Who's Report Will You Believe?

My name is Reda Smith and I am the mother of Raynisia and Lasha, and the proud Grandmother of Bayleigh. I would like to take a moment to tell all of you my story and it’s my prayer that
after you read it you will see how faithful God is and realize that prayer does
change things.

I was eleven years old when my mom went to be with the Lord. One of my fondest memories of her is when I was about 7 years old. We attended Morning Star Baptist Church in Grand
Prairie, Texas and my mom decided that it was time for me to be baptized. I
still remember her sitting on the pew crying as I came up from the water. Being
young I didn’t understand her tears because back then…in my case anyway it was
not made clear what baptism was about. Of course God is faithful because when
my mom passed away I joined 8th street Baptist Church and they made
it very clear what baptism was all about. So at a very young age I had a praying mother and although she was not perfect, God allowed me to see that I serve a perfect God.

My mom and dad had 11 children and I am the youngest. Now I know that you’re probably thinking, man she was spoiled rotten, but on the contrary I have always felt like the black
sheep of the family. That is probably due to the fact that during my 11 years of life, when my mom was alive, she had me under her wings almost 24/7.

Now when she was alive the word spoiled would be an understatement. After mom’s passing I thought that the world had ended and most of the time I was a loner. When I was 20 years old I had my first child (Lasha) and my dad told me that I would have to get my own place. He said I could no longer live at home. I didn’t understand him putting me out at first. I felt so alone, abandoned, unwanted, and truly unloved. However, that was one of the best things that could have happened to me. He was not attempting to be evil, but he knew that in order for
me to take care of my child, I would first have to learn to take care of myself. Before I left home I recall taking Lasha outside at night, it was about a week after her birth. My dad was really angry that I had taken her outside on such a cold winter’s night. I had her wrapped up in the blanket my sister bought me to take her home from the hospital. I lifted her up over my head to God and I told him, “God I dedicate this child to you, she is yours and if you don’t show me how to care for her or bring her up in you, I will fail.”

This is just part of my story. I started my race off in disobedience to God, but he has still been faithful and he has kept his promises to me. Remember ladies it’s not how you start it’s
how you finish. I have been a single parent for most of my daughter’s lives, but I remember telling them when they would come home and say, “Its father/daughter day and I told my
teacher I don’t have a dad.” That absolutely broke my heart but the Holy Spirit leaped inside of me and said, “Tell them the truth they have the best dad anyone could ever have. He will never leave them nor forsake them, he provides for them and he loves them more than you or anyone else ever could and his name is Jesus.” Are you a single parent? Been there done that! They may become adults but God still has them on loan to you! Lost a home to foreclosure? Done
that! Let go from a job? Been there too! Kids acting crazy…well sometimes they still do lol!

My sister’s none of this surprised our father in heaven and he tells us in his word, don’t act as though these things that happen to us are strange. If you believe in Christ, you were buried with him and we were raised with him as well. Jesus suffered on our behalf! Earth is not our home we are visitors’ in a foreign land. The only way that we will survive is PRAYER!!!

I believe in the power of prayer because prayer is communicating with your creator. No one absolutely, no one understands what you’re going through better than you and Jesus. If you
don’t study the word let me give you some great news, Jesus is your mediator,
but still God wants to hear from YOU. I love prayer! I love to remind God of his promises because remember he is a God that he cannot lie and his word will not return unto him void. So what he has set out for us to do will be done. Please know that none of us were meant to fight
this battle on our own. If we were than we would be the only person on earth. There is power in numbers, agreement, and cries of God’s children to him.

If you ever need me to pray for you or with you please call me, text me, email me, and we will petition the thrown together or I will on your behalf. But remember no one can tell your
story better than you. My story is not over. God is still writing it and he said, he who started a good work in me will complete it. Your circumstances do not have the final say, your creator does. And by the way… all the things above that have happened to me, God have given me the victory. As long as I have breath, I am sure more battles will come but the war has already been won and thank Jesus, WE ARE VICTORIOUS! I choose to believe God’s report.

My number 817/980-6884 and I will also be adding a prayer line number soon you may call it 24/7 for prayer.

Be blessed and bless others!

Reda Smith

God's Plans for You

Good morning ladies!! I hope everyone had a great day yesterday! :)

           I had a wonderful day, but the devil kept trying to get me to question God and the plans he has for me. He tried to get me stressed and frustrated in regards to my finances and supporting my family. He wanted me to lose faith and worry and stress and cry, but I didn't! For once I saw right through his little plan and I was like YOU CAN'T HAVE MY JOY DEVIL!! My joy belongs to the Lord!!! I seriously kept thinking and saying that in my head over and over again! I told God that I trusted him and nothing was going to take away that trust. It's so crazy because before any of this happened my mom was telling me about a story in the book of Daniel. Daniel had cried out to God and prayed (Daniel 9:19 “Lord, hear! Lord, forgive! Lord, listen and act! My God, for your own sake, do not delay, because your city and your people are called by your name.”), and didn't hear anything for quite some time (21 days I believe). One day an Angel appeared before him and told him that his requests were heard by God, but he had been in battle with the devil because the devil didn’t want God’s response to be given to Daniel. The devil didn’t want Daniel to have any hope! He wanted him to question if God was still there. That’s what I kept thinking about all day and meditating on. I kept wondering, how many times has the Lord sent an Angel in battle just for ME!! Just to tell me what he wants me to hear! How many times had his goodness, love and mercy been blocked by the devil and his wickedness! I’ve been wondering, where is my job Lord? Where is my career and a way for me to help support my family? It’s like God wanted me to know that he’s in battle for me by my mom telling me that story. He wanted me to know that he’s heard my request and he’s working on it right now!!

