From the Abundance

I saw this post on Instagram and had to steal the picture because it was the exact sentiments of where I am right now.  2016 has been a season of transition in every area of my life and I have truly embodied the sentiments of this picture. When I moved to Florida I walked away from everything familiar and had no idea what I would be walking into... I just obeyed God and came. I knew I was leaving behind my family and friends, my home, my favorite places and things, but I didn't know I would be leaving behind me.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm still me, but the me that I assumed I was got left behind.  That me was the one that was pieced together with everyone else's expectations, goals, aspirations, hopes, dreams, and ideals for and of me.  Not the ones I'd created for myself or the ones God had given me in dreams and visions.  I'd always assumed I wanted certain things and wanted them a certain way but I quickly learned that sometimes the very thing we ...

It's taken me a while to get to the place where I could write this blog.  I've been struggling with writing for the past few weeks and hadn't really realized why.  Tonight all of that changed.  I needed some couch time, for those who don't know me couch time is when my friends and I play therapist for one another.  I'm fortunate that most of my close friends are actually social workers, therapists or ministers/Pastors.  So I was talking to one of my friends an explaining to her all the things that had been going on in my head, the things God had been showing me about myself and how I'd just been a bit overwhelmed with it all.  Then it hit me.  The light bulb came on and I knew exactly why I was struggling and what I was struggling with. I'm in a season where everything in my life is new.  New city, new state, new people, new church, new job, new relationship, new everything... That's all great but what I forgot was that with all that newness ...

There are certain things that we're all hoping and believing for but sometimes life make it extremely difficult to hold on to that belief.  Circumstances and situations have a way of shaking that belief, diminishing the level of belief or just wiping it out altogether.  I'm believing God for some cray big things but right now I'm not seeing the manifestations of any of it. For the most part I'm fine with waiting and trusting that it will come, but in some things  I feel like it's almost impossible or I'm like gees can it happen already.. I've been waiting x # of years/months and nothing!!  Don't get me wrong, I have crazy big outrageous faith to trust and believe God for the impossible or pretty close to it, but I'm still human. Being in this fleshly body my impatience sometimes gets the best of me. In Mark 9 there's a story of a man whose son had plagued by a deaf & dumb spirit since childhood.  The spirit would throw him down, caus...

These past few weeks have been really busy for me, an emotional roller coaster ride and virtual amusement park of feelings if you will.  Father's Day was a lot harder on me than I expected and took a lot out of me emotionally.  It was my second without my daddy and not one bit easier than the first. I'm swiftly approaching month five here in Daytona Beach and though things are feeling like home, there's still that sense of being in foreign territory.  There are just some comforts of home that you lose when you move away and being able to go plop down on a friend's couch is one of them.  It may not seem like much, but if your friends are like mine, then it means the world for those few hours. I spent a lot of time in my head the past couple of weeks, thinking, praying, reflecting, questioning, and listening for answers... Not much luck in finding those answers I was seeking but I carried on.  Sometimes God's silence is the answer.  It means wait, it me...

Last week was a crazy week for me.  It was productive and full of things to do , but also very emotional.  I've been applying for jobs, creating content for my store, visiting churches, trying to carve out my spot here in Daytona and do what God has for me to do.  I know that sounds like the normal things you do when you move but for someone who's used to going and doing, this idle time is killer.  Before I came I went to visit my hometown and the pastor there prophesied to me several times about this journey that God is taking me on.  He told me that what I've asked is a hard thing and because of it, I'm being tried but that God would fulfill His promises and nothing would fall to the ground. This is one reason I always carry a spiral notebook in church.  Anytime I receive a word of prophecy, word of wisdom or knowledge I like to be able to go back and review it, pray about it (especially the details), remind myself of God's confirmation, and encourage my...

There's something about being in a quiet place that allows the enemy to think it's his time to shine.  I don't know about you but whenever things are real quite it seems like her grabs a megaphone to yell his lies like a cheerleader.  It seems like everything he said gets louder and louder, like he's hosting his own pep rally to cheer on his starting lineup of lies, doubt, and deceit. This is one reason I always keep some music close by.  My mom and grandma always talk about me for keeping the radio on in my car but they don't understand the power of music to quickly reach and influence the soul.  If you stop and think about it, I bet there are 5 songs you can quickly recall all the lyrics to but for most, the same can't be said about passages of scripture (I know my word though!).  The right song can completely change my attitude, lift my spirits, encourage me, or give me that push I need to go on and drown out the voice of the enemy.  The devil ...

In my final post on mental health I wanted to take some time to explore a topic that's not considered a mental health issue medically but it is quite common.  Don't let the title of this post trick you into thinking I'm posting about unresolved Daddy issues because I'm not.  It's something that we all struggle with at some point in life or another... self-esteem. Whether you're a man, child, woman, or confused about which.. at some point your self esteem will waver.  There will be some days where you feel too fat or too skinny, too tall or too short, not smart enough, not pretty enough, not fine enough, or just plain old not good enough.  We all have those moments, but for some people it's their constant reality.  They feel like they never measure up.  The problem isn't that they're measuring, the problem is who's standard they're using.   If I constantly compare myself to the next person, the media's ideal beauties, the world's sta...

A lamb is often a symbol of innocence and purity.  Precisely why I chose to create the image I did for this post.  If you notice the word UNCOVERED is hiding in the grass.  That too is intentional.  I want to take some time to shed light on a topic that is probably one of the most taboo and hushed of all topics... sexual abuse.  More specifically within families and the church. According to   NSVRC   63% of the assaults are never reported and 8 out of 10 victims knew the person who assaulted them, which is why the enemy needs to be exposed in this area. Even more disturbing is the fact that only 12% of child sexual abuse cases are reported. Historically there's been many scandals involving young boys being molested in the Catholic Church but nobody likes to talk about the wives being raped by their husbands, or husbands being raped by wives.  Nobody mentions the aunts, uncles, family friends, neighbors and parents that creep into little kids'...

As I continue my journey of discussing mental health I wanted to take some time to tackle the big bad wolf that is often in disguise.  A lot of people don't think of depression as a mental health matter because it has become a norm.  That's a lie from the enemy...it is a mental health issue and a big one at that. Depression is the most common of mental health issues probably because it sneaks up so suddenly... Depression can stem from many many things.  Loss, failure, feelings of abandonment, loneliness, a bad day, being overwhelmed, feeling like you haven't accomplished anything, comparing yourself to the world's standards, chemical imbalance, hormones, medication and many other things.  The enemy has slipped it in so subtly that we don't even realize we've been attacked until we're already sinking in feelings of despair.  The sad part about it is that people can walk around and function without even realizing they're depressed.  You don'...