Welcome to Darvi's world - we will talk about any and everything here! Darvi's world includes scrapbooking/papercrafting, jewelry making, organization projects, my pinterest obsession, my faith, shopping, fitness struggles, my family, books, golf - you name it! I will share my various journeys and experiences with you - sometimes with humor... yet I promise to always be my true, authentic self!
Hello December! For once it is not snowing in Chicago!!! We have been having relatively mild weather, although the temperature has dropped a bit... This will be a short and sweet post. Hopefully it will contain something that will be a blessing to someone else. Today's message is to encourage those who feel like things never work out for them or that they are always in "wait mode." Well, maybe it's just to encourage me... We'll start with some scriptural encouragement (these can go in your War Chest for your War Room, whether room, journal, board, etc.): Isaiah 40:31 KJV: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 66:9 NASV: Shall I bring to the point of birth and not give delivery? says the LORD. Or shall I who gives delivery shut up the womb? says your God. Joel 2:25 NASV: Then I will make up to you for the years That the swarming locust has eaten The creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust, my great army which I sent among you. Psalm 62:5-6 KJV: My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectations from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence, I shall not be moved. Next, here's some music to encourage you: He has his hands on you - Marvin Sapp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1WQLipTwRQ God provides - Tamela Mann: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32jDHrDEVPM God is in Control - James Hall & Worship in Praise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7xXjdksufo I am God - Donald Lawrence & the TriCity Singers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9w-_Mf0Yw1A Can't Give Up Now - Mary Mar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37PCbh9KppA A prayer to go in your War Chest: Dear God, I pray that my circumstances change. Nothing remains the same for very long. In the meantime, give me the resolve to wait it out cheerfully. To stop feeling its pain. To instead be flexible, open, and in celebration with you. For you, dear God are mightier than circumstance beyond my control. You are surely by my side and filling me with patience, and peace of mind. Amen. (The prayer came from here: you can go check it out and others like it). And last, but not least, a poem that I learned many years ago when I was pledging my sorority back in college: Don't Quit When things go wrong as they sometimes will When the road you're trudging seems all uphill When funds are low and debts are high When you want to smile, but you have to sigh When care is pressing you down a bit, rest if you must but just don't quit. Life is queer with its twists and turns As every one of us sometimes learns And many a failure turns about When he might have won had he stuck it out, Don't give up though the pace seems slow You may succeed with another blow. Often the goal is nearer than, It seems to a faint and faltering man, Often the struggler has given up, When he might have captured the victor's cup, And he learned too late, when the night came down, How close he was to the golden crown. Success is failure turned inside out- The silver tint of the clouds of doubt, And you can never tell how close you are, It may be near when it seems so far, So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit- It's when things seem worst that you must not quit. -Author Unknown Listen, obstacles will come, sometimes, as I have experienced, multiple obstacles all at the same time. People say that no goal or dream is obtained without a struggle. And I won't lie, there are plenty of times when you are facing what amounts to insurmountable odds, your back is against the wall and you just want some relief. The words of an Old James Cleveland song (remade by Mary Mary as linked above) have comforted me many times when I've faced obstacles: "I just can't give up now, I've come too far from where I started from. Nobody told me that the road would be easy and I don't believe he brought me this far to leave me." Whatever the situation, whatever the problem, you must believe that God's got it. He didn't bring you (or me) this far to leave you... Stay encouraged and prayerful as we enter this holiday season that takes a toll on a lot of folks - emotionally and financially. I hope this has been encouraging for you - I try to be encouraging even in the midst of my own struggles! Wanna post some encouragement for anyone struggling right now? You can do so, just Holla @ Darvi and leave it in the comments. Enjoy your weekend and be blessed! xoxoxo
Happy Friday, Blogland! I hope that the Autumn season has been kind to you all! There's been all sorts of things happening around these parts! The teen got an early admission and partial scholarship into his first choice college, so I'm gonna be an HBCU Mom! He also got his driver's license (finally!). The tween got promoted to honors math and is taking high school level Spanish. So the kids are doing ok (we still have some challenges, but they are ok). October has been especially busy; unfortunately, I have not been able to squeeze in a Family Fall Outing (but I may be able to sneak one in on Sunday afternoon; we shall see). It's my second favorite time of the year (Spring is my favorite); I love to watch the leaves change colors. Here is one of my favorite fall photos:
Anyhoo, y'all know I'm from the Chicago area, right? Something major is going on up this way - the Cubs are in the World Series!!! Hasn't happened in, well, let's just say a few years... I snapped this photo the other day to show how Chicago was celebrating:
And last but not least, last Saturday would have been my dear grandmother's 99th birthday if she were still living. It wasn't a sad day; I spent a lot of it just reflecting on her and her legacy. She loved baseball and would sincerely be over the moon about the the Cubs in the World Series right now!
