Sometimes It's Okay To Be Selfish!

Selfish: to be concerned with one's own welfare without regard for others

The article below was sent to me the other day and I really enjoyed it. I'll be the first to admit that I found myself guilty of what this article is talking about. If you find yourself guilty, join me in making a few changes where necessary.

While I was out and about this weekend, running a couple of errands, I decided to take my least favorite highway exit to return home. Immediately, after exiting I regretted it for the very reason that it is my least favorite. Traffic was backed up... as always! "Ugh," I thought, "another accident. Memphis drivers are the worst."

As I sat in the barely moving traffic, pressing the accelerator and then the brakes what seemed like every two seconds, I finally approached the cause of the traffic pile-up. It was a wrecker service truck that had broken down. Ironic huh? The truck that is supposed to come to everyone else's rescue had broken down... and had traffic piled up...(catch that). In that moment, God spoke... Sometimes we get so busy trying to be EVERY thing to EVERY one else that we neglect the one person who needs us the most - OURSELF. We become so attentive to the needs of others and running to their rescue EVERY single time they call, that we do not realize that we - ourselves - are coming apart, slowly unraveling thread by thread. Or worse, maybe we do realize it, but we turn a blind eye to all the signs that we, ourselves, are running on empty.

We go on carrying their "weight" (and sometimes, it is heavier than their weight) until we break down... as that wrecker truck did... and then there's a pile up. Are you that person? Are you one who feels that you have to constantly pour from your cup, even when it's empty? Are you one who plays so many roles - mom, dad, wife, husband, employee, business owner, prayer warrior, listening ear, etc... but then, you neglect the role of self?? It is perfectly okay to be selfish... yes, I know the word selfish has gained such a negative connotation, but just think - if you are not well, then you cannot be well for anything or anyone else.

If you never stop to rest, to replenish, then you are well on your way to a breakdown just as that wrecker truck did. Selflessness is such a beautiful trait, but being selflessness should not require you to take from you. YOU NEED YOU. Listen, do not ignore the signs... take a break... and figure out what is it that you need. Do not lose yourself on the  mission of helping everyone else to find themselves.

With all that said, let the church say Amen... and AMEN!

Do You Have a Case of Spiritual Amnesia??

Amnesia: the loss of memory

As we go through our busy lives from day to day, sometimes we don’t stop to think about where our blessings come from - as long as they keep coming. Some of us get so bad that we may even occasionally forget to thank God for them. We just simply don’t give it much thought. How many of us have thought, "I worked from eight to five every day this week; so I’m the one that provided all this for me and my family." That's dangerous territory we are walking in and it's during those moment that we could be accused of having a serious case of spiritual amnesia!

Deuteronomy 8:17-18 tells us, "And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth that He may establish His covenant which He sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day." Don't develop a case of spiritual amnesia! As this scripture reminds us, all the wealth we might have has been given to us by the Lord.

We don’t want to be like the children of Egypt, either. They really had a loss of memory, how quickly did they seem to forget about the Lord that parted the Red Sea on their behalf; how quickly did they forgot the shoes that never wore out and the clothes that never got too small. How could they forget that, especially since there were no Singer sewing machines, and no Famous Footwear shoes stores in the wilderness?! They ate angel’s food, but I'm pretty sure there were no angelic Piggy Wiggly grocery stores out there! They had a serious case of Spiritual amnesia!

Isaiah 44:21 says, "Remember these, O Jacobs and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me." So let us not forget to remember our Lord and the many blessings he has bestowed onto us.

It would be pretty hard to have Spiritual Amnesia if we practiced Psalms 63:5-7: "...My mouth shall praise thee with Joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice."

If we are meditating on Him while we are lying upon our bed and remembering the wonderful things He has done for us in the night watches, it would be harder for us to have spiritual amnesia when we are in the midst of the storm. If we are rejoicing in His goodness continually; constantly praising Him for His excellent greatness - how could we possibly forget what He has delivered us from and this beautiful place that He has brought us to? How could we possibly have Spiritual Amnesia!? Stay reflective, my friends!

With all that said, let the church say amen... and AMEN!

I'm Divorced and I Think You Should be Too!

Divorce: separation, split

I got a divorce and my divorce was final on December 31, 2019 - at midnight, to be exact. You might be surprised to read that I'm so excited about it and I thank God for it. No need to call and check on my husband - he's fine and he's stuck with me! Instead, I divorced my past in 2019. I divorced my doubts, my setbacks; I divorced negative and nasty people, worry, cancer, lack, disgust, depression and situations that I can't change, and people I've tried to change - it's officially over and done with. In my new relationship, I have custody of my anger, my attitude and my unfaithfulness AND since I have custody (i.e. control) of them I do not have to allow them to spew out on other people as I've done in the past!

