The Ambiguity of Life's Season

Memory Bengesa speaks to us about navigating life’s peaks and valleys.

I woke up bright and early as I’ve trained my body, after my morning spiritual regiment. I headed out the door, gym bag in one hand and keys in the other hand. As I locked the door and walked towards my car I couldn’t help but notice the chill that was in the air. Usually I would glance through my weather phone application just to make sure I am dressed accordingly to the circumstances and demand of the unpredictability of the weather, but! This one particular day I did not check the weather update as I felt that we were now well off in the midst of the warm arms of spring. When I approached my vehicle I told myself; “It’s not that cold.” As I uttered those words I was taken aback by the cold mist coming out of my mouth. My self-affirmation to keeping my mental state deceived at the current situation was quickly robbed by the few breaths of cold air. Once I opened my car door I threw my bag in the back seat and started my car. I then opened my car trunk and grabbed a readily available sweater, wore it and went back into the driver’s seat and waited for a mere two minutes while rubbing my hands together, in a quandary of the season. I know we crossed over the threshold of winter and the last time I checked this is spring, so I thought. I mean how can you fault me after all we have been basking in the warmth of 75-85 degree weather? I wasn’t thoroughly surprised at the change of weather but more-so the ambiguity of drastic changes from minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day and month to month.

The sudden weather change reminded me of the ambiguity of life’s seasons. You see, we are governed by the calendar and in some places by the seasons. Where I live we “supposedly” have all four seasons; Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall; and because this is what we have it doesn’t mean that the weather stays consistent within the seasons. The season comes upon us but the weather can have its own mind – one that will not necessarily align with the season.  So what does one do in such a predicament? (I am glad you asked) Over the years in my car trunk I keep an umbrella, snow boots, a tank top, a sweater and flip flops. After learning the hard way I decided to be as prepared as I could possibly be.

My Beloved sister, life demands a fair amount of balance and a less amount of self-expectations (you read right). Most times we overly expect out of life what life doesn’t expect out of us (have I lost you-yet?) Here is the thing. As a Christian woman, your life is governed by your relationship with God. So many times in life I used to get caught off guard by the uncertainty of life’s season due to my own failure of maintaining a spiritual balance first. I wanted my expectations of my personal goals and plans to be fulfilled the way I planned, and yet when that moment came about and I was nowhere close to the fulfillment of the deadline then I would either find myself overwhelmed and/or disappointed (for a lack of a better word).  Sure I prayed, I talked to God about my plans and goals but what I didn’t do was respect the fact that God was in absolute control. Sometimes you can feel as though you were off to a good start on that ministerial project when all of a sudden life’s forecast throws you a curve ball. Or perhaps you were two steps away from closing on that ultimate deal when life’s forecast slows or pauses the deal from happening. Perhaps you are one semester away from obtaining that much needed degree and of a sudden you can’t come up with enough tuition to pay for that last stroll of college. Perhaps your business idea is great and loved by many but the banks can’t give you the financing you need.  Perhaps you married the man that was brought into your life by God and now life’s forecast is testing your union. No matter what self-expectations you have, understand that all you can do for the ambiguity of life’s’ season is to always stay as prepared as you can possibly be, and in the midst of a holt, drag or overwhelming situation in the season, make sure you completely turn all your focus to God.

It used to be a time where I didn’t understand. I thought I was doing what God wanted me to do but it was then I realized that even though I am doing what He wants me to do I have to take time and continually focus in Him and on Him, because as life is we can tend to be self-absorbed that God can be easily forgotten in the midst even of fulfilling ministry (ministry being anything and everything to do with God). So in the time of unpredictable life happenings make sure you zoom in and focus on God. It’s been so many times now that no matter what I am doing, deadlines or not, if I get stuck, I literally stop and earnestly seek God. I exercise a fast and prayer regiment and whatever it is I continue after I’ve sought God. It creates less frustration and makes for more understanding and comfort. I know if you are like most you’re thinking; “I pray every day but I am stuck.” That is fine too but understand that God is always desiring a greater closeness than we tend to give Him.

 “The ambiguity of life’s season ought to draw you closer to God than ever before.”

