Road Less Traveled

I was traveling on this road filled with haze...you know that haze that happens when the sun's heat beats on the Earth soo much that it releases tears that turn into that dreamy steam. Well on this road I saw a couple of travelers different height, size, shape, color, age, male, and female, and some I couldn't really tell...all going different directions, all clothe in varying degree of shabbiness and filth, all on the same road. Oddly enough these travelers different in every way contained the same look on their faces. This puzzled me so much that I stopped. I shuddered and wondered did I have that same look? It was a look of pure torment. They all seem lost in a silent battle, eyes lost in a horror that only they could see. Aimlessly they moved but as I looked deeper I realized that something was pulling them deeper into the haze. I saw a weariness, a weariness that was slowly seeping the vibrancy of life from them.

I felt that weariness....I knew that weariness....I felt the tug drawing me deeper into that haze...I guess I did look like them. 

     Gosh I wanted something else....

At the corner of my eye I catch sight of a bright color red. I look up and see a young woman, she has a radiant smile, a joy and peace about her that seem to be contagious. She is heading the other way, pointing to a road less traveled. She attempts to capture the attention of any traveler she comes into contact with convincing them to walk with her...I stared, slowly our eyes connect. She joyously runs towards me and takes me by the hand. That touch felt warm, I didn't realize how cold I was.

She begins to tell me about The Man who will meet me at the beginning of my journey. He would change my life, give me a new hope and purpose. She told me how much he loved me, how much he has been pursuing me. She told that if I accept to walk with Him he promises to never leave or forsake me, promise me a joy that can't be taken. I listened and something entered my heart, hope. I wanted to meet Him.

So I followed her.

The closer we came to this road, the more I wanted to know about Him. The more I wanted to know about this King who came as man to save me from bondage, from a death that I rightly deserve, to pay the price I could never pay. What would I say? What should I do when I meet Him?

Suddenly I was bombarded by thoughts

"Why would he want to see me?"

"He's too good to be true, can he really give me all these things"

"I am not worthy"

"I am a hot mess, he wouldn't want to meet me"

"Maybe I can wait until I am more presentable to meet Him"

Just when I had convinced myself that it would be better to wait to meet him. Just before choosing to completely turn around I look up and I saw Him...in that moment every thought scattered, every fear was cast out, every sadness I've felt paled in comparison to the love I saw in His eyes. That love overwhelmed me so much I was rendered speechless. Silent, steady tears became my words. "You've found me" they said. He lifted his hands for an embrace...for a moment I hesitated.. I looked down at myself filthy, disheveled and I didn't want to make Him dirty, I try to pull at and fix myself quickly and the worst I looked. 

"Come" He said.

His voice drew my focus away from my state to the source of solution.

I don't know when my feet started to move, I don't know when urgency captured my heart turning it to a desperate run but what I knew was He was the answer for that huge void in me. I fell into His embrace and I clung to the source of life. That was the best Fall I've experienced.

"Welcome back my child, I have missed you, oh how I long for this reunion, how I long to hold you and free you from those burdens, I've sent so many to grab your  attention but today you have heard my voice. My Beloved Child"

A dam was released in me and those silent tears became heart wrenching groans. "I am home, my heart sing " there I stayed until slowly my tears abated and my hold loosened enough for me to let out my praise.

I am home.

(Part two to be continued...)

Dear Beloved,

To say this story was my plan would be a lie. It seemed to write itself as it flowed from my spirit. With every word I ministered to my own spirit. Every word brought me back to 3 almost 4 years ago. I remember feeling lost, aimless, weary, burdened, and so deep in darkness. I remember thinking that there must be more but unable to figure out what more was. I remember that moment when I recognize that I was on a road that leading to doom and many were on it with me.

I don't know how many people he sent my way to wake me up, to point me back to Him. I thank God that he kept sending people, that he continued to pursue me and place people and moments in my path that soften my heart to hear Him. I want to thank Heather Lindsey for being my lady in red that finally grabbed my attention to point me back to the road less traveled, back to Jesus. Her joy in Christ created a hunger in me for the same. I wanted it for myself.

This story reminded me of 3 main points.

1. I was once lost. I was once in a place where life had no meaning, no purpose. I was simply going through the motion, a copy of everyone else in the world. I can never be too proud to say that I was once covered in filth, I once was living a life of intentional sin, I was once God enemy but God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners Christ came and died for us (Romans 5:8)

2. Called to be a lady/men in red. Once we have discovered Christ we are each called to share that freedom with others. So many are lost, fighting a losing battle in their own strength all because Gods people are silent about who God is in their life. The joy, peace, love, power that we have in Christ should be so apparent that it draws people to His throne.

3. Choosing the road less traveled and encountering Jesus is part 1. When I was 16 I had my first encounter with Jesus. So much so that I made a decision to be baptized. I had that emotional response, that dam of release but my relationship with Him remained at the encounter. I didn't walk with Him, I didn't grow in Him in fact almost immediately I was blindsided by the world because I didn't grow roots. Beloved we must work out our salvation for whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them (His Truth) is that you are not of God. For if you abide in His word, you will truly be His disciples. You will know His voice and you will follow Him.

