Are You Too Busy?

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)

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Some of us  have  way too much going on. We are  so   busy  being busy that  life  is exhausting us.  The  problem with having so much on our  plates  at one time is that  eventually what we are filling our  schedule with begins to weigh us down. We  begin to  do things out of  obligation as opposed to  having a passion for the project we've started.   Putting   so much pressure on ourselves to reach perfection can lead us to fall out of love with what  use to be  our passion.  

So you'll  have to ask yourself what's the point of  working yourself into oblivion  for something  that  is  draining  your peace? It's  important to take time to  unplug and   do a serious  self-inventory  of   where  our heart and mind  is. Today   let's take some time to  answer the  following question honestly.  Am  I   filling my   life with projects or things in order to mask my  pain? If the answer is yes then  I encourage you to go before the Lord and spend some  quality  time with Him  today.  

When your  mind is so  cluttered odds are   that you haven't  spent  enough time pouring  your   heart  out  to God . We  all need  time  with God   each day so that  He  can renew you through His word and His presence not just  when things slow  down or are convenient.  Today be intentional  about  giving God your  time and He will be  faithful in carrying you through anything that  life throws your way. 

Love,

Receive Gods Love

For God was in Christ, restoring the world to himself, no longer counting men’s sins against them but blotting them out. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others. We are Christ’s ambassadors. God is using us to speak to you: we beg you, as though Christ himself were here pleading with you, receive the love he offers you—be reconciled to God.2 Corinthians 5:19-20 TLB

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Have you really  accepted God's  love?  That  seems like a simple  question to answer, Right? But often times  we  feel like  we are so far from where  God wants us to be that somehow His  love for us has diminished. Thankfully, this is not the case.  God is not like man  and  there is nothing that  we  could  do to weaken His  love  for us.

For many of  us  the concept of  unconditional  love  is  hard to wrap our minds  around. We  base  Gods  love on  the  relationships that we've  encountered in our life. But the   thing about  people is   that even with the best  intentions  we have the tendency to have  conditions  for  our  love.  We have these  check list   and  boxes to check off and  at times  unattainable  requirements. But the good news is that  God  isn't  that way.


Gods love  isn't dependent on  us  at all.  As a  loving  Father  He reconciled us  back to Him through  Christ, so  His love has  already been  established.   What  we must do is  broaden what we  think about  God  and  accept  the love that He has offered to us.  There  are no hoops to  jump through or level of perfection in our  walk  to attain with God . God  is literally love and  He has  graciously  given  us  His love as a gift  that  will never  run dry.


 So don't wait for the perfect  time  or  circumstance to reach out  to  God.  There is  no better  time than right now  to   seek Him.  The best  decision  you  will ever  make is  to   cling to  the  one  who  created you, loves  you with an unwavering  love   and   will walk  with you  and  guide  you every   single  day  of your life without fail.  Think about it this way the one who created  us all, the universe and  so much more  believes that  we matter and that  we are  valuable  in his  eye's.  Don't wait another  moment  accept God He is waiting with open arms.


Love,

Finding Your Purpose

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.Do not forsake the work of your hands. Psalm 138:8 (ESV)

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I  believe  that we  all  have  the desire to  better ourselves.  There is  a  desire in all of us to grow and find what  our purpose is.  Sometimes  we  get caught up in our own routines and get set in  our ways that we   settle in to  a  stagnant  life.  If this sounds familiar then you recognize   the need to  break out  of  your comfort zone.



But what  if you  are unsure  of where you fit in  or  what your purpose  is?  It  can be  frustrating  to have the desire to   do    amazing things but  have  no clue where to   start.  A  good  place to  begin is to  start being  intentional about  spending  some  quiet time  before the  Lord in order to  find ourselves.  Then we  must  find  the  Lord and  absorb  His  wisdom.  Prayer  is  a  direct connections with   the Lord and it is  vital  in our  journey to a  better us.


We must  develop a  mindset that declares  that  God  will fulfill His  purpose  in our lives.  When  we  don't  believe that God can  use  us  we tend  to shy away from digging deeper  in  our pursuit  to  find our  purpose.  But  we  must do  the  complete  opposite we  must  pursue  Gods  plans for our  lives  so that  we  can  live to our  full potential.   Why live with a  stack of regrets  over things you could have done   when you  have the privilege to  tap  into  Gods endless resources?


