Faith to Build

Greetings!  It’s been a very long time since my last post but I’m Back!!! I pray that all is well with you and yours and that your Summer has been blessed, enjoyable, and restful!

As I was preparing for Sunday morning worship service, I heard these words in my spirit – “If you build it, he will come.” The first thing I thought of was the movie “Field of Dreams” where Kevin Costner played a character who had heard a voice instructing him to build a baseball field in the middle of nowhere and “go the distance” in doing so.  Despite people thinking that he was crazy and him feeling uncomfortable doing so himself, he did follow through.  After viewing the trailer and getting a clearer picture of the instruction, I had to ask God how it all applied to real life and the now.  Personally, I know the place that the Father has me in building and bringing my dreams and purpose to life; however, I needed to dig deeper to uncover the hidden meaning in this new instruction. Another line from the movie helped me to shed some light:  “Sometimes when you believe the impossible, the incredible comes true.” Hebrews 12:1 tells us that Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.  God has a way of giving instruction that sounds crazy and may not make sense in the natural, but when we make the decision to trust Him and do it anyway, we end up seeing something incredible and breathtaking come to pass.  We just have to activate our faith.

Encouragement:  For the person reading this at this moment who is perplexed as to whether you should move forward with the instruction that you heard (not what man told you), God is telling us to  “BUILD it and GO the distance” and everything else that is needed WILL come.  It may sound crazy, may feel awkward, and Lord knows those looking may think we have lost our mind, but Obedience is better than sacrifice. Thank you Lord for leading us as we build.  May we move forward in Faith, you cause Fear to fail, and may we see the manifestation in the natural of what you have already been done in the spirit. Amen.

I’d Love to support you in any way that I can and also agree with you in prayer as you step out on God’s instruction to build. Send me an email to: dee_abundantlifecoach@yahoo.com.

News:  Have you heard all the buzz? I was blessed to collaborate with 13 other phenomenal women authors in the book: Cultivate your IT Factor.  Order your copy here:

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Peace, Love & Blessings

In His Service

Dee Abundant Life Coach

The thief comes to steal, and to kill, and to destroy, but I have come that you might have life, and that more abundantly. John 10:10

The Balancing Act: A Life Lesson from a missing pair of shoes

DeeAbundantLifeCoach

Did you know that God has a sense of humor?  Well, He does.  During a teleconference last week, I was blessed to share from the topic:  The Balancing Act:  Achieving More by doing Less.  We live in a day and age where it’s extremely easy to get pulled into a vicious cycle of being busy more often than not. Our schedules are overloaded, we are stressed, and the foundation of our families are suffering because there is no time left to have one on one bonding time. Most couples are struggling to balance work and extracurricular activities of the children and therefore are too tired to connect intimately at the end of the day.  I believe that it is time to get back to basics and seek to achieve a healthy sense of balance by making Jesus the center of everything that we seek to accomplish for ourselves and our families.  The ideal amount of balance can be found in our commitment to P.R.E.S.S. which is an acronym for the following:

P ursue your purpose

R esist the urge to be busy

E njoy life to the fullest

S top saying yes to everything

S pend daily quality time in devotions and prayer

So what does God being funny have to do with all of this?  I recently signed my 8 year old up to be on a basketball team despite his persistence in telling me from the moment I signed him up, each day before and after the few practices/games that he attended, and throughout the week leading up to them.  So why did I move forward with it?  I made the decision because I was desperate to get him from in front of the tablet, playing video games or reading books.  I wanted to see him get involved with a team and most of all get up and moving.  I chose the game of basketball because of his height and I thought that it would be a perfect fit for him where sports are concerned.  On the day of a recent scheduled practice, we realized that he didn’t have his tennis with him so we would either have to go home and get them and circle back towards the practice location or forego practice all together.  We decided on the latter.  On to the lesson:  In the midst of preparing for the event I mentioned above, I began to see that I was imposing on my son the exact opposite of what I planned to share with the listening audience about being purposeful and intentional when it comes to scheduling and being involved in activities. While my intentions were innocent, they weren’t focused on his strengths and inner desires.  I am in no way saying that a parent should allow a child to do only the things that they want to do, but I truly believe that God has given us a great opportunity to position our children to blossom in their areas of strength as we observe their development.  For example, my son has been mesmerized by all things cars, technology and brands since he was three years old and until recently, I could not see how that would translate into an “activity”; however, I am now open to seeking out where his passions fit in the bigger scheme of things rather than continue to involve him in the “status quo” activities.  Who knows, I could be raising the next Bill Gates, and Engineer, etc. but he would be ill-prepared if I make it my mission to subject him to things that do not support his gifts. He may not be designed to be an all-pro athlete, but I’m committed to ensuring that his passions, purpose, and activities are nurtured as they come to the light.

