Be Intentional...

TGIF, Framily!!!!  Thank God I made it to Friday and accomplished my goal of posting every day this week!  So I want to end the week talking about being intentionally focused.  (I know wrote about focus a few weeks ago; you can refresh your memory here, but I want to talk about it from another perspective).  

There is a song out now called "Intentional" by Travis Greene.  It is a song that plays over and over in my head throughout the day.  It speaks of God being intentional about things that are happening in your life and that there's no need to worry.  Have a listen:

Nice song, right? But guess what?  As much as God is intentional about His plans for us, He expects us to be intentional as well in the things we are to do.  Especially when we beg and pray for him to enlarge our territory like the Prayer of Jabez... To illustrate this point, I turn to the March 20th sermon of Bishop TD Jakes - "Coming into Focus" (text from Luke 9:49-55). This one is for those of you who, like me, have big dreams!  (*below is the summary of my notes taken as I listened to the sermon,outline style*)  

• Can’t have a new blessing with an old order,  you have to refocus or you will have chaos
• Restructure, reorganize and order is the answer to anxiety
• It doesn’t mean that you can’t do it or can’t have it, just not with the old order
• Are you organized for what you prayed for?
• Need to refocus for where you’re going, not for where you’ve been
• Chaos= out of order for the weight load you are carrying
• Had to follow someone without focus
• Money without focus will have you in poverty!
• Sometimes you have to leave good things behind because they don’t fit where you are going
• Focus= discipline
• Almost as bad as no focus is wrong focus     
• Wrong focus is committing to the wrong thing; right efforts in the wrong matters
• Anytime something moves, you have to refocus
• Focus is important
• What is your center/priority?
• Focus on the center then deal with the parameters
• What have you set your face on?
• You have the power to bring your life back into focus
• Where God is taking you, you have to get your life into focus
• If it hasn’t happened by now
• If you’re going to win any kind of fight, need to focus
• In this season, I need to focus (not enough time or money to do everything)
• In the text, Jesus seemed aloof because he wouldn’t go to Samaria (and get out of focus) 
• The disciples came and told him that someone was casting out demons in His name and he was not one of the disciples and Jesus was unconcerned.
• See also Philippians 1:19: Paul said as long as they are preaching Christ, I rejoice whether sincere or not
• Is your lens too wide?
• If your lens is too wide, you are out of focus
• Focus is too important to be compromised
• Do you not know how strong you are when you are focused???
• Gotta get (my) YOUR focus!
• Have to choose what you let hurt you and what keeps you up at night
• No one is strong when doing too many things at one time
• The greatest resistance comes near the greatest opportunity; fight with greatest focus
• Don’t let ego drive you out of focus
• You are like FIRE when you are focused!
• If you can focus with a little, you can be blessed with more
• Show God you’re an investment
• That’s what tithing is all about
• When focus on God first, all other things can be given to you
• Can be focused in one area and out of focus in another
• Sometimes the whole front end of your life can be jacked up but God will break the order and save the best for last
• People are drawn to your season of miracles, but will they love you out of season?
• Move from season of miracles to season of message
• The real test of commitment is to go through the seasons
• Every stage requires a bit more from you (also stages of Christian walk)
• Miracle Stage – Message Stage- Movement Stage (consecration enough to have moments with God) – Mission Stage (after movement stage, Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem)
• The real test is your commitment to loving God when you don’t like what He’s done
• Can you love me when you don’t like me?
• In order to be on a mission, you have to set your face
• Requires discipline
• Where is your mission?
• It will take you to the cross, sacrifice, self-denial, something is more important than you
• Whatever that is, it is your mission
• To be focused is intentional & have priorities 
• God is intentional, no matter what it looks like
• Time to get in focus and stop worrying about parameters and distractions
• One way we show focus is through tithing (give what’s right, not what’s left)
• What will you do with more focus?

