To God be the glory for all the marvelous and wonderful things He has done! I cannot begin this day, or any other day, without first acknowledging the Creator and giving Him praise & honor for waking me up this morning!!!!
On a beautiful Sunday evening, April 22nd, 32 years ago, A STAR WAS BORN. As my mother recalls, I was almost delivered in my Grandma's car which means I was ready to get up out of there LOL So as you can gather, from day one I was FOCUSED & DETERMINED.
*singing* Its my burfday, its my burfday, its my burfday :)
I know it's a general rule that ladies don't reveal their age. However, I have come to understand & appreciate the fact that there are some folk who don't live to see their 32nd birthday so I don't mind sharing the goodness of God's favor and blessings over my life.
I can't say enough how grateful I am to just BE. I know that God is doing a great work in me. I appreciate all the love, support, prayers, and encouragement that so many of you offer. Some things only get better with age -- surely I am one of them ;). In my 20's I had no idea what I wanted in life (although I thought I did) so I'm especially grateful that God allowed me to make it to my 30's because it wasn't until then that I believe I truly began to LIVE. At this moment, I believe myself to be the healthiest (mentally, emotionally, spiritually) & happiest I've been in my adult life! I'm absolutely loving this skin that I'm in, confident & certain that I am exactly where God wants me to be, and filled with great excitement about what the future holds. My faith grows stronger each day. There is a peace that I can't explain & a joy deep on the inside that I know only comes from my Heavenly Father. I pray that I am always learning, always growing, and most importantly always about my Father's business.
My phone began ringing & beeping with text messages, BBMs, and emails last night at 11:45pm -- Thanks so much to everyone who poured a little sunshine into my special day ;) Tears fill my eyes as I think about the goodness of Jesus and all he's done for me...makes me want to get my shout on this morning, simply realizing that I am absolutely blessed beyond measure. The morning begins now with a 90 minute workout at the gym followed by a few hours of feeding the homeless downtown at Shepherd's Table Soup Kitchen where I love to volunteer :) Already got my hair DID last week, awesome pedicure on yesterday, and scheduled for an hour massage this afternoon. Sushi & cupcakes with some of my girls tonight... it's going to be a WONDERFUL day!!!!!
"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me." -- Erma Bombeck
Friday, April 22, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
STILL Standing
There are some things that I want to get off of my chest and I'm going to try to say it as tactfully as I know how...
Every day we all face some type of opposition. The devil is always busy interrupting our day with unnecessary drama & making intricate, deliberate attempts to disrupt our peace. He is fiercely determined & persistent in trying to manipulate us and/or bring us down. Ordinarily, I wouldn't want to give him my attention or even acknowledge his antics but it seems so necessary to make it clear WHO I belong to & to call a spade a spade!
Just as a boxer studies his opponent, devil, I have studied you. I know how you operate. You invite yourself into my home as if you are a welcome guest. You show up at my job trying to jeopardize my productivity & income. I see you working your way into my relationships with family and friends trying to create mistrust & controversy, destroy bonds, & cause distance and separation. I hear you lurking in my mind trying to plant doubt, fear & confusion; wanting me to second guess God's promises and plans (Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future"). I've even seen you present yourself in the lives of the people around me by splitting marriages, closing businesses, & ruining partnerships. I have peeped your game...I'm on to you. And you might want to know that you are fighting a losing battle because I've got someone in my corner who remains UNDEFEATED ("What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31).
You may have thought that I was down for the count but I was just on my knees in prayer. You may have thought that you had my face buried in the sand but I was just hidden in the Word of God. You may have thought that I was a punk for not fighting back but I already knew that the battle wasn't mine. You may have thought that the tears you saw streaming from my face were a sign of weakness but truth be told, those tears are a sign of my strength. I am a Warrior; a Champion; a Conqueror (Romans 8:37 "In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us").
You insist on attacking me on every side especially when I made a conscious decision to be all about my Father's business ("You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" 1 John 4:4). I get that's just what you do. I know that you want my life. For as long as there is breath in my body, I know that you will continue to try to destroy who I am & try to prevent me from becoming who God has destined me to become. You will continue to assassinate my character, work forcefully to kill my spirit and steal my joy.
The funny thing is that everything you mean for my bad, God turns it around for my good. Your attacks only make me WISER, BETTER, & STRONGER! Most importantly, my faith is not wavered. So I'm prompted to bring to your awareness as reflected in the history of our encounters, that at the end of the day...when all is said and done...when the dust settles and the smoke clears... and even when the doo doo (yeah I said it) hits the fan, I'm STILL standing strong!!!
PSA: I ain't the one you wanna mess with!!!!! ;)
Every day we all face some type of opposition. The devil is always busy interrupting our day with unnecessary drama & making intricate, deliberate attempts to disrupt our peace. He is fiercely determined & persistent in trying to manipulate us and/or bring us down. Ordinarily, I wouldn't want to give him my attention or even acknowledge his antics but it seems so necessary to make it clear WHO I belong to & to call a spade a spade!
Just as a boxer studies his opponent, devil, I have studied you. I know how you operate. You invite yourself into my home as if you are a welcome guest. You show up at my job trying to jeopardize my productivity & income. I see you working your way into my relationships with family and friends trying to create mistrust & controversy, destroy bonds, & cause distance and separation. I hear you lurking in my mind trying to plant doubt, fear & confusion; wanting me to second guess God's promises and plans (Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future"). I've even seen you present yourself in the lives of the people around me by splitting marriages, closing businesses, & ruining partnerships. I have peeped your game...I'm on to you. And you might want to know that you are fighting a losing battle because I've got someone in my corner who remains UNDEFEATED ("What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31).
You may have thought that I was down for the count but I was just on my knees in prayer. You may have thought that you had my face buried in the sand but I was just hidden in the Word of God. You may have thought that I was a punk for not fighting back but I already knew that the battle wasn't mine. You may have thought that the tears you saw streaming from my face were a sign of weakness but truth be told, those tears are a sign of my strength. I am a Warrior; a Champion; a Conqueror (Romans 8:37 "In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us").
You insist on attacking me on every side especially when I made a conscious decision to be all about my Father's business ("You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" 1 John 4:4). I get that's just what you do. I know that you want my life. For as long as there is breath in my body, I know that you will continue to try to destroy who I am & try to prevent me from becoming who God has destined me to become. You will continue to assassinate my character, work forcefully to kill my spirit and steal my joy.
The funny thing is that everything you mean for my bad, God turns it around for my good. Your attacks only make me WISER, BETTER, & STRONGER! Most importantly, my faith is not wavered. So I'm prompted to bring to your awareness as reflected in the history of our encounters, that at the end of the day...when all is said and done...when the dust settles and the smoke clears... and even when the doo doo (yeah I said it) hits the fan, I'm STILL standing strong!!!
PSA: I ain't the one you wanna mess with!!!!! ;)
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