2014 Closing Remarks

Hello everyone,

I wanted to write this short post just to wish my readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in advance. I pray that the joy and peace of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ fill your houses and hearts and remain with you into the new year. Wherever you find yourself at the end of 2014, I pray that you are content and may the year ahead be the best one yet. Thank you all for supporting this blog in 2014. I know that school keeps me preoccupied so I do not blog as often as I would want, but I thank everyone who has read anything I've posted online or has been printed in the newspaper Christian Entertainment News. The support and encouragement from people far and near has been overwhelming and I thank God for you all. You are appreciated.

 As we look forward to 2015, I want to encourage you all to sit before God in the remainder of this year and ask the Father what He requires from you in 2015 and what He Wills for your life. It is so important not to enter a new year without first hearing from God. This year I remember really needing to hear from God about a certain situation and the Holy Spirit ministered unto me using this verse.

"Then they said, "Ask God whether or not our journey will be successful." -Judges 18:5

This passage showed me the importance asking God about my tomorrow. When you think about it, it is the only logical thing to do. Why would anyone want to miss the opportunity of knowing tomorrow from the One Who WAS, Who IS, and Who IS TO COME? The Creator of ALL things holds ALL things in His hands and knows ALL things. You should ask God not only about where your journey is taking you, but also what things and people you should take on this journey.  It is also vital that you ask the Lord to equip you with the resources you will need along the journey. Going to God about your tomorrow is like going to the teacher and asking the teacher what is going to be on the exam that is coming up. Unlike the professors I have in school, God actually will reveal to you what is to come....if you ASK. He desires to let you in on the plans. The Scriptures tell us,

“For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets"- Amos 3:7 

Against All Odds

Faith and trust have been the two words resonating in my heart lately. This is the scary question the Holy Spirit has been asking me: " FeeFe, when you say you trust My Will and you will thank Me for however the situation concludes, are you saying that because you really trust that I can do what I said I will do against all odds because My Will is perfect, or are you saying that because you've already given up and it is just a cover up to not expect Me to do the impossible?". To be honest, as the Holy Spirit questioned me, I had to go before God to really lay it all at His feet and when I say lay it all, the "all" includes all of my fears, all of my doubts, all of my insecurities. We cannot hide anything from God so He is teaching me to confess my trust issues to Him and to acknowledge that it's an area I am struggling with so that just like every other area of my life, His strength can be be made perfect in my weaknesses. In 2 Corinthians 12:9, the Word of the Lord says,"But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." (NIV) As christians we may at times feel we have to have it all together, but the power of God is activated in our weaknesses especially in circumstances where the odds are against us. It is in these moments when the sun is not shining, when the pain we feel may not be reflected by our social media statuses, when we smile though our heart is crying, that we need to remember the Word of the Lord and encourage ourselves with His promises. The Scripture tells us, 

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."-Hebrews 10:23

As I studied this Word tonight, the Lord began to minister to me that there are two players involved in the above Scripture. The first part of the verse starts with an instruction, "let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering." The "us" in the verse shows that the believer is the first player. Before God enters the picture, we must first be convinced of the faith we profess and confess. This conviction must be without wavering meaning we cannot have lukewarm faith that is hot one day and cold the next. How can we expect God to do the impossible, when our very faith in that God is unsure? The Word of God says "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation", (Romans 10:10). The power of what we declare with our mouth and the strength of the confession of our hope will be limited by the confidence we have in the God we serve.  When the odds are against you is not the time to lose confidence in God, but the time to hold fast your confidence in His power and in His capabilities. We are told in Hebrews 10: 35,

"Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward."- (NKJV)

Unapologetic

"Who can find a virtuous women, for her price is far above rubies"- Proverbs 31:10

The definition of worth that I want to lay emphasis on in this post is " having excellence of character or quality as commending esteem" and "usefulness or importance, as to the world, to a person, or for a purpose" (Dictionary.com) I've been sitting before God a lot lately, just me and my Bible, reading and one of the things that has been on my mind lately is worth and standards.When it comes to having standards, as children of the Most High God, we are to be unapologetic about them. Standards are not meant to be compromised. Do not allow the devil to shortchange you in life by offering you less than what you deserve in terms of friendships, relationships, and life goals. I heard someone say "You cannot complain about what you allow", and that phrase, along with countless other experiences this year, has really made me think about not just who I am, but more importantly, who God made me. It has made me stop and ask myself, "FeeFe, what do you allow in your life, and what are things you cannot compromise on?". I want to encourage you also to ask yourself those questions. One of the areas that God has really been teaching me about is the area of marriage and self worth. 

What Are Your Intentions?

When I started this year, I had a few goals in mind. There were things I wanted to accomplish physically, like prioritize my health and make heathy decisions throughout the year. I had financial goals which included learning how to save money and not buying every pair of shoes I see. I also had many spiritual goals, of which one was to be more intentional with my kindness. The scripture that God used to bring me to this goal is found in Philippians 2: 3-4. It says,

" Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others" (NKJV)

