...And surprise checks in the mail.

Last week, I updated my Facebook status by sharing my testimony of a how I took to heart the words of my churchs' Building Fund Confession as we gave our tithes and offerings and received a bonus in my paycheck that same week. I struggled with how much I was going to give because I was in my flesh about it, but I knew God was going to be faithful to me so I gave more than I intended to give. Now it hurt for a minute, but as I was sitting there with my tithes and offering in hand, I surrendered my will to God's and was at peace.

Well the next day at work, I saw a link online saying the performance awards would show up in our checks that week. I was not even expecting an award. I followed the link, looked for my name and there it was! I was praising God! That was Monday. Well Saturday I had gotten home from a birthday cookout and saw some mail for me that my mom sent in a plain envelope. I opened it thinking there was my final bill from the power company since I moved, but when I pulled it out it was actually a check!! (Hence, "and surprise checks in the mail.") It was in the exact amount of what I paid on my last bill, not to mention, I had a credit on the statement before that one! Don't know where that credit came from either.

Now just to give you a background on the "Building Fund Confession". Our building has been built since 2004, but this was something the congregation said during the tithes and offering part of service when we were in the building process. We continue because it is a prophetic word that we speak over our lives, and to continue to be faithful in our obedience in giving. I love this part of service because I get to worship God cheerfully and give him back what he's given me and more!

It's very easy to give when won't hurt or when you know you'll have more than enough left over, but when you give anyway, and you know it's gonna be a sacrifice, that's when God goes out of his way to pour out his blessings! Whether it be a breakthrough in your finances, healing, deliverance from past hurts emotionally and mentally, fruit of the spirit, relationships, whatever is going to help you to be a better steward over the life God has given you! He wants a close relationship with you just like you want to be as close to your wife, husband, significant other...Giving can build a foundation of faith, trust, obedience, and a stronger love for HIM as he reveals his will for your life. So as he pours out on you, you are that much more happy, eager and compassionate to give to others in need. I have seen it happen soooo many times in my own walk with God.

Luke 6:38 says "Give and it shall be given unto you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

This was how they filled and measured your portion back then. A good measure was pressed down in the baskets to fit as much in as possible. They shook the basket to make more room and settle the wheat and then pressed more as it was added in, until it was practically running over. Don't you love it when they stuff as many french fries as can fit in the holder? Don't you love it when it's running over and there are so many that some fries are even in the bottom of the bag? Now don't you dislike it when you get a bag of chips that seems full, but has like 15 chips inside? Just "food" for thought! LoL!

Here is the Word of Faith Building Fund confession in its entirety, BE BLESSED!

Lord, we willingly, faithfully and cheerfully worship You with our giving through tithes and offerings.

We release our faith and finances so that ALL our ministry facilities will be built and our vision will be established in the Earth.

We believe that as we sow seend to establish the vision of Your house, You will also establish ours.

Therefore, as a result of our obedience in love and giving, we thank You for raises and increases, borrowed money to be returned to us, bonuses and increased commisions, rebates dividends, gifts and inheritances, cancelled debt, and surprise checks in the mail.

We bless You for blessing the health of our bodies, the sanity of our minds and the quality of our relationships.

We honor You for the divine favor that You bring to our lives!

In Jesus' name...

Amen

30 YEARS AND COUNTING!

Wow, I turned 30 today! I'm very humbled because I had plenty of opportunities to not make it to this day. What a blessing God has given me! I have taken some time to wind down from my party weekend, to reflect on the next 10 years of my life. My 20's were great! It would make a great book someday, I mean there was heartache, romance, disappointments, parties, spiritual battles, triumphant victories, scratching and surviving, I could go on. Now things aren't necessarily perfect now, but there have been a lot of changes and some much needed growth. I've gained some valuable friends, lost some, restored friendships, and allowed life experiences to cause an amicable distance. All in all the true victory is that those changes have made me who I am today. I give myself room to transform into whoever and whatever I want to be and not apologized for it. God has taught me to truly let go of things out of my control and constantly rely on him. I'm not forcing it anymore. I'm listening for his voice to guide my footsteps and relinquishing my ideals of how life is supposed to go. Am I married yet? No, but it will happen sooner than I know it, and I am not sorry for myself or envious of others. Ecclesiates is a great reminder of knowing that there is a place in time God designated for my marriage. Do I have kids yet? No, big No. I want them, but man they are a huge responsibility, not to mention they can wear you out physically and fiscally! LOL! I'm in no rush to have more on me than I'm ready for. Am I million dollar movie star? Not yet, but GOD is asking for "Now Faith" so I'm giving it to him knowing he can do the impossible, and the odds in Hollywood can be just that. I was watching The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and one line in the movie that stuck out to me was "You never know what's coming for ya." It's a very southern phrase but so very true. It reminds me that things won't always stay the same and even the things that we hope for that seem so distant or out of reach can surley come, even things we don't hope for. Therefore, just live. Life can come at you quickly and take you places, to meet people and experience things so extraordinary.

