So, I’m doing a whole series on women who have impacted my life for better. Last post I introduced you to three very important women in my life. This post, is an introduction to more of those women. I believe that we as women supporting each other empowers all of us to live well and strong. If we can help it, we should never let another woman stand alone. We should always stand with them if possible. We should be women who honor each other in and out of each other’s presence. We are never as powerful standing alone as we are standing together. I hear people talk about how messy women can be and how we don’t support each other. I’ve heard stories of women who have been deeply wounded because they were excluded. Let’s not be that type of woman. When you hear of a woman you know walking through a difficult season, be the first to check in with her. Not because you want the information but because you want her to know that you care and she is not alone. So let’s do this.So first off, I want to introduce you to this amazing woman right here, Dr. Sylvia Burgess. Our daughters brought us together as sister/friends. We have known each other for over 20 years. We have both stood by each other during some very difficult times. I learned the importance of boundary setting with her. She taught me how to say NO and mean it with zero regrets about it. I’ve learned the value of protecting my safe space. I love how she encourages me to go after my dreams. A few years ago she walked with me and my family through one of the most difficult seasons of our life. She showed up and helped me to get through it. I believe God used her home as a place of refuge and strength for me. I’ve seen her walk through places that should have torn her apart but she came out fighting and winning. I must admit she always challenges me to be everything God created me to be. I know I work her nerves sometimes but she still loves me all the same🤣😜. Honestly I’ve never seen anyone that cheers for others to make it like this woman does. I love that she she is all about seeing those she love walk into a wealthy place. I cry writing this thinking about a season I was deeply struggling with my mental health, between her and my husband, they spoke life over me, she helped to make sure I made counseling appointments, I knew she was a safe space to really check in. I absolutely love her and I’m so grateful for God connecting our hearts and spirits. Secondly I want to introduce you to this jewel right here, Minister Jackie Wilson. She knew me before I was married and before kids. She came into my life when I was a teenage girl and I needed someone to look up to. I needed someone to help guide me in the right direction. I needed someone to stand with me as I discovered how deep God’s love for me was. I learned that living for Jesus was cool and that it was possible even as a teenager. I trusted her which is really special. It is a honor when a teenager finds you worthy of trust. She always had the right balance of love and discipline. I always knew with her, I was going to get the truth and not the truth that always made me feel good but the truth that challenge me to live better. I remember the long conversations on dating, premarital sex👀, living holy and loving myself. I knew she was praying for me. As a teenager when someone takes time to notice you and invest in you, it makes you feel special. I loved that she actually showed up in my life at a time that God knew I desperately needed an adult I could trust. We have traveled some roads together but we have still remained in each other’s life. I still check in from time still with her and she is still a woman of God and she loves God’s people. I promise you that your going to get the truth when you talk with her. I love how wisdom from God flows through her. She is and will always be a gift to my life. Last but never least is my friend Mrs. Pam. So, I met Mrs. Pam at the church I attend now. My first time seeing her, she was at the altar, praying over people who walked up and loving on them. I saw the gentleness she treated them with, I saw the kindness in her eyes and the embrace that looked like Jesus was embracing them through her. Several months went by after that moment went by. I ended up joining my very first small group and she was the teacher/small group leader. I remember mustering up the courage to walk through the doors of her home and found that this was the same lady I saw at the altar. The hug I longed for from her, I received it that night. She embraced me physically and she embraced me spiritually. Mrs. Pam began to pour into me spiritually. I was walking through wounds from my old church and I was not trusting of anyone. I had walls around my heart and I decided that NOBODY would hurt me like that again. I loved that she didn’t force her way in but she loved her way in. Day by day God used her to teach me that I could trust again. He taught me that I can feel safe in church again. I believe that wherever you get wounded at that place becomes a place of pain and it then feels unsafe. I also believe that when we find healing in another place(church) that place can feel safe again. I love her for answering ALL of my crazy biblical questions😁🤣. I’m a deep thinker and processor when it comes down to scriptures. I will eternally be grateful for the gift she is to my life. Oh and I’ve learned so much about Greek and Hebrew words and how they can bring clarity of scripture when you understand what they mean. Now, she will get down on me about stuff that needs a stern word but I know it’s because she cares enough to see me do better. My heart is just full of gratitude.
I’m so grateful for the contributions that each woman has made in my life. I am indeed a better me because of them. Stay tuned, I have more amazing women to introduce you to. I hope that this month, you will take time to tell women who have impacted your life how much you appreciate it. I hope you will take time to notice the women around you and cheer for them. Find ways to encourage them, finds ways to support them and help them feel seen. I will keep saying this. The woman on the outside looking in, please make sure to invite her in. Be sure to celebrate each other and more than anything, please pray for women all over the world that they will truly know just how much they are truly loved💚.