I always knew that God created me to be very sensitive to the needs of others. It's an innate nature that even when I do not feel like caring for others, I find that my conscience will hunt me until I finally cave in. The stronger I became in my walk with God, the more I realized that the conscience that hunts me is the Holy Spirit, who knocks at the door of my heart, prompting me to be more selfless and serve those that He has strategically placed around me. At the beginning of the year, God began taking me up a notch in my spiritual maturity. He then began to teach me that it's not enough to nice. Kindness must come from a pure heart and it must first be Christ-centered.  If your kindness is attached to conditions or has alternative motives behind it, then it is not pleasing unto God. The passage I shared in Philippians talks about not doing anything through selfish ambitions or conceit. Selfish ambitions may include things like "I will help you, but you owe me", or constantly reminding the person you helped of your good deed months or years later as a way to manipulate them or keep them indebted to you. Another example of selfish ambitions is making the whole world think you are a good person by broadcasting your good deeds that you may get the applause of people. The Bible tells us in Matthew6:3-4, 

"But when you do your giving, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your gift may be in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you."( NET)

What we do for others, whether it is rendering them a service, providing financial assistance, giving them your time, or even praying for them, should be a private matter. We should help with the intention of serving Christ, not stroking our egos. "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men"-Colossians 3:23. Having pure intentions, especially in an age where social media makes showing off so easy,  is not always an easy thing, but as we mature in our Christian faith, we must be willing to allow the Holy Spirt to break us and mold us. The older you get in your walk with Christ, the more Christ-like you ought to be. He must increase, and you must decrease. (John3:30). God wants us to do good, but He desires that we do good consciously and be aware of our intentions and purpose. One of the ways to mature is to begin  evaluating the driving forces behind why we do the things we do. The Holy Spirit began giving me a series of questions to ask myself and He has taught me to evaluate my intentions with these questions:

1. If the person you are helping never says thank you, will you be okay with it? 
If the intentions behind our kindness is to serve Christ by serving people, we should not be bothered by whether or not the people we are serving appreciates or acknowledges the service. This goes back to Colossians 3:23 that tells us to serve with our whole heart, like we are serving God and not people. When we realize that our service is unto God, it becomes irrelevant whether or not we are thanked because the intention was to glorify God, not ourselves.

2. If no one will ever find out that you did this, will you still do this?
This question placed in my heart by the Holy Spirit deals with the scripture in Matthew 6:3-4. If your intentions for your help is to get public recognition, this question will reveal that. The Bible warns us about this. In Matthew 6:1 it says "Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven."  In the age of social media where people can "like" our deeds so easily on Facebook, we must check our hearts to know what our intentions are.

If we honestly answer these questions and the answer to them is "No", then we have to stop and go before God to work on our hearts. The Scripture tells us that as water reflects the face, so does the heart reflect the man (Proverbs27:2).  Answering "No" to any of the questions reveals that our heart is not pure and everything that is done for God must first come from a pure heart. In essence, God is more interested in the heart with which you give than the help or service you give. It serves you no purpose before God to serve others with unclean hands and heart because while the world may applaud you, you have not touched the heart of God. I constantly ask myself these questions before I write any of my blogs. When I sit to write, the Holy Spirit adds an additional question by asking me if I will still write even if what He instructs me to write is only read by one person. I have to first search my heart and know that I write to serve God, not to get personal fame. If it's for His glory, whether ten people read or one person reads should not be my worry. Why? Because" God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."-1 Samuel 16:7b

The old widow in the Bible had two pennies which she gave with all of her being at the same time many rich people gave millions out of pride and it was the two pennies that Jesus said pleased Him most. Why? Because it was given selflessly! (Luke21:1-4) In another example from the Scripture, Jesus tells us that if we are on our way to the alter to give an offering, and we remember that we have an issue with a brother, we should first go make peace with the person before proceeding to give our offering. (Matthew5:23-24).  This Word of God reveals that in the same way God doesn't want us serving with ill intentions, He doesn't want us offering Him anything with a heart that is not pleasing unto Him. Just as it's commanded to first go make peace with the person we have issues with before giving to God, we must first make peace within our hearts before serving others.  It is only when we can confidently say "Yes" to the questions above that we should proceed to serve others. The Holy Spirit is a teacher so if you find yourself struggling with your intentions, go before Him and ask Him to teach you how to be selfless in service. We may not be perfect, but we are asked to strive for perfection. As we strive to be and look more like Christ, God will give us grace. He is not a respecter of persons. As long as the desire is in you to be more Christ-like, God will supply the grace to do so, and the God that sees in private, will honor you publicly as His Word promises. Ask yourself today, why am I doing the things I am doing? What are my intentions? It is my earnest prayer that our intentions and our lives as a whole bring God the glory and not elevate us. Amen.

Yorkamazing <3

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T.M.V- 1 John 3:18

"My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth"

You Are Where You're Supposed to Be

"How precious are Your thoughts towards me, O God! How great is the sum of them!"-Psalm 139:17

Everyone comes to a point in their life when they stop and wonder how they got to where they are presently. For some, they wonder this in amazement because they know in their hearts that they have not made it this far in life without the grace of God. Others wonder with regret because somehow, with the course of time, they've found themselves  at a position in life today where they thought they should've been 10 years ago, or shouldn't have been at all. Well, whether you are among the first set of people who are perfectly okay with where they are today, or you are with the second half who have hoped for a better today, just know that you are where you are supposed to be. The thoughts of God towards you are good.

