Thanks to those who have been following my blog since January and have seen my faith journey with God unfold over the last few months.  While I asked God to be Lord of my life in 2016, I’ve grown to know him more and more through each season of my life. These last 3 months I’ve truly learned to trust God with every piece of who I am and he has shown up mightily to show himself as a provider.  

As most of you know I sold my home exactly 2 week ago  during this tumultuous time in the world. God is good.  These last two weeks have been the first time in a long while I’ve been able to tap into society and feel the impact of what is going on.  All of the uncertainty has been a challenge and our leaders are making some tough decisions on our behalf. I pray to God that he gives them wisdom as so many lives will be impacted.  Through it all, I’m trusting God with my life. He is my rock, giving me sanity and peace right now. I pray you feel the same. I hold onto Psalm 91:2 that says, “I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I will trust”.  It truly settles my spirit and I hope this pandemic will come to and end in the near future as we all do.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been using this time to think, pray and meditate on my life.  I’ve been asking questions of myself such as “why am I here?” and “what would God have me to do?”.  These questions really hit home as I was job searching a week ago. In the middle of searching I just stopped.  I simply cannot see myself in the same career field I’ve known the last 18 years. I do like business, but the focus on bottom line sales growth the next half of my career gives me no satisfaction or motivation.  For almost three years I was a sales analyst for a large organization through Sept of 2019. I did the job well, but I needed a new challenge. I thought that the challenge I needed was management, but quickly learned that was not it as I took another role in a new company that did not go well.  I first thought it was the company, but I now believe it’s simply time for a change.  

As I have shared on past blogs, my son graduates high school in a couple of months.  Seeing that he is my only child, my life will look a lot different when he heads to college in the fall.  It’s the first time since I can remember that I’ll have an ample amount of time to focus on myself. I hardly know what that looks like as I had my son when I was a senior in college.  I went from studying to starting my career and raising a child. This will all be very new for me. At first thought I was frightened. I was scared to be alone and bored to death without my son’s activities taking up my time.  As I prayed, I realized I’m simply heading into a new season of life. I can celebrate that I did my job in raising my child and preparing him for the next phase of his life and now I can focus on what’s next for me. What is next for me?  

As I said earlier, I believe it’s time for a change.  It’s been the year of change for me anyway, so why not keep the change coming? lol .  I believe I’d like to be a counselor, advisor, mediator or something along that line. I also believe I’d like to mentor and coach young girls in youth sports one day.  I’d really like to make an impact on people and have an impact on young lives. Seeing that my son has a couple of basketball scholarship offers, I don’t have to focus on paying for his schooling right now, which is a true gift from God!  I know this will likely mean I have to go back to school and earn my masters degree. How this will be paid for, I don’t know. I’m not thrilled about school either as i graduated from undergrad 18 years ago, but if I truly want to do this, it will require a sacrifice on my part to get there. Even if I stay in my current line of work for 2-4 years, I’d know I have a light at the end of the tunnel that doesn’t only focus on generating more sales each year.  I have appreciated business the last 18 years as it allowed me to provide for my son, but I can do something different now. The thought of it creates excitement in me! So many possibilites!

Yes, I know we’re still in the middle of a pandemic and no one knows what the future holds, but I’m hopeful.  I can focus on today and still be hopeful in planning for my future in hopes God will heal our land in due time.

This will be a process for me, but I’m trusting God to lead me and open doors for me if it is his will for my life.  Please pray for me as I continue my journey of faith with the Lord. He hasn’t failed me yet!

I pray that the Lord will bless and keep you and your family during this time.  I pray for your safety. I pray the Lord will be your provider and comforter as well.  I pray you have peace in your mind, body, soul and spirit. I pray you would spend this time speaking with God and allowing him to dwell with you as well.  “Here I am. I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me”, Revelation 3:20.

May the God of peace be with you,

Felicia

What can I say God has come through yet again!!!  I am so grateful and appreciative of His loving kindness towards me.  I will give you an update of what God has done, but first I have a confession to make.  I was reminded of it today while reflecting on the past 6 months.

