Stop and smell the Roses He give you!!!

There is a shirt that I had at one time, that I used to wear to lounge around in. It said: "Stop and smell the roses he gives you". I never thought much of it until I was out at lunch with a friend and she shared with me, what it meant to her when she saw it. She said, "Everyday God gives us beautiful roses, He loves us so much and does beautiful things for us daily because we are His children! The bible says He rejoices over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17) ! WOW, What a love!

I wonder how many times we took for granted those beautiful roses He gives us daily by just passing by them and not acknowledging them or thinking that we wanted a different type of rose from what He has given us or comparing our bouquet to others. I know were times that I didn't show how thankful I was for the beautiful roses He's given me DAILY. 1 Thessalonians tells us to give thanks in all things, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus!

A rose could be anything that friend that's always there or that spouse who is faithful yet we don't appreciate them like we used to. A rose an annoying child that always wants our attention, a job that we are tired of being at. A rose can be anything!!!

Just because the rose or flowers He gives us may not look exactly like what we THOUGHT it would or should, He knows what we need, when we need it and why we need it. Let's make it a point to smell the beautiful roses in our lives that He gives us!!!

Single Season- There's a purpose in it! (P2)

Okay, so yesterday I shared some of my testimony and what I have learned through the years as being a single young woman. So, God has placed mentors and pastors, parents and friends that have been SUCH a blessing to me on the way and throughout this season. One thing is that this is not a death sentence or God is not trying to make us have a miserable life! No, no, no. He has a purpose in everything and He has a marvelous plan. This is just a chapter in the book. So let’s get into scripture right away!

Let’s start with the first marriage in the bible: Adam and Eve (1 man, 1 woman this is God’s design for marriage, no exceptions). When Almighty God created the heavens and the earth and everything in it, He spoke the world into existence and said it was “good”, until…..

Genesis 2:7 “the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being”.

So this clearly tells us that when God formed the man, he breathed HIS breath into the man which gave him life and the man became a living being. My brothers and sisters, this means we are LIVING in this season. We are not dead or in a dark box until marriage, but we are living because we have the breath of life in us that God himself has breathed!

Genesis 2:18 “The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone, I will make a helper suitable for him”.

Okay, so this is another scripture that has so many interpretations. God’s word does not have to be difficult. And this is not to say that if you are single that “you aren’t good” or anything like that. God formed us and knew everything about us, we were created to desire companionship and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that period!

Genesis 2:19-20 “Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.”

Okay, all of this happened BEFORE God put Adam into a deep sleep and made Eve from His rib. But it is after God says that it is not good for the man to be alone. God decided to make a helper suitable for Adam, because He did not want his child, His creation made in His image to be alone.
However, we notice that BEFORE God brought Adam and Eve together, He had some work for good ole Adam to do first! Adam had the assignment of naming all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. Now, ya’ll, I doubt very seriously this only took a day. Do you know how many animals of the field they are or birds of the air!!! Thousands, if not millions. I don’t know how many other than a lot! There was something God had for Adam to do before he became one with Eve.

So you know that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. And you know that His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts and as high as the heavens are so are His ways above our ways. And you also know that there is a SEASON for every for everything right. And you know that God really does make everything beautiful in His time! Could it possibly be, that the Lord has a purpose in your single season? Could it be that, in this season He has an assignment, a work for us today BEFORE we get married and become one with our mate? YES!

Romans 8: 28-30 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the first born among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

God has allowed me to cross so many paths with brothers and sisters who God has blessed exceedingly and abundantly and has fulfilled His faithful promise of a mate to them, what have they said they were doing when they met them? ..............Serving :-)

God has a plan and a purpose and an assignment for us now! And it’s not for us to sit around and wait for certain events in our lives to happen before we serve Him and work for Him! My brothers and my sisters, God has a marvelous plan for your life and He predestined you to do it! A specific task and as you seek Him, He will show you. His hand is already on your life. Don’t wait to walk in your purpose, serve God now. Ask Him for strength and joy and He will give it to you!!! He knows that everyday won’t be easy, just call out to Him, He will answer!

I know it's hard, I know that sometimes it appears to be to much for you and sometmes it seems unfair. But, God cares about you SO much. So much that He would allow us to experience tests that hurt sometimes, so that we can be shaped and molded into who we need to be to be used by Him. This way, when He fulfills His gracious promise to us we will be in position to receive. I believe it!

