Monthly Archives: December 2019

Room To Grow

She is insanely beautiful, committed to her walk with God and very successful in the work environment. She never lets me forget that the most important thing about life is walking with God and building for His Kingdom. Every time she achieves something and I congratulate her, she turns my eyes back to the grace, goodness and mercy of God that made her accomplishments possible. That is my Mama…nothing biological but all destiny tied up in here.

A few years ago I was stuck and she never minces words with me on how I need to stay the course and keep the faith as I focus on becoming the picture of God’s dream, oh, and if I didn’t have a picture to hold onto, then I need to go back to that starting point. I always wondered why she was so hard on me and seemingly softer on others because she always spoke straight to me and pushed me on. Now when I look at most of my other mentors, there was a similar pattern of stern, strong support.

What do they see that I don’t?

Recently in a conversation with Mama and a sister, Mama described me in a way that shocked me. I couldn’t believe I was the one she was talking about with such confidence. I couldn’t understand what she was saying for a while until God Himself broke it down. I was astounded after that because He had drawn straight lines from my process to her words and I could see the co-relation.

You see, I had been struggling in my walk and every time I spoke with Mama I felt like I was whining and chasing my tail. I felt like I should be better than this and stronger than this but I wasn’t and so  I needed to be honest with her; I couldn’t afford to hide the struggle. She had moved into a new a busier work position and we didn’t talk as much for a long time so how could she be saying all these things about me?

How did she know where I was and what my life represented? How did she see past the hardship and know to celebrate the growth. Simple…God!!! In the entire struggle, she could see things I couldn’t, she could hear from God things I couldn’t and so she relentlessly pushed me to grow and now she was celebrating the growth…WOW!!

I really needed to see clearly.

Several times this year I have been called out and described in terms I would never have given myself. It sounded a lot like fiction because of the struggle I have been in. It seemed improbable that it was about me but the people either called me by name or they were looking straight at me. When I asked some why they called me that, they said because they can.

It wasn’t untrue that I had grown, I just couldn’t see it because I was so deeply focused on working out the change needed to become the fullness and I was so engrossed in the battle that I couldn’t see many of the wins. I was still not everything I needed to be for the fullness of fully God to rest and abide so I was working and walking, giving and strengthening as He gave me the capability, watching and waiting, that I was slightly unaware to the depth of the shifts going on in me.

Indeed God is always at work in us if we allow Him.

It hasn’t been the smoothest journey and yes I have fallen flat on my face once or twice but God has been faithfully walking with me. I have people like Mama who will not rest until the picture God has given them is attained even if it means being ‘hard’ on me.

I have come to understand that my life is a function of what I see because as I see, I can hold fast to the Word and become. Jeremiah was first corrected about how he saw himself (Jer 1:6-10) then he was challenged to see a right before he was commissioned (Jer 1:11-14) for assignment.

Have you been like me? Have you been so lost in the battle that you have lost sight of who you are becoming? That is ok, keep walking and ask God to show you the progress and raise His servants to show you where you are.

Be careful not to start the New Season with blinders on or without clarity of the purpose of the season. Let’s not get caught up in the hype of the New Year while not grounded in a clear word from God that will be our anchor.

In the coming days, only those who know who they are and why they are here will THRIVE and BECOME.

Suddenly You Breakthrough

By Rene Picota

I declare and decree that suddenly things are about to be restored for you! Your breakthrough will suddenly happen! I decree that the harvest you have been expecting is coming to you now. Harvest is coming. God is getting ready to pour forth His Spirit upon you suddenly like on the day of Pentecost!

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The greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit is about to happen in your life! I see in the Spirit that things are changing and suddenly you will touch the nations! This is a holy thing, a Kairos moment that has be ordained by God!

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You are about to be suddenly shifted into your destiny. There will be no more delay to your dream! It’s time for division to stop. People will be united. There will be harmony.

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The devil has tried to divide things up, but God is going to bring forth multiplication, double portion, and your inheritance. Inheritances will be released right now! Not because of what you have done. But because of who you are. Supernatural increase is coming to your house!

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God has some unexpected blessings for you. Favour has now opened doors for you! He has prepared people and places for you. He will do exceedingly more than you could ever ask, think or imagine. Things are being accelerated for you! Things will come easy for you from now on!