As he continues to grow and discovers the activities that work for him, it will be my responsibility and pleasure to teach him that his source of direction can be found in the P.R.E.S.S. and not in the busyness of life.

Stay Tuned…..

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Intentionally Choosing Life More Abundantly

Happy New Year to You! Cheers to 2015! As Always, First, thank you for following my blog and Secondly, I’m looking forward to us connecting and growing more in our Faith in 2015.

It’s been quite some time since I’ve reached out to you; not intentionally, but because without notice, my schedule became full of some awesome opportunities; from being blessed during the month of December to take part in an amazing virtual conference along with forty something gifted women to finally getting some personal matters in order. God truly made it so that I was able to successfully finish 2014 strong and I am grateful! Can you believe that we are officially in the month of January, 2015? The year 2014 seems to me like it came and went at the blink of an eye. For me this serves as a reminder that we must intentionally engage only in those things that support our purpose and God’s plan for our lives or we will soon look up and another year has passed us by. Personally, I have no regrets about the year 2014, but I’m excited that it is behind us and I truly believe that we are embarking upon a year of tremendous blessing and transition.

I’m not going to go into a huge dialogue and strategy about setting resolutions/goals; however, I’d like to share from the perspective of intention. Since we have been blessed with another year to live life to the fullest, we have to be intentional about setting our dreams in motion in order to see them become a reality. Typically, some of the biggest things that get in the way are our mindset, hectic schedules, and refusal to buckle down and put first things first. Starting with nurturing an intimate relationship with God and then everything else follows. How can we live an abundant life if we don’t have an open and intimate relationship with the one who grants us “Life More Abundantly” {Jesus} – John 10:10. I don’t believe that we can.

So as we begin this year, I pray that we will be intentional about scheduling quiet time with the father to get clear and concise direction about how we manage our time and what activities we should/shouldn’t engage in. The balancing act of life can get very tricky if we don’t have a plan for managing it effectively and on purpose; but, I believe that God has already provided clear and concise direction for us to follow.

Join me On Thursday, January 8, 2015 at 6:30pm, I will be a speaker for the Unleash Your Greatness Virtual (Online/via Phone) Conference. I will be speaking on the topic: The Balancing Act: Achieving more by doing Less. The full conference begins on Monday, January 5, 2015 and I promise that you will be blessed by all the empowering speakers and the information that will be shared. Please be sure to register here today in order to get the call in information sent to your inbox: www.victoriouscoachinggroup.com.

Prayer of Blessing & Release for 2015

It is my prayer that any area in which we have settled will be under our feet and God’s abundant blessings (Love, Joy, Peace, Prosperity, Great health, etc.) will be released and replace it. I declare that any hidden desire that supports purpose shall be made manifest in our lives and Jesus will get all the glory; that any goals or projects previously held up for whatever reason shall be released and any provision has already been put in place to support or sustain them. I decree that there will be no more lack, no more settling, and no mediocrity shall exist in any part of our lives from this point forward.

2015 will be the year that I, that YOU, that WE, embrace and secure the manifestation of LIFE MORE ABUNDANTLY! In Jesus Name.

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Peace, Love & Blessings,

DeeAbundantLifeCoach

Reflections of YOU – God already see’s you looking better!

Hello- How is everyone doing? I hope that you are enjoying the transition into the Fall season. Some of these cool mornings make me want to stay in the bed a little while longer. Yes, I know, I’m always referring to the change in seasons but there is just something about transition (whether it be in life or in the weather) that fascinates me. This month, I’d like to share with you something that I experienced which reminded me to love the reflection of the me that God created as well as the new me he is molding. I am consistently growing in grace and reflecting more of who God has purposed me to be and so are you. This is a process that doesn’t happen overnight and will never be perfected in this lifetime; but when we commit to the process of growing in Him we can never go wrong.

