Our Guest: Teri Black
Teri Black is an enterprising professional with a deep passion for creating meaningful experiences, building strong partnerships, and fostering growth in individuals and communities. Her mission is to honor God and celebrate Christian fellowship through every endeavor. As the Founder and Operator of Real Life Adventure Tours, Teri designs and hosts unique, Christ-centered travel experiences that leave lasting impressions, encouraging guests to experience travel in a way that nurtures faith and personal growth.
With a broad background in nonprofit work, Teri has worked with organizations such as CBN, Founders Inn, InTouch Ministries, Cornerstone Television, and Finishing Strong Ministries. She has served in numerous roles, including event planning, donor development, on-air talent, and partner relations. One of her most cherished accomplishments was founding Love the Dress!, a nonprofit prom dress swap and shop that supported teen girls in need. Teri holds a BS from Penn State University and an MBA from Regent University.
A proud mother of four adult children, two son-in-laws, and three grandchildren, Teri (fondly known as “Gigi”) cherishes her role as a grandmother—calling it “the best ever.” Recently, Teri and her husband, Don, who have been married for 35 years, relocated to Chattanooga, TN, where they continue their ministry work with Finishing Strong Media and Real Life Adventure Tours.
Key Thoughts and Scriptures:
Psalm 1 NIV …whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.
- Teri would start her mornings and just say, “Lord, what is it that you want me to do?”
- God would guide her.
- And she would have to make sure she heard Him and obeyed.
- As a young adult, she knew that she needed to read His Word.
- Even in the busy season of raising kids, God had some special assignments for her.
- While training for a triathlon the Lord reminded her through it all that He loved her as she is.
Song of Songs 4:7 NIV You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you.
- “Even though I saw flaws in myself, He didn’t.”
Philippians 4:13 NKJV I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
- It’s about finishing the race, going, looking straight ahead and going forward with what God calls us to do.
- People think God only calls us to do ministry things, but God calls us to be healthy in body, mind and spirit.
- So there are seasons where He says, “I want you to focus on your health.”
- This is so that you can be more effective and fruitful in the days ahead.
1 Corinthians 6:19 NIV Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit…
- He wants all of us, physically and emotionally and spiritually.
Galatians 5:22-23 NIV But the fruit of the Spirit is… and self-control.
During a time of transition, the Lord reminded Teri that it was okay to be by herself.
- For Teri, it was something new to be by herself.
- But she really wasn’t alone because God was her companion.
- She learned something new in that season of life about friendship with God.
- “God, I’m going to obey You because that’s what You call me to do. I don’t understand it, but I’m going to obey You.”
- And Teri was able to see God’s hand through it all.
- Again, she wasn’t too sure sometimes what she was doing, but God would honor her obedience and He always equipped her when she said yes.
- God may have you do many different things in your life.
- A lot of us think, “I’m in one thing and I’m going to do this thing for the rest of my life because that’s what God’s called me to do.”
- But for many of us, only God can orchestrate all the various things He calls us to do when we are willing to make ourselves available to Him.
- When you look back, you can see how each experience built upon the last. Because God never lets anything we do go to waste.
- We all go through different seasons.
- “If there’s a door, I’m going to open it and walk through it and trust Him to continue to equip and show me what’s next.”
Ruth is the only woman in the Bible who is called the woman of valor. (Ruth 3:11 TLV)
- Ruth was a woman of valor not for all that she did, but because of who she was.
- She was a widow, a foreigner, and a caregiver.
- And she went willingly with Naomi not knowing how it was going to turn out.
- She didn’t know she was going to get remarried, have a baby and be the grandmother of David and in the lifeline of Jesus.
- Ruth didn’t know any of that story. All she knew was to obey God.
- Boaz called her a woman of valor, a virtuous woman, even before he was married to her based on how she was in the community and how she loved and extended her courage and strength.
- The spring and summer seasons of our life are times of growth and excitement and fruitfulness.
- But there are those fall and winter seasons, times that are challenging and pruning.
- Even though ministries are created to serve and glorify God, the people who work in them are like us. They’re a work in progress and they can be quite harsh at times.
God taught Teri that her relationship with Him was separate from her experiences in Christian ministry.
- She had to look to Him to be her vindicator and not for people to make things right.
- He also had to remind her that forgiveness is essential in our walk with the Lord.
- The rule of second offense: when somebody has hurt somebody you love, and you can’t forgive that person that hurt them. Even though you weren’t offended, you were second offended.
1 Corinthians 13:5 NIV …it keeps no record of wrongs.
- Unforgiveness affected her because it was a block in her fellowship with Jesus.
- Forgiveness is not a one and done thing, but it’s a process.
- Unforgiveness only affects ourselves. It doesn’t affect the other people at all.
Psalm 23 NIV The Lord is my shepherd…
- Teri knew that God’s goodness and mercy would follow her despite flaws, despite mistakes.
- Those had nothing to do with His love and affirmation in who she was.
- She was grateful for fellowship, friends who surrounded and welcomed her and prayed and loved her.
- It didn’t matter what happened in the past. What mattered was that God asked her to obey Him. And she did. She obeyed Him and left the consequences to Him.
- Sometimes in difficult circumstances, we need to learn to curb our tongues.
- And pray instead.
- Teri had to learn to love people, even when not loving their choices.
- We have to put our faith and hope in Jesus, not in people.
- God gives grace in difficult times.
- It’s just a season, it’s not going to be forever.
For Teri, it was helpful for her during difficult seasons to clear her head, pray, listen to worship music, and study the Bible.
- She spent time keeping her mind in the right frame.
- It’s really important: to ask God what you’re going to do every day or “how am I going to get through this day?”
- Get that right perspective and God will direct you.
- He wants to be with us and to ask Him.
- There were times in Teri’s life where she looked at her circumstances for direction.
- She didn’t always trust God to daily direct her steps. Yet He’s always been faithful.
- But she realized that if she would just obey and continue to trust Him, that’s where peace comes in. He’s not going to abandon us.
- And He has been so gracious in reminding her that He is with her.
- “God sent me to tell you that He will be with you and everything will be okay.”
- As much as we want to be with God, He wants to be with us more.
Teri’s Key Truths:
- We have seasons in our lives.
- Sometimes the desert is the best place to be, because we might be the closest to Him when we’re in the winter.
- God wants to tell us what to do.
- And to be in this two-way relationship and to talk to us.
- Obey Him and leave all the consequences to Him because He truly is in charge.
- It’s not what we do. But who we are.
- That’s what our identity and our love is wrapped up on.
- He loves us and we love Him and He doesn’t see any failures.
James 1:5 ESV If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
Psalm 119:68 NIV You are good, and what you do is good…
- Yes, there are consequences for our sin, but God is good.
- Priscilla was an entrepreneur and a leader in the early Church. (Acts 18:1-3 NIV)
Ecclesiastes 3 NIV There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…
- Some seasons are full of joy, fruitfulness; others stretch us through loss and pruning and waiting.
- Yet in every season, God is faithful. And in every season, God is good.
- For He uses each of those seasons to shape us and prepare us for what’s ahead.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 NIV “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green…has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
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