Chapter 29: Lord ,Lift Me Out of My Past

Lety i think you planned for me to get this chapter on purpose lol. This is so funny because this week i have been really working on my self and getting over my fears and how my past has hindered me in so many ways .This is not a proud moment but in the midst of working in Chicago and school in Michigan ( three hours apart) i haven't been to church since new years eve. But thank God , i found a job in Michigan and finally got an apartment here. This last weekend was one of the first weekends i have ever been in Lansing  without any distraction from work, school or family so i decided to step out to visit the town with one of my Sorority sisters who took me to a housewarming. At the house warming one of my frat brothers came to me and asked me what my religion was an i told him i was a christian. Usually i have a mean and intimidating face on that guys do not even come close lol. So i looked up and smiled and asked why he replied  i will like to invite you to church and to breakfast after, honestly i taught it was very creepy but i said sure because i haven't been to church in a while (and hello free food) lol. On Sunday i went to church  and the pastors word was about returning to your past . I sat in the pews and  i said to my self " what the frenchtoast is this brother talking about" why would you go back to a past that makes you weep or makes you feel horrible?  So i sat back and tried to see where  he was going with this.Honestly i almost got up and left  and said in my head was this is bull crap. Why would God want you to suffer? i had all these taught running through my head .But i stayed strong and sat back to listen to him.Ladies this is one of the most powerful word i have ever heard in my whole life. IT GOT REAL.  He quoted his scripture from Genesis 16:7-16. My sisters  "YOUR PAIN DO NOT CHANGE GOD'S PLANS. i do not even know how to express my self now i wish each one of us was there to hear this man preach. I know day by day we always say what doesnt kill you makes you stronger an  and we need to move on from our past and think about the future but can you believe sometimes God put us through our hard times and horrible past?  often times i screamed i cried i wept and asked why me lord ? i have been nothing but good to you and kind to everyone else. God has a purpose for each one of us and past or unpleasant experiences draws us nearer and nearer to him.Sometimes he has t o break you down to bring you back up and make you stronger.

 My heart has been heavy for sometime and i have slightly turn from a very nice sweet person to almost vague and very mean lately.  I have let my past whether it being my dad dying on my 12th birthday, my heart being broken so many times, people i called friends walking all over me and my step fathers death three weeks  just to name a few ,had the best of me. I have lost hope in so many things and my trust level has just been the worst. I can keep going and going but after that sermon i went straight to the alter and requested a prayer for a sense of direction in life and change my perspective of life after the sermon.And i will like each one of you to remind me in your prayers to help me with in this journey.

I will like to conclude my blog post with something Stormie stated in this chapter. She stated that if we live with our past it reflects on us. Its true because i have always had negative energy, i was always tired , i was  always on defense mood ready to attack and i just looked angry all the time  i was sick  my pressure was high, i lost all the weight  and even got diagnosed with insomnia . It was horrible that sometimes when i fell asleep my heart will beat and i will wake up and cry for no reason. I asked my frat brother later why he invited me to church and he told  me because i look like i am going through things and i probably taught he was trying to hit on me but that was not the case, he  just knew what the tittle of the sermon so he was glad i woke up (well he called me fifty times) to come to church and did not leave or hold back to seek a for help from GOD.

I thank God for the positive people around my life now, the advice the support, the encouragement to do good because i probably would have been suicidal by now.Just a word of advice everything happens for a reason and all our mishaps and pain gets us closer to him because when one door close many others open and if you do not think no doors are opening be patient because he has a big plan for you. There is no shallow way in life you have to go trough the narrow path.

i will like to end my blog by posing this question to you all. is it worth it to revisit your past to seek closure or work things out ? How do you know Gods wants you to purse that type of past ?


Love you all and i love deeper levelZ , Lety in the midst of your busy life i really appreciate you keeping your grind and making this book club work. It was rocky at the beginning but it turned out great. i want to thank everyone for pushing each other being accountable for each other whether it being sending reminders to post or even giving advice or commenting or calling to check other and being very open and honest.

Lord, Change Me in the Likeness of Christ

I could have never guessed where she was going with her introductory story .. funny, yet so true, of how many times we still choose our flesh will to be done instead of His!
I think the "Lord, change me prayer" is indeed frightening, if not the reason behind people staying away from God, in fear of being asked to give up things that they might not be ready to give up. I do not think that anyone is ever ready, yet still able to give up whatever is required (Matt 19:26).

Being more like Christ has been in my prayers lately (to be able to reflect God for people around me to know that He is real, to be able to do His will, for His desires to become min) but just not in details like Stormie puts it. The way I feel might be lacking the most out of the seven in my walk with Christ would be obedience (although i know that obedienceis greater  than sacrifice itself (1Sam15:22). I'd say it is mostly due to the inability to being sensitive to God's voice, the inability to discern between His will and mine.  Please keep me in mind for your prayers, I want to be able to be fully obedient!
Which do you feel you need to work on the most? I shall keep you in my prayers

BeBlessed!

Chapter 27: Lord, Transform Me into a Woman of Mountain-Moving Faith

Hebrews 11:6 says without faith, it's impossible to please the Lord.  That's just how much God wants us to trust Him and faith in Him.  I think this section on faith was perfectly placed right after the chapter on the words that we speak. The bible says out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45).  I love the story of the Shunammite woman in 2 Kings 4:8-37.  I believe that it was her faith in action that made is such that when people asked her if there was a problem (v23, v26), her response was "it is well".  I believe that an impediment to walking by faith can be the Martha spirit of "I got it under control" instead of relying on Christ.  Just like we believe God for money, good grades, etc... He wants us to have faith about a wayward loved one, faith about a change in our hearts, etc!

