22

"I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22!" Even though I planned on singing this song yesterday, I forgot. I'm not sure what 22 is supposed to feel like, but if it's feeling tired, then I feel 22. If I were to sum up my feelings yesterday in emoji's then this would be the story they told; 📚📖📝📊📈🙏🏼😴📢👀⛈🌪⛈🌧😴☀️🌧😃🎁🚗💊🚗📝📚📖🌧🚗🙏🏼📝⌛️✖️✔️➖➕💲✖️✔️💱❓⁉️⏱🙏🏼👎🏼😐😔😢😩😭❓⁉️😔😢👭🌮🎁🎁🎂😃🚗🛍👖👚👗🚗🌽🍞🍲🍰🎁🎁💭😔❓🙍🏻📱📄😢😊🙏🏼👍🏻😊🎁🍰🖥🙏🏼😴☀️🍰📱📄❓⁉️😬😊.

From 12am yesterday to 10:00am this morning, it has been an emotional roller coaster to say the least. I waited and waited for my GED Math test accommodations to come through and still nothing. I scheduled the test with out them and prayed that God would continue to pull me through. 12am November 18th and I am still studying the last chapter of my book. Just when I decide to get rest, a tornado warning puts us all on alert. Finally at about 5am I decide to get rest. 7:30 I wake up and go to my behavioral health appointment. There, my doctor tells me how proud of myself that I should be for accomplishing everything that I have in the year since I was put on medication for my ADD. I then study some more and pray for God to continue to lead my steps as I take the test, even without the 30 or so extra minutes my mind needed to process the math problems. And then it began.

Up until the last 30 minutes of the test, I was okay. It took longer to process the problems on the screen and before I knew it, I had six questions left to answer and only 1 minute. I did my best to figure out the answers and that was it. I was out of time. I sat in the parking lot for 30 minutes praying and reflecting. Why did my brain not process information like everybody else? Why did I feel like a failure? Why did I spend those short times talking the last few weeks when I could have gotten that little bit more studying done? Why did I always feel like I was being pulled in so many directions all of the time? While I continued to feel down about myself, and asking why, God waited patiently. Then He gently reminded me.

He created every part of me and He makes no mistakes. My brain is another part of His creation and He wired it differently because He wants me to see and process things differently.

I am not a failure. Failure means giving up and not trying again. I failed my own expectations because I put to much pressure on myself and continually take back what I Keep giving to Him.

Those few moments spent talking when I could have been studying weren't without purpose. I listened to a broken heart, a discouraged soul and tried to show them the very same love that I've been shown. It wasn't time wasted. It was purposeful.

I finally decided to move on with the rest of my day and look for the sun in the dreary weather that surrounded me. 3pm rolled around and the test results were in. 143 in bold red appeared in front of me. I sat there for 5 minutes dreading to tell everyone that I failed. 7 points kept me from moving on to the next step of my life. With a shaky voice and tears, I told everyone that has been cheering me on the news.

Then everything came full circle. Their reactions of love, support and encouragement wrapped around me and reminded me that I am loved and God is in control. This time I was the one in need. My friends and family dropped everything going on in their busy lives to show me they supported me and remind me that even though I may fail, I am still loved.

Last night while still reminding myself that God didn't carry me through the oceans in my life just to let me drowned in shallow water, a friend shared her testimony of a recent near death experience and realizing how much God loves her and that He will carry her through everything that she struggles with and even though she's failed a few times in life, that He always gives her a new start.

I cried. God reminded me yet again that He is always right on time and no time is ever wasted when you show someone His love, because it just might save their life.

I had two tests yesterday. I may have failed my math test, but God's test was more important and His love and encouragement that I feel from Him and those He places in my life, mean more to me than you will ever know. Thank you for your love and support and for reminding me of my purpose.

Even though I have been challenged in many ways about going to school in Auburn, I won't let the devil change the plans that God has for my life. I plan on taking my test again soon. My accommodations for extra time came through this morning at 10:00am. God is always on time.

Here's to 22 and second chances.

What are you made of?

Everything that we learn, everything that God adds to who we are, just adds another facet to the jewel of our life.

We all face pressures and darkness in life, but it's according to what we're made of as to what we become as a result of those pressures.

Diamonds are formed under extreme conditions. All of that pressure would cause most things to break, but because of what a diamond is made of, all of that pressure becomes a diamond in the rough. Then a skilled artisan smooths out the rough spots and clears away the debris so that the diamond can reflect light.

We are all like that. We can look at the pressures of life as a burden or we can know that while we are under those pressures, that God is creating in us something beautiful, rare and of great value. Each thing that God adds to our lives are like a facet on a diamond. Each one tells a story of something that we have overcome and something that God worked out in us.

God saw that the dust could become strong under pressure. He then saw the beautiful potential that we could become if He worked out the rough spots in us.

We are all diamonds in the rough that has withstood pressure and has overcome many things in this life. Each facet that God creates is a way to reflect the light that He shines upon us. We can use those facets to show others what God has done in us. Where we once were weak, He made us strong. Where we once were rough, He smooths and creates in us something more beautiful than we could ever imagine. We just have to trust in Him that He is working it out. Each one is unique and each one serves a purpose.

Look at the diamond of your life. Whether it be on your left hand, your heart or relationship. It represents something made pure that has overcome pressure and darkness. It represents a stone being handed to a wonderful Creator that can work out the rough spots and create something new and beautiful that reflects the light around it.

