Another Project Gideon At Home

I saw the Twitter feed.

They're there--they're all there--

And I can almost imagine 

The excitement, the energy,

The soul expanding experience.

All weekend, I can picture it all

In my mind's eye:

The worship, the lectures,

The preaching, the networking.

Even the late night movie-viewing.

We've missed three years now.

And each year I pray for the financial

Blessings we need to return again.

(God knows I need it badly--

My soul is thirsty fo rejuvenation.)

I wish to "glean behind the reapers,"

It is my dream, and I speak it now,

To all of cyberLand:  It is my prayer

That we may afford to return again.

Let it be, Lord.  Let it be (please).

I've Temporarily Lost My Destiny

The book.

I'm talking about the book.

Destiny.

It's gone and I can't find it.

Anywhere, everywhere--

I looked a dozen places;

Now I'm wondering if this

Is some Cosmic Sign.

"Misplaced Destiny" or

"Lost Forever Destiny"?

Some days, it's hard to tell

Which it is.

I'm still looking for it.

My Destiny.

I refuse to give up.

(It's got to be somewhere, right?)

I WILL find it.

Right?

I'm just not so sure how much longer

I can go without it.

Praying (again):

Lord, please please please:

Help me find my Destiny--

The book, and so much more!

He Who Beckons Me

He who beckons me
Beckons me onward,
"Pull up stakes and move,"
He says.

He who beckons me
Urges me to let go of the past,
My fears and my doubts,
"Go forward, my child."

I will have to leave the familiar,
Much I've become accustomed to,
But in my spirit, I am quite certain:
It is time to follow Him.

"Get your boots on," He says,
"It's time to travel.
This road will not be an easy one:
Move, one step at a time."

Please don't ask me where I'm going,
I haven't the slightest idea,
But as long as I'm with Him,
I'll be precisely where I need to be.

He who beckons me is calling me
To live the life I've read about,
To trust in Him as my Source,
To follow in Faith.

He who beckons me is able to keep me,
To keep us all, on this journey
That is to come...A Faith Walk.
And I will go where He beckons me.

Snow on the Hilltop

There is snow on the hilltop,
I can see it when I open my front door.
It snowed there overnight.

It is cold where I stand viewing it,
Blue-white blanket on treetops,
I wish I were close enough to touch it.

I'd hoped it would blanket my front yard,
But it didn't make it to me...
We aren't close enough to the hilltop.

Down in the valley, we can look up and see
The snow capped hill in front of us.
We reside in a different elevation.

Yet there is something within me these past days,
Urging me to follow my heart and climb the hilltop,
There is a place for me there.

I must gather my thoughts--and my resolve--
And begin the trek upward...
A new plane of existence awaits us there.

Where there is snow on the hilltop.

Time to Move On

It's Spring now, almost Easter
And we never got snow.
It wasn't what we'd hoped,
But it's time to move on.

Whatever we thought the months would bring,
Whatever we dreamed would occur,
Whatever we felt in our heart would transpire,
Now it's time to move on.

Moving on--leaving it behind,
So many memories, so many hopes
And dreams seemingly unfulfilled.
But it's time to move on.

There will be those who do not
Understand, there will be those
Who assumed naught would change,
Yet it's time to move on.

The New Season is upon us,
And though I pine for times
With sleds and snow, I know
It's time to move on.

It's time, it's time,
It's time to move onward.
It's time, it's time,
To leave the past behind.

What was and is are different now
And what will be is a beckoning call;
Resolving to don Courage,
It's time to move on.

Thinking about the Coming Year

Every year, I like to think about what it is I'd like to accomplish in the twelve months I am given. Without goals, without direction, I am allowing my life to be "left to chance," so to speak. And while I don't believe in "chance," what I do believe is that I must live a life of PURPOSE, a life ON PURPOSE, or I will spend an entire year doing day-to-day activities, never accomplishing anything more than what I'd accomplish on any given day.

I must do MORE than that.

Why?

For one thing, I'm a Child of God. I, like all of my Brothers and Sisters in Christ, in Jehovah, have been Called and Set Apart for a Purpose. I am not one who was meant to "spin my wheels" or "wander aimlessly" on this planet--I HAVE BEEN CALLED TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. I say that, but though I believe this 100%, it is ultimately UP TO ME to fulfill my end of the obligation. For instance, I have been Called, yes. But if I do not GO, if I do not DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, then I am worse than someone who never knew they were Called in the first place. Why? Because I'm refusing to heed, to obey, to fulfill the Call our Lord has Commissioned me to do.

I am passionate about this.

MAXIMUM IMPACT: This phrase keeps going over and over in my spirit. I do not want to spend my coming year having only a MARGINAL or PARTIAL IMPACT. I want a life of Excellence. My DREAM, my HOPE, is that Christ is able to say of me, as Jehovah did of Job, "See that girl? She's MY kid. She loves me. My hand is upon her. And no matter what comes her way? She still loves me."

I love Him with all of my heart, mind, and soul!

