We are Warrior's in the battle of the Lord. I have my Armor on do You?

Good morning Warrior's,

I would say good morning ladies, but you better believe that you can still be a lady and a warrior at the same time. I asked you all to stay tuned for the armor of God just in case you do not know what the armor represents. Well the first thing I think you should know is that Paul one of Jesus disciples is speaking about the armor. Paul name was Saul, and he was against anyone and everyone who called on the name of the Lord until he had an encounter with Jesus on Damascus road. That is a story for another time and if you have not read it- now that would make an excellent bible study. It show's that when you have and encounter with Jesus anyone can be changed the story starts in the book of Acts chapter 9.

Do you remember the scripture that I gave you before about the armor? Well I will give it to you again but this time in The King James version . Ephesians 6:13-17 Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth (BELT OF TRUTH), and having on the BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS; and your FEET SHOD with the preparation of the GOSPEL OF PEACE; above all, taking the SHIELD OF FAITH, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the HELMET OF SALVATION, AND THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, which is the WORD OF GOD: Then Paul continues on to tell us to pray for boldness.

I had to find out quickly what Paul was speaking about when he told us that everyday we should be wearing our armor and one of the first scriptures that I was lead to was 1Peter 5:8-9.

It states: Stay alert! watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.

God is so great to let us know we do not go through this alone, but you better believe we have to put on our armor each and everyday. Let me start off with the very first thing that Paul told us to put on and that is the Belt of Truth. I am going to be getting help from my Pastor Tony Evans from his book called Victory in Spiritual Warfare. He reminds me on how the Roman soldier's dressed back then.

The belt was a place where some of his other armor could hang. It could be his sword on his belt, a dagger, a sling shot it could be a number of items he hung there. When the soldier was ready to head into battle, he could reach down and pick up the part of his tunic that was draping near his feet and tuck it in this belt. This gave him the ability to move around more freely in the battle. Belts did not only hold additional pieces of armor and provided the soldier with increased mobility, it also produced stability by holding things in place. The Belt of Truth is designed to stabilize things by keeping them in their proper order. Remember who the devil is he is a liar and the father of lies. What does lies do they make us feel like we are going through things alone that no one cares and believe me like Paul stated our brothers and sisters are going through the same things we are but the enemy wants us to feel shame. Well I am telling the enemy like my Pastor said Go to Hell. I will not be ashamed when bad things happen to me and keep them to myself. Bad things happened to Jesus, why should it be any different for me if I am his follower.

Let me get to the truth part now. I get so excited to know that we have more power than we know and use. If we would just take back what the devil has stolen from us a lot of us would be the better for it. Share with others your grief because when you bottle it up inside of you that is not using your weapon of truth...I am hurting and I need help by stating that how can it hurt? If they make fun of you they have the problem and you pray for then. YOU ARE NOT ALONE... Pastor Evans states in his book: Christ goes so far as to say we are to be sanctified in the truth. To be sanctified means to be set apart and holy. We are to be unique in our responses, thoughts, decisions, relationships and also in the way we do battle in the spiritual warfare.

What is TRUTH; Truth , at its core, is God's view of a matter. My sisters stop helping the devil defeat you, if you are hurting share your pain, if you lost your job share your anger, if you lost your man share your pain. Because at the end of the day someone has been there, done that, or they are still there and we can pray each other out of it. We can tell you how to reach out and get help and sometimes it is certainly more than prayer that is needed, but I dare you, I triple dare you to take God at his word. He said, "I will supply all of your needs according to my riches and glory in Christ Jesus." Jesus paid it all...P.I.F. and I remind him of just that, Jesus you said that you paid in full and I need your help. We must as Lady Warrior's remind Jesus of his promises and again Lady Warrior's if you don't know his word you cannot remind him. Believe me God is a God that he cannot lie. Stay tuned for The Breastplate of Righteousness, there is a lot we need to guard especially the word of God in our hearts. We love you all and if you need prayer or more reach out. Be blessed and bless others.

Fighting For Me

Good Morning Ladies!


I pray that everyone had a great week! How many of you have been letting your light shine, allowing God to use you for his plan and purpose to change the lives of others? This is one of my daily prayers and desires is to be able to allow God to light my path and allow him to use me to light a path for someone else. That's why at the end of every post I tell you to stay encouraged, inspired and motivated, because if you are it's easier for you to help someone get there.



The more we walk and talk like Jesus did and allow God to live in us and shine through us the harder our lives will seem. As I said the other day, this life is a BATTLE! We will have battle wounds and battle scars, but they definitely can't even come close to Jesus' battle wounds and scars. Sometimes living for God means you will stand alone. You'll be the only person out of your group of friends, family or even co-workers that stands up for what's right. It's hard doing that, especially when it would just be easier to go the other route.



