Christmas service Calvary 2011

Jesus paid the price but salvation is going to cost you something...

1. You have to give up your will because you have be in His will!
Romans 10 the word is near you, if you confess with your mouth, one believes...

Your will is the noun... His will is the verb...His interest in your life. There has to be an exchange...

Don't hold onto your will like the african monkey holds on to the warm rice.

2. Give up your worry for Gods peace.
John I go to prepare a house...

Trouble: agitate
Don't let your hearts be agitated.
Philippians 4 the peace of God that surpasses all understanding... Gods peace doesn't come from understanding.
Sometimes God will allow storms to make you urn to God. Let go of your worry and your pride.

3. John 16 give up your sorrow for Jesus' joy.
We have turned this into something about us. We don't know what we have until it's gone. This is just earth, don't expect heaven on earth.

Every tear will have sufficient explanation once Jesus returns.

4. Turn in your wrong for Jesus' right...
I John ch 1 if we say we don't sin, then we are liars. Guilt s a factor within the inner system. If you don't feel remorse, then there is something wrong with you.

5. Give Jesus your possibility of Hell for the promise of Heaven. Jesus said you are either for me or against me, there is no gray. If you reject the gift of eternal life, and you are free to do so. John 3:36 then you will get judgment and the wrath of God. Make a choice.

Annnnnnd its been a while... all over again...hahaha... maybe blogging is dying out of my world... then again sometimes its just what I need.

soooo whats happened since we last met?

I went to India!

yeaaaa thats right my people... I went to India on my own account not to visit family and not becasue some died... i went becasue God made it possible...

I had a chance to meet with lepers, orphans and other children of God...

I might sound like a crazy woman when I say this but I dont care!

Jesus let me hang out with Him as He works among these people and I will never trade it for anything in this world!

Coming back to "real life" has been hard but I know that God has me here for a reason and I will find my contentment in that. My eyes have been opened to so much about God's heart and His want and His love. I am so beyond blessed to have been a part of that occurence. Also, I started my new class today, seems like it should be fun. I am going through rollercoasters again and somehow I wouldnt want it any other way. Jesus is all the strength I need and want.

My golden birthday is coming up in 5 days. sounds pretty by that name but this means that I am ending my 20s in 5 days... wow! I will officially be walking in the 30th year of my life. BUT I FIND COMFORT THAT I AM NOT TECHNICALLY 30 yet! hahahahah

I never thought i would be here at this age but then again who in this world has any ability to look into the future? Ms. Cleo, where you at? hahaha

Its a good thing my joy comes from my salvation and not from this world because my flesh would find a way to twist this into something sad. When I cant see my next step, I lean on my Jesus for his word is the lamp unto my feet. I shall where my Maker leads and be content that ALL THINGS TOGETHER for my good!

Love God and the rest will follow!

Ever have someone snap at you for absolutely no reason at all? I have someone in my life who does this every time they are around me.  They go days without seeing me or speaking to me and the time that this person does share with me is always about the yelling at me, correcting me or ridiculing me for something. I am not positive as to why this happens, I am not sure why this person chooses to do this to me.

Last weekend, I saw this person around other people and they were all touched by this person's gentleness and kindness.  So what is it about me that brings out the worst in this person? Tonight I was sitting around, minding my own business when suddenly I was given the third degree about random things and then told that I should not even check the mail if I was going to forget to bring it inside. (I accidentally left it in the car.)

I am at a loss for words, tears and feelings about this situation.  everyone keeps saying God is going to fix it, well... i guess it has to get a whole lot worse before it gets better??? I dont want to give up and run but how much more of this do I have to endure?

My only comfort is that if Jesus can give His life for me while wearing a crown of thorns...I can endure some harsh words...

I love you more than words... despite the words...

Love God and the rest will follow

I have been taking some classes lately... I am working on my Masters.  Why would someone work on a masters for a field that they have never worked in? because this someone believes that one day her God will provide a way for her to use these skills to bring Him glory.  I have had many people ask me, what do you see yourself doing with this degree? I, unlike, many others cannot tell you what I see myself using this for.  Mainly because I cant bring myself to believe that I will use it for anything.

SIGH

There I said it out loud.

In my heart of hearts, I want to be a mom.  which means I need to be a wife.  In the conventional world I come from, this is only acceptable path for me to be on in order to achieve my dream.  A friend of mine threw caution to the wind and moved 1500 miles to NYC this week.  If only I had had that same courage 5 or 6 years ago.  I wonder where my life would have been today.  Then I remind myself, whatever choice I made or fear I allowed into my being, I cant regret it now.  Swallow the pill and live this life that I chose.

SIGH

There I said it out loud.

I am planning on going on a missions trip if the Lord wills it.  this trip has been an awakening experience for me already and I haven't gone anywhere yet. A song by Adele was brought to my attention the other day.  A song that burned me, made me think of the past, regret snuck in, what ifs snuck in.  I let it get the best of me and the last week has been horrendous.  To top it off, I found myself yet again in a place ready to take a leap of faith and looked around to find... I was alone... no one wanted to jump with me...again...

SIGH

There I said it out loud.

I allowed my flesh to win... I gave in and made room for my flesh to fight my spirit and the Father of Lies came up from the pit of Hell and beat me senseless. I let him beat me.  Then the song You are More came to mind.  I am more than all the problems I create...I had to bring that song, those lyrics, that TRUTH that the ALMIGHTY LORD OF ALL thinks I am worth more than all of this pettiness. And that my friends brought me back to where I needed to be in the first place.

