spiritual motivation – Just Love Them Anyway

Monday Motivation: Welcome Home Kanye…

October 28, 2019November 3, 2019by SophieLeave a Comment

Hey y’all,

As many of you probably know, Kanye West released his long-awaited gospel album. Kanye, last year began a spiritual journey, which has led us to where he stands now: a self-proclaimed born again Christian and ambassador for Christ. Now, if you know the Kanye that I know… The Jesus Walks to Gold digger Kanye, the words Kanye and Christian are not synonymous. In fact, they are as far apart as can be.

So where do I stand? Where should we stand as Christians today? Here are some of the thoughts that have been swirling around in my head over the past year:

I must admit I have been watching Kanye’s transformation very closely. When he first started doing his Sunday services I was extremely skeptical. Not because I thought the transformation wasn’t possible, but because of the way it was being implemented. I’ll be the first to admit that I thought they this was just another ploy by his famous family to get ratings or another breakdown of his mental health. The way his Sunday services were being implemented at the beginning of his journey, bordered on cultish behaviour in my personal opinion. ( in a dome, all dressed alike etc..)

Mind you, I made these assumptions long before I ever watched a full service. I saw clips of him taking secular music and mixing it with gospel music and right away my Jamaican Pentecostal upbringing had me denouncing it and him. Mind you, Mr Vegas ( a Jamaican dancehall artist) has a rendition of the gospel reggae track ” I am Blessed” that I had absolutely no problem with. (it’s been played at every single Jamaican CHRISTIAN wedding I have been at in the last 10 years lol) and I myself used to turn secular songs into Christian songs by changing the lyrics all the time! Why fault Kanye if I wasn’t going to fault Mr Vegas as well?

So finally I watched a few of the Sunday services in Atlanta Chicago And Detroit. And what I saw in place of Kanye the persona I knew, was simply a soul searching, seeking and trying to find its way home.

What I saw was Kanye’s heart. A man who is truly on a journey to find God and learn how to use his gifts to serve a greater purpose.

When I had this conversation with a group of peers, there were varied opinions. Many statements were made about being aware of false prophets. Which I think is a valid point. The bible does speak about this in 2 Timothy 4 where Timothy is encouraged by Paul to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ because there is coming a day where the people will not want to hear sound doctrine but will gravitate towards preachers or teachers who tell them what they want to hear. It also says that people will denounce the faith and will run after myths,( 2 Timothy 4: 1-4) and to be perfectly honest when you look at Kanye and the following he has and has garnered through this spiritual journey, it seems like he is a perfect example of the people Paul was warning Timothy about.

But honestly, after watching his services, and leaning into my own relationship with Jesus, Kanye is no different than myself or anybody who has made a choice to follow God, to be honest. Kanye is just at an unfair advantage because of the persona he has created for himself and because he has made such a drastic declaration, it is really hard for people who have seen him one way for so long to truly believe the change is real.

But y’all this is why grace is so powerful. It overshadows everybody’s perception of you. God sees you. The true you. He sees the willing heart even if the world isn’t ready to accept it.

So, like I mentioned before, Kanye released his album and one track in particular really spoke to and convicted me, “Hands On” which features one of my all-time favourite gospel artists Fred Hammond. On this track, there is a line that really made me check myself as it should many people who call themselves a believer and follower of Christ:

“Told people God was my mission/What have you been hearing from the Christians/ they’ll be the first one to judge me/ make it seem like nobody love me”

This is exactly what many of us believers do. We judge people by their past and the persona first forgetting that grace extends to everyone… to celebrities too. The same grace we live under is the same grace that Kanye has access to through Jesus Christ.

You may not know Kanye personally, but now is the time to pray for him! He is clearly on a journey and needs some guidance to keep him focused on the gift that is eternal life. This is a man who has had the entire world at his fingertips and is now in a place to give that all up in order to serve the one true and living God. To me… that’s commendable.