In Matthew 11:27-30 Jesus says "The Father has handed over everything to My care. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son wishes to reveal the Father. Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Put My yoke upon your shoulders-it might appear heavy at first, but it is perfectly fitted to your curves. Learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble of heart. When you are yoked to Me, your weary souls will find rest. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”



The bible is SOO amazing and powerful that I just want to cry every time I read something awesome like that! If we are yoked to Jesus our burdens will be light because he will take over the load. He said that the yoke might appear heavy at first, but it’s perfectly fitted to our curves! He will never give us more than we can bear! He is there to help lighten the load, but we have to let him. We have to stop trying to carry all of our sorrows, frustrations, pain, confusion and a million other emotions on our own, and realize that God is here to help carry the weight.

In Micah 6:6-8 Paul says “What should I bring before the Lord when I come to bow before God on high? Should I come before Him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves? Would the Lord be please with thousands of rams, or with ten thousand streams of oil? Should I give my firstborn for my transgression, the child of my body for my own sin? He has told you men what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: Only to act justly, to love faithfulness and to walk humbly with your God.”

All God want’s from us is US! He wants us physically, to work for him by serving others. He wants us mentally to think of ways to draw people closer to him and his kingdom, and he wants us spiritually so that he can speak through us to guide others. I don’t think that God is asking for too much from us. When I started taking my daily walk seriously again about a month ago I had no clue what it would lead to. I remember I was in the car and a song came on that talked about allowing God to consume us as Christians and not to be afraid of allowing him to take over our lives. I remember crying and praying and asking God to fully consume me and fully use me for his kingdom, and I remember wondering what took me so long to reach this point? Why was I so afraid to allow God to fully consume me and use me? The rest of the song went onto say that it’s because of our pride. I included some lyrics so you could read it. The song is called ‘Fighting For Me’ by Anthony Evans. Please check it out! It’s pretty awesome.

When I first met you I must admit
I was fighting and losing
But I wouldn’t tell You cause
I knew that You’d take over
I wanted to undo all my mess
So it looked like I did it on purpose
You had my solution
But I knew that You’d take over

I wouldn’t let you in cause
I’d have to begin
To let it go
And I held onto my pride
Cause I wanted to be in control
But then You showed me

You’re fighting for me
Now I don’t have to anymore
You’re love is holding me
When I can’t hold on anymore
My heart was breaking
But it doesn’t have to anymore
I don’t deserve it but you’re showing me I’m worth
I’m worth fighting for
Oh, oh, oh
I’m worth fighting for

Like I was saying, we allow pride to get in the way of so many things. The thing I learned is that I don’t have to be prideful when it comes to the Lord. All the things I’m thinking, feeling and my next move are old news to him. God knows us so intimately, so we don’t have to put on a “show” like we might have to do in front of others. He wants the real us and he wants to use the real us. We have to be a reflection of God. We have to allow his light to shine through us. The way we act as believers are reflections of our AWESOME God. If we are in the store cussing out the clerk or fighting someone in the parking lot, that doesn’t really speak “Hey, I believe in Jesus and I’m living for him”. Of course those complete strangers won’t know your beliefs because they don’t know you, but they should be able to see the Jesus in you. The way you walk, talk and act should be different when you’re trying to reflect God’s light unto this world. It speaks about all of this in Ephesians Chapter 5. It basically talks about how a change should happen when we begin to follow Jesus. I def. recommend that everyone check it out! :)

Ladies, this walk with Jesus and trying to live in his image aren’t easy. It will probably be the hardest thing you’ve EVER done, I know it is for me, but it’s also very rewarding. Plus you’re not in this battle alone because God is ‘Fighting For You’ and we are all in this together.

I pray that everyone has a wonderful weekend and that you will begin to allow God to fully consume your lives.

**Please check out our new page on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/womenaftergodsownheart and ‘like’ it! Spread the word so we can continue to grow as a community of women living for God! :)

Also, please email Brandy, my mom or myself with your email address so we can include you on the invite for Uncle Julio’s. We need to have a solid headcount so that we can have a table!

