Establishing your purpose.

Establishing your purpose.

We all have been there. Wonder what our purpose is. Wonder what God has planned for us. Pleading with the throne room wishing He would answer not understanding why. Reviewing our life over and over trying to find why He is quiet about direction and leading. Is it something I have done? Is it something I have not confessed? I know I am not the only one that has felt that. I pleaded with the Lord for a great job. God wants me to be a good provider for my family? He has come through with so many other blessings beyond all  I could imagine so why would a great job be any different or even simpler given what had happened in years prior that were MIRACULOUS. But it seemed that no matter how hard I prayed and begged. The great job never came across which caused me to questions my purpose. When I desperately desire to have my purpose revealed because lets face life is short. Living for God's Will and purpose is what we as Christians LONG for.  So in the last 4 years of rebuilding hearing and seeing God move. Blessing upon Blessing every step of the way and yet... in my humanity my impatience on the one thing that I felt was my purpose He was silent. I knew and have known my entire Christian Life that God had something in store for me. I believe when someone goes through great trials does so for a purpose. That the Lord uses our pain, healing and restoration to build His Kingdom, to show love to others, to partner with them in a true ME TOO.
So given that. I knew. There is a purpose. But where is it? Where is the provision part for my family? My desires. My plan. My way. Was not coming to pass. That may seem almost comically because well I said MY.. God's time and His plan is not mine. I want HIS desires, His Plan and His way. So my impatience is on me. I want to establish His Purpose. When I had let go of my way and desires suddenly God revealed Himself. My passion for 'crafts', helping others, serving others using my past experiences to lift others up was suddenly in my face.  Your passion is something that you could do all day long and all evening and not be tired. Something you are willing to lose sleep over. A deep desire deep within your soul.
Was I prepared?
It has been 3 days. And I feel awesome!  I HAVE slept. Maybe less. Worked a longer day.  There are growing pains. My youngest no longer goes to daycare and finding the balance of caring for him and working with in my gifts is a bit challenging.  But it is all about finding that balance for us. And we WILL. 

So. What have I learned in the last 4 years about finding God's purpose?
1. Don't rush it. He is an ON TIME GOD!
2. Yes, There are people in my life that are encouraging and have their thoughts BUT is that God's? For example Zechariah when John the Baptist was born and everyone wanted to name him after him instead of what GOD told him to do through the Angel Gabriel. I hate to say this. YES. Fellow Christians CAN help...but they can also hinder. You have to pray and seek and knock and be patient for GOD's plan.
3. Patience truly is a virtue. Think about what He is trying to teach you in this time of waiting. Reminds me of the song 'Waiting here for you'.
4. I have seen God move mightily in the past. Don't think He is done yet! I write it down. Recount my blessing. Places He moved so I DO NOT FORGET. So I am not like an Israelite wander the wilderness and forgetting what HE took me out of. The slavery HE freed me from, the path HE laid out. The Foundation HE built for me and mine.
He moves beyond anything we can ask for or imagine. Don't put Him in a box of what He can do in your life!!
5. To not be afraid to ask for BOLD things. Not settling. Not compromising. I know this is hard. This was difficult for me. Because of self doubt, lack of self worth. All because the evil one wants nothing more than to push you back in to the miry pit of destruction. he tried to destroy me. But my refuge and strength comes from the LORD MY GOD. There is nothing that can separate me from Him. NOTHING.
6. He wants to give good gifts to His Children and I am His child.




I pray this gives you hope in His will and plan for your life. It is not easy. But HIS ways are perfect. And I would much rather have HIS Perfection then my own plan.


Your Love Never Fails

Day 1 - See I am doing a New Thing!

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” Isaiah 43:18-19


Day 1
October 25th
61 days until Christmas

After weeks of discussing, reasoning, praying, trying to understand the path that the Lord has set before us. For one. I had been looking for other employment for a long time to be a better provider for my family. I am accomplished and good at what I do. But no matter how hard I tried, begged God, asked Him to open the doors the doors never opened. And then things changed. As things do so often in life and things of God. He pretty much did a 360 in my life. Not just causing my repentance from my old self but in 'life'. I felt I was going thru the valley. That at some point and time after much prayer and sacrifice God would provide the right job and My Person I had been praying for my entire life. I had reconciled to the fact that it would be many years before either would happen. That this would just be my cross to bear and it was making me a better person. 
June 25th. Things changed. I don't deny the significance of that date. And I am rather shocked that it just happens to be the same number as today. But this day. I had a first date with a man of God. Who, instead of taking me to dinner, or bowling. Who did not do a 'date'. He had a bible study with me. NOT your typical first date. And it was the most amazing evening I had in my entire life. 
"I make all things new".
 In this I saw that when you least expect it GOD will change it all. And make it new. I love this man. He has stretched me in ways I did not think possible. We knew from the start that it was no accident that we had met. And that He had something big instore for us.  And both realizing we just could not find one another sooner because we just were not ready for one another.. God was not finished preparing us. 