Last month, I was blind-sided by a call that immediately triggered some hidden emotions regarding a traumatic event that that happened in the life of a loved on. As a result, in the natural, I immediately began to think that certain events that I had witnessed in the past were being repeated, but this time in my own life.  You see, in the midst of trying times whether they are directly or indirectly related to you, God often gives us the Grace to go through it with ease and stable emotions; however, later when anything similar to it comes our way, buried emotions may arise.  That’s exactly what an emotional trigger does. It can send you back to a space in time where you literally roll back in your mind, play for play, certain situations or events that had a huge impact on you emotionally.  For me, this particular situation was intended to be a distraction from my place of focus and productivity; however, it was also an opportunity being placed before me to either trust God and lean on His word or believe the report that was in front of me. Initially my emotions were gaining momentum and seemed to have been winning but after praying, requesting a few others to touch and agree with me about the situation in prayer, and placing the issue into God’s hand that day, I woke up refreshed and renewed the next morning with my emotions intact, the revelation of the spiritual intent of the series of events, and a Praise of Thanksgiving on my lips in advance for the good report that the Lord would soon be sending my way.  Instead of visualizing giants in the land, I now saw an opportunity for God to show himself strong in the matter.

Every day we are presented with information that can either encourage and energize us or depress and paralyze us and therefore, it is important that we maintain an observant posture of discernment so that despite what does come our way, we can keep our eyes on God and His ability to do anything but fail; no matter what we see in the natural.

This whole sequence of events and revelation reminded me of the following:

• The details of past stories do not have to equate to those of the present or future.
• The hidden things (matters or experiences not fully processed) can keep us bound to the past and limit our ability to be fully healed require an excavation (digging up the root) and final burial.
• There is nothing that comes our way that God doesn’t already know about and hasn’t already set provision in place for.
• The unexpected is going to happen because that’s just how life goes so make sure your foundation is rooted and grounded in God and His word.

Whenever reflections from past events or traumatic experiences attempt to shake your emotions and invade your present, it’s not a time to panic; on the contrary, it’s a time to be calm, to submit willingly to process any emotion that has been triggered and see it as an opportunity for growth and healing and above all else, to Trust that God is in at work in us. Ultimately, our our reflection is not wrapped up in the past, the present, or the future, but the way God sees us – Fearfully and Wonderfully made, Victorious, Triumphant, and Already looking Better!

Peace, Love & Blessings until next time….

 

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Protecting The Promise

 

A few years ago, I wrote a blog called: Congratulations! I’m expecting! Which explained some of the things a woman’s body may go through when she is expecting based on my personal experience. I specifically shared how some of those same changes can occur in the natural when you are about to birth something spiritually. During times of new beginnings, there are typically times where projects and promises that we have been carrying either naturally or spiritually will come to full term and things within and around us will begin to get into a birthing position so we can bring them forth. The dreams and promises that the Lord enables us to carry are sensitive and therefore, it is vital that we ensure that we protect the environments within and surrounding us.  Some of the things will be pleasant and there will also be challenges through the process, but God never leaves our side through any of it. Personally, I just could not imagine my life without God in it for so many reasons; however, I especially Love how He not only gives encouragement and direction but also gives us warnings and guidance about different things through prayer, meditation, discernment and wisdom. 

In a dream recently, I was shoveling snow in front of my home (in the dark for some reason) while engaging in conversation with a neighbor.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a black figure slide into a corner between my home and another neighbor’s home.  The figure attempted to conceal itself down into a chair which was hidden in a corner that I have never noticed being there before.  I immediately confronted the individual which was dressed in all black and began screaming at the person for it to get off the property immediately while drawing attention to what was going on towards my neighbor. As I turned to focus back on the figure, I saw that it had gotten up from its’ seat and was attempting to slip through the unlocked door of my home. It began to run and ended up cornered in a room within the home and had boldly started rummaging through things.  My neighbor and I had begun to pursue it, caught it and began fighting it and calling the police. My child even woke up and got into the attempt to subdue the intruder.  And then, I woke up!  Sounds strange and somewhat scary right?  I laid there thinking to myself, did I eat something that was now giving me this nightmare or was this another warning that God was blessing me with?

As I sat up in my bed, I began to pray and ask God to help me to see what this dream was all about.  I believe that the interpretation was as follows:  The enemy (anything/anyone that doesn’t have your best interest at heart) is cunning and always going about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (I Peter 5:8), intrude upon or violate you and your space. It will even go through the motion of setting up its’ plan of action during the day so that it can intrude upon your space during the cover of night or while you are focused, working diligently and enjoying the blessings of God.

