Today we’d like to introduce you to Rayla Blackmon.
Hi Rayla, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Hey there! My name is Rayla Blackmon and I am a believer in Jesus Christ, wife, mama and author. An Oregonian native turned Texan since about 2013, I started to dive into my passion for people in the year 2020. I had just finished my Associates degree in early childhood education and felt the leading of the Lord to rest, quiet myself and wait for direction. It was shortly after that where my YouTube series “Let’s Talk” was born. In the midst of a pandemic, while also battling so many unanswered questions of “next steps,” I fell into what I loved doing…encouraging others. This snowballed into me also writing my first book Letters to You: Interactive Prayer Journal chronicling years worth of written prayers. Today I work as an operations analyst, and I have more recently been engulfed with the beauty that is motherhood – giving birth to my daughter in early 2026. To be honest, no matter what I’ve accomplished I feel like I’m in a humble place of starting over, learning this new place in life, and taking the time to build what God has placed in me to do – brick by brick.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Struggles are what make a story worth telling. I have definitely faced many trials to get where I am, but they were all concluded in victory. At a young age, I experienced the heartbreak of divorce in the home, and the challenges that can come with new siblings and bonus parents in remarriage. Fast forward to my teen years and this is where my life completely shifted with us moving to Texas – a foreign land to me. By 27, I was a fiancé about to get married to the love of my life, and by 28 we were expecting our first bundle of joy. However, this did not come without its difficulties. In 2024, I was diagnosed with Rhematoid Arthritis – a diagnosis that made the previous 6 years of pain in my body make sense. After having my baby, and even prior to, depression was knocking violently on my door, and prayers that use to come easy begin to drift from me. When finishing my first book in 2025, I was in my early stages of pregnancy, working full time, and facing job loss in my home all at the same time. I had never felt so drained, so alone, and so depleted. But God…He’s the ‘victory’ part.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
During the day, I am an operations analyst for a precious metals retailer, and I also serve as abcare provider.
My hearts passion is helping people and being a source of encouragement for them.
Additionally I love and have served in the area of graphic design, dance instructor, mentorship and development of youth.
What I am most proud of is the work I have done with youth, and how that work has morphed into other sectors like authoring a book and vlogging.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Truth is…I don’t credit anything to luck. There are things that happen in this life purely because of our choices, and I can honestly say that that has been for my betterment in some instances but my downfall in others. Nonetheless, regardless of the decisions I’ve been proud of and those I haven’t, I continue to see the Lord always working it out for my good!
Contact Info:
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@raylamoore?si=k1VXEnYt6vnZq5C6
- Other: https://linktr.ee/FourCPPublishing
