Do not be afraid to be who you were born to be!

Do not be afraid to be who you were born to be!

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:5 NIV

Whether or not you look at your role in life through spiritual lens it cannot be denied that there are certain abilities and passions which we possess as individuals that make us unique and that position us to have a one of a kind contribution in this world. Despite the billions of us which exist, no two people with the same interests will ever pursue them or even execute them in the exact same way.

We often talk a lot about our dreams and aspirations and many of us have wanted to pursue or even actively pursued quite a number of careers at some point in our lives while there are others who seem to, from the very moment they were old enough to ‘know’ themselves, have had their hearts set on BEING/DOING one thing that they believe is the only thing that could ever bring them true fulfillment in life.

Now if you are not one of those people do not be discouraged, deciding what will make you happy/fulfilled every day for the rest of your life is not an easy feat and many who have uncovered their inner passions are still not living it out, for whatever reason.

Here are just a few tips in no particular order to kick start the process of deciphering what you might be born to do:

• Where does your interest lie?
• What skills do you have? What industries are they most suited for?
• What accomplishments do you see as important in your life?
• Is there anyone that you could shadow or talk with already in your areas of interest?
• What does God say about your purpose?
• What do your parents or people who have been in your life think you would be good at?

then

                      Just do it: trial and error isn’t as bad as it seems.

You were probably created to do one thing or several things. Whatever your situation just ensure that you are walking in your purpose and living your OWN life and not trying to live or to match up to someone else. It only serves to keep your progress hampered and your life not as fulfilling as it is to be.

As you continue the journey to self discovery learn to run with the positives and use the negatives and challenges to develop character, career etc. so that they do not become obstacles in the path to your destiny.

What can you start doing now?

Until next time,

EJ

Deconstructed Proverbs: 'chicken merry hawk deh near'

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that [YOU] may have life, and have it to the full" John 10:10 NIV

 'chicken merry hawk deh near'

I can remember as a child one of the most fun games we would play featured water balloons and my cousin and I were notorious for playing it! How could we not love it? We would be squealing in delight as some balloons after being thrown at each other would burst on contact soaking us from head to toe (chuckle) while others we skillfully managed to dodge as we ran frantically around our backyard. Often my grandma would watch us from her bedroom and almost strategically at the highest point of our play she would suck the very fun out of our frolicking with her seeming words of caution and advice, "chicken merry hawk deh near". UGH!
Older Jamaicans definitely seem to believe this and have maybe even 'proven' it in their lives. I use the word 'proven' with heaviness and a side eye.

Worthy of scrutiny then, are the things we have come to hold on to as truth and have given permission to shape our thoughts, behaviors and indeed our very existence! In fact I am going to suggest that once in awhile we ought to engage in some critical thinking, analyzing the ideas and vantage points we have subscribed to in order to determine whether they are valid, skewed, half truths or even untruths. Come on there are many things that you believed as a child that your adult self scoffs at now. But even more profitable would be an assessment of what you believed two years ago, two months ago, yes even two days ago that you might see whether they add value to your being or suck the very life out of you!

If you could take a poll in this very moment I wonder how many of these wise sayings you would be able to come up with as integral to or affecting in some way your outlook on life? Do they deserve to dictate your thoughts and behaviors? Do they liberate you or enslave you?

Let us deconstruct this age old idea and see what we might learn from it. It will be interesting to hear what your thoughts are on this and how it might have affected or still affects your own life.

Here are a few of my thoughts

The basic image is of a happy thing with potential danger and pain lurking nearby.

I suppose we cannot discard this perception in it's entirety because it does provide an accurate look at life with its polar opposites that are evident on the earth, for example happiness and sorrow, life and death, success and failure and good and evil. The truth is we cannot know what one is without the existence of the other. How do we know what good is if there isn't evil to compare it with?

Nellibell49 on The Old Proverbial Recovery blog defines the proverb featured here as simply,  "every silver lining has its dark cloud. Even in the happiest times one must still be watchful". I can also concede that this proverb truly might allow us to go through life with a sober outlook recognizing that there must be balance in our perspective and even preparation for anything which, in turn, allows us to be resilient as we live out our lives here on earth.