I look forward to seeing you all there! :)

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

Raynisia Nagel

A Woman After God’s Own Heart

We are women unified and edifying God. Doing what he has called and planned for us to do

Good morning Ladies,

Almost every morning before my daughter's left for school I would tell them- This is the day that the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it. You know if you are reading this today, I know that you may be going through something usually if we are breathing we are all going through something. Marriage problems, kid problems, not having a job, or having a job and it just seems to be a vicious cycle. Well I want you to rejoice because God did not say that this journey was going to be easy but he did make us some wonderful promises. And one of those promises is that he would never leave nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Jesus has left us with some wonderful weapons and one of those weapons is prayer if you don't pray ladies I encourage you to do so. I know that you have that wonderful mom, sister, brother, or even an awesome friend that truly loves you and listens to all your concerns. However, they are not your creator. They cannot tell you how to really get the devil to sit down and shut up only the one who created him can do that, and that is God almighty. In his word he tells us to put on the full armor of God he knew that we would need it and its not just sometimes, it's everyday of our lives. So today ladies my prayer for you all: Lord, please help my sister's in Christ to trust you and seek you with their whole hearts. I ask that you show us that you are real and that everything that we are concerned about because you love us you are concerned about too(1Peter 5:7). Let them know that no weapon formed against them shall prosper because you promised us that. When the enemy make us feel as though we are alone, I stand in the gap for us asking that you remind us what your word say about the enemy he is a liar and the father of a lie (John 8:44). God please bless their families, finances, and give them your peace that surpasses all understanding . And Daddy when the time seems to be overwhelming to us- remind us that your word has instructed us to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice (Romans 12:15). Please Lord don't allow us to reach out to anyone first but you father. Let us always call on you first the author and the finisher of our faith. We place our hope and trust in you. Amen

Ladies, you and I have weapons of mass destruction but it is up to us to use them. Ephesians 6:13-17 states it this way, " Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day. and having done everything to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all of the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and he sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. You must learn the word of God to be in this battle. And ladies believe me this is a battle, God has already said you are victorious in him but don't you want to see and feel some of those victories right here on earth? I encourage you ladies please if nothing else start off slow give God 10 minutes of your time. I promise you he is so great that you will start telling everyone...hey kids, hubby, friends- just give me another 20 minutes with Jesus and I'll be right with you because just a little talk with Jesus makes everything all right. And if you don't know what the armor of God means stay tuned...I'll break it down, or should I say the Holy Spirit will break it down piece by piece. Jesus loves you and so do we. Be blessed and bless others.

SOME PROMISES FROM GOD YOU CAN CALL ALOUD:

1. Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. (1John 4:4)

2. I am the head and not the tail and I am above and not beneath. (Deuteronomy 29;13)

3. I will never leave nor forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)

Prayers and Fire Flies

Well, hello hello ladies!  I apologize for not posting the past two days.  Tuesday I was at a work event all day and yesterday wasn’t a good day for me to be honest.  The devil is trying to get me down and I apologize for giving him yesterday and not posting. 

Ever feel like things aren’t going so well and they just keep getting worse?  Have you ever heard the song “Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash?  Some of the lyrics are “I fell into a burning ring of fire, I went down, down, down and the flames went up higher.  And it burns, burns, burns, the ring of fire.  The ring of fire”.  Ever feel like that is your theme song?  Whew I know I have.  Sometimes the flames are so bright that you can’t see anything, and they are so hot that you can’t feel anything, and the crackling of the fire is so loud that it's deafining!  Well, I’m here to tell you that God is the ultimate fire fighter.  There may not be calendars with pictures of God is a fireman suit for your office but I guarantee you He out shines them all!!  After all, He did turn water into wine.  So He can also turn those flames into fire flies!  That thought puts a smile on my face, just close your eyes and imagine so many fire flies whose lights are shining so bright that you can’t see anything else.   And whose wings are fluttering so fast that you feel a breeze on your skin.   How beautiful is that?  How nice does that feel?  Now image that every single one of those fire flies are prayers, prayers that your friends, family and fellow Christians have prayed for you to bring you out of the flames you are in.  God is the only one who can bring you up from those flames, NOTHING is too big for Him.  Ladies, the only way to have all those fire flies is to reach out, don’t be ashamed of what you’re going through, or embarrassed.  Don’t ever think that just because you feel like you can’t handle it at the time that we, your fellow Christian women, can’t take some of the burden away from you with prayers.  Where two or more are gathered He is there.  I want to encourage you to call the prayer hotline provided on this webpage, reach out to your friends, reach out to your family or even to Raynsia and I, most importantly reach out to God yourself.  No judgment here.  We are all one in His eyes, so when we cry out in prayer for you He sees you and He knows what is needed. 

Matthew 7:8
For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.

