Saturday, February 21, 2026

Honoring Living Legends: A Black History Month Tribute to Reggie Chandler

 




Healing Is Not a Solo Journey

Healing has taught me something profound — wholeness is not built alone.

As I continue my own journey of healing, leadership, and purpose, I am reminded that we do not arrive here by ourselves. We stand on shoulders. We are covered. We are mentored. We are corrected. We are encouraged.

Sometimes healing looks like setting boundaries.
Sometimes it looks like rest.
And sometimes healing looks like publicly saying thank you.

During this Black History Month, I choose to honor one of the living legends who continues to make an impact in real time.


Black History Is Still Being Written

Black History is not only about those who paved the way centuries ago.
It is about those who are paving it right now.

Today, I honor Reggie Chandler — a man whose life embodies faith, resilience, laughter, leadership, and justice.

As Senior Pastor of Greater Kingdom Mission Church, he does more than preach sermons.
He shepherds hearts.
He builds people.
He strengthens families.
He stands in the gap.


Leadership With Joy

Known to many as “The Bishop of Comedy,” Reggie understands a sacred truth — laughter is medicine. Through Christian comedy, he breaks barriers, heals wounds, and reminds communities that joy is resistance.

As a Lead Field Service Representative with Givelify, he equips churches and ministries to operate with excellence and sustainability. He empowers leaders with tools that strengthen Kingdom impact.

In 2025, he was inducted into the Gospel Hall of Fame — an honor that reflects not only talent, but faithful service and enduring impact.


Beyond the Titles

Beyond platforms and recognitions, he is:

  • A child of God

  • A son

  • A father

  • A GPa

  • A brother

  • An uncle

  • A nephew

  • A friend

  • A soon-to-be husband again — stepping into covenant with intention and grace

He is a warrior for justice — advocating for equity, uplifting voices, and standing firm for what is right.

He embodies Black resilience: rooted in faith, anchored in community, and committed to transformation.


Know Your Living Legends

During Black History Month, we must know our living legends just as well as we know the legends who have passed on.

Men and women are walking among us right now — building institutions, strengthening families, mentoring youth, standing for justice, preaching truth, and creating pathways where none existed before.

They are making an impact in the communities they live in and serve.
They are passing it on to the next generation to take over and keep it going.
They are carrying the baton and preparing others to run their race.

Honor them while they can hear you.
Celebrate them while they can feel it.
Thank them while they are still building.

Because of leaders like Reggie, doors opened.
Because of leaders like him, courage increased.
Because of leaders like him, many of us are standing where we are today.

So today, I say thank you.

Thank you for making a way.
Thank you for standing firm.
Thank you for mentoring, covering, correcting, and encouraging.
Thank you for carrying the weight so others could rise.


Wholeness Includes Gratitude

Black History Month reminds us that leadership is legacy.
Legacy is service.
Service is love in motion.

Healing invites us to do more than remember pain.
It invites us to remember provision.

Gratitude is healing.
Legacy is healing.
Community is healing.

And acknowledging those who helped make a way is part of becoming whole.

He is not just making history.
He is shaping it.

And through faith, laughter, justice, and leadership —
he continues to advance the Kingdom, the culture, and the community.

🖤 Happy Black History Month.
We honor our living legends.

Let’s Honor Our Living Legends — Out Loud

We are quick to repost quotes.
We are quick to celebrate icons who have gone on.
But are we honoring the legends walking among us right now?

Who made a way for you?
Who prayed for you?
Who corrected you?
Who mentored you?
Who stood in the gap when you didn’t even realize you needed covering?

Don’t scroll past this moment.

Drop their name in the comments.
Tell us how they impacted your life.
Tag them if they’re on social media.
Send them this blog.

Let’s flood this space with gratitude.

Because when we publicly honor those who built us,
we strengthen community.
We model gratitude.
We teach the next generation to recognize leadership while it’s alive.