          Last night I posted a post on Facebook just asking for prayer and a couple of the responses that really touched my heart said “The devil is a liar, I heard a song writer saying that satan has peeped into your future and saw what God has in store for your life and he is trying to discourage you. But, we rebuked that liar in Jesus' name. Keep on praying and I will continue in prayer with you.” Another comment said “"Hell fights hardest against those who God will take the farthest. But when Christ is for you, nothing/no one will ever stop you." How true are both of these! Thank you Lord for reminding me of this! I just kept thanking him for everything he is doing and I told God “If you want me to know what your plan for my life is please reveal it to me, but if you don’t I’m okay with that too Lord. Just give me the strength to get through whatever it is you’re doing!” I left at that! I’m not saying that later on today I won’t think about my finances and have a mini panic attack, but that’s okay too! Lol! That doesn’t mean I’ve given up on God or I’ve lost my faith. It just means I’m human!!! That’s why it’s so important to have a relationship with God because if you don’t you’ll lose sight of all these and you’ll be blinded by the devils schemes!

 I kept trying to think of scriptures to encourage myself last night before I went to bed and there is one that my mom ALWAYS says to me and I couldn’t find it in my bible! I found some other great ones while I was trying to look for that one though! Then my mom called and told me what the scripture was. I posted them below so you can use them to help you if you’re struggling with trusting God’s plan for you. Not even struggling with his plan, but struggling with understanding why he is allowing you to go through what you’re going through. Hope these help you as much as they helped me! J

*Jeremiah 29:11-13 “For I know the plans I have for you”--- this is the Lord’s declaration---- “plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. You will call to me and come and pray to me, and I will LISTEN to you. You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all of your heart. I will be found by you.”*

         This is the scripture my mom always reads to me and hearing it last night helped me remember that God’s plans for us are good things. We may have to go through some not so good things/situations to get there, but he isn’t against us! He loves us and he wants us to be happy! J
 
*Proverbs 15:22 “Plans fail when there is no counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”*

When I read this I immediately thought, when YOU have your own plans and don’t consult with God, your plans will always fail. You have to live by GOD’s plan for your life not your own. This also made me think, if we are going through something and we don’t let others know what we are going through how can they help us?! How can they cry out to God on our behalf and ask that his will be done for us if they don’t know what’s going on?! I say that ladies to let you know that you don’t have to fear what others will think or say, it doesn’t matter here. We care and love all of you and honestly want the best for you. I know it’s nice for me to be able to text/call Brandy or my mom and tell them what’s on my heart and ask them to pray with/for me. I think we all need and deserve that. Someone that we can be completely vulnerable with that won’t judge us, that will be quick to listen and slow to speak (James 1:19). If you don’t feel like you have that support from the people you’re surrounded by please feel free to reach out to Brandy, myself or my mom Reda. We are all broken and trying to allow God to pick up our pieces and put us back together! J

*Proverbs 16:9 “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps.”*
* Proverbs 19: 21 “Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the Lord’s decree will prevail.”

Love these! God is basically saying we may have plans for ourselves but his plan is always the one that will prevail. That’s why it’s so important for us to trust God and what he’s doing in our lives. It’s not easy to do this in every situation and believe me I will be the first to admit that, but holding on to that stress, anger or fear only turns your world upside down even more. LET GO AND LET GOD!!! It’s the hardest thing you’ll EVER do, but try it sometime. It’s going to take us all sometime to get there. I’m working on this every day and some days are easier than others, but it’s still hard to do.

          I know I’ve said this a lot but please know you aren’t alone with whatever you’re going through. Utilize this blog to help you! Reach out to the women around you and seek guidance and understanding. Maybe they have gone through what you’re going through and can help you. You never know! J

Prayer

Lord, I pray that you give all of us strength to get through whatever it is we are going through, knowledge and wisdom to understand why we are going through this storm, and faith in you to help us make it through. Please help us to reach out to one another and help each other. Let us not lean on our own understandings Lord, but let us trust in you. Bless us and keep us safe Lord. In Jesus name, Amen! J

**Update**

Great news about the Weekend to Remember! I set up our group and every couple that joins our group will receive 50% off the total amount!!  If you or anyone you know is interested in attending please email me and I will get all the info over to you! J

Please stay encouraged, inspired and motivated today and help someone else do that same! Help someone turn their frown upside down! J

Thanks for the love and support!! Love you ladies!! J

Raynisia Nagel
A Woman After God’s Own Heart

           

How do YOU love God?

Good Morning Ladies!!

  I hope everyone had a good start to their week so far! Mine has been hectic of course and will probably stay that way, but I thank God for it! It keeps me sane! lol!

  So these past couple of mornings that I've woken up I haven't known what to post. I sit here listening to my worship music hoping a song will speak to my heart and give me inspiration to write but NOTHING. Unlike these past couple of mornings I didn't let it discourage or frustrate me. I just figured God wanted me to spend more time worshiping him and when he was ready to reveal his message to me he would. Of course he never fails and he put this on my heart to share with you:

How do YOU love God? How do YOU show your love for him?

Matthew 22:37 says “Love the Lord YOUR God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.”

I love how it says YOUR God! He is MY God! That makes it personal, more individualized ya know?

  Every day God shows his love for us in more ways than one. So many of us spend so much time complaining about things that we don’t see the many blessings God has given us. Did you wake up this morning? Did your car start? Do you have food in the fridge and a roof over your head? What about that smile on your child’s face? The list goes on and on. He continues to bless us even though we aren’t perfect, he loves us anyway. So how do you show your love and appreciation to God? Some do it by singing praise and worship songs. This is definitely one of the ways I show my love to God. When I’m singing I can picture the biggest smile on his face. I know it has to make God feel good for us to shout at the top of our lungs and tell him how great he is.

Additional ways to show God you love him:

-Gaining more knowledge of his word, so doing daily devotions.

-Changing lifestyles and living for God, making God their first priority.

-Prayer, not only praying when things get tough but when things are great too.

-Attending Church on Sunday.

-Sharing God’s goodness and love with others.

-The way you treat others.

  These are just a couple of things that came to my mind when I thought of ways that people show their love and appreciation to God. There is no right or wrong way to show YOUR love to him. It’s personal and it's between you and God. God wants love and attention just like all of us do. We all want and need that one on one time from our husbands or from a friend, so why not do that for God. Why not find ways to show him that he’s important to us?

