Light-A-Lamp

Your Experience Does Not Define You

2019-09-11T16:02:00.000-04:00

Hi friends,

Today, I want these six words to sink deep into your heart.

Your experience does not define who you are.

Your experience -- the sum of events happening to you at this very moment -- is only a part of your story.

Sure, your experience may shape the chapters, ebbs, flows, and cliffhangers of your life's story; but it will never define how your story is going to end.

Millennials are experiencing so many emotional roller coasters today. When you look at what's going on in the world, you will notice something very strange --- young people everywhere are chasing trends.

If it's a hashtag, it's worth following. If it's the newest meme, then it's worth doing. So much noise and too many visuals. So much to follow with so little time. F.O.M.O (the fear of missing out) is real. And in the middle of the noise, we often forget our true identities. We mix up the 'going through' with the 'who we are,' and in the end, we can't differentiate the two.

So what can you do to make sure your experiences don't define your identity?

As parents to three little warriors, my husband and I have had to make several choices about what identities we want our children to focus on. What we want our home culture to be, whom we want our kids to grow up with, what we want them to learn, and what we want them to recognize as their superpowers. I've had to turn my face away from the noise and look inwardly to define "us."

I want my children to know who they are and be confident about this knowledge right from the very beginning. No matter where they go or who they're with, I want them to reflect who they truly are on the inside.

So back to you, how can you make sure that what you're going through right now does not define who you are?

Well, I'm excited to say that just as I was writing this today, the Holy Spirit gave me a very easy way to remember what to do the next time you're faced with an identity crisis. He dropped this acronym in my spirit -- "KRAVE," and I love it! KRAVE (with a K)...because inside every one of us, we desperately crave to be who we were created to be!

1. KNOW (K)

Know what God has said about you. Have you ever felt an "Aha" moment? That feeling you get when you suddenly learn something new that you didn't know all your life? Perhaps, you may leave here with some 'Aha' moments about who you truly are:

a. You are unique -- "I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well." - Psalm 139:14
b. You are the light of the world -- "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden." - Matthew 5:14
b. In Christ, you are no longer a sinner -- "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us." - Psalm 103:12

Ignorance is not bliss. The earlier you realize who God created you to be, the faster you'll start living your best life. It will no longer be about hashtags or trends, it would be about pursuing your legacy and finding your stamp amidst the noise.

2. REMEMBER (R)

Remember what God has said about you. When rough times come, you have to remember the storms you've faced in your past and how you got out alive. You have to remember your testimonies.

I'm currently teaching my kids memory work in Math. When they need to solve real-life math problems, I don't want them to spend time counting their fingers for simple math additions or multiplications. They need to simply know that 2 + 3 is equal to 5. In the same way, when your circumstance seeks to define you, you need to quickly remember that God is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End...and it's not over till He says it's over.

3. ASK (A)

Ask questions. I think we need to create healthy communities where we can feel safe to ask questions, no matter what kinds of questions they are.

Life is an endless school. I feel sorry for people who think questions are not welcome in the church. What is the church there for if we can't bare our hearts? What are our minds for if we can't question what we see around the world? When we judge people for their questions, we become hypocrites.

Look at Job...he was greatly afflicted and he questioned God (respectfully), and God answered him out of the whirlwind. May God visit you in moments when you're bold enough to face Him. I believe those moments of questioning will only make us more intimate with Him, and will only make our faith stronger.

4. VERIFY (V)

Verify your answers. Not everything around you is a "sign." Stop looking for signs in the wrong places. If it does not align with the Word of God or the character or nature of Your Father, then it's not the answer you're looking for. The Bible talks about the Bereans in the Bible. They were only interested in acting on a decision if it was God's decision, so they always went back to double-check.

5. EXAMPLE (E)

Be an Example. Leaders are rare. Followers are many. If you want to live your whole life following everything someone else does, you can only be a copy of that person at best. Sure, you can observe examples from other leaders (I have people I look up to and admire), but ultimately, you have to use their examples to carve out your legacy. Yes, you can stay at the feet of others drinking milk for a while, that's the only way for a baby to grow. But one day, you have to spread your wings and FLY.

SO TELL ME, WILL YOU LET YOUR EXPERIENCE DEFINE YOU OR WILL YOU CARVE OUT YOUR DEFINITION?

Photo credits:

Photo 1 by Nick Owuor (astro.nic.visuals) on Unsplash
Photo 2 by Sai De Silva on Unsplash

It Doesn't End in Darkness, Light Has Come

2017-11-06T10:08:00.000-05:00

You wake up in the morning and the first thing that comes to your mind as you remember last night's news is, "What joy is there in this world?"

This morning, I'm here to tell you about the only constant source of joy I know.

Image by Marthathegoodone. Creative Commons License

It can't be bought with a price. It can't be falsified. It is not made up. It cannot be disputed. It's freely given to whoever desires it. Even when there's a storm, this joy calms it. When there's turbulence, this joy brings confidence. When there are serious trials, this joy brings hope for another day. Even in the midst of darkness, this joy is our light.

It's the joy that God has given us - in Him alone. It cannot be explained away in mortal words. Nothing can steal it. It supersedes our current existence and has no end. I'm here to tell you, even when everything in our world seems senseless, just please hold on to this one thing that the enemy can't steal.

It doesn't end in darkness. Light has come!

And no, you're wrong, I'm not perfect. I have days that I'm angry at the world. I have days that I'm sad. Why should innocent children die? Why should one man take away innocent lives? I have days that everything seems chaotic, but Jesus has already done the work of calming my waves.

Somehow, miraculously, He always brings His joy back. It's a constant. Never changes when everything else fades. That's why I'm writing to you this morning. Can't you see? He is my serenity in turbulence. My quiet in a raging whirlwind. I'll hold your hand and pray with you physically if I could, but let this be a breath of fresh air to you right now. No, it doesn't end in darkness. Light has come. Take my hand. It doesn't end here. He promised.

On Closed Doors | 3 Things to Do

2016-05-31T00:06:00.000-04:00

Unexpected. Cold. Unfair. Three words that accurately describe that door just shut against your face.

Should you be happy? Throw your head back, laugh without inhibition, go back home, plop on your bed, and think about how good it felt?

To the plain mind, that's crazy and foolish. Why should you be happy? Why should your head be lifted high? Why should you thank God for a closed door? What you asked for was that the Lord open this door for you. This would have been your perfect entrance to that breakthrough you've been praying for. That lone drop of rain you've been thirsting for this whole time.

Dear, what you may not know is that every closed door creates the perfect opportunity for God to open the right door.

I don't know about you, but the best things that have happened in my life occurred after closed doors. Dashed dreams left in God's hands became beautiful in their own time. Failed relationships opened the doors to the best one ever. Old career paths budded and became the unexpected and yet best one God had in mind all along. So I've learned that as long as I am sold out to the One who wrote my name in the palm of His hands, the One who calls me the Apple of His eye, I am good to go. I've got nothing to worry about and everything to hope for.

I want to pass on this same confidence to you today. What you think is a closed door could be the best thing that ever happened to you.

Here are 3 things to do when a door closes:

1. Thank God. "...in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NKJV)

2. Eat Again. "But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead; so David said to his servants, "Is the child dead?" And they said, "He is dead." So David arose from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he came into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he came to his own house, and when he requested, they set food before him and he ate." (2 Samuel 12:19-21, NASB).

3. Ask the Helper for a Redirection. "The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you." (John 14:26, NKJV).

So many times, I thought I knew what was best. Little did I know that God had designed the best and I only had a limited view of what my life would be. So the next time you get a closed door, I pray you remember this.

Till the next one, stay hopeful :)

Rise Up, Build, Fight: How to Use What's in Your Hands

2016-05-16T13:18:00.001-04:00

How can you use what's in your hands? You look around you, and you see so many people doing things in a specific way - the way it's always been done. "It's just the way things are done, I shouldn't be different. Or should I?" you ask.

Today, I'd like to suggest that you can definitely use whatever is in your hands to do what God has called you to do. Many prodigies and innovators have risen up without a single formal training. So what are you waiting for?

Today, I want to share the story of a young Maasai boy, Richard Turere, who lives in the south side of the Nairobi National park. The Maasai people are herders by tradition. They believe that they came from heaven with all their animals and they have a responsibility to take care of these animals.

In the Maasai community, boys aged six to nine are given full responsibility over their father’s cows. So when Richard woke up one morning to find that the only bull amongst his father’s cows had been killed by a lion, he was deeply pained and took the battle into his own hands.

But here’s why I’m sharing this story.

Richard Turere. Source: TED

Richard did not try to look for battle gear that someone else has already made. He put his imagination to play and tried to come up with something made with his own hands. He looked for what was available right there in his own home. He reminds me of David as a little boy. All he knew was the power of his God. David knew that God could save anyone, through anything. He could not handle heavy spears or swords at his age, but he could handle stones. And if God could save through bare hands, then God can save through stones.

So the Maasai boy put his imagination to work. He thought of several ideas before finding one that worked. At first, he thought about using fire or a scarecrow, but the lions were too clever for that.