This is International Women’s History month. In times past it was a day set aside to honor women who have made great contributions to impact the world for better. International Women’s History month is a celebration of women’s contributions to history, culture and society. Women’s History month is a dedicated month to reflect on the often- overlooked contributions of women to the United States history. In honor of this special time of month, I’ve decided to take time to honor women who have impacted my life for better. We are powerful and courageous. We are full of strength, honor, dignity, pride, integrity and love. We are persistent and forgiving. We make priceless contributions to this world everyday just by our existence. God created us with a great purpose and destiny in mind. I thought it to be befitting to introduce a group of absolutely amazing women. Women that I admire, honor and respect. First up is my absolutely amazing daughter Jada. She is full of wisdom and courage. I’ve watched her grow into this beautiful young woman both within and out. I love how she set standards for her life and she does not bargain with them. She is sensitive to the voice of God. I love the compassion she shows towards others. She lives what she believes. So many times she has challenged me in a good way to stretch my thinking outside of the box. This daughter of mine helps her mama view things from all angles before I form an opinion. I am so much better having her as a daughter. I love how she studies the word of God. I love her excitement to share with me what God is speaking to her. To be honest, most people think she is quiet and to some degree she is, but once you get her sharing about things important to her, you realize she is not quiet at all. I tell her all the time that she is a quiet storm, you don’t see it coming till it’s there. The impact that she has made in my life is….well she made me a first time mommy. Everything with her was the first time for my husband and I. My daughter has been the example of doing it afraid. In last year, I watched her push pass her fears and go after her goals. She is the epitome of grace and beauty. I watched her learn to cheer for herself and not wait for others to validate her. I love her quiet confidence believing that in Christ the sky is never the limit but definitely pass the stars and moon is a great start💚💚.This beauty right here is my spiritual daughter Precious, we have been in each other’s life since she was a little girl. We met in church and the bond grew. I’ve watched her grow into this beautiful wife and mama of three handsome young men. We have done a lot of life together. I’ve watched her blossom in her teen years and discover who she really was. I loved watching her discover what a gifted writer she was, which led to the discovering of the amazing spoken word artist that was living within her. She has taught me to love fiercely and have no regrets about it. I love how she continues to challenge me by the life she lives. She has taught me how to truly listen to others and make them feel seen and known. I got a front row seat to watch her fall madly in love with Jesus. I am so proud how she has learned the importance of having boundaries and the necessity in enforcing them. She has impacted my life by the love that she showers on me. I love how she has cheered me on, she has been one of my biggest cheerleaders. I am indeed better, having her in my life. I most recently watched her walk through one of the hardest seasons of her life. I watched her walk through loosing her mom to cancer and the very next year loosing her brother. I saw her lean into the arms of Jesus for comfort and strength. Grief is powerful and if not faced well it can literally take us out. This beautiful woman is grieving loss with so much strength and courage. I’m grateful for her entrusting me as a spiritual mother.Last but not least for this post is this sweet lady right here. Erika is one of the leaders in my church. From my very first encounter with her, I felt seen and known. I love how much she absolutely loves Jesus and people. It’s evident in the smile she greets you with or the hug she embraces you in. I truly believe that she loves as Jesus does. There is no judgement in this lady. I feel like you can tell her the worst thing and she never stands in judgement. I know that she still believes that God has a plan for your life. I have many things I love about her. I will share three that are on the tip top of my list. The first one is her pure love for Jesus and how she showers that love all over those she comes in contact with. The second thing is her ability to share the word of God with such and anointing and with clarity. It is evident that she truly spends time in the face of Jesus. I can tell right off when she speaks that she has heard from God, it’s not words that tickle your ears but words that challenge your heart for change. Last but not least…my favorite thing is how she will walk away from the crowd to embrace the one. So many times that has made me feel seen. There are many Sundays that my anxiety is a all out war to enter those doors for church. It feels good when service ends and everybody is heading out and you see her standing with a group but then she walks over to you to greet you. That is one of the greatest investment she has made in my life. I am truly grateful.
So, I have a couple more weeks ahead that I am so excited to share with you women who have invested in my life. I will say this, most of them were honored I wanted to write about them but hesitant to send me a picture👀. I’m praying that we as women will learn to embrace our beauty and live in it. I hope we will learn to include women from all walks of life and from different ages, backgrounds, ethnicity in our circles we run in. Don’t be afraid to leave the crowd to see the one. Make sure that not only do other women feel seen but make sure they feel invited to the table. Add more chairs if needed, shoot get a bigger table so you can invite more women. We are in this together, let’s love well and cheer each other on. I’m super excited to share over the next few days my next group of women.