We  can  live  life to the  fullest; Keep chasing after the will of  God and  you will  find  your  place in His  plan.   Everything that  you are  going through or  have gone through  play  a part in reaching your full potential. Remain focused ,keep  praying  and  keep  worshiping  God  because He is  faithful. Your story doesn't end with where you've fallen short  but it continues  where  your faith  meets the Lords  power.


Love,

Changing Seasons

 I will pour out water for the thirsty land and make streams flow on dry land. I will pour out my Spirit into your children and my blessing on your descendants. Isaiah 44:3 (NCV)

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At some  point in our lives we have  all experienced  a   dry season  where  we  feel like we  are in  a  cycle of  disappointment  and things   don't come together the way we would like them  to.  It can be hard to  imagine that  all the   hard things we have had to  deal with  has  a  purpose.  But in spite of  how  you feel in  this  moment  or what it looks like, every  obstacle that you've  faced  is a  vital   piece of  the puzzle  for where you are going.

Sometimes   God   allow  certain  things to unfold in our lives to get our attention , move  us to a point where we reevaluate  our  motives and   begin  to put our  hope back in  Him. What  we must  realize is that  God  never   promised that  our walk with Him would  be easy and that  once we  became  saved things would  just  automatically  flow into place.   What He  did  promise  is  to never  leave us nor  forsake us. So when  we really  begin to trust His   plan for our lives  we  will succeed. He will make a way in spite of  what  things  look like.

So when you find yourself  at a  crossroad don't begin to   despise  the path you're on   but  seek  God  relentlessly  and   pray your  way through  every obstacle.   God  is bigger than  anything that we will ever   face.  He  wants to  see us    succeed  but we  must be willing to  give  up our will in exchange  for His  because it is  the only way to  true  victory. When we  really  lean on the  Lord  He  will  pour into us in ways we  couldn't begin to  imagine.

O God, my God! How I search for you! How I thirst for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. How I long to find you! Psalm 63:1(TLB)

The test we  face are not  meant to  break you  down but  they are meant to build you up.   Change your  outlook  on   the  seasons of your  life as a  opportunity    to  pass the  test and  get that much closer to  your purpose. Don't  give up now. There  is so much more  ahead of you.  Ask that  God would replenish you as you become weary and  guide you along the   way and  He will  meet you at the point of your faith.

Love,

Breaking Under Pressure

 Those who hide their sins won’t succeed,but those who confess and give them up will receive mercy. Proverbs 28:13 (CEB)

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We  put so much pressure on  ourselves to  lead  this  perfect  life as  Christians.   But the   truth  is  that perfectionism   will sabotage   your  faith  every time because we are  seeking a  standard within ourselves that we should be seeking  only in Christ.  What we  need to realize is that  God's  mercies  are new  each morning for   good  reason.   In  life  we  will  face  test  after test  and  our job isn't  to  come  up with our own  solutions but we  must  focus on God   and  seek  Him for  our   solution  and  follow  His lead.

Today  in Church my pastor  spoke about pinpointing the areas we  struggle in ,  confessing our sins and being  brave enough to  admit  that we need help.  For  many of  us   admitting that  there are  areas  of  our lives  that  we  are  unable to manage our own is  scary.    I have to admit  that I am  one of those  people who becomes uneasy when  it comes to  being open and honest about where I am and  I  can be  very guarded with  my  feelings.  But  what I am learning is that  carrying all of  my  own broken  pieces only  leaves  me  broken and confessing   my  issues enables me to move forward with Gods plan for my life.

We  don't have to  continue to break under the  pressures of life when  we are able to  give  God all that we  have and   trust Him to fill in the gaps in our lives.  Trusting Gods  plan takes  courage  but  ultimately  when we  give our problems to the Lord,   the weight  of our  circumstances won't crush us   and we  are then  able to  shift  our focus on  hearing from God  and  following His plan. So  we have to  resolve in our hearts  what we  will be  led  by.  Will we  allow  God  to navigate our lives or  are  we more content  to circle around the  same  old issues on our own?

