God is good!

It’s been a while, do you even remember me?  Us?  Ha-ha.  On behalf of us bloggers I apologize for letting life get in the way of sharing and connecting.  Well since the last time I shared God has tested me, life has disappointed me, and God has yet again surprised me with his graciousness and love.  God has spoken to me multiple times on my way to the office these past few weeks and I’ve told Him I was too busy…UGH who does that?  Who tells God they are too busy??  Could you imagine if He told us that when we prayed and reached out to Him?  “Eh, sorry Brandy I’m too busy to help you, ask again later”.  Wow!  Well He spoke to me again this morning and said  “Brandy, share what I’ve done for you lately, someone needs it.  Please share it”.  So here it is!  I hope who ever needs this reminder reads this today.

            On May 7^th my General Manager walked into my office, shut my door, and said “Brandy, we need to talk.”  Do to a mistake that was made on both he and I’s part the “powers that be” decided to let me go.  I immediately started crying, it was a complete shock to the system, I had worked for this company for 4 years.  Not only did I work for them I busted my butt, gave long hours, tears, and blood for that company and all because of a mistake that both he and I made they decided to let go of the low man on the totem pole…ie …me.  He sat and talked to me and he hated to do it but it had to be done.  So I walked out in tears that day, went home, ate ice cream, and cried.  Once I sucked it up some I called Carl.  He, as I, was flabbergasted and couldn’t believe this happened.  He was furious, I was just sad.  That company was a big part of my life and I grew up a lot there and to just have it gone in a split second was not fun!  So I filed for unemployment, and began looking for jobs (after the sugar coma wore off from the ice cream of course).  So when Carl got home he was yelling and frustrated and didn’t feel I deserved it.  I told him “honey, there is nothing I can do about it, we just need to move on”.  That night I prayed to God and all I said was “Lord please allow me to be strong and determined.  I need to focus on looking for a job and not worrying about money and bills.  Please remove that stress from me, I am giving it all to you.”  Period, end of discussion.  Ladies I never again prayed for my job loss, I never asked God to find me a job, to pay my bills, to relieve any stress.  I did it!  I completely handed something over to Him and didn’t think twice about it.  That was the first time I had ever done that and it was amazing.  When I thought about praying for it I would stop myself….”Lord, please be with Carl and I through this….never mind, You’ve got it….” And would then continue on with my other prayers (true story, I promise).  Well within 3 weeks of losing my job I had, not 1, not 2 but 3 job offers with 3 wonderful opportunities.  Now you want to talk about stress!!!!  I thought losing a job was stressful, having 3 opportunities is FAR more stressful lol.  It was bittersweet.  He provided yet again!  Well, last night I was telling this story to a friend and when I told her I never prayed for a job, money, bills or anything she stopped me and said “Brandy I prayed every night”.  I just froze and thought; wow he took that stress from me and laid it on the hearts of my friends and family.  They all knew I had lost my job and automatically, without me asking, prayed for me and my family.  Not only did God provide me with stress free job searching, he provided me with wonderful friends and family who took on that burden and prayed for me.  That feeling is BEAUTIFUL and wonderful! 

           

So please read this and realize that God is and always will provide.  You need to truly let go and let God.  You need to focus on your husband, kids, and yourself.  If you are constantly worried and stressed it effects not only you but the loved ones who surround you with love.  He wants to give it to Him, He wants us to focus on what is important.  Granted those jobs did NOT fall in my lap.  Over the period of 2 ½ weeks I applied for at least 150 jobs and reached out and networked with family, friends, and previous co-workers.  If you put in the effort He will provide the results!

            Ok, just one more example J.  This past week was an expensive week for Carl and I.  Our son’s car was in the shop for nearly a month and we got the car and the bill on Sunday…OUCH!  We also had to pay for all 3 of our kids sporting activities this past week, OUCH again.  Also, our sprinkler head busted and we had to pay for that repair as well.  So multiple unexpected expenses happened recently.  As well as normal bills, so we were a bit tight this weekend.  Since I have a new job direct deposit has not occurred yet and because of that we did not have the money needed for the weekend expenses with the kids (no, I don’t just mean the fun stuff).  Well, my check didn’t come Friday.  So I said a quick and simple prayer “Lord, please let my check come Saturday”.  (last time they mailed my check we didn’t’ get it until Monday).  Well, DONE!  Saturday came and my check appeared in the mail!  So Carl deposited the check and when hereturned I said “ you need to stop right now and thank God, because I prayed for this and He yet again provided”   Carl replied and said “it was after the bank closed so the funds won’t deposit until midnight Sunday night”.  I said “well , if I hadn’t received the check today, then I would have gotten it Monday night when I got home and wouldn’t have deposited it until after bank hours which means no funds until Tuesday, but He provided today so we will have funds on Monday!”.  Carl agreed and stopped to thank God right then and there.

            Two very different stories of trusting God to provide and He did just that.  But this blog is more about Him providing it is about the unbelievable feeling of not being stressed over these things and knowing God will get us through.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t a check for a million dollars in the mail (still waiting on that one, I gave it to God but he hasn’t felt the need to give that to me just yet”).  Please give the burden and the stress to Him, He will distribute accordingly and provide you with what is needed.

Lots of love, hugs, and prayers to you all!

xoxoxoxo

The Lord is My Strength

Ladies, I've been slacking! I've been so busy worrying about my new job, stressing about studying for class and preparing for projects that I've let God slip to the back burner once again. I know we all struggle with this same thing. We walk through life being pulled in a million different directions and feel tired and overwhelmed by life, but we have to make sure that we are still giving God some of our time and attention. I don’t know about you but I can tell a difference in my entire day if I study before I leave for work or if I don’t study at all. When I don’t study at all my attitude is bad, I’m easily stressed/anxious, and I have no peace. When I study before I leave for the day I feel empowered and like I’m ready to face whatever the world throws at me, like I actually have my armor on for the war I’m about to face.

I need God’s peace and strength to help me get through every single day. I know it’s hard to get back into a good habit when it’s been so long since you’ve studied, but give it a try! I promise the results will be well worth it. I think the biggest thing is staying in the mindset that you have to “find time” for everything else because you’ve MADE time for God. You’re putting him first! If your life is anything like mine you sometimes feel like you’re in over your head with all the things you have on your plate. Work, school, homework, church, any and everything! Like there is no time for rest and you’re trying to figure out what you can cut out so you can gain some of your sanity back! Lol! I’ve been feeling like this a lot lately and I realized that I prayed for the job I have, I prayed to be in school and I prayed to find a church home that I could be apart of, thank God for answered prayers huh?! Lol! The thing I need to be praying for most right now is his strength to get me through all of this. Not for all of this to go away or to be easier. I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me, I just have to pray for his strength! J

Here’s a scripture to help you throughout your long day!