Fortunately, the Judge granted me full custody of my destiny, my calling, and my new life. And I'm happy to announce that I'm engaged - to my bright new future in 2020! In this new relationship I'm putting things in prospective by doing exactly as Matthew 6:33 tells us, "seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." You see, the Lord knows everything that I need, so I'm putting Him first and He will perform His promises to me. Need more proof? Psalms 37:4 says; "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart."

In this new relationship the Lord wants us to step forward, plant our feet on solid ground, and look straight ahead into the face of our impossibilities and believe in Him, because with Him all things are possible. In 2020 we cannot allow anyone to cause us to turn back to that past we divorced. Remember - we got custody of our new life - so let's be strong, let's be courageous, and let's move in obedience. We must listen to His voice and step out and start moving forward with our bright new future!

I thank the Lord for my new outlook on life. Why don't you divorce 2019, so that you will be relieved of the past. Lord, for this new year and this new opportunity we love, adore and appreciate You.

With all that said, let the Church say Amen and... AMEN!

He's The Potter, We Are The Clay!

Potter: One who makes earthenware vessels.

Clay: Earth that is pliable when moist but hard when fired.

There are many different ways the Lord uses to describe His relationship to His people. Today, I want to share with you how He’s the Master Potter and we are the clay and to inform you that the Potter has a mission! This mission is to take worthless clay and turn it into vessels of honor, which means that He has to mold it, shape it, and transform it, in order for it to be useful to Him. Isaiah 64:8 says it best; "But now, oh Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand."

It doesn’t matter what condition we're in when He finds us; God is more interested in taking the worst of us and changing us into the best He has to offer. Like the clay at first, our condition is initially worthless - it must be shaped, molded, and transformed, so that it can be used. We were worthless to God in our sinful condition, but thank God, He saw the vessels we could become. But first we must invite Him into our lives as our personal savior; at that point, God can begin His process.

When clay is first brought in from the fields it is unusable; it is usually hard and full of impurities. As the clay must first be refined, so must the Christian first be refined before we can be shaped into a vessel by the Master Potter. The clay has to be put into the kiln and expose to fire to be harden. We  too must be tried by fire in order to be strengthened. Look at Joseph for instance - Joseph was sold into slavery and imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit. When he was tried by fire, he maintained a positive attitude toward the Potter, became a vessel of honor, and was made the second most powerful man in Egypt.

Jeremiah 18-6 says; "O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? Saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel." In other words, just as the clay yields itself to a potter, we as Christians must submit to the authority of God. He’s in complete control and whatever the fire is that He puts us in has been tailor-made just for us.

With all that said, let the church say Amen… and AMEN!            



                                                                                                    

Thank God For A New Year!

Happy New Year Friends!

Thank God for another year, for 2019 wasn't promised to us, but God saw fit to keep us here and gave us the opportunity to see 2020 and for that - I am most grateful.

Is it just me who feels as though time has sped up?? Of course, I know that it hasn't, but time is constantly moving, so we must use it wisely and not take it for granted. Today, I just want to reflect on a few things we talked about in 2019.

My daughter tells me all the time how we need to let Jesus take the wheel, so as we talked about last year, let's be mindful to continue to trust in and lean on Him. We already know that we don't know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future! I'm sure that each of us probably came into 2020 with a lot of concerns - whether that be financial, health, or career-related - but let's not magnify these concerns. Instead, let's stand on our faith and magnify the One who can change and fix them. When those worries and concerns get too heavy for us, let's trust in God. He might not put the fire out, but if He doesn't, we can be assured that He will get into the fire with us.

Friends, remember to pray without ceasing as the Word tells us that "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passion as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain" (James 5:16-18). Did you catch that? God withheld the rain for THREE and a HALF YEARS based on Elias' prayer! And when he prayed again, God allowed the heavens to open and the rain to fall again. How powerful is that?! Equally as powerful is the knowledge that the Lord will do awesomely, amazing things for us, just as he did for Elias. All we have to do is - we must have faith in our prayers and trust and believe in God and He will be faithful to answer.

Let's also remember to rest in the Lord, for there is nothing like being one of His - just a sheep in the pasture, we don't have to worry about providing the way or about what's going to happen tomorrow, we can just turn it all over to the Lord and rest as we walk along with Him.

As we trust, pray, and rest in the Lord in 2020, my prayer for each of us is that He will allow us to experience His peace in an abundant way - which is much more wonderful than the human mind can understand or even imagine. His peace will keep our thoughts and our hearts quiet and at rest as we pray and trust in Christ Jesus!

With all that said, let the Church say Amen and... AMEN!