Looking back sucks…literally.
It sucks the life out of you…
It sucks the possibilities for new memories and relationships to be built.
It sucks the process of healing from your heart and mind…
Looking back sucks the joy that comes from living in the moment…
LooKing back creates walls and hard spots on a heart that used to be so pliable…
Looking back causes us to look at the negative in a magnified state…
It makes being prideful and putting a spotlight on the plank in someone else’s eye so much easier than choosing grace…
The only reason there is to look back is to reflect…reflect on how far you have come and how God’s grace has changed your character and outlook…your entire being.
Look back with purpose and your future in full view…not with regret and a hardened heart.

It is an amazingly beautiful thing to witness the love of God touch someone’s life and set them free from a lifetime of torment, lies and guilt that has caused them to walk in only a minute fraction of who they were created to be…
To see someone realize that they were created for greatness and that Jesus already payed the price for them to walk in it is a game changer.
Soooo many more women need to know that there is freedom in knowing Who you are! Don’t fall for the lies that tell you that your worth is reflected in what you wear, your hair and what type of car you drive.  This identity isn’t about what you have or your physical attributes. It is about knowing that you are created in the very image of God and that your life was worth JESUS dying for….He gave His life so that you could have a relationship with the Father.
Don’t take the gift of salvation for granted…your very life depends on WHO and What you identify with…

The other day I was praying about somethings and I heard the Holy Spirit speak to my heart and tell me to “Get UnStuck. Be free”
I really didn’t know what this meant b/c I thought I was ok w/everything and everybody in my life.
But I wasn’t. I was to get UnStuck by being free. Not by acting like everything was fine, like I was UnStuck,  just because I didn’t want people to think/know that  I was still affected by old situations.
I was to get UnStuck,  be free, by extending the grace of God to others and truly forgiving.  I have to be able to love people, even if it’s from a distance, enough to not harp/dwell on their faults when I got a list of my own to get right. 
Being UnStuck,  free, means to truly have my ear turned to God to intercede and bless others when He tells me too.
To be UnStuck means to remember the good about a person when the bad is right in front of your face.
To be UnStuck means to love a person without expecting anything from them in return.
To be UnStuck is to accept the fact that relationships change and that a person you were once bff’s with may now be like a stranger.
To be UnStuck means to live your life in a constant state of being better. So that the next time God blesses you with a friendship,  you purpose within yourself to always be attentive, loving, trustworthy and honest.
Get UnStuck…the freedom thst comes from it is so worth your while!!!

This morning, around 3am, my 21 year old niece told me that another one of her friends was shot.
She said that he was found in the midle of the street and rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Oddly enough, this same young man was a pallbearer at his friend’s funeral a couple of weeks ago…
I wish that I had something super spiritual to say that could make all of this make sense but I don’t.
What I know to do is prayer.  Pray for peace, safety, revival in the hearts of young people everywhere.
Pray that people respect the gift of life…both theirs and others.
Please join me in intercession…our young people need it, our cities need it. 

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On today, the National Day of Prayer, one thing that was on my heart to pray for is relationships.
In the past I have never been that good w/maintaining relationships. Whether it was just being busy w/life, adjusting to new roles, disagreements or just growing in different directions, keeping up w/people and maintaining healthy relationships throughout all of life’s moments has been a hard thing for me to do.
Just a couple of days ago my husband asked me about a particular person that I haven’t talked to in awhile. Nothing bad happened…I just didn’t take the time to keep in touch…be a good friend.
So I prayed. I asked God to help me be a better friend. I asked Him to help me build and maintain lifelong godly friendships.
So I called my friend that I had lost touch with. I didn’t get her. I left a message.  I waited. Then I prayed and asked God to forgive me for not being the friend that I should have been. The next day I sent a text. She responded. We set up a date to talk.
I am so elated that I have a second change to establish a great friendship! This time I will do better. I will open myself up more. I will be the friend that I need in my life…

Are you a relational person? If so, what advice can you give me in building relationships?
If not, what can you do to be a better friend?  Leave a comment!!!

For the past couple of months one of the main things the Holy Spirit has been teaching me about is being mindful of my thoughts and words.
My thoughts and what I speak out of my mouth are the very things that shape my attitude and utlimately create my life.