Today in Sunday School I learned about avoiding covetousness. Covetousness is looking at what others have and desiring it for your self. It is a fruit off of the tree of discontentment and greed that has been planted in our heart by ourselves. We volunteering choose to take our eyes off of the many things that God has blessed us with and jealously wander over at our neighbor. We purposely start to compare ourselves, our looks, bank account, social status, wives/husbands/children,  education, job, even the very number of people you have following you on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. When we do these things, we are coveting our friends and family and this is a sin before God. The Bible in the book of Exodus 20:17 says

"  You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor"-(NLT)

You have to come to a realization that God's plans for your life are good plans irrespective of your present circumstance. God did not create you to be someone else nor desire what someone else has. Even when God blesses a family with twins or other multiple births, each child is unique. I opened this writing up with Psalm 139:17 which says " How precious are Your thoughts towards me, O God! How great at the sum of them!". The interesting thing about this scripture is that right above it in Psalm 139:14 is the verse everyone knows which is, "I will praise You, for I am wonderfully and fearfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. " We are quick to spit out scriptures, but do we really believe God's Word? If you believe God's Words, have you gotten to the point where you believe God's Words for your life? David in Psalms spoke to God out of experience. He spoke with assurance that what God meant for him, was truly for him. He didn't say " How precious are Your thoughts towards them, O God", but he said towards me! When he praised God's marvelous works,  he didn't say "my parents know very well or my friends know very well, but rather "my soul know very well". The time has come for you to personalized God's Word to your life. I've heard it being said that a person with a theory cannot overcome a person with an experience. This simply means that we may have a theory that God is good, but knowing out of experience that God is good is a conviction that the circumstances of life cannot shake.

So what does this all have to do with being where you are supposed to be? The answer to that question can be found in Psalm 139:16. It says, " Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be". Read that over to yourself. All the days that you will live on this earth, including this very day, were all written out in the Book of God before you took your first breath! God has already ordained you. He has already ordered your steps. He has strategically brought you to this moment in time, to fulfill His purpose, for His glory, even if we do not understand how and why we are where we are today. Take your eyes off of what everyone else is doing. Yes, it may appear everyone else is moving forward while God has you at a standpoint. Yes, someone who you started work before has gotten a promotion and you are still here. Yes, your mates are married with children. Yes, you find yourself on step one when everyone else has moved on to step two. Yes, the grass seems greener on the other side, but hear the Word of the Lord today,

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, " Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."- Hebrews 13:5

The Lord has not forsaken you. Hold your head high and give thanks to God for what you have and where you find yourself, even if it's not what you expected. The same God that started a good work in you, He also will finish the work in His own time. What is left for you is to trust Him. A song by Sinach that I've been listening to all week says, " my faith reaches out to You. Lord I believe Your Word for me today. Lord I believe, I receive." Stretch your faith to God today and with that same faith, be content and praise Him right where you find yourself today. You are where you are supposed to be. Do NOT move faster than the pace God is taking you. Walk with God.  God makes no mistakes so stop wondering, stop comparing, and start praising! May God give us all grace sufficient for today. Amen.

Yorkamazing <3

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T.M.V- Psalm 37:23

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord; and He deligheth in his way"

"Ruth"-Less Women

I would like to believe that most Christians know the story of Ruth and Boaz in the Bible. Single women are often times encouraged to wait patiently for their Boaz while waiting on a godly spouse for marriage. On Sunday July 27, 2014, I woke up and prepared myself for church. I felt a strong pulling of the Holy Spirit telling me to read the book of Ruth in the Bible. I remember entering my car and convincing myself that I would spend time studying Ruth this week. As God would have it, there was a guest Pastor at church this Sunday and believe it or not, she preached only about Ruth. As soon as she began her sermon titled "Walking in the Field of Favor", I knew I had heard from the Holy Spirit earlier at home so today I sat down with my Bible to read the book of Ruth and asked the Holy Spirit to minister to me something different about Ruth. In the course of my time before God, God whispered in my heart that many women have become "Ruthless" or as He put it, "Ruth"-Less. 

In its Hebrew context, Ruth means "companion; friend; vision of beauty". Source: BehindTheName) The Bible figure of Ruth indeed represented her name. When her husband died, her Mother-In-Law Naomi insisted that Ruth returned back to her father's house so that she could eventually remarry and bear children. Instead of listening to Naomi like her sister-in-law Orpah did, Ruth chose to cling to Naomi. She rejected returning back to her gods and said unto Naomi 

" Entreat me not to leave you or to turn back from following you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me. "- Ruth 1:16-17

These are the words and actions of a woman who had chosen to be a friend and companion. Her words show the beauty of her heart and the genuine love and respect she had for her Mother-In-Law. In addition, Ruth's decision and action proved that she was a faithful woman. She could have chosen to leave once her husband died, but instead Ruth vowed that only death would separate her from her Mother-In-Law. Her faithfulness was not conditional to only the good times. Above all, her action revealed a woman who had made up her mind to forsake other "gods" and worship the True God of Israel. These characteristics and selfless sacrifices were seen by Boaz and he prayed a prayer for her saying, "The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge. "-Ruth 2:12

Ruth was favored by Boaz and he took her as a wife. Ruth was a virtuous woman and her marriage to Boaz spurred the elders of the community who witnessed the occasion to pray" The Lord make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel; and may you prosper in Ephrathan and be famous in Bethlehem. May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring which the Lord will give you from this young woman" -(Ruth4:11-12)

Today, most women have become "Ruth"-less, leading to a shortage of "Ruths". According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, ruthless means "having no pity; cruel or merciless".  The devil has so much deceived women into forgetting their worth and power in society. The devil has now reduced women into thinking all they have to offer to the world is their breasts, thighs, and sexuality. In this modern day age of social media, women are no longer concerned with being virtuous and holy. No longer are young women being taught to keep their virginity and practice abstinence before marriage. No longer are the older women showing younger women what it takes to be a woman who is concerned with the affairs of her house. Rather, older women are in competition with younger women on looks and appearance. This should not be so. The word of God tells us

