From the Abundance

Photo by  Kelly Sikkema  on  Unsplash When I asked God for the gift of healing I had absolutely no idea what I was really asking for.  I just knew that when I looked around, a lot of people were sick and hurting and I wanted to do something about it.  As I got older and matured in the things of Christ, I knew that healing wouldn't be just physical.  I knew that I was in for a crazy ride when God told me, "I have to keep breaking you in order to heal them". Sounds crazy right?  It's really not. Psalm 51:17 says  My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.  I wish someone would have told me what I was asking for when I asked God to break my heart with the things that break His heart.  That's a big, crazy, bold prayer.  I could have never imagined that it would lead me down the path that is has thus far.  I said all of that to say this... if you have a friend that has h...

There is a certain place reserved just for God and sometimes we neglect that place and spend too much time away.  What is this place I speak of?  Worship, Bethel, the place where God lives.  Sometimes we get too busy trying to handle things on our own, make it through the day, or just survive to the next moment that we forget we have a secret place.  We stay out of the presence of God and wonder why we can't hear, why we aren't getting breakthrough, why we aren't seeing healing, why we feel powerless, why our families are falling apart, why everything around us seems to be in chaos... I can't even begin to explain what it feels like to be in the presence of God and do it  justice but there's just something so special and amazing about being in that place.  You can pour our your heart, bare your soul, your deepest fears, your frustrations, your hurt, your anger, your confusion, your impatience... and be completely naked before God's presence.  It...

When I moved to Florida I moved here with the knowledge that I was called to this area and region.  When I gave God my yes I told Him I would go wherever He sent me, so here I am. A lot of people freak out at the thought of packing up and leaving everything behind.  The thing is, it's different when you leave everything behind to follow Jesus. I can't say that this journey has been difficult physically, but emotionally it hasn't been the easiest.  I miss my family and friends, I miss the things that I associate with home, and I miss that sense of knowing that comes with being in your comfort zone. That leads me to the first step in the journey to promise... getting out of your comfort zone.  Sometimes you step out on your own, other times God kicks you out and then there are the times you go kicking and screaming.  Fortunately, I stepped out without being dragged or prodded.  I've never had a problem with taking leaps of faith.  I leap first an...

As February comes to a close I can't help but be excited because spring is around the corner!!  You know what happens in spring... EVERYTHING blossoms!!  I love to see new little buds come up on the trees, the beautiful flowers that come shortly after and the sweet aroma that fills the air.  I can only imagine that's what true worship smells like to God. I don't know if anybody else notices or if it happens this way for anybody else but every so often my worship completely shifts.  I was thinking back to a time where I could barely lift my hands, didn't really cry out or worship vocally.  Not because I didn't want to, simply because I was bound.  I couldn't praise God so how could I get in His presence?  I would sit in service and feel God moving but couldn't really express how I felt.  Then one day I was visiting what would become my church home and I went to the altar for prayer.  The pastor looked at me and said 3 words that were the cat...

It's been so long since I've taken the time to sit down and write, I should really be ashamed of myself.  That's what happens when you let go of the things you love. This blog isn't about the love between two people, but about the things you love and how easily they can get lost in the wind.  A lot of times things slip right through our fingers without us even realizing it.   When I started this blog it was a way for me to share my excitement about what God was doing, the experiences I was having, my trials and victories. all the things that might help encourage somebody else.  But this year I seemed to have lost that zeal and passion for writing.  SO many things have happened, and so quickly, that it just kind of knocked the wind out of my sails.  I shut down and I allowed the enemy to take away my voice for a while.  I felt like Ariel when the Ursula had her voice in a shell.  There was a lot that I wanted to say but I just couldn't ...

Like millions of other people I've belted out the words to Amazing Grace hundreds of times, but I gained a whole new understanding of the song once I truly experienced the grace of God for myself.   God being the gentleman He is, didn't stop there.  He escorted me on to the next level of glory and revelation.  There's a line in the song that says.  "I once was lost but now I'm found. Was blind but now I see" I thought about that blindness and how I was in the dark and deceived about so many things.  In case you're confused let me lead you over to 2 Corinthians 4:4, "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. " That god of this world is still up to his old tricks and is always trying to keep people blind and bound. It's completely different to be physically blind than mentally blind.  Though I've n...

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...

I was sitting at my Granny's house last night and she asked me a simple but loaded question... are you ok? I gave my usual response of yeah and kept talking.  Then the Holy Ghost arrested my lips and said tell the truth.  I wasn't ok.  For the first time in a long time, I came clean.  I said you know what Granny, I'm not.  She thought I was sad about a guy but he was the furthest thing from my mind.  I wasn't even sad, more than anything I was frustrated and felt stuck. I explained to my grandmother that I don't know what to do with the place I'm in right now.  On the one hand God has shown me this amazing life that I'm supposed to have and all of the things that are a part of it but on the other hand my real life is nowhere near what I've seen.  I feel like I'm just here.  What do you do with that??  I strive to do what He wants me to do and I know some of it's just playing the waiting game but wow... Since my spirit man lives ...

