All posts tagged: #MotivationMonday

Praying with Accuracy, not Accusation: Turbulence in Transition

Published by

Change can be such a beautiful thing. Moving from one season of life into another, leaving one position at the workplace in order to lay claim to a more rewarding position, stepping out of the realm of singlehood to embrace that of a family, is glorious change. And the list goes on. Unfortunately, many times when we are offered the chance to embrace life redefining change brought on by accepting transition through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we inevitably run into the turbulence that shakes our current relationships to their very core. The truth is with the turbulence of transition and change comes the bitterness of pain in some of our existing relationships, be they familial, friendship, or romantic. Sometimes these are growing pains that draw us closer to our loved ones. Other times they are pains that push us away with the sharp barbs of rejection and disapproval. What do we do when we face such shaking when the wounds caused by a loved one’s rejection cut us deeper than our marrow? What …

Turbulence in Transition: Relationship Wisdom for Faith Moves

Published by

Turbulence. It is what happens most often when a plan takes flight and encounters unruly pockets of wind while in motion. The plane shakes, rattles, and by the grace of God, refuses to roll even if your belly does, as a result of the sudden ‘speed bumps’ that drive as a force against the craft, nearly knocking it off course. The sudden jarring punches of the wind from outside cause many passengers to grip their armrests with white-knuckled fear as if that will keep the plane in the air. Others simply buckle up, having decided not to be bothered by the jostling forces from outside, and continue to look forward to the journey ahead, fully confident that this moment will pass and the plane and the passengers will reach their destination intact. Have you been there before, not just as an experience of an actual flight, but within a relationship with someone close to you as you took off on your journey of transition from dream to manifestation? The Lord God, Jesus Christ, places a …

Strategic Power: Power in the Process pt 4

Published by

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax.” ~Abraham Lincoln In the book of Acts, we find the disciples waiting in Jerusalem, along with many others for the green light from Heaven to go out and spread the goodness about the Lord and Messiah, Jesus Christ. They’ve witnessed His miracles, they’ve heard His words, they watched Him die a gruesome death on a rugged cross only to see Him risen on the third day. They believe. They believe in what He has said, they believe in what He has done, they believe in Who He is. They believe in what He has commissioned them to do…however… However, He, considering all of their belief instructs them to…wait. “Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.  But you shall receive power when the Holy …

The Purpose in the Process: Part 3 of Power in the Process

Published by

“Anything good will often require a good amount of time.” ~Candice Coates Scripture: I Samuel 17:24-40 (I encourage you to read I Samuel 17 in entirety.) In I Samuel 17, we find the Children of Israel in the Valley of Elah, stationed there for forty days in fear. Why? Because the champion of the Philistine army, Goliath, has come to defy them. “Send me your best warrior!” He says. “If he kills me, we will be your servants, but if I kill him, you will be our servants.” Standing nine feet tall and likely weighing near a complete ton, it is understandable why the Israelites would see this giant and camp out in fear. Who could match his strength? Who could possibly bring him down? No one has the courage to do so…except one–David, the son of Jesse. Ironically, David was likely no more than seventeen years old and was a trained…shepherd, not a warrior. But he was a master of faith in the God if Israel and the world. David was also a poet and inventor of new musical instruments, instruments …

The Process of Prayer: Power in the Process pt 2

Published by

 “…rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer…” ~ROM. 12:12 One thing that I have noticed in my own faith walk and processes is that sometimes, when time and patience seem to stretch, and trials seem to mount, my rejoicing has the propensity to draw into silence as I fill my time with distractions…and prayer about my situation goes silent. Yes, I am still praying about other things, but praying about that purpose or point of passion that burns in my heart but seems oh so far away, I at times grow quite, fatigued. I begin to think, “Well, I’ve prayed enough times about this, and the Lord knows.” But the problem with this attitude and posture is that when we cease to rejoice in our hope when we lose patience in the process when we grow quite in our pointed prayers, we inadvertently fall out of line with the purpose that God has for us. We allow the passing of time to push us off course, thusly becoming distracted with things that will not strengthen …