Finally, one night he walked around with a torch and the lions did not come as they usually did. This was the turning point. He finally realized that lions are afraid of a moving light and he decided to create something that depicted a moving light. You can watch his solar-powered invention here.

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Again, why am I sharing Richard’s story? Some of us have more than we need to create. To imagine. To dream big. But we are not maximizing our potentials.

Our Father is the Master Architect. He created this earth out of nothing but darkness. He looked at darkness and thought, “Surely, I can do something with this,” and He said, “Let there be light.” And there was light.

David killed Goliath with a single stone. “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth.” Then he went and told Goliath. “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel…all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”

And so, my encouragement to you today is that you need to open your hands and look for what God has placed in them. Use everything you’ve got. Don’t look at what other people have. What has God been training you for? What has He been teaching you? Take these things and do something with it.

If you've been wondering how you can achieve what God is asking you to do in this season, the question you should ask yourself is "What's in my hand?" Open your hands and look. I pray you will find the answer in Jesus' Name, Amen.

Till the next one on the Lamp Blog, be blessed. As always, I'd love to read your comments. :)

My Audience of One

2015-06-22T00:00:00.000-04:00

About two nights ago, the house was completely silent and I was the only one awake. Moments like this are like a hidden treasure. Only the mothers reading this may understand how golden silence can be in the middle of the night. I smiled to myself as I basked in the moment, lavishing in the glorious goodness of seconds ticking without a stir in the wind. But as I stood there in my kitchen a thought hit me. At that very moment, there was indeed an Audience of One who was right there with me, watching me lavish in my thoughts. Watching me clean my kitchen counter-top to the perfection that I wanted it.

I could not have planned this moment of joy any better. I smiled again knowing that my audience of One was my heavenly Father. He had been with me during the busyness of the day, but that particular day I hadn't noticed until the silence of night-time came along. You see, He is always there watching over us, yet sometimes we skim over the details of His presence because we get so busy doing other things. The kids. The home. Food. Work. Learn. Clean. And cycle about yet again. Nevertheless, our Audience of One still remains. He never leaves us. Like that good Shepherd who never lets His eyes veer off from his sheep, He's always there.

In the silence of that night, I thought I was by myself, but I wasn't. His presence became a comforting serenade. His arms became my solace. Tiredness was gone the moment I rested in His embrace and left every other thing to just focus on Him alone.

So this one is for you who's up in the middle of the night, maybe feeling a little undone. Look, you're never alone. You always have an audience of One. He's there listening to all your stories. Whether they are stories of joys or woes, He's there for you anyway. Whether you shed tears of joy or tears of pain, He's there with you anyway. God neither slumbers nor sleeps. He's right there when we're really busy and also right there when we're done with the work for the day. He's there to fill up our empty vessels. To be poetic with us. To grant us increase. More strength. More grace. More and more...that we may be constantly replenished time and time again. Hallelujah.

So What Should You Do When You Find Yourself Alone with God?

The essence of this post is not just to tell you that God can show up in your quietest moments. There's a call to action required here. You also have a role to play when it comes to unraveling the presence of God. The first thing to do when the thought hits us, just like when Moses encountered the presence of God in the burning bush, is to tell ourselves "God is here." And the second action to take: lose yourself in His presence. Embrace Him. Bow down in worship. Oh, not a second should go wasted in His presence. Take advantage of the solitude and the opportunity for it is precious. Ever wondered why Jesus would wake up so early in the morning and venture out to the mountains just to be with Him? Because you never come out the same way you came in. You become "better" in His presence. Just one moment with the King. It's nothing short of a miracle the way I emerged stronger than before after allowing myself to be free in His presence. I would give anything to have the same experience daily.

What an amazing God. Such a priceless encounter with our Audience of One.

Easy Life | A Post-Easter Reprise

2015-04-14T12:51:00.000-04:00

PODCAST

Image Source

TRANSCRIPT

Ea-sy
Exactly how
He designed the blueprint
A garden
Serenaded with
Endless supplies
Abundant life
Absence of worries
Inevitable Harmony
Undisputed Peace
Unquenchable Love
Unending Goodness

You see,
We've turned what He designed
Into what we created
We broke the ease
Shattered it like broken glass
On a lonesome highway
Diverted the course
Set ablaze the vision
We took the hard way
In our minds it made sense
Instead,
our own work produced nothing but destruction and heaviness

Nevertheless
On that unforgettable day
He stayed poised
Both arms stretched out
Left and right
On the cross at Golgotha
Unrelenting
Unwavering
Unshaken
Not giving up
Even in death
His desire for our lives remained
Unsifted
Unbroken
Unshakeable
His love
Given in the form of an undeserving exchange
His life for ours, our sins on Him
"Come to Me if you feel heavy," He says even now
"Take my yoke, it's easy and light
Take my spirit, it's gentle
Take my heart, it's lowly
Take all of Me,
I'll give you rest." (Matthew 11: 28-30)

☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

Easy Life...

Easy, easy, easy. If we have His rest, we would wake up every morning with excitement just to search for what the day holds. Like a man searching for treasure, we would do anything to find that one pot of gold. It won't matter if we have to struggle through the storm, lightning, and thunder to find the rainbow. Even if there are obstacles along the course, the only important thing would be to find the treasure in the dirt. Who said life was a bed of roses? No, I daresay not. There's always that dark horse of old whose only goal is to create obstacles. His one desire is to see you go down. As long as you are in this world, there will be challenges. But, you know what? Christ died to make your challenges nil. Zilch. Zero. Blank. Nul. Nada. Void. As if they never even existed. Victorious is what you are.

Just a Glimpse of Him

See, if we can just catch a glimpse of Him daily, then we will only see His face throughout the whole day. And if we can only see His face, then we can only carry His own yoke and not ours. And if we only carry His own yoke, then ours would become obsolete. Instead of heaviness, we will feel light. Instead of aggravation, we will become gentle. Instead of heartache, we will be overcome with laughter and joy. It takes daily reminders, sometimes we forget to catch a glimpse of Him.

You may wonder why certain people smile all the time. And even if they cry sometimes, they still break into a dance once morning comes. Why shouldn't they? It's great to know that there are real people out there that genuinely smile because they've found God. They can't wake up and focus their entire day on something they can't fix themselves. No, their eyes are continuously on the Master Potter. And suddenly what they couldn't fix becomes fixed because they praised Him through the storm. They are constantly aware of His power and capacity to do the impossible. Instantly, you wonder why they don't seem suicidal. You fidget with your fingers when you find out how that problem was so big but you never even noticed. You should stop trying to notice. You'll never find trouble in their homes. Never. They've given it all to God. They've let go, and ultimately they've let God invade their lives in a way that only Him can.

Stop now. Consider your own days. Are they fulfilling? Stop now. Take His yoke. Take it, take it. It's here right now for you. Don't try to find it in the wrong places. Today, I pray that the only face you will look upon will be the face of Jesus.

Selah.

Prepare Your Horse for the Day of Battle | An Ode

2015-04-13T01:34:00.000-04:00

Prepare your horse for the day of battle
Train it to be smart
Teach it to spot the enemy
Brush the hairs on its skin till they are smooth like silk
Let it neigh till the sun goes down
No sleep till the day's work is over

Prepare your horse for the day of battle
Be hardworking
Don't quit
Even if you are weary
Pick up your armor and do it again
There will be no horse like yours on that day

Prepare your horse for the day of battle
But when that day comes
Rise up in the morning with full confidence
Knowing the glory belongs to God
Rise up to do your best
But know God holds the Master Plan

Prepare your horse for the day of battle
But when that day comes
The strength will not be from the horse...or the rider
The strength will come from God
And the victory will be through God

Prepare your horse for the day of battle
But God decides what will happen
Guess what?
Whatever He decides at the battle field
is PERFECT
Better than your choice could have ever been
Because He has seen the end from the beginning
He knows the plot inside and out
You can prepare all you want
But when that day comes
Give it all to the ONE who knows it ALL

Prepare your horse for the day of battle
But when you get to that day
Just let God, the Master AUTHOR write your victory story

Proverbs 21:31

"The horse is prepared for the day of battle,

But deliverance is of the Lord."

God created us for His glory. No, you and I were not created to be mediocre. We are made in the image of a mighty God who surely has already orchestrated wonderful victories in our lives. The verse in Proverbs 21 speaks of preparing a horse for the day of battle. To me, this implies that anyone going to a battle field has work to do. You don't just wake up in the morning, sing a lullaby, and head to the battle field. No, a war requires years and years of training. It doesn't matter what the weather is like at boot camp.

You train under the scorching heat of the sun or while drenched in soaking rain. All for one fine day of battle. You suck in your breath, raise your legs, and jump through hoops. You climb up on wobbly ropes and slippery walls. You drag your tired self through the mud until you can no longer feel the blood rushing through your veins. You hold your breath as you swim through murky waters until you reach the target.

That's how we are to train in this world. As children of the most High, there are daily battles to fight, and there are always victories to be won. So yes, of course we have to prepare the horse for the day of battle. We have to immerse ourselves daily in the Word. Pick up our armor. Practice how to use the gear. We have to surround ourselves with Godly people. We have to confess the Word into every atmosphere we come into. But friend, you know what caught my eye in that Proverbs 21:31 verse? That no matter how finely the horse is prepared for the day of battle, the deliverance is indeed of the Lord!

