To be inducted into the Hall of Fame is more than just being
a Perennial Pro-Bowl attendee or All-Pro player. It indicates that you were more than just a role player and you are being recognized
for your commitment and achievements to the game itself.
Role players far exceed those going into the Hall of Fame,
but the Hall of Fame outlasts the players and the days on a team.
Our time spent in and with God will far exceed and outlast
our days here on this Earth; however, I don’t just want to be a Christian
Role-Player. I want to be inducted into
the Hall of Fame of believers like those in Hebrews 11.
Being a Christian isn’t a game, but it is to be
SERIOUSLY! I don’t want to leave
anything on the field of play called - LIFE.
To quote something that my husband always says regarding
things we see in the media that we can’t believe is taking place; such as
Trayvon Martin or Sandra Bland cases. “Are
you going to believe me or your lying eyes”? We see the injustices right there
LIVE and IN HD (not just in color), so it’s clear and shut case – or so we
assumed – and no charges are brought. WE
KNOW THE TRUTH, regardless of the blatant injustice. The
world says that to trust God is foolish – blatant disrespect to the word of God.
It’s the same thing that God is asking us, “Are you going to
believe me”? We already know that the “just
shall live by faith”, and that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, and
the evidence of things not seen”. Faith
cannot be seen by natural eyes, so why then do we find it so hard to believe
God and to take him at his Word? WE KNOW
THE TRUTH – GOD IS TRUTH AND EVERYTHING ELSE IS A LIE THAT COMES AGAINST HIS
WORD. He told us to trust, to believe
and we would see his hand in our favor.
Therefore, “I believe”.
Why is it so easy to believe that a situation will never
change for the better, than to believe that God will cause all things to work
out for our good? We want his blessings,
but seemingly appear to be shocked when he does what we asked him for – INSTEAD
of standing sure-footed on his word. We’re
taken aback, and instead of getting used to him being as good as we “say” he
is, we find it hard to trust and believe, when it comes to standing still and seeing
the salvation of the Lord. Faith is an action word and ONLY God knows whether
we are truly standing or cowardly crouching.
God is probably shaking his head in dismay toward us and
saying, “Get used to it!”
One thing that he didn’t say was to take him and his
blessings for granted. There is a difference between being taken
for granted and being counted on to keep your word. Anyone in a relationship will tell you that
they don’t want to be taken for granted, but that same person will tell you
that they like being counted on and trusted while in that relationship.
When it
comes to being relational, God is like us, or rather – we are like him. God wants to be appreciated, but never second-guessed about his
intentions towards us. He’s saying that
we must FIND a way to keep trusting regardless of the situation – for him to be
GOD.
I don t know… I guess I felt like doing a little thinking
this morning. And I was just pondering
the idea of why Obama might have become the first black President. Perhaps it could’ve been the fact that he
never grew up with the inherited burden that most blacks have to learn to grapple with – Where do we hail
from? From the time Obama was birthed,
he knew who he was and where he came from.
He was able to trace his lineage.
His dad was right off the boat, so he knew where the boat carried him
from – exactly where he/his people came from.
Not the normal hang-ups that
you and I have learned to digest forcibly like a child forced to eat spinach. As like with spinach, and yeah it’s good for
you. Learning that we are descendants of
slavery is as hard to swallow as spinach - but it’s good to know, although
still hard to get it to go down – regardless of all the benefits.
Obama had the normal issues of growing up as many of us do, quite
possibly 99 problems, but knowing who he was wasn’t one of them. Not the normal licking of Civil War wounds,
fears, frustrations, and the collective baggage that comes with growing up Black
in America.
He was free to use and open his mind to other possibilities
and not have the insurmountable hurdle that many can’t get around or over – being Black! We run up to the hurdles of being black and
just don t know how to attack it. A
hurdle is what it is… something impeding your way and there is only one legal way to topple it – face it head
on.
He has never been the typical NEGRO OR NIGGER/NIGGA. He wasn’t imbued from conception with the
bad habit of “stinking thinking”. I
cannot help but to wonder if that is what helped him to get into office in the
first place. Even the run of the mill Klu
Klux Klansman knew that they couldn’t hold that platitude over Obama’s
head. He could dodge that bullet every
time. How wonderful that must be to not
be a Nigger and not ever have to quibble
about whether you should or should not put on that title – whether it is a
Nigger or Nigga – Either way – you are still associated and identify as such. The memory of being a Nigger is a shackle
that has to be broken mentally.