"The older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanders, not given to much wine, teachers of good things. That they may admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, home-makers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed. "-Titus 2-3-5

We have turned from being companions and friends to gossipers. We have forgotten that  we are the pathways and mothers of generations to come. Going back to Ruth 4:11-12, the elders prayed that Ruth would be like Rachel and Leah who BUILT the house of Israel. The love, grace, and character of a woman is creative power; we were created to make, to bring about, to build. It is only an ignorant woman who would destroy that which God has given her. Your presence in a family as a wife, a daughter, a sister, or even a sister-in-law, should neither cause confusion and hatred, nor cause the family to fall apart. If it does, then you are no longer "Ruth" but "Ruth"-less. The Scripture tells us that "The wise woman build her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands".- Proverbs14:1. The Bible also tells us the he who finds a wife, finds what is good and obtains favor from God. You as woman are supposed to be something "good" that changes someone for the better. You are supposed to be the door that opens to favor.

So my beautiful ladies, let us be honest with ourselves and evaluate ourselves. Would we be called Ruth, or would people call us ruthless? If we are known as Ruth, let us continue to allow God to guide our steps in righteousness. If we are ruthless, it is never too late to come to God in repentance so that He may make us the blessing we are supposed to be. Ruth chapter four ends by telling us that Ruth gave birth to Obed, who was the father of Jesse, who was the father of David. This chronological timeline shows that the faithfulness, the companionship, and the friendship of Ruth to Naomi led her to becoming the great grandmother of King David, the man the Bible describes as "The man after God's own heart"! Who and what is our character giving birth to? We cannot be mothers to kings without allowing the King of kings to take priority  in our lives. May God give us all grace to be graceful, mercy to be merciful, and the heart to be "Ruth"-full, not "Ruth"-less women. Amen. 

Yorkamazing <3

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T.M.V-Proverbs 31:30-31

"Favor is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman that fears God, she shall be praised. Give to her of the fruit of her hands. And let her own works praise her in the gates"

Health&Fitness: What is FeeFe Up To?- Juicing!

Many readers that have followed my journey know that I went on a health/fitness journey in September 2011. I was in my Junior year in college and I found myself out of shape, always tired, and over weight. I had allowed the stresses of university life to get to me and I would only wake up, eat, study, go to lab, eat, sleep, repeat. No where in my schedule did I set aside a time to workout and exercise. In addition, I was NOT eating healthy therefore the pounds piled on. At my highest (that I know of) I weighed 191.4 pounds. That day was the turning point in my life and I decided that I was going to take control of my health and body. That night I threw away everything that was in my fridge. I got rid of all the processed food, the microwavable packets of unhealthy garbage, and went shopping for healthy food. In addition, I started waking up early to work out before heading to class. One year later of a complete lifestyle change, I lost over 50 pounds and vowed that I would never return to old ways. God was faithful in seeing me through the process and I have been able to influence other ladies to go on their journey to a healthier them. 

So far two personal friends I know have lost a combined weight of over 110 pounds by simply knowing what they are putting in their body. I refused to tell people that I was on a "diet" because I hate the term "diet". To me, diet seems like something temporary. When you decide to treat your body like the temple of the Most High, it cannot be a temporary process. You pick habits that eventually become part of you.  You cannot starve yourself on a diet and expect long term results. My advice to people have always been this: drink water, eat food that can expire/rot, make your own food, limit your portions, throw in fruits and vegetables, and exercise. These things are things you can do for the rest of your life and they will help you maintain your weight. It has been about 3 years since I started the lifestyle change and I have not gained a single pound back after I lost it. Why is that? Because I never went on a diet. I learned/googled/bought books to educate myself on the right foods for my body, I found healthier substitutions for foods I loved, I still ate my Nigerian food but I limited my portion until now, my body is used to eating smaller meals, I became a lover of water drinking up to 3 liters a day, and I found exercise as my stress reliever instead of turning to ice cream and candy. 

Now to the purpose of this post. As a chemist by profession, I love to experiment. My new obsession and passion is now juicing. I have been interested in starting this experience, but for one reason or the other, I never started....until two days ago. For those that may not know, juicing is when you extract the natural juices out of fruits and vegetable. It is an easy way to get all the nutrients of fruits and vegetables without the stress of having to eat them. The other benefit of juicing is that you are in control of what goes into your juice and into your body. Most juices you find in stores have been loaded with preservatives and chemicals that do more damage than good. The juice you make yourself, you know is 100% juice. In addition, because you juice them, you improve your overall health and can even lose weight if you replace one meal a day with the juice. This is my new passion and I want to encourage you all to try it for yourself. As I stated in past posts, when I started being more conscious of my health and how it affects me physically and spiritually, I ask God to guide me in the process so that I may honor Him in all things. Sometimes we get so busy taking care of everyone and everything that we neglect ourselves, but squeezing in time to make sure we are strong will allow us to give the best of us in service to God and mankind. Below is what I am using in this "Juicious" journey I just started. Please share your thoughts and let me know if you try this or send me your recipes! God bless you all and grant you grace for each day. Amen. 

The juicer I bought. I got it for around 31 dollars from amazon.
Click to see the Juicer On Amazon

Picture on the left: I went grocery shopping. Everything in this picture came out to be 27 dollars. Green apples, ginger, red apples, Honey Dew, oranges, celery, strawberries, lemon cucumber, and pineapple. Eating healthy costs a bit of money, but it is definitely worth it in the long run.
Picture on the right: My first recipe was 3 carrots, 3 red apples and half-inch of ginger. 

