Send Me, I'll Go

"Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." - Isaiah 6:8

A little over a year ago, a local minister visited the church I was attending and spoke a powerful message about change. She asked a question that made me think, "Are you willing to remain the same to make a change?" I felt a little bad because my mind kept going back to a song that I just couldn't shake, so I missed some of what she said. I know, majority of my blogs have music attached, but that is how I operate. Music is a huge part of my life, it tells my story when I can't, and it gets me through some rough times.

The song I'm referring to, if you haven't figured it out yet, is Send Me by William McDowell. That song has been a song that just touched me since the first time I heard it. I believe iTunes states that I listened to it on my computer alone, about 200 times. That doesn't include the many times I have listened on my phone, Pandora, or even with other people. It is just one of those songs that make you want to get up and do something to make a change.

As I have mentioned in my last blog, my name Teresa Renee means "harvester/reaper reborn." This sermon is what made me think about it the following day. I mentioned that because the song says,"Send me I'll go. I'll go to the nations, so the whole world will know Your love and compassion. The harvest is ready and people are hungry to know You. So send me I'll go."

Sidebar:

In 2007, I went to William Paterson University in Wayne, NJ. While being there, I earned the nickname Sista T, my best friend/sister earned the nickname Sista P and together we earned the nickname "Bible toting choir girls." The reason they called us these things were because we would walk around campus, Bibles in the backpack, prayer in our hearts and a song on our lips. We would have Bible studies any and everywhere, worship sessions in our rooms and with our friends. People would start to ask questions about the Bible and if we didn't know, we would get together and get an answer. We loved doing that and I had no idea that the experience was an extension of who I am, a harvester/reaper.

At William Paterson, the harvest was ready and people were hungry to know God. We were there to tell anyone who would listen to us. I didn't start praying the prayer saying, "Send me, I'll go," until I heard this song some years later. I had no idea that I was already going but I had slacked off once my friend and I left the university.

Back to the blog:

This is funny because the conversation I had with God one day just lined right up with the Bible and I didn't have to read anything else. One day I asked God what my purpose was and He sent me to Jeremiah 1 so I read it and I stopped at verse 5 because that was a familiar verse. I had never read anymore than that one verse before so I stopped and said, "God, I'm in my early 20s and I don't know much. Who is really going to listen to me? I'm shy and I don't speak to people very well." He stopped me and said "keep reading." So I did and I read Jeremiah 6-9. All I could do was laugh because Jeremiah said the same thing I said. After reading, I was still a little confused as to what God wanted me to do so I said "Send me, I'll go."

We all need to get to a point where we can say, "Lord send me, I'll go." Jesus told the disciples that the "gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations." (Matthew 24:14) The apostles were told that they were to be "witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts 1:8) Some people call it witnessing, many others call it Evangelism. It really doesn't matter what you call it, what matters is that we are telling people about Christ.

I used Isaiah 6:8 as my opening scripture because I like how Isaiah volunteered to go, he didn't run from his calling like many of us do today. So with that said, I challenge you again. Ask God about your purpose and say "Lord, send me, I'll go." Not only say it, but actually go. I love you all to pieces!!!

Until next time...

Be blessed

Sista T

HELP!!! It's Lookin' Like We're Gonna Make It Through This!!!

So everyone who knows me, knows I love new music. I was recently blessed with Erica Campbell's Help for my birthday. This CD has been on repeat since I got it and two songs are blessing me as we speak. Those two songs are Help and Lookin' Like.

Help is my cry out to God. I have been through so much in my life that if you heard half of my story, you would wonder why I never tried to take myself out. I'm just being honest. Some people would say I'm exaggerating, that I lived a good life, and for the most part, I did. But, what I struggled with internally, not even my family would be able to speak about. I won't go deep at all but I'l share a couple of my struggles that most people can relate to.

I struggle with ignorance, in it's correct context. There is a lot I don't know, and because of that I have way more problems than I need to have. It's not that I don't want to know or that I'm too lazy to find out, I just don't know where to go for what I need. I live my life based on what I know, what I find out and the trial and error of those situations. I could play the blame game and say that other people are to blame for my shortcomings, but I won't because I had just as much responsibility in my life as others did. 

I struggle financially because I don't have certain education or experience to do what I desire. When I try to get the education, I don't have the finances. When I try to get the finances to get the education, I don't have the experience to get the better than minimum wage job. When I try to get the experience, I don't have the education or I have to volunteer which will also cost me for transportation. It's what people around me call Da'struggle. You may hear a lot of people say "Da'struggle is real" and that would be true.

