All posts by Treva Barnard

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About Treva Barnard

She is the mother of 3 beautiful girls, an author, a mentor, an inspirational writer and a minister in the gospel.

Don’t Allow A Tight Place To Confine You

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I was on my way to the Women’s Correctional Center for Orientation Class to start volunteering and on my way I saw Youth Juvenile Center directly across from a school. It had several bobbed wired fences with corralled wire at the top to insure that there was no escape. There seemed to be a tighter security there then at the Woman’s. My heart began to break and my spirit began to weep. I have never been in prison or jail at least physically, but as I began to reflect back there was a time in my life that I was mentally and emotionally in prison. I allowed things that happen in my life and people imprison me, which started with my thought process. I battled depression and suicidal thoughts that kept me bound, enclosed, restricted from enjoying life, shut up and kept in. I was alive, but a dead man walking. I was walking around smiling but lifeless, shouting but lifeless, filled with the Holy Ghost, saved, sanctified and very involved in my local church, but I felt trapped and thought that there was no way out. Until one day I realized that this is not what God had for my life and that he had better for me. Regardless of what had happened or what was going on in my life that even in the midst of it all I could still be free. I began to reassess my life by acknowledging where I was. I repented and made a 180 turn and went in the opposite direction. I began to focus on me and less on the things that surrounded me. I forgave myself and others. I began to really apply the word to my life and watched things unfold before me. I decided to take my life back and let God lead. So now when problems come and situation arise I know how to channel it back to my source (God) who will handle it, instead of me carrying it. My greatest weapon has been my praise. It has gotten my through times that I’ve wanted to give up. When Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into prison they didn’t allow where they were confine them, change their confession or belief which was that they believed God. In spite of their condition they made the choice to pray and give God praise. Miracles, signs and wonders happen when we believe. #CLEANTHISHOUSE

Are You Willing To Launch Into The Deep

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One day my mom was telling me how when I was around 2 or 3 years old they took me and my sister to the pool to swim or more like play in the water. The next thing they heard was this big splash and they saw me trying to fight my way up. Of course my mother panicked because she didn’t know how to swim so she had to get someone else to help get me out of the water. My mom said that the last time she saw me I was at the top of the steps. She turned her back for a split second and I decided to jump in. I couldn’t only imagine what my mom was feeling. I’m not sure what made me just jump out into the deep not knowing how to swim. I’ve always been a little fish when it comes to water and to this day it is where I like to go to find peace and strength. When God bided Peter to come to him and he began to walk out on the water as if to having a kids like faith, but all of a sudden he began to sink. It wasn’t the fact that the storm around him was so great but it was the fact that he took his eyes off of Jesus. There are situations and circumstances that will happen and in most cases out of no where. There was no warning though we thought, no point of reference of why or even how, but no matter how unstable your surroundings faith never takes its eyes off of the one it seeks. If you feel like you are sinking then who is the one that you seek. Even if you feel yourself you still have time to cry out HELP! #CLEANTHISHOUSE

The Way You Love Me

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Love by Musiq Soulchild

I have never been a materialist person, don’t get me wrong I love to be showered with gifts, to be sent flowers just because or to get an unexpected surprise when someone will just show up even for a moment to see you smile. I realized something greater than any materialist gift that anyone can give is the gift of love. The moment someone has opened up their heart to not only love you, but to be loved. You shouldn’t have to wait one day a year for someone to “show” you that they love you if so you may need to revisit why they are with you or better yet why are you with them. Holidays or special occasions should only enhance what they have done for you all year. Anyone can give you things and still not give you their heart. You should be able to look in their eyes and see that they care deeply for you, the way they look at you with such compassion and when they smile it brings warmth to your heart. They talk to you with such respect, they are detailed when it comes to caring for you. It’s not just what they say to you but how they say it or even in their silence you can hear their heart beat. When someone can give you their heart they have given you the greatest gift in the world because they are given you all of them. When they give you them they will move heaven and earth just to please you. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 “Love is patient love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it’s not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trust, always hopes, always preservers. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they be stilled; where there is knowledge it will pass away.” Jesus could have called thousands of Angels to come and rescue him at any given point but because His unconditional love for us he suffered, hung on the cross, bleed and died and rose again just to save us. What greater love is this that a man would lay down his life for a friend. True love comes with no strings attached, with no conditions, but to give of themselves unconditionally. You may say well how will I know? Oh! You will know the moment they give you their heart, it will show in the way that they love you. #CLEANTHISHOUSE

Looking For Love In All The Wrong Places

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Lost In You Again by Fred Hammomd