Remember, your space or environment is your sanctuary.  By all means, never walk in fear (2 Timothy 1:7), but always use wisdom (James 1:5) when yielding access to your home, your life, or any space within your environments.   Don’t let your wisdom and discerning guard dogs down even when you’re in a time of focus and blessing. Remember: NO weapon that is formed against you shall prosper! Deny access to anything that attempts to taint your vision, get you off your post, or wreak havoc on your birthing ground. God’s grace is sufficient for you and his promises are Yea and Amen! He is always there. Check out this great song about the promise: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxYAKZKVv4E

There is a slogan by a well-known sports apparel company: “Protect this house! I Will!” If they can commit to going the extra mile to create quality outerwear we should most certainly remain diligent in Protecting the Promise. Do you agree? I personally accept and I Will Protect the Promise!

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A New Day, A New Beginning!

Happy Month of August Everyone! August is the eighth month of the year and it has traditionally symbolized New Beginnings. This seems to be based on the premise that the 7^th day represents completion and therefore, a new week begins when we reach the 8^th day. So welcome to your new beginning!

This month, I’d like to encourage the heart of someone who may be feeling like a failure and unsure how they can move forward from where they are because of where they have been. This world that we live in can be very cruel and attempt to judge a person based on what they know or think they know about you, but I’ve come to remind you at this moment that God has already redeemed you and what He thinks about you trumps all. Your past is behind you and the best is yet to come but in order to seize it,  you must begin to embrace your new day with all of your heart, your mind, and your soul! “O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord all the earth.”- Psalm 96:1. “It’s a new season, it’s a new day, a fresh anointing is blowing your way”!… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDUrIVGak-A.

No matter where you may have been, what you may have done, or what has been the norm, you are no longer there and God has certainly moved on. Our Heavenly Father is way up the road, watching and waiting for you to grab ahold of the vision he has prepared in front of you for a thriving present and a life-changing future.   So take all those lessons that you learned along the way and the testimony of how God has brought you through and kept you in spite of, and go out into the world to set the stage and the world on fire with the new life that God has planned for you.  Congratulations! Your NEW day has come!

Just in case you missed my conversation with Minister Desiree Evans, the Host of the “Your Divine Destiny” Blogtalk Radio Show last month, I’ve attached the recording just for you here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/srcn/2014/07/21/your-divine-destiny.

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It’s Time to Flip the Script – A Change in Confession

I recently realized that it has been quite some time since I last updated my blog. Lord knows, we are well past Spring – lol. In fact, we are in the thick of summer here in this neck of the woods. With that being said, it’s a new season and it’s time for a new declaration!

In the last blog post, I shared how important it is to recognize the various seasons of life especially knowing when it’s time to implement a clean-up season where we do some intentional spring cleaning to rid our lives of those things that are cluttering our environments and hindering us from moving forward without running into things.  After completing the cleaning and reorganization of some things in my own life, God immediately pushed me forward into new territory within a whirlwind of various speaking opportunities. It’s amazing how doing a little cleaning will open and pave the way for new opportunities to be released in our lives.  What new opportunities have surfaced in your life over the past few months? Please share by leaving a comment or an email – I would truly love to hear your testimonies.

Along my personal journey, I have invested time with God and a lot of time examining myself, developing personally, evaluating my relationships, and surveying my environments to make sure that I’m in proper position as it relates to God’s plan for my life.  I’ve also shared a lot of the uncomfortable and challenging moments experienced in my lifetime with those who could possibly benefit from my experience.   I recently came to the conclusion that sometimes we give the devil more airplay than we do our Heavenly Father – the Alpha & Omega, the beginning and the end, the bright and morning star! That while we have had and will continue to have challenges, God is greater than any problem, any opposition, any heartache, any financial struggle, etc. etc.  If we look back over our lives, he has always been there, he is faithful, and he has promised us that he will never leave us nor forsake us.  The fact is that “If He did it before; he will certainly do it again!” There is nothing too hard for him. Amen.

Knowing these facts, gives us the confidence to flip the script by changing our confession and releasing more of what God has done or is doing into the atmosphere rather than what the enemy is planting, doing, or how his antics are making us feel. So moving forward, “What, then, shall we say to these things?  “If God is for us, who can be against us?”- Romans 8:31.

