WHO ARE YOU IN CHRIST?

As a human, (especially women) we go through times where the enemy will trick us into feeling insecure, inferior unloved & worthless. That’s not true; don’t let those thoughts settle in your mind, even for a minute.  

Sometimes your past creeps up and reminds you of how undeserving you are of Jesus’ love… yes that may be the case, but by Gods grace, He loves you…no matter what. When he CHOSE you, He made you a new creation, in Him. Start to see yourself the way He would view you.

Here is my list that I made to read aloud to myself every morning, to constantly remind myself of who I am IN HIM. Make a list for yourself and read it out loud first thing in the morning.

WHO I AM IN CHRIST

I am loved

I am Valuable

I am precious

I am worthy

I am forgiven

I am redeemed

I am saved

I am able

I am joyful

I am thankful

I am a child of God

I am beautiful

I am confident

I am strong

I am obedient

I am lovely

I am unique

I am whole

I am protected

I am a hard worker

I am content

I am His hands & feet

I am who He designed me to be

I am fearless

I am Courageous

I am a go-getter

I am an over comer

I am generous

I am kind

I am a lover, not a fighter

I am chosen

I am righteous

I am a new creation

I am an heir of Christ

I am humble

I am easy going

I am flexible

I am the salt of the earth

I am a light in the world

I am patient

I am bold

I am secure

I am flawless in His eyes

I am not the great I AM, but I am, what I am

Pray this prayer today and remember who you are in Him!

Lord

Help me to take my eyes off myself & to keep my focus on YOU… I don’t want to constantly be distracted by fleshy things. Help me to not be concerned with what people think. I want to only care what YOU think of me. I don’t want attention from people; I want attention & approval from YOU only. YOU fulfill me. YOU are my final authority. YOU love me. YOU forgive me. YOU redeem me. YOU approve of me. That’s all that matters.

Forgive me when I sit in discouragement, doubt & discontentment and forget what Jesus has done for me. YOU remind me that I am a new creation, in Jesus. I am beautiful, I am strong, and I am secure, in YOU. Help me to have no insecurities & to see myself the way you see me! All I need is you, Lord.

Shared prayer

I haven't had a whole lot of time to blog lately but I wanted to share this prayer with you. It's from my good friend & client, Wendy Blights blog. I read it today and it is so beautiful that I wanted to share it with everybody here. Enjoy


Today, Lord, I dedicate my heart, body, and mind as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to You. Father, let this be my spiritual act of worship to You. And, Lord, I do this not in my own strength but in the strength of Your Holy Spirit. You bought me with a price...the preciousness of your blood. You made me Your very own. Help me to honor and glorify You. I rejoice because You delivered me out of darkness and death and promised to love me with an everlasting love.

Thank You that no matter what my circumstances look like today, You have a purpose for my life. You have given me gifts and talents to honor and glorify You. Help me discover and develop these, Lord. Help me to use them to let my light so shine before men that they may see You in me...not for my honor...but for the honor, praise, and glory of Your name. Help me to lovingly express TRUTH in whatever I say and do. No matter what I do in word or in deed, help me to do it all in Your name. Help me to work at whatever I do as if I was doing it unto You and not men.

Father, thank You for loving me, forgiving, saving me, redeeming me, and filling me. I give myself to You this day. Fill me full and use me for Your Kingdom work. Lift my eyes off myself and open them to see where I can be Your hands and feet. I ask all this in the powerful name of Jesus Christ, my LORD

A letter from father to son about marriage

I'm not married but came across this. Thought it was some great information so wanted to put it out there for those of you that are, about to be or want to be!!! Hope it helps :)



Talk! Talk! Talk about everything with your wife and respect each other’s opinion, and use each other’s areas of expertise. Together you will be an unbeatable team!
Don’t ever complain about your wife to your friends about little or big things. It gives others the wrong impression about your marriage and relationship.
Money! Agree on how to spend it. Make a budget together so you are in total agreement about where your priorities are. Decide how much to spend without discussion.

Complaining! A little goes a long way. Don’t fall into the trap of making complaining a major topic of conversation.Don’t go to work somewhere for eight hours a day then spend the first hour together complaining about it. Be a positive person! Change what needs changing. Fix what you can fix. Understand the realities of a situation then comment on it, learn to live with it, or take yourself out of the situation. Complaining is counter-productive.

