Uniquely Created by God

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abuse, Christian, depression, design, destiny, dream, failures, future, guard, heart, love, miracle, misjudgments, mistakes, Personal Development, promise, Purpose, suffering, treasure, unique, woman, Women

My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! ~ Psalm 139:15-17

Rose, Silk and Lace …

Hard times uncovers you; abuse uncovers you; too much exposure causes you to deteriorate.

Woman is covered in creation and in relationship; woman was meant to be cared for and protected; woman was meant to be given to; sin came when the woman gave to the man.

You are an original design; designed for God’s purpose.

Leah (like a gazelle) … was well favored!

Rachel’s treasure was “on” her; Leah’s treasure was “in” her.

People who never look in you are too shallow to appreciate what God has put in you!

God moves you from your past into your future.

You do not have time to get stuck in a place of depression or forlorn because God is taking you somewhere.

You are a woman of destiny. You have an appointment with destiny.

You must quicken your steps.

You have not seen your best days; they are yet to come.

There’s more before you than there is behind you .

God’s got something great for you.

That’s why you’re here; you can’t die yet, you have an appointment.

The angels of the Lord will keep you because you have an appointment.

In spite of all you’ve been through, your suffering, mistakes, misjudgments, failures.

Praise God!

There’s yet another promise, another miracle to come from and for you.

Spend investment time in the inner (wo)man — your heart.

Guard your doors, chain your gates, slam your fences,

be careful what you let come through you, what you let affect you.

You are uniquely created.

Love you! *Q

[This post is a compilation of ministry notes recorded and saved in my files; I have no origin or date.]

Enclaves of Vulnerability

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Christian, faith, inner strength, Inspiration, Motivation, Personal Development, Personal Growth, self confidence, self development, self renewal, Women

Those dormant recesses of our being that erupt from time to time when we least expect.  The erupting molten lava of past offenses; the saturating flood plains of acts of indifference and deafening silence of exclusion and inadequacies. They shake us to the core.  Out of nowhere they come rushing in, unearthing enclaves of vulnerability.  You wonder, what is this about? Where did this come from? These feelings and thoughts that come as a reminder that underneath the strength of our faith and complete dependence upon His (Jesus our Lord) might, is the frailty of our humanity.

It is in these moments that we have to reevaluate and reassess the framework of our faith.  Moments of self-realization and reflection that call us back to Him.  Moments when His voice whispers and His presence summons us to the secret place where we must look in His face, yield our self-sufficiency, surrender our hearts, and utter the confession, “God, I am nothing without You, I desperately need You”.

At that moment, He receives, replenishes, and reassures our hearts.  Our strength and perspective is renewed and refocused.  At that moment, a moment with Him, we refill, rebuild, refortify the enclaves of vulnerability and regain our equilibrium. Shored up with His resilience, the eruptions of our human structure are quieted and stabilized.  We regroup, our confidence is repositioned, our purpose is realigned, and our faith is replenished. *Q

(PHOTO SOURCE: …  a woman who like so many has worn her heart on her sleeve … Yet in the spirit of resilience embodied by most women, she forgives, she heals and allows her heart to be vulnerable …  (www.jasonobriengallery.com))

Five Minute Friday: You Are Your VOICE

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Christian, faith, inner strength, Inspiration, Motivation, Personal Development, Personal Growth, self confidence, self development, self renewal, Women

FIVE MINUTE FRIDAY … We write for five minutes flat. All on the same prompt posted by Lisa Jo Baker at lisajobaker.com at 1 minute past midnight EST every Friday. No extreme editing; no worrying about perfect grammar, font, or punctuation. Unscripted. Unedited. Real. Take 5 minutes and see what comes out: not a perfect post, not a profound post, just five minutes of focused writing.
So now on Fridays a group of people who love to throw caution to the wind and just write without worrying if it’s just right gather to share what five minutes buys them. Just five minutes.

Today’s Topic: VOICE

Immediately when I saw the prompt, VOICE, I recalled a quote I read some time ago, “Speak your truth, even if your voice shakes.” I don’t know who the originator is but it described me so well. For so long my voice quivered and still does sometimes. In 2008, I made a declaration to do some different things in my life, things to grow me, to grow my life, and somehow those things also grew my voice. I returned to school after 30 years to finish my undergraduate degree which I did (Class of 2012!). Also, I joined Toastmasters International through a club at my school. It was there that I gained better control of my voice and an amazing confidence to let it be heard. Toastmasters is an international organization that provides training in competent communication and leadership in a positive, encouraging environment. It was great for me and I recommend it highly. If you find that your voice shakes with emotion whether of passion or fear, keep speaking. Don’t let anyone silence your voice. Remember anyone who demands your silence or denies your right to grow is not your friend. (Alice Walker) So here and now, I celebrate your voice and encourage you to use it. Speak from a genuine heart, with prepared thoughts, from a place of wisdom and knowledge. Share your voice.

