God is in Control

We read in Jeremiah 1:5 before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee. God is never taken by surprise. He knew the end before the beginning of every situation that would happen in our lives and the world in which we live. Oftentimes when an event occurs in our lives whether good or bad we experience different emotions ranging from shock, pain, sorrow and grief if it's a tragic or devastating event to shock, amazement, or euphoria if it's a joyous event.

 

When tragedy strikes we often ask God why? Only He can answer that question. What I can say is that He never gives us more that we can bear without providing a way of escape as we read in 1Corinthians10:13 there hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. That way of escape always includes turning to Him for solace.

 

Quoting His words again He also says in Romans 8:28 and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.  We have no control over some of the events that occur in our lives or the lives of anyone else, especially our loved ones. If we did have control we certainly would not allow tragedy to occur in our lives or the lives of those we cherish. But trusting in His word again we must realize that something good will come from all things as He as stated.

I was very close to my mother who went to be with The Lord in 2007. Prior to her passing I always thought I would not be able to function if she ever left me. Notice I said left me because that is what I thought. She would be leaving me. I remember when it was time for my mother to go she was in the hospital and was ready to leave this temporary home we call earth. I said to her mamma if you are ready to go why don't you just ask God to take you? She replied I did. Within the next few days she was gone. Her departure was peaceful. She was now at rest. Of course I cried and still miss her tremendously. I talk to her and sometimes while shopping may say mamma would like this or I should get this for mamma for Christmas. Prior to her passing she asked that my sisters and I keep our family together. Little did she know within two years of her death my sisters and I would be living within walking distance of each other’s homes? I am sure this is not the togetherness to which she was referring, however it is a blessing and has worked together for the good of us all.

 

You may say death is tragic and it is.  It is tragic for those who are left behind but remember the death of Jesus removed the sting from death meaning there would be no pain in death. Additionally to be absent from the body is to be present with The Lord. Solomon also advises us we should morn when a child is born because of what he or she will face on earth and rejoice in death because there is no more sorrow in the lives of those that are dead.

 

Perhaps the tragedy you are facing is not death but feels just as devastating. Again I refer you to 1Corinthians 10:13 and Romans 8:28. Will reading the scriptures bring comfort? Maybe they will and maybe they won't but whether or not they bring comfort they are true and believe it or not in time the pain will lessen as we read in Isaiah 61:3 He will give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.

 

Will the pain go away immediately probably not? Will it ever go away? It can become bearable enough for you to function and it can also serve as a testimony to others if you will allow God to comfort you and bring you peace which comes with resting in him.

What is important is that we share Jesus Christ with those that we love so when they do depart from this temporary home for their eternal home we can rest assured that they will spend eternity with God.

 

If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior I strongly encourage you to do so now simply by reading the following out loud. Dear God I come before you now acknowledging I am a sinner. I ask that you forgive me of my sins. I know that you gave the life of your Son and on the third day He rose and is seated at your right hand. I thank you for accepting me as yours and from this day forward I belong to you.

If you spoken this prayer I encourage you to find a bible based church to attend.

 

I also encourage you whether a newly converted or seasoned Christian to share this word with all you know. As the title of this blog reads and whether it appears that way or not God is in control.

Perseverance

While on vacation last week I was able to witness two amazing performances by two different types of performers. The first included four different motorcycle groups performing synchronized drills. The precision was amazing each group unique in its own way. It was obvious the amount of time, effort and practice each group exercised to hone their skills.

At the end of each performance you could see the joy in their faces as they celebrated their flawless performance. The crowd applauded cheered and whistled at the finale when all four groups rode together blowing their horns and flashing their lights.

The second performance was by Vocal Trash. You may have heard of them or attended one of their performances yourself. I watched and listened as they sang, danced and engaged the audience with their enthusiastic musical message played on instruments made from recycled materials.

Both groups of performers were filled with passion. If you haven’t realized it I am very passionate about people who are passionate about their passion. As I listen to people talk about their passions I can see and feel their passion. I can visual the success of a passionate individual as they express to me their goals as well as their plans to attain them.

The operative words here are passion, goal and plan. In addition to a passion, drive or desire you must set S.M.A.R.T or specific, measureable, achievable, realistic, and time-limited goals. You must also have an action plan. Any of these by themselves are enough to light a fire but you need the other two to fuel the fire and keep it burning.

Even with the combination of all three there will be times you may think you are wasting your time, will never succeed and if you have made a monetary investment you may feel like you have thrown your money away. It was obvious the performers I watched had passion, a goal and an action plan but there were probably times when thoughts of failure may have crossed their minds just as they may have yours and mine.