Power in the Process: Progressions from Seed to Success Intro

Published by

“The first step to being successful at anything is in taking the first steps.” ~Candice Coates What is success? What is success specifically for you? We as humans have a bad habit of measuring success or defining it by all of the wrong things. We think money, material gain, perishable things that cushion our lives somehow are the marks of success and ‘making it’. But this could not be further from the truth. Success is founded in “action” and that action is the response to Christ moving in your life and shepherding you from one level and dimension of faith and grace in Him, to another. Success is abiding in Him, His timing, His wisdom, His way, His action! Your action could be simply being still and trusting God to do the most amazing things in your life. Your action could be to research your next project. Your success could be simply getting out of the bed in the morning at a decent time. The point is when we push ourselves beyond the walls of …

Single While Serving & the Blessing in Both: Mini-Series

Published by

One of the hardest things that I have found while walking with the Lord and serving in His Kingdom, is that the older I get, the more my desire for a husband and a family of my own grows. I know that at my age, I am not alone in this. I am not the only one that, although at peace with my singleness, still find myself battling with understanding my desire for companionship. I at times find that I am wrestling to understand the sudden longing for something as simple as having my hand held, or wanting to be tucked under a protective masculine wing, to simply have companionship. After all, the Lord said Himself that it is not good for man (or woman) to be alone. Yet, many of us in the Body of Christ and even in the world, have found ourselves over the age of thirty and just that, alone. We find ourselves not only being asked the question of why we are still single by well-meaning others, but some of …

Points of Pursuit: Pursuit of Passion pt 4

Published by

“Commit your deeds to the Lord, and your plans shall succeed.” ~PROVERBS 16:3 In this life, no matter where you currently stand, there will come a time in your journey that you will desire to have more love, better relationships, profession, more money to pour into your passions, and success in balancing all of them. In our youth, we have the awkward moments of sampling what love and relationship with the opposite sex look like. We are giving crash courses in high school and undergrad or university, where we are expected to be good managers of our time and the ‘fruits’ of labors we are expected to produce. In and through it all, even into early adulthood, middle-aged life and beyond, the pursuit of success is the driving force toward our passion. During the season of ‘love,’ the rise for the pursuit of a romantic relationship and the refreshing tingle of endorphins is hard to miss. Having this desire is not a sin, but how we choose to meet these needs (inherent as they are …

The Wisdom of Pursuit: Pursuit of Passion Pt 3

Published by

*Revised from the “Postures” Series from July 2016 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.” ~JAMES 1:5-6 Our passions are as vast as the sand of the sea. Even so, the way in which we are to pursue those passions are equally as vast and require wisdom, the wisdom of God if we are truly to hit our marks and be successful in a way that not only pleases God but allows us to be blessed and be a blessing to others. The Word of God tells us in that if any of us lack wisdom we should as God who gives unto us abundantly. To approach and pray to Savior in Faith and Wisdom is to approach Him with focused confidence in Who He is and who we are in Him as …

A Heart at Peace: Pt 1 of Pursuit of Passion

Published by

“The life of the body is a heart at peace, but envy rots the bones.”~PROVERBS 17:22 WMB Passion is a gift, be it passion for creative arts, passion for relationships, passion in your walk with Christ. The beauty of passion is that it is unique in design even if it bares similarities in concept with the passion of others. Just as there are an innumerous amount of snowflakes, each one bares a singular pattern unique in its form in comparison to others, so too is the design of your God-given passion and the drive and direction with which you pursue it. Unfortunately, many of us find our feet tangled in the trap of the enemy and the lies that come along in the game of comparison. We wonder if our process and pursuit should be like that of others. We question if the reason why our fruit is taking so long to manifest is because we are not following the plan and path of others. We judge, not only our dream but the plan with …