Reflection: Day 18- I Know You're Hurting...

Good Day All!!

First, I'd like to start off with my exciting news. I felt my baby's first kick on day 6, 10/4/15!!! It's so amazing to feel this little life growing inside my womb!!! What a wonderful thing to be able to experience! At this very moment, I speak to any woman reading this post who has been having trouble conceiving their own child. I want to decree and declare that your womb is healed and open to receive, grow, and incubate the beautiful life of a precious child, in Jesus name! I am believing with you. Do you believe?

I've been meaning to post that for days but the business of life got in the way. Now that I've shared my news, I'd like to share something that has been on my mind.

Daily, I deal with the affairs of other people, people I don't know personally but I hear of their personal life issues and a lot of the times, private family matters. This is all due to my profession. This week, my mind has been pondering one specific thing I hear quite often in regards to relationships.

Break ups are never easy, even when they may be mutual. Someone is always more hurt than the other person. And when the break up is result of the other person cheating, its never good. This is actually the kind of break up I want to hone in on. Well, more so the actions the hurt person takes after that kind of break up.

My question is this, why is it that the hurt person feels they have to retaliate or make the other person's life hard. I know what the cheating person did was wrong and I'm sure it hurt the other person to the core. I know from experience but what gives the hurt person the right to be vindictive and destructive afterwards.

What difference will your actions make? Will it turn back the hands of time and make the cheater refrain from cheating? In reality, you don't want to be with a person you cannot trust so why go through all of the trouble of crying, trying to fight the "other woman/man", or just trying to destroy the cheating person themselves?

I remember one guy ask me when I was still in my late teenage years and early 20s, "do you think your actions are going to make me want you back?" Being young and dumb at that time, that question really made me think. Why am I getting all worked up when clearly the choice has been made?

What's the point of being the "crazy ex" when your actions are actually working against you? You don't really want that person back, you just don't want them to be happy because you are not happy, you're hurting. What you are really doing is hurting yourself even more.

You are hurting your reputation, your character, the way people see you, what people think of you, etc. Of course you don't care what people think but guess what, when you finally wise up and are really ready for the real Man or Woman God has for you, guess who will be giving him/her their thoughts of you... People. The same people that witnessed all of the drama you caused, all of the games you played, and all of the evil actions you displayed. Then you wonder why you cannot find the one.

Listen to me, if you hear nothing else from this post today, hear this: Romans 12:19-21 reads, Do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. Therefore, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

In other words, as hard as it may be, continue to treat the person that hurt you with kindness, loving them as yourself, and they will reap what they have sown. That doesn't mean you have to be walked all over by them or continue to let them do you wrong, just don't try to take matters into your own hands because it won't end well for you. Let God handle it for you.

Psalm 37:9 reads, For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place but it shall be no more. But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

The word meek means: humble, patient or docile, tame, gentle, and kind. You must be peaceful to have peace. Giving it totally and completely to God. Not giving it to social media, all of your friends, then God. God is the first, the last, and the only.

It may seem a lot easier said than done, I know,  but it's the only way that truly works. I am a witness! So to all my hurting sisters and brothers who just want the other person to hurt as bad as you are, give it to God. Give him your hurt, your anger, your aggression. Tell Him how you feel, what you would like Him to do for you (no matter how cynical it may sound), and let God bring justice. He will. He is a God who cannot lie. Remind Him of his word.

Everything is going to be okay. It will not always be the way that it may be now. Greater days are coming. Your joy will be restored and your heart will be healed. You just have to stay out of the way and let God handle it all. GREATER IS COMING. Don't lose sight!

Reflection: Day 1- Putting It All Into Perspective

Hello all!

On my second day of being 30, I am reflecting on how grateful I am for the friends I have in my life. Lately, God has been allowing me to put so many things in my life into perspective. So many times, we can focus on everything that has been going wrong and fail to recognize and thank God for the things that are going right. We allow one negative thing to outweigh the 20 positive things that have previously occurred. 

At this time in my life, I am trying to focus more on the blessings of my life rather than the things that seem to occur out of my control or may not give me the best feelings. My good days totally outweigh my bad days. I am sure that is the testimony of many of us. 

Why is that we magnify the negative things in our life and seem to forget about anything good going on? Is it easier for our brains to identify bad feelings over good feeling?

As I think about everything going on in my life, I have decided to live in the moment. I am living in the moment of feeling my little bundle of joy moving around inside of my belly. With this being my very first pregnancy, it is so amazing to feel this little life growing inside of me. I am very grateful that God has given me this opportunity to experience such an incredible miracle! I am even more grateful to God for a husband who loves Him first and loves me just as Christ love the church. A man who is excited about being involved in every aspect of the growth of our child and family over all.

My challenge to all of my readers as well as myself it to cast down all negative thoughts by transforming them into what positive things are going on in our lives. We have asked and believed God for GREATER, now that we have received and continue receiving it, lets praise and thank God for it. No matter what it may look like, recall the GREATER and prophesy to the negative by continuing to confess and show gratitude for your GREATER!

