Christine Caine - A21 Campaign...she's the bee's knees!

The message Christine Caine shared last night is still speaking to me this morning. I believe when God's word penetrates you so deeply that you can't focus on anything else, then you need to apply it, share it, discuss it, digest it, repeat it all, and then repeat it all again.

Here are some things she shared last night that I'm still chewing:
-How could the Israelites live through historical paradigm-shifting times & not have passed on the baton to the next generation? How could they experience the parting of the red sea & the falling of the walls of Jericho & not be moved or stirred enough to pass on the baton?
-All the greats of the Old Testament didn't have Jesus' sacrifice nor did they have the words of the New Testament to do what God called them to do...what's our excuse? Ouch.
-If you're not going to pass the baton to the next generation then you might as well stop praying against the enemy - you've already forfeited.
-I don't want to tell about the exciting times of the church from way back when, I want to LIVE in the exciting times of the church NOW
-What's the generation after you doing with their life? Make it your responsibility to leave God with them. Teach them, show them, involve them.
-May we not raise up a generation who does not fear God. May we not raise up a generation who does not go to church. May we not raise up a generation who loses all sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.
-Some Christians get saved & then wait around until they're old & frail for the return of Christ. Don't let that be you. You have a baton in your hand that needs to be passed.

She shared so much more that just has me on a roll this morning. I just wanted to share the few that are stirring in my heart right now. Happy Thursday wonderful people!

 

 

Daydreaming

If you are anything like me, then you are the type of person who dreams constantly. If you and I are anything alike then you are also the type of person who's dreams take place only during the day. I don't know about you but I rarely ever remember the dreams I have when I'm asleep at night. Nope. All my dreams surface when I'm wide awake & in a place where I should absolutely NOT be daydreaming. What is the meaning of all this? I constantly beat myself up mentally for daydreaming while at work, church, or even at home.

One thing I am not beating myself up for is simply...dreaming. Where are all my Dreamers at?! *Destiny's Child voices* "THROW YO HANDS UP AT ME!"

I'm a few years shy of my 30th birthday and I caught myself saying, "One day I'm going to do _________." Then I face-palmed myself and said, "Uhhhh NO Homegirl. You're almost 30. TODAY you're going to _____________."

I have had so many dreams & goals. So much so that you'd laugh hysterically if I told you what they were. You'd laugh & tell me, "I can't see you doing that." I'd probably laugh along with you and agree. Why do we do that to ourselves?! Have a dream & then talk ourselves out of it?!

As I'm writing this, it's becoming clear to me that my dreams occur during the day so that I remember them all. If asleep while dreaming, you can't write down a single one of your dreams. Interesting.

Wait. Back to what I initially intended to blog. Folks, I encourage you to make your dreams come true. More than that I encourage you to trust in the One who gives you these dreams - Jesus! Everything you have dreamed can come to life when you trust God.

So here's what you do:

1) Write down every single dream you have
2) Highlight the ones you are really passionate about
3) Make a to-do list of what needs to be accomplished to see your dreams live
4) Pray over that list every chance you get
5)  Get your pen ready to cross out every single dream that comes true

Psalm 37:4 (esv) says, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."

Proverbs 16:9 (esv) says, "The heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps."

Last but not least,

Matthew 6:33 says, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you."

I take God at His word. I have desires/dreams, I will delight myself in Him. I have planned in my heart what I want to do, but God will lead me. Lastly, if I put Him first, everything I need/desire will be supplied.

Don't you just love how God works?!

Happy Birthday Momma!

