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. 

Yorkamazing <3

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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.

Merry CHRISTmas!

Today, many countries, tribes, and people around the world will pause for a while to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Though no one knows the exact day Christ was born, because this very day has been chosen as a day to remember the event, I join the celebration in my own little way by reflecting about what this day means to me. The very foundation of my faith, my religion, my purpose in life is founded on the fact that a perfect God lowered Himself into a filthy world to save imperfect people because of LOVE. Today is not about  Christmas trees, exchanging of gifts, or eating and drinking, but it is a sober day to rethink the life we are living and realize that we have been given a second chance.

"For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."- Isaiah 9:6-7

The birth of Christ offers the gift of forgiveness and redemption from past sins and things we may have done knowingly or unknowingly that separated us from God. Jesus came to stand in the gap for us that we may be reconciled back unto Him that is called "Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace". Through the birth of Christ we are given the opportunity to have a relationship with God the Father but only if we choose and it is my earnest prayer that we all choose that gift today. We do not deserve it so with humbled spirits, sober minds, and glad hearts, let us reverence this day in Holiness.  May the joy and glad tidings of this season, the same ones the angels sung about, be yours. God bless you all. Merry Christmas!

Yorkamazing <3 

T.M.V-John 1: 14

" And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth"

It was because God showed Mercy

I have been in my Word a lot lately and it's true what the Bible says when it said seek and you shall find. I decided that I was going to read a chapter of the Bible everyday in my 15 minutes shuttle ride to campus. I randomly opened my Bible and landed on Romans so I started from Romans chapter 1. From my time in God's Word, I came across a scripture that has been on my heart now for about 2 weeks and this was Romans chapter nine.

"For He says to Moses, " I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion. So it is not of him that wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy"- Romans 9:15-16

This very scripture still gives me chills whenever I read it. Of all the things we wish for in life and pursue in life, none of it is made possible because of us, but simply because God showed us mercy! The timing of this scripture was so perfect! I was in the middle of so many exams and trying my very best to do well on them and God just put me on pause to remind me that none of my efforts really matter at the end of the day. I can study all I want, I can drink all the coffee I want to make sure I stay up late to do more studying, but at the end of the day, God said it is up to HIM to show mercy and compassion on whomever He wills! It is the favor of God that powers all of our efforts and makes them successful, not because we are the smartest nor because we have all the riches in the world! It is His mercy!

I was left in awe of God when He gave me this revelation. I felt humbled and so unworthy of His love but as I was feeling unworthy and asking God "why me", He reminded me again of the same verse where it said "I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion". He let me know that yes I am unworthy BUT He has chosen to have mercy on me just because! That was His answer, just because! Regardless of what I may think or what anyone else may think of me, ultimately, He alone decided He was going to be merciful and compassionate towards me. How great is our God! I do not believe that it is a coincidence that my last blog post was about God's grace, and then this one is about His mercy! His grace gives us what we do not deserve and His mercy keeps us from getting what we truly deserve. We may labor and study for degrees, strive to excel at our jobs, but what we call success is not a result of our efforts. God just decided to show us mercy because of His abundant love for us. For this reason, I pray that we grow to appreciate God for everything His mercy has allowed us to achieve or become in life. For reasons best known to Him alone, He has chosen us to be the "whomever" in Romans 9:15-16. Our efforts are good, but His mercy is what makes the difference. He is worthy of our adoration!

Yorkamazing <3

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T.M.V- Ephesians 2:4-5

 "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved"

Do You Know How Much Grace.....

A question God has been dropping in my heart for the last couple of days, or should I say couple of weeks, is "Do you know how much of My grace it takes to get you through one single day?" My answer has been "No" each time this question drops on my heart, but I've been thinking about this lately. Exactly how much of God's grace do I rely on each day? After not much thought, because it didn't take long to realize,  I realized that in order for me to do anything, and I mean anything, God's grace is involved. The scripture God placed on my heart when I began trying to answer God's question was Acts 17:28.

" For in Him we live, and move, and have our being, as also some of our own poets have said, "For we are  also His offspring" (New King James Version)

From this verse the Lord showed me that everything about me, happens through Him and because of Him. Simply put, there would be no me without Him. In Him we live everyday in a whole that does not recognize Him. During the days where God was teaching me about His abundant grace, I read about the mall shooting in Nairobi, Kenya that killed over 60 people and wounded many, I read about the shooting at Washington D.C Navy yard that left 13 dead, and I even read about the church bombing in Peshawar, Pakistan that killed over 85 of God's people!  These events happened within days of each other and I remember just  realizing that I've been selfish with my thanksgiving because everyday is truly a gift! You and I are no better than the victims of these tragedies but grace stepped in on our behalf. The Word of God in Ecclesiastes says that time and chance happens to all (Eccle. 9:11-12) meaning that the mere fact that we are living in this world means we are open to the likelihood of these events happening to us, yet at times we fail to appreciate God's grace that takes us from day to day.