***I challenge all of us today to first figure out what we are doing to show God our love for him and then to find more ways to do it. It makes God feel good to know that we are going out of our way to find ways to please him! J ***

I would love to hear from all of you on how you show your love to God! It may be able to help someone else come up with something more unique! Please leave comments below and share your thoughts with all of us! J

 ***Prayer Request***
I spoke with a friend last night who is having trouble in her marriage. She's truly hurting and needs some encouragement, strength and she needs to know she's loved. Please pray for her and her family. Thank you! :)

  If you want or need to add a prayer request please email me at Raynisia_smith@yahoo.com . I won’t add the personal details or your name if you don’t want me to, but I will spread the word so that you can have others praying for you! J I will also be adding contact information for prayer support to the blog so that you can call/email and get prayer anytime! Reda Smith will be leading this and she is a very powerful prayer. She will be adding her story to the blog soon! J

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

Thanks for your love, support and prayers! We love you ladies!! J

Raynisia Nagel

A Woman After God's Own Heart

If the devil doesn't like it, he can sit on a tack!

Good afternoon ladies.  It’s been a few days since I’ve posted and I apologize for that.  I know that in my previous blog I mentioned that I’d discuss with you what I was learning in my bible study about James, however, something else has been laid on my heart to discuss today.  I hope you are ok with the change in plans.

                I’ve got a few questions for you today.  What was the last song you heard?  Are you singing it now?  Has it been in your head all morning?  What were you thinking of before you opened this blog today?  What kind of reminders to you get throughout the day?  DING- meeting at 2:00pm?   DING -Pick up the kids from school?  DING -Take the clothes to the cleaners?  DING-update the budget spreadsheet at the office.  DING- deadline today at 3:00pm.  All day, every day we have reminders of what we need to do at work, home, school, etc.  I don’t know about you ladies but it gets draining, overwhelming, exhausting and none of it lifts me up.  At the end of the day I have no idea what I even did that day that was productive, useful or uplifting. I bring all of this up because there is plenty that we can do on a daily basis to uplift us, encourage us, and remind us of God and His love. 

                My computer at work has been sending me daily reminders “it’s time to change your password” and I’ve ignored it for a week.  For whatever reason it seems SOOOO exhausting, and down right annoying to change my password.  I think, “geesh, what can I change it to this time?  Because HEAVEN FORBID I use the same on I did 12 months ago!  Ok, what can I do now?  I’ve already used my cat’s name, I’ve used my husband’s name, I’ve used our anniversary, I’ve used yoga555.” Then it He hit me like a ton of bricks saying “Be reminded of Me”.  I thought,” that’s a good point, I should make my password something uplifting, something meaningful, something that reminds me of God”…..so my password is now Godisawesome and then some stream of numbers.  So now all day every day at work I am reminded of those boring meetings, of that stupid run to the cleaners I need to make but I’m also reminded that God is awesome!   That’s so much better than my cat’s name, or yoga555.  So yes, I still get reminders all day long of meetings, and things I need to do but every time I log in to anything work related it puts a smile on my face and lifts me up. 

                On that same note, you may be asking why did she ask what the last song I heard was.  Well, last Sunday my daughter and I were in the kitchen having a random conversation as usual and I was humming a song that I had heard in church that morning.  She asked what I was singing and I shared a few lines for her and her reply was “yeah, I don’t know that song”.  So I asked her what she sang that morning and OHHH the memories came flooding in.  “B-I-B-L-E, that’s the word for me”…”big, big table, with lots and lots of food, a big big yard where we can play football, a big big house, it’s my father’s house”.  I then told her of a song we sang “ and if the devil doesn’t like it he can sit on a tack, OUCH, sit on a tack, OUCH, sit on a tack, he can sit on a tack to stay”….ok, so that one she looked at me like I was crazy.  Does anybody know that song, because when I told Raynisia about that conversation she thought I was crazy too?  Anyway, so the rest of the dang night I was singing that song, event as my husband and I laid down for bed “if the devil doesn’t like it he can sit on a tack to stayyyyyy”.   The next day I was walking through the office singing Baby Got Back (not sure how I went from the devil sitting on a tack to Baby Got Back…the mind is a mysterious thing) I realized this isn’t very uplifting….funny?  Yes.  Uplifting?  No.  And I remembered that all night the night before I was singing silly elementary church songs that made me giggle and reminded me that when I am signing of God’s praises that that wards off the devils negativity and he can go sit on a tack!  So when I got in my car that afternoon on my way home from another exhausting day at the office I programmed the local Christian radio station and listened to it all the way home.  Of course I only knew like one song, because it had been so long since I had listened, but hearing reminders of God’s awesomeness, of his His powerfulness, and how much He loves me was wonderful.  It made me decompress from work instead of bringing it home to my husband and children, it made me forget about all the stressors I had had that day as well as any that may be waiting on me when I return to work tomorrow.  So that morning I had my morning bible study, all day long as I logged onto my computer and various programs I use I was reminded Godisawesome, and on my way home I was reminded again and again after every song and was able to end my day with Him as well.  I also started listening in the mornings on my way to the office to get an “extra shot of God” in my day.  So now instead of “I need a sista I can’t rista.  Red beans and rice didn’t miss’er” I now sing “Our God is an awesome God He reins from heaven above with wisdom power and love our God is an awesome God”.   What great days I’ve been having, what great moods I’ve been in and people have noticed.  It’s awesome! 

                So there you go ladies.  Change those passwords to something encouraging, and uplifting.  Tune that radio station in and sing it all day long at the office, home, or where ever you may be and read our blogs…the more you are uplifted and reminded the more powerful you’ll be.  Be extraordinary today and help change someone’s life by letting them hear you sing a praise song instead of a rap song ;).  When they ask you what your singing, tell them, don’t be ashamed give them a line or two to help them remember or even better, let them see that there is this awesome God!  Be wonderful and carefree because God is in control; give all your stress, worries, anxiousness, troubles, and heartaches to Him.  YOU can’t do anything about it, so why not give it to someone who can.

                Love to you all!!

Are you there God?

Good Morning Ladies! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! My weekend was full of ups and downs, emotionally, and I wanted to share my experience with all of you.

