Faith to Move Mountains

He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20

 So! Realistically and not insinuating that you haven’t experienced these mountain tops but the world’s highest mountains range from about 29,035 feet to about 26,545 feet tall! If you ask me that is a whole lot of mountain, majority of us will think of mount Everest when we think of a mountain, or at least that’s what comes to my mind…..however while I am on a visual stimulation kick, picture-this! Standing in front of whatever mountain that comes to mind and then picture trying to move it whether it is physically and or mentally, “how do you think that will work?” or should I say, “How can you apply Matthew 17:20 while facing the mountain you are envisioning?”…….Take your time and think it out really good-I have time…. (Don’t worry it’s not a trick-question) Ok! Some of you can snap out of the “blank stare towards the ceiling,”  lets re-group and really think of what the ultimate message is in Matthew 17:20, even though we tried visualizing our mountain-moving-tactics it still seemed humanly impossible-right? Which is absolutely normal…. understand that in today’s world a majority of people are not necessarily and realistically face-to-face with Mount Everest but! I can say this-though….. a majority of people are facing enough trials and tribulations that seem like mountains in their lives, Jesus was not insinuating that we use super-natural cosmic powers to move a mountain just because we think we have faith, understand that a mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds your eyes will ever see and all He was stating is “just-believe,” note He did not say “if you have faith of an avocado seed” or “if you have faith big enough like a baobab tree,” today might be the day that you are facing the mountain of foreclosure, bankruptcy, job loss, family loss, cancer and or finical hardships,  even though the realistic mountains are huge, tall and mounted to the ground pretty tightly it can almost seem that way with your spiritual mountain…if you are not too careful it will weigh you down and overwhelm you with its heaviness, understand-while facing this mountain it’s your time now to exercise the belief in your faith and instead of applying for the high interest loans to pay your bills and put food on the table, believe that God will come through-even in the last hour, so-what! The Doctors consider your diagnosis iffy-God is the healer of all and as long as you have that faith of a mustard seed your terminal cancer and or illness of a mountain will move in Jesus name-I declare it! Brothers and Sisters….the point being before you believe someone else and or something else for a solution to moving your life’s-challenging-spiritual-mountain, believe in God-first and witness your faith breaking bondage's,  loosing addictions, loosing illness, and bring peace and comfort to you! 

You have to have belief in order to have faith and faith to have belief! The two are directly related and you can NOT have one without the other!

Love You in Christ,

Memory

The Irony of Struggle

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Ephesians 3:20

Struggle is truly a double sided coin when you think of life’s everyday challenges, the simple fact being the word struggle is not biased according to race, age and or background……you can have all the money in the world and yet have an inner “personal” struggle and then you can have no money and inner peace but have an ongoing “outer” struggle, point being no matter who you are what ranks you fall under it is almost guaranteed that at one point and time in your lifetime you will encounter this thing that is known as struggle……. I attribute my “once” over-achieving ways to the fear of ‘life” struggle (before Christ that is) I really used to think if I continued to work as hard as I could and nonstop I would live a comfortable lifestyle without a “struggle,” unbeknownst to me even in my over-achieving ways I still ran into this thing we call “struggle,” all I could remember after I achieved all the materialistic things I ever wanted and was living it up was, “how can I be failing inwardly?” I was struggling inwardly with a body rotting, mind griping addiction that was eating at me……sure my outer appearance stayed perfectly maintained and my lifestyle was a breeze to keep up with but inwardly there was a huge hole, one that could not be satisfied by my cars, house, furniture and or the fancy clothes and shoes………to face life in the eyes of all its truthfulness was a hard task, I wanted to believe I was fine and yet I was struggling inwardly………it was embarrassing to even think of my inner struggle at that time but truth-today as it holds was that the over-achiever, hard-working and zealous individual was drowning at the mercy of an “unwavering” struggle, even though I was not a believer then I knew there was going to be some kind of freedom………my now Christian, born again walk with the Lord has led me to further understand the “irony” of  struggle……you-see…..I still praise and thank God like I did when He freed me because the mere thought of my inner struggle brings upon a sorrow and joy in my life, sorrow that I went through it and joy that I am free…….I have this to share with you today-Beloved, you might be in the midst of an inner struggle or outward struggle…..or a struggle-period! Whatever your situation is today please understand that it’s there to strengthen your faith in God, the struggle is here to remind you to truly rest upon His every word and to breath His every word in your life, without struggle there really isn't much to be grateful about but our existence, but with struggle we taste the sovereign saving power of our Lord which then gives us a deeper appreciation of our creator, look to Him in this time of struggle for He will see you through and strengthen you in the midst of it all! I conclude by stating, struggle can be excruciating on the surface but deeply profound and spiritually invigorating in a more intimate understanding, thus creating the “irony of struggle.”