So, when I see Obama get his pimp walk on and don’t have a nigga care in the world, I can’t help
but to attribute that confidence and fleetness of foot as he jaunts down the
stairs of Air Force One; I think to myself that he is one of, if not the blackest man I know.
I pray to one day as a people that we find ourselves to know
that type of FREEDOM.
Remember in the movie the “Best Man” and Lance finally
figured out what Mia and Harper had done?
The only thing that saved the wedding was when Harper reminded Lance of
a declaration that he had once made… “That he had done so much dirt that if he
ever found out that Mia had cheated, he would forgive her and not ever mention
to her that he knew or allow it to change their relationship”.
God only eats one thing; he is on a special diet – His Word! We can cry our eyes out; over-eat, or don’t
eat at all. We can pump our fist to the
sky in anger and frustration or fall out prostrate on the floor in despair of being
at our wits-end from the perils of life.
All that can get God’s attention, but once we get God’s attention – What
then? We then do the only thing that
moves the hand of God on our behalf – it’s sort of beating God at this own
game, although the game is that of life and death - the difference between
living and existing!
God cannot lie, fib, or even tell a white-lie. God’s word is so true that he can only swear
by himself since there is no other power for him to swear by. His word is his word, and his word shall be
the only thing left remaining after the heavens and earth pass away.
Thusly, God has to honor his word regarding those who choose
to stand on his word and speak it back to him.
Speaking God’s word shows reverence, praise of who he is, gives him
glory and honor as being God, and that you take his word, and his alone as
having the last say (word), over what is said over your life and the narrative
of your story.
I didn't realize the power of his word until the other day
when I was having an issue, and in mentioning the issue to some friends, they
reminded me of what I had said, just a day or so ago. I couldn't do anything but accept what I had
said; and God released the revelation to me of that’s how he is about his own
word.
The only way to speak God’s word back to him, is to first
learn his word by getting to know him more by reading his word, devotional
prayer and church attendance. Faith
comes by “hearing” the word of God; and without faith “it is impossible to
please God”.
I've been involved in two car accidents that could have
easily taken my life, but by the Grace and Mercy of God – I am still here. So, when I see people zippin’ by driving like
a bat out-of-a-hot-hell (even when it’s raining), I keep cruising right along
because I have experienced first-hand how quickly an accident can go left; and
I’m appreciative of having learned the value of life. I've also been in some situations in life, wherein,
I was out of the Father’s willing willingly
and I could have easily left this world dead in my sins – but by the Grace and
Mercy of God, he allowed me to “come to myself” before I continued on the path
that I was headed, that not only would have left me physically dead, but
spiritually as well. Once again, I have
learned through experience to be appreciative of the value of life and to
proceed with caution as I venture through.
I've learned to not be so anxious to do something or to get somewhere in
a hurry. LIFE is going to move at the
pace it is scheduled to go; and rushing and being impatient only prolongs our frustrations,
but it doesn't move the clock of God. Trust
God-
The hardest thing in the world to ME is to see that "thing" in my spirit and having to not only keep up my hopes but the hopes of others, so that they can be believers, receivers and partakers as well, because I not only believe to be blessed alone but to be a blessing to others. We can t make anyone believe for us or even with us - but we must believe for OURSELVES. #ItGet'sHardSometimes - Nevertheless "I Believe!" If you don't - who will?
Definition of Child-Rearing:
to bring to maturity or self-sufficiency
usually through nurturing care
Jesus spoke of us being as children. The Israelites are called the Children of
Israel. We are God’s children.
I have finally reached that age where I have to rear my
children and not simply care for their basic needs. The time has finally arrived in my life where
I must make hard choices and difficult decisions for the betterment of my
children and not to save face with them.
I remember just bathing, feeding and taking them out for walks or trips;
and all I had to worry about were diapers, the dusting of baby powder, apply lotion
on them to the point where they could not do anything else than fall asleep from
the “baby massage”, bottles of warm milk and cereal and love.
Child-rearing is difficult because it’s now more predicated on
their social, economic, and spiritual acclamation's to gauge between what they
want and what God wants for them. Growing
up is a hard but necessary process – whether we are the ones being pushed or
doing the pushing.
