Some years ago after my mother died I had a dream . In this dream a storm had passed through and in our bathroom the back wall to the outside was gone. I went outside and I noticed that everything was clean pristine and white, everything had been white washed cleaned.
A clean slate: a gift, a new beginning, the ability to start over, to redo, a second chance.
There have been times when I have felt like throwing in the towel and have literally felt like I was holding on by the skin of my teeth trying to just keep walking past the little foxes in the holes. Now! can I say it again NOW! the past is gone and you don't dwell on it any longer, you have moved on and all the things that seem to hold you back have had to release their hold because you have done one thing right and that is put your trust in God and held on to him for dear life. You breath a sigh of relief ahhhh God has granted a clean slate.
A clean slate: a time to evaluate what is working and what is not in your life and to eradicate it, remove it and separate yourself from it by any and all means necessary.
A clean slate: to think and to plan, to organize and to make quality decisions about the things that are near and dear to your heart.
A clean slate: a time to move, to build on the new foundation that God has granted you. to build right this time with him as the author, director, leader and driver, fully in control and you not leaning to your own understanding.
A clean slate: a refreshing, a renewal, a rebirth, a new Genesis, a new beginning.
This seems like an insurmountable task, like where do I begin and I would say this to you begin at the beginning and that is God. Begin with the one who has granted you this most wonderful and precious gift. Not forgetting the tools that he has given you along the way, one day at a time, letting him take the lead.
A song comes to mind right here one day at a time sweet Jesus is all I am asking of you please give me today to do do everything that I have to do.
God has given you a clean slate so lets start here, start right now to build again in the liberty where with He has set you free.
To encourage, To uplift, To inspire! Be who YOU are! Be creative, Be fabulous, Be Bold, Be Beautiful! LOVE what you do and do it WELL!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Saturday, October 2, 2010
FREEEEEDOM!!
YOU GAT what it takes!!
Do you know all day today I have heard that song by George Michael "FREEDOM" just that one phrase, it has been singing in my ear all day long and now at just past midnight I am hearing it even louder. Wow!! FREEDOM what a bold word and an even bolder concept.
Freedom is defined "as the absence of or release from ties, obligations, etc" There are many more definitions of the word but this is the one that I really like. "the power to exercise choice and make decisions without constraint from within or without; autonomy; self-determination."
For a long time I thought I never had this, the freedom to make decisions. without constraint from within or without; I would listen to others who I thought were more learned than I was and I would make choices based on obligation and ties because we are taught to be connected to others. I never thought I had the right to choose my own path or my own way and that if I chose not to do something I was wrong and selfish, mean or I did it because I wanted to be loved and if I didn't do it just the right way for whoever I would not be loved at all. Yeap, I was a mess. Guilt folks, guilt, low self esteem, lack of confidence, condemnation you name it I had it all bundled up in one great big bag called emotions and I couldn't see the city for the smoke no matter how hard I tried. Emotions are powerful powerful things and they will keep you in bondage for as long as you let them. The mind is indeed a battlefield and a terrible thing to waste. Break Free.
Freedom is hard won and even when you have won the initial battle there are still little factions or enemy's that come and try to test that freedom to see if you will be easily moved. Staying free is the key, unencumbered, knowing where you are going, knowing who you are and making decisions that will add value to your life and to the lives of those around you. Someone recently told me that if you don't chart your own course people will do it for you and I have found that to be true.
So to get free, be free and stay free; hmmmm for me it has been about being real about how I feel, facing myself and acknowledging that I am not God and I can't fix everyone and everything, to the exclusion of myself, that if I am not there the building will not fall down. It has also been about embracing that I am a person of value, that I am lovable and beautiful and gorgeous and that anybody would be blessed to know me. That God, yes God does indeed love me and whether I want to do anything or not He will still love me and that is what has set me free most of all knowing that I am loved no matter what. It has been about embracing that and accepting that and receiving the peace of God.
I now have the confidence to leap over mountains and tall buildings (you get my point) to achieve the great things that I never thought I could or never knew that I really wanted. Being fully out of the box they call it and knowing that there are no limitations to anything in my life only the ones that I put there. It is a daily process, and what has helped is looking in the mirror and acknowledging that I am not perfect but I am getting there one day at a time.
So make your plans but be free and open when they change and just enjoy the ride.
Life is an adventure so...... Get free, Be free and Stay Free!
"For whom the Son has set free is free indeed"
Do you know all day today I have heard that song by George Michael "FREEDOM" just that one phrase, it has been singing in my ear all day long and now at just past midnight I am hearing it even louder. Wow!! FREEDOM what a bold word and an even bolder concept.
Freedom is defined "as the absence of or release from ties, obligations, etc" There are many more definitions of the word but this is the one that I really like. "the power to exercise choice and make decisions without constraint from within or without; autonomy; self-determination."
For a long time I thought I never had this, the freedom to make decisions. without constraint from within or without; I would listen to others who I thought were more learned than I was and I would make choices based on obligation and ties because we are taught to be connected to others. I never thought I had the right to choose my own path or my own way and that if I chose not to do something I was wrong and selfish, mean or I did it because I wanted to be loved and if I didn't do it just the right way for whoever I would not be loved at all. Yeap, I was a mess. Guilt folks, guilt, low self esteem, lack of confidence, condemnation you name it I had it all bundled up in one great big bag called emotions and I couldn't see the city for the smoke no matter how hard I tried. Emotions are powerful powerful things and they will keep you in bondage for as long as you let them. The mind is indeed a battlefield and a terrible thing to waste. Break Free.
