Happy New Year!!!!  I’m hoping that everyone is enjoying their New Year and taking the time to reflect, plan and achieve…I have been seeing so many posts/tweets about people’s goals for this new year~and to say the least, I am impressed and ecouraged!!!

Earlier this afternoon, I was getting ready for my doctor’s appointment and I was talking to God and thanking Him for this new year.  And the one thing that the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart was, “Play Your Role”.  This phrase got me to thinking…thinking about me and what roles in life God that has given me…

In the past I have taken these roles lightly:  Follower/Learner/Disciple of Christ, Wife, Mother, Writer, Minister/Encourager of Women, Intercessor etc.

 I can honestly say that there have been times when I have shied away from these roles b/c I was afraid of what people would say/think, I spent too much time comparing myself to others, I doubted that I was good enough to help anyone, and I didn’t want the responsibility that these roles came with them.  I let so many things, fears and negative emotions keep me from doing and being everything that God has called me to do.

By no means will I say that stepping out is easy but what I will say is that is possible and it is so worth it!  My husband reminded me tonight about how much courage it took for us to get married.  Our families thought that we were crazy when we told them that we were getting married after only courting for six months.  But even in the midst of all of the drama, I knew w/o a shadow of a doubt that my future was connected to this specific man..Even, now seven and a half years and one month shy of four children later, I see clearly that…Courage helped me to say Yes, even when it would have been easier to say No.  The role of being Mrs. Boyd was already ordained for me and all it took was for me to accept it and Do it.

So what role(s) has God given you in 2013?  Some may be new and others might just be waiting for you to get in the game and no longer sit on the sideline.  Whatever they are, be strong and courageous…step out w/confidence and let God shine His spot light through you in your biggest stage appearance ever…Life.  Blessings~

As 2012 comes to an end, I have been doing a lot of reflecting.  I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about “my best and not so best” times of this past year. 

Honestly, I didn’t have too many “not so best” times.  I did have times that were hard, that caused me to stay up a little later pondering and that no doubt were the reason behind a lot of tears and some not so nice journal entries.  However, throughout all of those times I learned a lot.  I learned a lot about me, life and just about God’s grace and how it’s available to me, and others, in the worst of times.

One of the biggest things that I learned is that people and relationships change and sometimes not always for the best.  For example, a person I used to be really close too and talked too at the least four times a day, is now someone that I haven’t spoken too, outside of a hand full of texts and a brief phone conversation, in almost a year.  This used to really bother me and for awhile this situation, the what-ifs and the memories of what used to be, took up a lot of space in my thoughts.  There were probably months that went by where I was constantly in some type of mental limbo about what happened, what was said, and if there was anything that I could have done differently, w/o condoning wrong, to not lose my best friend.  Then there came a time when my peace was restored…  Yes, my heart still hurt over losing a friendship that I thought was a lot stronger then it was, but I was okay.  I was okay with the fact that things had changed and I could now be thankful for what was w/o living in regret about what wasn’t anymore.

This year I also learned that just b/c I think that things should be done a certain way, doesn’t always mean that things will happen in the particular way that I envisioned them too.  And even this is okay.  God calling me to do for others, not for a big thank you in the end, but to bring Him glory and to be a blessing to others… was a hard pill to swallow.  But after it digested completely, I felt the healing begin to take place on the inside 🙂

I also learned that going against the grain isn’t easy or comfortable.  Earlier this year my hubby and I had to make a big decision about where our family was going to worship and serve at as a family.  We were so torn b/c so may people that we loved, grew up (spiritually) with, and also experienced a lot of important life moments (marriage, kids, death etc) were now leaving.  And for awhile we thought that we were going to be leaving as well.  However God had different plans.  We stayed.  We stayed when we wanted to go.  We stayed when it would have been easier for us to go.  I can vividly remember crying and pleading w/God in prayer to please release us…then I remember how the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and told me to stop looking at other people…He told me that it was too easy for me (us) to look at the problems and what was going on around us w/o praying  to be apart of the solution.  Needless to say that we are at are same church, serving and thanking God for all that He is doing!

All in all, 2012 was a good year.  Like I said before, a lot of things happened but in the end they added to my wisdom bank and caused me to grow up in the moment!  I am so looking forward to 2013!  I don’t have a whole list of specific resolutions, like I usually have, but I do have one major goal in mind:  BE GREAT.

 I was good in 2012, in 2013 it’s my hearts desire to be GREAT…to be a Great woman after God’s heart, to be a Great wife, mother and home manager, to be a Great confidant and friend, to be a Great Aunt,sister and servant, to a be Great blogger, author and listener, to be a Great person of follow-through, learner, nurturer, planner and organizer, to be a Great, intercessor, leader and a Great follower of the Holy Spirit’s leading and promptings…I just want to BE GREAT at being me and all that God has called and put on the inside of me to be!  GREATNESS…that’s my one desire for 2013…

So today I did something that I vowed that I would never do…I took my daughter to school with my pajamas on (thankfully I didn’t have to get out of the car)!

But today was just one of those days.  My husband is out of town for a couple of days, the kids and I all had an extremely long day yesterday where we didn’t get home until almost 11pm, and being 7 months preggo on top of all of that added even more exhaustion to an already tiring day.

The one thing that came to mind while I was up getting the kids ready was 1 John 4:4~”You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, b/c the one who is in you (me) is greater than the one who is in the world (NIV)”

I then started to think about who or what the “them” was, in my life, that I had already overcome this morning?  The “them” this morning were the nagging feelings of me wanting to complain and be snappy w/the kids b/c of all of our lack of sleep and our schedule being thrown off.  And even me being disappointed w/ myself for not getting up at my regular time so that I could be up and ready, fully dressed w/a hot breakfast waiting for my kids… those were the “them” that were lurking and almost got me to do, say and even think some things that wouldn’t have given God any glory or set a good example for my kiddies.

