Glory Only In Christ

** I am once again participating in the Lenten SheSharesTruth activity given by the wonderful writers of the blog SheReadsTruth. This week were given the task of interpreting 1st Corinthians 2: 1-5. May you be blessed by what the Lord has laid on my heart to share. Any woman trying to get deeper in God, please visit the blog and join a community of women intent on indulging on His word .**

"Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, But to Your name give glory, Because of Your mercy, Because of Your truth." Psalms 115:1

Take back my degree, erase everything that I went to college for, disregard my eloquent speech, remove my titles, strip me bare of my accomplishments and see only the Christ in me. My things only distract you from seeing the real Star of the show, the Risen Christ. Whatever great things you thought I did do not even measure up in comparison to the greatness that He did on the Cross. I assure you, we are the same, equal, and evenly matched. I cry when you cry. I labor when you labor. I rejoice when you rejoice. I hunger when you were hunger. I stutter when you stutter. If I look weak, great. If I am labeled as meek, wonderful. If I let you cut me off and speak to me in a condescending tone, perfect. As long as by the end of our conversation you realize that the same Christ who justified me also justifies you, it was all worth it. "But he who glories, let him glory on the Lord. For not he who commends himself is approved, but who the Lord commends." 2nd Corinthians 10:17-18 This is what Paul is saying, this is what Stephanie is saying. All glory belongs to the Risen King Jesus.

Jonah's Great Escape: My Interpretation of Jonah 1 & 2

** I am once again participating in the #SheSharesTruth activity given by the wonderful writers of the blog SheReadsTruth. Any woman trying to get deeper in God, please visit the blog and join a community of women intent on indulging on His word .**

Jonah 1 & 2: First Hand Account

He says "Go there.", I say "Flee from here!" Why me? Why now? Why there? There's a boat going to Tarshish and I'm going to be on it so I can go as far away from You as possible. "He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord." Sorry God I'm not your man, You should choose someone else more fit for the position.

What is all that noise? I guess my sleep will have to wait, I can rest and relax when I get to Tarshish anyways. Why does the boat feel like it is going to flip upside down and rip in two? "But the LORD sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up."  Uh-oh, God is this You causing the sea to open up and swallow us? Why do You pursue me so? Why do you make the waves chase after me? 

 Others call on gods who can do nothing for them. I know that You can calm the very sea that Your hands crafted. My fellow sailors seem to have more reverence for You than I do. How foolish of me to think that I could escape You? You who sees all, knows all, and created all things. I know what must happen, just throw me overboard. Get rid of this raging sea by getting rid of me. "And he said to them. 'Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is  because of me.' "

God, I recognize my wrong and want another opportunity to get it right. I know that You called me to do something great. On Your strength and power I  will stand. Even though it's dark where I am, I know that You are with me as my protection. "Yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O LORD, my GOD." In my darkest moments is when I can see You the clearest. "So the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land." As I turn my face towards You, I finally see daylight and dry land. I'm ready to fulfill Your purpose for my life.

Whether we are running from Nineveh, accepting the call to become a minister, opening that business, going back to school for that Master's Degree, or signing up for that Missions Trip that has been tugging on our heartstrings, there is a God-given purpose that we may be running from.We must unlace our track shoes and shake off the feelings of inadequacy or lack. My Sisters, behind every glimpse of our purpose that is revealed to us, God puts the provision and ability to carry it out. May your days be filled gloriously with carrying out His purpose. xoxo

Interpretation of Psalms 130

Song of Ascents = Pilgrim Songs, Songs of Degrees, Songs of Steps

Interpretation of Psalm 130:

 Down in the pits of our lowest point when we have been cut off from everyone whom we thought could help, Your Name is called upon earnestly. I beg that you hear our cry and listen to lips full of humble prayers. Where could we hide if you kept a record of all of our iniquities? What scale could hold the weight of our sins? How merciful You are that You smooth out the rough patches of life with Your grace and mercy, if you didn't we would unravel like a ball of yarn. Thanks be unto You for Your loving kindness and ability to forgive. You are eternally reverenced because You never stop forgiving. No matter what happens or what challenges arise, unshakable faith is the only response.

 In pain or joy, tears or laughter I will wait upon Your presence to speak to my soul as only You can. With a heart of expectancy and hope, I will sit patiently knowing that You are never far. In you do I put my trust oh God, for there is no one else who can redeem me from my sins. My hand is in Your hand lead me in the land of uprightness.

“Gratitude for forgiveness leads the worshiper to reverent fear and obedience.”

** Today, I dust off my blog for an exciting challenge in which other readers and I get to share our insight of a particular passage of scripture pertaining to the Lent season. I'm participating in the activity with the blog shereadstruth . I recommend it to any woman seeking to get deeper in God. **

My Daniel Fast Recap

At 12 am this morning I completed my 21 day Daniel Fast *30 second praise break*. For this fast I asked God to endow me with more self-control. For those of you who aren't familiar with it I will explain what it entails. On the fast, which started on the 16th of January, I was not supposed to consume any sweets, carbonized liquid, fried foods, white bread, caffeine, white sugar, junk food, shellfish, or pork. I looked at that list and was confused at what I was supposed to eat instead. Looking back, it really wasn't very hard to find alternate food selections. The first week only consisted of not eating the foods previously listed, the second week however limited our eating to only two meals a day, and the third week limited our eating to only one meal a day (Hay Dios Mio!).

