Defining Success

Greetings!

How do you define success?

Sometimes, we have our own definition of success, and that may not be what God has for us…it may not even be realistic. We can’t leave our lives to chance. We can’t afford to blindly do anything.

So, how do we keep moving forward if we never take a chance?

• We do it by trusting that God has a plan for our lives.
• We do it by believing the things the word says about us.
• We do it by faith.

The Bible says that “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1). So, that means we have to believe it is so…even when we don’t see it.

We can’t be so focused on achieving that we miss what God is saying. Learn to listen for the sound of His voice. God will never lead us to a dead end….never.

The Lord in our lives is what makes us successful. The Bible tells us that it's not what we have but who we have that matters. Having Jesus as Lord of our lives is what success is all about. The material things that we have won't do it. It's all about the heart...the place where God is. When we get that right everything else will fall into place.

Until next time...

Be blessed

A Day in the Life

Greetings!

Although I love the weekends...this weekend left me exhausted! I always try to give you something meaningful...even spiritual. But, this week I'm just giving you a day in the life...

It started with me attempting to clean my house. I have been busy for the last couple of weekends and I wanted to get some things done around the house. Let me just say that nothing went as planned. I wanted to start with my bedroom and work my way out to the rest of the house...that didn't happen...sigh.

First, I got up late. Then, of course I had to eat breakfast. Once I got started, it took me at least two hours to dust and rearrange the drawers in my dresser. My husband was afraid that I would throw out all of his stuff, so he wouldn't leave the bedroom and spent I don't know how long going through the two drawers in his nightstand (Don't ask). The next thing I know...he was taking a nap....ugh.

When I was finally done with the whole drawer thing, I started working on my closet. What a disaster. My husband and I share a closet (which is just painful to say the least). So, I am always trying to make things fit. It had to take me a couple of hours of picking up, hanging up and just plain old giving up before I moved on to making up the bed and dusting the floor. By the time I was done with the bedroom, I didn't have enough energy to do much else. And the bedroom looked pretty much like it did before I got started.

God did actually show me something in that whole process. He showed me that even though the room looked the same, all of the stuff that was hidden away was no longer there. Before, it appeared to be clean, but there were things hidden away out of sight that I had not been dealing with. God showed me that sometimes life is going to get messy just like that, but that everything serves a purpose. And He showed me that even in the ordinary things of life, He will always be there to strengthen us along the way.

Until next time...

Be blessed

Pay attention...

Greetings!

For the past few years, I have attended the Women of Excellence Conference as a participant, but this year God moved me to set up a table and I am so glad that I did. I am so glad that I am learning to pay attention to His prompting. The women that stopped by my table to share their testimonies just confirmed that I am doing the right things for God in this season.

Their stories ranged from being healed from cancer to being examples of faith for their children. Our stories....our testimonies are so important right now. The people we influence need to know that we understand what they are going through because we have been there. I believe God is calling us to a higher work. One that will cause us to move out from that comfortable place. We are going to have to represent Him in the earth in a way that we never have before.

God has been preparing us, shaping us and growing us to go outside the church walls and minister to His people. And we have to get out of His way and allow Him to do what needs to be done. This battle is going to take every resource we have. So stay close to Him in this season. Listen for His voice and know that He is always there to lead us and guide us...we just have to pay attention.

This has been an amazing weekend. It began and ended with family. It started with me being a vendor at a conference I attend every year and ended with celebrating family at our annual cookout. It is so good to be able to spend time with family...by blood and by the spirit...just enjoying how God moves. I look forward to it every year and God willing it will continue for years to come.

Until next time....

Be blessed

Pardon My Brevity...

Greetings!

I love writing, and I love sharing with you what God has shared and is sharing with me. I try really hard to give you the essence of what He gives me because if I gave you the whole thing, it would be way too long.
And here's the thing...it doesn't take all day to say what God tells you to say. But let's be honest, we can sometimes add a thing or two because we want you to be impressed with all the stuff we know. It's not needed, but we think that if we don't go long enough you won't believe there is any value in it.

That's a trick of the enemy. Sometimes, it may not be a right now word and sometimes the word may not even be a word for you. That's the kind of God we serve. He knows what you need at the exact moment you need it. God doesn't waste anything and if you need a word for someone else, He will prayerfully bring something I have shared to your mind at that perfect moment.

He does that for me all the time...from sermons I've heard or things I've read or even things I've written, and when He does...it is always right on time. My prayer is that I will always leave you wanting to know more about Him and that you will seek Him with a greater thirst for His word. The Bible says in Ephesians 1:17, "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him."

Ask God for wisdom and understanding, and when we seek Him...when we go looking for answers...He will show up and answer all of our questions and even give us clarification on things we didn't know we needed.

Until next time...

Be blessed

Freedom...Just Believe.

Greetings!

I pray about the things I share with you and today the Holy Spirit led me to talk about freedom.  And I think I have blogged about it before, but in this season we need to hear it again. I learn by doing, and sometimes I have to do something over and over again until I get it, so forgive me for repeating myself. Some folks do not struggle with this issue and if that is you...please pray for the rest of us...it is definitely a learning process.

I just wanted to talk to you from my perspective of what I believe freedom has been like for me as I have followed Christ. The Bible says in Galatians 5:1, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." This scripture says that Christ has already paid the price for our freedom, and we do not have to be "caught up" in a life of disobedience. It also says that nothing can bind us without our permission. We have the choice to follow Christ or to follow man.

I do not doubt that I am free. God has given us choices so that we do not have to blindly follow anyone...not even Him. He wants us to come to Him willingly. We may not understand everything, but we should know why we have given our lives to Him. Jesus Christ selflessly died on the cross for our benefit...our freedom and when we accept Him as Savior we have eternal life. Basically, we choose to live for Him now so that we can live with Him later. It's that simple.

But here's the thing...my flesh sometimes doesn't agree with my spirit, so I have to daily speak freedom over my life. I have to make sure that my flesh and my spirit are in alignment. I can't take for granted the gift we have been given. Do I have days when I don't feel that freedom? Absolutely. Do I always get it right?.Absolutely not. But I also know that in John 8:36 God has promised us that, "If the Son, therefore, shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."

And that's enough for me to keep trying.

Until next time...

Be blessed