Tuesday, January 24, 2012
God is for me
I haven't been in a serious writing mood in a while. I've been thinking about something's but I've not written them down. But then I saw something on my friends pinterest and thought, that sums it up nicely for me. That's what I'm saying. So I'm sharing it.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
sometimes you need to be fireproof
i had the awesome privilege of hearing joel osteen last friday. i'm excited for two reasons. one, i got to hear an amazing word from god the first week of the year. second, i got to see joel! his positivety is an inspiration and not everyone gets it. he's called to fill a void in the christian ghetto and i'm glad he knows who he is and what he's called to do. his ministry touches my life in many ways. but i'm excited to write this post because i got such a rhema word on january 6, 2012 and i want to mark it.
i got several rhema words, nuggets of truth that i believe were timely for starting this new year. i have a word and a vision for this year and i can say without a doubt that god spoke to those things friday night.
1. sometimes we have to stop fighting the storm and let down our sails and let the storm blow us where god wants us to be. that is a hard thing to do - stop fighting. we like to fight. joyce meyers wrote a book about having arms long enough to box with god. we're a scrappy bunch, us christians. we want to fight. joel told the story of paul being shipwrecked and how sometimes fighting the storm or praying it away is the wrong thing to do.
Acts 27:
When a light wind began blowing from the south, the sailors thought they could make it. So they pulled up anchor and sailed close to the shore of Crete.But the weather changed abruptly, and a wind of typhoon strength (called a “northeaster”) burst across the island and blew us out to sea. The sailors couldn’t turn the ship into the wind, so they gave up and let it run before the gale. We sailed along the sheltered side of a small island named Cauda,where with great difficulty we hoisted aboard the lifeboat being towed behind us.Then the sailors bound ropes around the hull of the ship to strengthen it. They were afraid of being driven across to the sandbars of Syrtis off the African coast, so they lowered the sea anchor to slow the ship and were driven before the wind.
The next day, as gale-force winds continued to batter the ship, the crew began throwing the cargo overboard.The following day they even took some of the ship’s gear and threw it overboard.The terrible storm raged for many days, blotting out the sun and the stars, until at last all hope was gone. No one had eaten for a long time. Finally, Paul called the crew together and said, “Men, you should have listened to me in the first place and not left Crete. You would have avoided all this damage and loss. But take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down and he said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you. So take courage! For I believe God. It will be just as he said. But we will be shipwrecked on an island.” it's is natural for us to pray for god to remove the storm or bring it to an end. sometimes god has a greater purpose in us being blown from point at to point b in the storm as he did with paul. an entire nation was saved because god used a storm to put paul exactly where he wanted him to be.
Acts 28: Once we were safe on shore, we learned that we were on the island of Malta.The people of the island were very kind to us. It was cold and rainy, so they built a fire on the shore to welcome us. As Paul gathered an armful of sticks and was laying them on the fire, a poisonous snake, driven out by the heat, bit him on the hand.The people of the island saw it hanging from his hand and said to each other, “A murderer, no doubt! Though he escaped the sea, justice will not permit him to live.”But Paul shook off the snake into the fire and was unharmed.The people waited for him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw that he wasn’t harmed, they changed their minds and decided he was a god.
Near the shore where we landed was an estate belonging to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us and treated us kindly for three days. As it happened, Publius’s father was ill with fever and dysentery. Paul went in and prayed for him, and laying his hands on him, he healed him. Then all the other sick people on the island came and were healed. As a result we were showered with honors, and when the time came to sail, people supplied us with everything we would need for the trip. it requires more of us to release control than it does for us to pray for god to remove something from us. we need to accept that god is still god whether it's calm or raging storm. and whatever the enemy means for our harm, god always means it for our good. all things work together for our good.