I've said it before and I'll say it again:  Bishop Jakes is an awesome teacher!  Now, his style isn't for everyone, but for me, who is a student at heart, I love learning new things, especially a new life application to scripture.  But I urge you to give it a shot; here is the sermon in its entirety: 

What am I saying with all this talk about being intentional?  Let me show you!  

A little more than a year ago, a friend of mine who was gearing up to study for the CPA Exam (4 parts) asked for prayers from her friend circle.  We began praying for her, over the course of the year, some of the exams had a positive result and others not so much.  Her family experienced some health challenges with one of her children, resulting in a huge and devastating setback on this quest.  She took some time to regroup and focus and meanwhile, I began to pray even harder and with even more specificity.  Intentional and focused prayer, while she engaged in intentional and focused study.  Today (May 5th), I got the call that I had been waiting for:  all parts of the exam were complete and passed!  Amen!!! I am STILL high off that happy news today about my answered prayers!  You know why?  Because as long as my friends are getting blessed and my prayers on their behalf are being answered, it means that God is still in the blessing business and mine is coming too!

In my own world, I am in the midst of embarking on some new ventures, which I will share details about later.  But I do ask for your prayers that God directs my path as I intentionally train my focus on them.  This sermon has been the kick I need stay focused and intentional about the things I need to do to make some of these dreams of mine a reality.  I'm so excited about it all, I could burst!  But I must stay focused... I have big dreams, y'all!  And so should you.  

I can't remember exactly where I've heard this before, but it's something to the effect of: God may plant the seed and direct your path, but you still have to do your part.  As my old pastor, Pastor James Brooks, preached back in 2010 when I first visited his church, He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.  Meaning that He is before you and behind you as you walk the various paths of your life and destiny.  He is the author and finisher of your fate.  But you have to walk the road.  In the words of Ted and Sheri, "He starts it, and He finishes it, but you've got to work the middle."  I was trying to find a link to the whole song, but I'm only able to get a snippet (sorry!) here, track 10.  I hope you can get the message though - you have to do your part.  God gives you the dream but you have to do your part to make it a reality.  Well how do I do that?  By being intentionally focused...  Remember, "I can do ALL things through Christ, which strengthens me" - Philippians 4:13.

So who is going to be intentionally focused with me in this season?  Holla @ Darvi and let me know that you're standing with me (put me on your prayer list and when I share my testimony you can add it to your answered prayer list!).  Be blessed and have a wonderful weekend!  xoxoxo

All about that GRACE... (to be grounded)

Hey there, it's me again!  By the time you read this, it will be March- this year is going by! 

I want to begin by saying thank you to the overwhelmingly positive response to my super transparent post on Monday.  That was not an easy thing for me to do, but, I am, and have always been a firm believer that the things we go through are to bless others with our testimonies and I felt led to share it (uh, not when I first started writing, but well, yeah, you get the idea!). 

My class is progressing; we skipped a week because our instructor was unable to make it, so instead of Week 6 we just finished Week 5.  And let me tell you this - it is a lot of work to truly study the Bible!  It's a lot of reading, re-reading, homework and outside books.  A lot of reading!!!  This first leg of the class (10 weeks) will end this month, then we have two weeks off, pick back up in April and go through June.  Y'all just pray my strength in the Lawd - 34 weeks total!!!

Anyway, my attempts at humor aside, today's post, in keeping with the theme of the previous two, is still about being grounded - we will take a look at Bishop TD Jakes' watch night sermon from 2015, "Grace to be Grounded."  Now, of course, he started his series with this sermon (and there are two other "grounded" sermons that I won't discuss here but they can be found on you tube or on his website), but I wanted to talk about being grounded first and work my way backwards.  Hopefully it will make sense to you as you read on...

Like my play on words?  I have young people in the house, so I have heard the Meghan Trainor song, "All about that Bass," and so I thought it would be pretty cool.  I assure you that both the Tween and Teen think it's kinda lame... Anyway, I digress - GRACE.  