After washing and cutting up my apples, ginger and carrots, I simply placed it in my juicer and started juicing!

I poured the juice into a bottle, shook it then poured myself a glass! It was DELICIOUS! This recipe has many benefits. It increases your energy, it's great for the heart and gives you healthy glowing skin, and it is a great detoxifier.
Cheers to great health and feeling/looking better!

With love In Christ Jesus,
Yorkamazing <3

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TMV- 3 John1:2

"Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul."

Proverbs 31 Wardrobe Ministry_Edition 2

Hello there! This is the second edition of Proverbs31 Wardrobe Ministry: Clothed with Strength and Dignity. The purpose of these posts is to share ideas of modest outfits that a young believer in Christ can wear to look beautiful without compromising her dignity. I wore this outfit to church for a Baby Naming Ceremony on July 6, 2014 in San Antonio, Texas. Check it out and email me your outfits if you want to be featured! God bless you as you continue to honor Him in EVERY aspect of your life! Amen. 

The Outfit: Black skirt, off-white blazer, leopard print under-shirt

The Outfit: Black skirt, off-white blazer, leopard print under-shirt

Accessories: Gold pumps, baby blue tote purse with gold trimmings, gold Aldo watch

The face: Nude lip gloss (I don't wear make-up because my skin will react and itch)
Accessories: 2-Tone Blue Necklace on a gold chain, white pearl stud earrings

See the past edition by clicking here: Edition 1

With love, 

Yorkamazing <3 

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T.M.V- Romans 12:1

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God--this is your true and proper worship"

When Dying Is Living

One of the phases of life that everyone will experience is the time appointed to die. The topic of death is always one that society does not discuss and it is usually associated with a negative connotation. We live daily as though we are immortal, but the Word of God tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:2 that "there is a time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to uproot". The Word of God also tells us in Hebrews 9:27 that "people are destined to die once, and after that judgement", meaning that there is a day, unknown to us, when we will be called back by our Maker. The good news about dying is that there's an opportunity to die, yet live and it is in this regards that the phrase "YOLO" is invalid. Those in Christ do not live once.  If we believe in God, if we trust His Word to be true, if we know that He is the giver of life, if truly it is in Christ Jesus that we live and move and have our being, if we know that God is good ALL the time, then we must also praise God even in death knowing that before it happened, God allowed it and there's a purpose behind it. In Christ Jesus, dying is living.

 "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His faithful servants. "- Psalm 116:15



When I discovered this Scripture this week, it comforted me. We are precious in the eyes of God while we are alive, and dying does not decrease our worth in the eyes of our Father. Even in death, our Heavenly Father deems us precious. When those close to us pass on to glory, we mourn and cry for them which is understandable, but we have to understand that we are here only for a brief moment in time, and we belong to Someone greater. "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord"- Job 1:21 This world is not our home neither do we "own" anyone. Everyone created in the image of the Almighty are mere gifts from God that God was gracious enough to place in our lives to enrich us and help us experience a glimpse of His love.  The word that stood out to me in the above Scripture is "gave" and "taken". The reason the death of His faithful servants is precious in His sight is because God gives us our loved ones through birth for a period of time, and when He is ready, He takes back those who are rightfully His through death. A parent can allow his or her child to spend some time at a friend's house or camp, but eventually, that parent will want his or her child returned home. The same principle applies to God.

"In My Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, you may be also. "-John 14:2-3 The same God that went ahead to prepare a place for us will eventually come to take us where He has made ready. Upon our return, the same way a loving parent will welcome his or her child is the same way God welcomes us. When we have completed the assignment given to us, when we have done all that God requires of us,  God Almighty welcomes us back by saying "Well done good and faithful servant. Thou has been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." -Matthew 25:23 In the eyes of the flesh, we mourn, but in the Spirit, angels are rejoicing at the return of a child of God. The going home of our loved ones shocks us because with our limited understanding, we believe there is more they are needed on earth for. We shed painful tears at the thought of never seeing them again on this side of world, but the mystery in death is another means by which God demonstrates that His ways are not our ways, neither are His thoughts like our thoughts. This very scripture in Matthew 25:23 reveals that in Christ, there is life after death. If we were faithful over the little things God entrusted in our care while we were living,(family, husband/wife, children, relationships, etc), then according to that scripture, God will entrust more into our care in Heaven, meaning that there is a continuation of life and this life is eternal. How then do we get to that point where we know of a surety that when we take our last breath, we will appear before the Throne of God and be welcomed home?

1. Start Early To Honor God
"Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years  approach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them"-Ecclesiastes 12:1 Death does not recognize age or status, neither does it favor one gender or race. For this reason, the Bible instructed us to remember our Creator from a young age. The devil goes around deceiving people into thinking that they can live recklessly while they are young and then give their life to Christ when they are older, but how many times have you heard or witness someone your age or younger passing on? We are to live each day, glorifying God. Psalm 90:12 says, " Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." God is just as interested in the life of an 18 year old as He is interested in the life of a 81 year old. Do not make excuses to put God off.

2. Learn to Love, Learn to Serve, Learn to  Forgive
"Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart. Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully."-Psalm 24:3-4 We are to work and walk with a pure heart, loving and serving those around us with clean hands. We are to reflect the perfect love of Christ in every relationship, which means loving constantly, serving selflessly, and forgiving quickly. It is only a person with a clean heart and clean hands that can stand before a Holy God and because we do not know when our time will be up, we should ask the Holy Spirit to help us daily in our journey through life.

