Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: What if your limitation was actually your assignment?
What if the thing that made people uncomfortable, the thing that made rooms quiet?
The thing that made you question your worth?
Yeah.
What if that was actually the very thing that God intended to use to serve thousands.
From the natural state?
Welcome to Public Facing the Podcast. I'm Joe Holman. I am so glad you're here. Today we are bringing the fire.
That's right. It's going to be a good one.
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She's advocating for cerebral palsy community.
She's writing best selling books that empower people with disabilities.
She's building ministries that equip churches to include, not exclude.
She's coaching individuals through faith and identity struggles.
She's hosting radio and podcast shows that amplify unheard voices.
So what is she not doing?
Well, she's not hiding, she's not shrinking and she's not apologizing.
No, she is showing up.
Tyia Flores the author, disability activist, ordained faith leader, broadcaster and Christian life coach with spastic Cerebral Palsy.
Despite mobility challenges, she has built a powerful platform centered on empowerment, advocacy and ministry, transforming personal experience into public impact.
She is a multi published Amazon best selling authority, writing memoirs, devotionals and advocacy focused works including Navigating a Journey of Faith and Cerebral Palsy and the Disability Ministry Workbook she's founded, Able by Grace Ministries, also Strength Through Christ Coaching.
She's licensed and ordained through the Christian Leaders Institute alliance and serves in over 20 ministry roles including but not limited to youth minister, wedding officiant, fire and EMS chaplain, Bible study leader.
She co hosts Palsy Power with her fiance Cody A. McWhorter.
She previously hosted Stomping on CP Radio for six years.
She now hosts Ty's Country Rewind with Johnny Rock and Roll Radio.
Her work has also appeared in Yahoo Life, the Mighty, readunwritten.com and she's been featured by Canvas, Rebel Magazine, different and Able and Voyage atl.
Her message is bold.
You don't have to hide the parts of yourself that make others uncomfortable.
Her Life verse Philippians 4, verse 13. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Talia, welcome.
[00:04:49] Speaker B: Thank you for having me. Thank you for that awesome introduction. It's great to be here.
[00:04:56] Speaker A: We're glad you're here today. Now, let's, let's.
It's almost like we need to start at the beginning.
That's, that's the way stories start. Usually we don't, we don't open books necessarily to read from the middle and see what happens.
[00:05:11] Speaker B: I.
[00:05:12] Speaker A: So like from, from early life, if you will, with, with yourself.
You grew up obviously with the spastic cerebral palsy.
What did that look like for you? Like on an emotional front.
[00:05:33] Speaker B: An emotional front. I just looked at it as God gave me this disability. But I'm going to use it as a different set of lens to create an adventure out of it.
[00:05:44] Speaker A: Okay.
Now, when in, in your memory, you know, when did you maybe first become aware that people might have seen you in a different light?
[00:06:01] Speaker B: Well, I was about nine years old. I'll never forget this. My mom, my. It's me and my mom, we're, we're at Walmart and we're about to park in the handicapped parking spot and a lady thought that I was faking my disability and she had the cops come over and made a whole big scene.
Another time, another time I noticed that when I was different was when I was in the third grade and was told I had to sit out of out of field day because I'm a liability.
That's when it really hit.
[00:06:37] Speaker A: Wow.
And I guess it was, it was. Now you were first published when you were 16.
How did you become, how did you come to, to begin writing?
[00:06:55] Speaker B: Well, it all starts with an unfortunate tragedy. I lost my friend to brain cancer at 15 years old. And then one day my dad took me to Barnes and Noble and I had a vision of me writing books. So I went home, I opened up my MacBook Pro that is known for my video being viral. The crazy, the 14 year old girl that goes crazy over MacBook Pro. I opened that same MacBook and wrote, hey, see that kid over there? And my mom happy to stop by, she's like, I like that. If you continue to write this, we'll help you publish it. And there it was.
[00:07:33] Speaker A: That's great.
Now did, did writing, how did that work? Did it, did it help you shift from like a.
At one point you, you'd stated that there that you're writing was therapeutic and. And still is, but still is. But how did it, How.
