Saturday, February 15, 2014
Can we find peace from broken pieces?
Day 16
Yesterday, I reached out to an old friend after a year plus long hiatus. The exact reasons for doing so were; if I didn't, who would? We can't always wait for the other party to do what we are capable of doing ourselves. I knew there was no ill feelings on my end so it was inexcusable not to reach out to settle an unsettled matter. At the end of the conversation neither one of us were able to identify what the reason was behind the long gap in communication. We both shared what our thoughts were on the situation, but it still did not help to resolve the issue. When the conversation ended the only thing I could do was pray on it. Lord, I understand that it is you and you alone who can provide us with a sense of peace from the broken pieces in our lives. I also understand that to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the sun (Ecclesiastecs 3). Although I may not always understand the purpose for things right away; what I have learned to do is trust the process of things. To everything there is always a process we must go through...a lesson to learn... or a lesson to teach, either way there is always a process and no short cuts to getting to the end result. With that said, I know there are no hard feelings. Only love can exist when you possess the love of God. Although friendships do end and at times it may be difficult to deal with the Bible tells me that there is a time to mourn and a time to dance; a time to weep and a time to laugh. So, although weeping may endure for a night, joy is bound to come in the morning.
To anyone who has tried to find peace with the broken pieces in life I encourage you to trust God. He is the very one who promises to give us peace that surpasses understanding. I know I found peace yesterday, not because it was concluded that there was never a real issue to begin with, not because we parted ways and the friendship was put away, but peace because God provides understanding of the process and the end result. Our ideal end results aren't always so ideal, but learning to expect the unexpected and to press on through the situations makes us all stronger.
What I will say is that bitterness, anger, rudeness, unforgiveness are all things that are detrimental to our minds, hearts and souls, but with LOVE, pure love, it has the ability to conquer all. So, if there are any broken pieces just lingering around in your life, I encourage you to make peace with it. Seek out guidance from the Holy Spirit to understand when you should speak and when you should be still. The beauty about being slow to speak and quick to listen is that it provides a sense of stillness and with stillness we know God will fight every battle and work out every discord (Exodus 14:14).
Keep me humble in your presence.
Saturday, February 8, 2014
No More Whacky Worship
In such a time as this where society and issues of life would want to discourage us from our worship for God, No More Whacky Worship helps to redirect us back to the path of true worship in spirit and in truth. No More Whacky Worship written by Overseer Omaudi Reid is an awesome book that helps to guide us back to the path of true worship. Often time we as believers and followers of Christ will try to water down the magnitude of our worship to appease ourselves. No More Whacky Worship helps to identify three classes the spiritual, the struggling and the unbeliever in order to help us identify what category we can closely relate to and then to effectively target our stumbling blocks with worship. I encourage anyone and everyone who desires to truly worship God in spirit and in truth and as an avenue of demonstrating extreme obedience to God to purchase this powerful book. No More Whacky Worship can be purchased at any of the links below at an amazingly reasonable price.
Another favorite and great read by Overseer Omaudi Reid is Creating Unbreakable Bonds: Marital Intimacy on Three Levels which can be purchased here --- Creating Unbreakable Bonds
Happy Reading !
Another favorite and great read by Overseer Omaudi Reid is Creating Unbreakable Bonds: Marital Intimacy on Three Levels which can be purchased here --- Creating Unbreakable Bonds
Happy Reading !
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Focus
Day 15
Sometimes the busyness of life can consume and overwhelm us. It has the ability to take away precious and valuable time that we can never get back. Recently, I found myself allowing life to overly consumer me with thoughts of work, career advancements and change and other life planning's. In those moments I realize there was a disconnect slowly being created between myself and God. My prayers were becoming shorter and my time in the word was becoming shorter as well. I then began to deal with worry, stress and a feeling of anxiousness. However, in that very moment when I realized these things being planted in my life I had to take a moment and get on my knees and really seek the face of God for redirection and repositioning. It is so important to take quality time out with God to seek His face on a daily basis. When we begin to lack quality in the time spent with God it will affect our lives in so many different areas. When we begin to place our faith in doctors to heal us, or our jobs to pay us, or our supervisors to validate us, our faith has ultimately been displaced. It is important and wise to place our faith in God and to build upon a rock so that our foundations in life are always stable and strong.
