Consequences of our choices!!

I had a very disturbing week last week surrounding around this issue of “choices”. Free will has been given to each us, meaning we have the right and the ability to choose what we do in this life. This free will/our ability to choose has its consequences. Some choices don’t have do over’s. Some choices are lasting here on earth and after this life. The question becomes can we really continue this distructive pattern of decision making? I submit we can't and that we must stop where we are and begin to re-evaluate how we are arriving at our ultimate outcomes.

Let’s look at some choices:

• I have a friend whose son is not in a gang and had never been arrested. One evening after he and his mother said their goodnights and went to bed a friend came over and knocked on his window asking, “Hey man there’s a party do you want to go?” Ahh here come the choices – do you stay in bed where it’s safe and is encased with the already loving good nights from your parent or do you sneak out and go to the party? Next choice, things have been crazy people getting shot so you have this gun to take for protection just in case. Choice – do you take this
gun or leave it? Actually the first choice way before this is – you are enticed by owning a gun, an illegal gun- do you obtain this illegal fire arm? You all can surmise how this true story ended. A fight ensued, a life was lost, and a nineteen year old child in jail charged with first degree murder.

A young woman is involved with a man, outside of wedlock, things are hot and heavy, bumping and grinding is going on, clothes are coming off. Choice – do you go through with this or do you stop it? Do you go ahead and have unprotected sex or do you insist that protection be used? Choice made – you are going to go through with it with no protection and no marriage vows.

Potential outcomes: baby out of wedlock and no commitment from the partner to help shoulder the burden or expense of raising a child, a sexually transmitted disease (curable), or herpes (not curable but they say livable) or the ultimate AIDS or ALL OF THE ABOVE.

• A married man is attracted to a woman who is not his wife. She flits her eyes at him, tells him how good looking he is and she even tells him, “If I was your wife I would surely treat you real good.” Choice: does he pursue it or does he beat his flesh into submission? Choice: He pursues it. Outcomes: a marriage is destroyed and a family broken apart, disillusioned children, friends, and family and potentially another child born to a family that is not yours.

Friends are bored and mischief is afoot. They encourage you to go along with doing some things that will eliminate the boredom. These “something’s” could be robbing a store, robbing a person, pulling a vicious prank on someone, skipping school, or playing around with a hand gun. This list could be endless. Choices: Do you go along to get along or do you make an excuse and remove myself from this situation?

Choice: you don’t want to be perceived as a punk, or not as cool as the others, bottom line you want to feel accepted so you participate. Maybe your participation is in the simplest form and various tragedies take place. Outcome: at the end of the day you are just as culpable as the ones who performed the greater tasks.

 A parent lives unholy before their children, but every time the church door is open they are dragging their child(ren) to church. They are raising their hands in praise, shouting in the center aisle, and walking around saying, “I’m blessed.” Unholy is a revolving door of men or women through their home, having sleep overs (you know what I’m talking about), doing various drugs, cussing, failing to provide for their family, choosing their mates over their children, and failing to live as a positive example, a role model to their children. All of the above are choices that were made. Outcomes: children have no respect for the church, and don’t know anything for real about Jesus, teen pregnancies, children on drugs, children joining gangs, children showing no respect for their parents, children dropping out of school, and children making bad choices about life long relationships or worse are incapable of establishing and maintaining lifelong relationships.

I could give you a ton of choices for this list – make your own and look at the choices that you’ve made and anaylze your outcomes. Are we simply INSANE? The definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and yet expect different outcomes.

If different choices had been made what would the potential outcomes look like?

• Child stayed home no murder charges.

• Abstinence practiced no diseases whosoever. B. Protection used potentially no transmittal of sexually transmitted disease. (Just a side note the abstinence guaranteed it!)

• Married man remains faithful to his wife. Whatever is lacking in his marriage he works to repair and restore what attracted him to her in the first place and the family is intact.
• Decided you were not going to follow your friends. Realized the importance of developing better friends, and stayed out of trouble. Maybe you became unpopular but your life is on track prepared for greater opportunities. 

