Don't Let Your Disaster Abort Your Destiny

"And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations." Isaiah 61:4

Maybe you, like me and so many others, have had great disasters in life.  Maybe you have had every setback that life can throw at a person, well don't give up!  God can take all of your disasters and turn them around for your good. We can say like Paul,"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

One thing that happened to me is that I did not know just how much God desires to take our mess and turn it into a powerful message that will bless others.  The more I started blessing others with my "mess"age, (a message for this age) the more God blesses me with a powerful deliverance. I was so glad when I read in His word the following "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." 1 John 3:2

This deliverance allowed me to go from homeless to homeowner, high school drop out to post graduate scholar and beyond.  It is amazing what God can do, if you let Him.

Instead of focusing on how bad you've had it, start telling God how thankful you are that He did not let you die in all of your mess.  Then begin to give God praise for, not what He is doing, but for who He is and watch your life do a 180 degree turn. If you are a believer of Jesus Christ and have received Him as your Lord and savior then you have every right to expect great things from God. Why not start praising God for what He has already done! Mark 11:24 reminds us that "if we believe we receive it then we have it!"

Now that you know that you are free (for whom the Lord sets free is free in deed) to be all that God has destined for you, go on and take every disaster and allow it to lead you to your destiny. If you are lost on how to do this, open the Word of God and allow Him to guide you according to John 16:13 "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come."  Pray to God that the Holy Ghost falls on you and you will have the power to take your disaster and turn it into your destiny. I say, the best is yet to come!

©6/5/2006 (revised 8/13/06)

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How To Turn A Marriange From Awful to Awesome

"Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands." Proverbs 14:1

I knew how to "get married", but I did not know how to "build a marriage".  That was my down fall in my marriage. Thank God for Jesus. God really showed me just how powerful He was when my marriage went from awful to awesome! I could not have been more surprised at anything in my entire life.  For so long I just did not believe that I would ever be truly happy in my marriage.  I had grown up believing that "happily ever after" was something that only happened in the fairy tales. 

I remember being a little girl and loving to watch "Cinderella" on TV.  I had this notion that real life would never produce a marriage like that, especially not for me.  Happy, loving relationships was just not my reality.  Marriage was something that "might" happen if you were fortunate.

I grew up during the 60's and 70's and all of the music, movies and soap operas that I listened to and watched, ended in some relationship tragedy.  I tried my hand at dating at the early age of 16. It was a disaster and every relationship after that, except one, was a disaster. By the time I met my husband at age 31 I just did not have any known tools, plans or skills for making my marriage a success.  As a matter of fact, I thought that if it turned out good it would be the result of "luck".  Well, I guess you know that the luck never showed up.  Eventually I had to turn to God, but not until I had made a real mess of things.

After helping to create a miserable relationship and marriage with my husband, Drew, for nine years, I finally gave up and walked out.  At the time it seemed like the right and only thing to do.  But God.  After being separated for one whole year, I was told to go back to my husband.  Thank God by husband agreed to me coming back. Today, I thank God that he said yes with his mouth, but no with his heart, because what happened after that helped usher me into this awesome ministry of standing firm on God's Word.  

After fighting for my position as his "special woman" you know ladies how we fight, manipulate and strive for that position, I finally let God have His way.  Thank God for that revelation.  God told me "be still and see the salvation of the Lord."  After that, God did a marvelous work in and through me and in and through my husband. Today we truly have "an awesome marriage."   I still cannot believe what God did.

If you want to see and experience God doing great things in your life, marriage, family, finances, business or any other area, then do as Moses said and did, "And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. Always knowing that, "The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." Exodus 14:13-14

What God did for me, I know He can do for you!  Just ask, trust and be still and see the salvation of the LORD in your Life!

©3/14/2004

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How To Go From GED to PHD: Without A Roadmap

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." Jame 1:5

Some say that you are never too old to learn or too old to go to school.  I am a true believer of this statement.  In fact, I went back to school at age 32 and have been in school from 1990 to the present.  When I think about my educational journey, all I can think is that God does have a sense of humor.

As a young girl throughout my youth, I "hated" school.  I never did work in school.  And the little I did was usually done poorly.  I would be the child that the government today would have given Redlin to, place in special ed. and labeled as "The Child that Needs to Be Left Behind."  I often tell people that I was left behind.  I made the choice to stop going to school.  What I did not know was that my destiny was tied to me getting my education and that is why God kept me here long enough to go back and finish what He started.  You have to know that “He who has begun a good work will complete it . . “

So, I dropped out and I dropped back in.  The second time around I had God, and therefore, I had all that I needed to become a success in school.   This is the message that I have for those who find doing school hard, tough or impossible. What is impossible for man is possible with God!