Father I pray for every woman reading this. I pray that she feels seen, known and loved by you. I thank you for her life. I pray that you will surround her with sisters who love you, so she does not have to do life long. We praise and thank you. Amen
I am sure you have heard the famous quote” It doesn’t matter how you start, but how you finish”. If I could add a line to that statement today it would be “Your start does not determine your finish”. I think sometimes when we don’t start well, we believe the lie that we cannot finish strong. No matter how you start, I believe that you can still finish strong. In this post, I would like to share with you ways I believe can help you finish strong.
1). In the beginning decide how you want to finish. I truly believe from the start of anything we need to have a vision of how we desire to finish. Once you have that vision, then you know what your end goal is. Nobody can determine how you finish like you can. You are more than likely going to make decisions that help you finish strong. You will keep the end result before you. It will be a reminder of what you are working towards. Your end vision whether you believe this or not will help direct your decisions. If you have a vision of finishing strong in anything you do, you will make decisions that support that vision.
2). Surround yourself with the right people to support you. This can be a biggy. You cannot finish strong if the people in your inner circle are full of negativity. It can be difficult to move forward if the people that surround you are not for you. Sometimes we have people in our lives in places they don’t need to be. The people you seek wisdom from should be people who have earned a place of trust in your heart. The wisdom that people give, should line up with the life they live. To finish strong, surround yourself with people who are living well. People that finish strong are people who live well.
3). The in-between can be hard but beneficial. Before you disagree, let me explain. Most of the time we can get tired in the middle of our journey. The in-between is not where you started and it’s not your finish but your caught in the middle. In this place, people would say focus on your finish. I’m going to say be all there in the middle. Don’t be afraid to look back at where you started and celebrate how far you have come. The middle helps us appreciate how far we have come, and look ahead for how far we need to go. The middle can help us rest a little from our journey, it’s a place to strategize ways to ensure that we finish strong. Don’t despise the middle but celebrate it. Your not where you started, your not where you want to be, but baby you are on your way.
4). Finish I know this one word may sound crazy as a key to finishing strong😁, but this is one powerful word. You need to finish. Don’t give up a long the way. It is fine to pause and rest but just don’t quit. It’s okay to pause and reevaluate but, after you evaluate then keep going. To finish strong, learn from the lessons, look at your failures for what they are but please do not camp out there. Failures are only opportunities to find true success. Out of all the good things you can do in life, the best thing you will do is FINISH.
My whole intentions in writing this post was to encourage you to finish strong. Do not quit in the middle, rest, evaluate and keep going. If you quit in the middle, you will not experience the joy of finishing strong. You were born to win, you were created to finish strong. God’s plans for you are good and not evil, his good plans for you include a strong finish. I know it is difficult and sometimes giving up seems better than continuing to fight forward. You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength. You can make it through. God is with you and you can finish strong
God I am so grateful for the one reading this tonight. I ask that you continue to give them the strength they need to finish strong. Surround them with people who will speak wisdom into their heart. Help them to stay focused and to not give up in the middle. We’re so grateful for you Jesus. Amen
This post I have struggled with writing but, I’m going to do my best to put the words that are in my heart here in this space. I want to talk with you about the dash. We are all giving a dash and it begins with the day and year of our birth. This dash is so precious because it is how you live from your birth till your death. What are you doing with the dash you have been giving. Are you living in such a way that will impact the lives of others? Are you doing the things that God created you to do? See the thing is, God gave you this dash of time for a specific reason. When we find out the reason for our birth, the dash of time were given is lived well. At the same time, when we never find out our purpose but we just do a bunch of miscellaneous stuff with our life never really embracing our purpose we waste the dash of time we’ve been given. I pose the thought to you again,”How are you using the dash you’ve been given?”.I want you to know that people will definitely remember how your dash impact the dash they were given. More than anything we all will stand before Jesus and give an account for what we did with the dash he has given to us. Please don’t use any portion of your dash living in regret. Regrets will cause us to become stagnant. We cannot use our dash focusing on what we did. Our dash is best lived when we focus on what were yet to do. Just a friendly reminder that none of us are perfect. You will not live a perfect dash. There will be things in your dash that you will regret but, please don’t live from that place of regret. Forgive yourself, process it and take the lesson you learned in it and then let it go. Do not take it forward with you. Only use it as a tool to help others when necessary. I want to encourage you to live your dash to the fullest. I often say that I long to die empty. I want to finish as much of what I was purposed to do as I can. What will you do with the dash you have been given beautiful one?