What are some things that you're in faith for (that you don't mind sharing)?

Lord train me to speak only words that bring life "chapter 26"

I believe that the tongue is very powerful, it can either bless or curse. The way I think of it is by looking at our parents (specially us Africans) whenever they say something to us and we don't listen to it most of the times it comes to pass because, not just because they are our parents but also because they our gods on earth and the ground we step on we can curse it. When I read this chapter I felt like Stormie was talking to me because I know how my mouth can be disastrous at times.  I have a friend who always tells me that whenever I get mad I should never speak I should always make sure my mouth is shut because I have no mercy upon anyone when I am mad. Which is true, I don't like getting mad, I barely get mad but when I do I spit fire. Its funny because right before I read the chapter I was suppose to be travelling and I missed my train of course I was mad and given that the guy I was talking to at the reception completely ignored me when I was talking to him made me even more mad. So I left and went to the next window and the lady was even worse she was rude and talking to me any how. In my mind I kept telling myself just keep quite, don't say a word even if they annoy you. I know the lady knew I was mad but I was trying to keep myself calm and at some point she was even laughing. So I decided to just change the tickets and leave. when I got in the train I opened the chapter and that's what it was talking about taming our mouths, in a way I was like wow God has ways to talk to us. Usually I would just give that lady the same treatment and be rude to her as well but instead I didn't. This chapter made me understand that our mouth was not made to speak against but made to speak for or with love. One the verses that Stormie discusses is actually a verse that I really like Matthew 12:34, which I always tell people that whatever you say to me whether you are joking or not it means that your heart feels that , and that is why your mouth has spoken about.  It was by words that  God himself was able to  establish the world. The bible says that he said let there be light and there was light. The bible also tells us I believe in Matthews that he has given us power that if we speak to mountain to move the mountain shall move. Therefore my sister I believe that we can make better use of this treasure that God has given us, put it to better use, says words of blessings and see the difference. One thing that really touched my heart was when Stormie prayed that God reveals to her all the sins that she didn't remember ever doing to people. I realized that it's something that I want to do, because as humans we are bound to step on each others toes but we never know how the other person truly feels and if God reveals it to us and we find the person and we ask for forgiveness I think it will be the best thing that can happen in our Godly journey. A woman with wisdom always speaks less. I've been learning about this in my church and it's so true because the more you talk the more doors you open for people to judge you. If you think about very intelligent people always speak the least and listen more. SO FROM NOW ON FORWARD I PRAY THAT MY MOUTH WILL BE PUT TO BETTER USE. I SHALL SPEAK NOTHING BUT GOOD THINGS, I WILL SAY WORDS THAT WILL BRING LIFE, LOVE, AND BLESSING AND I WILL BE A LISTENER AND NOT A TALKER.

BE BLESSED....

Chapter 25: Lord, use me to touch the lives of others.

          I can honestly say that this chapter speaks to me in great volumes. It has been a specific prayer of mine for a long time until God put on my heart to create S.A.V.E.D. I always loved God, but I very recently started my walk and taking my relationship with Him seriously about a year ago. I would go to church, do my devotions, read outside sources but I felt like there was something missing. 

          Stormie brings up a great point at the end of the chapter when she says,"If you love God, you will love people and it will motivate you to do whatever you can to help them". Often times we think we don't have the means to help others in addition to our own responsibilities but we overlook the simple fact that a PRAYER is worth more than any amount of material thing. Yes,there are needs like food, clothes, etc that must be fulfilled but prayer to the one who created and provides it all is worth so much more. Not only is your service or prayer helping your brother and sister in Christ, but it is also a form of gratitude to God. (2 Corinthians 9:12). As you continue to bless others in your life, God will use that to bless you even more. 

        Another point that was brought to my attention in this chapter was the fact that she mentioned "We can never move into all God has for us until we first move into intercessory prayer". I can definitely say I'm guilty of getting so caught up in praying for my personal needs that I forget to pray for others. I can't move forward in my spiritual life if I don't put others before me. Sometimes you just need to put your own needs aside and pray for others, then its amazing to see what you wanted for yourself gets answered before you even ask. "We release the flow of God's blessing TO us by letting them flow THROUGH us". So I want to challenge you ladies! :-) Regardless of what you're going through or dealing with this week, lets pray hard for someone else that we know is in need and as always I will be praying for all of you as well. Love you dearly, have a great rest of your week!

         

Chapter 24: Lord, Free Me From Ungodly Fear

Growing up, a passage that has gotten so engraved in my mind from my mother repeating it to me and having me memorize it is 2 Timothy 1:7 "for God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, love and of sound mind". Today if you ask people what is your greatest fear very few people will say that they have no fear and the people that do are not necessarily saying it because they so much trust God but because they want to appear fearless before man. My response to the question has always been that i am afraid of failing in life and i am afraid of not being loved. But from a relationship with God i realize that it is impossible for me and any child of God not to be loved because we have a father and friend that loved us sooooo much that he gave up his position as king just to come and suffer as a common slave and die on our behalf. That quality of love can not be replicated ("Like a rose trampled on the ground, you took the fall and thought of me, Above all!"). Its funny that my standard of love was based on man and i, like so many, neglect the fact that i am forever promised a love that is greater than any man can ever offer. Understanding this love also helps alleviate my second fear because a God that loves me that much could never and would never allow me to become a failure unless i simply push Him out of every area of my life.