So for all of that I’m thankful…I am thankful that the Holy Spirit reminded me of what was the most important, that He, the Spirit of God, is living on the inside of me so therefore I have already OVERCOME any obstacle that comes my way!

Today is the day!!! The very day that we all having been waiting on or some even dreading…Election Day.   As we went to the polls today, I was first of all glad to see so many people show up and vote!   I was excited that soooo many people felt that this election was so important that they were willing to stand in long lines, endure the cold and even do something that they have never done before-Stand Up For Something and Someone.

My hubby and I have been talking about the election and to be honest, I got a little excited.  Like just about every person that I know, I was uber excited about President Obama being elected as our first black President in 2008.  Not just b/c our complexions favor but b/c he is relatable.  To see a President that is interested in helping everyone and not just a certain group or class of people is inspiring.  I love to see our President goes to bat for the people that I see and sometimes come into close contact w/daily.  I love that he is relational.  To see him lovingly and intimately interact w/ his wife and family is beautiful.

Right along w/all of the positives that I have to say about our President, there are things that I don’t agree with.  But asI have been told, you have to take the good w/the not so good.

The one thing that is particularly disturbing to me is the blatant disrespect of the people.  Both toward our President and toward each other.  To see people point their finger in the President of the United States face, to hear and see (on social media) people call him a Nigger and even threaten physical harm to him is disheartening.  Yes, I know that racism is alive and well but to KNOW that we as a people aren’t farther along than wishing ill on a person b/c of their skin color or belief …well, for the lack of a better word SUCKS!!!!

Being looked down upon b/c of your skin color, your beliefs and/or your past are all things that I can relate too.  I worked in a women’s correctional facility for years and to be called a “nigger” and a “colored girl” were to of the worst things that I have ever heard.  To hear someone belittle me and call me a name b/c I am a black woman was horrible.  And for them to insinuate that I was created less of a person b/c of my God-given features and was incapable of being an intelligent worthy human being probably hurt me even more.  But to know that in this century that people still lived w/this type of hate in their hearts b/c of a person’s skin color was the absolute worst.

Overall, I pray that even w/people having different views that we as people respect each other.  Regardless of their race, life choices and beliefs no one deserves to be called out of their name, thought of as unimportant  b/c their existence and livelihood doesn’t mirror yours. Lets take the time tonight not only to lift up our current POTUS but our future one, as well as all American people to have a love, tolerance and respect for our leadership and our fellow-man!

With that being said, HAPPY VOTING!!!!!

Doing the right thing isn’t always easy.  Not too long after I got up this morning, I had a specific task on my heart that I know is God’s nudging.

At first I wasn’t too enthused w/ making this phone call but then I came to the realization that it’s not about me.

If I sat back and did exactly what I wanted to do I would never reach out to this person b/c to be honest…I’m still asking God to heal my wounds and give me the strength to think the best when the worst is at the forefront of my mind.

But I’m coming to realize that the feelings I have had had to be confronted and replaced.  Does this mean that I will be calling this person on the regular and making weekly lunch
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I have big news!!! My hubby and I are expecting our fourth child (and yes we did make sure that it was only one baby!) As of today I am four months pregnant and our due date is February 9, 2013 (6 days after our oldest bday and 3 days before my hubbys!)

Everything has been going great, I have just been super exhausted.  However I can tell how carrying in my thirties is wayyyyy different than when I was pregnant before.  It seems as if time everything is going by super slooow,  however I’m happy to be adding another little blessing to our family.  So has my time approaches, I will be sharing more baby news!

The past few months I have been considering transferring our oldest daughter from a private Christian school to a public school in our area…honestly this was one of the hardest decisions ever!  To be completely transparent one of my first thoughts was “what will people say?”

For the past 3 years our daughter has been in one of the best (in my opinion) Christian schools.  She was able to thrive in her studies, grow in her understanding of the Word and made some really good friends.  I initially thought that this was the school that she would be attending until she was in middle school.  I loved the positive environment, all the field trips and I had a really good relationship with the directors, teachers and other parents.

Then things started to change for me once we found out that we were expecting another baby.  Nothing about the school but just about putting our family in the best situation so that we would all be able to make an easy transition come February.  For one, I had to ask myself a hard question “was I too comfortable?”.  This didnt come with an easy answer.  And to be honest yes.  Yes, I was too comfortable.  I was comfortable with the people I was around b/c I knew essentially we believed the same thing about Christ.  I was comfortable about my daughter being in a “Christian” environment.

I was also comfy saying that my daughter went to a “Christian” school.  There was just a good feeling that I got when I said it (yeah i said that out loud!).  There’s a phrase my husband always tells the kids that came to my rememberance…”Be a light”.  My hubby has said that phrase for years but up until that moment I never really took it literally.  BE A LIGHT…a light is a light in every situation, no matter how dark or dim the surroundings may be.  A light shines brightest in unfamiliar territory not when it is surrounded by other lights…

This one phrase changed my entire perspective.  It’s time for our family to charter into unknown territory!  And that territory, for our family, just happens to be public school.  We are taking this opportunity to get to know our neighbors and neighborhood better, pray for the school, students and staff and to get involved to be a help the place that our children will be spending their time…it is time for our family to be the lights!

As we embark on this journey, I know it will be some difficult maybe even uncomfortable times.  But now more than ever, I have to rely on God and the foundation that He has given us to lay for our children.  We are our children’s first teachers and I believe that it’s the right time that we trust God and put everything that we have taught them, thus far, to the test.  It’s time for us to be the lights and not just look at the others as they shine brightly….