Isaiah 40:28-31 “Do you not know? Have you not heard? Yahweh is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth. He NEVER grows faint or weary; there is no limit to His understanding. He gives strength to the weary and strengthens the powerless. Youths may faint and grow weary and young men stumble and fall, but those who TRUST in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.”

   

I hope this has helped you ladies this morning! Have a wonderful day!

Raynisia Nagel
A Woman After God's Own Heart

Are you walking by the Spirit or giving way to the flesh?

Good Evening Ladies,

Today was a very hard day for me, but I praise Jesus although it was hard I didn't go through it alone. Here lately my neighbors children have been very loud, so I would say that would make for about 1 to 2 hours of sleep before I get up and have to go to work. So Monday started off with only 1 hour of sleep and Jesus allowed me to awake and I certainly woke up praying. My prayer- Lord thank you for touching me this morning, but Lord you are going to have to take my place at work for me. I am sleepy and angry because of my sleepless night Father, and I don't want to dishonor you at work so Father please work through me. Of course there was more to it than that, but the Holy Spirit decided that my team members at work have been mistreated by co-works, customer's, & superiors. He told me to stop looking at myself and encourage someone else, so I stopped by the bakery and bought donuts and sausage rolls. Now if you should know anything about me, I believe that I own nothing but God owns it all-me included. So before I bought anything I asked God to confirm that I was hearing the Holy Spirit telling me to buy my co-workers breakfast because after all the funds God allow me to earn belongs to him. The earth is the Lords and the fullness there of. Which means everything and everyone belong to him.

I got to work and and set everything up and offered other supervisors and management breakfast as well. I let my teammates know as they strolled in- breakfast is ready and they could help themselves. a lot of them asked who bought this and what is it for? The Holy Spirit responded because I know our jobs are not easy but stay encouraged. Ladies- love covers a multitude of sins and when the world beats us down God want to use us to tell others to be encouraged. Today I went to work and I was told some bad news by management over attendance. I was so hurt that I got in my car and I told God- Lord I am hurt, you said that you would not allow me to be put to shame. Lord I feel like I have been put to shame, I come to work and I treat people the way you command me to with love but yet I feel hated and now I have been written up just for asking a customer not to be rude to me. Lord I am frustrated, hurt, and I know things are happening the way that they are because you are allowing them to. I know for sure you are in control, but Lord I don't know what you are doing but while you're doing what you're doing- please give me your peace- Amen.

The same day (today) I went to church -Wednesday night bible study... HALLELUJAH. My pastor actually came out of the book of Galatians, but he asked us to turn back to the book of Romans starting at chapter 7. I started reading Romans 7:21-28, then I read chapter 8:1-17. The author of Romans is Paul and he is speaking about the Spirit and the Flesh waging war against one another and it is a constant battle. You have to read it for yourselves ladies, but I must tell you a couple of these scriptures, Romans 8:5-6, "Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. You see ladies, I was felt bad telling God that I felt like he let people put me to shame, I was frustrated with him, and I felt hurt by him. However, after hearing the word of God tonight God told me the flesh wants- what the flesh wants, but he is pleased with me. I have allowed the Spirit that is within me to have his way and not my flesh. You see the old Reda, she would have blamed the attendance lady and had a fit about being written up and being treated unfairly. The spirit told the attendance lady oh that's okay, I understand you are just doing as you're told. When God wants me back in school it will happen, and she leaned over and kissed me on the forehead. You know I didn't even realize at that moment she wasn't seeing me but she was seeing the Spirit within me. I am determined Lord to walk by the Spirit, which means Lord I give you reign over my life, for my life is not my own- to you I belong, I give myself to you. This is a Spiritual battle ladies we must stop allowing the flesh to have its way and train our minds on the word of God. This life is not about me it is about our Lord and Savior and I am already saved, but the question is...Is the attendance lady saved? Are those who are treating me unfairly saved? You ladies may be the only bible others see. Be blessed and bless others.

A Psalms a Day Will Keep the Devil Away

            I went to a conference this weekend called Women of Joy and had an absolute wonderful time!  I was invited by Mary and her daughters for a second time (I’m so privileged lol).  I joke but it is true, I’m very lucky and blessed to have been welcomed to their yearly Women of Faith trips, they have changed my life (the girls as well as the conferences). 

Well this trip, we went to Oklahoma City and in case you don’t watch the news much or if you don’t watch the weather in other parts of the country let me tell you a little about our weekend….baseball sized hail, tornados touching down about 6 miles from us, tornado alarms going off at 2:30am and storms…..so needless to say we ladies came to Jesus more than once this past weekend!!!!  OHH lordy the tornados were touching down all around us girls and it was nerve racking…of course you all know that was the devil right?  Stupid devil tried his hardest but there was still over 2,000 women who showed up all 3 days to this conference and around 30 were saved!  IN YO FACE DEVIL!!!  Heaven party of 30, Hell….30 people called and canceled there RSVP’s hahahahahahha…seriously I love it!

Ok, so moving on to something I learned.  Well, well scripture is a powerful thing.  To me it’s always been confusing, long, and hard to read much less remember any of it.  I’m like yeah, Johan and the Whale…oh that guy David and the giant Goliath.  Now when my pastor breaks it down, then I have an “OHHHHHH, that’s what they meant” moment, actually, I have those moments every Sunday J.  Well Pam Teebow (yes that Teebow) was at our conference this weekend and taught me how much memorizing prayer can help you in your everyday life.  That lady was spitting out prayer every 5 seconds.  She had probably all of Psalm memorized and by golly she had a Psalm for every situation.  She had one she recited to her elf and her kids when she was scared, hurt, and happy, for advise, everything!!!  I thought how awesome would it be to have Psalm tucked away in my back pocket when my friends call crying or upset to help them with their struggles….how could would it be to have that for my kids?  Kids go through so much at school, bad test grade, struggling in gym, in class, bullies, one day boyfriends and girlfriends I mean the list goes on and on and how wonderful would it be to quote the bible to them?  What a great parent and example I would be for them?  She taught us to be women of influence and what better way to influence? 

Well I decided this weekend that I would attempt that and try to start memorizing verses and I’ll start with the book of Psalms and for whatever reason I am going out of order J so the first is this:

Psalm 4: 1-3

                Lord, how they have increased who trouble me!  Many are they who rise up against me.  Many are they who say of me, “There is no help for him in God.” But You, O Lord, are a “shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head.”

