Stand Firm!

“Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord [always doing your best and doing more than is needed], being continually aware that your labor [even to the point of exhaustion] in the Lord is not futile nor wasted [it is never without purpose].

1 Corinthians 15:58 Amplified Version

WHAT DID GOD SAY TO ME THIS MORNING

Here’s what The Holy Spirit said this morning:

• Have a sincere heart for my people (The Holy Spirit then brought a specific family member to mind and said this): It’s not what you want for him, it’s what I want for him. Remove your plan and listen for my plan. Pray for him… that he answers the call from me. (Sometimes we want certain things for our family members and loved ones and God is saying, don’t get so focused on what YOU want to see change in their lives, but instead focus on what I (the Lord) wants to change in that person).

• Be steadfast and unmovable (Read 1 Corinthians 15:58 scripture above).

• The more you press into ME, the more that I will press down for you! (I was reminded of Luke 6:38 where it says: “Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full - pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”

• Talk less, listen more, and write even more.

• Everything won’t always go in logical order or the way YOU think it should go. When I orchestrate things in your life, it won’t always make sense to you, but trust Me.

• Tie up loose ends. Things that have been hanging out there, just go ahead and knock it out.

• Get things in order for the book assignment. Make a plan with a release date and put a marketing plan together (I didn’t want to add the last two bullet points to this to the blog because it felt so personal, but God said be ALL the way transparent).

In closing, I wanted to quickly share a testimony from Saturday. If you read the blog on Saturday, April 20th, God said he would give me a surprise that day. I was so excited and in expectancy mode. I went about my day which included my son’s morning basketball game, helping my mom with her cell phone, having lunch with my mom and the kids, and then I had a meeting with my church life group. In all that, I had not gotten any surprises yet. But I kept expecting though.

When I got home that afternoon, I felt a bit tired so I decided to take a power nap. When I woke up, I was just laying across the bed and I said Lord, where do I need to be to get my surprise? See I was feeling like I had to leave the house to get it, but I didn’t know where to go.

As soon as I said, where do I need to go, my phone rang. It was someone that I don’t talk to a whole lot. Matter of fact,I don’t think I have seen or talked to them this year at all. But I answered the phone and we exchanged pleasantries and he said, I got something for you (insert bucked eyes because I had LITERALLY JUST ASKED GOD).

Of course, I immediately thought of the surprise. My nosey self was like, well what you got? He said, where are you? I said, at home. He said well I am over here with your brother, can you come by? Now mind you, I had just sorta talked to my brother through my mom’s phone earlier and had been thinking that I needed to go and visit him and his kids anyway, because it had been a while. How ironic that my surprise was over there WITH my brother (see how God works?)

The kids and I headed over to my brother’s, and as soon as I got out the car and gave hugs, the close family friend gave me surprise. He said, since you always acted like you were my God-child anyway, I wanted to give you this. IT WAS MONEY!!! I was just standing there in my brother’s driveway probably looking like a deer in headlights. God had told me in my prayer time, you will know it is from me. So when he used the term “God-child” that was it. God had used this family friend to surprise me with some money. WOW! Just writing this up just gives me all the feels all over again.

This whole experience was totally about praying and HEARING from him and being obedient to what He tells me to do. That experience itself was worth more than the money that was PRESSED into my hand. It was literally God saying, you heard me, you obeyed me, and you have seen me move in your life immediately. Remember this. I have more for you, but I had to see if you would trust me. And of course, I will never forget ever forget this experience!