It wasn’t until I was in my late 30’s as I looked back over my life that I realized how much of me I had given away to the point that I no longer knew who I was. Most of my life I was searching for love or my idea of what I thought love was, but only to come up empty-handed and in most cases heartbroken with a life full of pain. I held high expectations of my father that was beyond what he was able to give me. I didn’t realize it then but he loved me based on what his perspective of love was and what he had been taught. Because my father was unable to give me what I thought I needed it put me into years of built up walls, anger, resentment, unhealthy and ungodly relationships. Over the course of my life on the outside I appeared as if everything was ok and carried myself as such, but on the inside I was breaking down. I looked for my daddy to take me out on a date, to go to a daddy/daughter dance, for it to be just me and my daddy. I still as an adult looked to hear his approval of me.So because I didn’t receive the love I taught I should have received from my father then I searched for it in other men in hoping that they would give me the love I needed. I was going from relationship to relationship and every time I gave of myself to someone who didn’t deserve that part of me I was loosing who I was. I ended in some relationships and situations that left me like the woman with the issue of blood an outcast, considered unclean. About time I realized it I was broken, damaged goods in need of a healer. It wasn’t another man or my father, but only Jesus Christ could heal me. It is never to late to be restored, to be mended, to be healed, but you have to go to the source which is Jesus Christ. After my divorce as I began to pick up the pieces of my life I did some soul-searching and that was when I realized that my biggest part of looking for love in all the wrong places is because I didn’t know what true love was. When I began to seek God with all my heart He began to show me what true love really was which taught me how to love myself and to be able to give and receive love. I had to take down my high expectations that no one would be able to reach and loving people for who they are and the level that they are on. Unconditional love which is the same love God has for us has no expectations. Sometimes we put people in the place of where God is meant to be. When we love God he will teach us how to love and when we love who we are we want to have to search for it, it will come and find us. #CLEANTHISHOUSE

What Does Love Have To Do With It

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Relentless by Hillsong United

Yup! Valentines is coming up, what are you going to do? Well I choose to love me and wait. I’ve sacrificed myself a life time trying to find Just Wright when only to find Just Wrong. I looked at myself in the mirror one day and realized you only attract who and what you are. Yes I am loving, caring, compassionate and when I love I love hard and you have me for life. But inside I was broken, had low self-esteem, jacked up, a mess and it was all because I didn’t love and value myself. I didn’t love enough to protect and care for the most important thing and that was me. I lost myself, but only to find her again. The moment I learned to love me was when my whole life changed. I REFUSE to settle for or sale myself short like I am a clearance rack item, to be purchased on a lay away plan or rented out like a house. I’m waiting for the best God has for me BOAZ which requires me to be the best me RUTH. You may say WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT? It has everything to do with it because TRUE LOVE WAITS #CLEANTHISHOUSE

The Developer

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    Never Be The Same By Shana Wilson

    When I look at the technology that we have now it makes me wonder how did we ever do without it. Even with the best of techno L ogy it isn’t perfect and it doesn’t always work properly. You can’t even imagine how many recalls, how many times they’ve had to go back to the drawing board or how many times it’s been completely taken apart, but to only start over again. I remember when we use to have cameras and you would have to take the roll of film in to be developed. On the film you could see the image of a picture, but it was only a glance of what it appeared to be. You could only guess what it turn out to look like according to the image that you could see and what you might remember it to be until it was developed. Once the picture was developed it turned out to be more than what you could ever think or image. They say a picture has a thousand words. It was “picture perfect”. It had to go through the process before it was developed into it’s true state or identity. Sometimes it take us failing many times just to get that one thing right, but how awesome it turns out to be once completed. Every mistake, every mishap, ever wrong or bad decision, flaws and all the developer (God) will take every (-) negative film and develop it into a (+) positive picture. Instead of working against you they are all working for you. “The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me; thy mercy, O alord, endure the forever: forsake not the words of thine own hands” Psalm 138:8 We have to trust the developer (God) enough to make us “picture perfect” #CLEANTHISHOUSE

Are You Willing To Launch Into The Deep

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Ocean by Hillsong

One-day my mom was telling me when I was around 2-3 years old and they had taken me and my sister to the pool. The next thing they knew they heard this big splash and they saw me trying to fight my way back up. Of course my mother started panicking because she didn’t know how to swim and had to yell for help. The last time she saw me I was at the top of the steps. She had no idea why I would just jump off into the deep part of the water knowing I didn’t know how to swim. From that point on I’ve always been a little fish. Even to this day any type of water is like serenity to me and I can go there and find refuge, strength and peace. When God bided Peter to come to him he began to walk out on the water, but suddenly Peter began to sink. It wasn’t because the storm that surrounded him was so great, but it was because he took his eyes of Jesus. There are situations and circumstances that will occur in your life that will come out of no where. There will be no point of reference on why or even how, but no matter how unstable your surroundings faith never takes its eyes off the one it seeks. If you feel like your sinking then who is it that you seek? Even if you have lost your focus and you began to sink you still have time to cry out HELP! #CLEANTHISHOUSE

