Tag Archives: IDENTITY

Embracing My Scars

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“But he was wounded for our transgression, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” Isaiah 53:5

Have you ever had an accident where it left a scar? Depending on the damage or severity of the accident would determine the type of scar it would leave or the length of time it would take for the scar to heal. If the damage is not attended to or handled properly it will cause a lasting scar with internal damage.

Scars remind me that I have been hurt but God reminds me that he can still heal

Scars can spiritually be a representation of things that have happened in our past by trauma experiences.  They can also be a representation of emotional scars that have not been dealt with.

Scars can sometimes be visible, while others are hidden. Some scars are big, and some are small. Even over a period some scars unresolved can still hurt and take longer to heal. If left unchecked they can leave a lasting memory that we wish to forget. Instead of healing from them we bury them and deeply embed them within our soul.

No matter the depth or height of our scars, there is no scar that God can not heal.  He has the power to heal us as if we have never been hurt. We must be willing to do the work it takes to be made whole.  When we allow God to completely heal our scars instead of coming from a place of hurt and pain, we can come from a place of healing, freedom, and peace.

My scars are a testament of what God can do. Through my experiences in life it was through my continued faith in God that brought me through.  Also, my continuing in pursuit to want to be mad whole and doing what is necessary to be set free. That meant I have had to deal with the man in the mirror and some ugly truths about myself.

“If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” John 8:36

This journey is an ongoing process to the freedom that God has truly called us to live.  I am determined to continue in becoming a greater version of my last self.  My prayer is that you will be encouraged through the testimony of my scars.

Song List

Unlocking Your Potential

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“Jesus said unto him, If you can believe; all things are possible to him who believes”

Mark 9:23

Lack of Power Mark 9:14-29

Pos-si-bil-i-ty

  • The fact or state of being possible
  • Something that is possible
  • One that is capable or of being made real
  • Potentially for favorable or interesting results

The other day I was watching the Iron Man, which I have seen multiple times, but this time God showed me something that I had never  noticed before. This was the beginning of Iron Man and how he became who he was created to be.

He inherited a multi-million dollar company that was passed on to him after the death of his father. He was then expected to live out the legacy of his father, but not what was on the inside of him. His fathers best friend who was helping with the company had corrupted the company and even set out to kill him so that he wouldn’t find out and then inheriate the company for himself. He didn’t know until he almost lost his life.

The very thing that tried to kill you, can also be the very thing that saves your life

It was through this life experience that he was changed and he realized who he was created to be.  Against all odds and against what others wanted him to do or be, when he tapped into his potential he didn’t allow anything to hold him back to where they left him.

People will expect you to be where they dropped you, but they don’t realize that by the time they try to come through looking for you again (the old you), you will no longer be in that place where they left you. And they have the nerve to even get mad. lol

Potential known, but never realized is like a dream that never comes true

He knew that he had potential, but never realized his true potential until this life experience altered his perspective and the way he thought about things.

There were three things that I noticed that he had to do in order to accomplish his goal.

  1. hide “He that dwelleth in the secret place” Pslams 91:1  He got out of the eye of the public and went down into his secret room where he works. Sometimes we have to let go of some people and things so God can do the work within us.
  2. focused “Seek ye first the Kingdom” Matthew 6:33 He didn’t let others, but those he trusted know what he was working on. Even in the ones he told, he told them very little.  He wouldn’t stop until it was just right.  And when it didn’t work he went back to the drawing board.  It is hard to focus and complete anyone thing if our hand is in too many pots.
  3. finish it “Being confident in this one thing” Philippians 1:6  He didn’t let anyone persuade and deter him from what he knew he needed to do. He was confident, he didn’t give up when it seemed hard, her perservered and he didn’t stop until it was complete. Even upon completetion he still continued to build upon it and improve himself.

Everyone has potential, but most of the time the potential is never brought to fruition because we are looking to the wrong source or in the wrong things. Until you let go the of the expectations of other people, you will never be able to live out what God has called and created you to be.

When you can tap into what God’s plan is for your life, there is nothing that can hinder nor stop you unless you allow it to.

God will always finish what he has started, but we have participate in the process and do the work.  Somethings are never completed or have not yet come to past, not always due to the things that have happened in our life, but because we want to do our part.

“Faith without works is dead” James 2:26

Live out your full potential in God. GO AFTER IT!!!!! 

Song List

Fighters by Cheryl Fortune

I’m here to

Speak hope to you

If I made it

You can make it too

You may feel like, life is over

I won’t let you go

Together we’ll make it through

We fighters

Never gonna give up, never gonna give up

I’ll take your hands and you’ll take mine

We’ll through this like life

We’re fighters

 

Taking The First Step

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“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord; and he deligheth in his way”

Psalm 37:23

Have you ever had something that you knew you should be doing, but you were so afraid to do it?  Maybe an idea, a dream or a vision and sat on it,  only years later to regret the fact that you didn’t go for it.

