2013 Recap

Yes,... I'm still here. It's been a quiet year for me on Blogger but let's face it, no one was holding their breath each day waiting for a blog post from me so I have no regrets in that aspect.

2013

Wow. I can't believe it's nearly over; only five days to go and how many New Year's Resolutions did I meet? That's right. None. I'm not richer, skinner, healthier, tanner, artsier, married and I don't have a dog. I really know how to achieve and meet goals, huh? Let's add "Read the goal meeting/stop procrastinating/inspirational book" to 2014 resolutions.

But overall, 2013 wasn't a horrible year. Let's see,...

• I became an auntie at the end of 2012. I LOVE IT! I spoil precious Baby Kensi each chance I get. She is so cute,smart,precious, lovely and darling ...etc. Oh! you wanted to see a picture of her? Well, here you go! See I told you she was a cutie!

  

  Baby K

• I found a new addiction in 2013 - Pinterest. Y'all... I have planned my future house, pets, wedding, kids, photos, recipes, jobs, Bible reading, etc. It's a problem. Ladies, if you don't have a Pinterest, don't get one. It's a black hole of home decor and wardrobe planning. Major time waster unless you are a "go-getter" who actually does the DIY projects.
• My best friend of nearly 20 years got married.  She was lovely and she got married at a Southern plantation. Um, can we say classy!? How time flies, just yesterday we were meeting for the first time in grade school and now she's married.
• My hobby of photography became a little more profitable this year.  Now, I know my skills are limited (to put it nicely) but I had more people requesting me to take their photos this year and honestly, it was a great feeling. I have so far to go and so much to learn but I'm up to the challenge.
• I got a new job at the Bank. Due to a series of crazy events (which I won't go into) I was hired as an assistant in the Commercial Lending Department. Key music to A Whole New World.  It's completely different and I'm learning so much. I feel overwhelmed some days by it all but it's going to work out. I truly believe God placed me here.

And these things are just a tip of the 2013 iceberg! All in all, it was a good year but between you and me, I have a feeling next year will be even better!



Dreams

Have you ever had a day where you take a moment, a pen and a notebook to simply dream?

Dream of what you want? Dream of where you’d go? Dream of things you would do?

Dreams can encourage and motivate us to better places if we allow them. They can place a drive and passion down deep in us that will propel us further into the plans God has for us. The key is allowing God to use dreams to move us. If we refuse to grow and we remain content with our little sphere of influence and our small responsibilities we will eventually die. We will face the death of creativity, of imagination, of passion and of growth. We will become hardened to any type positive change. We open the doors to bitterness and stagnant thinking.  Dreams keep us alive!

I sat down recently and allowed myself to dream, and then I wrote down the things I want to accomplish.  

1. I want to develop my skills in writing. I want to write something so meaningful that it inspires change. I would love to write a book or article that would be published. My words don’t have to be widely read or known. I just want to reach and influence more people.
 
2. I want to become a better photographer. I want to be able to capture a memory for future generations. Sounds corny, but hey! It’s my dream.  I also believe that photographer would be a great side-job in the future. So by bettering my skills I would be positively impacting my future finances. 
 
3. I want to adopt a child. Those who know me know that adoption is my heartbeat. So many children long for a mom and dad to love them and provide a home for them. I can do that for a child. I can rescue them and change their lives. 
 
4. I want a home – a place where all feel welcome. I have an Aunt who's home is like that. You walk in the doors and immediately feel loved. That’s what a home is supposed to feel like and that’s what I would love to provide. 
 
5. I want to provide a retreat for ministers and families. I want to give them a haven to rest in during a tough situation. I want to help them find direction and answers. I want a place where they can stay and be together as a family. I realize that vocational stress can tear at the family unit. I want to help strengthen that unit.

Not sure of how it will all come together but those are a few of my hopeful dreams.

This girl can dream all day long. But there comes a time when you have to get up and work to achieve the dreams. Dreams are worth nothing unless they are acted upon. Unless you use the inspiration of the dreams to act, the dreams are nothing but vain imaginations, useless and soon forgotten.

So I’m taking steps to act upon my dreams so I can help bring them to life.  Hopefully I have a couple of my dreams checked off by this time next year but if not, I will still hold on and keep them alive. Some dreams take time and may not come to pass in the time-frame that we wish but it doesn’t mean the dream is dead. Keep feeding your dreams. Encourage yourself.  Be prepared to step through doors that will lead you towards your dreams. You never know where God is leading you and what dream He is about to bring to pass. 

Your dreams could be just around the corner. So to paraphrase a popular Journey song, "Don't stop dreaming..."