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Suddenly everything God has established for you will come to past. The time to fight is over. God says put your fist down and look at what the Lord has done! Lost children, lost friends, and lost family members are about to come into the Kingdom. Suddenly they will get saved, healed and delivered!

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Suddenly things will change! God is getting ready to act on some things that you had no idea of. Things are being put into motion. The Lord is dispatching angels on your behalf! God says, He has heard your prayers, He has seen every seed and every labour of love. He saw every time you stood when you wanted to give up. He saw your tears when you felt like you were going through hell.

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Suddenly things are coming to your Spirit. Things are about to breakthrough! Doors will be opened, things loosed! Cycles are broken in Jesus name! God is about to repair some things for you! True worship is about to take place! The King of Glory is about to come in!

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Get ready for a sudden deliverance! This is the season when the battle is over. It is time for divine closure! What belongs to you is being released to you. Those who limited you and lied about you are about to see the salvation of the Lord with you! The prison doors are being open! Bad habits & mind-sets are being broken!

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A divine shaking is about to happen to you! Total freedom belongs to you! And when you are free, you will be able to set others free because their bands and shackles will be loosed!

Suddenly things are about to change! Suddenly your position of power is about to change. New experiences await for you! It is time for you to be fruitful and multiply! Suddenly you will have that child you have been wanting!

And all will see and glorify of God because God has been preparing you for where you are going and what you are about to receive! The goodness of the Lord is about to overtake you!

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Is it really Christmas?

I have struggled with Christmas for a while now. It feels like it is has become another holiday or series of days off that we gather around and eat and I don’t want to continue that way.

I find it is so easy to get caught up with the deals, the nice food, the hangouts, the travel then at the end of the season I ask for what? Silence!! I am asking myself, what is it about being around family that makes the difference?

I know…we are rich because we have each other but what does that mean? What is the wealth in the family? How do the distances and fights get pushed under the carpet and conversations are about adding to the joy of life be superficial? How does the meal on the table change the atmosphere that has been rife with side eye? How does sitting around in the house not talking to one another make the time spent together special? What do the festivities mean in the midst of this?

The meaning of Christmas is all about hope, joy and faith through the birth of a saviour who came to save the world and change our lives forever. If that is true, why do we spend so much on ourselves and forget those who don’t have a meal even after we visited for a one day meal?

Why do we spend so much money on our holidays but don’t give our staff extra money to travel especially those going far? When we have chefs work to feed us, do we care about their families that are mother or fatherless during the holidays?

I am let asking questions that cannot be understood so I won’t write them but as I sit at my desk today, I really hope that beyond all the eating, drinking, travelling and hanging out we will find peace and become a real blessing.

I know some people will say I am being cynical and for someone who always loved Christmas it feels unreal. However, 2019 has taught me to ask questions about everything and the results have been astounding.

I am reflecting and reviewing more and though there are more questions than answers for once in a long time I feel more in touch with who I really am and though it has created unbelievable ripples in my life, every question I resolve gives me greater contentment and peace so I press on and keep asking questions.

Wishing you every blessing.

I choose to BELIEVE

There is a lot going on around me

Some I understand some I don’t

Some I can stand, some I can’t

I choose to BELIEVE

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I watch my son growing and changing,

I see my pals dealing with life,

I capture my siblings work through challenges

I choose to BELIEVE

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I judge my own responses to life,

I realise that I must find balance

I understand clarity is from within

I choose to BELIEVE

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I look back at my life on a daily basis,

I assess my choices,

I see the places I could have done better

I choose to BELIEVE

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I choose to work on me,

I deal with my consistent failing,

I celebrate the successes

I choose to BELIEVE

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Though I am not where I want to be

Even as I am not where God has said we are going,

I have grown and moved and so it isn’t all lost.

I choose to BELIEVE

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I see I will never know everything

There are things that I cannot change about me

I am who I am because of these

I choose to BELIEVE

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I must give others room to fail

I must extend grace to receive grace.

I must forgive to be forgiven

I choose to BELIEVE

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I am not perfect

I must allow myself to be imperfect.