What the world sees as a plot or even as mental health issues, is really God taking back His child. Putting him back on track to walk in the purpose that he was created for which is worship…

I’m not God and I can’t say with 100 per cent conviction that this a true declaration that Kanye has made forever. But what I can say right now at this very moment, is that I respect the fact that he has so boldly declared his desire to serve God. All we in Christendom can do is pray for discernment and pray that God will align Kanye with good shepherds that will walk alongside him and guide and help keep him on the path of righteousness.

So I say, welcome home brother Kanye. I’m praying for you!

Christian, christianity, faith, faith blogger, Jesus, lifestyle, religion, Uncategorized

Monday Motivation: Reckless Love…

October 7, 2019by SophieLeave a Comment

adjective

Reckless:

utterly unconcerned about the consequences of some action; without caution; careless (usually followed by of):

to be reckless of danger.

characterized by or proceeding from such carelessness: reckless extravagance.

Hey guys,

So I was reminiscing with a friend the other day and they asked me, ” What was the most reckless thing you did as a child?” Automatically, my mind took me back to a crisp fall day in 1997 ( dang I’m aging myself here LOL)

I love to rollerblade, even to this day. But when I was in middle school and had to walk to a school that was a considerable distance away from my home, my mother absolutely forbade me from rollerblading to school. Being an adult now, I can understand why she encouraged me not to do it. However, being the stubborn child that I was, I went ahead and did it anyway. The route that I chose to take to school on this particular day was out of the ordinary for me. It took me longer to get to school this way but the only friend crazy enough to join me on this great expedition, lived closer to this direction. So naturally, we met in the middle and off we went…. rollerblading down an extremely steep hill…. with oncoming traffic all around us. Not a care in the world.

Now I’m not sure if you truly understand how steep this hill was. It was so steep that in order to stop myself from blading directly into oncoming traffic, I had to reach out and grab the stop sign pole that was to the right of me to slow me down ( I am actually shuddering at the thought of this) After I successfully finished my ride, I looked to the left of me and BAM! My mothers good friend was stopped at the bottom of the hill I had just descended. It appeared at the time that she didn’t see me and so I thought I was in the clear! I later learned upon getting home from school, that she did see me and had promptly called my mother at work. I was properly disciplined Jamaican style ( I’ll leave you to use your imagination lol) This experience was one of the most reckless things I did in my childhood.

Reminiscing about this experience, had me think about that word “RECKLESS”. Let’s look into it for a moment.

The word reckless as defined above means “utterly unconcerned about the consequences of some action.

I began to look at the word reckless in correlation to our relationship with God. The song “Reckless Love” by Cory Ashbury really helped me put my thoughts together. Mind you, I absolutely HATED this song the first few times I heard it years ago because I didn’t take the time to decipher the message in the lyrics.

Here are the lyrics in particular that I want to take a look at today:

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights ’til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine
I couldn’t earn it, and I don’t deserve it, still, You give Yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God, yeah

I was speaking with another friend about how love by today’s standards are truly a gamble. You win some and you may lose some too. But in order to really experience it you have to be willing to take that risk.

God truly took a risk on us and chose to love us recklessly, without another thought. Even with Him being the creator and having the ability to see that we were going to hurt Him time and time again , He still CHOSE to love us recklessly! He loves us through our mess. He loves us even when we choose to walk away from Him over and over again.

There is nothing we can do to “earn” the love of God. God’s love is open and available to anyone who sets themselves in a place to receive it.

The part of the chorus that says “leaves the ninety nine,” brings me back to the Parable of the Lost Sheep, specifically the depiction detailed in Luke 15: 1-7 :

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus.²But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” ³Then Jesus told them this parable: ⁴“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? ⁵And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

This parable brings to life an analogy of how God views us. We at some point have been that one sheep that has wandered astray, and God has dropped everything to go out and call out us and beckon to us. He rejoices when we are found and boasts about it! Now common sense would say “Its just one! Leave it and cut your losses”. But no, this is another example of How God’s reckless love abounds. He honestly could have said oh well another one bites the dust, but he didn’t. He is openly distraught when one sheep (us) is missing from the flock. It feels unnatural, incomplete until the lost one is returned to the flock.