SIGH.

There I said it out loud.

LOVE GOD AND THE REST WILL FOLLOW.

What a day!

I woke up soaked in sweat around 4:30am, that should have been a tipoff as to the what kind of day today would turn out.

I found out I have retake a slew of training courses/tests for my job.  Mind you I have taken ALL of these courses and tests over the last 5 years working for this company but no one can find any documentation to prove it and so I am "attached to another object by an inclined plane, wrapped helically around an axis" or 'screwed' for the non Big Bang Theory fans.  SIGH!


So I went into work a bit early, figured I will knock them out, but no...I have to redo courses before taking tests... sooooo I spend my time not getting paid as I work my way through these courses.


So then my friend/director's boyfriend comes in with some iced coffee for her, and I chide him a bit for not bringing me any coffee (not that I even drink that stuff ever, but just to be me, I do it) Of course she shares with me without me even asking cause she is just that rockin'.  So I have some iced coffee in one of my fav coffee cups that she gave me for christmas.


Class begins and half way through, my hand grazes the cup and it falls off the table and hits the metal window pane and meets its demise.  One of my fav cups lay there, coffee everywhere and my cup in 50 some odd pieces.  SIGH!  


Thats what I get for being mean to a very nice person who was just being sweet on his day off.


Then all these little things start getting to me, one thing after another, even when I was driving.  I had this low-rider truck following with his high beams on for about 15 minutes.  SIGH!


In all this I am reminded by a small trinket sitting on a window pane... Romans 12:12 "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." God found me when the enemy was trying to run my day.  God found me!


No More SIGH! Praise the Lord! 


So instead of doing something stupid,  I went to the gym.  90 mins of cardio; 5.5 miles; cant feel my legs but I feel good somehow.


At the end of the day I am sitting on the floor, holding my breath because the Miami HEAT are in overtime against the Chi-town Bulls.  Perhaps my day wont end on a bad note. 


OK so not all of my day was bad... we got the game 101-93! we lead the series 3-1!


God-willing I will wake up tomorrow and get a chance to try for a better/new day!


Love God and the rest will follow!

So recently i have been thinking about circumstances in our life. Some of us know what we are getting into when we put ourselves in a "predicament" but then again do we really know?

'I got this!"

Thats a phrase I hear often with some of the students I meet, its a phrase of assurance to me that they know what they are doing. Also, its a phrase of reassurance to themselves that they can handle whatever assignment I place in front of them. I love the positivity of this phrase, I love the hope in this phrase however sometimes this phrase can be a stumbling block filled with pride.

When we place ourselves in situations we know are too big for us to handle and we go in yelling "I got this!" sometimes we fall flat on our faces. The key is that we dont stay there!!

GET UP!

SWALLOW that PRIDE and get up!

Can one truly anticipate every move? every possible circumstance? There is no humanly possible way of knowing every possible outcome. That is precisely why gambling exists and casinos flourish.

The point here is that go in positive to any predicament but go in with the strength of the Lord first and foremost. Not your own pride but the fact that even though you fall flat on your face, the Lord has lifted you up!

Job 11: 13-19 says:

¹³Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him,

¹⁴ if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent,

¹⁵ then you will lift up your face without shame; you will stand firm and without fear.

¹⁶ You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by.

¹⁷ Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning.

¹⁸ You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety.

¹⁹ You will lie down, with no-one to make you afraid, and many will court your favor.

So there you go, devote yourselves to the Lord and He will lift up your face from the ground and you can boast in the Lord for he has done great things on your behalf!

JESUS gave His life so you could live... who here thinks they are worthy of this? I know i am not...but He loved me so much so that He gave it to me with grace...

THANK GOD!

Love God and the rest will follow :)

"Life is too short to wake up with regrets.
So love the people who treat you right.
Love the ones who don't just because you can.
Believe everything happens for a reason.
If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.
If it changes your life, let it.
Kiss slowly.
Forgive quickly.
God never said life would be easy.
He just promised it would be worth it."

I dont know who wrote this or why, but I know its the truth for our lives today. Especially on a day like this where we woke up to news of Japan getting hit by a 8.9 earthquake and how tsunamis would occur on our side of the world. God never said life would be easy, but He promised it would be worth it as long as we stay close to Him, believe in His goodness and know that He would never let us down.

Love God and the rest will follow...

"It is Faith that bring power, not merely praying and weeping and struggling, but believing, daring to believe the written Word with or without feeling." -Catherine Booth

This was the quote in my daily reading this morning. They tied it in with the verse of Jesus in the boat with the fishermen, sleeping, when the storm came about them. How many times do I resort to crying and pleading with the Lord before I show faith.

Standing in faith should come before I pray. Then my prayers will change into powerful stands instead of begging or crying in front of the Lord. I want to stand in faith with the Lord as he performs His miracles, not weeping before Him to somehow change His mind or something to that effect.

This will mean that I am ok with whatever the Lord does in my life. This will mean I have to be willing to walk through the valley and on top of the mountain recognizing neither was done by my accord but by the Lord's will.

This will mean I have to trust Him....

This will mean I have to trust Him.

This will mean I have to trust Him!

There is a song my old church used to sing and my mom's best friends loves to sing it all the time.

"God of grace and glory, in these days, increase our faith."

Thats what we need and increase in our levels of faith in whatever we do and say and "feel!"

Faith FIRST before any emotion.

have faith and be faithful and faith will see you through!

Love God and the rest will follow...