“The dash is not just how you live, but it’s who you were too”.
Lora Terry
Who are you? A big factor in living our dash well is being who we are. When we live our authentic self, we use our dash well. God has a plan for who you really are but not for who you pretend to be. We don’t truly know how long our dash will be so each and every day, we should live our dash well. Those things in your heart that you want to do or experience, go after it. Maybe there are words you need to tell those you love, tell them. Maybe there is a phone call you need to make or someone you need to forgive, do it. Don’t waste your dash holding forgiveness in your heart that you need to give to someone. Trust me withholding forgiveness to someone who hurt you doesn’t hurt that person but, it does hurt you. Your dash is not worth it. You need all the time you have been giving to live and not be stagnant holding forgiveness that you know you need to give to someone. Let your dash be all God intended it to be.
Celebrate the dash you have been given.
At the end of your life be sure that you have lived in such a way that your life will be celebrated. You know how you do that? Celebrate your life while you live, it helps others to celebrate it when you are gone. Leave your mark in the earth for good. Leave a legacy that your loved ones will be honored to be a part of. My mom left a legacy of serving Jesus. I’ve lived every day loving and serving my Jesus. Now my children are living a life of serving and loving Jesus. Don’t be afraid to celebrate your life, even if you have to do it for yourself. I hope that you celebrate your accomplishments and find a way to not live in your failures. Did you know that the way you fail at something is a key factor in how you will be successful at it next time. Failure is not the end, oftentimes it is a beautiful new beginning. Live well, live forward, live all in and most of all live the heart of Jesus creation of you.
I will leave you with this to ponder. You have been given this dash, only you can decide how you will live it. What will you do with this beautiful dash you have been given?
God I thank you for every person that will stumble upon this post. I pray that they will know how important the dash they have been given truly is. God help them to seek you about the dash you have given them. You have a complete plan for the dash you gave to us. Help us to surrender our dash to your plans for us. Thank you Jesus for your everlasting love. Amen.
I think at times in our lives, we all struggle with feeling unworthy of good things. I want to pose a question for you to think about,”What is that thing that happened to cause you to feel as if you have to earn your worth?”. You have spent your life trying to earn something that you never had to earn. I know that things can happen to us or we can do things and because of that we believe the lie that were no longer worthy of the good plans God has for us. Let me whisper in your ear, “You were born worthy”. Guess what, not only were you born worthy, nothing you do makes you unworthy. When we struggle with believing that our worthiness is earned, we thrive in the praises from others. We desperately feel like their words validate us. You might not know this but only God created us and I truly believe the one that created us is the one who validates us.
I found myself living in the praises of others. I wanted to feel like I was worthy, and I believed the lie that their words and acceptance of me made me worthy. We don’t have to live up to the standards of others to be worthy. You don’t have to fit into a certain crowd to be worthy. Just maybe the crowd you’re trying to fit yourself in is honestly not worthy of you. Their rejection of you might be the greatest blessing of your life.
Oh, the tears I’ve cried feeling like I didn’t belong in a certain group. I am slowly but surely learning that I will not fit into every space, and that is ok. Every circle is not a circle I have to belong. I want you to know that any group, circle or community you have to change to fit in, YOU do not belong in it. Performing does not make you worthy. The uniqueness that you were created in is what makes you worthy. I believe the courage to walk into spaces and be you makes you worthy. Who you really are is worthy of love, respect, and connection. You deserve all the good things God has for you and you are worthy of each and every one of them.
When I lived with the lie that I had to earn my worthiness, I found myself pretending to be who I thought I needed to be in order to fit in different spaces. What I realized was that I was really miserable when I left those spaces. My anxiety was through the roof and I felt empty. I felt empty because who I really was I was spending unnecessary energy burying as I pretended to be someone I really wasn’t. I could never earn worthiness because what I didn’t know was that worthiness did not need to be earned. No matter how much I tried to be different, that was not making me feel worthy. I believe where I picked up that feeling that I wasn’t worthy was in my childhood. As a little girl, I walked through a lot of trauma and some of the things I endured made me feel unworthy. I didn’t feel worthy of love. I struggled with feeling like I could ever be enough. I had low self-esteem and very little courage. Those childhood experience felt as if they wrote the message of unworthiness on my heart. As an adult I continued to struggle with feeling worthy. I’ve gotten better, but every now and then those feelings of unworthiness try to creep in. I have to immediately remind myself that I was born worthy of every good thing God has for me. I notice that when I forget who I am in Christ, I start feeling unworthy. When we embrace who God made us to be, we embrace the truth that we were born worthy.