It is defined in the bible dictionary as follows (found here):

Biblically, grace is unmerited favor. It is God's free action for the benefit of His people. It is different from justice and mercy. Justice is getting what we deserve. Mercy is not getting what we deserve. Grace is getting what we do not deserve. In grace we get eternal life, something that, quite obviously, we do not deserve, but because of God's love and kindness manifested inJesus on the Cross, we receive the great blessing of redemption.

Grace is God's Riches At Christ's Expense. Grace rules out all human merit (Rom. 11:6). It is the product of God that is given by God because of who He is and not because of who we are. It is the means of our salvation (Eph. 2:8-9). We are no longer under the Law but under grace (Rom. 6:14). (See 1 Cor. 15:11, Rom. 5:2, 15-20, 2 Cor. 12:9, and 2 Cor. 9:8).

Got it?  So let's move on to the sermon - Grace to be Grounded.  You can watch the sermon here.  The sermon text was Psalm 1:1-3 (sidenote- I have such a problem remembering when Psalms should be plural or singular, so if I'm wrong, roll with it...).  It's short, so I will actually include it this time.  

Psalm 1:1-3 (NASB):  

1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, 

   Nor stand in the path of sinners,

   Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

   And in His law he meditates day and night.

3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,

   Which yields its fruit in its season

   And its leaf does not wither;

   And in whatever he does, he prospers.

I love this passage of scripture, by the way.  It is not something I was overly familiar with prior to hearing this sermon, but afterwards?  It has joined the ranks of my faves and hopefully you will see why in short order!

Sermon Notes (beginning with scripture overview):

• Meditate day and night = consistency
• He who does this shall be like a tree; God will put you in a spot to have an unlimited supply of what you need to finish what He set before you to accomplish
• Deeper roots = more and more raw resources 
• Like a tree with roots: position to connect with the resources needed to sustain everything He will bring out of you
• Stabilize yourself - it's closer than you think it is
• Live in position, not condition
• His fruit, His season
• You need to hear you say:  "Blessed is the Man"
• Blessed= position
• We sometimes don't recognize grace because of our problems
• The presence of trouble does not destroy the potential for triumph! (you'd better say that again, Bishop!)
• Your leaves shall not wither, He will stop the loss!
• We have to be a guard over grace; it tells a blessed man what not to do:  
• Grace must be guarded - be quiet sometimes!
• Stay out of the counsel of the ungodly; anything that doesn't line up with God's purpose and people who don't understand your destiny
• Be careful who you let influence you
• friends mean well, trying to protect you, but God can bless you in the storm (though he slay me, yet will I trust Him (Job 13:15))
• Be more disciplined
• Don't be bitter
• For what God is getting ready to do, you need to be GROUNDED
• Moving around is cancelling your blessing
• You need to be grounded in faith, behavior and in the Word
• Put on the whole armor of God to stand still!
• Just stand there, no matter what comes
• If your feet are planted in the house of the Lord, you will flourish in his gardens (See Psalm 92:13)
• The enemy is trying to fight you for your ground
• God has given you things that don't look like they're yours, but stand your ground!
• The more you stand, the more fruit you will have (gifts):  
• finances, relationships, opportunities
• God's going to put and position you around something too big for you (and it might scare you)
• Specific instructions for being grounded:
• Faith
• Prayer life
• Commitment
• Settle down!
• You can't get to His will your way
• You need to be grounded for the harvest; it's coming!

And he closed with having the congregation say this:  "My fruit, My season!"

As usual, I'm sure I didn't do the sermon justice, these are just my notes that I'm sharing with you.  But do you see why I felt that this was such a powerful sermon??? And I have to stop here and thank my birthday twin, Charlotte, again, for sharing this with me.  This was such a powerful series that literally changed my outlook on 2016.  I really do encourage you to go check out the sermon itself using the link above.