In addition to being a Child of The Most High God, bought and redeemed by the blood sacrifice of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I am a Project Gideon Alum. I am proud of that fact. I have been discipled by one of our generation's most inspirational spiritual leaders, Follower of Christ, Man of God: Bishop T.D. Jakes. God has allowed me to sit under this man's ministry, his mentoring, and I have been exponentially bettered because of it. With his help, I have allowed myself to BELIEVE and WALK IN the truths I've been taught. I now truly believe, and encourage others of Like Faith to believe, that "the sky is the limit"! Our God made the sky, this "Earth is the Lord's and the Fullness thereof"! It's His, all of it! If He says, "Look up! It's yours, my child!", then IT IS MINE!!!

When I look back on my life, even to childhood, I KNOW that God put within me a desire to continuously grow, develop, learn. My journey on this earth is one of PROGRESSION. That doesn't mean I don't fight fear or self-doubt, because I do sometimes. I am human, and the enemy loves to remind me of "how human" I really am, how limited, how UNABLE I am in my own eyes. Did you catch that? "IN MY OWN EYES"?

But with Christ, I AM ABLE, I AM CAPABLE. IN CHRIST, THERE ARE NO LIMITS!

And I refuse, in the coming months, the coming years, to believe anything else.

God WILL accomplish that which He has ordained for my life. It will happen. I am willing and able to do what He has asked. And no matter what He requires, I will HOLD TO THE WORD: "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me!"

Friends, I am not only writing this just as a Declaration of Faith for My Coming Year. I am writing this in the hope that it inspires you, too! Are you a Child of God!?! THEN YOU, TOO, ARE MORE THAN ABLE, COMPETENT, TO DO ALL HE HAS CALLED YOU TO DO!

Yes, I am a proud Child of God, a Follower of Christ, and a Project Gideon Alum. I am also a proud member of my local church, Poteau First Assembly, where I serve Christ in ministry under my Senior Pastor, Keith Williams, and First Lady, Cathy Williams. When I look back over my personal journey in the last 19 years I've been there, I cannot EXPRESS to you how vitally important they have been. They believed in me, in my journey, when many did not. They have spoken and sung the Word of God over me, despite what "appeared" to be Truth at the time. God divinely placed me here, in this town, and He divinely led me to this church body. I would NOT be the person of faith that I am today without their prayers, their devotion, their stubbornness to believe that "God's Will Would Out" in me.

As I go forward, I am fully aware that none of this would have been possible without divinely ordained friendships, my family, my parents and my grandparents. Too, every person who I've ever attended church with, including teachers who taught me God's Word before I could write paragraphs, has profoundly impacted my walk of faith!

I am thankful, so ETERNALLY THANKFUL, for this journey God has given me.

That's why I want to MAKE HIM PROUD in the time that remains.

(Who's ready to join me in this?)

Reading This Book: DESTINY by T.D. Jakes

I've got to say:  this book is a God-send to me.  I can't put it down, and I can't stop taking notes.  In fact, I don't know that I've EVER taken this many notes...I started taking notes on the inside cover, just based on what the book's blurbs said; I actually took notes in the Table of Contents, too!  If I have EVER taken notes on the TOC, it's been so long ago that I don't remember it!

     I knew 2015 would be a year of challenges and transitions, though I had no idea HOW MANY.  Whille there have been many, many victories and Praise Reports, I do feel as if this year of transition has not ended--and it may not ever if I do not do something about it.  While I realize change is a part of life (this book so notes, as well!), I don't want to lose my drive or dream while in The Waiting.  This book is helping me, challenging me, to keep going, even though I can't see where I'm headed, even though I don't know when my true self and true energy will be rekindled.  But energy is needed to create energy, right?  I have to DO something for something to happen.  I trust God to lead me in this transitional time.

   The New Year is right around the corner, and I do not want to be guilty of letting a year slip by (again) without being able to say that I have "much accomplished" for the Lord, my dreams, my life.  I am expecting and waiting for breakthrough, but I don't want to get in the habit of "sitting around," waiting for that breakthrough to come to me!  I want to do my part, so I have no regrets!  So the Lord is proud of me, and I am proud of myself!

    I want, while I wait, to keep my mind active, lean on the Lord for direction and guidance.  I want to hear His voice, clearly.  And I will keep on going until I hear from Him.  I don't want to miss the Destiny God has for me...things are too precarious.  I mustn't allow my precious time to be spent, to be wasted.  It is the most important commodity I have.  Without it, I cannot enjoy everything else that is my heartbeat:  my family, my friends, my ministry, my all of my blessings and gifts.

    It is my goal to finish the study of this book shortly--but at a pace where its message can sink into my spirit--and utilize its information to help me ENGAGE in the coming year.  One year from now, I want to see the PRODUCT of a life which has been directed, engaged, organized, distinguished.  

     My 2016 Bucket List will be posted within the next week.

  

     Note:  Stephen and I have had the pleasure of listening to the wisdom of Bishop Jakes first-hand, in his Project Gideon meetings in Dallas.  Though we have been unable to afford to go the past two years, his words still ring true in my spirit.  Our family has gone (on every possible occasion) to visit The Potter's House, and I am proud to say our daughters--Psalm, Allie, and Raylee--have had the opportunity to sit under his unbelievably anointed preaching.  As I read this book, I feel as if he is acting and serving as a Personal Life Coach to me.  No doubt others feel the same.  But he has a way, a gifting, of speaking to the heart of a matter, hitting each person at his/her core.  I owe much to this Man of God.  

    I highly recommend this book to ANYONE who is ready to go to The Next Level in their lives.  I look forward to getting to my own Next Level.