The holidays are a particularly pleasant time for me and many others. But what about the people for whom the holidays provide the most hurt? The ones who have no family near or have experienced some kind of trauma that makes the holidays hard? Here are some of my favourite scriptures that have been an encouragement to me in tough seasons. May you find peace in this season and remember the reason for the season is Jesus! Keep your hope in Him! Blessings!
Psalm 68:5-6 – God draws close to those who are lonely and provides for them. He is a “father to the fatherless” Psalms 28:7-The Lord is my strength and my safe cover. My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. So my heart is full of joy. I will thank Him with my song.
Deuteronomy 31:6- God is with you in the midst of any and every fearful and difficult circumstance.
Isaiah 26: 3-4 –You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you,all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.
Psalm 147:3-He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Jeremiah 29:11-13–For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.In those days when you pray, I will listen.If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.
Isaiah 40:31- But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
And the greatest gift….
Luke 2:15-16When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger
The hustle and bustle of the holiday season is upon us and one of my favourite things to do during this time, is to sit in front of my tree, candles burning and my favourite holiday jams playing softly in the background.
Here are the five albums I have been listening to this year on repeat:
Fantasia- Christmas After Midnight Favourite Track: In The Wee Small Hours of the Midnight I love all things Fantasia Barrino. Her voice can do no wrong for me!
John Legend- A Legendary Christmas Favourite Track: Wrap Me Up In Your Love and No Place Like Home Another smooth crooner whose voice can do no wrong in my book! A great modern day Christmas collection of songs of yesterday and some surefire hits to warm your hearts for years to come.
Hillsong Worship- Christmas: The Peace Project Favourite Track: Seasons
What I love about this album is that the song that I love the most transcends seasons (lol)
Jackson 5- Christmas Album Favourite Track: Someday at Christmas
This is a classic album! Little Michael Jackson at his finest!
Kirk Franklin and The Family- Christmas Favourite Track: I can’t choose only one! I love them all but The Night that Christ Was Born and Love Song are two that are usually on repeat.
My all time favourite Christmas album. It’s not Christmas until this album is back in my daily rotation 🙂
Honorable Mentions:
Boney M- Christmas with Boney M
This is how I knew it was time to wake up in my house on Christmas morning. My dad would be blasting “Mary’s Boy Child” .
Marvin Gaye- ” I want to come home for Christmas”
The Temptations- “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer”
The Preacher’s Wife Soundtrack in its entirety ( I mean come on its Whitney 🙂 )
The Clark Sisters – “Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel ” ( probably my favourite rendition of a Christmas song ever!) and “The Chipmunk Song”
What are you guys listening to this Christmas season?
It’s a new season, it’s a new day A fresh anointing is flowing my way It’s a season of power and prosperity It’s a new season coming to me…
Love that song by Martha Munizzi and when that song came across my playlist it got me thinking…
Hey y’all!
Today was a cold one where I live. It has become totally evident that the beautiful warm glow of summer has completely faded and the cool, crisp winds of autumn are now upon us. This really got me reflecting on seasons this week.
I have the island of Jamaica running through my veins so summer is definitely one of my favourite seasons. I absolutely despise the cold, so when winter decides to rear her head ( and if you live in my part of Canada, you know we can get some real nasty winters) I’m not the happiest camper.
But even though I have seasons that I love and seasons that I love a little less, I’m beginning to really see the importance of every season
Let’s start with the best one ( to me :p) Summer. In the summer, everything is nice. Flowers are in full bloom, the grass is green ( for the most part) the sun shines, the days and nights are long and all is well in the world. So it is when we are in the summer of our lives. Everything is going well in your life. Your opportunities seem bright and attainable. If we look at it spiritually, “summer” is the season where you feel you’re best. You feel connected, in tune with God.
Then comes Autumn. Autumn is a time that brings transition. Transition from warm days to colder days. Autumn is also representative of the Harvest. Just like the farmers, all the hard work you have toiled in the previous months should come to fruition in this season. In the Autumn of your life, you may be transitioning from one facet of life to another. Maybe it’s a new job , start of school, or a new stature in life ( Marriage/Divorce/New relationship). Autumn can be hard! Spiritually your “Autumn” is the season where God calls on you to use what you have harvested. Autumn is a season of maturity.
Oh, but after the Autumn comes the Winter. Winter is a hard season. Winter ( where I live anyway) is dark and damp and dreary. The days are shorter, the trees are bare, the snowbanks are high and the people are less happy. In the “Winter” of your life, you may be going through some tough times. The light at the end of the tunnel is less evident. In the spiritual realm, during this time, you may feel disconnected from God. You may feel like God isn’t hearing you. You may feel alone.
But then spring emerges. The snow begins to melt, the sun begins to shine again. The rain falls and the flowers and trees begin to bloom and the birds ( and other creepy crawly creatures) begin to return. What seemed like an unbearable and unending time of darkness has now given way brighter days. Spiritually, it’s like you are coming out of a funk. All things are new again. Maybe what you have been praying for or seeking God for is finally coming to pass.
So how can we make the best out of each season?