We, including myself, have grown to become entitled children that expect good things, but seldomly pause to say thank you. The best definition of God's grace I've heard said that grace is God giving us what we do not deserve. God does not owe us anything, yet He gives us everything! Once I started grasping the depth of God's grace, God now reminded me of the 10 lepers that were healed, yet only one returned to thank Jesus for the healing (Luke 17:11-19), but sadly, God is still asking the "where are the other nine?"question from verse 17. In this case, "the other nine" is referring to us, everyone who enjoys the grace of God, yet never return to say thank you.  We know to thank God for promotions, anniversaries, birthdays, and graduate school admission,  but what about occasions such as waking up, going to and from work, health, food, shelter, and everything else that is a part of daily grace? The Bible says "God is able to make ALL grace abound towards you, that you, always having sufficiency in ALL things may have an abundance for every good work" -2 Corinthians 9:8. God is asking all of us, do you really know how much grace keeps you? Do you know how many times grace has stood in the gap for you? Do you know how much grace it takes to keep you breathing while you sleep? Do you know how much grace keeps you safe on the highway? How many angels have God given charge over you to watch over you? The grace of God is not limited to the big things alone, so neither should our praise be limited to those things. There is no area of your life that God's grace does not touch. When we start to realize this we will develop a heart of gratitude and become like the one man with leprosy that came back to say "Thank you". That is my challenge now and I challenge you also to join me. Let us strive to become a people of God who acknowledge Him daily, so that thanksgiving becomes not just what we do sometimes, but who we are all the time. For all that You have done, all that You are doing, all that You have planned, and even if You don't do anything else, Lord we thank You.

Yorkamazing <3

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T.M.V Psalms 124: 1-6

"If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, now may Israel say; If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us:Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us: Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul: Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth."

Pharmacy & I

I started Pharmacy school this week! *Insert loud screaming here!* Those that know my struggles and challenges will understand my praise when I say that "God is faithful!".  Indeed He has brought me a mighty long way. Well in my first week of classes, I've been quiet and very observant of not only the institution that I am now in, but the profession that I, by the grace of God, have chosen to be a part of. I am happy that after a week of observation, I can confidently say that this is what I want to do with my life. I have longed known that I loved people. My dreams as a child, and still my dream today, was to get an opportunity just to meet everyone on the face of the earth to say "hi", and if they'll allow me, to give them a hug. (lol) It sounds silly, but that's what my dream was because my heart feels for people. One of the very blessings of not being raised in abundance, is that  regardless of what you end up attaining in life, you have learned to sympathize and empathize with the less fortunate, because you have first hand experience on how it feels to go hungry and how to survive on next to nothing. Because of these experiences, you have to be completely heartless to then achieve something in life and refuse to offer assistant to someone in the very same position that you were once in.

I asked God to help me not only go to school, but to get an education that will place me in a position to offer assistance to those around me. I wanted to share Christ in my education because I believe in the ministry of 'living'. What I mean by this is that, as Christians we miss out on so many opportunities to introduce people to Christ, not by words, but by our actions! I've heard that "no one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care", and in terms of spreading the Gospel, that statement still holds true! Scripture tells us in Philippians 2:4 " Let each of you look out not only for his own interest, but also for the interest of others." We are to be concern about the welfare of others and bear each other's burdens. We share Christ through living in compassion, showing kindness, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, mourning with those that mourn, and celebrating with those that are celebrating. In doing these things and reflecting the perfect love of Christ, the objects of our kindness will be inclined to ask about the God we serve that makes us so different!

This brings me back to pharmacy as a profession. To summarize my first week, all I heard was that pharmacy is a profession where we serve others. Throughout orientation, the deans and professors all mention this statement in various ways informing us about how necessary it is for us to learn and comprehend the materials in each course, because for the first time in our educational careers, our knowledge of course material is for our future patients. It is no longer about us! Now I see why God brought me here. While writing this blog, God dropped it in my heart that when we ask for something, let us ask according to His Will. God reminded me of the story of Hannah and her desire for a son. Hannah needed a son, God needed a prophet, and God knew that if He gave her a son, she will in turn, give the son back to God to be used by God. (1 Samuel 1: 11) As a result, God answered her prayer and killed two birds with one stone because Hannah's request lined up with God's Will!! I asked for an education, and God needs more people to be servers in this world, so He has strategically placed me in a profession where I can share the Love of Christ, even if I never utter a word. For this, I give Him all the glory. And today, just like Hannah, I will give God back what He has given me: I will honor Him in the profession He has placed me, loving, caring, serving, and learning all to His glory. The road ahead may be rough, but I am confident in this, that He that began a good work in [me] shall complete it until the day of Christ Jesus." -Philippians 1:6

Yorkamazing <3

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T.M.V - Colossians 3:23

"Whatsoever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men"