Author Spotlight: Teresa Stith

Teresa Stith has been writing since her early 20’s, starting with writing topics for the Sunday School Union and representing her church at Cedar Grove Baptist under the leadership of Pastor Dennis C. Ruffin and the late Dr. Miranda T. Ruffin. She has an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice and currently working to complete her Bachelor’s Degree in the same field. She has a Life Coaching Certificate and those skills have truly been needful in the Department of Corrections where she currently manages Corrections Sergeants, Officers, and close to 1000 offenders at a Correctional Facility in Virginia. She absolutely loves facilitating Learning Teams that directly involve the staff’s input on how to best utilize resources and strategies that will work best to impact and grow the working environment. She has also held the title of Certified General Instructor which has also equipped her and strengthened the “Teacher” inside. She is a proven LEADER in her own rite with her outstanding ability to teach and coach those with whom she encounters. Above this, she LOVES the Lord. She found Christ at an early 19 years old and through hard tests and trials, have maintained her stance in the Lord. Through her own struggles and overcoming obstacles, she has developed a passion for faith. Not sure what she was “stepping out on” in early 2017, Teresa obeyed the voice of the Lord and ultimately birthed “A Faith That Works” which is a faith-based group developed to build people up in the area of their faith currently hosting 9.3k followers. She is author of four books and counting. They are “A Faith That Works, Moving From Seeing To Believing”, “The Real Purpose Behind The Hat, The Broken Leading The Broken”, “Live Like You Know, Embracing Our Freedom In Christ”, and her latest title “STEP, The Day I Told Myself Enough Is Enough”. Her upcoming titles include “Contending For The Faith, 25 Reminders That Will Build Your Faith and Equip Your Mind For The Days Ahead”, “Advancing the Kingdom of God, With Nothing But a Sword”, “Shame on You, Shame on Me, Love in a Fist”, “Love Psalms to God When You’re Single and Waiting”, and “For the Writer in You, What Every First Time Writer Should Know”. Her motto is “faith works WHEN YOU WORK your faith!”

AllisonJanel: How would you describe your SwagHer? What makes Teresa, Teresa? 

Teresa: My Swagher is that I am a “Lifter Upper” of other people’s heads. While I strive to build people up in the area of their faith, I also help people to overcome their fears and discover the confidence and abilities that they have to move themselves forward.   

AllisonJanel: Are there any organizations that you are affiliated with? 

Teresa: Not at the moment. While I am still learning to walk in God’s purpose for my life, my desire is to become more affiliated with organizations that support domestic violence, suicide prevention, mental health awareness, etc.  

AllisonJanel: What has been your greatest accomplishment whilst on your journey to helping others. What do you believe is the most important aspect to being a leader?  

Teresa: My greatest accomplishment is always that feeling that I get when I know that because I have obeyed God’s voice, those whom I have ministered to have left my presence differently from whence they came. They come in one way, but when they leave they have the courage, the boldness, and the faith that they need to accomplish that thing that they have set out to do. When you speak what God tells you to, this is bound to happen. (2) The most important aspect for me, to being a leader is being able to listen. It is very important to hear what a person is not saying to you. When you can do this, your ministry becomes effective. When you can tell a person what he or she has not verbally stated to you, it is then that you have their full attention. 

AllisonJanel: What lead you to become a corrections officer? What would you tell someone that wanted to become a corrections officer? Are you still currently a corrections officer? 

Teresa: Lol (Laugh out loud) It’s amazing that you ask this question. I had absolutely NO PLANS to become a Corrections Officer, as a matter of fact I hated it lol. I was pretty much forced into the position when another position that I held at the facility was losing its contract. I was told at that time, that I could go home or I could lateral transfer into the position. At the time, being a single mother with four young mouths to feed, of course I chose to lateral. All I will say is that when God has a direction for your life, your plans mean nothing. This was the beginning of Him working His plan into my life and I’m so glad that He did. I kicked and screamed and even cried in church because I did not want to be an officer. I will never forget my First Lady (Pastor’s wife) saying that “God said don’t make Him have to do you like they do the horses when they want them to go a certain way, they put a bit and bridle in their mouths”. I finally got myself together and said “okay Lord” I’ll go. (2) Anyone who wants to become an officer, I will tell them that it is the most amazing career. You meet people from all over the world (offenders) with all kinds of backgrounds and YOU have the ability to speak a word, encourage a heart, motivate, inspire, and SAVE a life every single day. You work with amazing staff that challenge you to be your absolute best. One thing that I have learned from others is that everyday you have to challenge yourself to be better than the day before. You won’t always get the “pats on the back” or the “job well dones” and you may be busting your back…but when you go home and you take that uniform off and you realize that today I stopped someone from hanging themselves, or overdosing, or possibly walking off the job, you can say to yourself…Lord I have successfully completed another day that You equipped me to endure. YOU are why I do what I do. (3) I am still currently a Corrections Lieutenant.   

AllisonJanel: What sparked your interest in writing and leadership? 

Teresa: I’ve always been a writer. I grew up not understanding really how to express my feelings to other people, so I learned to write down what I would say if given the opportunity. I felt that writing it down covered all the deep issues that I could not express in words. (2) After I began to understand myself, my pain, my trials, test, and journey…I wanted to prevent as many people as I could from going down the same path of allowing your situations or circumstances to dictate your outcome in life. I realized that being bitter about life would not improve your life, but accepting your life AS IS allows you to find joy in the midst of the trials. I say to any person reading this that regardless of how you started, you will NOT DIE here, but LIVE to declare the works of the Lord. God gives us many promises daily, but we have to be willing to accept His gifts to us.   

AllisonJanel: Were you raised in the church? Did you experience hardship, trials and tribulations in your life, that lead you to GOD? 

