We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we
take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV)
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable,
and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of
praise. (Philippians 4:8 NLT)
So I must confess that at times I can be a tad lazy when it comes to cleaning my home. This past holiday weekend
was filled with days of sleeping in and hanging with friends, so cleaning was NOT at the top of my list.
By Monday, my kitchen sink and trash was piling high with leftovers. When I walked in my home, I was
overwhelmed by the smell; something was in the trash with a strong scent. Ugh, “Gotta remember to take the trash
out”, I thought. However, the trash bag really wasn’t full and I have this thing where I feel like I'm wasting a trash
bag if I throw it out and it's only half full. I'd rather it get to the "almost spilling over" top before taking it out so I
know I got full use of the trash bag. Crazy, I know. Either way instead of immediately taking out the trash, even though
it was a slight smell, I let 2 more days pile up, yep to the tip top, and then I finally took it out.
That same night, God spoke to me in my dreams. "That's how your mind works. You fill it with negative, ungodly and
unpure thoughts which are like garbage, and just like the trash can, the more you pile on the stronger the smell.
Pretty soon the scent can overpower your home, get in your clothes, then wherever you go the smell goes and you
become a walking, talking garbage can. You put garbage in your mind then garbage will come out of you"
After those two days of walking around with the trash smell, I almost got used to it; I knew it was in there smelling
but my senses became numb to it. That’s the scary thing, when we allow ungodly, dirty and negative thoughts to pile
up in the receptacle of our mind, we become numb to the effect they have on our life and others. Our mindset, attitude and
even our talk can become filthy. Negativity and Ungodliness just becomes a way of life. Not good.
Through this revelation, I knew God was telling me to stop letting so many negative, ungodly and unpure thoughts pile
up in my brain. Instead he wanted me to immediately throw them out as soon as I recognized them to be wrong. Just like
the trash.
2 Cor 10:5 directs us to take "captive" every thought and make it obedient to Christ.
Captive means: to take under control or restrain.
When these thoughts come on us we should take them under control to MAKE them more like Christ.
If we think too long and hard about anything it can and will overtake us. So if it's anything we are going to focus on, it needs
to be on GOD and his promises. "Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and
admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." (Philippians 4:8 NLT)
We may feel like we can’t control the thoughts that enter our mind, but we can overcome them by studying the word and
committing his promises to memory. Read your bible daily, listen to worship music often and keep note cards with scriptures
nearby. As soon as a negative thought comes quickly throw it out and replace it with a fresh thought from God.
Whatever you do, just
don't let the trash pile up :-)
name. I'm often embarrassed to say that my mother actually did name me after "THE" LaToya Jackson **sigh and
rolls eyes** It was a pretty and popular name at the time so against my grandmothers wishes she jumped on the
bandwagon! Considering this, I didn't have high hopes for what I would find BUT when I looked it up, I was blown away.
LaToya is actually of Spanish origin and means "victorious one" and
"woman to be praised/honored" and the icing on the cake??? Well, my
middle name, Nicole is of Greek origin and means "people of
victory"!!! So my name literally is VICTORY!
So that means every time my name is spoken God is allowing victory, praise and
honor to be spoken over my life. That simple discovery silenced all my doubts
and insecurities that weighed heavy on my heart for years and erased away all
the "labels" that others had placed on me.
So, I'm no longer embarrassed about my name nor do I find it a coincidence that
my mother named me LaToya Nicole.
You see God knew before I was formed that due to a birth injury I would face
doubt about my physical abilities. He knew that my father would abandon us,
leaving me to struggle with insecurities and self worth issues. That my desire
for perfection and control would leave me feeling like a failure when life
didn't turn out the way I wanted. So he gave me my name to remind me of who I
REALLY am! Before I could even speak my name he had already called me to be a
Victorious woman, worthy of praise and honor. For that I am forever grateful.
Now when the enemy says "You're not worth it" I can confidently
answer back, God says "I'm a woman meant to be praised" and when I'm
believing God for breakthrough in my life and he tells me "It will never
happen" I can confidently say “Its already done, I have the victory".
So who do you THINK you are? Discover what God says about you FIRST. Know that
he took careful consideration in forming you, you are not an accident, you were
created for a purpose and a plan.
Today I'm excited and blessed to be a guest blogger on the Bloggers in God (B.I.G.) website. B.I.G. is a group established for women of Christ to be able to come together in His name for the purpose of sharing His love through writing. I love being a B.I.G. sister and sharing with these women on a weekly basis. You can head over to their blog to find this post as well as others from my fellow sisters. Follow and subscribe for weekly inspiration from some wonderful women of God. You will be blessed!
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming....:-)
“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. But I
have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail.
