I expertise one thing hurtful now, ‘Like God, the place are you within the room proper now? What do you need to say to me? As a result of that is what I am feeling, and I want to listen to your fact over this case as an alternative of the lie that I am taking from my expertise proper now,'” she stated.
Tasha hopes these low factors in her life will encourage others going by comparable struggles.
“I believe if you find yourself sincere about the place you are truly feeling and what goes by your thoughts, it is humorous. Like, I had a professor in seminary, he was a psychotherapist and a pastor as effectively, and he stated, ‘You already know, if we will hear different individuals’s ideas and the way evil they are often at instances, we would not really feel so unhealthy about, you recognize, the guilt and disgrace we really feel from what we expect and what we really feel.’ If you hear somebody’s story, when it is an sincere account, after they do not maintain again, man, it makes you are feeling seen,” she continued.
CBN Information Studio 5 anchor Efrem Graham requested Layton, “There is a line within the e book that I like. I need to learn to you, and it says, ‘As I grew and healed and as God ripped up the lies that had as soon as been written on my coronary heart, my voice grew stronger.’ Are you able to simply discuss that?”
“A second after I was believing lies in life, I used to be presenting to the world a self I believed may not be. Rejected or a false sense of self that who wasn’t actually me – it wasn’t actually me. It was who I believed I ought to be. …I believe after I skilled God’s fact changing the lies in my life, I felt his love in a method that I had by no means felt earlier than. I knew that He beloved me. I knew that He adored me. He adored my singing voice. He beloved after I worshiped Him after I led worship, all of the issues that had been in my coronary heart to do. I felt a freedom to do like by no means earlier than as a result of I knew how God felt about me. And that actually modified how I began treating different individuals too as a result of when you know the way a lot God loves you, then you definitely begin to acknowledge how a lot He loves different individuals. I used to be actually smiling at strangers in airports, like simply going up and telling them fantastic issues about them. I like your high. I like your smile. Present up. I used to be simply so complimentary as a result of I beloved individuals in a method that I did not be happy to like them earlier than as a result of I began loving myself.”
“So, when that change occurred, I wasn’t attempting to imitate every other singer. I wasn’t attempting to have a voice that I believed individuals needed me to have, or the voice I believed I ought to should be robust sufficient to bleed out or no matter. I actually felt so true to myself. My voice modified. For those who return and take heed to recordings of me, you recognize, 10 years in the past versus now, it is a utterly completely different particular person as a result of I am completely different.”
“When individuals take heed to you or get what you are creating artistically, they don’t seem to be getting simply your reward. They’re getting who you might be. Even on a religious degree, individuals are getting who I’m. So, when that particular person modified, the whole lot about what I did modified. I used to be prepared to sing, what I used to be prepared to jot down in a e book, what I used to be prepared to attempt with songwriting, the whole lot about me modified. I’m actually dwelling proof, proper right here sitting on this chair, of how a lot God can take an individual and switch it round and somebody who believed a method completely. Now I consider the exact opposite. It is simply it is mind-boggling to me,” she advised CBN Information.
Tasha’s strategy to sharing her journey contains scripture references and reflection questions.
“You already know, scripture says we’ll overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and the phrase of our testimony. I believe it’s important to know Christ. You need to know the Blood of the Lamb. You need to know the Phrase of God. You additionally should expertise your testimony. You need to share your testimony. You need to hear different individuals’s testimonies. I believe that mixture of testimony and Phrase, I believe, is vital to assist individuals see it is a sensible software of scripture in our lives as a result of the Phrase of God is so highly effective. It could possibly it says it is a double-edged sword, you recognize, and it is so sharp. I believe if you embrace scripture with testimony, it’s highly effective and will be life-changing for individuals to see. That was my hope with the e book. I do not need to simply share my story as a result of that alone would not really feel prefer it’s highly effective sufficient to alter anybody or supply any type of energy to alter for them. Nevertheless, if I share that testimony and Phrase, that is the place I believe the ability comes,” she continued.
“What I like concerning the questions I believe that, you recognize, having a relationship with anybody it’s important to converse and also you additionally should hear. If I am wanting anybody to have a relationship with God or for his or her relationship with God to be strengthened by studying this e book; I would like them to inform what they’re feeling, however I additionally need them to provide Him area to talk. And the questions on the finish I considered them for a very long time. I believe that if individuals do them, it could trigger the type of self-reflection that may actually encourage change. One factor I find out about educating, like if you research tips on how to train somebody one thing, it is vital after they’re a web page of one thing, they’re learning. The empty area is simply as vital as what’s written on the web page. You need to middle in a method the place they’re taking in, but in addition respiratory or like a life, a coronary heart monitor, you recognize, it is acquired to go up and down. You simply cannot have this entire method otherwise you’re lifeless. There’s acquired to be some stability. I believe the questions on the finish are solemn moments the place individuals can absorb what they’ve heard, enable some area to be nonetheless, and know that He’s God and to share their very own expertise with God or with different individuals. Then give that area to God to talk to them about it. I believe that is the place actual change can happen,” she advised CBN Information.
With all that Tasha has completed, she has a message for her youthful self.
“If I might return and speak to little Tasha, I’d inform her to not be scared. Don’t be concerned a lot about what different individuals assume. Be daring, be brave, have the concern of God, and never the concern of man. That is what I’d say.”
Tasha Layton’s e book Look What You have Achieved: The Lies We Consider and the Fact that Units Us Free is offered now wherever books are offered.
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