Browsed by
Tag: Plan

Our Dreams Are For A Lifetime

Our Dreams Are For A Lifetime

Comments 0 Comment

I’m not sure why, but today my dreams seem so close. I feel like if I speak them out loud, maybe it will give them life again.

So. here goes…

My dream has always been to not have a schedule. To be free to write books, travel, and do it full-time without worrying about my income or how I’m going to pay my bills. I want to teach others what I learn about writing so that they can pursue their dreams too. That has been my dream for as long as I can remember. 

But this is what I know…our dreams are for a lifetime.

I don’t want fear to keep me from pursuing what I love to do, and I really believe that writing is not only my calling…it’s my ministry. The thing is, I also don’t want to run ahead of God. I did that once, and it cost me big time. 

My problem is that I’m really tired of talking about it, and planning about it. I’m ready to just do something about it. 

Although waiting has never been my strongest trait, I have learned that working with God is a lot easier than working against Him. So, for now I will be in prayer about my next steps. I will spend more time reading His word, and listening for His voice. I will look for opportunities to grow my skills, and use my quiet time to actually be quiet (That’s another tough one for me).

I’ll let you know how it’s going in my next post. 🙂

Until next time…

Be blessed

God Will Do The Impossible

God Will Do The Impossible

Comments 0 Comment

Wow. We are in the last month of the year. It seems like this year has gone by so quickly. And I don’t think it’s only me, but doesn’t it seem like the older you get the faster time is going?

That’s why it’s so important that we stop putting things off. We have to stop planning and start doing. I say that probably just for me, because I am a planner. The problem is that I usually end up planning my plan to death. I literally kill it before it can even get started. 

I think I have let fear lead way too long. The crazy thing is that it doesn’t feel like fear. I have even given it a name…procrastination. For some reason, that sounds better than fear to me. Procrastination sounds like eventually I will get around to it. Fear says that it most likely will never happen. And because I can’t bear to think that, I let myself believe that God has simply not gotten around to opening the right doors for me.

Ok, so now I’m blaming it on God…sigh. It’s a vicious circle. 

But, I’m feeling like this new year is going to bring new opportunities for me. God has already given me everything I need, and He’s even given me the people I need to help set things in motion. I know that God can make what looks impossible possible. All I have to do is let go, and take that first step. He has even given me scripture to back it up.

Isaiah 43:19 says, “Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”

I pray that if you are like me, and haven’t done the thing that God has been laying on your heart, and put in your hands to do; that you will join me in this new year and let 2024 be the year that God does the impossible for you.

Until next time…

Be blessed

Trusting The Process

Trusting The Process

Comments 0 Comment

When God made us, He made us unique. He created us so that our gifts and talents would compliment one another…work together. My gift may be different from yours, my process may even be different from yours, but all of our gifts are important in the eyes of God. He designed it that way on purpose so that in whatever we do, we would hopefully remember to give Him the glory. 

I have been in this place of transition lately, and it has not been easy. I feel like I’m in a place where I can’t go back and I can’t move forward. My spirit is yearning to move into that new place…that place where all of my gifts begin to operate on one accord. The problem is…my flesh just hasn’t caught up with that revelation yet.

Transitions can be hard because there is no one that can really talk you through it. Everybody’s experience is different, and what worked for them may not work for you. So, how do we get through this period in our lives? We believe the word of God, we keep moving forward, and we trust the process.

The plan God has for our lives is simple, yet so complex at times. Simple because we have the plan laid out for us in God’s word…we just have to follow it. Complex, because we have free will, and our will is always in conflict with God’s will. 

We spend a crazy amount of time trying to get to the place God is calling us to and yet the word says, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand (Prov. 19:21 NIV). What that says is that all we have to do is wait. We can plan whatever we want. But there is no plan we can come up with that is going to be better for us than the one God put into place before we were even born.

So, today I think I’m just going to trust the process, and know that God is faithful to His promise. 

If He said it, He will do it.

Until next time…

Be blessed

All You Have To Do Is Walk In It

All You Have To Do Is Walk In It

Comments 0 Comment

I am telling you…our God is awesome. When God wants to really get through to me, He will do it while I sleep. I often tell people that He does that because it’s the only time I stop talking long enough to hear Him (I can’t help it, that’s how He made me). 

But, here’s the thing…when I wake up, I always, always have a song in my heart. The song will typically be the answer to or the confirmation of a situation I am dealing with. He takes that opportunity to search my heart for those things that I am struggling with and He helps me put them in perspective and I always wake up feeling better. 

The thing is I have been in a holding pattern for way too long.

God led me to share that today because there is someone out there that needs to know that God is aware of everything that concerns you. You don’t have to try to figure it out by yourself. He has the solution, you just have to go to Him and let Him know that you are ready to let it go.

My pastor did a sermon once about the man at the pool of Bethesda. He said the man had been right at the point of his breakthrough and just didn’t complete the act. An angel would come and stir up the water once a year, and the first one in the pool after the water had been stirred would be healed. This man was at the edge of the water and all he had to do was roll, but for 38 years he laid there waiting for someone to help him get in. When Jesus came along, He simply said take up your bed and walk and the man did. He didn’t ask any questions. He didn’t gripe and complain, and he didn’t consult with others around him…he just did it.