” (Luke 22:31, 32 NLT)
Simon, I've prayed for you in particular that you not give in or give out...(Luke 22:32 MSG)
Have you ever felt that your faith was failing? That you've prayed,
fasted and praised yourself into a "holy tizzy" but you still find
yourself discouraged and faithless? Or that you've grown so tired of
waiting on God that you no longer pray, dropped out of your bible study
and would rather spend Sunday lying on the couch than going to the house
of worship?
There are certain situations and times in
our life where we will be discouraged. Discouragement is a tool of the
enemy to get us to give up on God and get distracted from our purpose.
In my own life I've seen Satan use what I refer to as the the "triple
threat" to weaken my faith : Doubt, Fear and Anxiety.
Doubt: Anytime you've been believing God for something and there's been
no breakthrough or change in a situation, doubt can easily creep in.
While you still may keep the request on your prayer list and make your
petitions known to God and others, that doesn't always stop thoughts
like "can God really fix it?" or "whats the point in praying?" to take
over and chip away at your faith. I often hear people say "Well I
believe God CAN do anything but I just don't believe he will do it for
MY situation". Sound familiar, huh? I've come to learn that kind of
thinking is a trick of the enemy. If not dealt with quickly, doubt can
become a hindrance to the very prayer we are already "wishy washy"
about.
Fear: Once Satan has planted a seed of doubt
into our mind, fear is usually the next culprit to strike. Satan wants
us to become fearful that our situations won't turn around and our
prayers will never be answered. Having fear of what your future holds
instead of hopeful expectations can be a recipe for disaster. When you
operate out of fear you can begin to think the surest way to get your
desired outcome is by manipulating people and situations to take
control. If we are controlling a situation, this leaves no room for God
to work a miracle, which is exactly what our enemy wants to happen.
While fear is a common feeling we all have, we don't have to give in to
our fears to the point where they hinder our faith. We have to confront
our fears and fight back with an unshakeable confidence that trusts in
Gods perfect plan. I love how Joyce Meyer says it: "Fear is a dead end
but Faith always has a future"
Anxiety: Now that the
enemy has us doubting Gods power and fearful of the future he uses
feelings of anxiety to completely wear us down! The root meaning of the
word anxiety is: 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of
psychological stress. So even if there is no REAL danger, stress or
threat anxiety can still come up on us (it's all in our mind!) Playing out all the "what if" scenarios only lead to worry, dread,
uneasiness and depression. We can get so caught up in worry about things
that may or may not happen that we lose focus on what's happening in
our life now!
Matthew 6:34 MSG translation says : "Give your
entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up
about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with
whatever hard things come up when the time comes."
Worrying
about the future will not accomplish anything or make your prayers get
answered faster. We have to trust God and his timing, he will give us
all we need to persevere through any pain.
At some
point, most of us will be hit with the "triple threat". However, isn't
it encouraging to know that we have a savior who is interceding for us?
The same way he did for Peter we have to believe that he can and will do
the same for us. If the enemy is attacking you with doubt, fear and
anxiety, I invite you to say this simple prayer:
Jesus, I come to you asking you to replace my doubts with belief (Mark
9:23, 24) and help me confront my fears with hopeful expectations that
you have a perfect plan for my life (Jer 29:11). When I begin to worry
and be anxious about circumstances beyond my control help me to be
content with my portion and seek your peace that passes all
understanding so that my faith will remain strong. (Philippians 4:6,7)
Lord I trust you with my whole heart and I'm grateful that you know just
what I need. Thank you for covering me in your love. Amen.
So..this blog is going to be different than my usual posts! Drum roll please......I've recently been awarded two different awards for my blog!!!! **insert praise break** (ok you guys know I always have to joke!)
The Versatile Blogger Award and the Liebster Blog Award were awarded to me by three different women who are my B.I.G. Sisters in the blogging community. Words cant express how BLESSED I am to be part of a "virtual family" of so many wonderful Christian women who support, encourage and inspire me! I've been blessed these last six months to be able to share God's words and my thoughts with my B.I.G. sisters and my blog followers! Those of you who have read some of my earlier posts, know that I never thought I would be a blogger/writer but God knew best and I'm so glad I listened to his voice and walked in obedience. Thanks to Dawn at The Most Perfect Gift, Carmen at Calvary's Love and Salina at State of the Heart for nominating me! I LOVE their blogs and I know you will as well!
The Versatile Blog
Award rules state:
Thank the person
who gave you this award and include a link to their blog. (Done!)
Select 15
blogs/bloggers that you’ve recently discovered or follow regularly and
nominate those 15 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award
Finally, tell the person who
nominated you 7 things about yourself
My chosen nominations for the
Versatile Blog Award
7 Things about myself : I have 13 brothers and sisters, I'm the youngest; I'm afraid of bridges over large bodies of water, I don't know how to swim; I feel naked without a purse; everything in my life revolves around music; I'm a small group bible study leader.