There are some people who seem to have their heads above the clouds at all times and when a low moment or a storm forms they lose their way and their very ability to exist is threatened because they never considered  anything but living on a bed of roses. God assures us that in the midst of our trials He will provide for us a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13) but no way of escape is necessary if there isn't something from which we must escape. So God offers this same perspective telling us that we will deal with undesirable things in our lives and we must be prepared to handle them and even then offers us His divine help!

Now here are my contentions with this proverb

• 'Chicken merry, hawk deh near' seems to teach an expectation of sorrow and pain in times of joy or an anticipation of failure in the midst of success. The chickens that are happy are threatened with danger or the 'dark cloud' hanging over them represented by the hawk capable of taking their very lives. 

• Embedded in the proverb is the idea that one should not expect happiness, joy, success, peace, goodness, love and whatever is desirable and pleasing to last. Okay, though that has some truth because we live in an imperfect world far too many people sabotage themselves, their success and even people around them because they have developed paranoia because of ideas like these that are ingrained in them. Many people exasperate others because they cannot for a moment embrace joy and positivity. You may not be like that but I would say with certainty that you know at least one person like that!

I want to go a step further with this

• The hawk swoops in from on high and the chickens are powerless to its attack. Can we also see how this 'proverb' may speak on our relationship with God. Could we not be likened to chickens and God likened to the hawk? We often hear people say when disaster has struck, "while man a plan God a wipe" and true there is some truth to this but on the surface what an erroneous idea it creates of the relationship between God and man? What a staunch disconnect and a picture of eeriness and fear as though God does not also rejoice in our joys but only waits for the moment to throw an obstacle in our way?!

As we navigate life it is very important that we pay attention to the things that inform our lives and our thinking because those very things have profound impact on our relationship with ourselves, God and others and ultimately defines our journey on the earth.

Let me ask you this: Do 'wise sayings' become so because they are the philosophical products of people's experiences or do they become wise because people ascribe value to them by following them thus allowing them to inform their lives? I suppose whatever the answer we must as with everything else take what is noteworthy and helpful and be sure to discard what may be hurtful and useless so that we do not have a diluted existence when it is our Creator's desire that we push past the barriers erected by us and the world in which we live which seek to cripple our lives, our purpose, our creativity and our dreams and aspirations.

We must be careful then of the things we adopt or adapt to as we live out our lives on the earth.

Do you have other proverbs (not necessarily Jamaican) that you would like to see featured? If you do leave them in the comment section below.

Thanks for reading!

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Until next time.
EJ
Onward and Live IN Purpose

Keep Going!

Written 3/30/13 

Ouch! Of course I only said it in my mind as I walked across the lawn to my car the pain in my calves, the knot in my back and the discomfort in my ribs were a reminder of how out of practice I had been.

The last time I danced was more than 8 years ago and though I knew the journey back to one of my first loves wouldn't be easy, this ballet class that I am taking for dance technique, strength and balance was kicking my butt! There I said it, I am back in ballet classes. I thought about keeping it a secret so that if I dropped out of it no one would really know but I have a few people who are already determined to keep me accountable and I figure I need all the help and support I can get so I decided to share it with you too!

Confessedly, after the first class I was tempted to be done with it. I felt out of place, untrained, inexperienced - simply like I had no business attempting this at this stage in my life. Big Sigh!

With that said I rushed to the cashier after my free session to fully register because I knew that if I had left to consider it the chance that I would return would be slim to none.

I thank God for this experience so far because it has been quite a fitting analogy for the very things I am learning on my journey right now.

Let me share a few with you!

Many of us as believers tend to slip in to an area of complacency every now and again where we begin to slack off on the time we spend with God, the things we do for Him and the time we make to talk with Him. We don't always realize until something happens that the very things we have began to pay less attention to are the very things that maintain our strength and help to keep us from falling.
When we don't stay prayed up and disciplined and we encounter tests and difficulty the battle bruises may truly be a testament to how weak we were becoming. I had been out of practice, though I danced often in my head I never really lifted a muscle so by the time I was being challenged to dance if I wasn't careful I was simply going to find myself limping away like a dog who had lost a fight and it never had to be that way.

