My Left Day

I am so grateful to God that I do not have many days like today. It was one of those days where nothing went right and everything went left.

I did not begin my day like I normally do, with prayer and reading scripture. Instead, even before showering, I set off on a task that had been on my mind when I went to bed and when I woke up. I thought it would only take a few minutes.

So let me first tell you about my normal mornings. I wake up on time, stretch while still in the bed and say, “Good morning daddy, good morning Jesus good morning Holy Spirit. Thank you for another day. Thank you for watching over me and Buddy (my cat) last night.” After that I open my phone, download the information from my Cpap machine and then read my devotions from Our Daily Bread and In Touch Ministries. I proceed with my daily hygiene routine, you don’t need details. LOL!

I kneel and pray, take my morning vitamins, feed the cat and I am on my way.

This morning, I said my good mornings, and thanked God. The problem began with my getting up late. I woke up on time, but didn’t get up when I should have.

Regretfully my impromptu fixation from the night before ate up more time that I had planned and I didn’t successfully accomplish anything, frustrating right? Ugh!!!

So I went bopping my frustrated self out of the house and off to the left we go!

At work, I was way too sought after, the phone was jumping, sick people dropped in, with no thought to infecting the office staff and I just smiled and prayed. One of those drop ins confessed to being sick. I stopped him mid sentence and said, “uh, excuse me, I need to get a mask.” He laughed but I was so serious. I came back looking like a surgical MD and told him to continue. Before he left I informed him to phone first to schedule meetings so that we could have time to talk and have a productive meeting. Ya’ll know what I was really thinking right? Don’t you drop by here nary other time without calling to see if I am available.

The worst of this left day… I lost my phone for a whole hour, the horror right? I had to run planned errands that didn’t know they were planned. To the left to the left… After I finished jetting all around Skibo from Cliffdale to Morganton, I headed back to the office, missions almost accomplished. I reached for my phone to call the painter and no phone.

I almost put on breaks in the middle of the highway, but thankfully I talked myself into exiting All American Highway and making a safe and legal left quasi U-Turn at the light and back to Skibo I went.

Kudos to the wonderful people at AT&T on Skibo. My personal service is with Boost, but the maintenance phone is with AT&T. I had visited them earlier so I thought the phone was there. After 15 minutes of dialing my phone, I went to Chipotle two doors down, nope, no phone. I got back in the car, mind racing frantically. I would have to back track and go to every place I had gone.

As I pulled into the parking lot of Burke’s Outlet I glanced at the passenger’s door and there, sticking out of the pocket, was the phone. For the life of me I could not figure out how it got there.

I had searched the car, but only the places I thought the phone could have fallen. Ugh again!

After each frustrating thing I prayed and asked the Lord to help me remain calm. I even quoted my 2018 catch phrase through clenched teeth, “Not TODAY Satan!”

After I got back to the office and tried to calm my stomach and my nerves by eating something, I had to acknowledge that I started my day off wrong and that is why no matter what I tried, it kept going left.

Jesus told His disciples in John 15:5, “without me, you can do nothing.” I know how important it is to seek the Lord’s help before tackling anything. I know that my day should begin with Him and not preoccupation with a task. How could I choose to ignore this?

I allowed myself to get upset and anxious about the task I was trying to accomplish, did I say I failed? After I found my phone, once again heading back to work, I repented and asked the Lord to forgive me for putting anything before Him and help me not do that again.

Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” I should have put that task at the feet of Jesus before attempting anything.

Psalm 3:5 & 6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight.” Or in my words, your day will go right, instead of left.

One On One

The 2017 Christmas Season is here. This has been a year of devastation, natural disasters, a government gone wrong and our media reduced to tabloid reporting, focusing on feelings instead of facts and getting caught in verbal battles. So many senseless murders this year, many people displaced from hurricanes. The latest… the proverbial straw, the death of that precious 3 year old’s death here in NC. I got lost in the sorrow, so I cried out to Abba God for our nation. Why are we going on as usual? How are we going on?

This has also been a challenging year for me healthwise. Aging is not for punks y’all, lol! I know I should be preparing for the festivities of the season, but I find myself withdrawing so I can be alone with my Savior. This Season should be about Him, not Kohls, Jared, Toys R Us, Macy’s and Belks.

My soul was so heavy today I needed one on one time with Abba, Jesus and Holy Spirit. The Lord is restoring a balance in me. My Spiritual fathers, Kenneth Hagin Sr. and Dr. Charles Stanley fed my spirit and soul today. I’m grateful for the post of Rhema’s 1996 Winter bible church service. It sparked a hunger in me. I went searching for some soul food. I turned from natural food, and feasted on the word brought by these men of God. The Fire, Anointing and Power filled my room…filled me, thank you Jesus, hope is restored.

Abba is also preparing me for my annual consecration next month. I’m excited about 2018. My latter shall be greater…

When was your last 1 on 1? When was the last time you hungered for His presence? He will fill you if you seek Him.