Memory B

Introduction To My Website www.mieedailyreflections.blogspot.com

The Thorn in the Flesh....

Before I came to Christ in a saving manner I often wondered what kind of God would allow His own to suffer, whether if it was from terminal cancer, death and or incurable disease….I had a hard time I should confess wrapping my mind around this concept but by all due respect that was my ignorant non-Christian mind…a mind with no Holy Spirit guide and a mind without God’s wisdom, once in salvation I made it my business to understand more-more of this God I once questioned, and! Low-and-behold a great revelation came upon me and this time around I am proud to say it was through the guidance of the Holy Spirit and long sought out wisdom through God and through my own personal forbearance I understood exactly what kind of God we serve!

Theologians have invested great time in researching the “thorn in Paul’s flesh,” which is evidence that some really want to relate to Paul's thorn or just want to know what it was, the pieces of scripture and or great sources of reference have succored with my research which  has been more than a great “Wealth of interesting information” to be able to read and understand the different views of some in which I thoroughly respect, however through some scriptures like, 2 Corinthians 12:7, 2 Corinthians 11:24-26, Acts 13:45, Galatians 4:13….And the lists of  Bible verses pertaining to this subject are endless-these are to name a few….and through out I have yet come across a “specific” mention of this “thorn” that Paul spoke of and when I state specific I literally mean specific in terms of what the diagnosis/ prognosis was  this “thorn” Paul suffered from without the dilution of man-made interpretations,  despite the somewhat suspense of the “thorn” in Paul’s flesh in which I personally enjoy taking the layman approach-by the way only because for years like most despite my unsaved questions I bore and still bare a thorn in my flesh…don’t worry it's not a pimple, freckle, mole, beauty mark or anything located superficially on my flesh, rather it’s an interesting thorn-a thorn that left me in quandary before coming to Christ of whether or not an individual like I could be loved genuinely, would I be able to live a normal life in lieu to my “thorn?” questions arose in the brinks of desperation but I am here to tell you that the discovery of Christ in my life has eased my once objective thinking to an optimistic and grateful thinking through God's transformation-you see…intimately knowing God and loving Him has allowed me to embrace this once nagging “thorn” in my life….I now know for a fact that my “thorn” allows me to maintain a coat of humility  and reminds me constantly that I too am human and need the Lord more than I have ever needed Him despite the work He does through me and sometimes in life we do need such reminders, I am often reminded of the time that Paul begged God to take the “thorn” away and God reminds Paul that; “He is all he needs and nothing else should matter,” (That’s my interpretation of course of 2 Corinthians 12:8-9) the “thorn” in my flesh has allowed me to become dependent on God for strength which has allowed my faith to grow, it has also believe-it-or-not shielded me from bad life decisions, because God has called you to Ministry doesn't mean you are 100% pure of all “thorns,” don’t let your “thorn” hold you back from experiencing God’s best in your life, Paul traveled and planted churches and healed the sick but his “thorn” is a positive constant reminder that even the man/woman of God can have a “Flaw” and God can know it-and choose to do absolutely nothing about it because at the end of it all He is all you need!

Memory

Blessing Proportions

         