Today I want you to remember that you  don't  have to be perfect but  what you must do is trust  Gods  perfect will for your  life. Continue to  pray  and spend time with  God  so that He can  fill you each day.  You will  find that  you will  be    better equipped to deal with  life's  ups and downs and you will  be less likely to buckle under the  pressure .

Love,

He Makes All Things New!

18 “Remember not the former things,nor consider the things of old.Behold, I am doing a new thing;now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19(ESV)

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The  new  year is always  a time where we begin to  reevaluate  ourselves where we are  and where  we would like to  be.  We  come up with our   2015  game plan. We  join a  gym, we  begin to   clean up  our   diets and  we make  all these  plans to make  major moves in the new year. But as  soon as the   enthusiasm  begins to  diminish so does  our  motivation to see those plans through.  The truth is  nothing  will  change for the  better in our lives if  our heart hasn't changed.  

Real  change  can only  take place when we begin to allow  God to renew our  minds.  If we  are  holding on to  the very things that God wants to  free us  from we  become complacent  and  begin to fall back into old  habits. I  don't know about you but  I don't waste another year  going around and around   in the same  circle, with my own plans. I don't want to  get so comfortable in the  wilderness when I know that  God's intention for me is to reach the promise  land.

As  we move  forward into the new year I want to  encourage you  to leave  all the  toxic habits. friends and   relationships   from  2014 where they belong -behind you.  Moving forward    into 2015  resolve in your mind that  God is  doing  new things in your  life and  commit  to  allowing  Him to  change  your heart in the  areas that  are  keeping you  stagnant and  chase after  God  and His  propose  with  all that you have.

An Open Letter For  You:

I'd like to take   a  moment to thank  those who have  taken the time to  read and  share  my blog.  It really  does  means  the world to me. I've  posted   over  90+  blogs and I am excited about what  God is  doing in my life and being  able  to share what I've  learned with you.   I believe that everything  that  has  led  up to this point  in my life was  worth it and I am  honored that  God  is  pouring His wisdom into me.  My  desire is to  serve and move forward into my purpose and I know that  by the grace of  God  things will begin to fall into place.

I believe  that there  is  a  purpose for every  season  of our lives  and  I know that  where I am right now will prepare me  for  great things in the  future.  God  has  been so  faithful and I  cannot begin to thank Him enough but  I will spend my life  trying.  I  don't have everything  figured  out but I am going to trust  God for my  next steps.

This will be  my  last  post of  2014  I'm going to  celebrate and  ring in the New Year  with a grateful  heart and  a lot of  prayer. I hope that you  have a  safe and   happy time wherever you are  and that you will  be  blessed  beyond measure in 2015!  I'm  praying for  you and I love  you. 

 God  Bless!

Love,

Where Does Your Hope Lie?

31  but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength;they will fly up on wings like eagles; they will run and not be tired;they will walk and not be weary. Isaiah 40:31(CEB)

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When you read over today's  reference  verses  Isaiah 40:31 and  Lamentations 3:22-23 (CEB)  you'll   notice that   God  guarantees  us that  if we   put our  hope in  Him:


1.  He  Will Renew  your Strength: 

We don't have to rely on our  own strength  or  abilities to get through the seasons in our lives.  As we  begin to  be totally  dependent on  God we  can  trust that  the Lord will  fix all that  is  broken  within us and  set  us back  on our  feet again.


2.They  Will Fly on Wings Like Eagles:  

We  are  never  below  Gods  grace  we are right in the center of  His  mercy.  Every  morning   we  receive  new mercies.  So we  don't have to  carry the  burdens of  yesterday into today. There  is  no  circumstance that  God cannot   carry us  through because  He consistently meets our  needs.


3. They Will Run and Not  Be  Tired;  They Will  Walk and  Not Be Weary: 

No matter where you are ,  no  matter   if you  feel  like   you have nothing  more to offer, the  Lord will give you  just  what you need to   take  the  next  steps you need to  get through to the other side of  each difficult  circumstance.