I think that will be the perfect one to start with so that I can say that to myself as well as my kiddos when they feel the world is against them.  I hope that verse helps out one or all of you ladies this evening.

Keep your heads up and your hearts praying!  You are special and He has not forgotten about you.  He has a plan for you!

The Helmet of Salvation

Good Morning All,

We have almost reached our last piece of armor that we need to grab for this battle. However, we have come such a long way in this battle there is no turning back now. We are going to take advantage of what we have learned thus far and leave the people around us perplexed by our new attitudes. Do you all remember the pieces of armor that we have covered so far? If not let me just write them out for you but again it's important that you get in the word for yourselves.

1. Put on the Belt of Truth

2. Put on the Breastplate of Righteousness

3. Put on the Shoes of The Gospel of Peace

4. Take up the Shield of Faith

5. Take up the Helmet of Salvation

This is where we left off the Helmet of Salvation. If you would like to see what the Roman soldier armor looks like find the last post about the Shield of Faith and scroll to the bottom and see the pic. Let me just start right off by saying that majority of us either love sports or someone we know love sports. We often say that football is as American as eating apple pie. Who ever came up with that phrase has to be a male though because dessert for me will always out rank sports LOL. I bring the subject of sports up because if you think about it- fighting is a sport as well and in battle that is all we do is fight. However, in this sports battle we are actually fighting for our lives. Some of us get wounded and have to be stitched back up but then we get right back on the battle field. I also brought football up because what does the player wear to protect his head when playing the game- you got it a helmet. Without this gear for ice hockey & football, we are looking at some irreversible damage to the head. That is partly why Paul gives the illustration about the helmet.

If you don't have your helmet on in this battle most likely you are coming out wounded or dead. If you are reading this post you have been on the battle field rather you like it or not. You have been wounded but God blessed you get back up again. Now God needs you and me to take up our helmets and put them on. In other words if the devil got your mind he got you period. The bible states, "As a man thinks so is he." Have anyone ever told you something negative about you, and you couldn't shake what he/she were saying about you, it just stayed on your mind day and night? You in turn started to believe that persons negative report. Well if you're stating that you never have-let me be the first to raise my hand and say I have. I believed the negative report when I was told you'll never make it without me, you need to lose weight, you need to cut your hair, and the list goes on. I don't blame that person because the devil has to use somebody and it may be the person you're sleeping right next to, or even a family member. But once I learned what Jesus had to say about my value and who I am in him, I choose to believe his report. If Jesus would give up his life for mine, and God would allow him to and then Jesus turned around and sent the Holy Spirit back for me. That states to me what scripture say about God is true, "Let everyone else be a lie and God the truth. So to my ex-husband if you are reading this, I forgive you for the negative words but I choose to believe God's report about me.

God don't take bad and negative things about me to himself, my sins grieves him. However, our enemy the devil is always giving bad reports to God about us. I just need you to remember the enemy may be a roaring loin seeking whom he may devour but God is in control and devil can't do anything without God's permission. So all you may hear instead of a roar is a meow. We must have the right mind-set to be in this battle that is why we need our helmets on they protect what we think and how we respond to to negative situations. You and I must dive into the word of God and learn his ways, his thoughts about any and all matters, and meditate on the good things he say about us. Ladies there is so much on the helmet of salvation and I have not got started on salvation, so we have another date for the helmet of salvation. But that does not mean that you cannot start practicing now- learning what God has to say about you and walk it out based on his report. Be blessed and bless others....

A Rewritten Story

Good Morning Ladies! This week has been crazy busy for me and for all of you I bet, so please forgive us in advance for the delay in posts this week!! :)

Today I wanted to talk about your rewritten story, which is the sermon that was shared on Easter Sunday. Mark 14:32-40

^"32They came at length to a garden called Gethsemane.

Jesus: Stay here. I’m going a little farther to pray and to think.

³³He took Peter, James, and John with Him; and as they left the larger group behind, He became distressed and filled with sorrow.

Jesus: ³⁴My heart is so heavy; I feel as if I could die. Wait here for Me, and stay awake to keep watch.

³⁵He walked on a little farther. Then He threw Himself on the ground and prayed for deliverance from what was about to come.

Jesus: ³⁶Abba, Father, I know that anything is possible for You. Please take this cup away so I don’t have to drink from it. But whatever happens, let Your will be done—not Mine.

³⁷He got up, went back to the three, and found them sleeping.

Jesus (waking Peter): Simon, are you sleeping? Couldn’t you wait with Me for just an hour? ³⁸Stay awake, and pray that you aren’t led into a trial of your own. It’s true—even when the spirit is willing, the body can betray it.

³⁹He went away again, and prayed again the same prayer as before—pleading with God but surrendering to His will.

⁴⁰He came back and found the three asleep; and when He woke them, they didn’t know what to say to Him.

⁴¹After He had gone away and prayed for a third time, He returned to find them slumbering.

Jesus: Again? Still sleeping and getting a good rest? Well, that’s enough sleep. The time has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴²Get up now, and let’s go. The one who is going to betray Me is close by"

 

We are so much like Peter, James and John. God has given us chance after chance after chance and we just keep "falling alseep on him" when he needs us the most. Instead of Jesus getting angry in this story and leaving them he gives them another chance and then still takes them with him. I bet Peter, James and John felt like we do so much of the time, like we let God down so much that we dont' know how to recover from that. We don't know what to say to God anymore because we are afraid that he won't forgive us for our past mistakes, but it says in Jeremiah 31:34 "...For I will forgive their wrong doing and never again remember their sin." Once you ask God for forgiveness your sin is forgotten in his eyes. God wants to rewrite our lives ladies! He wants to use the things that we've been through that we aren't so proud of, to help someone else get through what they are going through. He wants us to let go of guilt, shame and fear and allow him to take over our lives so people can see us transformed. Are you allowing God to rewrite your story? Are you moving past your past mistakes and treating everyday like it's a new day? Every day is a chance for us to get it right ladies. Every moment! What we do matters to God.

 

I know this isn't as WONDERFUL as it was when I heard it on Easter Sunday, but I wanted to share a little bit of that message with you. We have to allow God to rewrite our lives and we have to stop falling asleep on the job. Living for God, sharing his love with others and telling others about him is our job. Are you doing this to the fullest? I know I need to remind myself of these things daily.