• Parents live holy before their children and are truly their child’s role model. Children embrace Jesus and even if they stray they have a sound foundation to pull back onto and at the end of the day move into the realm of making sound choices. Some may never stray and endeavor to honor the life that has been lived before them. They find great peace, great joy, and great reward by imitating the life their parents presented before them.

This article is not meant to condemn it is meant to help us make better choices and to learn from the unhealthy ones. Yes we have been given free will so let’s use wisdom, the scriptures of the bible to guide our choices, prayer for direction, and praise and worship to close the deal. It is my absolute prayer that today along with me you will endeavor to make choices that edify your family, your community, your work place, and your church family.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the article “Today’s A New Day”

Humbling experiences

I wanted to take this transparent time in my life to have a very candid conversation, as candid as is expedient. My pastor has said on several occasions, “Just because you see something with your eyes doesn’t make it so. Always look at all things through the lens of the scriptures.” I wasn’t quite sure at the time how you reconcile seeing something with your own eyes, being able touch it, taste it, and feel it and yet discount it. I mean seeing is believing, right? I’ll even take it one step further and suggest even if you feel you’ve investigated it, and believe you are still seeing the same thing, if it doesn’t line up with scripture then you need to proceed with extreme caution, or even leave it alone altogether. I recently had a situation that seemed too good to be true. I researched it, did what I thought was my due diligence only to find out that what I thought was legitimate turned out to be counterfeit. This principle can be applied to every aspect of our life. My particular situation was a business venture. I am thankful to God that He put a bit of wisdom in me that stated don’t move on this until you have absolute clearance. Let me simply say this, I pray that it will bless someone, we have many teachers out there telling us about money falling from the sky, coming from nowhere, and calling it the blessings of God. We may even have those who speak from the Old Testament about Israel receiving land, homes, and vineyards by which they had nothing to do with obtaining and not because they were deserving- it was something He chose to do. You don’t see this principle laced throughout scripture so be careful about a teaching derived from one scripture and not the whole scripture of God. We have way more scriptures in the bible that speak about earning a living, God’s distaste for slothfulness, and God’s admonition against unholy gain. We are reminded in the New Testament that he who doesn’t work is not to eat as well as we are to work six days and rest one. God’s intention was and always will be that we work for what we get in order to truly appreciate and benefit from His bountiful blessings.  


Counterfeit anything is FAKE, no matter how you slice it. This is not meant to put God in a box or eliminate His ability to do whatever He wants, it’s simply an encouragement to look toward scripture ensuring that you embrace the heart and spirit of it. Can God bless you financially in a way in which you had nothing to do with? Absolutely, He is God. The issue isn’t, is He able, the question is what is His pattern and which is safer to place your faith on an instance or His consistent nature? The answer is the whole scripture and not one instance. And trust me it’s not just the babes in Christ who may find themselves hood-winked. 

On the internet there are promises of business opportunities, ways for you to make money by doing little of nothing, individuals promising you that they will involve you in wonderful pyramid businesses and we jump, because it’s made to sound like easy money. Let’s face it, there are some who make money on those projects, but the vast majority, don’t. Always seek God’s face on any business venture you are endeavoring to embark on. Look for absolute peace. If you have any apprehensions you wait until all apprehension is gone. Be like Gideon (Judges 6-7), ask God to do what only He can do to reassure your next move. This may take longer than you want, but trust me better to be safe than sorry.

 Don’t stop at business ventures look for counterfeit in all areas of your life:  

 

• Friends (clearly understand the definition of a friend) 

• Careers/Jobs 

• Spouses (be clear that you understand what is expected of both partners and be sure you and that person are living examples of the expectations) 

• Churches (Don’t fall for just any church, especially, don’t let the choir be your litmus test. Make sure the teaching is sound. This means you must be sound in scripture or at the very least be willing to research what you’re being taught.) 