The bridge of this song has lyrics as follows:
There’s no shadow You won’t light up
Mountain You won’t climb up
Coming after me
There’s no wall You won’t kick down
Lie You won’t tear down
Coming after me

To continue to love someone who continuously walks away from you, turns their back on you, treats you with disregard is truly a reckless and careless move. But as the aforementioned bridge says, there is absolutely NOTHING that can keep our God from loving us without limits! Now this doesn’t mean that God is reckless. It simply means that the depth of His love is.. without thought or caution or rhyme and reason!

God’s love to the carnal eye of man is foolish. It makes no sense. In many ways His love is as pure and innocent as the love of a child. His love loves without barriers. His love is the type of love that never gives up. His love tears down walls. His love heals trauma! His love allows you to see the bright patch in a season of dark places… His love in a nutshell is RECKLESS and I for one am eternally grateful for God’s Reckless Love! Oh to love and BE LOVED by God. Its truly a remarkable phenomenon.

Be blessed today and always!
Til Next Time,
xoxo

©justlovethemanyway2019

#Christian, Christian blog, christianity, faith, faith blogger, Jesus, Uncategorized

Monday Motivation: He Is Faithful…

July 8, 2019September 8, 2019by Sophie6 Comments

Hey y’all!

Have you ever had faith that something was going to work out your way, and then… it didn’t? I know I have on countless occasions. Especially right now, in the season of life, I currently am in. I’m trying to navigate through, as best can with as much faith as I can that things are gonna “turn around” and “work out” and honestly… it’s been challenging to live my life with faith at the helm of my ship.

It’s very easy to get lost in doubt and have your faith dwindle when you can’t see an end to your situation in sight. I remember having a conversation with a friend and I was mentioning to them about how I was just feeling downright defeated; and yes many an encouraging word was shared ( which I really did appreciate) but I just wasn’t ready to receive them.

So what do I do when I feel defeated? I turn to God. But not always in the way I should. I often tend to turn to Him lamenting about my problems and not even acknowledging Him. I sometimes even go as far to question Him as to “why He hates me?” (Ugh… even typing this makes me sound like a petulant, inconsolable toddler)

(Sidenote: At prayer/fasting service at my church on Saturday, the leader called me out to pray, and as the Holy Spirit does, He revealed to her the brunt of my lamenting. As she offered up a word through her Holy Spirit utterance, I was able to receive the message, “He loves you so… stay faithful… He loves you so”. Okay, God… I hear you loud and clear. Thank you Holy Spirit…)

Last week I decided to turn my prayers away from it’s non stop lamenting and began to honour God for His faithfulness. In my quiet time, I was drawn to the book of Hosea in the Bible. I actually really love this book and over the course of the week, I dug in a little deeper into this text.

The book of Hosea is like a prophetic symbol of God’s relationship to Israel. Just like Hosea and his wife’s relationship was fractured due to her adulterous ways, such is Israel’s relationship with God. (Hosea 1-3) But just as Hosea’s relationship was restored, God too promised to reconcile and restore His relationship with Israel. Even when Israel didn’t deserve it, God remained faithful to His promise to them. ( Hosea 14)

This is the same way God is faithful to us. Even though we find it hard to have faith because we aren’t seeing the fruits of our faithfulness, God is STILL faithful.

I know I am totally undeserving of His faithfulness to me, but I am eternally grateful. You see, God made us and he knows that our faith may waver. But that’s why He gave us a reminder of His faithfulness by sending His son as a redeemer! When mankind made the choice to eat the fruit from the forbidden tree, ( Genesis 3) God had the power to have us permanently atone for our sins by actual physical sacrifice. Instead, He, Himself, made the ultimate sacrifice for us!

Even when we are faithLESS, God remains faithFUL!