So what did I take away from the sermon?  I'm glad you asked (my favorite Rev. Meeks' statement from my days at Salem)!  So here's what Darvi got out of it (besides the notes above):

1) Pray.  Always.  Without Ceasing.  Always.  Pray.  This is how we develop relationship with God; prayer is a conversation.  I promise when I was younger and used to hear the old folks say that, I had no idea what they were talking about!  But, I'm older now, and I get it, I truly do.  As your prayer life grows, it will indeed be a conversation - He will speak to you.  You just have to learn to listen and be open to the many ways in which He speaks.

2) Read the Word.  Not just a cursory, random glance, but really read/study.  I've found some really nice devotionals and bible studies on Pinterest; you can do a search by subject matter and that is one way to get going with it.  

3) Believe.  There's a song that goes "what God has for me, it is for me."  You can hear it here.  You have to truly and deeply within your heart of hearts believe that.  No matter what it looks like now.  If He told you it was yours, it's yours.  But you have to activate your faith and not falter in your belief in His word.  This is hard and I stumble here all the time.  Just being honest... I always want to believe, but then something will happen that causes me to doubt and I have to start all over again.  I'm sure I have missed out on some things just because I faltered at the last minute.  

4) Be committed.  To prayer, to reading/studying, to your faith, in your church attendance, in your tithing - whatever it is, be committed to doing it.  Your commitment should be evident; no one should question it.

5) Stand!!!  Every time I hear this, I think of my good friend's mother, Auntie Barbara, singing this at church when I was younger.  "After you've done all you can, you just stand."  Here's the Donnie McClurkin song, because it is such an awesome song, here.  What does that mean?  It means, get out of the way, sit yourself down somewhere, get rooted and stay there.  Stand does not mean do nothing; it means to do whatever God has told you to do while you wait on Him to bring his promises to you to fruition.  Also a thing I struggle with, because I'm impatient.  But I've learned, just as I'm sure many of you have, that He has a way of making you sit still. I'm just saying... Remember, His Fruit, His Season...

So my friends, if being grounded requires us to activate faith, prayer, commitment and to stand in order to receive things that we don't deserve, how does it happen?  Because surely we all know that we don't deserve anything, right?  The answer is simply this:  Grace.  It is by his Grace that we can even get in the position to be grounded to receive His blessings of our faith and finances.  If you missed those, you can read them here (Grounded in Faith and Grounded in Finances).  

So, my question for you is this:  Who is ready to be like a tree, firmly planted and bearing fruit????  I know I am!  If that's you too, Holla @ Darvi and let's talk about it!  As always, Be Blessed!!!

xoxo 

Financially Grounded...

Hey Blogland!  Yep, this is really real, two posts back-to-back!!!  I'm trying to figure out a better schedule, but I've been a bit overwhelmed with this contract work, class/homework, being a mom, trying to do some measure of housework - you get the idea.  I sometimes feel busy and yet can't really account for time (although I know I did something, lol!).  And I've been spending some time catching up and keeping up with old friends and embracing new ones.  I have been able to start saving money again (imagine that!) and have just been looking back at all that I have been through and thanking God!  My life was so very different just 6 months ago...

Today (Saturday the 27th), I was going through the notes in my Evernote account (I love that app by the way, it was created for nerds like me who live by notes and whatnot... check it out, it is online and has apps that sync across devices!  Check it out here).  Anyway, I digress.  I was going through the notes in my Evernote account and I ran across something I wrote just slightly more than a year ago, February 3, 2015, to be exact.  I reread it, and it scared me.  It scared me for a number of reasons:  1) just how bad things were, 2) that I had the courage to even admit some of those things to myself, and 3) the level of despair/hopelessness that I felt.  Today I am so far from that dark place that it feels like it was a whole lifetime ago, but it really wasn't.  All I can do is just thank God, for I know it was truly by His grace that I survived those dark times.  Reminds me of another old-school gospel song that we used to sing at my childhood church, "How I Got Over."  The lyrics in a partial form (as I recall them, I'm not going to look them up):  "How I got over, How I got over my Lord.  My soul looks back and wonder, how I got over my Lord."  That's what I'm feeling right now.