Then I finally got what God has been saying all along - “To
bring to maturity or self-sufficiency”.
All we want is for our kids to grow up to be self-sufficient and take
care of themselves and become a productive and successful member of society. And that’s all that God wants from us as his
children. We will always need our
parents, as our kids will always need us and us God; but we should be maturing.
No one has cared or nurtured for me like my Father in Heaven…
Help me to mature up in my faith and in you Lord. Bring me into spiritual maturity and
self-sufficiency to your Glory; and it’s in Jesus name I pray. Amen!
REALITY CHECK:
I m not depressed but rather DRIVEN. No one loves a good vacation more than me, but now I realize that I have been settling... I don t want to just go and when I return - "I m back", dreading the returning home. I want to grow homesick from being on vacation too long (that s abundance!) - I want to be engrossed in so much living of life that these days of mundane existence seem like another life-time. Temporary solutions are no longer sufficient for a life I plan to live on a long-term basis! Feed: "to give food to someone or something". Provision: The act or process of supplying or providing something". 2nd definition of Provision: "Something that is done in ADVANCE TO PREPARE FOR SOMETHING ELSE". I trust God for not just to be fed, but for provision; because what he provides has already been done in ADVANCE and I am being prepared for something else. And I believe that with all of my heart and soul. Amen!
No Guts – No Glory! We don’t go through to receive the glory. We go through to “Give God the Glory!” Endure hard times with faith that God will get the glory from you persevering in his faithfulness. Endure good times with thankfulness and humbleness, because neither trouble nor the fun times last always. Gut it out – Stick it out – Faith it out! “And to God be the Glory!”
You may or may not want to know or even care why I continue
to write and post. It won’t stop me from
telling you the answer that you may or may not want to know. “I don’t want to give up believing on
anything” – Not in Love, Not in having hope, Not in keeping the faith in God – in that hope, one day there will be a breakthrough. Take a look around you – there is misery at
every turn. Despair, suicide,
depression, abuse of all kinds (drug, physical and mental – men, women and
children) are prevalent in society more so than HOPE.
We see it in each other’s eyes as we pass each other by on
the streets that hope has departed,
just as we stare at a corpse in the casket and can see that their soul has
departed – no life there. Death
- alive or dead, spiritually or physically, can be visually witnessed. Even on television while we are constantly
bombarded with the ups and downfalls of even the rich and famous – no one is
immune to LIFE. Life
is going to happen whether we like it or not and how we choose to deal with Life in and of itself is what determines
our fate.
Where do we find the hope to keep on trusting that better
will come when better to our
satisfaction doesn't appear at all to be truly possible? This is the crux of why I continue to write
and believe – TO FIND OUT THE ANSWER. We
have to know that the answer to all of our questions is in God the
Creator. And he will answer those who
seek his truth.
My desire is to always be willing to try. It’s hard to keep trying and failing. Successful Pastors, Life Coaches, Leaders and
Speakers are needed and recruited because lack
of motivation in life can set-in; and
even the best of coaches and spiritual leaders have their day(s). Staying up in faith, belief and life is a lifetime affair. As long as
we live – there will be life to
contend with.
And so I write, I pray, I
testify, I go to church, I give when I can and do for others. When none of that appears to be working, all
the while I’m talking to God and giving him the praise as being God and I
continue to believe that he will be the same God in my yesterday that has
brought me through – “And that’s All Folks!”
It’s not any deeper or more spiritual than that. “Have faith in God”.
No one may ever click on this
link to read it, No one may purchase my books, I may never speak in the front
of an audience in a coliseum or stadium, but I know that God has a purpose for
me and that regardless of what I see manifesting or still veiled, no matter how
I feel about what ever given situation or circumstance. I know that of all that I do – I must not
give up TRYING. Hit the reset button in
God and continue on believing! This isn't
positive talk – this is faith In God
talk. There is only ONE faith.
And that is in God.
Blind - from birth… Needing
assistance and for someone to care about your daily welfare. Bartimaeus was and is no different than many
of us – needing assistance for the simplest of decisions and well-being; financially,
physically, spiritually and mentally handicapped, disabled and impaired – and for
many, since birth. Most have lived half
their lives already and have yet to see the blessings of God manifested in
their lives – FULLY! Remain determined and undeterred to see it
come to pass!