Okay, when did that shift that writing from like a therapeutic thing to a calling?
[00:08:11] Speaker B: Oh, when I realized that it helped me. I. I wanted to take that into disability advocacy. And I did just that at 18 years old. And hard to think that it was 812 years ago that I launched Stomping on CP. I did that advocacy work for 1212 years. And I got connected through some of the greatest people. Even you. I worked with the Mighty Thought catalog and Unwritten and all those great sites. I since left those sites since they weren't giving me any of compensation. But it was a great experience.
[00:08:52] Speaker A: Great.
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[00:09:03] Speaker B: Awesome.
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[00:09:56] Speaker B: Foreign.
[00:09:58] Speaker A: We're back with Tylia Flores.
Ty, Leah, I want to give you the space right now. This is your space. This is your time to share a bit about what's. What's on your heart. There'll be no interruption, There'll be no rapid fire questions. This is just you.
[00:10:21] Speaker B: Okay?
[00:10:21] Speaker A: Now if you would take us through say your maybe your testimony like, like from childhood maybe to depression to advocacy and maybe about your calling into ministry at 28 to where you are today.
[00:10:47] Speaker B: So.
Well, I was born on July 7, 1995. I only weighed 2 pounds, 3 ounces.
I died at birth. They had to revive me. My mom didn't know whether I was going to be a boy and a girl. Spent months in the nicu. And due to the fact that I was such a strong warrior, God gave me a surprise of cerebral palsy at the age of three years old. And I was finally diagnosed with cerebral palsy. And doctors told my mom, don't expect much from her because she'll never do anything. Pretty much. But I guess the doctors didn't have the right story written because God had other plans for me.
My teenage years, I went through a pretty difficult time. My freshman year of high school was definitely one of the hardest years of my life. Losing my friend and going through that, that was my first experience with depression. And at 23, I felt like I was doing everything I could to advocate, but I wasn't happy with myself or the body that I was in.
That caused me to seek mental health for my depression, anxiety, panic disorder, and adhd.
And it was from that point on for those years that people thought I was the happiest that I wasn't. And finally, in 2023, after a hail storm, I surrendered to God and I gave my life to Christ again.
[00:12:18] Speaker A: Wonderful.
[00:12:23] Speaker B: So there goes that.
[00:12:27] Speaker A: What has God done in your life that people need to hear?
[00:12:34] Speaker B: What has God done in my life? He's given me a lot of hidden blessings that I didn't realize that were hidden blessings until I went through the lessons and I started writing about. And he gives me a reminder every day that my disability isn't my weakness, it is my strength. And I have a story to tell.
[00:12:55] Speaker A: Well, what. What strength, though?
What strength through Christ? What does that truly mean?
[00:13:02] Speaker B: Strength through Christ is, for me, it means to have the ability to stand tall, even if you're going through a hard time and letting God carry you just as the same way he let Jesus carry the cross.
It means patience. It means going through the storm and surviving.
[00:13:26] Speaker A: See that right there.
Thailand. This is. This is why we do the show.
Because the messages that. That need to be shared, the ones that maybe people turn away from because maybe it's uncomfortable or whatever, but, yeah, we're not worried about our comfort here.
[00:13:51] Speaker B: Amen.
[00:13:52] Speaker A: Now, you've served in over 20 ministry roles.
I mean, you know, currently.
So what drives that level of service,
[00:14:07] Speaker B: what drove that level of service, and what continues that level of services? I want people with disabilities to have the same relationship with Christ that I have. And not many people have with disabilities because they see disabilities as a punishment. And I want them to know that you are able to glorify God's message through your other abilities.
[00:14:33] Speaker A: And with. With filling all of those roles.
Is likely that there comes points where, you know, perhaps you need a refill when you. So how do you spiritually refill when you're constantly pouring out?
[00:14:57] Speaker B: Oh, I give myself at least two hours a day with God. I put on my gospel music. I.
I write, I reflect, I take care of myself. I read my devotionals, I go to school, I listen to music.
My family, that kind of thing.