They say that when an individual is stressed or angry their true colors will shine; however, I understand that in order to avoid colors that are inconsistent with the life I have chosen to live for Christ, makes it important to place my trust in God. My desire is that my true colors will
be consistent, full of peace and a direct reflection of Christ. Therefore, in order to ensure that this consistency exist it is important that I take time daily to spend with God. It is important that I spend time in His house and amongst other believers. Finally, on a daily basis my trust, faith and peace should and can always be found in Him if I remember where my focus lies.
Christ Beneath Me. He is my Rock. Keep me humble in your presence.
Sometimes the busyness of life can consume and overwhelm us. It has the ability to take away precious and valuable time that we can never get back. Recently, I found myself allowing life to overly consumer me with thoughts of work, career advancements and change and other life planning's. In those moments I realize there was a disconnect slowly being created between myself and God. My prayers were becoming shorter and my time in the word was becoming shorter as well. I then began to deal with worry, stress and a feeling of anxiousness. However, in that very moment when I realized these things being planted in my life I had to take a moment and get on my knees and really seek the face of God for redirection and repositioning. It is so important to take quality time out with God to seek His face on a daily basis. When we begin to lack quality in the time spent with God it will affect our lives in so many different areas. When we begin to place our faith in doctors to heal us, or our jobs to pay us, or our supervisors to validate us, our faith has ultimately been displaced. It is important and wise to place our faith in God and to build upon a rock so that our foundations in life are always stable and strong.
They say that when an individual is stressed or angry their true colors will shine; however, I understand that in order to avoid colors that are inconsistent with the life I have chosen to live for Christ, makes it important to place my trust in God. My desire is that my true colors will
be consistent, full of peace and a direct reflection of Christ. Therefore, in order to ensure that this consistency exist it is important that I take time daily to spend with God. It is important that I spend time in His house and amongst other believers. Finally, on a daily basis my trust, faith and peace should and can always be found in Him if I remember where my focus lies.
Christ Beneath Me. He is my Rock. Keep me humble in your presence.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Helping Hands
Day 14
Anyone who knows me personally, knows that I have never been the type to keep friends. Not because I am a bad friend or because I have befriended bad individuals, but simply because I learned from a young age how to work well alone. Over the years I haven't called too many people "friend" because I was taught at a young age that your best friend today could be your worst enemy tomorrow. Not to mention how loosely the term "friend" has been used amongst individuals over the years. However, despite my up brining and personal experiences what I have learned is that we encounter the very people God predestined us to meet; long before we knew it would happen. These are the people that I call the "helping hands."
I have learned that in life we all come across people that may be with us for a season or a lifetime, but in essence no matter how long they are with us they are there to serve a purpose. To teach us a valuable life lesson. So, with that said as I've matured and evolved I've learned that not everyone is meant to be part of your life forever, but it is important that you don't miss the valuable lesson they've been sent to teach you.
Throughout my life I have had a number of helping hands that I have encounter and few that I have called friends, but when I finally evaluated the term "friend" and looked at it from a spiritual point of view I learned the true definition of friendship and found that friends do exist and not everyone that hurts you should be dismissed. It may be that the lesson they have been sent to teach you is how to endure through hurt and mend the hurt in order to move on. As a result, your ability to learn from that particular experience prepares you for future experiences.
Helping hands as I like to call them are individuals who are willing to accept you as you are( because they understand that only God can transform you), love you unconditionally (because the love of Christ that exist within them wouldn't allow anything less), encourage you to be better in life, and plant seeds in you that will help to cultivate you into the very person that Christ desires you to be. They are the positive forces that God plants around us in order to help us reach to higher heights so that we may serve out God's perfect plan and purpose in spirit and in truth. They are the ones who will refuse to stand around and watch you as you fall without first trying to prevent that fall to begin with. Those to me are my helping hands.