We are no different than
Bartimaeus. But the most important
similarity is JESUS CHRIST! The same God
who healed Bartimaeus is the same God who can heal us, and bless us to see and
to be made whole.
Father, I pray for financial
freedom, freedom from any sickness or malady in my body and for a renewed mind
and clean heart. I won’t be shushed by
those around me, but will cry out fiercely with a loud voice because I know
that you, first of all hear me, and you are passing by for those who want to be
healed – of all that ails us.
Had Bartimaeus sat quietly knowing
within himself that he was incomplete and in need of a Savior; and unable to do
anything about it himself; he would be culpable of not receiving his miracle. Same with us… “A never spoken prayer can go unanswered”,
but “A prayer spoken in humble desperateness can catch the ear of Almighty God”.
Therefore, keep speaking,
praying, crying and pleading because God will answer – He will answer! This I not only believe but I know; even
before receiving! Give him Thanks
continually! He’s full of
No one has it all together out of the starting gate with God. Luke
2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
God wants us to first consider him in our lives. After consideration of who God is; he wants
us to learn to trust him and have faith in his word, but we cannot do that
without then respecting the power of who he is.
If you do not respect a person, you won’t believe anything that they say,
nor give any validity to what they are saying.
Faith comes from having experienced God keeping his word,
time-after-time and our respect for him grows.
His trust in us increases from us now choosing to do less of
the those things that “we” want to do; it’s not “a” thing because we fall short
of his glory daily, but those who love him try do more of what pleases God and
not what displeases him. We learn to
count the cost of what we want to do versus how this glorifies God in the
matter. God is concerned about people
who are concerned about what he is concerned about.
Once we stop being Hell-Bent
on doing things our own way – Literally and Figuratively speaking – We
learn to lean on God for direction and his favor in whatever matter that arises
- thus walking with God and receiving his blessings.
He keeps telling us that it’s not that much to this faith
walk. “Why is it so easy to believe in Hell
and not in Heaven?” Same question but
different context – “Why is it so hard to accept the worst in life and not
simply trust that God will keep his word and bless us to be a blessing, and to
never leave nor forsake us?” Your answer
to that question will give you some guidance and gauge where you are with
God. Are you Hell-bent on doing things
your way or have you made up your mind to trust God in spite of ANY situation?
Hulk enthusiasts know that the Hulk struggles with “hulking-out”
and trying to not have many days of “incident”.
Although the paradox between the two is that the Hulk likes being the
Hulk, once he goes ahead and does what is now natural and apart of who he
is. God has called us to be “Incredible”
and do great exploits but many put too many days between incidents of the last
time they did anything great for God. The
Incredible Hulk is one of, if not, the greatest of Superheroes because the
gamma radiation within him basically makes him indestructible and causes him to
do incredible things for the good of
others. The Holy Spirit within us causes
us to have that same indestructibility because we cannot leave here before we
accomplish that which God has called us to complete; and we are enabled to do incredible things to God’s Glory. Don’t let too many days of non-incidents go
between you and the last time you had an incredible experience in God - for the good of others. In God and for God, we too can do the “Incredible”!
I, God, take you, ?, to be my lawfully wedded(husband/wife), to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part. God takes his vows to us seriously. Where do you think that the idea for marriage between man and woman were constructed? No marriage is good all the time and no relationship with God is a cake walk. Marriage is work and so is the relationship that we are in with Christ. God is faithful and he expects us to be faithful to him. Sin and faithfulness are two different things. Faithfulness causes us to repent when we sin, so that we get back in right standing with God. There’s safety, blessings, inheritance, provision, protection and a covenant that is inexplicable between God and someone who has said “I do” to him.
Don’t miss your blessing by looking for miracles – ALL THE TIME. We are blessed to walk day-in and day-out with God, in his abundant blessings that he gives us daily! Miracles are a special move of God for a specific situation, circumstance, time or need. We walk in the blessings of God all the days of our life; and new mercies are waiting for each of us every morning - you just have to choose to walk in them. Stop wasting what you already have, for something that comes few and far between. No one walks in the miraculous every day. When you see a miracle happening – there will be no question what it is that you are witnessing, why it is happening and from who it comes from - GOD. Your wants are already known by God; just trust him THIS DAY for what is needed. Trust him to be God.