30 came for me and I'm finding a quiet confidence in living at this level. An assurance I didn't have at 25 when I went through the "quarter- life crisis." Many will say that's not real, or that that it's a term for lazy young people who can't get it together, but for me, it almost cost me my life. My state of mind was so in shock and deconstructed by dreams deferred, so to speak, that nothing I did brought happiness or sense of accomplishment. When you add in disappointments by way of job loss, heartbreak, and being displaced, only God can breathe life into dry bones. God can tell someone you don't even know to send you an email asking you to audition for a role in their play out of the blue, to bring you back to a place where he began a good work. "You never know what's coming for ya" at it's best!

30 is where my 2nd gust of wind will kick in and propel me to new heights without fear. I have no choice but to have FAITH. I have no choice but to expect a miracle everyday! Live your life!

Advance in 2009

Happy New Year to those I have not seen or talked to lately! I'm excited about this year because I have committed to doing something that I have only been mildy successful at, and not very consistent. That is advancing God's Kingdom. Matthew 6:33 says "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be given unto you." First of all to understand what "these things" are, you have to read the verses before this one. In the previous verses, God tells us not to worry about what we are going to eat, drink wear, but to have faith that he will provide our every need."These things" seem pretty basic, but to some people it is something they feel they have to chase, struggle to get, or have the best of the best and nothing less. We don't realize that they are a given, when we are focused on what's important to God. I love how my student Bible phrases this verse, it says "and he will give you everything you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. Does that sound hard? Conceptually, no, but in practice it is hard in this techno, impatient, all-you-can_______ world. It's easy to be concerned about a lot of things other than God's Kingdom. It's almost like God is telling us "Hakuna Matata, I can handle food, drink, and clothes, I got this, give me something bigger." This whole section 6:25-33) challenges us to change our focus.

This year more of my focus is on advancing His Kingdom. There are so many ways to do this, so my first step has been to get in his face. You know, spend time with Him, get to know His heart, really seek to know what matters to Him. God has opinions, (usually called "the truth") about our lives everyday all day, but do we stop and ask him for them? I have tried to do a lot of things by my own might that have not worked, so I figured if I just let God have his way I can't go wrong, right? Making what's important to him important to me releases me from making bad decisions, gives me freedom, and confidence that I am walking in his favor, no matter what.

God showed me that there are so many things in me that other people need to get them where he wants them to be, that if I'm so busy looking at myself, my circumstances, then I'm becoming stagnant and can't be useful in advancing anything. That being said, another step is serving.

There are times when I can be very selfish and a lot of times it stems from my own fear of lack. What better way to learn about gratitude and giving than serving those who really are lacking. I love helping people, and lately my heart has been drawn to serving the homeless. I want to be more consistent in giving them more time, attention, and food.

God is preparing me for great things in 2009, mainly so that he can be glorified. I'm not perfect, I'm just grateful for his forgiveness, and that he still wants to use little ole me. I look forward to all that he provides for me while I seek His Kingdom and His will for my life. There were so many things I wanted in 2008 that I was either denied or have been delayed, but I know that I will always have what I need, and while I'm seeking His righteousness, he seeks to bless me.

The Paintball Drive-By

So something random is always happening to me, so my coworker (a.k.a Cor-Bear) tells me. Tuesday night I'm driving home from work and gabbing away on the phone to my friend. All of a sudden I hear this pow pow pow sound against the back of my car. Now at this point I'm a little anxious because if you scroll down, you will see what happened to my windshield...twice. Anyhoo, I kept driving because I didn't see anything and I thought I ran over something that was just flapping against my car so I didn't feel the need to stop to check on it, plus it was 11:30 at night. Well when I looked at my back window, there was a splash of color and I told my friend I think I've been paint balled, not sure but I'll know once I get home cause I 'm not stopping to find out.

I'm so glad I didn't because right when I saw the paint this car gets behind me and starts riding my car. Then they flash their lights like once or twice and then they pull up beside. Mind you I'm surprisingly calm. The car is slightly behind me but deliberately riding next to me. I began to get a little nervous thinking are these people out to get me? 2 seconds later the car abruptly gets back behind me exits off the highway. WHAT??!!! That was soooo weird. My friend asked me if I was ok cause she's getting scared for me and I'm like "child I'm not stopping cause I don't want whoever that was in that car to carjack me or kidnap me."

I really believe it was just a juvenile prank, but it really could've been some one targeting me to attack me. Who knows but I'm glad I didn't stop, because I was still safe and the paint came off, for the most part. What was the lesson in all of this? Well, Um, I don't know, if your car gets paintball keep going, your life is worth more than a few splashes of paint. If anything it may remind you to wash your dusty car for once, mine included! LOL!!!!