From the Abundance

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Recently I've had a lot of opportunities to just sit back and observe people. Never before have I had the insight and vision that I have now.  I guess that's what experience does for you... When you go through things that expose your own areas of fragility it's a lot easier to recognize it in others. I always tell people there's a blessing in being quiet and this has been one of those times.  In the silent watching I've learned that people are a lot more fragile than they would ever have you know. I had a long conversation with a friend that was really rather shocking. I knew this friend was going through a difficult patch but some of the things that were shared int he conversation really allowed me to peer a little bit deeper into their heart of hearts.  I saw a vulnerability that I had never seen before.  Here is a person that's proud, a fighter, hard worker, rarely asks anybody for anything and ...

There's so much on my heart and mind right now that I really need to release... things have been locked up for weeks and months and I just haven't been motivated to write.  I really haven't known where to begin.. Feb 24 I got the most devastating call of my life.  It was about 2:30am and I was a little restless and my phone rang.  I immediately knew something was wrong  when I saw my older brother's picture on the screen.  I answered the call and received the news that our father had been murdered in his home.  I was in shock, numb, in disbelief, and devastated wasn't even close to describing it.  I maintained my composure through the call but when I hung up and the heaviness of the words I had just repeated hit me, I crumbled. With tears running down my face, I called my mom and told her.  She was on her way immediately.  During the time that my mom was driving to my house I sat in the middle of my bed, cried and prayed, prayed and c...

  One of the things I set out to accomplish this month was writing a letter of interest and support for the upcoming ministry things that I'm working on.  So as I wrote the letter I found myself asking the recipients to make an investment in souls.  When I wrote the letter I was thinking investments in terms of planting seeds.  In the week following, I had several conversations with friends who were in the Valley of Decision, self included.  As I talked relationships with one of my friends, I asked if she was willing to invest in the guy again and give him the opportunity to get to the point he needed to be.  So later that week I was asking myself that same question. This made me think...  Investments require risk.  Anything you're willing to pour into, you have to consider if the risk is worth taking and if so, how long are you willing to wait on the return in your investment?  I thought long and hard and definitely prayed about it....

I saw a post on a friend's facebook page that was beautiful.  I'm a sucker for love and romance.  What can I say??  I love, love, love.... LOVE!    The post was about her husband and she said,  "... his touch on my skin is like the first rains in the Serengeti desert.... His voice settles like the the most magnificent yet softest sunset in my spirit...." I said wow, that's beautiful and truly a blessing.  It's amazing to have someone love you like that and to still feel that way after years and years.  God did that thing right there!!  I saw this post early in the week but something about it just stuck with me throughout the week and even until now.   Saturday I was having one of those "in my feelings/in my head" days and just could NOT turn my thoughts off for anything.  They were screaming louder than party-goers trying to get beads at Mardi Gras.  I went to bed trying to pray, frustrated, sad, irritated, but at the ...

So today is the first day of Summer and I don't know about anybody else, but I feel great!  I'm a few days closer to moving and a few steps closer to releasing some of this purpose.  I don't know what it is about summer that just makes me happy.. It's hot and humid and my hair is usually a frizzball but I love it nonetheless. There's nothing like sunshine and warmth on your skin, a good BBQ or  picnic, a popsicle, and swimming pool! The only thing that can make it better is a gallon or two of Chic-fil-A lemonade that's ice cold... Now that's the business!! Today as the seasons officially change I just wanted to take time to remind somebody that even though the season has changed, God has not changed His mind about you.  His promises haven't changed, the plans He has for your life haven't changed, His love hasn't changed, and neither have His grace, mercy, or willingness to forgive. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. H...

I had an ah ha moment yesterday while I was out taking one of my clients to get her monthly commodities.  The line is always super long so I usually let her out at the door and find a parking space.  As I was letting my client out of the car someone knocked on my window.  To my surprise, I turned to see my cousin Joe standing there with a huge smile on his face.  He calls me Dah Ha (don't ask me why, but he has since I was little).  So I roll down the window and he's asking me about getting my Master's Degree, work, ministry and a bunch of other stuff.  He says "well Dr. Dah Ha you're just everything aren't you?  Getting my masters.. oh no that wasn't hard, it was just a test... That's that genius stuff" I just laughed and went to park the car.  When I cam back I sat on the steps of the church waiting for my client and my cousin came back to talk to me some more. This time he was asking me about the details of what I'm working on, what I...

                                     Several years ago when I started blogging I had no Idea I would still be blogging 10+ years later.  Although the address and the platform have changed, my love for writing has only grown.  I am so blessed and amazed every time I sit down to write.  I'll be honest and admit that I got a little discouraged when I was writing and writing and noticed that nobody was responding or commenting but then the strangest thing started happening.... I would run into one of my mom's friends or a person I met on Facebook telling me something about what they had read on my blog.  I said wow, people are reading!  So I said ok, maybe the comments don't matter so much as long as someone is reading and the seeds are being planted. A few months later I was fooling around in the control panel of the blog and saw the stats section.  So being the ...

                    Lately I've been having dreams about prison and jail but I know for sure that they have nothing to do with a natural jail or prison.  The thing about spiritual bondage is the fact that it can have so many faces, facets and sources.  Think of those pretty winding topiary bushes that form animals, zig zag shapes, words, or even people.  On the surface they look like one big bush or tree, but in reality they can have several sets of roots that end up growing together to create the fullness of the bush.  The same thing happens with spiritual bondage.  I can't say that all bondage is of the devil and all imprisonment is ungodly because Paul declared himself a bond-servant of Christ. First let's look at what bondage means: 1.  slavery   or   involuntary   servitude;   serfdom. 2. the   state   of   being   bound   by   or   subj...