Winter, though it may be dark serves a great purpose. Winter forces you exercise your faith. Faith that God will see you through what may be the darkest days of your life. Winter encourages patience. Winter evokes trust. Use what you have stored in your other seasons to get you through these possibly dark times ( Psalms 119:11)
In the spring, begin planting seeds. Seeds of faith, seeds of knowledge. In the spring put in the hard work to sustain you through the rest of your seasons. Remember spring is a season of LIFE! All things new! ( 2 Corinthians 5:17)
In the summer, enjoy the beauty that is your summer. Use your summer season to shed light everywhere you go. ( Matthew 5:16)
In Autumn, don’t forget to give thanks for all you have. Autumn is the season where you reap the benefits of your faith. Gives thanks in the good times and store up some of that gratitude for when things are not so pleasant. God is good! ( 1 Thessalonians 5:18)
No matter what season of life you are in remember that after one season ends, another begins. Nothing is permanent. Bad times may come ,but good times are around the corner, and with that also remember in every season be vigilant and always prepare! You wouldn’t enter into winter without proper winter gear right?
William Murphy has a beautiful song that I want to leave you with today. The lyrics read, “This is my season for grace and favor, this is my season to reap what I have sown!”
So…. there is something that I learned about myself this weekend… I….am…. a…..HOARDER! I don’t get rid of anything,at any point.. EVER. This past weekend I decided that I was going to “spring clean” my closets and get ready for the approaching spring . Although today was -10 degrees Celsius ( or 14 degrees Fahrenheit) I had a pretty free weekend and wanted to tackle it.
I set off with every intention of just reorganizing and re-arranging my closets ( I have 2 lol) and making them neater, however my cousin ( Shout out to PL) had other intentions! She was determined to make me make hard decisions and clear out the clutter. To make a long story short, my closets are now lighter and by lighter I mean 26 pairs of pants ( yes 26) and FIVE GARBAGE BAGS FULL lighter 😦 .
You would think this task would be easy,but it was actually very difficult for me. I mean let me be totally honest, I had some clothes in there from high school ( RIP purple sweater lol) and clothes so old that they have been in and out of fashion twice( lol) Why did I find it so hard to let them go?
I’ve realized that I haven’t done a proper spring clean in years and that my closet was a pretty clear representation of my life over the past few years full; of beautiful things yet cluttered and busy and unclear. In the past five years I’ve gone through so many life changes. As you get older, and schedules become busier,it becomes easier to push things aside and use the quintessential quote, ” I’ll get to that later” ( procrastination is the devil lol) But what if tomorrow never comes? Why put off until tomorrow what you can accomplish today!
Spring cleaning to me is not only the physical “clean your closet” cleaning, but it also refers to your inner self! Let’s go through some tips that have helped me inner and outer spring clean. Let’s start with the easier of the two: the outer.
How to Spring Clean outwardly:
Set aside uninterrupted time
Have a clear goal of what you want to accomplish ( what is it that you want to get rid of/organize?)
What are you going to do with the stuff once have purged it? Are you going to donate it? Have a garage sale? Give it them to friends and family?
Make sure that once you have decided what you are going to keep, start anew by putting things in order, neatly and with purpose!
Put a plan in motion to ensure that things ever get back to the cluttered state that they were before ( get proper storage, label things etc…)
How to Spring Clean inwardly:
Everything done outwardly is a direct reflection of what is happening inwardly so take some time to reflect.
Clear out negativity: take time to purge your mind and life of all things that hinder positive energy. That includes people. No I don’t mean that stupid ( yes stupid) quote people put on Facebook ( mind you I have been guilty of this in my early Facebook days..) ” If you’re reading this you’ve made the cut” Ugh… instead of putting this meaningless quote on social media, why not take the time to really take stock of who you are surrounding yourself with and make sure they are people who will uplift you and keep your life light!
Reflect,Refocus and Revisit : Reflect on where your life is. Refocus on your goals and Revisit your plan to achieve your goals
Declutter your life. Make time for the things and people you love. That may mean cutting back on some of your commitments, changing up your routines and not allowing yourself to get burnt out. Take time out for you! (Yes JM this point is for you! 🙂 )
There is one more area of life that I like to “spring clean”, and that is my spiritual life. Sometimes as Christians we allow our life to become cluttered with things that distract us from a relationship with Christ. Here are steps I take to help me out in this area
Set aside CLEAR time to build your relationship. Set an alarm to serve as a physical reminder of what you need to accomplish ( ie: bible study, prayer,service/ministry)
Put aside things that hinder you from doing so ( I.e. watch less TV… less idle activity…)
Find your inner peace. Let go of anything ( or anyone) what causes your mind to wander from and/or inhibit your spiritual goals
Defeat that evil guise called PROCRASTINATION!!!!!! Like Nike says “Just do It!”
Spring cleaning sometimes causes you to reflect deeply on who you are as a person and as I was cleaning this weekend only one song kept resounding in my spirit. It’s called ” I Know who I Am” By Sinach! The lyrics read:( paraphrased) http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/sinach/iknowwhoiam.html
“I Know Who I Am”
We are a chosen generation
Called forth to show His excellence
All I require for life, God has given me
And I know who I am
I know who God says I am
What He says I am
Where He says I’m at
I know who I am
I’m walking in power,
I’m walking miracles
I live a life of favor,
‘Cause I know who I am
Take a look at me, I’m a wonder
It doesn’t matter what you see now
Can you see His glory?
‘Cause I know who I am
These are the steps I have been taking throughout my spring cleaning season! What are you Spring Cleaning this year?