What made these performers successful? Perseverance, it’s the same thing that makes anyone successful. I’ve written about commitment and being convinced but no matter how committed you are or how convinced you are you must still have goals and a plan of action to reach your goals. You should invest time and effort daily if possible. Create a weekly plan to reach your overall goal.  If you are unable to commit time daily set aside time on your calendar during the week to commit to your plan. Do not become discouraged if you are unable to keep your commitment one day. Instead if possible increase your effort the next day you have allotted on your calendar so you do not fall behind in your weekly goal. What is your plan this week to take you closer to reaching your goal?

 

What Do You See?

Have you ever walked past a store in the mall or building with glass front and taken a glimpse of yourself as you walked by? What did you see? Perhaps you noticed your hair, your clothing, or even your stride as you caught your image for a brief moment.

Once you passed that place you could no longer see your image nor could anyone else that may have been glancing in that direction at the same time. Your physical body was still in motion but the image was no longer visible.

Depending on the glass your reflection may have appeared elongated, or it could have appeared to be stretched out or shrunken. Paul says in James 1:22-24 but be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway fogetteth what manner of man he was.

What do people see when they look at you? We also read in 1 Samuel 16:7 ...for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. Just as you see your image as you walk past the glass that is the same image man sees but is that who you are? We read in James if you are not a doer of the word but a hearer only you are that image that is in the glass. Once your reflection is gone you forget who you are on the inside. You lose track of what God has called you to do if you are looking and listening but not doing.

Oftentimes we get excited when we have an idea or a vision in mind of what we want to do or the direction in which we believe God is leading us. But once we take our eyes off of how we see ourselves involved in our destiny, or if we no longer hear ourselves talking about what it will take to get there we are no longer taking steps towards reaching our goals. We are no longer doing that which will take us there.

But we are just like that image in the glass; our image is no longer there. We must always stay proactive. We must always be in the business of being in business. It is easy to become distracted and lose sight of our goals. But we must do something every day to remind ourselves of what it is that we are striving to do. I don’t like to use the word small because there is no small effort. Any effort at all should be rewarded because it takes you one step closer to your victory.

I will close this by saying don’t forget the image in the mirror. You may be the only one that sees it. Let your works speak for themselves because the image is only temporary.

I’m Convinced

Last week I posed the question just how committed are you. I wrote about my peaks and valleys as far as commitment is concerned. As I pondered my commitment another thought came to mind. The more I thought about how committed I am to forging my way towards my destiny the more determined I became to move forward.

This determination has moved me to a new level of commitment which I refer to as being convinced. You can commit yourself to a task, or a plan. You can even commit yourself to an idea but being convinced brings on a certain drive.

When you are convinced of your destiny you settle within yourself that whatever it is that you are expecting to happen will happen and no one can convince you otherwise.

I have set certain goals for myself. My sister has told me I’m not a realist. If I was a realist why would I need faith? I’m an eternal optimist, always have been and always will be. I believe. I believe, yes I believe.

I am convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that everything that has been placed in my spirit will come to pass. Every idea, every project, every dream, vision or thought whether spoken out loud or heard through meditation is mine. I have taken hold of them all and will not let go. Just as Jacob stated in Genesis 32:26 I will l not let go until you bless me.

I will not give up, slow down, turn in another direction or quit. I am convinced that I am exactly where I am supposed to be doing exactly what God has predestined me to do.

What about your? Are you committed and or convinced? Are you determined to go all the way? Have you settled in your mind that this is it and there is no turning back? Are you ready to forge ahead or are you content to watch others move forward while you sit quietly in the background wishing it was you? Wishing won’t get you anywhere but making a commitment to move forward will give you the drive to be convinced.

 

Just How Committed Are You?

If I had a dollar for each time I have said I’m going to dedicate myself to following my destiny I probably wouldn’t have to follow it because I’d be a billionaire. That may be an exaggeration but I have made a commitment to follow my dreams more times than I care to remember. The truth of the matter is I have my peaks and valleys. There are days when I work until I can’t think. Whether I’m working on my latest book, a poem, a greeting card or marketing. There are days when the adrenaline is so strong I feel as though I can’t get the words on paper fast enough.

Then there are the days I sit in front of the television and don’t move. Afterwards I become angry with myself because of all the time I’ve wasted doing absolutely nothing. I can also spend an entire day just conversing with people. I must admit my biggest joy comes from helping others discover their passion and encouraging them to follow their dreams and pursue their destiny, but what else would you expect from a Motivational Speaker and Life Coach?