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

So many times we get caught up in our wants versus the needs that if we are not too careful we might become victims of blessing-deprivation and fall negligent to our required blessing proportion (That’s correct!) though the word deprivation is synonymous to basic necessities it’s also appropriate for a believer to understand the importance of not depriving one's blessings, the act of not being happy or content with what God has already given you can lead to an act of blessing-deprivation….sure! If you are like some, where they feel-often than most that they have everything they need but what happens when they start looking at other people’s blessings and wondering why it’s not them? Or better yet-this one is my favorite…when non-believers seem to be getting more blessings than them! (I know-right! What’s up with that?) I have truly come to learn through God that everything I have in this moment is a blessing (Literally) that clunker of a car-is a blessing because I don’t have a hefty note-which can be an additional financial burden, that old-raggedy house and furniture I have is an absolute blessing because some people in other parts of the world don’t even know what a couch feels like later-alone a place with a roof over their head and running water! even though most than less the food I have in my pantry and refrigerator is not comparable to having fillet Mignon and lobster tails every night but that’s OK too because it’s a blessing to even have some type of food in the pantry and refrigerator so I eat it with sheer-joy, whatever the case is-it’s all a blessing-a blessing God has given you and no one can take it away or compare to it, avoid depriving yourself from the acknowledgement of God’s blessings in your life by always thanking God for every-little thing in your life (I mean every-little thing in your life) praise God in thanksgiving at all times and enhance your appreciation for God’s blessings, just think for a second that maybe-just maybe you might be missing out on the crucial lesson at hand by depriving your blessings and feeding into your wants and or yearning for other peoples blessings.

I always think of the time when I was younger let’s say anywhere from the time I learned to eat soluble foods and right before teen years, my mother would always give me a serving of food in my plate that was proportionate to my age, she never served me with the same serving that she served my father. Why? (I am glad you asked) because she knew that my father’s appetite and stomach could handle his large  portion and she knew that my small stomach could only handle the little portion she gave me and because of that no food was wasted-because if she served me the portion she served my father at the age of 5 I stood a chance to over eat and mainly waste the food, when we tend to over eat (In my experience) I feel horrible and regret eating the food, then when food is wasted in most cases it’s because there was an overabundance in the plate which creates for a lack of appreciation! (I think you know where I am going with this one!) God gives you an appropriate portion blessing so that you remain energized in Him and grateful in Him, if He gave you an over-sized portion of blessings all the time you will never be thankful, instead you can end up wasting the resource because of the abundance of it (Yes! that is where I was going!)  So next time someone says. “Count your blessings.” Make sure you-literally count them!

Memory

Accomplish Your Goal by Maximizing The Moment

"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34

Sometimes in life we set goals, ambitions and or deadlines with the true intentions of accomplishing the task at hand and sometimes we even give ourselves too much pressure so much so that by the time we fail to accomplish the goal, or fail to meet the dead line we lose hope and or motivation, the key to whatever you want to take on in life is by living from moment to moment, sure! You can still have a dream book or your goals written down somewhere but as you aspire to accomplish your goals understand that each day that you have to do something for that goal or deadline makes it a small win that adds credit to potentially making it one big win when the day comes! I am often reminded with some people that have weight loss goals, and trust me I have been there myself and lost 75 pounds!( So I have a small clue as into what I am getting ready to talk about),  I feel that some people fail at weight loss because they are too focused on the end result when they should be focused in the moment, (Let me explain myself) I love scales, there is nothing wrong with scales, but what I have noticed is; you can weigh yourself day and night and get fluctuating results and sometimes this can make for a demotivated  weight loss regiment (especially when you hit a plateau-been-there-done-that-past-that!) Where as if you take it one step at a time and decide to change your process (lifestyle), so instead on dwelling on the 40 pounds you have to lose before your vacation maybe it’ time you live day-by-day in the moment and consciously think healthy so that you can then eat healthy and by no time soon you will weigh less and look healthy for all the vacations to come! And you can also keep it off for a long time if not lifetime because you will have succumbed to the new way of momentarily living which is all attained through the moment-to-moment process, every little win builds up to one great big win!  Maybe weight loss is not your challenge, you can take a savings account into mind, and how does one attain any savings in the account? By moment-to-moment savings, every time you get paid you save and by the time it’s all said and done you will have the big chunk of money, no one (I know-I should say) ever starts a savings account and deposits the full amount in which they want to save ( because then what’s the point?) Rather the process of saving money overtime allows one to have that total cash balance in which they desire and to continue thereafter, perhaps you want to start your own company, perhaps you want to learn how to fly, perhaps you want to own a home one day…whatever your goals and dreams are just understand that you have to accomplish the day-by-day, moment-to-moment small wins that will accumulate to one big lifetime win! Look at what you have right now in front of you and start working on that to build your ultimate big-lifetime win.

Please understand that a moment-to-moment living is when one is continually maximizing the power of moment accomplishment towards the goal, meaning that this individual is working towards the goal and or deadline but is mainly focused in the moment’s work  versus the end result to attain the long-term goal result.

"Common Sense" is it a Superficial expectation or Christian Judgement?