There’s a song by Elevation Worship that has really helped me through the past few weeks. The lyrics are as follows:

When the whispers of worry
Overwhelmed my soul
You never left me alone
You were there all along

You are faithful
Why should my heart be afraid?
You are faithful
I know You’re not gonna change
You are faithful, faithful

I was down to the wire
Hoping You would come through
And You stepped in the fire
Like You always do

How I’m convinced of Your love
You are more than enough

Oh God, my Father
How great, great is Your faithfulness!

Image result for christian quotes about faithfulness

Whatever it is you are worrying about, leave it in the hands of Jesus! He will always stay the same! Faithful! All He asks in return is that we trust Him with our whole heart.. even when it doesn’t make sense!

Lamentations 3:22-23 New International Version (NIV)

“Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness…”

I pray that our faithful God works out your situations in His perfect timing!
God Bless!

xoxo

©justlovethemanyway

#Christian, faith, Uncategorized

Sorry, I’m Not Available…

March 12, 2019September 8, 2019by Sophie2 Comments

Hey loves,

Is it just me or does anybody’s calendar sometimes overwhelm them? Honestly, since the top of the year I feel like I’ve just been like a hamster on a treadmill; non- stop go, go go!

While I wouldn’t say I’m a people pleaser, I would say I have a strong desire to make sure those in my circle feel supported whether it be emotionally or as it most often ends up being my physical presence is there when they need it.

I decided that 2019 was going to be the year that I said: ” no” to more things and that, I would be “selfish” this year and look out for me. My favourite phrase was geared and set to be ” Sorry, I’m not available,,,”

But as things kept coming my way and I formed my mouth to utter the words, “Sorry I’m not available” I began to ponder one thing… and this one thing stopped me dead in my tracks:

“What if God decided to have a selfish year and not be “available” for my needs?”

Ouch… talk about a slap in the face!

It has been this long since 2019 started:

If I really take stock of how many times I have run to God in this time, and every time I called on Him, He was available, It would be impossible to create an accurate tally.

As a Christian, we are called to be Christ-like. That includes with our time, more specifically with our service. One of the most important roles in His short time on earth was one of a humble servant. And while I’m sure He would have much rather been given a different task to complete, He took on His role as the Saviour with grace. And now, that same grace, because of the great sacrifice of Himself, has allowed us to live an abundant life.

John 10;10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” English Standard Version

Herein lays my dilemma. How can I so flippantly dismiss people and what they may need from me, simply because I don’t feel like it? I can’t…

What I can do is to utilize the wisdom that God gave me and be wise about how I delegate my time and… most importantly use the time I have wisely.

This means before making myself available to Sue, Jim and Jenny, I need to make myself available to Him. To not neglect to make real time for Him. Not just the leftovers.

The song ” Available to You ” has always been one of my favourites but something about the words today ( specifically this verse) really hit me:

Now I’m giving back to You
All the tools You gave to me
My hands, my ears, my voice, my eyes
So You can use them as You please

I have emptied out my cup
So that You can fill me up
Now, I’m free, I just want to be
More available to You

It’s my desire to be available to God to be able to use me whenever He needs to- in whichever capacity He sees fit.

If it means being a shoulder for that friend to lean on.
If it means being that praying voice someone needs to hear.
If it means sitting on someone’s couch sharing about the love of God.
If it means feeding the hungry.
If it means sacrificing my WANTS to meet someone’s NEEDS….. ( ouch soph.. really talking to yourself here!!)

Then that’s what I need to do.

I just want to be as available to God as He is to me… and while they may be impossible ( you know with Him being all-knowing and omnipresent 🙂 ) I certainly want to be available for Him to use me in any capacity.

Let’s make 2019 a year where we are available!

xoxo

#Christian, Christian blog, christianity, faith, gospel, gospel artist, gospel music, Uncategorized

God Has Not Forgotten You…

October 27, 2018by Sophie5 Comments

Hey guys!

I was in a moment of quiet time with God this week and I was reminded of a song I hadn’t listened to in many many years; God Has Not 4Got by Tonex . ( I know Tonex has made some life choices that no longer coincide with the word of God but this song of his speaks volumes still!)