Death, though painful for a moment, cannot be compared to the glory that awaits God's people. Nothing pleases God more than to grant eternal rest to a child that has labored his or her life to expanding the Kingdom of God. For this reason, if you are dealing with the pains of the death of a loved one, take comfort in knowing that all is STILL well. It is okay to cry for those who have passed on because they are deserving of our tears; however, we should not cry as those who do not have a hope because in Christ, dying is living. May God comfort you and yours in Jesus name. Amen. It is well.

Yorkamazing <3

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TMV- Philippians 1:21

"For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain"

Getting Older

"Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom"-Psalm 90:12

By the special grace of God, once a year, there's a day set apart for us to celebrate our birthday. I recently was blessed to mark my birthday in the month of May and I have been thinking about life in general. I've had a few days to flash back on the years I've lived and to also look forward to the years to come. I've thought about where I predicted I would be at this present age and I've planned for where I want to be by my next birthday. In all of my reminiscing and planning, I remembered Psalm 90:12. The Scripture begins by asking God to teach us to number our days. We number our days each year when people ask you, " How old are you?". This year when people asked me that question and I replied, 99 percent of the response to my answer has been "Feefe you are getting old!" to which I wanted to respond, "Well Duh, of course I'm getting old!".  Aging is not what concerns me. What has been on my mind is the second part of Psalm 90:12 that talks about applying our hearts unto wisdom. The question then remains, how do we apply our hearts unto wisdom? The Word of God tells us that

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endureth forever. "-Psalm 111:10

The very first step in applying our hearts unto wisdom is acknowledging that God is God. The fear of, or the reverence of the God, is the beginning of wisdom. No matter how well educated we are, we have yet to taste wisdom and understanding if we are ignorant of the existence of the True Living God. He is the God that created heaven and earth, the God that formed you in your mother's womb and knew you before your mother knew she was pregnant! He is the same God whose grace has allowed you to see another birthday and whose air you are borrowing! Acknowledging His Sovereignty over your life is the start of wisdom.

"Commit your way unto the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass"-Psalm 37:5

When we have this fundamental wisdom, then we will become aware of our foolishness and inadequacies. Rather than being ashamed of this, it will force us to draw closer unto God. If anyone is like me, the older I become, the more I realize how much I need to have my entire life in submission to Christ. I have desires, dreams, and expectations, but increasing in age has exposed my weaknesses.When I was younger, I used to be able to hide behind my parents or my older siblings. They made choices for me and looked after me. If anything was wrong, they took care of it. Now I am more independent and this has force me to realize that I cannot do anything on my own. I am not talking about doing things in the sense of cooking, cleaning, or paying bills because my Mom, being a Nigerian mom, ensured that I knew how to take care of myself. But in terms of doing life,  I now understand how crucial it is to walk in the grace of God. When I think about the future and I think about matters of a young adult's mind like finishing off school, building life-long friendships, and finding a spouse for marriage, etc.,  I realize that I need God to direct my paths.  A mistake in these areas of life can alter an entire destiny and now I see why the Scripture also tells us to "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean NOT on your own understanding; In all of your ways, acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path"-Psalm 3:5-6. We need the grace of God to apply our hearts unto wisdom to make godly choices, to live the life God called us to live and be all that God destined us to be! Wisdom is the principal thing!

I have decided to challenge myself in this new age to seek after God in a more sincere, deep, and personal way, and I want to encourage you all to do the same. Let us not get older and yet remain spiritual babies for the Word of God says, "When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a [wo]man, I gave up childish ways."-1 Corinthians 13:11. Now is the time to give up childish ways and start applying our hearts unto wisdom, seeking that Christ be revealed in us and through us. If by my next birthday nothing in me and about me has changed for the better, then I have failed to let God transform me and increase me. May this not be my portion, or yours. Let us press towards to mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14)

Yorkamazing <3

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T.M.V Proverbs 4:7

"Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: in all of your getting get understanding."

A Higher Level of Trust

 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths"-Proverbs 3:5-6 

What does it mean to trust someone? I know that with most people, they have to know you first before they trust you but I do my own in a way that is somewhat backwards. With me, I will trust you until you give me enough reasons to stop trusting you. Some people give me enough reasons to not trust them within seconds of me meeting them, others within a few weeks but one thing that is for sure is that a person's character will always reveal itself with time. When I think about God, I have come to realize that there will never come a time when God's character will give me enough reasons not to trust Him. Unlike people who may put up fake personalities and hide their true identities under a fake mask, God has shown me, and proven to me times without number that He is the same yesterday, today and forevermore. Though God can do all things, the only thing He cannot do is lie because that is not in His nature. The Word of the Living God says 

"God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?"- Numbers 23:19

That Scripture can be summed up to say " God CAN be trusted!". People may disappoint you, they can overlook you, they can undervalue you, but God is NOT a man! It is not in His nature to mislead you. I want to encourage you this day that whatever it is that God has promised you, trust him! The above Scripture asks has God ever said something and not done it? Has He ever spoken it and will He not make it good? That is to assure us that everything that He has uttered must be so! Not only that, whatever He has vowed must be good! With prayer and full confidence let us grow to rely on God's Word and promises even when our circumstances may look discouraging. This is a higher level of trust that God is requiring from His people. As we grow in our Christian faith, we cannot hold on to the same level of faith and trust that we had when we first believed. Let us not trust God as we trust people. If we are waiting for the time when God will fail, we wait in vain. If you feel that because God did not answer one particular prayer request therefore you can no longer trust Him, I want to assure you that God did answer your prayer. A good Father will never give a child what He knows will harm the child. Trust God! He is faithful, He is Just. If He said it, He alone will do it! 