Matthew 21:22
And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

Does this mean everything we ask for we will get?  No, heck if that were the case we’d all me millionaires, with no bills, no worries, and no lives because no one would be working and if no one is working then there is no one to pull in the harvest so we can eat, to run the power plants so we have electricity, no one to run the telephone and internet companies so we can use the web and make telephone calls.  See girls, God knows what He is doing.  So reach out, pray and begin the healing process.  That process has begun for me.  I myself was a little down earlier in the week and was reminded by both my (friend/mother figure) Mary and Raynisia that when you are trying to do something great (as in this blog to share God with others, listening to only Christian music, etc) the devil will do his best to bring you down to his level.  He’ll drag you down and before you know it those flames are so high that there doesn’t seem to be a way out.  Well I reached out, Raynisia, Mary, Reda, my dad, my husband, and other friends they all began to pray for me. Wanna know how I know?  Because I see the fire flies ladies, and they are beautiful.  My spirits are lifted again, the smile is back on my face and the praise and worship music I listen to daily is no longer just noise in the background.  I can hear it again, I can hear the words and hear the rejoicing and I’m signing right along with it (goodbye crackling flames).  So thank you, to all who have prayed for me.  Life isn’t perfect by any means and my troubles aren’t quite over but I know God is in control and He will provide.  So this is my cry to all of you who read this as well, please pray for me, heck pray for us all lol, help me to see more and more of those fire flies

                Somehow I’ve turned this into a selfish blog and I apologize for that.   But as I mentioned before I nor Raynisia are perfect, we are just as lost as you are sometimes so we need some help as well.  I pray for you all every night (before I fall asleep that is so most of you get in those prayers I promise lol).  If you have special requests please let me know privately at brandy.fitch@gmail .com or email Raynisia or of course the prayer hotline. 

On another note….here’s a song to share with you all “On My Knees” by Jaci Velasquez http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gArr7gyiMBY …check it out, you know you want to ;)

                Be extraordinary ladies, walk in His light and allow Him to guide you. 

Faith Faith and More Faith

Good Morning Ladies! We are so close to Friday and I know everyone is ready for the weekend! :)

Before I start with today’s message I wanted to share my first day with you ladies. My prayer has been that I will be able to be a light in this dark world and that others will see Jesus in me. They will see that I’m different somehow and that difference will be God. I also pray that I will be able to help people and that they will want what I have, they will want to become a light in this dark world. Please pray that prayer for me and yourselves. I really think that it will help you! ;) My first day was AWESOME! Trying to get them all organized and everything, but the first idea I mentioned was just so awesome to both of my "bosses"! lol! So keep praying that I can keep helping their company grow and become a postive attribute! :)

I have talked about faith and trusting God in probably every post I've posted thus far, but it's so important! God keeps putting amazing scripture on my heart to share with you to get your mind thinking. He wants to know if you're living by faith. If you're trusting what he tells you to do even if it doesn't make sense to you at the time.
 
Yesterday as I was looking up scripture for the post, I came across Hebrews 11. I only read the first verse and knew that I needed to go and read the rest later because it was awesome. I read it all today and it seriously put some things into perspective for me. It also tied into what my 'Daily Bread' devotion was about this morning, so I am going to share them with you.

My 'Daily Bread' devotion was about trusting God even when you don't understand what he's doing. It was about the story of Gideon and his battle against the Midianites. His army started off with 22,000 men and ended up with only 300. God kept telling Gideon to cut back on his army because they wouldn't all be able to take over Midianites. I can guarantee you that Gideon was like "Umm Lord, what are you thinking? The more soldiers I have the better chance I have of winning this battle." But not once did he question God about what he was doing. He trusted him. He did as he was instructed to do even though he was a little scared of what was going to happen. I want to live like that! Fully trusting God and not questioning any of the plans he has for me or what he is doing in my life. I’m not sure if that day will ever come, but I’m striving to get there! Lol!

I went on to read Hebrews 11 and it talked about the story of Gideon, Abraham, Moses, Noah and so many more that lived by faith. They trusted what God told them and didn’t question him. They believed God when he said that he was going to bless them and although they did not receive all of those rewards/blessings here on earth, they TRUSTED that it would be waiting on them in Heaven.

Hebrews 11 is a long chapter, so I am just going to share bits and pieces of it with you and I hope that you all go and check it out yourselves. It’s awesome!

Hebrews 11:1-3 “Faith is the assurance of things you have hoped for, the absolute conviction that there are realities you’ve never seen. It was by faith that our forebears were approved. Through faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God; everything we now see was fashioned from that which is INVISIBLE.”

It’s hard believing in something/someone that you can’t see and that’s why it’s called living by faith. Trusting and believing in things we can’t see. That takes courage ladies. God knows that and he rewards those of us that believe in him without seeing.

Hebrews 11:6 “Without faith no one can please God because the one coming to God must believe He exists, and He rewards those who come seeking.”