13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. Psalms 139:13-14 English Standard version (ESV)
Above is one of my favorite passage of scripture. It reminds me that God formed every part of me, even my inward parts. God knitted me and you together in our mothers womb. This helps me rest in the truth that I am worthy. God created and formed every part of me and I am priceless. God formed every part of you and YOU are priceless. Nobody can diminish your worth in Jesus, not any words spoken to you or over you can change the truth that you my friend are worthy. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 (ESV) you were born according to scripture for good works. To be honest though, those good works did not make you worthy, Christ made you worthy.
This post was to remind you that your worthiness is not earned, but you were worthy from the beginning. You can stop striving for worthiness and start resting in the truth, that you are worthy. I pray that you will embrace this truth and live from the place of worthiness which is where you always belong. Thank you for taking time to read my words. I’m honored and grateful for each of you.
I know it feels safe. I know you believe that it’s not costing you anything to hide out in the shadows. I know it feels like you can protect yourself from hurt if you just stay in the shadows. Let everybody else get the applause for your hard work. Nobody sees you, so the expectations for you to do or be anything are very small if any. Psssst….the sacrifice of the blessing God created you to be will never be worth it, never. Now, I am not saying that God can never use you in the shadows, for a period of time yes he might use you. It’s like a place of preparation. I truly believe there are some people out front that never walked in the shadows and it shows👀. It is definitely not a place to remain. I truly believe that while working in the background it can build great character in you that sustains you when God places you out front.
There is a humbling that happens within us when we have a shadows experience. I just think that we can become comfortable and complacent when we stay there too long. I think we then become afraid to step out of the shadows into the forefront even when we know Christ is calling us into the front lines of ministry. Nobody knows better than Jesus, you and honestly the devil of what your truly capable of doing with the gift of God in you. I think we forget that satan knows what’s inside of us too and he fights us to keep us surrendered to our own plans rather than walking in Jesus plans that he has for us even before the foundations of this earth. You were not created to stay in the shadows. You were not created to hide out behind the scenes. Come out of the shadows, you have stayed there long enough.
I have come to the place where I have made a life for myself in the shadows that honestly feels right. It feels safe. I have zero pressure to do anything or be anything. I’ve felt as if I’ve somehow buried the call of God in the shadows where I hide. To be honest stepping into the front lines of ministry again feels overwhelming even though I know it’s Jesus calling me, Jesus nudging me, Jesus pulling me away from the shadows and back into the place he intended for me to be. I know coming out of the shadows means that I have to walk away from some places that make me feel safe in the shadows. I know I will have to walk away from some relationships that allow me to feel comfortable hiding. Writing this post is me taking my first few baby steps out of the shadows. I can tell you this from experience,”Playing small only keeps you trapped in a lie”. A lie that is definitely keeping you stagnant. Don’t shrink back when you are among great people with titles and college degrees. Trust me, your in that room because you deserve to be. The things you have to say will really add value to the conversation. You were invited in that room because someone in that space needs what is in you. You would be amazed at the many times my experience with certain things helped a person with a degree and no experience. Please don’t show up pretending to be less than the amazing person you truly are. Trust me, I’m taking my own advice in too.
I felt in my heart that at the beginning of this new year would be the perfect time to encourage you to stop playing small. I want to encourage you to stop pretending to be less when deep inside you know you have more inside you. You bring so much to the table when you bring all of who you are with you. Your in that room because you need to be. You have operated in the background long enough. There are countless well known individuals in this world who started with nothing but realized who they really were and cultivated that gift to allow it to to take them forward. Let this year of 2023 be the year you come out of the shadows. Let this year be the year you be who you truly are. Let it be the year you stop playing small. I believe in you. Go be great💚.
6. You don’t always need to start over, just start again.
7. Be intentional with your time.
8. Be in the moment your in.
9. Everybody has an opinion but every opinion concerning you does not always matter💚.
10. LIVE
Choose Jesus more this year. Oftentimes we can find ourselves choosing everything but Jesus. Choosing Jesus every morning as a way to start your day. Make sure to find a scripture to read and meditate on throughout your day. Invite him in to your day. Spend time in his word and talking to him. We can sometimes make talking to Jesus so complicated and it makes others believe they can’t do it. Prayer is simply just talking to God about anything and everything. He is waiting on you. I know there were times I’ve chosen unimportant things over Jesus but this year my desire is to choose Jesus more.
You are always important. I want you to remember that when making decisions this year. Sometimes we make decisions and we never consider how those decisions will affect us. I know I’ve sacrificed myself a lot in decision making to make sure that others were happy even if I was miserable. So, this year I decided to make sure to consider myself more this year. Some people may see it as selfish but it’s not selfish to think of yourself. I think what is selfish is to think of everyone else and never consider yourself. So this year, please remember that, “you are important too”.