Last summer, about 9 months ago I was journaling as I often do.  As you all know I had a very good job, but between paying the mortgage and my son’s tuition payments, paying all the bills monthly was becoming a challenge.  My anxiety was at an all time high. As I journaled I remember confessing my biggest fear which was not to have enough money to meet my financial obligations each month.  Since I graduated from college almost 20 years ago, God always blessed me with a great job. The problem was I had come to rely on the job as the source that was meeting my need as a provider opposed to trusting God. In November of 2019, God allowed my greatest fear to happen and I had no choice but to trust him.

God has taught me that he indeed is my one true source for everything.  I have not liked this experience at all, but going through this season of my life was the only way for God to show me He’s been my provider all along and I do not need to worry, only trust Him.  I cannot tell you all what a huge breakthrough it has been for me to watch God work miraculously in my life. I now trust that God can do anything He wants to do. I’m simply in awe of him….

My last blog was the day before the coronavirus pandemic announcement in the US.  If you recall, I was waiting for the buyer to get back to me after the inspection & appraisal. I hadn’t located an apartment yet, I am working a temporary job and my son was playing in the section championship game to determine the winner of the state tournament that Thursday.

I’ll start with the house. I was on pins and needles! I was nervous the buyer might pull out because the stock markets were going crazy over the pandemic announcement.  BUT GOD! They confirmed they still wanted the house, they just wanted cash at closing to cover a few thousand dollars of repairs. While I wasn’t thrilled to give up that much money, I learned a lesson from the last deal that fell through and with the pandemic going on I was appreciative to have a strong offer.  I agreed to their terms and was now set to close in 16 days!

Exciting right? Of course, God is good!  But umm “God, I haven’t found a place to move to yet.”  My income is only for this temp job and I need a qualifying income.  I looked at almost every place you could find in the metro area. The experience was like no other because I had been used to getting exactly what I wanted because I always had great jobs.  Sure my credit is still great, I have no criminal background, and I had the deposit/rent, but the amount of money they wanted me to make I couldn’t reach. I can’t lie, I was nervous, but I remembered that God was the one who told me to put my house on the market in February and had allowed it to sell during a pandemic.  Surely he will find a place for me. However, I faced such warfare and it was frustrating. I am so sympathetic towards others now when they’re in a tight spot. I now have felt it for myself. I didn’t want to settle for some of the places that I did qualify for. I am so humbled. How do I go from a 4 bedroom house I love to a place I can’t stomach?  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind renting an apartment, but I at least want to feel safe in my spot that is clean. Because of this internal struggle, I just broke down. I had nine days before I closed on my house and didn’t have a place to live. I felt like I had to settle. The struggle was real. I’m thinking, “God I know you love me and I’ll go where you want, but please help me right now. I’m struggling”.

Last Saturday morning after looking for 4 hours with my mom, I believe I found a potential place.  Most places aren’t even showing right now due to the virus outbreak, but this place advised they’d show me on Sunday which was a shock!  Who shows on a Sunday? My son and I went and it met all my needs. Do I love it?, “No”, but I am very content there and I feel safe.  I got the application completed and calculated that I came within $20 of meeting the monthly income requirement. I was told it normally took 5-7 days to run an application, but I really needed an answer sooner than that.  Again, I was on pins and needles!!!!! Monday and Tuesday I was fine, but Wednesday after our MN governor announced the “stay at home” mandate effective Friday at 11:59pm, I panicked for about an hour! Did I have to move on Friday now?  I called and checked on the application but now everyone was working from home and I couldn’t get a hold of the person I needed. AHHHHHHHH!!!!! My mom and I touched and agreed in prayer a couple of hours later and I calmed down some.

Early Thursday morning  I signed my closing papers to sell the house with no confirmation I had a place to go.  I encouraged myself in the word Thursday morning before I started the day and just thanked God for my new place.  I was completely dependent on him.  

Then it happened.  Thursday at 9:56am, I was sent my lease agreement to sign.  You talk about shouting! God did it, just like he said he would! Whew! I am a planner by nature so this was a HUGE challenge for me, but God showed me he was trustworthy.