That job I had been praying for just was not ready for me yet. So I needed to be patient. Well. He heard my cries. He answered my prayers. And yesterday was my last day at my old job. And today is day 1 of my new job. The job of my dreams. A job that is for HIS glory. And I get to work with, for and along side My Beloved in this journey. This new beginning, that might seem scary to some, has brought such joy in the anticipation of it that I can't contain my happiness and expectancy of what HE IS GOING TO DO! 
He makes all things new. The old has passed away and the new has come. 

When He promises He is with you when you go thru the deep waters,  rivers of difficulty, fire of oppression He is not kidding. He calls us HIS. He calls you by name. He calls me by name. And in this journey, stepping out in faith and trusting that He has control, HE will make a way in the wilderness. HE will make that stream in the wasteland.  And He has. 

I can not wait. I am ready. We are ready. Ready to build for His Kingdom. The workers may be few. BUT with HIM. We Lack Nothing!


Peace.

I hope you dance.

The Lord’s Chosen Servant

42 Behold my servant, whom I uphold,

my chosen, in whom my soul delights;

I have put my Spirit upon him;

he will bring forth justice to the nations.

 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,

or make it heard in the street;

a bruised reed he will not break,

and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;

he will faithfully bring forth justice.

 He will not grow faint or be discouraged

till he has established justice in the earth;

and the coastlands wait for his law.

  Thus says God, the Lord,

who created the heavens and stretched them out,

who spread out the earth and what comes from it,

who gives breath to the people on it

and spirit to those who walk in it:

 “I am the Lord; oI have called you in righteousness;

I will take you by the hand and keep you;

I will give you as a covenant for the people,

a light for the nations


The Messiah was, said in Isaiah 42, to be the Light for the nations of the world. This is a bold prophecy of the coming Savior. The old testament has 42 prophecies of Christ's coming. And Jesus, Our Lord fulfilled them all! Isaiah 42 from verse 1 through verse 6 speaks about Jesus and what He is, what He will go through and God's promise to us.  God's spirit in the form of a dove rest upon Jesus as the messenger to hail him in baptized him. He would be bruised but not broken. He will not let us down. He will be the Light to a dark world.

Jesus went to the cross to save us all. He laid down His life to give us life. When we go through the troubles that this life brings instead of cowering in the corner or allowing the trouble to get the best of us we should trust Jesus. Step out into the storm. And trust in Him. Dance in the storm with Him by our side. Seek His lessons in the trials. Boldly come to Him with the troubles. Knowing deep within us we will see the light at the end of the tunnel. We will get through it with His Grace and His Mercy. We can do all things through Christ. We lack Nothing. We need only to have the faith the size of a mustard seed.  Dance in the storm my friends. Dance in the arms of our Savior. Who calms the storm. Who says Peace be still. Who calls us out of the boat to walk on the water.
Be at peace Child of God. And boldly step up on the feet of Jesus and let Him lead the dance.




~L


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Sixty-Five Days. What He said about the coming of Christ.

Genesis 22: 18

The Angel of the Lord shares with Abraham what the Lord will do because of His obedience. HE will bless him more than Abraham may have even been able to comprehend. HE tells him that he will have so many descendants that they will be as the numbers of stars in the sky and sand on the seashore. They will be conquers. AND through his descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed- ALL because he obeyed God.

Scholars believe that this is the Lord's first prophecy of Jesus. Why did the Lord choose Abraham's line to ? Because he obeyed God. Our obedience  to the Lord can cause ramifications that can and will change the world. Just as God chose Abraham's line to bring forth the Savior of the world so can we imprint with our obedience that will result in blessings on generations to come.

Do you have commitment issues?

Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed.
Proverbs 16:3


Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you.
Psalm 37:5


Two verse, Two different locations. Both saying the same exact thing. 
Commit your self to God.
Actions- It is one thing to think. To think about doing the right thing. 
To want to do the right thing. To desire to. To need to. He says DO. Our actions. 
James says to be Doers of the word. Not just hearers. Because we deceive ourselves.
Why is that? 
If you tell some one you love them and never have actions to back it. How can you say you love them? We are a people of actions. We get up and DO. OR at least we should be. 
If we commit the things we do to the Lord. EVERYTHING. Trusting Him to make our paths straight won't He direct us on our path?!? OF COURSE. Even if we veer off course He will redirect us back to His path. I heard My Beloved speak about this today. And for whatever reason it has come up so many times ( I know it was you Lord). We beg God to lead, guide and direct us. But do we commit our action and everything we do TO HIM?

 I will admit that there are times I think. I got this. No need to interrupt God on it. The truth of the matter is. I don't have it. I need Him. I need His guidance. HIS direction. And so I let the GPS of my life redirect me back on His path. His will for my life. Not wasting more of my life on the taking the long way around. Even though we may need to learn some lessons. And yes we seem to repeat past mistakes and obviously God has to teach us some more to turn from those repeat mistakes and not even look at them again. Call it what you want. Character building perhaps. We are stubborn children. Thank GOD we have a gracious and merciful Father who LOVES His children. 
Just like a relationship where we commit ourselves and trust them to care for us and our hearts so must we be ALL in to what God has in store for us. And when we do. How much more can He do? 

Good Character is never built on good intentions. Good Character is built on doing something about it. 

If we trust in the Lord. And commit all we do. HE will help us. HE will guide us. It may not be what we had in mind. Lord KNOWS my life has NOT gone the way I wanted. As I have gotten older and matured I can see ever time God tried to redirect me. Tried to get me to pay attention to the long way around, the cliff I was about to walk off of. In my stubbornness and frankly disobedience I made things harder on myself. And if I could change anything would I? I heard someone once say that the desire to change your past means you live with regret. I think I will have to disagree. My "regret" is that IF I had obeyed God what would have been different? Would I be further in my walk? Ministry? And life? I do not have that answer. HE knew I would do this and He is still there. Ready for me to give it over to Him. I desire to. I want to. And I need to. There are days it is a every minute conscience decision to do so. And that is A-OKAY. If that is what it takes to reach my destination. I will commit to that. I will Commit to the Lord Everything.
We are children of the Most High. As we enter into this season of rejoicing let us also reflect on the greatest Gift we have ever been given. And the free will that He instilled in us to choose His ways. To choose to commit to Him. How Great He IS!

How Great is Our God

Fruit of the Spirit- JOY

Galatians Continued.
JOY

It is a joy for the just to do justice, but destruction will come to the workers of iniquity. Proverbs 21:15

Breaking God's law never produced lasting joy. Neither does selfishly seeking ones own pleasures. They feel good for a time but deep down we have zero joy and a sense that something is missing. Always looking for the next best thing.
 James says we can have joy even in trials. Because we do not face them alone. God will see us through. Brothers and Sister are there to pray and help. The Church. .The BODY of Christ is there. Or at least they are supposed to be. (Be the Church) Back on topic.
 Joy is realizing that God loves us and wants to give good things to His Children (EHEM. Salvation, Peace, Grace, Etc. ) It is our delighted response to the fact that we have been given  precious truth and understanding. Which NOT everyone gets. Soak that in.
There are people that can't comprehend the JOY of the Lord. (We should show them)
We have joy that comes through the Holy Spirit and following His ways leads to contentment. Allows us to be optimistic when we look towards the future. When we demonstrate joy we are actively showing where our priorities are. Paul says REJOICE 16 times while in prison. The source of joyous contentment is rooted in Jesus Our Savior.

I am joyful. There are days that are not 'great' but I still have joy. I let go of what ever trouble comes and remember that the Joy of the Lord is my strength.  He has given me great gifts. They are not things. They are people. He uses people in my life to keep me focuses and remind me HOW GOOD HE IS. My Beloved shocks me every day. And I know that God gives him those words. And it gives me great JOY and even Peace. Be glad Children of the most high. We stand secure on the mountain heights and He makes our way perfect.

Be Blessed.

Fruit of the Spirit- LOVE

Galatians 5: 22-23

 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!



 Love is a many splendored thing. Love is like oxygen. Love usually refers to feelings. Love for God. Love for people close to you. Friends and Family. Love has levels. There are different types of Love. 

Eros- The kind you feel for a significant other. Or a lover. It is a romantic king of love. 

Philia- A friend kind. When there is not 'attraction' Love for Neighbors. It is where they got the name for Philadelphia-  


Storge- It is similar to Philia but it is like a kinship. It often flows between a parent/ child and child /parent.