Boundaries are healthy and needed. Boundaries are an excellent way to care for you and your mental health. Boundaries even with the people you love and call family are healthy. Setting a healthy boundary is another way of choosing yourself and making yourself important. A boundary says to others that they will not treat you any kind of way and still have access to you. Boundaries tell others that you love yourself enough to protect yourself from those who don’t know how to treat you well. Trust me practice setting boundaries and enforcing them, you will end a lot of toxic relationships and be bless with healthy ones.
Me time is necessary for your mental health. I did not know how vital me time was to taking care of my mental health. I plan to make more time for it this year. I feel so much better when I take time for myself. The same way we prioritize everything else is the same way we should prioritize time for ourselves. I love going to Barnes and Nobles alone and looking at books, slowly walking the isle just taking my time. I’m on nobody’s schedule but my own. I often will go to the lake and just sit on the peer and dream. It does not matter how you spend it as long as it’s time for you. Do what makes you happy during that time. Learn to be with yourself. Try it and see how much it helps you this year. My desire is at least 3 times a month to do something for me. I hope you will join me.
Stop talking yourself out of good things. This is simple, YOU deserve good things. Sometimes we talk ourselves out of good things because it seems like a risk. Believe it or not something’s that require a risk can still be a good thing for us. So be willing to take a little risk to get to the good things that you so deserve.
You don’t always need to start over, just startagain. It can be difficult to start over, and unnecessary too. I truly believe that there are more times than not that we just need to start again. When we start over and go back to the beginning we waste precious time that we could use. When we just start again we honor the work we have already done and we can move further along. Now there might be times that we do need to just start over, but keep in mind that starting over is not so bad, it’s a chance to get it right for you. I just want you to remember this year that starting over is not always the answer, maybe starting again is the better option.
Be intentional with your time. This one speaks for itself. Be mindful how you spend your time. Time is precious so in this new year let’s be more intentional in how we spend our time.
Be in the moment your in. One of my favorite quotes is,”Be where your feet are”. Basically meaning to be in the moment your in. We can find ourselves being physically present but mentally checked out. We can find ourselves being physically present but thinking about all the other things we need to be doing. Let me remind you that we miss precious times with those we love and sometimes we miss important information that we need to hear. To be in the moment means that every bit of your attention is in that moment. It means that mentally you are in that moment that your living right then. Don’t miss precious moments this year, be in the moment your in💚.
Everybody has an opinion, but not everyopinion concerning you matters. So this one is my favorite one. It’s true that everyone is entitled to their opinion but it’s not true that you have to navigate your life through their opinions. I know personally what it feels like to live in the opinions of others trying to fit in. I lost who I was and began to feel bitter towards myself. It was exhausting chasing everybody’s opinion concerning my life and decisions. I not only chased their opinions, I then let them dictate my life. I quickly learned that I needed to take back my life. I decided to only invite a little bit of wisdom in from those who had truly invested in my life. The greatest voice in my life today is Jesus and my family including very few friends who are like family to me. You will not believe the peace and confidence I live my life in now💚.
Live. My greatest encouragement for this new year is simply, “live”. It’s one word but it’s one powerful word. Live every moment of your life. When we live our life we find ourselves feeling more stable and at peace with ourselves. Live your life like every moment is precious because honestly, it truly is. Live in a way that your soul feels full and your heart overflows with love to those around you. Take time to do things that fill your soul. Only you know what makes you feel fully alive. Please don’t get caught in a routine living your life. To truly live your life takes away the feeling of just going through the motions. I pray this year brings joy, peace, stability, encouragement and deep love to you. I pray that you take the risk to have the good things waiting for you. I pray that you commit to choosing more of Jesus this year. Thank you for being here. I honor your presence here. If your just stopping by, I hope you will stay a while. Happy New Year.
To the one hurting this holiday, I want you to know, I’m thinking of you. I want you to know, I can relate to you. You can have the good things, a beautiful tree, it can be filled with gifts but still feel empty and sad inside. Right now, you might be sitting around family that you love so deeply and still feel all alone. Maybe you are grieving the loss of a loved one and tonight you are longing for what never can be again. I understand the longing to hear their voice one more time, to receive a hug or even just to sit in their presence. I have no magical words but I want you to know, I’m thinking of you. I feel you tonight, the one hurting during the holidays. Your pain is just as real as the next person’s. Even though everything is completely amazing in your life right now but your still hurting, I get it. Honestly mental health struggles don’t take a back seat to the holidays. I want you to know that you are not alone in your pain. Physically it might feel like it, mentally it might seem like it but I’m praying that your soul knows that you are never alone.