I've been so pumped about everything that God has been doing in my life. I've been focusing on his will and living for him and that's all that I’ve been thinking about. I've been praying more than I had been and relying on God to get me through difficult situations. I've been reaching out for his wisdom and only wanting to do things that will please and glorify him. I haven't felt like this in a very long time and I have been wanting others to be just as excited as I am. It's hard feeling like you're on this high for God and you're standing there alone. I knew that by starting this blog I would be tested and tested and tested and that God would trust me to get through every test. (He trusts us TOO much sometimes! lol!) I knew that the devil would try to make me feel like doing this blog wasn't a good idea and he would try to discourage me, even by using the people I love, but when it happened I wasn't prepared.

Saturday morning I was really discouraged because I wanted to have the perfect message to blog about for you ladies. I was praying and praying and asking God to show me what he wanted me to talk about and it felt like he wasn't there. I seriously started to cry and I told God "I can't do this without you Lord. This was your idea remember Lord?! All I was going to do was write a simple note and move on about my life and live for you, but you said you had something bigger for me. Where are you Lord? I need to hear your voice! I need direction from you!" After sitting there for a while the message about your Spiritual Purpose came to me so I wrote about that. The only difference between that message and all the others I had written was the fact that I didn't hear God's voice as strongly as I did when I was writing the previous posts. I was so frustrated and nervous because I was thinking, Is this going to help anyone? These are my words not something that God told me to write. My husband came home from the gym just as I was about to post the blog and could tell something was wrong with me. We started to talk about everything and I told him how drained I was. (When you allow God to use you, you are moving none stop. Your brain never stops thinking and it’s like you never fully get rest. It’s exciting and amazing, but also extremely exhausting!) He told me that he wanted to tell me something and he didn’t want me to get upset or take offense to anything that he said, then I knew it wasn’t going to be something I wanted to hear. I was already frustrated and worried about my post and now he wanted to tell me something that he didn’t want me to take offensively? He told me that he was very proud of how hard I’ve been working on this blog, BUT (there is always a “but” when someone compliments you! Lol) he felt like I was on God overboard. That everything I’ve been talking about and posting on my Facebook page was all about God and nothing else. He said he knew my intentions were good, but others might start to perceive me as one of those “Christians” the ones that judge everyone around them and think they are better and beat people over the head with God this and God that. In all honesty ladies, that is one of my worst fears. I never want to be one of those “Christians” because lets face it who really likes those kinds of people? I sat there so hurt and told him that the reason that all of my post on Facebook have been about God lately is because he’s all I’ve been thinking about. I told him that I shouldn’t have to monitor what I say, and no matter what I say people will constantly be judging me. If I post too much about God and church then people will say I’m one of those “Christians”, if I don’t say enough they’ll think I’m embarrassed about my relationship with God. It’s like I have to find a way to please everyone. I was beyond frustrated and angry at God for allowing this to happen. All I wanted to do was please God with this blog and I was so on fire for him that I wanted to share it with everyone, but now my worst fears were coming true. My husband said that I’ve always had the perfect balance when it came to sharing God with others and that I needed to find a perfect balance for this too. I sat there thinking, what is the perfect balance for this?! Either I can be paranoid every time I post something on Facebook and worry about what others would think, I could stop talking about God all together, or I could just stop posting. I prayed ALL day long for God to help me with this. I wanted to find a perfect balance! I didn’t want to push people away from God I wanted to draw them closer to him. How could I do that?! I kept thinking, is this a test Lord? Are you trying to see if I’m going to give up on this blog? For a split second I contemplated if I should and then I snapped back into reality! “For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love and sound judgment.” 2 Timothy 1:7 I kept thinking back to the story of Job. How God gave the devil permission to test Job because God TRUSTED Job. He knew he’d have enough strength to pass all the tests and he knew that Job would never curse his name. Is this what was happening to me? Was God testing my strength, love and trust for him? If so I was failing miserably.

Yesterday I went and visited a new church and the message was just what I needed to hear. The message was about how important Worship is. The pastor said “You shouldn’t be ashamed about worshiping God and you shouldn’t let what others think affect how you worship or how much you worship God.” I thought about that message all day. No matter what I do people are going to constantly judge me. My focus has to be on God and what he is trying to do with my life. I may not understand his plan, but I have to trust him. Proverbs 3: 5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your OWN understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths.”  I don’t think any of us really ever know what God is doing until it’s done. There have been so many times where I was like Ohhhh that’s what you were doing lord! Sometimes it can be months or even years later that you realize what God was doing!

I think we’ve all been at a point in our lives where we feel like God trusts us too much; he thinks we are stronger than we really are. I know that’s how I felt ALL weekend. I kept thinking I need strength Lord. I need to know that I’m not here by myself and that people are praying for me. He always finds a way to remind me that he is here. Sometimes God is silent and that’s when we reach our breaking point and cry out to him. It’s sad that it takes that, but it’s the truth. Living for God and turning your life around to do so will attract both positive and negative attention, and I’m starting to realize THAT’S OKAY!! Every day is not going to be easy and we shouldn’t expect it to be. That’s why I wanted this blog to be a support group because you never know who’s going through what you’re going through. It’s nice to know that you’re not alone in your struggles or your situation. It’s nice to know that God is there in the midst, but it’s also nice to know that you have friends that you can lean on and talk to about what you’re struggling with. Please encourage one another and pray for each other!

I heard this song when I was leaving church and I laughed OUT LOUD because God is so funny sometimes! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8JsRxVczmQ  “Strong Enough” by Matthew West. He knows what we need to hear! :) I looked up a scripture for strength and this is what God put on my heart to share with you…

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.”

God is omnipresent, which means he is ALWAYS present. I have said it before and I’ll probably say it in every post, TRUST God and his plans for you. He will give you the strength to get you through whatever it is that you’re going through! Please know that you aren’t alone in your struggles. The devil wants you to feel that way so that you seclude yourself, but you aren’t alone. I promise! J Also, know that everything I'm saying to you I'm also saying to myself! I'm by no means perfect nor will I ever be, I'm just a vessel that God is using.

