Category: Inspirations

God has me on lockdown!  My cable went out the day before I went on vacation, and the earliest I could get someone out for service was four days after my return, so I’ve been home with no television. Not even the local channels can be picked up. To add insult to injury, the client that I was taking care of decided not to use our services anymore, so I came home to no job assignment.  Oh it didn’t stop there!  I also lost control of my vehicle when it hydroplaned upon my return home.  Thank God I was not hurt and no other vehicles were involved.

Sometime God needs to shut you down to draw you closer to Him. Needless to say, I have been doing a lot of reading, writing, meditating, and watching DVD movies.  Talk about Reframing Your Picture, the title of my latest book, and turning negatives into positives, I have done a complete about- face as to what my week was supposed to look like.  I am not pressed or depressed about anything that has transpired.  I drove over 600 miles and was within ten minutes of home when I had the accident.  The average person would be upset.  As I look back over the miles and the way things happened, all I can say is, Jesus took the wheel!   It rained sheets of rain, with minimum visibility, about a hundred miles of the trip from Fayetteville, NC to Summerville, SC.  I crossed a number of bridges while it was not raining, and the sky was clear when I crossed all of them.  (Anyone who knows me knows that I am petrified of water!)  Also, because I was coming off a ramp, there was no traffic except the people behind me, and they saw me and were able to stop.  Once again, God has kept me.

 

 

Thrifting while jogging!  We have all heard the saying, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”  As I sat outside to have my morning coffee and do a little reading, it dawned on me that everything I was using had come from someone else who no longer found the need for it.  The chair that I was sitting in was given to me by a private duty client.  The glass-top end table came from a jogging session around my neighborhood one morning, when I stumbled upon a lady who was moving out-of-state and was downsizing her load.  When I politely asked if I could have the table, she replied I have another match that goes with it.  Since I didn’t need both in my house, I decided to create an outdoor setting with one of them.  And lastly, the black table that I have my feet on just  arrived this morning from another jogging session.  I had driven pass my friend’s house across the street a couple of days ago, and saw the table, but decided I really don’t have need for another piece of furniture.  But this morning as I begin to cross my legs and wish that I had a foot stool, my thoughts returned to the little black table across the street, and off I went to retrieve it.  My morning coffee and reading now became a lot more comfortable, thanks to thrifting while jogging.

Food is such a powerful part of our lives.  Most meetings are planned around some type of food.  I remember when my biggest goal in life as an adult was to go into a restaurant and purchase whatever I wanted off the menu without any consideration for the price.  As a child, the idea of lack was prevalent in our home and it stayed with me even into adulthood, so much so, that it almost felt weird to expect that the circumstances would ever change.  No matter how hard I worked it was never enough.  So can you imagine what it was like to finish high school and college, yet still believe in scarcity?  I lived practically my whole life waiting for the other shoe to drop.  It seemed that nothing I did was ever enough to remove me from the poverty mentality.  Sure I was able to pay my bills every month, but there was never any splurging.  Although I lived in nice apartments and houses, I was always one paycheck away from eviction.  Even up until about four years ago, there was this running joke whenever the family went out to lunch or dinner as a group.  Basically, someone always asked the question, “Who’s got Geri?”, meaning who’s going to pay for my meal.  I thank God for the day that I was able to say, “Geri’s got Geri!”

 

When setting goals we normally do so based on what we think our capabilities are for getting the job done. We orchestrate our moves with hopes of landing on our feet at every turn and coming out smelling like a rose.  Most of the time we do ok and pat ourselves on the back for a job well done.  Then there are the days when we wonder why we even tried to accomplish so much knowing that our resources are limited.  The things we expected to fall in place a month ago has totally sidetracked us into a crisis of epic proportion.  Every move you make creates another situation that was unexpected.  You find yourself digging deeper and deeper into what seems like a bottomless pit of mishaps.  You feel your faith falter and your hopes steadily dwindling.  Where did you wrong you ask yourself?  How did I forget that part of the equation?  I started this project way ahead of time so that none of this crisis should be coming my way.  But here I sit waiting on a miracle to happen so I can move forward, and manifest the dream that I envisioned so clearly six months ago.  Is it truly God’s will or just me wanting to do this?  Is He testing my faith?  Will the miracle show up at the last minute?  If it does, technically it will still be on time.  Because God’s timing is not like ours.  So what do you do?  Do you continue to take steps even though you don’t know how all the ends will meet?  Of course you do!  All it takes is a recollection of a similar place that God has brought you out of.  And before you know it, you will trust Him once again.  Only difference is this time you stretched your faith a little bit further.  With God, last minute is still on time!