The Escapable Comfort Zone

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adversity, Christian, consult, dreams, faith, Fear, Goals, inner strength, Inspiration, mental behavior, Motivation, Personal Development, Personal Growth, read, resourceful, self confidence, self development, self renewal, take action, Women

The comfort zone is a behavioral state within which a person operates in an anxiety-neutral condition, using a limited set of behaviors to deliver a steady level of performance, usually without a sense of risk (White 2009). A person’s personality can be described by his or her comfort zones. Highly successful persons may routinely step outside their comfort zones, to accomplish what they wish. A comfort zone is a type of mental conditioning that causes a person to create and operate mental boundaries. Such boundaries create an unfounded sense of security. Like inertia, a person who has established a comfort zone in a particular axis of his or her life, will tend to stay within that zone without stepping outside of it. To step outside a comfort zone, a person must experiment with new and different behaviours, and then experience the new and different responses that then occur within their environment.

(SOURCE: Wikipedia (Do not tell ANY of my professors))

Recently, in my employment performance evaluation, the comments summary indicated “I had moved out of my comfort zone.” Can you imagine working in a capacity for over 30 years confined to a set of mental behaviors that would lead to such a conclusion? Unthinkable.

I came across this photo on Pinterest and it beckoned me to write, its visual a captivating ah-ha moment.

The ‘Comfort Zone”, a confinement so claustrophobic and strangling yet in clear view of the liberated space where the ‘Magic Happens’. Is that place of magic always a literal arm’s-length beyond our reach? It is.

How do we escape the Comfort Zone? By taking that declarative step of abandon, the moment when you no languish in the thought processes, but act. Act on your dreams, your goals, your aspirations. When you become resourceful beyond the person you ever thought you were or could be. When you slay your fears or trample over them and find your way out of the Comfort Zone and into that place where the magic happens.

The Comfort Zone is a safe place, a place where you’ve figured it out, where you can easily manage adversity, but it is not a place of rebirth, growth, or where you’re stretched for the bigger and greater, for the more, for the magic.

So be inspired, motivated to make the call, read the handbook, have the consult, write the plan, enroll in the course, buy the ticket. Speaking it is fine, but it is not enough, you must ACT on it.

Escaping the Comfort Zone to the place where the magic happens is just beyond arm’s-length, so REACH. *Q

Five Minute Friday: LOOK

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age, capable, Christian, dreams, faith, Fear, future, image, inner strength, insecurity, Inspiration, mind's eye, Motivation, opinions, Personal Development, Personal Growth, possibility, propser, reflection, self confidence, self development, self renewal, vision, Women

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community.

LOOK

When you LOOK in the mirror, what do you see?
Beyond the image in your eye view, what do you see with your mind’s view?
Our pastor teaches all the time that we do not see with our eyes, but with our
mind.

When you LOOK in the mirror, do you see only physical beauty or imperfections,
all the things we love or not so much?

When you LOOK in the mirror, do you see a girl in a woman’s body, still fighting
fears and insecurities, the opinions of others, all the hopes and dreams you
hoped for but have yet to accomplish. Do you also see a door creeping closed
from time passing you by, age snuffing out opportunities to see those dreams
fulfilled. Or the clock on the wall ticking away so loudly to drown out the
making of new dreams?

I hope not.

I pray you see the embodiment of Christ and all that He dreams for you.
LOOK again. See? See you! The apple of God’s eye … capable AND filled with possibility!

God’s Word says, “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to
prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

*Q

Miracle: Something Only God Can Do

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baby, birth, child, Children, Christian, faith, Family, inner strength, Inspiration, life, miracle, Motivation, Personal Development, Personal Growth, self confidence, self development, self renewal, Women

On October 11, 2012 at 10:26 AM I witnessed a miracle.

My granddaughter was born into this world.  It was a most amazing and yet overwhelming experience for me.  First, to see my Daughter bring her first child into the world was more than my finite mind could comprehend. I’m so proud of her.  My Son-in-Love too, he was the best coach and supporter.