Will I sit around crying, complaining, and looking for handouts? Nope!



Will I give up and throw in the towel? Nope!



Will I cry out to God for help and put my faith into action? Absolutely!!!!!!!



For the past few days I've been running around singing "It's lookin' like, lookin' like, lookin' like, lookin' like I'm gonna make it through this!" This song has been my motivation, my strength when I lost it all. It served as a reminder that I serve a God who is great and mighty and will always have my back. I don't worry anymore and sometimes people get upset because I'm always so happy when I should be upset and crying.  They get upset because I try to make them laugh in the middle of hard times. I act like nothing is wrong and I say to God, "it's in your hands", then I start singing and dancing. Some people just don't understand that I refuse to dwell on my issues and I choose to thank God in advance for the fact that I will make it through my storms. I thank God for trusting me with adversity and allowing me to come out even stronger than I went in.

I issued dare on Facebook back in April. I am going to officially reissue this dare and close out this blog with it. You all have a blessed one!!! You're gonna make it through this!!! Just you wait and see. Here is what I posted:

When going through various storms in life, it's very easy to forget that there is a beautiful rainbow waiting on the other side if you just stay strong and endure everything thrown in your path. It's easy to get upset and take a seat or lash out but I dare you to get so mad that you turn your anger into production.

If you can't find a job, get so mad that you get dressed at 7:30-8am and be knocking on doors by 9 with a resume in hand ready to tell people why they need you.

If you're a writer, write a song, poem, article or something encouraging others and tell your story of how you made it through.

If you're a musician, lay down your emotions through your instrument.

While doing this, thank God for the blessing that will come forth from your storms, heartache, pain and struggles. Believe that He will turn it around for you and your situation will change. Thank Him for the fact that you will never be the same again.

I love you all!!!

Sista T

Performing Lookin' Like at the Howard Theatre April 2, 2014 (I was there thanks to my sis Nicole!!!)

More

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." -Matthew 6:33

Hey all! I have been singing this one song all week long and while praying in my car this morning, I realized that it was something I really needed to hear which is why I couldn't stop singing it. The song is called More by Lawrence Flowers & Intercession (posted at the bottom of the page).

Many times we, as Christians, go to God about what we want and need and we make vows that we don't honor but rarely do we truly realize that we get what we give.

Sidebar:

I was sitting around thinking one day and remembered that my name Teresa Renee means "harvester/reaper reborn." I just made this connection that we constantly say you reap what you sow. We speak it, many preach it, but how many times do we really pay attention to what is being said and apply it???

Back to the blog:

I feel like I'm all over the place with this because there are so many thoughts so I'll tie this all together right now. You reap what you sow, right? Right. So, if you want God to bless you(reaping), you need to give more(sowing). Sounds easy right? WRONG!!! We can get so distracted by everyday life that God becomes second to our everyday issues when He should be our top priority. I use my commute to and from work to pray because it's just me for 35-75 minutes depending on where I leave from. I'm not saying you have to spend all of that time praying, I sure don't. I sing a lot of the time when I'm not praying.

This is something like how the prayer went this morning:

"God, I know I have asked You for many things and I need certain things that You will provide for me. I don't deserve any of it but I am very grateful and I feel bad because You constantly bless me. I am constantly reaping but I don't sow as much as I should. I need to do more, oh wait, duh. Thanks God. You had me singing that song all week because I needed to realize that I need to do more, I need to give more time. Now, I will not make another vow because I haven't even honored the past vows that I made. I'll try to get back to the days where I would read, pray and encourage people everyday. There was a time where people would ask me for prayers, songs, and scriptures to help them get through the day or through a situation but that has stopped because I stopped. I realize that I need to do more and I pray that You would forgive me for slacking off. I need to get back on track, I'm asking to be closer to You but I'm still doing the bare minimum. I pray everyday but I read on occasion and that has to change. You deserve more and I'm going to try and give You just that. I'm going to go home and write about this in a blog because other people need to realize this too. I thank You for this in Jesus name, Amen."

The point of me sharing this was to help people understand that it's ok to ask God to bless you, but don't get upset if you don't see the blessings because you aren't doing you part. I have blessings being held up because I won't do anything about it. I pray and ask God about things and I have faith but the word says that, "faith without works is dead." (James 2:20) God loves it when we talk to Him, when we seek His face, when we depend on Him for more than material things. Try giving more time to God, He deserves it. Try sitting some time aside to pray and talk to God.

