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

Cleanse My Heart

On the night of October 18, 2011, Gospel singer, Jessica Reedy issued a challenge to all of her followers on Twitter. At first she said, I have a challenge, who's in? Immediately, she had people tweeting her back proclaiming that they were "in", not really knowing what they were getting into, myself included. She said, "Starting TOMORROW (10/19/2011), for a WHOLE WEEK, we will be fasting from ALL NEGATIVE COMMENTS, THOUGHTS, ACTIONS, FEELINGS, ALL NEGATIVITY!!!!!!" Reedy then followed that by asking "So who's still in?" She had a lot of people saying that it would be hard but they were going to do it. Then she began to give some pointers on how to get through this fast successfully.

I looked at my life and I evaluated where my negativity comes from and realized that it's in my own home, with my family. We don't always see eye to eye and they don't understand the choices I make in life. My siblings and I live completely different lifestyles even though we were raised by the same people, in the same house, going to the same churches, hearing the same things, I just turned out different. None of us learned how to deal with each others' differences so sometimes when we speak our mouths become weapons of warfare. The Bible does say that death and life are in the power of the tongue(Proverbs 18:21). So,I figured that I would pray as soon as I wake up, in the middle of the night, and when I wake up to start my day. I also pray before I walk back into the house. I started to look for scriptures to encourage me in this fast and while reading The Power of a Praying Woman by Stormie Omartian, I found a scripture that made me want to speak positive things. The scripture was Proverbs 16:24, "Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones." That encouraged me to speak only things that are positive.

After reading that scripture, I started to pray that God would cleanse my mind of all negative things and fill it with those pleasant words, those uplifting, encouraging words. Then, later on that night, I was asked how I was fasting and I mentioned the scripture I had come across and the young lady told me that she didn't know where to find the scriptures, so I mentioned the book and she asked me to share.

I began searching for scriptures on positivity and I noticed that all of the ones I found were dealing with the mouth, my weapon of warfare. Eventually, I came across Matthew 15:11, "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, that defileth a man." I understood what the verse was saying but I needed to know much more than that and began to read around the verse. I started at the beginning of the chapter and by the time I got to verse 20, I was so convicted and began to pray. Verses 18-20 reads "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man." That thing right there messed me all up. Here I am, praying that God would cleanse my mind of all the negative thoughts that I speak before I think and this stuff is coming from my heart. It made me realize that my heart is ALL jacked up and that bothers me.

For years, I have been trying to find out how to get closer to God and my heart is what's stopping me. My prayer last night was that God would uproot all that negative stuff from my heart, drown it with His love so that it will overflow. The Word says in Ephesians 3:20 "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." If I can imagine my heart overflowing with love, what will God do about that? The thought of that made me happy.

Today is Day 2 of the #NoNegativityFast and my focus today is the cleansing of my heart. So I'll be singing songs such as Renew Me by Martha Munizzi, Create in Me A Clean Heart by Donnie McClurkin, and songs like that. I'll be searching for more scriptures and meditating on the ones that I have come across thus far. I encourage everyone who is doing this fast to think about their lives and where the negativity is coming from. Have a blessed day!!!

Until Next Time...

Sista T

Cry Out

"Osama Bin Laden has been captured and killed..."

That is the highlight of the day, everyone loves our President again, everyone is celebrating. Now, most of my followers on Twitter are Christians, as well as most of my Facebook friends. Why is it that out of at least 600 different people, I have only seen a few people speak about the "other issues" that were put on the back burner because of this one man's death.

Bin Laden is dead, whoop-de-freakin-do. Kids are still dying out on the streets because they don't have anything to do after school or or enough people who cares about their education, so they turn to the streets. Everyone isn't celebrating their deaths, and they sure aren't doing anything to change it. So what are we doing???

I'll tell you what we're doing. We are sitting at home behind a computer, at work behind a computer, walking around with a phone, sitting around with and ipod/ipad, posting statuses everywhere about how this one man is dead and how everyone is so happy that he is dead.

