Tag: Faith

A Divine Perspective 06: Trust in Him

There you go stressing!  You can’t even sleep at night because of all that you have going on in your head.  I’ve been there before.  I know what that is all about.  However,  I do believe that I have a solution that can help you to Let it Go!  Take it easy, breathe, and relax.  Allow the weight of the world to fall OFF your shoulders.

Even when you feel like you are at your lowest point in life, because it seems that all of the cares of the world are upon you, find your strength in the Lord.  Give your cares to HIM.

Of course you may not understand why life goes the way it does sometimes, but that my friend, is life.  We aren’t always going to understand everything that happens.  We have to believe in Him enough to trust and know that everything will work out in our lives for our good.  We will be victorious through Him.

Come to God with your concerns.  He would love to hear from you.   Let Him know what is worrying you. It doesn’t have to be formal and you don’t have to sound like a preacher. Just be yourself.  Come to Christ as you are.  He knows you and where you are in life, but he would still love to hear from His baby boy or baby girl.  Why?  Because He Loves You.  Don’t rely on other people to pray for you, because no one can pray for you like YOU CAN. 

Relax in the Lord…Talk to Him,  and do your best to Trust in Him.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.                      Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV

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Today is YOUR Day

Today is the beginning of not a new chapter, but a new book in your life.   A new year of new adventures awaits you.  Many tragedies, defeats, triumphs, and victories may be played out this year in this drama called life…

Today is the day my caramel chunk, my peanut butter, my boyfriend, my man, my huz-band, and my future baby’s daddy (lol) is celebrated.

“Lloydy, Lloydy, look whose 40”!

I can remember when I first met you.  I had heard about you before I knew who you were.  We finally met and I became familiar with you, and learned that you were a really great guy.  You left that same semester and I didn’t think anymore about you…when you came back that following fall semester of 2001, I was able to get to know you, and I learned that you were still a really great guy.  After you graduated, I never thought there would be anything more to our relationship.  Over time, through emails and phone calls, I got to know you better.  You showed that you would always be a good friend, but I never imagined that it would grow to be more. Our friendship did go on to be more and I am so grateful that it did.  Everyday, I am still able to see that you genuinely are a really great guy.

What a great friend you are.  Even to people that no longer deserve your friendship or you being friendly to them.  I admire you for striving to look beyond people’s faults and to see why they are the way they are without judging them at the place they are in life.  The patience and tolerance you for all people is a true gift.  You are genuine and admired from all that come across your path.  People that don’t know you have a desire to strike up a conversation with you, and people that do know you go out of their way to hear encouragement, jokes, and words of wisdom…because you are a really great guy.  You love people and they love you.

I am glad that you are looking forward to this day of celebration because you surely deserve to be celebrated. Today is the beginning of not a new chapter, but a new book in your life.   A new year of new adventures awaits you.  Many tragedies, defeats, triumphs, and victories may be played out this year in this drama called life.  While we walk this production together with God as the writer and director, I hope that you will begin to reap even more blessings this year than ever before.  I pray that more of what you have prayed for will manifest itself this year, along with things that you haven’t imagined or expected.

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”                                                  1 Corinthians 2:9 NIV

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUGAR-BEAR!

A Divine Perspective 04: Father’s Day 2017

The Father is Love

I thank God for my Father.  He has been my Father and my Daddy.  I have admired him since I was a little girl.  Like God, he has always shown me love. I have always been confident in his love for me.  I knew that if he didn’t love anybody else He loved me.

The bible states that God is love (1 John 4:8).  He is our heavenly father and he loves his children dearly.  I am thankful that I was able to experience firsthand what a father’s love was from my earthly father.

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ” (1 John 4:9-10)

Our father in heaven loves us.  Even those that feel they are not worthy.  You are worthy of His love because he already loved you before you were formed in your mother’s womb.  You may not have known a love from your earthly father but be confident in knowing that our heavenly father loves us because he sent love to the world to save us all.

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY

A Divine Perspective 03: Thankfulness

We should be thankful for ALL of the great things in our lives and ALL of the “I want to forget” things in our lives.