A Way of Escape

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV) “No temptation^[a] has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted^[b] beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,^[c] he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”  (a,b,c, – Greek for temptation and tempted can also mean testing and tested.)

Every day, we face temptations or testing that materializes in one of these forms – lust of the flesh, lust of the eye, and the pride of life. (see 1 John 2:16)  As followers of Christ, we have the assurance of knowing that the deadly three have no hold over us.  We have the Holy Spirit and He’s available to help us make better choices and not give in to lust.

Lusts show up in our lives in many ways.  It may be something as seemingly harmless as, “Hey those shoes are on sale, I’ve got to buy them.  I know I need to pay my electric bill, but I really want those shoes.”  It could also involve something as serious as, “I worked hard to get where I am and I don’t need anyone.”   Lust can destroy the lives of others, “It was just a one night stand, my wife won’t know.”

Our heavenly Father knows about our struggles and that is why he created a way of escape or an exit door.  The scripture above first tells us that we cannot possible encounter temptations or testing that no one else has ever had to endure.

Each of us like to think our struggles, hardships, challenges, and pain are unique and no one else has gone through what we have.  The truth is there is nothing new under the sun and there is another person if not many people who have faced and lived through similar situations.  With that in mind, we can be confident that we will get through anything the Lord allows to come our way.

He knew in advance what hardships, tests, and challenges each of us would face and in His infinite wisdom created an exit door.  Not only does He know what we are facing but also He’s with us every step of the way and He will never let us down.

There have been many nights I’ve fallen to my knees crying out, “Father I can’t do this.  I can’t take any more.”  Each time, He knew that I could.  The Father knows what He has put in each of us and to what limits He can test us.

Even when we fall prey to the three lusts, it’s because we ignore the exit door.  Since that is the case, why do so many of us fail the tests?  Why do we give in?  If we are completely honest with ourselves, we give in because sin feels good for the moment and because we want to feel good.  We just don’t like the consequences of sin.  “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 (NLT)

Some people fall prey to lust because of weakness, doubt of the Father’s love, low self-esteem and the list goes on.  The good news is the Lord has given us our own personal exit door so that we will overcome and be victorious in every situation.

I love The Message bible’s translation of this verse, “No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.”

You have an exit door.  God is faithful to help you go through and will also be standing on the other side to help you come through.

PULL OFF AND PUT ON

The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living.” Romans 13:12 (NLT)

Every day when I return home from work, I perform a ritual that I learned from a dear sweet woman, Liz Childress, my youngest daughter’s Godmother.  Liz was not only my daughter’s Godmother; she was like a mother to me during my motherless years before she passed.

Every Sunday after church as I pulled up to her house Liz would exclaim, “Ooh, I can’t wait to get in the house so I can pull off and put on.”  That meant removing her Sunday’s finest and put on her comfortable clothes and house shoes.  That woman sure knew how to dress and she wore nothing but the best from head to toe.

Like Liz, every day after work, I walk into my house and pull off my uncomfortable shoes at the door.  I rush into my bedroom remove my business attire and put on my comfortable housedress.  I like walking barefoot so I rarely wear shoes inside.  If I had a job where I didn’t need to wear shoes, I would be the happiest woman alive.  I wonder if I will have to wear shoes in heaven…I don’t think Jesus would do that to me.

“Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.” Ephesians 4:24 (NLT)

Over the years, I’ve learned how to spiritually pull off and put on. Now before leaving my house, I bow my knees, heart and will, in surrender to the Lord.  I put off my selfish desires before I leave the house because I have no idea of what I will face during the day.  I do know without the Holy Spirit I will fail.  I put on the whole armor of God so that whatever I face, victory is inevitable. I yield to Holy Spirit by inviting Him to take full control of me.  I read a devotional so that the word of God is the weapon I use, not my own words.

“Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.” Ephesians 6:13 (NLT)

The armor of God reminds me that He is in control.  The armor protects me, and being conscious of it reminds me that He fights for me and I do not have to fight against flesh and blood.

Every evening, I rely on the Holy Spirit to remove all the negative and ugly language from my mind that I heard throughout the day.  I allow Him to comfort me and heal my heart from the attacks, both spiritual and natural.  He gives me peace and quiets the storm of retaliation that I have to swallow in order to stay the course.

“Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.” Colossians 3:10 (NLT)

Liz had no idea that her words would have such an impact on me later on in my life and neither did I.  Every spoken word manifests somehow.  Sometimes the manifestation works for our good and other times against us.

 I have to war in the spirit because I want to give evil for evil and railing for railing.  I want to hurt those who’ve hurt me and I want revenge, but then I remember, I am no longer my own, I’ve been bought with the precious blood of Christ.  Sin no longer has power over me so I must not give it a voice.  I am renewed in my mind as the Holy Spirit calms me and speaks words of life over me.

There is one scripture in my arsenal that is bittersweet to me because I’ve always felt the need to defend myself.  I’m yet learning that sometimes saying nothing is the best defense. 

 “Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” [Deuteronomy 32:35] says the Lord.