Voices

Welcome back to the Solidarity podcast

where we share stories to connect with one another, find comfort in life’s challenges & to celebrate the solidarity that is, being a woman.

I’m excited to be back after my mid-season break!  It’s always nice to take that month off to rejuvenate and to slow down and listen in to what God is saying.  I will be honest, although Christmas was lovely we did not have a great end to our year.  It’s been an extremely tough few weeks.

I know I say in my intro that this podcast is here to help comfort you through life’s challenges and looking back, although I’ve talked about some heavy topics, I don’t think I’ve ever shared as we are actively going through a trial.  That is going to change today because this is something we are experiencing right now that is going to alter our lives pretty drastically.

Before I get into this I want to preface with this: I believe that everyone has the right to body autonomy.  You should have the right to choose what you put into your body without coercion, with full informed consent and without the fear of losing rights should you not choose to utilize something.  There are no ifs, ands or buts about this.  Everyone is responsible for their own body and will be answering to God for how they treated it, what they put into it and that is the end of that story.  That being said, this is my conviction and belief system and I will be not be taking comments or arguments against my religious and moral belief system.  I welcome anyone and everyone into this space, especially if you don’t agree as I believe hearing others out is important, but honestly I am exhausted and tired of justifying my convictions when the opposition is mass confusion & rules that change daily.  Rarely is there civil and kind discourse when this topic is challenged and I’m just not here for it.  This year I have decided that I am done being quiet and that I will not lower my voice to make people comfortable anymore.  I tend to not challenge this in public spaces because I don’t want to offend, but now that this is directly impacting my family and our freedom, I can’t not speak up.

I’m not going to get into the specifics of what I’m exactly talking about because censorship is extremely real and rampant and well, the fear of information that contradicts the highly profiting narrative is a mountain I’m not willing to come up against today.  There is so much information out there, if you go looking, you’ll find it, I don’t need to give it to you as well.  We all know what I’m talking about here.

Rather today, I want to talk about the importance of using our voices now.

The last almost two years have been rough.  I have felt the tension in every part of my body.  I have had my belief system challenged in every way and I have been under attack for opposing the popular, time and time again.  I have lost friends and family.  Behind closed doors, I could argue all day long.  I have the information and the knowledge, but I don’t speak up anymore.  I’m tired.  If you’re not convinced that everything is part of a bigger agenda at this point, I’m not going to be able to convince you.  I’ve lowered my voice over the years because every time I’ve opened my mouth I’ve been beaten down and I’m wore out.  I’ve learned you can’t have a debate when the opposing side simply does not have respect for you as a person and chooses to ignore the possibility that they might be wrong.  So I’ve stopped. And I’ve felt a lot of guilt about that, especially when it comes to being a mother.

This week, we found out that Dustin will most likely be losing his job due to unjust rules that are trying to be enforced, in fact by the time this episode airs, he may have already been fired.  We’ll see, it’s kind of up in the air until the Supreme Court makes their decision. I am afraid to even say that out loud because then that means people know where we stand (if you already didn’t) and honestly, we’re living in a society where half way across the earth, people are being murdered and locked up for refusing to comply.  Across the country, things are heading that direction with detention centers.  It’s terrifying.  I want to keep a low profile and I don’t want to share this information.  But, as an avid reader and someone who has studied the 20th century, a bit obsessively, I know that by not speaking and staying silent, I am actually not helping our case and contributing to the true pandemic— which is, control.  Plus, most people that know me know that I am a Christian who stands for truth and I don’t mess around when it comes to my health, body autonomy, informed consent and abortion.  If you don’t understand how that all connects when it comes to what we’re talking about, you need to dig a little deeper and go to sources that aren’t benefiting monetarily from your participation in said science experiment.  And ya know- that sentence is really hard to say because I know my Christian friends who do not agree with me, that’s going to make them squirm.  And I promise this is not a personal attack on anyone.  I believe that the majority of us have fallen into a huge web of lies and control that Satan has spun quite impressively.

I know that God is bigger than all of this and stronger and that He can provide healing and restoration and forgiveness to anyone and everyone and I am thankful for that.

But I am no longer able to stay silent.

Now we are messing with body autonomy.

Now we are denying people the right to practice their religious beliefs.