2. sometimes being delivered from the storm is not enough. sometimes god needs us to be fireproof because there is a greater need for god to accomplish. that is where shadrach, meshach and abednego come in to play. we all know that the three hebrew boys were faced with bowing to a king who wanted to be god or honoring god and dying in the furnace. they said they knew they served a god who could do the impossible and delivering them from the firey furnace was absolutely nothing. but if not, he was still god. i've often wondered if i've ever had that moment where i accepted that god is more than able to do the impossible and deliver me from everything and anything. but what if he chose not to? would i be okay with that? would i be able to trust him then? and when i say trust him, the question i'm really asking is do i believe god knows better than me? because i wouldn't willingly walk into a fiery furnace. i'd rather have god deliver me from the fire. but what if god received greater glory from me being in the fire?
that was the case with the hebrew boys. god didn't want to deliver them. he wanted to make them fire proof. he wanted to win over a nation of people and not just reinforce the beliefs of three people. god always has a greater purpose for our lives than we can ever begin to conceive. most of the time, we think too small. it's not a terrible critique on us because the bible does say god's thoughts are higher than our thoughts. we'll never measure up. so we just have to trust god to be god. and trust that when he takes us through something it is meant to bring us the ultimate good in the end. not ever thing that happens to us is god's doing. but because he's god, he uses those things to work for our good. he uses the storm to blow us from point a to point b. and point be is precisely where we were meant to be. and for the record, the only thing that burned in the fire were the ropes used to bound the hebrew boys. they walked out free of bondage without the smell of smoke on them. perhaps, by becoming fireproof, god is burning off the chains of bondage that actually hold us back from being who we're meant to be.
3. in general, we dream too small. we think to small. we make god too small.but the bible also says in psalms 81:10: For it was I, the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt.Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things. i'm learning how to open my mouth. i'm learning how to speak what i want to see. i'm learning to trust god to do the impossible in my life and when i open my mouth to pray. so, i'm opening my mouth wide, and allowing god to fill it with good things. i've never seen that scripture before but i promise you i'll be meditating on it this month as i embark on a fast with my sisters. we're believing for some BIG things.
i got several rhema words, nuggets of truth that i believe were timely for starting this new year. i have a word and a vision for this year and i can say without a doubt that god spoke to those things friday night.
1. sometimes we have to stop fighting the storm and let down our sails and let the storm blow us where god wants us to be. that is a hard thing to do - stop fighting. we like to fight. joyce meyers wrote a book about having arms long enough to box with god. we're a scrappy bunch, us christians. we want to fight. joel told the story of paul being shipwrecked and how sometimes fighting the storm or praying it away is the wrong thing to do.
Acts 27:
When a light wind began blowing from the south, the sailors thought they could make it. So they pulled up anchor and sailed close to the shore of Crete.But the weather changed abruptly, and a wind of typhoon strength (called a “northeaster”) burst across the island and blew us out to sea. The sailors couldn’t turn the ship into the wind, so they gave up and let it run before the gale. We sailed along the sheltered side of a small island named Cauda,where with great difficulty we hoisted aboard the lifeboat being towed behind us.Then the sailors bound ropes around the hull of the ship to strengthen it. They were afraid of being driven across to the sandbars of Syrtis off the African coast, so they lowered the sea anchor to slow the ship and were driven before the wind.
The next day, as gale-force winds continued to batter the ship, the crew began throwing the cargo overboard.The following day they even took some of the ship’s gear and threw it overboard.The terrible storm raged for many days, blotting out the sun and the stars, until at last all hope was gone. No one had eaten for a long time. Finally, Paul called the crew together and said, “Men, you should have listened to me in the first place and not left Crete. You would have avoided all this damage and loss. But take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down and he said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you. So take courage! For I believe God. It will be just as he said. But we will be shipwrecked on an island.” it's is natural for us to pray for god to remove the storm or bring it to an end. sometimes god has a greater purpose in us being blown from point at to point b in the storm as he did with paul. an entire nation was saved because god used a storm to put paul exactly where he wanted him to be.
Acts 28: Once we were safe on shore, we learned that we were on the island of Malta.The people of the island were very kind to us. It was cold and rainy, so they built a fire on the shore to welcome us. As Paul gathered an armful of sticks and was laying them on the fire, a poisonous snake, driven out by the heat, bit him on the hand.The people of the island saw it hanging from his hand and said to each other, “A murderer, no doubt! Though he escaped the sea, justice will not permit him to live.”But Paul shook off the snake into the fire and was unharmed.The people waited for him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw that he wasn’t harmed, they changed their minds and decided he was a god.
Near the shore where we landed was an estate belonging to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us and treated us kindly for three days. As it happened, Publius’s father was ill with fever and dysentery. Paul went in and prayed for him, and laying his hands on him, he healed him. Then all the other sick people on the island came and were healed. As a result we were showered with honors, and when the time came to sail, people supplied us with everything we would need for the trip. it requires more of us to release control than it does for us to pray for god to remove something from us. we need to accept that god is still god whether it's calm or raging storm. and whatever the enemy means for our harm, god always means it for our good. all things work together for our good.