This is what I’m believing for you and I. Joy is not based upon circumstances to me, joy just bubbles on the inside. Smiling faces are not necessary an indication of joy. I’ve looked in the faces of many people smiling but later found out they were broken and hurting inside. Notice I didn’t choose a picture of a smiling face as a representation of joy but I choose the word. Joy shows up in many different ways. It is an emotion that almost to me feels like peace and love all intertwined together bubbling from our souls. You can have joy even in sad situations. You can have joy even when happiness runs out. Happiness is based upon circumstances or good things happening to us, for us or around us. So tonight my sweet friends imagine someone reaching out to you, pulling you into peace. Let that peace fill your soul. Let that peace wash over you. Not just peace but love, let love fill your heart and wash over you. Fill it flooding your soul and overwhelming your heart. Now dear heart let joy bubble up within you. Will it change your circumstances for the holidays, probably not but it will certainly give you new perspective. I see you and I’m thinking and praying over you tonight. Merry Christmas dear hearts. May the joy of this season flood you💚❤️💚❤️💚❤️
Lord I thank you for the person reading this right now. God I thank you for comforting their heart right in this moment. Let your unconditional love surround them right now. May they know that you are with them and they are never alone. Thank you God……Amen
Gifts are so special. When carefully thought through and chosen for a specific person for a specific reason, gifts have a way of bringing joy and love to the person receiving the gift and the person giving it as well. Jesus was given as a gift to this world but not only is Jesus a gift, you my friend are a gift as well. I wanted to remind you that there is a gift inside of you, but I also wanted you to know that you are a gift. You bring such joy and love to the lives of those who embrace you as the gift you truly are. In preparation of the holiday season, I wanted to write to you about, “The Gift”. The gift that God created you to be to the world. Just like these beautifully wrapped gifts so are you. Your outside beauty is the wrapping paper but inside is the gift that was strategically placed inside of you to be used to bless the lives your life was created to bless. Jesus didn’t just throw your life together, but he carefully placed every detail of your life in its place. There was no mistake in him creating you. You were not a afterthought, you were his first thought. Jesus’ planned and orchestrated your life so that the gift in you and the gift of you could serve this earth well. Jesus did not think twice about creating you, you were always on his mind to create, and give a gift that would impact the world. I often wonder why we hide our gifts and live in fear of using them. Honestly, even if we don’t admit that the thing, we do so well is actually a gift does not mean that it isn’t. I know I’ve tried to hide what I’m gifted to do sometimes because I don’t want the pressure to do it. I felt like once people knew I was gifted to do a particular thing they would put unnecessary pressure on me to use it. Even though God placed the gift in me, I still struggle with him using that gift. Most of the time it’s the gift within us that makes us THE gift. I truly believe that God carefully chooses the gifts he gives to us and the way he uses them, and I would even say, he chooses even those he will use to bless by our gifts. So, as we are quickly facing the Holidays, I thought it would be good to remind you of the gift that you are. I wanted to remind you just how much you are needed in this world. We can so quickly get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the Holidays especially the unspoken pressure we typically feel to buy those we love that perfect gift. I want to offer to you a suggestion; take a moment between now and Christmas day and make a list of your loved ones and write beside each of their names the gift they are to you. Maybe even take inventory over the things in your life that you do that you believe that God placed in you as a gift to bless others. Maybe consider ways that you have allowed God to use you and that gift to impact the world. I want to challenge you to seek God for more opportunities in the year to use that gift to be an even greater blessing to him and others.
We also can find ourselves struggling with the Holidays. We face our own mental health struggles with emotions that run high and at times find ourselves feeling out of control when those emotions feel really big and overwhelming. I want you to know that you are not alone in those feelings. There are so many people in this world that struggle with believing that anything about themselves could ever be considered a gift. It is difficult for them to see beyond the words that people have spoken to them or over them causing them to see themselves as nothing and nobody important. If you are feeling that way, I want you to know that you are an important gift and you have been given an important gift. You are needed and wanted. Embrace the truth tonight, that you are a gift.I want you to take a moment, close your eyes and think about the best gift that you have ever received in your life. I want you to think about the way it made you feel. I want you to think about how you felt about the person who gave it to you. I’m wondering was it wrapped in beautiful wrapping paper or put in a beautiful gift bag with all the pretty tissue paper. Did you feel like the person took precious time to pick this beautiful, special gift just for you. Now, I want to offer you a gift more precious than any gift you have ever received. In this gift is everything you need for your life. In this gift, you will be lavished with unconditional love. This gift is full of peace. Guess what though? It’s not just any old peace, it is a peace that will surpass all of your human understanding. In this gift, is life everlasting. This gift will be right with you in every single season of your life. The gift I want to offer you this Christmas, is the gift of Jesus Christ. I know for a fact, that your life will never be the same. So in closing this post, will you receive this free gift of unconditional love, peace , joy and beauty that is Jesus. He is the greatest gift you will ever received. We celebrate him this time of year being born on earth. I would love to celebrate him also being born in your heart. My prayer is that you will know the most precious gift that is our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I know that he desires to rescue you from every sin that you might be struggling with. If you choose to do so, say this prayer out loud and believe in your heart and receive your greatest gift ever.