"Justice is now served", some have said. Is it really though??? If that man did not accept Christ as his Savior, there you have another lost soul. Way to go people, you sent another person to hell. If he did accept Christ, you killed him because of the mess he caused. Congratulations, you killed a child of God. The Word says, "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." -Romans 12:19 KJV

Christians run around all day on any other occasion saying, "Hold your peace, let the Lord fight your battles." People sing the song, "If I hold my peace, let the Lord fight my battles, victory, victory shall be mine." But today it's a different story, today people are saying, "Osama is dead! I love my President! Justice is served!" What happened to letting God fight our battles??? What happened to giving way to wrath??? Then you sit around wondering why people go around calling American Christians hypocrites and why foreigners call us "Stupid Americans."

How about using that same energy that you used to say all this nonsense to encourage a young person to go to school, get an education, value their life, provide for themselves and eventually a family "the right way"?

CHANGE IN MOOD:

I was listening to Kirk Franklin's new album Hello Fear. The Song "Everyone Hurts" came on and all I could do was think about what is going on. Rather than look for revenge on the man who was behind the killings of many people, why didn't we pray that God will heal the hurt?

It really bothers me to see this reaction to the death of someone. I don't care who he was, no one deserves to be killed, let God handle that.

So tonight, I cry out for the world. I pray for the restoration of people all over the world. I pray for all the people who were effected by any attacks that were caused by Osama Bin Laden. I pray for all those who are celebrating the death of Bin Laden. I pray for those who were hurt by his death. I pray for the kids who were killed as a result of gang violence. I pray for those who are against the education and prosperity of our young people. I pray for the young people, that they are encouraged by someone who can help them succeed in life. I pray for all of the lost souls, the souls that strayed away, the souls that are in between light and dark. I pray for the world, that God would move like a tsunami on the hearts of everyone. I pray that God would touch the hearts of those who lost family members in all of the natural disasters. There are too many natural disasters to name them all, the end times are here. I pray that God's people will move out of their comfort zones and win more souls for Christ. I pray that people will begin to rejoice over the won souls rather than the death of lost ones. I pray that there will be a shift in the economy, so the impoverished will no longer live in poverty. I pray that there will be a shift in violence, that there will be more saved lives than deaths. I pray for all of the missionaries out there making a difference in the lives of people through the Word of God. I pray for those in high positions that they will lead people in the right direction. I pray for the leaders in the church, that they will prepare their people to witness and evangelize everywhere. I pray for the laymen, that they will not only come to church, but walk in their purpose that God has for them. I pray that they will move out of the pews and into the streets and lead souls to Christ. I cry out for every lost soul. God I know you will do these things according to Your perfect will. I pray all these things in the precious name of Christ Jesus. Amen

You all be blessed

Sista T

Love Rant

This is something I wrote in April 2010 and never posted anywhere. It's making me think about some things so I feel a need to post it. I couldn't figure out what to call it so when I saved it, I called it a "Love Rant"... Welp, here it goes...

Love

What is love?

Can I fully experience it?

Why do I desire it?

Can someone tell me?

I feel like I’m on a never-ending search

For something that I should be able to find in a church

But truth be told, sometimes it’s so full of hate

And you have those who will try to debate

That the church is so loving and caring

So explain to me why some “church folk” are hating and airing

The business that isn’t their own,

Say not to gossip, and are the first one on the phone

When someone gets caught out there

Instead of praying, they laugh and stare?

I don’t get it………

Love

What is it?

I’ll tell you what it is

Love is when you give your life for someone you care for

Love is when you forgive

Love is when you can look past someone’s faults and see their heart

Love is when you give to those who don’t have

Love is……something a lot of people don’t understand

We tend to look for love in people, places, objects, etc. How many people actually go to God and say “Lord show me how to love. You showed me You loved me by sending Jesus Christ to die for me. Jesus Christ showed He loved me by dying a brutal death and in the midst of that asked that You would forgive me. I know I can’t show You or anyone else I love them in that manner, so show me what I need to do and I will.” ??? That’s my prayer and I encourage you to make it your own.

There Will Come A Day

"His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord"

-Matthew 25:21

I was sitting in my room thinking last night and I just started writing what was in my head...