An insert in my bible:

‘Faith begins as hope and indeed is unseen; so many doubt that it is real. What follows is the proof that faith is a reality that can be trusted.’
 
OMG!! When I read that I literally said WOW out loud! If you don’t believe in God you can’t please him! Why would the non-believers want to please someone that they don’t believe in anyway? He rewards those who come seeking! OMG!!! You come seeking when you trust and believe that he is real! You’re seeking an understanding of him and his ways.  That was so powerful!!!

Hebrews: 11: 13-16 “All these I have mentioned died in faith without receiving the full promises, although they saw the fulfillment as though from a distance. These people accepted and confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on this earth because people who speak like this make it plain that they are still seeking a homeland. If this was only a bit of nostalgia for a time and place they left behind, then certainly they might have turned around and returned. But such saints as these look forward to a far better place, a heavenly country. So God is not ashamed to be called their God because He has prepared a heavenly city for them.”

They didn’t get all of their rewards here and they died not having all of God’s full promises. The difference between these amazing people and so many of us is that they trusted God’s plan for them. The trusted that there is a Heavenly place where they will get their rewards. They didn’t have a desire to turn back to the things of this world and give up on God. They trusted him! They had faith that he was real and that he was going to keep all of his many promises. I feel like so many of us stop trusting God because of those “unanswered prayers” or because our life is so hard that if there really was a God why would he allow us to go through what we’re going through. I’ve heard all of those excuses before when people tell me why they don’t believe or why they stopped believing. Please know that God is REAL! He is realer than anything here on this earth, but so is the devil people. If you stop looking at all the negativity of your life you will start to see the beauty in it. God wants what’s best for us, but the devil wants us to question God’s plan, he wants us to question if God is real and he wants us to stray further and further away from God. Don’t let God sending his Angels into battle for you, be for nothing! Tell the devil that you’ll never stop believing or trusting God and live your life like that. Stop being the person that everyone considers a “negative Nancy”, be that positive light and influence. Change the way people see you from negative to positive. If they already see you in that light then make sure that you continue to grow so you can continue to stay positive. I say this because we are all struggling with it. Every time I open my FB or sometimes even text messages from friends it’s all about the negative. Start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and surround yourself with people that help you see that light! J



Insert in my bible:
 
'Stories of faith and faithfulness are central to the First Testament. The writer of Hebrews recalls some of the most memorable examples of how people of faith lived their lives. But what is faith? Faith is more than belief; it trust, assurance, and firm conviction. Ironically most of those who lived by faith never fully realized the promises God had made. Like us they journeyed as strangers and exiles, longing for another country. We should remember their patient faith when we face prolonged hardships and allow the trials we face to strengthen our faith rather than destroy it. If we are comfortable here and don’t face suffering for our faith, perhaps we aren’t fully living by faith and looking forward to a future hope.’

I seriously could not have said it better myself!! So powerful and so true! If you’re comfortable here then you aren’t being tested. If you aren’t being tested are you really living for God? Living for God is a battle! It’s not easy and it gets harder and harder the closer we get to God. The devil doesn’t want that. Keep reminding yourself that we are constantly at war. The battle won’t be over until we reach Heavens Gates and then we will be at war for someone else’s life.

 I hope that this touched some hearts today! I love you ladies! J

 **Don’t forget about March 25^th!! Uncle Julio’s, Grapevine Texas at 3pm!! I’m so excited to meet all of you and see who’s been touched by God’s words!**

 Stay encouraged, motivated, and inspired today and help someone else do the same!
 
A song that I LOVE “Sun and Moon” Phil Wickham http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl_3WHW1Tco


Raynisia Nagel
A Woman After God’s Own Heart

Living Sacrifice

Good Morning ladies!

I wanted to start today's blog off with a PRAISE REPORT!!! I have been looking for a job for quite some time now and I have been praying for God to direct my path in this area. I have also been praying for the specifics in the next job that he sends me to. Of course my first prayer was like, Lord, please help me find a job. My prayers stayed like that until I started to think about all the things that would be important to me in my next opportunity. God says that nothing is too small for him, so I decided to pray for exactly what I wanted and felt I needed in my next job. I prayed for it to be close to my home, (even though I live in a smaller city so the jobs in my local area normally don’t pay as much as my previous jobs) I prayed that I would make enough for me to help support my family, that the company would be filled with loving people that loved him, (God J) and I prayed that the company would be somewhere that I can grow and use my attributes to help the company grow. Of course I jokingly prayed that my next job just fall from the sky so I could stop looking! Lol! Well ladies, God did all that and MORE!

