Hello!~~~

Welcome!~

It has now been ten years since I started this blog. How quickly time goes by! We are many members but we are one in the body of Christ. Therefore you do not journey alone! Hopefully through this site you will be encouraged by the fact that many things you are going through in your own walk, others are going through (or have gone through) as well. Sometimes we think we are "going through things alone." But we are not. God said that "He would Never Leave Nor Forsake Us." (Hebrews 13:5) and that "There is Nothing New Under The Sun." (Ecclesiastes 1:9). No man is an island. It's easy to forget that. May the words in this blog help you to think, encourage you in whatever spiritual state you are in and may the Lord use them to help us to grow in Him! He is the Author and Finisher of our faith!

I don’t want any readers to think that I am “promoting” being a prodigal. I definitely am not. But what I am hoping to do – is to encourage those of us who either have had or are currently experiencing a hard time in our walk to be honest about it. Personal conviction is a powerful thing, especially if you truly love the Lord. I think that sometimes the Body of Christ critiques and judges to the point where the person who is at the other end of that pointing finger feels ostracized, alienated and alone. I don't think that that is what Jesus intended. When I read through my Bible - I see a firm yet gentle restoration that Jesus ministered to those around Him. Look at John 21:15-19. When Peter who was at an all time low point in his walk - he was firmly, yet lovingly restored by Jesus. He didn't tear him down, or yell or make him feel any worse then he already did. He spoke to him lovingly and gently - and in doing so, Peter was able to repent and minister in a much more powerful, humble and confident way and it became one of the largest ministries ever.

Please note that I am only a vessel, my calling - to write. I dedicate this blog to the Lord and ask that He use it to reach out and touch whoever needs a special, loving, personal touch from Him. My hope is that the Holy Spirit allows you to see Him through the words (and not me). We go through things so that we can extend our right hand of fellowship behind us to assist and help someone else. Our Bible is the same today, as it was yesterday as it will be tomorrow. (I am far from perfect and do not profess to have all the answers...) but the good news is - Our Heavenly Father does! His love, forgiveness, grace and mercy is real!Nothing you are experiencing in your walk comes as a surprise to Him! May He be glorified through this blog and may God bless you at whatever stage in your walk you are in!~



I am a Breast Cancer Survivor

I am a Breast Cancer Survivor
I was diagnosed with early stage triple negative breast cancer on June 24th, 2010 - I have been cancer free for 10 years now. It was only a chapter in my life - NOT my life, but the impact is one that has changed my life forever. Its important for women to know that 80% of the breast cancer diagnosis come from women who don't have a history of it in their family (My family didn't). Early detection is the key. For more information please click on the pink ribbon above. It could save your life.
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October 17, 2015

Who Are You?

I have come to realize that there is no truer measure of where you are in your walk as a Christian, as when you find yourself pushed up against the wall, in your life.

What has my observation of my own walk been?  Honest answer? I failed miserably…
What do you do or how do you respond when you find yourself in dire, unexpected straits?  This question is not for you to measure by the response of someone else… It’s not a question for you to answer for anyone else’s input or judgment.  It is for you to think about, look deep within yourself and see how you handle certain situations… And the answer will be different depending upon what is at stake.  Is it your family? Is it your health? Is it your job?  If ol’ slewfoot knows what buttons get you to respond in a way that does not glorify God in your life, shouldn’t you know the same?
What has it done for me?  It has given me a good meter to measure what it is I need to work on spiritually and what I have seen within myself these last couple of weeks – has made me cringe.  TRULY there go I but for the grace of God and for His mercy.  Thankfully if we have the Holy Spirit abiding in us (and if you have made Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior the Holy Spirit does abide in you) you become more sensitive (even if you won’t admit it) to the things that need changing within your life.
I can FULLY understand Paul’s writings in the book of Romans.  It is a constant battle!
“We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.  Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. "(Romans 7: - 8:6)
 This does not excuse the things that I know I need to work upon, but if you have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of you (which is what occurs when you make Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit takes residence inside of you), then conviction becomes a powerful thing and as you grow in Christ it is a constant.  I believe that as long as we have breath in our bodies there will be things (that if we are in tune with the Holy Spirit and honest with ourselves) we will realize that we are a continuance work in progress.
It is amazing to me because you can become so in tune with the things that you need to work on within yourself that it can feel like nasty sludge and the only thing that gets it off of you is the recognition that you need to do something to change to have your peace restored to you.  Some of these things that the Holy Spirit reveals to you that need changing are things that may change over a period of time.  They may be things that you need to bring before your Heavenly Father because YOU can’t change it about yourself, you need His help.
I am someone who has never seen the point in trying to “hide” something from a God who is omnipotent.  I find it much easier to be honest with Him and say, “Okay Father – I know that you see the good, bad and the ugly inside of me.  I admit that I need to work on (whatever it is), help me.”  Sometimes the things that we feel most rebellious about are emotional scars that have occurred in our life.  God desires to heal them, we just need to give those scars to Him.  There are some that we refuse to let go, be it that it has become a point of comfort for us or we are fearful.  Having gone through a prodigal experience in my walk, I still see residue from that period of my life that I need God to heal in me.  He is my Creator, He knows how I am intricately made.  He is the best physician or Counselor to turn to.  In my heart I know that when God tells us to do or not to do something it is because He sees the full picture and is wiser than we are.  There are times when we either push that aside or refuse to believe it, most of the time this has to do with our measure of faith in God, how much we trust Him.
The thing that amazes me is the closer you desire to draw to God – imperfections and all, the more you get to see yourself more clearly.  If God points out something to me that I need to work on,  my peace is gone until I get it right!  Until I confess it (to HIM), until I recognize that I am powerless to do anything about it (without HIM!), until I decide that in order for me to grow and reach a higher spiritual level, I need to work on whatever it is that God is pinpointing to me and trust that He has my best interests at heart.
If God is speaking to you, you will know it.  It’s what you decide to do with what He is saying that matters.  He knows us sooooooo much better than we know ourselves, we tend to forget that He has our best interest at heart – and who knows better than the one who made it, what those best interests are?
We might as well accept the fact that we are “works in progress” because fighting against the tide can become cumbersome and exhausting and in the long run, we end up having to change what needs changing anyhow just to have a peace of mind.  What I have found out in the 29 years I have been a Christian is that until I learn whatever lesson I am on in my walk, I will have to circle around it over and over again until I get it before I can move forward to whatever else God has for me to learn.  Sometimes we can be our own worst enemy. The ironic thing about it, is what God has instore for us is so much better than what we have in store for ourselves.
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.”  (Romans 12:2)