Tag Archives: Jesus Christ

Take Courage

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But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. Matthew 14:27-31

I know it has been a while. I apologize for the lag. I have been trying desperately to get my thoughts together so they will be worthwhile to read about. After reading my daily devotional this morning, it hit me that it was time for me to write again.

I decided to talk about this particular scripture because it describes exactly how I was feeling. I pray frequently to God for guidance and assistance, he gives it to me and then I doubt it was his assistance. I begin to sink even after I hear Jesus say, “come” or occasionally “go”. Have you ever felt that? It gave me chills this morning when I read this because I have been struggling with a couple of things. I believe in those struggles that Jesus has said to me, “Chill out. Sit down. Be patient.” But unfortunately I do not know how. I am a doer. I think I’m chilling out but in actuality I am only appearing to be chilling out. I might be sitting still but my mind is going 100 miles per hour. I’m thinking about where am I going to find a job. Is this relationship going to work out? How am I going to pay these bills without an income? Is my son getting everything he needs from me? Then let’s not even talk about incorporating social media into that overloaded thinking process. Just thinking about it now makes me want to scream!

I believe that God made me sit down (and sit down for real) recently. I was hospitalized for 6 days. I have never in my life been in the hospital that long. The longest I’ve ever been in the hospital, I came home with a baby. So this was a rude awakening because it was so unexpected. I had been walking around with a blood clot in my leg for approximately 3 weeks and pneumonia for almost 2 weeks. No signs. No warnings. But now that I think about it, were there warnings? I try to keep myself so busy that any aches and pains are blown off. I knew my leg hurt but I nursed it myself. I knew I could barely breathe but I self-medicated (take that however you want). So finally when I could not take any more my body began shutting down. It was the scariest thing to ever experience not to mention to experience it alone. All I could imagine was my son coming home from school finding my dead body. That is what got me to move.

While in the hospital I would not allow anyone to bring me my laptop or tablet. I had my phone but I could only read so much of Facebook and Instagram. The television programs were a joke. So I had nothing but time to talk to God and do something different, listen. The interesting thing is the Holy Spirit has always spoken to me. I’ve just always blown it off as my own thoughts playing tricks on me. So the difference this time was everything that was said to me came to pass. I told the Holy Spirit I wasn’t ready to die but if it was my time, please make sure my son would be provided for and comforted. I was told to stop it but I did need to get my life in ORDER. I told the Holy Spirit I didn’t think I did my insurance stuff correctly and every time they took me for a test or gave me medicine I was racking up a bill I had no possible way of paying. I was told to stop it, I am your PROVIDER. I’m here and my bills are paid in full. Major rude awakening.

I have come to realize that the Holy Spirit has said to me, “come” many times and my soul was willing but my flesh was not. I would then sink and begin screaming out, “HELP ME!” Every time God reaches his hand out to me and catches me. My lesson from a couple of particular pitfalls I put myself in? Listen. I need to trust God with all my heart and not depend on my own understanding. God operates in such a way that we can not even begin to understand. His ways are so much higher than our ways. We just need to trust and believe. That voice in your head or that “gut” feeling or that intuition that you are feeling needs to be really paid attention to. It could be the Holy Spirit directing your path to greatness. Don’t sink.

Love you!

Kelly G.

Welcome 2015

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Possibilities

In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

Happy New Year! 2015 is the year of change.

I was invited to a friend’s church last night for New Year’s eve. The Pastor spoke about an Exodus experience. I thought it was different to talk about an exodus when we are entering a new year. But when he explained the definition of exodus, it made more sense. He defined exodus as moving from one place to another. He also said it is moving out and going from.

Exodus in the bible refers to the Israelite’s leaving Egypt. The Pastor talked about this exodus from Egypt to go to the promise land. The promise land is a land that is flowing with milk and honey, Exodus 3:7-12. The Pastor said that we all needed to go through an exodus experience. I thought, he had less than an hour to bring this thought to an end before the new year. And I wanted him to make it good and relevant to this New Year’s eve’s Watch Service. (I have difficulty focusing if I can’t grasp the concept.)