[00:15:15] Speaker A: That's good. That's good. I, I have a question because we were talking about the, the being, like, being. Being able with, with the church, you know, as far as inclusion and that sort of thing.
What is it?
What does disability inclusion in churches get wrong and what have they gotten right?
[00:15:47] Speaker B: They get wrong that people with disabilities are hard to minister. They get wrong that people with disabilities don't deserve the right to be baptized or have their communion.
And, you know, that was one of the things that inspired me to start Able by Grace Ministries because when I was 10 years old and Catholic, I was told that I was no longer qualified to get baptized because I was a liability in the church because I used the bathroom during CCD classes and the nuns had to take me to the bathroom. And luckily my parents advocated and they fought for me to get baptized. And my family had connections because my dad went to Catholic school, but I think about the family members that don't have connections.
[00:16:33] Speaker A: Right, right.
And also in the kind of going into a little bit of a different vein here, we, we were speaking about the, the, the radio and the podcast broadcast and what conversations on Palsy Power are you shocked that maybe people aren't having?
[00:17:08] Speaker B: Oh, I'm, I'm very shocked that people aren't having the topic of people that are disabled and Christian and that have speech impediments, that they think that people with speech impediments just don't have the ability to be podcasters and, and speakers and really understand Christ when the truth of the matter is we do.
People like that do have the ability. And I'm shocked that people aren't talking about the biggest misconceptions of Christianity and churches when it comes to disabilities. Like we're seeing more and more. More of it now or they have. Or they talk about disability ministry. But it's kid like.
[00:17:53] Speaker A: Yeah, I actually spoke a good while back, but I, I spoke regarding mental health, basically. Mental health advocacy within the church.
Yeah. Because even oftentimes that people are, you know, they tend to.
If there's some that, that have some outward appearances, like maybe they're, They, I guess they could be deemed as disruptive. I don't necessarily feel that's the case,
[00:18:30] Speaker B: but yeah, I, I completely understand you there. And when I was going through seminary school for the past three years, as you know, they made us take a course on mental health.
[00:18:42] Speaker A: That's good.
[00:18:42] Speaker B: In order for us to get our, our ministry license. And I'm like, that's great. There needs to be More talk about that also, because just because you're going through mental health and you, you just feel tired, it doesn't mean you're any less of a Christian. You just need help.
[00:19:00] Speaker A: Right.
Right.
Now you've talked openly about depression.
How do you lead publicly when you're struggling privately?
[00:19:17] Speaker B: Well, here's one of the things.
It's a little bit of a tricky situation because in my 20s, I used to write and then publish what I was feeling without even thinking about what would happen later on if somebody googled that or if somebody saw that, you know, like it was. It was great to do that in the beginning, but now if I'm dealing with something, I write it privately in a private file. That way nobody could ever see it, and then I just erase it afterward.
[00:19:50] Speaker A: Oh, okay. Okay. And that's. You find that therapeutic?
[00:19:54] Speaker B: I find that therapeutic. And I also see mental health, healthc care therapist and a psychiatrist. I have a team.
[00:20:02] Speaker A: Nice. Nice.
[00:20:03] Speaker B: At least once a month. And I'm not afraid to, I'm not afraid to admit it. I mean, I've been seeing them since I was 20, 23 years old. And I, I do have a form of ADHD and panic disorder and as well, so I have multiple disabilities in one.
[00:20:22] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:20:24] Speaker B: But it doesn't stop me from doing what I, what I love. I think ministry focusing more. My writing on Christianity lately has helped me more in the past few. In the past two years because before I used to really focus on disability advocacy. But then, but then I started noticing the, the drainage and it didn't make me feel happy anymore to know that my face was on advertisement, my writing was on all these sites, and I'm not getting paid, but they're getting pa right?
[00:21:01] Speaker A: If, if you were to see that person out there with their, they're just sitting there.
They could be in church, they could be just out there. And what would you say to someone who feels invisible right now?
[00:21:23] Speaker B: He is with you even when you're brokenhearted and, and he loves you.
[00:21:33] Speaker A: And what does the strength through Christ actually look like on a bad day?
