Share Your Testimony

Share Your Testimony
John 4: 39-42

42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world.” ~ John 4: 42 NLT

Many of us are familiar with John 4 and the encounter that Jesus had with the Samaritan woman at the well. Today, as I was reading this chapter, I was drawn to the following verses John 4:39-42, I love the way The Voice version words it:

39 Meanwhile, because one woman shared with her neighbors how Jesus exposed her past and present, the village of Sychar was transformed—many Samaritans heard and believed. 40 The Samaritans approached Jesus and repeatedly invited Him to stay with them, so He lingered there for two days on their account. 41 With the words that came from His mouth, there were many more believing Samaritans. 42 They began their faith journey because of the testimony of the woman beside the well; but when they heard for themselves, they were convinced the One they were hearing was and is God’s Anointed, the Liberating King, sent to rescue the entire world. (emphasis mine).

I remember when I had my first life changing encounter with Jesus. Like the Samaritans, my faith journey began by the testimony of others close to me. I was drawn to him because of how I saw Him change their life and it made me curious. So little by little I started to invite Him back into my life, I would take a sip here and there to help me through the next heart break, or whatever I was dealing with at the moment. Until one day, I was in so much emotional pain; I guess you can say I “dove” into the Well.

My world as I knew it had been shattered, I hurt to the core of my being. I wanted the pain to end! So, I dove in, hoping this Living Water I had heard others testify about could numb the pain I was feeling. He did not numb the pain for me… He healed me and gave me so much more. Now, I can boldly proclaim like the Samaritans, I not only believe because of what was told to me, but because I have heard (Romans 10:17) and tasted Him for myself.

Have you ever had a dish that was soo good, you shared the recipe with everyone? That is how I feel about Jesus. Once I tasted of His goodness, I want to share it with everyone I meet.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Psalm 34:8

In Revelations 12: 11 It says, “And they have conquered him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony,.”

Don’t allow guilt or shame to keep you from sharing your testimony. Someone needs to hear your testimony on today. Satan is whispering his ugly lies into their ears and they need to hear the truth of God’s word and how much Jesus loves them and died for them.

Prayerfully ask God who you can share your testimony with today.

I pray you will continue to drink from His Living water by reading His Word, meditating and praying about how you can apply His Word to your life and obey it, worshipping Him for who He is, and praise Him for His goodness and mercy.

Hanging on to the Edge

**At the beginning of this year I made a commitment, and even joined an accountability group #Write365, to write on my blog more. Well, you can see how that has worked out. (LOL) This is the first time within the first 62 days, I felt lead to share with you an experience from my past that I often try to forget, BUT I cannot because thanks to Gods Mercy and Grace, it has made me into the woman I am today. So, I pray my words and experience will help encourage another woman who may find herself in a “pit” right now. There is no need to feel ashamed, just call on His Great Name. He is there waiting, willing, and MORE than able to rescue you too. ~Blessings, LaToshia 

The Pit 

But You raised my life from the Pit, LORD my God!” -Jonah 2:6

Today, as I was reading Jonah 2, I remembered a time in my life, right after, my first husband and I separated, I fell into a pit. I remember the image in my head so clearly, it was like I was hanging on to the edge of a black hole… too afraid to let go and fall completely, but too afraid of being hurt again to come out.

I was afraid that if I let myself, fall completely, I would never see the light of day, again. Plus, I had to hold on for my children. No matter how much, I wanted to crawl under my covers and sulk in my misery over the hurt, betrayal and resentment; I felt toward my ex-husband. I HAD to be strong for them. So, I put on my mask and pretended (Hey, fake it to you make it, Right?) all was well with me. And to be honest, a very small part of me was. You see, I was no stranger to heartbreak. I was all too familiar with the pain, tears and feelings of rejection. With this knowledge, I knew no matter how much emotional pain I was in, in that very moment… I knew that one day, it would not hurt anymore.

For my own emotional healing and well-being, I had to learn to walk in forgiveness toward my ex-husband and move forward with my life. Somewhere during this time, the verse “the Joy of the Lord is my strength” (Nehemiah 8:10) came across my path. I grabbed a hold of it for dear life and I held it tight to my heart. All while still hanging on to the edge of this DEEP… DARK… PIT. I figured, if I was going to keep hanging out of the edge like this, my arms may eventually grow weak and I might just fall into this pit. Although, this verse did not give me the strength I needed to crawl out of the pit. It did give me the strength that I needed to crawl out of bed each morning. No matter how much God tried to talk me out of my pit, it had become a place of comfort to me… I was tired of being hurt! I felt if I stayed in this place, no one could hurt me anymore.