It's mighty dusty around these parts and I have some cleaning to do!  let me brush off the cobwebs by saying... I'm Back!!  I sometimes take a break from writing because I try to be careful with what I release and share with others.  My blog is From the Abundance for a reason.  I set out to share what was in my heart, and truth be told, my heart isn't always right. Sometimes I get attacked, I get angry, discouraged, bitter, depressed, sad, grieved, and sometimes down right disgusted.... BUT I DON'T STAY THERE! None of those are things I want to share with the people of God.  Out of the abundance of the heart, meaning whatever there's the most of in your heart, the mouth speaks...  UH OH, some of us are in big trouble right now!  I'm real enough to say all of the things I just said without fear or worry of being looked at strangely, whispered about, or just flat out talked about.  I've come to a place in God where I have to be real with Him at ...

Most of us have probably heard the story of the prodigal son, some of us have probably been that son. For those of you who may not have heard it let me share it with you.. I'll paraphrase & summarize but you can find the story in Luke 15:11-32. There's a father with two sons, the younger son asks the father for his part of the inheritance (which he wasn't entitled to until after the father died).  The father gives him his share and he gathers up everything he has and goes off to a foreign land. He foolishly spends everything he has on wild living.  In other words he said #turnup! and went ham. Well after he'd wasted everything, there was a famine in the land and there he was with nothing.  So he goes and hooks up with some locals and take a job feeding the pigs.  Well this might not seem like a big deal but he was Jewish, so he shouldn't have been anywhere near the pigs let alone feeding them and down in the mudhole slinging slop.  He was so hungry...

So I've been absent from my blog for about a month now and I truly do apologize for those of you who read regularly.  Thank you for thinking what I write about it important enough to read and share.It was not my intention to be away for so long, and I did have some post finished that I was ready to share but I soon learned those posts were just for me.  Sometimes I write something I think I'll be sharing with you guys and God just won't let me share at the time... So to that end let me tell you what's been going on and why I haven't been posting anything... and I pray this helps somebody else stay in the race and press on Some of you know and some do not, but a few months ago I made a huge leap and left my church.  Before you even ask...I didn't just leave because I felt like it. lol  The decision really wasn't even mine, the act of obedience was the requirement.  Nevertheless... I left.  This wasn't just my church home, it was the place where I had g...

There's a lot of talk about being transparent and real and what not these days in the kingdom but a lot of people are more like a stained glass mosaic than truly transparent... they let you see through the areas they want you to but hide most of the truth.  Well today let me help somebody out by being real  transparent... I'm 33, I have two degrees ( a B.S. in Apparel Design & Merchandising and A Master of Social Work), I live alone, pay my own bills (with the Lord's help), I'm gifted, talented and anointed to do a lot of things.  I have great friends, a wonderful family and a pretty decent boyfriend.  I have a small image consulting business on the side, I'm building a ministry and I'm writing blogs, books, and several other things...I'm usually a pretty upbeat and positive person.... People usually tend to think I have it all together, ask me how I do it, how I did this and that or whatever The thing is... I'm extremely frustrated, ...

I was watching an episode of the Carrie Diaries where she and her friends were having a conversation about the mentality of the people in Manhattan.  She was smitten with the luxe and glamour of NY and how everyone was so posh and had exciting lives. But her friend pointed out that in Manhattan everyone was their own little individual island... trying to keep up, outdo, and make the other little islands jealous..it was lonely being an island. Over the past few weeks I've found myself extremely irritated with this spirit of selfishness and self-exhalation that seems to be running rampant these days.  NO I am not about to get on my soapbox and just rant out of frustration but I am about to share some biblical truths with you concerning this foolishness right here... what I have termed Me Me Island Syndrome... There are times when we all have a lapse in judgement and think we don't need anybody else, we can do everything on our own, or that this show is all about us. ...

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...

                    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...

Well this is my first post of the New Year and wow... it's been an amazing 8 days already... God has really shown up in a major way and done some things to just blow my mind like never before. A few years ago I began to ask God to show me what my purpose is, why I'm here, what I'm supposed to do with the things He's given me, how to put it all together and what I can possibly do for Him with what seemed to be a bunch of stuff that doesn't even go together... Fast forward a couple of years and here we are in January of 2010... I know my purpose, I know what my gifts and callings are, I've been activated into the kingdom, He's showing me what my ministry looks like and has even given me visions of what it will look like. I say that to say this... even when you think what God is calling you to do is impossible, beyond your means, you're unworthy or you just can' plain figure out how you're going to make it work... write the vision. Habakkuk 2...