Wait on a hand out – (Not an option, the hands will soon run
out). Commit Suicide – (Puh-leez!). Sit around and wait for a so-called loved-one
to become deceased and reap some life insurance benefit - (I’d rather have the
person here). Exist in some sad state of
uselessness (Nawww… I have to do something).
Bank Robbery or the like - (Jail has never nor will be a comfortable way
of spending down time). Drop out from life and just bum around – (I've tried
that and it just doesn't suit me). Try to live my own way – (And I have tried
that already and got exactly what I was looking for in the process).
The absolute and only surety in my life is the trust that I
have in God. There is only so much of
sweeping life up under the rug.
Eventually, it is going to create a hump or impediment and it is going
to trip you up. Each and every time that
I get to tripping and thinking of taking life into my own incapable hands, I am reminded by God, that not me – but ONLY he,
has been consistently faithful. Much of
the time I didn't recognize his faithfulness until after the fact, and then all
I could do is either cry from being humbled by looking back and seeing that it
was nothing but God; or I am left speechless and staring into the nebulous annals
of my mind and seeing the vestiges of just how far God has brought me and how
hard I had tried to sabotage my own life, let alone the purpose he has for my
life.
If not for God…
So… When it comes to my today, to my future – I can only
trust that God will do what he said. All
the other options are off the table; and they were never any good to begin with
in the first place. Either I am going to
trust him or I might as well make a blindfolded choice from the aforementioned list
– And once again – neither of them are an option. God is the only option and I am so glad that
I finally figured this out in enough time to see his word and promise come true
in my life. My latter days shall be
greater than my former days.
His name was Joe but that’s all that I really knew about
him; sad to say that I didn't know nor inquired to know what his last name was.
He worked outside as a car detailer at my job and his age range was between 50 –
60 years old, a white-haired, lanky and very respectful Caucasian gentleman. He was always smiling and although I do
believe that the smile was genuine, I could tell that he was masking something
else. In fact I was just thinking the
other day about how I needed to have my car detailed and that I would throw him
a few bones – that is how he made his some side money.
Here at the job we knew that he would sometimes binge on whatever but he was one of the hardest
workers at his age and frailty. Up act
the crack of light in the heat of the sun or the blistering cold or the pouring
rain – all climates, no matter the thermometer going up or below – he was here
working. I felt for him because no one
should have to work that hard to live so meagerly – life itself is hard but to live hard is another thing. Although
I thought it was a blessing that when his roommate had died and he was in need
of a place to stay, the company offered him a small apartment on the property
that was atop an old office building.
All Joe had to do was walk out of his back door, down the steps, walk a
few short paces and he was at his job.
No commuting; which was good because he didn't have a vehicle. The coffee was ready for him in the mornings
and he worked at his own pace. To some
they would see it as a stress less life – To him he saw what was the point of
going on in this life and this past Sunday, Joe committed suicide by hanging
himself from the banister of the very steps he trotted down each morning to
come to work. He just made up his mind
that he was going to do it, called our General Manager and told him that he had
made the noose and that it was in his hands and proceeded to do it while the
General Manager was still on the line pleading for him not to do it.
Why is it that some see blessings in this life – while others
see a reason to call it quits?
What bothers me most about this tragedy and disturbs my
spirit is a question that just keeps repeating in my mind, “Why couldn't he
find the one who can always be found?”
God is omnipresent and omnipotent – But we have the choice of “will we
trust him or won’t we.” I will never
doubt the fact that God had revealed himself as God to Joe, as he has to each
of us. The choice was up to Joe.
Suicide – We have all thought about it; visited the idea, if
only but for a brief moment of time, and perhaps vowed to never revisit or
entertain the thought or notion ever again – We have allowed life all by itself
to make us consider and contemplate ending life itself; to take your own life,
into your own hands. Sort of like a life
devoid of a relationship with Christ – It’s totally suicidal.
I had a brief stint at working for Vital Statics and most
would be alarmed and disturbed at the amount of suicides that take place. I had the disappointment of entering death
records. Many of the death certificates
were of people committing suicide and until then, I had no idea the rate it was
happening. Suicide is real. Depression
is real. Mental illness is real. Heartbreak is real. Life is real.
Life without trusting God to bring you through is as real as you can
get!
A part of me totally understands Joe because I heard about
his passing in passing conversation. No one even mentioned his death as a loss
– a loss to the company or the loss of another person because life had become
too much for them, but it could
easily be any of us but for God’s Grace.