Sn: Had I stayed committed to dancing I would not only have been refining this art form over the years the steps I was required to do now would have been easy and even if there was a level of difficulty in it I would be able to navigate it with greater strength. Think about that for a second.

I gained perspective from my challenge and pain.
Instead of moping around the entire time I determined that if I am truly to do well at this I had some work of my own to do. So I went back to basics and started looking at videos on YouTube to remind me of what I was once capable of and to arm me with the steps I needed to master in my own time outside of class if I was going to grow.

Do I have to say how this is the same idea to be applied to our journey. We have to build ourselves up by doing our part. We won't learn everything from a classroom or from other people sometimes we have to go out and grab a hold of the knowledge for ourselves. In the same way in our Christian lives we have to return to the basics quite often to get what we need to rebuild, to recharge and to be reminded of who we are in Christ so we can truly face the tests.

Yes you might be suffering now but even with our bruises and with excruciating pain we must keep going if we are to make it!

I don't know what you are wrestling with, but ask God to give your perspective, He has a way of using the ordinary to speak extraordinarily into our lives. Just take a moment and ask but do not forget as a sign of your faith to make yourself ready to receive of and from Him.



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Until next time,
EJ
Onward & Live IN Purpose

A look back...

Written 3/30/13 

Good Friday has always been dear to me and of course it is significant because of the bruising, suffering, ridicule and death that Jesus suffered for me; something I had embraced when I finally understood it as an unmatched, undeserved, unfettered love of God that was displayed for me, really me, Elizabeth Jerome! 
Only I can fully understand what it meant for God to carry the weight of my sins on His shoulders just like your understanding of His sacrifice will be different for you.

It was the year 1993 when I yielded to God's bidding. Yes if you do the math you would realize I was just a youngster then so young that my family questioned whether I had understood it fully enough to have been ready to take the steps I wanted...but I had understood what God needed me to understand at the very moment He wanted to come into my life! Certainly my knowledge has increased tremendously and even after 20 years I am convinced that my learning and conforming to the power of God in my life is a never ending process.

Twenty (20) years is a long time to have been saved but though it truly shielded me from certain behaviors, attitudes and experiences thought sinful I was certainly not without my share of mistakes. Thank God His sacrifice covers over the multitude of my sins...His grace is sufficient for me!

Many might see that as a carte blanche to do whatever their selfishness dictates but I see it as quite the opposite. Truly when we get into a relationship with God, we want to please Him so much that we do several things; we starve our own desires which we know are not pleasing to Him, our desires become entwined with His desires for us and we endeavor to find new ways to please Him in our everyday lives that are not spelled out in any manuscripts but that are fueled by our relationship with God.

It seems only fitting then that when a milestone like this is celebrated that there is some retrospection and introspection. I have started doing just that and whether you have celebrated such a feat or you just gave your life to Christ one thing is certain that God has always been at work in our lives and to look back is to gain a unique perspective as we watch how God has been integral to our very existence and sustenance.

Truly I have made many missteps especially in my most recent years as I am learning to be led by God in the face of adulthood and new challenges and experiences but I am committed for 'Jesus paid it all and all to Him I owe' and with 'Christ in the vessel I can smile at the storm'.

I will share some epiphanies on my blog over time but what I will say is that God has taught me resilience and strength, that I have endured many things that I never thought I would have survived but thank God and the God in me I have made it. 

I look ahead armed with the experiences I have had, the lessons I have learned, the Me that God is refining to face my present and future head on knowing that it will not be easy but being encouraged for God who is acquainted with my suffering tells me daily to "take heart I have overcome the world". So I press on housing some areas of myself that are strong and uncompromising because they have been refined over time and some other areas that are as weak as a heart that is bleeding and raw because my God and Savior is working on me and for me.

I will talk more about this verse in a subsequent post but I want to leave you with this to ponder now:
"But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him." 
Jeremiah 18:4 NIV

Happy Easter Everyone!

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Until next time,
EJ
Onward & Live IN Purpose

Managing Time & Talent

His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness! (Matthew 25:21 NIV)


"Wow this is totally embarrassing", I thought as I skimmed through my notebook journal. I had started one of those 31 day challenges but never actually finished it...and looking at the date now it was roughly about a year later. 

