From the Abundance

What do you do when God tells you "hands off" and you're watching someone you love suffer or Photo by Samuel Martins on Unsplash struggle, sometimes in the fight of their life? You take your hands out of the situation and let them wrestle with God. You pray and watch and pray some more. You give them words of encouragement when God allows. You gather your intercessor friends to help you pray and you keep praying and covering them. It's difficult to watch somebody go through something that you could easily fix or know the solution to but God tells you no. You could help but God says you've done enough, this is between me and them. This obedience is a different kind because it requires us to stay in our place like the children we are. You can argue with ya momma or daddy but you can't argue with God.  If you're anything like me, you don't try to! You pray & cry and keep your mouth closed and your hands in your pockets. Why is this importa...

Photo by  Dariusz Sankowski  on  Unsplash I took a very unintentional hiatus from blogging over the past few months and tonight  friend reminded me that I needed to get back to it.  So here I am!  I have so much to say but I often find it difficult to express or struggle with just putting things out there.  This post will be the first of several.  There are lots of things on my heart and mind so it's time I get back to sharing. John 4:24 NLT says, For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. In order for us to render proper worship unto God we have to walk in our truth, no matter what that is.  When we refuse to or don't acknowledge parts of our truth it can hinder our worship.  Honestly, our truth isn't always pretty, it isn't always what's expected or considered "proper", but it is what it is.  So here are a few of mine... Even though I live a life poured out, I often don't feel ful...

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 ...

There's a time in everyone's life where you feel like you've failed God.  It may be in word, deed, thoughts, a broken vow... lots of things. The great thing bout God is, He won't let you stay there.  Even when you have utterly failed Him, intentionally failed Him, repeatedly failed Him, or combined all three and EPICALLY FAILED Him.. He won't let you stay there. He has this amazing way of letting you know that He still needs you, still wants you, and still chooses you.   Not to say that you might not get a spanking first, but He always picks you up and lets you know that you're still His beloved.  There are countless times when we will make mistakes, make the wrong decisions, move out of God's timing or will, or just flat out be in flesh and sin. God already knows.  He knew before we were even formed in out mother's womb.  He factored all of that in when He declared our end from the beginning.  I'm so grateful that God's mind is greate...

One of the things I love to do when I travel is find funky unique places to visit.  The photo above was taken while I was on vacation in Miami.  There's a huge area called Wynwood Walls where the buildings, fences, and pretty much everything is covered with beautiful graffiti style art. My friend and I took tons and tons of pictures and I have several of this particular painting.  There's so many intricate details in this picture that drew me in and made me want to look closer.  I was flipping back through pictures and thinking about what I wanted to write today and I ended up thinking about the course of my life.  I figured I would be married by now, have a couple of kids, a business or a great job, and be well into ministry.  Although it is nothing like I imagined it would be, I can truly say it's been amazing thus far.  Yes, there's been some hardship, some pain, some disappointment, and many many tears shed along the way but overall, it'...

And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil. 2 Kings 4:2  This text seems so simple at first glance but when the Pastor was reading the text in its entirety to tell the widow's story it was the last part of verse two that grabbed me like a kid in the trick or treat bowl.  I heard the words I have nothing... but a pot of oil.  That word arrested me so fast, so completely and utterly knocked me over.  Let me explain why. It wasn't the fact that the widow didn't have anything but more so that she didn't realize the value of what she actually did have.  The oil!!  If you've got the oil you have everything you need.  The woman didn't just have oil, she had a pot, or a VESSEL.. (catch me in the spirit).  The woman had oil but she also had a place for the oil to be kept.  The same thing has to be true for us. In or...

In a few days I will hit my four month mark here in Daytona Beach.  It has truly been an adventure.  In these four months God has connected me with amazing people that feel like home, I've done things I never had the opportunity to do in KY, completed several projects that I'd been trying to finish forever, and opened up the door for me to use all of my gifts for ministry and to generate income.  Oh what a difference location can make!  Now I'm not telling you to jump up and move, but what I am saying is this. If you know that God is calling you to a different location, go! Don't hesitate, don't make excuses, just go as He leads. The pastor has been preaching a series called unstuck and the lesson last night was 5 signs you're stuck. You feel like you're going through the motions You make excuses to avoid change You have no plan for what's next and worry about what's coming You feel scatterbrained You don't feel like yourself  (yo...

Today the world lost a musical genius, an icon, an amazing entertainer, humanitarian, and extraordinary musician.  His gifts touched people spanning various generations, nationalities, racial groups, ethnicities, and age groups. There's a lot of folks who got capes slapped on their backs today and became SUPER SAVED at the thought of the "saints" mourning the loss of Prince.  I have a few things to say about that.. 1.  He was a person that touched, inspired, and reached more than most preachers ever will in a lifetime.  2.  It's sad when anybody dies because there's loss there..He was someone's family.. without the titles and accolades, he was still a son, a cousin, a husband, and worthy of being mourned; and 3.  Most importantly, He's a soul that will have an eternal resting place just like the Super Saints... no different than you or I in those areas. So leave people alone and let them mourn... Any great music lover, saved or unsaved felt that loss t...

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 ...

Luke 12:48 tells us that to whom much is given much is also required. I just wanted to take a minute to tell myself as well as remind you, that much is required of us.  No matter our titles, positions, accolades, posts, education, training, posture, works, or level of faith, God is requiring more. God blesses us to be a blessing to others.  I don't know about you but I am beyond blessed.  I have the full function of all my limbs, I'm in my right mind, I have everything I need, I''m forgiven, I've been redeemed, I have joy & peace, I feel safe, and I serve a God that truly understands every part of my being.  I know a lot of people get upset or angry with God when bad things happen and say how could such a loving God allow this, or how would a God who heals allow so much pain, etc. If you look at all that Jesus went through to take away our sins, to allow us that gift of healing and eternal life our light suffering is nothing.  Could you imagine the we...

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...

I haven't posted anything in a while but I've been busy!  I've been planning ministry events and outreach projects for 2015.  The official launch of Loved Right Ministries will happen in January but some tidbits will be released in the next couple of weeks... I don't know about anybody else but doing Kingdom work always gets me excited!  I did something today that I haven't done in a long while, creative writing.  Someone reminded me that I used to write poetry and that I hadn't in a long time. So when I pulled out my creative writing exercise for today the task was to write a poem beginning with Emily Dickinson’s “Bring me the sunset in a cup”.  So here are my results, I hope it inspires somebody else to pick up a gift that you may have set aside for a while. Bring me the sunset in a cup And I’ll show the beauty of God’s grace The unimaginable detail with which He painted each face. I’ll show you the lines of laughter and Moist tear stained che...

So I've been thinking about doing a post on dating and relationships for a while now but there's just so much to say I couldn't figure out where to begin... until I started a Bible study series on the book of Proverbs (one of my favorite chin check in the spirit books).  There's so much wisdom, knowledge and just flat out common sense in this book that it's crazy.  If you haven't read it, studied, and applied it, I highly suggest you start today.  It talks about life, how we treat one another, our neighbors, relationships, business, how to carry yourself, everything really.   But back to what I was saying.. I didn't know where to start until I started this study series.  As I prepared the lesson for week one covering chapters 1-5, I paused at the continued warning about the people you choose to connect yourself to.  Especially the warnings about strange women and harlots.   Not because I plan on doing so, but what the word was saying a...

  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....