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)
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
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.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
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.
" 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
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"
Sunday, August 31, 2014
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.
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
T.M.V- Psalm 37:23
"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord; and He deligheth in his way"
Monday, July 28, 2014
"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"
Saturday, July 26, 2014
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.
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| The juicer I bought. I got it for around 31 dollars from amazon. Click to see the Juicer On Amazon |
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| 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. |
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| After washing and cutting up my apples, ginger and carrots, I simply placed it in my juicer and started juicing! |
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| 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  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." |
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Proverbs 31 Wardrobe Ministry_Edition 2
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The Outfit: Black skirt, off-white blazer, leopard print under-shirt |
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The Outfit: Black skirt, off-white blazer, leopard print under-shirt |
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Accessories: Gold pumps, baby blue tote purse with gold trimmings, gold Aldo watch |
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The face: Nude lip gloss (I don't wear make-up because my skin will react and itch)
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With love,
Yorkamazing <3
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"
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