Sigh...

It was a staunch reminder of how not only procrastination hampers progress but also how easy it is to become distracted by or enthralled with new activities that without proper attention and discipline we become prone to simply forgetting or significantly delaying the completion of what had been previously started.
I didn't take this realization lightly. There was no reason for me to stumble on this book when I did except that God was making some critical commentary on how I needed to handle things going forward. Often we forget that God's advice to us is not just for the realm of the spiritual for God has a holistic approach to our development and as such gives us practical tools for everyday living as well.

side note: To be honest what I saw hurt me just a little because I recognize the commitment it takes to finish a task and clearly that commitment was absent; I hadn't done a good job with this one.
Now you may think I am being a little melodramatic or hard on myself and maybe you are right, but I figured instead of shrugging the whole thing off and tossing the book back where it had been for the last few months, I determined that I would instead embrace this as a teachable moment.

I understand that the things I practice knowingly or unknowingly are actually revelatory of who I am as a person and might also be indicative of the path I might take to where God is taking me.

Focal point #1
Finish what you have started
- We constantly ask God for more or seek more ourselves; more power, greater wealth, promotion, advanced education etc. as a result many of us each day begin to dream new dreams or to yearn for new projects but how about just finishing what we started; last week, a month ago, years ago? We cannot expect to progress if we cannot keep a commitment, finish a task or see a project for which we have ownership through.  

Now if we are honest, we would admit that we are socialized to be hungry for  more; to never really be satisfied and though there are advantages to it, it is certainly counterproductive to want more when we are not being good stewards of what we have already been given.

 
Of course, do not think that finishing what you started means hovering over every little detail, overdoing everything or overexerting yourself. Sometimes it simply means passing the responsibility of completing a task to someone who is capable whether at the job or at home. It is often said that we should 'work smarter not harder' (wink).

Focal point 2
Prioritize
- I remember when I used to actually create to do lists at the start of my week or at the start of my day depending on what needed to be accomplished and how closely I needed to monitor the time being spent. 
I would have tasks in order of importance and or sometimes arrange them based on the level of difficulty or the attention the task might require so I could determine at what point in the day completing them was feasible for me. Boy did it help me to stay organized, efficient and productive! But all that was in my work space, why hadn't I consistently utilized the same kind of list in my personal life?

• Have you ever used to do lists?
• Did they work for you?

Consider this, some of the tasks on your to do list might not need to be there if you asked for help or even retired unproductive habits or activities which were draining your time and even causing unnecessary pressure to complete other duties.

• How might you add any needed organization to your life?
• How might you prioritize the tasks you need to accomplish daily, weekly, monthly etc.?
• Who could assist you...what are the resources available to you?
• What activities might you stop to free up some of your time?

I know someone who stopped watching television and limited social media use for a year while she was working on her book. Now that might be too drastic for you but the question still needs to be asked. 

• What are you enveloped in that you should really give up if you are to move ahead? You know the distractions in your life.

I am sure you may be thinking about the things you started but haven't completed. Certainly, I used the last few days to complete the 31 day challenge I had started. I suppose, a part of the reason I went back and completed it is because it is still relevant to my present day circumstances.   

Don't get in a frenzy trying to revisit each unfulfilled dream or incomplete task, instead allow God to lead you to focus on the things that He still desires you to do, because to pursue something that is 'outdated' for you is to create a distraction from the very things which actually matter and are relevant in and for your life today.

If you have specific tips to share re how you manage your time and resources share them below to help someone else. Also if you have any questions post them in the comment section. 
 
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Until next time,
EJ
Onward & Live IN purpose

Reflections About GOD

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. 
The breathing was purposeful and deliberate. It wasn't that I was afraid of flying or that I had found myself becoming uneasy because of the anxiety I felt to get to my destination, it was simply that I was exhausted and needed to settle myself before jetting off into the open sky. You have your own pre-flight rituals too, don't you?

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. 

I always pray and this time as I closed my eyes to pray my thoughts journeyed to a blog I had read a few months prior. Check it out here, it is by Sharon Gramling. You can read it first then come back to my blog and finish up if you like.