Anyway, something else jumped out at me in that note that I want to talk about today. Something that most people don't like to talk about and is certainly taboo in most African-American households:  FINANCES.  

Now, don't run and hide in the corner, I'm going to share my personal testimony with you and my reflections on Bishop TD Jakes' Grounded in Finances sermon with you today and hopefully someone will be blessed by it.  I'm going to break from my normal format and share my testimony first, then the Bishop's sermon.  This will be kinda long, so I apologize in advance, but I'm being led to share it, so here we go...!

In that note from just over a year ago, I had written about the severe financial crisis that was ever present in my life at that time, and I decided to share that here to drive home the topic of this here post.  I am warning you in advance that some  *SUPER TRANSPARENCY* is about to happen, but I am sharing it, ok, I might edit some things because I do know some of you in real life..., but here I am, embracing my imperfect life):  


"I owe you lots. For starters, I lost my job in 2013- my last 'official' day was July 31, 2013. I haven't had a job since. I have applied to jobs, had two interviews in the course of a year and a half. I have been temping off and on since November.

The last of my money (savings & deferred compensation funds that I converted to an ira) ran out in September 2014. Unemployment ended in February 2014 ( a year ago). I have about $40 to my name ($10 in checking, $20 in checking, & $10 cash)... but I owe the Tween $20.  I am two, about to be three months behind on my car note, most of our utilities are scheduled for shutoff (although I did apply for ceda - utility help for low income people for gas and electricity). I wake up everyday afraid that we won't have lights, heat or water."

There was more, but you get the idea.  Maybe I'll share the rest one day.  Anyhoo, just reading that today, gave me pause and all I could do is look towards heaven and say "Thank You."  I'm not where I want to be, but I certainly ain't where I've been!  And thank God that I don't look like what I've been through!!!  I'm sure you're wondering what this has to do with being grounded in finances, right?  I'm glad you asked!  Let's go to the sermon, from January 24, 2016, "Grounded in Finances."  If you want to see it for yourself, here is 
the link.  His text came from Ecclesiastes 10:19, 7:12.

He started out with one of the most profound truths I have heard about money (especially in this country):  "We have a culture of buying what we want and begging for what we need."
Ouch!  Ready?  Let's go!

Check out 1 Timothy 6:5-10, and here are Bishop's points on the subject of money:

• we have to follow purpose, not profit;
• -there must be BALANCE in our attitude towards money;
• -we have to learn to need money without loving it;
• -tithes break the curse of loving money - it makes your "stuff" bow down;
• -God is looking for people to bless:
•  someone who will worship Him with their resources;
• your profits bow to purpose when you pay tithes and offerings;
• when we worship through our resources, we are saying that He is worth more than what He has given us;
• when you say the giver is more valuable than the gift, He will always give you more things! (he had an awesome example in here of a time when he bought his wife a gift, and her appreciation made him want to buy her even more things)
• God doesn't need, but our financial gifts show what He's worth to us 
• See Haggai 1:5-11
• Hidden idols lead to hidden judgment:  when you leave God out of your finances, holes are cut in your pockets...
• you can only be blessed by divine permission
• if you approach this year emotionally, instead of intellectually, you will miss His blessings this year
• get your heart of money and put your mind to money!
• (And here is the thing that made me cry as I heard it, because I have lived it):  When the enemy brings a curse, he sends the spirit of depression;
• God will give you a strategy; for every problem in finances, you need a strategy;
• He gives you the resource, what you do with it is your gift back;
• (And then he finished with this): Be awesome on your level - don't try to keep up with the Joneses (or anyone else)!

What a sermon, right?  Once again, I'm sure I didn't do it justice, so if it peaks your interest, you can check out the whole thing using the above link.  If you still don't get where I'm going yet, go back to the very beginning of this post when I said "I have been able to start saving money again (imagine that!)."  Then go back and re-read the excerpt from my post from last February... Those are two distinct situations, one on each end of the spectrum (well, I'm not quite at the opposite end of the spectrum, but a lot closer than I was on that day when the burden of financial hardship was weighing heavily on me).  And let's keep it real, in order for us to "save" money, for most people that means that we have taken care of EVERYTHING else first... So how did I get here?  That's where the rest of the testimony comes in...