Memory Bengesa, Author

www.authorforgod.com

Memory is a Zimbabwean-born Author of “Born Again Afresh: How Struggling Christians can get back on track,” a Christian Inspirational book that provides a fresh outlook on how everyone can reactivate their connection with their Creator regardless of where they are in the spiritual life. “Born Again Afresh” can be purchased in E-books, Barnes and Noble.com and on line at over 25,000 book retailers by Googling the name of the book and or ordering you copy from authorhouse.com
Article Published by http://quintessential-f.com/godly-advice-and-testimonies-of-faith/the-ambiguity-of-lifes-seasons-by-memory-bengesa/

To Know That.....

"To know that I have lived this earth and not helped anyone will be uncomfortable for my mind to comprehend and for my stomach to digest, I can’t sit here and hope that relief reaches all of humanity without my ten fingers and ten toes ever aiding, my heart is heavy my mind is deeply-deeply troubled by poverty, I am no better nor less than those without, we are both humanly the same and yet I just happen to have some resources that have succored to my lifestyle but like some I may be just a paycheck away from struggling, if it means that I will spend the rest of my life helping someone cross over from the threshold of no sources in poverty to resources from poverty then consider my purpose through Christ complete."

Amai Africa (Amai means Momma)

How long are you going to go on like this Amai Africa? They stomped and pillaged your land only to take some of your children to foreign lands to hold them hand for foot and use their labor for free, Amai Africa! Not only after you lost some of your children without apology they came and set up poles made of cloths that signified loyalty and dignity only to the one that held these poles and the oceans in which they sprung from to where they were from and yet showed you dishonesty after the bud of the pole dug deep into your soul, Amai Africa! They shook your chief’s hands and confused your children once more to gain all you have, they settled in your house Amai Africa in which you tried to aid hospitality only to find out that your hospitality is not all they wanted, Amai Africa! Once they set foot in your home they used all you have to offer for your children and never once shared with your children, Amai Africa! When your grown children became of age and understood the injustice that happened to their mother (you Amai Africa) they rose up with might and fought for what belonged to them and what was rightfully given to them from birth by you Amai Africa, some fought long and hard and some fought short and hard-with no judgment your children rose up Amai Africa! They rose up for  freedom and liberation, I know that was your proudest moment as a mother but that moment was short lived, as soon as the gun powder dried and most of the strangers headed for the oceans back to where they belong your children became repulsed so much so that they forgot what they had initially fought for , Amai! I know your heart is heavy and it’s filled with sorrow, you raised us to walk in integrity, love, equality and now the same children you nurtured for generations have replaced what you instilled in them for the love and corruption of money, the same culprit that invited unwanted guests to your home in the first place, Amai Africa! You are burdened by the greed, burdened by the sorrow, burdened by poverty caused by mans greed, burdened by the selfish ways that you stand against, Amai!  Through it all you have not forsook your children even though some of your greedy children have left you with almost nothing to give some of your impoverished children, some have left you in hurt, anguish and despair, Amai Africa! You are getting older by the year, some of your children have left because they too like you have been hurt and or angered by the greed of their brothers and sisters, the only way you can restore your home Amai Africa is if you bring back your children from hiding, bring back your children from diaspora, bring back the hopeless children and teach them before it’s too late that Africa will be strong and united without greed and corruption, Amai Africa, raise up a generation that is ready to take care of you in your golden years,  one that is willing to face greed in the face and ban it for good, one that is ready to fulfill your vision, a generation that will stand,  protect, empower, unite and embrace your legacy Amai Africa! 

P.S. Loved but never forgotten 

The Spirit of "Whelm"

Quintessential F Contributor and Author for GOD, Memory Bengesa shares with us some awesome wisdom on how to overcome the feeling of being overwhelmed. Memory writes…

From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety.

