Monthly Archives: September 2014

Dreaming Even When The Going Gets Tough

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Have you ever been in the way of achieving your dreams? Have you tried to drive full speed ahead to realizing your dream only to be stopped by the car in front of you and you think its a roadblock but when you take a harder look its actually a mirror in the road and the car you are seeing is really yours?  If you’ve answered YES, then you are certainly not alone! I’m right there with you.

Recently, before beginning this blog, I was inspired to make the choice to dream again.  Dreaming is great, but achieving those dreams is awesome! I’ve come to realize however that on the road to making those dreams happen I need to make some personal changes otherwise my dreams will not be realized and they will just fade away into the darkness where nobody would’ve known that they even existed but me and God.  I don’t know about you, but I want to do my part in making my dreams become reality.  I’ve also realized it’s not going to be an easy ride, there are going to be obstacles along the way, and right now I’m the biggest one.

One of my dreams is to be a great person of influence – a leader!  I desire to be able to practice what I preach and preach what I practice especially if my desire is to help others live the best life that they possibly can.  In achieving this dream it’s apparent to me that before I can be used to help anyone, I need to be helped first.  My heart needs changing, my mind needs to be renewed and I need to be stripped away of old habits. I’m overwhelmed and overtired, but I’ve resolved not to give up!  I’m going to start by reading a book I recently purchased called Confidence of a Champion by Tim Marks. It a book that is aimed at helping you become who you were created to be by letting go of lies from the past.  I’ve included a link to where you can purchase the book in case you maybe interested in joining me on this journey 🙂  Confidence of a Champion

I’m excited for the journey ahead and my prayer is that God will prepare you and me to receive and make use of every tool that He provides for my success and yours on this journey to achieving our God-given dreams.  May His will be done in the name of Jesus. Amen ❤

 

 

How Long Will You Stay Down?

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Have you ever felt like you’ve fallen outside of God’s grace?  You’ve messed up, done something wrong, sinned against your Everything, the very One who gives you your life and breath, your true love.

It can be difficult to get back up after you’ve fallen especially when you’ve tripped yourself.  It’s easy to beat yourself up and start to believe the lies that the enemy wants you to believe.  It’s easy to stay down because it’s comfortable, it takes no effort to stay down.

I’ve fallen, and I’ve stayed down long enough to realize that if I don’t get up and run back to the arms of my Saviour then I’m just giving up on everything that His Love has accomplished for me. I would be throwing away my inheritance.  His free gift to me of His grace which He shed His very own blood to give me.

The bible says that the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I realize that while I may have messed up, he jumped on that opportunity to steal my joy and excitement and to kill my dreams and destroy my relationship with God.  I refuse to give up and  instead I give in and surrender to Jesus and I cry out to Him and ask Him for a hand to help me get back up.  I don’t need to stay down – it’s a choice – I choose to trust in the love and forgiveness of God.  I don’t even have to get back up by myself because He is there to give me a hand and through His strength I am able to get back up and move forward.

If you’ve fallen and need a hand getting back up please join me in this prayer:

Dear God,

You are awesome and faithful.  You are love and I am so thankful for your mercy and grace.  Father I cry out to you in repentance for the sins that I have committed. Jesus I believe in my heart and I confess with my mouth that you are Lord and you alone have the power to save me and set me free from sin and death.  Please have mercy on me and forgive me for my sins.  Please create a clean heart in me and restore my fellowship with you.  Please fill me with your Holy Spirit and help me to walk in your will for my life.  Lord I surrender all of me to you including my emotions, my guilt, my shame and I ask that you renew me.  Please restore my joy and excitement so that I may live life with anticipation of your goodness while trusting in your promises. I love you Lord and I thank you for your forgiveness and salvation.  Please draw me closer to you Lord and please protect me from the enemy and help me to sin no more.  Thank you Lord.  In the precious name of Jesus I pray, Amen ❤

 

 

Loss & Grief… & the Love & Faith That Brings Hope to Dream Again!

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“And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish.” (1Samuel1:10)

The above passage of Scripture refers to a woman named Hannah who grieved over her inability to have a child.  Today I related to Hannah in her bitterness of soul as I prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish.  While my circumstances may differ from Hannah’s, in that my sadness has nothing to do with not being able to bear a child, I can certainly relate to her heart.  When I turned my pain over to the Lord today, my question was “How long is this going to hurt?” In trying to understand my pain, and why I was hurting so much, I realized that I was grieving a loss.  Nobody physically died, but I did lose someone that I had invested a great deal of myself in, and suddenly this person is gone from my life.  It hurt a lot! But thank God for His precious love for me.  God is so faithful! As I was in prayer, the Lord led me to a scripture in my bible: “And she said, “Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.” (1Samuel1:18) The life lessons note in my bible regarding this specific Scripture says the following: “Hannah left behind her grief, not when her circumstances changed – they hadn’t – but after she poured out her soul to the Lord.  Because of her grief, she connected with the Lord on a level she had never known.” ~Charles Stanley. This was a huge act of faith on the part of Hannah! She had stopped eating because of her grief and sadness but here in this Scripture she went away after her prayer and ate and was no longer sad.  She had placed her faith in God and trusted that He would grant her the desire of her heart.  In Hannah’s prayer for a son, she also vowed to dedicate her son to the service of the Lord which was a selfless act on her part.  That was her sacrifice onto the Lord.  Later Hannah conceived and bore a son!

I was so encouraged by this today and I hope that you will be too.  Nothing is too big for God and He can certainly make your dreams come to pass when you put your trust in Him.  Let your fear become your fuel for faith.  Turn to God in prayer and pour your soul out to Him.  This isn’t the first time I’ve turned to God and in the past He has always been faithful even when the answer wasn’t what I expected.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart; Lean not on your own understandings.  Acknowledge the Lord in all that you do and He will direct your paths.”