Welcome to Love Lab — the place where we talk about love in all its variables. From self-love to romantic love and everything in between, this space is for honest conversation about relationships, healing, boundaries, intimacy, emotional patterns, and growth. We will go beyond surface-level talk and dive into the things people often whisper about but rarely unpack well — including sex, desire, vulnerability, trauma, emotional safety, and what it looks like to navigate these areas as married women, women in waiting, women who have been hurt, and women who are still becoming. This is not a space for shame. It is a space for truth, reflection, healing, wisdom, and real growth. Love touches so many parts of our lives, and here, we are making room to talk about it with honesty and care.

Let me give you some free game… Some people do not just lie to you. They build an entire false reality and hope you live in it. That’s the thing about deception. It is not always loud. It is not always obvious. It is not always reckless. Sometimes it is calculated. Sometimes it is polished. Sometimes it is patient. Sometimes it is so well-crafted that if God does not reveal it, you may keep trying to make sense of something that was never meant to be understood from the surface. A liar and a deceiver may look similar, but they are not operating with the same level of skill. A liar says what is false. A deceiver creates an environment where you question what is true. A liar may get caught in contradictions. A deceiver can be so intentional, so strategic, so convincing, that what they are doing has to be uncovered over time through patterns, fruit, discernment, and revelation. And let’s be real: that is why deception can be so dangerous. Because it is one thing to hear a lie. It is another thing entirely to be pulled into a false reality someone carefully created with selective truth, omission, charm, inconsistency, emotional manipulation, spiritual language, or just enough vulnerability to make you lower your guard. That is why everybody who smiles at you is not safe. Everybody who sounds good is not good. Everybody who knows the right words to say is not rooted in truth. Some people have made deception a craft. They know how to study what you need. They know how to sense what you are hoping for. They know how to mirror what matters to you. They know how to present just enough honesty to keep you from questioning the bigger picture. And before you know it, you are no longer just listening to what they said. You are living inside what they wanted you to believe. That is deception. And this does not just apply to dating. This shows up in friendships. In family. In church spaces. In business. In leadership. And yes, sometimes even in the lies we tell ourselves because the truth feels too painful to accept.

Hey becoming women! That title got you didn't it??? Guess what, we're going a different way! There is a different kind of spiritual growth that shows up when you find yourself able to pray earnestly for the people who hurt you. Not a surface prayer. Not a performative prayer. Not a prayer that still secretly wants God to “get them.” I mean the kind of prayer that comes from a heart that has been processed, softened, and matured by God. One of the clearest signs that healing is taking place in us is when we can bring those who wronged us before the Lord without bitterness leading the conversation. That does not mean what they did was acceptable. It does not mean there was no damage. It does not mean you have forgotten. It means you are no longer allowing pain to have the final say over your posture. I think back to my own ability to pray for the fathers of my children. I got to a place where I realized that I needed to get out of myself and pray for them because, in essence, I was praying for my children. No matter how we started or how we ended, I made the choice to be with them and bear their children. At some point I had to mature enough to understand that praying for their fathers was connected to praying for my babies. That perspective changed something in me. It made me look beyond my own hurt and see the bigger picture. It made me realize that if I stayed bound in resentment, bitterness, anger, and offense, I would be carrying chains that God never intended for me to wear. And not only that, I would also be keeping others locked in a prison inside my heart as if I were their judge. But we have to remind ourselves: we are not their God. We do not get to hold people captive inside of their wrongs forever. We are called to account for our own motives, our own actions, and our own hearts before the Lord. That means asking God to deal with us, too. To search us. To heal us. To free us from the need to rehearse offenses, replay pain, and wear woundedness like armor.

Take a few minutes to think about the version of yourself you are growing into. Then answer the questions below and share what you’re comfortable sharing with the community. 1️⃣ What three words describe the woman you are becoming? (example: peaceful, confident, disciplined) 2️⃣ What is one habit the future version of you has that you’re working on now? 3️⃣ What is something you are learning to release in this season? 4️⃣ What is something you want to embrace more of? (example: joy, faith, rest, confidence, boundaries) 5️⃣ Finish this sentence: “The woman I’m becoming no longer apologizes for…” Add a photo of yourself in a moment where you felt confident. Comment on at least 2 other member post....remember we're growing together!