My Prayer for all of You

Lord, you know every heart, desire and need of every single reader here. Please let your will be done in all of our lives. Let us not be afraid to live for you or of the change that you’re sprouting in us. Let us trust the plans you have for us and let us encourage one another. Please give us strength in all of our situations and let us not lean on our own understanding. Let us love, encourage and support one another. Please keep us safe today. In Jesus name, Amen!

I love each one of you ladies. Thank you for your love and support. Please continue to pray for one another. Please show your support for WAGH by leaving a comment! J

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


Raynisia Nagel

A Women After God’s Own Heart

What's your God given purpose?

Good Morning Ladies!!

Last night I had the opportunity to see Phil Wickham in concert and it was sensational! I was so excited all day to meet him and learn more about him. What do you think would happen if everyone felt this way about Jesus? If everyone was excited to meet him and learn more about him….how much do you think that would change the world?

 So Phil finally gets on stage and I’m even more excited now because I have front row seats and I’m so close I could probably reach out and touch him. It was one of those moments that I think we all have when we meet someone “famous”. He said he wanted to open up his show with a prayer and that’s when God really opened up my heart to the purpose of me going to that show. He prayed that this concert not be about anything but GOD and us coming together to praise his name. I felt so convicted because when I first got there it wasn’t about God at all. It was about me meeting someone that I admired, but God had bigger plans for me. I kept thanking God for Phil being so humble and giving all of the praise to God. I also thanked God for Phil’s gift of singing and that he was nice enough to share that gift with the world. God reminded me of all of this when I woke up this morning and laid this message on my heart.


God’s Word

God led me to this verse, Proverbs 16: 2-4 “All of man’s ways seem right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the motives. Commit your activities to the Lord and your plans will be achieved. The Lord has prepared everything for HIS purpose, even the wicked for the day of disaster.”

What’s your God given purpose and are you sharing it with the world?  I think so many of us, including myself, think we know what our purpose is but maybe it’s something bigger than we pictured for ourselves. I have been thinking that Photography was my purpose and I’ve been taking pictures for quite some time now. Every time I would think to myself “How is this glorifying God and how am I bringing people closer to him?” I couldn’t think of an answer. I kept praying that one day it would come to me because I knew Photography was what I wanted to do. It is MY passion and something I am good at. Then God opened my eyes. He gives us all many talents, but that doesn’t mean that any of those are our purpose. We have to reach out to him and ask him to reveal that to us.

One of my biggest passions has always been serving and reaching out to help people. God revealed to me that reaching out and serving others is HIS purpose for me here on this earth and that’s why he wanted me to start this blog. I think a lot of the time we get so wrapped up with what WE want to do that we stop caring about what we were put on this earth to do.  Jesus said in Luke 4:43 “I must proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because I was sent for this PURPOSE.” God has a plan and a purpose for you being here on this earth! We all need to stop for a second and ask him what that purpose is. Some of us know what our purpose is, but we just haven’t put it into action yet. I challenge you today to start putting your purpose into action. You can help change this world if you do!

There have been so many wonderful ladies that have said they wanted to be a part of this blog and post things to help other women. I thank you for that. Just make sure that you pray and ask God if this is what HE wants you to do or if there is something bigger that he has in mind for you! J

Ask yourself these questions today:

-Do I know what my purpose is?

-How can I use my gifts to glorify God and bring people closer to him?

-Am I using my God given gifs to glorify God?

 ***Challenge***
God challenges you today to reach out to him. Spend some time with him today and let him be your focus for just a moment. Even if you just go for a walk at the park and talk to him for a little while. :)

***Updates***
We know that a lot of you ladies want to be a part of this blog and want to help in any way you can and we think that’s WONDERFUL! We are still praying for God’s plan to be brought to our full attention, but we would like to have a meeting to bring all of our ideas together.  This will also be a great opportunity to meet other women who are following this blog, network and make new friends! J We haven’t set a date in stone for this yet, but once we do we will announce it! Please know that if you’ve reached out to me about helping with this that I’m just waiting on God to answer. I want to make sure that this blog is always about what God wants and not ever about what I want. Thanks for your understanding! J

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

Thanks for your prayers, love and support! We love you ladies!!
 

Raynisia Nagel
A Woman After God’s Own Heart

God Guided Steps

Good Morning Ladies!!

I must start off by saying how excited I am EVERY morning to come and share God's goodness with you. I never know where to start or what he has planned for us until I PRAY and ask him to guide us.
 
For those of you who don't know me and my current situation I'd like to share a little bit of that with you today so that you know what I’m going through. I was recently laid-off from my job, then they brought me back on and long story short that didn't work out either. I realize now that I wasn't fully allowing God to guide my steps. I would pray about something and I would think it was God answering, but it was really me doing what I thought God would want me to do. As I said in my first post I was at my breaking point and I needed something to change. I wanted to escape that feeling of emptiness and I wanted that numbing feeling to go away. That's when God led me to his plan and purpose for me, which was creating this blog!! :) All week I’ve been so wrapped up in getting things together for this blog and praying with my mom that I honestly forgot that I didn't have a job. lol! I wasn't worried about our finances, I wasn't worried about anything except reaching out and lighting a fire in someone else like the fire God lit in me.

Last night I come home and I'm just drained. Ready to relax with my husband and ready to hit the sack because I knew today was going to be a long day. My husband began to ask me how my job search was going and I could tell he was stressing a little, so I asked him. "Are you stressing about our finances?" and he said that he is always stressing about our finances. He said he didn't understand why it's been so hard for me to find a job. At that very moment my heart sank and I felt convicted for focusing more on this blog than I was looking for a job. He went to bed and I stayed up to apply for some jobs online and then God called, well it was my mom, but God spoke to me through her. She could hear it in my voice that I was exhausted and stressed and she said "God wanted me to tell you that this blog is your JOB! If you were working right now you wouldn't be able to do any of the things you’re doing and God knew that. He has a plan and you just have to trust him." That made me feel so much better! I prayed and asked God to help me understand all of this and he said "Work unto me (The Lord) and I'll take care of the rest." He reminded me that this is his plan for me. I have to trust him. Some who aren't as far in their walk with God as you aren't don't live by faith, they live by sight. God wants us to live by faith! Trust him! When he brings us out of the storm he wants us to say "That was only God!" Because it was only God!! My husband is not as far in his walk with God as I am. At this time he is claiming to be an unbeliever, but God told me to speak things into existence so I do not claim that for him. I claim that he will become a man of God, who lives by FAITH and not by sight. I pray he will lead our family to grow closer to God and that he will seek the Lord and find him.