What has been your fear growing up and how has your growing relationship with God helped alleviate that fear?

p.s This just gave me something to tell my dad when he complains that i watch movies and shows instead of watching the news lol. The news instills too much fear in people because  people especially parents start fearing that living in certain areas will cause you to get shot because its dangerous; or going on a cruise will lead to your death because of all the ships sinking; or travelling certain places like Nigeria will lead to kidnapping all because of what they see on the news. As parents of course it is only natural to be afraid for your child and concerned about their well being but sometimes what we as humans forget is that the PRESENCE of all this FEAR is the ABSENCE of FAITH. The truth of the matter is this world is a dangerous place and anything can happen anytime anywhere. We are not alive today because we live in the safest neighborhoods or drive the safest cars or never travel. We are alive and well unlike many people who die doing the same things we do everyday simply because we are under the protection of the Most High. There will always be something to fear, just turn on the news and every death, explosion, countless of unexpected accidents and disasters will show you that there is  always something to be afraid of but there is no need fearing something you can not change; all you can do is put your trust in the one person that can deliver you from all these things!

Has anyone else ever found  it difficult to fear God because we are sometimes so focused on the love aspect? "O how He loves us, He is so merciful and His grace is ALWAYS sufficient unto us, He always wants the best for us" This is typically the only way we think of God. What helps balance this mentality is realizing that just like He is all powerful to bring us all the wonderful things His hand has ever created, He is also all powerful to allow evil to come to us just like he does when defending us from our enemies. Just like He is a God of love He is Also a God of war, we only wish never to see the war aspect unless He is fighting on our behalf. But it is important to know that when it comes to God fear and love go hand in hand. We do not want to obey God simply out of fear because He holds the whole world world in His hand and can bring anything to happen either to us or for us. Instead we want to always want to please Him because we love Him so much and would never want to do anything that is displeasing to Him or cause Him to be disappointed in us (I am still learning this).

Hope you are all blessed by this chapter.
I Pray that everyone in the Boston area and their families are all safe and well ~plz pray for Boston.

<Testimony: I was actually suppose to be at the marathon all day for work but i got a phone call Sunday afternoon changing my plans. God def has a reason for everything so lets strive never to question Him and always to trust Him. I thank god for He loves me more than i could EVER deserve!>

Have a wonderful week everyone
L&B Abbie E. <3

CHAPTER 23 :LORD HEAL ME AND HELP ME CARE FOR MY BODY

This is a very great chapter  for us ladies to enlighten us about our health.Any one that know me knows that i live for health  and  i often come of as annoying in daily life .Even when i am outside work , the public health in me still comes out. But without God our health is nothing. He created our bodies and gave it life to function. Many at times do you go to the hospital and the doctor diagnose of whatever disease  but at the end of  the day just know God has its purpose for you. Whatever the case it is , get down on your knees and pray for healing and i bet you he got your back.

The body however is a temple of God, so we need to maintain it . Ladies just like our homes we need to make  sure we are clean, get enough sleep and  do our  check ups. I know i often get on peoples  case on this but get your annual well woman exams to screen for cervical cancer, breast cancer and all those good stuff. I am not the healthiest eater but i strive to eat proportioned. Take a walk or two sometime or hit the gym. You do no necessarily have to do intensive workouts you can take a dancing class or swim a lap or just play some music at home and get it cracking ( i do that often ,don't judge me). Get up and switch the TV Chanel sometimes instead of  the remote it helps, walk around when u get a phone call. All this count. As you can tell this is my field so i can keep going and going . But the moral of the story is that  there is no Doctor bigger than God and also Our Bodies  are  the Temple of God so  lets make sure we treat as such.

Have a Blessed week . Love y'all!

Chapter 22 - Lord, enable me to resist the temptation to sin

This chapter very much reminded me of a blog I recently read (http://www.setapartgrl.com/2013/03/sex-happens-before-our-panties-come-off.html), except it is specific to sexual temptation.

Two things I learned in this chapter:

-we easily succumb to temptation because we are not walking according to God's will - we are at the wrong place at the wrong time

-everyone gets tempted, yet our reaction to temptation tells us that we are either living to our sinful desires or living to please God.

These two statements above are related (in my opinion at least) because once you please God, you are more likely to act according to His will and less likely to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, and as a result, less likely to succumb to temptation. However, that does not mean that we will never be tempted! So always be prepared for temptation, by praying daily to stand firm, just like Christ has taught and told us.

So reading this chapter, I kept wondering, why is sexual temptation/adultery the most attacked temptation/sin? As in why does it compromise our future, the most, by robbing us of all good things God has for us? I mean lying is a sin, which can be used to tempt us, yet it is barely mentioned in temptation topics.

Anyone knows why!!?

Chapter 21: Lord, Comfort me in Times of Trouble

Heeeelloooo pretty ladies!! And Happy Spring!  Can you believe we're almost done?!  Just 9 more chapters to go.  This book has been a blessing in terms of showing me what I should pray for and teaching me about God's promises.  While many of the chapters may not apply to us directly in the season that we are in, they're definitely good to bookmark for the future when we come across challenges. 

