Looking for God's love

I prayed to God that He would show me He loved me recently. Of course I know He does, but it's always nice to be reminded. That same day I was heading to the interstate. I don't recall where I was going but right as I began to merge onto the highway, I saw a single red and orange tree. The trees surrounding it were slightly changing but still mostly green. The one closest to the road was much brighter and more vibrant than any of the others. I've never been the type to pay much attention to nature (which I've been working on) but as I passed that particular tree, I looked and said "Wow, that is so beautiful!" Maybe a minute later I felt God say, "Yup I did that just for you." How sweet! :-)

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!

What You Should Be Listening To....

Hey everyone!

I hope you guys are doing great! Sorry for being MIA for months...got a lot going on these days. I just had to share some new (to me) music with you. You have to check this guy out---Christon Gray--and be sure to get his album Even With Evil With Me on Amazon or iTunes.

My brother just told me about him last week, and I think I know every song by heart already! lol...it's just been in heavy rotation, whenever possible. Such a feel good, jazzy, inspirational mix of songs. This is one of my favs...

Are you mature enough?

This is a short snippet by ProphetessTera Carissa. She's AMAZING. I'm in her mentorship program and she always has a Word for me whether directly or indirectly. She definitely is passionate about the Word and she'll start preaching like this any given moment whether on a podium or on the phone. She just says it like it is

I've always hated the saying "train your man." That implies that he's an animal. The truth of the matter is, God is not going to send you someone who needs to be "trained." Are you mature enough to identify your spouse?

Turn by turn

What up peeps?!

I pray you all are doing well. If you read my post on obedience, you know that God placed it on my heart to go out of town for whatever reason. I didn't plan anything. I just played it by ear. I stayed with my cousin who happens to live 5 mins from everything.  I got invited to an event at a church that was in that area so I decided to go by myself. I didn't know anyone really. I had never been there and that was WAY out of my comfort zone. But I remember thinking "Why not?" And I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad I did.

Last night after leaving the "Ladies only" night, I cried all the way back to my cousin's house lol The message reminded me of God's desire for ME. I have to go more in depth on it later but the things I heard this week all lined up to the things I had been praying to God about. I would've definitely regretted staying in Va.

I met some really cool people. A couple of people agreed to let me feature them on the blog. I'm excited about that because I know they will have a lot to say especially based off of all that was poured into me this week. I took a great deal of notes and will be sharing them with you very soon.

I said in my previous post that maybe this trip will lead me to find more of God, more of myself, or both. I definitely found more of both. One thing that was confirmed to me is that FEAR will keep you in your comfortable place, physically and spiritually. There's a misconception or what I like to call a straight up lie, that danger lurks in places you aren't familiar with. God will not take you anywhere that His grace won't protect you.

Honestly I got lost every single day. But thank God I had a GPS. Going to a place I knew nothing about made me fully rely on my GPS. I gave all my attention to the directions coming out of that speaker. I still got lost at times but even then, my GPS said "recalculating." And before I knew it I was back on track.

While heading back to my cousin's house one night, I received confirmation and reassurance. I felt the holy spirit say, "I'm your GPS. You will go on paths you know nothing about. I will take you to places you aren't familiar with. But if you fully rely on me, I will get you to your destination. Even if you take a wrong turn, I will recalculate your journey and get you right back on track."

When you already know you're own way, you will never fully rely on your GPS (God). You have to go places you've never gone or do things you've never done to understand how God will give us turn by turn instructions and lead us to our destinations.

Man, I'm so happy I went.  So glad fear of being in an unfamiliar area with unfamiliar people didn't keep me from going.  I hope you guys keep that in mind the next time God places it on your heart to do something you're not fully comfortable with doing. Don't let fear tell you to "Stay put." FEAR will say that the unfamiliar equals danger. But I know from experience that the unfamiliar equals growth and maturity. #Nofear

Praise God for my GPS! I'm soooooo glad I went! I've learned a lot this week about my strengths AND my weaknesses.  I told my roommate I was feeling led to take a little vaca and she was like "Do it!" Either she was trying to get me out of the house lol or she knew it was a good idea. I'll go with the latter. Stay tuned for details! :-)

And in case you didn't know, I'm sooooooo happy I went! lol Until next time..

Inspiration

This is just so amazing to me! It's a unique form of worship, and I just love it! I wish more and more people (myself included) would just step OUT the box and totally be who God has called them to be. My constant prayer is that we would each use our gifts and talents to bring glory to God---using them in the way that only WE are designed to do so. There are just too many people trying to be carbon copies of others. There is only one YOU, and no one else can do what YOU do like YOU. Seek your own destiny out, and God will provide and make it prosperous.

Enjoy!

Just be obedient

Can anyone agree with me when I say obedience can sometimes be hard? I think alot of people try to make God conventional. But God is soooo unconventional. God always sees the bigger picture. Last Wednesday at church, Dr. Bradley was speaking on obedience. I love when a pastor is all is your business lol The Word can cut you for sure. But it's the sharp Word that shapes you into who you're meant to be.

He went on to say he once was offered a job making a whole bunch of money. So he was going to accept it. He had never made that kind of money in his life. He spoke with his pastor at the time and his pastor told him to pray. He had his mind set on it already but after prayer, God told him not to take the job. He had the choice to be disobedient but he chose to listen to God and a few months later the company folded. #Bummer

He said once he decided not to take the job, people were calling him crazy. They couldn't understand why he would walk away from such an amazing opportunity. It's important to hear God's voice for yourself. Those people would've messed him up had he listened to them. But that story is evidence that God can see the things that we so often can't see. Even when it doesn't make sense, God's instructions are there to guide us to our ultimate place in Him. He had no idea that God has called him to pastor at that point. If he had gone along with what he wanted or what "made sense" to others, he would've jeopardized the future of himself, his wife, his kids, and the growing congregation that God was leading him to.

One thing I've experienced in my own life is that disobedience can cause God to be silent. And that's honestly one of the worst feelings. "God tell me what to do. Tell me what to do." And we don't realize that God has already spoken. He's just waiting on us to be obedient. I can say, that there is true freedom in our obedience. I've been experiencing a freshness with God, a new freedom that I've been waiting for for quite some time.

Growth is produced out of obedience. Once we're obedient to the small instructions, God can begin to reveal to us the bigger instructions. I pray God is pleased with my many leaps of faith recently. I've been feeling a pull to go visit a certain area for a while now. I've been talking about it for months. Recently I got this urge to pack up and just go. It was very weird and pretty abnormal. But all I said was "um..I don't know about this..But God is this you?" lol

I believe God has something for me on this mini vaca I'm about to take. I have a cousin and a couple friends that have moved to that area who I will probably visit for a bit but I feel like this trip is for ME. It's a whole new level of independence as I've never traveled alone. But if these last couple of months are an indicator of what God is going to show me, I'm excited! I do believe there is definitely something I'm going to find. Maybe more of God, maybe more of myself, maybe both. Whatever it is, obedience is taking me to it!