Your Story Matters !!!!

So a few days ago, i was on face-book scrolling down my news feed & i came across a post that left me asking a ton of questions while evaluating my own spiritual walk. The person who wrote the post was encouraging saints to share their testimonies because they matter & ultimately show what God has done for them. However, the part that really convicted me was when she said that some of us don't want to share our testimonies because we feel as though our testimonies are irrelevant for they are not traumatic enough.   The key word here is traumatic because some of us we feel like since we were not involved in things such as drugs, sex or struggled with homosexuality then our stories are not significant. If one could have seen my face at that particular moment; they would have suggested that i close my mouth or a fly would enter because of how shocked i was. lol. But seriously God hit me with this post that i couldn't stop thinking about it the entire day because this is what i've been struggling with the past few months. 

Personally, i would say that i did not struggle with things such as homosexuality, drugs or partying. However i did struggle with loneliness, insecurity &  more so i played church. After giving my life to Christ, i could hear everyone talk about the importance of people sharing their testimonies but deep inside i didn't want to because i did not think my story mattered for i didn't struggle with things that one could view as serious or traumatic. Honestly at times i felt like i did not enjoy the world enough for me to actually have a real testimony that would leave people wanting to know the God that saved me. As crazy as that sounds, that's how i felt & i knew it was wrong. The enemy deceived me by planting such thoughts in my  mind that i may run back to the world !!! 

The thing that we need to understand about our testimonies is that they are supposed to Glorify God & not ourselves. So many times people share their testimonies but weigh so much on the attention their testimonies are getting. One of the things that God was showing me  is that i have been so focused on who would be interested in hearing my testimony when he is concerned about me sharing my story that he may use it to touch someone else. Here i am, "God but my story is not that important, i mean i didn't struggle with  anything people would consider serious or in this case traumatic such as homosexuality or ended up having a child out of wedlock. I played church & struggled with loneliness & that's pretty much it.And again those people who struggled with all these serious issues played church; so what's so important about my story?" But again where does the Bible state that if your story is not something serious it should not be shared? The Bible says in Revelation 12: 11 "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die." (KJV). Let's focus on the first part of this verse verse, they overcame him the by the blood of the Lamb & their testimony. Do you see how significant our testimonies are? The enemy knows how powerful our testimonies are & he will try every possible way to stop us from sharing them. He was completely defeated when Jesus Christ died & rose again for our sake & he is defeated the more when we witness to others what God has done for us. 

For some of us the biggest hindrance in regards to sharing our testimonies is the fear of people judging us. We are so concerned of what people will think about us but honestly it does not matter what they think because they didn't save you & you're not sharing your testimony to please them!!  What matters is that your story is relevant & God wants to use it to help someone else. I know your not proud of some of the things that you did in the past but again your past does not define you. Christ saved you & has given you new life !! You are different & you know that deep down inside;so stop letting what other people think get in the way of who God has called you to be!! If your struggling with this; i encourage you to seek Christ & ask him to give you the Grace to let go of your past & to embrace the new life he has given you through his Son Jesus Christ. 

So i say all this to say that your story matters & stop feeling like you have to to explore the world more so that your story may feel relevant or similar to someone else's. Truth is; we all can testify that we were broken & lost without God, and after all he deserves the Glory. I pray that God will open our hearts that we may share our testimonies & not let anything hinder us from doing so :) 

I love you all & cheers to sharing our testimonies to the world;

Edith<3 

    

Got People Bondage??

At times, we feel the need to please everyone but the truth is:  YOU CAN NEVER PLEASE EVERYONE!!!. You can be so busy trying to please others that you lose yourself in the process !! Let's be real for a moment: we want people to like us & I'll be the first to admit that. However, the danger of that is allowing people to rule your life when they don't even care about you.Why  try so hard to please others when they don't put any effort to show that they care about you? And if they do say they care about you, why feel the need to use all of your energy to impress them? Reminder: You have to be okay with people not liking you & although you may feel like they don't, you still have to be okay with that. There is no need to get out of your way to please others while you're the one who is getting hurt!!! Take your emotions to God & let him deal with you. If you don't, you may try to show them the same attitude they have had towards you & before you know it, your letting your emotions rule you! This is serious because you're now responding based on he hurt you feel inside !!! I honestly can't emphasize this enough: Take all your issues to Christ, he cares & wants to help you. (1st Peter 5: 7) 

