Day 357: Recap!

Merry Christmas Eve!

This week consisted of two series. The Life is Funny Series and the That's Life Series. We talked a lot about life this week, how it is unpredictable and how it is more that just a struggle and ultimately the kind of life we want to lead. So instead of doing a normal recap today I have an assignment for you all, instructions if you will. Take the time to go over what we discussed this week, just a bit of a review, if something spoke to you specifically, go back to that day and reflect on it.

1. Make a list of all the things you want to do with your life. Goals, dreams, aspirations, plans, everything.
2. Highlight all the parts of your life you want God to work on.
3. What is your perspective on life? How do you perceive things? How does your perception of life affect how you live?
4. How do you want you live your life in a way that will serve God and His people?
5. Make a vision board or start making one, you don't have to finish it today,  to have if ready by new year. On this vision board will be what you want it to be, how you visualize your life going in 2018. What do you want out of life? What do you expect God to do in your life?
*Keep a loose grips on your plans because God might change them.*
6. Make a promise to live the life god has destined for you, not for anyone else.

Take the time pray on all these things. Take the time and ask God for direction and allow Him to lead you.

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 358!

Day 348: What is Your Passion

Philippians 1:6

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus

Psalms 32:8
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you

Proverbs 16:3
Commit you work to the Lord , and your plans will be established. 

One of the biggest misconceptions in Christianity is that when we accept Christ into our lives we  completely give up who we are, our personalities, our passions our dreams, in order to serve God. We think we have to turn into these bible reading, church going, scripture memorizing robots, but we don’t. Instead we surrender, we surrender our lives to Him and we give up a life that we thought was good and accept a life that is great because of Him. I’d like to point out that God have us those gifts and dreams and the personalities. He made us who we are for a reason. We can’t just neglect that. 

Today I want to talk about how we are often very passionate about something but instead of going for it we hesitate because we want to make sure that it’s right for us. Overlooking the fact that God created us for this specific purpose, whatever it may be for you. 

We all have something that we love so much, a gift that we cannot help but use. We have that one thing that we want to do. The one thing we know we were made for. Why do we hesitate when it comes to going after it? God gave us the gifts we have. He put those desires and passions in our hearts. We aren’t all going to be pastors and worship leaders. Instead we are supposed to use the gifts we have been given to expand His kingdom. We are to do what we were put on this earth to do. Whatever it may be. If everyone was meant to lead a church no one would have a church to grow or go to. We are the church the church is in us, we have to stop looking at it as a building. If everyone was me at to be pastors who would we have to use the gift of science and medicine to heal and protect us. Who would govern our countries and nations? If we all tried to do the same thing life would be pretty boring and we would all go crazy. 

The question I want to ask you today is, what are you passionate about? What is the one thing you know you were made for.  It’s not usually something we have to find because it’s already in us. We are born with it. So what is it? What is the one thing you cannot live without doing? The thing that you don’t always want to do but you need to do, because you know that if you don’t do it you are wasting not only the gift God has given you but you are wasting your life by trying to do something else. 

When we submit ourselves to Christ we do not lose who we are in fact, it is the opposite, we find ourselves. We are more secure with who we are. We become less hesitant and more sure. Don’t let people scare you with their religion and rules. If you have a solid relationship with God and you know that your life lines up with Him completely and you are obeying His commands you are good. You are a gift and you have a gift. Use it. Too many Christians are stagnate because they think following their dreams is a sin. Sometimes it can be a sin not to follow our dreams. Many times God Himself has given us the desires and the dreams we have because He knows where He wants us and the path that He has for us. God Himself can be telling us to take the path that leads us to our dreams but we are sometimes too concerned with thinking that because we aren’t doing it the religious way or because we aren’t doing it in a church we are sinning. God can use you wherever  and whenever. He will use what He’s given you for His glory. Don’t underestimate how God can work and where He can work. 

Reflection:

What are you passionate about? 

What is the one thing you know you were made to do. 

What is stopping you from following your dreams?

Prayer Time:

Allow your answers to the above questions guide your prayer. Have a conversation with God about you dreams and passions. Make sure that everything you are, everything you want lines up with who He is. 

I love you and I hope you have an amazing Day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 349!

Day 293: But Wait...There's More!

Ephesians 3:20

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

Malachi 3:20

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!