Psalm 61:2

So! If you are as human as I am, I am pretty sure you will be able to relate to this article. Lately I have been noticing an increase in demand of the spirit of “whelm”. You see I want to call it as it is because I feel if I add the “over” before the “whelm” then I feel as though I am calling upon a defeat (that’s just the way I think – as I smile). So as I was saying; lately this spirit has been trying to tip me over permanently. Not too long ago I felt as though every deadline that could be possibly due was due. On this particular weekend I was invited to two baby showers, one on Saturday the day I was working and one on Sunday. Oh! Yeah there was also a birthday party on this same weekend, two college graduation celebrations, um…let me see what else-oh!  Work -yes work as well, not to mention I had laundry to do, grocery shopping to do, write a chapter and oh! I had a mandatory continuing education testing that was due that weekend so in a nutshell I was working with a half a Saturday and a whole Sunday only because that first half of the Saturday was already taken up by work. As the weekend drew closer and I knew what I needed to do I started to feel the spirit of “whelm” creep upon me. On late Friday afternoon when I started to ponder on how I was going to fulfill all that was ahead of me (oh! Wait a minute! I forgot to mention my common cold and cough that had harassed me all week long and robbed me of a full night’s sleep! So not only was the week long but I was exhausted!) Whew! Ok so late Friday afternoon I was in deep thought. The more I thought of my weekend the more my heart palpated faster and faster. Lately in my life when I recognize the spirit of “whelm” what I generally tend to do is stop immediately in that thought, back off and literally drop, stop doing whatever I was doing and pray. Then I back off whatever it was that was creating “whelm” but this particular weekend was tough. It wasn’t as though it was something I could stop and drop and walk away from. There were events that I was invited to and obligations for work that needed to be fulfilled. My issue with myself in the past is that I am the type of person that when I start something I have to finish it, no matter what time it is. That can be a “blessing and a curse” because simply stopping whatever I was doing to wean off the spirit of “whelm” would have felt as though I was wasting time.

Dear Beloved! I learned the hard way and now I am here to help you as well. I really had to talk it into my mind to make it happen. I had to let myself know that I am not super-woman. I am human and I am not exempt from the spirit of “whelm” just because I am with “Team Jesus.” Whelm is an inevitable feeling that all human beings will experience no matter how old you are or how much wisdom you have. It is how you deal with this spirit when it comes upon you. So what did I do on my super-jam-packed weekend of whelm? Oh-honey I am glad you asked! I took my test for my continued education and that was it! Nothing else! You have to be realistic and brutally honest with yourself in order to overcome feeling the spirit of “whelm.” You have to list in your mind or on paper what comes first and what can wait.  Pray to God for guided wisdom because sometimes some decisions are not that easy to make. Sure, I did not go to the two baby showers, birthday party and graduation celebrations but I will see these individuals and I will give them their gifts.

I leave you with these few points when in the spirit of “whelm.” Stop what you are doing immediately and pray. Step away from the situation that is suffocating you with whelm and go for a walk, jog, read the Bible, call a friend, just make sure you walk away from that situation for some air. Like a lioness on a meticulous hunt be sure to carefully pick what you can and can’t do in the moment. Be realistic. Making people happy and making yourself suffer is not being realistic. You might have to send an email to push the deadline or a text to notify someone you won’t be attending. You might have to make a call to postpone but that is ok! That doesn't make you are a bad person or a failure. It just shows that you are as human as the next person is! Just remember you have to be realistic and honest with yourself in order for you not to bury yourself alive in whelm.

Christ’s Love,

First Published at:http://quintessential-f.com/godly-advice-and-testimonies-of-faith/the-spirit-of-whelm/

And they said!

And they said. “ You are going to do what?”

And they said. “You can never do that!”

And they said. “You will never go where?”

And they said. “It will never happen?”

And they said. “This is not for you?”

And they said. “It will be challenging!”

And they said. “It could never be done!”

And they said. “It’s highly unlikely!”

And they said. “Not you!”

And they said. “Not now not ever!”

And they said what they said and what did you say?

But (I AM )you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
        1 Peter 2:9

By Memory B

The Cross

The Cross

The slaying of sins,

The eradication of guilt,

The departure of shame,

The shedding of the blood,

The redemption of mankind,
The uplifting of burden,

The symbol of hope,

The pillar of faith,

The example of love,

The greatest forgiveness,

The cross, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit

By Memory B

"He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24 

Will You Dance With Me?

I don't consider myself a poet but this has been on my heart and mind for the last 3 weeks.

Will you dance with me when the skies are gray?

Will you dance with me when the sun is bright?

Will you dance with me when the trees are barren and the flowers are flowerless?

Will you dance with me underneath the stormy skies, on s starry night with half a moon?

Will you dance with me at your darkest times?

Will you dance with me at your brightest times?