Let me be transparent real quick: The past few months i have had to remind myself that i cannot please everyone because i found myself wanting to please others more than i wanted to please God. I knew the right thing to do but i felt obligated to do what my so friends were doing. Recently, a situation happened whereby i felt the need to please one of my friends who i've been close with for sometime now. I felt she was ignoring me because she had new friends that she was now concerned about. Instead of taking my emotions to God & seeking him about the issue; i took matters on to my own hands. If i show her that I care about her more than her friends do , then she would give me more attention, right?? I thought. WRONG !!!  Then it hit me like a ton of bricks: the reason i was trying to please her was because i was jealous. Say what now ????!!!! Yeah as crazy as it sounds, I felt her new friends were taking my spot & getting all the attention!!!  Do you see how nasty our flesh is?? . To be honest that's how i felt, then i realized something: God would never give me friends who would push me away from Him & I SIMPLY WANTED ATTENTION!!. The people God specifically puts in your life will be there to push you closer to Him. These people will encourage, correct & be there to advice you in your relationship with Christ. The reason now i desired attention was because i had put my focus on pleasing my friend instead of pleasing God. The need to please my friend came as a result of me wanting attention & taking my eyes of Christ ! Where is your focus??  

Let me make something clear: God wants us to love people & yes really LOVE them despite what they may have done to us. Can you do this with your own strength? Absolutely NOT. You need the Holy spirit to love unconditionally & He will help you if you let him. Yes, God wants you to love people but he does not want them to be your focus or "god" that you go around trying to please & obey. Your focus should be on Christ: Obeying & pleasing Him. So instead of rolling your eyes & feeling the need to get back at the person who showed no concern towards you after doing everything you could for them: Run to Christ & let him heal your broken heart. Let God do a work in you & know that it takes time. It's not something that happens overnight, but you will be tested time after time. Keep your eyes on Christ & lay everything down. If you are jealous, bitter, angry, admit it because God knows & wants to help you. Admitting how you feel is the first step of the healing process. 

Lastly, if you are scared of people not liking you or hate the feeling of rejection, know you're not alone & we are all a working process. God can deal with our hearts, showing us how to love others while still having a boundary of not allowing people to be our focus. Remember if you feel the need to please others; seek Christ & let him show you why you feel the need of pleasing whoever you're trying to please. As he revealed to me, it was jealousy that made me feel the need to please my friend. He is faithful & wants to help you. Keep moving forward & rest that God will connect you with the right people who will love you for who you are & who will push you closer to Christ !!

Scriptures to reference: 

•  "Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ." (Galatians 1:10 NIV) 
• " Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters; "(Colossians 3:23 NIV) 
• " Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. "(Matthew 10: 28 NIV ) 
• "On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel.We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts." (1st Thessalonians 2:4 NIV) 

Love you all; 

Edith. 

Feeling Empty?

Surely it's been awhile since i blogged & i apologize for that but i just want to share what has been on my heart.  This area of emptiness is something that i personally struggle with & i just want to share a little bit on this . This area is surely something because you feel like nothing is working out & you are totally drained altogether. Ever been in that place when you feel like you are trying so hard to seek Christ but you can't seem to breakthrough? You feel  as through you've missed him and you cannot seem to hear him. You try to press in His presence but you are struggling with your own personal issues that you feel as though you are losing hope? You try so hard to trust God, but you end up failing because you are now trying to handle matters on your own. I totally understand this feeling & it's surely painful when you feel like this.

I know exactly how you feel & i'll be the first to say that this place is so difficult. However, you don't have to stay empty. Wanna know why? You have Jesus who will quench your THIRST & EMPTINESS. Although you feel empty &your flesh so badly wants to use other ways to quench that thirst you feel within, Christ can meet you wherever you are. You ask how can i get over this feeling of emptiness? You have to seriously walk with Christ. As i write this, i'm speaking to myself on this area. It's so easy to take  our eyes of Christ & think you got it, but honestly you don't. Colossians 3:2 "Set your minds above, not on earthly  things."  I love this scripture because it is a reminder to keep my eyes fixed on Christ & not the temporal things. When we take our eyes off Christ, we begin to get distracted & then we feel STUCK!! So are your eyes fixed on Christ or are you busy trying to handle everything on your own but you know deep inside you are totally drained? Be honest with yourself, you know cannot handle it on your own. You need Christ to fill you once again & you have to admit it. This now leads me to my next point. 