After hearing from God and literally feeling a weight lifted off my shoulders I was excited to share that story with you! Then something even better happened, Brandy called me and told me that she had posted on the blog, (it was 10:30 at night) and that she was sorry it took so long, but she’d had a hectic day. I began to tell her about what God had just revealed to me and she laughed and said “Well I guess God wanted me to do my study late tonight, post on the blog and then call to tell you because my blog is just about that, TRUSTING God and his plan for you!” God is good ALL the time! Nothing happens by accident. Everything in life has a purpose, it's apart of God's plan for you!

 God’s Word

God led me to this verse Psalm 25:1-5 “Lord, I turn my HOPE to You. My God, I TRUST in You. Do not let me be disgraced; do not let my enemies gloat over me. Not one person who waits for you will be disgraced; those who act treacherously without cause will be disgraced. Make YOUR WAYS known to me, Lord; teach me YOUR paths. Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; I wait for You ALL DAY LONG.”

Ladies, please turn your hope to God! Trust in him and his promises for you (if you don’t know his promises for you study his word and ask him) and the plans that he has for your life! He has a plan and a purpose for ALL of us! He is so awesome that those plans were laid out like a blueprint before he ever even created us! God does not want us to move (act on a situation) until he tells us to and until he shows us how to handle it.

 David said “Not one person who waits for you will be disgraced; those who act treacherously without cause will be disgraced…” That’s because they were moving before God told them to! They were following their own plan, and our own plans NEVER work! Like Brandy said, God laughs at our plans! He already knows the outcome if we don’t choose his plans for our lives! Choose to let God guide your every step and every move and you will NOT be disgraced!

Ask God to make his ways known to you so that you know what he wants you to do! You have to pray and ask God for direction. Cry out to him and tell him that you want him to guide your steps! You can’t face this battle alone. David told God that he would wait ALL DAY LONG for him to answer. Sometimes God doesn’t answer right away. It’s not in our time, it’s in his time. Other times he does and we are so busy listening to self and satisfying self that we miss out on what he has to say. God speaks to you! It’s a soft whisper and you will know it’s him. Someone asked me how I know it’s God and not me talking to myself and I said “Because the answers I’m getting aren’t answers I would give myself.” Some say it’s their conscious, but God is our conscious! He is the only thing inside of us telling us what’s right from wrong.  If you haven’t experienced this, pray and ask God to speak to you. He will, you just have to listen long enough! J

Allow God to guide your steps. Give him the reigns and sit back and enjoy the ride. It will be a weight lifted off your shoulders and we all know that worrying takes up too much time. Trust God and the plans he has for you!

Do you know what your God given purpose is? God put us all here on this beautiful earth, it’s beautiful because he created it, to give us the OPPORTUNITY to change HIS world. It’s a blessing and an honor that he trusts us so much when we disappoint him constantly. He trusts the ones who don’t trust him to have an impact on HIS world! Isn’t that crazy?! Lord you are so good to us and we are not even close to being worthy of your mercy and love. Thank you for that!

**Praise Report**

God put it on my heart to reach out and get funding for the Weekend to Remember conference. I called them directly yesterday and they gave me some great news, the cost is only $159 per couple instead of $159 per person! Isn’t God so awesome!! YAY!!

How many of you took God up on his challenge yesterday? Please share your praise report with us by commenting on the blogs!! J

I know I promised that these all wouldn’t be this long, but when God’s speaking through me I’m not going to stop writing! J

Just like you ladies need words of encouragement and need to be lifted up so do Brandy and I. Please keep encouraging us with your comments and make sure to read her post below! It’s powerful!! ;)

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

Thanks for your prayers, love and support!! We love you ladies!

Raynisia Nagel

A Woman After God's Own Heart

Listen, God's Laughing

Oh my, what a day!  I apologize for the tardiness of my post today but ladies it’s been hectic.  You see on Thursdays I have my step children, therefore, after we do their homework, eat dinner, do my homework and put them to bed it’s 10pm at night.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do my bible study this morning and planned and I did not have the urge nor the knowledge to come and post this afternoon.  I never want to cheat any of you who follow, so, here I am at 10:00 Thursday evening writing a post. 

                So I started a new bible study today, thanks to my friend Lisa, and now that I’ve read the first section I’m super excited.  The entire bible study is about James; as the cover reads “James forces us to face the implications of faith.  Be inspired to put your faith into action in practical ways as you get to know both the ma and the Book of James.”  In this study I’ll explore the joys, hardships, faith, wisdom, single-mindedness, the tongue, humility, prayer and more. 

Today’s lesson hit home.  Today we found out some news that, well, just wasn’t what my husband and I hadn’t planned for.  Isn’t that hilarious??  WE hadn’t planed hahahahaha.  As if OUR plans matter.  I honestly think that God sits there and laughs at us when we complain that things don’t go as plans….seriously..listen….he’s laughing at Carl and I right now!  As I told Carl, GOD has a plan and only His plan matters, that may seem unfortunate, but it’s always worked out in the past.  So who’s to say it won’t work out this time?  With this particular issue that Carl and I are disappointed about I used to pray, pray, pray about it…then I realized, HELLO!!!!!  Let go and let God.  That statement can’t hold true if I don’t let go.  So I did, and now, I will sit back and wait.  He’s working on it, and I’m not worried about it.  Please I need to worry about getting that campaign rolled out next week at work, I’ll let God handle this one. 