Will you dance with me though befallen?

Will you dance with me in the coldest of days?

Will you dance with me in the hottest of days?

Will you dance with me through your ailment?

Will you dance with me when you’re feeling hopeless?

Will you dance with me when you are weak?

Will you tango with me above your bed of problems?

Will you salsa with me in the deepest valley?

Will you two-step with me in the most painful moment?

Will you swing with me atop the tragedy?

Will you dance with me?

Can you dance with me?

I want to dance with you if you will dance with me, because; “I am the Lord God and I do not change.”

By Memory B

Unleash your Limits

C’mon! What are you waiting for? Seriously! Release the leash of limitations, don’t wait for anyone to empower you-empower yourself, make less money but have more joy, let your passion work for you, take more trips and learn to live again, life is intended to be enjoyed while on path, who cares about what people think-care about what God thinks,   don’t crowd yourself with meaningless limits,  break every barrier and object that looks, smells and or mimics a limit, it’s your bar so set it as high as you want it to go, if God wanted us to be limited thinkers then He would have made us as computers, define your odds, redefine your goals, set your best foot in motion and don’t turn back, and sure! Someone will buy that, you are gifted, and those hands are made of gold and are made for gold, you are royalty, your dreams are possible!!!!

Rediscovery

First and foremost I want to thank those that have and continue to intercede for me, thank you for standing in the gap for me, God is always faithful and there is no greater feeling than feeling well after an illness, so for those of you that don’t know, 5 years ago I was diagnosed with cluster headaches, it’s the most severe type of headache that anyone can have, no! It’s not a migraine or a “headache” that is treated by over the counter pills, it’s a literal Head (dot-dot-dot-dot) Ache in which one side of the face swells, and the eyes, nose and nervous system is affected, I want to be sure I separate the two clearly because I marvel at folks that look at me starry eyes when they hear I was in the E.R. or I have been out from work or normal functions’ due to my attacks because like most people when others described headaches I would naturally assume it’s something easy to take care of  (now that I am done with the cluster headache 101), so anyways my attacks are episodic, meaning they come anywhere from one, two and or three years apart, which is good and bad, good that I am not a chronic sufferer bad that when they hit-they hit hard, this year they came early, I of course am never expecting them because like anything else I’d rather believe I am healed, when my attacks have occurred in the past they have tortured me in the middle of the night, but this time around the pattern was very different, it was at night, in the morning and during the day (so horrible) by the way these are also known as suicide head-aches because some have committed suicide due to the intolerable pain because in the moment of the intensity you feel like all you want to do is just rip open the side of the throbbing pain and fix it ( I am not justifying suicide, it’s never an option I am stating the thought pattern in the moment of pain through my experience) anyways as a an episodic sufferer the monster visits with me for about 2-4 weeks, anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours then disappears, the physician prescribes a lot of pain pills and pure oxygen but these are really only useful if you catch the attack before it happens, the attacks come fast and by the time you pop a prescription pain pill you are already in a full blown attack which then can only be alleviated by breathing in 100% oxygen, which is not taking away the pain but toning it down just a notch, after an attack, I am drained, weak, tired and I feel like a zombie, all I can do is sleep, by the time I look up the day is gone and "I" of all people have not done anything, I've never asked God why this was happening to me, I just find it interesting that from nowhere life can stop you in your tracks and say otherwise, don’t get me wrong now, I am a very strong person, before this mess, I had never called off work, I have been working ever since I was 16 years old and I had never-ever-called off work, I had never been a sickly person, I had never been in the E.R…..I had never had any types of physical ailment till my diagnoses 5 years ago, I think what would get me frustrated more so than anything was  accepting that even strong people can get hit at the knees sometimes and cause them to fall temporarily, I mean-just being limited was bothering me, oh! Sure I leaned on God more than I had ever leaned on Him, every little bit of energy I had I was in my word (the Bible) which helped me embrace my time, yes! Embrace my time with God, I realize that in my physical realm I felt as though I was doing nothing, days where just passing right before my very own eyes and yet in my spiritual life I was growing in knowledge, I wanted to know more about illness and the body and I wanted to read all the verses on healing as I could, it wasn't until I started to accept that this was a moment for me to sit still and hear from God than to think of all the things that I had to do in my physical able body.