The song led me to go back and look at the story of Noah and the Ark. I’ve often wondered how Noah must have felt during this process. Noah was living in a time where the people God had created were at their utmost worst. God had had enough with them and was going to destroy them. However, Noah found favour with God because of his blameless behaviour. God established a covenant with Noah and his family.

However, God had a few instructions for Noah. First off, He was told by God to build this huge ark for this supposed flood that was going to happen one day. Although he was ridiculed and ostracized by the very people God was set to destroy , Noah persevered and did what he was told . He was to bring his family, creatures of the earth, sea and sky aboard this ark and then await God’s instructions.

So for years on end Noah built this ark always remembering the promise God made with him. He was mocked mercilessly but one day….finally, the flood waters came down, raining non stop for 40 days and 40 nights. Now if I was Noah, I would have been starting to get a little stir crazy at this point.

Then, after that 40th day the rains stopped…. but the earth was still flooded and for an additional 150 days. 150 days is just about 5 months. Personally, 5 months cooped up in a boat with my family and animals and creatures of the land, sky and the sea…. is frightening! (lol) Even though God had saved us, I would honestly be thinking, ” Has God forgotten about us in here?”

But Noah still had faith and he waited patiently to hear from God. However, after the initial 5 months there was still almost a year before the waters receded completely.

Still Noah waited.

He sent out a raven and the raven came back confirming that the earth was still flooded…. Noah sent out a dove several times…

The earth was still flooded…

Finally after over a year of patiently waiting on God, The earth was finally was dry and God commanded Noah and his family to come out of the ark.
In the end, is where we find the covenant that God made with Noah and His people that still stands today. It is here that we learn the significance of the rainbow

¹²And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: ¹³I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, ¹⁵I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. ¹⁶Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”
¹⁷So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”

The bible doesn’t specify if Noah and God had any communication during this time but what I love about this whole story ( and what ties this whole story into the song) is in the beginning of Genesis chapter 8 verse 1 which simply states:

“But God remembered Noah….”

Through all of this, God remembered Noah.

No matter what you are going through or where God has placed you, He has not forgotten you!

Just like God made a covenant with Noah, He also made a promise with us . He promised to never leave us or forsake us. You may be going through some serious hardships, but remember God has not forgotten you. As we see with Noah, It took what seemed like a long time for God’s promise to come to fruition. But what did we see? God came through! Everything that God has predestined and planned for your life will come to pass! Why? Simply because He is God and He has yet to break a promise.

Don’t give up.

Keep pushing.

Keep persevering.

You are not forgotten! Sometime promises take time to be fulfilled…

So just like Noah stay faithful, stay humble and be patient!

GOD

HAS

NOT

FORGOTTEN

YOU

Till next time,
xoxo

©justlovethemayway

#Christian, Christian, Christian blog, christianity, faith, monday, motivation, Uncategorized

Monday Motivation: Life Is… A Rollercoaster

September 10, 2018September 10, 2018by SophieLeave a Comment

Hey y’all,

Finally the return of Monday Motivation!

I remember being the first time I rode a rollercoaster. I was at Disneyland in California on vacation with my cousins. We were young, all between the ages of 6 and 14 (I was 12) Since we had my younger cousins with us, we stuck to some pretty tame rides, when suddenly we found ourselves in the line for the infamous Space Mountain Rollercoaster. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Space Mountain, it’s a rollercoaster that is actually inside of a constructed mountain. Inside, it is pretty much completely dark. This thing goes fast and has many unexpected twists and turns. Let me tell you and with all the twists and turns and the the added factor that I couldn’t see a thing… your girl was SCARED! I held on for dear life, looked over at my 8 year old cousin who was just as terrified as me and thought, “What on earth did I get myself into?”

My older cousin was behind me shouting “Faster! Faster! with his hands up in the air while my youngest cousin Kimmy found a way to maneuver her way out of her safety harness and hide under the seat…. I literally thought she had fallen out the ride! (Please note, she has NEVER been on a rollercoaster since! LOL)

The ride did a couple of rounds and each time I found myself being less and less afraid and actually began to enjoy the ride. By the final go round , I too had my hands up in the air and was no longer afraid of the unknown.