My mom has a friend that works for her church and she reached out to her about a month ago and told her that I was looking for work. Her friend was nice enough to send me every email she received about job opportunities and job fairs. I received an email on Friday about a job Fair in Fort Worth and posted on my Facebook page so that all others looking could attend. I get a FB IM from one of my friends saying that one of her clients is looking for an Assistant in the Arlington area. I was like WHAT!!! Where? What for? Long story short, I faxed my resume over and received a call from the company that day!! I had a good feeling from the very beginning when I spoke with her, but I didn’t want the job unless that’s what God wanted for me. Believe me, I’ve moved before God told me to and regretted it more than anything, so I wasn’t going to do that again. My interview was scheduled yesterday and I prayed all weekend, all day Monday and all morning before my interview. After a 2 and a half hour interview/talking session I got the JOB!!!! It’s 10 minutes from my house, I’m working with people that love and believe in Jesus, and the pay is just what I need and so much more! God is AWESOME and I just had to share that with all of you. If you’re waiting on him to answer one of your prayers just keep trusting his plan. Every time I started to question God’s plan for me or if I was ever going to find a job he kept saying “I’m preparing something just for you! I’m working on all the details right now Nisia, just keep trusting me!” And I did! I finally LET GO and LET GOD lead me and it was all worth it! I start today! J

This morning I woke up with so many things on my mind, one of them being how am I going to make time to do this blog every morning before work. I was praying about that and also praying for God to give me a word for you ladies. All I kept thinking in my head was sacrifices. My husband told me and continues to tell me that you have to make sacrifices to get where you want to be in life. He sacrifices his sleep by getting up to go to the gym almost every morning. He sacrifices his time by studying for class instead of playing video games (he’s still working on this one! Lol) My point is, if you want something bad enough you’re going to sacrifice whatever you need to in order to get where you want to be. Are we doing this for God? Are we sacrificing our time or any other part of our lives to please him?

During biblical times, almost everyone was sacrificing animals to God, and some like Abraham, were willing to sacrifice something that they could never get back, his only son. God told Abraham to go and sacrifice his son and Abraham didn’t even flinch! He was like Oh okay Lord, whatever you say. Isaac get your stuff so we can go. And then think about the ULTIMATE sacrifice that Jesus made for all of us! He died on the cross for all of our SINS, nothing he did. It was all for us. How hard would it be for you to sacrifice some of your time today to get in God’s word or to reach out to someone in need? That’s nothing compared to what Jesus did for all of us.

Putting God first in your life is not the easiest thing in the world to do and God understands that. We get so used to live for “us” and pleasing ourselves that it’s hard to kick that habit. God knows that you are going to have to take baby steps to get where you want to be and he’s okay with that. Just start working on that today. Start allowing God to be first before you make a decision, or before you call and ask your friend what you should do, seek guidance from God. Let him know that he trust him! He can move mountains ladies. Nothing is too big or hard for God. Once you start trusting and believing that you will walk by Faith and not even worry about sight!


Here are some AWESOME scriptures I found on the importance of Sacrifice:

*Hosea 6:6 “For I desire LOYALTY and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”

      As many of you know and like I stated above, during biblical times people were sacrificing animals to God. I believe this passage is saying that our loyalty and understanding of God is more meaningful to him than any sacrifice you could ever imagine. The thing is, you have to sacrifice something in order for you to be loyal to him and to know him.

*Romans 12:1 “Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship.”

      Use your whole body!! That means your mind, your words, your actions, basically EVERY fiber of your being to please God!

*Hebrews 13:12-16 “In the same way, Jesus suffered and bled outside the city walls of Jerusalem to sanctify the people. Let’s then go out to Him and resolve to bear the insult and abuse that He endured. For as long as we are here, we do not live in any permanent city, but are looking for the city that is to come. (Heaven!!) Through Jesus, then, let us keep offering to God our own sacrifice, the praise of lips that confess His name WITHOUT CEASING. Let’s not neglect what is good and share what we have, for these sacrifices also please God.

      Ladies, confess his name WITHOUT CEASING!! That’s what I’m talking about when I say share God’s goodness with someone else! Tell them your “praise report.” We all have one! You woke up this morning, made it where you were going safely, your child is healthy, you’re healthy, you have a job to go to, ect. All of those are things that you can say thank you to God for!

My mom kept stressing to me the importance of thanking God during my ‘storm’ and I finally started to get it. Thank God for this storm and for getting you out of it. Thank him for the lessons that you learned while you were in your storm and thank him that he allowed the lesson you learned to help someone else. It's not easy to do this, but it will get easiser with time! :)

God is doing some awesome things in all of our lives! Please feel free to share your praise report with all of us!!