Ludus-  The early stages of falling in love. The fluttering heart, euphoric feeling when you are with someone.

Mania- OBSESSIVE- This.. is not really the good kind. It is an imbalance of eros and ludus. It can be dangerous is not kept in check. Codependency, jealousy, people with poor self esteem can head in this direction. 

Pragma- Enduring Love.  This one. It is aged. Mature. Develops over time. It is beyond the physical, it transcends casual. It is unique harmony. Long time friends and long time spouses get this. Compromise, patience, tolerance. It is the kind of Love I know I dreamed of. As I am sure many have. 

Philautia- Self Love. This is narcissism. An unhealthy vanity.

Agape- Self-LESS Love. An unconditional love. Spiritual Love. Boundless Compassion. An infinite empathy.  Jesus' kind of love. 

Jesus said the most important thing was to Love God and Love Others.

Matthew 22: 36-40

“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

In 1 John it says He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

As we put down old self and take on His-Self. I choose to start with Love. When the bible speaks of love it has more to do with what we do. It's an action. Works. We may not like the person but we can love them thru the eyes of Christ. Loving the unlovable is not easy but we must do so. 

I am going thru the fruits of the spirit. And this seems very basic at times. I have been a christian since I was 16. And well I am 44 now. But there are times I am not loving others. If someone looks sketchy or scares me. If someone is ugly to my family. If someone cuts me off in traffic. Says something rude at the store. WHAT is my reaction? DO I LOVE THEM? 

It is easy for me to GIVE to others. I am all for donating time, energy and things. I am extremely compassion to others. I am empathetic to people. But Do I LOVE THEM. Jesus said to. He even went as far as to say to LOVE YOUR ENEMIES. Oh that is a hard one. How do you love someone that is your enemy?

This is HARD. BUT I have to look at the FACT. That I was unlovable at one time. Because of sin I was unlovable. BUT GOD with His Offer of Grace and Mercy made me lovable. So How can I NOT do the same for others.

Bless you! May His Light and Love SHINE on you! 

#JesusSaidLOVE

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#KingdomXmas
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#KingdomBusiness

Kingdom Christmas Lights

Why Kingdom Ministries

Kingdom Roof and Fence

If you live in the Houston area. I am part of a ministry that promotes Christian Businesses.  Roofing, Fencing AND Installing Christmas Lights. All companies give back to ministry. And it is something my heart is fully for. It is tied in with a mentoring program and gives men jobs. We have done our men a huge disservice with the emasculating them at home, and in the workplace. I am BIG on a MAN taking his place in the home and work place. Being WHO and WHAT God intended on him to be!  SO with that said. 1. If you need services contact the links. 2. If you know of someone who needs a job, contact the links. 3. If you know someone that needs a mentor, : ) Contact the links. And 4.. most importantly #1. Please pray for our team as we step out in faith for HIS Glory. 

#KingdomRoof  #KingdomXmas #AskWHYKingdom #KingdomBusiness

​

Missing you as much today as yesterday.

When I think back 1 year today. The last conversation. The last smile . It hurts. More than I thought it would . I wonder what would have been. There is so much you missed in this last year. I want to hear your jokes and sit down and hear what you have to say about this and that. But for some reason. God needed you there. And we have had to adjust to you being gone. Which isn't easy.

Thank you Daddy. Thank you for giving me a sense of humor. Thank you for saying the hard things. And thank you for padding the even harder ones.

Thank you for being there for me when I had no where else to turn. And knowing when I just needed to break down. Thank you for showing me that God was not in a box. HE was not a slot machine to get things from. Thank you for encouraging me to grow in spirit and truth. 

Thank you for making the kids remember lollipops and balloon animals. And thank you for making such an impact that they ask for you and talk about you.

Thank you for always saying "I deserve" to be treated like a queen. Thank you for making me see the value that God sees in me. Thank you for encouraging me to step out of my comfort zone and sing; to go for this or that job; for buckling down and DOING instead of watching on the outside.

Thank you for being an awesome father and grandfather. Thank you for being my friend and even more so my dad. You did not have to be. You chose to be. You may know now what and how much you made a difference in our lives. When I think of the word DAD I think of you. 

Thank you for having fun with us. Teaching me how to kick a football. How to cook crazy things. How to pick a great beer. Fish. And make the best out of little. 

Thank you for the practical jokes. And stories of Crazy old days. Thank you for SHOWING us how to live.

