Judge Them Not

"Don't judge me, because I sin differently than you."

I've seen this quote a lot, just within the past week alone. Makes you think, right?

We all do wrong, whether in secret or out in the open. Some of us (definitely including me) are blessed that our secret sins weren't exposed for all the world to see. We are blessed that God exposed them to us, and that He granted us grace and another chance to fix what was broken.

It's truly amazing how we can see the flaws clear as day in someone else, but when the mirror is turned back on us...what then? It's crazy how we get entertained by judging, gossiping, talking about others behind their backs....whatever you want to call it. We all do it...don't act too innocent.

I had a check in my spirit earlier today, and I'm still "wow'd" over it...ashamed really.

I found out on Facebook that another young person I know is expecting a baby, and she's not married, and "oh no, there goes another one...another statistic." PAUSE.

Who do I think I am?

I was her age once...with certain feelings for the opposite sex. I did my share of sneaking around, all while still a faithful member of my church. I tested God's grace way too many times to count, all the while thinking that I could just ask for forgiveness each time and continue doing wrong things contrary to His word.

The only difference between me and her was that I didn't get caught. That's probably a lot of our testimonies, if we would be honest with ourselves.

I say all this to say....


Remember we all have flaws, and not all of our flaws are the same (or even similar). Instead of looking someone up and down in judgement by the flaws we see on them outwardly, we should take the time to pray for them more than we talk about them. I mean, who made you God? That's clearly His job.

The Ship

Most people have seen the movie Titanic. If not, it's a movie about a huge ship that ends up causing the death of thousands of people after it hits an iceberg and sinks.

This is something that God showed me.

The Titanic was flowing smoothly at first. There didn't seem to be any issues or problems; things seemed to be going as planned. The problem appeared when the captain realized that the path the Titanic was on, would lead them all to destruction. They knew they were responsible for everyone on board. So as a result, they attempted to turn the ship and go a different path to avoid the things that were ahead.

They did everything they could to turn the ship. The ship slowed down. And even though the iceberg was still in the distance, because the ship was so big, it took a long time for it to turn. Mainly because of it's size but also because it was accustomed to going with the current.

I woke up this morning thinking about the Titanic. And this came to mind. We all were once on a path headed towards destruction. We were going along with the current until we got a glimpse of where we were headed. We went to God and asked Him to turn us around. This is my main point. Sometimes when we go to God and we do all that we feel like we can do to cause the change we need in our lives, things still seem to slow down. We feel like we're not moving. Our situation isn't turning around.

I want to encourage you not to give up on going with God's system. It may seem like nothing is happening. But just like the Titanic, it will sometimes take time for things to turn around. All the water has to be moved to make room for your turnaround. And we know, it takes more effort and time to go against the current than it does to flow with the waves. God is setting you up for a complete 180. The bigger your "ship" the longer it may take. But just know, things ARE turning.

And you won't have to worry about sinking. We have the power to rebuke the waves and even the icebergs that we see in the distance. We are no longer on the world's system which will tell us, that because the iceberg is close, we're all going to die. Not so. We are now on God's system. In Proverbs 6:2 it says, "you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth." YOU control whether you will be ensnared by the words of the world's system or by the words of God's system. I choose God!

So in the meantime, we must speak LIFE until we see the change. I WILL NOT be broke. I WILL NOT be sick. I WILL NOT give up. I AM prosperous. I AM healed. I AM strong. There are things going on that you can't see and you may not even feel yet. Be encouraged and remain patient. Just know, THE SHIP IS TURNING.

I knew I was going to marry him

One thing I've learned over my 24 years of living is that sometimes while you're IN your current situation, you don't recognize the severity of your situation. Sometimes it takes taking yourself out of that situation for just a moment and asking yourself, "If this wasn't my current circumstance but the circumstance of someone I love, what would it look like to me?"

There are so many things that can blind us of our situations. In reference to relationships, there are reasons why God desires us to save sex until marriage. Not only does He want us to live purely but God knows of the bonds that are created when people engage in sex before marriage. Sex is a representation of "forever" which is why people use the phrase "soul tie." A soul tie will blind you and keep you from walking away from circumstances that are no good for you. And there's also the "yo yo effect" when a soul tie keeps a person going back to a someone who you were never meant to be with in the beginning.

It doesn't always take sex to create a soul tie. I'm sure the majority of people at some point in their lives have allowed their minds to entertain a thought. That thought turned into a paragraph which then turned into a story which then turned into a novel all while reality had yet to even take one step.