But, onto our topic (side note: I hate when I haven't written in awhile; I have so much to catch you all up on and then these posts are incredibly lengthy! Working on it... I promise!). I have a confession to make: I. HATE. WAITING. Ok, wait. Hate is such a strong word. How about this: I'm not very good at waiting. Now, I can wait reasonable amounts of time in line, at a restaurant, to vote, to get a gas pump. But in general? I just really have a hard time waiting. Case-in-point: last week I sent my friend a text message and when I didn't get a response in about 20 minutes, I sent back this: "Uh, hello?" And he (gently) reminded me that he was, as I was, in the process of leaving for work and getting those things done and called me impatient. All I could do was laugh, because it's certainly the truth. I'm not as bad as the man in the Fifth Third commercials (have you seen it?) but still, I'm not a very patient person. Not even, dare I say it? With God.
Yeah, I said it. Look at me, owning my truth! I am not patient, not even when I'm waiting on God. Now this isn't all of the time, but it certainly happens when I figure, in my own mind, that it has been long enough and surely He has come to a decision by now! I know, laughable, right? But let me give you a very real example. So, it's been a whopping 1186 days, or, 3 years, 2 months and 28 days since I lost my job (I didn't know those exact numbers, had to use Google to find a calculator for it). And I'm no closer this year to having a full-time gig than I was a year ago, two years ago or even three years ago. It's been very frustrating, but also a situation that fuels my impatience. Because you see, I figure that He has had enough time to move mountains and send me a job! But, it just hasn't happened like that. And I won't lie, I am at the edge of worry about the whole thing, because, let's face it, that's a mighty long time to not have a steady income in your household, right? But, on the other hand, He hasn't failed me yet, so why would he start now? The Lord's prayer reminds us to ask for our "daily bread" - remember that post? Here it is if you need a refresher. So I try to remember that and not worry about days that haven't come and just focus on each new day.
But what do you do while you're waiting? Real talk - what do you do? When you look around and it seems like everyone else is getting a new job, a new house, a new car, engaged (and you can't even keep a boyfriend/girlfriend), pregnant, travelling - it can make you feel bad or worse, it can spark feelings of envy or resentment, especially if you feel you are just as "___" fill in the blank as they are. Bottom line? You want to know when it's going to be your turn. Or worse still, you think that God has forgotten about you. And your shoulders slump and you just want to give up.
This here thing? I'm speaking from experience. I've felt all of those things, even as recently as yesterday. True story, I was on social media, scrolling down my timeline, and ran across a friend celebrating an anniversary and while I was happy for them, I felt some kind of way. Why? Because I'm divorced, and the marriage I thought I would have had by now didn't happen and because I want to celebrate anniversaries too, darn it! Funny, but true.
So for real, what should you be doing while you are waiting for your breakthrough, blessing, miracle, testimony, answered prayer - whatever you call it - what should you be doing while you are waiting???? I'm pretty sure that feeling envious and resentful aren't on the list, although those are both very real emotions for when you feel that God has forgotten you. Ouch. Who wants to feel like they are forgotten? Unloved? Abandoned? No one! It's not a good feeling at all!
Know that God doesn't want you to feel those things either; those negative feelings are the trick of the enemy to get you off course and to stop you from a) praying and b) believing in the power of your prayers. Another trick the enemy uses is the trick of comparison, and social media is a powerful tool that feeds into that (hmm, I will write about that another time). You with me? Stay with me.
The first thing you must do is to remember these things: 1) God never forsakes you. 2) God is good all the time. 3) Nothing is impossible if you believe. 4) God's word endures forever. 5) It's ALWAYS God's timing, and not yours. 6) Continue to pray. 7) Trust God no matter the circumstances. 8) Stand firmly on his promises. 9) Never give up or give in. 10) Give God praise while you're still waiting on the answers to your prayers. I also found a blog post devoted to this very topic, entitled "Helpful Ways to Wait on God When You Don't Want To," that did an excellent job of providing some Do's and Don'ts. You can read it here.
All this is well and good, right? But the reality is that while you are praying, you will need to add some scriptures to those prayers to help you to stand firm in your faith. Here are are few you can use for that purpose (these should go right in your war room - whether that's a closet, poster board or notebook):
Psalm 37:7- Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him (NIV).