Now if it had been up to me, I would have given me a permanent  job, waited a few months, sell my house and find then a new place, but obviously because of the state of the world it couldn’t happen that way and with every trial I’ve faced, there is no way I could have handled the stress of a new, permanent job. That’s why God says in Isaiah 55:8, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways”.  He is so much wiser than me. Selling the house and finding a new spot was enough, plus supporting my son during his senior year.

Speaking of which, my son’s team won the game to go to state, but it was obviously canceled because of the pandemic.  However, he allowed my son to hit the game winning shot at the buzzer!! The moment was huge and I was so happy for him and so appreciative God would give him the opportunity to end his high school career on that note.  Very blessed.

Now we move and I shift the focus on helping my son navigate the college selection process and focusing on finding a permanent job over the next 90 days during such a time when unemployment has skyrocketed and most other kids know where they’re going to school in the fall. But God!  After what I’ve witnessed God do the last few months, I know He can and will move mountains for me. again My faith in him is at an all time high! Even through this pandemic I do not fear. I will make wise decisions and be responsible during this time, but I do not fear. 

So I say to all of you, stay safe and know that God is able to do amazing things IF you decide trust in him.

~Felicia

Psalm 23:4, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and staff, they comfort me.”

Hello all!

As has been the norm for me lately, a lot has happened the last 2 weeks.  The highs and lows have been quite extreme, but through it all, I believe the Lord is teaching me through my experiences.

Last blog I shared with you how I found a buyer for my house and accepted their full price offer.  I was so excited! After going through the inspection process, the buyer requested a lengthy list of repairs. A few of the repairs were valid, but half of them made no sense at all.  I was not happy, but willing to negotiate and do most of the repairs asked. My realtor notified the buyer’s agent on a Thursday evening. I woke up with fear in my spirit all night, wondering about my decision.  Did I offer enough? I hadn’t experienced this type of unease in a while regarding a decision, so I contacted my realtor first thing the next morning. When she replied back, she advised the buyer decided to pull the offer.  I was devastated! I would now have to start all over again, so many questions ran through my mind and to top it off, I had to give my testimony to the women’s group at church the next day. I was so disappointed, but there was nothing I could do.

My son’s team was also playing their last regular season game that evening against their division rival for the conference title.  They beat the opposing team the first time they played, so our team had high expectations! However, we lost the game. That was disappointing too. I prayed to God that night, acknowledging my disappointments.  I told God I still loved Him and would serve him, despite not understanding the challenges of the day. I thanked him for all the great things he had still done. After that I set out to prepare for my testimony I’d be giving to the women’s group the next day.

I arose early the next morning and all the notes I prepared went out the window as I felt led to tell my entire relationship testimony.  The good, bad and ugly parts of it. I sure didn’t plan on going that direction as I didn’t want to air all my dirty laundry even though I have changed from the woman I once was.  However, I was afraid. What if people would judge me or look at me differently? I shut that voice up and set out to speak. I felt such peace and freedom while delivering the message.  I didn’t care what anyone thought anymore. I was going to be free from all the guilt and shame associated with the mistakes I made in my relationship. The testimony resonated with so many women!  I couldn’t believe it! God used me to speak to other women. It encouraged them and it spoke to others to make some changes. That was one of the best experiences I ever had! I’ll never forget it.

Fast forward to the following Tuesday night, which was four days after I found out the initial buyer pulled out, my realtor sent me a text around 10pm advising an offer was coming in.  That’s a late hour for an offer, but I was excited for another offer! The offer came in a little under asking price, but it was a full cash offer with closing cost paid by the buyer. This was awesome!  To make matters better, my realtor advised she was going to ask for full price just to see what the buyer would do. They accepted! I went from an FHA offer to a full cash offer! Two totally different ends of the spectrum.  I’m not knocking FHA loans, but a cash offer simply doesn’t require financing or a FHA specific inspection. This is an even better offer than the first! God is good!

As I write this blog today I’m in a waiting period.  They buyer’s inspection was yesterday and the appraisal was earlier this morning.  I haven’t heard back. I also have looked at four rental places to move to after closing but I just haven’t found the right place yet.  The closing day is set for exactly 20 days from today. I am also still looking for my full time permanent job. The Lord has blessed me with a temporary full time role, but I really need to find a permanent role soon for the health benefits.  Lastly, my son and his team play that same team they lost to in the conference championship two nights from today. This time they’re playing to go to the state tournament in which they would then play at the Target Center! It’s a big deal!

