Girrrl Stop!

Although the past couple of years have been challenging, I’m still hearing testimony after testimony from women who are experiencing the shift of God! They have shared how God is turning things around in their lives from their marriage, to finances, to vocation, and every area of their lives – the shift is taking place! When we are driving (particularly automatic cars) there is a part inside the car called a ‘gear selector’. It allows you to shift the gear in Park, Reverse, Neutral, or Drive. If you have a SUV you may have some additional choices. Shifting this gear selector lets the car know what you want it to do! If you want to go forward, you shift your gear into drive, conversely, if you want to go backward, you shift your gear into reverse. If you want to get going and move to another destination, the car will not achieve this goal sitting in Park - it won’t move.  Many of us are disrupting progress because we are trying to control the gear selector in our lives instead of le...

In one of the earlier seasons of Housewives of Atlanta (yes my guilty pleasure), Sheree was working with a vendor who didn’t follow through on his commitments. They got into a heated discussion where the vendor says to Sheree “you need to watch yourself before you get checked” and she infamously responded with the coined phrase, “Who Gon’ Check Me Boo?” Continuing with gained insights from the two-chapter book of Haggai, I believe God is ‘checking us’ in his challenge for us to check ourselves!   Just like the remnant of people, who returned from Babylon, sat idle on their assignment to rebuild God’s temple, many of you are sitting idle on the assignment you have been given. You go on living day to day, ignoring what God has said but now, God is saying it’s time to check yourself!   Check your priorities The children of Israel sat idle on rebuilding the temple for 14 years. They said it wasn’t time yet to rebuild the temple. God sent the prophet Haggai and ‘checked them’, sayi...

I’ve been drawn to the two-chapter book of Haggai recently and I have discovered some jewels! Not to go into much Sunday school lesson detail, but, out of the 12 minor prophets (they are only “minor” because of the length of their books), the first 9 spoke to Judah before they were taken captive and exiled to Babylon and the last 3 (Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi) spoke to those who returned from the 70-year exile.   Upon returning from exile the people began to rebuild God’s temple. They started this project with such excitement and vigor. Two years into the project, the foundation for the temple had been laid and the altar was built. Then discouragement set in and the project came to a halt for about 14 years! Project Rebuild for God’s temple laid idle for 14 years and the people were still saying, it’s not time yet to rebuild.   Their hesitation to rebuild was caused by discouragement and rooted in fear and comparison. When they reflected on the old temple, the temple that ...

It’s hard to believe it’s been one year since my brother passed away. My mind raced all week, thinking about him constantly. I couldn’t get any rest in the days leading up to his death anniversary date (March13th). In many ways I’m still in shock, even a year later. This week however, I learned first hand what it means for God to give you rest. Not just rest in the physical, but, rest in your spirit.   This past Sunday the choir at my church ministered ‘My Help’ based on Psalm 121 and the comfort that this Psalm offers is immeasurable. It lets me know that God is my help and in that fact I can rest. Here are three key components in this Psalm to rest in:   God made heaven and earth (vs 2) - I hear you say what does this have to do with comfort? Everything! God is our creator and He made everything. Since He made everything, He’s in full and total control of everything! This is a fact you can rest in because no matter what your situation is, you can rest in the assurance that G...

So I’ve been watching the Kanye West documentary and the first two episodes (Vision & Purpose respectively) are phenomenal! Now, we all know Mr. West has some issues today, mainly as a result of losing his Mom (in my opinion), but when you see the beginning of his journey leading up to the release of his debut CD ‘High School Dropout’ it really provides some nuggets that we all can apply to our own personal journey.   Don’t Let Others Redefine the Vision God Gave You.   Kanye started out in the industry as a producer but he always knew he was a rapper also. Damon Dash and Rocafella Records only viewed him as a producer and tried to just keep him in that box. Through many closed doors Kanye kept pushing because he knew the vision he had for himself and what God gave him.   Likewise, you know what God told you and you know the vision God gave to you, so, it is a must that you walk in it. No matter what the naysayers say, or the box people will try to put you in (i.e. sm...

I’m buzzing with excitement and a pinch of nervousness as the day of my first virtual event has arrived - Girrrl Get Empowered! It feels really good to have gotten this far with this particular accomplishment. This event was actually supposed to happen last year. I created my flyer and I put it out there and it was like ‘crickets’ in social media land because only one person signed up! I was already hesitant in moving forward and then, once it got out there, no one signed up! I had speakers scheduled and I even had a DJ for a virtual party! As a result of what I perceived as low interest, I canceled the event.   As I think back I wish I had moved forward with it. Honestly, part of it may have been that a lot of people wait until the last minute to sign up for things/events. However, at the heart of the matter - I let fear set in. It felt safer to cancel than to move forward and have the event actually be successful! Fear is a powerful tool that wreaks havoc in your life if you succ...

What a year!  Almost a year ago, my family suffered a great loss in the passing of my brother. My heart goes out to all those who are going through the process of grief even as we still go through. The thing about grief is that it can immobilize you. It may immobilize you totally or just in certain areas. For me, I didn’t have the desire to write which is why I haven’t posted on my beloved blog in almost a year. Although I didn’t write, I stayed close to family, friends, and most importantly, in God’s presence. Whether teaching my Sunday School class or having quiet time at home, I’ve been able to just commune with God and let Him heal my broken heart.  Then something clicked.  I can’t tell you exactly what it is or as ironic as it sounds, I can’t even put it into words but something clicked to where I put one foot in front of the other to:  Do - Produce - Create - and Move.  I posted something recently that said, “There are only two options: Make progress or ma...