True MUSTARD SEED Faith! (Rapidly Growing, Non-Conforming, Life-Producing!)

For those of you, who have not yet joined our Facebook Group, we are on day-4 of an 8-day Fast & Feast. We are fasting (refraining) from meat AND feasting on God's word - more specifically, the book of Matthew!! (To learn more about the details of our Fast & Feast, click here. ) To say I am/have been BLESSED is an understatement. As I was reading in the book of Matthew I came across these verses (Matthew 17: 18-20), and it brought to mind a life-changing revelation I received from my pastor, maybe two years ago. It knocked me off my feet and changed my thought-process and perspective, prayerfully, it has the SAME effect on you!

Let's talk about the mustard seed, shall we?! Oh, I'm sure you've heard of it. So often you/we hear people preach/say, "if you have faith as SMALL as a mustard seed, you can move mountains," or "all you need is faith the size of an itty-bitty tiny mustard seed, to do this or that." This teaching NEVER sat well with me. It seemed to contradict the very essence of Jesus. Would He actually encourage us to have little faith??  WHERE in the bible does God encourage us to have LITTLE or SMALL faith???? ... Nowhere. That's right. Nowhere. In fact, He does the very opposite. He scolds people for having little faith, by saying "oh ye, of little faith" out of frustration. 
Let's look at Matthew 8:25-26 NIV:   The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. (also reference: Matthew 6:30 and 14:31) Throughout the bible, Jesus encourages us to have FAITH, to believe!
    **Now, let's read the mustard seed verses, IN CONTEXT. (Side note: We have to remember to read scripture IN-CONTEXT. When scripture is picked and pulled out of context, the truth and real understanding is lost.) 

Words from My Father... (poetry)

At a time in my life, when my heart was truly broken (after losing my dear mother and my precious little brother), the Lord, my Heavenly Father, spoke these words to me. His presence overwhelmed me and His words comforted my soul. I pray that they bless you, as much as they blessed (and continue to bless) me. These are His words to His daughter(s)...

My little daughter, you are precious to me. 

Though it will not always be easy,

In Me, your life has grand destiny.
I’ve placed stamina in your heart 
to ensure you get 
where I desire you to be. 
 
My little daughter, for you, only My best
Do not ever settle for anything less.
Trials, heartache, pain, and tears - there will be many 
before my promises manifest,
My child, on My word, is how you will stand above the rest.

My little daughter, let go, do not be afraid to cry.
Know that My word is truth, 
in no other place, will you never encounter a lie.
So when you do (cry), cry to Me, that every word I speak will heal your heart.
Do not wander; remain in me. Walk with me; from the comfort of my shadow do not part.

My little daughter, thee, I have equipped.
In you, I have placed many necessary talents 
and strengths.
That the lives you touch, will be blessed, not for a moment, 
but eternally.
In this way, my child, will your life glorify Me.

Men Weigh In!! We asked, "What does it mean or entail to you, to be a man of God?"

Round 2 of our newest MONTHLY feature: 
"Men Weigh In"

The men have spoken (again) - and I believe you will be blessed by their responses (again). *smile* I know I have been! God never ceases to amaze me. The guys that will be weighing in here (and right now there are four of them) are men that I know personally. Men that I have seen walking in Christ - sincerely - for years. Men who not only, talk the talk, but walk the walk - to the BEST of their abilities. They love Christ with all of their hearts, and I value and appreciate their input. These are our brothers in Christ. We are here to grow and evolve; they are doing the same. We will all surely be mutually blessed by the contributions they make and the conversation it provokes. I thought it best that they remain anonymous, so that they could share their responses freely and be completely transparent. So I had to come up with some "aliases" for these guys!! ;-) This way, as we hear from them each month you will be able to recognize which contributor it is you are hearing from. I asked them each to tell me their favorite book of the Bible - and this is how I came up with their SE names. ;-) So we have Brother Proverbs, Brother Ecclesiastes, and Brother Job.

I'm sure we all know men and women can look at something and see things COMPLETELY different. Or maybe that's just my experience... but I doubt it! Lol. With that being said, prayerfully, we will all be blessed, challenged, and encouraged to grow by exchanging perspectives and thought-provoking dialogue with the opposite sex.
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We asked: "What does it mean or entail to you, to be a man of God?" What are your roles and what do you consider to be your responsibilities in these roles?

They answered: 

Forgive Yourself. God has.

We talk about forgiveness pretty often. We pray for help to forgive those who wrong us, those who hurt us... But I think, and in my experience, it's been harder for me to forgive myself (at times), then it has ever been to forgive someone else.

So often we hold on to our past mistakes, failures, sins, etc and the guilt that comes along it. We've repented and asked for (and been granted) God's forgiveness - yet WE haven't forgiven ourselves.