So talk about disappointment and your plans not working out.  Poor Joseph had planned/expected to get married, conceive children, live as his father taught him and live happily ever after.  Well, well, well, God laughed at him.  Turns out the bride that Joseph’s father pledged him to was expecting!!!  Do you think this was by accident?  God set Joseph up with a woman who was already pregnant!!!!  WHAT!?!?!?!?!  Can you image being Joseph, asking God “what in the world are people going to think?  What’s going on here?  Is this a mistake?”  Maybe Joseph didn’t ask those questions but I sure would have…wait a minute, no I wouldn’t because I NEVER question God (ha-ha, that’s a joke).    To top it off, she was pregnant with a boy.  This was during a time when King Herod ordered the slaughter of all the baby boys in Bethlehem.  Geesh, what else could possibly go wrong?  Joseph didn’t know it, but God had a plan.  God planned for Mary to have his son and call him Immanuel – which means ‘God with us’.  God appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him “Get up!  Take the child and His mother and go to the land of Israel”.  Joseph being the follower that we should all be did exactly that.  He and Mary ‘packed their bags’ and moved on and many moons later there was Immanuel, Jesus, Lord of Lords.

Wow, don’t I feel silly, selfish, ungodly for getting a little disappointed because something didn’t go my way.  Ladies be inspired by this, realize that God is so much bigger than this, than us, than our problems and know that He has a plan for us.  The ultimate plan and He makes no mistakes.  Luckily He forgives, He understands our questions, He knows how strong we all are.  Take this with you this evening and into tomorrow (until Raynisia’s words) and let it sink in. 

Let’s pray:

Lord thank you so much for all that you’ve done for us.  Thank You for having a plan, thank You for executing that plan and thank You for forgiving us for our questions, concerns and even doubts that You’ve got this under control.   Thank You for the daily devotionals that we have to remind us that You are our father and that You love us and have taken the time to map out each and every one of our lives.  That is true love Lord.  Be with us this evening as we all lay our heads down and please open our minds and hearts in the morning to hear You and to take charge in yet another day in this world to live our extraordinary lives.

Below is a powerful song that REALLY makes you think.  This song popped in my head as I was typing this blog.  If you’ve never heard it you should youtube it and listen.  Hearing a voice put these lyrics into song makes it all that much more powerful and beautiful.

"Mary Did You Know"

[Originally written by Mark Lowry and Buddy Greene]

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has come to make you new?
This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will calm the storm with His hand?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little Baby you kissed the face of God?

Mary did you know.. Ooo Ooo Ooo

The blind will see.
The deaf will hear.
The dead will live again.
The lame will leap.
The dumb will speak
The praises of The Lamb.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
The sleeping Child you're holding is the Great, I Am.

Meeting Jesus....Are you ready?

Good Morning Ladies!!

 My mind has been racing with all the amazing things I’ve wanted to share with you since my last post yesterday morning! It took everything in me not to post a million blogs yesterday just to share God’s goodness with all of you! Lol! As some of you noticed God has not only used me for this journey, but he has also been using my friend Brandy and I am so excited that she came on board! That being said please keep an eye out for my posts every morning and Brandy’s post mid-day or evening. We want you all to stay encouraged throughout the day and we felt that this would help! J So if God places something on your heart and you’d like to share it with all of us here at WAGH please don’t hesitate to do so. God wants this blog to be interactive so we can give each other feedback and support.  So please make sure you create an account so you are able to follow us and leave a comment, that’s the only way you can fully benefit from ALL the wonderful ladies God has brought to this blog.  

I was telling Brandy yesterday that the most wonderful thing about all of this is that not only are all of us in different seasons of your lives with God, but life in general. It would be hard for me to relate to someone who has children or who’s been divorced because I’m not there. Although I would try, I think it would be nice to receive advice and prayer from someone who can personally relate to what you’re going through. Stay encouraged ladies!! Know you’re not alone with where you are. I promise you that.  Don’t feel ashamed or worried what we will think of you because that’s the purpose of this site, to help one another. How can we help you if we don’t really know what’s going on with you? As one of my friend said yesterday, we all need someone that we can be vulnerable with. Someone that doesn’t expect us to have it “all together” because none of us has it “all together”.

He speaks to me

So as I said yesterday morning, before I start my study I do a little praise and worship session and listen to uplifting music. I had a friend tell me about a WONDERFUL song that she felt I might enjoy called “This Little Light of Mine” by Addison Road and I LOVED It!  There is a line in the song that says “one day we’ll meet Jesus face to face” and that line spoke to me. I sat there and started to imagine what that experience would be like. First I envisioned there being a long line to get to meet Jesus, just like there would be if we met our favorite singer or actor. But the crowd will clear out and Jesus will look at you and without saying a word you will just hear his heart say “I have time for YOU.” He will have a peaceful smile on his face and he’ll know what you’re thinking without you saying a word. A sense of peace, love, joy and every wonderful feeling imaginable will come over you and you’ll cry and he’ll be your shoulder to cry on. You’ll say please forgive me Lord and he’ll say “You’ve already been forgiven”.

I know that God gave me that vision this morning so that I could share it with you wonderful ladies. YOU ARE FORGIVEN! Let your past be your past because God has already forgiven you. If you turn away from your sin the Lord will forgive you. You have to move on past that and know that God knows you’re not perfect. You’re human! You’re going to make mistakes and you’re going to feel convicted and cry out to God and say “Lord I’m sorry!” And it’s forgiven. Please know that. J After having that wonderful vision God told me that “Meeting Jesus” would be the perfect title for this study.

Gods word

God led me to this verse, Hebrews: 10:24-25 “And let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, not staying away from our meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

Ladies did you see that!! Don’t stay away from meeting with the Lord! It will strengthen and encourage you. Some may have to start off small and just start praying daily and some may have never even read the bible.  Wherever you are in your walk with God it CAN and WILL get better. Maybe you’re struggling with understanding his word, ask him to help guide you to a FULL understanding. Maybe you’re struggling with living for him. He can help you with that too! Prayer changes things ladies!