I am so often reminded of my old ways of thinking, I remember that the majority if not everything was “supposedly” common sense to me until the Lord started to deal with me in a deeper sense, I had this revelation while in my leadership role and way after I came to know Christ, I cannot count with the fingers on my hands plus my toes how many times I have often used the phrase; “Its common sense” while training or just conversing with people…..Christ's compassion for mankind goes deeper than the; “It is common sense phrase,” His love supersedes one’s ability of not having this human expectation of “Common sense” that we (Yes! some of you and I ) hold other people into, one thing I have truly learned is the mere factor that sometimes as human beings we tend to hold each other to very high superficial expectations, when I say superficial I am now talking about the level of expectation that you as an individual would handle things, sometimes we expect people to know what we know or to be able to do what we do whether its at work on the same job description, general life knowledge or whatever the case is, I can tell you that I fell-guilty in this area more than once, at one point and time in my life I felt that things that were very common sense (general things) to me should have been common sense to others and I felt that the basic things that came easy to me should have come easy to others…..my type of thinking at that time was very dangerous in a lot of aspects but today I want to highlight a correlation that is visible among “Christians,” some “Christians” hold people to a high level of expectation that in turn when that person doesn't perform to “their” expectations” it causes that “Christian” to give up on them and or pass judgment, brothers and sisters, what has come easy, natural and or what is “common sense” to you is not always the same case with other people, you have to (I repeat), you have to! Have patience with all mankind and understand that everyone’s thinking capacity is uniquely crafted, everyone doesn't come from your household and or up bringing so please create a Spirit of sensitivity within yourself to understand the uniqueness of peoples thinking and because of that they don’t see things through your eyes-per say….the next time you think in your mind when ministering and or just conversing with someone that “Its common sense,” remember that Jesus walked this earth with a great compassion for all mankind and never expecting anyone to have the same level of "Common sense" as He had but rather He taught for understanding-sake, so next time when you think of uttering the phrase; “It is common sense,” make sure you teach that person to have a full understanding like Christ did and does…… after all your “Common sense” just might not be “common.”

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” 1 John 3:16

Be Persistent In Your Calling

It is at this point and time in my life  where I have noticed a correlation between the start of  a blessed Ministry and when Jesus started His ministry, understanding that neither one of us are Jesus but we do have a common ground of winning souls to the kingdom through the avenue of the various ministries that we have been called into, when the Lord spoke to me about my ministry years ago I was in a time of heavy consecration and prayer, I had laid aside my selfish man and decided to consecrate myself for those that I knew, this was my first 40 day fast (and by all due respect I don’t need any kudos, just stating) I was hungry for God and I wanted to get as close to Him as Paul did on the road to Damascus (Yes! to the point of being blinded from all the worldly shenanigans and opening my eyes to a spiritual realm that I’d never experienced) unbeknownst to me while I was in consecration, the Lord laid my ministry on my heart, it was a ministry that I had never imagined in my life, something I never thought I had the ability to do and or even before the fast had a desire to do-honestly…..(fast-forward) while in pursuit of Christ through my Ministry I made it a point to periodically consecrate myself as often as I could so I could be spiritually sensitive to the Lords voice, through this endeavor I was at this point hit from all angles by the enemy’s subtle attacks and it is here where I realized the power of Matthew 4:1-4, I experienced things in my life that I’d never even experienced not even in my sinful days in the world, it seemed as though all trials and tribulations where magnified to the tenth power! (What kept me going?) My relationship with God kept me strong, His promises for my Ministry kept me persevering for His will sake, don’t get me wrong, I cried to the Lord more than I laughed, but the tears where the start of God’s greatness to come.