So, there I hung day after day. I would go to work with a BIG smile on my face appearing to be so FULL of life when on the inside I was fighting for my life and my sanity. At night, after the kids where in bed, I would cry myself to sleep and pray for the pain to end and to not be afraid. A secret part of me hated the pit and wanted to feel real happiness again.

Little did I know God had a different plan. Since, I refused to come out of the pit… God filled the pit; one shovel full of rocks at a time. At this time, I was attending church regularly and I was developing a relationship with HIM. I was hearing His Word (Pit being filled). I was reading His Word (Pit being filled). He filled me with His Holy Spirit that would minster to me, pray with me and comfort me (Concrete being poured in the pit).

Until one Sunday, I remember sitting in Church service, and I heard one of the ministers say during prayer, “Wake Up! You morning time is here!”

Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5

And at that EXACT moment, I began to realize what God had done in my life. No longer did I feel like I was hanging on to the edge of the pit. I felt peace and REAL joy in my heart. I begin to feel around and realized I was standing on solid ground and Oh My the “Son” was shining bright. God had filled my pit… On Christ the solid rock, I stood!

He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,

Out of the miry clay,

And set my feet upon a rock,

And established my steps.

Psalm 40:2

I am so thankful, I serve a loving God. A God who loves me so much He would not allow me to fall. He anchored me to the wall and filled in the pit, until I was standing on solid ground.

 

 

Where Is Your Sparkle?

  

Often times, I read the Bible and I am amazed how it reads like a soap opera. Today, I would like to look at the twisted marriage between sister wives, Leah and Rachel to Jacob (the trickster). There are so many lessons we can learn from this story and honestly I have learned and lived several of them the hard way, but today I would like to focus on confidence.
When I first read the history of Jacob, Rachel, and Leah I use to side with Rachel, but for some reason as I read the history this time… my heart broke for Leah because I began to see myself in her. 

The Bible’s only description of Leah is “there was no sparkle in Leah’s eyes” some translations say, “dull eyes” or “soft eyes.” Many take this to mean, Leah was not beautiful because the Bible goes on to describe Rachel as having “a beautiful figure and a lovely face.” But as I read this passage God gave me a different revelation of what having “no sparkle” can mean. 

When I hear someone referred to as having sparkle in their eyes, I think of someone who is happy, joyous, and confident in whom they are. The eyes are said to be a “window to our soul.” When we are happy are eyes tend to glisten, and when we are sad our eyes can appear dull. 

So, I believe Leah was a woman who had no confidence in herself. Why else would she let her father talk her into marrying a man she knew was in love with her sister? She is in continual competition with her sister to win the affection of a man who never loved her to begin with. Thinking, if I give him all these children, then he will surely love me. She even went as far as paying to have sex with HER HUSBAND, with mandrakes.

So that evening, as Jacob was coming home from the fields, Leah went out to meet him. “You must come and sleep with me tonight!” she said. “I have paid for you with some mandrakes that my son found.” So that night he slept with Leah. (Gen 30:16)

So, when I began to image what Leah looked like and wanting to look in her “dull eyes” I was shocked to find the woman I was looking at… was me. 

I used to be Leah, a young woman with no sparkle in her eyes. I cannot begin to count the “Ruebens,” “Simeons,” and “Levis” I gave birth to (allowed) into my life, all because I was looking for LOVE. 

 From my late teens to early twenties, I gave myself all too freely to guys, thinking they cared about me and longing to find a guy who would love me. 

I remembering meeting this one guy, who all the girls on campus thought was so fine. I was so excited when he took notice of me and ask me for my number. YES! He was my “Gad”… How fortunate I am! Yes, I will be the envy of all the girls on campus because I am dating him. Well, I was never a girlfriend…just a late night phone call. And I kept thinking surely he will fall in love with me, if I keep answering his call and going over to his room. But, love me and take me out he never did. 

Somewhere in the midst of this came, “Dan,” the one I had a crush on since I was a young girl, but he was older than me. I was on cloud nine when he started pursuing me, finally a man who loved me and I loved him… he bought me flowers, gifts, everything I wanted… I finally felt vindicated BUT there was a problem… He was living with another woman, but at the time, I did not care because he made me feel so special. (I am ashame to admit this and debated several times about deleting it. But, I have to BE REAL… Shame and guilt no longer have a hold on me. I thank God I am no longer that person).  