As I considered the Angels who God would dispatch in response to my prayer for journeying mercies, I found myself marveling at the fact that God in His infinite power would command His Angels concerning even me! But that wasn't the most intriguing part for me! More significant was the fact that not only would He but that He actually could! 

It is one thing to have a desire to do something, to be there for someone but does our strength allow, do our circumstances allow, can we really do what we desire or what we have promised, is what we have set out to do truly feasible?
Well thank God, our Father in heaven is not like man! He is not constrained by the limitations of the human existence! 

As we soared into the sky I found that my thoughts had turned to God.

Here are a few of my reflections on God

God is Almighty. What have you been worried about? Can you not see that God is bigger than any struggle you might have? I am working with God to get to the place where I am fully convinced of God's power, so I don't allow stressful situations or moments of anxiety to derail my faith and confidence in the God who created the heavens and the earth. SMH -sn I shake my head a lot, I know- 

Why do we act as though our problems, desires etc are bigger than God and God's reach? When we understand that with one word, the wave of His hand, the knitting of His brow...with the use of whatever God chooses that issue has to disappear, if that is His desire. So if He allows challenges must He not have something special in store since that very thing that we allow to cause us many tears and sleepless nights is subject to the Almighty God!?

God is Listening. Whether that frightens you or not, we should be mindful that God hears us, even the idle; non-productive words and thoughts that we have. How 'awe full' is it to know that though millions of us go to Him in prayer He still attends to our individual prayers. Just because you have not received the answer you want does not mean God has not heard you. I always remind myself that I only see in part but God truly sees the entire picture and that motivates me to press on and to trust in Him because I truly believe that He will work things out for my good. I don't deserve to have God's help but thank God He is helping me! Listen. God is listening. Pour out your heart's emotions and longings...don't keep them bottled up inside. Then align your thoughts and words with God. What does God say about your situation? Go to the Bible, it is your direct access to the word of God and the word of God concerning your life.

God Cares for Me. Many times we are quick to seek God for His compassion when we have made a mistake or messed up. The God who comforts us in our low times is the God who is caring for us allowing for our good times. We often times get caught up in making promises about what we will do and who we will become if God swoops in like the superheroes we have come to love and helps us out of a jam. We think His compassion is only for tough times but His care and concern for us is what positions us for good days and for good things happening in our lives. I thank God that His compassion teaches me to be compassionate. That I am being changed into the likeness of God each day is encouraging and all this because of His love at work in and around me!

God is Divine. Yes God is acquainted with our suffering. There is nothing that we face that God cannot understand. We often use our human limitations as an excuse to sin and to fall short, to feel justified in our moment of pleasure and selfish ambition but God in His divinity cannot accept our shortcomings. 

If we consider someone who is mute, he does not remain silent because he is able to speak but won't. He remains silent because though he might desire to speak he is unable. Well God is holy because that is who He is and because of His nature He is unable to accept anything that is not holy. It isn't that He is being hard on us or that He does not understand us it is that He does not have the capacity to accept unrighteousness or unholiness because He has determined a standard that He expects us to abide by so that we can become more like the God He is. I am glad that He could have been ruthless, striking us down at the very moment of our sins but He every second chooses to be compassionate and forgiving. 

God is Holy. God requires us to be holy as He is holy and to see sin and righteousness through His eyes and not our own. As He reveals our shortcomings thank God He does not condemn us as folks would or as the devil does, but that He instead convicts us of our sin and offers us cleansing and restoration to right standing with Him. 

That God could forgive me though I do not deserve it and despite having the option to just discard me, He determined since the beginning of time that He would love me and make me better, that He would teach me to be the best self that He has called me to be, each time I make Him happy my Spirit rejoices and I know that my heart's desire is to please my God!

God Empowers us. I suppose I am learning a lot in this area. God resides in us. He has promised that we would do greater work than His Son Jesus. God has given us a Teacher and a power Source who is not just outside of us but who is within us. The more we yield to the Holy Spirit in our lives the stronger He performs in and through us and the more empowered we become for the pulling down of strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:3-4) and for lives of boldness.

Who is God to you? Feel free to share your thoughts with me. 