There are so many different things going on right now that today I really wanted to begin worrying.  I then listened to a sermon speaking on Philippians 4:6 which says, “Be anxious for nothing, instead pray about everything.  Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” I really needed to hear that today as my stomach had begun turning in knots.  I have to believe every word of that scripture. I know I’m doing all I can do, so I’m now having to trust God to do what only he can do.  There are two other verses he has given to me to chew on at this very moment in the silence and uncertainty of the day. The first is Psalm 46:10 that says, “Be still and know that I am God”.  The second is Psalm 121: 1-2 which says, “I will lift up my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth”.

It would be much easier for me to go into a full blown panic right now!  My flesh certainly wants to, but my spirit is telling me God’s got me. He’s my provider and will take care of me.  As one of my spiritual mentors once told me, “ It all comes down to your relationship with God. You either trust him or you don’t.”  I choose to trust.

Until next time,

Felicia

Hey All!  I pray you’re all doing well and 2020 has been treating you well!  As you are aware from previous blogs, I am in a season of transition.  God is doing a new thing in almost every area of my life and it’s been quite an adjustment.  The other day I was reflecting on a prayer I had last year which was simply. “ God something isn’t right in my life.  Please do what you have to do in my life to give me peace in my spirit.” Be careful when you pray that prayer because the last 4-5 months of my life have been the most trying time of my life! However, I now feel like my spirit is at peace.

I’m currently facing a new trial and that is that I’m selling my home.  I bought my home in August 2017. My significant other at the time had 3 boys and I have one.   We were planning on getting married, so when I set out to buy a home in the summer of 2017, I decided to buy a 4 bedroom home so I could plan for the future.  Well the relationship ended November of 2019 so it’s now my son and I in the home. He will graduate from high school in May. Therefore, it doesn’t make much sense for me to be in a 4 bedroom house after he leaves.  However, it’s my home and I’ve grown to love it. I envisioned the home exactly how I wanted it and decorated accordingly. A few weeks ago I felt in my spirit it was time to move. I felt God was telling me “This home has served its purpose.”  Well that is not something I wanted to hear at all. Though I didn’t have a purpose for the house, I just wanted it because it’s mine. At the same time, the maintenance on the home and all the costs that come along with it, just don’t make sense anymore.  To tell you the truth with my new job situation, I can no longer afford it. Therefore, I contacted a realtor and put my house on the market on February 12th.

My realtors advised the average time for a buyer to offer would be about 30 days.  After day six I was exhausted! Buyers always wanted to come see the house, so I always had to leave the house when they scheduled a showing.  It got to be a pretty big inconvenience finding someplace to go for hours at a time and almost a full day on the weekends. In addition to leaving at inopportune times, I was also responsible to ensure the house was almost immaculate everyday before leaving to go to work.  By the 6th day, I had approximately 40 buyers see the house, but I didn’t receive any offers. I read some feedback from others realtors which were both positive and negative. I remembered the bible verse in Isaiah 53:1 that is often summarized as “Whose report will you believe?”  II decided I trusted God and decided to stop reading the feedback as I became discouraged. I however did ask my realtors what feedback they had gotten so I had a consensus, they advised one of the two obstacles was the size of the backyard, which is fairly small. Days earlier I considered shoveling the backyard, deck, patio and pond, so buyer’s could see the beauty of the space, but in my mind I thought, “That’s going to be a lot of work and it just don’t take all that”.  

Longing to speed up the process, I prayed and asked God to find a buyer that would fall in love with the home.  I knew there was an open house the next day, so after 4 inches of snow fell, I set out to shovel the backyard at 8pm on a Monday evening.  I would be shoveling the 4 inches as well as the 8-10 inches that was already on the ground from the winter season that had not been touched.  When I first started out and felt the weight of the snow, I didn’t know if I could do it. Some of the snow was heavy and there was a lot (in my mind to shovel), but I was determined.  As I cleared a row, I looked around at what was left and thought, “I’m not sure I can do it. Is it worth it?” In my mind it was worth it, so I kept going. My arms got tired, but I kept going.  Discouraged, I kept going. Sleepy, I kept going. Weary, I kept going. I asked God to find a buyer, but I also had to do my part in the process. The bible says in James 2:17, “In the same way. Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead”.  When we pray, we sometimes make the mistake of sitting back and wanting God to do all the work. However, the word tells us we have a part to play as well, so I set out to do all I could and left the rest in God’s hands.

