Starting the Journey

I began this BLOG as an writing exercise to help me finish my book. A book that has been in my heart and spirit for a few years and for whatever reason, I cannot seem to finish.

The title of my book is Adventures in Destiny just like this BLOG. I have discovered that walking with the Lord is an adventure and whether it is good or bad will depend solely on YOUR attitude. We can choose to believe and trust God regardless of what we see or we can choose to follow our own thoughts. My Bishop preached a message once about reacting versus responding. Reacting to a situation is when you are all FREAKED OUT! Responding is speaking the word over the issue and moving forward. Reacting will cause you to have a stroke, be depressed, etc.whereas responding will let you see God move in your life in miraculous ways.

Here is an excerpt from chapter 1 of Adventures in Destiny, I would love to hear your thoughts!

Let’s read Psalms 136: 13-17 (NLT)

¹³ You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
      and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
   ¹⁴ Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
      Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
   ¹⁵ You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
      as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
   ¹⁶ You saw me before I was born.
      Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
   Every moment was laid out
      before a single day had passed.

      Think about that for a moment. Did you realize that no matter what the circumstances were of your conception and birth that God was watching? Did you know that every single day of your life – good days and bad days – was planned before you even came out of your mother’s womb?

      That was and continues to be a powerful revelation for me. I can actually visualize God, the master of the universe, the author, and finisher of my faith, sitting in heaven writing down HIS perfect plan for my life. I can see Him considering the day I told my first lie and the day I told my last lie. I can see Him noting the day that I would get married the first time and the day I would get married the second time and the day, I would get married the third time.  I wonder if He made a special notation on the day my son was conceived outside of marriage.   I am sure that it caused Him pain to have to allow these and other sinful things to happen in my life.  However, I now have a full realization that is all a part of the plan.

      Now, you can be sure that the enemy does not want you to know that.  The enemy, Satan, does not know our whole story, but he does know that if he can keep us in a place of shame, fear, embarrassment, and condemnation, then he can keep us from being effective in life. If he can use each of the days and moments that were already written down by God as obstacles in our lives then we will never experience what God really intended for us.  We will spend our lives going to church every Sunday, sitting through bible studies and small groups but never being fully used in the way that God intended for us to be used.

      I would like you to consider for a moment the possibility that every single moment of our lives is a part of an adventure.  The word adventure means an exciting or remarkable experience. Now you are probably saying to yourself, “Hmm, well yes I feel like all of the ups and downs in my life have been a bit of an adventure, but not a good one.” Well I am here to tell you that there is only one type of adventure with God – a good one!  Just for one moment, put away your current thought process about who you are and what you have gone through. Your current thoughts about yourself have kept you in the shadows for too long. The way you view yourself is contrary to how God views you. He took the time to shape you and give you life. He decided long before the world was actually formed that you would play a part in the grand scheme of things. 

      Who are bold enough to agree with - God or Satan?  If God says, “I knew you before I placed you in your mother’s womb? ( Jer. 1:5)  Are you bold enough to respond that God did not have a plan for you? If God says, “I chose you to be mine.” Are you bold enough to say, “I am not the right one.” If you are bold enough to tell God that he made mistake, then I will share with you with Paul told the Roman Christians who were struggling with the same thoughts.

Let’s read Romans 9: 17  from the Message Bible

For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, I have raised you up for this very purpose of displaying My power in [dealing with] you, so that My name may be proclaimed the whole world over.

I am sure you are probably thinking to yourself, “Wait! God allowed the bad things and people to enter into my life on purpose?” Yes, he did. 

Who in the world do you think you are to second-guess God? Do you for one moment suppose any of us knows enough to call God into question? Clay does not talk back to the fingers that mold it, saying, "Why did you shape me like this?" Isn't it obvious that a potter has a perfect right to shape one lump of clay into a vase for holding flowers and another into a pot for cooking beans? If God needs one style of pottery especially designed to show his angry displeasure and another style carefully crafted to show his glorious goodness, isn't that all right? Either or both happens to Jews, but it also happens to the other people. Hosea put it well:
   I will call nobodies and make them some bodies;
      I will call the unloved and make them beloved.
   In the place where they yelled out, "You're nobody!”
      they're calling you "God's living children."