There Will Come A Day

There will come a day…

When I no longer have to cry

When I can wake up with a smile

When I don’t feel heavy

There will come a day…

There will come a day…

When I don’t have to wonder

When I can be confident at all times

When I don’t have to question

There will come a day…

There will come a day…

When my Father will come to rescue me

When I no longer have to live in this cruel, cold world

When I will hear “Well done, thou good and faithful servant”

There will come a day…

I always have dreams that things will change

I always believe that God will work things out

I have faith bigger than the size of a mustard seed

But “things aren’t changing fast enough”

I get discouraged like any other person

I question whether the things I secretly desire will become mine

I know deep down inside that God won’t let me down

I know that one day I will be just fine

That day may not be today

That day may not be tomorrow

That day may not come within the next 2 years

But I do know one thing,

There will come a day…

Time For A Change...Reclaiming God's Children

"You know a lot of times we sit around and think about how the world can change for the better. My brothers and sisters we gotta be about this thing. I want you to stand up on your feet and believe it. COME ON!!!" -Jor el Quinn

So once again, music has inspired me to write. I have been rocking to this song by 21:03 called "Time For A Change" featuring Chris Clark since I first heard it about 2 years ago. I always had this passion for helping people and introducing Christ through song. I have many, many ideas in my head from dreams, visions, and just being out at various events, but most of my ideas come from things I hear. Now my last blog was about motive (Make Me Invisible), this one, however, is about ACTION.

We always say things need to change but we leave it to the leaders of the church. As a young female who is bothered by the things that are said by some young people and adults alike, we need to do something, seriously. That something has to begin with us. We need to evaluate our lives and learn about God before we can tell someone else about God. Our attitudes need to be right, our motives need to be right, etc. No one is perfect and I understand that but we need to be making an effort to be Christ-like. We need to be in prayer and fasting, going to church, going to bible study and things like that. We should be EXAMPLES.

There are a lot of places that are being attacked by the enemy and we need to be ready to stand our ground with the help of God. Our churches are being attacked, and don't think your church isn't being attacked because satan can have his angels sitting right in the congregation. Remember, satan knows the Word better than some of the "holiest" people in the church, which is why we need to be studying the Word. Other places that are being attacked are our homes, our schools, our jobs, and our communities. We need to do something people.

In the song they say we can't be ashamed, I agree but we can't be afraid either. I have 3 scriptures that come to mind when I say that. In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus was talking to the disciples after he had risen and he told them, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations..." I have learned one thing about myself and that is, I can't teach something if I'm not confident in it and don't believe it. We need to believe what we are teaching otherwise it means nothing. Whether we are teaching Sunday School, or teaching through song, or poems, we need to be confident and believe the Word in which we teach.

The second scripture I'm reminded of is Jeremiah 1:4-9 when God called Jeremiah to be a prophet. Jeremiah's excuse was that he was just a child and God told him, "Say not, that I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak." I used to say that, until I realized that people younger than me were looking at me. It made me realize that I'm older than SOMEBODY and even people older than me could be watching and be drawn to God through my actions.

The final scripture that reminded me of was in Exodus 3 where God sent his angel in the form of a burning bush. God was telling Moses to go to Egypt and tell Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go free. Moses asked God in verse 11, "Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?" A lot of people, when they are called to do something for the Kingdom, will ask, well who am I to do that? Does God know the things I did? The things I said? The thoughts I had? Well yes He does and He can use anyone he pleases.

If you have read all the verses I mentioned, you would notice that every person was assured that God would be with them. In Matthew 28:20, Jesus said "and, lo, I am with you alway,even unto the end of the world." In Jeremiah 1:8, God said, "Be not afraid of their faces; for I am with thee to deliver thee." In Exodus 3:12, God said, "Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee." God will not send you to do something and not be with you. You have to be in constant communication with Him though, 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

If you aren't sure whether God sent you to do something specifically yet, tell your story. I was watching an interview with Evin and Jor el of 21:03 on youtube. They touched on that a bit. Paraphrasing, people can benefit from know what you went through. Telling your story can help someone get through a tough time or even let them know they're not alone. In my opinion, and from listening to others, some people don't like "churchfolk" because they "act too holy" and act like they have never been through anything.