Part 3 is coming up!!!

Part 1

Single Season- "Lord this aint easy!"

*** Disclaimer: when I googled images for waiting I found this pic. I thought it was SO funny becauses sometimes this is how it feels, but if you ask me this is a picture of how NOT to wait! Lol.

I have to admit. One of the hardest, if not the hardest

things for me in my 20s has been my single season. I used to not even talk about it, because of the way it made me feel. As a woman (or man) that desires to be married and is of marrying age, it’s easy to feel burdened and pressured by what others say or what the norm is around you. Most, if not everyone desires companionship and it’s a good desire (just ask God He says so)! With ups and downs and even disappointments in relationships that we thought would lead into marriage and when you see others around you receive the very blessing or answered prayer, you have been praying for; it’s really a test of Faith.

God has laid on my heart to write a few blogs about this, as I know I am not alone in this. There is nothing new under the sun and God allows us to experience everything we do for and with a purpose.

I truly believe that if you have the desire to be married, that God will grant you that desire in HIS time. Some may disagree, but I can only share what the Lord has shared with me and that is if you delight yourself in the Lord, He will give you the desires of your heart (for this is His word)!

Let me share some of my testimony with you: Recently within the past 6 or 7 months, I realized I was previously living my life basically waiting to get married. For example, I would say things like “I’ll do this when I get married, I’ll wait to start that when I get married, I’ll only feel comfortable doing certain things in ministry until I get married”. Now hear my heart, I truly believe and honor the way that the Lord has set order in marriage, with God first, the man being the head of the house and the woman being the help meet. I think it’s beautiful. However, waiting on God does not mean sitting around in my bedroom, with the lights turned off in sackcloth and ashes waiting for my king to arrive! (Or like the women in the picture on this post) LOL. I laugh now, but this really is how I used to think: “If I’m not in a relationship something must be wrong with me and I need to find someone to get in one with quick, so that others will see that I’m wanted”. Or the famous one that the devil has tried to throw my way several times: “Lynnea, something must be wrong with you, that’s why you are not married yet”. Or “Your doomed now, your 28 and you’re not married, you mine as well throw in the towel”, The devil is a liar and there is no truth in him! He will have you so focused on your situation and not on God that it consumes you and you can’t even focus on doing what the Lord has called you to do in this season! Besides, God sent His only son Jesus Christ thousands of years so that I (and you too) could be redeemed and set free and HE IS THE King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Hallelujah!

Actually, if we seek God during this season and ask Holy Spirit to reveal things to us about ourselves that need change He will. God has shown me things that had to be dealt with that would had been a problem in a marriage relationship. Just like the children of Israel, God does not want us getting to our promise with a slave mentality!!! Then we would just mess that thing up, no thanks I plan on being a helpmeet, not a hurtme wife!

I just want you to know, if you are out there brother or sister and you are discouraged about relationships and wanting to be married or being single in this season, take heart God knows and He cares about you SO much. He wants to bless you, but He wants YOU first. He wants to be your first love! Click here for part 2.

Worship Warfare!

It is time! It is time to Worship, it is time to take our Worship to another level!!! Did you know that Worshiping the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords is a weapon of warfare? Oh yes it is!!!

It’s easy to go through everything else before we finally decide to put our concerns and worries and questions to the side and just worship the Lord. Praise and worship is so much more than singing a fast or a slow song. I admire David so much because he is known to be a worshipper, but what is he known as in the bible even more: a man after God’s own HEART! You wanna send the devil fleeing? Resist him by praising and worship the Lord! To worship God we have to have His heart, to have His heart we have to know Him.

Sing, Dance, cry out, shout praises, tell God who He is to you, speak His word back to Him, use that sword and activate the FULL ARMOR (Ephesians 6:10-18), give Him thanksgiving and praise, rejoice in Him, intercede for others, lift up your head oh ye gates!

I don’t know who said that the devil is dumb or stupid, but it’s simply not true. I’ll tell you what he is, he’s sneaky, he’s evil and is seeking to see whom he may devour:

1 Peter 5:8 “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour”

Notice Peter tells us to be self-controlled and alert first, so this means we have to be proactive. We have to go and be on watch for our families, communities and nation. That’s really why we have to make it a point to spend time in praise and worship unto the Father, so that we will know what to pray for, where His heart is and how to intercede for others. That's why David won so many battles, He was a man after God's own HEART.