 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)

So you have  to ask yourself,  Where does my   hope  lie when I reach the end  of  my rope? Will I continue to seek my own  way or   will  I   finally  lay down  all that I have before  God and allow Him to fill me  with  his everlasting love and  wisdom? Trust me I know life happens and there  are  so  many  things that compete  for  our  attention  but  we  have to purposely choose  to  put  our  hope in God and not  what  we  see or  feel is going on  around us. Remember,  you are never  beyond  God's  reach.


The way that we can begin to shift  our  focus  is  through quality time spent  with God. Reading  His word and meditating on His promises  instead of   the things  that  leave of  anxious and cloud our judgement. The  bible is  our  life  manual  and our  best  tool to navigate through life. Friends are great,  a supportive  family  is amazing but  no one can restore you like  God.  So  today make sure that you  intentionally  give  God  your time  so that  He  can fill you up.  


Love,

Trusting God with Our Pain

 2 Lord, my God, I cried out to you for help, and you healed me.Psalm 30:2 (CEB)

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So  many of  us are  walking around with so much anxiety   in our  heart .  We  walk around  day in and day out  carrying the burdens and all of our concerns  to the  point of exhaustion  and    depression. Even when we  pray our  mind tends to  wonder into  doubt.   We worry through  every request  made to God and instead of  cultivating a  atmosphere to  hear  from God and receive  peace  we  turn it into   a session of double minded prayer and   doubting  Gods abilities.



There  is  no faith in worry; With every  concern that we  have  we  must  submit it  to  God,  leave it there with Him and  wait to  hear  His  instructions  for  our  next steps. Often times we grow  impatient and  we want to  take things into our own hands because we  have  not yet  begun to  trust  Gods  timing.  One thing we have to  keep in mind is that  within our own power we would only exhaust ourselves.  But when we  give everything to  God , He  will ease our anxiety and  guide  us through every season of  our lives.  


With God we can  begin  to see the light at the end of the tunnel because through  His  peace  we  begin to see things  more clearly.  God is  able to reach our  hearts in ways that no  one else  can. He  knows  exactly  what  to  say, what  and who to remove from our lives that is distracting  us.  By His  hands we were  crafted and by those  same hands  He is  able to heal us from the inside out and restore us as we  cry out to Him.



There is  nothing more humbling than  when we  have truly  given our  worries to God and  He  not only  responds to our faith but  He   exceeds our  expectations.  It is  amazing how  the Lord can  use the very thing that  we  have been carrying around so  long  to  renew our  faith . Today I  encourage you to  give  God  access to  every  area  of your life and all the  things that  are keeping you anxious.  Continue to  pray  and  cast  down every  doubt with  the promises of  God.  If you cry  out to  God  He hears your prayers and He will Heal you! 





Love,

Starting Over

15 What I say is true, and you should fully accept it: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. 16 But I was given mercy so that in me, the worst of all sinners, Christ Jesus could show that he has patience without limit. His patience with me made me an example for those who would believe in him and have life forever. 1 Timothy 1:15-16 (NCV) 

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We have  all experienced  periods in our lives where we  felt like  we've  fallen too  far from the  will of God   and that there  are too many messy or  broken areas  in life to receive Gods grace.  But the  truth is  that  God  sent  Jesus to save  everyone ,we all  need  Christ on a  daily   basis to  sustain us. The  good news is that  the Lord is  not like man  His  patience is  something we  could never begin to measure  and I don't know about you but it  feels amazing to know that  with  Christ I will never  run out of  chances to get it  right.

God is  able  to   use  us  even when we  think  we have  nothing to offer.  It is  amazing how  He looks at us  and  see's a  useful vessel that He can pour into. In  spite of  how we feel  about ourselves  or  what  others  say about us, God  still chooses to  complete the works that  He has  started within us.  It is  such  a  privilege to serve a  God   that  will never  give up on us no  matter  where we are  in our walk ,  the  Lord  will never just  cast us aside.

6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”   Deuteronomy 31:6 (NKJV)

God  doesn't  seek  perfection in us,  He already  created perfection in  Christ.  What  the Lord  wants from us is to  seek Him with a  open heart , trust  Him  to  repair  any broken areas of  our lives.  Even as we fall  short  the    love and compassion  that  the Lord   has  for  us is  so  strong that there is nothing  that  we  can do  to lose His grace.  He  will  pick us  up and   dust us  off  and put us  back on the  right track.  