GREATER is coming and GREATER is here...Don't lose sight. Put it all into perspective!!

Reflection: The Intro

So, I turned 30 yesterday. I am officially out of my 20s. I am grown for real now. 30 seems so adult and sophisticated. It has been quite the journey. I have experienced quite a bit in the last couple of years. From a heartbreaking, embarrassing breakup to now married to a man who makes me feel like the only girl in the world and also a soon to be mom! So much has changed and is changing! And it seems to all be happening so fast!

I would have never thought I'd be where I am now. Two years ago, I had completely different plans. My life was mapped out in my head but God had different plans. His plans and thoughts are always higher than mine. I don't always understand them but I do know that He will always cause me to prosper,

As I reflect, I realize that with the many changes going on around me, there are also many changes going on within me, both physically and spiritually. I am learning so much about myself, my hearts desires, my treasures, my fears, and so much more.

I would like to share with you my 30th year of life. All of my experiences for the next year as I transform from newlywed Mrs to Mrs. Mommy. As I learn to be a wife and a mother, I'd like to share my process in hopes of helping myself and someone else along the way. If you're willing to read, I am willing to share. I am, as I always have been, transparent and willing to share my testimony in order to assist someone else in whatever they may be going through. I am living testimony that God hears our prayers, heals our broken hearts, and blesses beyond expectation. Let's grow and rejoice together.

I look forward to what the following year holds! Stay tuned!

Keya

Don't Be Selfish

Good morning my lovely readers,

I felt like sharing this morning, I would say on a more personal level but I am always personal so, I just want to talk to you this morning. Plus, my husband continues to remind me that it has been a while since I wrote consistently in my blog and he is always encouraging me to post.

My life, as I have told you, has made a drastic turn around. I have kept my eyes on the Lord and my trust in Him this entire process, and I have hoped to share my journey with you to allow you to witness the process and understand that you are not alone. My hope is that I have encouraged you in whatever situation you may have encountered or may be encountering to keep pressing through because it cannot stay the same if you don't allow it to. Your greater is on the other side. Don't give up!

This post is more of an enlightening revelation I have had of myself this past week. As you know, my husband and I have begun to recognize the bigger picture in all of our circumstances and situations. We have both been through some devastating situations that could have torn our hearts to pieces and caused us to harden them towards whomever else attempted to get near it. God would not allow that to happen and I am so grateful He kept my husband and I. Had He not, we would not be where we are today!

As I think about the bigger picture, I realized this week, I have only been applying it to myself and my husband and maybe some other people I love and I am close to. For a moment this week, when I received some unexpected news of my past, I completely disregarded the bigger picture and almost went into my own selfish emotions. I almost began thinking of all of the possible things that could have been going on behind my back the entire time to make such a thing regarding my past come to be today. The enemies attack was almost instant and my trust for people who appeared to be close to me or a friend of mine was about to go completely out of the door. Now I know, I cannot be naive to trust everyone I encounter but the enemies attempt at hardening my heart had arisen again. I instantly turned to God and asked Him what he would have me to do.

As I sat and thought, I realized, the bigger picture doesn't only apply to me and my loved ones but also to those who hurt me, betrayed me, and have been used by the enemy to attack me. Although their actions may not have been the best representation of Christ or any representation to that matter, God still loves them. If they have repented for their sin and truly has turned away from it, God has forgiven them and no longer has an account of what they did. They are also still privy to the  blessings of God and His plan still continues to work out in their lives just as much as it does mine.

So often, as human beings, we can be selfish when it comes to blessings and overcoming things that tried to brings us down. Especially towards the person or thing that caused us hurt. We sometimes only focus on the blessing of God for ourselves and don't really expect, or even to be honest, want the person who hurt us to receive a blessing. That's not Christlike. Jesus Christ Himself, when the people of this world had him hung on the cross and mocked him, asked God to forgive them and to have mercy on them. He did not ask for their demise. He could have been selfish and asked God to destroy them all as vindication but he didn't.

We are called to be like Christ. We must forgive just as he forgave and we must pray blessings over those who hurt us. After receiving an unexpected "update" on my past, I really had to sit and think and I realized God had a master plan for everyone that was involved in the situation I encountered, from start to finish. We don't always understand it but it's not our job to. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways are higher than our ways. God has blessed me so much in this process; spiritually, emotionally, and naturally, I cannot help but to have grown past allowing my own fleshy emotions to take over. I am happy and excited for whatever plans God may have for all of those in my life; past, present and future!

So the next time you hear some good news or get an unexpected update that you may never have imagined regarding your past, don't be selfish. Rejoice with those who rejoice. God is working in their life just as much as He is in your,s if they have gotten their hearts right with Him. He is no respecter of persons. Just because you were the one who was hurt doesn't mean that you are going to be the only one being blessed for your suffering. Once you forgive, let go. Let God work in you and praise God for working in them also. It may be easier said than done but your life will experience much more peace and joy if you do and you will be putting the enemy back into his place, which is the pit of hell!