Recently I had a realization, that no matter how big I dream, no matter how grand my plan is for myself and my life, God will always top that. It’s mindblowing to think about. Most people who know me know that I’m a dreamer, and I dream big, not only that but somehow someway all of my dreams are going to come to pass. It’s crazy when I sit and think of all the things I want out of life, and I’m reaching for the stars, I get a revelation that even in those moments God is bigger. Meaning He has a bigger vision, and a grander plan. That makes me trust Him even more. It pushes me to lean into His will a little more. God can do far beyond what we can ever think, or ask. That’s just a testament of how great God is compared to us, He expand our dreams, expands our faith, and expands our expectations. Simply because He is that good. I mean we’re talking about the guy who created the entire universe and everything in it.

When God blesses us, He really blesses us. It’s like a proud parent showering their child with gifts. God will go above and beyond for us, because He loves us that much. Sometimes we are waiting for God to move in our lives, waiting on promises, and when they do come to pass God makes the wait so worth. It’s a beautiful thing when we expect things from God. When we are waiting for Him to move miraculously in our lives, because He goes beyond our expectations. Over the summer I was really struggling with how we were going to pay tuition this year. I have struggling with this my entire time in school, and this times it seemed close to impossible. My family was going through so much financially, I couldn’t find a job, no one was willing to give me a loan and no one was willing to cosign. I found one person to co-sign and it got denied. Everything got denied. So I just kept praying and kept trusting God. I did not know how it was going to happen but I knew it was going to happen. But here’s the thing, I was expecting God to provide a loan approval, or enough money to start the payments. I called financial aid to see what they could do and they all told me there was nothing they could do. So I prayed some more and emailed the president of the school. Three days later I got an email saying, they would increase one of my grants. But wait...there’s more, they gave me a scholarship that would cover the rest of my tuition for not one but both semesters! I started screaming and broke out into tears, I was not expecting that but God went beyond my expectations and did something I did not even think of. Then I got offered not one but two jobs. I didn’t know how I was going to take care of myself financially, but I have four on-campus jobs. But wait...there’s more, I didn’t think I would get a refund check, but I went to the financial aid office and they had one there waiting for me, so now I don’t have to worry financially. God just keeps on blessing me, and it’s beyond whatever I could think or imagine.

-Dyamond

I think many times  it depends on our faithfulness, God will bless those who are faithful. He is looking at the ones who are constantly faithful to Him, and obeying Him. God sees that and He rewards the ones whose hearts stay with Him. This is not to say that we should only serve God for a blessing, but that faithfulness definitely pays off. Yes it pays off in eternity but it also pays off while we’re still on earth. We all have something that we want from God, continue to be faithful and wait what He will do. I’m a living testimony of what happens when God is faithful to us and we are faithful to Him.

All this to say, don’t underestimate God. Keep dreaming big and expecting God to move in your life and He will do more than you could ever imagine.

Reflection/Prayer Time

Just take the time to thank God that He is faithful. Take the time to pray and be grateful for who He is and what He does. Reflect on the times where you have seen Him move in your life. Reflect on the times when maybe you weren’t as faithful to God but He remained faithful to you. Take that with you as you pray today and pray however you feel led. Have a conversation with Him, if you need something tell Him, tell Him your greatest hopes and dreams and watch what He does.

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 294!

Day 99: God Brought Me This Far...

Philippians 1:6

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

God is faithful, this is a fact and it is something we have come to know and learn through experience. We know that everything God starts He will finish, we know that He will see us through whatever it is we are going through. He guides us through this crazy yet beautiful life. As Paul says, ‘I am sure of this..’ God doesn’t start something that He won’t finish, that’s not how He works. We know that He will complete every good work He has started in us, in this nation, in the world. It will all be completed, and His promises will be fulfilled.

1 Timothy 6:6

But Godliness with contentment is great gain.