We have to admit that we are empty & seek God to fill us up again. I'll be honest with you: one of the things that i tend to do when i feel empty, is i start running away from God. You now ask why? Well, because i don't want to admit that i'm empty & probably because i will have to tell God what i've done. I feel like i have let him down again & i have to tell Him everything. One of the things that i have noticed personally with myself, is every moment i feel empty it means i have stopped relying on Christ & my heart is far from Him. I start to indulge in things that are so contrary to His word & because i know what i have done, i don't want to tell Him. There he is tugging on my heart "Edith, come & admit what you have done & i'll help you". Yet here i am saying "Lord, but i failed you again & i know you are disappointed with me,  and i don't want to be honest about what i did". So this is exactly what i tend to do but i can tell you the more i hide, the more i find myself  spiritually empty. So instead of saying you are okay when you're not; admit to Christ that you have messed up & you need His  Grace to help you in whatever you are struggling with. And again, God knows you're empty and wants you to confess all your sins, and all your failures to Him. "1st  John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful & just and will forgive us  our sins & purify us from all unrighteousness". He is crazy faithful & i can tell you, he will restore & meet you where you are. So let go, and ADMIT IT!!!

Thirdly, you have to believe that He is the only person who can fill you. It's so easy during this place to feel like that other things can feel that void you feel within. I can be the fist person to tell you that NOTHING ELSE SATISFIES. I have tried to ignore that emptiness but the only cure for it is CHRIST!! Whenever i feel empty, i tend to look so for many things to ignore this feeling of emptiness. I love music and  honestly i  try to use this as a way of escape but it never works. I can listen to all the Gospel songs but i'm still empty because i am not seeking Christ & i think i got it. WRONG!  There is nothing wrong with listening to music but that's not your way for escape. We tend to create so many things to ignore that voice within that tells us that we need God's help. I can't tell you how much i feel restored when I come to God & put everything to Him. He comes & fills me up, and forgives me when i seek for his forgiveness. He loves you very much & desires to speak to you. 

In this place, the enemy tries to condemn & remind you of how unworthy you are to be loved by Christ. This is something that I find struggling with. I find myself thinking negative thoughts instead of believing Christ & what he says about me. The enemy whispers that you are unlovable, and i take that in, instead of fighting back with God's word ;that nothing can separate me from his love. (Romans 8:31-39)  Emptiness leads to us falling in to the tricks of the enemy. So when you are feeling empty, Run to Christ & not further from Him.  Again as i write this, i speak to myself because i need this reminder everyday. When the enemy whispers those lies to you fight back & remind Him the Word of God. The enemy flees when you speak the Word of God because His word is Power. (James 4:7) 

I know this walk can be hard at times, and as i said before it was never meant to be easy. However, we need to understand that we are not alone. He is there to strengthen & help us when we feel weak. We cannot do this alone & that's why we need Him. I love the scripture Isaiah 41:13. Such a beautiful reminder that God is with us & we should not fear no matter what. "For I am the Lord your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you" . Christ is with you whenever you feel empty & He wants to fill you up. Seek Him & read His Word daily for it is there that He will speak to  you. It is not enough to just attend Church & think that is enough. We need to seek Him daily in that secret place. So if you're feeling empty, it's my prayer that God will fill you up. That he will give you the strength to seek him when you don't feel like it. Keep fighting the the good fight of faith. We are not perfect but a people who are in need of a savior everyday. Btw, if you are struggling with accepting God's love, speak it over yourself & seek Christ on that area. 

I love you all dearly. 

Edith. 

It's Valentines Day, Now What??

Ugh, it's that of time of year again, Valentines Day !!! To some of you, this day makes you bitter and jealous, for you do not have anyone to cuddle or even have great time with. Everyone is posting pictures on Facebook, instagram, twitter & you are at home all lonely without someone to surprise you with flowers, chocolates or even tell you how special you are to them. Every one seems to annoy you and to avoid going through all the loneliness you feel, you immediately start thinking about your past relationships & wonder if they could have worked, you would not have been single on this day. If this sounds like you, sounds like you have the Valentines Blues!!! Let's talk about making it through this valentines day without being bitter & jealous over everyone. Key things to remember and keep in mind when going through this Valentines Day. 

