"..lies the seed that in the sun's love in the spring becomes the rose."

There’s no script for it.

The Next Step is about each person who comes. 

It is the same and it is different.

It is about me and it is about you.

It is about connection to God, myself and others.

It is about building

                              a bridge

                                      of love. 

It is about finding the gift in others and sharing it with them.

It is about community,

                  tears,

                               laughter,

                                           heart moments,

                                                                                                           small changes,

                                             big revelations.

It is about refocusing, forgiving, releasing, deep knowing, renewal, loss and rebuilding.

It is about the movement of a song played with compassion and anger.  It is about a song sung with dedication and love.

It is about a word shared.  “I saw what real listening looks like.”

It is about soul-searching times of throwing baggage away and allowing forgiveness to wash the soul clean.

It is about play, a ridiculous story trilfripping along; times to strut and shuffle.

It is about the discovery of who I am.  It is about my dreams and the acknowledgement of first steps towards those dreams.

It is about Be.  Do.  Have.

It is about gut-wrenching, soul-cleansing, uninhibited hours of togetherness.  It is about a time of becoming better, closer, more grounded.  

It is about gratitude

                                      and

                                         transformation.

It about me and you making choices about what we want from life, from today, from tomorrow.  It is about Compassion. Commitment.  Connection.

It is about remembering

                                       and

                                           re-membering.

 This and more is The Next Step.

Teresa Shields Parker

Teresa Shields Parker is a Christian weight loss author, coach, podcaster, and speaker, who has lost 250 pounds and kept it off since 2013. Her books include: “Reconnecting Jayne: Her Sister’s Support,” “Rebuilding Jayne: Her Father’s Protection,”  “Sweet Grace: How I Lost 250 Pounds and Stopped Trying to Earn God’s Favor,” “Sweet Grace Study Guide,”  “Sweet Victory: Winning the Battle,” “Sweet Surrender: Breaking Strongholds,” “Sweet Journey to Transformation: Practical Steps to Lose Weight and Live Healthy”, “Sweet Freedom: Losing Weight and Keeping It Off With God’s Help,” “Sweet Freedom Study Guide,” “Sweet Change: True Stories of Transformation,” “Sweet Hunger: Developing an Appetite for God,” and “Sweet Excuses: Stop Lying to Yourself & Start Losing Weight.” She also offers Overcomers Christian Weight Loss Academy and VIP intensive coaching. Don’t miss her weekly podcast, Sweet Grace for Your Journey, where she shares tips from her personal journey of losing weight and discovering healthy living. Contact her at [email protected].