If something bothers you about your wife, discuss it with her, that is, only if it is something you can’t live with. Remember, you did not marry her to change her. You fell in love with her the way she is.

Have a real date at least once every other week – I mean something alone. People get too wrapped up in their groups and don’t make the time for each other. In most group activities, you really are not getting much time together.

Keep the romance in your marriage! One minor part of that is giving each other a little privacy, for example, bathroom privacy. How romantic is it for your wife to see you go to the bathroom.

Kids will change everything. Get to know each other well first. One major change in your life at a time is enough, although not always possible. Kids will be fun, but much work. You really have to be a team with the kids. Give each other a break for a few minutes each day. You will have to devote yourselves to your kids, but don’t forget your date! You start out just the two of you, and you will end up again that way. Keep your personal relationship alive and well while you go through the other parts of your life.

Don’t embarrass her in front of friends or family. This could be an embarrassing story that you could choose not to tell, or choosing to discreetly help her avoid a potentially embarrassing situation even though it could seem funny on one level. Make the distinction between funny and embarrassing — it is an important one.

Always be the person, do the things and say the things, that your wife can be proud of when she thinks of you.

Always be the one person your wife can trust in any situation and never do anything to shake that trust.

Don’t keep secrets! Don’t let someone tell you something that you can’t tell your wife! Tell them, “Of course you don’t mean my wife.”

You two will be as one against the world!

BLESSINGS!!!!

God is amazing and knows just what I need, when I need it… incredible. This blog is going to be short but sweet. I wanted to get it out there for everyone to see in hopes that it will change your perspective, for you to start to really see all the things God is doing around you. He’s always at work, whether you realize it or not.

God blessed me SO MUCH yesterday… what an incredible day… First, a friend blesses me with $40, second someone anonymously blesses me with $500 left in an envelope at work …wow  3^rd a friend speaks words I needed to hear, 4^th I come home to my grass cut, 5^th I get overloaded with drawings done for me by little kiddies at dinner! 6^th I get my elevation DVDs that I’ve been waiting for since Feb!

It truly is the little things. God always sends blessings; you just have to have your eyes open to receive them.  Pay attention.

Id love to hear about yours! Leave a comment with what God has blessed you with lately

What an incredible day...

What an incredible day… Today, I got to see 100+ people get baptized at Elevation Church! The one that started it all was my good friend Sonshine Watkins … Her story is amazing and I love this girl to my core! She told me today she had a girl crush on me… I had to say ditto ;)

 But seriously, she has blessed my life so much since she came to work at Planet 21. I got to see how God orchestrated the whole thing, from her talking to me in the office about searching for something & not knowing what it is, to her accepting Christ into her life Dec 23^rd 2010…and to see how much God has grown her in just these few short months is mind blowing…now to see her getting baptized today…that just topped it off!

I used to be so scared to share my faith with people, but to see what God can do; when I do what I can do, blows me away. It shouldn’t, because He’s God, He made us & the world in 6 days, these small things that we see as HUGE or impossible in life are nothing for Him! It reminds me to think & pray BIG!!

God has placed phenomenal people in my life and I’m thankful for each and every one of them. One of my favorite things that Pastor says is  “My life couldn’t be written without you in it” and I love that… Just think of all the people that are in your story… now just think of how many there are that you don’t know about, someone you talked to in the grocery store, someone you held a door open for, a lonely stranger you may have spoken to for a split second & made their day without even realizing it. There are so many people that God puts in our path; we need to always remember to make an impact whatever we do & wherever we go & to ask ourselves “do we resemble our father when we do?”

The opportunities are endless. God chooses us for certain things and the countless list I wrote this evening is beyond me as to why He would have picked me for some of them…We aren’t always lucky enough to see the harvest of some of our encounters, but I guess we will find out one day, for now, I feel honored that He used me to speak to Sonshine. I feel honored that He picked me for things I wouldn’t have put myself up for. I’m thankful He placed certain people in my life to speak to me in ways that they may not even know effect me. When someone touches me I try to let them know, because I want them to experience a blessing for blessing me. 

Today has made me sit & reflect on the past 2 & ½ yrs & I am SO blessed.  