This morning, a friend and I were discussing this very issue. We realized that forgiving ourselves is an act of FAITH. As I was studying forgiveness online, I came across what I think is a powerful teaching. I am sharing it here with you. It touched MY heart, and I pray it speaks to you, as well. Accept His forgiveness AND forgive yourself. Love you, Sis! Be encouraged.

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." ~ 1 John 1:9

Does the Blood of Jesus mean anything to you?
Those who constantly struggle with guilt and a sense of shame from their past mistakes, are overlooking or underestimating the power of the Blood of Christ. They somehow have this lurking feeling that they aren't truly forgiven of what they've done; that somehow their sin is greater than the Blood of Christ, although they would never openly say such a thing. One key to freedom is to honestly face the facts: do you really believe that your past failures are greater than the Blood of the Son of God, the creator of heaven and earth? Do your failures outweigh the Blood of Jesus, or does the Blood outweigh your failures?

Happy New Year!!! ... "Don't Worry."

So we are officially ONE week into the new year -2012. That being said, I know many people have made New Year Resolutions...  On that note, I've noticed something this year, that I don't recall in past years. I've actually been seeing people receiving a lot of flack for making NY Resolutions. What's that about?? I suppose the thought behind it is that people tend to make lofty resolutions, pursue them passionately for the first few days, weeks, and maybe even months of the year... only to slowly return to pre-resolution status. 

Resolution: to come to a definite or earnest decision about; determine (to do something) / A firm decision to do or not to do something.

I don't think it's such a bad idea. To me, there is nothing wrong with self-evaluation and a decision to consciously work on something, in an effort to better yourself. I would caution that we shouldn't WAIT until the 1st of the year to start doing it though! ;-) I resolved long ago, to constantly strive to perfect myself. It's a daily process. *smile* I can surely admit that I am a work-in-progress, but the key to that, is I am striving to progress. I am not complacent. With that being said, I do not usually make a "New Year Resolution" ... I like to make daily, weekly, and monthly resolutions, as God speaks to my heart.

This year though, I am going to try something new. I have set a New Year Resolution for myself and I'd like to share it with you. Throughout 2012 (and beyond), my goal, is to worry less. My goal is to stop worrying and fretting over things/people/situations that are out of my control. I will do everything within my God-given power to do. I will pray - and then I will go to sleep at night, with my heart at peace!  One of the first verses I ever committed to memory is Psalm 51:10: "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a *steadfast spirit within me."   

*"Steadfast" is defined as: Resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew within me a firm and unwavering spirit. This is my prayer. When I feel myself begin to worry, when I feel weak... this is my prayer.

Initially, that was all I intended to share, but God just ushered me to look the verse up in it's context - thank you, God. I'm glad I did... verses 11-12 just blessed me! In it's entirety, Psalm 51:10-12 is as follows:      

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
   and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence
   or take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation
   and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. 

 My prayer for 2012, is as follows:

You see, I have - excuse me, - I HAD a tendency to let my imagination get the best of me. I would think about and consider EVERY possibility, and I felt as though I couldn't rest until there was resolution or at least, a plan in place to resolve whatever the issue was. I think I felt like, as long as I had everything figured out (ha!), then I could control the outcomes (double HA!)... Unknown variables made me uneasy. But during the last few months of 2011 through this 1st week of 2012, the recurring theme in my spirit has been, "don't worry". God has spoken to me through so many different avenues... sermons, scriptures, friends, situations, and the list goes on. "Don't worry"... Then the more I think about it, the more I have realized, absolutely NO good comes from me worrying endlessly. Actually, just the opposite, we can literally worry ourselves sick. We can bring physical ailments on ourselves from the stress caused by worrying. When I look back at the things that I've spent hours and hours worrying about, in EVERY case, God worked it out (one way or the other), and my worrying was not a contributing factor. I'd go out on a limb and say, at least 50% of the time (if not more), the situations resolve themselves and turn out not to be anything worth worrying about in the first place.

10-Year-old Commits SUICIDE... What Can WE Do?

Ashlynn Conner (10) Commits Suicide: Family Says BULLYING Was To Blame

When I read this headline, I immediately felt sick to my stomach. My chest felt tight and I felt tears forming in my eyes. I cannot fathom a 10-year old baby deciding to end his or her own life (and worse, following through with that decision). I cannot IMAGINE the gut-wrenching pain her mother and family are experiencing right now. (May God, be with them.)
As I read the article, questions began to flicker about in my mind:

"How is a 10-year old even aware of suicide?"     

"How long was the bullying taking place?"   

"Did her mother know what was going on?"      

"If so, how did she handle it?"        

"What steps were taken to rectify the problem?"  

"If her mother did not know, why couldn't or didn't the daughter go to her mother?"  

"Did the mother of the BULLY know what what happening?"      

"If so, how did SHE handle it?"   

"Were the teachers aware?"    "Her fellow students?"     "Siblings?" 

WHAT CAN WE DO TO PREVENT THIS TRAGIC SCENARIO
FROM EVER HAPPENING LIKE THIS AGAIN????