"The origins of the Liebster Blog award are somewhat
unclear but the general consensus is that it originated in Germany, Liebster
meaning favorite or dearest, to showcase bloggers with fewer than 200
followers. Upon accepting the award the recipient must then pass it on to five
more blogs of note."
Here are the rules:
Choose FIVE up and coming blogs to award the Liebster
to. Blogs must have less than 200 followers.
Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award
by linking back to them.
Post the award on your blog. List the bloggers you gave
the award to with links to their sites.
Before
the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world
and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on
earth, and now he loved them to the very end.[a]2 It was time for
supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas,[b] son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.3 Jesus knew that the
Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God
and would return to God.4 So he got up from the table, took off his robe,
wrapped a towel around his waist,5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to
wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.12 After
washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing?13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and
‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am.14 And
since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each
other’s feet.15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. (John 13)
This past week I had the opportunity to celebrate the death, burial and Resurrection of our Savior in my
church's Holy Week Services. One of the sermons that really challenged us was regarding our service to
others. John 13 is the passage that describes how as the hour neared for Jesus to leave earth and return
to the Father he wrapped a towel around his waist, poured water in a basin and washed his disciples feet.
In verse 14 and 15 Jesus says: And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to
wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.
Jesus was the ultimate example of what love truly is. We show our love for him when we serve others.
Whose feet have you washed lately?
I hope you are challenged as I was to seek more ways that you can honor God by serving in your church,
community, in your home or at your job. After all, Love really isn't love until you give it away.
We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing,
experienced it all-all but the sin. So let's walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take
the mercy, accept the help. (Hebrews 4:15, 16 MSG)
....So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will
find grace to help us when we need it most. (Hebrews 4:16 NLT)
Fear not, for you shall not be ashamed; neither be confounded and depressed, for you shall not be put to
shame. For you shall forget the shame of your youth, and you shall not [seriously] remember the
reproach of your widowhood any more (Isaiah 54:4 AMP)
Shame: the painful feeling arising from the consciousness of something dishonorable,
improper, ridiculous done by oneself or anotherI often like to THINK that I'm a perfect girl. Every now and then I get on my perfect little princess soapbox and
brag about my "perfectness" (think I just made up a word). How I say all the right things, I'm polite, I never hurt
people, i only expose my eyes and ears to good things, I never cheat, I don’t gossip and I never lie. I'm just Gods
little perfect angel **reaches for my halo** ......then reality hits and welcomes me back from my moment of
insanity !!!!
Oh how we all wish we were perfect, right? Imagine the bliss we would live in if we could truly be perfect and
blameless before God! Unfortunately while some of us may think we've come close to this perfection, the fact is
that the overwhelming majority of people have lived a "less than perfect" life. To be honest I've done and said
some things that were not pleasing to God and I'm positive have grieved the Holy Spirit. If I were to step off my
perfect soapbox and get REAL transparent with you, I’m willing to admit my less than perfect life has left me
with overwhelming feelings of shame.
When I look at the definition of shame, I can see my life weaved through the words. Shame is unfortunately a
painful feeling I've had to battle with as a result of some "ridiculous" and "dishonorable" decisions done to both
myself and others. Shame is a powerful emotion that can lead to insecurities, fear, isolation, denial and keep us
from living confident lives. More importantly it can keep us from an intimate relationship with Christ…BUT oh
thank God for GRACE(:
I love this passage in Hebrews 4:15-16 that reminds us of the forgiving Father we serve who invites us to
"come boldly before his throne" to receive his mercy and grace. How comforting to know that no matter your
past (or current) shame we still have access to the holy of all holies!! He has an open invitation for us to come
directly to his THRONE, confess our sins, reveal our hurts and receive mercy.
I love the message translation "So let's walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy,
accept the help." Don't let shame hold you back!!! Whether its shame from a broken marriage, abuse, criminal
past, abortion, sexual promiscuity or drug addiction. NOTHING you have ever done or has been done
to you will ever keep you from God !!!
For so long I allowed shame to nearly drown me in a sea of doubt, feeling I wasn't "good enough" or
"pure enough" to ever have an intimate relationship with God and to be used as a vessel for his kingdom. Oh
what freedom I experienced when I finally decided to let go of my shame, fully accept Gods grace and start
living in my purpose. Truth is no matter how perfect you may think you are, we are all unworthy and
undeserving of his grace. Thankfully being the great God that he is, he still makes it so that we can put our
shame behind us and move forward bold, confident and fearless in Christ.
I encourage you to meditate on these passages, let loose the grip shame may have on your life and accept Gods
invitation to come boldly before his throne and walk into your freedom.