Do you believe?  For years I have recited a familiar passage of scripture that says, “God has opened the windows of heaven and is pouring me out a blessing that I do not have room enough to receive.” Do I know where to find that scripture?  No!  Do I believe it?  Yes!  Do I live my life like I believe it?  Yes, most of the time!  About six months ago our pastor challenged us to recite a two-page affirmation each day. When she passed out the paper in a church meeting, I looked at it and thought, ‘that’s a whole lot to say every day.’ But I decided to be obedient, and boy has it paid off.  I have seen a tremendous difference in my faith walk, and my abundance.  Now when I say that He has opened the windows of heaven, and is pouring me out a blessing that I do not have room enough to receive, I believe it and operate in expectation.  Since I see myself living in abundance, it literally happens every week.  I won’t go into details, but on a regular basis I am given more than I can handle, and most of it is work related.  I never have to wonder where my resources are coming from.  I trust God wholeheartedly to provide for my needs and He does; most of the time they are met in advance.  There are no past due statements, no late charges, and absolutely no lack in my life.  I recall the days when I was drowning in debt and fighting to find shallow water to escape.  Now I swim with the best of them.  (This is a metaphor, not literally, because I do know how to swim.)  I am deliberately making a point about trusting God and believing the words that come out of our mouth.  When you truly believe what you say your life will start to manifest what you speak.  Another part of the affirmation is, “This is my time, this is my season to be blessed spiritually, physically, emotionally, mentally, socially, and financially.” During my prayer life I have never thought of being blessed in all these areas.  My biggest area of concern has been finances.  Little did I know that being blessed in any of those areas could lead to a blessing in another area.  And that’s exactly what has been happening lately in my life.  Because of the right social connection I am reaping financial benefits, which leads to better mental and emotional stability.   Naturally when you are better off mentally and emotionally a part of that has to trickle down to your physical well-being.  Then it goes without saying that a balanced life gives you reason to celebrate thereby tapping into your spiritually.  I thank God for the balance that I have found these past months, simply because I decided to be obedient to something that was outside my comfort zone. What exactly do you believe?

 

 

Every morning when I do my bible study I am called to a deeper place in my spirit. Sometimes it can be frightening, but most of the time it’s a pleasant surprise.  I find myself more confident, and feistier, if you may.  Largely I find that I am so in tune to Gods’ voice.  I watch myself flutter around like a little birdie jumping from limb to limb.  Always looking around to see what’s happening in the world.  Always checking to see if anything has landed that will be food to my soul.  As I meditate during my quiet time I allow my mind to wander.  I used to think that that was a bad thing.  Now I know that’s the place where God speaks to me.  I also used to think that it was disrespectful to interrupt my allotted time with God to jot down things, and/or to respond to His request immediately.  I knew that I wouldn’t remember all that I was taking in, so I started making notes.  Other times I would stop what I’m doing and go to my computer or my telephone and inquire about what was on my mind.  During those occasions I found that what God was telling me had already been communicated to the other person.  So, I have learned to answer the call.

We are all familiar with the famous Red Phone in the White House, that became the brunt of many jokes and political ads during President Obama and Hillary Clinton’s campaign days. “Who can answer the phone at 3:00am?”, was the infamous question.  Many times we are called to do or be something, and it has nothing to do with an actual telephone.  If you know yourself then you know when you are being called to something.  At least I do!  This did not happen overnight.  It has taken me many years and many failures and setbacks to be able to distinguish between what I want and what God wants for me.  You can do the same thing.  The more you practice listening for His voice, the more you will be able to hear it.  Let’s not get caught up in being “called to preach”, or “called to teach”, or any other fancy calling that we often hear about.  You can be called to be a compassionate person.  You can also be called to love and care for others, or to put a smile on someone’s face.  So, answer the call.