No one really cared and he felt it and he knew it. They key to this life is not fretting over
whether someone cares about you but rather to KNOW that God cares about
you. The company we work for didn't miss
one beat and stayed right on schedule, we didn't shut down for the day or for
an hour; or even a moment of silence for the deceased that had died just a few
feet away. We pause and pray for
Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings but not for a lost soul. So what are we truly thankful for, if we are
not caring about another one of God’s children?
The choices that I have made has increased my life’s load and
burdens, but no matter how far I have fallen – Christ was there for me to hold
onto, and he has always restored me to glory; that is where I find my trust… In
his faithfulness. Not taking grace in
vain but recognizing and worshiping and honoring the fact that he does Love
Me! In spite of me! He just loves me and
when you think about that kind of love – who wouldn't want to worship that God?
The Show of Life goes on be it, in this life or the next –
it continues on. And that is the beauty
of life; once God gives you the gift of it – it keeps on going.
It's called SELF-ESTEEM! How is it body shaming, if you are OK with it? You are shame perhaps because you should be? Merriam-Webster Definition of Shame: A feeling of guilt, regret, or sadness that YOU have because YOU know YOU have done something wrong.
What you really want is for people to accept your behavior when in all honesty - WE don t have too! Everyone has a right to their own opinion and you have the right to yours. What any of us don't have is the right to try and shame someone about NOT shaming you. Now that is bullying at it s best and worst at the same time.
By all means do you boo-boo but don t be mad at me, or anyone else for that matter, if you don't garner the attention that you think you deserve or you receive some unwanted comments. Be proud of doing YOU.
I’m on my soapbox and I won’t climb down until I have gotten what is on my chest OFF! Psssst… Nigga’s, Nigger’s, Negroes, Black folk, African American and Brown folk… You can take offense but you are what you are, because we have never corrected the behavior and pathology that will forever eradicate the stigma. They say, “one drop makes you one of us”, so if you are any ways relatable to our plight as a people – please hear me! We have not yet overcome and neither have we accomplished all that our forefather’s originally set out to do. So why is that we have settled or taken a false sense of comfort ability; and a back-seat to our own growth as a people? Better yet – why have we allowed the gay movements hitch itself to our Civil Rights? Have you ever wondered why they chose us to be associated with? And they are surely not of the same vein. Because we have a power source that we have not yet tapped fully, but is recognizable to others who want to get things DONE! I haven’t seen one gay 12 year old boy holding a gun and police shoot them, a couple driving away from the cops and having their vehicle riddled with bullets and when they finally do come to a stop – an officer jump on the hood and empties another several rounds into them. Neither have I seen a gay teenager stalked for walking in his Father’s neighborhood by some rouge vigilante and gunned down, nor have seen a car full of gay teenager’s be accosted and one of them shot for having their music turned up too loud. The list goes on and on and here we are taking up the fight for other’s when we have yet made progress in our own injustices. We as a people always take the backseat – literally! Am I saying that gay’s don’t have rights? Of course I am not saying that. God gives each of us a choice and a will that we can either submit to him or not. Why is it that we cannot recognize that we are a chosen people? We and the Jew’s are the only people who were oppressed and not brought out by an Army because we didn't have one nor any real chance to be emancipated and freed, except that our God did it! God allowed our enemies to fight against each other (on our behalf without understand why they were really doing it), and we walked away free, though not free of casualties, but significantly less than either side (for or against us). God did it several times for the Jews; and I will site a scripture for reference: 2 Chronicles 20:17-25. God will confuse the enemy but now it appears that we are the ones confused. We have forgotten God – believing that we delivered ourselves. Not! And now we are going to allow our triumph through God be reduced to a movement that God is not even for. There was a price to be paid for freedom and those that came before us sought God and he delivered on that covenant. Our children are being lost at an alarming rate and our people being persecuted in the penile system and such, racially profiled and still in need of Affirmative Action programs because we have reneged on our part to keep God first. We have sold out and we didn't even get to the Land of Promise. There was and hopefully still is so much more that God has for us but we have got to be self-interest – not selfish – and be concerned with our Father’s business once again, if we want to see it. We have stopped short of success because we have been infiltrated from the outside in- we befriend any and every one (at our expense). This attack is meant to divide and conquer and it is working. Perhaps the reason being is because we think that we know better than God but our status in society reflects that we know nothing at all – apart from him. My words aren't a rant but rather a call to arms to get our people back on track to where God was intending to take us, and we cannot get there without him. If your feathers are ruffled – Good! If you are offended – I can understand but I must speak what God has put in my heart regardless of how YOU feel about it! Time upon this earth is growing shorter by the day and the days of my life grow even shorter and I must be about my Father’s business while there is still time and the light of day because there is a time coming when it grows dark out and no man can work. God Bless!