I'll leave you with the lyrics and video of a BEAUTIFUL worship song inspired by this passage, "Come Boldly"
by Mary Alessi. I keep this one on repeat:)
The pardon is granted the prisoner free
My past is forgiven now your calling me
To come boldly, I come boldly
Master redeemer Savior friend
I know you are waiting to usher me into the holy of Holies
I come boldly before Your throne
I come boldly Your throne
By the blood of the Lamb my sins are atoned
I come boldly before Your throne
For the veil has been torn away
Night has turned into day
Now I have found a way to come boldly before your throne.
Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. (Proverbs 4:23 NLT)
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. (Proverbs 4:23 NIV)
Search me, O God, and know my heart... (Psalm 139:23 NLT)
Well it's Valentines Day and love has been in the air all week:)
I'm always amazed at the buildup surrounding this holiday. Cards, flowers, balloons, jewelry and chocolate surround you at every turn as people seek to express their "love" to those special to them. While I celebrate the holiday and appreciate what it stands for, it's always interesting to observe the impact (good and bad) this ONE day has on people.
Weddings and engagement celebrations wait all year for this day.
Singles either drown in lonely feelings or scramble for a date for the sake of just having "someone".
Lovers await what surprises are in store, often finding themselves disappointed as their expectations aren't met.
Those that despise this commercial man-made holiday go to great lengths to show their "Anti V Day" by wearing black and rolling their eyes as flowers overtake their office spaces.
People just get in a tizzy. I know these people AND I've even been these people at different points in my life.
Feb 14th is a day where most people lay their heart on the line. So as all the attention has been focused on our "hearts" these past few weeks, I couldn't help but think about what God has to say about matters of the heart.
Proverbs 4:23 tells us to "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."
Guard: to protect from harm, to watch over so as to prevent escape or violence, to maintain control over, as to prevent indiscretion, to supervise ENTRY or exit through.
We often experience heartbreak at the hands of a failed relationship, family betrayal, broken promises or unmet expectations. We let our guards down and allow others entry into our most prized possession, the heart, leaving us open and vulnerable to hurt. Over and over we leave the gates to our heart swinging wide open, allowing wrong thoughts, actions and people to infiltrate what God has clearly deemed precious.
God thinks our hearts are so special that he wants them guarded and protected above all else. The words ABOVE ALL else have always stood out to me. He means this should be a priority in our life, this supersedes anything else we have going on, this should be at the top of our to-do list. Since "everything you do" flows from the heart, it's important to have it in tip top condition.
If you allow fear in your heart then all your decisions: who you love, how you treat people, your daily mood, etc will all flow from a foundation of fear, having a negative impact on your life. If you want "good" outcomes in your life, you must have "good" in your heart. It's often said "you are what you eat", well I'm learning it's the same with our hearts. We are what we put in our hearts. So we have to take careful action to watch over who we allow to speak into our hearts, what we allow our hearts to be connected to and take observation as to how that is affecting our everyday life. Our hearts should be whole, pure, healthy, wise, steady and full of love so that our life will possess the same traits. God created our hearts for a special reason and it's our job to protect it.
Every day, not just Feb 14th, should be a day that we celebrate love. As we do, lets make sure we are taking extra care of our hearts, for it is the very thing that God is most concerned with.
Pray and seek God on what changes you may need to make with matters of the heart. Ask him to show you what should be allowed in your heart and perhaps what you need to purge so that you can stay on the right course for your life.
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It
is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices
whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures
through every circumstance.
Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
(1 Corinthians 13: 4-7,13 NLT)
"Indescribable, uncontainable, you placed the stars in the sky and you know them by name
You are amazing, God
Incomparable, unchangeable, you see the depths of my heart and you love me the same
You are amazing, God”
(Lyrics from "Indescribable" originally written by Chris Tomlin)
Indescribable: beyond description; too intense, extreme for words
1 Cor: 13 has always been my favorite passage in the bible. Over the years this
passage has come to life for me as I've felt and seen Gods love for me at work
in my life.
Love is PATIENT: for all the years I spent outside his will, he patiently waited for
my return and welcomed me back with open arms.
Love is KIND: despite my selfish ways , he continues to give me favor and pour
out blessings in my life
Love KEEPS NO RECORD OF WRONG: when I'm trapped in guilt because of my
sins, I only need to remember the blood of Jesus has set me free
Love NEVER GIVES UP: when I turn my back on him, he continues to pursue
and chase me down with his love
Love is always HOPEFUL: when my fears threaten to consume me, I remind
myself of the perfect plans he has already designed for me
Gods love is truly amazing. No words will ever be able to describe it.
What does his love mean to you? How has it changed your life?
Would love to hear
from you:)
I've posted my favorite version of "Indescribable" below.