Now we are denying people basic human rights such a food and shelter by not allowing them to work and lose their livelihoods.

Now we are messing with our children- my child.

I will not be controlled by fear- and by that- I mean I will not be controlled by the fear and manipulation of losing rights that aren’t the government’s to take.

I will not be controlled by the fear of being exiled out of my community and out of society for speaking out against the unpopular opinion.

I’m not just going to shut up and be quiet so that people don’t continue to lose things that they want to keep because they’re too afraid to stand up and speak out and go against the narrative. 

I will not be controlled by the fear perpetuated by the media.

I will not be controlled by anyone, but let by God alone.

And I am sharing this because I know there are millions of others who are in this same boat right now who are afraid.  You are being silenced.  You are being made to feel like you are in the small majority.  So I’m here to tell you that actually, you are not and the voices that are being heard right now are just the loud minority.

It can be hard to feel confused and frustrated, especially in the Christian space- which has become incredibly skewed and is confusing within itself because the rules change on the daily and it seems like trust in the Lord is becoming less and less a priority every day.  It can be hard when you don’t understand why you’re even being pushed out of what should be a safe space like that, so I understand if there is hurt there.

So I want to encourage you, you’re not alone.

You are not crazy.

You are not selfish.

You are not dangerous.

You are not perpetuating and spreading mis-information.

You are not killing people.

You are not idiotic.

We’re going to replace those words that have been spoken over us time and time again these last few years. 

You are loved.

You are seen.

You are heard.

You are a child of God and this war that we are literally walking through right now- you are surrounded by angels and Satan is not allowed to touch you.

You are not alone.

I know you’re exhausted and some days you just want to give up and just give in.

I know it would be so much easier to just say “screw it” and throw your hands up and hope for the best.

But keep holding the line.

Keep standing strong in your convictions.

Keep your eyes on God- the author and perfecter of our faith.

Your joy comes from the Lord.

Your strength comes from Him.

I don’t care if I was literally proved wrong in every single way, on every single conviction, when I stand before the Lord all that is going to matter is that I obeyed Him and there is nothing that anyone could take away from me here on this Earth, including my life, that is more important than that.  This season of life has been the ultimate test of my faith and I have experienced emotional, spiritual and physical warfare in extremely intense ways, but God has been faithful as He always is.  Even when my faith is lacking, He feeds my soul and reminds me that He is fighting for me.

And He is fighting for you too.

As women, and specifically in my case, as a mother, it seems that we are often times afraid to speak up.

To family.

To friends.

To random strangers on the Internet who feel like they are entitled to an opinion about our lives.

Ya know, the list goes on.

We are told to sit down and shut up.

We are encouraged by other women to use our voices.. yet it’s often women who tell us to be quiet when they don’t want to be challenged or forced to think deeper than the headlines & paid-for studies they’ve adopted as truth.

And I just want to make it really clear right now, so that there’s zero confusion, right now everything that I am saying I’m not telling the other side to “sit down and shut up”, I want to hear what you have to say.  But that’s the problem, I’m not hearing you, I’m just hearing regurgitated information- that’s what I’m saying here.

They tell us..

We don’t know what we’re talking about.

We didn’t say it right.

We’re spreading “dangerous misinformation” - whatever the heck that means as it seems to change from day to day and from social climate to climate.

Seriously, read the headlines now, it’s all the stuff we’ve been saying for the last two years.

I am tired of mothers being silenced because of the fear of retaliation.

Our kids are watching us, by the way.

They’re watching how we treat others who speak up & they’re watching how we speak up ourselves.

How we use our voices molds the way that they see if they can use theirs or not.

So maybe you aren’t actively defending your child and being “their voice” everyday, but how you interact with others and speak up for yourself- that is protecting their voice by showing them how to have one.

How are we being examples of humility?

Are we being humble in our speech?

Are we putting our pride down and actively pursuing learning?

Are we putting compassion & empathy first and being there for those around us?

Are we modeling active & intentional listening?

Friends, knowing how to keep your mouth closed & listening is just as important as knowing how to open it.  Because silence and active listening sometimes speaks louder than any words that we could formulate.

In the same way are we modeling respect for other’s voices? The same respect we want?

Like that’s all we want- mutual respect.

Are we seeking God’s voice to flow through us?