When it comes to that amazing day of victory, God knows exactly how He wants to write your story. You can prepare all you want (you should prepare, if you know that other proverb that says we should look at how the ants store up food for winter). Oh yes, you should have the spirit of excellence in every single thing that you do and in every place you find yourself. But when it comes down to how the story plays out, please sit back, relax, and let your Father unveil the story He has already written about you in the volumes of His book. Your life has been carefully orchestrated. Paths you're meant to take. People you are meant to meet. Lives you are meant to change. And accomplishments and awards you are meant to get. Prepare your horse. Your preparation is extremely important because the lessons you learn during training will help you on the day of battle. But, my dear, don't force things. Just trust God to unveil your victory. Let Him take the pieces of the puzzle and put them together being the wonderful Craftsman that He is.

Hallelujah. God be glorified in your life, and in mine, Praise His great name.

Love, J.

Graffiti

2015-03-23T11:44:00.001-04:00

Image by B. Fröberg on Flickr

Long ago, in the middle of this muddy, dirt-stained, red soil stood a very functional railroad. Quadejah could see what she thought were the remains of loops of rusty brown metal. The stones scattered about were still the same — white and brown stones dispersed like sand, both to the left and right of the railroad. She stood in the middle, where the vertical lines intersected with the horizontal. Bending down, she dug her hand into the earthy mud, picked up a couple of stones, and gently rubbed them together.

She smiled. Once upon a time, she was sixteen. Running wild and free through these Southern grasslands with a group of three. One was a red-head, her best friend, Kaitlyn. And the other was a young man named Ali. He had really bushy afro hair and never combed it, no matter how much they begged or laughed. To be honest, back then they had no cares in life, only high spirits. They used to come here every weekend when there was no school. She remembered they would sit at the far end of the wall holding hands and playing Truth or Dare. Most times, they would choose "truth" and tell stories until it was really dark and past time for supper.

The wall. She looked up and saw that great wall of old. All the memories came flooding back. One day they had dipped their right hands in three different colors of paint they'd carried from papa's backyard and dared themselves to etch their fingerprints on the wall. She got up and started running toward the wall.

"Ten steps to the right, seven slippers high, and three butterflies left," she said out loud, tracing her fingers up and to the left.

When she saw those dirty fingerprints again it was like a window opened from her heart and she started laughing like a child until tears streamed down her face and her nose began to trickle.

"Ma'am," she heard a voice calling from behind her. She had forgotten he was standing there, watching her. He must be very amused by now. "It's almost time for the meeting," he said.

"Oh," she whispered. She didn't want to leave the graffiti wall just yet, but as CEO of Que&Co., she had a lot of important matters to attend to and critical decisions to make today. She smiled, nodding to her driver. "Thanks, you can get the car started now. I'll be right behind you."

She looked up at the wall again. She felt very satisfied, happy to have visited her young memories once again. A deep sigh escaped from her lips. Well, the stones will always be here. The fingerprints will always be etched ten steps to the right, seven slippers high, and three butterflies left. All she needed to do was come back as many times as she wanted. All she had to do was remember.

▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲

"And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying: “...Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm. Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ then you shall let your children know, saying, ‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land’; for the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever." Joshua 4: 1-3, 21-24

We live in a society where the hustle and bustle of our careers and the dreams of our future can cause us to forget the goodness of the Lord. Many of us have seen testimony after testimony, but yet in searching for the next level we forget. Today, God wants us to remember the graffiti on the wall.

If He was with you in the past, He is with you today, and if you let Him, He will be with you in your future. He is, indeed, steadfast in love. An unfailing God. There's nothing worse than a day without Him. Doing things by ourselves is so much more difficult and chaotic.

Don't forget the Lord and what He has done in your life. As you move forward in life, remember the stones & graffiti of the goodness of the Lord throughout your life up until now, and seek instead to put God first higher than all your desires. By putting Him first, He will grant you so many more joyful memories. God is faithful. Praise God!

The Vantage Point: What's Yours?

2015-03-16T11:46:00.001-04:00

Even in the most minuscule, intimate daily occurrences, there's always a fine chance that you'll discover something amazing about God. A few days ago, I re-discovered one of God's extraordinary qualities by just asking my sweet two-year old to do something.

"Bring the blue cube over here, T," I asked. "It's right there on the chair,"

It was only a hand's stretch away from where he stood. I pointed to the object for him to see. "There it is. Look!" But no matter how hard I tried to describe the location, he just couldn't find it.

"Look up, T. Look up." He looked left instead, and then right. After a while, he got a little frustrated and just looked at me, smiling faintly, which meant, "Mummy, I don't know what in the world you're talking about."

I decided to try another strategy...

"Okay, come over here."

He ran into my arms happily, relieved that I had stopped trying to make him find it. But now, from where we stood, he got the opportunity to view the entire couch at one glance.

"Look over there. Can you see it now?" I asked.
"Yes," he squealed with excitement. "Yes, mummy."
"Okay. Go get it."

He ran to the couch, climbed up, and happily grabbed the blue cube. Then he brought it over to me.

♛ ♛ ♛ ♛ ♛ ♛ ♛ ♛ ♛ ♛ ♛ ♛ ♛

van·tage
ˈvan(t)ij/
noun
noun: vantage point
a place or position affording a good view of something.

One of God's extraordinary qualities is that He "sees all things." He has the best view of everything. A vantage point is a place or position from where you can see the best view of something. A couple of summers ago, we took a trip to the Smoky mountains and got the opportunity to stay at a resort that had a sign that said, "The best view of the Smokies." They weren't lying. Every morning we woke up, we just couldn't wait to pull aside those curtains to see the view. From our room, we could see stretches and stretches of the beautiful mountainous terrain of the Great Smoky Mountains. Amazing view!

I want to encourage someone this morning. I may not know exactly what challenges you are faced with right now, but without the Lord, you won't have the best view of the situation.

"What's going to happen now? What have I done? How can I make it through this?" We flutter about without vision when we are not looking from the vantage point. We wonder where our help will come from. Or how we're going to look to others. Or how everything is going to turn out.

Let me tell you something powerful. Jehovah God knew you before you were born and He created you with so much potential to have good success. The only way to know your potential is to ask the One who skillfully formed you. There is only one "You" in this universe, and only you alone can achieve what God made you for. So you have to trust Him for many things: that He knows all things, that He has seen your future already, that He has the perfect timing for everything that concerns you, and that He wants the very best for you. Think about it. He would not have let Jesus die on the cross for you if He didn't love you so much. His ways are perfect. He is a good God.

Stop worrying about that challenge in front of you right now. You may not know how to tackle it, but God does. Run into the arms of your Father and through His eyes you will have the BEST view of your life. Through His eyes you will learn to wait on Him, because you will entrust your life into His hands knowing that He will guide you through everything and show you the best paths to take.

Let these verses flow into your heart today:

And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Hebrews 4:13

The eyes of the Lord are in every place,

Keeping watch on the evil and the good. Proverbs 15:3

O Lord, You have searched me and known me.

You know my sitting down and my rising up;

You understand my thought afar off.

You comprehend my path and my lying down,

And are acquainted with all my ways. Psalm 139:1-3

He has made the earth by His power,

He has established the world by His wisdom,

And has stretched out the heavens at His discretion. Jeremiah 10:12

Dear Reader, what is your vantage point? Are you looking through the eyes of the Lord to see the best view? Or have you been relying on your limited vision or sight?

What You Don't Know About Your Words

2015-03-09T11:14:00.000-04:00

What you're about to read is not just something I picked out of a New York Times best-selling book. It's a Holy Spirit-filled insight that has transformed my life and made it a more powerful testimony.

Here's the thing...

Your words have the power to shoot you straight into the bulls-eye of your destiny. Yes, you read that right. Your words can absolutely create your world and transform you into the person you will be in this life.

Most of my life I've been a positive person. I'll be the first one to dream giant dreams and believe that something will pan out exactly how I dreamed it. I'll be the first one to believe you can do anything in the world. That you can be who you want to be. That the world is your blank canvas, and you can go ahead and splash all the paint colors you want.

But is Believing Enough?

The golden question: "Is believing in good things enough?" Examine yourself. Take a look at the things you say on a daily basis. The truth is, you may be believing one thing in your heart, but that's not what you're confessing. Maybe you don't want to sound stupid. Maybe you don't want to be ostracized. But let me tell you something - you were not called to blend into the worldly order of doing things. You were called to be "set apart." You can't believe that through your Father "all things are possible," but then you walk around with your head bent downwards, saying negative things about yourself and wallowing in self-projected defeat. Don't you know who you are in Christ?

Your words (and hence your actions) should replicate your beliefs and dreams. Confidence in Christ is the trait to have as a child of the King. No, believing is not enough any more. It's only the first baby step to achieving execution. It's not enough to just believe. You can believe in something and secretly hope it will happen organically, or you can choose to take your beliefs and dreams to the next level by speaking them into existence. My dear, there's power in your words.

You don't believe me? Well, check this verse out:

"Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature..." James 3: 4-6a.