Chapter 21 is like that for me.  Bad times will come to each of us (and I'm confident that we have already experienced some in our 20-something years of life).  James 1:2 NKJ says "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials"... so that when lets us know that just a matter of time.  What a great reminder this chapter was in that beyond the dark clouds there's a place of peace.  No matter what God is ready and available to comfort us and to help us.  I love verses 3 and 4 of James 1, which lets us know that the tough times produces patience and patience is having its perfect work within us during these times. 

If you're going through a tough situation right now, know that God has not forgotten you and He is there to comfort you and will see you through.  If all is roses right now, still arm yourself with the word of God for when the tough times come. I know that's what I need to focus on. 

Love you all XOXOX

~Lety

Lord Let Me Free From Negative Emotions Capt 20

“…All things are possible to anyone who believes and obeys God….But we have to pray” This chapter has just spoken to me because I have been in position where there is so much going in on in my life that I have not time to pray and I just feel as if God has forsaken me at that moment. But I always forget is that God works best when we are in hard situations and still pray, because as humans we tend to shown away from his face, isolate ourselves, be discouraged and depressed. Look at it this way: if we have a friend that we cannot talk to in the hard moments then that friend is not a friend to us therefore you need to change that. The same applies to God, he is our friend of friends, the one who no matter how much the world hates and forsakes us will always be there, and if we are not able to talk to God then who will we talk to? Then that means that God is not our friend. I always tell myself if I can’t change my friends then I must change my friends. One thing that Stormie spoke about is being content in the state that you are in life. I think that in my entire life there was only one situation where I felt uncomfortable with a situation I was in. I found myself complaining about not being able to graduate soon and constantly looked at my people I graduated high school and the position they were in and I always compared myself to others specially my close friends. After I realized that my complaints only delayed me from reaching my goals and I had to accept that God does things his own way and that if I continue on that path I was going to block away so many blessings in my life. Every time I thought that this is it I am going to graduate this year or next semester something always came up and I never did. As soon as I let God finish what he has started and said LET THY WILL BE DONE ONTO MY LIFE, I didn’t have to move a finger things just fell onto places like it was nothing. I am now graduating in May, the thing was I wasn’t even certain that I was going to graduate, but then later everything started happening opposite of what my mind believed. I believe it happened that way because I had accepted it and learned to live comfortably in that position, therefore God turn the tables for me. Stormie gives us 7 ways to get free from negative emotions and without noticing sometimes we do actually carry those traits. I for example my struggle is when I get irritated which I noticed it is a VERY BAD habit and even my reverend is telling me to change. I know I don’t get mad but  when I am irritated I don’t care who  you are you will get a SHARP MOUTH response from me specially if you say the wrong thing to me. And one thing a lot of people have told is that “... If Lucia is upset everyone gets upset” that is one of the examples Stormie said in the chapter. So I will be working one these steps:

1. Refuse to be anxious because anxiety shows that we don’t trust that God can take care of us. We just need to pray about.

2. Refuse to be ruled by anger because it opens doors to sin and the devil. It shuts off all God has for us therefore we need to flee from it if we want all that He has for us to flow.

3. Refuse to be dissatisfied because it makes us miserable.

4. Refuse to be envious because it makes your life miserable.

5. Refuse to be depressed because God doesn’t want us to accept this as a way of life.

6. Refuse to be bitter because it takes hold of our lives and cuts off the blessings of God.

7. Refuse to be hopeless because it is death to our souls.

So I will ask you guys to just keep me on your prayers I know it may sound silly but I really want to work on that and I know that prayers can help.

Sorry for the delay and Stay Blessed Ladies Love Y’all.

Chapter 19: Lord Deliver Me From Every Evil Work

     Reading this chapter, the overall message I received was that you can never do anything on your own, whether it be overcoming obstacles, being delivered from addictions/strongholds/soul-ties or anything else, you need God's strength. Whatever it may be, I should always bring it up to God first.We may think we're strong enough to do certain things, but that feeling has a source, which is God and that was the point of His son dying for us; Galatians 1:4 says Jesus "gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father". Now why would we try to do something on our own when there is one who's job is specifically to help us through it?
       God wants us free from anything that will distract our path towards or distance our relationship with Him. He's jealous for our love and paid the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that we belonged to Him wholeheartedly, why not honor Him for His sacrifice with a simple prayer for deliverance. I never really thought about it but its really as simple as recognizing what you need to be free from, and praying to God that He releases you from it (with faith of course). Its always good to have an accountability partner however, to make sure you remember to pray for that particular thing youre struggling with and also to pray for and with you; there's strength in numbers! The prayer at the end of the chapter spoke volumes to me and it was a bit of a wake-up call for certain apprehensive feelings I have been experiencing recently. I ask that you all please pray for my deliverance from certain obstacles Im facing at the moment, as I will surely be praying for you. I love you all dearly, have a great rest of the week. xox
   

   

PRAYER REQUEST

My lovely sisters ,
I seek your help in prayers. Lately i get nervous about every little thing , my heart beats when i even get a phone call . This is not me at all . Everyone that knows me know i am  very confident , not shy ,and speaks up freely . I have a set of interviews coming up and i want you all to extend your hand for me in prayer to conquer any spirit of nervousness and fear and equip me with confidence and wisdom to  claim these jobs if it by the will of  God.  The devil is a liar. Thank you all in advance . Hope you all are having a great week.  God Bless y'all.

