I’ve been in my head since my last post.

Though I owe no one an explanation, I’ve made my intentions known for this blog:

• I need a space to share my thoughts and be able to find them again
• I have things on my heart to share sometimes that feel too “much” to share on Facebook
• Often times I find I can express myself more clearly and confidently by writing out my thoughts

What I don’t know that I’ve made clear, is that I have big feelings and deep convictions.

For most of my life, I’ve {sometimes} unknowingly tried to compartmentalize my faith and my life. People will share their thoughts around me, and if I’m not in an environment where I know people share my same beliefs, I’ll often times bite my tongue and keep my thoughts to myself so as not to rock the boat. I despise confrontation.

For most of my life, too, I’ve struggled with not feeling free to be my truest self- authentic Tiffany. I can honestly say I never try to be someone I’m not, but I do struggle with letting myself be fully known. Can you blame me, though, the way our culture is, especially these days? People can be so quick to shoot down differences in opinions and beliefs, and for someone who already has a hard time speaking up, the effects of that can feel crippling.

I don’t know if it’s an age thing or what, but I’m tired of letting fear stop me from being who I really am. I do have things to say sometimes; I do have strong feelings and personal convictions about certain things. My life is very much driven by my faith- at the core, it’s who I am. It’s taken a lot of time and heart searching (and honestly to some extent it’ll probably take the rest of my life to fully know) but at the core of “Who is Tiffany?”- the answer is simple… I’m a daughter of the King. I’ve made Him Lord of my life. I’ve fallen so in love with Him and who He is that it has, in the most literal sense, changed me. They say the more you get to know someone, the more you start to become like them and pick up some of their mannerisms. I’ve spent time with Jesus- I’m learning more and more daily who He is, on a more intimate level. At the end of my life, the greatest earthly honor (other than it being known that my love for my family is one of the greatest driving forces of my life) would be for someone to say, “Man, she knew Jesus. She loved Him and walked with Him.” What an honor it would be for someone to get even a glimpse of His love through me. Truely- if that’s all anyone has to say of me when I’m gone, that’s enough for me.

You know the only way that’s going to happen, though?

It can only happen if Tiffany “uncages” and gets real.

I started this blog with the intention of not making every post about my faith because I know not everyone agrees with me. While some posts may not be, I’m no longer going to worry about purposely “compartmentalizing”. I may lose some “followers” for that, but that’s okay- I didn’t start this page to gain a following. Truely, you’re free to leave if you want to- I’ll love you no less. But I can’t be me without talking about Him… turns out we’re a package deal.

It’s time for Tiffany to become Uncaged.