The Pastor explained 6 ways to have an Exodus Experience. Here are the ways to have an Exodus Experience:

1. God knows what you are going through. What you are going through or what you have gone through is no surprise to God. He knew what you were going to experience. When you’re praying you don’t have to do a recap because God already knew the disappointment that you would have, the hurt that you would feel and the loss that you would experience. You just have to acknowledge those experience and asked God to give you strength to get through the “bad” times.

2. Declare I am coming out or I am walking out. (This should’ve been done before the end of 2014.) This is when you declare not to be a slave to old habits or addictions. Once you stop being a slave you need to quit having slave mentalities. Some of the slave mentalities that I confirmed that I was giving up was procrastination, bitterness, reliving the past, and unforgiveness.

3. You can only have an exodus experience when you realize you had enough of Egypt land. You have to make a decision that you are tired of the way the things are. You can stay in Egypt land where you are abused, misused and mistreated or you can make the decision that it is time to walk away. When you’re ready to be treated the way that you want to be treated, you’ll make the decision to walk out of Egypt land.

4. Knowing you’re not in the right place….yet. You might not know where you’re suppose to be but you know you’re not where you suppose to be. The right place can be compared to the seasons in our lives. You might be going through a rough season but know that all seasons come to an end. Sooner or later the season will run out. Be patient.

5. It’s not about you being let out. It’s about you breaking out. This is when you act on being done with whatever is holding you back. This is after you did your planning. This is when you put your plan to action. Consider this your breakthrough!

6. It’s not just about coming out but it’s also about coming in. Know when you leave something you will step into something new. The Israelite’s came out of Egypt to go into the promise land. Your conscious decision to come out of whatever was holding you back in 2014 will bring you into your promise land in 2015. Believe that!

I want to have an exodus experience. I feel like that I have experienced a partial exodus experience but I am ready to move from Egypt land to the promise land. I just need to figure out what I am willing to leave in 2014. I have identified quite a few thus far. Many people won’t like my decisions but again, I’m ready to move to my promise land.

It’s time for you to move from where you are. It’s time for you to move into your promise land. But know that in order for you to move to your promise land, you have to let go of some things. Let go of what was holding you back in 2014. This is your opportunity to go through your exodus experience. 2015 holds a great amount of opportunities for you. You just have to make the decision to seize them. This is your year…….if you want it.

Happy New Year my friends!

Kelly

Total Trust

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Don’t put your trust in mere humans. They are as frail as breath. What good are they? Isaiah 2:22

Your breath can stop at any moment. You could attempt to take a deep breath and be unable to catch your breath. It could be environmental issues, it could be medical issues, it could be self inflicted issues but no matter what the issue is you fail to catch your breath. The passage says that humans are as frail as breath. That means that you relying on people could be short lived. People can be unreliable, selfish and shortsighted. As easy as it is for you to lose your breath, it’s just as easy for a person to betray your trust.

When I go into any relationship, I usually tell a person that I will trust them until they make me take my trust away. I am setting them and the relationship up for failure. The only person that I should trust in any relationship is God. He is completely reliable. He has yet to fail me or forsake me. Instead of putting my trust in people and our relationships, I need to learn how to trust God’s plan for the relationship. Some people are put in our life for a season. When the season is over, know the purpose he or she had in your life was to assist you along your spiritual journey. When their time is up and it’s time for them to leave, don’t fight it. He or she served their purpose. Cherish and keep the memories but let them go.

We tend to try to make a square peg go into a round slot. It doesn’t work. No matter how much you try, it won’t work. No matter how much you plead, it won’t work. No matter how much you try to manipulate it, it won’t work. It’s just like relationships, if it isn’t meant to be, it won’t work. Stop putting all your trust in that person and then getting upset when they let you down. Remember God is the only one that is completely reliable. We can rely on his unfailing love and trust in his plans that he has for us.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. Trust in the Lord not people.

Be incredibly blessed!

