Tag: God all the time

It’s Okay… You Will Succeed!

I am sure like me, on the eve of the new year, you were staring down the barrel that was 2023 and may have felt a little drag to your feet as you saw the barrel for 2024 being set. You may be dragging your feet because 2023 started promising, reached a high and just did not end the way you expected. You may feel disappointed with some of your choices and are still unsure where you are meant to be. It’s okay. Know that each day you wake up is a victory. If you can get at least one item on your list right, it’s a victory. For this new year be realistic about where you are and how you plan to move forward. Don’t have expectations of yourself you did not meet in 2023 because you were not in a position to be there then; after all, it’s only a day that separates 2023 from 2024. However, despite everything that challenged this possibility, you have succeeded in making it to 2024. If you think about it, you had to claw your way here and maybe drag yourself a few times to cross that finish line but who cares about looking good when survival’s on the line. You are here, be thankful.

Yes, there are things you want to change because you know how bad they are but don’t be anxious. Just accept that it will take time and get worse before it gets better. Know that God will ensure you have the tools, people and inspiration to make each day a success. So, what does success look like? When it’s gonna be different for each of us. So far I have done one thing right out of all the things I have to do since the start of the year and that’s success. It is nothing major, just writing down what I want to accomplish and noting what went well and what did not. I have read a few pages each day of a book I need to finish reading and I spend a few more minutes in prayer. Nothing major but quietly and determinedly I move forward not dwelling too much on what I have not yet accomplished or how I fail each day. I give thanks for the little things that make me happy, like going on a walk, taking some pictures and being free to fail and try again.

For this new year, I hope you take the time to really live in the present and not anxiously anticipate the next day because your current day sucks. I hope you grow in the confidence that there is nothing on this earth truly impossible if you lean into God and allow him to lead the way. I hope you do nothing but trust in his plans and let him have his say. It won’t always be a great year but it will be a year that will build you up to serve God’s kingdom. You will succeed!

Follow the Light

Harsh and bright
the light
shines on us
ever before us
we see the dangers
real and sure
we stumble
buck we toe
catch ourselves
walk again.
the light
it bright
shows all the shadows
inside of us.
the light
has power
will us forward
removing us
from our story
of ourselves
so it can shine
in all those dark spaces
find what we seek
find what we need.

You are Right Where You are Meant to Be

It is tiring, right? Always striving, reaching for the next thing, that one thing you are meant to do. To become the one you are meant to be.

It is hard. When you are tired. When you are not sure what to do. What to do next? Sometimes, we get so focused on the next thing that we miss out on the now. On the rich things happening now, the lessons being taught now. We miss the gems we are to collect now and we move to the next, with an empty basket. We are too quick to move, too limited to appreciate what we have before us before it becomes ‘had’. Pace, pace yourself and slow down. What is meant for your good will be given to you. There is no need for us to be chasing the next thing, presented to us as the ‘best thing’. I need to stop and look carefully at what is around me. What I can take care of now, what I can do now and do that. There is no need to reach beyond what is in front of me. First I have to address the present in order to successfully greet the future.

Forget perfection, it is not achievable. What can happen is that we devalue our efforts, the efforts of others and God’s awesome efforts on our behalf, because we are waiting for perfection. There is no perfect life. Yes, it is hard to admit and even harder to live this imperfect life but it is the truth. A truth I do not like is that death is sure. What we need to do before we get there is to embrace life with all its imperfections and just give ourselves the grace to live it.

So, we push through and beyond the stones we encounter in the now, before we move on. We do not need to turn back and seek another path. Really we can never go back, so why try? We push through and we take note of our strengths and weaknesses. We learn about our idiosyncracies and we push to thrive, no matter the harsh conditions. We do not stop. We may pause, cry out our fears, and wonder what we are doing here, but we never stop. We may slow down because it’s what we have to do. We may even pause for a good long while because the lesson module is so large, but we will eventually move again when the time is right. The only constant is change. therefore, we can see little changes in the little things taking place around us now. Sometimes even those little things become big things. But, we never stop, we are never stuck, and we are getting to where we are getting in a time that matches our ability at that time.

So, while it may be tempting for us to abort the boat in the middle of a storm and hop on a passing ship that seems destined for greater things, let us pause and think. How did we get here? Where were we told to go? Is that ship headed for our promised land or an iceberg? Sometimes we are meant to be in the boat, going at a steady pace, being led, because what is ahead for us is still in preparation mode and God needs time to set it up right for us. Just remember in the now you are in, you are where you are meant to be.

Here’s a True Love Letter…

43 But now, this is what the Lord says—
    he who created you, Jacob,
    he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters,
    I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
    they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
    you will not be burned;
    the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
    Cush[a] and Seba in your stead.
4 Since you are precious and honoured in my sight,
    and because I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
    nations in exchange for your life.
5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
    I will bring your children from the east
    and gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
    and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
    and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
7 everyone who is called by my name,
    whom I created for my glory,
    whom I formed and made.”

8 Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,
    who have ears but are deaf.
9 All the nations gather together
    and the peoples assemble.
Which of their gods foretold this
    and proclaimed to us the former things?
Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right,
    so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”
10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,
    “and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
    and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
    nor will there be one after me.
11 I, even I, am the Lord,
    and apart from me there is no savior.
12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—
    I, and not some foreign god among you.
You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.
13     Yes, and from ancient days I am he.
No one can deliver out of my hand.
    When I act, who can reverse it?”

14 This is what the Lord says—
    your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“For your sake, I will send to Babylon
    and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians,[b]
    in the ships in which they took pride.
15 I am the Lord, your Holy One,
    Israel’s Creator, your King.”

