#sistersofinfluence: Teresa Robison

Well friends, today I get to introduce you to quite a gem. :) Teresa Robison and I have been friends since high school. We are such kindred spirits, and we jokingly like to refer to ourselves as the same person. Our personalities are so similar, and we have many of the same struggles. Teresa is an amazing woman. She is kind, thoughtful, and one of the best listeners you'll ever meet. She is funny and hard working. She and her husband serve others and give so much. I want to be like her when I grow up. :) I know that what you read today will encourage and strengthen you.

I like to call them Ken and Barbie. I mean, look at those faces.

Tell us about yourself. Who are you?

Hello cyber world! I live in Rome, GA with my super incredible and fantastically attractive husband. I grew up in the suburbs of Kennesaw and Marietta and moved to Rome, Georgia for college. I graduated from Berry College and then went back to school to get my Paralegal certificate. I absolutely love Mexican food and anything pumpkin, maybe not pumpkin Mexican food though....I love Big Bang Theory and HGTV binge-watching. My husband and I are actively involved in our church here in Rome and try and get our hands in anything and everything we can. We love going to new places together.

How did you come to know the Lord?

When I was twelve years old, I was a part of the G.A.s at my church (Girls in Action). My mom was one of our leaders and teachers. On one of our weekly Wednesday night meetings, my mom presented the gospel in such a way that made me yearn for a relationship with Christ. That night when we got home, I asked my mom to go over everything again and pray with me to ask Jesus to forgive me of my sins and that I was going to follow him the best way I knew how from that day forward. For the next several years I continued on with what I knew to be the "right" way to do things and continued to be a part of my church and youth group activities, almost as if I was going through the motions. It wasn't until my sophomore year of college that I realized what a relationship with God was all about. My world was rocked with sickness, surgeries, heartbreaks, depression, a college major I despised, and I kept trying so hard to do it on my own. That time in my life is when I TRULY relied on the Lord to get me through. When everything else was out of control and I felt so alone, the Lord sweetly whispered, he was there with me and I didn't have to have it figured out! Life changing time for me. Control is a huge issue I have and when you feel out of it (control) you realize you never really had it in the first place. I was making myself exhausted trying when all I had to do was surrender.

What do you think it means to be a woman of influence right where you are?

For me, in my relationship with my husband, a woman of influence, OH MAN. Marriage is a mirror. I've learned so much about myself, and frankly not good things. I am so selfish, I am whiny, I get hangry, I like things done on my time, this list goes on. My husband, he's incredible. He loves me without condition. Just like Christ loves the Church. It's a beautiful picture of love and grace. A woman of influence, DAILY praying that my marriage is a picture of that type of love and striving to reciprocate a small percentage of what my husband gives to me. As a Christian, daily we choose to follow Christ. It's a choice, a conscious effort...marriage, the exact same. In my job: a woman of influence: I am a family law paralegal. I work for an attorney who specializes in divorce work. I have an incredible opportunity to show our clients love and respect when their safe place (home) is not giving that to them. I think we are given opportunities to show Christ's love in any and all aspects of our lives. It is our choice if we choose to take that opportunity and flourish. We don't have to "go" anywhere to be influential. Our relationship with God and His love for us is not measured by our success. We don't create a resume for God to look at for Him to decide if we are "good enough".

Maybe I answered the next question in the above response...

What is the best piece of marriage advice you've been given?

DANG just ONE??! I'm gonna cheat...

Be careful with whom you allow into your guarded relationship. Speaking negatively of your husband in public allows people into your relationship and portrays an inaccurate picture of the beauty of your marriage. Misery loves company right? One negative comment can spiral out of control and then you go home upset and angry at your spouse for something they didn't even do?!

Be generous about your spouses' intentions. Appreciate the intent, assume the best.

AND, learn your spouse's love language but give room for the fact that it can change and be flexible and open to that.

What is your favorite verse or passage of Scripture?

2 Corinthians 5:21: "For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ". That pretty much sums up the Gospel if you ask me. Christ did it all!

What is one truth you want others to remember and cling to?

Be self-aware. Know who you are in Christ and reflect on what that looks like everyday. Allow a small, close, group to keep you accountable of your actions and how you affect those around you. You are fearfully and wonderfully made, allow that to be the catalyst in how you live everyday.