I remember when I was in middle school. I'm ashamed to say it but I was a HUGE B2K fan. My friends, cousins, and I would always go to their concerts. We met them a couple of times and it just seemed like the best times of our lives. I was specifically "in love" with Omarion. I knew I was going to marry him. I spent so much time daydreaming about how things would be WHEN we got married, WHEN we had kids, etc. I was completely convinced that we were meant for one another. Clearly, that was crazy. But in my 12 year old mind, I had idolized this person to the point that I thought I KNEW  all about him when I didn't even know him. Needless to say, when he kissed Jennifer Freeman in the "Girlfriends" video, I was heartbroken. (But that's a different post lol)

But that's the exact thing that some people do today as adults. They can't let someone go, whose obviously a red flag because they've allowed their mind to connect the happiness of their future with a person of their present, who God intended to be in their past. I can respect blindness. We've all been blind at some point in our lives. But there also comes a point where we have to see ourselves as the kings and queens that we are.

My challenge to you, no matter how you feel about your current situation, relationship, job, etc,. is to step back a moment and ask yourself, "If this was my sister's, brother's, daughter's, son's, mother's or father's circumstance, how would it look to me? What would I tell them? Would I believe God had better for them? Would I think they were in a mode of compromise?" If you'd be happy for them, praise God for His faithfulness in your life. But if there's anything inside of you that makes you doubt that your current situation would be attractive attached to someone you love, then pray that God will fully open your eyes.

If he doesn't treat you the way you would want your daughter to be treated or if she doesn't treat you the way you would want your son to be treated, you are undervaluing yourself. As I said in a previous post, everyone has potential and the ability to change. But when your happiness is a gamble depended on their "change" you may be setting yourself up to lose.

Your Excuses Are Unexcused Now

We make too many excuses.

Maybe not everyone, but a lot of us do.

Always trying to justify our shortcomings by using the age old phrase: This is just me. This is how I am.

But after awhile, don't YOU get tired of hearing those monotonous thoughts running through your head? Don't YOU ever get to the point where you desire change, where you really want to move forward...past all the excuses holding you back?

This post was actually inspired from getting yelled at by my parents...lol

It's kind of sad, but if you've been following the blog since the early days, I wrote a post on my cleaning habits. Still struggling with that today (shows I haven't changed as much as I'd like). But anyway, I wrote on that previous blog that I hate folding clothes! I don't mind washing and drying everything, but afterwards I just don't wanna mess with them. So, I have a habit of keeping the pile of clean clothes on my bed, and I sometimes just sort through what I want to wear from there...unless it's hanging in my closet.

Then, sometimes (unintentionally) I leave my shoes and miscellaneous papers lying on the floor. I get caught in the daily rush and routine of life that my room and bathroom can just look so horrible, looking crazy that only one person is living in this certain section of the house.

So, of course I constantly get yelled at as to why I can't keep my room clean...why I can't pick up after myself. In the most recent occurrence of scoldings, I attempted to explain to my mom that I just hate folding clothes...that it's just hard for me. That it's just a bad habit. I try to keep my room clean, but once I wash clothes and/or I'm rushing in the mornings getting ready for work or school.....it's over. 

Usually, I'm threatened with "eviction" notices by my parents, claiming that if I don't get my act together, I'll have to find somewhere else to live. Those are always empty words, though...lol...Maybe if they did that for real, I'd be forced to grow up. 

But this time, my mom said some things that stuck out to me. Something along the lines of...stop making excuses of why you act a certain way, learn to change your habits, etc. 

I knew she was right. This had been going on far too long.

And then randomly...when I was getting ready to fall asleep last night, I kept kicking something on the bed. I was annoyed that there was so much stuff on the bed, that it was now on my main sleeping side. Then, a thought popped in my head. This won't work when you're married, because where's he going to sleep? It kinda made me laugh, but it was true. I must tackle these seemingly simple tasks now, because that definitely wouldn't fly in marriage. But....that's another blog, another day.

Maybe you have some things in your life that you're letting yourself slide by with.  Your worst enemy lies within yourself, since you are in control of all your choices (good or bad). Don't hold back from doing what needs to be done today. Going around in constant circles around the same issues isn't doing anyone any good. Someone is waiting on you to GET IT TOGETHER! You have something, small or big, to offer the world. Don't hold your own self back from a better life!