Of course I have to leave you with a song that’s been in my head all morning! J ‘What a Savior’ by Laura Story http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSXpFsjSc-4


Don’t forget about our first mingle meeting on Sunday March 25^th! 3pm at Uncle Julio’s in Grapevine Texas! Everyone come ready to share your praise report, request prayer, or just to share what’s on your heart!
 

Hope to see a lot of beautiful faces there that day!! J

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

Raynisia Nagel
A Woman After God’s Own Heart

'I wanna live like that..'

Good Morning Ladies!! How is everyone’s week going so far? I know that some of us had a rough start to our week, but just know that it will get better. :)

So as you all know by now I am a HUGE fan of music! It can literally turn my entire mood around if I listen to the right song. Yesterday, as I was heading home from class this song came on the radio and it was saying almost everything that I said in my post yesterday and it also goes into what todays post is about, so I knew I had to share it with you! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0cMVmr11bY 'Live Like That' by Sidewalk Prophets! :)

When I hear songs like that it makes me have a reality check. I begin to question the way I’m living my life and wonder what ‘legacy’ I’ll leave behind. Like I said yesterday, would anyone be able to tell you had a relationship with God? This song proves that actions speak louder than words. When I heard it I was like WOW! Thank you Lord for letting me here that song! Then, this morning my devotion was about living like Jesus did. It all tied together and I knew that this was an area God wanted me to cover.

My ‘Daily Bread’, which I get my daily studies from, always gives a message and then a small scripture to follow up with that message. I don’t know about you ladies, but when I’m studying God’s word, one verse isn’t enough. I want to hear the entire story and I want to know more. I’m hungry for more of his word. I haven’t always been like this and some will never reach this point, but when you desire God and want to know more about him, it can change your life. I said that to warn you that today’s scripture is almost an entire chapter long. It was all just too good for me not to add! J


God’s Word

Paul says in Philippians 2:1-18 “If you find any comfort from being in the Anointed, if His Love brings you some encouragement, if you experience true companionship with the Spirit, if His tenderness and Mercy fill your heart; then, brothers and sisters, here is one thing that would complete my joy- come together as one in mind and spirit and purpose, sharing in the same love. Don’t let selfishness and prideful agendas take over. Embrace true humility, and lift your heads to extend love to others. Get beyond yourselves and protecting your own interests; be sincere, and secure your neighbors’ interests first. In other words, adopt the mind-set of Jesus the Anointed. Live with His attitude in your hearts. Remember: Though He was in the form of God, He chose not to cling to equality with God; But He poured Himself out to fill a vessel brand new; a servant in form and a man indeed. The very likeness of humanity, He humbled Himself, obedient to death- a merciless death on the cross! So God raised Him up to the highest place and gave Him a name above all. So when His name is called, every knee will bow, in heaven, on earth, and below. And every tongue will confess “Jesus, the Anointed One, is Lord,” to the glory of God our Father! So now, my beloved, obey as you have always done, not only when I am with you, but even more so when I can’t be. Continue to work out your salvation, with great fear and trembling, because God is energizing you so that you will desire and do what ALWAYS pleases Him. Do all things without complaining or bickering with each other, so you will be found innocent and blameless; you are God’s children called to live without a single stain on your reputations among this perverted and crooked generation. SHINE LIKE STARS across the land. Cling to the word of life (bible) so that on judgment when the Anointed One returns I may have reason to rejoice, because it will be plain that I didn’t turn from His mission nor did I work in vain. Even if my lifeblood is to be poured out like wine as a sacrifice of your faith, I have great reason to celebrate with all of you. And for the same reason, you can be glad and celebrate with me.”


God’s word is soooo powerful! Paul is speaking so much truth! If we feel comfort and encouragement and love from God and we have a special bond with him, why wouldn’t we want to share that with others? Why wouldn’t we want to share God’s goodness and portray his goodness to others?! Paul says “Don’t let selfishness and prideful agendas take over.” We are so busy worrying about us and what we have going on in our lives that we use that as an excuse not to be there for others. Have you ever stopped what you were doing and put your problems aside to reach out and help someone else? Your problems, stress and worries will still be there and you know what, you’ll probably look at them differently once you stop and look at what someone else is going through. There are problems bigger than what you’re facing today ladies. There are people out there that are struggling with things that you couldn’t even imagine and they need US! They need someone to listen, wrap their arms around them and pray for them and so much more.