Finally after an hour or two, I had finished.  I was really tired, but I finished! The next morning, I told my realtor the backyard was shoveled for the buyers coming to the open house that evening.  She then advised I had an offer on the house and it was for full price!! The buyer was also going to pay all the closing costs! Now you may be thinking, “Felicia, you didn’t really have to shovel the backyard afterall.  You did all that work for nothing”. I don’t believe that. I believe God moved due to my faith similar to the woman who touched Jesus’ garment. The word says for 12 years she’d been suffering with the issue of blood and also says in Matthew 9:21, “She said to herself, if I can only touch the edge of his cloak, I will be healed”.  I obviously haven’t suffered for nearly as long, but my mindset was one of determination and I was willing to do something that would require a lot of energy and sacrifice on my part to sell the house! I accepted the offer on the 7th day the house was on the market. (Seven – God’s number for completion in the bible!)

Therefore, my question to you today is, “How bad do you want what you’ve been praying for?”  God has a time and season to give all his gifts so I’m in no way saying to do anything crazy or this type of sacrifice always works, but what I am saying is sometimes if we really want God to move mountains we have to make a sacrifice.  I think the saying is, “If you want different results, you have to do something different”! I still cannot claim to say I’m thrilled to be selling my house, but I’m ecstatic to be out of the process where I’m showing it all day, everyday!  I do know God is good and he has a plan for my life if I follow the steps He’s ordered for me. My job is to stay on course and follow the path.

God bless,

Felicia

Greetings all!  As most of you know, I am blogging on my 2020 journey of faith which I felt led to begin writing about a month ago.  The last blog I completely poured out from my heart the raw truth of where I was at in my faith in God and this blog will serve you with more of the same.

In my last blog, I shared that I was struggling to keep the faith because I wasn’t seeing any movement on many fronts as I had in the past.  I shared about my relationship ending, my management job being a disaster and wondering what God was doing. I then shared that I was choosing to trust in God.  I believe I blogged on a Tuesday 2 weeks prior. On that Tuesday I knew I had a job interview on Friday. It wasn’t an interview for a specific position rather a meeting with a recruiter that I just knew would produce results.  I did my research, had a great interview, but the truth was the positions I was looking for had already been taken down and they were taking no additional applications. The disappointment of this falling through and seeing nothing else in sight caused me to have a complete breakdown.  I was talking to a family member afterwards who was trying to speak about other options, but I heard nothing. I was devastated and just sat there and balled my eyes out. I’m looking ahead and don’t have answers to anything. What am I going to do? I was in sheer panic! The truth was I had no faith.  

It was at this moment I had to face the hard truth.  I said to God from a deep place in my heart, “ God, the truth is I don’t trust you.  The reason I don’t trust you is I’ve never been at this place before. I want to trust you, but I don’t know how.  Please help me”. The rest of the day was filled with more sorrow, but I got some relief at my son’s game that evening.  The next morning, I committed to going on a college visit with my son, his teammate and mother. That was the last thing I felt like doing at that moment.  I got up and tried to pray, but all I could pray that morning was, “Lord, please help me”. We set off for the visit when God showed up right in front of my eyes early on the trip.  While riding on the highway, there was a car directly in front of me that nearly caused an accident. I mean it was within inches of an accident and I don’t know how it was avoided except for God stepping in!  If they had crashed, there would have been no place for me to go, there were cars on both sides of me and behind me, we would have been sandwiched in. At that moment God said, “I am with you. I haven’t left you”.  That one act of God let me know personally he did love me even though it wasn’t manifesting in a manner that I wanted to see it.