Until next time,
EJ
Onward & Live IN Purpose

Did my open door close? ‘Failure to Launch’ Part 2

Time began to drift by and certainly I was content feeling as though I had said enough to convince God that I was not cut out for what He was asking (I shake my head at myself as I look back). 

About two months later I felt led to begin a website ministry and though God inspired the devotionals and sent traffic to the website and the number of people who accessed the Prayer of Salvation grew I often wondered if my fear of being off camera had encouraged the website. Long story short a year later there was such an urge to create videos that I could not help myself and had to move; so I did what I should have done before and yielded my will to God. 

Now I had often wondered if my seeming delay might have caused me to miss the season for the video ministry or if I needed to go through the year of the website ministry to become more prepared to share the videos.  Whether or not I find myself able to answer that question I have certainly through my experience with Him in this particular area of my life become more bold because of God.

Soul Searching

Now come with me as I engage in some soul searching. You do not have to be in ‘ministry’ to ask yourself some of these questions for they are relevant to many situations in our lives.

• How do you know the door that was open for you has now closed? 
• What has given you the impression that you missed the opportunity?
• What standard are you using to decide that you missed the opportunity? 
• Is it because you are doing it now and not seeing the results you think you should have? 
• Are those results that you desire what God intended for you? 

Just because you don’t have 1000 views on your video doesn’t mean that God’s purpose isn’t being served.  Just because they have not ranked your book a bestseller on their list doesn’t mean your story isn’t touching lives! 

Just because you have not been able to pay off your car yet like the others who took the job the same time as you doesn’t mean you missed your opportunity to be debt free. 

The truth is there is a timing to everything and often our timing and God’s timing do not match up.

Now here is what you do if indeed you 'failed to launch' and that season has passed for you.

How do you respond to your failure to launch? 

1)      Repent about your procrastination and disobedience.

If God says do it, move on, stay put and you choose to do otherwise for whatever reason and even if only for a moment it is still disobedience. I became familiar with the fact that delayed obedience is still disobedience

2)      Review the revelation you received or the vision you had for your life.

Is it still one that you might chase after now? Is God pointing you in a new direction? Will you need to revise your vision?

3)      Renew your commitment.

This may be through seeking a new revelation from God or yielding to the very thing He had shown you in the past. It may simply be choosing to have an attitude of availability as it relates to working with God, working on yourself and making time to work for you.

Side note: Many people are so used to helping others and being there for others that they forget to be just as kind to themselves. 

4)      Restore your confidence in God and in your abilities to do what you are passionate about doing

Lessons learned

• Just because God speaks to us about what He is going to do in our lives now does not mean it is to happen right away (it may be decades away). Sometimes the only thing God requires of us at that particular time is our, "Yes!" - our commitment to the task of which He spoke and a readiness to trust Him in spite of not having all the details.

• A door that might have been opened in my past may not be relevant now in my present. To chase an opportunity that is no longer for me is to go after something meaningless and to create an environment of frustration. 

I would love to hear your thoughts:) Feel free to leave your comment below!

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Until next time,
EJ
Onward & Live IN purpose

Did my open door close? ‘Failure to Launch’

When I began writing this post I did not want to reference a particular personal experience I had that led me to these thoughts a few years later. However, whenever I tried to write around it I found myself unable to freely write and painfully aware that without the inclusion, somehow, of this experience, the post simply would not be complete. 

As I share my experience I hope it will bring some relief to the tug-o-war existing in your heart because of experiences that have left you feeling dejected and unworthy [as though you cannot get anything right, like you are not good enough and as though God has given up on you] and that unquenchable, impassioned, raging desire to do God’s will and to be used of God!

Your thoughts may be running wild about the possible things I might have endured that would have warranted feelings of despondence and disillusionment, I will leave you to your imaginings but when you are done, let us look at procrastination (smile)! I often liken procrastination as a 'failure to launch' and I will use those words interchangeably here.

We have all at one point or another found ourselves fully persuaded of something we need to do; to leave a relationship, to move across states, cities or countries, to do something that God has instructed, to further our education, to change jobs, to stop drinking etc. but we often allow fear, insecurities, feelings of unworthiness, our current circumstances that we see with our natural eyes and/or the negativity of people around us to become stumbling blocks or hurdles in our paths to progress. 

