"But if not, God is still good."

17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.  -- Daniel 3:17, 18

King Nebuchadnezzar decided to put up a large golden image to be worshipped by all of the people.  An idol selected and created at the instruction of the King.  The people gathered in from of the idol and when the music began to play, everyone was to bow and worship the idol.  The Three Hebrew Boys: Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednigo were discovered standing and not worshipping in the midst of all the worshippers.  They were brought to the King and were told that if they didn't bow, they would be thrown in the fiery furnace.  We know the story--while they respected the King, they would not worship anyone other than the one true God and even if they weren't saved from the furnace they will still believe in Him--so while they were thrown in the furnace, God was with them and they were not consumed and the King recognized the power of the one true God!

We sometimes find ourselves in trials and struggles that will only be fixed if we allow ourselves to compromise what we know God has told us to do or NOT to do.  When we compromise, one of two things happen:  we transform, losing sight of God, or we say no and go through the storm, holding on to God with all our might.

I'm not saying that when we say yes to God that everything will come as we ask in our time--what I AM saying is that sometimes we have to just rest in God, knowing that He has us while we go through.

It's a struggle sometimes, just in the "going through", but just like the Three Hebrew Boys, no matter WHAT comes my way, no matter how dark my days might get, no matter the silence I might encounter waiting for God to come through, He is STILL good, I will STILL be faithful and trust in Him; but if God says NO or if I never come out of my storm, GOD IS STILL GOOD.
ONWARD
#GodIS
#ShoutingTime
#RealChristianTalk
#SometimesItJustAintAboutYou

Got Envy?

Since my life took an entrepreneurial turn, I have often found myself wishing for and even at various times begging for ANY kind of job.  I also find myself looking back to when I had a job and could take care of all that needed to be taken care of in my life and for my family.  It was the part of being an adult I loved the most--handling my business and helping others when they needed.

This time in my life, though it has been the most rewarding in the lives I have touched and the impact my words, actions and songs have had, has been the most difficult because I often find myself assessing my situation based on the worlds' standards; so I find myself struggling with ENVY.

The definition of envy is: a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another's advantages, success, possessions, etc.  While I don't openly show discontent or covet others, I do continually go back to a time when I "had" what everyone else had.  It never occurred to me that what I had been feeling was envy, because it's ME--how do you envy yourself??  It's when you continually compare when life was easy to your struggles now and start to beat yourself up about it.

So how do we get rid of this way of thinking?  How does one look back without resentment or where they are now and continue to walk the path before them?

I have to continually stay in the word and stay prayed up.  When I'm not in the word, these kind of destructive thoughts enter my head and make it difficult for me to even get up!  Find some texts to start your day and keep moving!

I leave you with this:  Romans 8:28 -- And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.  God knows, cares and is in control of where we are at ANY given point.  We can't be concerned about what we have or don't have; all we can do is pray and put one foot in front of the other!!  Got Envy?  Shake it off!!!
ONWARD
#biggirlbigboytalk
#TheChristianlifeaintaneasylife
#TheChristianlifeisaDOABLElife

Get your Ph.D.

“I have an MBA”.  It’s a statement that I’ve carried with me as a badge of honor and the most defining moment in my life.  I always thought that it would put me in an august group at a higher level than where I had been.  I believed it would give me financial security and a position of importance, busting through the ‘Glass Ceiling’ that people always put in front of women.  My plan was to then get a Ph.D. and gain a Tenured Professorship at a University, making it impossible to ever have to worry about a job ever again.  I had no doubts that I would get there in time.  You see, I believed that education was the key to being financially stable and comfortable—and that was most important to me.  At the same time, I believed in God and trusted that He had my best interests at heart.  I wanted to live within God’s will and that always seemed to go against the side of me that wanted to do well and be a success.  I saw that His way was the only way—though sometimes that meant doing things that people didn’t understand.