On Monday, July 21, 2014 – 7:00-8:00 pm EST, I will be a guest on the “Your Divine Destiny” Blogtalk Radio Show with host: Minister/Host Desiree Evans. Please mark your calendar and plan to join us for this empowering conversation. I will be sharing from the topic:  A Void That Only God Can Fill.  Login at:  www.survivalradiochristiannetwork.com.

It’s Cleanup Season

Happy Spring everyone! This is the time of year that we generally get busy with Spring Cleaning which is generally comprised of cleaning the clutter in our homes and making things tidy for this long-awaited season of sunshine, warmer weather, and rain that will eventually bring forth beautiful flowers. As I began to do some of the same in my home the thought crossed my mind that when it comes to personal and spiritual development, any season is a good time to do some cleaning. In 2012, God blessed me with an awesome opportunity to be a co-author in a book called “Cheers! To Your Success: Women on the Rise and Owning their Destiny” along with a phenomenal group of women. The title of my story was: Humbled and stripped to be raised and clothed for service. The basis of the message that God had me to share detailed the stretching period that I was experiencing at that time in my journey. Despite having experienced a devastating loss, I was diligently trying to move forward in walking in my purpose without addressing some “hidden things” that were gradually pulling me down. Slowly but surely things that I thought I had gotten over or been delivered from, and some I didn’t want to let go of came floating to the surface and negatively impacting my life. It was a very challenging time, but God saw me through it. God is always faithful even when we are not, Amen!

The lesson that I wanted to share from that growing period of my life was that it is extremely important to face the giants that have taken root in our lives. Not in your own strength but through the Grace and guidance of God. Each of us has one, or two, or three giants (but whose counting) that we must confront in order to freely and successfully move forward and “Own our Destiny”. Just like a tree whose roots have grown so thick and so strong underground that they start to damage the septic/plumbing system of a home, so be it the same with the internal struggles, strongholds, and habits that we conceal (without knowing most of the time) and try to overlook or bury them until we can no longer stop the residue from seeping through. . Unfortunately, no matter how hard we may try, eventually all the messy, stinky and frustrating stuff will rise to the surface for all to see. I believe that God uses the events of these testing and proving times to empower us so that when we are faced with challenges in the future, we are equipped to confront those things that attempt to pull us back when we are about to embark upon a breakthrough.
If you are reading this, I just want you to know that I believe in you and your success. I would be remiss if I didn’t share with you the potential roadblocks that will try to trip you up as you move forward. Don’t allow the giants in your life to keep you stuck or place you in a position of always being knocked down and defeated. Refuse to continue to settle for anything but the best, choose to forgive those who didn’t do what you thought they should do or those who treated you wrong, Purpose to not compromise for anything that doesn’t line up with your moral beliefs and values, turn your back on struggle, bitterness, jealousy, being in debt, or what mommy or daddy didn’t do and believe God for better days.
No matter the season, anytime is a good time to stand your ground, face those giants, and pull down and bury every stronghold in your life through the Power and Authority of Jesus Christ. It’s been two years and I’ve been knee deep in my own personal Clean up Season. I’ve been able to create a dumpster full of ugly stuff that I’ve been able to throw away with God’s help and strength to make way for all the new blessings, opportunities, and new mindset some of which are already here and more that’s coming my way! A builder doesn’t begin pouring the concrete to set the foundation for a building until he has performed an excavation (clearing) of the land, neither should we when it comes to laying the foundation for our lives. Bottom Line: We will always be growing and learning and life will always present an opportunity to call forth a CLEAN UP SEASON and it won’t always be during the spring!

Remember: “Attempting to move forward into the new without honestly seeking to be set free from the emotional bondage and strongholds of your past is like trying to run a marathon with cement bricks for shoes!” – Author: Debrayta Salley; Excerpt from “Cheers! To Your Success: Women on the Rise and Owning Their Destiny”