Hosanna

Matthew 21:8-11
8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:


“Hosanna to the Son of David!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’Hosanna in the highest!”

10 And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?”
11 So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Since tomorrow is Psalm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week, I had been reading Matthew 21. I finished the passage regarding Jesus' entry into the city of Jerusalem and noticed a footnote in the text. I followed it and the footnote stated this, "In the original Greek text, Hosanna literally translates into phrase 'save me.' " 

I've always been under the assumption Hosanna was a praise but it's not - it's a prayer.

The Jews weren't just worshiping on the original Psalm Sunday - they were crying out to the One they believed could help them.  "Save us, oh Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord. Save us, One who is Highest!"

 If only they would have realized that was exactly what He was coming to do. He was coming to answer the prayers of past, present and future generations. He was coming to Save, to Redeem and to Free us.

"Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" John 1:29 

Tomorrow morning, on Psalm Sunday, the prayer, "Hosanna - Save Me!" will be rising across the world and it will reach His ears again.  Even 2000 plus years from the cross and resurrection, He is still just a prayer away. He can still hear our cries. And He will still answer and save us.

Hosanna, Jesus. Hosanna.

I will wait - He is Faithful

All of us at one point in time have had to rely on God to provide the answer to out fervent prayers. We pray. We plead. We wait. Then we repeat the process.

God says in His word that the “effectual fervent prayers of the righteous availeth much.” He also said that like any good father, the heavenly Father wouldn’t withhold good things from His children.

Our answers are on the way but we must be willing to patiently wait on God. He promises good to us if we follow and depend upon Him.

The Jews were promised a Savior, a Messiah who would rescue them. They waited for years for the promise to come to pass. They prayed. They pleaded. They waited.

And then one day, a young girl was visited by an angel and was told that she had been chosen to bring the answer to so many prayers. “And she brought forth her firstborn son and laid him in a manager,… And his name was called Jesus.”  

He was faithful to the prayers of His people. He brought them the answer, the Messiah they sought. He brought peace, joy, strength, hope and salvation.  

He will answer our prayers perhaps not in the timing that we wish but the answer will come.  He will fulfill our prayers, our hopes, our dreams, and our promises. He is faithful.

The question is not His faithfulness but our ability to wait on the promises.  Will you still believe and wait on Him if He doesn’t answer your prayer tomorrow? Will you still follow Him if the dream doesn’t occur for years? Can you remain faithful while He creates His answer?

“And I will wait on the LORD,... And I will hope in Him.” Isaiah 8:17

“...Show me the way I should go,  for to You I entrust my life.”  Psalms 143:8 NIV

God, show me the way I should go. Show me the way I should speak, walk, listen, minister, encourage, witness,...show me the way to live.

Show me Your ways, Oh God.

When was the last time you asked Him to show you the way He has ordained for your life? When was the last time you looked at your life actions and measured them against His? And if you were to take your daily life actions from this week and hold them up against His word, would you be found lacking?

His word gives us a measuring stick by which to order our lives. This is why we MUST read, breathe and live His word. It shows us His way.

When we allow His ways to become our ways then we have full confidence in His promises. At that point we know the He will be our Light, our Rock, our Hiding Place and our Salvation.

Are you limiting the promises of God because you fail to allow Him to show you His ways?

“Show me the way I should go, for to You I entrust my life.”

Great and Mighty is our God

Great and Mighty is our God.

HE it is that goes before us.

HE makes a way where there was no way.

HE brings down barriers that block his people.

HE brings gives substance and strength.

HE is a haven in times of stress and pain.

HE is our great fortress, the Rock to which we run.

HE is celebrated and feared by the nations.

HE is great and awesome in power.

HE is our healer and deliverer.

HE is the holy sacrifice for our many sins.

HE is preparing a heavenly place for us.


This God, there is none like him.

HE is Great and Mighty.


"HE is the one you praise; HE is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes."   Deuteronomy 10:21


"... If God is for us, who can be against us?"   Romans 8:31

He is Faithful

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." 

Hebrews 13:8

At all times HE is still the same.

In my times of darkness and pain.

In my times of joy and laughter.

In my times of need and shame

In my times of hope and faith.

At all times HE is still the same.

I take strength in knowing my ever-loving, sin-forgiving, miracle-working, star-breathing God will NEVER change.

We live in a world of constant change and motion.

The world changes. HE does not.

My family changes. HE does not.

My job changes. HE does not.

My friends change. HE does not.

Jesus is still the same.

HE will always be there.

HE is simply a whispered prayer, a brief thought,

a fervent hope away from me.

In a world of chaos, I can fully rely upon this knowledge.

Jesus is still the same, no matter my circumstances,

HE is still the same.