When God takes things away, says no, or places you in unfamiliar territory, you have to fight the feeling that you’re being punished or that you have no value.  That’s never His reason.  Think about how you discipline your children—if you don’t have children, think of when you were disciplined for a specific reason.  A good parent provides learning experiences in the form of consequences.  There are things that a child chooses to do that can cause either positive or negative results.  In those times, it is the parents’ job to help the child understand the results of their behavior and teach them to do right.  Not only will God use the things that we do to teach and train us, He will also take situations in which we had no control to strengthen us and give us the ability to withstand what’s to come.  Thankfully, He knows our entire journey and will guide us, if we let Him.

God’s intent has always been for me to minister to others.  I’ve always fought it, thinking I wasn’t “good” enough.  I thought that since there were so many others out there, how would I be able to make any kind of difference—and would anyone respect and believe in my ability?  I instead put my efforts into being a good worker, striving to make my way up the career ladder—though I never really had a career in mind, which I’ve recently discovered is because it really wasn’t to be my lot and that ministry was…

...So my statement and educational level has now changed.  I have a Ph.D.:  Patiencehumility.Devotion.  God has blessed me to endure this journey of education by training me to have Patience to understand that when I walk through the valley, though I might not know where I’m going, God knows, and that MUST be enough; humility to not feel bad about my lack or inability to obtain the things that I feel I deserve and not beat myself up, but recognize that God is more important than my wants; and Devotion to the God I serve—no matter what happens (or doesn’t happen) to me, that I believe God and know that He’s got me.

Oh, don’t get me wrong—I’m human and get down every once in a while, but I always come back to my reality and education, which never fail me.

Get your Ph.D.  You’ll never be the same.

ONWARD

#Gettherighteducation

#Ph.D.

Favor in the Midst

Do you REALLY count your blessings?  Sure, we are grateful when God comes through on some concern or prayer we might have shared with Him, but what about those times when we're struggling in the midst of trial?  While God is saying "no" or "wait", He is saying "I'm with you".  How do I know?  I experience it every time I go through.

Sure, life can be a big question mark at times and you can find yourself in a space and time with no real direction.  In that time, pay attention:  God is showing you favor--and I mean more than a roof, food, and other things you already have.

God blesses us and sometimes we're so focused on what we're praying for and so overwhelmed by what is in front of us, that we forget that God is with us and is not punishing us.  He is growing us an stretching us--and while this process is happening, He sends favor!  Do you see it, or do you spend all of your time agonizing over your troubles?!?!

I can't deny that I sometimes get caught up in my question mark space; but when I sit down, shut up and think about it, I KNOW that God is control and that I'm on the right track!

Hang in there, my friends!!  Gods got you and is favoring you RIGHT NOW!!
ONWARD

One Day at a Time

How do you live your life? 

I am a planner--I used to always have a plan of attack to get through everything I had to do.  I looked forward by week, month, few months to year and onward...if I was hit with something unexpected, I could stop, reassess and make adjustments when necessary.  I believed that was a gift God gave me and I used it to the best of my ability.  I used to say "I ALWAYS have a Plan B"...

Then I lost my job 4 years ago.  I had no warning and wasn't even given the opportunity to say goodbye to my staff or my students.  I took a few months and poured my heart and soul into my 1st CD and getting healthy and fit (Plan B).  A few months later, I was given a part time job and started feverishly searching for a full time job...I pushed to get a job that made me compromise my religious beliefs and found myself having to leave within 6 months...I was given another job, only to have that one end within 6 months...where was my Plan B? 

My whole person was called into question...until God sent word through various messages that I'd been doing it all wrong.  As a Christian, it's best to live DAILY.  Thanking Him for waking us up and for the blessings of the day.  It's not our job to be concerned about tomorrow.  It's our job to focus on our TODAY.

It's a new day for me.  I'm having to relearn being Lynda.  No longer focusing on preparing my "Plan B" but "Plan Today". 

We must allow God to show that He IS God.  I KNOW He's taken care of me and my concerns in the past, so I MUST be certain that He won't leave me now!!!

I was taught a phrase over the weekend:  YOUVE GOT TO SEE IT BEFORE YOU SEE IT IN ORDER TO SEE IT!!!!!

Prayer and Faith have transformative power!!!!  Try it and watch God!!!
ONWARD
#FAITH
#BUTGod