Earlier this year, I was talking to my amazing friend as we usually do when she revealed to me that negative words are simply not allowed in her household. That was all there was to it. Ditto. As simple as ABC. I was yet again reminded of how "sweet" it is to have a Spirit-filled believer as a friend. What a powerful way to live.

Driven to Action | Make a Choice

Today, in my own home, I choose to understand the magnitude of the power of my words. With whatever words I choose to praise my husband with, that is what He will be to me. With whatever words I use to lift my children up, that is what they will see themselves as and so become in their amazing and great future.

The things I believe will translate into what I speak and the devil has to deal with it. Today, I only speak "Life, peace, joy, laughter, healing, good success, the spirit of excellence, and greatness" into the lives of my husband, children, and myself. No, there's no room for negativity. Or mediocrity. Or carrying last. No, no, no. No Debbie-Downers allowed here. If I so much as smell sickness, I say immediately, "I am healed in Jesus's Name." And so it goes for the other negatives.

On that very first day when the Master Architect was creating the world, He SPOKE: "Light be!" And there was light. Light had no choice but to come storming through the darkness of the deep making its presence known. So yes, I (created in the same image of the Master Architect) have been given the authority by my Father to wield "light" into my existence instead of "darkness."

So, you see, it all boils down to one choice. I invite you to speak LIFE into your very existence and everything you do.

Friends, this week what do you want in your future? What words will you choose to repeat today?

There's power in your words. SELAH

♥, J

Even for Your Smallest Heartaches

2015-03-02T07:30:00.001-05:00

[Flash Fiction]

Pound, pound, pound. Pause. Then again. Pound, pound, pound. The intense pulsating ache at the left corner of my forehead was stubbornly persistent. The steady pounding sound matched the rhythmic drums of a master musician. It felt like someone was purposefully ripping the muscles in my forehead apart, layer after layer.

I entered the pharmacy to get the medication. I left work at the middle of my night shift so the inside of the store was, unsurprisingly, a little dark. A small figure hurdled at the end of the allergy medication aisle, sniffing every two seconds. I walked past. Then, right there at the center of the next aisle, I found what I was looking for. Something for the pain. I grabbed the pack and made my way to the cashier.

"You know, m'aam," the cashier lady said. "There's a better one for headaches. Do you want to ask the pharmacist?"
"It's ok. I'll take this one."
"Sure." She wasn't smiling.

Although she was pretty, she had some wrinkles on her forehead. "I've had to deal with chronic migraines myself over the past few years," she said.

I looked behind me. There was no one waiting. It was a 24-hour store and at 2am in the morning it was reasonable that there weren't too many people in the store.

"Tell me about it," I said, looking straight into her eyes. She looked back at me, I could tell that she was half-expecting me to withdraw my invitation. "Tell me about it," I repeated. More firmly this time.

"Well..." She went into the full details of her life. Her family. Her children. Her husband. How she had to make ends meet. The school fees. The rent. Her shifts. On and on.

I had forgotten I had a headache. Or about my own shift. I reached out and held her hand. "Would you mind if I prayed with you?" I asked, believing that God had already heard her cries and was present to intervene in her situation." With gentleness and a renewed sense of calmness, she nodded and bowed her head to pray, a single tear sliding down her left cheek. When we were done she looked up. "You don't even know how much this means."

❃ ❃ ❃ ❃ ❃ ❃ ❃ ❃ ❃ ❃

►►►God Cares About the Smallest Things

The love of God is like a Shepherd that leaves 99 sheep to look for one that got lost. Just for you, He would do anything. You and I are more important to Him than the air we breathe is important to us. He cares about both the big things and the tiny stuff. Stuff you think nobody cares about. He cares deeply about that thing that you're constantly worrying about, even as you read this Blog right now. How do you think God felt when He laid His life on the cross? The life was snuffed out of Him in one of the most painful deaths ever recorded in history. He did it at a price. And He had to do it because He is a principled God and it needed to happen for a reason. That's extreme love.

Many times, it's the small things. This past week, I found something "precious" I thought I'd lost for good. I was vacuuming the carpet and before I reached the corner behind the door, I got a nudge in my spirit to pause and look at the floor. Unbelievable! What I'd been looking for was right there, and I got stopped by the Holy Spirit right before the vacuum could suction it right up. Even the Small things.

►►►A Timely Reminder

The thoughts on your mind may be big or small, but I want to remind you today that God sees. He knows. He cares. Those secrets. Those dreams. Sometimes we wonder "when" He will intervene. But He has the perfect timing for everything. We pray, not because He doesn't already know, but because it's a great way to focus on Him (and Him alone). We pray because prayer is not a one-way conversation but also a way for us to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit as He gently tells us what direction to take. He's always there, but we're not always "tuned in."

He is the Alpha and Omega, and nothing (I mean, absolutely nothing) is too sensitive for Him to touch. Just give it all to Him today. If it was just for you (and for no one else), He still would have died on the cross just to save you. That's how much He loves each and every one of us.

What is it that you're still worrying about? Let go, and let God today.

As always, I'd love to read your comments. Have a fantastic week and pause this week to remember how intensely God loves you.

♥ J.

A Short Letter to You

2015-02-24T14:51:00.000-05:00

Dear Reader,

How have you been? Very blessed, I hope. God's Word never fails. As long as we keep connected to His Word, the enemy has no choice but to flee.

It's been a really long hiatus, but what can I say? God has been amazing. We welcomed our second son into the world in September of 2014, and since then, I've been doing "blessed duties" in mummy-land.

This is just a short note to say I've missed the Blog, you my dear readers, and every sweet thing that goes along with writing by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In 2015, I hope to write once a week. I hope you continue to subscribe by email to be the first to read.

With all the love inside of me, I say have a blessed week ahead.

See you soon with the first Blog Post of 2015. How exciting that sounds in my ears *insert a big smile.*

J.

Perfectly Flawed | A Poem

2014-07-28T11:28:00.000-04:00

Image by A. Jenkins on Flickr. Creative Commons License

I am...

Perfectly flawed. Yet, He loves me perfectly

No, I'm not called because I'm perfect

I'm called to become perfect

A binding process

Like clay in the Potter's hand

I am indeed caressed by the hands

Of a loving Craftsman

Molded

Blended

Stretched

Cracked

Yet, joined together again

Perfectly flawed.

I can't run away

It's me He chose

Yes, all my curves & imperfections

All my crazy innuendos

...thoughts

...dreams

My crazy inclinations

All of me

Perfectly flawed

I'm that tiny dot

In the pews of the church

Just grateful to be loved by such a Wonder

I am not your pastor

Or your minister

I'm just me...all flaws of me

Yet, He's called me to be Light for His glory

Do you know what He said?

"Daughter, you are...

A Chosen Generation

Royal Priesthood,

A Holy Nation

A Peculiar Person..."

Who me?

Yes me.

Perfectly flawed...me.

So in all my strangeness

...and peculiarity

I'm perfect in the most unassuming of ways

I am who I am

Unapologetic

Growing daily

Becoming who I was made to be

A constant metamorphosis

And so I continue

To Write

To Speak

To Encourage

To Bless

(doesn't matter what you think I am)

Because I have been blessed

With such Love

To such an imperfect vessel

I am indeed blessed of all women

Struck with LOVE

Arrow right on my heart

Perfectly flawed

In His glorious unchanging perfect flawlessness.

Written by J.A

What It Takes to Truly Grow in Christ

2014-07-14T15:47:00.001-04:00

Dear friends,

Except you wish to remain where you are forever, your aim in life has got to be to move forward always. To progress. To stretch or expand. To enlarge your territory. To reach forth and touch greater things. In two words, "to grow."

Now, this is not just about any type of growth. It's about the most powerful growth direction we can ever have. It's about growth in Christ. Today, we have a post from an anonymous writer on this subject. May this touch someone's heart, and more than anything, may it be a word in season for that special someone whose heart God has been pulling closer.

What It Takes to Truly Grow in Christ

Image by Sarai Rachel on Flickr. Creative Commons License.

You will always have the opportunity to be busy...

...to be focused on work or career or friendships or any other thing that the enemy has gradually made or is making your identity. And before you dismiss the notion that your identity couldn't possibly be wrapped in something that sounds as shallow as work or career or friendships or a certain status or persona, or being spiritual or being an intellectual or being a theologian, pastor, etc., please be objective.

Here's the thing: it is possible to know scriptures and to say the right things, and yet not know the heart of God. And it is not enough of an excuse to point to hypocritical Christians and say because I don't want to be like that, I'll lead a life where I don't pour myself into God as much. I do not want to be weird or alienated.

Step back and fight away the automatic defiance or reasoning that says you are doing enough, or the impulse to compare yourself to another and conclude you are better. It's time for a change in the way you've been thinking. It's time to do more. It's time to grow.

What It Means to Truly Grow in Christ

To truly grow in Christ is to pay attention to Christ and the Holy Spirit. To truly grow is to make your interactions/devotions more about Him than your list of what you want (I am not saying you shouldn't ask for what you want). To do the above though, you must be brutally and rigorously honest with yourself. You need a daily desert to detox from the toxicity of the day – words, ideas, impressions, etc., that paint a wrong view of who you are and who God is.