I will never see a diamond as just a stone ever again.

“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”

Philippians 1:6 KJV

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

Philippians 4:13 KJV

“But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”

1 Peter 5:10 KJV

“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

Matthew 5:14-16 KJV

The Goal is Jesus

I wanted to share something that was laid on my heart last night.

I'm not sure if anyone in our town knows just exactly how many church buildings actually exist in Atmore. It's about 61 give or take. I have friends that travel all over the United States and said that they have never seen so many church buildings on one street than they have here.

Some may think if you don't follow "their" rules or go to "their" church or read from "their" denominations Bible, that you aren't going to heaven. Are they judging you by your church association or by what's in your heart? When they look at me into the window of my life, do they not see Jesus living in my heart waving back at them?

It's your heart and your fruits. It's not if you belong to a denomination or follow man made rules. Strip that all away, what is left? Is the same goal not Jesus and sharing His love?

With that said, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ.

God put something on my heart to write last night and I felt it needed to be shared.

“And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us. And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.”

Luke 9:49-50

*The Goal is Jesus*

We're all working, for the same goal,

We all want to get to the same place.

We're all sinners and fall from grace,

Saved by a Son for every sin that could ever be made...-

It shouldn't matter about the clothes we wear,

If the same light shines and it's Jesus's love we share.

We all seek the very same face,

And by the same Son we all are saved.

Oh woah woah woah, oh oh oh,

Oh woah woah woah, oh oh oh.

Oh woah woah woah, oh oh oh,

Oh woah woah woah, oh oh oh.

If we all have Jesus in our hearts,

And we all live under the same bright stars.

Shouldn't we all work together to share God's love,

Teaching about The One above.

Brothers and sisters in the same Spirit...-

If we are children of the same kingdom,

And our Heavenly Father can hear us.

We shouldn't define as a denomination,

When the very same goal is Jesus....

Oh woah woah woah, oh oh oh,

Oh woah woah woah, oh oh oh.

Oh woah woah woah, oh oh oh,

Oh woah woah woah, oh oh oh.

If when we all say our prayers at night,

In the name of the one that laid down His life.

If God's words are the very same that we read,

Then shouldn't we believe the same thing.

Oh woah woah woah, oh oh oh,

Oh woah woah woah, oh oh oh.

Oh woah woah woah, oh oh oh,

Oh woah woah woah, oh oh oh.

Road Trip

Have you ever gone on a road trip and needed to use a map or GPS to get you from A to B? Once you know the destination that you are going, you type in the address and trust that the GPS will get you there.

Sometimes you think you know a shortcut or a better route than the one mapped in front of you so you take it. "Illegal U-turn. Re-routing.", that is the sound of a little bit of misdirection guided by our own intelligence or sometimes lack thereof. Your destination becomes a little farther away.

We all have a destination in mind and God knows the best way to get there. If we put our trust fully in Him, we can make it. We sometimes take what we think is a short cut or make a detour, but God is always there to re-route us.

Give your coordinates to God and don't be surprised if He re-routes your course. Share your testimony and warnings of wrong turns and bad short cuts. Help give assistance to those in need along the way and insight to help lost travelers get back on their course. Don't forget to take in the beautiful scenery around you and don't forget to ask for assistance if you too find yourself in need of assistance or a bit lost.

“There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.”

Proverbs 19:21 KJV

Are you charged up?

Right now there is a good chance that you are reading this from your phone or tablet. Look at the percentage of battery left. Do you need to charge your device? Or do you have enough of a charge to get you through the day ahead of you?

It just occurred to me that our relationship with God is like that.

A few years ago when I started driving on my own, I realized that I had left my phone at home. Panic set in and I realized that I was pretty much alone. No phone to connect me to anyone or anything. What would I do if an emergency came up? I wondered if OnStar in the car would work if needed.

What I didn't realize at the time is that I wasn't alone. God was with me as He is always with everyone of us. If an emergency were to happen, I know that God would help direct the steps of all involved.

Tonight I read about being 'plugged in' to God. Of course my mind starts thinking of me being like a phone and Him being the power source. We need His charge to get through the day. I myself find joy and security in seeing my phones battery percentage being at 100%. Sometimes things happen throughout the day that cause me to use more of the stored energy than I had originally planned. When I see I only have 1% left, I know that the battery is almost completely gone and the light is about the go out and my phone will no longer be of use until it can recharge. Aren't we the same?

We are like that smart phone; full of resources and unlimited possibilities. God is our power source. The only source from which we gain strength. If we neglect charging our spirit with Him, then we become drained and our lights can't shine as bright. If we can be disciplined in charging our phones when the battery gets low, then we can be disciplined in charging our spirit just the same.

God is our strength and power source. His word gives us energy and light. We are instruments that He can use every day if we charge our battery up with Him. As long as we hold charge, we are full of resources, connections, unlimited possibilities and light that God can use for good.

If an emergency happened and someone needed your phone's resources to contact help, would it have enough charge for them to get the help they need and possibly save a life? The more charge (God's word) that you have, the more God can use that charge for you to be a light in the darkness and an instrument for good.

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” -Philippians 4:13

13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. (1 Thessalonians 2:13 KJV)

“And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”

John 6:35 KJV