Chapter 18: Lord, Give Me Wisdom To Make Right Decisions

Hey Ladies, i hope we are doing well and this new month promises to be e bright one for everyone as begin and live everyday with God.

I found this chapter very relevant because we need wisdom in everything that we do. As Stormie says, in order to get wisdom we must ask it from the giver of all wisdom. Sometimes our ego as humans leads us to believe that we know more than we actually do but in reality, like Stormie realized, only God is all knowing. The phrase that i most identified with and determined to pay more attention to in my own life is "it's easier to see lack of wisdom in others than it is to see it in ourselves" I don't know about other people but there are so many times that i watch movies and i end up yelling at a character on the screen not to do something because looking from the outside in i see what the outcome of their actions will be. Unfortunately they do not know that i exist or that am there and therefor can not head to my warnings. This same scene i imagine is what God sees when he yells at us not to make certain decisions because he is all knowing and sees the outcome of every decision even before we make them. But unlike the characters that i yell at in movies, we as Christians know that God exists and is always trying to warn us and direct us in the decisions that we make but we can not see the decisions that he wants us to make if we do not ask Him for wisdom and the spirit of discernment. As this book has truly taught us so far, the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom so in order to have wisdom we must FIRST Fear God before we can acquire wisdom.

My prayer is that God will help us everyday live our lives in fear of Him and that we will seek His wisdom in everything that we do and do it all by His guidance and not based on our sight.

Truly Blessed and Loved Beloveds!

Putting Into Practice What We've Learned

Hey loves,

I thought this was a great post on putting into practice the Word that we have heard...  Very beneficial for what we do with this book and blog and even the Word we receive at church, etc..

http://purposedriven.com/blogs/dailyhope/index.html?contentid=12484

Chapter 17-Lord Protect me and All I Care About

Lord Protect me and All I Care About. This is a short but very powerful chapter. Reading this chapter made me realize that there is so much we take for granted and not necessarily praising God for. Let’s reflect for a second ladies, just think for a second about the last five years, think about everybody you came in contact with or knew, now think for another second are we here with all these people? Now for another second think about the news and think about every incident reported, whether it being wars, deaths, shooting , natural disasters and what not . Ladies do you see where am going with this? Count how many times you taught it was it and you screamed or said to your self “in the name of Jesus” or my favorite saying “it will not be my portion today God” and nothing happened? This is because God protect us and answers our prayers instantly in times of Crisis .We should consider our selves very lucky and thank the POWER and BLOOD of GOD for the protection he send his Guardian Angels to do for us.

God is great and he works in so many mysterious ways. There are many instance things could have happened to us but he protected each one of us from it. God forbid but there were times where you saw your whole life flash in front of you just like Stormie but BABA GOD came to our rescue. Guys as funny as it may sound and you have all rights to laugh because I laughed my self and like Vanessa always say Nana why does things like this always happen to you. Good question only if I knew the answer. Two Saturdays ago Chicago had a series of weather changes it snowed, it got really cold, it rained and t it got really slippery and looked like an ice ring outside. On my way to visit a good friend of mine and her children I slipped from the top of the stairs outside flew up up in the air and landed on the bottom of the stairs extra hard on my posterior ( oh it really hurts and I am still paying the price). Ladies am not exaggerating I tried to get up and something pulled me back, so I sat right back and reflected for a second and said God please help me .So I tried a second time and I got up even though it my spine and  bum was in massive pain. I put a smile on my face and said Thank you Lord and walked carefully for the rest of my journey. To cut the long story short, the next day I went to braid my hair and the braider shared a sad story with me about how a Togolese man was pronounced dead the night before from slipping from the stairs. I shared my funny but serious fall with my sister as well, she told me to consider my self lucky and how years back a friend’s mum slipped in the snow as well and lost her memory. This could have been me y’all but God with his power did not let it be my portion. We need to thank him everyday. Like the book said part of being protected by God has to do with obeying and living in his will.. I for one know am guilty and take things for granted but reading this has been an eye opener for me to Thank and walk in his will more so should all of us.

 

I will like to end my post today with the bible versus Stormie stated “The fear of LORD is a fountain of life, to turn one way from the snare of death” (Proverbs 14:26-27). And always remember, when we have our eyes on God, He keeps and eye on us.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL CHICAS AND LOVE YALL. AND PLEASE BE CAREFUL THESE LAST FEW WEEKS OF WINTER>

Chapter 16 - Lord Keep Me in the Center of Your Will

This chapter kinda ties with Chapter 14 - Lord, Move Me into the Purpose for which I was Created). Much of this chapter also reflects the revolution occurring at my church - Revolution des Amoureux de Dieu (Revolution of God's lovers ..?); my pastor has been preaching a lot about asking and inquiring God's will at all times and that the prayer of a true lover starts with 

              " Our Father in heaven,

                  hallowed be Your name.

                  Your kingdom come,

                  Your will be done  on EARTH as it is in HEAVEN"

just like Jesus has taught us to pray. As lovers, we want to please the One we love, not ourselves; we are willing to give up our own selfish desires to fulfill His will in our lives. At times, it might not be easy (point #2) & that is when we ask Him to fill us with His love and allow us to become drunk of His love (when someone is drunk, they do things out of the ordinary, now imagine being drunk of His love!!?!)