God has restored me from a divorce.

He built trust back up in me that I never thought I’d get back.

He loved me for me.

He showed me how to be happy & content on my own.

He showed me that I am beautiful…just the way He made me.

He taught me to love.

He showed me its OK to encourage others.

He taught me how to confront instead of be a stuffer when it comes to feelings or problems.

He taught me how to say no.

He taught me how to respond, not react to people.

He taught me (and is still teaching me) how to rest, how to be patient & how to stop trying to control the situation.

He taught me to be a Godly woman.

He taught me to be like Him.

There is so much more that He has instilled in me & I am still learning & growing but it’s enlightening to look back at how far I’ve come. I know I’m not who He made me to be, but I’m not who I was either. I think I will only fully become who He made me to be once I reach heaven because I intend to keep on growing & reaching for more. I will never have a destination when it comes to growth in Christ. Just a full-blown, around the world journey to new & different places in life!! I can’t wait to see where the Lord takes me!

GOD DOESN'T CALL THE QUALIFIED

Today I am feeling the weight of what I’m about to take on. I don’t feel ready for this, but I know I am! What better time than now?

“READY OR NOT, I’M COMING”

I remember the way that line used to make me feel when I’d play hide & seek as a kid. My stomach would turn when the seeker would shout it, usually because I wasn’t prepared & hadn’t found a great spot. But even if I had, I’d still get nervous.

Right now, I feel the same… I’m prepared & I’m in a great spot, but when I hear “Ready or not, I’m coming!” my stomach turns & my brain starts going a million miles an hour asking myself “What it your not?”  (so what if I’m not?) What if you do something wrong?” (So what if I do!?) “What if you take too long?” (so what If I do?)

SO WHAT?! If I’m not ready, I’ll get ready along the way. If I do something wrong, I’ll learn. Id rather take my time & know that I prepared on the front end rather than trying to fill in the gaps & pick up the slack, because I rushed it.

Sometimes I work myself up into a state that I have no business being in. I asked myself this morning “What are you scared of?”

My answer… “Failing”

If I trust God & believe Him the way I say I do, then when He tells me I’m the one to do this & He will see me through, then my answer should be “Yes Lord, what’s my first step?”

Instead my response is just like Moses “not me, I can’t do this… I’m inadequate, I’m not good at this”

RIGHT!... and that’s exactly why God chose me for the job!

In Exodus 4

Moses was complaining because he felt inadequate, not capable & not the man for the job, when God wanted Him to do something huge. So he cried out to God for His help…

God always deflects!... He asks Moses

“What is that in your hand?”...

Moses said “a stick”…

God said “throw it on the ground”…

The stick turns into a serpent… Moses jumps back and is scared of it, God tell Moses to pick it up by the tail & God turns it into a staff…

God did a miracle for him… God did many for Moses, so that He may learn to know & trust Him.

 “I am the LORD, tell your story about ME!” God says

For me this relates to my life in a huge way, as I know it will in yours.

What is in your hand?... what is that every day mundane thing that you see as “just a stick.”

What regular thing is in your life that God can use? … God tells us to throw it down, let go of it, and give it to Him to work with… He then turns it into something that scares you! Instead of doing the normal thing by turning and running away, STAND … FACE IT… and watch God use it to completely change your life!

God is doing that to me right now, He has taken what I have & what I know how to do on a regular basis… I gave it to Him & He has now called me to do something that scares the crap outta me… but if I run, I will miss my opportunity for Him to use me. He CHOSE me, He could quite easily have chosen someone else… but He didn’t, He picked me…

I feel so very honored that He did. But I need to stand & stare it in the face, I need to pick it up & run with it! Yes I feel Inadequate, but someone said to me the other day

“God doesn’t call the qualified, HE qualifies the called”

Im not strong enough, I’m not adequate, I’m not qualified… but that’s why He picked me… because it will show HIS name ALL OVER IT!... not mine! It’s not about me, I’m a nobody, but He wants to use this nobody to make His name known!

God has spoken to me so clearly about this & put the right people around me to get it done.

Pastor said in one of his sermons

“You can tell the work God is about to do in your life, by the machinery He puts around you”

I have some heavy-duty equipment around me right now, I just have to put the effort in & learn how to use it!