2. sometimes being delivered from the storm is not enough. sometimes god needs us to be fireproof because there is a greater need for god to accomplish. that is where shadrach, meshach and abednego come in to play. we all know that the three hebrew boys were faced with bowing to a king who wanted to be god or honoring god and dying in the furnace. they said they knew they served a god who could do the impossible and delivering them from the firey furnace was absolutely nothing. but if not, he was still god. i've often wondered if i've ever had that moment where i accepted that god is more than able to do the impossible and deliver me from everything and anything. but what if he chose not to? would i be okay with that? would i be able to trust him then? and when i say trust him, the question i'm really asking is do i believe god knows better than me? because i wouldn't willingly walk into a fiery furnace. i'd rather have god deliver me from the fire. but what if god received greater glory from me being in the fire?
that was the case with the hebrew boys. god didn't want to deliver them. he wanted to make them fire proof. he wanted to win over a nation of people and not just reinforce the beliefs of three people. god always has a greater purpose for our lives than we can ever begin to conceive. most of the time, we think too small. it's not a terrible critique on us because the bible does say god's thoughts are higher than our thoughts. we'll never measure up. so we just have to trust god to be god. and trust that when he takes us through something it is meant to bring us the ultimate good in the end. not ever thing that happens to us is god's doing. but because he's god, he uses those things to work for our good. he uses the storm to blow us from point a to point b. and point be is precisely where we were meant to be. and for the record, the only thing that burned in the fire were the ropes used to bound the hebrew boys. they walked out free of bondage without the smell of smoke on them. perhaps, by becoming fireproof, god is burning off the chains of bondage that actually hold us back from being who we're meant to be.
3. in general, we dream too small. we think to small. we make god too small.but the bible also says in psalms 81:10: For it was I, the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt.Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things. i'm learning how to open my mouth. i'm learning how to speak what i want to see. i'm learning to trust god to do the impossible in my life and when i open my mouth to pray. so, i'm opening my mouth wide, and allowing god to fill it with good things. i've never seen that scripture before but i promise you i'll be meditating on it this month as i embark on a fast with my sisters. we're believing for some BIG things.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
i need a theme song
the best parties have themes. the best shows have theme songs. and the best years have anthems. i find myself in need of a theme song to kick my year into high gear. i asked a few people to help me with a few suggestions and nothing really fit. i'm not sure what i'm looking for exactly but it needs to be fierce. tyra banks top model fierce.
my requirements are that the song is something i can listen to every day if i so desire. and honestly i should at least listen once a week. it needs to be motivational and encouraging. it should be something i can pump up louder and louder and dance or air guitar or whip my hair back and forth. most importantly it has to have the attitude of a winner and fighter and and overall bad woman.
so, what song to choose? i'm really digging the nicki minaj song with rhianna but i can't really stand either of them and wouldn't be able to stomach that for a year. there's all i do is win but most of that song is garbage and i can't just play the chorus. i don't want a gospel song necessarily because i'm not trying to be all emotional. i just want to go hard and tackle the day and month and year like a beast. my quest will continue but if you have some suggestions please post youtube videos in the comments.
my requirements are that the song is something i can listen to every day if i so desire. and honestly i should at least listen once a week. it needs to be motivational and encouraging. it should be something i can pump up louder and louder and dance or air guitar or whip my hair back and forth. most importantly it has to have the attitude of a winner and fighter and and overall bad woman.
so, what song to choose? i'm really digging the nicki minaj song with rhianna but i can't really stand either of them and wouldn't be able to stomach that for a year. there's all i do is win but most of that song is garbage and i can't just play the chorus. i don't want a gospel song necessarily because i'm not trying to be all emotional. i just want to go hard and tackle the day and month and year like a beast. my quest will continue but if you have some suggestions please post youtube videos in the comments.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
breaking up with disappointment
i dealt with a lot of disappointment growing up. i was disappointed that i grew up poor. i was disappointed that my father just never got it together to be there for us. i was disappointed that he made so many broken promises. i was disappointed that i was never as pretty as the other girls. i was disappointed that my mother was overweight. i was disappointed that my mother didn't seem to be happy that she had us. i was disappointed that i didn't really fit in at school. i was disappointed that i had hideous acne and dreadful hair. i was disappointed that the guy i was head over heels in love with never loved me back. i was disappointed that college wasn't quite the experience i was promised. i was disappointed that life didn't change much after college. i was always disappointed.