Dear Beloved,

 Your call to Ministry is not on coincident but by Divine appointment and because of that it is imperative that you create a strong Christian regiment to keep you continually in the presence of God, when I look at Jesus in Matthew 4, I am often reminded of the urgency to take ministry calling seriously and then I am often reminded that ministry work is a true living sacrifice, there is no blessed ministry without sacrifice and no sacrifice without the blessing of a blessed ministry, Jesus knew that He was going to lead a ministry that required Him to be spiritually strong against the enemy, if the son of God has to fast before doing the Lords will for His ministry that just shows you the power of personal sacrifice, the enemy tried in so many attempts to tempt Jesus while He was in the wilderness, I am reminded of the time in Matthew 4:5-6 where Satan “tried” to glorify his attempts and Jesus did not budge, this reminds me of today’s world in cases where some powerful people of God (that where initially called by God) have lost their Kingdom Integrity and in some cases have sold their ministry to the enemy in efforts of accumulating wealth, understand that our attitude needs not be relaxed about what happened to Jesus in the wilderness, because for every situation in Matthew 4 there is a Divine modern day correlation that you can learn from before your ministry gets to the mountain top, be sure to always pray for humility and to always have a list of personal Kingdom Integrity “do’s and don’ts” before your ministry gets to the mountain top so that we won’t see you on a corny reality show selling yourself short for a mere $20, 000 dollars an episode (when God can elevate you more than that!) for the world to question “Christianity” through the actions of the reality show! And instead of winning souls there could be a depleting of souls as they will get put-out by the fallacy of the faith being depicted on the show (can you tell-how I feel about this?) So understand when you have your Kingdom priorities straightened out you will not fall short for the devils camouflaged contracts and or deals that do not glorify God and or win souls, take your ministry seriously and get into a prayerful regiment of also fasting and eating the word so that you understand the mind of God and at the same time draw closer to God, remember your ministry is not to work for man (people pleasing) but to work for God so that He can work through you for man to know Him and for man to see the glory of God through you! Never ever give up on your ministry, work hard for the Lord for your labor is not in vain and while you are coming  out of the valley heading to the mountain top of your ministry God will send more people in your life to assist with His work Matthew 4:18. Remember that everything you go through from now till then (good and bad) is a building and preparation of your character to align with God’s Divine will for your life and ministry.

Love you and stay in it! As for me and the God ordained Ministry……will keep you posted! But I can say I am excited about what God is doing in my life!

Get to the Mountain-Top of godly Favor!

It is in the times of immeasurable difficulties that you really face the description of a True-Christian, Job is the best example for what to-do when in such a situation but what was it that really gave him the strength? I am often reminded of my life’s “lows” and when I speak of “lows” I am talking of my walk in the valley right before I get to the mountain top of favor and break-through, I am often reminded of hiking, I remember it as though it was yesterday, I  was in grade 7 and about 12 years old, I was mostly excited about being in grade 7 for the simple fact that my high school journey was going to begin in the next school term, however funny-enough the pinnacle of my excitement about grade 7 was also the fact that we got to embark on a camping experience at “Camp Jeff Cox,” the time came and went and the day for “Camp Jeff Cox” drew closer, we waved good-bye to our parents and school and embarked on a long journey to Inyanga, we finally got there, and all I could remember was the cool looking cabins, among several activities I can never forget the hike we took, first of all because of traditional myths that terrified us half to death and secondly it seemed like a long, hard and torturous hike (in my 12 year old mind at that time) while hiking I noticed the guide was constantly glued to the hand held map and would often stop to turn back and I don’t think he was turning back to measure our distance but I think he was familiarizing himself with the surroundings, once said and done and finally up at the mountain top the pain from the legs and body seized, it seized at the site of nature’s beauty, by the time we had to walk back to the camp grounds nothing felt difficult or tiring, it actually seems like we made it back to the camp site sooner than we climbed the mountain, once at camps grounds we could not stop talking about our experience at the top of the mountain, from what I could remember-I don’t even think I spoke of the difficulties of initially hiking through the torturous valley.

My brothers and sisters, as a Christian I am often reminded of this hike I took at the age of 12, I think about the guide that had the map and when he continually stopped to familiarize himself (get his bearings) I am reminded of our walk here on earth, in order for God to bring out our godly-character and grant us kingdom favor you are going to walk in the torturous valley, it’s going to seem difficult, hard, challenging and at times not fair, and when that happens then you act like the guide and stop, look back and recognize how far God has brought you and how good He has been through it all (get your God-bearings), like the guide use your Bible to navigate you through the trying times, understand that once you get to where God wants you-you will be engulfed by His power so-much-so that you won’t even feel the heartaches, pain, betrayal, difficulties, struggle and all the things you might have felt when you initially started your journey to the mountain top of favor and break-through!

Passivity the "New Age" Christian downfall (In observance of National Day of Prayer)

The common symptoms for Christian Passivity are the two letter words “BUT” and “OK,” when these two words become germane to your everyday vocabulary of faith then please understand that you are a foot step away from being a passive Christian which is dangerous in the fact that undiagnosed passivity breeds subtlety, Passivity plus subtlety equals ultimate enemy obliteration.