Sometimes making the first step is one of the hardest things to do, but is it worth the life time of regret because you never did

Today’s word:

step  

noun

  • an act or movement of putting one leg in front of the other in walking or running

  • a measure or action, especially one of a series taken in order to deal with or achieve a particular thing

Just like a toddler when they start to take their first steps in learning how to walk, they fall several times, but yet they countinue to get back up.  Sometimes you will see them holding on to something until they find the courage and strength to be able to stand on their own. They practice maintaining their balance before they take another step. The excitement after they have made a couple of steps, they kept their balance and they didn’t fall. Before you know it they are now running.  Depending on the person it may take sometime and then there are some that take off running after the 1st step. The thing is they never stopped trying until they got it right.

Failure is sometimes the motivation to keep trying, while never starting creates a habit to never finish.

What are some fears?

Failure– what if it doesn’t work “My strength is made perfect in your weakness” 2 Corinthians 12:9

Doubt – can I really do this “For God has not given us the Spirit of fear” 2 Timothy 1:7

Opinion of others – will they support me “If God be for us” Romans 8:31

Many people have died with their dreams because they listened to the opinion of other people. They lacked self confidience and determination. There is strength in knowning who you are. It is the pulse that causes the soul to soar.

Our Identity In Christ

You can never finish what you never start.

Life indeed happens to us all.  It can sometimes throw us some unexpected curve balls that we never saw coming at all.  It can sometimes put a pause on somethings, but it should never stop you to the point where you stop living.

Whatever you put on hold or never started; whether it was that book, ministry, recording an album, your business, etc take the 1st step and go for it.

Don’t die with your dreams.  Live the life that God has created you to live. #LIVEOUTLOUD and #ONPURPOSE

SONG LIST

Every step of a righteous man
Is ordered by God
Ordered
Though you may not know his mind
He will reveal it all in time
Just know till then
Your steps are ordered by God

“Ordered” Fred Hammond

Gear Up

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You can’t expect to win a fight if you refuse to get in the ring.

I do believe as the scripture says in Exodus 14:14  that the Lord will fight for us and we will hold our peace. This still requires our participation in order for those battles to be won. Moses still had to listen and to follow the instructions of God in order to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt.

The things in which we come up against are operated by a spirit using other people or things as the vehicle in order for it to be manifested.  And in order to win those battles we have to know how to fight. You can only fight a spirit, by the spirit of God.

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but agaisnt principalities, against powers, against the trulers of the darkness of this world, against spritual wickedness in high places” Ephesians 6:12


1 Samuel 17 David and Goliath

A lot of times we loose the battle or the fight and are unable to move forward or follow through on a task  because we have lack of confidience in who we are through Christ Jesus.

Today’s Word

con·fi·dent Scriptures

adjective

  • feeling or showing certainty about something
  • feeling or showing confidence in oneself; self-assured

David had confidience in who he was and whose he was. He also realized the thing in which he possessed in Christ Jesus.  He believed that the same God that did it before, could do it again.

IDENTITY


1. Knowing  who I Am  “Who I Am In Christ”

2. Knowing who I belong to   “I AM”

Most of my life my identity was wrapped up in other people that only led me astray. I was easily manipulated and controlled into doing certain things, all in search for what I thought was love, a need to feel wanted and needing someone to tell me who I was. Instead it left me with pain.

It wasn’t until I found out who I  was in Christ Jesus that I became confidient in who I am and knew that no matter my circumstances or my situations, through Him I could conquer anything.

Philippians 4:13

” I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me”

What are you fighting with?

Ephesians 6:10-18 The Armor of God

“Our greatest defeat in any battle is not the obstacle that we see before us, but not knowing  who we are and what we possess”

The size of the gaint never fazed David, because he knew just how big his God was. He wasn’t intimdiated, he wasn’t moved by it. He stood flat foot and he told that 6 foot Philistine Gaint just what God was going to do and through his faith and trust in God he took down the gaint with a sling shot and a rock.

There isn’t anything that we can’t over come with Jesus Christ, but we have to take our eyes off of the thing in which we see.

Don’t tell God how big your problem is, tell your problem how big your God is.

 “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It’s not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others”
Marianne Williamson
Author, Lecturer

Song List

“Work It Out” By Tye Tribbett

 

 

Truth Is…

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Integrity is having the courage in spite of how comfortable it might feel to do what is right over what we think might seem to be fun, fast or even easy. Making the choice to practice our values and not just what we say out of our mouths . Practice what you preach.
As I was going through divorce I submitted myself back to God  and asked him to keep me until he decides to bless me with a husband. I have been celibate for 6 1/2 yrs.  Yes, we still exist. I told someone that awhile back and they were floored. Their response was, “It is 2016”. I believe it scared the mess out of them. I haven’t really talked to them since. I guess it not as common or the “norm”, when in fact it should be. There is more of us than you think. I even know someone who is still a virgin.