Hmmmm….Sounds like Leah and I had something else in common…Falling for men who are not capable either emotionally, mentally, and/or physically to love someone.

Then along came “Asher, What joy is mine!” He was the one I married. The one I thought loved me more than anything or anyone…because…well… he told me so. And I loved him and gave him my all; I put him on a pedestal. In my eyes, he could do no wrong. Until one day, my world was shattered… I found out the man I loved and I thought loved me more than anything in the world… Was cheating on me. 

That is when I gave birth to “Judah.” Out of my pain, I stopped running from God and started running to Him, well actually I went crawling to Him like the “woman with the issue of blood.” (Mark 5:25-29). I started praising God and I stopped looking for man to give me what only God could.  

My eyes were opened and for the first time, I knew what true Agape love felt like. God began to show me that I was worth so much more and I had to stop selling myself short. He put a “sparkle” in my eye and a joy in my heart, which NO earthly man can compare to or take away. I know my value and I know my worth in Him. I finally found a “Man” that loved me so much, He gave His life for me. And the best part of it all…it is freely given to me. 

Oh, if our dear sweet sister Leah, had only realized her worth. She would have known she did not have to compete with her sister or marry a man who did not love her. She would have known she did not have to pay to have sex with her husband, the man she was in covenant relationship with; sex was part of the covenant. Just as, when we come into covenant relationship with Christ Jesus, we don’t have to do anything to earn His love. 

Maybe, your struggle is not the same as mine, looking to men or relationships for fulfillment and love. Out of your lack of confidence or need for validation, have you given birth to “Naphtali”… competition and comparison. 

What position or material things to you look to other than God to feel confident? 

 “Where is your sparkle?”

Is your sparkle in getting the next big promotion, while neglecting your family?

Is your sparkle in having the biggest house, the nicest car, etc.? (There is nothing wrong with wanting these things, as long as it is for the right reason).

Does seeing some one else get the material possessions you long for; make you lose your sparkle? 

Do you lose your sparkle by stop doing something you love and know God has called you to do, because you start to compare yourself to someone else doing the same thing? (Yep, I am recently guilty of this one).

It is so important to hold on to your confidence; the Bible says “Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.” (Hebrews 10:35). Wow! Did you catch that? Your confidence has a great reward. 

I believe and have learned, when I am confident, I will not settle for less than Gods best for me. 

When I am confident, I am operating in my gift, without comparing myself to others, and that brings glory to God. 

When I am confident, I will not look for fulfillment in other things, because I am secure in the love of God. 

When I am confident, I will not allow people to use me and feel I have to earn their love and attention. 

When I am confident, it puts a SPARKLE in my eyes, which no man can take away because I know I am the apple of HIS eye. 

Father God, thank you for loving me even when I did not love myself. Thank you for your Love that you give so freely. Lord, I pray that I will continue to find my confidence in You and not in people or material possession. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!

© 2015 MzJarmon. All rights reserved. 

Let the Healing Begin…

For the past two weeks, I have felt disconnected from the presence of God. I noticed that whenever I listened to worship music, or read and studied the Word of God… something was missing. There was no emotion or feeling with it… I felt like I was just going through the motions…listening and reading but not engaging in any of it… I was like a robot.  

Has my relationship with God become routine? 

Have I grown distant from God?

Any other time, this would have alarmed me and I would have stopped and prayed for God to show me what was going on. But, this time I just kept going about my daily routine, ignoring the warning signs that were going off not only inside of me, but around me as well. 

I am so thankful that I serve a God, who will not allow me to stay distance from Him too long. 

This morning He woke me up with a song in my spirit, Bethel by Shana Wilson. I played the song a few times while I took my shower, but to be honest it still did not change anything inside of me or move me to worship.

I still went about my morning routine, in the same robotic manner; Get dress, eat breakfast, drop the kids off at school and head to work.

While in my car, I was listening to my usual Christian radio station when the song Beautiful Day came on by Jamie Grace. First, I started thinking it is not a beautiful day here, it is raining, traffic is backed up, which was going to make me late for work and I immediately wanted to change the station. But, in that moment, God brought to my mind how the young lady on the radio has Tourette’s but when she sings you would never know it. As she is operating in her gift, Christ has made her whole. Despite her diagnosis, she could sing about the goodness of God and find beauty in life.

