New Beginnings

In February 2014 I embarked on a new adventure and moved from Juneau, Alaska to Sacramento, California. Anyone who knows me knows that this was common of my nature because I was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana and have moved cross country before. This moved was different because I did not know as I know now that it was my last move. My name has two meanings, one is wanderer. This was an accurate description of me as I never had a place I called home before Sacramento. It was a shock to me as much as it was a shock to my family and friends. I never thought I'd find "home" and certainly not in California of all places.

Since landing in this sunny place, my life has dramatically changed because little did I know that God had a huge plan in the works for me. Shortly after the move, I was invited to Family Community Church, a local interdenominational church in the North Highlands area. From the first meeting I was taken aback, stunned, speechless, and totally in love. This church, the members and the pastor are like nothing I've ever seen in my life. To be honest, I have grown up in church and have belonged to several churches in my life and none compare to this one. When you walk in you automatically feel the presence of God and you know you are in a sacred space. I love this feeling and no matter the time of day or reason I am there or on the property, I feel the same rush and feeling of awe. The people are truly a family in every sense of the word and this is why I have found a home. Later posts will reveal more about this awesome house of God, but if you can't wait to find out more, you can go to https://www.familycc.org/. If you haven't guessed, I'm proud to belong to this family. Until next time, be blessed.

Renewed

It has been quite a while since I've posted to this blog. I guess that is because I was not willing to put in the time it takes for the up keep. Recently I have been through dramatic changes in my life and have been led to renew this blog and start posting again. This no doubt will be an exciting and informative journey for me and I hope in the process that I will touch lives.

God forgave you, now forgive yourself

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9 KJV

"Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever,because he delighteth in lovingkindness. 19 He will again have compassion upon us; he will tread our iniquities under foot; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea." Micah 7:18-19 ASV

Thoughts:
For a long time, I lived in regret. Regret for the things I have done in my past. Many times, while I was out of the will of God, I thought I was not hurting anyone with the things I was doing. I have come to realize, two people did get hurt; God and myself. I love that God is a loving and forgiving God. He tells us in 1 John 1:9 that we can confess and repent and He will forgive us. Yet, many people skip over the second and equally important part of that passage, which tells us that He will "clease us from all unrighteousness". The dictionary defines cleanse as to make clean, and defines clean as being free from, as in unsoiled and unstained. This gives me hope and peace in the fact that when God forgave me, He also cleaned my sin from me and made me new again. The memories of my past will always be there, but now I can look at the past and be thankful that God brought me out of sin and made me a new creature once again.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I thank you for life and the freedom to live it blemish free. God I thank you that you loved me enough to cleanse me of my sin and lead me into your forgiving light. God I thank you, not only for your forgiveness, but also for the ability to forgive myself. Thank you for helping me set down the baggage I carried around by not forgiving myself for my past. Father, I ask that you bless the others in my life who have this same issue. God I ask that you help them see that when you forgive us, you cast our sin out and trample them underfoot. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Where do you dwell?

I took a break from writing this blog for a short while to gather my thoughts. In the interim, I have pondered many things, learned a few things about myself, and listened to God redirecting me. On this side of things, I have found a wonderful Bible passage to stand on, as well as to meditate on. Over the next few days I will be meditating further on Psalms 91 and concentrating on what the Lord is telling us through this chapter.


"1He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 
2I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
3Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler." Psalms 91:1-4


Thoughts: I've read the first verse of the scriture seveal time i nmy life, but somehow I kept missing the message. As I read the entire chapter it finally dawned on me what it all means. To dwell in the secret place of God is to be make the choice every day to be His and to follow His commandments. It is not easy walking in this world and remain apart from it. Yet, it is so much easier to walk when God is walking with you. Dwelling with Him means He is with you always, keeping you safe, sane, happy, uplifted, and on the other end of this, holding you up when you can't hold yourself. Most importantly, dwelling with Him means you are constantly seeking Him. This is important because you will not always feel God and sometimes you can't see Him through all your problems and trial, however if we "diligently seek Him" we will always find Him and be able to dwell in His presence. As a result He will be anything and everything we need.
Prayers: Father, in the name of Jesus I just thank you and praise your name because you know how to keep us on the right path in this life. Lord I thank you for comforting us your children with the knowledge that you will be with us and walk this had life everyday. Thank you for holding onto us in all times and teaching us to seek you in all things. Thank you again for your love, in Jesus's name I pray, Amen.