Teresa: Yes. My grandparents took myself and siblings to church at a very early age. We sung and sit under the Word often. Of course, being so young, we did not understand much about what was going on. Later on in life when I found myself wanting to take my life, it was that covering that actually SAVED my life! (2) Hardships, trials, and tribulations? These drove me straight to the Lord. I was so young, and ready to check out of here, but God said “NOT YET!” Glorryyy! 

AllisonJanel: What are the names of the books that you have authored? Please provide us with a prelude to your book(s)? What should your readers expect? 

Teresa: (1) A Faith That Works is the first book written (2) and I get down, dirty, and real about my life and how I struggled with faith. Faith just simply was not working for me! Hmph, everything that was happening in my life was confirming that! But just like Peter, when I began to stop looking at my life and why it was so messed up, and put my focus on THE AUTHOR of my life, I began to see my life through His eyes. I began to understand that He was not punishing me, but that He was actually trying to give me hope and a future. He was molding me, equipping me, and shaping me for a destiny that I did not even understand. My, my my. (3) My readers should expect the TRUTH as I keep it all the way REAL. Professional, but real. I tell my readers to “get ready to be broken.” You cannot be healed until you have been broken and put together again by the Lord Himself.    

AllisonJanel: What is your current spiritual life like? Are you involved in any groups in your church? What would you tell someone that is lost and doesn’t know GOD? 

Teresa: My current spiritual life…I love the Lord! I’m always listening for His voice. When I go to sleep at night, I EXPECT to hear Him in my dreams, teaching me or showing me something else about Himself. I’m always reading, or studying, or researching something related to the Word. I just expect God to communicate with me. I KNOW that He loves me and I feel special to Him. I feel personally special to the Lord. I like that feeling. It’s a feeling of assurance that I belong to Him. (2) I attend a small church. While we do not have that many groups…I am involved in a group that my First Lady created and designed geared toward preparing the women in our church for such things as spiritual warfare, and building a deeper spiritual relationship with the Lord. The group is called “The Women of Strength”. (3) I would tell someone that is lost and doesn’t know God how imperative it is that they come to know Him. There’s a peace in knowing Him that surpasses all of our limited understanding. He gives us wisdom to know what His will is for our lives. He erases all fear of what we may think our future holds, and He gives us the assurance that whatever we are faced with in life, He has ALREADY PROVIDED a ram!    

AllisonJanel: Tell us more about your group, a Faith That Works? Do you foresee anything that you would like to add to the group at the end of the year? 

Teresa: In this group, I send inspirational messages of love, hope, and faith geared toward taking the individual’s mind off of their personal struggles and helping them to believe in and focus their attention and hope on someone greater…Someone BIGGER than their problems. This is a Christian based group, however, we welcome all those who chooses to know God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. While we do not force the Lord onto our followers, we do urge them to seek divine fellowship and a personal relationship with Him. (2) There is so much that I would like to see with “A Faith That Works”. I would like to get more deeply involved in the community and maybe even consider becoming a non-profit organization. Not sure if it will happen this year or the next, but I trust that it will all be in God’s timing. 

AllisonJanel: What continues to keep you motivated and moving forward? 

Teresa: Past deliverances. Past deliverances keeps me looking forward to future victories. God just keeps on loving me, providing for me, and making ways out of no way. Watching promises that God has made manifest themselves in my life keeps me believing, trusting, and knowing that His way is the best way.    

AllisonJanel: How do you practice self-care in the midst of the pandemic? 

Teresa: Trusting God while still adhering to and obeying the laws of the land. I am an essential worker so taking the necessary precautions to sanitize and wear personal protective equipment, practicing social distancing, etc. not only protects me, but those in my work environment and the public.    

AllisonJanel: Do you have any virtual upcoming events or projects that you care to share? 

Teresa: I do not. I am hoping to sharpen my skills in the use of virtual technology in the near future.  

AllisonJanel: Have you ever dealt with dark times in your past? If so how did you get past them? 

Teresa: I took them one day at a time. It was hard for me to see pass my circumstances so at one point, I became suicidal. When a person is suicidal, the only world that they know is the one that they are living in. The one that they are living in is not reality at all, except to them. I surrounded myself with people who knew God. Their positivity and their faith gave me hope that one day my own life would change. I began to desire the love, joy, and peace, that they had so I applied myself to know and understand my life, and God’s purpose for creating me.  

AllisonJanel: Is there anything additional that you would like our readers to know? 

Teresa: Support local, new and aspiring Authors. There are some amazing stories that do not get read because some of your local Authors may not have the resources to market and promote their ideas. Invest in them. There were times (and this is still true) that people have looked at me and automatically assumed that I was mean, without ever having a conversation with me. I have been judged by people that did not know me, because of what someone else told them. This has hurt my reputation in so many ways and I had to work extra hard to redeem myself. I redeemed myself by living and conducting myself opposite of what people were hearing and saying. I don’t know why God gave me this face, but I know that it was for a reason and I had to come to accept that, even when I did not want to. In accepting it, I came to realize that there will always be somebody who is not okay with you being who you are. But my advice to you is “be who God created YOU to be!” Be the best you that you need to be FOR YOU! We miss out on the most beautiful relationships with others when we judge them from the outside. When you can FULLY accept who you are regardless of the stares and opinions of mere men…you began to live and lead a FULL life. Peace and blessings to you all.    

Connect with Teresa Stith below.

Business Website: afaiththatworks.com

Instagram: @reeblk_motivated 

Facebook: Afaiththatworks

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teresa-stith-44b97512

Amazon: https://amazon.com/author/teresastith

Email: afaiththatworks@outlook.com