What is a defeatist? One who surrenders easily. Oh boy, I can imagine what some of you are thinking right now. You're saying, "Steph, don't go there because you don't know what I've been through...I'm tired!!" Incestuous molestation, rape, abandonment, divorce, depression, suicidal thoughts, single motherhood, ministry, six brain surgeries, oh yeah, and more ministry...when Today, I'll Make Lemonade is released you will have a clearer picture of my journey and understand why God has allowed me this platform to share with you.
So my response to you is, "Oh please! Challenges are a part of growth." Sounds a little rude I know, but I post these notes of encouragement to you each week, sometimes through tears. I think of the many times (even most recently) that I thought of giving up and then there's a surge of power that goes through me to remind me that I'm not alone and that I will not fall on my face this time.
Let me share this with you, my friends. Failure IS an option! You can choose to throw in the towel (AGAIN) only to look over your shoulder a month from now and see the pile of towels in the corner. The sight reminds you of so many projects that you have started but did not complete. The more you focus on the towels, the more disappointed you become with yourself...so you quit, once again.
Roman 8:37 (NIV) says "...We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. NO, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." So if God is the filter through which we live this life, then that must mean that we are empowered to prove our enemy (or "inner-me") wrong. It doesn't matter anymore who hurt you or even how much "it" hurt you, even if it was you who hurt you.
What matters now is that you are still standing and today is your opportunity to conquer. So get up and DO something...or not. It's your option.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Thursday, May 17, 2012
So NOISY, So CROWDED...My Room!
I recall, when I was pregnant with my first daughter (Diamond), the many "horror" stories I had to suffer through from experienced mothers. I heard about their labor pains, their mood swings, their uncontrollable bladders, their morning sickness...UGGHHHH!! It was torturous!
Was there pain? Yes. Did I spend lots of time in the restroom? Absolutely! However, the discomfort I experienced during those nine months could never outweigh the joy of talking, singing and reading to this little miracle growing in me...the anticipation of what (or who) was to come. Had I focused on the "tales from the dark side" I would not have been able to enjoy the tremendous blessing of carrying life. The memory of that experience brings me to this week's thought...How did it get so noisy and so crowded in my room?
It's not easy keeping a secret when you are excited about something great that's about to happen in your life. God has made room for you and you want to tell the world about it! Whether it's a new business venture, finishing school at a later age, or even pregnancy, there is always someone who has some kind of experience in that area. These "experts" are usually relentless in wanting to share "how hard it was", or "how long it took"...sometimes they even ask, "are you sure you want to do that?". Their seeds of pessimism begin to settle in the soil of our minds and then what happens next? We begin to worry or even doubt what was just a passion five minutes before we had that conversation.
So many of us have unfinished accomplishments and unfulfilled dreams because we gave someone the liberty of opinion. I'm reminded of these competitive television shows where so many walk away discouraged from using their talents because of three or four judges. I am excited when I see those same people move on to become celebrated artists who top the charts. There's just something about not giving up! This week I challenge you to practice fortitude...simply put, don't share "it" until you are ready to stand up for it.
Was there pain? Yes. Did I spend lots of time in the restroom? Absolutely! However, the discomfort I experienced during those nine months could never outweigh the joy of talking, singing and reading to this little miracle growing in me...the anticipation of what (or who) was to come. Had I focused on the "tales from the dark side" I would not have been able to enjoy the tremendous blessing of carrying life. The memory of that experience brings me to this week's thought...How did it get so noisy and so crowded in my room?
It's not easy keeping a secret when you are excited about something great that's about to happen in your life. God has made room for you and you want to tell the world about it! Whether it's a new business venture, finishing school at a later age, or even pregnancy, there is always someone who has some kind of experience in that area. These "experts" are usually relentless in wanting to share "how hard it was", or "how long it took"...sometimes they even ask, "are you sure you want to do that?". Their seeds of pessimism begin to settle in the soil of our minds and then what happens next? We begin to worry or even doubt what was just a passion five minutes before we had that conversation.
So many of us have unfinished accomplishments and unfulfilled dreams because we gave someone the liberty of opinion. I'm reminded of these competitive television shows where so many walk away discouraged from using their talents because of three or four judges. I am excited when I see those same people move on to become celebrated artists who top the charts. There's just something about not giving up! This week I challenge you to practice fortitude...simply put, don't share "it" until you are ready to stand up for it.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Are You A Living Contradiction?
A wealth of innovation and anointing! You open your mouth and people are driven to tears. You love and serve God and His people with selflessness (at least, that's what you believe). You are celebrated...when you walk into a room, everyone wants a moment to chat with you. To the public, you are a wonderful and accomplished human being - someone they look up to. "God must be pleased with you!"