 

Have a wonderful day today ladies! Please stay encouraged! You're not alone in what you're going through. Help someone else today and everyday to know this too! :)

 

Raynisia Nagel

A Woman After God's Own Heart

Rest in Jesus Love and Trust in his Faithfulness

Hello Ladies,

You may be reading this in the morning, noon, or evening time but whenever you read it I ask you to stop right here for a quick moment. Please ask the Holy spirit to open your heart that you may receive what the Lord has to say to you in the situation that is going on in your life, your families lives, or your friends lives. Where I go to church I am in the prayer ministry and I absolutely love it. I love going before the Lord and praying on the behalf of others as well as myself. However, it still boggles my mind when some people say some things such as: I'm good, I don't need prayer, or not today. With that ladies let me ask you- do you know anyone who is sick, do you know anyone who is addicted to drugs, are you or someone you know having financial problems, or have you lost your home? Truly there is so much going on in our lives that I am sure someone you know is going through at least one or more of the above. You may even be going through your own personal Hades.

Let me give you some good news right now, God knows exactly where you are and he made you a promise that he would never leave nor forsake you. However, he has given us the power of prayer. How often do you pray? Do you only pray when you are going through difficult times, or do you pray without ceasing as the word of God tells us to do? Now don't get me wrong you don't want just anyone praying for you, especially if their life style is Hellish. I hope that you will be encouraged by knowing God knows all about your pain, and he wants you to rest in his love and trust in his faithfulness. You see before you ask him for a job, your family member to be freed from the addiction of drugs or whatever the case may be- he wants you to examine his character. If you and I would just examine the Lords character- we will see how much he truly loves us. If you woke up today that is part of his love, if your limbs work that is part of his love, if you have friends or family that tells you they love you- than Jesus surely loves you. Needless to say his is an unconditional love, and just as he loves you- he remains faithful even when we are not. I asked before how often do you pray, but what I should have asked is how often do you pray for others. I have come to realize that by praying for others God will automatically cover me. His word actually states if you obey my commands, you can ask for the desires of your heart and it shall be given. Let me just add we should never want anything that God does not want for us....it would not be to our benefit. The scriptures below has always encouraged me when the devil was attempting to destroy me*******what the devil did for evil God allowed for my good.

1. Philippians 4:15 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

2. Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not upon your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your path.

3. 1 Chronicles 16:34 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

4. Psalms 92:2 It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning, your faithfulness in the evening.

The Real Thing

Good morning ladies!! I hope everyone had a life changing Easter Sunday! I know I sure did. The message was powerful and so true. I will share that experience with you later this week.

This morning I want to talk about “The Real Thing”, and when I say the real thing, I mean a real relationship with God. This message is coming from one of my Daily Bread readings. It really opened my eyes this morning to something’s I need to work on and I hope it can give you a new perspective as well.

A church in Naperville, Illinois, is basking in excitement about it’s brand-new bells in the belfry above its sanctuary. When the church was built many years ago, they didn’t have the money to purchase the bells. However, for its 25^th anniversary they were able to raise the funds to hang three bells in the vacant space. Even though they are stunning, there is one problem: the congregation will never hear the bells ring. Although they look real they are artificial.

                The apostle John wrote his first epistle to encourage believers not to just look like real Christians, but to prove they are genuine by how they live. The evidence that a person’s faith is real is not found in some mystical experience with God. The proof that people truly know and love God is found in submitting to His authority and to His Word.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

1 John: Chapter 2

¹You are my little children, so I am writing these things to help you avoid sin. If, however, any believer does sin, we have a high-powered defense lawyer—Jesus the Anointed, the righteous—arguing on our behalf before the Father. ²It was through His sacrificial death that our sins were atoned. But He did not stop there—He died for the sins of the whole world.

³We know we have joined Him in an intimate relationship because we live out His commands. ⁴If someone claims, “I am in an intimate relationship with Him,” but this big talker doesn’t live out His commands, then this individual is a liar and a stranger to the truth. ⁵But if someone responds to and obeys His word, then God’s love has truly taken root and filled him. This is how we know we are in an intimate relationship with Him: ⁶anyone who says, “I live in intimacy with Him,” should walk the path Jesus walked.

⁷My loved ones, in one sense, I am not writing a new command for you. I am only reminding you of the old command. It’s a word you already know, a word that has existed from the beginning. ⁸However, in another sense, I am writing a new command for you. The new command is the truth that He lived; and now you are living it, too, because the darkness is fading and the true light is already shining among you.

⁹Anyone who says, “I live in the light,” but hates his brother or sister is still living in the shadows. ¹⁰Anyone who loves his brother or sister lives in the light and will not trip because his conscience is clear. ¹¹But anyone who hates his brother is in the darkness, stumbling around with no idea where he is going, blinded by the darkness.

This scripture made me think about all the excuses I’ve made. When people question me, the way I’m living, and tell me that my life should be completely different I always say “I’m human, I’m not perfect and I never will be.” And I honestly still believe that, but this scripture made me realize, all excuses aside, I have to set an example for others around me. If I’m claiming to have the light in me and that I have an intimate relationship with God there are sacrifices I have to make to show this. The language I speak and my actions are all reflections of God. It’s not easy to change all of these things to show a beautiful reflection of God, but making up excuses only makes us push it off. We keep using the same excuse and others even help us when we use these excuses, so why would we want to change? I want to change because I really do want everyone to see his beautiful reflection in me.

I know I’ve talked about all of this before, but I feel like this scripture says it perfectly. It really made me realize that all the excuses are just that, excuses. When am I going to be “The Real Thing”? I want to make God proud!

I remember when I was younger my sister and I were at an event together and we walked up to a table to get information. I barely said two words, but the lady at the table stopped me before I walked away and said “Wow, I can see God’s light shining through you and it’s beautiful.” I want to experience that again. I want his light to shine so clearly through me that it affects others and makes them want to have an intimate relationship with God. When I first started this blog and doing my daily devotion again I seriously asked myself why hadn’t I been living my life like this before. Living for God isn’t hard right?! HA, that’s what I was thinking at the beginning before all the trials and tribulations came rolling in. Living for God is one of the hardest things anyone can ever do. People constantly watch and judge EVERY move you make and you judge yourself. You feel weak and broken and you ask God to take some of this burden from you and to make your trail a little bit easier and the he says this “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness…” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

God can’t show us his power and his strength until we give him full control. When we are weak, broken and shaken God’s power, love and strength shines through. It’s right on time every time! Wherever you are today just ask yourself this question, are you “The Real Thing”? I don’t mean just by the words that come out of your mouth, the people you hang out with, the places you go and the things you do. There are more important ways to show that we have an intimate relationship with Christ, like having faith that he will bring you through whatever it is that you’re going through. Allowing his beautiful light to shine through you so that you can help others.