Some people say "I don't know what to pray about." Follow the example of prayer that was laid out in Matthew 6:9-13. He wakes you up every morning, allows you to have the activity of your limbs, you're reading this, so obviously He gave you sight. Thank Him for those things, that's prayer.

There are so many reasons why we need to give God more. Many people say, "you can't out give God," and that's true, but at least give Him all that you have. 

I encourage you all to give God more. The song says, "I want to give my best to You. I want to do what You ask me to. I want go wherever You say, just say the word and I'll obey. I want to live a life that's real. I want to serve You, Lord, for real. For You deserve all this and more, so I give You more." If it's more prayer, more seeking, more witnessing, more serving, or even more encouraging, I challenge you to strive to give God more than He deserves. He does too much for us to collectively give all that He deserves but we can do something.

That's all for now

Until next time

Be blessed

Sista T

Song inspiration for the blog:

Renewed...Again

"When you can't get over the hurt, the pain, the anger, the hatred, etc., pray for that person. "That was paraphrased advice from someone I really look up to. They told me that over a month ago and today I finally took it and prayed for some people. Immediately after praying, I felt God move on me like I never have before and I was able to move past the emotions that were binding me.

I won't go into detail about what people I prayed for, what I prayed about, or anything of that nature. I used to talk about the people that hurt me, that made me mad, that stabbed me in the back, and I thought that would make the emotions go away. I learned that it doesn't help me at all, it only hinders me. I decided that I'll no longer go to people to vent about my problems, I'll go to God, tell Him all about it and pray for the person/people that I have issues with.

I was thinking about the many broken relationships people deal with and why most people don't reconcile. Then, I read in Proverbs 18:19, that "a brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle." That says, to me, that when someone you know is offended by your actions, words, etc., they are harder to reconcile with than a strong city and their argument is as strong as the bars on a castle. Now when I think about a strong city, I think about Obama supporters. When the elections came around, so many people backed Obama up that he won the election before all the ballots were in. That is very strong support and it is harder to win over an offended friend, family member, associate, colleague, etc., than it is to win over those supporters.

My Bible says, "A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." - Proverbs 18:20-21 KJV

A man's belly shall be filled with the fruit of his mouth...hmmm

And with the increase of his lips shall he be filled...hmmmmmm

Let me stop there...

Now when I think about that (Pro. 18:20), I start to question myself and ask, would you really want to be filled with anger, hatred, pain, and all this other negative stuff? Or be filled with the glory of God??? Hmmmm I always pray that God would draw me close to Him (song on bottom of blog). So why in the world would I want to be filled with a bunch of nonsense that I've been speaking?

As I noted before, death and life are in the power of the tongue. I'm going to try something new. I'm going to try to put my attitude in chains and leave it bound. The Bible says whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven (Matthew 16:19). So, no more going off on people, no more bad mouthing, no more of any of that mess. I can ruin someone's life just by mentioning something they did.

Some people may say I'm getting "too holy" or "too good for people" but I say I'm maturing. I would only be wasting my time talking about someone. It's pointless and not getting me anywhere in life.

Now before I go, I can hear someone (no one in particular) complaining, but there is always one person who takes things personal. This is not about anyone, neither is it geared toward anyone. This blog is about Teresa R. George and that's how it was designed to be. If you feel like you're one of those people I prayed for, open your eyes, you just may be feeling guilt.

Love you much!!!

Sista T

Songs that crossed my mind while writing this blog...

Father Can You Hear Me?

For once, I am writing a blog without a song as my source of inspiration. This time, I was reading my daily Bible plan on YouVersion.com and I came across a certain passage that I have read plenty of times but the same verses keep jumping out at me. Many people speak about the different miracles that Jesus performed. One of the miracles I hear over and over is the one where four men lowered a man who had been "sick with the palsy" through the roof and Jesus healed him because of their faith (Mark 2:1-5).

Sidebar:
When I was a teenager, I would go to corporate prayer once a month before we had our Bible study. It was mandatory that we kneel at the altar to pray first and when everyone was done, we would come together, sing songs and pray. One day a minister came to me and said, I can't hear you praying so how can you expect God to hear you? That caused me to think a lot and I started to whisper because I didn't want everyone knowing what my prayers were but I wanted God to hear them.

Back to the Blog:
When speaking of this miracle, most people stop at verse 5 and talk about how God is still in the miracle business. I want to talk about what came after that 5th verse. The text says in verses 6-8, "But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, 'Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God Only?' And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, 'Why reason ye these things in your hearts?'"

Did you catch what just happened??? I'll give you a few seconds to think about it...

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Ok times up...