THEN there's home. Dishes in the sink, stacks of unpaid bills, a dresser with a section reserved for your medication, a pile of laundry pushed aside so that you at least have a space on the floor to pray, children who wonder why you even bother praying, and the list goes on and on.
Do you sense that there is a "God-greatness" in you, but find that your life doesn't quite match that? Are you what "they" would call a living contradiction? Maybe the given example seems a little more dramatic than your own life or maybe that description is not dramatic enough. However, you have, at some point, felt displaced from who you know you were purposed to be. Frustrating, isn't it?
As we are living out this human experience we must remember that life is made up of moments and movement. Each morning remind yourself that every tomorrow places you further and further away from your yesterday. So technically, it is impossible to get stuck because the past has already happened and is now behind you. The person you see in the mirror right now has the potential to be greater than that tomorrow. You are not a contradiction...You are God's prediction!
So right now, send a text message to your children to wash the dishes and separate the colored clothes from the white clothes when they get home from school. Then when you get home, set a pay schedule of small increments to be sent to your creditors...do something. DO SOMETHING that will move you out of this moment and closer to your greatness. And remember to celebrate each moment because you are still ALIVE!!
THEN there's home. Dishes in the sink, stacks of unpaid bills, a dresser with a section reserved for your medication, a pile of laundry pushed aside so that you at least have a space on the floor to pray, children who wonder why you even bother praying, and the list goes on and on.
Do you sense that there is a "God-greatness" in you, but find that your life doesn't quite match that? Are you what "they" would call a living contradiction? Maybe the given example seems a little more dramatic than your own life or maybe that description is not dramatic enough. However, you have, at some point, felt displaced from who you know you were purposed to be. Frustrating, isn't it?
As we are living out this human experience we must remember that life is made up of moments and movement. Each morning remind yourself that every tomorrow places you further and further away from your yesterday. So technically, it is impossible to get stuck because the past has already happened and is now behind you. The person you see in the mirror right now has the potential to be greater than that tomorrow. You are not a contradiction...You are God's prediction!
So right now, send a text message to your children to wash the dishes and separate the colored clothes from the white clothes when they get home from school. Then when you get home, set a pay schedule of small increments to be sent to your creditors...do something. DO SOMETHING that will move you out of this moment and closer to your greatness. And remember to celebrate each moment because you are still ALIVE!!
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Who Are You When You're There?
To God Be All the Glory!! I so appreciate everyone's feedback via e-mails, phone calls, and comments to the "Stand"...keep it coming! Last week, I received a call from a beautiful sister/friend (Love you 'Chelle!) who shared that sometimes it is such a challenge to maintain who she is as a woman of faith in a secular environment. Now reader, don't get amnesia and act as if you have never experienced this. It's like being the only soprano in a choir full of tenors! It's not easy to be noticed or even heard when you're the only one there singing your note.
Maybe it's not about maintaining who we are when we don't fit in where we are. I believe it's more about remembering Whose we are...simply living in the confidence that God is and we are blessed to wear His badge. Faith is perspective and we ALL need to broaden ours. We must enjoy the liberty that goes along with being "set aside". Don't allow cliques to make you feel as if they are having a party and you're not invited. God's love, joy, peace, and grace are limitless and we, as His children, have access to all of that.
Is it hard to not get involved when a vulgar joke or gossip is spreading through the office? And to my teenage readers, do your school friends even know that you actively worship when you go to church?Here's your encouragement...I looked up the definition of "strange" and discovered words like, unsual, extraordinary, situated, and unfamiliar. I LOVE THAT! Dare to be different. Pray for the strength to be a stranger! Occupy 'til He comes.
Maybe it's not about maintaining who we are when we don't fit in where we are. I believe it's more about remembering Whose we are...simply living in the confidence that God is and we are blessed to wear His badge. Faith is perspective and we ALL need to broaden ours. We must enjoy the liberty that goes along with being "set aside". Don't allow cliques to make you feel as if they are having a party and you're not invited. God's love, joy, peace, and grace are limitless and we, as His children, have access to all of that.
Is it hard to not get involved when a vulgar joke or gossip is spreading through the office? And to my teenage readers, do your school friends even know that you actively worship when you go to church?Here's your encouragement...I looked up the definition of "strange" and discovered words like, unsual, extraordinary, situated, and unfamiliar. I LOVE THAT! Dare to be different. Pray for the strength to be a stranger! Occupy 'til He comes.
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