Almost two years ago, I was experiencing a few changes in my life. As I navigated the emotional turmoil the death of a friend was causing, I began to seek God more so that I would be able to lean on Him for strength. My husband and I began a special prayer period where we chose to pray about at least one issue that would have been found in the subject of the day’s local or world news .We decided that there were others who were hurting as much as we were and that instead of focusing on our own pain we would pray for others who were hurting too. It was in this posture of prayer that I decided to be silent one day and asked God to speak with me about me.

It is true that, God says that He is a Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6) and that if we seek Him He will be found by us!

He spoke to me in a special way then.  

                                                    Think about it. 

What was the last thing that God spoke to you about? Did you do it? When was the last time you made up in your mind to do something? Did you follow through with it? If not, why? 

At the time I was investing so much time on Facebook to play games to distract myself and God spoke about the fact that my presence on Facebook was to become more productive and to be an avenue to share my faith. My friends on Facebook would have realized, without any forewarning (smile), that I started sharing videos with my experiences and or devotionals that I had received in some of my quiet moments with God.  When God spoke with me about it, I was both willing yet apprehensive. Not because I was afraid to share my faith, those who know me know I am a Christian; it was the fact that I had to share it through videos. I was content being behind the scenes and I viewed posting videos as too ‘out there’ for me. I found myself trying to persuade God several times how that was not the best thing for me to do because of my personality and how He had to have known that though I am not shy I preferred to remain behind the scenes and dodge any extra attention. (As if I knew me better than He knows me!)

This post continues here, Did my open door close? ‘Failure to Launch’ PART 2 

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Until next time,
EJ
Onward & Live IN purpose

Dealing with Difficulty

The people around you and even your current circumstances may make you feel as though you are a failure, that you are not good enough for the dreams you have, that you will never grab hold of the things God has placed in your spirit.
Refuse to get discouraged, lift your head up above your situation so that you might SEE more clearly and not be infected by the negativity in your life. SEE with not just your physical eyes but with eyes of faith so that you might keep pressing forward.

When I am afraid [anxious, confused, hurting, disillusioned, dejected] I will trust in God Psalm 56:3

You can check out the video blog below which speaks about, "Dealing with Difficulty". 

Join in the conversation and share the ways you have dealt with challenges in the past. How has your methods changed and how has your strategies changed you?.

Thanks for reading and watching:)

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Until next time,
EJ
Onward & Live IN purpose

Happy Birthday...Sleep Well

Dedicated to his best friend Mugabe

I really wanted to entitle this piece, “Happy Birthday and R.I.P.” but I suppose those final words (R.I.P.) are so piercing that people readily expect just a sad, devastating, heart wrenching story and maybe rightly so. My conscious effort for this post is to simply share more about how my own life was impacted by his life and death. When we allow our lives to be positively transformed by a loved one we have lost we let their legacy live on!

Confessedly, I cannot write without thinking about his family and other friends who suffered through the anniversary of his death only a few weeks later that same month to celebrate what was the day of his birth! Though I will speak of him I will not give him a name because I believe it frees you to consider as you read, your own loved ones who have transitioned and the real impact their lives have had on this world and more importantly, on you.

Reminiscing

Once January rolled in I found myself anticipating those two memorial days I mentioned earlier and wondering how his best friend, who became a dear friend of mine, along with other loved ones, would be coping.  I hadn’t known him long but in the breadth of my knowledge of him I learned of his jovial, compassionate, generous, well-mannered nature. He was a Christian who was a hero. He died because he risked his life to save a classmate who got into difficulty swimming in high current water. I had to take a moment to absorb all that again!

As I observe this scene of my life I recognize that many young people were in it. People, I had not known prior to his death but who in a circle, lit candles with us in what was a somber moment in one of our student council meetings held in a little classroom at our all girls high school. We sang through our pain, sobered up by the thought that young people could also die; that death was not just for the old or the ill. I shake my head as I consider some of the things I believed as a 16 year old, as young people we are always so apt to believe that we are untouchable…invincible!  