I had a recent incident that occurred in which someone saw something that could have affected my walk with Christ or even my ministry, but said nothing. At first my spirit was affected by it but as I sought God's face in prayer for understanding of the matter He made it very clear to me, that should you see your brother or sister placing themselves in harms way it is our duty to speak on it. People who possess hands to help others would never sit on the sideline and watch someone slip into something that could potentially cause harm. Doing so would make that individual equally as guilty. So, with that said I encourage everyone that reads this to develop hands that seek to help others even if it's for a season. Helping others is only as effective as the hearts of the (wo)man that desire to lend a helping hand. So, be sure to help someone, you never know it may be that helping hand to save their life.
Keep Me Humble in Your Presence.
Anyone who knows me personally, knows that I have never been the type to keep friends. Not because I am a bad friend or because I have befriended bad individuals, but simply because I learned from a young age how to work well alone. Over the years I haven't called too many people "friend" because I was taught at a young age that your best friend today could be your worst enemy tomorrow. Not to mention how loosely the term "friend" has been used amongst individuals over the years. However, despite my up brining and personal experiences what I have learned is that we encounter the very people God predestined us to meet; long before we knew it would happen. These are the people that I call the "helping hands."
I have learned that in life we all come across people that may be with us for a season or a lifetime, but in essence no matter how long they are with us they are there to serve a purpose. To teach us a valuable life lesson. So, with that said as I've matured and evolved I've learned that not everyone is meant to be part of your life forever, but it is important that you don't miss the valuable lesson they've been sent to teach you.
Throughout my life I have had a number of helping hands that I have encounter and few that I have called friends, but when I finally evaluated the term "friend" and looked at it from a spiritual point of view I learned the true definition of friendship and found that friends do exist and not everyone that hurts you should be dismissed. It may be that the lesson they have been sent to teach you is how to endure through hurt and mend the hurt in order to move on. As a result, your ability to learn from that particular experience prepares you for future experiences.
Helping hands as I like to call them are individuals who are willing to accept you as you are( because they understand that only God can transform you), love you unconditionally (because the love of Christ that exist within them wouldn't allow anything less), encourage you to be better in life, and plant seeds in you that will help to cultivate you into the very person that Christ desires you to be. They are the positive forces that God plants around us in order to help us reach to higher heights so that we may serve out God's perfect plan and purpose in spirit and in truth. They are the ones who will refuse to stand around and watch you as you fall without first trying to prevent that fall to begin with. Those to me are my helping hands.
I had a recent incident that occurred in which someone saw something that could have affected my walk with Christ or even my ministry, but said nothing. At first my spirit was affected by it but as I sought God's face in prayer for understanding of the matter He made it very clear to me, that should you see your brother or sister placing themselves in harms way it is our duty to speak on it. People who possess hands to help others would never sit on the sideline and watch someone slip into something that could potentially cause harm. Doing so would make that individual equally as guilty. So, with that said I encourage everyone that reads this to develop hands that seek to help others even if it's for a season. Helping others is only as effective as the hearts of the (wo)man that desire to lend a helping hand. So, be sure to help someone, you never know it may be that helping hand to save their life.
Keep Me Humble in Your Presence.
Friday, January 17, 2014
Unconditional love
Day 13
What is unconditional love? How is it defined? What does it look like? How does it feel? Often time we as people lack the full understanding as to what it means to love "unconditionally." Often time our love is based on circumstances and unstable emotions. We often define unconditional love as what another person is capable of doing for us or how they are capable of making us feel; when in reality that is as far from unconditional as it gets. Unconditional love is the ability to love despite the circumstances. The ability to love through the good, bad, beautiful and ugly. Unconditional love is the ability to love despite how a person makes you feel. So when you care to measure the unconditional love of a person take into consideration the character of the person. Because unconditional love and the character of an individual are inseparable. I've learned to truly love unconditionally... It may not be completely perfected, but it's close. I don't based my love for fellow brothers and sisters on what they can do for me or how they can make me feel. I love them because I understand what it feels like to not have been loved and also what it feels like to be loved unconditionally. Christ loves unconditionally. His love for us has never been based on our present circumstances, but instead He loves us through them fighting for us, interceding for us; so that we may come out victorious in the end. I encourage everyone who reads this to pursue a heart like Jesus Christ so that He too can transform your circumstantial and conditional love for
Others to an unconditional love!