My Beloved, I write my heart out to you for you not to pity me but for you to gain strength, hope and courage in your walk, I describe my ailment in details so maybe you can relate, like you, I was enjoying the start of the year, great dreams, ambitions, goals and just started my 3^rd Christian Fiction Novel when-Boom! “life happened” you-see….there was no sickness in my forecast nor the time for pain and suffering, even though my spiritual goals where to grow and remain closer to God I hadn't planned on rediscovering my intimacy with Him till “this happened” and because of that,  which is the life we live and it means the good, bad and the ugly but in the mist of the unknown of life I want you to rediscover your intimacy with God, God doesn't mind us asking Him why in the time of “life happening” but before you ask Him why next time look around and figure out how you can rediscover your intimacy with Him (using that situation and or circumstance to strengthen your faith), I am so soften reminded about the little kid that tries to get their parents attention, the parent knows that the kid is trying to get their attention but the parent doesn't acknowledge the kid, sooner than later the kid usually does something dramatic, pull products down from a store shelf or throw a tantrum and so forth, point being they do that “dramatic” gesture to get the parents attention, and 99.9000% of the time it works, the parent stops dead in their tracks, places the grocery list down and figures out what it is the kid wants (something like that) so hear me out and clearly J I am not saying that God caused my sickness but I am saying that He used this situation as an attention-grabbing-moment, understand what ever circumstances you go through, whether or not if you understand them, let God use your circumstance to grow and strengthen your relationship with Him.

Strength-Ability

Psalm 28:7

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.

I sometimes wonder what really ignites my inner strength, sometimes there are some days I feel as though I just don’t have that one more push and or fight in me, sometimes there are days that I feel like life is sucking me bone dry but in those days I always know that giving up is not an option, (don’t worry saints I pray-prayer is my lively regiment) but in this note I just want to be transparent, I can tell you that some of the things that keep me going in life is believing in my heart that the more tougher it gets the more closer I am, for instance, my writing seasons are usually at an all-time peak between the months of January through July, for some reason these have always been my most productive months for the last 5 years,  this time around I am working on my 3^rd  fiction novel, it’s very deep, very dear and very emotional to me however I am excited very much about it, as I connect with my characters my debilitating head-aches came to visit me, now mind you they usually happen once every other year in the fall, this time it’s an early arrival, they are enough to become a show stopper in my moments work but I realized something this time, just because life wants to stop you dead in your tracks with its spontaneous inconveniences doesn't mean you have to stop for life to have its way, now I am to the point where I am just going to work around it, through it and past it to finish what I started because like all else, this too shall come to pass, sure it feels awkward trailing an oxygen tank around and constantly relying on it to alleviate my head aches but it could be worse, my condition is not chronic, it’s always temporary and I thank God that I am very much alive, I write this candidly to you so that you understand that, “life happens” and just because “life happens” doesn't mean YOU have to stop happening, there will always be a light at the end of the tunnel the question is, “how long is your tunnel?” ;-) now on another note bad life moments make for future memory giggles. Be Blessed! XOXOXO

“Strength is the ability to dig deep down inside to the core of your body and  use all the resources from within to survive one more try, one more hope, one more prayer and one more faith to keep living.”  -Memory Bengesa