as an adult, i still found myself dealing with disappointment. i was disappointed that i had to work twice as hard to get promoted. i was disappointed that everyone seemed to be getting married but me and my friends. i was disappointed that my family didn't value education at all and i was watching another generation of dummies embarking on adulthood. i was disappointed that my love life never improved. i was disappointed that i still had acne!
the thing with disappointment is its inevitability. when we expect things, and those things don't happen, we get disappointed. vicious cycle, it is. but i have a dislike for futile cycles. some cycles are necessary - such as the cycle of life - but many cycles we endure are pointless. this cycle of disappointment has me at my wits end. i've decided i'm breaking up with disappointment.
say what? where they do that at? in my life that's where! i'm making a decision that instead of getting disappointed when my expectations aren't met, i'm going to focus on being grateful that things are working in my favor all around me. the hand of God is on my life no matter what and i'm going to choose to focus on that. i know now that i will fall short. falling short is also inevitable! but the thing about falling is you can always get back up again. so, i'm going to make it a priority this year to stop dwelling on my disappointments and start thanking god for how magnificent he has been in my life.
last year was such a hard year for me in so many ways. but it ended on a great note. i have been showered with his favor. if i can't be grateful for that, i don't deserve his goodness. i'm aware that i'm never going to deserve his goodness, mercy, grace or love. but i know that a grateful heart is a joyful heart and the joy of the lord is our strength.
so, disappointment, we had a good run you and i. but it's over. i can't stand the stink of you or the feel of you or the sight of you. i'm breaking up with you. and whenever i feel you trying to creep back into my life, i'm going to make a quick top 10 list of things i'm grateful for that day. yep, it's on like donkey kong!
as an adult, i still found myself dealing with disappointment. i was disappointed that i had to work twice as hard to get promoted. i was disappointed that everyone seemed to be getting married but me and my friends. i was disappointed that my family didn't value education at all and i was watching another generation of dummies embarking on adulthood. i was disappointed that my love life never improved. i was disappointed that i still had acne!
the thing with disappointment is its inevitability. when we expect things, and those things don't happen, we get disappointed. vicious cycle, it is. but i have a dislike for futile cycles. some cycles are necessary - such as the cycle of life - but many cycles we endure are pointless. this cycle of disappointment has me at my wits end. i've decided i'm breaking up with disappointment.
say what? where they do that at? in my life that's where! i'm making a decision that instead of getting disappointed when my expectations aren't met, i'm going to focus on being grateful that things are working in my favor all around me. the hand of God is on my life no matter what and i'm going to choose to focus on that. i know now that i will fall short. falling short is also inevitable! but the thing about falling is you can always get back up again. so, i'm going to make it a priority this year to stop dwelling on my disappointments and start thanking god for how magnificent he has been in my life.
last year was such a hard year for me in so many ways. but it ended on a great note. i have been showered with his favor. if i can't be grateful for that, i don't deserve his goodness. i'm aware that i'm never going to deserve his goodness, mercy, grace or love. but i know that a grateful heart is a joyful heart and the joy of the lord is our strength.
so, disappointment, we had a good run you and i. but it's over. i can't stand the stink of you or the feel of you or the sight of you. i'm breaking up with you. and whenever i feel you trying to creep back into my life, i'm going to make a quick top 10 list of things i'm grateful for that day. yep, it's on like donkey kong!
Monday, January 2, 2012
oh january, what do you have in store?
some days if i'm not careful, i can go the entire day in silence. well, not really silence because i'm always talking to myself. but i can go an entire day without talking to anyone else. usually when i see those days forming, i try to talk on the phone. but today i just wanted to rest and relax.
i slept a lot. partly because i stayed up all night finishing my book. partly because i didn't have anything to do today and didn't feel like getting up. and then i went out for a bit to run errands, so i talked to the cashiers of course, and came back home. i cooked some bomb gumbo and then took a nap. now it's 8:30 and i need to start getting ready for work. i plan to be in bed by 10:30. i'm still kind of tired. that's what vacation does to me.