Kelly

Being Burden

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Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light. Matthew 11:28

A yoke is used on an ox to move a heavy piece of equipment. The equipment and the yoke was too heavy for a human to use or to have a donkey to pull it. Both the yoke and equipment needed a strong animal to be able to pull it to get the job done. I’m sure it tired the ox out but that’s what they were there for, to carry the heavy load. There are many of us carrying burdens that weigh us down and tire us out like a yoke on a ox. Those burdens come in the form of abusive relationships that we don’t know how to get out of or the use of alcohol or drugs to self-medicate for the pain we’re experiencing or guilt of things we should not have done or said. But what I love about this passage is it says, “take my yoke upon you….. the burden I give you is light.” That means remove that yoke and give it to God.

You’re probably saying, “that’s easier said then done.” But have you ever tried it? Have you ever just stopped worrying or stopped the guilty thoughts long enough to ask for God’s help. Every time something that is worrisome enters your mind you should image yourself removing your yoke and handing it to God. Visualize being freed from the bondage of worry, guilt, depression, addictive behaviors and/or any sin that has you convicted. God’s has rest for your weary mind and soul. Find solace in that. Don’t carry that burden any longer. Trust God with all your heart, mind and soul. Give it to God and rest.

Be at peace my friend.

Love you always!

Kelly

Be Still

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He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

My devotional this morning had the above scripture included with it. As I was reading it, I was thinking I should really go back to bed because I’m tired. But then I had to stop and think what was I really tired from. I had not done anything too significant that would cause me to be worn out. Then I realized that I am mentally drained.

I tell people that I am fully trusting in the Lord, which I am, but sometimes my brain wanders to the unknown. When I’m saying that I am not worrying about not having a job or how my bills will be paid, that little gnawing feeling creeps up over me. I have to constantly speak a affirmation over myself to bring myself back to a place of peace and trusting God totally. So this morning when I read the scripture, I understood it differently.

God says, “Be still, and know that I am God”. For me it means that a job is not what supplies all your needs (though it helps) but it’s God who does. Be still and know He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the beginning and the end. He is the one that create us and we know that we are wonderfully and fearfully made. So that means that no weapon that is formed against us can prosper! Sometimes those weapons come in disguise as thoughts. We have to hold captive those thoughts that are not in line with God’s word. I know it’s tough when things look a certain way but that’s when we definitely need to understand that we walk by faith not by sight.

Today, my friend, I challenge you to being still. What I mean by that is when you feel those anxious thoughts rising up in you, get still. Stop what you’re doing and say affirming words over yourself. What I’ve been saying is, “God is the supplier of all my needs. I am not in want.” I encourage you to try it. Grab those thoughts and make them obedient to God’s word. You can do it because the bible says you are more than a conqueror!

Be abundantly blessed today!

Love you with the love of Christ,

Kelly

Trusting Thursday

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The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. Psalm 23:1

The Lord has been referred to as the good shepherd. A good shepherd is someone that watches over his flock. He provides for them and takes care of them. The flock doesn’t worry about where their supply will come from because the shepherd is watching over them. In return the flock obeys and follows the commands of the shepherd. So in other words, as long as the flock is obedient they have nothing to worry about because the good shepherd is their provider. Even if one of the flock wanders off, the good shepherd will look for it and find it.  You should know where I am going with this already.

Yesterday my mind wandered to everything that has gone wrong or at least not in the direction that I wanted it to. I begin to wonder how I was going to survive this storm. I mean, I trust God but I was starting to worry about the “how” he was going to do it. I was wondering about how I was going to pay my bills. Then I heard the Holy Spirit tell me to send a $100 check to a specific organization that I didn’t want to. That’s how I knew it was the Holy Spirit because I would have never thought of that on my own. But I’ve been procrastinating about it. I finally got the envelope, I finally wrote the check, and now all I have to do is mail it.