"We truly live at the mercy of our ideas, especially our ideas about God." (Dallas Willard)

Two Qualities You Need in Order to Grow

1. You must be willing to see the darkness within to see your utmost need for Christ.

2. You must be willing to not excuse your missteps. Any excuse or reason you come up with doesn't change the fact that you did do A or B or that you felt or thought in a sinful manner.

Let us all get off our high horse. We are...

...the woman caught in adultery

...the betrayer called Judas

...the one with a blackened heart in Jer 17:9

...both the Pharisee and the Sadducee

...the rich fool whose focus was building bigger bans

...the rich man that ignored Lazarus

Your Call to Action Today

Please carve out time to be attentive to God. Be ruthless about it, carve out time and mental space – ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your lives. Do not mold your day whereby you are so busy and even when you want to spend time with God, you sleep off.

It’s not that you can’t make time, it’s that you chose not to.

Daily carve out time and space with God. Interact with God beyond your devotional time, even a few minutes of interaction does your soul good. Do not see your time with God an item to check off.

His yoke is easy and his burden is light. If your day is too filled for you to fully turn to God for a few minutes, then something is wrong somewhere. You have too much on your plate. This is not to say what’s on your plate is somehow evil, it could be all noble tasks and interacting with great friends. However, to truly grow in Christ, you might have to reduce your commitment to those people and/or things so you can spend a bit more time with your Creator.

Selah.

There's a Miracle in Your Valley

2014-06-09T04:30:00.000-04:00

As she walked through the forlorn path in the middle of the valley, Temi knew instinctively that this would be one of the most difficult journeys of her entire life. She'd begun to run out of supplies. Her food was already finished, only one pack of biscuits left. She was sweating. Furiously. The bottle of water was almost empty, and although her tongue hung dry from thirst, she was willing to persevere until the sun went down, or at least till she could catch a distant glimpse of her final destination in sight (the mountain) before drinking the last drops of water.

This hike was not easy as all. Yes, she'd been warned by many who'd completed the difficult pilgrimage. However, a handful of people had also told her that the end was very worth it and self-fulfilling.

As she was still contemplating whether or not to drink the water, fighting between her heart and her head, her right leg took a direct hit straight into the hard surface of a big rock. "Ouch!" She winced, stopping dead in her tracks. She was actually crying now, she could feel the tears pouring down her soft cheeks. "Why did you come here, Temi? Why?" She questioned herself. "Why didn't you just stay back in your comfort zone? Foolish, foolish girl," she muttered.

Just then, she saw something behind the stone. It was moving...looked familiar. It was moving and glittering, reflecting the sun's rays. It was..."Water, water," she squealed in delight as she rushed to the small pond. What an unexpected miracle. What a hidden beautiful thing in this desert of a valley. It was fresh-looking water so she drank, washed her face, and was ready for the next part of the journey in no time.

[The story above is Flash Fiction]

John 4:3-4 NKJV

"He [Jesus] left Judea and departed again to Galilee. But He needed to go through Samaria."

The ultimate end of Jesus' journey as we see in this verse was Galilee. That was supposed to be his final destination. The pit stop, if you will. The goal. The planned outcome. When He woke up that morning His desire was to go to Galilee. However, it was recorded that in order to get to Galilee, Jesus "needed" to pass through Samaria first. Whether He wanted to pass through Samaria or not, it was the city that connected His starting point to His end point. Needless to say, He couldn't avoid it.

Stop for a second and think about it. Why was the connection point so important after all? It wasn't the end point, it was only the connecting flight. Do you know that one of the biggest revivals in Bible history happened when He stopped at Samaria for a drink? It was there He met a woman who was at the neediest point in her life. She'd been searching for the right thing in the wrong places all along, that was until she met the King of kings and Lord of lords.

When she realized who Jesus was, and how He was capable of setting her free...releasing her from the bondage of so many years, she became a one-woman army, an evangelist who spread the good news to anyone she could find. So many people came to Christ that day. And to think Samaria was not even the ultimate destination.

God has plans for every single phase in our lives. I tell you, there's not one second unaccounted for. Not one minute. Not one hour. Even when we're in the lowest part of the valley and our eyes are looking far up into the mountain top.

So the next time we want to skip passing through the valley on the way to the mountain top, maybe we should stop and ask God, "what miracle do You have for me where I am right now, Daddy? I don't want to miss it."

When You Don't Need to Ask for Anything

2014-05-19T09:28:00.001-04:00

Let me tell you a little secret. Even in the midst of chaos, there can be the presence of peace and stillness. Times when you just know that He is God and deserving of every ounce of your worship. Times when you don't need to ask for anything because you just want to praise His holy Name. At such times, there is an innate desire, an undeniable sense of urgency, to just fall down and worship the King.

Because you know that He is your God. Because you know He sees all things and knows the end from the beginning. Because you know that not all closed doors lead to dead ends. You understand that at the turn of the second hand of your clock it is not unbecoming of Him to perform another crazy brand new miracle in your life. Yes, He can arise any moment He so chooses. Just like that. Perfect timing too. He does not wait for the agreement of man and neither is He a respecter of person. He just is the Alpha and Omega.

You don't need to ask sometimes. You only need to be confident in who He is and what He has done before. We ask for things over and over again because we are human and uncertain. But in the presence of God, lay down your guards and trust that, as crazily as it may sound to your logical self, He has already acted on your behalf. Faith is the substance of things not seen. It's a substance, although you can't touch it yet. That's the mystery of a mighty God.

Yes, it's a mystery that we can have victory every single day because we have a victorious God, no matter what the weather forecast says.

The more we worship Him with confidence, believing He has already done what He said He will do, the more we will see the works of His hand revealed. The more we wouldn't need to ask, because we already have what we're asking for. And the more we will worship at His feet...in stillness, in peace, and with utmost excitement. Try it out. Exercise your faith today, will you?

Know the Child of Whom You Are

2014-03-31T08:49:00.000-04:00

I love the home I grew up in. My parents were selfless, sacrificing everything to give their children the best of nurturing, love, undivided attention, and top-notch education. We didn't have all the riches in the world, nevertheless we still felt like more than a million bucks. We had everything to fulfill our needs. I don't remember ever being envious of another family because my family was the best as seen through my little eyes.

As a result of being the child of my father and mother, I've grown up to be the confident woman I am today, knowing that I will be all I aspire to be. There's this unrelenting and unapologetic level of boldness on the inside that comes as a side-effect of knowing the child of whom I am. It's natural. In-born. A feeling that can't be easily unraveled. A result of a deep understanding of who I am.

But that's not all there is to the matter...

My Highest & Foremost Identity:

I say all these, boasting of the earthly parents God gave me. But what about the Giver of life? What about the One who was before time began? The One who fashioned me in my mother's womb and catapulted me into a destiny bigger than I thought I'd ever experience.

"I am, more than anything else, a child of the King."

Truly, this is my highest identity. If I limit my knowledge to just my parents, then it would be a mistake...for the lines of my inheritance (and also of yours) is far greater than just the family you were born into.

Know the child of whom you are. You are a child of the king. You are royalty. It doesn't matter what physical family you were born into, because some of you reading this might have had one or two problems while growing up with your family. But you were born into your family for a reason. No, your life is not merely about what you can receive from the world, it's really more about what you can give. Forget how the world has failed you. Push aside thoughts of how someone has limited your progress. Broaden your mindset right now. You were born to bring a gift into this world, a rare innate ability God has placed inside you that, when you find it, nothing (and no one) will be able to stop you.

So, friends, today you should hold your heads up high and walk around with some extra dose of confidence. Because you are a child of the King. The Author of life as you know it. He has given you what it takes to thrive. To succeed. To excel. To beat all the odds. To rise above indignation. To be an outlier. To walk among kings. To thread upon serpents. To be ROYALTY. Now and forever.

Psalms 139:13-18 NKJV

"For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You."

Tell me, what will you do with this knowledge? Countless things, I hope...:)

From One End to Another Beautiful Beginning

2014-01-03T10:04:00.000-05:00

Just when you thought you'd reached the very end...

In 1 Kings 17, there was a drought in Israel. Nevertheless, God chose to protect his prophet Elijah by sending him to a specific location, a brook that flowed into the river Jordan, where ravens were to be his amicable hosts -- providing faithfully for him by bringing him bread and meat twice a day. He also had a nearby brook to drink water from. At least that was until the brook dried up.

When the brook dried up, all hell let loose. It became the end of sustenance as Elijah knew it. He must have reached the end of his ropes, wondering what exactly was to happen next. His "secret" supply of water had run out. What was he supposed to do now?

But something happened that proves that our God is faithful. At the end of this assignment, another new one was already waiting...just when Elijah thought he'd reached the very end. As soon as the brook dried up, a new instruction came from the Lord telling him that it was time to move to the next location, Zarephath. There, he would find a widow that would provide his next supply of food and water. And that was exactly what happened (plus two extra mouth-dropping miracles of course).

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

2014: A Beautiful Beginning

Today, I'm here once again to let you know that God isn't done with you yet. You are in a brand new year. 2014! It actually sounds sweet to say. Two. Thousand. And. Fourteen. Last year is burnt, over, and done with.