Jonathan McReynolds has an interlude track on his “Make Room” album where he uses the analogy of rollercoaster as a metaphor for life. This particular analogy really resonated with me. Like me, he painted the picture of holding on for dear life while the rollercoaster was in motion, whereas everyone around him had their hands up and were really able to let loose and enjoy!

Oftentimes when we hold on to control of our life, we tend to feel every single bump and blow and curveball that comes our way with intensity. It’s almost as if we think that if we hold on a little tighter, we’ll be able to manipulate the ride to do what we want it to do. Such as with life, sometimes we refuse to let go and let the ride of life do what it’s going to do. We refuse to let the ride go through its predestined route without thinking we can help or change it along the way. The engineers have already mapped out and constructed this ride , already knowing the outcome, so why would we in our right mind think that anything we attempt to do could change what was already carefully orchestrated? It’s time to walk in the understanding that God has already mapped out life for you.

Now, how much easier would life be if we could be the other type of rider? Totally free and trusting God to bring us safely to the end of our ride. Now that’s not to say that this option isn’t scary. But in reality it’s actually the only option that makes sense! Does holding on for dear life change the outcome? Nope! May as well let go and let God.

So today, I encourage you to let go of anxiety and fear of the future ( or even the present) to stop holding on to the past and to throw your hands up in the air and trust that God has it all in control.

Life is a rollercoaster. We are going to encounter some ups and some downs , some unexpected loops. Life won’t always be smooth sailing on straight paths. But we need to hold on to the promise that through it all God will never let us fall!

Take a listen to Jonathan’s interlude called L.R.F( Rollercoasters) down below:

Have a blessed Monday! God Bless You All!
Til Next Time…
xoxo

©justlovethemanyway

#Christian, faith, Uncategorized

Monday Motivation: Recalculating…

July 31, 2017July 31, 2017by Sophie4 Comments

Hey folks!

I was looking through some pictures the other day, and I came across some pictures of a set of pictures from a cruise I went on in 2010. We live in Canada close to Toronto and we were feeling adventurous so we decided to drive… (there are so many stories from this trip I will have to share another time)

Now after the cruise was over, we definitely had to drive back. On our way back, our GPS system started to go insane!! I mean it had us going in the wrong direction for about an hour. It had it going one way and then it switched us to another direction back and forth, back and forth…. and then…. once we realized we were on the wrong track, the famous words that we all hate to hear when we were are navigating…Recalculating…

Now, it was comical the number times that stupid little GPS told us to recalculate. It literally had us going in circles. So much so, we actually had to pull over and take out an actual map ( SIGH the horror!!!lol) to find where we are and get back on the right track.

In this analogy, I look at the GPS as man. We depend on people to tell what to do, which direction we should go and which route we should take to get there. Oftentimes, this leaves us confused and lost.

I look at the map as God. A map is always a clear and concise path to follow. If you follow the map correctly, you all never lose your way.

Life is a journey. Sometimes your life takes a wrong turn and you have to recalculate. Sometimes life throws you curve balls and it seems like your life is stuck in recalculation mode. Take the time to slow down, go back to the map, the original source and let the map ( God) put you back on the right track.

The bible has a scripture that I love that reads, ” Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Trust God in all you do! He will never lead you astray!

Today, I’ll leave you with a song that reminds us that there is only one way to live, one person to follow and that person is JESUS!

Have an awesome Monday
xoxo

#Christian, Christian blog, christian girl, christianity, faith, motivation, Spirituality, Uncategorized

Monday Motivation: I Don’t Look Like What I’ve Been Through…

July 24, 2017by Sophie1 Comment

Hey loves!

As you know from yesterday’s post, I am not feeling the greatest. But I couldn’t let today pass me by without sharing a quick word.