The Power of Words

"Let no currupt communnication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers."  Ephesians 4:29 KJV


"Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk ever come out of your mouth, but only such speech as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God's favor) to those who hear it." Ephesians 4: 29 Amplified Bible


Thoughts: Words are very powerful. With one sentence we can build up or tear down a person. Although we can can easily see the effects of some words, others are not obvious. A simple, "you look nice in today" can brighten a person's day or a simple "I would never do what you're doing" can make a person feel bad about themselves and their decisions in life. In Ephesians, God tells us we should purpose our communications to lift up others. I admit I am guilty of unedifying speech and have been the victim of the same. It is puzzling to think about the cycle of words and their effects in our lives. When God connects people to us, it is so we all can strengthen each other, serve Him, bring other to Him, and see His face in heaven someday. How can we do that when our words hurt one another? How can we show Christ to others when our speech is that of the world and not of His Kingdom?


Prayer: God I ask you for forgiveness for any negative words I have cast into the world. I ask that you help me realize the people I have hurt with my negative words and give me the humility to ask them for forgiveness. I do not want to offend my brother or sister, I want to edify them and help them see you. God let my words reflect you in my life, let others see you through me. God I want a heart of compassion for your people like yours. Help me hide your words in my heart and soul so they guide my speech to others. In Jesus's name i thank you for those connected to me and I ask that you touch them as well. Thank you God, Amen.

Beyond the Veil for Faith

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Hebrews 11: 6

Thoughts: Faith is talked about so often that it can sometimes become redundant. Lately I have been thinking, how many of us take faith and run with it? I have guilty of living in "surface faith" instead of living in faith. Surface faith is when you trust God in small things but you fail to go deeper and exercise real faith in God, limiting Him. To combat this I have found that going beyond the veil allows me to place my complete faith in God. Beyond the veil is when I close everything and everybody out and concentrate on worshiping God with the only objective is getting to know Him better. When we know God for who is and allow Him to be our everything, walking by faith is easier. It will never stop being an issue because we are human, however, the more we seek God, the stronger our faith will be.


Prayer: God, thank you for being faithful to us and allowing us to come beyond the veil into your presence. Lord I ask that you continue to strengthen my faith in you no matter how uncomfortable I am. I ask that you touch the lives of my earthly family and heavenly family and help them put their faith in you. Thank you God for always being there for me and allowing me to seek your face. In Jesus's name I pray, Amen.

Willingly bound

"¹⁰Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;

   ¹¹Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:

   ¹²Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help.

   ¹³Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.

   ¹⁴He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.

   ¹⁵Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

   ¹⁶For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder" Psalms 107:10-16

Thoughts: In life, we get ourselves into situations and places we should never be. Most people blame God for the bad things in life when we position ourselves for these negatives. After looking back over my life, I have realized that the majority of the bad situations I endured were of my own making. God allowed me to go through these tough situations and periods in my life and I always wondered why and frankly at times I blamed God. A few of them were to teach me a lesson and make me grow up. However, most of them were times when I lived outside of God's light because I couldn't face my problem, my issues, or myself. I could have ended any of these situations if I had just cried out to Him, admitted my wrong doing, and accepted His forgiveness or admitted I needed Him to guide me through life's tough areas instead of relying on myself. In being stubborn and/or relying on myself, I lost time with God and delayed blessings e had for me. Thank God for infinite chances.


Prayer: Dear God, thank you for your grace and mercy for your children. We often rely on ourselves instead of you when we should. But thank you God that you are patient with us when we need it and thank you that you love us enough to let us go through but not stay in our mess in life. Lord I thank you for forgiveness and your willingness to pick us up and dust us off when we fall. Lord I pray that everyone connected with my life realize that you are the only Master of our fate because only you can bring us where we need to be. In Jesus's name I pray, Amen.