Hear My Call - Standing On the Word

Lord, I thank You for Your word and I stand on that word knowing that You began a good work in me and that You will see it through to the end, to perfection. Philippians 1:6


I only want you glorified in all that I do. As I seek to glorify You, this releases from me any pressure to complete anything by my own strength. I know that I am nothing without You, my Creator, my Redeemer. John 14:13


May Your Light continue to shine through me, even when my natural eyes can't see the path illuminated before me because of doubt. Forgive me Lord for even allowing that doubt to begin to consume my mind. Matthew 5:14-16


Right now, I cast away worry, grief, doubt, every insecurity, every feeling of inadequacy and stand in Your presence giving thanks for being the loving, gracious God that You are. Mark 11:23


May others see Your goodness and love through this very situation at this very moment, may You be glorified. *exhales* ^_^

The Mary and Martha Within

I have been stressed.

Like, so stressed that the details of what the stress has been doing to my physical body is TMI. Lol

I have cried. Cried some more...laughed hysterically until tears overwhelmed me yet again...lost sleep, all because of my stress when it comes to what I know to be the will of God.  My life as a first time author has been exciting and exhilarating yet more stressful than even planning my own wedding just four short years ago.

God has not only provided me with awesome words to share my story, with the world but He's also surrounded this whole project with a collective of individuals who are dedicated to make this experience a great one.  I have still had to do quite a bit on my own but the parts that were out of my hands made the process more stressful than I expected.

But if I have such an amazing team of people working with me to bring 'Dramas of a Bald Head Queen' to fruition, why the stress?  If I trust the connections to truly be divine, why not trust in the Divine One who established said connections to complete the work He began in me so long ago?

Just this morning, I awoke to more doubtful and wearied thoughts.  I found myself getting angry and frustrated again with...myself.

God immediately reminded me that, in order to truly rest in Him, I must place myself in the posture of worshiper.  Even as a servant seeking to do the "greater good", bringing glory to God in the things I do and in walking according to His will, I have failed to walk in that part of servitude where I consciously worship.

Often times when we think of the story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42), we are able to point the finger at other individuals who we see in church or in our respective ministries who are doing "too much" yet, not enough.  God showed me this morning that this conflict has risen within me, one individual torn between walking in God's will and sitting and taking time to worship.

THIS is where my stress has come from and today, I release it and seek to worship God wholly trusting that the things He's called me to do will be done according to His will and the purpose He's called me to.

So, there are two words for today 1) balance and 2) worship.

We worship God in many ways.  We worship by serving, the giving of our time, talents, ultimately and by walking in obedience.  In this world, we need to find a balance between doing {for God} and being {with God}.

Today Lord, I worship You with my heart, with my presence, with my communion with You. I love You and release the stresses that are present only in my mind and rest in You.  Amen. *BEAM*

$1150 Testimony - Priceless

The other day I had lunch with my friend and event planner to continue confirming plans to celebrate the release of my first book, 'Dramas of a Bald Head Queen'I told her how this whole process feels similar to the energy and process of planning my wedding. I also shared with her the story about how the Lord literally handed me $1150 cash just weeks before my wedding day.

I was living in a dormitory on campus at Hampton University where I was then working as a residence hall director. Since I didn't sign up to work that summer, I was off but my building was still being used to house special groups for weeks at a time during the summer.

We still had to buy last minute odds and ends, pay the caterer and pay the Magnolia House Inn where we had arranged to stay our wedding night. Raphael and I remained prayerful and relaxed trusting that we had done everything we knew to do.  We are both tithers/givers and in doing so, stand EXPECTING God to do what His Word says.  We stood trusting that He would do as He said He would and did a pretty good job at not doubting.

So, three weeks before the wedding a group of 50 or so youth and 6-8 Chaperones from the Eastern Shore of Virginia came to stay in my building. Things were quiet the four days they were there and after they turned in keys and departed, I simply had to go through and do a sweep of the building, opening the doors of the rooms they occupied so that housekeeping could come in to clean.

After getting to the third closed door, I use my master key to unlock it, briefly glancing in the room when I noticed something on one of the beds. I entered the room to find...sitting there, neatly and untouched in the middle of the bed, a stack of money. Ten $100 bills and three $50. 

*PAUSE*

I quickly put the money in my pocket and headed back to my apartment to call Raphael. I knew that no one had been in the building since the group left so we decided to hold on to the money so none of the housekeepers could try to claim it as theirs. Thinking that one of the adults maybe left the money by accident (in no envelop, in an EMPTY room...?) I put a sign on my office door "If you were with *group name* and left anything behind, please call me at..." 

No one ever came. No one ever called. 

I contacted the special events office on campus to inquire as to whether anyone from the group contacted them to report anything lost. Nothing.

We waited a full seven days deciding to pay our tithes and keep it moving! Lol

$1150 CASH. Seemingly out of the blue.

That was just four short years ago and although I don't expect God to move in the exact same way, I have no doubt that He will bring the vision for this event to pass, just as He did with my wedding!

*BEAM*

What's Next Is Now

Monday, June 4, 2012 Happiness is here now, today. Live it. The possibilities for greater and greater fulfillment are immense and amazing. Explore them, and claim the best for your own by acting on them now. If there’s something you’ve been meaning to do, now is the time to get moving. If you’ve been wanting a change for the better, now is when you can make that change happen. Your dreams and desires are real and alive in this moment. Use this time to follow where they lead. Your unique and priceless journey has brought you now to this point. Pay sincere tribute to all that rich experience by making meaningful use of it on this day. Happiness and joy and fulfillment are now yours. Live them today in your own special way. — Ralph Marston I like to say, "What's next is now."  And it's true.  We spend so much time planning for the future and get so wrapped up in our planning that we feel like it will never happen.  We have to come to the realization that what we do NOW is in preparation for what's NEXT and treat our every move as if what's NEXT is RIGHT NOW.

Quiet, My Clamorous Mind

This morning I was reminded of why it is important to pray before turning to sleep for the night. As long as we're alive, our mind is constantly working. Doubt, fear and disbelief hit me hard while I sleep. These things creep in when I'm not consciously able to confront them with the Word or awake to declare the promises of God.

Too many times I've awaken out of my slumber to find myself overwhelmed with worry. This is why the Word MUST BE IN US and we must seek to dwell on it day and night.

We must meditate on His Word and the promises within so that even in our sleep, we worship and God can/will be magnified in our hearts and minds.

PRAYING WITHOUT CEASING is real and NECESSARY in the life of the believer! Align your spirit with that of God and peace will sustain you, even while you sleep. ^_^