Fasting Tip: Go into with a couple of friends so that you can have accountability partners.

The first week was interesting to say the least. I love sweets so that is where my struggle came in. We were instructed to read through the entire book of Acts, and I have to say that I fell in love with the book. I turned off my TV and limited my time on facebook, twitter, etc. The extra time spent in The Word and talking to God in the first week set the foundation for the rest of the fast. Adding my own personal touches on the fast I decided that I would spend limited time around my friends so that I could be focused.

Fasting Tip: Start slow and gradually work up to a more advanced fast. If you're just starting out and set the bar too high, you will only be disappointed. 

Week two came before I knew it and I definitely felt the absence of  the third meal. My self-control was tested and then some! We were allowed to eat snacks but for the most part I tried to stick to just the two meals. In this week we were instructed to read through the books of Ephesians and Galatians. These books were the perfect substitute for TV and the internet Once, again I found myself loving these books. The 13 Letters are AMAZING! Paul is my Hero (umm after Jesus, David, Solomon, Jacob/Isreal, and Bathsheba).

Fasting Tip: It's okay to look at how others fast for a reference ONLY. You have to do what is right for you. 

Week three rolled around and I felt that I was prepared to drop my meals down to one. I decided that I would eat at 4:30 every day because it would keep me full for the rest of the night. In this week the substitute for TV, the internet, and two meals were the books Philippians and Colossians. Philippians (2:2-11 to be specific) is my absolute favorite book of the Bible so I was all too happy to read it in its entirety. If my self-control was not tested anywhere else it was during this week. I stayed buried in The Word and in constant conversation with God so I would not always be thinking about food (if you didn't know, I LOVE FOOD so your girl was going through!)

 Fasting Tip: Give it your all!  Even if you're giving up TV or facebook instead of food, be dedicated.

My main fear during the fast was that I would not be able to control my hunger and cheat. I am proud to say that I did not cheat once during this fast. I realized that I am stronger than I thought I was. "Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord" -- 2 Corinthians 10:17. Shout out to my Heavenly Father for making this journey worthwhile. That's all for now...

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Getting This Off of My Chest

One of my Brothers in Christ pissed me off something terrible today and I completely shut him out and told myself that he didn't exist. I ignored him the whole day and avoided being in the same space as him. I thought I was through with being cold and heartless, apparently I'm not! I don't like when I get the "I don't care attitude" because I cut everyone and everything off and exist in a world by myself. I created this defense mechanism when my parents got divorced and I didn't want to deal with the pain. I'm not that scared little 12 year old girl anymore who is afraid to face her problems. I refuse to revert back to my old ways. This issue will be handled tomorrow. God I thank You for Your redeeming mercy.

"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over." Matthew 18:15

Girlfriends Conference 2010

For this entire weekend I'm attending a Girlfriends Conference at my church and I'm being truly blessed! I love men just as much as the next woman but it's a joy to be surrounded by your sisters and Christ and be having a good time. Our first lady opened up the conference with an amazing sermon. She preached on why women are so unhappy and a few of the points hit home.

1) Give Me a Break. We as ladies don't take enough time out for ourselves and then get me mad when we don;t get rest. It's okay to sit down and kick you feet up for a little bit. Your husband, children, boss, friends, etc. will be just fine while you're getting some rest.

2) Stop Your Stinkin' Thinkin'. We think negatively so we are negative. It's so much easier to be negative then to be positive but we have to fight against nature and gain positivity. We must realize the importance of our thoughts.

3) Watch Your Mouth. Since our words become reality so quickly we have to watch what we say. Make your words work for you!

S/N: Even though the message was aimed at women, fellas feel free to apply these lessos to your life too.

Scriptural reference: Luke 10, John 15, Phil 4:8

Stephanie's Book Club

"Chosen & Destined" by Patricia Haley.

As I was strolling through the book heaven named Barnes & Nobles I spotted a book named "Chosen" that had this fine man on the front. Like really fine, here take a look http://www.amazon.com/Chosen-Patricia-Haley/dp/1416580506. I must confess that I do judge books by their covers, I have passed on books that have dull or boring covers. Pardon me, I digress. So anyways, the cover caught my eye initially and then when I read the description of what the book was about I was hooked. Patty (yup I've already nicknamed her) decided to write a book using the biblical story of King David & King Solomon as her base. I don't know about you but I love to read modernized Bible stories! When trying to figure out who the different characters were I found myself reading these books and The Bible (The end of 1st Chronicles & 2 Chronicles ) simultaneously. Patty did an amazing job and I recommend these books 100% to anyone who loves intrigue, mystery, suspense. She gives a fresh outlook to the age-old tale of two of the best Kings in the history of the Bible.