We must encourage each other! We need to be sharing God’s goodness with any and everyone! Some struggle with the fear of rejection or fear of being judged by others, but please remember that Jesus was rejected and judged. HE DIDN’T CARE!! Why should we?! We have each other now ladies, you aren’t alone in spreading his goodness. Don’t be ashamed of all his many blessing pouring down on you. Shout his praises; share his good works with friends. Believers and nonbelievers, you never know who YOU can bring to Christ.

I know some of you, including myself, worry about being that Christian that beats people over the head about believing in God and then we fear we’ll push them further from him.  I believe there is a healthy balance and you have to pray to God and ask him to help you have that healthy balance. You don’t want to scare people away from Christ by talking about him and throwing him in their face, but you also don’t want to be that Christian that never talks about what God’s doing in your life. I challenge you and God challenges you to pray for that healthy balance. If you change your attitude and the way you react to situations, stop cussing and getting angry over small things someone will ask what changed you and that’s a great opportunity to say “GOD!” You can leave it at that or you can take it further. That’s up to you and that’s between you and God. All I ask is that you make him proud! J

“…as you see the day drawing near.” God’s coming back for us soon ladies. Are you ready? Is your husband? What about your friends and family? If not pray for them and continue to pray. Never stop! Let them see God in YOU by the way you live your life. Let God light a fire in you and consume you! Allow him to use you. It will change your life and their life forever. J

PRAY

I am praying for each and every single one of you. I don’t know everyone who is reading this, but God does. I’m praying for your strength and courage to get through all of this. You are not alone! J

God also wanted me to share this with you… Matthew 6: 9-13 (Model Prayer)

“Therefore, you should pray like this: Our father in heaven your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts (sins), as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen”

I know that some of you know how to pray and I'm not asking you to change that, but God just wanted me to share that incase someone needs help! :)

Update and God's Blessings!!

-Please keep an eye out for a Facebook page for WAGH! Brandy and I are still praying and working out all the details!
-God allowed me to find a study book for us to follow along to when we have our monthly bible study together!! Guess what the name of the book is... "A Woman After God's Heart"!!! God is so awesome! Please let know if you're interested in purchasing this book or want more info. You don't have to have it to follow along with us because I'll have a copy!

***Challenge: Share this blog on your facebook, pass it around through email and share God's goodness today. As Brandy said yesterday, you never know who's day you could turn around!***

Please create an account so that we can keep track of our followers and that will also allow you to leave a comment!

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

Thanks for your prayers, love and support! We love you ladies!

Raynisia Nagel
A Woman After God's Own Heart

Positive Attitude Creates Positive Results

Good afternoon ladies!  My name is Brandy Fitch, I am a 29 year old women (oh shoot, let’s just face it I’m 30 as of 2/27) who lives in Dallas, TX.  I’m a full time employee to a IT consulting company, part time student at Collin College, full time wife to a loving husband, full time daughter to the best father God could have given me, full time friend to a wonderful group of people, and a stepmother to 4 beautiful children.  Life is crazy, hectic, fun, exciting and sometimes downright depressing.  However, I’ve learned (the hard way) to turn to God during every single moment not just the depressing/hard moments but the fun and exciting times as well. 

So there’s my into, now to the good stuff.  Mrs. Raynisia Nagel has shared with me some of the struggles she’s dealt with recently and I’ve coached, listened, and most importantly prayed with her over all of it.  So yesterday I made a routine check up call to see how she was doing and to my surprise she said “everything is great, I am so happy and have so much to tell you!!”.  So 2 hours later (lol), the bottom line was that she went to a women’s conference this past weekend and God spoke to her like he never has before!!! 

In her new revelation she decided she wanted to start a blog and share with other women her inspiration, her joy, her sorrow, her struggles, and how God is helping her through it all.  So, being the encouraging friend, I said “that’s awesome Raynisia good for you!”……then it happen……she asked me to post as well. My mind immediately went AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!   Apparently she sensed that (5 yrs a friendship will do that) and said if I feel uncomfortable she understands and asked me to pray about it.  I’ve never even read a blog much less posted one AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!  Honestly, I got off the phone with her, cooked dinner for 8, celebrated my daughter’s birthday, cleaned up the mess from dinner, cake and birthday crafts, laid in bed with hubby and vented about the somewhat bad day I had at work and didn’t’ give the blog a second thought…..(just between us, I feel asleep during my prayers). 

This morning on my way to the office I was listening to a talk show and the host asked his colleges “does what we do on a daily basis make a difference in the world?”.  My immediate thought was no, a radio station doesn’t change the world.  Well to my surprise one of the other hosts said “of course, we have contests to pay peoples bills, we send 100’s of terminally ill kids to Disney World each year as their last wish, we had someone write in and said they were going to commit suicide that day but heard our radio show and decided it’s not that bad and he is still alive today, even if we make one person laugh and bring a little sunshine to their day that helps!”  I thought, man, she’s right!  I’m going to make it a goal that every day I change someone’s life somehow, some way.  I wish I could pay their bills that day, or send them to Disney World, or prevent someone from ending their life.  However, if I walk everyday in life with a positive attitude, show someone a little sunshine at the gas station, on the side walk walking into school, a co-worker or even more so my kids or husband then for that day, that moment I’ve made a difference.  So I prayed right then and there “God, please help me to have a positive attitude, help me to walk my every day, extraordinary life with you by my side and let people see that, see You, see a happy person who for a moment, if not longer, and forget about their worries and problems.  Help me make a difference.”  His reply was “Brandy, blog about it.”  I said “huh?”.  “Join Raynisia’s blog, it’s not so scary, I promise, use your story this morning and share it, share Me, share your journey’s, your struggles, your needs and see how it impacts people and see how Brandy can make a difference in other people’s lives .  Don’t worry; I’ll help make sure you have good stories to share. ;)”    So ladies…..here we are….. here is my story of how I became a blogger.  I hope that what you take away from this is that we, yes we, ladies can make a difference.  We can start a journey together and WE can change lives.  I pray that somehow, some way this blog has opened your eyes and hearts, and most importantly I hope that it has changed your lives. 

Have a great day and remember if you “have faith as small as a mustard seed and you can move mountains”.