When we worship the Lord it is SO POWERFUL! Shackles fall off, curses are broken, healing and deliverance take place. Worshipping God is so powerful I believe it will restore our children's’ innocence, mend broken marriages, allow the lonely to receive love and give love, end sexual immorality and restore purity in our nations, end the laws from being passed in New York, California, D.C. and wherever else and restore GOD’S institution of marriage, bring men and women out of the crack house, children will leave gangs and walk into the arms of Jesus, leaders and pastors will return to holiness and have a heart for the things of God. Hallelujah! I believe it!

My brothers and sisters now is the time!!!

The Shofar- What is this annointed instrument of Praise and Worship?

Worship (S.A.T.) Spirit and in Truth!!! - The Shofar

John 4:23-24
23 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

God can solve the Identity Crisis

Naturally, a child wants to know where they came from and who they are. For Example, if a child is adopted or raised by family members other than their birth parents, there is just something in them to want to know the "unknown" about themselves.

It can be the same way when we accept the Lord Jesus as our Savior and as we become to know Him, there is this strong desire we have inside of us to know what our purpose is on this Earth and to fulfill it. I think it is beautiful how God has created us: He formed us when we where in our mothers' womb. Isnt that amazing? To know that God literally crafted us and designed us; everything about us in our mothers' womb! Now that's an amazing GOD!

The thing is, sometimes we become frustrated with the process of seeing our dreams realized and walking in the purpose that God has for us. Even if we have identified what our passions and gifts are; if we feel we are not able to use those gifts or passions as much as we would like, it can be discouraging. Then the devil tempts us to compare ourselves to others and even sometimes try to be like someone else. This is not God.

God's plan for our lives far exceeds what anyone else's plan for us (including ourselves) may be. He's not copy cat, only original and He wants the same for us! He has the blueprint for our lives and He knows how to go about the process of seeing it completed and fulfilled.

Nevertheless, Our identity is not in what we do, but we can only be completely fulfilled once we find our identity in Him. He's the one that created us! He is the one who makes us whole. Thank you Jesus!

So, let's make knowing Him our priority and trusting His leading and direction for us. And if you get discouraged, just know that He loves you SO much and His thoughts towards you are many! His love has made us whole!

David inquired of the Lord…….

1 Samuel 30:8a “and David inquired of the Lord”.

Definition of inquire: to seek to learn by asking: to inquire a person's name. to seek information by questioning; ask.

So, we may know a few things about King David: He went from being a Sheppard boy to a King, defeated that ole Philistine Goliath, committed adultery with Bathsheba, danced before the Lord with all his might, and was a man after God’s own heart! He was an extravagant worshipper!
David had many victories, there is something else that David faithfully did that had to be one of the main reasons for His success; David inquired of the Lord! Whether he was about to go into Battle, someone was plotting to kill him, or needed direction on where to go, instead of taking matters into his own hands, David inquired of the Lord.

One thing that really encourages me about David, although he made mistakes and there were many tests that he had to go through in life, he was so successful at what he did. This encourages me because we don’t have to believe the lies of that sneaky devil when he tries to put condemnation on us because of our past mistakes or his lies that God has left us or is mad at us and we just have to ‘find our own way out”. Not so, David cried out to God and sought Him before He made any major decisions, God gave him direction and He obeyed. He trusted God.
I believe this is the same relationship the Lord wants with us, before we pick up the phone to call mama and them or go over to brotha’s house to see what we should do. We can inquire of the Lord when it’s just Him and us. This is not to say that we shouldn't seek godly counsel, the word makes it clear that it’s okay to do that. However, I know from my own experience sometimes we go to seek what others think we should do, before we even go to our God and that’s if we even seek Him about our situation.

Let's challenge ourselves and learn from David to inquire of the Lord, expect His direction, trust Him and obey. It may not always be easy to truly trust Him. However, He really does know far better than we do, what is best for us and the more we do it, the easier it will be to trust Him. Just like He did with David, He will never fail us. Thank you Jesus!!!