These men never spoke the words that Jesus addressed. The text clearly states that they "reasoned in their hearts" in verse 6. It made me think and once it was brought to my attention, I said to myself, well if God can hear these men complaining in their hearts, then he can hear the cries of mine, he can hear the supplications of mine, he can hear the anger, the hurt, the happiness, and everything else that resides in my heart.

Sometimes people fail to realize that when praying, you can't always speak. Someone said let your feet tell your testimony and I believe it goes the same for your prayers. Let your feet do the praying sometimes. Let your cries be your prayers. Even the Bible says in Romans 8:26, "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." The reality is, sometimes you just can't speak!

Don't let anyone tell you that you must pray out loud or God will not hear you. Do not be ashamed if you cannot open your mouth to pray. That is just fine, cry if you have to, scream if you have to, dance if you have to, wave your hands if you have to, but please do not let anyone make you feel bad about not being able to form your prayers with your mouth.

There is a song I love that says "If I can't say a word, I'll just wave my hands. I get so full, I would explain it if I could, God's been just that good." (If I Can't Say A Word - Karen Clark-Sheard)

Just be encouraged and continue to pray in whatever way you have to.

Be blessed until next time...

Sista T

I Don't Look Like What I've Been Through

"O house of Isreal, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel." - Jeremiah 18:6

Like most of my blogs, this is inspired by a song I have been listening to recently. As I type this I am listening to I Don't Look Like (What I've Been Through) by Deon Kipping (@ThatDudeDeon) on repeat. Very few people know my life story and they can vouch for me when I say that I really don't look like what I've been through. If I did, I would look a mess. No one would want to come around me. I would be like one of the lepers before being healed by Christ or the woman with the issue of blood before she touched the hem of Christ's garment.


While listening to the song, I felt like I should write so I went looking for a scripture to relate to this song. As I was looking through my highlighted scriptures on YouVersion.com, I came across Jeremiah 18:1-6 and almost immediately these words came to mind "Pottery doesn't look like what it's been through either." 


A piece of pottery is made from clay and some other materials, and if you saw how this stuff looks like before it's sold in the stores, you would know it looks a hot mess. I don't know the details of the process of making a pot or vase, but I do know is that the clay has to go through a lot of mixing, filtering, and chopping before it can be molded, dried, glazed, and fired to look like a masterpiece.


Some people may wonder what a pot or vase has to do with what people go through. Here it is:

• A nonbeliever is the clay before it is mixed.
• Once becoming a believer, God will begin to filter the mess(water) out of your life(clay).
• The chopping process is when God starts to remove things/people from your life that are not relevant to the plans He has for your life.
• The potter molding the clay is God molding you and shaping you into the person He created you to be for His kingdom.
• The drying process is you becoming more stable in your walk with Christ, not straddling the fence but walking with God. (I'm not saying you will not fall. Romans 3:23)
• The glazing process is God's protection around you. The glaze covers the clay like God covers you from your enemy's attacks.
• The firing process is the trials and tribulations you go through. Some people like to call it "hell on earth" because that's what it feel like sometimes. Like the glaze becomes a liquid and turns into a hard glass like substance, you are broken down and become stronger.

God did not put us on this earth to be clay all of our lives. He created us to be masterpieces made in His image (Genesis 1:26). He wants to mold and shape us into those masterpieces. When you see someone going through, give them the good news that God is doing somethings GREAT in their lives despite what they're going through.

A little encouragement:

When you are going through hell and want to give up on God, say to Him, "Lord, you are the potter and I am the clay. I know that when you are finished with me I will be beautiful in your eyes and you will not have to turn you eyes away from the sin in my life. I thank you for everything I'm going through because it's all part of the process and your perfect will. You told Jeremiah to tell Israel that you wanted to mold them and I know you want to do the same for me. I surrender to you, not my will but thine be done. Have your way in my life and I will be so careful to give you all the glory, honor and praise in the midst the process. I give my life to you in Jesus name."

God doesn't want to see you miserable, He wants to prepare you for something much better. It may take years to get through each stage in the process but be encouraged and stay in the race. When Christ comes back, we will all see that our process was well worth it.

Be blessed until next time...

Sista T

New Found Freedom

"Some of us have been in captivity so long, we don't remember what it feels like to be free." - Minister Keiron Phillips

Something changed in me since the new year set in. I am no longer bound by the things of my past, both old and new. God taught me how to let things go and depend on Him. My prayer recently was that god would remove every pain, past hurt, thought, feeling, and anything else that would hinder me from receiving His love. I asked that He would pour so much love into me so that I had no choice but to give it away and make room for more.