It's time to do as we are called. It's time to reclaim God's children. It's time to walk in our purposes. It's time for a change. God is with us so why are we so hesitant? For those who are already walking in their calling, why not step it up a notch? Satan only wants to do 3 things, steal, kill and destroy. (John 10:10) It's time to RECLAIM what belongs to the Kingdom.

Speaking of reclaiming, there is a tour that began this past Friday in Minnesota. This tour includes Canton Jones, Claude Deuce, Willie "P Dub" Moore, Chris Clark, Da TRUTH, and 21:03. I have heard nothing but great things about this tour. It's called the RECLAIM Tour. If you want to start reclaiming God's children, start living like it. Pass out tracks (and don't say they cost too much because I can get 100 for $10 and some sites give them out for free), Bring your friends/classmates/roommates/co-workers to church, bring them to Christian events, bring them to concerts, buy them Christian cds, TELL THEM YOUR STORY!!!

Let's spread the Word of God and reclaim what belongs to Him. I have a goal, by this time next year I want to have had planned and organized a Christian event that young people would benefit from and make it an annual event. Of couse I will be praying about that but I really want to put some of these idea into action and help bring God's children back.

Are you willing to help reclaim His children and make this change happen?

Sista T

BTW...I don't want to offend anyone by what I say, if you know you are doing what you are called to do then fine. This is just for thought, not to come down on anyone because I'm not God. I can't say whether you are doing what you are called to do or not. That is between you and Him. So I hope it caused you to think about what you do for the Kingdom and if it inspires or encourages you, then praise God. That is all...

Make Me Invisible

About a week and a half ago, I said that I would be posting a new blog soon. That blog was never finished because I have so much to say and don't know how to say it so that it makes sense. I also need to do more research on it. But I do have another blog already hand written (I wrote it this morning) and I see it as important for anyone who shares the Word of God. It all came from listening to a song...

I have had "Invisible" by Kierra "KiKi" Sheard on repeat for a couple days now. In the song, Kierra is talking about how some gospel singers have now made everything about them. The song starts out, "A total eclipse has just begun, we've blocked out the Son. Can't believe this is what we've come to." Yea...neither can I, but that hit me so hard. It really hit me because I always say "I will serve God with all my heart, it's not about me, it's about Him reaching His people," but when I get up to sing every Sunday, it's a different story. I tend to worry about what the music sounds like and why I'm hearing things I really don't want to hear. The last thing on my mind while I'm up there is, I'm a vessel being used by God. Now we(the praise team, and musicians) pray together before service with one of the ministers but after that prayer, it seems as though we never prayed for God to use us.

The hook says "It's time to take to the stage, then I'll move out the way, so that they only see You that's inside of me. Don't let me block the view, that's not what I want to do. I want to be seen through, make sure they see You. Make me invisible..." My sincere prayer before service should be something like, "God I pray that you would show up today and use me as Your vessel. I will decrease so that you may increase. God make me invisible so that people will see You and not me. Holy Spirit, have your way in this place." The Word says, in John 3:30, "He must increase but I must decrease." We need too take heed to that verse. God can only increase if we decrease and put ourselves aside.

This blog is not just for singers and performers, but for leaders and clergy, as well as those who witness or testify. When we speak to people, they should not be seeing us, meaning, nothing should be about us. The focus should be on God. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you can't use yourself as an example to glorify God. Just don't make everything about you and say things like, "I did this" and "I did that," now I have peace, thank you JeSUSSSSS!!! God gave you peace, so it's not what you did.

I have some questions:

- Preachers, when you get up to do a sermon, are you focused on making sure God gets all the glory and letting him use you? Or are you trying to sound and look good? Are you just trying to get to your whoop so that people can get hype? Or are you trying to decrease yourself so that God can use you as a vessel to reach His people?

-Congregation, are you focused on what other people are doing to determine the reaction they will get from you? If you were in a dark room with a bunch or people and all you could do was hear and see the scriptures posted up on a screen, would you still have the same reaction you would have if the preacher was visible and jumping all over the pulpit? (Nothing against that, if the spirit causes you to jump, by all means, jump your life away.)