Financial Decisions – (Ensure that God is leading you as to how to spend, save, and invest your money.)

Once again this list is not meant to be exhaustive it’s meant to be instructive and encouraging, for some even confirmation.

My word is my bond

My word is my bond what does that mean anymore? Does it have meaning? I am always amazed especially when I encounter Christians who make a vow, a promise, and they fail to come through. Don’t get me wrong I am not talking about perfection, I am speaking about the simplest concept: if you say you’re going to do something, do it. If for some reason you are not going to be able to do it tell the person you made the promise to before they have to track you down. I am positive, I am sure that the issue isn’t as much as whether you did what you said but if you couldn’t did you let them know in advance or did you make them track you down in order to receive the bad news?

The bible says let your yea be your yea and your nay be your nay – your word is your bond. The bible speaks about your name – your character being more precious than rubies – great value is placed on your word. For many of us our word is all we have. If your word defines you – what would people say about you? I will not stand before you and say that I have always done what I said I was going to do. I have fallen short on occasions. My biggest challenge is being on time once I’ve told someone that I would arrive at a certain time. We must realize that it is better to fess up and give individuals appropriate time to make other arrangements, if necessary, rather than to leave any one in a lurch. It’s the simplest thing to do and yet it is the least timed honored follow through principle.

No one should experience the following because of your selfish character. Don’t get it twisted when you do the following it has everything to do with your character – you thinking of yourself rather than others – hence “selfish”:

• No one should be left waiting on you. If you are running late make sure you let them know in advance. Don’t call after the fact.

• No one should find themselves financially short because of you. If you borrow anything whether or not you have a promised return time, stay in touch. Don’t dodge them and more importantly YOU sacrifice your wants and even your needs if you have borrowed from someone. Remember they sacrificed to help you. They wouldn’t be short if you had paid back what you owed.  Don’t assume that they don’t need the money back in a reasonable time. Their perceived financial situation should not be the standard by which you decide when you pay back what you owe.

• No one should be given false hope only to be let down. If you have promised to do “anything” and now you’ve changed your mind or are not able to do it as much as it may hurt the truth is easier to handle than continued failure to make good on a promise.

• No one should be lied too. Even though the truth may hurt a lie hurts even more.

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  No one should be taken for granted. By our very selfish nature we have a tendency to discount people and take their kindness for weakness. Or if they’re always there, they’re always dependable we take it for granted. Don’t do that. Do not assume that anyone is okay with being taken for granted.

• No one should want to hide from you, because it seems like you’re always dumping on them, always rehashing issues in your life. Your conversation shouldn’t always be about you. And please know this while you may ask how they’re doing and few other niceties we know that this is temporal that as soon as you get a chance you are going to unload. Unloading has its place, but all the time! Its toxic, its poison so trust me caller ID is used on a regular basis. You may be going through some difficutl things in your life, your best confident that will always be the best place to unload is God. Whether you believe it or not while you're friends want to be there for you your constant daily unloading becomes way to much for them to deal with without it becoming an unbearable conversation they would rather not have, because it has become poison to their system. Move on. I know it's not easy but for your sake and there's you must find peace in the midst of your storm and truly learn to trust God and depend on Him to get you through. He is who you should be seeking daily to discuss your challenges.
This list is not meant to be exhaustive – it’s meant to be reflective. If you are a Christian you should always ensure that your character is one to be cherished and honored. If you are a Christian your word should be your bond anything short of that is questionable.

What I want may not be what he wants… (part two)

I decided to do a part two because I realized that the first article – What I want may not be what He wants … dealt with the big He (God) and that we should also focus on the little he (man). It has been my experience with my own choices and the choices of others that we got connected with people and we endeavored to mold them create them, drag them along into the areas of life we want. Because of course we know what was best for them. It really is a common phenomenon that happens daily and many of us are completely unaware. Some of us are even the product of trying to become, morph into the image, the idea that someone else has created for us. We are so insecure and desperate and afraid that no one will want us that we endeavor to become someone we really are not.