I put the music on my phone on shuffle this evening and the song ,” I Don’t Look Like ( What I’ve Been Through) by Deon Kipping came on. I actually haven’t heard this song in years and didn’t even realize that it was still on my phone… but when God has a word for you ( and you!) He can’t be stopped.

I really shouldn’t be here. I should have been dead and gone several times over! Emotional stress should have captured my mind and left me crazy a long time ago…
Toxic relationships should have broken me down to my core…
I’ve had friends and family die tragic and untimely deaths…
I’ve been counted out more times than I can count…
I’ve had people say awful things about me behind my back and smile in face right after

But…

The unmerited grace and favour of God has kept me (and is still keeping me)
If I told you my story you wouldn’t believe me. People always ask me how I can keep I all together in the midst of my storms and still find a way to see the positive.I simply tell them its only the grace of God. Even in what seems like the midst of defeat, God grants me sweet peace.

If I looked like what I’ve been through, I wouldn’t be much to look at trust me. I know many of you are going through things too and you don’t know how you’re going to make it through! Just take faith in knowing that there is a God who sees every tear you shed, hears every prayer…Even if it seems like He doesn’t!

So keep smiling, keep pushing through your situations, God will continue to see you through!

Have a wonderful Monday !
( back to bed I go!!)

xoxo

#Christian, Christian, Christian blog, christianity, Jesus, monday, motivation, Uncategorized

Monday Motivation: You Waited…

July 17, 2017by SophieLeave a Comment

Hey beautiful people!

I hope this Monday is treating you well! Today’s post was not what I had in mind at all but when I wake up with a song on my heart that keeps looping in my head all day… well it must be for a reason. So I scrapped my original post and so here we have today’s thoughts which deal on the topic of what it means to wait.

Dictionary.com has a number of definitions for the word wait. The ones that really stuck for me were:

to remain inactive or in a state of repose, as until something expected happens

(of things) to be available or in readiness:

to remain neglected for a time:
a matter that can wait.

Keep these in mind. We will come back to them in a minute.

Have you been ready to go somewhere, and then had to pick someone up…. and then wait on them? Ooooooh that really grinds my gears! Anybody who knows me well, knows that I HATE WAITING! I’m always the first one ready, always the first to arrive at the restaurant and always the one anxiously waiting for everyone else to be ready ( all my friends can attest to this) Waiting is just not my gift… lol pray for me!

I remember one time I slept over at my best friends house. My best friend whose dad was the pastor of my church,( and my godfather) told us he was leaving!We were procrastinating and still getting ready, not thinking that he would actually leave us. However, when we heard the van start up, and saw it backing out the driveway, our little preteen selves had to grab our shoes in hand and run down the driveway in our stockings and catch the van before it turned the corner and hit the main roads! I still laugh about it to this day and think that was the catalyst that made me so irritated with waiting- the fear of being left behind

Today I woke up with the song, “You Waited” by Travis Greene in my head. The lyrics read:
You called out my name
Knew my past, covered my shame
This amazing grace
You’ve shown, so patiently
You’ve shown, so patiently

And You
You waited
For me, just for me
You waited
For me, just for me

Where would I be?
If You left me God
Where would I be?
If You left me God
Where would I be?
If You left me God
Where would I be?
If You left me God

But You waited, waited
You waited, waited
You waited, waited
You waited, waited

God is so patient with us. He has given us this gift of salvation that so many of us choose to ignore for so long, but He never gives up on us. Instead, He waits patiently for us to choose Him! The part of the song that simply states, ” You waited just for me..” brings to light the fact that you and me( yes little old you and me ) are so precious to Almighty God that He would wait just for us. He wants to give us all that our hearts desire, but sometimes we get in the way of His plans. Most people would give up on someone who keeps meddling in their plans.. I know I probably would walk away! But He doesn’t… and won’t give up on us. I can’t stress the fact that God is just waiting for you to choose Him.

What would become of us if God decided to be impatient with us and give up? The line in the song thats simply states “Where would I be, If you left me God ” is an actual cry of my heart! Where on earth would I be if God decided to treat me with the same impatience I sometimes treat him with? As I stated before I hate waiting, and God currently has me in a state of perpetual waiting… what a way to teach me a lesson! (God’s funny that way isn’t He?)