I thank God for my past, present, and future. I thank God for the bigger picture and master plan that is created for everyone's lives. I thank God for allowing each child that belongs to Him to reach their destiny no matter what obstacles may try to get in the way. There is ALWAYS a BIGGER PICTURE and it includes everyone. Keep your head up, keep the faith, and thank God for keeping you!

Until next time..

All my love!

Hello Again: Allow Me To Re-Introduce Myself

Good day to all of my lovely readers!

It has been quite a while since I was last with you and my has so much changed! You may have noticed (or you may not) that my last name changed! Yes! I married my GREATER!! Quite the update, right? God is so faithful. All we have to do is trust His plan! Even when it is hard to see how everything will work out, keeping the faith and keeping your eyes on Him will always pay off for the very best!

Two years ago, I was in a place of despair and devastation. Today, God has shown me so much about why I had to go through what I went through. Like I've said a number of times before, we don't go through the things we go through for ourselves. There is always someone else who needs our guidance.

God is so intentional in the way He does things. To give you a little back story, I met my husband four years ago. I was dating the man who cheated on my and tore my heart to pieces. I was so in love with that guy (or at least I thought I was) that it would have never crossed my mind to have an interest in my now husband. He was also attached at the time and little did we both know, we'd both experience a heart break we'd never expect and be reunited years later to get to know one another on a completely different level than where we were when we first met. Long story short, four years later, after much prayer and some life changes, we are now connected as one and moving forward in our marriage with God at the center!

I gave that little snippet of our story to show that God always has a bigger picture that we cannot always see until we take a step back from it all and allow Him to work out his master plan! This is a shorter post today but I just want you to take the time, not to become so consumed with how much it hurts, how bad you want it to be over, how you cannot believe this has happened to you; and begin to get excited about the bigger picture God will reveal to you. Expect that which is good! Fight the thoughts of negativity and things that are not true. Philippians 4:8 is a good scripture to meditate on when the thoughts of "what's wrong with me" or "why me" begin to creep in. You are chosen for a reason and it's not a punishment! The hardest fall sets you up for the highest bounce back!

Get ready to bounce back but while you have the chance to experience the set back, pay closer attention to what is happening, how it is happening, and once you complete the process and move forward you will see the BIGGER picture! Your GREATER is coming and once it gets to you, take the time to recognize how it all worked together! Stay encouraged, keep moving forward, and get ready to see #TheBiggerPicture!

Back To The Basics of your Relationship

Greetings from way up in the sky!

I write this to you as I am mid-air, on the way back to Michigan from Nashville, TN. I spent a little over week there with my significant other as we prepare for his relocation to Michigan very soon! God has been in the blessing business lately. He has brought this wonderful man in my life who is everything I have always thought a man who says he loves me should be. I truly feel loved just as Christ loves the church. I am eternally grateful to God for bringing the real thing into my life after I was previously deceived by a counterfeit. God is continually opening doors and placing us in the right paths at the right time.

Although I am very grateful, I also want to remember where I was before, in orfer to stay. Often times we can get so caught up in the infatuation of new blessings, we tend to take our eyes off of the blesser. It's easy to get caught up in a person, place, or thing, and lose sight of the MASTER and His plan.

As I reflect on the many ways God has blessed me over the last two years, I want to remain in a place of neediness and humility. I NEED God every step of the way. Into this new chapter of my life, in my relationship, at my job, with my family, and with my friends. I don't want to become satisfied with the blessing and not continuing forth to bear more fruit with my life.

Sometimes, it's good for us to take some time out. Let God know how grateful we are of the many blessings we don't deserve. I know I don't deserve any! I fail time and time again into sin and fleshly struggles, but I'm grateful for a God who gives grace in abundance! No, I don't use it or abuse it. I'm convicted constantly of my actions that may not please God. I'm just grateful that doesn't see me like I see me. He only sees the best in me!

Taking time to be more intimate with God is a great thing to do. I mean deliberate time. Turn off the tv for a few days or maybe even the entire month! Take a break from social media, which is mostly wordly gossip anyway, and give the time you'd be spending on Facebook, Instagram, Vine, etc. and spend that time in the word or on worship or prayer. Talk to God. So often He stops hearing from us once we got what we want and the times He does hear from us is when we need to repent for a failure. God deserves more than that! He deserves to be more that a repair man or "Santa Claus" to us.  He is way too good of a God to be treated so horribly.

So, my challenge to you and to me, is to take time to get back to the basics of your relationship with God. Remember who He has been to you. Magnify Him for His greatness. Get in that place like when your heart was broken, cry out to your Daddy, feel His presence and let Him know you love Him so much and you're lost without Him. Now is the time! Your greater is here. God already had it laid out for you. Get in the place with Him to take hold of it.

Back to the basics. See you at the throne!