All posts tagged: Motivation

Chase the Birds of Prey: Word on Harvests

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On July 11, 2018, the Lord Jesus in His goodness, gave me a word of encouragement about attacks that come during the times His children are supposed to be bringing in their harvests. And recently He encouraged me to share this with you all, even as I encourage myself. When the word had first been given, it had not even been a full twenty-four hours before the enemy began attacking me concerning faith for a move of God that was coming within a certain amount of time. Almost instantly FAMILIAR spirits of heaviness started to press upon me and pollute my thoughts with the intent to rob me of my peace. I began to confess my fear and shaking faith in the Lord and then I asked Him for understanding. When I asked, immediately He brought the image of the familiar spirits to my mind. WHY? Because He had to remind me that every thought and every feeling is not my own. That the enemy is a deceiver and will do his darndest to rob us …

Picture This!: Capturing 2020 with 20/20

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Twenty-nineteen is almost at its end. And if we are honest, we can say that this year has gone by with a flash! Like with years past, we prepare to tackle the holiday season with knives and forks as if this will be our last indulgence before the clock strikes midnight for the last time on this side of the calendar year. For then, then we must set our goals, put on our workout gear and run ourselves to the gym with the single purpose of being beach-ready several warm months from now. For those of us who are focused on pursuing our creative callings, our goals tend to involve a different kind of exercise with a completely different destination in mind. “Success is not one size fits all and therefore requires a unique pattern.” For me, the goals that I have in the crosshairs are goals that I have been striving toward for several years now. But as I set out to take hold of them this year I am doing so while letting …

Rules versus Mighty Revelation

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*Revised from June 16, 2014 I have since I can remember, held firm to the belief that in any form of art, one must know the rules before they can properly break them, (thank you, Pablo Picasso). Being a person that is still learning to go through the process of things, I find that I often remind myself of this truth; learn the rules and then break them. Break them through revelation. In art, in writing, there are set rules for the ‘how’s’ and ‘why’s.’ Why does this color go with this one? Why must I tone my canvas before starting to paint? Why do I need to be concerned with the first-person narrative versus the third person? You get the drift. Creating, and being good at it, involves knowledge but it also includes a great level of instinct. Both go hand in hand. Rules will only take you so far but instinct powered by Revelation can take you to heights you never dreamed of. So what is the difference between the two; Rules and …

Making Friends with Failure by Briana Lassiter

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This year I’ve had the joy of attending several different conferences that were very interactive and learning was encouraged by the act of doing. The first time I went I quietly observed and didn’t participate much. In a new group of people learning new things, it was not my comfort zone to participate and risk making mistakes and I left with a lot of unanswered questions. The next conference, Jesus helped me to get out of my comfort zone and be very hands-on, and because of my participation, I left with a very different learning experience. It can be extremely uncomfortable making mistakes, but when you are in a safe place where mistakes are part of the learning process that everyone benefits from as you learn, it accelerates your growth in a way that quietly refusing to participate never will. If you are experiencing fear of failure and it’s keeping you from your own learning process, be assured that your mistakes will not keep you from your Father or His approval of you. Divorce yourself …

The Art of Thanksgiving Series

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“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” ~PSALM 136:1 November has finally come upon us and with it comes the holiday season. We begin to prepare our hearts for the Season of Light, dedicating and celebrating with Hanukkah and remembering the birth of our Saviour during Christmas. But for those in the States, Thanksgiving is the crown jewel of November. But more than a day, more than dressing and turkey dinners, there is something to be said about thanksgiving–literally giving the King of Kings thanks for all that He is and all that He has done. Giving thanks should be more than just an event that takes place once a year or even a week. It should be something that its joyfully practiced in all seasons, every day, in the good and in the sorrowful. Journey along with us here at ICFTS as we explore the life-transforming glory and blessing of thanksgiving.

Waiting for Your Eggs to Hatch: 3 Things To Do While You Wait

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*Revised from November 18, 2014 For many years now, I have been likening my creativity to that of motherhood. I often speak of my creations as my children, each with their own personality, some more giving than others, while some are just outright unruly. Through the span of the years, my creativity has produced many fruits that I cannot help but be grateful for. My spirit, soul, and mind have truly been fed and exercised which is why I created this platform for in the first place. But there have been seasons, and will likely be others that come, that as if everything is at a sudden standstill. These are seasons where you feel like you have nothing to say or give but at the same time, you recognize that you have so eggs in your creative basket. I will admit that I have experienced this anxious feeling while sitting in my creative silence. What to do? What to do? What to do? If I could compare this feeling to anything, it would be the …

Claim Your Outcome: Choose Your Own Adventure pt 3

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The choice is yours’. We’ve heard that in many different scenarios but often times we tend to shun away from that conceptual truth when it comes to our faith-walks. Yes, we as children of God, creatives seeking His divine purpose for our lives, have surrendered our lives and eternity to Him. Yes, we like Christ Jesus, should daily be in submission to His plan with a not our wills but Yours ever on our lips. In short, His will should always be our will…but we do have a choice. THE CHOICE TO TRIUMPH “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil,  in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.” ~DUETERONMY 30:15-16 From the onset of creation, our Heavenly Father has given us choices, choices that would dictate the course of our lives. It is never …

Get Out Of The Box!: A Challenge To Be Creative

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“You’ll never think outside the box if you are constantly looking inside someone else’s…Sometimes the most incredible imagination sparks from nothing.” ~CANDICE COATES We are all inspired by something or someone. This is the chain of life and it is a good thing. As King Solomon put it, “There is nothing new under the sun.” (ECCLESIASTES 1:9) The beauty of life is that with each passing of generation to generation, what was once ‘usual’ to the person stepping into eternity, becomes something ‘unique’ for the person who experiences it for the first time. The old and forgotten becomes new again. It is a beautiful thing to glean from the creative wisdom of others, but when we no longer allow our own imaginations to spark with new creative fire, because of the shackles of fear which tell us to play it safe, we are doing nothing more than regurgitating ideas. Our Lord Jesus spoke and created from nothing (HEBREWS 11:3) and in His goodness, He gave us the DNA to do the same. Creativity takes chances. Imagination …

Change Your Mind: Choose Your Own Adventure pt 1

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“…I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life…” ~DEUTERONOMY 30:19b Remember back in the day when you were in elementary school and you got to go to the school library and pick out a few books to take home and read? Back when I was a child, that was one of the highlights of the week, going to the school library, and nothing brought more joy than getting my hands on the latest Choose Your Own Adventure novel. Those books were fantastic in that within the limitations of maybe one-hundred and thirty or so pages of medium-sized print, seemed to be an infinite amount of unique stories that came to life simply by skipping from one section of the book to another. Choose your own adventure. To see what happens if Sally falls in the well, skip to page sixty-four. To have Sally leap over the well to safety, go to page fifty-seven, to see what happens next from here, keep reading. Some of these stories always had the same …

Start with Fire: Start Here pt 2

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“We are on fire. Act now.” ~UKNOWN I saw an image of an activist with a sign that read, “We are on fire. Act now.” Instantly, the thought of the words of the Savior flickered into a flame in my heart. The scripture is Mark 9:35-38, which reads: “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” What the Lord began to reveal to my heart in light of the sign and then the reminder of the scripture was twofold. ONE: The Lord was saying and is saying to all of us who know Him, that the people in the world are ready, right now, to hear about Him. They are thirsty for the …