I was listening to a Lauryn Hill Live CD the other day and there was a part where she was asking, “Are ya’ll ready?”, and after saying it twice, she stated that she was also talking to the voices in her head.  I imagine the band was looking at her strange or maybe she felt the need to explain herself for asking the question twice.  Either way, I had a light bulb moment and came up with my title.  We all have voices in our head even though we don’t like to admit it. It’s called self-talk.  Every decision we make has answered to the voices before we make it.  The goal is to know when the voices are speaking negatively.  Most of our self-talk is so random and automatic, that we fail to realize the damage we may be doing to ourselves and others who are listening.  I remember times when I could spend a whole day convincing myself, that I wasn’t capable of getting something done.  It used to take that long for me to acknowledge and change the voices in my head.  Now the minute that I start the self-talk, I immediately catch myself and start reversing anything that is negative.  I’m not saying that I don’t have my pity parties because I do.  However, while I’m throwing a fit I am also picking myself up off the floor at the same time.  When I go into my secret closet to pull my hair out (not literally), and talk to God about a situation, I go in to do battle with the enemy. I go in acknowledging that I don’t like the situation.  I admit that I want it to change as soon as possible.  I also admit that I don’t know what to do.  But before I leave that room I calm myself down, and tell God that the whole world belongs to Him and I know that this situation did not take Him by surprise.  And lastly I ask Him to fix it according to His will and allow me to function in my other areas of expertise, and to do so with no malice to the creators of the current situation.  Once I finish that meeting with God I go on my merry way and continue to do what thus saith the Lord.  The reason I am able to do this is because, there is no situation in life that totally defines who I am as a child of God.  I am accomplished in so many areas that one monkey cannot, and will not stop my show.  I am not bragging but simply stating a fact, as to where the Lord has brought me from when it comes to my ability to operate positively in a crisis, the majority of the time.  You control the voices in your head, and can change the conversation whenever you chose to.

Fearless can be deceitful.  The other day a friend of mind from my hometown called me “fearless” because I moved from Virginia to South Carolina five years ago.  I never considered myself fearless.  I was simply doing what I needed to do in order to make a better life for myself.  As a motivational speaker people think that you always have it together.  You have the ability to change lives by your speeches and words of encouragement.  No one really knows the lonely nights and sad days that you spend trying to move from an empty place inside yourself, when life doesn’t turn out the way you planned.  No one sees your tears as you try to go through your daily routine knowing that you are falling apart inside.  Sometimes it’s a small sore because of something beyond your control, but then another thing pops up that causes the scab on that small sore to fester and become worst.  No matter how hard you to try to get back to that “good” space by doing what normally brings peace, there is an unavoidable loss that only the voice of another can heal.  A loss that only a touch from someone else can heal.  A loss that only time will heal.  No!  No one has died.  No one has gone to the hospital.  No one has hit you.  Life has thrown you a curve ball and it seems that all the bases you planned on touching has moved so far away, that you can barely see the short stop or the catcher because of the tears running down your face.  You reach for the phone to call a friend, but you change your mind because you wish they would call you instead.  You turn down holiday parties because you can’t handle the crowd.  Although you want to be with others, on the other hand you don’t want to bring your negative energy to an otherwise happy occasion.  Fearless can be deceitful!

New level thinking equals new dimensions.  We know how we would like our life to be.  Some of us think on a larger dimension than others.  Sometimes our dreams are limited by our upbringing and what we have been told is possible.  If we would allow ourselves to be open minded concerning the possibilities that every life holds, it would be easier to see ourselves doing what we may have thought was impossible.  We are constantly influenced by our environment, our reading, our television, our radio and also our spirituality.  Yes, we all serve the same God no matter what we choose to call it.  However, we cannot expect to receive what we have not asked for or believed is possible.  It may seem that people who are not religious, or who do not attend church, oftentimes receive so many blessings.  It is not up to us to judge.  We do not know what type of relationship they have with their God.

Recently I had a discussion with a group of friends who asked the question, “Can you receive God’s blessings if you are not a churchgoing person?”  There was the belief that when the pastor prays for the church and you are not a member, although you may be attending that church on Sundays, then that prayer does not include you to the extent that it does the members.  I was a little taken aback, because my belief is we are the church not the building.  So if any pastor is praying for the church, then they are also praying for me.  We then talked about the pastor being the shepherd over the flock, which excludes anyone who is not a member.  It was an interesting conversation to say the least.  I know a number of people who do not attend church on a regular basis.  Their mother, wife, or friend attends regularly and they attend on special occasions.  So my question was, “Are you saying they will not receive the blessings of God because they are not a member?”  The majority of responses were, “They will not receive all the blessings that a member will receive, because the blessings come down through the shepherd who is interceding on a regular basis for their members.”  Okay!  I’m still at a loss for words even though I am a member of a church.  I know that I was able to move to another level because of my faith, my thought process, and my many teachings that I received from my pastor and my church members. It is up to you to decide what it will take for you to move to the next level.