Here’s an example of a list of things we want others to embrace that may not be what they want:

·         Getting married

·         Entertaining

·         Having children

·         Obtaining wealth

·         Going to church

·         Traveling

·         Befriending our friends and family

·         How we think they should dress

·         What they should eat

·         How they should walk and talk

·         Their career direction and choices

None of these are bad things in of themselves if you have mutual agreement. They are all horrible if you’re the one pursuing the above things and at the same time are trying to force these ideas, desires, and wants on someone else. You are setting yourself up for a straight let down, pain, disappointment, and many sleepless and restless nights. The unfortunate thing about this process is that there is no real desire within the individual you are trying to mold to become the person you want. The operative word is “YOU”. They can only try to for so long before they have a melt down and rebel. Here’s where the rubber meet the road on the conversation of maybe what you want is not what he wants. Not only do we find ourselves forcing people into lives they never expressed an interest in we also drag God into the equation by asking Him to bless this mess. At the end of the day you cannot get made at someone for not living up to your expectations in truth you should ask their forgiveness.

Then there’s you trying to become the person, the person you’ve chosen to spend your time with want you to become. You dye your hair the color he likes, you become the size he wants, you even have sex the way he enjoys it. The list goes on as above and at the end of the day it’s not really you who’s dissatisfied it’s the individual who was trying to change you. You see that person can see through the façade that you’re not really who you’re trying to be and he becomes bored and begins the mode of “next”.  So in the end not only have you morphed into someone you’re not you’re left with the excruciating exercise of redefining and rediscovering just who you really are, that is until the next person comes in your life with a new picture of who they want you to be.

Your life’s journey must be about your desires, your dreams, your goals, your hopes, and your beliefs. The optimum objective is to meet someone who too has their own identity they own dreams, goals, hopes, and beliefs that marry nicely with yours. Neither should become what the other wants if it is not what either individual is seeking. This is not to say that each does not have the ability to bring some great insight and opportunities to each other it simply means that you both respect each other and embrace each other’s journey. In the ideal world you would complement each other. Notice I used the world complement and not compete. A relationship is not to be and should not be a battle of the wills or a competition. Also and this is for free, opposite may attract but they very rarely find lasting happiness. Opposite attraction is generally based on sexual appeal and desires.

Being equally yoked it not exclusive to religion. It has to do with all of the above. These useless exercises of trying to force someone into a life they never asked for and you trying to become someone you’re not and never really wanted to be to please another person are mentally and physically exhausting. Once you accept the plan that God has for you in your life and you embrace it and thrive within it you then have to trust God to bring into your life the perfect complement to the journey laid out for you both. There’s an old saying if it doesn’t fit don’t force it.

What I want may not be what He wants…… (part one – tune in tomorrow for part two)

I was speaking with a woman a few days ago who made such a profound statement of truth: “What I want may not be what He (God) wants – After God gave me what I wanted, allowed me to have my heart’s desire and it blew up in my face, I finally said, okay Lord now I will wait on what you want for me. I can’t get mad at God for my desires not working out.”

There’s a scripture that states “If you delight in the Lord He will give you the desires of your heart!” Sometimes we have a tendency to get that scripture a bit twisted. That scripture was never meant to represent the thought that whatever your heart’s desire was God would give it to you unconditionally. All the promises of God are yea and amen through Christ Jesus that is correct you must clearly understand those promises but there’s a little bit more to the yea and amen.  

You must truly do two things when standing on the promises of God:

1.       You must read the promise in its context. Don’t take the promise out of the entire meaning of the instruction or the connection that led up to the promise.