Your comment might encourage someone else to say thank you.
Your gratitude might heal something in you.

So I’ll start with mine.

Now it’s your turn.

Lead. Heal. Empower.

Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Atara Healing: A Journey Toward Wholeness

 




Atara Healing: A Journey Toward Wholeness

Welcome to a Different Way of Healing

Healing is not a finish line.
It is a way of living.

Atara Healing: A Journey Toward Wholeness is a sacred yet practical space created for those who desire healing that is gentle, intentional, and sustainable—not rushed, forced, or performative.

This is a place for those who are no longer chasing survival, but are learning how to live well.

Here, healing is not about fixing what is broken.
It is about nurturing what is already worthy of care, restoration, and growth.


Why Atara Healing Exists

There was a season of my life best described as surviving.
That season mattered.
It shaped me.
It taught me.

But survival was never the destination.

What began as endurance evolved into alignment.
What began as holding on became learning how to live whole—day by day, breath by breath, with intention.

Atara Healing reflects that evolution.

This space is not centered on trauma.
It is centered on transformation, faith, and practical living.


What Healing Looks Like Here

Healing here may look quiet.

It may look like choosing rest instead of pushing.
It may look like returning to scripture slowly and honestly.
It may look like journaling without an agenda.
It may look like creativity, reflection, prayer, or simply pausing long enough to breathe.

Not every day will feel profound.
Some days will feel unfinished.

All of it belongs.


What You’ll Find Here

This space is designed to meet you where you are—without pressure to be anywhere else.

Here you’ll find:

🌿 Holistic wellness practices for mind, body, and spirit
📖 Faith-centered reflections grounded in scripture and lived experience
✍🏽 Journaling prompts for reflection and growth
🎧 Podcast reflections and devotional conversations
🛠️ Practical tools meant to be lived, not just read

All offerings are non-clinical, trauma-informed, and accessible—created to support healing as a daily rhythm, not a crisis response.


Healing at Your Own Pace

This is not a place of pressure.
This is not a place of comparison.
This is not a place of urgency.

It is a place of permission.

Permission to heal slowly.
Permission to pause when needed.
Permission to grow without explanation.

Everything shared here is offered as an invitation—never an obligation.


How to Use This Space

There is no “right” way to engage.

You may choose to read one reflection and return later.
You may follow a devotional series.
You may listen while moving through your day.
You may journal privately, at your own pace.

As I often say:

Everything I’m sharing here is a glimpse.
The devotional gives you space to sit with God, write, reflect, and move gently.


An Invitation to Journey Together

Atara Healing is not about arriving healed.
It is about walking whole—step by step, day by day.

Whether you are navigating transition, rediscovering purpose, or simply seeking space to breathe, you are welcome here.

This is a space to rest.
A space to reflect.
A space to grow.

Welcome to Atara Healing: A Journey Toward Wholeness.

🌿 Start where you are.
Your pace matters.
Your presence matters.
Your wholeness matters.

Monday, December 29, 2025

Stepping Into Deeper Waters: A Testimony for 2026



Stepping Into Deeper Waters: A Testimony for 2026

Theme: From Asking to Acting — Faith With Works


Opening Declaration

Family, as we step into 2026, I stand before you with a snorkeling mask on—not because I’m playing in shallow waters, but because I’m ready to go deeper.
Deeper in faith.
Deeper in obedience.
Deeper in purpose.

“Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”Luke 5:4

In 2025, I was asking.
I was seeking.
I was knocking.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”Matthew 7:7

But in 2026, I am not just asking—I am acting.
I am not just praying—I am moving.
I am not just believing—I am walking it out.

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.”2 Corinthians 5:7


Faith Requires Movement

Faith is not passive.
Faith is not stagnant.
Faith does not sit still waiting for conditions to be perfect.

“Faith without works is dead.”James 2:17

If you want a harvest, you must do something.
You must plant.
You must water.
You must tend.

God honors obedient motion.


