A Place Called Home

Living in this fancy dwelling,

There is always something to see beyond the gamboling lights of gleam,

Beyond the hours of every existence of fate,

I dream great dreams and yet I am living them in abundance of today’s clemency.

 

But yet beneath the shadows of tomorrow I love to visit one place….

 

 

 

This place where the stars are so dazzling and mystical,

It captures every frazzled and arid place,

Where the grass is always greener than the grass on the other side,

Where I smell the sweet smell of thorny red roses on this country-side plain,

And these thorns are secretly cat teeth in the joking imagination of innocence,

Where laughter never ends as I gaze from afar,

On a creaky porch that seems too small to the human eye,

But inside it is full of love and the foundation upon where dreams begin,

The aroma of prayer fills the air even after the silence takes over,

And my heart hears music built like great pyramids in the days of ancient Greece,

And even as I return to my fancy place of dreams…

 I will always understand why HOME is simply where my heart is.

 

Do you suffer from One Tree-itis? (BLOG ENTRY 21)

Do you suffer from One Tree-itis?

Amazing Author, Michelle Hammond once asked a very deep question when she asked, Do you suffer from One Tree-itis? What is it that you are so focused on that is stealing your joy of who God made you to be? What is it?

Often times we focus on the one thing that we don’t have and fail to appreciate what we do have.  Although Adam and Eve had everything they needed, the serpent came and brought Eve’s attention to the one thing that she didn’t have.  He became that little voice in her ear to take her attention off all the wonderful things that God had blessed her with. He brought her attention to the one tree that she couldn’t eat from in thinking that God was withholding something good from her. 

 

Psalm 84:11 (KJV) For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

God knows my dear child and he hasn’t forgotten about you. He knows what is suitable for you. He knows what is best for you.  These are the best days of your life my sisters and brothers. So enjoy them and stop focusing on what you don’t have.  STOP, LOOK, and LISTEN silly, you are missing what is right in front of you.

God has seen your heart,

So play your part,

In the perfection of his story,

It shall be for his honor and glory.

The time is near,

So don’t you dare fear,

You have everything you need,

So don’t be hasty with greed.

God is writing this beautiful piece,

So the worry can cease,

If you yet trust him…

Others may walk away,

But his love shall never stray,

Wait, fight, and pray…

TODAY IS YOUR DAY!

 

 

 

BLOG ENTRY 20: The List

“No honey, nothing is wrong with you if you don’t fit on his/her list. You just don’t fit on their list. Build a bridge, get over it and know that God has so much more for you.”

         

 

         I get so tired of people getting upset and hurt behind not fitting into the expectations of others. We spend too much time wearing the weight of people’s approval instead of being happy with whom we are.

•     Am I good enough?
•      Am I successful enough?
•      Am I beautiful enough?
•     Am I smart enough?

          Yes, you are all these things and more. People’s expectations don’t define who you are. God sees it, knows it, and allows it all in your favor. 

Jeremiah 29:11 (MSG) says, I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

          God has already planned out great things for your life. In translation, what God has for you is for you. Priscilla Shirer once said, “We don’t mind God being God as long as it fits in with what we have outlined. Are you pouting when you yield to God and yielding to him doesn’t yield the results that you thought it was going to?”

          We want God to adjust his plans on our terms to suit what we want and become angry when God decides to do differently than what we expected of him. The moment it becomes uncomfortable and the moment we don’t understand what God is doing then we lose faith. We get impatient with God when his timing doesn’t fit our timing. We get bitter with God when we begin to feel entitled to things because of what we did or didn’t do. We try to place God in a box, but he can do more and above what we could ever think or even ask for. So sometimes it takes for us to simply move out of his way and completely trust him. Sometimes it takes for us to continue praying even when we get weary that our will becomes his will and that our ways become his ways. He wants us to completely trust him with our whole hearts.

          I want to know the fullness of God and I can only do that by letting go. All I have to do is purely trust him.  

         And if the truth is told when it comes down to it then the only list I really need to be on is God’s list. So if I am not on your list, then hey you're probably not on mine either because the path that I am following is the will of God. 

         My word to you is to believe in yourself and be confident. Do not let rejection of people cause you to doubt who you are in God. It is okay not to be on someones so called list or agenda. It does not make them a bad person, but that is not God's plan for you. God's desire is to give you his best for YOUR life.  We must accept that he knows what he is doing and that his favor is upon your life. 