He brought us safely through that day, but I arrived home late and consequently did not attend church on Sunday. Somehow, I end up tuning into Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday where there’s a rerun of Iyanla Vanzant’s episode where she talks about her book called Trust.  She speaks specifically about trusting God, yourself, others and life in the book, while sharing some of her major set-backs and breakthroughs in life. I thought to myself, “Wow, that sounds familiar”. I then wonder if I can find this book at the library and low and behold there was one copy at the library up the street from my house!  The book did wonders for me for where I was at that very moment. While I don’t trust in Oprah or Iyanla for that matter, I believe God used them as vessels to speak to me as I cried out for help. I asked him to teach me how to trust him and the book provided great insight and perspective I just was having trouble grasping.

This ended up being a super quick read as it was feeding the depths of my spirit.  My outlook changed and my faith began to sprout. I still did not see anything in terms of financial breakthroughs, but I was beginning to trust God at his word.  I trusted that he was going to do something when it needed to be done.

Fast forward to Thursday of last week, the Spirit led me to get my taxes done even though I thought for sure I would not get a return because of taking out my 401k money to pay bills.  However, God told me to be optimistic, have faith and speak positively on the matter. When the tax consultant asked me what I was expecting, I simply said, “I’m hoping for the best.” Well it was certainly that!  I not only received a tax return, but the amount I was going to receive would cover my bill for the month! Also, some random employer picked my resume out from a pile sent to them from a temp agency. I had a great interview with them last Friday and will start a temporary position next Monday!  God moved very quickly and unexpectedly and I praise him for it! He is good and was certainly right on time!

Now obviously, I’m still believing for a full time permanent position, but I am so very thankful to see how God moved in such a short period of time to meet my needs.  The word says in Philippians 4:19, “And God will meet all your needs according to the riches and glory in Christ Jesus”. I’ve now witnessed this for myself and know what he can do once again.  He has used this opportunity to show me how powerful he is.

As you can see, God is moving, but I want to point out one thing.  When did he move? Not on my timing that for sure, but he moved when I decided to be honest with him about the true state of my heart and ask him for help.  Simply religiously stating I trusted him wasn’t him wasn’t going to work because he knew what was in my heart. Therefore, I would encourage you to be honest with yourselves and God for what is truly in your heart.  He knows anyway, but wants to meet you where you’re at so he can help you through. He wants you to trust him just as I am learning to trust him more so your relationship grows stronger. As I’m finding out, the only way to trust him more and grow is to go through it for yourself.

Love you all ~ Felicia

Have you ever been at a place in your life and you simply wondered what God was doing.  You knew in his word he said he’ll never leave you or forsake you, but you didn’t feel like your prayers were being answered because you did not see anything happening to change your situation?  

Well my friend, I am at that place.  I know God is good. I truly believe He is good from the bottom of my heart, but I’ve come to him with some real challenges in prayer the last few months and I’ve seen doors shut as soon as they appeared to open or doors simply have not opened at all.

Let me back up a bit, in September of 2019, I took a new management position at a new company.  I was so excited as I had been praying for a management role for quite some time. I made it! I achieved my goal. I was being paid well and living in a home that I bought in 2018.  My child was doing well in private school and I was in a promising relationship! Things were going great!! That excitement was short lived. The dream job was not a dream at all. I was required to work almost 70 hours a week, including weekends and travel.  It was horrible and I was miserable. I was stressed out and could no longer keep that job or I was going to have a nervous breakdown! I resigned in November. My relationship also came to an end. What in the world happened?

I had some money in my 401k to pull from that would last a few months, so I thought for sure, God will provide me with a new role in no time.  I had plenty of doors open before so why would this time be any different? However, it has been. Thanksgiving passed, Christms passed, New Year’ passed, January is almost over and still none of the opportunities I applied for have opened.  Networking has been slow. Even temporary employment has been a challenge.

Now, I sit here and think, “Lord what is going on?”  I’ve evaluated my walk with you, I’ve prayed, fasted, I serve you, I tithe, but I’m not seeing a breakthrough.  I’m faced with many questions and decisions. How do bills get paid, how do I cover tuition. What do I do Lord, where are you?

