Category Archives: Divine Love

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Where is Your Relationship With God? A checklist…

Hello World, 

I could discuss a million hot topics this morning from the royal baby watch to the “Justice for Trayvon” rallies in 100 cities across the U.S. But as a Christian blogger, sometimes I just have to get back to the basics…None of what happens in this world is more important than a personal relationship with God….In fact, it was so important to me, I wrote “After the “Altar Call: The Sisters’ Guide to Developing a Personal Relationship With God” because without a personal relationship with God, this life is meaningless…So I decided to compile a checklist to that will help me and you determine if our personal relationship with God is getting stronger and stronger or slowly dying or nonexistent….First of all, I have to assume that you have decided to make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior…If you haven’t, the rest of this post doesn’t apply until you have made that crucial decision…and now, on to my list…

  1. How many times this week have you set aside time to spend with God in prayer and devotion without interruption? I must admit that as I have not spent as much time with God lately as I have been planning my wedding…I have rationalized it to myself saying God understands…But the truth is, God is a jealous God and He insists on coming first no matter what the circumstance…
  2. How often do you pause to ask God’s opinion on various matters before declaring your own? As a person with an opinion on just about anything, I often have to remind myself that my opinion is not necessarily God’s opinion…Spending time with God (as I stated above) brings my opinion in line with God’s opinion…
  3. How often do you hear God’s guidance from the smallest of issues to the biggest of issues? I am so comfortable in my relationship with God that I feel free to ask Him about even the smallest issues in my life…It is commonplace to seek God’s guidance when facing significant issues, but most relationships are defined by the little things that happen everyday… For example, I am a discount diva but sometimes I can take it too far…I bought a $10 wedding veil online and when I received it, it looked every bit of $10 so I knew I had to get another veil…Through my relationship with God, I felt led to travel to a specific store across town where I found the perfect veil for nearly the exact amount that I designated to spend on it…In fact, I designated $65 for it, and I spent $64.19…And because I have dreadlocks, I cannot put a comb in my hair which becomes an issue when shopping for wedding veils which are typically attached to combs…A lady at the store had a wire cutter in the back and was able to remove the comb and sell it to me…No this is not world peace, but in my relationship with God, I can seek His guidance on anything…
  4. When the last time you praised God for just being God and not asked Him about anything or for anything? As you know, there is a time for everything…While God encourages us to come to Him with all sorts of requests, there is a time when we have set ourselves aside and just praise Him for being Him…There is nothing greater than feeling the presence of God…When I praise Him, I feel His presence…It often moves me to tears and don’t let me be in my bedroom, sometimes I have to leap in the air…As the song says, there is nobody greater…
  5. When was the last time you sacrificed for God? As Jesus Christ paid the ultimate price of sacrificing His life so that we can a right relationship with God, we are called to sacrifice from time to time…Sometimes God may have lead you to sacrifice money that you designated for one cause and give it to something else…Sometimes God may lead you to sacrifice time in His service…Since I will be getting married soon, I know there will be some sacrifice involved…On a side note, I’m grateful for the armed forces of this country that so sacrifice so much from time with their families to their very lives for our freedom…
  6. When was the last time you did something for the “least of these?” God said in Matthew 25:40 that “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” On the face of this verse, it seems like God is instructing us to care for the poor because they have the least monetary resources…But what about the “least of these” when it comes to other resources? I’m going to tell you a secret…Sometimes, I can be a bit of a snob…Growing up, I was in the “B” or “C” crowd, but I aspired to be in the “A” crowd…As an adult, none of that foolishness really matters anymore except I still often find myself wanting to gravitate to the “cool kids” whether they are the people who are the most well known in my profession to the more affluent people in my social groups…But God wants me to treat everyone the same…So I have to make an effort sometimes to be kind to the people I find socially awkward or people that aren’t upwardly mobile…
  7. How often do you step out on faith? In Hebrew 11:6, we are told that “without faith it is impossible to please God?” How often do you make decisions that may not make sense to those around you but make sense to you according to your relationship with God? Some years back, I wanted to know more about money and have more money, I decided to give more than my tithe on faith that God would bless me…About a year or so later, I met a financial coach who taught me how to manage the money I already had AND more money came my way…that is just one example…holla at me at jacqueline@afterthealtarcall.com if you need more examples..

So where is relationship with God? This song is my on my heart this morning…”Nobody Greater” by Vashawn Mitchell?

Any thoughts?

 

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Planning & Stressing…

Hello World, 

This week has been an eventful one…in my mind…Between planning my (our) wedding and stressing about it, my emotional world can go from jubilation to desperation in seconds…I’m trying my best to not make this blog about all things wedding and marriage planning, but for the next few months or so, these two areas will be uppermost in my mind as we prepare to join two into one…

A few weeks ago, I was stressing about the high costs of weddings nowadays in “The Wedding Industry Heist aka maybe I should go in the wedding planning business” and now I’m trying to discern what vendors I need to choose outside of the costs…It can be incredibly stressful, and yet it can be so much fun putting together all of the details that comprise the wedding day you’ve always dreamed of…The funny thing about it all is that I’m not of one of those women that has EVER dreamed about a wedding day. I’ve always dreamed of having that perfect relationship/marriage for a lifetime, but the wedding day stuff seemed like it was just fairy tale fluff for annoying women that been have dreaming of being princesses since they read Cinderella.