If you are reading this, I speak greater things into your 2014. If you reached the end of an assignment in 2013, I want you to know that God isn't done with you yet. Yeah, your brook might have dried up. You might feel like you've reached the end of your sustenance, but God has another assignment for you (you should start smiling right now). If you felt blessed in 2013, you were only just scratching the surface of your blessings. Rise up. Raise your head up. The Bible says "the expectations of the righteous (those wrapped with the righteousness of Christ) shall NOT be dashed."

The question is: what are you expecting in 2014? Are you stretching your neck to see what God has in store for you this year? Or are you already feeling fearful? Please let it not be heard of that you are afraid. Be excited, bold, and confident of your God.

At the end of one's temporary assignment is usually the beginning of another beautiful one. As long as you still have breath in you, God still wants your life to bring Him glory. There's still much of your purpose to live out. So with this, I raise my glass to you and say HAPPY NEW YEAR, dear Readers of the Light-A-Lamp Blog. Cheers to another beautiful beginning...

Love, J.

"Inspired" |by Tolulope Ilesanmi

2013-12-02T00:00:00.000-05:00

Jesus made several puzzling statements, including,

"Whosoever says to this mountain, be removed and cast into the sea and does not doubt in his heart but believes that those things which he says will come to pass shall have whatever he says." Mark 11:23

It is puzzling because most of us
know our words do not come to pass. Why would this be? Is it because
we are not "whosoevers?" He also said elsewhere "everyone who asks
receives." Our experiences are quite different from that, to put it
mildly. Why is this?

 
The Word of God is Spirit:



Jesus is a Spirit speaking to our spirits not to our bodies or our
minds. The Word of God is Spirit. Jesus said, "The words I speak, they
are spirit and they are life." His words are designed to be responded
to by spirits not by bodies or brains. He said, "God is a Spirit and
they that worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth." We can say
"they that act, pray, ask, speak to God or in response to God must do
so in spirit and in truth." It is impossible for God to respond to us
when we are not speaking and acting from our spirits, from our core,
our hearts, our essence. God does not fellowship with mere bodies or
brains but with spirits. Our minds or mouths by themselves cannot
connect with God who is pure Spirit.

 

Mountains do not respond to intellectual or emotional words but to
words emanating from a spirit in the image of God. The whole universe
obeys a command from such spirits as it would obey Jesus or God. Why?
It does not know the difference between the image of God and God. If a
Fox sees a true image of God, do you think it will be able to tell it
is not God? Jesus made it clear: "They that believe in me, the works
that I do shall they do and greater works than these shall they do."



As far as creation is concerned a true image of God speaking from
his spirit through the Spirit is no different from God speaking.
You are not God and you, God and the devil know that but the mountain
does not know the difference. I believe the sun and the moon responded
to Joshua as they would to God. Imagine! A human being commanded the
heavenly bodies and they promptly obeyed! It is not far-fetched when
you consider that humans are God's images, whose potential is Christ.



When God makes a copy of anything, you will need supernatural help to
tell the difference between the copy and the original. It's our reborn
spirits that are copies of God, not our bodies which are mere earthen
vessels. We severely limit ourselves and tether ourselves to the
terrestrial when we allow our bodies and senses to lead us. At best,
we would be considered "highly evolved animals." The good thing is
when I live from my spirit, my body and soul are in alignment and
supernaturally invigorated - they transcend limitations. All things
become possible. You walk on water.


Be in spirit 24/7:

Our primary calling is being in spirit 24/7. You cannot speak a word
from your spirit and God not hear you anymore than your child will
call your name and you not hear and respond. One reason for lack of
results, lack of answered prayers, stationary mountains of all kinds
is that we are not speaking and acting from our spirits, which is not
only the image of God but is also the dwelling place of God.


Get out of your head. It is limited, it is untrustworthy and will lead
you in the way that seems right but only ends in destruction. Get out
of your emotions and senses, rise above your feelings and be in
spirit. Let your spirit be the one reading this - go beyond the words
and letters. The letters deaden, even if they are in the Bible, but the
spirit invigorates, resurrects, brings life. Let your heart and not
your head or feelings be the one relating with your family, your
neighbors and co-workers and see what will happen to you and your
environment. You will create exactly what Jesus would create or
greater if He were in your shoes. Be in spirit. You will be intensely
hated or intensely loved, never in between. 



How Can You Tell Whether You are in Spirit?
When you or I are in spirit, we are in love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.
If any of them is missing we are not in spirit but in the flesh and no
matter what I am going through, God cannot "hear" me in the flesh and
the universe cannot respond to me except by toil and sweat. Check out
Christ's sweatlessness - that is what we are capable of and what we
ought to aspire to. 

Imagine being able to multiply material substance,
heal disease, transform individuals and communities, create products
like Christ did without all the deadly contraptions we use today to
achieve nothing but more death.


When you are in spirit, God hears and responds to you, demons
acknowledge you, people recognize you even if they cannot tell what it
is about you that is healing, life-giving, peaceful, joyful, full of
light because you are what we all aspire to - Christlikeness. The
universe responds to you as it would its Creator, when you are in
spirit.

Another word for "in spirit" is, inspired.

Patanjali said this, millennia ago:

 "When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary
project, all your thoughts break their bonds; your mind transcends
limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you
find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world. Dormant forces,
faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a
greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be."

 

I believe being inspired by a great purpose does that to you. But
imagine being inspired by The Holy Spirit, allowing the Spirit to find
expression through you and I, from our spirits, not in a mere
religious sense (having a form of godliness but denying the power
thereof) but in reality.



Then, the prayer will be fulfilled, "Thy will be done on earth as it
is in heaven".

T.I.

An Invitation to Walk on Water

2013-11-18T13:54:00.001-05:00

As the fourth watch of the night approached, the tide rose and the waves rocked the boat violently from side to side, causing loud swooshing sounds to be heard on either side. Some of the men on the boat had woken up from sleep because of the intensity of the waves. Among those awake was Peter.

Any time from now the sun was bound to show a little bit of itself and Peter desired to catch a glimpse of the first glow of sunrise. It would be a great start to the morning. Nevertheless, it was still as black as it could be. He was sitting at one edge of the boat reflecting on the miracle of the day before. What a shocker! 5,000 people fed from almost nothing. And there just happened to be 12 baskets of leftovers. How in the world did that happen? It wasn't something he heard about. He was there when it happened. He even helped to feed the people. What a mighty God they worshiped.

The men had gone ahead of the master on this boat. They'd had no intention of leaving him behind, but it had seemed like he wanted to be alone in the aftermath of the miracle. Peter was sometimes astounded by Jesus. He was so full of surprises and no one ever knew what He was going to do or say next. Sometimes he felt so inadequate. What had he done for Jesus to select him as part of his team?

Just as he thought of Jesus, he spotted something in the distance. Wait a minute, it wasn't something. It was someone. And that someone seemed to be glowing. But that wasn't what bothered Peter, it was the fact that this strange person was floating, no walking, on the raging waves.

With shaky fingers, Peter pointed to the light and shouted, "Phantasma! Phantasma!" (Spirit! Spirit!). Immediately the men gathered themselves at the center of the boat and began to cry out for help, even as the strange person kept walking towards their boat.

It was Peter who recognized him first. "Master!" he screamed. No, it wasn't a spirit. It was Jesus. "It's me. Don't be afraid." He shouted, raising both hands to wave to them. A surge of emotions overcame Peter. All the reflections of the day before came back to him. The power of God. The mighty miracles. The surprises. The goodness of God. A smile broke out on his face as he forgot about the reality of the waves. "Then let me come to you, Yeshua," he shouted.

"Come," Jesus answered.

Immediately, Peter accepted that invitation and jumped out of the boat. He looked upon the face of his friend and there was a smile there. He kept walking. He spread his arms out to feel the rush of the wind. Although it was a short moment, it felt like forever. He kept walking to Jesus until something happened. Just for a second, he took his eyes off Jesus to look at the waves. All of a sudden, he remembered the reality he was faced with. The violent winds. The waves tossing to and fro. The high tide. The darkness of the night. His wobbly feet. The lightness of the water compared to his weight.

"Save me. Save me!" he cried out, as he began to sink. Immediately, there was a hand holding his. "Why did you doubt, Peter?" Jesus asked him. "Why did you doubt?"

***************************************

The story above is based on the true historical account of Matthew 14 in the Bible where Jesus extended an invitation to Peter to walk on water. Something amazing happened. Peter actually accepted that invitation, and when he did his eyes were completely focused on Jesus. And oh yes, he experienced an extraordinary moment for a few minutes. He experienced the power of walking with God. He felt a moment of lifted burdens. Nothing else seemed to matter for a while, not even the violent waves.

Don't Take Your Eyes Off Jesus

It was only when Peter took his eyes off Jesus that once again he was pressed down by the reality of the situation. He forgot that if God was with him, there was nothing to worry about. He forgot that the One who made the seas was right there with him. The reality of the situation clouded his judgment. He miscalculated. The truth was that what seemed to be big (the waves) was indeed so much smaller than the power of God.