1. It's okay to be single on Valentines Day. 

First, sis it's not a curse to be single on Valentines day. It's normal to be alone or even spend time with loved ones. See, the world has taught us that you gotta have your little boyfriend on Valentines day & y'all can do whatever , but the question is why compromise your worth & value on this day just because it's valentines day. I hear ladies all the time, "i mean i just want a person i can cuddle with, nothing serious, that's all" Hold up, what?? Do you realize the consequences than can arouse from just thinking this? You know right & well that you're using that guy to fill your loneliness because you don't want to face the fact you're lonely. Sis, cuddling with him will not get rid of that loneliness you feel. Mind you the consequences; like ending up pregnant and  having to deal with the guilt of one mistake that you did out of  loneliness. Is it worth sis? NOT AT ALL. Don't let your feelings sway you around, stand firm & cling to God; to help you deal with your loneliness. He is the ultimate void-filler :)) 

2. Be content in this season. 

For some of us, this day makes us so impatient that we go to God asking Him, "where is my man at? " Sis, understand that you're single on this day for a reason. As much as you have heard people tell you this, appreciate your single season and let God make you whole. Sis, God sees your desire to get married but he won't give you a husband or allow you to jump from one guy to the other because you don't want to be single on Valentine's day. So instead of complaining that you're single on this day, i encourage you to thank the Lord for preserving you & allowing you to hold on through this season. Allow God to mold you through this season, because God will not give you that man until he makes you whole & sees that you won't make that man you're idol. 

3. Stop being bitter & jealous. 

Let 's be real, this day especially for us who are single makes you wish that had someone to spend time with. Everyone is posting pictures on instagram, Facebook, twitter and you immediately get jealous because you're all lonely. Sis, as much you wish that you had someone to be with on this day, realize that your worth is not based on whether you have a man to celebrate valentines day with. So, instead of being bitter and jealous, be happy for others and trust that when God sees it best, you will also have someone to celebrate Valentines day with. Being bitter & jealous will do you no good, but choosing to  celebrate others shows your maturity in Christ. If you know that looking all those pictures will make you feel lonely, i encourage you not to use social media. Take time to spend with Christ & let him deal with you. 

4. Don't let your feelings control you. 

Sis, your feelings will try to control you but i encourage you to submit yourself, thoughts & feelings to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5 – Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. 

Paul is reminding us to cast down every thought that does not obey God & bring it under the obedience of Christ. So when those feelings & thoughts try to tell you that there is something wrong with you because you're single on Valentines day, cast down those thoughts & make them obey God. One of the things i find helpful is quoting a scripture whether loud or murmuring it. Doing this, empowers & allows you to fight those thoughts. Remember the Word of God is power & it will always cause us to triumph. Allow the Holy spirit to lead you, because He is our comforter & He will  give you the Grace to do the right thing no matter how difficult it is or seems. Depend on Christ & not your own strength sis, your strength will fail you because our passions & desires will always try to do what is contrary of God. 

5. Spend time with your family & friends. 

Instead of complaining & feeling all lonely, spend time with family & friends. You can go out for lunch, watch movies, shop or do anything that will clear your mind. You can still have fun during this day, it's all about being about creative & choosing to be happy regardless of your status on this day. Do whatever you enjoy doing, this will enable you to enjoy this day. If you feel that you need to be alone, take some time & sit at the feet of Jesus. Have a date night with the Lord; just you & Him. Study the Word & pour your heart to Him. There is nothing better than being in God's presence, He is crazy faithful & He is always there to listen & reveal Himself to you. 

Sis, this day will come and go, so stop wondering when God will give you a man that you will enjoy this day with. I know it's hard but why go through the same cycle again, knowing that going back to your ex or having another boyfriend is a waste of time. Stop going back to those things that jeopardize your relationship with Christ only to feel comfortable. You can make it through this Valentines day without having to feel bitter or jealous, you can be happy not because of anything but because of the joy & love of Christ. Sis, when you are in love & full of Christ, this day will seem ordinary & simply another day to worship the Lord. So instead of complaining & worrying, thank the Lord for saving you from past relationships that pushed you farther from Him & for allowing you to be hidden in Him. 

Happy Valentines Day Sisters, 

Love you all & Remember God loves you & has not forgotten about you !!! 

~Love, Edith.