Side note: Little did we know as a group of hurting kids that in this very moment God had orchestrated a collective bonding that would be the catalyst for our individual healing.
Some of those faces distorted from crying, hands fastened in another’s hand, singing ‘til we meet again’, I will never forget. Many of them I stayed acquainted with years later and one in particular, his best friend, was to remain rooted in the very soil of my life even to this day! 

Relationships

We expel so much energy in our quest to form connections with people and in our chasing after all kinds of relationships that sometimes do us more harm than good. Please note that I am not devaluing the deliberate efforts one must sometimes make to build bonds but how much more powerful is a bond created by God himself while you were still sleeping (smile). I am sure you have friends and family like that where you feel as though you have always known them or that they understand you like no other etc. I know you do! 

God in His infinite power and wisdom has a way of simply taking strangers and forging a bond between them that seemed to have existed before their time. I knew him well even though I had seen him alive only twice. I knew him well even though he had been introduced in to the script of my life only about 4 months before his death. I knew him well. I never mentioned this earlier but at the time of his death he had been dating one of my closest friends in school. I knew him well. Every experience with him present has been etched in the memory halls of my life! 

I remember his death was a very challenging period of my life but also a very revealing time. I learned what it meant to be a friend, especially to someone new. I learned that God had made the human spirit resilient. I recognized my fears, inadequacies and limitations. I met God in a new way. I learned to pray. I learned to appreciate God and all He had been doing in my life! It marked entry into a new sphere of my journey with God as He comforted, renewed and restored me. 

Ahhh! Writing now has made me realize even more the wealth and depth of my experiences during this short act in my life. Wow there are so many stories behind all these words that have stayed with me over the years and to really talk about them would take post after post after post after post (smile)!

Yes you have lost.

Yes your heart still aches.

But what an awesome experience it was to have that loved one in your life!

Reflection

What could you learn from their life?

What personal attributes might you take from their lives to make you stronger and better today?

How might you celebrate them rather than mourn them? 

I am still asking myself some of these questions and one thing I have learned through my reflections is that the God of love does not want us to stay in pain and grief and even in the midst of it all He still understands our hurt. 

To my friend, you touched many lives in your living and even more in your dying. Gone but never forgotten… 

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Until next time,

EJ
Onward & Live IN purpose

RealTalk Thursdays: Are God's rules still relevant today?

RealTalk Thursdays 1/17/13
A special thank you to the person who submitted this question. Thank you for taking part in our RealTalk Thursday series!

TWO Part question:

A) "People often say that a lot of the instructions given in the Bible were applicable to the culture and society at the time they were written, so we do not need ...to follow those today".
This point of view is evidenced by Christians indulging in large scale secularism (eg: partying, listening to songs with violent and sexually explicit lyrics, dressing immodestly, engaging in sexually immoral acts, etc).

B) "Do you agree with this viewpoint, or do you think it is merely justification for not being totally set apart and surrendered to God?"
 
Below you will find a summarized response however to view the complete response please see the video that is included. 

We look forward to your feedback whether in the form of comments or questions.

We have the firm belief that the Bible is still relevant today!

Though the backdrop of much of the bibilical text may be set in a particular context its teachings are not shackled by the practices and ideologies of the time. It is true that some of the accounts reflect the cultural climate of the time but there must be consensus on the fact that the Bible is not partial to the current practices of that era. For example, in a resolutely patriarchal environment God still inspired and instructed writers to make mention of women who were instrumental in advancing His work on earth but who also had relationship with God. These same women would have been otherwise left out of accounts as dictated by the culture of the time.

As we consider the Bible's relevance we must consider that there are even prophetic books in the Bible which make direct reference to our society today and other things to come. God's rules and regulations transcend the boundaries of time, way of life, practices and ideologies and despite the many things that might have changed with the progression of time God, God's Word, God's love for humanity and God's requirements on our lives have remained constant. With that said can we truly say that we cannot relate to or understand the personal struggles, societal temperature and behaviors depicted in the Biible? Also if you absolutely could not find any similarities between biblical culture and your own at the very least there must be an identifying with the people as the characters are truly timeless!

To ignore God's rules on the argument that they are irrelevant to our society today is to determine to be misled and to be self-serving.


Check out our overview video response below.

We hope you will join in the conversation.

Thanks for reading:)

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Until next time,
EJ
Onward & Live IN purpose