But the reason why I was procrastinating about it wasn’t because of the organization that I was told to send it to (well…not all of it) but because I’m trying to keep every dollar to pay my bills if I have a lean month while I look for a job. Then it happen. First I heard a song that I’ve heard numerous times but this specific line sang out louder then before. “Jehovah Jireh. My provider.” Then I opened my book that I’ve been reading off and on. The page opened up to, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall NEVER want.” I knew then that though I’ve been saying to people and to myself that I trust in The Lord, I was not showing it. My intentions were good but putting that trust into action was dismal.

The Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is your shepherd. If we just have faith the size of a mustard seed we can move mountains. We can feed a multitude of people with just a loaf of bread and fish. We just need to act and The Lord will do the rest. So I’m going to mail my check for $100. I’m officially acting on faith and trusting in The Lord. I consider it me sowing into what I thought would be impossible in my life to become possible just by being obedient.

What is the Holy Spirit speaking to you about? Are you being obedient? I think you should just do it. You did it your way and look where that has you. Trust in The Lord today, take the first step of faith.

Love you with the love of Christ,

Kelly

Wellness Wednesday

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Hope

Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there. Psalm 146:3

When I read this passage today it made me laugh. In my daily interactions I see more and more people putting their confidence in people to help them achieve happiness or success. They hope that the people they are focused on can bring about a change in their lives. They look to these people to help them move forward in life or to get a better life. Perhaps they think, “if only I stay with him or her a little while longer, he or she will change and then things will be better.” Or maybe it’s, “I know I should not be interacting with this person but if I just stick with him or her, I’ll finally be where I need to be.” I think that is sad that people depend on other people for their satisfaction and success in life. People will fail you every time. You’ll find yourself accepting things that you swore that you would never accept. Doing things that was never in your character or a part of your belief system. And why? Because you thought that would help you get more money, be loved, be accepted, move up the corporate ladder or just to not be lonely any longer. Guess what? You don’t have to do it any more.

God is waiting for you to totally surrender yourself to Him. Give up worrying about how you’re going to make it to the next level. Trust God. Give up worrying about what he or she is doing when they are not in front of you. Trust God. Give up worrying about how the bills will be paid. Trust God. Give up worrying about whether you will ever have enough. Trust God. Don’t compromise yourself for a quick moment of satisfaction. What is meant for you will be for you no matter what. You don’t have to accept being less than what you are just to feel adequate. That’s not what you were put here for. You are magnificent just the way you are. God doesn’t make mistakes and you my dear are by far no mistake!

So if you’re unhappy in your relationship, your job or your current situation, release it to God and walk away from it. Do not put your confidence in anyone any longer. Trust your own intuition and move forward with confidence in yourself and God. Be confident that who began a good thing in you will carry it on to completion. With or without certain people in your life. Be sure of that.

Be at peace with yourself. Know your change is coming and it will be wonderful!

Love you with the love of Christ,

Kelly

Testimony Tuesday

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Red Sea

If it had not been the Lord who was on our side — let Israel now say— if it had not been the Lord who was on our side when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us; then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us; then over us would have gone the raging waters. Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth! We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped! Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Psalm 124 1:8

Temptation and testing seems to be the way of my life lately. My emotions have been challenged when I am not in a place where I can just roll with them. I thought I had them under control, then one comment on Facebook, one text message, one phone call causes me to be in tears. I finally realized that my grief is not gone, it is simply at another level now. I am finally moving onto the more of an acceptance level. But make no mistake my grief is there.

I read comments from some of my friends yesterday about how they felt about me. The comments sent me into a crying fit because I did not understand how someone could feel that way about me when I did not feel that way about myself. I did not understand how someone could feel certain things about me when at many points in my life I was not the nicest person. So the things they said touched me in a way that I am sure they did not expect. Plus on top of that my feelings about everything is on my shirt sleeve right now. But as I cried uncontrollably I stopped and thought, if it had not been for the Lord on my side where would I be? If I had not decided that Jesus is the way, the death of my nephew and the loss of my job would have sent me into something worse then a crying fit. But because I believe in Jesus Christ I am not swallowed up by my grief and anger. Do not get me wrong I am silently angry about everything but it is controlled because I have given it up to God. I trust that He is working everything out for my good.