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. Psalm 126:5 As the old saying goes... after all that I've been through I still got joy!!  That is definitely my testimony for this year.  Life in general really, but I thank God for continually bringing me through.  I am an overcomer!!  I love this scripture because the word for sow, zara`, is not only in the context of planting seed, but it also means to become pregnant.  Many of the things that have caused me to shed tears are the things that God has impregnated me with, or sown into the fiber of my being .  Even thous some of those things have cause me tears... I know when it's harvest time, it's all joy... Proverbs 10 :22 s ays The blessing of the Lord , it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.... so even when I creid a few tears, it wasn't because of God.  Sometimes it was the burdens of those connected to me, other times it was the con dition of the wor ld, and at times it was just...

 He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done. Proverbs 19:17 According to many people's standards I am poor... but I know better than that.  I know that I am extremely rich and wealthy beyond measure.  Most of the time people who are poor don't even notice until someone else, who has more than them, points it out.  Anywho, this post isn't about being poor but it is about the courage and kindness I've encountered this year. I've always been a dreamer... and boy do I have some good ones!!! They've never been small either!  I'd dream of owning a huge company, traveling the world, blessing my entire family financially, giving away houses like they do on Extreme Makeover Home Edition , doing ministry in HUGE crowds of people , starting programs t hat will change lives, writing books, lots of things... Now that we've established that, let me tell you what I know... it takes a lot of courage to ste...

I have this little necklace that I made for myself a few years ago for a New Years Eve Service.  The theme that night was "in the trenches" so these little tags became a part of my dog tags.  I wore this again recently and took the time to really read what was on the tags. I thought it very fitting considering all that has happened this year so I'd like to share what I've learned with you in the last days of this year . Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;   In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 More than any other time in my life, trust has been a HUGE theme this year.  Not in a sense of "I don't trust anyone", but more of being open to trust myself with the things God has given me, trust God COMPLETELY, and even tearing down some walls and trusting that my heart won't be broken again.  Earlier this year I graduated with my Master of Social Work and ...

The past two years have been an amazing journey for me to say the least.  I quit my job, went to grad school, became a minister, moved into my own place, started my own business, became a nationally published writer, graduated and got my Masters degree, became a licensed Social Worker, entered a relationship, became a pastor, helped plant a church, and sooo many other things.  God gets all the glory because if you had asked me about any of it, the only things I'd probably say maybe to are writing, and the business... It all started in prayer.  I asked God what it was that He wanted me to do, how He wanted me to do it, and simply trusted Him to handle the details.  Was it easy?  not always... has it been worth it?? Absolutely!!  Have I lost some things/people along the way??  you better believe it!  But for everything/one I lost God has added so much more... Throughout this process I had so many questions and so many concerns but God always sai...

The devil has one dollar but God has all the dollars!!  An original song made up by two of my friend's children so simply tells us the truth about our God.  Sometimes the enemy likes to fool us with the illusion that he has so much to offer... twinkling lights, fame fortune, glamor, money, power.. or whatever appeals to you.  In reality, he has the equivalent of a measly dollar.  Why settle for a dollar when God, our daddy, owns the cattle on a thousand hills?  Don't get me wrong, money is nice, but it's not all about that anyway.  Matthew 6:34 tells us to take no thought for tomorrow, for tomorrow shall take thought of the things for itself.  In other words, don't worry about tomorrow, it'll worry about itself. So what's so Important about these cattle and hills anyway?  Sometimes people get so caught up in chasing the stuff that they forget the true importance of why they're doing what they're doing in the first place. If I've dedicated my gif...

From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Psalm 61:2 Monday night I went to bed with a heavy heart and a a million thoughts racing through my head.  I couldn't even seem to find the words to pray to express what I was feeling in the moment.  Sometimes the burden for others can take your breath away, tangle your words and put your mouth on a temporary mute.  I am thankful that when I don't know what to pray, or even have an idea where to begin, the Chief Intercessor steps in on my behalf.  Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Romans 8:26 Sometimes we get so overwhelmed or hit from so many sides that it's hard to find a starting place but thank God that we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our ...

Tell me, what do you give when you've given your all And it seems like you can't make it through? Well you just stand when there's nothing left to do You just stand, watch the Lord see you through Yes, after you done all you can, you just stand..... Sometimes, when God puts you on assignment and you've done all that you can... you just have to stand.  Over the past few years God has truly had me on some assignments I'd never imagine myself being on.  One in particular came with an urge to pray, a declaration, no explanation, and crazy crazy instructions.  Guess what, still walking it out.. and still don't have an explanation per say.  I do have a greater understanding of the purpose for the assignment and why it's necessary.  Several times during the course of the assignment I told myself and God, "I didn't sign up for all this" and I was ever so quickly reminded that when I gave God my Yes, that meant Yes to everything, not just the ...

Image created by  Akiane    John 14:1-3 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. Over the past few weeks my family has lost several loved ones.  One in particular really made me stop and do a serious inventory of my life, those dear to me and the state of our affairs.  It's always hard to process death, unanswered questions, unspoken words, things you wish you should have said or done, the plans left unfulfilled and the pain that shreds your heart.  We are not promised tomorrow, or even the next moment... Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. James 4:14 Ofte...