But back to this miracle, having had my own three babies by Caesarean, I never experienced childbirth like my Daughter.  How God created our bodies to bring a life into the world is beyond words.  James Weldon Johnson penned it this way:

“Then God sat down on the side of a hill where He could think; by a deep, wide river He sat down; With His head in His hands, God thought and thought, Til He thought, I’ll make me a man! Up from the bed of the river God scooped the clay; And by the bank of the river He kneeled Him down; And there the Great God Almighty Who lit the sun and fixed it in the sky, Who flung the stars to the most far corner of the night, Who rounded the earth in the middle of His hand, this Great God, like a mammyr bending over her baby, kneeled down in the dust, tolling over a lump of clay, till He shaped it in His own image. Then in it He blew the breath of life, and man became a living soul.” (God’s Trombones:The Creation)

Then to see that beautiful life come forth, having traveled through bone, blood, tissue, and life-sustaining fluid … a new life of promise, joy, and wonder … is emotionally overpowering every single time I reflect upon it.  Something only God can do certainly sums up this miraculous life event.  How anyone can take life for granted, diminish its value, abuse it, or not love it is unthinkable.

My heart nor my vocabulary can express my gratitude to God for this miracle of Astrid Emilie Seals whom He gave to us Thursday morning.  He, Himself, created her little body and I am indeed a witness that He is still working miracles.*Q

Five Minute Friday: RACE

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adapt, adversity, Career, champion, Christian, discipline, Education, faith, focus, goall, inner strength, Inspiration, marraige, mindset, Motivation, Personal Development, Personal Growth, race, rank, self confidence, self development, self renewal, spiritual walk, victory, win, Women

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking. 2. Link back here and invite others to join in. 3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community.

http://lisajobaker.com/2012/10/31-days-write-story-day-12-five-minute-friday-race/

Here goes …

“… the RACE is not to the swift, …” but to the one that endures to the end. “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.” ~ (1 Corinthians 9:23-25)
We must run the race of life with the end in mind. We must run the race as a champion, with the mindset that we are well able to win and that we are already victorious. The race we run each day is scattered with obstacles, hurdles, twists and turns along the track. Therefore, it is vital to our victory to be disciplined, prepared, and equipped for the race that we may indeed obtain the prize. The mind of a champion is what we need. No matter what we face along the way, our focus remains on the prize. We learn to adapt along the way. We are not deterred by the currents of adversity or the hecklers along the sidelines. The goal is what drives us, pushes us like a wind in our back. We run always aware of other runners in the race, but never losing sight of the goal, never losing sight of our rank in the race … we’re the champion.
God has equipped us, coached us, and cheered us on to win the race so we must run the race with the assurance that we have been trained by the best and that we represent the best.
Get on your mark, get set, ready, go!
Whatever your race … life in general, an unrealized dream, a marriage, an education or career, or in your spiritual walk … run the race that you may obtain the prize.
You’re the champion, you win!

Source of Inspiration

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Christian, faith, inner strength, Inspiration, Motivation, Personal Development, Personal Growth, self confidence, self development, self renewal, Women

I read blogger tips and advice to authors that exclaim, ‘just write.’ But I find myself always struggling to find something to write about. Always questioning reader interest, validation of my voice or words, constantly trying to push through the self-doubt of why my words matter. I never want to write out of some dark place, conflict, judgment, reprimand or scorn. I always want my writing to be inspirational, empowering, and purposeful. I guess that is why I’m so reluctant to just write.

The word of God advises to let our words be pure, blessings not cursings, and edifying. Titus 2 admonishes the older women to teach the younger ones; Proverbs 31:26 speaks of the Virtuous woman as one who “… openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness; and in Psalm 19:14, the psalmist David prays, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.”

So when I write, I pray the source of my inspiration will come not only from experiences and current trends, but more importantly from a heart to honor God with my words and from the illumination of a healthy place to speak wisdom, to encourage, and to build up.

Five-Minute Friday: WELCOME

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aloneness, Christian, faith, hug, inner strength, Inspiration, Jesus' Love, love, Motivation, Personal Development, Personal Growth, self confidence, self development, self renewal, welcome, Women

Inspired by Lisa-Jo Baker Five-Minute Friday where you’re challenged to write freely for five minutes on a topic she posts every Friday, here goes …

Several things came to mind when I saw the word, Welcome.
The first is how welcoming a hug is. I love when people reach out to you, stop, and say, “I’m a hugger.” I respond, “I am too.” An embrace is so welcoming especially in a place where you’ve never been before or with people you’ve never met before.
Secondly, I was reminded of a recent occasion to visit a place where I knew people, but was not in physical contact with them on a regular basis. I found it interesting, and somewhat disheartening at the same time that no one really reached out to me to really make me feel welcome. I found myself finding my own way, which was fine, because I’m independent that way. Before my time there ended, however, someone did reach out to me in a very welcoming way.
I also thought of our “Welcome” time at church each Sunday. It has become such an event all its own … From the “Jesus in me loves the Jesus in you.” to “I really love You, because You first loved me, I really love You, yes I do. #