Naked Truth

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8

Naked Truth 

I spent a whole year last year waking up and trying to be consistent in the gym, mind you I have been a gym member for about 8 years now but a non-participating member at times (don’t judge me) however last year I told myself that I wanted to go the whole year, a whole year’s worth of attendance commitment because unlike before I’d get on my momentum-spike right around January and hit my burn out  right before fall started and drop out, slowly but surely, so to cut a long story short I went somewhat hardcore in the gym last year (at least I thought) did what I had to and when the year was over I didn't feel as though I had produced the results I was looking for after my commitment level goal, so feeling really unmotivated this year I sat down to think of what really happened,  mind you I knew I had to go the whole way with the “naked truth” of the matter, for instance I realized that even though I stuck out in my commitment of my gym attendance without any interruptions for a year out of 8 years I did not do much for my eating habits (ding-ding-ding…. so just because I have to tell myself the truth doesn't mean it’s  always an easy pill to swallow),  my personal truth at its core kind-of- hurt me, I mean-really! It-did, because if I wanted to sugar-coat my eating habits I would justify them by saying that; “I was eating healthy” but the truth would be to my standards of “eating healthy” not to a nutritionist standards, my own deception of eating healthy is-knowing that I did not eat out from fast-food establishments and the fact that I cooked more at home, but! When the rubber meets the road (which it eventually does) my cooking at home and my daily eating was not precise with healthy habits, my candy fixation (chocolate-which I think I’ve been delivered from) were also not quote-and-quote healthy eating habits, I was struggling at letting go of my favorite no-so-good-to-my-health-foods such as, ice cream, chips, cake and chocolate, I’d rather work hard in the gym than surrender my relationship with unhealthy snacks….. so any ways-my “naked truth” for that year’s not so progressive gym results was the “naked truth” of my eating habits, I had to curve some habits, learn some new ones and revisit some to come to terms with my new year’s gym momentum in order to gain real results. You see brothers and sisters, even though this might be a mere example, I have come a long way, like some I used to struggle deeply with admitting to the “naked truth” as it stood in my life, I justified the truth to make myself feel good, normal and somewhat functional in my human capabilities when the “naked truth” begged to differ in my life, I want to advise you-today to seek God all mighty in boldness to help you with your own “naked truth,” even though addictions can be classified as bondage and or strongholds but the first part to healing, spiritually and professionally is admitting the “naked truth” to your addiction, you might have been married 8 times and divorced 8 times and still continue to look for a mate because your deception of your truth to relationships might have been justified all throughout the 8 marriages, so-much-so that you truly believe it’s the other peoples fault for your broken marriages, well today I say to you my love! With love, embrace the “naked truth,” ask God to help you, I am not necessarily saying failure was your fault but sometimes when we reveal the “naked truth” about ourselves we inversely heal past wounds and diminish hindering deceptions, you see, I used to be like some, when I was 250 pounds I used to say that “I am big-boned,” or even when I was struggling financially I used to say that, “I have too many bills to pay-that is why I am always broke” there were times that even my own relationships with friends failed that I actually blamed them instead of looking at myself and facing my “naked truth,” it is true to context that the truth-hurts, trust me I know! No one wants to be labeled as a bad parent, neglectful parent, neglectful friend, selfish spouse, abusive spouse, addicted person, poor, failing, criminal, bad, and-so-forth, no one wants any negative captions associated with them-especially Christians “sometimes” (not all-just-some! So calm down) I don’t understand why some Christians put so much pressure to be close to perfect than to embrace the flaws that we have so that God can fix and or strengthen them for His glory and testimony-sake! Some Christians think if they face their “naked truth” they have failed their spirituality when in terms they are strengthening the growth of their spirituality….if people could worry about their own “naked truth” and facing it to fix it then some people would not be so worried about the flaws of the fellow Christian brother and or sister, understand this my friend! You have to be concerned about your “naked truth” not what others will think, may think and or even say…. I think of times where up to now I have lost some friends only because I faced the “naked truth” that allowed for me to be truthful with myself then them…….a while back-recently I was invited to a dear friends birthday bash, it was great for them but not for me-you see if you knew me before salvation then after salvation you’d understand that there are some places up to now in my saved mind I cannot step a foot in and because of that I did not attend the birthday party, did I want to go and support them? Yes! But did I want to be in that environment? No! So I could not even for a second allow the enemy to play mind games with me and persuade me in going-and have me believing I've been saved so “I’m tough” nooooo-buddy! I turned down the invitation which might have upset and or disappointed them but my life is at stake here…I know the “naked truth” of the demons I once wrestled with and wouldn’t pay a dime to act as though I’m Jesus and nothing can harm me or bring me down, “let me tell you something-Honey! This new, improved and saved Memory had to come to some ‘naked truth’ to stay in line and in focus with my relationship with God”….. (Sigh… Ok! Let me get off my soap box and get back to the topic) As I was saying… once you learn to accept your own “naked truth” you will be able to be truthful with those around you, truthful with yourself and you will be able to live a truthful life, you will be able to embrace any personal change that needs to be done and or constructive criticism given to you, embracing your own “naked truth” is truly liberating! Love you that much-stay blessed!

Memory B

Pieces of Me

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!