A lot of times I thank God for where He is taking me. Especially when I feel the pressure to worry about how my life will turn out and how it will all work out. I find myself saying all the time, “God got me here, He will take me all the way.” “He didn’t bring me this far to leave me.” I say these words as a declaration of faith and trust in my Lord and Savior. I say that out of pure belief knowing that if He did it before He can do it again. Knowing that He holds to His word and it will be fulfilled in my life. While this is beautiful and something that I will stand on all the days of my life, I believe that something changed in me when I learned how to be thankful for where I am in this present moment. When I took my eyes off of where I’m going and focused on where I am. I had to learn to thank God for the present as much, if not more than I thank Him for my future. I had to learn to have faith in where God is taking me but also being content with where I am. Because He brought me this far. God brought me here for a reason and I’m not just passing through, I am here. I think our generation believes that we can't be happy until we are where we want to be. We base our happiness on our “success” We aren’t content with the present, we are constantly moving and rushing towards the future because that’s where we want to be, and we miss the adventures and the beauty of where we are. If we are constantly running for the future and what is ahead of us, we will never have time to stop and enjoy the present because we are constantly moving. It won’t allow us to stop, because at one point the past and the present were the future, and if we keep rushing through them because we want something more, we will miss what God is doing right in front of our eyes. We must understand that God has us here for a reason. This might be a stepping stone to where He is taking us but it matters just as much as the destination. The future is bright the destination is beautiful but can we be happy with where we are before we get there? Can we be faithful with the little things, and appreciate the little steps?

Reflection

1. Are you content with where you are?
2. Do you find yourself constantly running towards the future?
3. Can you stop and thank God for where you are?

Prayer Time

Allow your answers to the above questions guide your prayer. Take the time today to thank God for where you are in this time on your life. Thank God for the very moment.

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening. Make sure you share this with someone and come back tomorrow for day 100!

Day 59: Put Up A Fight!

Most times when you are doing something good, there will be opposition, Some people just don’t want to see you do good, especially when they aren’t doing well themselves. When opposition comes we have to put up a fight and push against it. We have to fight for the things we want, we have to fight for what we believe in and what we love. This brings me to the story of a man by the name of Nehemiah, who rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem despite all the opposition he received.

Nehemiah 4

When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?” Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, “What they are building—even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!”Hear us, our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. 5 Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of] the builders. So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry.  They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat. Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.” Also our enemies said, “Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.” Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.” Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows.14 After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.” When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to our own work. From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me. Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!” So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. At that time I also said to the people, “Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and as workers by day.”  Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water.

We have to fight and push, like these men who didn’t let threats scare them. They didn’t let opposition get them down, and when they did, it wasn’t for long. They continued to build that wall and was prepared for anyone who was trying to stop them. They were going to get that wall built and nothing was going to stop them.

Nehemiah 6:9

They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.”But I prayed, “Now strengthen my hands.”

No one can stop what God is doing, they can try but they won’t succeed, We must know this because sometimes things come to a pause in our life but a pause is a temporary interruption. To stop something means to bring it to an end. When it comes to the work God is doing in us, for, us, with, the only one who can stop it is God. people will try everything they can to bring you down, society will try, they will come every way they can but don’t fall for it, Put up a fight, if you love something fight for it, if God has called you to a specific position or place, fight for. If God has given you a vision or laid something on your heart, fight for it. The opposition will come but when God has sent you, no one can stop you, you keep fighting like nehemiah until the task is complete. If anything, allow that opposition to strengthen you. In the midst of ask God to give you the strength to fight harder. We often let ourselves be stopped because the opposition is too great, we pause ourselves indefinitely, but God’s work in us, on us, and through us is meant to be completed. There will be lies, gossip, threats but fight. No one can stop you unless you let them.

Nehemiah 6:11

But I said, “Should a man like me run away? Or should someone like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!”

Stay focused on the mission not the opposition. We can’t get scared and run away, we can’t let people try to deceive us into running away. When God has placed us somewhere, nothing should be able to move us. God will finish what He has started. We must protect the calling God has placed on our lives, and know that no matter the opposition we will complete whatever God has set us out to do. This means the dreams we have, the visions God has given us. When it’s set up by God, the only person able to tear it down is God.

We have to stand firm on His word and promise. Put up a fight, don’t let the opposition stop you.

Revelation 3:8

“‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

One last thing, fight for your dreams, believe in them. Don’t let anyone tell you they’re impossible or unreachable. If God gave you the gift you have, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be using it. Do what you know, some dreams are harder to reach, but if you love it, fight for it.

Proverbs 18:6

A man's gift makes room for him and brings him before the great.

Reflection

1. What are you fighting for?
2. Have you come up against opposition?
3. How has that opposition fueled or strengthened you to keep pushing and fighting?
   
   

Prayer Time

Allow you answers to the questions above guide your prayer. Ask God to strengthen you in the midst of opposition. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide and protect you.

Know that God’s word never returns to Him void. If you know that God has called you to do something. Do it unapologetically and fearless, He has your back.

I love you! I hope you have an amazing day or evening, make sure you come back for Day 60
 tomorrow!