So over the time I've had this blog, I've been pretty transparent with things going on in my world.  Although I would wager a guess that not very many of the people who know me knew that all of that was going on.  And that's ok, everything isn't always to be shared with other people, however, I believe that testimonies are to be shared, for the purpose of help, encouragement, upliftment and just general thanks and glory to God.  So that's why I do it (am doing it).  

The middle of February 2015 brought some financial ups:  I took on an hourly client with a retainer (about a week after that post), and that brought about some immediate financial relief;  my real estate clients/closings picked up a bit, which also brought some relief.  Some, not all.  But it did help to restore my faith and get me out of that dark place.  Fast forward to the move (early/mid September).  I was in a panic, not sure how I was going to take care of the finances at the new place and I was anxious.  On a particularly bad day (I mean full of tears, the ugly cry kind) out of sheer desperation, I called my church and made an appointment with Pastor Varnado, who is in charge of our help ministries (I believe this is correct).  Anyway, I sat in her office and tried to explain to her everything that was going on, what I was feeling and I remember crying.  A lot.  She in turn shared some things with me from her own life, situations that were just as difficult, if not more so than the ones I was facing, all to illustrate where God has brought her and her family from.  Being honest, I heard her, but sometimes when you are in the middle of life drama, you can listen without hearing because the depth of your issues are clouding everything over.  At the end of our talk, she asked me if there was anything in the world she could do for me, what would that be.  And I told her my concerns about being able to pay the October rent, because although there was "future" money in the pipeline, I didn't know if it would be here in time.  Now, I had no idea I was going to say that nor was I prepared for what happened next.  I got a call in the next few days that Pastor Singleton had been told of my situation and that they were going to take care of it.  I was in complete shock and could do nothing but cry and thank God.  

Meanwhile, I had just finished up my One-on-One Discipleship Class, which I discussed with Pastor Varnado, and she encouraged me to go back through the prayer lesson and begin to pray specific petitions (again).  We talked about other stuff, but today we're just focusing on finances...  Anyway, I did, and in my prayers, it came back to my remembrance how I had strayed from being a consistent tithes-payer over the years, and I cringed a bit.   I used to have it in my budget and do it like clockwork, no matter what.  Then things got tight financially and I stopped being consistent.  Then I just stopped.  Then I started back on a percentage basis.  (Yeah, all types of foolishness...) Then I had nothing to pay tithes with... And then I did everything I could think of, which didn't work... (more foolishness).

So I repented.  And I promised God that going forward, I would pay tithes on everything I earned and that I would just "stop" and rely on Him.  That was in the middle of September, I believe.  I had two phone interviews with recruiters, both on the same day (about the end of September) and I got a call back from one of them the next day, indicating that they wanted me to come in for a face-to-face interview, which I did.  Forty-five minutes later, I was called back to say I had been selected for an upcoming project.  That project started in October, and I've been with them ever since (on different projects, but the same company).  And I've kept my word to God, cheerfully and thankfully, and He's kept His Word to me:  I have been blessed financially beyond belief!  Need specific examples?  Here you go:

• I was able to prepay 6 months of my rent in a lump sum in November 2015;
• During such an extended period of unemployment, some things ended up in collection; it happens.  I've been able to get most of those things paid off in full;
• I've been able to do "extra" things for the kids;
• I've been able to be a financial blessing to others;
• My bills are paid;  
• I've been able to put money in my savings account, which had a balance of $22 in September 2015...; and
• I haven't had to balance my checkbook or pennypinch at all; I've been able to do the things I want and need to do, with 80% of my take home (I do 10% tithes and 10% savings).  