I forgive the imperfection

I choose to BELIEVE

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The permission to be less than perfect

Keeps me laser focused on growing

Allows me to be gentler with me

I choose to BELIEVE

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I understand I am a work in progress

Even as the internal standard is set,

I still have growing

I choose to BELIEVE

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I am not as hard and judgemental on me as before

I am easier to live with in relation to myself

I hope that makes sense now

Why I choose to BELIEVE

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Fatherhood

I have told the story before so I won’t belabour it here again, but the short version the daughters of Zelophehad in Numbers 27:1-11. Each of us needs a Father who would seek God about us, hear who we are and then do everything God instructs to ensure we become that.

A father MUST be a man of God, whose life is fully and clearly devoted to God but doesn’t have to be a pastor, bishop, elder etc. It could be your biological father, husband, spiritual leader….but it had to be a man of God, walking in faithfulness and diligence with God. Every one of us male or female needs a strong father who will be connection to greatness and fullness.

He was confident in his relationship with God and his focus is to listen to God and hear about me from God’s perspective. His job is then to do everything he has been instructed to do that I may enter into that reality of God. Teaching is important because one day he won’t be there and if I am not grounded in and dependant on God, then his life and mind would be in vain.

One thing I found interesting was that once a person aligns with the right person and they understand the connection, you never have to see, talk to or even spend time with them again because it is the connection to God we seek not with a person. However, the push was and still is that I would be so grounded in God and the word that I could navigate the rest of life with confidence.

In that moment my understanding of Fatherhood was challenged.

Up to then, all spiritual fathers and mothers I knew wanted scheduled updates and connection times. They wanted to control the narrative, the process and the progress. Additionally, in many instances they would even dictate the choices the children made. Papa…nothing like that; he was and still is a contradiction.

It’s been quite a journey because I had to unlearn everything I knew and that took about 3 years before I begun to grasp the depth of the word of God. Over the past 12 years I have worked on me, fought battles and lost many but won more; I have learnt how to be naked and unashamed before God and then before those he appointed as part of my journey; I’ve been confused, uncertain but always pushed by Papa C to know with certainty what God is saying. I have been forced to grow up.

Sometimes there is trouble on the way but if He says it’s part of the plan, that’s the path I will follow. The more I’ve met God, the less I need to see Papa C but the more we are one because God still talks to him about me and when need to integrate we do. Papa C has taught me unconditional love that gives each one what they need and no more. I know I’m close to his heart but I’m not the closest to him.  What Papa C provided was the blessing and divine lineage then God took over and provided the teaching and room to grow.

The bottom line is that every step has to be ordered by the Father Most High or it becomes vanity and flesh.

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Finding Your Way

Moses and Joshua were quite a team. History and scripture have Joshua seated outside the tent every time Moses went in to meet God. Later on he is one of the two spies who really saw and understood the ways of God. Joshua had access to an example of a new and deeper expression of walking with God.

In Egypt the people had become lax and doubtful on their faith because of the times there had been and were still in. they had gotten used to keeping quiet, dumbing down and living under the radar to survive. They obeyed without question and followed orders to an increasingly brutal regime driven by fear. What did the Egyptians fear? The growing numbers of the Israelites and the blessedness they lived under. They feared that they would become more powerful and then turn the tables. Anyway, that is not my direction today.

In the midst of these circumstances, many of the Israelites lost the reality fo the wound of God’s voice. He had been seemingly silent for hundreds of years so many didn’t even understand or know the reality o that voice, yet Joshua domehow remained aware of the existence of the God who brought them into Egypt.

When he interacted with Moses, it revived his belief when he saw the expression of Moses life. This expression of a life of faith by Moses spoke to and awakened a desire seated deeply within Joshua for more. Moses has a confidence in this scary God, who did insane miracles and his curiosity was piqued.

Joshua followed Moses closely and watched keenly, eyes propped open that he wont miss anything. He drew as close as he dared, outside the tent, and stayed there watching, listening, dreaming and desiring. It wasn’t his curiosity that kept him there…no; it was the voice of God at work in him that kept him there. He watched Moses go before Pharaoh and eventually by the miracles of God and this gave him the confidence in God.