16 This is what the Lord says—
    he who made a way through the sea,
    a path through the mighty waters,
17 who drew out the chariots and horses,
    the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again,
    extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
18 “Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.
20 The wild animals honour me,
    the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
21     the people I formed for myself
    that they may proclaim my praise…

Now the rest is up to you.

Watch your words, Sis, they can kill…

She was tired. The results did not match the effort. “Why was this so hard? O God I just want to die! Come, Lord, I can’t bother no more.” She puts down her sword, puts down her armour and just sits there. She thinks she’s ready. She thinks she’s ready to die, because why should she live if she has nothing to give…

You are too harsh by far. You are too harsh to yourself and each word you utter cuts deep and leaves a wound. Soon, you will start bleeding until all the life is drained from your body. Be kind to yourself, just as you are kind to somebody else. Your words are causing those wounds that will be hard to repair.

There are times when we feel so much despair we just don’t care. We look at our situation and think of death before dishonour and so we say, death. We claim death to our dreams, relationships and our very being. We lose sight of our purpose and speak so much nonsense and we start to believe them. We start to nurture them, water them protect them; we start to worship them. Then we feel despair hounding us and we get tired. Yes, we get tired and we think those thoughts, over and over again until, our light is diminished. We lock ourselves off and forget our powerful friend. We forget we have a friend in Jesus. We sink into a hole so dark and so deep that we are consumed by it.

However, to give in is when despair truly begins. This is where the dishonour becomes a real thing. Giving reign to the dark disqualifies our purpose, and dishonours a gift given in love, blood and unimaginable pain. Yes, Sticks and stones can break bones but words and be the death of us. Little by little those words of failure of surrender begin to chip away at our tenacity, our resolve and our birthright. So be careful, be very careful of the things you tell yourself. Because what others say to you, doesn’t really matter, until you begin to repeat them to yourself. Only then do they become true. So, be careful that the words you think of, the words you use with yourself are words, God, has commissioned over your life, not those carelessly tossed around by a desperate mind.

“Let me give you a preview of what your words can do and tell me what you think…”

“Oh God! I shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord, forgive me!”

Pull back when you are closest to the edge, reach out and seek help. But don’t allow yourself to be enticed by the tragedy of your story. It’s better to seek the repairer of the breach, that’s what we should seek than to blindly orchestrate and actively participate in our defeat. Words are powerful use the with wisdom, love and kindness.

Sis… We need to let it go!

She has always felt not quite right where she was planted. Yes, she grew but not as tall as she wanted to. Yes, she spread wide, but not as wide enough to touch the universe and come back to herself. Yes, she laid down roots, but they were shallow, not deep or strong enough to withstand the storms. And so she left. She slowly and painfully pulled up those roots. She folded herself tight enough to fit on that ship. She hid her colours to blend into the atmosphere of her despair and she left. She left because she felt if she stayed one more day, she would die. Her beauty would shrivel like a dried-out meat and die. It was not easy for her to leave. Several times she fainted, was revived and fainted again. It was a process. She nearly did not make it. But God!

She made it. She was strong. She stepped off that ship because she made it. Immediately something felt as if it was missing. She walked the streets, looking for a bed to rest her head and she knew something was missing. But how sway? She had been through so much to get here? She had sacrificed her peace of mind to find her peace. Now, here she was in a new place, looking for the familiars. The environment was not “envionmenting” for her, it did not give her the spark of joy that she needed and so she stopped. She stopped because she could see a new challenge on the way. Which way was the right way? She looked back and knew she could not. She could not go back. But to go ahead was uncertain. What would she do if she failed? Who could she turn to? What would become of her yet unfulfilled dreams? What was there outside of herself that she could turn to?

Do you know, you can travel halfway around the world trying to realise your new and still feel imprisoned by your old? Physically escaping the place of your trauma or traumas is one thing but emotionally and psychologically you can still be held captive by them because you have not truly let go of them. And even if God creates the right atmosphere and environment for you to grow and flourish, if He sends the right people, if you do not participate in all the things he prepares for you it will come to nothing. Opportunities are great and new experiences are encouraged but make sure they are not mixed with the refuse from your life that should have been disposed of a long time ago. So, we can move to the ends of the earth but we cannot escape our problems but, we can rely on God for direction. For pruning when we need pruning and for renewal when we are dry and thirsty for the encouragement we need, there must be a constant connection with God. I am not talking about friends and family, they are important. However, I have come to realise that only God can give peace, encouragement and confidence needed to thrive wherever you are planted.

We need to stop thinking we can operate outside the will of God. We need God even when we’ve made it because we made it to a point and there are many more steps to go. As- a -matter -of -fact we never reach our goal steps in life, we have to keep meeting and setting new steps. In all this stepping and goal making we need to abide in God so He can abide in us.: If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you[a] will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you (John 15:7). Challenges will come, no matter where we are and what we are doing but we hope in Christ and not the things we gain here on earth. We therefore need to remember that all that we do must be done consulting with God seeking Him and heeding His will for our lives. It can be hard but not impossible. If we do not rely on God for everything we become vulnerable to anything, we accept any standard outside of ourselves and God’s purpose. We may forget that we are not powerless and begin to believe that we need things outside of ourselves to truly measure our worth. Let us not allow ourselves to be cast into the fire and burned but let us bear much fruit by abiding in God. Let us bloom, not because we did it, but because we did it with Christ as our gardener.

There was nothing outside of herself. All that she needed she was already equipped with. She had the Sipirt of her gardener ready to instruct her and guide her to her success. She would not die, she knew this. She had just forgotten because where she came from was so filled with light, that she was momentarily disoriented by the darkness and dampness of this new place. She remembered that power was within and had never left her and her source was the Comforter. So, she began to move again but now with renewed purpose. She had all she needed to go anywhere, take root and bloom