I know today’s message was super long, but I really wanted to share that with you ladies. NO MORE EXCUSES!! I want the Real Thing! J

Remember this scripture today and share it with someone who might need it!

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness…” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Stay encouraged ladies! You are not alone! J

Raynisia Nagel
A Woman After God’s Own Heart

Joy In the Morning

Have you ever felt like you were alone in this huge world? Like everyone and everything around you was against you all at once and you weren’t really sure what to do. You’d reached your breaking point and the only thing that you could do was cry. You cried out to God, but for some reason you couldn’t hear him clearly. You just needed a sign; a sign of what he wanted you to do at that very moment. You needed his peace, a peace that surpasses all understanding. Well I’m here to remind you ladies that Joy comes in the morning! Today is a new day and you have to let the past be the past. Do not let the enemy ruin day after day for you because you have the Lord on your side. Even if you can’t feel his presence, he is in the midst. I’ve been there, right in that very moment and I felt like I couldn’t hear God at all and it terrified me.

 I read this passage and it made me cry because it was so comforting: Psalm 30:4-8 “Sing to the Lord you his faithful ones; and praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor a lifetime. Weeping may spend the night, but there is JOY IN THE MORNING. When I was secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.” Lord, when you showed your favor, you made me stand like a strong mountain, when you hid your face I was terrified.”

How many of you have said that since you’ve started your walk with God, that you wouldn’t be shaken? I know I have and believe me I’ve been shaken alright. I’ve read that scripture before and it’s even highlighted in my bible, but the way it affected me the first time I read it was different than the way it has affected me this morning. I said that to say this, God’s word may be the same in the bible, but the way we can apply it to our lives isn’t. One small scripture can change someone’s entire perspective and cause so much change in their life, that’s why it’s so important to stay in his word. His word is our strength and a reminder of his love, grace and patience with us. I know I need a refresher on that every day to remind me who I am. I am a child of God, therefore I am beautiful and I am loved. I hope you all know that! J

‘Remind me who I am’ Jason Gray http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKyY8zfjBMQ&ob=av2n

 
Great song and video! :)

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend with their families! We will start post up again on Monday! J

Stay encouraged, motivated and inspired today and help someone else do the same! J

A Woman After God’s Own Heart

Golden Opprotunities

So this week I was out of town on business handling a marketing event for our Houston office.  I pack my bags, go to the airport, set up for the show, and work the show.  My plans were to do business as usual and then fly back home to my family.  However, those plans NEVER quite work out how we think they should!!

I did all the things listed above and had dinner with my team after the event.  As we ate dinner and visited I began having a one on one conversation with one of my team mates.  I was telling him how next weekend I’ll be going to a women of joy conference with my friends and I was looking forward to it.  Then he began telling me how he’d love for his wife to go to something like that and he’d he even like to go to a men’s conference.  Well unfortunately, they live in Houston so I wasn’t much help to him there.  The subject then changed a bit and we began talking about how his wife is a stay at home mom and by the time he gets home she’s chatty Cathy and even wants to go out somewhere with the kiddos.  Well he just wants to rest from the hectic day and lay on the couch.   I told him Carl and I have those issues at times as well and you just both have to compromise.  Carl recently traveled 3 wks straight and literally begged me to not make plans one weekend because he was so tired.  Now I had my heart set on going dancing that weekend and was a little disappointed, but, I compromised and realized his needs are just as important.  So I stayed home and we had a wonderful weekend together, now this weekend….he needs to buckle up because we’re gonna be busy J.  I stay home with Carl some weekends and do nothing because that is what he needs, but there are also times he is dead tired but still takes me to dinner and a movie or out dancing if that is what I want.  It’s not always about your needs, it’s about your spouse’s needs as well and truly giving 100% of you to them, be it on the couch watching tv or out to dinner and hanging with friends.

Well this conversation steered me back to church and I told him about our church and how Carl and I began going there.  I told him how my husband and I absolutely love our church and have been going for 2 yrs now.  Well the first time Carl and I attended this church they were doing a series called Forever.  For Real?  and it was a series about marriage and the commitment it takes not only to each other but the commitment it takes as a couple to seek God and to go in His direction.  The relationship between the 3 of you should look like a triangle where God is the top center point and you to are the sides coming together in His name.  Then, and only then is the relationship truly whole.  Then and only then is the relationship on solid grounds.  Then and only then is the relationship healthy.

He seemed really interested in this series.  So I told him that our series are recorded and kept in archive and that I’d love to share it with him if he was ok with that.  He was super excited and said he’d love to see it!  So as you see what I thought was just going to be business as usual turned into great conversation and opened an opportunity for me to share Christ with a man who already knows him but could use a little boost.  I can’t wait to send him the sermon series and hear his feedback, I hope and pray that this is a wonderful experience for he and his wife!  I know it was wonderful for Carl and I and we still use those lessons we learned from the series to this day.  

So seize those opportunities ladies, use your past and current mistakes as testimonies and always keep them in your back pocket because YOU, yes you, could be someone’s superwoman, someone’s angel, or someone’s light at the end of the tunnel.

Who do I have but thee oh Lord?

Good Afternoon Ladies,

God word is never late, but it is the conduits that he uses sometime that are. I ask for your forgiveness in posting late. However, whenever the word of God is shared with me it is never late but always right on time. Today ladies I am going to be speaking with you about fear. Yes, I know that we have two more peaces of armor to take up, but God has placed the topic of fear on my heart, so I will obey and address it from a biblical standpoint. Let me give you all some personal information about me, and I pray that it will help you to know that although I love the Lord he has to remind me not to fear. I had my daughter's at a very young age and sometimes I would have to work two jobs just to make ends meet. Raynisia, my youngest daughter always had friends that she wanted to hang out with and do kids things such as: going to movies, going out to eat, going to games and etc... Shay, she was a lot different praise God. She was not an invert or anything but she opted most of the time to just stay home. As a parent I guess you can imagine which child was a cheaper date lol.

No matter how busy I was or the girls were we made time to spend with our first love-Jesus. I would ask the girls have you done your home-work, have you cleaned up the house, and did you pray this morning before you left the house? Majority of the the time- but not all the time I would hear- YES MOM-with a sigh behind it. You know as a single parent I worried so much about how was I going to feed the girls, how was I going to be able to afford activities they wanted to do, how was I going to be able to afford a house with the white picket fence, and when the time would come how was I going to be able to afford cars and college? Then one day I was doing my bible study, I would say it was about 2 AM in the morning. The girls were sleeping and I was so worried about all of the above I couldn't sleep. I prayed and asked God to give me a word. He heard me and I turned to 2Timothy 1:7, "For God did not give me the spirit of fear, but LOVE, POWER, AND A SOUND MIND." You know ladies the light bulb came on that night and I asked God who do I have but thee or Lord? The Holy Spirit response was, you don't need anyone but God.