Why am I sharing all of this?  Good question, I am generally not one for sharing all my business, but God has taken me outside of my comfort zone in this medium.  But I don't mind sharing if it helps someone else.  So what I believe my testimony is with this post is to a) show you they physical manifestation of where God has brought me from, so that you will know that no matter the depth of the financial crisis you find yourself in at the moment, He hears and He still delivers;  and b) the blessings of tithing and changing my attitude towards money (and jobs, for that matter).  So to anyone in blogland who is facing a financial challenge (I mean when you really don't know where your next dollar is coming from), keep praying.  As Pastor Singleton has said, sometimes God allows things to happen to us so we stop relying on ourselves and learn to rely on Him for everything.  Because He is the source of, well, everything!  And also so that when He delivers you from it, you will know it was Him that did it.

That's where I am.  I know that for all of this to happen in the course of a year, it was nothing but Him.  And so today I stand (ok, really sit in front of my computer) before you and unequivocally say that I am "Grounded in Finances."

I apologize for such a long post (and I'm supposed to be getting ready for hostessing duties at the moment but I had to finish), but I think it's important to share our testimonies.  This is new for me, but I pray that someone reading this will be encouraged and will share their testimony when their breakthrough comes.  

So how about it - did this help anyone??? Holla @ Darvi and let me know!  Have a great week and be blessed!

xoxoxo

I've been grounded...

Hello, my blog framily!  It's been a long time...  there's been so much that has happened and I've been just bone-tired!  I'm going to have to find a better system (says the woman who is beginning this post on her phone on the train)...  Can you believe that it is the end of February and we are careening towards March??? With March comes Easter, daylight savings time and, dare I say it- spring.   Spring is my absolute favorite time of the year!!!  It's kinda hard to believe that (as I am currently in the midst of a winter storm that dumped about 7 inches of snow in my corner of the world), but 'tis true!

I hope that all has been well in your corner of the world, and that life has been treating you kind.  I won't dawdle as I have lots of catching up to do, so without further ado...

Grounded.  The title of this post.  When most people think of grounded, there are probably two definitions that come to mind. Number one, grounded meaning punishment, as in what I impose on the Tween and Teen from time to time (apparently not nearly enough, but that's a subject for another day).  And then there's the second one, grounded meaning rooted. This post concerns the latter...

About a month ago, I was feeling a bit anxious about something (I can't recall exactly what at the moment, which is probably a good thing) and I was praying but still anxious.  Out of the blue, my birthday twin, Charlotte, inboxes me on FB with a link to two you tube videos, telling me to watch them because there was something in them for me to hear and that she was being obedient.  I clicked the first link and it took me to a TD Jakes sermon video, "Grace to be Grounded."  Even though I was in the office, I switched off Pandora and and tuned in.  It was the sermon he preached on Watch Night Service (New Year's Eve 2015), and let me tell you, I had forgotten how well the Bishop can break down a topic!  We'll get to that one later (I promise), but within the sermon, he indicated that he was going to be doing a series in the month of January about being "grounded."  I quickly went to the second video, "Grounded in Finances," and then on to the third video, "Grounded in Faith," which is the one I want to focus on today.  All three videos had me in tears but they calmed my spirit at the same time.  So thank you again, Charlotte, for being obedient!  And thank you God for speaking to me through those sermons.

I want to start by talking about being Grounded in Faith, because after hearing that one, it truly is the cornerstone of this whole faith walk thing, and I think everyone should "get" it. So, if you will stick with me for a minute, I'm going share my observations of Bishop Jakes January 10th sermon - "Grounded in Faith."

The text was found in Colossians 1:17-23, with particular focus on verse 17 (Bishop used the NIV version):  "He is before all things and in him all things hold together."  