[00:21:41] Speaker B: Oh, survival mode. Severance.
Crying. Crying. Sometimes. Sometimes I, I cry. Sometimes I, I, I shout and I scream and I pray, but then I feel better.
[00:21:57] Speaker A: Great.
I'm glad that works for you.
[00:22:00] Speaker B: Like, when I had my surgery this past year to release my, my, my left hand, I can never feel it. But since they did the hamstring elbow release surgery, I was able to feel it. But I was in a cast for about three weeks and I couldn't move my hand. And it was just burning like lightning.
[00:22:19] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:22:20] Speaker B: And I spent a lot of my day because I couldn't write for those days. I don't know if you knew this, but I couldn't write.
[00:22:27] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:22:29] Speaker B: I had to learn how to write again.
So that was hard.
[00:22:36] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:22:37] Speaker B: That was a test of strength because writing's been my medicine since I was 16 years old. So could you imagine.
[00:22:43] Speaker A: Right, exactly.
Taking away the. The one thing that. That you know, gets you by and gets you the beautiful.
[00:22:53] Speaker B: It's weird because.
It's weird because a lot of people said, why don't you use text to speech? I'm like, for me, it doesn't work the same way because when I'm writing any one of my books, I see it like a movie and it's like my movie. Like, I don't want to share my. My thoughts with anybody at that time.
[00:23:12] Speaker A: Yeah, that can be really. Yeah, really like that. That totally takes away the. The personal and makes everything public. If you have to shout it out loud.
[00:23:22] Speaker B: Yeah. It just ruins the whole movie for me. And I just can't do it. Like, my brain is constantly like a movie. Whenever I'm writing a new book, I'm like, okay, okay, brain. What's that? Movie projector. Who's this character? Who's that character? Because when you're writing a story, you're creating a. A human being.
[00:23:43] Speaker A: That's right.
Well, Thailia, you are proof that purpose doesn't require perfection.
[00:23:53] Speaker B: No, it doesn't.
[00:23:54] Speaker A: And you're proof that that limitation is not a disqualification.
[00:24:00] Speaker B: Amen.
[00:24:01] Speaker A: And also your proof that you don't have to hide those parts of yourself that make others uncomfortable.
[00:24:12] Speaker B: Amen.
[00:24:13] Speaker A: Can you. Can you share with. With our favorite listener out there where they might be able to find your books or connect with your ministries, Listen to your show.
[00:24:27] Speaker B: You can find me on my website, www.tyler flores.com. you can find me on Instagram at Tylia L. Flores, Christian author.
You can find me on X at Tylia Flores. You can find me on Facebook at Tylia Flores, Christian author as well. And that's pretty much it. Because I can't keep up with all my social medias.
[00:24:52] Speaker A: If they can't find you, they're not looking.
[00:24:55] Speaker B: Yeah, that's what I see, too.
[00:24:58] Speaker A: Well, listen, we're going to take a quick break, and when we return, I'll come back with a few final thoughts. Don't go away.
[00:25:06] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:25:08] Speaker A: The logo is there to tell you what the car is not who you are.
Truth is, logos, they don't need really to do much of anything.
They don't make you cooler. They don't make the product better.
In fact, a logo means nothing.
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Again, thank you for my guest, Thalia Flores here today with us, folks. If, if today, if if today's conversation moved you, share it.
If if today's conversation challenged you, it's okay, sit with it.
And if it inspired you, by all means, act on it.
We look forward to seeing you all next time.
Now you can contact us at hello at Public Facing Pod Stream and also your are episodes you can find online at publicfacingpod Stream.
Follow us on social media for behind the scenes content and more at x.comforward/public facing pod.
Thanks again to our sponsors, castos.com Breyer's Ice Cream and Hyundai Motors. And for our lovely guest, Tyia Flores. It has truly been a pleasure, folks. You can find her just about everywhere. And again, if you're looking, you'll find her. If you're not looking, well, we know again her website, tyaflores.com until next time, stay prepared, stay connected and keep the airwaves alive.
This is your host Joe Holman for Public Facing the podcast.
Signing up.