Here and now is where my true faith is tested.  Do I trust God when he says in Deuteronomy 31:6, “I’ll never leave you or forsake you”? Do I trust in Philippians 4:19 where it says, “My God will supply all my needs according to his riches and glory” or Psalm 100:5 that says “The Lord is good and his mercy endures forever, his faithfulness continues”.  Do I really believe this?

To be honest, I’ve been wrestling.  My faith has been tested. I’ve gone through days of great sorrow and loneliness, wondering why I’m not employed.  Wondering why God hadn’t rescued me. The truth is He hasn’t rescued me…..yet. Regardless of what I see right now His word is still true.  God is good and I still have a lot of things to be thankful for. It’s at these times, I must focus on all God has done and not look at what he hasn’t done …yet.  I am healthy and so is my son. Currently, all of my bills are paid. I have food to eat. I have a car to drive. My house still belongs to me and I have a loving family who has been so very supportive of me during this time.  There are so many people in this world who don’t have that to be thankful for. They’re wondering where their next meal is coming from or where they’re going to sleep.

In all honesty, I am facing the most difficult time I’ve ever faced in my 40 years on this earth, but God is still good.  This is only a season in my life that will soon pass. The word says in James 1:2-3, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”  I am determined to remain strong and courageous just as the Lord instructed Joshua repeatedly in Joshua 1.

I’m not sure what season of life you are in or if you’re in a position where God has a prayer he hasn’t answered for you…yet.  Please remember to Trust in the Lord with all your heart as the writer in Proverbs 5 advises us to. Think on the things God has done for you and what you can be thankful for opposed to focusing on the things you do not have.  In due time, He will come through for you if you stand by his word and believe. That is what I’m determined to do at this time, keep the faith and trust God to come through. I look forward to giving you a testimony of a new season in God’s time.  God is good.

Be Blessed

~Felicia

Happy new year!  God is good. The Lord says in Isaiah 43:18-19, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland”.  God has plans for us this year my friend and he will make a way if we let him. He’s given us a roadmap to follow in His word, but it’s up to us to follow the word so we can receive the new thing the Lord has for us.

For the last few weeks, I’ve been studying the book of Joshua.  God called Joshua to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land.  He also cautioned him to follow the law that his predecessor Moses gave to Him which is a nutshell was to love the Lord God, walk in obedience to God, keep his commandments, hold fast to him and serve God with all of His heart (Joshua 1:7, 22:5).  Joshua was a good servant. He followed these commands and therefore God gave him and the nation of Israel he was leading victory. We all want to be the victor, but are we following the directions found in God’s word?

Recently, I set out to make homemade shrimp fried rice using jasmine rice.   I’ve cooked rice plenty of times before so I opened the package measured the rice and water, added the butter and salt and placed it on the stove to boil.  Only after I did this, did I look at the directions. I realized I had done it wrong. When cooking jasmine rice (this rice anyway), the measurements were different. I had put the wrong amount of water in the rice.  Too much! Some of the water had already soaked into the rice. I tried to take a portion out, but it was a lost cause as I wanted to ensure the rice was prepared properly, so I ended up pouring out the water and dumping the rice.  I started all over again and followed the directions this time. I got it right the second time as the rice just right after tasting.

God used this cooking experience to teach me a valuable lesson.  I too often lean on my own understanding and past experience on matters. The word says to in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will make your path straight”.  After I’ve leaned on my understanding of a thing, I then go back and look at the directions in his word and make the corrections. However, in real life, this results in painful experiences and God has to come in and save me after I realize my error. There is a saying in the church that says, “God won’t bless your mess!”  This is true. He’ll give you grace, but eventually your poor decisions, even with good intent will catch up to you. God will humble you, love and correct you before you’re able to restart. He has a plan for the end result to be a blessing, but only if you follow the directions clearly outlined in his word.

Thank God for his love and saving grace!  I made a few mistakes in the past year or twp and you may have as well.  Just remember God is faithful to those who love him and he will rescue his sheep and redirect your path.  This is why God is doing a new thing in my life. Will you join me and allow him to do a new thing in your life this year as well?  What are the things God has been telling you are not quite right? Are there relationships that need to end or be repaired? Ask God to examine your heart and reveal to you any corrections that need to be made so you too can begin 2020 on your journey to the new things God has for you!