What do you think about Homosexuality? “It is against my belief “BUT” if that’s what they want to do then that’s what they will do.”

What do you think about shacking before marriage? “I personally don’t believe it “BUT” I guess its “OK” in today’s world.”   Proverbs 27:5

What do you think about sexual immorality? “It against my belief “BUT” who am I to judge?”

What do you think about sin? “It’s hard being a Christian “BUT” I cannot judge those that sin because I am not perfect.”

Do you go to church every Sabbath? “ I try to “BUT” sometimes I wake up late and tired from working and feel its “OK” for me to get some rest.

 I can truly go-on-and-on with the “BUTS” and “OK’s”  of passive faith talk, it’s fair enough for me to say that you understand the lesson at hand, before you say “BUT” and or “OK” to justify the faith, ask yourself if that sentence is going to be defending the faith? Or depleting the faith? Choose your words wisely and defend the faith as the warrior of Christ that you have been raised up to be!

but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 1 Peter 3:15

Yours truly

The unapologetic a servant of Christ and slave to my Fathers will.

An Overlooked Blessing

This Made Me Tear Up!

SON: "Daddy, may I ask you a question?" DAD: "Yeah sure, what is it?" SON: "Daddy, how much do you make an hour?" DAD: "That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?" SON: "I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?" DAD: "If you must know, I make $100 an hour." SON: "Oh! (With his head down). SON: "Daddy, may I please borrow $50?" The father was furious. DAD: "If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I work hard everyday for such this childish behavior." The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money? After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think: Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $ 50 and he really didn't ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door. DAD: "Are you asleep, son?" SON: "No daddy, I'm awake". DAD: "I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier. It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the $50 you asked for." The little boy sat straight up, smiling. SON: "Oh, thank you daddy!" Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills. The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father. DAD: "Why do you want more money if you already have some?" SON: "Because I didn't have enough, but now I do. "Daddy, I have $100 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you." The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness. It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that $100 worth of your time with someone you love? If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family and friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than to our family. Some things are more important. source......unknown 

The "Extra-Mile" Attitude

What makes you stand out among many is your ability to go the “Extra-mile,” After spending years in the leadership role in Corporate America I came to notice the difference between each employee that came and left, the employees that stood out the most for promotion sake and or recognition where the ones that went the “Extra-Mile,” and please understand that they did not go the “Extra-Mile” because they had to, they went the “Extra-Mile” because they wanted to and because of that willing attitude they were easily noticed and set-apart from the rest (average-employees), some people go to work on a full time status with a part-time mentality and wonder: “Why they are not getting promoted.” Your ability to carefully master tasks starts at the very basic things you already do, if you cannot willingly go the “Extra-Mile” for your employer what makes you so sure that you will be able to go the “Extra-Mile” for your faith, health, own company, marriage, children and or family? No matter what you do in life even if you dread your job or love it always do it to your best and with an “Extra-Mile” Willing attitude as a part of your great work-ethic not reward-seeking and witness the great favor upon your life. Remember a voluntary “Extra-Mile” attitude breed’s an abundance of favor. "Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people." Colossians 3:23

Kin to Comfort.....