A Divine Perspective…Looking at Life through a Heavenly View

What are you thankful for?  Being thankful isn’t something we should only reserve until Thanksgiving Day, Christmas, or a Birthday, or when we feel we are at a good point in our lives.  We should be thankful for ALL that we have and all we don’t have.  We should be thankful for ALL of the great things in our lives and ALL of the “I want to forget” things in our lives.  Thank God for ALL the doors that have been closed and ALL of the relationships that didn’t work out.  Be thankful for that job you hate because God is allowing that to be a blessing for you.  Think about where your life could be, and be Thankful.

We may not always understand why hardships or hurt and pain have entered our lives until we are older and we may never know.  We must become content in understanding that God always has his best in store for us.  Even when we cry out to him “Why God why?!?!”.  “For he knows the plans he has for us” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV), and remember the author doesn’t need to discuss the plot with the characters, they just have to go through whatever the author has written for that character.  While you are going through it, give thanks with a grateful heart.

Psalm 100 (NIV)  A psalm. For giving grateful praise.                                                                                    1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.  2 Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.  3 Know that the Lord is God.  It is he who made us, and we are his we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.  4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.  5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

 

A Divine Perspective 01: For God so Loved the World…

A Divine Perspective—Looking at Life through a Heavenly View

Jesus was not sent to the world to judge you, but to love you.  His love is what is needed to help fulfill your emptiness.  His love is what is needed to Save the world.    Even when you believe no one does or can love you, He does and ALWAYS will.

“For God so loved, the WORLD, that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in HIM shall not perish, but have eternal life.  For God did not send HIS son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through HIM.”            John 3:16-17 NIV

 

Easter, the 2nd Christmas

It’s that time again! Pastel colors are everywhere.  New nests are being made for new bird families.  The scent of freshly bloomed flowers are in the air; along with the frightening buzz of bees and wasps. (Maybe it’s just me)   The “tormentuos” sounds of sneezes from me and all of my fellow allergy sufferers as pollen and ragweed dance in the beautiful bright rays of the sun.  Ahhh, this is spring. The season that brings us Easter.   As the weather warms up I have memories of dying eggs and the invisible crayon that added designs.  Memories of being allowed to again where white and practicing my Easter speech specially written by my mother.  When entering any grocery store, one can not help but be reminded of Easter when seeing the grey aisles filled with spring colors of various shades of greens, blues, pinks, purples, and yellows on the Easter baskets.  As eye catching as these baskets may be, it’s what’s inside that truly matters.

These baskets are filled to the brim with goodies.  There’s more than just candy, plastic eggs, and colorful grass in these baskets.  They are teeming with basketballs, footballs, water guns, jump ropes, baby dolls, army men, Disney character toys, clothing items, and hair items. Growing up, I was content with real eggs and Easter bunny shaped chocolate bars that I placed inside of my Easter Basket.  It did not come already prepared for me with gifts I hadn’t received for Christmas or my birthday.  Now it seems as if Easter is Christmas #2.  I didn’t know the Easter Bunny and Santa were related, but apparently, I was incorrect.  The other day at work, a co-worker was searching online to purchase something for her daughter’s phone.  I was thinking that maybe her child’s birthday was coming, but I eventually found out that the gift was to be placed in her daughter’s Easter basket.  I then asked, “When did Easter become like a second Christmas?” There was no response.  I hope she didn’t think I was being sarcastic.  This has been a question on my mind for a while now and I thought she knew, since she was a mother.  Do kids even dye eggs anymore?  Are real eggs still being used or just the plastic eggs with the money inside?  This brings me to my point…The true focus of Easter is no longer at the forefront.

Easter has sadly become a time of the year where the miracle of the resurrection of Jesus is ignored.  The media attempts to discuss Jesus.  The Ten Commandments is shown on television, although I don’t understand what that movie has to do with Easter.  Is it the Bible thing because that’s all I can think of.   You begin to see more of the “Who was Jesus” type of documentaries on network television or certain cable channels, but many also attempt to disprove Jesus as the Savior of all Mankind.  Of course churches do what they can with reminding all about the message of Easter with plays and special services to reach those that would probably never attend.  Many people attend their church or visit a church with their family.  Hopefully, they are focused more on the message and not just on how *so fresh and so clean they look.