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T.M.V- 2 Corinthians 1:20

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God

Health Tip of the Month: Meal Preps!

I've had people message me and ask me questions about meals from my youtube video I posted. From those messages,  I promised that I was going to blog a little more about health and fitness things! Well here we go! My advice to anyone starting a weight lost journey/ lifestyle change is to prepare your mind for what your body is about to experience. One way to prepare your mind is by knowing exactly what you are going to eat each day. This is called Meal prepping. Meal prepping is still useful for me as a student because it saves time and allows me to keep my health in check even while busy with school. In the same vain, it can work for those working a full time job, or anyone who is a parent. When you have a schedule of what you are going to eat and when you are going to eat, it makes it a lot easier to stick to the journey and prevents binge eating or the various temptations that you will find throughout the week. Start by writing out your meals. Have a clear idea of what you are going to have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and be sure to include healthy snacks in between these three main meals. Doing this simple task before the week starts has many advantages. One great advantage of doing this is that you will be able to know exactly how much calories you've consumed in the day. Weight loss is simple math between calories in and calories out so accounting for each calorie will help you reach your goal faster. Below is a sample lunch prep I made as an example of a simple lunch meal prep. If you are like me and you get tired of eating the same thing every day, you can fix two types of lunches and alternate between the days to spice things up a little! I hope this helps! Above all, ask God for the strength and wisdom to make good decisions (health related and with other aspects of life) daily.

Lunch: Salad with baked chicken and a side of fruits. 

Yorkamazing <3
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T.M.V- 3 John1:2

Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul

Proverbs31 Wardrobe Ministry (P31-WM): Edition1

 I want to start a column on this blog to post some possible outfits to wear to church or to functions. I believe that a woman can be fully covered, modest, and just as beautiful as ever IF not more beautiful. It saddens me when I see how hard it is to shop for clothing that is not revealing. The Bible says,

"Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious"- Psalm 139: 14

That scripture is going to be the foundation behind these posts! I've decided to call these types of post P31-WM which will stand for Proverbs 31 Wardrobe Ministry. The aim is to encourage young women to take pride in their body and see it as a temple of the Most High God. Proverbs 31:25 tells us the the Proverbs 31 woman is "clothed with strength and dignity" (NIV) or "strength and honor are her clothing" (KJV).  As a result of this, the motto for P31-WM is "Clothed with strength and dignity" . A women's dress should honor the God she serves and the people around her should recognize her, not by her nakedness and enticing looks, but by her strength and honor.  The ultimate goal of P31-WM will be to grow into a nonprofit organization that will supply battered women, domestically abused women, and women from low income houses with clothing they can use as they try to build up their self esteem and reorder their lives. The clothing will also go to women who are looking for jobs but cannot afford interview outfits. Proverbs 31 Wardrobe Ministry will provide these women with free modest outfits, including shoes, that will help them secure the job, boost their self esteem, and most importantly, remind them that God has not forgotten them. The Word of God tells us, " I was naked, and you clothed me"- Matthew 25:26. We are our sisters' keepers. God does not bless us for us to keep the excess blessings stored away in our savings, but He blesses us that we may give to His children He has placed around us that have a little less.

 The way we dress and present ourselves to the public should testify of the God we serve. "Being a woman does not change the type of Christian I am, but being a Christian changes the type of woman I am."-Unknown. Let us start a movement that celebrates purity, holiness, and godliness!  If you have an outfit you would like me to post to those who read this blog, then please contact me at fpyorka@gmail.com and attach the pictures. I would be honored to share it. God bless you all.

Welcome to Proverbs 31 Wardrobe Ministry
Our motto is "Clothed with Strength and Dignity" 

Let People Be People

Today's message at church was the type of message I long for: messages that you hear and it challenges you spiritually and leaves you wanting to be more like Christ. The scripture reading for it was

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy"-Matthew 5:7

By nature, it sounds like such a simple and lovely verse, but when you open your heart and allow God to teach you this verse, you begin to see how serious the matter of showing mercy is. Throughout the Pastor's sermon, I kept personalizing the message to my life and my relationships with people. The pastor mentioned that mercy is more than being compassionate to people. Also, mercy is more than doing good deeds to people. He then concluded by saying that mercy is a combination of compassion and good deeds to those that need it. This is when God spoke to me and reminded me of something I was reading last night. In the book "I kissed Dating Goodbye" by Joshua Harris (I will write about this book some other time), the part that caught my attention was the phrase "Let God be God, and let People be People".   