 

 

 

The woman you see in the middle is my Mom. She was the first person in my life to embrace me from the moment I was born. She's been there for a lot of "firsts" in my life and I couldn't be more thankful. I know so many others who have lost their mothers & I always imagine what it'd be like to lose my Mom. I always ask myself, "If God called Mom home today, would I be able to handle it?" Truth is, I can never answer that question with a yes. I will NEVER be ready to say an earthly goodbye to the woman I admire & look up to so much. Since my answer to that question will always be no, I do my best everyday to live life with her to the fullest. I enjoy every conversation, every movie date, dinner date, scolding, you name it. I do my best to cherish those moments when they happen. Most of all I do my best to let my Mom know that I love her. I tell her I love her every chance I get. She's not the emotional type though ahah! She gets annoyed with me being so clingy to her all the time. In all honesty though, I'd rather my Mom know that I annoyingly love her. I never want to leave doubt in the back of her mind of my love for her. If there's any woman who deserves the world...it is my Mom so as long as there is air in her lungs & blood pumping through her veins, I will do my best to give her every inch of the world I can contain.

 

Happy Birthday Mom!!!!! I woooooove you <3

It's Not Always Good...

All too often I read blogs about relationships & marriages that tell about all the good things. Although I'm very appreciative of the encouragement those blogs have to offer, I feel it's very one sided. I've been married for a little over two years (still a newlywed in my perspective) and I have learned that it is not all good all the time...and that's quite alright!

Here are a few areas where it has not always been good:

1) Communication
Before we were married we were in a long-distance relationship for seven years. I believed with all my heart that our communication skills were on lock because that's all we had for seven years. Boy was I wrong. In marriage you gain so much more than just communication - you gain each other's hurts, joys, and families. You take on everything that makes up who your partner is. A good marriage must survive on more than just good communication. In the past two years we have miscommunicated everything. Our words would mismatch our feelings thus ending up in very heated arguments over things said that we did not mean. Most of all our words would mismatch our actions thus leaving each other feeling uncertain of trust. Your word is your bond. If you cannot keep your word, do not say a word. That is what has kept the peace in our communication - the matching of our words with our actions & the matching of our words with wisdom.

2) Money
It is the root of all evil. No, correction. The LOVE of money is the root of all evil. I used to think that a joined account meant more money. However, I have learned the hard way that more money equals more problems. Just like Diddy said. We have argued the most about our finances - the influx or the lack of - it is never ending. It is not that we are financially irresponsible. No. It is more that we did not sit down and discuss before marriage what our financial disciplines would be. We didn't set any boundaries or rules to guide us on financial principle. The most we discussed was the priority of our money - 1)Tithes 2)bills 3) loans/debts & 4) necessities. At the end of the day money will come and money will go. Make sure you have enough to keep you out of debt but have enough to keep you in a home. Lastly, enjoy the fruits of your labor!! It is okay to spend your hard-earned money on things you deserve and delight in as long as it has been discussed with your partner FIRST.

3) Expectations
Before I was married I had such a high expectation of all the things my husband should do in excellence such as clean the bathroom, take out the trash, fix a car, throw down a good meal on the grill, chop down a tree, slice a coconut with his bare hands, blow air into a bicycle tire with his own breath, the list is endless and....well....unrealistic. The worst part about these expectations was that I expected my husband to be a 4.0 student in every single one of these areas without me having to say a word. My expectations of what my husband should or should not do really got me into trouble these past 2 years of marriage. The poor guy may now think I'm bipolar because one day I'm asking for the entire world from him, the next I don't need a thing cause I can get it all on my own. Truth is, while I had my share of expectations of him, he had the same for me....a list of unrealistic expectations. We have had world war 3, 4, 5, and 6 all due to failure to meet each other's expectations. If you are currently doing this, stop. Stop and thank God for all the qualities your partner already has. Stop bickering and honor your Partner for all he/she already does for you in which you didn't even have to ask or lift a finger. DO ask your partner what their expectations are of you. See how you can best meet their needs in every area & then apply yourself. It's as simple as that. Definitely not rocket science. After all, your partner loves & adores every inch of who you are. The most they expect from you is your love - love him/her for who he/she already is without condition and without expectation.

That's all I got for now. Marriage is a beautiful thing, but it can get ugly! It's okay though because marriage is also all about GROWTH. You cannot become ONE over night. You have to grow into becoming one and with every stage of growth comes its share of growing pains. GET YOUR GROW ON!  Growth means life! Growth means success! The lack of will let you know the very areas that need more water or sunlight.