Be real careful of your speech. It may be in jest to you but life and death are truly in the power of the tongue. "I m dead", "I can't", "Luckily" and the like thereof... Try to stop being so careless about things that really aren't important at all! Over a post? Really? We speak so frivolously against our own lives. We do have a choice - "Speak life" and other words of blessing, prosperity, healing and so on. "Many want to go to Heaven, but nobody want to die" - to themselves. We have to be an active participant in the life that we seek God to bless us with.
Without the Bible where would we
be? My guess is - clueless as to how to walk in the Lord. Nevertheless, it is a model for us to live
out the pages for ourselves and not simply quote what others have done; and we not have a personal testimony of our
own. We quote Psalm 23 as if it were we
ourselves that walked in “green pastures” and I have never once saw a shepherd –
although we interpret it metaphorically; I want my own Psalm to tell how good
the Lord is to me. We must make our walk
with God personal and not live vicariously through others’ lives. If you have never seen a rod and staff, then
how can it comfort you – personally? We
say that the Lord’s Prayer is simply a model for how we ought to approach prayer. OK then, if so, the Bible itself is a model
for how we ought to approach life itself – right? This isn't an attempt to blaspheme or
discount one jot or tittle of the Bible; however, I want to take the Lord’s
word and apply it directly to MY life. I don’t want my life to be figuratively
spoken but literal in every sense of the word!
(A Psalm of Yolanda)
God is my Father, I lack in no
area of my life. He guides me through
the pages of my life in order that I may know that he is the author and
finisher of my faith.
My soul at times faint but because
of the God that I serve, when I praise him, I regain my strength. And because he is faithful to his Word, I can
trust where he leads me – he is faithful.
There have been times throughout
my life when death seemingly was eminent; either by another’s hand or my own.
I almost buckled up underneath so much pressure but your word
replenished my spirit; you never left my side.
In other times I caused my own detriment because I thought that I knew
better than you; and when correction came I did not welcome it at first, but I
have learned that you only correct those you love and who will adhere to your
Word; which only blessed me the more. My
greatest enemy is not from any outside sources but from within; and yet you
still care for my every need.
When Pastor touched my hands with
oil, I knew that it was significant and I that I had received clearance to do
your will with boldness and confidence; and I have been blessed abundantly with
destiny.
You have been with me as long as I
can look back over my life and I know surely that I can trust you for my
future. I look forward to the life that
comes after this one. I was blessed when
I came into this world and I will be blessed in the next one to follow –
because you have and will always be with me.
I am holding on to something that appears to be worth nothing at all, but it turns out to be all that there is or ever will be. Faith by Yolanda M. Smothers, Author
What was once comfortable to me; that dream state of
wondering what LIFE is going to be like has now turned into a self-made prison. I don’t know about you, but I am sooo ready
to be birthed. But only God knows our
gestational period. The space that I am
in is cramped and I can hardly move about, yet until God dilates my exit, I won’t
be able to push my way through; and trying to go where God hasn't given the
green light, can cause more harm than good – It might be extremely tight but it’s
right – for right now. There is only so
much time that I can stay in the womb before I outgrow it; so I must trust that
God knows best. There is nothing more
that God wants to do than to birth me into my next level of living BUT in order
for a healthy birth, with less complications as possible, I must wait upon the
Lord. When we think about all the
transformations that take place inside of the womb – it is nothing short of a
miracle. Therefore, when we think about
where God is trying to take us, to break free from a life that we once knew
into a life that is greater than what we ever could have ever imagined – it’s
going to take that same trust in miracles.