My point is that we need to start making God the ONLY focus in our lives, while preaching, while teaching, while singing, while praise dancing, while playing instruments. God make us invisible...

"My soul, wait thou only upon God, for my expectation is from Him." -Psalm 62:5

Love you much!!!

Sista T

Letting Go

I was sitting here listening to 3 songs over and over and my mind started wandering. The songs all had the word "breakthrough" in them and they are "Another Breakthrough", "New Day Dawning", and "Lord of the Breakthrough" all by Mary Alessi.

I was just saying earlier that I was waiting on my breakthrough and after listening to these songs again I started thinking heavily. I have been praying that God would take me to a new place in Him and for the past week I have been praying for a breakthrough. I realized that I was being told what to do while sitting in church but I didn't notice it. I have a lot to let go of. There are things from my childhood, my teenage years, and things from my adulthood that I allowed to get to me. Even the smallest things such as someone lying on me in high school. I never let this stuff go and now I am suffering because of it. I now have to deal with all of those issues to get what I asked for.

I heard someone say that you have to be careful of what you ask for and I heard someone else say that letting go is hard to do. I didn't truly understand what they meant until a little while ago. I asked for a new place in God and a breakthrough, to get that I have to sacrifice something. What I have to sacrifice is my attitude and all the hate, anger, and negativity that I claimed to let go. In all actuality, I never let that stuff go, I just stuffed it under a rug and hid it in some backed up tears. I have to really sit here and forgive every person that did something to me, let the issue go and repent for holding that stuff against people. I said I don't hold grudges and I realized that I'm notorious for doing that and was in denial for years. If someone makes me mad I will bring up something that has nothing to do with the situation just so they would be just as mad if not even more mad than I was at the time.

I learned a lot about myself in those few minutes and I hope someone learns from this. I won't put all my business out there as far as who hurt me, and who I hold grudges against, that's just too much information. But if I did that to you and you just so happen to read this. Just know that I forgive you and I apologize from the bottom of my heart for holding that against you. No, I'm not talking directly to any one person, it's a general apology to everyone I held a grudge against. I would also like to apologize to everyone I hurt, I know I have a bad attitude and I say a lot out of spite just to hurt people. That is about to change though, with the help of God, it will change.

That's all I have for now. I just needed to get that off my chest. I'm not sure I will get back into blogging anytime soon but you all will know if I do.

Love you much

Sista T

I Will Win

I went to Vacation Bible School (VBS) for the first time in YEARS on Monday. The theme this year is Christian Olympics and for tonight I was asked to recite a poem and sing a song. I still don't know what song to sing but I did write a poem. The scriptures we'll be studying tonight are Philippians 3:14; 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; and Hebrews 12:1-2. I used those scriptures as well as Ecclesiastes 9:11 to write this poem so you will see a bit of each scripture in here.

Let me know what you all think about it...

I Will Win - Sista T

I’m at the starting line

Get ready, get set

BOOM! We take off

But I’m far behind the rest

We’re pressing toward the mark

But I think it may be separate

I know I’m going to win

But they all seem desperate

To win this shiny trophy

While I chase a crown

And as I’m running

I see a few on the ground

They fell on their face

Chasing a trophy that’s breakable

I’m still in this race

Chasing a crown that’s incorruptible

They trained with weights, tracks, and trainers

And I did the same

They have the same names

How many know it’s a different game?

My weight is my God

My track is the streets

My trainer is the Word

With them who can’t I defeat?

Satan is mad

His people are falling

Falling on their faces

While I’m still running

I’m pressing toward the mark

Pressing for the prize

Not that shiny trophy though

I don’t need to blind my eyes

I want to see clearly

The Author, the Finisher

Who endured a brutal death

And declared me a winner

Now I may fall

But I will not fail

I will keep pressing

And leave my trail

The end is near

And I can see the finish line

I’m so far ahead

But I can’t get sidelined

With God as my author

And finisher of my faith

I know that the win

Is the victory to my fate

So here I am

Winning today

To prove to the enemy

Jesus is on the way

Now I’m not swift

Nor am I strong

But I do have Jesus

Who will run along

I will be pressing

Pressing to the end

And just to inform you

I WILL WIN