At the battle with Amalek, Joshua led the fighting men in the valley while Moses oversaw from the hill, arms raised. As long as Moses’ arms were raised, the army of Israel won but when they dropped, Amalek gained ground. Moses and Hur were standing with Moses and when they noticed he was tired, they got him a stone to sit and they held up his hands for him because they had seen the pattern unfolding below. This secured the win for Israel and Joshua with his fighting men gained ground.

It is easy to read these Bible stories and just walk away but recently things have been jumping off the pages into my view. Several things stand out for me like never before in

  1. Know your God: Who do you believe? Moses and Joshua were certain who they believed, his abilities and pathway.
  2. Know thyself: who are you in God? What are your gifts, assignments and position?
  3. Take your position and stand firm: Each one has a role to play…a very important role that affects the generations to come. Find the role you fit into of the following positions. Each position has very specific training and preparation requirements as well as responsibilities that cannot be avoided. They also have differing levels of respect especially from the outward perception but none can be taken lightly as they contribute to the success of the whole picture
    • Leader: Moses – He spent extended time with God to understand God’s heart for his people, assessing the needs of the people and seeking ways to build and raise the people to the godly standards required.
    • Assistants: Aaron and Hur – They spent time with Moses and understood the word God has spoken to him. Their role was to stand over the word of God and ensure that everything needed to keep it on track would be done.
    • Advisors: the Judges – They lightened Moses load as the people were many but they were men who knew God and walked with him in a clear and tangible way, wise in counsel and gracious leaders.
    • Battle captain: Joshua – He understood the heart of God for the season and stood confident to defend that word with his life. He led the fighting men to the heart of the defence of that word.
    • Fighting men: the army – They are the boots on the ground, they understand their mandate. The armies protect the borders of the land and ensure that nothing is lost.
    • The masses: the people – A united people is the best tool of growth and influence. This is the largest group of the people because too many aren’t inspired enough to rise because rising demands more work and focus.  

When each one took their place the whole team won!!!

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It’s all Process

You didn’t ever say it would be easy

We just assumed it would be

You didn’t say there’d be no challenges

We just assumed it would be

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You didn’t promise a smooth path

We just assumed it would be

You didn’t promise

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You didn’t promise only sunshine

We just assumed it would be

You didn’t say the rain wouldn’t come

We just assumed it would be

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We assumed our lives were set in ease

We assumed the challenges would leave

We assumed everything would just flow

We assumed it because you are God

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You promised success

You promised progress

You promised winingh

That comes from process

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You promised impact

You promised value

You promised influence

That comes from process

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You promised joy

You promised peace

You promised grace

That comes from process

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You promised and delivered

You opened the pathways

You connected us to people

To ensure the full process

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Process a defined path

Process is a set of lessons

Process is honest relationships

Process is the way to your heart

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Process, process, process

Process is the only way

Process is the best classroom

Process is the way to your word

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Push Deeper Daily

The other evening, my brother D came to see me; he has a gift of showing up when I need a deep conversation, a hug and love. We had a conversation and he brought insight I knew but didn’t want to see in the midst of the questions and day.

I had been dealing with different realities that were frustrating me. You know how there are things you know in your heart and spirit that have to be but they aren’t even beginning to happen? There is a picture of the person God has said you are but it is taking too long to happen? What is standing in the way of all the realities God has told me are possible? Those are the things I have been wrestling with.

In true D fashion, he began breaking down all the questions I was asking with examples of others walking the same kind of road and asking the same questions but also tracking growth in phenomenal ways. He tracked through scripture stories of people who really walked with God and how none of their lives was challenging. I smiled because I had just shared something similar with a few people less than ten days ago and I had forgotten.

Everyone God is at work with in this season is going through a lot as part of the preparation process. God is more interested in the process because that is how the lessons and changes become permanent…lifestyle. The only thing that beats darkness and cannot be tainted is true love and that is only found in the arms of God.

Let me try and clarify. How can I say I love you when my love is conditioned by how you treat me? How can I say I love men when there are people who are unlovable because of their behaviour? How can deal with you in honest love when I will need to tell you the truth of who I am and allow you to tell me your truth and not judge but accept you as a person as we both deal with all the hidden parts of ourselves.

As hard as it may seem everything I feel right now must push me deeper and deeper into God. I have a measure of understanding that makes the journey today a little easier. Am I happy and over the moon? Not yet but I am walking towards it.

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