The Hearts Hello

Be Careful Who You Tell: A September Warning and a Shift

• Keona T. Ellerbe • Season 3 • Episode 4

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Feeling a shift in your spirit? You're not alone. As we enter September—a month symbolizing birthing, completion, and transition—something profound is happening. This isn't your typical motivational talk; it's a heartfelt warning about the power of conversations and who deserves access to your dreams.

We've all been there: excitedly sharing good news only to have someone's response deflate our joy completely. Their words make us question the very thing we were celebrating moments before. The truth? Not everyone has the capacity to hold your dreams with care. Some people, even those closest to you, may unintentionally destroy what you've prayed for simply because they don't recognize its value. This September demands a new approach: you must "guard forward." Stop giving everyone front-row seats to your process. Treat your vision like a newborn baby—be selective about who gets to hold it, who gets to speak over it, who gets access to this fragile, beautiful thing God is birthing in your life.

This spiritual practice requires three intentional steps: audit your conversations (who adds faith versus doubt?), check your self-talk (are you affirming the shift or sabotaging it?), and practice guarded joy (not everything needs to be broadcast). The work you've invested, the 10,000 hours you've put in, deserve protection. Remember that every text doesn't need an immediate response, every call doesn't need to be answered, and every achievement doesn't need public validation to be meaningful. This month isn't just about stepping into new things—it's about protecting what you've prayed for. Ready to shift forward, even if you have to do it quietly? Your vision is worth the protection.

Speaker 1:

Well, looky, looky. We have entered into a new month, we are in September and we're not doing surface level encouragement today, because this episode y'all it is personal. It's personal, but it's also a warning and a shift at the same time, because I've been feeling it in my own life the need to watch what I say, watch who I say it to, and even watch how I speak to myself. So if you've been feeling like something is shifting for you too, lean in, this one is for us Now. Let me just preface this by saying that we've all done it right. We have fallen in love with the picture, the polished, pretty version of our life, the vision in our head of how things should look by now. But here's the trap Sometimes it's not the picture that keeps us stuck, it's the conversations around it. You finally feel excited about what God is birthing in you and you share it. Too soon you celebrate a win and suddenly someone talks you out of the very thing you were grateful for, or maybe it could be. You decide to shift, to grow, to change, and the wrong conversation makes you question yourself all over again. Friend, not everybody is going to be happy about your success. Not everybody has the capacity to hold your dreams with care. I'm going to just pause for a second. Right there, because this, right here. This is why September matters. Right, because this is a shifting month.

Speaker 1:

Nine symbolize birthing, completion, transition, and it's just like a new season. The shift requires discernment. This month, it's not enough to just move forward. You have to guard forward. Guard your conversations with others. Stop giving everyone front row seats to your process. Guard your conversations with yourself. Stop talking to yourself out of what God already said yes to, and guard your joy. Let me say that again Guard your joy. Some things need time to grow in private before they can stand in public. Sometimes the best thing you can do is to step out of the frame for a bit, not because the picture is bad, but because the noise around it is too loud.

Speaker 1:

I just feel like there are so many of you all who are birthing something amazing in this season, and I need you to be careful of who you share it with. Remember I already said that nine is about birthing, and so, even when you think about how the process of a child comes into this world, and even as parents oftentimes don't even share when they're in the first trimester, because things can be a little iffy and even when the baby arrives, you are careful and cautious about who you allow to come to your home, who you allow to put hands on your child, who you allow to speak into your life. You're going to have to treat this like a newborn baby. You're going to have to treat this season of your life as if it is a child that you are holding, because some people y'all they may mean well, some people y'all they may mean well, but they don't realize the words that are coming out of their mouth are actually destroying what you have actually prayed for, and they don't even realize it because it's not their child. So be careful, use discernment, and it can be some of the closest people to you. You don't have to share it all right now and you may not need to share it at all. Allow them to watch and see from a distance.

Speaker 1:

And it was just a conversation that I had where I felt like, oh, I can share this because it should be good news. Well, it was great news to me, and I felt like, by the time I finished, it was like, well, was it really? Is this what I'm really looking for? And the answer is yes, but because it didn't work for them. That oh well, you know. Let me just, you know, throw my two cents in here, and this is how it should work for you and your life. No, I don't need your two cents. Keep that, please.

Speaker 1:

So I just need you to be careful and be cautious and monitor not just what you share, but also what you say to yourself. And so here's how you put this into practice. Number one audit your conversations. Who are you talking to about your dreams, your struggles, your wins? Do they add faith or do they add doubt? Number two check your self-talk. Check your stinking thinking. Check what you say to you, because y'all you are with you all day long, and so, even if you don't open your mouth and say it, you might be thinking it, and you might as well have said it if you thought it. So what are you saying to yourself when no one else hears? Are you affirming the shift or sabotaging it with fear? Comparisons and what ifs? I need you to practice guarded joy. Not everything needs to be a broadcast. Start protecting what's growing in you. It's okay to celebrate quietly until it's strong enough to stand in the open.

Speaker 1:

Like I said, treat this like your new child, treat this as if it is extremely fragile, because the season that we're in is one to require a different level of discernment. And it doesn't mean again let me preface this by saying it does not mean that the individuals are trying to cause harm someday, but most just aren't in a place of recognizing what you have actually prayed for and prepared for. See some people pray all day long, but there's a another piece to that that requires you to put in action, and that's where the preparation comes into play. See, all that you have put into it. No one sees that behind the scenes, just like you don't get a chance to actually hold the baby until it has been birthed. You may feel the kicks, you may see your belly expanding, you may see even a sonogram of it, but you don't get to actually hold it until the baby is birthed.

Speaker 1:

And I need you to operate in that space. You are mindful of where you go, you are mindful of who you talk to, you are mindful of the spaces that you're in, because what you have prayed for, I promise you is and is showing up in your life. So don't allow someone to come in that has not prayed for and put in action to anything to deter you from and to be happy for what is showing up in your life. By the time they see it, by the time they experience it, this baby has gotten, you know, some girth to it. It's grown up just a tad bit. It's been here for a minute.

Speaker 1:

Some people just don't need to know and I need you to realize that that is okay. So I want you to sit with these questions this month. Who do I need to stop sharing everything with this month? Where have I been talking myself out of the very thing I've prayed for, and how can I protect my joy while still walking boldly in my purpose? I need you to take a breath here, write it down, let yourself be honest. Every phone call doesn't need you to answer it. Every text message doesn't need you to respond right away. Be cautious of what you do, who you share this season with. So let me speak this over you us, god, this September, help me to watch my words, guard my heart and protect my joy. I refuse to let careless conversations or inner doubts steal what you are birthing in me.

Speaker 1:

I shift my focus, my speech, my circle toward purpose. Friend, let that be affirming to you, and if you have already shared something, just know that it's okay. Just don't share anything else. And I'm talking to myself too, because I had gotten to a place where I was like I'm so excited for what God is doing in this season. I know how God is moving. I know how he is showing up in my life because I've worked hard. When they talk about the 10,000 hours of mastering something, my God, I've been putting in the work. I haven't always got it all right, but I've been putting in the work, and I know that you have been putting in the work as well. So, friend, this month isn't just about stepping into new things. It's about protecting what you've prayed for. So watch your words, guard your space and don't be afraid to shift forward, even if you have to do it quietly. So until next time the real you is worth being seen.