The things mentioned above have become a tradition.   It is imperative that we keep in mind that Easter is celebrated not because of Spring, but because Jesus died on a cross and on the third day he was resurrected.  He rose from the grave with the power over life and death.  The Power of the Cross was and is for the world, not just for the church. All because He Loves You! He died for your sins.  He forgave you before you even were born to commit the sin.  Easter is not just a day to get together with one’s family.  It’s not just a day to bestow your child with gifts and new clothes.  Easter is not just a day to show up to church with your family to show off your new Easter clothes.  I am in no means trying to say that being with family, buying toys, or buying new clothes is wrong, just don’t allow those things to replace the true reason for Easter. Even if you don’t believe this happened, doesn’t mean that it didn’t happen.

(John 3:16- For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son.  That whosoever believeth in him should have everlasting life.)

*Outkast

Bunny+Egg=?

A few years ago, I asked my class if they could tell me why in the world the Easter bunny brought eggs for the children on Easter.  I was teaching 6th graders at the time and we were beginning a new Reading unit on Symbolism.  I had started the lesson with pictures that were symbolic of various things that I knew they would be familiar with.  I showed a picture of the cross, they said Jesus or church.  I showed a picture of a heart, they said Love.  A picture of the Golden Arches, they said McDonald’s.  A picture of a bunny a plus sign and an egg and they knew it meant Easter.  Everything started off great until I asked them why.  Why did these two completely different things mean Easter.  I mean, have you ever seen a bunny lay an egg?  Have you ever seen a bunny hatch from an egg?  They have nothing to do with each other, right?

There are sometimes issues in the Christian arena concerning the use of a bunny being used to correspond with Easter, but being the symbolic nerd that I am, I love it.  I like discussing it with anyone so that they can make sense of why some traditions use what they use in their traditions or why things represent whatever it is they are representing.

A QUICK BREAKDOWN of Symbolism used in Easter

For those of you unaware, rabbits have a lot of babies.  Babies represent new life.  Spring represents new life.  Eggs hatch and bring forth baby animals.  Therefore, eggs equal new life.  Flowers are blooming, trees are getting new leaves, and baby animals begin to be seen.  It’s like the world is being REBORN.  Let’s not forget about the True Life being REBORN…Someone coming back from the dead, is like being REBORN.  Thank the Lord for the Cross and your RESURRECTING Power.  You came back to life with all power over Life and Death in your hands! Amen!

(John 3:16-For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son.  That whosoever believeth in him should not parish, but have everlasting life.)

A Letter to my Father-in-Love

Dear Paw-Paw,

When I first met you, I didn’t know how I would come to love you.  Your jokes were less than funny and your sense of humor made no sense.  You were a different type of guy.  You aggravated my way of thinking, by challenging my way of thinking.  Ideas and beliefs that I had been taught, since before I was born, were brought into question.  I can still hear you asking me as I come into your room, just to greet you, “Kat! What is Life?”  As soon as I am about to answer you say, “Ha! One day you’ll get it!”

You forced me to form my own beliefs on what God had shown me, and not have them based on what my parents had told me.  It hurts when your brain grows, but you were always able to show and prove every new concept that you brought to my attention.  Thank you for that.  Over time I appreciated you and grew to love you!  Even your feet. LOL!!  You had wisdom like a Buddha…and his Belly!  I miss rubbing it, “for luck”.  You helped me to see that God created us all differently and that we all have different paths to take that will lead us to him.  I am so happy that I was able to know you and spend my birthday with you last year.  I think somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew….

Once again you have brought change to me; it is because of you, that I now have to face the impact of death every day.  Usually when a loved one has gone on, I’ve never lived in the area so I didn’t have to deal with not having that person there, until YOU.  Yes, it has been hard; but I tend to imagine you laughing at me, for crying over you.  That’s how you were.  Yes Lloyd, I hear you telling me that I don’t need to be sad because you are in a better place.  I know that, but it still hurts. I know that I can believe in the hope of being able to see you again, but Paw-Paw, it still hurts.