We all have that one or two if not three cousin’s that you generally don’t get too excited to see-sometimes! My long-distance 6 times removed cousin Comfort came to visit me some years ago, I remember it as though it was yesterday, when comfort showed up at my door-step unannounced I was in a bit of a surprise as there was no warning or call made so I had to quickly accommodate, after the day of visit it seemed that Comfort was in no rush to moving on to the official destination, sooner than later days turned into months and of a sudden it seemed that Comfort was there to stay! I really realized why I did not care too much for Comfort because ever since the first day Comfort worked hard to sway me into the same path of stagnation, when I had-had enough I put my foot down and gave Comfort an ultimatum! It was not easy because that is still my relative but I had to do what I had to do in order to succeed, I realized why my mother warned me against Comfort, after I sent comfort packing I realized that the family rumor of Comfort was true, majority of my family will not let Comfort stay in their homes not even over-night because of the known habit of stealing, after I sent comfort packing I realized my health was gone (stopped going to the gym-gained weight), my bottle of motivation was missing (My writing stopped), my drawer full of hope (Seeing past the present in my writing and seeing the done project) was also gone and lets not even talk about my purse of bliss! Not only did Comfort come into my life to take from what I had worked hard for but I literary felt as though I had to start all over again which was painful as I had worked hard to obtaining hope, weight-loss, motivation and bliss, after comfort left ironically enough my favorite first cousin Uncomfortable showed up, at this time I was reluctant to even entertaining any more family after my ordeal with Comfort but! Uncomfortable had a way of always making me feel so in a sense I embraced Uncomfortable, I remember when I initially met Uncomfortable, I could not get a good sense but I can tell you the feeling of getting used to Uncomfortable was not easy-but throughout life I have come to terms with the fact the Uncomfortable is going to be Uncomfortable and its either you like it or not and I chose to like it, So! Uncomfortable came in for a day as well and over-stayed the welcome but I could tolerate Uncomfortable because of all the great life lessons Uncomfortable taught me, at first I felt as though I could not relate with Uncomfortable but when Uncomfortable started to show me my own strength by believing in me I felt very confident, Uncomfortable has been patient by teaching me one step at a time-truth be told between you and I -I initially did not like Uncomfortable-I despised Uncomfortable but after spending lots of time with Uncomfortable-Uncomfortable is starting to grow on me…..so-much-so that I have even asked Uncomfortable to be my permanent roommate. Ladies and Gentleman! If you want great success in your life’s endeavor it is time for you to part ways with your long-distance cousin Comfort and reach out to your first cousin Uncomfortable and let Uncomfortable take you through the barriers of Comfort, Uncomfortable will bring out the inner strength you never knew off that will help you attain your endeavor, remember if you let Comfort over-stay the welcome then you stand to have your life’s endeavor stolen and if you are not too careful Comfort’s twin “Laziness” will show up and then you really will face challenges attaining your endeavor.

Build Your Pinocchio! (Dream)

For those of you that do not know this part of me-please allow me to share! I am a huge Disney/Pixar Supporter! Yes! I said it and I mean it! You say animation I say where and what time? The main reason I enjoy watching animated movies is simply for the fact of that moment I can escape into a world that is yet blissful and full or moralistic adventure’s….today as I was thinking about dreams Pinocchio came into mind, the old wood-carver carves a puppet in which he named Pinocchio, Pinocchio was brought to life by a blue-fairy (Don’t stop reading I am not done) who told Pinocchio he could be a real boy if he proved himself brave, truthful and unselfish. Today you are faced with a dream, perhaps it’s the adventure of starting your own company, pursuing a calling, flying a plane and or feeding the hungry in a third world country-whatever your dream is-it’s your dream (Geppetto-the wood-carver) had a dream, he built it with his own hands and believed in his own dream so-much-so that it came to life to Geppetto, I am pretty sure the local towns people wanted to put him in the nut house-because surely how can a wooden carving come to life? But to Geppetto-the most important key player in this it would come to life, his dream proved his bravery in believing his dream, his truthfulness of commitment to his dream made him unselfish to himself and his desire of following the dream into fruition. Today people are looking at you like they looked at Geppetto and today some people are even talking about you but as long as you build the dream with your own hands and believe that your dream will be alive (Reality) and walk (Success) then your dream shall be alive (Succeed). “Build your Pinocchio(Dream) and believe(Know) that it will be alive (Reality) and walking (Success) .”

The Road of Possibility......

Some are born in the impossible-of-impossible situations, dating back from birth to childhood; they feel as though there was never a chance of possibility-but when hit with trying times in life they turn to believe the possible that they have never known and it is here where they succeed from the impossible to the possible whereas some are born in the possibility-of-possibility situations, dating back from birth to childhood they feel as though there always has been the chance of possibility-but when hit with the harshness of life they feel the impossible for the first time which deceives their mind frame to believe in the impossible than the possible they grew up in which causes them to remain in a stage of impossibility, the difference between the two individuals is simply the fact that the one born into impossibility and the one born into possibility made decisions in their lives that would directly affect the out-come of their perspective on life, understand that your dreams are as good as your mind of possibility-believes (not thinks), dreams that are birthed into impossibility by an impossible-mind frame stand a chance to die before they reach possibility, dreams birthed in impossible situations with a mind-frame of possibility stand a chance to succeed the impossible and produce the possible.