There is a world out there that many of us have never known because we
think that life is only inside the womb or we are too scared to believe that
there is a whole entire world that we have yet to experience. We may think that a baby cries after first
entering into its new world outside of the womb because they are frightened and
scared but it could be quite possible that they are crying in exhilaration that
they made it to the next level; that level that they could only hear about
through the muddled walls of womb (testimonies of others, hearing the word
preached; but to know for yourself is an entirely different experience) – they heard
but now they know that it is real! Tears of joy perhaps? In order to know, we have got to go through
and come out on the other side. Afterwards
the afterbirth comes and we appreciate it for giving us a place to live for a
time being but we must leave it behind, it’s no more use for it where we are
going. We could easily discards our past
trials and tribulations just the same if we only trusted that they were only
for a season and not where we were meant to stay. Can you imagine what LIFE looks like to a
baby? Can you imagine what your LIFE
looks like? To go from humble and meager
means to traveling the world and not having issues that plague so many – like money
worries or health issues? That world is
out there – we just have to believe it is and have the faith that God will
birth us and bring it to pass.
It’s amazing how God can take one thing and bring revelation
by it; and it seemed that neither had anything to do with the other. Everyone knows I've been trying to shed a few
pounds and it hasn't been necessarily hard, but I had to be committed and
dedicated to my walking. I cannot always
eat what is best for me but I can make better choices from what I do have. No knock against anyone who has had the weight
loss surgery because I tried my darnedest to have it done myself, but I know now
what I didn't know then; and that is that I would have squandered it and quite
possibly regained all the weight and then some; because I would not have valued
the blessings because I didn't have to work for it. The time in effort that I put in to my walking
makes me appreciate the poundage lost and I can see the work put in = my weight
loss goals. At first it didn't appear
that I was losing inches, let alone pounds but I persevered in spite of what I
saw. Faith without works is dead and now
I get it! I could have wanted those
pounds to fall off but until I got up and started moving, they would have
stayed right where they were because weight loss without exercise of some sort -
will not happen. We must exercise our
faith! Had I not found myself on this
journey I might have thought that I was doing all that I could to better myself,
when in fact, there was some participation on my part to live a better
life. I have yo-yoed on many diets but I
have not been as successful as I have this time sans the dieting, because I didn't
t look for a quick fix but accepted my responsibility. In God we trust, but are you doing your part?
Are you exercising your faith to obtain your goals?
Destitute: A state of being without friends, money or
prospects.
Destitution is a very tough situation to be
in.
Bring your brow down a
tad-bit, level off your nose from sitting too far in the air and extend your
hand to someone less fortunate than you. And don’t make them have to ask or beg for
your assistance all the time. Instead – Give
to those who you see in need (at least sometimes), without them having to come
up to you and ask. Leave them with some
respect and dignity. God does and has
done the same for us on many occasions when we don’t have the strength, good
sense; or lack the faith to ask. But we
can build someone else’s faith by one random act of kindness. Say, “God Bless you or God laid it on my
heart to do thus and so for you”. What a
difference it makes in two lives – ours and theirs.
“Ask and it shall be
given”. “Give and it shall be given unto
you”. These are two different
commandments. There are times when we
are need and we must do the asking.
Other times we are in the position to give. There was no stipulation to the who, whom or what
we are to give because giving comes from the heart. Oftentimes, those worse off
than we are; or even we ourselves know not what to ask, who to ask or how or
when to ask. Give when you feel that
slight tug on your heart or in your spirit. Don’t ignore an opportunity to
glorify God and store one up in the heaven’s bank of credit, to be withdrawn
from at a later date; because we all are going to need to take a withdrawal at
one time or another – possibly for an extended period of time.
“I've never seen the
righteous forsaken nor his seed beg bread”.
I myself have never seen one person say “No Thanks, I don’t need this help
or that blessing”. On the same token I have
never seen someone tell God, “I don’t need your blessings”.
Just because you don’t
have the same or as great of a need as someone else; don’t dismiss their plight
so easily, but realize that if it hadn't been for the grace of God – where might
you be?
Stop trying to “get-in
where you fit-in”. Just because you can fit doesn't mean that you are not a
perfect fit somewhere else. Trust God to position you in the perfect position
that was created just for you. It is uncomfortable to be somewhere or with someone
or doing something that you weren't t designed to go, to be or to be with. With
God all things snap right into place – in due time and in due season.
The day that the Lord calls each of us home, we will only be
presented with one ticket in through Jesus Christ. The ticket says ‘Admit One Only’; there won’t
be any friends or family to stand alongside of us and plead our case. It will only be you alone standing before the
Almighty. And it is not general admission – you must have a
ticket to get in.