We must be rooted to God, who holds us together, and He wants to be before all things in our lives.  Translation:  We should do NOTHING without God.  God killed the guilty sin so that we could live; He sent Christ to die in our name so that we could live in His name. Being a Christian is to rest in the shed blood of Jesus which saved us from the wrath of the law. Through Christ's death and resurrection, He is able to present us holy and blameless in His sight because we got his purity and righteousness.  The crux of the Bishop's message was this:  If you continue in the faith, grounded and settled, you will see fruit.  If you are on the fence, you won't see fruit. (I'll stop right here and have a transparent moment, because at the time, I was having some faith issues and I really needed to hear this message).

Bishop Jakes went on to clarify what it means to be rooted in faith, being clear on these things:

1) in whom you believe- deity

2) in what you believe - doctrine:  (see Hebrews 6:1-3:  preeminence of Jesus; baptism; laying on hands; resurrection' eternal judgment, even though Believers have escaped- Romans 8:1)

3) instrument of faith - how do we get faith????  (see Romans 10:17 - faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God).

- if you are alive in Christ, you should crave His Word

- Right here Bishop Jakes made a statement that should've stopped his whole congregation: people like coming to church to hear the music, because music doesn't demand that they make a decision (Ouch!), which means they have a dead spirit

- When your spirit is alive, you want to eat; He that hungers and thirsts after righteousness shall never thirst

- 1 Corinthians 1:18-21 - the preaching of the cross is the power of God

- God will show the world that He is your God by how He blesses you - He will give you a testimony!

And last but not least, remember that God has a purpose for your family (and He will sustain you for His purpose even during your stupid decisions).

Do you see why I was so excited about this sermon???  I'm having a hard time remembering exactly what was going on at the time, but I do know that I was having some doubts as to whether I was consistently moving in the direction of God's purpose for my life and was having some anxiety about finances and the future.  This sermon calmed my spirit and gave me hope...

I realized (somewhere around that time or in the weeks since), that I sometimes live an anxious life, despite my best efforts to stay calm and to remain grounded in my faith.  And truth be told, I feel really bad about that.  I don't like feeling like I don't believe or trust in God, especially when He keeps showing me, time and time again, that He will take care of ALL of the things I need in my life. But the reality is, I still get anxious sometimes when I can't see how things are going to work out.  What can I say?  I am just a work in progress...

And I am working on that, day by day, one day at a time.

So how does this grounded in faith thing work in the real world?  You know, after you leave church and you're sitting at the kitchen table late at night after an enormous fight with your ex-husband in front of your kids, and you are looking at a stack of bills, wondering where the money is coming from to pay everything, just worrying in general just how things are going to work out - that's what I'm talking about.  How do you remain grounded in your faith during those times?  The answer:  you pray, you read the Word, and you listen (ok, sometimes during that process you cry and you might even search Pinterest for an appropriate quote or scripture for the situation - just telling you what I do).  The truth is, there is no magic pill or combination of things that will suddenly renew your faith.  But I can tell you this, when those hard days come, you will have to dig deep with everything that is within you and find any shred of faith you can and cling to it!  The Word says:  "if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you."  Matthew 17:20 (NIV)  Have you ever seen a mustard seed?  They are pretty tiny...

God is the same yesterday, today and will be the same tomorrow.  It's us who change. When we became believers, we became part of His family based on our belief in what Christianity is all about. Being grounded is hard and ongoing work - we can't forget who He is or what He has done.  We must trust and believe that He will always honor His Word, if we do what we're supposed to do.  It doesn't take a whole lot of faith, just a little bit (reminds me of a little song the children's choir used to sing at my grandmother's church, "faith, faith, faith, just a little bit of faith.  you don't need a whole lot, just use what you got, faith, faith, faith, just a little bit of faith).  

So some parting scriptures for your anti-anxiety arsenal:

Philippians 4:6 - Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Matthew 6:33 - Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

Romans 8:28 - 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.

I hope that this encourages you and you can check out Bishop Jakes' Grounded in Faith sermon here; I'm sure I didn't do it justice...

I missed you - Holla @ Darvi and just say "hi."  Say a prayer for my sister, Kim, she is facing some health challenges at the moment, but we are believing God for a complete healing. Be Blessed and have a great weekend!

xoxoxo