Fear Not, Because He Lives:BLOG ENTRY 19

Fear Not, Because He Lives

 

“Fear is created when the devil perverts the most sensitive area of your life. The devil attaches a spirit of fear to the areas of sensitivity of our life. He knows that those areas of sensitivity are where God wants us to experience the highest levels of victory. So if we stay clear of those things then we never get around to living our potential as sons and daughters of the highest King. Don’t let Satan attach a spirit of fear to what God has called you to do.” ~Pricilla Shirer

         As I child, I was terrified of getting my hair washed to the point it was absolutely ridiculous. I would run and scream from my mom and even hide under the bed or behind the dresser. I didn’t like the feel of the water when it got in my ears and oh no don’t let it splash anywhere near my face. So each time I cried because I knew it was something that had to be done. Each time I cried thinking about all the times I would have to endure this experience for weeks, months, and years to come. My mom would fuss until she really saw the fear in my eyes. This is what she said, “Don’t you understand that I am not going to let anything happen to you. So calm down and trust me.” So somehow I begin to get it done without crying. Somehow I begin to trust. Even though I didn’t care for it, the fear began to go away little by little as I held on to those words that said “trust me”.  This may be a trival story to some, but when it is something you are afraid of then it gets real.  God is saying, fear not and trust in me. I know that you are afraid, but trust me. I know that it doesn’t look like how you think it should, but trust me.  If a little girl can trust her mother then surely she can trust God for anything her heart desires.

          Martina McBride wrote a song back in 2006 entitled, Anyway.  Often in life we do fear. Sometimes we fear the silliest things that would never even come to reality in a million years. Often our fear is even backed by a few bad experiences. But fear should never handicap us or keep us from doing something that we truly value because we are simply afraid. We may never be recognized or spend our time building something great only to have it torn back down, but we do it anyway all for the sake of Christ. Our living is not in vain so if it is something as small as an encouraging word then speak it today. Even if you fail the first time or many times after that…if it is something positive then pray about it, ask God to equip you with all the tools you need, and go for it. Like the old psalmist says, because he lives then we are able to face tomorrow and when we realize the authority of this then our fear disappears to conquer the highest mountains.

Isaiah 41:10 (NIV): “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

A Prayer of Destiny: BLOG ENTRY 18

It won’t be through human manipulation,

But through God’s divine revelation,

Not by mere chance,

But through a praise that was given in advance,

He saw it before time,

And ordained those blessings to be just mine,

My life in his hands,

Equipping me for that plan,

So I can’t fear,

For my breakthrough is near,

He is opening eyes, hearts, and doors,

For something greater and something more,

For when the enemy comes to claim my precious destiny,

Then In the name of Jesus,

He has to flee,

In him today,

I claim my victory in EVERY way. 

WAIT, A MINUTE: BLOG ENTRY 17

Wait, a Minute!

You can’t move forward by chosen to dwell on the past. God has your life in his hands so trust him. This doesn’t mean that it will be easy. This doesn’t mean it won’t hurt sometimes. This doesn’t even mean that you won’t have days that you break down only to question why. But KNOW that because of him. It is working out for your good. I am nothing without him, but I am everything with him. It is working out for you! Sometimes I have to give myself pep talks like this to simply remember and encourage myself.

 I was listening to Proverbs 31 ministries one day on the radio before work. The message the young woman gave empowered me. It was just what I needed that second in time.  She said, “Every period of life we seem to be waiting on something. When you were in high school you were ready to graduate, after college you were ready to start your career, when you were single then you were ready to be married, when you get married then you are ready to have children, and then once you have them then you are ready for them to get out. We must be content in whatever season we are in and cherish what God has given us.”

In this life, I often wonder why things work out the way that they do. Why is that I have chosen to do it right, but it seems like those who cheat their way through stay ahead? Why do many of the things I do seem to go unnoticed? But I never want to develop the spirit of entitlement. I am not entitled to anything, but God has given me grace and for that I am grateful. So we must remember that we have got to truly believe it before we see it.

We must practice patience. Patience seems to be a hard concept for many to grasp. I have even struggled with patience myself. I have often wanted to jump to things prematurely. But even the right thing can be the wrong thing prematurely. I remember having a talk with one of my friends. She describes patience as a young child who wants a candy bar. I was like girl… what do you mean? She says, “A child who wants a candy bar has no patience. They are jumping up and down like crazy saying I want it. Give it to me now! And you as the adult are saying not until you sit down and are still. That is how we often are girl. We are anxious and jumping up and down when in reality God is saying sit down somewhere. I will not give it to you until you sit down and be still. We have got to learn how to step back and watch God work.” I really had to stop and think.

Psalm 27:14

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart

And wait for the Lord

          Wait so you told me to wait twice. It is funny how everyone has a problem to the solution.  Girl, I would have done this or dude I would have said this. You are crazy. But God simply tells me to wait, be strong, and take heart.

          So even if God doesn’t give it to me then I am grateful anyway. Even if it doesn’t work out in the timing or place that I think it should then I know he has it. Even if it seems like everyone who is doing wrong is blessed all around me. I must choose to trust that God’s timing is perfect just for me and that the process is working out for my good.

It is all just a process. God will bless you with the right thing, in the right season, if you continue to do the right things, and it will be at the right time.