I sometimes get overwhelmed because I don’t feel that there are enough hours in the day to do what I need to do.

I have to change my perspective & only look at the 3 action steps I have for that day.

Just as I talked about in my previous blog “Perfectionism Vs Excellence”

If I complete those 3 things with excellence, then I am making progress.

What situation looks overwhelming to you?

Can you break it down into small bite sized pieces that you can chew on for today?

Remember that if God has called you to it, He will see you through it

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart & do not depend on your own understanding,

Seek His will in all you do, & He will direct your paths.

I am grateful that I get to do His work

Moses still went for it…I’m going to & you should too! 

WHAT A BLESSING

TO THOSE OF YOU THAT READ MY BLOG BEFORE THIS ONE ABOUT ONE OF OUR NEIGHBORS, RON HOOD WHO HAS BEEN HOMELESS FOR 7 YRS... THIS WAS AN EMAIL I RECEIVED FROM HIM TODAY! AGAIN, IF ANYONE CAN HELP WITH THINGS ON HIS WISH LIST, PLEASE CONTACT ME!!!! ALSO PLEASE KEEP RON IN YOUR PRAYERS FOR HIS WIFES TRIAL!!!!!




This is to thank you for all your help with my new apartment.Ive been homeless for the last 7 yrs and I really need this help. Ialso Thank the Church ,Elevation, for the Blessing of the money and the beautiful watch.God Bless the Church and the Pastor. I hope my wish list wasnt to big,cause every thing on the list is what I truly need. These are some very beautiful apartments that I cant afford to fill with junk, therefore Im believing in God that your Church will Bless me. On April 1st,I found out Ill be going to be the number one wittness in the Murder trial of my wife on August 25th. The murderer decided He will not plead guilty to Two counts of murder,and twelve other counts.My kids will be coming to visit and to give me  theyre support,plus other family members and friends. I hope to be well settled in by this time. On May 3rd Ill be having a one on one meeting with a Mrs. Debra Plousha Moore  shes the H. R.director over Carolins School of Nusing. were discussing my entering their school of Nursing. Currently Im in conversation with a Mrs artis at  the Strafford Y. M .C .A. Ater school she wants me to become a camp summer counselor there. And on the 15th of this month I get my apartment, Thank You Jesus. So now ,Elevation is all caught up on RON HOOD.

PLEASE HELP! One of our neighbors finally has a place to live!!

I met a gentleman last yr named Ron Hood. He is one of our neighbors that has been homeless for 7 yrs. He was blessed at Elevation Church during our Outreach series where the Church gave away $40,000 to Urban Ministry Center and then proceeded to give away another $5,000 for Ron to pay rent in an apartment for a year!

Ron has worked hard trying to get his life back on track after a tragic time in his life. Both him & his wife were homeless, alcoholics & drug addicts. They got held up at gun point & robbed, the gun man shot Rons wife, she died in Rons arms. That was 2 and a half yrs ago. From that day forward Ron has been clean. He helps other addicts at The Urban Ministry Center get clean, he does talks on radio stations and has been completely turning his life around one step at a time! Since January he has been trying to get an apartment...NOW that time is finally here!!!!! I am so proud of Ron for staying strong and being so patient through this process. He is such a fighter and even though he was turned down many times for a place, his patience paid off!

Ron wrote me a small wish list and I said I would pass it along to see if I could get anyone to help!

So here it is... 

Ron Hood’s Move In Wish List: (he has nothing right now)

1. Couch // COVERED
2. Love Seat//COVERED
3. Bedset – mattress, boxsprings, frame, head board, dresser //COVERED
4. Queen Sheets, blanket, mattress cover, comforter, towels, pillows
5. curtains// COVERED
6. Side tables//COVERED
7. 3 lamps//COVERED
8. Small stereo/radio – cd player//COVERED
9. TV //COVERED
10. DVD player
11. Dinette Set and chairs//COVERED
12. Dishes, glasses, silverware //COVERED
13. Pots, Pans, can opener, cooking utensils
14. 2 Trash Cans
15. Microwave

If you are able to help with any of these things, PLEASE let me know!

Ron is so excited! He is sending me a picture of his apartment floor plan so I get to see it! :)

God is so good and when you do what you can do, He will ALWAYS do what He can do!!! just be patient!