2.       All of God’s promises are conditional. There is something you must do in order to receive the promise.

Let’s delve into the promise of getting the desires of your heart. The title given in my bible states that this psalm is one that deals with the heritage of the righteous and the calamity of the wicked. There was persecution taking place and the psalmist was looking for, needing encouragement that God was going to intercede on their behalf and end this persecution. So this psalm was not a willy nilly promise of getting things or people, this is a psalm of rescue. Prior to the promise of being given the desires of your heart you are told to do the following: trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on his faithfulness. I won’t make this learning article too weighty I will simply state the facts: you must clearly understand what it means to trust God before you can begin to expect and proceed with the principle of receiving the desires of your heart.

Here are some trust scriptural principles:

• Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path. (If you do the above the promise is God will direct your path)

• Commit your way to Him and trust Him, and He shall bring it (your desires) to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. (Proverbs 14:12 states, “there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.) We can’t do what we think is right we mst do what we know is right according to scripture.

• Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.

• Even though He slay me yet will I trust Him. Even though my life is pretty hard right now my soul is anchored in the Lord. I trust whatever He’s doing, or allowing is for my good and I will trust Him not only during the good times.

The biggest principle of trusting God is getting to know Him intimately. You can only truly understand what it means to trust Him by clearly understanding the things of God and the promises associated with trusting Him. It is when you truly trust Him that you will become the delight that the bible speaks of. You see when you truly understand and embrace the God of the scriptures then your desires are completely in line with God’s desires for you. You see when you truly know Him then you stand on the scripture that says “for I know the plans that I have for you”. If you embrace that principle then your desire is for God’s plans to be fulfilled in your life, blindly and expectantly trusting that every good and perfect gift comes from above. Believing that no good thing will God withhold from those who love Him.

Here’s my testimony that should paint the picture plainly. My mother says, “I don’t think you will ever marry again.” My response: “I will marry if that’s the will of God.” What I am saying is – I am not adverse to marriage on the contrary I embrace it wholeheartedly. My focus is not on getting married my focus is on living my life to the glory of God. If during the process of me walking in the path that He has set before me a husband is presented I will receive it with great joy. I don’t sit around worrying, wondering, crying, and feeling as though I’ve been forgotten because I don’t have a husband, or feel less than because I don’t have a man in my life, or feeling somehow incomplete. I trust God to meet all of my needs and set in order everything that He has for me. My job is to be obedient, to study His word, hide His word in my heart that I might not sin against Him, to be His bondservant, His handmaiden, during my singleness concerning myself with the things above - what will please God, and if that day comes that a husband finds me (he who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord) then he finds what God promised him, a good thing!

As long as we keep our eyes on the prize and the praise of God everything that is meant for us will come our way. Always remember whatever God has for you it’s for you. In Roman’s Paul reminds us that because of what Christ did for us on the cross we should no longer live for ourselves but for Him. If we truly live our lives to the glory of God we will not suffer lack or miss out on anything that God has set aside for us on His terms and His perfect time. When we can embrace that then we will truly become a delight to God and He will give us the desires of our heart.

A complete strand of pearls (the final of a four part series)

Well we come to the end of this particular journey regarding the worth of woman. We began with the consideration of the timeless pearl and its uniqueness just like woman, there are no two alike. Then we explored the dangers of casting your pearls among swine, giving the best of you to those undeserving. We then journeyed down the consciousness of what role we all play in the development of our worth and the power we give others to define our worth. We will close with the joy of knowing and embracing how complete we are - lacking absolutely nothing. When we can accept the fact that we have everything we need within our grasp and our power to be all that we can be, and not meaning the army, when we are willing to put all that we are to work accomplishing the things we’ve been called to do, it is then that we can make the declaration that we are a complete strand of pearls, a complete component - lacking nothing and yet able to do all things through Christ who strengthens US. It is when we can stand up and acknowledge that we are chosen vessels destined to accomplish great things that we stand unmovable hidden in that secret place that only the Most High resides and abides (stay put) under the shadow of the Almighty then we will find the strength to accomplish things beyond our wildest imagination. It is when we realize no one can add to us or take anything away from us. No one can define you, label you, discard you, marginalize you, or up root you
because you are your own person, designed to perfection. It is up to you to own that reality or cast it away and give the power to control you to someone else. We are all drawn from the same spirit but are a cast of many members, many individuals with many different skills and abilities. With that knowledge we are able to embrace the gifts and talents bestowed upon each of us with joy, purpose, and absolute assurance that what’s for each of us is for us.