Will You Accept this Invitation?

I don't know what you are going through today, but whatever it is, God is extending that same invitation to all of us to walk on water. It's an invitation for us to stop allowing impending circumstances to cloud our vision of what a mighty God He is. I'm accepting this invitation. I currently have a lot of tasks I have to do both for the month of November and December, but my focus is on Jesus and I know I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. That will be my motto for the rest of the year.

How about you? Will you accept God's invitation to walk on water too? Happy Monday, dear readers. I hope this serves as a great reminder and good start to your week. Walk on water, guys. Walk on water! When we intentionally choose to walk on water, we are saying "yes" to God's reality and "no" to what the circumstance "feels" like. With God, nothing is impossible. We can do the impossible. We can walk on water. Nothing is too difficult for God.

As always I'd love to read from you in the comments. What do you say? Is it time for a faith booster? I hope this excites you and increases your faith in what you're believing God for.

J.A

Owning Your Journey | by Tolu Odulesi

2013-11-11T00:00:00.000-05:00

Introducing Mr. Tolu Odulesi. Today, I have the priceless opportunity to feature a powerful post by Tolu, an avid reader of the Light a Lamp Blog, a prolific writer, and a child of God. This Blog is blessed to have him on board as a collaborative guest writer, there will certainly be more from him in the future. I believe this post carries a very important message for anyone ready to go on a journey of fulfilling God's purpose in his or her life.

*************

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" - Isa 41:10

God's grace is not meant to make us passive; the grace of God will never let you take on a passive role in your journey of being transformed into Christ likeness. There is an "active" dimension to our relationship with God, whereby we must ACT! There is an intentionality that we must own if we are to become Christ-like.

In the scripture above you are meant to carry out the command "do not fear" or "do not be dismayed." You actively eliminate fear by feasting on God and believing in his goodness and greatness towards you. You do what you have to, to eliminate fear and press on towards the high call of God on your life.

This same dimension was present when God repeatedly told Joshua to be Strong and Courageous. Joshua had to figure out how to be strong and courageous. His fears were not going to just disappear. He had to feast on the word (Josh 1:7-8) and then BELIEVE it.

After believing, when Joshua's fears manifested, he knew they were lies and so he intentionally and actively shut down the voice of the inner critic, the voice of the enemy and all other voices that stood against the words God gave him.

Your choices matter | Be Intentional:

Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD is the one who goes before you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor forsake you - Deut 31:8

We are people of dominion! We must allow the word of God to penetrate deep into our hearts – Prov 4:20-27. We can allow it or block it from penetrating our hearts. We do this by intentionally choosing to read the scriptures, sit in silence and meditate, read books and commentaries, listen to sermons, discuss scriptures with others, etc. These activities must go beyond something on our “to-do-list.” They become our lives, how we live.

In Col 3:15 &16, you see again that God has ordained things to work in a way where we are actively involved in how our lives shape up. How do you “let” the word of God dwell richly in you? By engaging spiritual disciplines and choosing activities that make you present to the Holy Spirit. You craft your days and nights in such a way that you are attentive to God.

How do we “let” the peace of Christ (peace that comes from Christ) rule (act as an umpire) in our hearts?

We do this by trusting in God and holding on to Him – Ps 26:3-4.

We intentionally choose to trust even when the facts are telling a different story. And we don’t do this once or twice; we continually do this to build our faith.

He has already given us His peace (John 14:27) and in the second part of that verse, we again see the necessity of being active, of taking what God has given to you. Not waiting and expecting peace to find you, but you lay hold on peace because peace is not stillness, peace is found in a person – Christ! You lay hold of peace by believing in His goodness and greatness towards you.

Being Proactive is a Necessity

With a lot of scriptures, I see that being proactive is a necessity. It is required of us – Arise and Shine, Rise up and take possession of the land, etc. Why does God insist that we have to first take a step in faith before possessing what He has promised us? It is so that we mature and become competent humans who are not thrown around by every wind that comes up.

So when the enemy brings about discouragement, stand strong, the One who called you is faithful. I know it can be trying but He will help you and uphold you.

Nothing good, especially transformation into Christlikeness, can happen by chance or by you living unintentionally. We, humans, are created with the greatest capacity to choose and be intentional, yet we are the ones who live life unintentionally the most.

An ant will NEVER wake up and decide it is a lion and decide to sleep all day and hunt in the evening. An antelope will not just wake up and decide he is now a cheetah. Yet this is how we live as humans, as Christians.

Even Jesus had to be intentional about his life. He learnt obedience through the things he suffered. There was an intentionality to his life and we must begin to own our process, our journey, if we will ever become all that He intends us to be.

Own your journey. Be intentional. Trust God.

We would love to read your comments...

Super Human

2013-09-30T00:30:00.000-04:00

You hear a call for distress and you instinctively know what you have to do. The bodysuit is right there in your closet, complete with the red and yellow superman crest on the chest and the soon-to-be free-flowing cape. Grabbing it with one hand, you press a button with the other. The button opens the rooftop access and away you go. To the rescue.

Although sparsely distributed and occurring only on certain days in a year, there are those pivotal moments when we feel like we are super human. On such days, we seem to be surprisingly endowed with extra bursts of energy to do every single thing we wish to do in only so much as a day's work. We pray, do our devotionals, make breakfast platters fit for champions, bathe babies, feed them, eat fruits and veggies, exercise, pack lunch, go to work, attend conferences, hold meetings, lead teams, train employees, pick the kids from school, wash dishes, get dinner started, do laundry, wipe noses, read bed time stories, write blog posts, say our prayers once more, and finally go to bed (I purposely made that a really long sentence to emphasize the super-humanness of all that). Yes, real life super human stuff. Amazing, right?

But what about those days when we feel weak? Do those exist? For me, they do. And when they come, that still small voice rises up to remind me:

"Dear daughter, my grace is sufficient for you, for in your very weakness, My strength is perfected." 2 Corinthians 12:9.

And when I get reminded of this I just let go and let God.

Isn't it amazing to know that I don't have to struggle all by myself? No, when I'm weak He is strong. When I'm sick, by His stripes I am healed. When I make mistakes, because of Jesus I am redeemed. When I feel inadequate, He becomes my sufficiency. In lack, I still have everything. When I have a need, He is able to supply all my needs according to His unending riches.

God is my amazing necessity because in Him I am complete. Hallelujah. Let me tell you something. If you are reading this and you feel like the opposite of "super human," I want you to know that you're in the right place. Here on this Blog, I am celebrating my SUPER GOD. No, not my "super human." No human is as super as my super God. If you're tired of being strong all by yourself, you have the right to be. He is our daily sustenance. Without Him, we are lost. We need His grace just to be.

I don't have to be super human when I have a super God.

So please, let go of your ego, super humans. Yes, Jesus said we will do greater things than He did here on earth, but these things won't happen because somehow we have super abilities, they will happen because of the power of God in us. Everything we do, we do only by the grace of God. If we should glory in anything, let it be that we have a super God. It's never by our power or might, but by the Spirit of God. May God continue to use you to exert His glory in your field of influence, in Jesus' Name. Amen. Have a blessed week, Readers. I'd love to read from you in the comments as always. Have there been times in your life where you've questioned your strength and/or weakness? Rest in His grace today.

listen to ‘Super Human’ on Audioboo

Your Story is Still Unfolding

2013-09-09T06:00:00.000-04:00

Your story is not over until it is over. It's like a seed a farmer plants in good soil. With the advent of spring, it begins to bud. Once summer comes, it spreads its wings and blossoms. As fall approaches, leaves begin to fall, shedding unwanted fragments from past seasons. Shedding off the unnecessary. The irrelevant. And when winter comes, it dies or remains dormant...only to be resurrected again the next spring. And the cycle goes on and on. Like words in a book, smothered with commas and colored with cliff-hangers, so are the words that carefully detail your life's story. They keep speaking. They don't stop in the middle of a sentence.

Six days before the Passover,

Jesus came to Bethany,

where Lazarus was who had been dead,

whom He had raised from the dead. John 12:1 NKJV

Six days before Passover,
Jesus entered Bethany where Lazarus,
so recently raised from the dead,
was living. John 12:1 The Message

One look at that verse and an epiphany comes forth. I stop reading once I realize that in the previous chapter Lazarus was dead.

Dead. Buried. No longer breathing.

One day he was living life to the fullest, having fun days with his sisters, Mary and Martha, and his friend, Jesus. And another day he was dead. But in this chapter, praise God, he IS alive again. In this chapter, he's referred to as the "Lazarus who had been dead, but who Jesus had raised from the dead."

Your Story is Alive. It might have paused, maybe even died, but it's alive again:

The details of Lazarus' life's story were only just unfolding at this time. His death was only a comma. A pause. A glitch in time. An ellipsis. A stint. And then his resurrection happened after that to show the glory and power of God.

You might be in a situation where you think it's the end of the world, but if only you could see through the eyes of God, you would give it one more push. You will be resurrected.

We die daily, but we also resurrect daily in Christ. We constantly die to things that are of no use to us. Every week, a truck comes to my neighborhood to pick up all the week-long thrash, disposed items deposited daily into the dark emptiness of a trashcan. So also are the things we die daily to. The things of the world that we lose: our old character, our fleshly desires, our old goals, our no-longer-used physical items (an old couch, old clothes, old lip gloss, old toothbrush).