I could suddenly feel my whole mindset began to shift…Despite what it looked like outside, I started to thank God, tell Him how much I loved Him, and something…something broke in me… I started to feel emotions again and tears began to well up in my eyes. 

In the midst of true worship and finding the beauty of God’s blessings and declaring it IS a beautiful day despite what was going on around me… I was able to feel the joy and love of the Lord, but immediately following joy came a sense of sadness.
Lord what is this sadness I feel?

God began to speak to my heart and He showed me how I had built up an emotional wall.

Two weeks ago, I lost someone close to me, my cousin Mike. Even though, I am the oldest by a year, he always looked out for me like a big brother. 

Losing Mike is the worst pain I have felt in a very long time and I am not sure how to process it all. It just all seems so surreal. 

The pain and thought of never seeing him or hearing him sing his goofy birthday songs… breaks my heart.  My heart hurts for his parents, his children, his granddaughter, his sisters, his wife… and the rest of my family.  We are left with a void that none of us can even begin to comprehend. 

So, I was surprised to learn that what I thought I was actually coping and healing, was not. I was in DENIAL and avoiding my feelings, not dealing with them at ALL.

When I first learned of his death, I cried for days and completely shut down on my husband and kids. I did not go to work or eat… I just sat on the couch in an emotional stupor. 

After the funeral, I shut down all emotions so I could function. The burden was too much to carry and I could not go around crying all the time and I still have a family to care for. 

Little by little I began building a wall…

Once I returned home to Charleston, it was a little easy to carry on with my life and just kind of pretend all was well. I do not see family members every day to remind me. I do not have to attend family functions and not see him. I avoid talking to my mom on the phone because I do not want to talk about him.  I even avoid looking at his picture or anything that reminds me of him. 

What I didn’t know, was by building an emotional wall, it was also affecting my relationship with God.  I had blocked Him out of my heart, as well. I was walking around numb to any feelings… just trying to pretend I am ok… when I am not. I am not allowing God into my heart to heal me and fill that void with His Love. God’s words says “God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Matt 5:4 NLT) 

The burden I thought I had to carry was not meant for me to carry. The Bible says, “Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you.”  (Psalms 55:22)  His Word also says, He is close to the brokenhearted and has come to heal and comfort them. (Psalm 147:3, Psalm 34:18, Isaiah 61:1) 

Why was I not allowing God to do, what He promised me in His Word?

You see, this morning when God placed the song Bethel on my heart, He was calling me to a place of worship. He wants  me to stop running from my feelings and allow Him back into my heart so He could do what only He can do… heal me and make my heart whole again.
As I begin to worship Him, I draw Him close to me… I am aware of His presence and I allow Him back into my heart to reign and rule. As I begin  to worship Him, I am reminded of His promises to me, that He is with me and He will never leave me nor forsake me, but not only me … my family, as well. 

Just as in, Genesis 28, when Jacob was on the run from His brother, God showed him a heavenly staircase in his dreams.  God appeared to him at the top of the staircase and once again declared his promises not only to him, but his family, also. He assured him He was with him and that He would not leave him nor forsake him. 

I hold tight to the hand of God and His promises for me and I say Lord, I trust you to comfort and heal me. 

Lord, I trust you to heal and continue to carry my family. You will lift up your countenance upon us and give us peace. (Numbers 6:26) and for our mourning you will give us new found joy in You. 

I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” The LORD is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him.

For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love. For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow. (‭Lamentations‬ ‭3‬:‭20-25, 31-33‬ NLT)

No matter what you are going through, keep holding on to God’s unchanging hand…. Keep drawing near to Him with your worship and as you draw near to Him, He will draw near to You. (James 4:8) and in Him, He brings great and precious promises of comfort, joy, healing…. Whatever you need… He IS the great I AM

Verse Images

  

         

Where Have You Come From and Where Are You Going?

7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur. 8 The angel said to her, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
Genesis 16:7-8

First of all, am I the only one who thinks that Genesis 16 reads like a soap opera? Reading it in the Voice Bible version makes it a little more dramatic also, check it out: Act 1 Scene 16, the Birth of Ishmael: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis+16&version=VOICE

As I was reading through Genesis 16, I was immediately reminded of how I have given birth to “Ishmaels” in my life when I try to do God’s job for him; because I feel I know better, or He is moving to slow.