Psalm 27:13-14- I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord (NIV).
James 1:12 - Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him (NIV).
Hebrews 6:15 - And so, after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised (NIV).
Hosea 6:3 - Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth (NIV).
Psalm 13:5 - But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation (NIV).
Psalm 62:5 - Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from Him (NIV).
1 Peter 5:10 - And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast (NIV).
Last week, I was listening to Steve Harvey on the radio ('round about 5 am, at the beginning of his show, he provides some very real, spiritual motivation for his listeners), and he said something so profound that I had to make a voice note so that I wouldn't forget what he was saying. What did he say? Here it is: "Pray for strength for the journey while you are waiting. Don't get knocked off course because oftentimes the blessing comes after the test. Don't pray for obstacles to be removed, because they are part of the journey. Both the heavens and the imps hear your prayers, and they will try to knock you off course." How about I was ready to shout in my car???
I was sharing some of my anxieties with a friend yesterday over email, and she wrote back to me: "Remember delayed is not denied God is working on some things in your life. God see & know everything you're going through and if you just hold on things will change for your good. God want to do a new thing in your life and a fresh thing in you. You must be grounded to realize the season you're about to come into." It brought tears to my eyes, and just confirmed that I was supposed to write this post (the topic came to me a few weeks ago but I'm just getting around to it) and also gave me the will to go on just one more day.
Last, but not least, I found a prayer on Pinterest (yes, Pinterest) that I encourage you to put in your war room as well (I certainly intend to). It is originally from here, https://heathercking.org/, and it is called "A Prayer for When You Are Waiting" and it goes like this:
My Father,
I know I am impatient, so prone to worry, to give up, to lose hope.
Help me to rest in Your promises today.
In this season of waiting, renew my joy in this moment so that I do not miss Your presence in this place. Thank You for being with me and for never giving up on me. Thank You for always working for my good and for Your glory even when I can't see.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
So hold on just a little while longer and wait on the Lord. I'm waiting - and praising Him while I do. What about you? You know what to do - Holla @ Darvi and let me know what you do while you're waiting! Have a wonderful weekend and as always, be blessed. Here's some music to take us out:
Happy Wednesday, Blogland! Yes, I know I only have 28 minutes of Wednesday left (Central time), but hey! I hope everyone's been having a great week so far, I must confess, I have been really chillaxing this week- enjoying the time off while I can and just kinda going with the flow... This will be a very short post, I just really wanna share some thoughts with you about prayer. So I've shared with you that I've been keeping a faith journal that has a prayer section (soon to be upgraded to a stand-alone prayer journal). In it, I've been writing out specific prayer requests for family, friends, my church, etc. (and some of yours as you have sent them to me). The other thing I've been doing is making sure to keep a list of answered prayers (that will make sense if you've seen the movie "War Room"). This morning I said a fervent prayer over a particular situation in my life (I was feeling a little anxious, I will not lie) and within a few hours I had positive confirmation of something I had not been aware of that was the answer to my prayer. Answered prayer. Tonight I had occasion to go back through that prayer section again because I got some very good news from a friend of mine that was the answer to a prayer I've been praying with and for her for a long time now and I wanted to note the date that the prayer was answered. I took a moment to look through the pages and just see how many prayers that have been answered on behalf of myself and others - and I just had to smile. I also noted prayers that haven't been answered (yet), but because I have a concrete record of answered prayers, I will just keep praying on those things and when the time comes, mark them off as well! So not so long after I got the good answered prayer news, I got another notification that some prayers had not been answered in the way expected and there was some disappointment, both on my part as well as the person I was praying for. And it got me to thinking about an article I read the other day, that I wanted to share with you here: "God has not abandoned you: why we must pray through despair." You can read it here. I read it the other day from a Facebook link and it really stuck with me and I knew I wanted to share it with you here. The reason that it stuck with me is because I am a person who experiences the ups and downs of this faith walk, sometimes multiple times a day! There are times when I feel God is very, very far away and other times when I feel that He is right here with me and we're conversing. Reading this article calmed me down, frankly, and let me see that I'm not alone in the roller coaster relationship I sometimes have with God. Please take a look at the article if you feel like God is far away and not hearing your prayers... I posted a few months ago about my answered prayer rock I received on New Member Sunday at church (which is still on my dresser). Remember? In case you've forgotten, here it is again:
It, along with the answered prayers recorded in my journal are a tangible reminder that God does hear and that He is still answering prayer. I leave you today with this scripture that sums it all up:
Matthew 21:21-22New American Standard Bible (NASB)
21 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen.22 And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
Have a prayer request? Holla @ Darvi and I will put you on my list! Or, if you have answered prayers to share, let me know that too! As always, be blessed!!! xoxo
Happy Monday, blogland! I'm baaaack!!! I had a (brief) hiatus last week due in part to trying to get settled in with the move and the kids in new schools (and everything else that goes along with moving) as well as the fact that my phone/cable/internet move order was cancelled. Three times. So yeah, I had no internet! And no, I'm not done unpacking (or moving for that matter - this has to be the longest move in the history of mankind!). But, everything is coming along... I have so much to share! But, all in due time. Today we're going to talk about being hot or cold (speaking of which, it is uber cold in Chicago; I'm not overjoyed that we have catapulted into late October/early November temperatures so soon). I'm just saying... Anyway, onto today's topic: Hot or Cold?