My Purpose's Denouement

I remember it as though it was yesterday when God called me to purpose, I truly thought God had mistaken me for someone else but that quick I corrected my jejune mind, for God is not a God of desultory..... I was scared straight to purse the task God gave me and I think the main fear being, "How are people going to react toward my calling?" Till God eased that thought then the next set-back thought was, "Will I be any good?" Then God proved that point by allowing a recognition-award here-and-there, finally I was convinced that this is where He wanted me, I took head and explored my calling past areas of comfort-and it was in the areas of dis-comfort in where I found favor! And promotion, "How could-this be?" Only God! Knew.....today I believe God for yet another breakthrough in this next level of purpose promotion that He has brought me to! This task is mightily heavy, as crazy as this sounds I am actually anticipating God's greatest miracle in my life for this project, I can truly say the human-man in me cannot fulfill nor see it coming to fulfillment but! The spirit-man in which I am lead by knows that God will see me through and I can endure this process which is challenging, never thought in my whole entire life I would ever go through such incongruous events but God keeps reminding me that I have to go through the valley to get to the mountain top!......God has never failed me and he won’t fail me now, His plan for my life will not founder-for I serve a living God! #2013-project.

When A Plan Fails....

My faith in God has taught me a lot and it is because of that I'm reminded that plans don't fail, oh! Let me clarify my statement, you-see sometimes we sit around and waste time concocting endless lists of man-made-plans when God already has the Plan for you, just because you plan-a-plan and it doesn't go the way you planned doesn't represent failure, it just represents the fact that God has a certain plan for your plan. Some years ago I woke up running extremely late and was frustrated, my coworker and I where carpooling that day, when she pulled up to my driveway she waited patiently, frustrated because I was 15 minutes late from our departure time I came outside the house with a bit of an attitude towards myself, we got in the car and headed for the connecting bridge from Missouri into Illinois and it was here where we were detoured, the bridge was shut down, which made me feel even worse because I had initially made us run late and now we have to detour through downtown! Man! My plan that morning seemed to have failed us! As we got downtown I turned the radio on to listen to traffic delays...... and unbeknownst to me- my life had been spared by 15 minutes! Of a failed personal plan! There was a major accident on the bridge we normally crossed (the one that was shut down) that involved a gas semi-truck that exploded exactly at the time that we were supposed to be crossing over into Illinois in the lane that we would have been traveling on! To help you understand the scene, this was a two way lane on each end with a short concrete median in the middle and a short metal rail on the right side so there would not have been any room to maneuver given the predicament of the explosion. Even up to now I get goose bumps thinking of the mere factor that had we been on time we'd been on time for death but God! Had other plans for us, sure we got to work late but we were alive, even though the plan didn't go according to the way I wanted it-it still produced results in the fact that the main objective was met, which was being at work, sometimes in our lives we feel as though a plan has failed when God is actually creating a detour for your plan due to your unseen dangers and harm! And God’s knowledge of it, so next time you feel as though your plan failed thank God for making a plan out of your plan.

A Beautiful God

I'm privileged to be a child of God, I'm humbled to be used of God and I'm delighted to defend that which is of God, I'm reminded through my life that God is a beautiful God, He has taught me how to be and feel beautiful, He has restored me from thine inequities and delivered me from my internal ugliness, His reached in my heart and touched it for Spiritual sensitivity and His touched my mind to be alert and wise for His kingdom sake, His whispered in my ears affirmations of great promises to come, I feel beautiful from the inside out because God is beautiful and He has shown me of my inner beauty!

Rich In Spirit

I woke up with a dollar between me and poverty and payday was nowhere in the vicinity-but! Was reminded I'm rich in Spirit, though going through life's tests that are unfamiliar to me I was still grateful that I am rich in Spirit, in my highest point of life I feel rich in Spirit and in my lowest point in life I feel rich in Spirit, if you ask me I'd rather be rich in Spirit and broke in pocket than to be rich in pocket and broke in Spirit for my Spirit keeps me grounded in faith and my Spirit serves as a reminder of Gods promises that will be fulfilled in my life, in Spirit I'm hopeful, in Spirit I'm grateful, in Spirit I am at peace, in Spirit i am content, in Spirit I am happy, in Spirit I am alive! and in Spirit I understand that each has a season and mine will be here sooner than later through Christ who grants me strength, once you learn to be rich in Spirit you will prosper when rich in pocket!