I remember having a rough day and I posted something on Facebook about needing prayer. A friend of mine messaged me and asked me what was going on and I gave her the short version of a very long story and told her it was about my finances. She was sweet and told me that she would pray for me and that she wanted me to know she was struggling too. She told me about what she had going on and it made all of my problems seem so small. I cried out to God and thanked him for reminding me that there is always someone going through more than me. I should be grateful for what I have and I should continue to bless others because he will provide. Ladies, your situation may seem like the end of the world, but take a moment to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Reach out to them and know that your blessing from God will be greater than you could have ever imagined.

Paul reminded us that Jesus was in the form of God, but instead of using that to his benefit he decided to take the other route and live like a servant, just for us. I don’t know about all of you, but I want to do that. I want to live like Jesus did! I want to be so consumed with serving others that all my troubles seem small, because they are. God’s gift to Jesus was raising him to the highest place (Heaven) and giving him the name above all JESUS!! “So God raised Him up to the highest place and gave Him a name above all. So when His name is called, every knee will bow, in heaven, on earth, and below. And every tongue will confess “Jesus, the Anointed One, is Lord.” Do y’all get that? Even the devil has to confess that Jesus is the Anointed One! That is powerful in itself!

Paul also told us that we should obey God even when he’s not present. I don’t know about y’all, but my mom always told my sister and me that we better be on our best behavior when she wasn’t there. She expected us to behave like little Angels for our friends parents, even if we got home and acted crazy. She trusted that if she brought us up right that we would behave even if she wasn’t around. That’s what God is doing. He brought us up right and he is trusting that we will live for him and teach others his word without him being right by our side. Of course he is always present, but I think we forget that sometimes. Are you doing what Jesus would be doing? Are you leading by example?

“Do all things without complaining or bickering with each other, so you will be found innocent and blameless; you are God’s children called to live without a single stain on your reputations among this perverted and crooked generation. SHINE LIKE STARS across the land. Cling to the word of life (bible) so that on judgment when the Anointed One returns I may have reason to rejoice, because it will be plain that I didn’t turn from His mission nor did I work in vain.” Ladies I feel like we are all guilty of spending so much time complaining about the things going on in our lives that we forget to praise God for all the things that are going right. God has a plan and a purpose for where we are in our lives. You may not like your job, but you’re there for a reason. You may be unhappy in your relationship/friendship, but God put you in that person’s life for a reason! Have you ever thought that maybe you’re their path to God? That you going to work every day with a smile on your face and only speaking positive things could actually turn their attitude and that place around? Be the light for others! Let your light shine so brightly that people want to be close to you. They admire you and reach out to you for guidance and a good word because they know and trust you will do that for them! I know that I want to be that friend that everyone knows they can call anytime day or night and I’ll be there, because that’s what Jesus would do. WWJD! J If we can be there for them and love them and encourage them, they will wonder why we are like that and that’s when you can tell them that it’s because that’s what Jesus would do. Maybe that will make them want to turn their lives around and be that person for someone else.

My new bible ‘The Voice’ leaves this insert for a better understanding of what Paul is saying, “Paul describes a community where every person considers the needs of others first and does nothing from selfishness; it pulls together rather than pulls apart, and it is a body that knows its purpose and lets nothing interfere with it. It is an extended spiritual family where others line up to become part of this sacred assembly and to make it their home because they feel encouragement and know they are truly loved.” Ladies, this is the purpose of this blog! God wants us to join together and encourage one another. He wants us to build a bond in unity with his word and make this community of ‘WOMEN after God’s Own Heart’ to be a community that everyone wants to be a part of because they see the love and encouragement that we show one another. I pray that all of us changing from being selfish people to becoming selfless people will cause a train reaction and others will jump on board.

God is so awesome! He is doing so many awesome things in all of our lives, even the things that we don’t see yet. Just keep trusting him. The devil will try and steal your joy more and more when he sees that you are living for the lord. When you are changing your life and making God your focus something will happen to try and take your focus off of that. Please know that it’s just the devil. Stay on that path and keep trusting God and reminding him that you need strength to get you through all of this.


**Meeting Update**

We will be having our first “get together” on March 25^th at 3pm. We will be meeting at Uncle Julio’s in Grapevine to meet one another and just discuss where the blog is going and what ideas everyone wants to share. This will be a great opportunity for us to meet some of the readers and to just talk and get to know each other. I pray that everyone will put this date on their calendars and try to attend. Who couldn’t use more Women of faith in their lives? J As the date gets closer I will request a headcount so that we can make sure we have enough space. Please feel free to bring any and every woman you can think of! J 1301 William D Tate Avenue Grapevine, TX 76051
(817) 416-8416


Stay encouraged, inspired and motivated today and help someone else do the same.
 
Let someone see the Jesus in you! J

Raynisia Nagel

A Woman After God’s Own Heart