All posts tagged: Jesus

Future Planning & Godly Direction

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“I had big plans for the future, but the future had bigger plans for me.” ~CANDICE COATES The book of Proverbs tells us that man makes plans but God’s purpose is what stands (PROVERBS 19:21). In the book of Jeremiah, the Lord states that He knows the thoughts and plans He has for our future, thoughts to prosper us and give us hope and a good end (JEREMIAH 29:11). Knowing these things it’s easy to take your stance on one of two sides of a coin; either to plan without including God or to make no plan at all and expect Him to do all the work. What Proverbs and Jeremiah are saying together is that yes, we should make plans but we have to leave room for God to do His thing in us too. We have to let Him lead and edit our steps for the best results. Isaiah even says that His Spirit will instruct us in the way to walk in (ISAIAH 30:21). Ephesians agrees with this notion, that when we share our plans …

Do You Have What It Takes?: Realizing You Were Made For Your Dream

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You are not sure when the moment began, what the catalyst for its birth was. You more often than not cannot formulate the words to describe it, but you have a dream. One day, out of nowhere, the realization that you had a vision for your life that did not mirror where you currently stand, revealed itself with awesome clarity and with that clarity came…a touch of fear. Do you have what it takes to make this thing happen? Here is the answer, no, you don’t, not on your own. But here is the good news, Christ never intended for you to do it alone, but to do it with Him as your anchor and guide. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”~John 15:5 NKJV The beauty of your dream, your call, your vision, is that it didn’t come out of nowhere. If you’ve sought the Lord, prayed over this vision and have gained the assurance that this seed …

Made Wonder Full: Faith Filled Encouragment for Creatives

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For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. ~PSALM 139:13-14 NKJV You are fearfully and wonderfully made! Some translations of verse 13 say, not that God ‘covered us in our mother’s wombs’ but that He knit us together in our mother’s wombs. When scripture uses the word ‘fearful,’ it doesn’t mean to be afraid, for what exactly did our Heavenly Father have to fear when He created you? What the word ‘fearful’ means here is that He created you with awe, care, and absolute reverence. Not only did the God of all Creation create you fearfully, but He knit you together, which means He got personal when He formed you! You mean so much that He made you from scratch with His own hands. Christ wouldn’t have created you if He had plans to erase your unique qualities and individual voice. On the contrary, He has plans to plant and cultivate you, to multiply the ‘wonder‘ that He …

New Day Begins for ICFTS!

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“Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”  ~Isaiah 43:19 The season changes. The smell in the air is different. The sky is painted with dusty roses early in the morning, and dusk comes sooner than it did before. Still, you wait in the tangent, as the temperature changes from balmy heat to skin tingling chill and the delight of donning your sweater…not so much because you like the woven threads but more than anything because it is new! Today is a new day for I came for the soup… and that feeling of delight washes through me (Candice) the same way it does when I realize that I am standing just at the doorway to Autumn, my absolute favorite time of the year. Once upon a time, ICFTS was a blog centered around my growth and discovery of my maturing and once stifled creative voice. Today the blog becomes a community, geared …

Build it!: Faith for Creatives

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“Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain. 2 It is vain for you to rise up early, To sit up late, To eat the bread of sorrows; For so He gives His beloved sleep.” ~Psalm 127:1-2  When the Lord has given you an idea to create, no matter the obstacles you may seem to face, create it. Build it! When your idea is not just a ‘good idea’ but a ‘God idea’ you can rest in confidence that no matter what, as long as you remain in faith, and diligence, keeping your eyes on Him and trusting him every step of the way then what you are building, what you are creating will reach its purposed end and be fruitful. The Lord’s purpose will be fulfilled (Isaiah 46:10-11) so take confidence in knowing that if He has placed a purpose in you, spoken a dream to you, He will bring it to pass. Just have faith, do your part through faith, and remember, always remember, to take your rest in …

It All Begins with a Dream

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*Article updated from August 25, 2014 “I sleep to dream, I dream to be inspired, and through inspiration, I live. Jesus  is my Inspiration.” ~Candice Coates I came up with that little ditty when I was sixteen or seventeen years old.  It was then that I created the image of myself resting and dreaming yet holding onto the Spirit of Peace.  For years I have been gleaning inspiration from the dreams that I live in each time I lay my head on my pillow at night. But even though I understand the importance of dreaming, I often encounter people who have no concept of dreaming at all. Not only do they shun the concept or idea of dreaming one’s way into a tailor-made future but they scoff at the idea of dreams born out of rest. “…dreaming is the pinnacle of imagination and thus the root of creativity.” What many fail to realize in their efforts to remain ‘practical’ is that dreaming is the pinnacle of imagination and thus the root of creativity. Authentic creativity …

Pausing in the Moment: Faith for Creatives

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 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He (Jesus) went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. ~MARK 1:35 Our Savior and God, Jesus Christ, did not just come to the world to save us from our sins, but He also came to give us life to the fullest, and in so doing, be our example for how to live our best life. As our example, He shows us how to be in the ‘moment’ with others, to be available to their needs, to do our work in delight, but He also shows us when to pause…and to surrender our hearts to Him in quiet seclusion, just as He did with the Father. Whenever our Savior did this, even with great multitudes at His heels, He was able to return to them empowered, enriched, and able to give of Himself. Being Creatives, we often struggle with the idea of being still especially when we want to keep going. But we have to realize that ‘burnout’ is real and when there …

Courage Through Peace: Faith for Creatives

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And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. “Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.…” ~MATTHEW 18:2-4 Often times in our lives, no matter our age, no matter our victories or triumphs, we find ourselves in a place of uncertainty. Forces in the atmosphere have a way of coming at us out of nowhere, with the sole design to catch us off guard and to knock us off our axis. I thank Christ Jesus for His Word, that He instructs us to have child-like faith because as His child I have no need of shame when I come to Him for affirmation. A child, no matter their age, is always welcome into their Father’s arms. And it is in those instances when we lift our hands to Him and allow Him to draw us up into the safety of His …

Out to Abundance: Faith for Creatives

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…we went through fire and water, but you brought us out to abundance.” ~PSALM 66:12 Another translation of this portion of scripture says, “We went through the fire and through the water, but You brought us out to rich fulfillment.” Here is what we as Creatives and People of Faith have to take note of: THERE IS ‘PROCESS’ BEFORE ‘POSSESSION’. Before we are able to take hold of and step into the new level that God has for us, we must be prepared for it. Who we are before the process is not who we will be on the other side of it when we take possession of what the Lord has promised and called us to. Fire. Consider the occurrences of forest fires, not the ones that are caused by human negligence, but those that take place as a part of the circle of creation. These fires are natural. They may cause great devastation, but, they bring greater enrichment to the ecosystem. Water. Water, rain, are necessary for the nutrients to be able to get into the soil …

Success is in Your Hands: Faith for Creatives

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And they overcame him [the evil one] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony…” ~Revelation 12:11 *Bracets added The scripture says we overcome by the word of our testimony. When it comes to being successful when it comes to victory, one of the greatest ways to secure this is to tell it, not only for the encouragement of others but to remind yourself when you begin to face other trials. Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. ~PSALM 37:4-5 Success and victory go hand and hand. Both are a mark of triumphing over an obstacle or challenge or in the case of this scripture the enemy of our very lives and souls, Satan. Here is my testimony that I share as a seed of faith for you. In 2015 I was laden with change; change in calling, change in career path, change in vision, change in relationships. Every …