Here’s the concept. Each part of your body plays a distinct role for good reason. Your feet allow you to stand, your hands give you the ability pick things up, your heart is the muscle that pumps blood throughout your body, your eyes allow you to see, and your nose gives you the ability to smell. In it of themselves each stands on its own but together they create an unstoppable force that gives you the wherewithal to do all things. Imagine what it would be like if you had no feet? Imagine what it would be like if you had no mouth? See all can’t be a heart, all can’t be a nose, but each component creates a whole being, a being equipped for every good work. So what am I trying to say? There is no need for any of us to be unhappy or feel less than because someone else has something we think we wish we had. One may sing, another may write the songs, one may design, another may sew, one may write, another may have the ability to edit.

One may be a mother, another may have a business mind. Neither is exceptional just different. None is better than another we simply function within the realm of our purpose, our gifts, and our talents. Now our effectiveness is directly linked to our ability to excel within our gifts and talents. In the article no one is better than me doing me, the challenge was placed to all that in order to thrive we must incorporate some aptitudes, some dispositions, and grow in our character. Someone may appear to have more than you, on the material side, the question remains is that the litmus test to success and wholeness - stuff? I submit that “stuff” is not the litmus test. I believe happiness, contentment, fulfilling purpose, being connected to the Spirit of the living God, living a holy and righteous life, being a beacon, a light, the salt of the earth, an ambassador for Christ, a minister of reconciliation should be the stuff that gives us great joy in the end. If it’s really only "stuff" what happens to the "stuff"

when you die? I don’t know of anyone who died with a u-haul truck affiixed to the casket. Remember only what you do for Christ will last and matters in the end and as equally important we are reminded that we are complete in Him.

So as we began a few days ago we will end, you are a timeless jewel, a unique precious gem. There are no two like you, so why try to be someone other than yourself. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. You are a chosen vessel, a royal priesthood, a priceless possession, and the apple of God’s eye. As was said some time ago, “you are all that and a bag of chips with some Louisiana hot sauce on it”. You are a complete strand of pearls  no one can add or take anything away from you! People may enter your life who may enhance some qualities about you, but no one has the ability to recreate the perfect YOU that has already been created by the Creator. In order for them to recreate you, you must give them the power to do so, and by default you give them your power.

So like the pearl, where no one can begin to try ot recreate the exact replica, the same is true for you. Embrace YOU! Learn to love and respect YOU and in return you will refuse to allow anyone in your life who can't look at you and see perfection - the complete WOMAN ready to stand and deliver!

What part of the pearl do you contribute? (part 3)

In the first two parts of the discussion regarding the pearl we’ve addressed in “the lost pearl” the need to rediscover worth and in “cast not your pearls amongst swine” we’ve dealt with the need to understand who and how we should share the best we have with people who come into our lives. We’ve also discussed the need to compartmentalize/accurately define the roles each person plays in our lives. Roles they play based upon the facts and the truths and not our own thoughts as to how people so emulate our behavior. So now we look deep into the pearl, paying close attention to its development. We pay close attention to all that goes into making it and may it also be with us. There are some things about us that we cannot control and things that we have nothing to do with its development; such as our skin tone, our sex, the color of our eyes, the shapes of our physique, our height, or the texture of our hair. I am sure you can look into other components of your life and identify other things that are inherited, a part of your DNA. Then there are the things that we can control that help develop the pearl, the uniqueness about ourselves.