What’s important is consistency with balance. It’s great to follow your dreams but without balance even following your dreams can take a toll on you. When you are passionate about what you are doing it doesn’t feel like work, time gets away from you and before you know it you can become burnt out doing the thing you love the most.

Always make time for friends, family and something fun. This enables you to work without feeling guilty when you take a break.

Just how committed are you? Some people work full or part-time jobs while pursing their passion. If you fall into this category commit one of my favorite scriptures to memory. It can be found in Romans 4:17 call those things which be not as though they were. What is your passion, dream, desire or destiny? Perhaps you want to be a chef. Why not call yourself a chef? Maybe your desire is to be an artist. Call yourself an artist, and say it aloud. God spoke the world into existence. Why can’t you speak your destiny into existence? If you believe you can do it and put effort behind it your faith will bring it to fruition.

Victim or Victor?

I am an optimist, a dreamer and expect happy endings. I always have and I always will.  Life is full of highs and lows, obstacles stumbling blocks and hiccups. Sometimes the trials and tribulations that affect our lives are created by our volition. It’s all about choices. We choose certain paths, relationships, jobs, homes, neighborhoods, etc. On the other had as Solomon said time and chance happen to us all.

Whether we have made a decision that has adversely affected our lives or the adverse affect was not caused by anything we have done ourselves how we choose to react to the consequences determine whether we are a victim or victor.

It’s easy to blame others whether it’s their fault of not for the things that we feel have adversely affected our lives. Sometimes it makes us feel better to place blame on others and the fault may belong to others but we are responsible for determining how we will react.

Have I always made the best decisions? No I have not. Have things occurred in my life at the hands of others that I could not avoid? Yes they have? Have I considered my self as a victim? Yes I have. Was my life, were my emotions or my state of mind improved or did I find solace when I saw myself as a victim? Perhaps momentarily, but being a victim prevented growth as well as helping me determine how or even why I found myself in the role of being a victim.

Once I decided to take an objective look at the circumstances which I felt caused me to be a victim I was able to change my status from victim to victor. I learned from decisions I’d made. I forgave those that hurt me and made a conscious decision to change my life.

Perhaps you have been hurt by someone you love and thought loved you. Maybe you were abandoned, lied to cheated on or stolen from. Maybe you were the offender and have caused family or friends to turn against you or could there be an offense you feel guilty for committing that no one knows about but God?

If you fall into any of these categories the first thing you need to do is determine what has caused you to feel like a victim. Once you have determined the cause if repenting is required repent, if forgiving is required forgive. Forgive yourself and forgive your offender. As long as you have not forgiven you are still a victim, victory comes with forgiving. Do not allow your offender whether it’s someone else or your own thoughts to hold you captive. Make a decision today to be victorious. Victory is yours. All you have to do is choose to be a victor rather than a victim.

 

 

 

 

Are You In Motion?

One of the definitions of motion is the action or process of moving or of changing place or position; movement. This process of moving, changing place or position can take you in different directions. But back to my original question are you in motion? Positive motion will propel you forward. It keeps you active and engaged in reaching your goals, your dreams, and your destiny. While negative motion will move you in the opposite direction.

Oftentimes interference or noise will turn our positive or forward motion into a negative or backward motion or even stop us from moving.  Have you ever listened to a radio station with a very clear signal then suddenly the signal weakens there may be static or you may even hear a completely different station. The radio frequency has changed because you are out of range.

When we lose our focus, our reason or purpose for seeking after our goals, dreams or destiny due to interference or noise we may feel what we have been striving for is out of range. You may have written a business plan, spent hours doing research but ran into a snag. Perhaps you have run out of funding. Maybe you are walking through the mall and see an idea that is similar to yours or everything is in place for a big contract that falls through at the last minute.

What do you do? Do you lose focus? If you were listening to the radio and were no longer able to listen to your favorite station what would you do? Do you play a CD or do you turn off the radio? If you are like me you may make your own music and sing.

We cannot be distracted by notice, interference or setbacks. As long as we are alive and striving to reach a goal there will be obstacles in our way so what do we do? We improvise. If your capital has fallen short find creative ways to come up with new capital. Have a garage sale, or sell unwanted or unneeded items on ebay. Perhaps you can barter with someone than needs what you have to offer. So what if someone has an idea that is similar to yours. I cannot say this enough. No one can do what you can do exactly the way you do it. If one contract falls through keep working towards the next one. As long as you are moving forward you will reach your destination, but the minute you stop moving your progression stops.

We all get side tracked from time to time but it’s imperative that you stay focused. Find an alternate route. It may take you longer to get there but you will get there eventually and guess what? You may even find your detour gets you there quicker.