Thank you for telling me that you were happy I was your daughter-in-law and that I was your favorite daughter-in-law.  Although I was the only one, it still made me feel special!

Seeing you love your wife the way you did, helps me to understand why my husband loves me the way that he does.  Thank you for showing me that fussing with your spouse over silly things like food or TV channels is a normal thing.  Thank you for encouraging me to enjoy life and for always encouraging me to keep trusting in God and his promises.   Although I miss seeing you on your side of the bed and hearing you talk about guns, space, and God, I am happy that you are finally Whole.  I love you, I miss you, and your Boston Market dinners!

My life has forever been changed because of the wisdom you blessed me with. April 10, 2017 marked 1 year of having to live without hearing your laugh or seeing you clasp your hands to your mouth right before you said something that changed my thought process.  In my mind I continue to see you do these things….  You will never be forgotten.

With Love,

Your Favorite Daughter in Law (Katty-May)

JUST DO IT!

Just do it!  Stop worrying about what others might say.  Are you planning to do anything that’s going to hurt you or anybody else? No?  So just go for it!  There are so many things in life that cause people to not go after their dreams.  What’s stopping you?  What’s getting in the way?  What are you allowing to hold you back?  What excuse are you using this time?  Is it age? Is it a lack of money?  Is it a lack of opportunity? Is it that you are waiting on God?

Okay, I get it.  You’ve been praying and asking and waiting for God to open that door; but what are you doing in the process?  Are you waiting by faith or walking by faith? Walking and Waiting are both actions.  They are both something that can be done. But to get the results you are believing for, you need to do BOTH.  You can’t just rely on one without the other.  You can’t walk without the expectation of reaching a destination; you can’t just wait without an expectation of something happening.  Why else would you walk?  Why else would you wait?  You must walk and wait.  They go hand in hand.  Faith without works is dead.  Point. Blank. Period.  I can sit and pray that God opens a door for me to get a job, but if I don’t get off my roody-poo and “walk” by applying for a job, I shouldn’t “wait” with the expectation that a job will hire me.

You can “wait” in the midst of your “walking”, but eventually you gotta just do it! You’ve got to want it so bad, that you won’t allow anything to hold you back.  You can say that you want to lose weight, but if you don’t begin to act on that by doing what it takes, you’ll probably begin to gain more weight because you’re just sitting around saying what you want to do while still eating whatever comes your way.  You can not just wait for things to happen. When you begin to do what needs to be done (Walking), you can then Wait with the expectation that something will happen.

During this time of walking and waiting, don’t allow doubt to sneak in.  You may not see instantaneous results, but that doesn’t mean your goals won’t come into fruition.  You must also change your mind set so that you believe in what God has put in YOU.  I hate to sound clichéd, but Beyoncé didn’t just happen overnight.  Her daddy knew what he was doing.  It took years for Beyoncé to get over being shy and feeling like she needed a group, to believe that she could do it on her own, and become the dynamic solo entertainer that she is today.

Yes, she has always had people who believed in her, and you might be saying that you don’t.  Okay…are you going to allow that to stop you? If you don’t believe in yourself, who will.  How do you know your “Daddy”, doesn’t know what he’s doing? Don’t allow what the naysayers say, to be proven true by not fulfilling your destiny. * I apologize for the Destiny’s Child reference while mentioning Beyoncé…it wasn’t planned. *  What I am trying to say is, you have to do what you believe you should do, and not concern yourself with what others think about it.  Keep in mind that it’s not your business to know what others say or think about you.  There is nothing you can do to control that anyway.  It’s a waste of time and energy, which you could be putting into what you can control which is working to achieving your dreams.

Remember that sitting (waiting) for too long can give you sores.  Get up and just do It!  Whatever “It” may be.  It may not be any easy road, but just take that first step.  Only God knows where that step of faith will take you. Just do it!

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