For example:

• You can control what goes into your body, every element.

• You can control your weight.

• You can control your attitude and all that goes into the development of it.

• You can control who enters into your life and who remains in your life.

• You can control what toxins you allow in your life that poison your system. These toxins are not just environmental elements  or substances, but they are also words from other people, and they are other people.

• You can control the education you receive and within that you control content.

• You can control your spiritual growth and spiritual development.

The greater conversation is are you willing to control those elements and help develop “that”, that is the essence of YOU?

There is plenty that has happened to in your life and you are feeding off of those things. Things such as:

• You never knew your father or he doesn’t love you and from there you’ve decided no man will ever love you.

• You were raped or molested from there you’ve decided no man will ever want you because you are tainted goods or worse you now want nothing to do with any man because you don’t trust them.

• You had an abortion and you haven’t been able to forgive yourself.

• You have not been able to have children and from there you’ve decided that you are half rather than a whole women.

• You have been physically abused by all the men I’ve dated, whether physical or mental so to protect yourself you’ve decided you want nothing to do with men or even worse you’ve decided there must be something wrong with you that make men abuse you.

• You feel you’ve never been loved and from there you’ve decided it must be because you are unlovable.

• You’ve been hurt by Christians, you’ve been disillusioned from the churches you’ve attended so you want nothing to do with Christian’s.

• A loved one has died who you felt was a good person and you’re angry at God for allowing them to die. You are disillusion by this God is who is supposed to be so loving.

You can continue to add to this list of the things that have happened over your life time and really begin to glean why your value has seemed to dissipate and you will also see what power you removed from your life that has shaped that timeless pearl. Unfortunately that timeless pearl has been shaped into a counterfeit, not the real thing. You have allowed life to beat you down, to disillusion you, to confuse you, to hurt you, to discourage you, to steal your joy, your dreams, and your goals by failing to realize that none of these things in your life definitively define YOU!

You must decide starting today that you are in control of your life. You must declare today that no one, but God can define you. You must forgive yourself for anything that you’ve done that has harmed others or estranged you from God and seek God’s favor in your life. You must embrace your life as one with great purpose, great promise, great joy, great reward, and great outcomes as you play an active role in its journey. You must look at the things that have happened to you, as hurtful as they may have been, and decide today that no longer will you give anyone the power to hurt you, define you, or control you (except of course the Holy Spirit).

You must trust that God has a plan for your life that is just for you. One of the hardest realities is that desire to understand why you had to live through the things that you have had to live to you. My comfort to you is that in God’s perfect plan He has allowed things to happen in all of our lives to develop us individually into the unique timeless pearl we are. Never look at areas in your life that may not have developed as it has for others and rejoice in the fact that God has used your caring nature to love, mother, educate, encourage, and enlighten others. Do not allow the worlds ways to drive your expectations - let’s God’s promises guide your future. Stand up for yourself and you will stand up for others. Set standards in your lives and others will follow. Know this without a doubt that if we delight in God He will give us the desires of our hearts. You must clearly understand what it means to be a delight. When you embrace that God is sovereign, that He is all knowing, that He truly has set forth the plans for our lives, and that He is truly ordering our steps and we are deeply entrenched in His word learning and loving on Him, then our desires are His desires and we will receive everything that He has ordained for us.

So I say to you today, say good bye to those who have hurt you and forgive them. It is by your forgiveness of them that you can move forward bountifully in the Lord. Refuse to intimately allow anyone in your world who does not want the best for you, guard your heart and your mind zealously and see life through the lenses of the Holy Scripture and take the stand that no weapon formed against you will prosper because you serve a God who has promised that He would fight your battles. You dearest are a timeless pearl, you are truly fearfully and wonderfully made. God knew and knows exactly what He’s doing regarding you. So remember if you concern yourself with the things of God He will concern Himself with your things.

Tune in tomorrow for the closing article “The Complete Strands of Pearls”.