You might say how in the world do you manage to do that. Truth is: there are times I become weak, times I become vulnerable. There are even times when I want to obey the thirst and the desires of this Olde flesh of mine. There are days when I want to do wrong vs. wanting to do what’s right. Just like you, there is this constant tuggawar going on between my spirit man and my flesh. But yet and still there is this constant reminder when I look at my girls knowing the example I want to set for them or when Iook back at how far I have come. Now that I know who I am and have found my purpose. I know own my worth and I refuse to settle for anything less than that. I now have a vision for my life and can see where I am trying to go that causes somethings not to be worth loosing all that I have at stake. 

For someone who had been sexually active since the age of 13 and then was married for 9 1/2 years you might ask the question, “Why now.” Well I am so glad you asked.  Throughout my life I have experienced a whole lot and I guess you can say that I have finally grown up. The things that use to be as important then just aren’t as important to me now. Don’t get me wrong that doesn’t  mean  I don’t have desires, needs or wants, trust me I DO.  But when I told the Lord yes, I turned over my will and submitted to His. So everyday I have to crucify this flesh. Holiness is still right.

The thing that has helped me most next to my faith is that I stay away from those places that will cause me to fall. They say if you play with fire your liable to get burnt. Well some fires just ain’t worth getting burnt. I have the scars to prove it.

THE STRUGGLE IS REAL out here in these streets, but I’m gonna keep pressing forward. It’s not by my own might, nor by any powers that I possess, but by his spirit.

Philippians 4:13

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” 

The Value of Life

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They always say that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. What one person see’s value in another person may not see the same; therefore, is easily disregarded.  When I look at the things that are going on in this world it can be a little disharding and painful as there is little regard for God let alone someone’s else life.  Mark 12:31  “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” It is hard to love your neighbor when you don’t love yourself. They say love will make you do some crazy things, but what kinda of love is it that makes you come out of character and loose yourself enough to bring harm to others.  Is it really love?  Love should not make you hurt someone else let alone kill them.  Killing isn’t always physical. God knows we do enough damage with our tongue. If you have no love for others then you don’t love yourself. 2 Timothy 4:3 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;”  I believe that we are in the end times and the saying “it may get worse before it gets better” is going to hold true, yet I still believe. You may ask how can I believe with what I see? Faith allows me to look with another set of eyes that looks past the things I can see in the natural and that gives me hope. There are so many levels and reasons why people do what they do, but it is very clear that it’s root is the value of one’s life. When you don’t love and value who you are then neither will you love and value the life of someone else. You spend you’re life trying to find it through other people who’s concept of love is already distorted. That in itself is enough to make you crazy. How can one love and value who they are if they don’t even know? The good news is your worth isn’t wrapped up in other people. Through the word of God you can find out exactly who and whose you are and the true meaning of love. 1 Peter 2:9 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;” When we mirror ourselves after the image of God then and only then will we truly know who we are. You only decrease in value when you don’t know your worth. Knowing who you are is EVERYTHING!

I Know Who Am

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Declaration:
I AM complete in him
Colossians 2:10 “And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power”

Have you ever wanted something so bad that you felt like if you had it you wouldn’t ever have to worry about anything again? That some how it would complete you, but once you got it you still felt empty or sometimes even worse? There is a void that only God can fill. No amount of money, sex, drugs, a person or stuff can fill it. When you know who you are SOME things are only suppose to be an enhancement. We are looking to the wrong things in our need, our search and our quest to be made whole. You can search all over this world and you will never be able to find anything or anybody greater than our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is only in him that we live, move, breath and have our being. Knowing who and whose you are makes all the difference. If you continue looking to other people and things to complete you, you will spend your life being broken, empty, miserable and confused. I grew up in church all of my life. Loved God with all my heart, but spent most of it looking to people and things to complete me and to tell me who I was when it has always been in Jesus Christ alone. It was all because I didn’t know who I was in him. It’s been a journey, but I know who and whose I am. It’s not to late for you.

You No Longer Have To Hide

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I have always been a major fan of super heroes. You know the Transformers, Avengers, Fantastic 4, X-Men, The Hulk, etc. I was always fascinated with how they could transform into something else and come to the rescue to defeat the villians. The movies would have you sitting on the edge of your seats and waiting for the next one to come out when the movie was over. When I was preparing to preach at a Women’s Conference God started dealing with me about my super heroes. I was like Lord if anything you had to deal with why did it have to be them.  Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world,  but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” I realize now why God was so specific when he talked about transforming the mind. When you transform your outerward apperance and you don’t deal with what’s going on in the inside of you, you are only covering up or masking who you really are. When you transform your mind through the word of God you change your life and the things around you. The battlefield begins in the mind. If we don’t kill those negative thoughts within our mind, they set root into our heart which then produces into our life. Proverbs 4:23 “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.   The thing about super heroes and villains is that their moment of fame and power is only temporary which still leaves them hiding who they really are. God never intended for you to live your life behind a mask. A mask represents low self esteem and the loss of identity while it keeps you hidden and locked down from who God truly intended you to be. When you renew your mind through the word of God you will find your identity, yourself worth and exactly you are in him. When you find your identity you no longer have hide behind a mask, but can bodly walk in who he has called you to be.