Keep me humble in your presence.
What is unconditional love? How is it defined? What does it look like? How does it feel? Often time we as people lack the full understanding as to what it means to love "unconditionally." Often time our love is based on circumstances and unstable emotions. We often define unconditional love as what another person is capable of doing for us or how they are capable of making us feel; when in reality that is as far from unconditional as it gets. Unconditional love is the ability to love despite the circumstances. The ability to love through the good, bad, beautiful and ugly. Unconditional love is the ability to love despite how a person makes you feel. So when you care to measure the unconditional love of a person take into consideration the character of the person. Because unconditional love and the character of an individual are inseparable. I've learned to truly love unconditionally... It may not be completely perfected, but it's close. I don't based my love for fellow brothers and sisters on what they can do for me or how they can make me feel. I love them because I understand what it feels like to not have been loved and also what it feels like to be loved unconditionally. Christ loves unconditionally. His love for us has never been based on our present circumstances, but instead He loves us through them fighting for us, interceding for us; so that we may come out victorious in the end. I encourage everyone who reads this to pursue a heart like Jesus Christ so that He too can transform your circumstantial and conditional love for
Others to an unconditional love!
Keep me humble in your presence.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Blessings
Day 12
Lord, how amazing are You? How rich are Your blessings? I still can't get over just how awesome You are! Today, was such a great day full of testimony and praise. I truly learned the meaning of what it means to be blessed. At one point in time I expected blessings simply because I'm a daughter of the King and because His word promises to supply for all my needs. I was so caught up in what I thought I should have and what I believed I deserved forgetting that it is better to give than receive. Today, my blessings were received in my ability to be a blessing to someone else. I understand that in order to receive blessings I must first choose to be a blessing to someone else; however, that could only come through obedience of the word. Deuteronomy 28:2 speaks on all the blessings that will pour down on us and how they are spread out because we listen to the voice of God. I honestly, never understand why He chooses to bless me the way He does because I always feel so undeserving of His blessings. However, I understand that his guaranteed blessings over my life are for a greater purpose.
Today, I thank God for His grace and mercy that have allowed me the opportunity to choose life. I thank Him for being so awesome and making my life so rich and fulfilling. I thank Him for everything I have and everything I don't have., because in reality He has made me rich beyond my wildest dreams. Each and everyday that I choose to live and breathe in You makes life that much more rewarding.
Lord, how amazing are You? How rich are Your blessings? I still can't get over just how awesome You are! Today, was such a great day full of testimony and praise. I truly learned the meaning of what it means to be blessed. At one point in time I expected blessings simply because I'm a daughter of the King and because His word promises to supply for all my needs. I was so caught up in what I thought I should have and what I believed I deserved forgetting that it is better to give than receive. Today, my blessings were received in my ability to be a blessing to someone else. I understand that in order to receive blessings I must first choose to be a blessing to someone else; however, that could only come through obedience of the word. Deuteronomy 28:2 speaks on all the blessings that will pour down on us and how they are spread out because we listen to the voice of God. I honestly, never understand why He chooses to bless me the way He does because I always feel so undeserving of His blessings. However, I understand that his guaranteed blessings over my life are for a greater purpose.
Today, I thank God for His grace and mercy that have allowed me the opportunity to choose life. I thank Him for being so awesome and making my life so rich and fulfilling. I thank Him for everything I have and everything I don't have., because in reality He has made me rich beyond my wildest dreams. Each and everyday that I choose to live and breathe in You makes life that much more rewarding.
Monday, January 13, 2014
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