The Seed, the Soil, and the Season

Let me talk to you about seeds.

When you plant a seed, it does not announce itself.
It does not come up labeled.
At first, it looks like every other seed.

An orange seed can look just like a lemon seed.
But once it begins to sprout, the leaves start telling a different story.
And in due time, the fruit reveals the truth.

“So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground… and the seed should spring up and grow, he knows not how.”Mark 4:26–27

Growth is not instant.
Purpose is not rushed.
Calling is revealed over time.

“Do not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”Galatians 6:9


Examine the Soil

But here’s the truth many don’t want to face:
Not every seed grows—not because it’s bad, but because the soil isn’t right.

“But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.”Luke 8:15

The soil represents:

  • Where you’re planted

  • Who you’re connected to

  • What you allow to nourish you

  • What drains you

Some of my seeds in 2025 didn’t grow—not because I didn’t try, but because I didn’t yet have everything needed to sustain them.

And that’s okay.


Failure Is Not Final

I am not afraid to fail.
Failure is not defeat—it is instruction.

“The steps of a good person are ordered by the Lord… though they fall, they shall not be utterly cast down.”Psalm 37:23–24

You either:

  • Learn and grow, or

  • Go back to the drawing board and seek clarity

Because you are not here just for yourself.
You are here for divine purpose.


Minding My Business & Staying on Assignment

In 2026, I am minding my business—
God’s business.

I am staying on assignment.
No distractions.
No unnecessary explanations.
No detours.

“Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.”Proverbs 16:3

If you’ve gotten to know me—congratulations.
That access is intentional.

I walk in gratitude for every encounter, every conversation, every soul crossed on my path—because I have learned that sowing good seeds into people’s lives multiplies beyond measure.

“One plants, another waters, but God gives the increase.”1 Corinthians 3:6


Not a Clique—A Calling

This is not a clique.
This is not a private circle.
This is intentional community.

“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”John 12:32

Healthy conversation.
Mutual respect.
Light meeting light.

A beautiful soul radiating from the sun
pointing us to the Son.


From Pain to Power

I will no longer talk about my pain without talking about who healed me.

“He has given me beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.”Isaiah 61:3

God turned my pain into power.
He met me in my midnight.

“At midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns… and suddenly there was a great earthquake.”Acts 16:25–26

My breakthrough came at midnight.
My deliverance came when it looked darkest.


Closing Declaration

So welcome to my 2026 world.
Get ready for the ride of your life.

I am being equipped.
I am being refined.
I am being sent.

And I will not stop—
until God calls me home.

“Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.”Philippians 1:6

To God be the Glory. 🙌🏽

Atara Estes, Global ICHW Strategist & Workforce Development Leadership | Holistic Wellness Guide & Faith-based Educator | Author & Speaker 

Monday, October 20, 2025

LeBron's Mom Was Homeless and Almost Gave Him Up for Adoption


Gloria's story hits different 💔 

How trauma became her superpower 💔➡️💪 
She survived hell… and turned her pain into purpose. 💜
Her story didn’t end in tragedy—it became a ministry of healing and hope.
Discover books, courses, wellness tools, and faith-based empowerment at 👉 www.ataraestes.com
🌿 Heal your mind.
💎 Transform your story.
✝️ Thrive unashamed.
#TATUTrueStories #basketball #FromTraumaToTriumph #survivor #inspiring 

Affiliates:
https://www.facelessreels.com/?ref=atara 

Saturday, October 18, 2025

Oprah's Dark Family Secret That Nearly Destroyed Her



How trauma became her superpower 💔➡️💪
She survived hell… and turned her pain into purpose. 💜
Her story didn’t end in tragedy—it became a ministry of healing and hope.
Discover books, courses, wellness tools, and faith-based empowerment at 👉 www.ataraestes.com
🌿 Heal your mind.
💎 Transform your story.
✝️ Thrive unashamed.