Me working on a PhD is truly the working of God. Only a God could take someone with my educational deprivations and make me stand all the way through an AA, BA, MBA and 2/3 of the way through a PhD.  I give God all glory, knowing "nothing is too hard for God."

If God could do this for me, then there is no telling what He can do in your life.  Give God a try.  He is still working miracles like this every day. One psalmist wrote, "O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him." Psalms 34:8

If you desire to see what God can do with your willingness to overcome your obstacles to going back to school, look your self straight in the eyes and say "it ain't over yet!"  Consider how much glory it brings God when we excel in everything that He created.  If God gave you a brain then you can excel at learning and education.  You may be stuck where I was, trying to do everything in my strength, which will never bring you sustainable success.  However, doing it under the strength of the Almighty God will bring your great success.

Here’s a challenge, try it, if you don’t like it or if you don’t have great success you can always go back to watching others do what you know God desires to do in your life.  We know this because He said in His word that He desires to give us the Kingdom. If He has given you the gift to learn then He expects you to maximize in that Gift.

Remember God knows your expected end, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Jeremiah 29:11

©2002

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How to Use Power from Your Misery To Create Your Ministry

"And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief."

Are you miserable?  Have you ever been miserable? Has someone or something ever made you miserable? Alright . . .  have you ever been sick, broke, down, rejected, looked over, left out, grief strickened, sinful, prideful, lustful, confused, depressed and/or oppressed or lost, just to name a few? Just imagine using all the power from these experiences to propell you to your ministry!

Misery can lead to your ministry and it can also be a result of being in ministry. I will try, in this short article, to demonstrate this statement. Some how, both misery from a life apart from God and the misery that we experience as we try to use the gifts and callings of God, to do the work that He calls us to, will bring about something excellent that God will use to bring glory to Him and not you. 

I believe that this misery, after being saved and called, is what keeps many believers hindered in the use of their gifts and spiritual calling.  I believe that some fear the "rejection" that comes with the anointing. But where there is no anointing there are yokes that need to be destroyed! "And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing." Isaiah 10:27

In 1999, when I answered the call on my life, I was so excited. I couldn’t wait to share it with others. I guess I was like Joseph and his dream. "And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more." Genesis 37:5.

Had I known the story of Joseph I would have been more prepared for what happened next. I never knew that being in ministry would bring me so much misery.  I always thought that there was so much work to do that everyone would do like the disciples were instructed to do, "Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest." This scripture, Matthew 9:27, had taught me that there was more than enough work for everyone. 

I must say that the resistance inside the church led me to go outside the church (the four walls) to where the "real work" was, the streets. There I found a plenteous harvest. There I found so many dry and thirsty souls.  I guess these were the ones that our Lord talked to His disciples and to us about. The sad part is that the average "church goers" does not know about this harvest.  I can't help but to wonder, who will tell them? Back to my story . . .

So when I finally decided to answer God's call to ministry,(because we all have been called to ministry) "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;" 2 Corinthian 5:18, as I had believed I was suppose to do, I was shocked and amazed at the behavior of those that were supposedly in "ministry" longer than I.

What I experienced during the four years following my initial answer to God's call was enough "ministry training" to last me a long long time. I thought that the misery that would establish my ministry was all the hell that I had went through from the time I was molested as a little girl to all of the other tragedies I faced in life.  I must say that those things were pale comparisons to the misery I faced after simply saying yes to God. Again, I have to trust God for the beginning, middle and ending.

Sometimes in the beginning we cannot see how God is going to work it out, but we must trust and know that it is up to God to work it out. All we have to do is turn to God for the guidance and allow Him to do great things regardless of what others are saying or doing. If God wants you to live then the devil can't kill you!

My message to anyone who is struggling to use their gifts is "don't give up", God will see you through and remember, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." 1 Corinthians 10:13

So don't be afraid of misery, either before or after your calling.  If it comes before, then you should have the fortitude to stand up to the misery that is sure to come once you decide to answer God's call to be ministers. Misery and ministry go together.  It did for Jesus and it will for you too!  And that's the way it is with Power, Misery & Ministry.

Therefore, take authority and allow your misery to create power that will build your ministry!

©6/11/06