You know I realize that we have family and friends and that's great and all but sometimes I have moments when I need someone instantly. Friends don't answer the phone and family cannot be contacted either- I have those 2AM moments. Jesus told me that he is a 24/7 God and nothing is to hard for him. I asked God to forgive me for worrying and from that moment on I would trust him, but don't get me wrong he still has to remind me suit up Reda. He reminds me he owns it all, a cattle on a thousand hills and he made me an heir with Christ, so in other words what Jesus owns I own too. So my feelings shifted, I went from worrying to telling the devil what I have and asking God to manifest some of those things. Remember what I said in the previous blog without faith it is impossible to please God? I started telling God I do trust you, but also remember faith without works is dead. In other words ladies you can tell God you trust him all you like but you need to put some foot action behind those words. If you don't pay your tithes, you may want to ask why are you always broke, discussed, and feeling like you're defeated. Actually you are defeated if you don't pay your tithes you are going to find yourself on the same hamsters wheel- going no where. Having faith in God gives you the ability not to fear because you know that God has your back no matter what. Pay your tithes and tell God, Lord I trust you and I am going to obey your word and watch you move on my behalf. If you would like to know more about tithing read the book of Malachi.

And after God told me baby girl you have to pay your tithes to see me move on your behalf. I did just that- I said Lord I don't care who don't get paid, but remember your word also. You said to owe no man nothing but to love him. So Father I am going to pay my tithes and I expect you to keep your word- you make a way out of no way. Ladies I started doing that and the dead beat dad checks started coming in....Don't get happy right now they were only 5 dollars here 10 dollars there lol, but God showed me I could never out do him. The reason I say that is because Raynisia's friends parents would usually flip the bill for her to go along on vacations and etc. with their families because they knew I couldn't afford it (Thank you Barbara, Nicky, and Mary) and so many other mom's and dad's that blessed my daughter's. When it came time for Shay to get her car, I drove off the show-room floor with no down payment. When it was time to purchase the house, God had it built from the ground up. People we serve a GREAT GOD, do not fear but have faith and remember faith is taking action. And by the way my last child support check last year 2011 was 7,300 dollars- I'm just bragging on God and as I always do with my girls, I have to do with you. Numbers have meaning in the bible 7 is completion and 3 is the Trinity. Your home-work for tonight ladies is to look in the back of your bibles find the word fear and read the scriptures, and then do the same thing for the word Faith. Who do we have but thee oh Lord?

Be blessed and bless others. The prayer line is always open.

Faith-without it, it's Impossible to Please God

Good morning Lady Warriors,

It is now time to move on to the next part of the armor, and I am particularly excited about the Shield of Faith. Do you ladies remember the three pieces of armor that we have already put on? Well let me just give you a few reminders of what they are. 1.) The Belt of Truth, 2.) The Breast Plate of Righteousness, and 3.) The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace. Ladies all of the first three pieces of armor- we had to put them on and we must put them on everyday. Again Ephesians 6:10-17, is where you can find the scripture about the armor. When you are reading the scripture if you will please take notice of the word HAVING for the first three pieces of the armor. Having- should stand out to you because its positioning means that we should be wearing these pieces of armor at all times, I cannot stress that enough.

However, with the next three pieces of armor in Ephesians we will not wear this armor, but we will take them up- in other words they will be picked up by us (raised up) Paul is stating. The fourth piece of armor is the shield of faith; Ephesians 6:16 reads, "In addition to all, TAKING UP THE SHIELD OF FAITH with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." I am going to take you back again to the Roman soldiers time (see pic below). Their shield was very large, slightly curved rectangular, and at the center was a large metal knob. This is how the soldier would be able to hold on to the shield. Some of the shields were three and a half feet tall and about three feet wide. Now ladies, I want you to picture it in your minds- we are on the battle field and we have our three pieces of armor on and now we have grabbed our shields. Lets say that there are about a hundred women on the battle field-for certain we have our shields in hand. Not only do we have are shields but we are standing firm- side by side and we look up into the sky and the devils fiery arrows are heading our way. What are we going to do? We would continue to stand firm in a crouch down position and hold those shields together for protection, so what the devil fired out on us did not affect us; because we raised up our protection.

Hebrews 11:1 states, "Now FAITH is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." In other words ladies it is believing that God is telling the irrefutable truth. For example, in his word it states- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Do you believe that? We have so many doubts about our abilities, but what we need is faith knowing that God cannot not lie. He who started a good work in you will complete it. So when does a Christian need to take up the shield? Please read Ephesians 6:13, "Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day"

Now are you asking the question when is the evil day? Come on ladies- you know when the evil day is, I went through some of them with you before. Let me just give you some of my evil day experiences: I went through a divorce, I had a male friend years later that was married but told me he was single, and I had the great pleasure of his wife telling me she wanted her husband, I have lost a job, my grand-baby was very ill as I told you before, and the list goes on and on. Basically, the evil day is when all hell hits you and attempts to consume and overwhelm you. It is when you and possibly your friends and family are under attack from the devil.

Ladies, it is on these types of days that we need to be covered. It is telling Jesus, no matter what Jesus I trust you. Having FAITH that he has you and your situation in the palm of his hands. It is certainly knowing the word of God in your heart so that you can speak it out and be sustained. During those moments in my life I would quote scriptures one of them was Romans 8:28, "And we know all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose." You see ladies we are not here on this earth for ourselves only but for God's greater purpose. Ask him why does he have you here, and believe me he will eventually reveal it to you. God is a revealing God if you seek him he will be found. My sister's FAITH is essential to triumph in spiritual warfare.

One of my favorite scriptures is- without FAITH it is impossible to please God. Please ladies for your sake and the sake of your families lives- meditate 0n God's word. Ask God to place his word in your heart and mind, so when you or your loved ones are under attack you will be in his perfect peace. I leave you with the scripture I am now meditating on and asking God to place in my heart, I truly love it. Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by FAITH in the Son of God, who loved me and gave HIMSELF UP FOR ME."

No more routine, I want the real thing!