Freedom is hard won and even when you have won the initial battle there are still little factions or enemy's that come and try to test that freedom to see if you will be easily moved. Staying free is the key, unencumbered, knowing where you are going, knowing who you are and making decisions that will add value to your life and to the lives of those around you. Someone recently told me that if you don't chart your own course people will do it for you and I have found that to be true.
So to get free, be free and stay free; hmmmm for me it has been about being real about how I feel, facing myself and acknowledging that I am not God and I can't fix everyone and everything, to the exclusion of myself, that if I am not there the building will not fall down. It has also been about embracing that I am a person of value, that I am lovable and beautiful and gorgeous and that anybody would be blessed to know me. That God, yes God does indeed love me and whether I want to do anything or not He will still love me and that is what has set me free most of all knowing that I am loved no matter what. It has been about embracing that and accepting that and receiving the peace of God.
I now have the confidence to leap over mountains and tall buildings (you get my point) to achieve the great things that I never thought I could or never knew that I really wanted. Being fully out of the box they call it and knowing that there are no limitations to anything in my life only the ones that I put there. It is a daily process, and what has helped is looking in the mirror and acknowledging that I am not perfect but I am getting there one day at a time.
So make your plans but be free and open when they change and just enjoy the ride.
Life is an adventure so...... Get free, Be free and Stay Free!
Friday, October 1, 2010
FOUNDATIONS!
Where is your foundation set?
"Whose builder and maker is the Lord"
When I speak about foundations I mean just that. Where is your foundation set?
When you are building a house you need to pour a good foundation with no cracks, and fissures so that moisture and corrosion can't set in, then it needs to be smoothed and compacted so that all the air pockets are taken out and it becomes solid and unmovable, and once this is properly laid you can begin to build upon it. If its crooked or slanted then what is built on it will be crooked or slanted and if its properly laid out, level and solid what is built will be level. And even if what is built is not level it can be taken down but the foundation will still remain. Don't forget you also need the right ground to build on. If you build on sand then eventually your building will list to the side or even come down in strong winds because sand shifts and moves and is not a stabilising force.
So I ask again where is your foundation set? What is your stabilising force? Is it based on old ideas, old feelings of bitterness, hatred, anger, pride and hurt etc or is it set on God who is the author and finisher of your fate? I submit to you that until all the negative past junk and injustices have been removed and your foundation cleaned and resealed you will never have the peace, contentment and freedom that you are seeking and longing for.
He is the only stabilising force. He alone knows exactly whats in your heart and mind and He is the only one that can tear down the walls on which your crooked house is built, to clean and compact your foundation so that it is solid and immovable and can stand against every storm and challenge that comes along.
Set your sights on this foundation "whose builder and maker is the Lord". This is a more firmer foundation than any other than you have found, not your job or family, or friends, or hobbies or whatever other pursuits you have. They cannot give you the surety of freedom, peace, joy, contentment and the list goes on.
As a matter of fact your family, friends and job will benefit once He has fixed your foundation and stabilised you.
So I say lets give him the go ahead to tear down the crooked houses and break down the walls and barriers that we have erected and let him lead us through the process of re fixing, resetting and resealing our foundations to the place of liberty. And once the foundation is set then you can begin to build again.
"Whose builder and maker is the Lord"
When I speak about foundations I mean just that. Where is your foundation set?
When you are building a house you need to pour a good foundation with no cracks, and fissures so that moisture and corrosion can't set in, then it needs to be smoothed and compacted so that all the air pockets are taken out and it becomes solid and unmovable, and once this is properly laid you can begin to build upon it. If its crooked or slanted then what is built on it will be crooked or slanted and if its properly laid out, level and solid what is built will be level. And even if what is built is not level it can be taken down but the foundation will still remain. Don't forget you also need the right ground to build on. If you build on sand then eventually your building will list to the side or even come down in strong winds because sand shifts and moves and is not a stabilising force.
So I ask again where is your foundation set? What is your stabilising force? Is it based on old ideas, old feelings of bitterness, hatred, anger, pride and hurt etc or is it set on God who is the author and finisher of your fate? I submit to you that until all the negative past junk and injustices have been removed and your foundation cleaned and resealed you will never have the peace, contentment and freedom that you are seeking and longing for.
He is the only stabilising force. He alone knows exactly whats in your heart and mind and He is the only one that can tear down the walls on which your crooked house is built, to clean and compact your foundation so that it is solid and immovable and can stand against every storm and challenge that comes along.
Set your sights on this foundation "whose builder and maker is the Lord". This is a more firmer foundation than any other than you have found, not your job or family, or friends, or hobbies or whatever other pursuits you have. They cannot give you the surety of freedom, peace, joy, contentment and the list goes on.
As a matter of fact your family, friends and job will benefit once He has fixed your foundation and stabilised you.
So I say lets give him the go ahead to tear down the crooked houses and break down the walls and barriers that we have erected and let him lead us through the process of re fixing, resetting and resealing our foundations to the place of liberty. And once the foundation is set then you can begin to build again.
Can He fix it? YES HE CAN!!
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