Think about it this way; Your  story could be the very thing that  gives  others  hope  in Christ.  They will see how   God  has changed your  heart  and   your  circumstances and  be inspired by your  testimony  to seek  the Lord  for themselves. So  don't despise the  test you  will face,everyone  has  their own set of  trials but with Christ you will never  be left  alone  to figure it  out  on your own.
 

Love,

The Reality of Faith

11 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) 

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The one thing that we  all have in common is  a   desire to  see the things that we  are  hoping for  come to fruition. But  when  we  submit  our  prayers to  the Lord  do  we  really  have faith  in  Gods  ability to  grant  the desires of  our heart?  I'm sure there have  been  instances in your life where  you've been  praying for  something and there seems to be a  delay between  when you've prayed and  when your prayers are answered.  In these cases we  often  mistake  Gods  timing in the matter   for a denial  of  our  request.

Hebrews 11:6 (NCV)6 Without faith no one can please God. Anyone who comes to God must believe that he is real and that he rewards those who truly want to find him. 

The truth is when we  make  our request known to  God  we   must  first  start  by fully trusting that God  not  only  hears  us but  He  really cares.   If  you are praying for something but your faith is wavering ,   how can our  prayers possibly   be  effective? You must  be  all in  and begin to cast down any doubts that  attempt to distract you.   If you have  poured your  heart out to  the Lord in prayer then   trust He is  shifting things around and  creating a  perfect  moment   for things  to come together.

When we   seek  the  Lord  with all of our  heart we  can be  confident in the fact that  He will  meet us at the point of our needs.    Cultivating an  attitude of  expectancy in our  prayer  life  plays  a vital  part in   pleasing God  and our spiritual  growth. When the   hope  we have  in  God  meets  with His ability to  completely  change  our circumstances around  there  is  nothing that  we  cannot do.

So  your mission moving forward  is to pray earnestly, trust that  God  has heard you and  leave  all  your  request at His  feet.   For  your own  peace of  mind I encourage  you to get rid  of the   timetable that you've  created for your prayers to  be answered  and   just  trust the  Lords timing.

Love,

Your Praise Matters

46 Mary said,“With all my heart I glorify the Lord!47 In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior. Luke 1:46-47 (CEB)

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When  I think about  all the  things that  the Lord has done for me over the years,  even   up to this  point  I find  it is  impossible not  to be in  awe  of His  love  and  provision over  my life.    I've  come a long way and I  recognize that  I couldn't have  made  one  step forward without His  hand   guiding  me along the way. I am  far  from perfect  but  perfection  isn't my  goal. My   desire is  to  live for  God with the best of  my abilities  and  rely  solely  on Him to fill in the gaps in my walk with  Him.

 As  much  as we  appreciate  God  we  must  also take the time  out  to  actually  express to  Him how  grateful we  are .  We  can do this   through  worship, prayer,   the way we  live our lives and  how we serve  others.  In the same  manner that  we would like  to know that our works are  appreciated  we  should  also  extend  our  gratitude   to the Lord  and  give Him  the glory  that  He is  deserves.  

Have you  taken the time out to really think about  how  different your  life would be if  God hadn't  stepped in  at the  right time  and   shifted things around in your  favor?  Many of  us  aren't where we would like to  be in life but  on the  other side of that, things could be far worse and  the  Lord has never  for one moment  stopped being  faithful.  His  timing  is  incredible  and  there absolutely no one  who   has  such a  passion  to  see  us   live boldly  within your  purpose and thrive. 

With the   kind of support that we have  in  Jesus  we  should  never withhold  any   praise to Him. He has  been faithful   even  when  we  haven't  been nearly  as  faithful to Him . The  Lords  love is amazing , everlasting  and  deeper  than  we  could  ever begin to    imagine.  So I  encourage you reflect on  how  amazing  the Lord has been  to you  and  take  some time out   to   purposefully   express your  love and  appreciation for   God's works in your  life.