Today, I want to tell someone that your breakthrough is here. You don’t have to wait for anyone else to help you move into what God is calling you to do. All you have to do is move. God will be there to help you, you just need to prepare yourself for the blessing. I am a firm believer that when God speaks, He makes it so. Your flesh won’t be able to comprehend that, but your heart will. 

Trust the God who loves you and knew you before the beginning of time. He has a plan for your life…walk in it.

Until next time…

Be blessed

He Did It Just For Me

He Did It Just For Me

Comments 1 comment

In John 3:16 it says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” The thought of that is so overwhelming at times. Just knowing that God loved us so much that He not only wrapped Himself in flesh to come down to earth for us…He also gave up the life of His only Son to prove it.

Just for me…

What Jesus did on that cross said that He loved us more than He loved His own life. He sacrificed His life so that we could have eternal life with Him. Nobody else would have done that. 

Just for me….

The really awesome thing is that because we believe the shed blood of Jesus Christ saved us, and we have confessed it with our mouths…all of our sins have been erased. We have been forgiven. In the eyes of God, it is like we have never sinned. We get a complete do-over. 

Just for me….

Once we understand that even if I (we have to make it personal) were the only person on the face of the earth, God still would have sent Jesus Christ to save me…it changes us. God’s love for us is transformational. You can’t believe that and still feel the same. To believe that and still live the same. To believe that and still be the same. Amen.

To know that the Father loved us so much that even before we were born, He already had a plan in place to save us. Amazing!

Until next time…

Be blessed

We Will Overcome

We Will Overcome

Comments 0 Comment

Can I just say how grateful I am that God loves us so much. Without Him our lives would be so pitiful. And I am even more grateful that He works it all out so that in some way everything we go through will be used for our good. I love knowing that the trials of this world have a purpose…it makes it all a little easier to bear.

The promise I want to focus on this time is the promise of  joy. The Bible says, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11)

God planned our ending before our beginning. Knowing every single thing we would encounter. Somehow, that makes me feel better. Because it doesn’t matter if we could have just gone to the doctor one day earlier, or if we hadn’t eaten junk food every day of our lives we could have maybe extended our lives a little longer (Although, there is no doubt that eating healthy and going to the doctor regularly will definitely extend the quality of our lives). The trials we go through; the exercise we never get around to; even the times we miss church because we just want one day to sleep in…won’t change anything. God knows who we are, the struggles we face, and guess what? He still loves us. 

None of it matters. He has a plan for our lives, and nothing we do or don’t do is going to change that. Every now and then, He even gives us a glimpse of the plan He has for us. I think He does that to encourage us…to let us know that all of this is leading to something greater. God promises that at His right hand are “pleasures forevermore.”

His promise is that…if we stay close to Him, not only will we overcome, but we will have some joy in the process.

Until next time…

Be blessed

This new way of living

This new way of living

Comments 12 comments

I think that I am settling into this new way of living a little too much, and my old life is beginning to feel like a distant memory. I have always loved being around people. I mean I like having alone time, but there is something energizing for me about being with people. I believe I am an extrovert with introvert tendencies. That combination is typically a plus for me, but COVID-19 kinda put a stop to everything I knew as “normal” (Whatever that means). 

I am learning to be a little more creative, and a lot more adventurous, and even though loneliness stops by every now and then, I still love having my alone time. I find myself using this time to try things that I have never tried before. I am making decisions without checking with 10 people first. I am learning to depend on God more, and not so much on other people. I realized that it puts an unfair burden on folks to expect them to solve my problems and theirs too. Besides, I love learning new things. I always have, and those feelings are beginning to come back again…like an old lost friend. It feels good to spend time reading, or writing, or praying without feeling like there is something I need to do, or some place I need to be. It feels good to go to bed late, and sleep even later or not. It just feels good to be free, and I want to hold onto this feeling as long as I can.

My goal for this new season that we have all been catapulted into is to live according to God’s plan. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” He also says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” I love those verses, and I really am loving this new way of living. Because it’s not about my plan, or anyone else’s. It’s all about Him, and that’s more than enough for me. 

Until next time…

Be blessed 

Follow the Directions

Follow the Directions

Comments 2 comments

This is starting to be a thing. This week, I put up mini blinds. Yay! At first, it seemed like it was going to be pretty easy. I mean, what could be so hard, right? You drill a hole, put in a screw, and voila! Snap on a mini blind…um, not so much.

What actually happened is I typically don’t use the directions. I can just eyeball it, right? I used a ruler to measure the spot where I wanted the mini blind to hang (I did it twice just to make sure)…it wasn’t right, and I had to move it over…sigh. I drilled three perfect holes, and then the fourth hole kept on going. It was hollow. Why would the hole be hollow? Ok. So, I wasn’t going to let one hollow hole stop this show. I got out the brackets and after a couple of tries…it worked. I was so happy. A little sweaty from trying to get the screw to stop spinning along with the drill, but I digress. When I got to the second bracket, let’s just say…things took a turn. Of course, the one hole was hollow, so that screw went straight through. There was no wood for it to go into. I’m not sure what that’s about, but the second one finally went in and as long as no one fiddles with it we should be good. 

As always, God used this whole thing to show me a thing or two about myself. Even though the ladder wasn’t quite tall enough, and my arms got tired from holding them up so long, I learned that perseverance does pay off. I learned that having a plan is good, but being able to ride it out when it doesn’t go as planned is essential. Sometimes, what looks easy is really going to take hard work, but following directions will not only save time…it just makes sense. 

I really can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13).

Until next time…

Be blessed