Part Of The Outcast

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Everytime me and my girls are out we always seem to run into someone that I may know. They always ask me that questions, “Dang, moma do you know everybody in the whole wide world” Laughing, No I don’t know everybody I just know a lot of people.  They are so fascinated by how many people I know which in their eyes it seems like millions of people has them asking a series of questions like how do I know them, where did I meet them, how often do I talk to them, etc. They want to know the whole history in detail.  Growing up I was very activite in sports and activities within my school, very involved within my church and community, but  I never saw myself as one of the popular ones. I knew that I was well loved within my family, my church, among my friends and my piers, but yet I still felt like there was something missing and feeling this need to fit in. I always felt like I was an outcast and could never fit in with the one’s who were part of what I considered the “popular club” or shall we say the click. I always thought something was wrong with me and would try to do stuff just to fit in. I was so disperately  trying to fit in that it would bring me out of my character that people would even notice. The few times that I went to a party or a club the 1st thing that was asked of me was, “What are you doing here” People would even question what I was doing because they knew I didn’t fit in, that just wasn’t me and I didn’t belong. It had gotten so bad as my need to just fit in or somehow belong that when I would look in the mirror I didn’t even know or like the person that I would see. Through the years I allowed it to build insecurities and eventually lost who I was. I lost an identity that I really wasn’t sure of from the beginning. I have made a lot of bad choices, wrong decisions and have made a lot of mistakes, but the one thing that I was sure of is that I loved God more than anything.  Now as I talk to others and  finding out some truths about back then that being  a part of the in crowd wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. So I appreciate it more now than I did then that I wasn’t a part of the in crowd, but part of the out cast. Truth be told though I have experienced a lot in my life time it has that keep me from so much more. Through God’s love for me and finding out who I really am through him he is rebuilding my self-esteem, myself image of how I have viewed myself, my self worth and healing all those areas where I was broken and have been damaged, my places of insecurities he is making them secure again. Though as painful as it has been I am grateful for who I am becoming, the woman he has always called me to be. If you are wondering why you have never fit in, it is because leaders stand out and don’t fit into the mold of what others think that they should be. “You are wonderfully and fearfully made” Psalm 139:14 Until you know who you are in Christ Jesus you will spend a life time trying to fit in a place you were never meant to fit in and pleasing people who have never had your best interest at heart.  God has called you to stand out and YOU have to be ok with who God has called you to be regardless if others aren’t.  Chosen, called out, set a part, and different. For once in my life I finally know who I am and I love the person that I see when I look in the mirror. Though the roll to lead gets lonely and can be cumbersome at times, greater is your reward when you follow God’s lead.

You Are Worth It

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Life has a way of tearing you apart to the point that even to yourself you become unrecognizable.  Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror one day and wondered “Who Am I”  Sometime’s it isn’t until everything that you once depended on has been removed or to the point of rock bottom that you finally step away from the scene to refocus, re-evaluate your life as you find yourself of needing to hit the reset button and began again.  As easy as we would hope that could be it isn’t as easy as it seems.  When you have lost your identity through faults, failures, mistakes, opinions of other people while trying to fit in where they thought you should or who they wanted you to be and even when they created you they still didn’t want you. The process that you have to go through while on the road to recovery, healing, restoration and finding who you are again can be long and painful but is necessary for you to find your true identity and to be able to move forward in your life. The great thing is that in this journey and quest to finding out who you really are and who you were created to be doesn’t have to be done alone.  Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee”  It is when you seek your identity through the eyes of God and not through the eyes of man that you will find out who you really are.  I know that life has thrown you some unexpected blows or it could even be that you are in a place because of poor choices and bad decisions that you have made in your life, but you are never to far down that God can not reach you and you can never be to far removed to still receive his grace.  2 Corinthians 12:9 “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.  Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me”  No matter how many people have left you, abandoned you, dropped you, said you were nothing, would never be nothing or amount to anything God simply wanted me to remind you that YOU ARE WORTH IT and if you still have doubt or need more clarification that he does, remember that he died on the cross just for you and me. No matter what you’ve done, what’s been done to you or where you have been YOU ARE WORTH IT.  You are never to broken or too damaged beyond repair.  God still has need of thee, YOU ARE WORTH IT!