Lord Jesus, I so desperately need you in my life. I need your peace and unconditional love. Lord please forgive me of all my sins and come into my heart. Lord I invite you to walk with me, talk with me, lead and guide me. You are the greatest gift and thank you for coming into my heart. Im so excited to begin my life brand new with you. Amen
Lately this has been my greatest struggle. I’ve found myself afraid of the future which is the unknown to me. I’ve found myself worrying about things that are beyond my control. I’ve been over processing in my heart and mind all the what if’s. Just allowing the noise in my head to become louder and louder. Right now the unknown makes me feel unsafe and a little out of sorts. As this world is changing and I see things happening around me, I feel like I can’t trust the things in my world that use to feel stable and safe for me. It feels so overwhelming at times as I consider what the future holds. I think I’ve believed that Christians are not suppose to be afraid but we’re human and as humans we are going to experience human emotions. I’m learning how to place my unknown future into the hands of an unseen God who has great plans for my life.
I want to know all the details of what is ahead of me. I find myself trying to plan out the unknown when all I need is to trust God who created me and knows the details of my future. I find my heart being overwhelmed and anxious about not being able to see how this world will continue to unfold . Are you like me wanting to know every single detail before it happens? You want to know every step you will take and how those steps will work for you or against you. You don’t want to trust in what you can’t see. You would rather see it all and then trust because only then will you know how it all works. Oh how we wish the world was simpler just like that. Unfortunately that is just not how it all works in this earth. You may never know all the details of what’s next. You can plan and plan and plan and it still not go as you planned but, it’s ok, it really, truly is ok. Fear can paralyze us and keep us from the beauty of what’s in our futures. I will be honest with you, it can’t possibly ALL be ugly, it’s just sometimes we can’t see the beauty because we’re so focused on the ugly.
Fear if allowed can cripple us and keep us stagnant in places that no longer serve us well. Fear is only powerful when we allow it to rule and reign in our lives. Now, you might say fear does not control me…..ummmmm. ok, so make the phone call, go on the interview, write the book, prepare the message, make the connection, start the blog, do the podcast, just stop overthinking it and letting fear decide for you. When we know there are things we need to do and we struggle with admitting the truth, we’re really just afraid of the unknown. Would you do what’s in your heart if you knew it was going to be successful? If you knew the blog would be amazing, would you do it? If you knew the book was going to be a bestseller,would you be writing it right now? A healthy amount of fear is natural but fear that cripples you into not moving is very unhealthy and needs to be dealt with. Sometimes to face our fears is simply to just admit that they are real. Explore the reason we’re afraid, take time to understand what is it that we’re really afraid of in our future or concerning our future. I will tell you that oftentimes the true reason we’re afraid is not surface level reasons, it’s more in-depth than we’re often willing to go👀. I chose the picture above because it looks like the face of courage and fear at the same time. My motto I adopted from Joyce Meyers years ago is,”Do it Afraid”.
I’m encouraging myself with this one. Fear is natural but letting it keep you stagnant is harmful. Go for it, give fear a punch in the face. Step out in that dream. Write your plan to accomplish that goal and ask God for courage to do it. Write the book, make the call, create the resume and don’t sell yourself short in it. Fill out that application, go to that counseling session( it might just save your life), make that friend connection, join the church you’ve been visiting, have that conversation. You know what it is you have been so afraid of. Only you know the fear of your unknown. I know the unknown to you is known to God. If he said do it, DO it. If he said go, GO. As we are approaching 2023 more quickly than ever, let’s do the thing we’ve been wanting to do. Maybe it’s an art class, a pottery class, maybe it’s a writing class or a branding class for your new company. Let’s go for it. Let’s walk boldly into the fear of the unknown trusting a God that knows.
God I thank you for the person reading this. Give them the peace they need. Help them to not allow the fear of the unknown to keep them stagnant. Help them to know that you are with them in all of of it. Amen.
Uplift 