Good morning Ladies!! I hope you’ve all had a wonderful weekend! Sorry for the delay in posts this past week. All excuses aside, I am going to make sure there is at least 1 post a day Monday-Saturday! J

I’ve grown up in church my entire life. I had the kind of mom that most, if not all of us have, the kind that wanted more for her kids than she ever had herself and the mother that didn’t want her kids to follow in her footsteps. She wanted so much more for my sister and me than she ever had so she set high expectations for us. I still remember her reading bible stories to my sister and me every night before we went to sleep when we were younger.  Some of you grew up like I did. You know God, you believe in him and you love him, BUT (there is always a “but”) you start to fall into your comfort zone with him.  Just like in a relationship with a boyfriend, you’ve been together with that person so long that you stop caring about wearing make-up and being dressed up every time you see them. You stop trying to impress them and fall into your comfort zone. This usually doesn’t end well in a relationship. That’s what we do with God. We start to fall into a comfort zone with him. I know I sure did. I started to read my bible less, didn’t go to church as often and didn’t pray as much as I used to. It bothered me because I felt so far away from God. I knew he was still there, but I didn’t hear his voice anymore. I was still in the routine of telling my friends to pray about what they were going through and telling them to trust God, but I wasn’t even doing that. I was so far from God, but I still had the right answers for everyone else.

 It’s not that I stopped believing in those things, but it just became a routine. It was like I was trained to say those things, but I wasn’t even living that lifestyle. I had grown too “comfortable” with God. Being comfortable with God can be a good thing because that means we open up to him more and we trust him more, BUT it can also be a bad thing if you grow so comfortable that you stop trying to WOW God. Just like in a relationship, you try and WOW that person when you get dressed up to go to dinner, but when you get home or the next day you’re back to your sweat pants routine. That look gets old and boring ladies and they lose interest because they want us to continue to WOW them. Being comfortable and being yourself is a great thing, don’t get me wrong, but don’t forget that everyone needs that WOW factor every once and a while. We should be doing this with God. We should be finding ways to WOW him every day!

When I reached my comfort zone with God I began to grow numb to worship at church and numb to what the pastor was preaching on. It’s not that those scriptures and songs don’t touch me it’s just that I was comfortable and I didn’t know how to start living my life again outside of that comfort zone. I started to live my life like I was a robot. Everything I did and said was by force of habit, telling my friends “pray about it” or “give it to God” were all things I had said when I was walking with God, but I had lost all of my true feelings and emotions. Everyone around me thought I had a great relationship with God and that I was where I needed to be in my walk with God, if only they could have seen what was going on in my heart. I was in a battle against myself, trying to live more for myself than I was for God and losing terribly. We’ve all been there. We’ve all fallen into a routine relationship with God or someone else and it didn’t go well. In any relationship you have to “spice” things up. Do something different than you normally do. Buy a new dress, get a new hair-do, try a new restaurant. It’s the same way with God. We have to do things to spice up our relationship with him too. Study something new in the bible, learn a new praise and worship song to sing to him, try a new church. We have to stay refreshed with God too ladies. It’s no fun staying in a routine relationship with God. All your prayers are the same, you only know a couple of passages in your bible and you’re giving your friends that same old advice. Don’t you want to advance in your relationship with God? Take it to the next step? I know I sure do. Just like I expected my husband to take it to the next step when we were dating God expects that from all of us. He wants us to take it to the next  step with him too. The first step is starting a relationship with him, the next step is growing in your relationship with him (studying his word), next step is marrying him (you are living in God’s image and becoming one with him) and the last step is baring his children (sharing his word with others and lighting a fire in them). Where are you in your relationship with God right now? Do you want your relationship with him to advance ladies? I sure do! Value and treasure your relationship with God like you do your relationship with your husband, boyfriend, kids, friends, and family. He’s worth all of that and then some. Don’t allow your routine life with him to take over. Go and WOW God! J

Stay encouraged, inspired and motivated and help someone else do the same today!!

A song to get you through this beautiful day and remind you that you’re not alone! “Love come to Life” Big Daddy Weave   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrRbPU8YRxs

A Woman After God's Own Heart

I trust you Lord

Good morning ladies,

I am sorry that the post is coming late, but I must tell you some things that are going on in my life. I have a grand-baby named Bayleigh and the Lord knows that I love her so much, but so does my adversary (the devil) know that I love her. Remember ladies with the post regarding the armor, I told you he has our video and he remembers our plays and expects us to act the same way before. Well as long as it is a way that is not pleasing to God he got us. In Bayleigh's case the doctors think she had a very bad episode of asthma, but one of the doctors said we are not claiming that (asthma). She was right I am not claiming that, it could simply be that Bayleigh had a virus attack. Children between 2-3 often gets viruses when something crosses their path and they have a strong reaction to it. In my case my grand-baby this week could hardly let a breath out- her chest was going so fast it looked like she was going to explode. Truly this was one of those moments that all I could say is help us Jesus. Her mother went into a clinic for help because it was close to her home, but she heard the receptionist from a distance asking other people do you have an appointment. Of course were not expecting this attack so no we didn't have an appointment, BUT GOD knew it was coming.

When my daughter went inside the clinic it took her a while and praise God for the Holy Spirit because he calmed me down enough to unbuckle my seat-belt, reach back to my grand-baby, I took her hands and said lets pray. My grand-baby by the way is 3 years old. I asked her Bayleigh, do you trust God? At this point she could not even speak she just nodded her head YES, and I began to pray that Jesus would make the enemy take his hands off my grand-baby because I was going to love him no matter what. Bayleigh is my little prayer partner and warrior every Sunday that she goes to church she will go down to the alter with me and pray. She has about a 50 year old spirit because when I am praying she is saying, "YES JESUS", from the mouths of babes people- this child knows he (Jesus) is real. You see ladies when you are lining up with the word of God and telling people it's time to get serious about God, and stop playing church and be the church well of course the devil is going to attack.

I told a friend of mine you know something Drema I'm not going to stop praising him, I am going to praise him anyway. Yes, I would rather it be me sick than my grand-baby or my children, but God wants another opportunity to tell the devil go to hell. I can imagine Jesus saying, "This old girl of mine she loves me and when you attack her family, friends, and even people she does not know she is just going to pray." Ladies we are not done with the armor but if I would not had scripture in my heart and Jesus on my side- I would have just fell apart. Even with my tears in my eyes- my grand-baby looked up at me perplexed, as if to say, 'get it together and pray when you're hurt yaya, you taught me that'. I am called yaya which in Greek means grandmother. I wiped away the tears at that moment and placed in my mind and heart scripture Colossians 3:15 "Let the Peace of God rule your heart." Jesus broke through and asked me, "Reda do you trust me?" My response was yes Lord, I trust you. Bayleigh and I belong to you and you can do as you choose I trust you.