We will be held accountable for everything we say and do, so do not feel like it’s your personal mission to question everyone around you & censor them- even when it personally effects you. God’s fighting for you & he says that vengeance is His, so who are we to scold & discipline?  This a line that is hard to walk because it is hard to demand space for your voice, respect for your voice and make space for other voices- even when they may not echo your sentiments.

But reality is? Life has natural consequences. 

Everything we do and say will have a natural consequence whether good or bad.

So whether or not you agree with what’s done or said you can be assured that it will result in some kind of natural consequence whether you get to see it happen or not.

God sees and He hears.

We had the right to free speech.  That should not be taken away to prevent things we don’t agree with from possibly happening.  Although it is.

And I say that because where’s the line?

Who gets to decide which political voice is “right” vs “wrong”?

What is the moral compass?

And honestly right now I’m going to tell you, it’s the highest bidder.

No one person or group should have that much power.

That is why we’re mad about censorship.

I will always respect the right to think & say something, whether I think it’s right or wrong. Who am I to take someone’s voice?

I’m going to wrap this up, because I think you get my point but I want to share with you one more thing.  A battle cry of sorts.  When I sat down to write this episode I went back to episode ideas I had earlier this year.  I found a poem that I wrote about fighting for my son and I want to share it with you because I think you will be encouraged.  As someone who has been extremely saddened by what I am having to experience and knowing full well it’s going to be even worse for my kids, I’ve had to really lean into God for strength and be reminded that nothing happens without Him allowing it to and that even though this doesn’t make sense to me now, the battle has already been won and it doesn’t look too good for the other side.  So I have to stay strong and I have to keep going and I have to keep using my voice when God gives me permission.  I really hope you’ll hear this and use it as your own battle cry to combat all of the loud and the confusion when you feel weak and frustrated and unsure of how to support your kids through all of this.

To my love..

I am your voice until you can use yours.

I will stand for your right to use it.

I will also stand for your right not to use it.

I will stand for your right to protect your energy and to be present with your family.

I will stand for your right to speak up when God gives you permission to speak and the words to do so.

I will arm you with truth.

I will teach you discernment.

I will teach you where your worth comes from so when they tear you down for not doing things how they want you to, you won’t break.

I will teach you empathy so that you can understand and hold space for those who just need to cry and feel heard.

I will teach you to love without abandon, so that you can lead.

I will teach you so that you can do better.

Thank you so much for listening in this week.  If you made it this far and you disagree, you’re a gem, truly.  I truly appreciate you hearing me out.  This second half of season two is going to be a good one, I’m going to be changing it up with a few more guests and interviews and I really want to highlight and talk about the things you’re going through right now so DM me on Instagram- @riley_quin or shoot me an email riley@rileyq.com and let me know what you’re going through and if there is a specific topic you want me to talk about and if I haven’t experienced it, I’ll find someone who has to come and chat with us.  If you want to share your story, check out my website rileyq.com and under the “Connect” tab click “Tell your story” and submit it either for right here on the podcast or I can share it on Instagram- even anonymously!  I just really want to get back to why I created this space, which is to share our experiences and our stories to find solidarity, even in the hardship because like I reminded you today, you are not alone. Someone has always walked before you and someone is always walking beside you and behind you so we must share.  We are not meant to live in isolation.

I’d love to have you on my monthly “Coffee Dates” email list, you can sign up on my website or click the link below.  You can follow me on Instagram @riley_quin and check out my new account @furtherandfree as I am relaunching my virtual assistant business to help women further their businesses and creative endeavors by taking tasks off their plates and freeing up their time to work on their God-given gifts!  If you know of someone who is looking to hire a bit of help, please send them my way, it would mean the world, especially in the midst of the situation we’re going through with Dustin’s job.  If you are also dealing with getting fired or discrimination based on your religious and medical choices, I am here for you and my DM’s are always open to chat.    If you feel called to, please share with a woman who you know needs to be strengthened and encouraged. It would mean the world to me if you’d leave a podcast review on Apple podcasts and let me know your favorite part of this week’s episode. Thanks again & be sure to subscribe and we’ll meet back here next Wednesday for a new episode.

As always, I’m so glad you’re here. You’re wanted, needed and loved. I see you, I hear you and you my love, by the grace of God, you are enough.

xoxo - Ry