Last week (1/22/12), Pastor Joel Wise of Ft. Lauderdale, FL came to my church and preached a sermon called, "In the Time of Trouble, Who Will Bail Me Out?" Now prior to hearing that powerful message, I had already made up in my mind that I don't care what I'm going through or how I feel, God deserves every bit of praise I can muster up. Pastor Wise's text came from Psalm 27:5-6. In the sermon, he pointed out three things about David that always got him out of trouble.

1. David's confidence: In verse 5 of Psalm 27, David showed his confidence. While everyone around him panicked, David remained calm and said, "For in the midst of trouble He SHALL hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he SHALL set me up upon a rock." Notice David didn't say that God MIGHT do those things but he was confident enough to say that God SHALL do those things.
2. David took corrective action: He corrected the inadequacies in his life. He said to God in Psalm 51:10-11, "Create in me a clean heart, O God: and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me." David didn't want to stay in that state of sin and as Pastor Wise said, "He was an instrument of forgiveness and compassion."
3. David never stopped praising: Psalm 27:6 is the perfect example of how David praised God even in times of trouble. David said, "And now shall my head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy, I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord."

After that point, Pastor Wise asked us to stand up and fine a partner. The exact wording escapes me at the moment but he had us act as though we were removing an old robe and placing a new one on our partners. I went first and I removed one robe and placed on another, then I turned around. When I felt her pull that old robe off, I felt her remove all of the chains, the pain, the guilt, the shame, the baggage I held onto for so long and when she placed that new robe on me, even though there was no tangible robes involved, I felt God's hands and love surround me.It was so overwhelming that I almost fell over. I will never forget that feeling.

Today, Minister Keiron Phillips came in and I could do nothing but praise God for where I came from. The message came from Psalm 126 in its entirety and the title was, "Is This Really Happening?" He began by talking about captives and the captive mentality. Then he spoke the words, "Some of us have been in captivity so long, we don't remember what it feels like to be free." I proudly lifted my hand as if I were saying, "That is so true, it used to be me until God came in and set me free." Soon after that, Min. Phillips said, "Your state of captivity can cause you to think that the place you came from is better than where you are going." Again, I lifted my hand, but this time, I was saying to myself, "I am a living testimony and the devil IS a liar!" It brought me back to when I thought that being in the world was better because I had less problems. WRONG!!!

Sidebar:

That reminded me of a statement made by Bishop Rudolph McKissick Jr. in a sermon. He was saying and I'm paraphrasing. "I don't like to be around people who don't go through anything because it means they're not going anywhere." Whoo boy!!! That got me right there because it reminded me of Psalm 126:5 where it says "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy." I can thank God because I am now prepared for some of my blessings because I went through certain things.

Back to the blog:

At one point in Min. Phillips sermon, I had a flashback and almost said to my neighbor, "That's along the lines of what Pastor Wise said last week!" I got excited because he said that we need to put on the garment of praise. He began to prophesy and said that God will be turning things around in 2012. When God starts turning things around we will have a new perspective on things. Then he gave an illustration, he said "When I turn to my right I see Bishop Enlow and Pastor Dariaus. When I turn to the front I see you. When I turn to my left I see the musicians. But when I turn to the back I see something different." I said thank God I'm already in my turning process because what I see now, I didn't see some months ago. I was always thinking in the natural and thinking realistically. Now, I have faith beyond faith where even if people around me said "Teresa, you need to be realistic," I can counter that by saying, "Is there anything too hard for my God??? Absolutely NOT!!! I can do ALL things through Christ which strengthens me and no weapon that is formed against me shall prosper." (Genesis 18:14, Philppians 4:13, Isaiah 54:17)

I encourage everyone who reads this to stop thinking realistically. Just because some things didn't work out in the past, let it go. God has a brighter future for you only if you believe and keep His commandments. You have to have some serious faith these days because the economy and society says that a lot of things people want to do is impossible. Be free in your heart, in your mind, and ask yourself, is there anything too hard for God? Stop living in captivity and bondage, just be free. I put a couple of songs at the bottom that came to mind while I was writing this. Maybe soon you can join me in this new found freedom. Like the song says, "No more shackles, no more chains, no more bondage, I am FREEEEEE yea!"

For those of you who think you can't get through a storm, praise your way through. Thank God for the storm because you have to go through something to get what you want. God will not give you the huge blessing you dreamed about without preparing you first.

You all be blessed, love you much!!!

Sista T

You Deserve All Praise - Madelyn Berry

Freedom - Eddie James

The Storm Is Over Now - Kirk Franklin