See when everything around you goes wrong and God gives you his peace it is truly amazing. The doctors still are not really sure if it is asthma or if it is a virus, but God told me to speak to the mountain and it shall be moved. So mountain in front of God,friends, and family I declare and demand this is not asthma- it was a virus in the name of Jesus. And devil as Jesus has told you to go back to hell so do I, you have no power here and you can only do what the Lord allows.....In Jesus holy name keep your hands off my family and friends. What are you facing ladies? Is it job lost, divorce, finances are gone, no food in the house, or the kids are acting like they belong to themselves and God did not create them? Well I am here standing on the word of God. Luke 1:37, "For nothing is impossible with God." If he can make the dead rise surely he can heal my grand-baby, surely he can comfort you and take care of whatever you're facing. In the New Living Translation bible it reads in Isaiah 55:8, "My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the LORD. "And my ways are far beyond anything you can imagine." Let God have bragging rights on you please- after all you are his creation. He had bragging rights on Job and allowed a man to question him, who are we that we should question our creator? No matter what Lord, I TRUST YOU. I will keep praying and obeying you for I give myself to you- have your way.

Be blessed ladies and please bless others.

Forget the Roses, Stop and Seek God

I don’t know about you ladies but boy I’ve been one busy lady this month.  My dad often says “girl if you don’t slow down you’re gonna run into yourself walking out the door one day” and that couldn’t be truer.  Spring break and the vacation that goes along with it has come and gone, kids an myself are back in school to finish out the semester, back to work and that crazy schedule, husband has traveled the past 3 weeks and only home on weekends, I’ll be traveling next week and have 2 papers coming due at school and it’s still March.  Looking back I’d swear we were in May by now!?!?!

Because of this crazy and hectic day, week, month that we’ve had we decided to do absolutely nothing this past weekend.  We laid around, cleaned house, went to the park and read our books, and even went to the movies.  Heck that was all on Saturday , even when we’re relaxing we’re on the go.  So Sunday morning rolls around, the alarm clock goes off and Carl says, “let’s go to church baby”.  I thought “ugghhh I’m tired, I have homework, unpacking to do, luncheon to do and a test to take tonight I don’t have time.  He said “come on honey, once you go you’ll be happy you went.  We’ve been going every weekend and really enjoying it” and boy was he right!!  I’m so glad to have him to remind me of that, I went, I sang, I cried and left rejuvenated and ready to tackle the day!

We sometimes feel that we don’t’ have time for Church, we don’t have time for God, that’ll just get in the way of everything else I have planned today.  Well, ladies, it’s not God that gets in the way of life; it’s LIFE THAT GETS IN THE WAY OF OUR GOD.  It’s not cool, it’s not fair but it’s the truth.  Ladies, we need to slow down.  I could have been a little late to my luncheon, I could have stayed up late to do my homework, heck I could have done my homework instead of going to the movies Saturday.  It’s all about priorities, and until we get them straight we’re gonna be lost.  It’s as simple as that.

So let us be each others accountability partners and remind each other of how we fit our life into God’s plans, not how we fit God into our plan!  I know Raynisia, Reda and myself all hope that these blogs help you all through your daily struggles, hardships and victories and help remind you of His everlasting love. 

Here are a few versus:

Deuteronomy 4:29
But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.

Psalm 69:32
The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God.

Be bold ladies, be strong, and seek Him!

The Change

Good Morning!

For all of those wondering what’s up with me and all of my recent FB posts, this blog and the FB I recently started, I wanted to write a blog just for you. J I know you’re wondering what changed me and I just wanted to tell you that Jesus is what happened. Some wonder how the change came so quickly and it seemed like it happened over night, but it honestly happened in the spilt moment that I realized why I had been so unhappy with what seemed like everything in my life. I knew something needed to change and instead of pointing fingers at everyone around me I pointed them at myself. I decided to actually allow God to consume me and stop trying to live for myself, because that obviously wasn’t getting me anywhere.

                Many of you won’t understand this and you may question why I decided to do this or if this change is real and I’m here to tell you it’s realer than you know. It’s like God took my blind fold off and I can see things clearly now. Some of you are where I am in my spiritual walk and some aren’t, some may not even have the desire to be where I am, but just want an explanation. My explanation is this, when God speaks to a person so clearly and tells them what he wants them to do who could say no? If you aren’t where I am then maybe God hasn’t spoken to you yet, maybe he has and you blocked it out, or maybe you have been so busy doing what you want to do that you don’t hear him at all. That’s fine, we are all in different places, but I have something to declare to the world and it’s my love for the Lord. It has helped me love my life and everything in it. That doesn’t mean I don’t have bad days or that I don’t get stressed. I’m not the “perfect” person, but I do hold myself to higher standards than before. I actually care about pleasing God and living for him. I care if I do or say something that I know hurts God. Living my life the way I was a couple of months ago wasn’t getting me anywhere. My life wasn’t terrible by any means, but I felt a void. I felt alone even when I was with a group of people and I felt misunderstood. Getting my “spiritual health” where it needed to be has changed EVERY aspect of my life. I’m not ashamed or embarrassed of my relationship with God or my desire to live for him. Honestly, I wish everyone could experience it. Living for God is not easy by any means. Not only do I have people I don’t really know judging me, but also friends and family that want to know “what happened to Raynisia”. It’s not easy feeling misunderstood and wishing that everyone was at the same place you are in their lives. There are only two things to do in this situation, I can either care so much about what the world thinks of me that I stop living for God OR I can take the other route and stay on the path that I FIRMLY believe leads to greater things than this world has to offer, which is living my life for God. Taking a stand for what I believe in and not allowing what the world thinks of me to affect the way I live my life. No matter what I do people will judge me, and I would rather them judge me for me living for God than for them to say I never even tried.

I haven’t always been this on fire for God, but I’ve always loved him and tried to live for him. I’ve been where so many people are today, where they go to church EVERY Sunday and they take the word and never apply it to any part of their lives, or they do but it only last for a little while. I’ve also been that person that heard people praising God and saying “Amen” when the preacher says something good, and  wondering why they were saying that or wondering what they were experiencing because I wasn’t there. I questioned them and I questioned if what they were experiencing was real. I knew that if it was real that I definitely wanted a part of it. That’s the thing, I wasn’t where they were in their walk with God, and therefore I couldn’t relate to what they were going through because I didn’t understand it. It’s okay not to understand why I am where I am, but I urge you to give it a try.  J

God told me to let his light shine through me and I’m trying to do this every day. Every day is a struggle, but he’s well worth it. J  

Check out Matthew 5:13-16

Have a wonderful day! Stay encouraged, inspired and motivated and help someone else do the same today! J

Raynisia Nagel

A Woman After God’s Own Heart