I am the first to admit that my thoughts have been absolutely horrible at times.  They were riddled with negativity, doubt, fear and the worst case scenario for every situation.

Ultimately my joy was affected. It was conditional. If everything was going ok, my attitude was fine. If situations were challenging, I was preoccupied.  I was  thinking about what was wrong, what could possibly go wrong and how horrible my life would be because of it.

Because my thoughts and words were negative, so was my view of myself.  I always felt less than worthy and as if when God was handing out the good stuff (giftings, talents, personality etc) I was completely forgotten about.

So I started reading and discovering who I am in Christ. God created me in His image…and he is great. He said that He knew me before I was even considered by my parents. He said that His work (me) is wonderful.

So I have been taking the initiative to change my outlook.  I have been taking God’s word in more personally and speaking God-given declarations over myself. I have sticky notes all over our home that have my declarations, goals/desires, the word and quotes that I can see and speak.  I’ve been journaling and taking the time to invision myself at my best and w/God’s best in every area of my life.

The changes that have taken place in me are amazing. I know that my relationship w/God is so much more intimate.  I have so much more confidence in not only God but myself.  My entire being has shifted because I’m taking the time to work on the inside and not just the outside.  And as a bonus, God has given me so many great declarations that I can share w/other women in my upcoming book (see how I’m speaking forth great things? 😉 )

So what has God been bringing to the forefront of your life lately? How has submitting to Him changed you for the better? Leave your replys in the comments!!!

As I was making dinner tonight and thinking about my upcoming week, one word came to mind…INTENTIONAL.  So that’s what I am going w/for the week.  Being Intentional.

 Intentional about loving on my family.

Intentional about spending time w/God.

Intentional about what I say and do.

Intentional about creating an environment for my family to thrive and worship in.

Intentional about planning and being a great steward of my time.

Intentional about devoloping and nurturing my gifts.

Intentional about being my best, loving God, and people…

So, if you were to choose one word to focus on this week what would it be and why?

Late last week I found out that a cousin of mine had committed suicide.  Without going into detail, I can say that he was without hope.  He no longer had the hope to believe that the circumstances in his life would get better…that everything that was wrong at that moment wouldn’t be wrong forever.

To hear that this happened was shocking and also heart wrenching to me.  I cant even imagine the tormenting thoughts that the enemy must have bombarded his mind with in the last few days, hours, minutes of his life…

So today I would like to encourage someone, anyone to not give up on hope.  Although certain situations in your life may be bleak, they won’t always be that way.  Give God the time to work things out for your good.  Give yourself the time to be able to come through this hard time.  I guarantee that when you come through, you will be able to look back and say that it wasn’t as bad as you thought it was at that time.

Talk to someone.  Talk to God.  Write and recite positive affirmations.  Hold on to hope…

But whatever you do, don’t give up.  You have so much more of your life to live…

I was watching something on t.v. today and they were talking about unforgiveness. It was said that unforgiveness is a hinderance to a person’s prayer life, their spiritual and personal growth, and also to them recieving the things that God has for them.
This got me to thinking about me and forgiveness. I have proclaimed so many times that I have forgiven others for certain things that have happened in my life. I have even gotten to the point that I can talk to them and be genuinely interested in what is going on with them.
But there is still that one thing…putting down the thoughts about what I think that should have happened. This has been my hinderance!!! What I realized is that no matter what I think about a situation and how it should be handled, it’s not about me. If I get the unction, from the Holy Spirit, to do something for someone, it is not about how they response~it’s about obedience for me. So it shouldn’t matter how people respond, or not, it’s about God and me pleasing and loving Him!
I had to really pray and ask God for forgiveness first and foremost for the things that I had tucked away in my heart. Then I prayed and asked Him to help me to truly forgive and to erase the constant “what should have happened” movie from my memory. It is truly my hearts desire to really, really love God w/all that I am and I cant do that holding on to the past. And to love Him, I have to be able to love people w/o feeling like they owe me something. Yes, this was a hard pill to swollow but it was soooo necessary.
Forgiveness is not just something that can be said. My actions, reactions and thoughts~my heart has to go along w/the words and prayers…that’s the part that I forgot.
Do you forgive AND forget???