i'm also slightly sad. not deep sadness, just a little sad about something that happened yesterday. i'll get over it. just takes me a few days sometimes. the year has started off fairly decent in that nothing has gone wrong. nothing terribly exciting has happened by that's actually normal. lol. glad this is a short work week because those four days will no doubt feel like 10! and i still haven't done anything to my hair so i need to figure out what i'm going to do with it for tomorrow. it rained today. it's not super straight but it's definitely still straight. guess another braid out is in order.
oh january, what do you have in store for me? 2012, what do you have in store for me? i've thought about this year in passing but i confess to not giving it my full attention. haven't vision boarded. haven't written my 3 to try 3 to learn lists. haven't fully dreamed about what i want to see manifest in my life this year. i know the basics. i won't speak them now because i feel like i say them enough. but i do long for that area to be addressed. i also continue to pray for strength to release the things i need to release. no one likes a bag lady. think i might find a counselor to work out some of these strongholds. just need to talk through some things without judgement so i can figure out what is the best thing for me. everyone thinks they know but really they don't. we don't know what's best for each other unless we've been given a word from god. i'm very mindful of that.
i slept a lot. partly because i stayed up all night finishing my book. partly because i didn't have anything to do today and didn't feel like getting up. and then i went out for a bit to run errands, so i talked to the cashiers of course, and came back home. i cooked some bomb gumbo and then took a nap. now it's 8:30 and i need to start getting ready for work. i plan to be in bed by 10:30. i'm still kind of tired. that's what vacation does to me.
i'm also slightly sad. not deep sadness, just a little sad about something that happened yesterday. i'll get over it. just takes me a few days sometimes. the year has started off fairly decent in that nothing has gone wrong. nothing terribly exciting has happened by that's actually normal. lol. glad this is a short work week because those four days will no doubt feel like 10! and i still haven't done anything to my hair so i need to figure out what i'm going to do with it for tomorrow. it rained today. it's not super straight but it's definitely still straight. guess another braid out is in order.
oh january, what do you have in store for me? 2012, what do you have in store for me? i've thought about this year in passing but i confess to not giving it my full attention. haven't vision boarded. haven't written my 3 to try 3 to learn lists. haven't fully dreamed about what i want to see manifest in my life this year. i know the basics. i won't speak them now because i feel like i say them enough. but i do long for that area to be addressed. i also continue to pray for strength to release the things i need to release. no one likes a bag lady. think i might find a counselor to work out some of these strongholds. just need to talk through some things without judgement so i can figure out what is the best thing for me. everyone thinks they know but really they don't. we don't know what's best for each other unless we've been given a word from god. i'm very mindful of that.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
make it last forever?
does anything last forever these days? i don't think so. mostly because forever is ... well, forever. it's kind of infinite. but things can last as long as we work to make them last. but not everything is supposed to last forever. somethings need to be released, ended. i struggled last year with releasing things. it's hard sometimes. i'm sure you already know that. but it's a new year.
i don't think a new year means a new you. it's not automatic at all. you have to be intentional about things in your life. the truth is we can will/create/speak into existence the life we want. we can't control the timing all the time but we can have what we say. i know this from experience. it's not disputable. but since it is a new year, it's a good time to release things that shouldn't take up permanent residence in your life. i know it won't be easy -- i still struggle. wish i didn't but i'm always honest. i struggle. haven't quite reached my letting go point. but it won't be long.
accepting that some things do have an ending - an expiration date - is a part of growing up. i'm definitely trying to grow in that area. one step at a time. i released some things last year. i plan to put on my big girl panties and do it again until i've released the things that have no business lasting forever. and then i'm opening myself to receive all the things that are meant to last. 2012 will be epic in many ways. but lord give me the strength to let go when the time comes.
i don't think a new year means a new you. it's not automatic at all. you have to be intentional about things in your life. the truth is we can will/create/speak into existence the life we want. we can't control the timing all the time but we can have what we say. i know this from experience. it's not disputable. but since it is a new year, it's a good time to release things that shouldn't take up permanent residence in your life. i know it won't be easy -- i still struggle. wish i didn't but i'm always honest. i struggle. haven't quite reached my letting go point. but it won't be long.
accepting that some things do have an ending - an expiration date - is a part of growing up. i'm definitely trying to grow in that area. one step at a time. i released some things last year. i plan to put on my big girl panties and do it again until i've released the things that have no business lasting forever. and then i'm opening myself to receive all the things that are meant to last. 2012 will be epic in many ways. but lord give me the strength to let go when the time comes.
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