It's a question I have been asked many times as I order coffee, and my answer is always hot (I just really don't understand cold/iced coffee although clearly there's a market for it or it wouldn't exist...). But we're not talking about coffee today. Today we're talking about commitment, which was the subject of yesterday's sermon and also indirectly the subject of the movie "War Room," which I finally got to see yesterday (excellent movie, by the way). So let's go! Commitment. Betcha weren't expecting that! What is commitment? Commitment is defined as: "the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc. 'the company's commitment to quality;' synonyms: dedication, devotion, allegiance, loyalty, faithfulness, fidelity 'her commitment to her students' 2 an engagement or obligation that restricts freedom of action. 'business commitments' synonyms: responsibility, obligation, duty, tie, liability, task, engagement, arrangement 'the pressure of his commitments' Most of us think of commitment in terms of personal relationships, the ultimate of course being marriage. But there is also a commitment required of your relationship with God if you are indeed to have a personal one... On to the sermon. It was titled, "Making a Total Commitment," and delivered by my pastor, Elder Andrew Singleton of Victory Apostolic Church in Matteson, Illinois (I promise that if you visit you'll have a great time!). His scripture text was found in Luke 5:1-11, and it focused on when Simon Peter and Andrew finally gave their total commitment to Christ (go ahead and read it for yourselves). Apparently it was the third time they had been asked to totally commit, and the third time was the charm (along with a miracle that took away all doubt). Pastor Singleton noted that we live in the age of entitlement without commitment, and when something isn't right, people want to get out. He made a very important point about your faith walk - when you don't commit to God, He won't commit to you. Also, he noted that there is a difference between involvement and making a commitment. Whoa! Deep, right??? But, still relevant and makes sense. After church I went to see the movie "War Room" with a friend (I truly recommend it, by the way). And though the main theme of the movie was the power of fervent and effectual prayer, the underlying theme of the movie (as I saw it) commitment. Commitment to God, commitment to a consistent prayer life, commitment to marriage, commitment to family. One scene in the movie questioned whether one of the character's spiritual life was hot or cold. Turns out she was lukewarm, much like the apostles in the sermon text. She had yet to make a total commitment. Once she did, she saw things change. I believe that holds true for most things in life. We have to make decisions, we have to make commitments. All in or all out - not straddling the fence. When you go to vote, you have to make a commitment to a party of your choosing before you can get a ballot. When you go shopping, you have to make a commitment to specific purchases within your budget. When you go to buy a car, you have many options, but eventually you have to make a commitment to a particular one. See where I'm going here? Most decisions in life (big and small) require you to make a decision, right or wrong, hot or cold, and see the decision through to the end. Unequivocal decisions take away confusion and mixed messages. There's no room for confusion once a decision is made. So what does this have to do with anything??? I'm glad you asked! At the beginning of 2015, I made a decision to stop being lukewarm in certain areas of my life, including my spiritual life. I decided I wanted to be "hot." To that end, I created a faith journal, committed to attending church regularly, began to research and study devotionals I found on Pinterest, took the one-on-one discipleship class - all things designed to reinforce my unequivocal decision to set things right. That was one of the best decisions I've made all year! I have seen prayers answered (that I have prayed for myself and others), I have clearly and unequivocally been able to use discernment on some things and most importantly, I've been able to hear. That is probably the most important thing to come out of this decision to run hot. I have some more things to work on, but that's just a little slice of what 2015 has meant for me. So I'll leave you with the question - are you hot or cold? Hot or cold in your spiritual life, in your marriage, in pursuing your education, in pursuing your career and financial goals, in your relationship with your children and other family members??? Something to think about, isn't it? Holla @ Darvi and let's talk about it! Be blessed and have a wonderfully awesome week!!!