I understand more and more that temptations and testing will happen the more that you are closer to your blessing. I have been tempted to cuss people out, seek revenge because of things someone has said or done to me and I have wanted to just do a time out from the world. But everytime I go to do any of that, I remember that the Lord fights all my battles and protects me. There is nothing that comes to me that God will not bring me out of.

Please remember things may look tough right now but you are more than a conquer. You are victorious over all that worries or concerns you. God made you. God made you perfect. Stay calm and trust God for everything. Stand strong.

Love you with the love of Christ,

Kelly

Monday – New Beginnings

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To you alone, O Lord, to you alone, and not to us, must glory be given because of your constant love and faithfulness. Psalm 115:1

The beginning of the week, the beginning of the month and the beginning of the year is our opportunity to start something new. It could be viewed as a do over if your previous week or previous month or previous year did not go as you had expected it. New beginnings are our opportunity to clear the proverbial slate and try again. In trying again, we need to be mindful of doing the same thing over and over again. For example, if we had a bad week last week even though we followed our normal routine, perhaps it is time for us to change our routine. Change the way that we operate.

I picked today’s scripture because sometimes our normal routine is giving ourselves the glory for the things that go well in our lives. We do not take the time to praise God for Him giving us the ability to be successful, for Him aligning the right people in our lives or making our crooked paths straight. Instead we pray to God for Him to do the things that we want done. Not His will but our own. Then when our prayers that we vehemently prayed for does not happen, we become disappointed. We do the same routine. Pray for how we want the situation to go then get upset because it did not happen the way that we prayed it would. God is not a genie.

Know that our destiny has already been planned. God knew who we would be and what we would do while we are on this earth. But because He gave us free will our path to our destiny can be an easy path or difficult. It is totally up to us but understand we will arrive to our destiny no matter what path we decided to take. Even if that means repeating the same thing over and over again.

As I read this scripture, it reminded me that I should be praising God through it all. The good times…. praise God. The bad times…. praise God. The indecisive times….praise God. The “I don’t understand why this is happening” times…. praise God. Nothing that goes in my favor was done by me. It was the glory of God that allowed it to happen. So I give the glory for everything because He knows what He is doing and what He is planning on doing. He knows the plans that He has for us and we should all know that those plans are not to harm us.

So today and this week change your routine. Start your day out by giving God the glory for everything that He has done and for all the things that you are trusting Him to do in your life. Put everything in His hands and do not let anyone throw you off your walk of faith. Keep the faith and try the path of least resistances with God.

Love you with the love of Christ,

Kelly

Faithful Friday

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I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Psalm 16:8

Sometimes you have to be shaken up to recognize the multitude of God. We have to go through disappointment, sadness, times of sacrifice and times of generally being uncomfortable to feel his presence. Having a life with no problems does not give us the opportunity to experience God’s grace. If we never went through anything how can we know God’s strength? The answer, we would not be able to.

Our suffering is not meant to break us. It is meant to strengthen us in our mind, body and spirit. The things we go through might be too hard for us to comprehend but that is when we need to trust in the Lord more and not lean to our own understanding. Once we fully trust in the Lord, we will experience a peace that we have never known. Being at peace allows us to think rationally. Being at peace lowers our anxiety which prevents health issues. Remember peace over worrying. Worrying does not add one day to our life nor a dollar to our pocket. Be at peace. Know change is coming. We all need to be at peace with it. Things cannot and will not stay the same.

To me, our shakeups are a prelude to major change. I am a witness to that! I find it interesting to hear people say, “what else could happen” or “the way my life is going no wonder XY and Z happened”, because they are more correct than they know. More can and will happen because we were not meant to be stagnant. Perhaps we keep going through things because we are not learning the lessons we need to learn. Learn the lesson. Accept the change. Then look at the change optimistically. Change gives us new possibilities in our life.

Be open to change today. Expect the unexpected optimistically. What you have been praying for and hoping for will come to fruition. Believe it!

Love you with the love of Christ,

Kelly