Reading this chapter also gave me another sense of peace (in my life), especially with "killing, murdering, shooting" being very popular words in the news nowadays; I know that as long as I am walking in His will (or working on it), I am safe, for "God's will is a place of safety."

The prayer at the end was simply amazing again, from asking God to fill us with His knowledge, to letting Him know that His will, not ours, be done, to asking Him to align our hearts with His, to asking Him to direct our steps. It even concludes with "now" aka lets start aligning our lives with His will. I believe in the power of a prayer and I also believe that things are aligning themselves as each of us prayed this prayer (in the mighty name of Jesus Christ!!)

BeBlessed

Chapter 15: Lord Guide Me in All My Relationships

Who is your BFF?  That has a lot to say about you and where you are headed.  My pastor always says "hang with those who have your answers and get away from those who have your problems" to highlight the importance of who we associate with.  Those who we keep near and dear truly have an affect on us, oftentimes unsubconsciously.  It's really important that we ask God who we should have as friends and also be honest with ourselves when he reveals that to us.  Early in my college career I was talking to a guy I met through a good friend of mine.  The girl knew that I wanted to keep my virginity till I got married so she would try to convince me to just engage in oral sex with him.  This advice from her was out of good intent.  She loved me as a friend and wanted "the best" for me.  However, what the world sees as "the best" is not necessarily what God has for us.  Thank God I did not take her advice.  As hard as it was, I ended that friendship... not in a rude manner but by distancing myself.  Ending relationships/friendships that you know are not good for you are not fun or enjoyable and oftentime hurts! But it's very much necessary.  For the 1st half of my college years I didn't have any friends.  Most college students were into the party/club scene and I was really trying to live a life that was pure before God.  I spent many nights alone with no friends but all the time would pray for godly friends.  Eventually God sent them to me.  And like Stormie said, it doesn't have to be a lot of friends. Just a solid few.  

Reading this chapter made me realize that:

(1) I need to pray for the health of my friendships.  When I pray for my friends it's always for the situations that they may be facing and never for the actual health of my relationship.  My attitute was always more that: Some friendships are forever and some are seasonal.  Whenever hardships came by, I always thought that maybe my time with that friend had expired but never that it could be the devil's doing.  Some friendships are indeed seasonal so it will be important for us to know which become expired.  We need wisdom from God for that.

(2) I need to build a closer relationship with my brothers and sisters-in Christ from church. This doesn't mean that I will be extra close to all of them, but more so that I will at least have a compassionate heart towards them, pray for them, and be more friendly.  It's true that you never know what the person next to you may be going through and we have been assigned to the same house of God.  Stormie says "you will never be all that God created you to be if you are not connected to a spiritual family"... that's pretty deep!

(3) I need to pray for my old friends to be transformed.  Especially those from high school who I don't communicate much with anymore (it's been 10 years since high school... yikes!)

(4) I need widom as to which friends I should add. As I enter into marriage, I realize that I will need people that can boost me up in this area and help keep me accountable.  Also people to serve as mentors.

Sorry this was so long, guys lol.. Love you all! and HBD Vanessa!!

  I just recently found this song and I absolutely loved it, thought I should share it with you ladies. I hope it touches your heart because it touched mine.

Love,

Lucia

Lord Move Me into the Purpose for Which I was created

When I first read the title of this chapter I was so chocked because it’s exactly what I am fighting with at this moment in my life. I was very happy that I was chosen to do the post on this chapter because it gave me answers to some of my questions. Stormie in this chapter talks about: THE POWER OF PRAYING, EVERYONE HAVING A PURPOSE, KNOWING WHO WE ARE AND WHERE WHE ARE GOING, SURRENDERING OUR DREAMS, AND FINDING OUR PUROPOSES.

I never knew how powerful a prayer can actually be until recently. Starting from New Year’s Eve 2012-2013 I discovered that it’s only with prayers that we can overcome so many things in life. I always pray, but I’ve never prayed the way I am praying now, and I can see the effects of my stronger prayers. I can assure you that my faith has increased and I am no longer doubtful. When I pray for something I know that God has heard the prayer and I will get the needed response to it. When Stormie describes how she always prayed for her kids, I could totally relate to her story (NO I DON’T HAVE KIDS lol).  My mother is one of the most powerful praying woman I’ve known so far and until today the woman always enters my room in the middle of the night or early in the morning and places her hands on me while I am sleeping to pray for me and my siblings. I remember when I was younger she always told me that “You should always thank God that you are growing to know the his path, and that I discovered Jesus when you are still young to direct you to his path, I never had anyone to teach me what I am teaching you, whatever it is that I can’t give you, you know how to ask God for to provide it for you.” Today I am really glad that I have a mother that prays for me, and taught me the right direction at a young age and reading what Stormie has writing gives the motivation to pray for my kids as well. Praying for them it will be like having a separate bank account to save up for the college tuitions, its’ leaving them in a secure hands of God so their path is to go straight to where the light of God is.  At times we walk around and go by a day without any troubles or any worries, we leave our homes and forget to at least say “GOD PROTECT ME” but yet we have a good day. It’s not because of us at times but because someone somewhere has taken the time to pray for us and leave our journeys in God’s hands. I Know I am guilty of leaving the house and not saying a single word to God (BAD HABIT), but the thought of knowing that my mother never fails to pray for me gives me security and assurance that nothing can go wrong.