Wednesday, August 20, 2025

Turning Pain into Policy: The Urgent Call for TATU’s Law


 


Turning Pain into Policy: Why We Need TATU’s Law

Trauma doesn’t end when the moment passes. For many survivors, it lives on—etched into the body, mind, and spirit. My name is Atara Estes, and I know this truth all too well. Years ago, I was shot in the back, blindfolded, thrown into a trunk, and left for dead. But I survived. And survival gave me a mission: to make sure no one else walks through trauma unsupported, unseen, or unheard.

That’s why we are fighting for TATU’s Law.

What Is TATU’s Law?

TATU stands for Thriving After Trauma Unashamed. This law seeks to create stronger protections, resources, and healing pathways for survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, and gun violence. It’s not just about legislation—it’s about justice, awareness, and change.

Survivors should not be left to carry invisible wounds in silence. Communities should not be forced to pick up the pieces without resources. And policymakers should not continue to overlook the urgent need for trauma-informed responses.

The Power of the Semicolon

There’s a reason why we’ve chosen the semicolon (;) as the symbol of TATU’s Law. In grammar, a semicolon represents a pause—not the end of the sentence. Survivors, too, are not defined by an ending. We are the continuation. We are the and.

My story didn’t end in that trunk. It continued—into advocacy, healing, and resilience. TATU’s Law is a promise that no survivor’s story will end in silence.

Why Your Signature Matters

Laws are written because people demand change. By signing the petition for TATU’s Law, you’re not just adding your name—you’re standing with survivors everywhere. You’re declaring that healing matters, resources matter, and lives matter.

We cannot turn pain into policy without you.

👉 [Sign the Petition Here] 

🔹 St. Louis region: https://chng.it/VPqW8MFpHC
🔹 State of Missouri: https://chng.it/JNG2MW2gP6
🔹 Global awareness: https://chng.it/RXPWXBZg5v

Together, We Create Change

Every signature is a step closer to ensuring that survivors are seen, heard, and supported. Together, we can raise awareness, influence decision-makers, and create a movement that turns trauma into transformation.

Because survival is not the end of the story. It is the beginning of a law that can change lives.

Will you stand with us?
Sign. Share. Speak out.

Thursday, July 10, 2025

✨ Introducing the Atara Healing Visual Art Studio Diamond Art Collection! ✨




From ready-made pieces that brighten any space to deeply personal, custom-commissioned keepsakes and one-of-a-kind Memorial Diamond Art Paintings — every sparkling stud tells a story of love, legacy, and healing. 🖼️ Whether you want to celebrate a loved one, honor a memory, or gift someone special a piece of art they’ll treasure forever, this is your chance to see healing through art — one diamond at a time. 💎 Take a peek behind the scenes of my Diamond Art journey — and hear directly from one of our surprised recipients whose heart was touched by their custom painting. This is why I do what I do. ❤️ 🌟 Thank you for supporting my businesses and helping me heal others — through my lens and my art. 📸✨ Order your custom Diamond Art today, or book your photo session and start your own healing journey with me! ✅ Follow, Like, Share, Comment — and let’s grow this healing community together! 📌 Available on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram 💌 https://atara-healing-photography.checkcherry.com/ 📧 atarahealingartphotography@gmail.com 📱 IG: @AtaraHealingArtandPhotography | FB: @AtaraHealingPhotography #AtaraHealingVisualArt #DiamondArt #HealingThroughArt #MemorialArt #CustomKeepsakes #EmpowermentArtist #VisualHealing #TATUYourWellbeing #TraumaRecovery #CreativeHealing #SupportLocalArtists #ArtWithPurpose #HealingJourney #StLouisArt #CustomPortraits #LegacyArt #SurvivorArt #LoveAndLight ✨🖼️💜

Honoring Living Legends: A Black History Month Tribute to Reggie Chandler

  Healing Is Not a Solo Journey Healing has taught me something profound — wholeness is not built alone. As I continue my own journey of...