I find verses 7 and 8, so typical of God, He allows me to mess up and when He comes to my rescue, He asks me a question to give me a chance to evaluate the choices I have made and repent.

The word Shur means wall. So, when the angel of the Lord found Hagar out in the wilderness, she was about to run head on into a wall. And the question he asked her, “where have you come from and where are you going?” He knew the answer to the question. The question was for Hagar to stop and evaluate the choices she had made, why she was running, and what will she do next. It was her turning point, will she listen to the voice of God or continue on the path to the wall?

In my life journey, I have found myself heading to or at a wall. Some of the times, I ended up there by choices I have made, (not being a good steward over my finances, relationships I knew were wrong for me, bad attitude, pride, etc) or because of a crisis or circumstances beyond my control (my ex-husband walking out on me and our two children).

Regardless of how I got to the wall, I now had to ask myself; “Where have you come from and where are you going?” I had to allow God, to show me areas in my life I needed healing from so I would not end up in that place again. Seek His wisdom to make better choices and decision about my finances and how to raise my children. Like Hagar had to return to her mistress, I had to return to God and submit to His authority.

And like Hagar too, I have learned that even when I give birth to “Ishmaels,” God hears me, He is my El-Roi, the God who sees me and can turn my mess into a blessing.

I believe David sums it up best in Psalm 139:7-12 NLT

I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.

Praise God for His faithfulness and steadfast love!

Proverbs 31 OBS Group 49 ~ Gold Seekers

Written 23 October 2013 for My OBS Small group

I wanted to share something with you as I was thinking about and praying for our group this morning. This morning, I referred to the group as 49’ers, which I try not to do because of the 49’ers football team. Anyway, as I was driving to work, I started to think about a different set of 49’ers, as known as “gold-seekers.” So, on my quick breaks I have done a little “49’er mapping.” In praise and worship, the gold flag symbolizes; glory, deity, God-head, eternal, divine-light, anointing oil, and testing, just to name a few. Testing brought to mind the song, “being tried in the fire but I am coming out Gold.” Which makes me think of refining; refining means, to free from impurities; to improve or perfect by pruning or polishing. (Wow, isn’t that what God is doing when He test us. He is trying to remove some things from us to bring us to a new level of faith in Him. He renews our mind and remolds our heart into the image of Him.)

Something else that caught my attention in my study of 49’ers it said, “at first the gold nuggets could be picked up off the ground. Later, the gold was recovered from streams and riverbeds using simple techniques such as panning.” (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Gold_Rush). Does that kind of sound like our relationship with God? When we were first saved, there were some “gold-nuggets” (revelation, blessing, etc) God gave us easily, but as we grow in our relationship in Him, we have to dig and go a little deeper in the riverbeds (go deeper in Him and His Word). Like in Matthew 12, The Parable of the Sower, when the disciples asked Him “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” And He responded. “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing they do not hear or understand.” Panning means to wash in a pan for the purpose of separating. So, panning helped the 49’ers sift through the dirt and reveal the gold. Just as our techniques (praying, studying, and Verse Mapping) help us sift through and go deeper in the Word of God to reveal God’s treasures. Also, God’s parables were a form of “panning,” separating those who walked after Him and believed from those who did not.

So Group 49 we are “Gold-seekers” a sisterhood of women unified in Christ; Seeking after him daily with ALL our minds, souls, and hearts. We pray, study and meditate on the Word of God daily to renew our minds and transform our lives…and we will not stop until we attain the Glory of God and look like Him.

This is Only a Mountain

Morning Devotion 21 March 2014
Written 21 March 2014

I was driving to work this morning when the song, “Only a Mountain,” by Jason Castro came on the radio. It made me think of the memory verse, in my online Bible study group, Made to Crave-Action Plan by Lysa TerKuerst.

You have circled this mountain long enough, now turn North…” (Deut. 2:3)
The chorus in this song says, “This is only a mountain, tell it to move, it will move, tell it to fall, it will fall.”

Did you catch that?? He said, “This is ONLY a mountain.” Ummm, excuse me Jason, I don’t know where you are from, but where I live the mountains are pretty huge and wide. I cannot even imagine telling one on them to move or fall. The mountains are not like a little anthill, that you can easy kick out the way. I do not think Superman, with all of his superhuman strength, can move one of these mountains on his own.