Stormie talks about knowing our purpose, and direction, leaving our dreams into Gods Hands. Life without God is pointless, and living by our understanding is even worse. We all have purpose in this life, and until we discover what our purpose is there is no way we can put our life to good use. Leaving our dreams and plans in Gods hand and let him do things his own way is the least we can do. During the New Years’ Eve celebration at church this year, there was something the pastor said that caught my attention. Often times when is around this time of the year we write down what “WE” want God to do for us, what we want to accomplish during the year, but the pastor said before you go on and on asking God to do this and that, how about you ask God to change your ways to become his ways? Or simply tell him to “FINISH WHAT HE HAS STARTED” God’s plans are not ours, Gods’ wills are not ours, he knows us best and he knows what’s best for us. My prayer is to find out what my purpose is, and let God do his work on me, by making me become who he has designed me to be. God can utilize anything, therefore he can utilize me, but before he utilizes me I must show him that I am loyal, faithful, and confident. Stormie says “…Insecurity is a lack of faith. And lack of faith is sin, because it signifies the lack of trust in God” There was a point in my life where I thought God was punishing and has abandoned me for something that I didn’t even know. I remember calling my cousin and cry to him, asking him what have I done to deserve all the bad things that were happening to me. Week later that phone call I was in a terrible car accident that nothing was recovered from my car. I remember right after my car flipped and I was able to get out of the car I sat on the side of the road and I looked up and I said “God why? Why this now? Isn’t it enough what I am going through” and I literally heard a voice that said “It’s because I always there” After hearing that voice I couldn’t stop crying because I knew that I doubted him even when he was there. So from that day on I try my best never to doubt God, and always keep my faith strong. I am also going to make it my duty to pray for everyone one that is my life, friends and family I will make sure that I pray for them, because we never know how much difference a single word to God can make.

Enjoy the rest of the week and don’t forget that God gave us a purpose, Find it, Use it.

Love you all,

Lucia 

Chapter 13: Lord, Preserve Me in Purity and Holiness

***By Dorcas Sami***

"Holy" seems like an intimidating word and one that is hard to become simply because as the bible tells us only God alone is holy which to me means pure in every way,  spotless, white as snow and it is  hard for us because we are sinners but then again the bible tells us that we were made by His image which make us little gods therefore it is possible for us to be holy by the grace of God. being Holy isn't a human nature but God's. In our own nature and character it is impossible to live a holy lifestyle in this world we are living but in order to become that lifestyle we first have make it our heart desire then continuously ask God to separate us from our flesh , worldly desires and from the world value system.. Our God isnt a dictator, he gives us choices and our heart's desire.  I'm gonna give you my personal example.  Lately I've been praying and making it my heart's desire that God helps me separate myself from worldly desire.  I used to go to parties in which whenever my fav songs came on I would go crazy as if there is no tomorrow but now that desire has left me.  It isn't by my own strength but by God 's grace because I've been praying for it.  Being Holy is possible if we ask God. 

Just like being able to love God and others  is a miracle, being holy is also a miracle because the bible tells us that able to love is impossible for humans but possible with God.  The same goes with being holy and pure... it is impossible and it's out of our nature especially since we are living in this corrupted world.  But a miracle can happen only if we pray and ask God to help us. 

Being holy and pure is a lifestyle not only in our tongue bt also in our actions, daily living, thoughts n all we do behind closed door.  Being holy also means living a pure lifestyle...a lifestyle nor only in our tongue but thru our actions, heart, thoughts and behind closed doors. Which means staying away from certain tv shows , magazines , sexual immoralities and thoughts that aren't feeding our spirit.  Like I said above all of this will be hard to maintain but with prayer it is possible.  Another example: like said I've praying to be disconnected from the values of this world and I was engaged in some sexual immoralities which I was thinking wasn't harming anyone or myself until the holy spirit revealed it to me.  With prayer I'm now free from it.  Just to tell you it is a hard lifestyle but with prayers it is possible to be holy and pure. It is a miracle! And for miracles to happen we need to ask God...

Once we have accepted Jesus Christ we are sanctified by his blood and we are now know longer living for ourselves but for him and we have to portrait who he is (holy) through our character and for us to do that we need to have a relationship with him and having a relationship with God will help us live a pure life give us the discernment to, recognize what is unpure in our lives and remove from it.  In order to live and maintain a pure and holy life we need to dwell in his presence!

Chapter 12: Lord, plant me so that I will bear all the fruits of Your spirit.