I was a teenager once. Filled with young, ignorant desires. Sometimes excellently justified desires. Those were great times. The best of times and the worst of times. I remember spending long vacations with my siblings. Going swimming. Eating suya. Chicken and chips. VBS. Buying that bright pink Adidas tennis shoes that became my most priced possession because I bought them from a real Adidas store in Lagos (major thanks to my dad). I loved and was loved. I laughed and cried. I was full of life, and I still am.

However, now I'm in my late twenties (really!). But hey, I'm loving where I am. I have a wonderful husband. An adorable baby. A career that's gradually pushing me forward past boundaries I could never have imagined I'd be pushing (no, I didn't plan to be in this field). Right now, I have no limits to the things I can do. I know God wants me here, but I also realize now that my life is only just unfolding. Like Lazarus, some things in my life might have died, but I stand here to praise His name because I have been fully resurrected in Christ and I'm swimming in newly found grace for this beautiful dream of a life God has placed in front of me. I am somewhere still at the beginning of the book God wrote about me. So much is still ahead of me. I'm still pressing forward. Of course, I still have loads of things I want to accomplish and challenges to overcome. We all have those. But the key is dying daily to things of the world that are irrelevant to my purpose, and resurrecting daily in Christ. Learning daily. Gleaning wisdom. Feeling empowered.

What about you? Do you feel like this knowledge of being in a continuous unfolding story in the eyes of God has empowered you to live fully in the present? You should feel empowered too. You should feel encouraged and strengthened to press forward. Yes, grab God's hand. He's always been there waiting for you to realize that there's so much ahead of you. He has already seen the end, and it looks really good for you, if you believe. Don't you have God's Word? His Word is powerful and such an eye-opener and purpose giver. Here are some of the words He is speaking to you today:

God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Numbers 23:19 NKJV

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11 NKJV

When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them." The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad." Psalms 126:1-3 (verse supplied by an amazing Lamp Reader @twitolufunke on Twitter)

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. Revelation 22:13 NKJV

Dear Readers, if there's something in your life that seemed really precious to you and it's dead today, don't stop living. Your life is still unfolding. Ask the Holy Spirit for the next step to take. If there's one thing you get out of this, I want it to be these words: "My life is still unfolding. God is making everything beautiful in my life right now. There's so much to be grateful for right in this moment. I will anticipate my future because God is not done with me yet. I will die daily to the things that are irrelevant to my purpose, and I will also resurrect daily to face newness in Christ."

Question: What is that one thing in your life that God is directing you to let go of, but you're still holding on to? I'd love to read your comment.

An Unconscious Compromise

2013-08-19T12:00:00.000-04:00

That fine day witnessed a sudden unexpected turn of events. Although they were totally unaware of what they had become, He saw it before they could.

The day I write about depicts Jesus going into the temple, and with all the passion inside Him, turning tables upside down, leaving those who saw what had happened in a pitiful predicament. When had the people taken such a wrong turn? How had they missed the mark?

Let's think carefully about this. I dare say that it was never an over-night thing for the temple to become a market place. Rather, think of it as an excruciatingly slow (gradual) process. The first person to sell something within the temple grounds must have secretly spoken to someone else, inviting him or her to buy a precious item. After fire and brimstone did not come down from heaven to devour the seller, this person would have continued to sell in secret, luring anyone who cared to listen...taking them away from the messages of the pulpit and enticing them with the distractions of material possessions. Slowly, it probably became a clique, a "we-sell-good-things" group. A "come-and-buy-from-us-and-God-will-bless-you" kind of group. An "I-don't-think-this-is-a-sin" clique.

An unconscious compromise.

This might be a hard message, but it is a good one! It's a small message, but it resounds a priceless life-changing principle. This message is deeply embedded in the critical need for the constant presence of the Holy Spirit in our "daily" lives.

In our generation today, our ears are slowly becoming desensitized to the voice of the Holy Spirit. While preaching on Sunday, my pastor asked a question that made me laugh, "How ridiculous do you think the disciples felt when Jesus said, "it is to your advantage that I go away because if I don't the Helper will not come"? (paraphrased). They must have felt so let down. How could they have left everything they had to follow Jesus only to hear that "it was to their advantage" that He was leaving them? Say what? How does that even make any sense? How was that supposed to be an "advantage"?

If Jesus never left, the Holy Spirit would have never come. It was to our advantage that He left, so that the Holy Spirit can come and dwell inside our hearts.

A desensitization to the voice of the Holy Spirit is never a one-day turn-around. It is a painful gradual process where we constantly choose the world over the Spirit of God. We tell ourselves, "it's okay to do this," and "it's okay to do that." Until one day, we don't know the truth anymore because our ears no longer listen.

This week, I am inspired to remind myself and anyone who will read this to reflect on any unconscious compromises made both in the past and now which, albeit unknowingly, has pushed us further away from being "intimate" with God.

Psalm 17:8 "Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of your wings."

Psalm 91:1 "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."

To dwell in that secret place requires us to "hear" from God. It requires a desire to always be led in the direction of the Holy Spirit. If that daily desire is not there, it will become a case of an unconscious compromise where one day we will wake up in the morning and ask ourselves, "Where am I? What have I done? I don't feel His presence in my life anymore."

The sweet warm embrace of the Father is where we belong. It's the best place to be. It's a place where we can easily hear the voice of the Holy Spirit teaching us right from wrong, and encouraging us to take the right steps. The Psalmist was very conscious of this when he cried out, "Hide me under the shadow of your wings." That's where I want to be...always and forever. Dear Holy Spirit, we invite You into every aspect of our lives today. Hide us under the shadow of your wings and cause our ears to be highly sensitized to hear Your voice daily, in Jesus' Name. Amen. I'd love to hear from you. Have you made a daily decision to be sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit? How do you do this? I pray that you will be inspired to do so and more, and that you will see the blessings that come from Him because of this.

Why Foundations Matter

2013-08-12T00:36:00.000-04:00

First, let me say "it's good to be back." I have had an amazing journey through the first half of the year, and in lots of ways it has prepared me for the second half. My son is 7 months and some weeks now. He's sort of stabilizing his own schedule and beginning to be an independent little feisty one. I've learned and am still learning lots of new stuff on time management and how to be highly effective every day. It had to be this year. I've been blessed with testimonies regarding that.

With all that said, today's chronicles and short reflection is really about why Foundations matter. As we go through life, there's no denying that as long as each day becomes new, challenges arise with it's arrival. How do we handle these challenges? Take a look at this verse:

Isaiah 40:30-31 NKJV

"Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint."

The truth is that your foundation matters. It makes a difference whether you choose to build your life on a solid rock or on sinking sand. When challenges rise, your foundation speaks loudly. If the Lord is your foundation, your strength will always be renewed. Why? Don't you know that He is the most renowned Author? The Beginning and the End? The Yes & the Amen?

The Beginning & the End: He formed you in a secret place (Psalms 139). He knows you inside and out. He sees you when you wake up in the morning and when you go to bed at night. In fact, He wrote about your story before you were even born. Let's face it, we have a choice of what foundation we want to lean on. I can tell you right now that If I were given the choice to choose the One who wrote my story, I would choose Him a thousand times over.

Children are born desolate every day. Marriages fail. People lose vision. They don't die physically, but they die inside. Ties are broken. Bridges get burned down. People lose focus. All because they build their souls on foundations which are seemingly solid on the outside, but crumbling on the inside.

I know a foundation that will never crumble. His name is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

Won't you choose Him today and forever? Come, let's build our house on a solid foundation. Let's choose the rock of ages today...and always. If you're in-between a rock and a hard place about choosing a strong foundation, I want to say a short prayer for you: "May your heart be open and sensitive enough to know that you are at the center of God's heart today, and before you were born, He already chose you." Amen. Till next time...

*Light-A-Lamp*

Your Experience Does Not Define You

So what can you do to make sure your experiences don't define your identity?

So back to you, how can you make sure that what you're going through right now does not define who you are?

1. KNOW (K)

2. REMEMBER (R)

3. ASK (A)

4. VERIFY (V)

5. EXAMPLE (E)

It Doesn't End in Darkness, Light Has Come

On Closed Doors | 3 Things to Do

Rise Up, Build, Fight: How to Use What's in Your Hands

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My Audience of One

Easy Life | A Post-Easter Reprise

Prepare Your Horse for the Day of Battle | An Ode

Graffiti

The Vantage Point: What's Yours?

What You Don't Know About Your Words

Even for Your Smallest Heartaches

A Short Letter to You

Perfectly Flawed | A Poem

What It Takes to Truly Grow in Christ

There's a Miracle in Your Valley

When You Don't Need to Ask for Anything

Know the Child of Whom You Are

From One End to Another Beautiful Beginning

"Inspired" |by Tolulope Ilesanmi

An Invitation to Walk on Water

Owning Your Journey | by Tolu Odulesi

Super Human

Your Story is Still Unfolding

An Unconscious Compromise

Why Foundations Matter

Light-A-Lamp