This is how it is when we look at our problems in the natural, they seem impossible to overcome. So, we keep circling them, wondering when will these mountains ever fall. The mountain of debt, the conflict in our marriage mountain, the kids misbehaving mountain, the stress mountain, and the list goes on and on. These mountains can often lead us to bad habits to help us cope, but these habits also “add fuel to the fire;” Bad day at work, I will go shopping to make myself feel better, which adds to the debt mountain. Argument with my spouse, I will go have a BIG piece of chocolate cake to make myself feel better, which adds to my already growing weight issue. Passed up for a promotion at work, I will drown my sorrows in alcohol, which can add to health issues.

The Israelites faced doubts and fears, as well, which left them wondering around in the wilderness for 40 years because they did not trust God, and kept disobeying His commands. They did not believe He was big enough or strong enough to help them. They stayed focused on how big their enemy was, instead of how big God is.

The name of the mount the Israelites, circled was Mount Seir. Mount Seir was on the border of Canaan, the Promise land. According to HAW Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, it is believed the word Seir comes from the unused Hebrew root (s’r). The curious verb form of this word is (sa’ar), which means “to be very afraid.”

Wow! Mount “Very Afraid” doesn’t that sound like what the Israelites was and what we are when we look at our problems?? The mountain of fear stood in the way of them reaching the promise of God. “You have circled (keep making the same mistakes, trying the same techniques over and over and over…) this mountain (problems, fears, etc.) long enough, now turn North (time to try something new, look to God)…” (Deut. 2:3) Do you know that doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is called, INSANITY??? Fear and insanity are not a promise of God, 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and a sound mind. And one of those powers is, like the song says, the power to move mountains…

“Because you’re not yet taking God seriously,” said Jesus. “The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, a poppy seed, say, you would tell this mountain, ‘Move!’ and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn’t be able to tackle.” (Matt 17:20 MSG)

What mountains are you tired of circling and allowing to come between you and the promises of God? When we begin to look at things from God’s perspective, then we too can say,” This is ONLY a mountain.” There is nothing too hard for our God. He is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all we can ever ask or imagine. (Eph 3:20-21) Take God seriously, follow the instructions God has given you, and watch Him move mighty on your behalf, but you have to have faith. As Steven Furtick said, “if we do the natural, God will do the super.”

Prayer:
Father God, Please forgive me for making you to small in my life. I am tired on making the same mistakes over and over again. I am ready to turn North. I will follow the instructions you give me to move mountains out of my way and go in and possess the land you have promised me flowing with milk and honey. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Love you!!

Isaiah’s First Day of Middle School

I have to be honest, I was never one of the mom’s that cried when my kids started Kindergarten, but this morning as I dropped my son off for his first day of sixth grade I found myself tearing up. As he nervously walked toward the door, I could feel the last threads of the “umbilical cord” giving way. It took everything in me to resist from trying to keep the strands from breaking. I really wanted to park my car, run and grab hold of his hand, and walk him inside the building. But, deep down I knew this was one of those “defining moments” in life, where I had to allow him to walk through those doors on his own. So, I drove slowly away from the door looking back waiting… hoping he would turn around and give me the “mom come with me look.” I could see my young man walk through the doors and look around with a little uncertainty of where to go or what to do, but he never looked back. So, I drove on around the drop-off circle and let out a little sigh of disappointment. As I left the parking lot and turned onto the main road I could feel the final thread of the “umbilical cord,” gently snap… and the tears began to form. My little boy… was no longer my little boy… he has now entered another season of transition… that comes with a whole new level of peer pressures, not to mention puberty will soon knock at the door, and I do not want to think about the “G” word (Girls) …LOL. When they are no longer the annoying people that sit beside him in class, but she becomes “kinda cute.” When he would rather spend more time on the phone with the giggly girl, than watching a movie with his mom. Learning to let go of my son has not been an easy process… there is this part of me that would like to hold on to him and shelter him for as long as I can, but I know that is not healthy for either one of us. I have to allow him to experience life and mature, trusting that I have instilled the right values in him. I am so proud and I thank God for the young man I see him developing into. He has faced challenges since birth… from being born premature, having his parents divorce and his father not be a consistent part of his life, to struggling with a learning disability… BUT my God is soo amazing… his learning may have been delayed but he was never denied. He has come to love reading (you will rarely find him without a book), he has consistently made the AB honor roll and at his 5th grade graduation he recieved the President’s Award. Continue to strive to be the best you can be, son.