Going back to the definitions of the word wait, It may seem that life is at a standstill or
Inactive at the moment, or it even might seem that God has neglected you for a time. But don’t give up hope! In our season of waiting, God is teaching us to trust His timing. For us impatient people, its hard to wait and see the full picture of what God is doing. But remember while you are waiting, take heed in the fact that He is preparing you for something spectacular! So while you are waiting, seek Him and stay ready!!

One of the scriptures that I hold dear and that has been supporting me through my season of wait is Isaiah 40:31 (New King James Version (NKJV)) which reads:

³¹But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

Theres a little chorus I love that mirrors these words and ends with the line, “teach me Lord how to wait”

Dear God,
Help us to stay patient in our season of wait. Help us to remember that your ways are not our ways and in the midst of every season, you are working things out on our behalf! Help us to remember that the season of wait, is not a forever season and better things are coming ahead! Teach us Lord how to wait!
Amen!

Whatever it is you are waiting for, wait on God! He’ll work it out ❤

Have an amazing Monday!
xoxo

#Christian, Christian, Christian blog, christian girl, faith, God, gospel, gospel music, justlovethemanyway, love, Spirituality, Uncategorized

Monday Motivation : That Is Who You Are…

July 10, 2017July 10, 2017by SophieLeave a Comment

Hey my lovelies!

I hope this Monday is finding you well mentally, emotionally and spiritually! What a whirlwind couple of weeks it has been for me. I had to take a break from regularly scheduled blogging and just regroup .

Do you ever find that when you go through some tough times, and you finally get a break… the stupid old devil just seems to rear his head and cause things to crumble again? Well, that has been my reality over the past few weeks, and not only me, countless friends and family members around me seem to be experiencing the same thing.

I was perusing my Facebook feed last night and one persons status kind of stopped me in my tracks.. It simply read, ” Overwhelmed…. breathe”

So many people are going through things and the people around them don’t even know! So many people are without hope and we all know that no hope leads people down a very dangerous path. Which is why I am so grateful to know God , who provides me with an insurmountable, indescribable hope. Trust me, I’ve been through things that have shaken my faith, but never have I been without hope. I really don’t know how people who feel all hope is lost survive and bounce back from their situations. Without the hope that God provides, I certainly don’t think I would have.

This week alone, I had 3 people, from 3 different areas of my life, reach out to me and let me know that they were praying for me… and with that, my hope was strengthened. This week showed me that God is still in the business of answering prayers.

Yesterday, the worship team sang a song by Sinach called “Way Maker” that just spoke to me so deeply. There were a few lyrics that I truly connected with in that moment

” You wipe away all tears, you mend the broken hearts, you’re the answer to it all Jesus!”
( YES HE IS! )

But the lyrics that really got me were the ones in the chorus that said,”

“Way maker
Miracle worker
Promise keeper
Light in the darkness
My God
That is who you are!”

He makes a way when there is no way!
He works miracles every single day!
There is not a promise He has made, that He has not kept!

That’s the God I serve! If he did it for me, He can and will do it for you!

Tonight, I want to leave you with this song… but most importantly I want to leave you with this prayer:

Dear God,
Thank you for being who you are. Thank you for the gift of your son Jesus Christ. Thank you for sending Him to die on a cross for someone as lowly and unworthy as me. Tonight Father, I just come to you on behalf of the brokenhearted, the down in spirit, those who have lost all hope. Wherever they are Lord, I ask that you wrap your arms around them and let them know that you are near. Lord let them realize that if they let go of their situations and put them in your capable hands, you will do the rest. God I ask that you send the right people to physically meet them where they are. Let them know that you will never leave them or forsake them, and even when they can’t see you working, help them to remember that you are always working on their behalf. God I’m thanking you in advance for the breakthroughs you are going to disperse all over this world to those who have put their trust and hope in YOU! ( me included :). )

Amen!