      You may feel as though you started out as a nobody, but God always intended you to be a somebody!

Have we met?

On this past Monday, I received the pleasure of being able to sit at my favorite coffee shop after work and sip tea while finishing a book on my Kindle. While I sat there and gazed out the window, the spirit of Gratitude came and sat with me.  As he showed me ALL of the wonderful things that God has blessed me with, tears came to my eyes.

I recently heard a pastor say that Satan is good at making us look at what we don't have in the effort of taking our eyes off of all the things we DO have. I confess that I have been caught up in that area of deception served up by the enemy of my very soul.  I have a life that many people would give up a lot to have. I have a stable home, a good job, reliable transportation, a faithful husband, a son in college with a 4.0 GPA. I have amazing friends along with brothers & sisters-in-Christ that truly love me. Most importantly I am saved and filled with the Holy Spirit.

I am glad that the Spirit of Gratitude came by and introduced himself to me, I thought I knew him but I realized after that encounter I hadn't really known him as well as I thought I had.

Your legacy

I have a "thing" about leaving a legacy. I don't have a large natural family with all sorts of traditions or memories and as such have a longing to establish such things in my home. More important than that however I often wonder what will I leave behind when I am dead.

I have a husband, a son, two ex-husbands so I know I will leave some people behind, but that is not even what I mean. I am talking about the legacy of my work that will represent my time spent on earth. Is anyone's life being changed or altered because they have had an encounter with me? Will anyone be in heaven because of me?

As a minister I tend to go to more funerals than the average person and I always am glad to see people come to pay their last respects. I have been to funerals where people have traveled upwards of 3,000 miles to attend. WOW! I am not sure that anyone would even drive 50 miles for me and if that is true, whose fault is that? Mine, if I am not using what God has given me to make an impact on others then it is my fault and I can understand why God would judge me harshly for such a thing.

 He took the time to give me a gift and if used properly will have an impact on those around me.

What about you? What kind of legacy will you leave behind?

What is your word worth?

When you tell someone that you are going to do something or be somwhere, how much value do you think they put in your "word"? I would suggest that people put more value in what we say than we do. We have the power to speak life or death into someone's life or situation and with that much God given power, we fail to realize that everything we say means something to the person who hears it.

When I said I was having surgery, my YaYa took the day off work to come and sit with me. My words meant so much to her that she used a vacation day for me. That means a lot to me.
The bible says that only those who keep their promises even if it hurts among other things are worthy to worship  God in his sanctuary.  (Psalms 15:4b)

So I ask the question... How much are my words worth?

Adventures In Destiny: What's love got to do with it?

Adventures In Destiny: What's love got to do with it?: "EVERYTHING! We say we love the Lord, however he told us very clearly that IF we loved him we would follow his commandments. (John 14:..."

What's love got to do with it?

EVERYTHING!

We say we love the Lord, however he told us very clearly that IF we loved him we would  follow his commandments. (John 14:15).

In the Message bible (which is my new favorite version) it says : If you love me, show it by doing what I've told you ( John 14:15);If anyone loves me, he will carefully keep my word and my Father will love him—we'll move right into the neighborhood! Not loving me means not keeping my words ( John 23-24)

Is is safe to say that Love = Obedience in God's point of view? It may be a leap and I am sure any theologians out there will be quick to correct me, but I am going to err on the side of caution and say YES!

We have many opportunities each day that God allows us to live to be obedient to his written word.  It takes thought and persistence to apply the word to every single situation that arises throughout the day, however I would suggest to you that if we hide the word in our hearts, it wouldn't be so difficult to operate according to God's word.

As my friend Trena says " Its like Prego, it's in there" Is the word in your heart? Do you know enough of it to readily apply it throughout the day?

If not, then I suggest that you start to read the bible 20 minutes per day. You cannot rely on the preached word received on Sunday to give you enough exposure that will keep you each and every day. The word  that is delivered on Sunday morning is meant to supplement your own studies and understanding.