         When I hear or read anything that has to do with "bearing fruits", I instantly think of the fruits of the spirit listed in Galatians 5:22. Although that is a great guideline to follow on our walks with Christ, this chapter really gets into the nitty gritty details of each fruit and lists other verses besides the one in Galatians that we can refer to. Each quality is intertwines with the other and they all make very important components of how we should live our daily Christian lives (remember, our walk with God isnt a job, but a LIFESTYLE). Everyone has their own way of doing things but these pointers on how to cultivate a good crop really helped me put into perspective whether my methods were efficient or not.
          Honestly, a few fruits I need to work on protecting and watching them grow are patience and gentleness. When it comes to things that get under my skin, I tend to be a little too blunt and may not approach the situation in the nicest way. I dont realize how "mean" or "harsh" I was until after the fact. Stormie's analogy in the introductory paragraph of having to plant a seed and protect it until it is fully flourished is a great way for everyone to track their progress in a sense. We always say "I need to work on this", "Im going to fix that", but are we actually doing something about it? And when we do, are we being consistent in pushing towards the solution? What really stuck with me is the particular characteristics that I need to work but not only to pray for them once and expect them to change, but to MAKE the change and KEEP praying. Please pray in agreement with me in this particular area ladies and I hope everyone has found an accountability partner also, because having a buddy to check you when you dont notice what youre doing helps so much. As always, love you all and have a great week!

Bookclub Housekeeping

Hola chicas,

Happy Sunday!! and beginning of the 4th week in January (yikes!)  Just as a reminder, weekly posts are due on TUESDAY.  And when you are unable to post, you are to find someone who can post for you by the deadline (meaning don't ask at the last minute).  I highly recommend that you mark down on your calendars/ phone reminders/ Google calendars your due dates.  Let's keep this group running smoothly and in excellence.  This week we have Benine doing Chapter 12.

Gracias!!

~Management

Chapter 11: Lord Bless Me in The Work I Do

Salut ladies! I hope all of you are having a wonderful 2013!  I apologize for posting so late.

By reading this chapter, I felt like God and Ms. Omartian  were talking to me. It feels like a wake up call. I work at an early learning center. I love my job, my kids, my boss, and the parents. My kids are my everything right now, they make me feel beautiful and happy.  Like Ms. Martian said " When our work is good, it gives us fulfillment. When we accomplish something worthwhile that makes life better for other people...it gives us satisfaction." I love and take good care of those kids because I know how hard it is in this country to find someone who will care for your kids.

At the beginning of 2013 , I started thinking about leaving my job because it's not paying good. I want to make more money than what I'm making .  But after reading this chapter and proverbs 10, I'm rethinking quitting my job. And I know, I will not get the joy, the satisfaction, the love, the fulfillment so local

One more thing I would like to share with you ladies. I know how the feeling of hunger feels like. I remember when younger, my grandparents did not have enough money to buy food every day. So when I grew up I said to myself " I will never miss oil, onions, salt and rice in my house".

Ch. 10: Lord, Prepare Me yo Be a True Worshipper

So anyone who knows me knows that i strongly dislike medicine and refuse to take it even when doctors prescribe it and i pay a lot of money to get it. So of course i agree with the author when she talks about praising her way through depression. My mother and i were going through a magazine for natural medicines and she came across medicine for stress. Someone please explain to me how medicine can possibly help decrease stress that accumulates when one is overworked or thinks too much? Especially if the person continues to overwork themselves. Praise and worship on the other hand, even during times of stress can bring you joy and peace. This reinforces the idea that what we feed our spirit is what our character is going to display. I don't know if this is only me but has anyone ever watched a movie where the main character accomplishes something and by the end of the movie you are inspired to do something similar? or find yourself feeling in a romantic mood after watching a romance movie? The same applies to when you feed yourself spiritual food; you will find yourself displaying spiritual character.

If you are constantly listening to uplifting gospel music no matter your situation, then you will find yourself praising and worshiping God no matter your circumstance. And as we all know and as the author states, God is definitely worthy of our worship and praise and some of the reasons why He is deserving of our worship is listed for us in the book but there are many more reasons than that. Because God is worthy of our praise we have to be true worshippers and worship Him in spirit and in truth. He wants us to display our worship through our physical actions such as raising our hands, singing, dancing, and worshipping. If you think about it for all the gifts that God gives you everyday worship and praise is the only gift you can give back to Him in return. Material things mean nothing to Him because he created it all; the only thing we can offer Him is our worship and praise because for one He created us for this sole purpose and also because like humans God loves to hear people sing His praises and exalt him so why no offer Him what he loves? I pray that God helps us all to be true worshippers and worship Him in spirit and in truth by giving our all to Him starting today.

Too Blessed To Be Depressed and Too Endowed Not To Show It

You are a child of a king so make sure the whole world sees that

Much Love <3

A.E

Testing 1, 2....

Hola chicas,

HAPPY NEW YEAR to those I haven't seen yet!!  This is just a test to make sure that everyone is receiving the post.  Please reply back with a "Yay" so I know we're all getting them.  Since a couple of the members are not on Facebook, we will communicate via the wonderful blog.

We will resume our weekly reading and posting next week with Chapter 10.  As established in our Facebook convo, I will provide below the rotation schedule so everyone knows which week they will be posting.  Weekly postings are due every TUESDAY.  If you are very busy and are unable to post for your particular week, please find someone to trade with. 

Starting next week, the schedule will go as follows...

1. Abbie E.
2. Djedje M.
3. Benine M.
4. Chrystelle L.
5. Clarisse L.
6. Dorcas S.
7. Lucia 
8. Vanessa L.
9. Laetitia L.
10. Vanessa M.
11. Nana E.

When it's not your week to post, all are encouraged to read and comment on the posts... to keep the sharing, learning, and accountability going.  And like Benine posted on FB, those who want to and can totally should meet face-to-face (or to skype) to discuss!  Let's make this as interactive as possible!!

Love you all! XOXOX