I pray that you can look down on me now and say. That is my daughter. And I am so very proud.

I miss you Daddy. 

I love you. 

And I am so blessed because of you. I know where you are now and it gives me peace.

Detox

“Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind”  Psalm 26:2


There comes a time when reflection and taking into account your soul is completely needed. The Jewish people do this once a year for Yom Kipur. The Muslims do this during Ramadan. But the Christian. We are to do it much more often. If you go to a church that serves communion it is supposed to be done prior to receiving. Some churches do it once a quarter. OH how we have boxed God. (this may be for another time). If you are really up on your spiritual heart you may do this daily.  In preparation for a fast (which I will not tell you when NOR how long) I am thinking about how to prepare myself for this. I will confess I have not fasted in many years. It does not mean I don't have a great relationship with Jesus. I just have not felt it needed. But as I prepare. Mentally. Physically. Emotionally. And Spiritually. I have been thinking about how to prepare myself. 

Detoxing my soul. 


The Heart.

God's word say the heart is the most deceitful. So I started reflecting on my heart. Asking Him to show me where I am may be harboring unforgiveness. Thinking on resentments that I may or may not have. Have I let go of things and allowed God to 'have it'? Vengeance IS HIS. Is there anyone in my life that I think about and it brings anger in? And it has caused me to think about how to LOVE my enemy. How do you love an enemy that would want nothing more than to see you dead? HOW did David do it? Sitting there in a cave with Saul right there. And yet he did not kill him. He remembered who God was. And what he commanded us to do. LOVE.  I don't wish ill on people that have harmed me. That is easy. I don't care for them to be apart of my life .. that to is easy. I can forgive the harm they caused. BUT can I say I love them? Can I say I pray for them? No. I have to confess. I do not. Today. I had to tell God. I do NOT know how to love that particular enemy. I am unable to pray for GOOD for that enemy.  I am unable, in my flesh, to pray FOR that enemy.  I am hoping, along with the reason I am fasting, for God to reveal this to me.  Cleanse my heart Oh Lord. And renew in me the RIGHT SPIRIT.

The Eyes.

“Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways” (Psalm 119:37).

We are all guilty of this. Looking at things. Looking at things that do not matter. Not being productive. Binging on TV, Movies,  Games, Internet. Being Bored because there is nothing on.  
How can I focus on God or hear Him if I am too busy checking Facebook or watching a movie I have seen 100 times? AM I being productive in my family, in my relationships and in my relationship with my Lord Jesus?

MY Words.

"Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone" Colossians 4:6

The tongue is a double edged sword used to build up or tear down. Are my words edifying? Or are my words destroying?  Do I let unwholesome talk take over? It takes 7 positive things to get rid of 1 negative thing. We can destroy a child or person so quickly. And they may never recover. Words are powerful. We SPEAK the name of Jesus and demons flee. We speak healing and prayer and the heavens move. Our WORDS.  Our words have so much power. We must keep them in check. 

Actions.

“Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it” (Psalm 34:14).

Doing. Am I doing good? Am I seeking peace? Can someone look and see my life and says HER actions are Jesus' actions? 

ACTIONS speak Louder than words. 

I want my words and my actions to line up totally and with the things of Christ. I never want anyone to question my motives, my words NOR my actions. I strive for this. My character longs for this.  Be doers of the word.

Love. Serve. And Forgive. As I prepare myself I know where I lack. And through CHRIST!!! I LACK NOTHING. My flesh may fail, my spirit may grow weak BUT GOD remains the strength of my heart. HE is my portion forever. My soul longs for HIS ways. 

Go in Peace Child of God. He will be your Light under your feet. HE will whisper to you. Sing over you. Dance at the thought of you. You are loved. Rest in HIS love, mercy and grace.

Peace.

Jesus. The Light of the World. For All.

Isaiah 49: 6-7

The Lord has honored me,
    and my God has given me strength.
 He says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me.
    I will make you a light to the Gentiles,
    and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

 The Lord, the Redeemer
    and Holy One of Israel,
says to the one who is despised and rejected by the nations,
    to the one who is the servant of rulers:
“Kings will stand at attention when you pass by.
    Princes will also bow low
because of the Lord, the faithful one,
    the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

And just like that Isaiah received the prophecies about Jesus The Christ. WHAT an amazing reminder that Jesus was not ---IS NOT -- and was never meant to be JUST for the Jewish people. That all along God had His Plan set forth for us. 

Thank you! 

Thy Word