But now that I have started planning it all, I have become a bridezilla, obsessed with making sure every detail is right and cost effective…LOL…After I finish my work/chores, etc. each night, I find myself spending hours on the Internet, trolling wedding websites like Black Bridal Bliss and The Bride’s Cafe…I’ve even stayed up for almost the whole night on more than one occasion as I have planned certain details…I’m trying to not beat myself up too much about it though because I tend to throw myself in various projects as I work toward a deadline…When I was planning for the release of my book a couple of years ago, I was pretty much the same way…However, this time, it is not a book, it is about a wedding day AND marriage…

Yes, so it’s not all about me anymore…It’s also about my fiance’ too….as we get closer and closer to the BIG DAY, I’m realizing that I really need to work on compromising…when you have been on your own and making decisions by your lonesome for decades, compromise is not something I have had to work on…I have been the head of my household and have proudly made ALL of the decisions. I have decided when I wake up. I have decided when I go to bed. If I don’t feel like cooking for weeks, that is an option. If I want to turn up the music as loud as I can and dance around my home naked, no one has to know…But now, I have another person to consider…I love him, but I imagine my life will look very different a year from now…

So I’m planning and stressing…I’ve even had to repeat scriptures to myself on a daily basis this week when my mind wants to obsess…Below are the ones that have been most helpful to me…

Romans 8:28 (my all-time favorite)

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, whohave been called according to his purpose. “(I hope I’m making the best decisions, but if I’m not, I trust that God is working everything out for my good.)

Proverbs 3:5-6

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (The funny thing about being humans is that we believe we can figure out the best paths for us because we have been blessed with incredible minds. However, as we only have human understanding, we have to ultimately rely on God’s understanding and trust that He is leading us down the right paths.)

Philippians 4:6-7

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (While it is okay to be concerned about an issue, God commands us not to be anxious and worry…I must tell the truth, I have downright worried this week, but I’m working on just being concerned.)

One morning when I woke up, this song was in my spirit, and it has helped me to calm myself down as MY GOD IS AWESOME! If my God is truly awesome, I have to let Him work it all out…Check out Pastor Charles Jenkins and Fellowship Chicago as they sing “Awesome.”

Any thoughts?

P.S. I haven’t posted as much as I like, and I hope to remedy that this month…But you must forgive me if a few of my posts are about wedding and marriage planning…It’s just where I’m at 🙂

 

 

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What You Thought Was Dead Can Now Come Back to LIFE!

Hello World,

Happy Easter or Happy Resurrection Day! However you choose to refer to this day, this is the day that Christians the world over celebrate the most important day in our faith! Today we celebrate that while death is a powerful foe indeed, the power of death could not and cannot compare to the indestructible power of the Lord Jesus Christ! HE IS RISEN! We no longer have to live in sin, be ruled by destructive habits and or addictions or walk through this earth alone! We have a savior and a friend in Jesus Christ! Like the Baptists, I’ve got a reason to shout! Like the Pentecostals, I’ve got a reason to get my dance on! Like the Methodists, I’ve got a reason to be in silent awe! And then do it all over again! JESUS! JESUS! JESUS! Please find yourself in somebody’s church today because the Lord has a blessing for you, and you don’t want to miss it!

And speaking of blessings, I was reading the resurrection story in Matthew 27, and I read some verses that I don’t recall reading before…Do you know that Jesus was not the only one that God rose from the dead? According to Matthew 27:51-53, “51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.” Many theologians have differing opinions of what this miraculous occurrence meant, and it is not mentioned if these people remained on Earth or ascended with Jesus back to heaven.

As a lay person or a regular ole Christian or maybe even as a writer, these verses are further evidence that the death and resurrection of Jesus is not just about spiritual good that is just good for Heaven, it is also a good that makes sense right here on Earth! What do I mean? Using my sanctified storyteller imagination, I imagine that one of the dead was a mother who had passed away while giving birth to a son who had never known his mother except through the stories of family and friends. On the day that Jesus rose, this child was able to meet his mother for the first time! I can also imagine that one of those dead was a beloved husband of an elderly widow that had not seen him in decades unless she dreamed about him at night. Can you imagine how elated she was when he came to her during the day? Or what about the young woman that died suddenly after a brief and mysterious illness leaving her family and friends to question why God allowed this tragedy to happen? I imagined that they wept after she confirmed that even death could not keep her from the ones she loved! I’m sure this day of resurrection was a day of overflowing joy!

So what does this mean for us today? First of all and most importantly, we have a risen savior that promises to give us eternal life with Him in heaven. And while we are here on Earth, Jesus can break the chains of sin, addiction and destructive habits and give us joy and peace that sustains us through everything! AND he can bring back to life what we thought was dead…Maybe you dreamed of launching a business but you no longer have the financial backing to get it going. Don’t worry. Just pray! He can bring this dream back to life. Maybe you’ve been set back by setback after setback. God can restore your life! Maybe you are still grieving the death of a loved one years later and have been unable to really move on, God can show you how to live and not die!

What you thought was dead can now come back to life…

Any thoughts?