Don’t Bite Off More Than You Can Chew

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Have you ever gone out to eat or maybe at home that you were so hungry or maybe in a rush that you just started consuming your food to the point that you could hardly chew your food or you almost choked yourself to death because you had a mouth full of food. Sometimes this will cause us not to even chew our food properly and just inhale it which isn’t good for our digestive system and could cause problems in the long run. How many times in life have we taken in more than we can chew? Was it to prove that we could or to please some one else? Even if we are capable of doing it doesn’t necessarily mean that we are supposed to be. Sometimes we can get so caught up in the “work” that we become so far removed from what God has called us to do. When was the last time we consulted God about what we are supposed to be doing. There were many times I would find myself right in the middle of a task(s) and realized it was too much, why am I doing this or should I really be. After a period of time I felt overwhelmed, frustrated or burnt out to the point that when it came time for me to do the thing(s) that I was called to do I had no strength. If you take on more than you are able to handle something is bound to be overlooked, missed or neglected. Perfect that one thing with diligence and with excellence until you are able to manage more. Finish and complete the task at hand.
Colossians 3:23-24 #CLEANTHISHOUSE

Can’t Touch This

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Jesus You Are by April Nevels

Yesterday I was half way through getting my root canal done and I could start feeling some of the pain and the pressure of them working on my tooth. At this point my mouth had already been open for an hour. I could feel the numbing wearing off and some tingling through my face. I raised my hand so they would know I could feel the pain and they would need to apply more numbing medication. I have always considered myself to have a low tolerance of pain, but you never know how much pain you can endure until the pressure has been applied. It will really show you what you are made off. They would always ask how I was doing as pressure was being applied and encouraged me along the way to let me know how good I was doing. I had already formed a false perception on this visit due to my prior experience with having a root canal. Though the procedure was the same the technique was different. When they pulled out the nerve and the pulp they stood in amazement because it was very rare that they would see a nerve in one piece. Normally they come out in many pieces. They even took a picture of it because they just couldn’t believe what they saw. I am reminded of the passage in the bible Daniel 3 where Nebuchadnezer threw Shadrach, Meshach and
Abed-Nego in the fiery furnace because they refused to serve their God or bow down to the golden images. No matter how much they increased the fire they were untouched and when they came out the fourth person that was walking with them was the Son of God. God reminded me at that moment that no matter how hot the fire, how much it intensifies or how great the pain that He can and will bring you out unharmed. They say if you don’t stand for something you will fall for anything. No matter what you are facing if you continue to trust God and not bow down He will bring you out alright. Though you’ve been through the fire thank God you don’t look like what you’ve been through. #CLEANTHISHOUSE

Get To The Root Of It

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God Restores by Darwin Hobbs

In November 2013 I was scheduled for a root canal. My tooth was becoming sensitive to things that were cold and then it broke off in between two of my teeth which added a great deal of pain. So I went to the dentist and they did an X-Ray on my tooth which showed that I had an infection that went all the way down to the root. They then told me that I would have to have a root canal. In doing so they would have to open the center of my tooth and pull out the nerve that would cause the pain to go away and stop any further damage. This would take up to 3 visits and 2 hours per visit. They wanted to 1st give me an antibiotic that would stop the infection. That in itself was going to be a challenge being that I don’t like to take medicine and will seldom finish it, but take it enough to where I thought it had cleared up. When they told me that I was going to have a root canal I immediately started to cringe because I reflected back to my last experience of having a root canal. Needless to say I reschedule it to the beginning of the year. I wished later that I would have went ahead and gone through with it because things didn’t get better they in fact became worst. I was hurting so bad that some days I would have pain that would radiate to my head that would cause me to have a headache. Until I dealt with the root of my problem I would continue to struggle with the pain. A lot of things that we are dealing with now were passed down through generation and until we are willing to trace it back to it’s root, where it began we will continue to struggle in that area of our lives. We can’t just cut it off at the stem because it will have tendency to grow back, but we must pull it up from the root. We have to 1. Recognize there is a problem 2. Where did it come from 3. Deal with it The more that you mask or cover up the symptom (s) the more imbedded they become. The longer and harder it sometimes becomes to be healed and delivered from it. Wilt thou be made whole? Pull it up from the root and walk in total victory. #CLEANTHISHOUSE