Blessed to be a Blessing
365 Days of Growing Together
“Under Construction”
Hi WR2W, these last two weeks have been a real “eye opener”. I have had so many wonderful experiences and God has allowed me to see through His eyes the joys of rest, laughter, and a peace of mind. I have traveled to the beautiful cities of Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, and London and had a blast with family, friends, and acquaintances. I have had the privilege to see so many unique people, places, and things and the opportunity to taste different foods and a different way of life. A new taste at life and more of what God has for me is how I would label my experience. For I know in my heart that I have truly been blessed by God to experience such beauty, but not for the sake to say I have been to 3 beautiful countries (Spain, France, and England) and to get more stamps on my passport, but to be “Blessed to be a Blessing”.
Throughout this experience, God has kept before me Psalms 34:8 (NLT), “Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in Him!” To take refuge in the Lord means to trust the Lord and follow Him by being obedient to His will and His way. Because we are obedient, we will receive the joy (blessings) of the Lord and therefore are able to be a blessing to others. As Christians, there should be no greater joy than to serve others no matter where we go and who we meet. My heart’s desire is to model Christ wherever I go and bless whomever I can through the grace of God. While journeying through Spain, France, and England, I was able to do just that, and it has brought me so much joy. A joy that words cannot explain and one that fills my heart.
I am truly grateful to God for His protection, comfort, and guidance while on this journey. We met some wonderful people and experienced the joy of sowing seeds into the lives of people that did not look like us, speak like us nor understood us, but serve the same God as us. For God is good and worthy to be praised, oh the joy of the Lord! Every day was a day of thanksgiving and a day in which God received glory as we walked foreign soil and planted godly seeds. This vacation for me was a time for not only rest and relaxation (because to be honest, we did not get much of that, lol) but a time to touch the lives of others and to be touched by the lives of others in a way not common to man. When God blesses us to travel to different parts of the world, we should always look for the blessing He has given us to carry and distribute. My sisters, I thank God for this wonderful experience and I am eagerly looking forward to where He will send me next and in what capacity because to be chosen by God to be “Blessed to be a Blessing” is amazing. I love each of you, be blessed, be encouraged, and be true!
Signed,
Blessed and Blessings
R.E.S.T
365 Days of Growing Together
“Under Construction”
Hi WR2W, I encourage each of us to turn phones, TVs, and any other electronic devices off and go into a quiet place and R.E.S.T (Release Everything, Savor Time)! Rest is so very important, and we should enjoy moments of releasing everything and savoring time with ourselves. When we feel our body is getting tired and we can no longer go, we must learn how to lay it down (mind, body, and soul) and rest! Lately, I have found myself needing a mental vacation. A vacation from having to analyze my stuff and other people’s stuff. A vacation from having to deal with the realities of life and a moment where I can spend time with God and like Bishop says, with “my three-favorite people: me, myself, and I”. This place of rest continues to remind me that there is no need for analyzation nor for handling anything because when we R.E.S.T, this means God is taking care of it all and has it under control, therefore, we experience total peace.
Moreover, when we R.E.S.T, we are worry free and available to God for His perfect work in our hearts and minds. Now, this is what I call peace! Why do we have to wait to experience total peace when we die and experience eternity? We can have peace daily here on Earth. I hear many people say, “Oh when this life is over, I will be at rest”. Well, we should want to be at rest now and this is exactly why we need to establish moments where we can R.E.S.T with God daily. I will always stress developing and sustaining a prayer life because prayer covers everything. If we truly want to rest, we cannot do it without prayer. WR2W, in our moments of R.E.S.T, we must pray!!!
So, let us take the months of June and July and consciously establish moments of R.E.S.T and pray, write, sing, worship, praise, sleep, eat, dance, and fall in love with Jesus of course, but ourselves as well. Let us take these moments to learn ourselves, discover new things about ourselves, and enjoy ourselves. O my, I am so looking forward to these moments. I cannot wait to do what I have been doing in a more refined, efficient, and effective way. I pray we can do this journey together and share our experiences. I look forward to sharing. I love each of you, be blessed, be encouraged, and be true!
Signed,
Ready to R.E.S.T
Your Assignment is Over
365 Days of Growing Together
“Under Construction”
Hi WR2W, I encourage each of us to be keen to the Holy Spirit and know when God has released us because our assignment is over. So often we try to hold on to people, places, and things when God is saying, “My Dear, it is not that the people no longer have use for you, but “Your assignment is over”! Our problem with understanding this is the fact that we get so caught up on focusing on how people have done us wrong because after they have used us up, they no longer have time for us that we miss what is really taking place. Do you really think it is about them? Well, I am here to serve you notice that it is never about them! No, it is always about God and His assignment for our life and when the assignment is over, it is over—-“Bye Felicia”, lol!
That is just a little joke, but in all seriousness, we need to have the attitude “Bye Felicia” because this means we have released the very thing that God no longer wants us bound to, we are not looking back, and we are at peace. What a beautiful blessing. WR2W, we must learn how to recognize when our assignment is over and say thank you God I can move on to the next assignment. God has too much work for us to do to get stuck on one assignment. When people no longer call us or call on us, don’t be dismayed…. don’t even fret….be free and thankful! I can guarantee, once we stop analyzing the situation and start giving thanks to God for the situation, the scales will be removed from our eyes and we will see clearer than ever before and feel so much lighter.
So today, let us go into prayer and ask God to give us the spirit of discernment to be able to know without a shadow of a doubt when He is saying “Your Assignment is Over”. Because I spend time in His presence, He knows me, and I know His voice, therefore, I listen to His voice and I follow Him (John 10:27 NLT). WR2W, obedience is the key to our prosperity, we do not have time to be disobedient and distracted! It is time to be in tune and follow what the Holy Spirit is saying. Let us press into His presence and stay there long enough to hear because I know He is saying to each of us “Your Assignment is Over”! I love each of you, be blessed, be encouraged, and be true!
Signed,
Assignment Completed
Family is Everything
365 Days of Growing Together
“Under Construction”
Hi WR2W, I encourage each of us this day to love on our family. Family is like a bowl of well mixed ingredients that comes out as a beautiful and tasty recipe. I love my family because we all are unique and offer different ingredients which gives the family recipe the right amount of what is needed to reach near perfection. In my family recipe, we have a whole lot of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Oh, and let me make sure I mention a whole bunch of forgiveness because without this necessary ingredient, the family recipe would be “shot”! When I speak of family, I speak of maternal and paternal sides as well as kinship by marriage. In our recipe, there are no in-laws by separation or divorce, we are all one, mixed together with sincere love despite conflict and the “usual family stuff”.
What I love the most about my family is our ability to have each other’s back. For example, what one person lacks, another adds the portion that is missing. This is what family is all about and this, in my opinion, is family at its best. I challenge each of us today to sustain family relationship and if you no longer have a family relationship, I recommend reconciliation. As family, we need to be here for one another through prayer by faith and resources. When one family member does not have, not only should we pray by faith for them, but our heart should be willing to give to meet a need that is lacking. The bible states in James 2:15-17 (NLT), “Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well” – but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.”
WR2W, there should be no reason to limit our love for family or prohibit extension of resources because of selfishness, anger, or disagreement with another’s choices. The recipe’s necessary ingredient, forgiveness, should have a taste strong enough to overpower the unpleasant flavors that were added because we were trying to make it perfect (and by the way, family perfection does not exist). “Instead, [we must] be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven [us]” (Ephesians 4:32 NLT). Today and every day, let us live in peace and harmony, knowing “Family is Everything”. I love each of you, be blessed, be encouraged, and be true!
Signed,
I Love My Family