Here is a pic of Ron when he was at Elevation! Sorry they are not very clear!

Perfectionism Vs Excellence!

Lately God has been showing me that I don’t ALWAYS have to have it all together, ALL the time! I’m not perfect & never will be. There is one major factor that is preventing me from that… I’m human.  

Why are we always striving to be perfect in so many areas of life? In our jobs, when working out, in our friendships, in holding our family together, in the way we view our bodies (women in particular) Showing we are independent, showing no weakness; that we can ultimately do it ourselves, that “We’ve got it” and don’t need help.

Why are we so insecure about the way we look, too thin, too tall, too fat, too thick. We constantly feel that we are never good enough. When will we be good enough? When will we be content with the way God made us?

I have been reading captivating over the last couple of weeks and it talks a lot about how over the years women have been made to feel that we are “too much to handle” or “too emotional” so we tuck it away and hide it and act like we are like men. God designed us as WOMEN for a reason. He designed us after His own heart, we shouldn’t hide that side of us.

I was thinking back to when I was growing up. I had two older brothers, 7 & 10 yrs older!  I always wanted to be like them, tough, strong & unemotional! If I ever cried my brother would tell me to suck it up and stop being a baby! So it conditioned me to think that it was a bad thing, & that I shouldn’t let people see me vulnerable or that I care, or even to show any type of emotion. Otherwise I’m being a typical weak, emotional “too much to handle” girl! Who wants to be that?!

Having two brothers, I didn’t want to be seen that way. I wanted to hang with the boys. To this day I still get called a “guys girl” which, to some extent, I like & some, I don’t. I feel that if I show any sign of emotion or “I can’t do this myself” then I am showing weakness…and that’s not acceptable (In my wrong thinking)

I realized a while ago, when I first became a Christian, that I walk around with a hard exterior, like I have it all together, all the time. The reason being, I’m too afraid of people seeing my soppy, squishy middle (and I’m not talking about my waist!) I mean, my soft, womanly, emotional side. During my walk with Christ I’m being shown that it’s OK to be a woman and not have it ALL together, ALL the time! I’m not perfect, as much as I strive to be! I wear myself out because I will never get there. A friend recently relayed some of his teachings he learned from someone else.

“THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PERFECTIONISM & EXCELLENCE”

Perfectionism = Striving for unattainable goals & no matter what you do it will never be good enough. Always try to live up to some illusion that is continually out of reach.

Excellence = Identifying the results you wish to attain & then set realistic goals to achieve them. Strive to be the best you can be while reaching them, one step at a time.

I’m not saying don’t have high expectations or goals; you need to have those high enough that it drives you to succeed. But as I am learning, don’t set them so high that you never reach them or when you do you start trash talking yourself because it all of a sudden wasn’t good enough. Most of us do it. It’s a natural human tendency. We need to learn to go against the grain and start to analyze our thoughts. Then turn them around to something positive.

A friend taught me to set 3 – 5 things to do with excellence for the day. Be the best you can be at those things. When you complete those, relax! Keep a healthy balance.

This is something I am learning at the moment. I have struggled for a long time with perfectionism because I always want to be the best I can at everything I do…and I can, but with excellence, not perfection!

I’m ready for God to work this out of me!!

He made me uniquely just the way I am… I want to be at a point where I can honestly say “I am comfortable with the way I look, I am OK with showing weakness, I will be content when I reach my 3-5 goals for the day” That day is close!

I am thankful for the body God gave me… I will be all that He designed me to be!

Psalm 139:13-16

13For You formed my inward parts;

         You wove me in my mother's womb.

    14I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

         Wonderful are Your works,

         And my soul knows it very well.

    15My frame was not hidden from You,

         When I was made in secret,

         And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;

    16Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;

         And in Your book were all written

         The days that were ordained for me,

         When as yet there was not one of them.

This is the body God graciously GAVE you to do His work with. It doesn’t matter what you look like, just that you take the best care of you body, look after it, treat it well, and honor it, with excellence. What matters is the soul that’s inside of it. Spend the majority of your time on that. That is where you will grow, be stretched, be challenged & become a true man/woman of God. When you have a healthy Soul, it will show on the outside. I once heard, “You can’t do Gods work if you don’t take care of Gods work!”