Super Size Your Faith

I recently completed reading the book “Take It by Force” written by Judy Jacobs. The content of this book is so Anointed that the extreme level of faith displayed in various testimonies just leaps off the pages and will cause your spirit to burn for more of life than you may be experiencing in the present. It will encourage you to seek to diligently go forward in radical faith and take back everything that the enemy may have claimed for himself from your life, members of your family, and anyone else that may be connected to you. You will even have a stronger desire to seek to reach goals that until now may have seemed impossible or too challenging to achieve. I highly recommend this read for anyone who is ready to go to the next level in your faith. Of course, the stories and lessons in the Bible are our primary source for empowerment and encouragement but I also believe that “We are overcome by the word of our testimony” and that of our brothers and sisters in Christ. I am also a firm believer in sharing resources that can add value to the lives of others. Aside from that, my main reason for writing this blog was to encourage you to not only settle for mustard seed faith, but to begin to walk in Violent Faith and rise above the things that may attempt to have you fearful or miserable even. As a Child of God, we are commanded to be content in whatever state that we are in, but not to become complacent when the position is stale, stagnant, undesirable, or unhealthy.

As we grow in the faith and in our relationship with God we will have more and more experiences that will test our level of faith and to prove us for assignment. Depending on where we stand in our level of faith we will either stand firm and rise up or buckle down and shut up when challenges come our way. I’ve personally been on both sides of the fence and in the times when I chose to “shut up”; I was forcing myself to stay in a place of discontentment when God had so much more waiting for me. The bible does say that “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move”- Matthew 17:20, It also says that “Faith without works is dead” – James 2:14-26, According to your faith be it done to you- Mark 9:29”, and The Kingdom of Heaven suffered violence and the violent TAKE IT BY FORCE – Mark 11:12! The common theme I see here is that it is going to take some action on our part. Let’s not forget that when we partner with God, Nothing is Impossible and anything can happen.

Bottom line is that in this faith walk, there are going to be times when we will be challenged to “Step out of our comfort zone. There will be times when “In order to get different results, you have to do something different.” We may not feel like it, don’t think we have the strength to do so, and can’t see where it will make a difference, BUT, it is our level of faith in God and movement as a result that is going to have a direct impact on how we progress. There are things that God wants to make happen in our lives, but our level of faith may be holding us hostage where we are. Yes! You can have it and God can do it, but you must SUPERSIZE YOUR FAITH and Take the life God meant for you BY FORCE!

Eliminating Stress, Judgement & Negativity by a Change in Perception

Have you ever had a conversation or interaction with someone and by the end of it, you or the other individual walked away disappointed or taken aback by what you thought you heard the other person say? This has ruined the stability of many relationships. It’s even more common in this day and age because we have so many methods of communication including those that are not always the best or personable option for communicating like Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, texting, etc.). I’ve observed in many instances where something that was shared by one person was misinterpreted by someone reading it and as a result, they either responded negatively, or in judgment of the other person, or the message/viewpoint being shared. A lot of times this is due to the perception of the individual who is interpreting what has been shared or the thought not being shared in a clear and concise way. It is natural for us to breakdown information in our own way because we are each shaped by our own experiences and opinions; however, we must be careful not to let judgment lead us in translating the actions or thoughts of others. I believe that when dealing with others we must first have a change in perception by purposefully believing that there is always positive intention unless we learn otherwise. Phillipians 2:1-4 (Message) reads: “If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, – then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.”

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word Perception is defined as “the way you think or understand someone or something.” I came across a great quote using the word: “There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.” – Aldous Huxley, The Doors of Perception. If we see things only from our point of view, then we risk falling into judgment. If we have a question about the intent, but never ask the person for an explanation, then we lose out on an opportunity for effective sharing and the opportunity to learn from a teachable moment. We owe it to ourselves and one another to build effective relationships by being open and allow for free speech and individual experience. Society as a whole as well as the media/news do a super job of its own of reporting the tragic and negative stories and spinning their viewpoint so why would we bring that same mentality into our day to day relationships? Life brings with it enough stress so why add to it that which is unnecessary or based on false perception? Don’t internalize what doesn’t build you up – everything is not for everybody. I try my best to live by a wisdom nugget that I learned some years ago and while it works for me the majority of the time: “Chew up the meat, spit out the bones”, and might I add – keep it moving.

Dear Lord: Please help me from this moment forward to commit to: (1) respecting another persons’ space for thought/opinion. (2) Not allow someone else’s opinion to affect my mood or response in a negative way. (3) Be open to always being receptive to new learning opportunities and correctly translating what is being shared. A change in perception will empower me to eliminate unnecessary judgment and negativity from my mind and personal space. This is my Prayer and Declaration – In Jesus Name!