Once you start reading and focusing on the word, you will be able to carefully apply it as Jesus tells we need to do in order to show him how much we really love him.

Faithful?

The great thing about having my own BLOG is that I can share my thoughts, opinions, outlook, etc. without having to worry about offending anyone. I have found that sometimes people perceive truth as being too harsh and become offended. Well here is a spoiler alert, what I am about to say may offend you.

I am a very proud member of Victory In Praise church. I consider myself a "faithful" member as I am sure many other members do. However there are times and seasons when our Bishop will ask us to do something, go somewhere, purchase something, donate to someone or some cause and there is a distinct line in the sand of those who move and those who don't.

What does it mean to be faithful? Webster dictionary says that to be faithful means that you are steadfast in allegience or affection or firm in adherance in observation of duty. Other words that one would use devoted, constant, dedicated. I think we get the picture, right?

Recently a dear friend of mine asked the question " How many times do you get to not do something before you are no longer considered consistant?" the answer was " one time".

Now I am sure that our bosses and other leaders in our lives realize that sometimes life reaches up and interferes with our plans, however in order to truly be considered faithful is there really ever an excuse to make up for being fickle, inconsistent, disloyal, untrue? If we are honest with ourselves, then we know that the answer is NO.

When life rises up, we have to rise up as well. We have to CHOOSE to be faithful in all things - big and small as the Psalmist did in Psalms 119:30(NLT)  " I have chosen to be faithful;I have determined to live by your regulations."

Obedience is better than sacrifice 1 Samuel 15:22

I am sure that I am not the only person that struggles with doing what God tells me to do. Am I? Hello? Is anyone out there? LOL.

Well, if I am then this post will be a bore to you, however if you look deep down inside of yourself and tell the truth, you will admit that somethings God tells us to do are much easier than other things. It is easy to do the things that WE want to do and sometimes because of God's grace he will give us assignments that are fun and have instant fulfillment. 

But what about the assignments that cost us time and money - both of which are sometimes in short supply for most of us at the time the request is made.  And if the truth really be told some of us are so overbooked that we would gladly give money than give time because our time is our more valuable to us.

This scripture is one of my favorite in the bible and I find myself reminding myself of its truth often.  I really like it in the Message bible, where it says:

Not doing what God tells you
      is far worse than fooling around in the occult.

Now most of us would never play with occult practices as we know better, but how often do we not do what God clearly directs us to do? Or how often do we not move because we don't understand the authority of  the messenger that God used to give the assignment? This way of life is just as dangerous as playing with the occult. We tend to forget that we are God's spokespersons on the Earth in many situations. There are so many people that haven't learned to recognize his voice yet and if we are not in position to deliver his word, what will happen to them?

I live in Sacramento and have lived there for almost 3 years. I moved there when I got married with full confidence that my husband and I would move back to Stockton after the first year so that I could fully serve in ministry at Victory in Praise church as I was used to doing during my single years.

I often ask God, on that long drive home (45 minutes to be exact) after bible study or leadership meetings, "Why am I still living in Sacramento? I am not affecting any change there, I am not making a difference to anyone there."

 I am a teacher and the director of the adult teaching staff. Our sole responsibility is to make sure all new members of the church get through 3 classes and are prepared for ministry. That seems easier than it really is (chuckle out loud). My Bishop, Rufus K. Turner, made it very clear how important these sessions are and that my group is to do what ever is needed to get people through the process even if that means teaching the classes in the member's home at THEIR convenience.


Over the past month I have had the pleasure of doing just that - teaching new members sessions in Sacramento to members that live there and whose schedule limits their time in Stockton. Now was it a press to fit in the session? Yes! After commuting and teaching other classes and working a full time job all week, by the time the appointment came on Thursday I was tired but I made a commitment and this was important.


and as I taught the final session this week I got an opportunity to see God's word take root in someone and they made the immediate change that the word was requiring.  My obedience allowed God to have his way in someone's life and at the end of the day, that is what all of this is all about.