So often we put people on a pedestal that only God should be placed on. We elevate their position in our lives and unconsciously make them our "gods". The danger in doing this is that we no longer see them as people, flesh and blood like us who are going through this same journey in this wicked world. We no longer see them as dependents on the same special grace of God that we need. We want people to love us without ever seeing fault in us. We want people to constantly, every hour if possible, affirm us, to tell us we are good people, we are beautiful, we are special. We want them to provide for us in all aspects of life from being a listening ear to a problem solver. Basically we just want people to fill all the voids in our life that ONLY GOD can fill. No one on this earth can do and be all these things for us so we begin to shut and cut people out of our lives as soon as they fail us. God did not create anyone with this ability and quite frankly, He had no need to because we are HIS creations. The sole purpose of the Creator is to take care of what He made. He is the only one that will know how to mend a broken heart because He created the heart and emotions. He is the one that constantly brags about how beautiful and special you are because He created you and said this my child is wonderfully and fearfully made! (Psalm139:14) Only God can love, only God can forgive, only God is faithful. The Scripture says,

                                          

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning, great is your faithfulness"- Lamentations 3:22-23

You may be asking now, "Feefe, what does this have to do with showing mercy?" and I tell you, understanding this simple fact has everything to do with showing mercy. Not until we get to a point in our lives where we wholeheartedly Let God to be the absolutely sovereign Lord of our lives, will we ever arrive at the place where we can let people be people.  We will be quick to love people and be compassionate towards them because we understand that they are just as fragile as we are. When they disappoint us, we won't cut them out of our lives, but we will use that opportunity to walk and shine in the light of God's love! The Pastor concluded the message today by saying that the closer we get to God, the more we will exhibit His nature. We will learn the value of being servants and well wishers. We will have a heart that genuinely seeks the best for people, a spirit that forgives quickly and holds no grudge because by walking in mercy, we will come to understand that God's mercy does the same for us. That is the key. In all of this, I have not addressed the very first word in Matthew 5:7 which is "Blessed". Our walking in mercy to everyone with meet, whether we deem them worthy or not, comes with a reward. What is the blessing of showing mercy? It can be found in Proverbs 2:3-4

"Let not mercy and truth forsake you. Bind them around your neck, write them on the tablets of your heart.  So shall you find favor and understanding in the sight of God and man".

The blessing of walking in mercy is divine favor not only with God, but with the people we meet in life! That is amazing! We are being called to a higher level of living and God is able and willing to equip us for this call if we answer to Him. Let us be challenged to go higher and harder for the Gospel of Christ Jesus! Through our lives, His name will be glorified. 

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T.M.V -Luke 6:36

"Be merciful, just as Your Father is merciful" 

New Year Resolutions

Happy New Year to everyone reading! It is a privilege to be among those that brought in the new year because we are here simply because of God's grace. He is faithful! Around this time of the year, many people make resolutions. I've seen people say this is their year to lose weight, get fit/toned, build their resume, move up the cooperate ladder, get married, etc. All of those resolutions are fantastic and it is my prayer that when December 31, 2014 comes around, everyone can enter 2015 having accomplished all they sought to do with 2014. I've been considering my own "New Year Resolution" and I've narrowed it down to just three points.  I want 2014 to be a year that I know God better, focus on school, and pray for the future.

Above all things, I want to know God better. I want a deeper and more personal level of My Creator so that I can begin to reflect Him in more aspects of my life and more frequently than I did last year. I want God to mold my character and make me an honest woman, a woman that fears His Word, and practices what she preaches. I want every word that I speak to be spoken in love even if I am correcting someone or do not agree with their viewpoints. I want to forgive those that hurt me faster than I did last year. Like one of my favorite songs by Kevin Levar, "I want a heart that forgives, a heart full of love, one with compassion just like Yours above. One that overcomes evil with goodness and love, like it never happened, never holding a grudge. I want a heart that loves everybody, even my enemies...". I want God to help me treat others with the same grace and mercy that He handles me with. In short, I pray that God should give me an appetite to eat off of all the trees that bear the fruits of the Spirit.

" But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law."-Galatians 5:22-23

 My second resolution is simply a continuation from last year and from all my years of undergradurate studies. As someone that is going to be a student for a few more years, I simply want God to give me the grace to finish school strong. In the process of focusing on school, I do not want anything or anyone that will be a cause of distraction and that means not giving in to the temptations associated with professional school/graduate school.  The Scriptures says "Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners"- 1 Corinthians 15:33 What this means is that anything that is evil can and will eventually corrupt you if you hang around long enough. That is why the same Scriptures instruct us to abstain from all appearances of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22).  Whether we are students or not, we should make every attempt to separate ourselves from that which is not good.

My third and final resolution is to pray more earnestly about the future. I believe that it is crucial to pray for things to comes including graduation, possible career paths, marriage and life partner, vision and goals, etc. When it comes to those things, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean NOT on your own understanding. In ALL your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path"-Proverbs 3:5-6. The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. It also tells us that we wrestle not against flesh and blood. With that in mind, I want to be a stronger prayer warrior. I want to be like Hannah, pouring her heart to God even while people passing by thought she was crazy. I want to be like Esther that prayed and fasted before going in to see the King to make her request known and save her people. I want to be like the woman that washed the feet of Jesus with her tears, wiped it with her hair, and poured her sweetest and most expensive perfume from her alabaster jar on them in worship. I do not wish to make any moves pertaining to my future without first seeking God's face and asking for His direction.

It is a new year and a fresh opportunity to renew ourselves and pursue the things that will make us reflect God. My father preached a message for this year titled "Do Not Give Up" and in terms of New Year resolutions, that message is perfect because most resolutions do not survive into February. No matter what the year brings,  remember your God and remind Him daily of your resolutions. Don't give up on your dreams, don't give up on your resolutions, but most importantly, DO NOT GIVE UP ON GOD. He that has brought you this far, is faithful and shall see you through. May the peace of God be yours this year. Amen.

Yorkamazing <3

T.M.V--- Isaiah 43: 19
Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.