Beloved Rise,

"How to Go Deeper"

The Color Method "Adapted from Pastor Manny Arango"

              "There would be no sense in saying you trusted Jesus if you would not take his advice"                  -C.S Lewis

During a recent quiet time God firmly spoke to me about something we as a whole put off everyday while claiming to love Jesus with our all, Reading His Word. We all have reasons or excuses to why we don't get into our word, some of them valid but all of them roadblocks to tapping into the BEST source of energy, strength, joy, peace, love, wisdom, and direction. You will make time for what you consider to be important. That's just truth.

For me as silly as it sounds I didn't think there was a difference between reading devotionals and truly studying the word of God for myself. I honestly thought what I was doing was enough. Another reason I stayed away from God's word was it genuinely intimidated me. I didn't know where to start, my fist Bible, being KJV, met that I had no clue what it was saying, and being the perfectionist that I am I figured if I can't do it right and master concepts and points that take a lifetime to learn and study then, I won't do it at all. That made a WHOLE lot of sense. Not.

Now if I am completely honest with you guys and myself for that matter I can say that one of the main reasons why I avoided reading the Bible is so I could "pretend/feign" ignorance in order to continue in whatever sin was most comfortable for me at that time. It's kinda of hard to truly "enjoy" a sin when you have Bible verses popping into your head....(yes, that has happen to me). Eventually I discovered how carnal I really was, how harden my heart truly is towards God and how without God softening it every day through/with his word, I am a HOT MESS. Many Christians are destroyed through lack of knowledge or fall prey to the glitter of this world because of ignorance, I didn't want to be one of them. I refuse to fight the same battles or go around the same mountain because I was too stubborn to change strategy. I wanted to see the impossible happen in my life.

Can I be honest?? The Holy Spirit has this annoying consistent habit of using the word of God to do a number on your heart and mind. As one of my Pinky Promise sisters says it be snitching on you all the time.  I use to believe that the Bible was a relic, a book filled with catchy saings that were only relevant during the old days. Until I recognize that those words are HOLY, and RELEVANT to my life today, in the 20th century, I was incapable of approaching it with reverence which in turns leads to true knowledge and understanding.

So I prayed an honest prayer, 

'Abba I don't desire you and I have absolutely no desire to read your word but I don't want to stay in this place. Help me to want you more and more each day. Help me to seek you above anything in this world. Daddy wreck my hardened and rebellious heart. Holy Spirit, teach me, reveal things to me in a way that I can understand' 

Within a short period of time, Heather Lindsey, a powerful woman of God whose blog I had been following for awhile posted on January 22, 2012, 17 days after I decided to really give my life to Him completely and totally, posted this blog How to Spend Time with God (check it out!) and it simply and radically change my perspective on spending time with God. 

I truly believe that if someone has explained something better than you, instead of plagiarizing and doing a mediocre job at it, give credit where it's due, save the link, and pass it on...which is what I am doing for you...you're welcome =)

Now I had an idea of what spending time with God looked like, and why I got right on amazon and bought for myself the Life Application Study Bible; English Standard Version. All  the while God just started to give me a hunger for his word which led me to take part in a young adults Bible study group, hosted by Pastor Manny Arango who simply blew my mind with his certainty in God's word, and his practicality and completely nerdy approach to studying it. So today I pass on the tips and resources that I have acquired on this brief beginning, praying that it propels you deeper into the most beautiful love story, yours with the most Heavenly Being that has been thinking of you since the beginning of time.

The Color Method

There are many ways to study the important thing is finding the method that works best for you and sticking with it. Here is a link sharing different ways to study the Bible on Whole Magazine 5 Ways to Study Your Bible; Below is step by step of how I study

1. Worship: Creating an atmosphere where you intentionally invite the Holy Spirit is vital! Worship allows you to shift your focus and attention off of you, your problems, and situations back to GOD. Some of my favorite artist Israel Houghton, Centric Worship, Kim Walker Smith.

2. Prayer: Repent of any worldly thoughts, philosophies, and false knowledge of God. Empty yourself, and seek the Holy Spirit as a teacher and guide through His Word. Ask for Wisdom.

3. Choose a Book: Stop reading chapters and verses!! One of the main reasons why we use verses out of context is because we approach studying so wrong. Majority of books of the Bible especially in the New Testament were letters (i.e. Corinthians; letter to the church of Corinth). When a church received a letter from a leader of the faith (Paul, Peter etc..), they would gather together and a scribe will read out loud the whole letter. Train yourself to read books in the Bible in one/two seating. When you first start, begin with the smaller books of the Bible to train your mind. Don't be afraid to research the book (author, location, time period).

4. Read/Hear/Live: The best thing you can do is create the habit of making the word come alive. So make it fun! Listen it read to you aloud, animate it, picture it! For me I use a free website/app (Bible.is) Check it out!

5. Color: Use this color code system to pay attention to details 

• Yellow: Message/ Main Verse, main points pointed out by the Holy Spirit. (Disclaimer: Your whole Bible should not be yellow!!)
• Orange: People
• Green: Places
• Blue: Repeated Words/Phrases
• Purple: "God Speaks" (Powerful occurrence especially in the NT, don't take it lightly)
• Brown: Mention of the Holy Spirit
• Red: Mention of the blood of Jesus/Atonement  

6. Reflect: What does this chapter/book reveal about God's Character? What does it say in proper context?

7. Application: Studying the word of God means nothing if it doesn't become evident and alive in your daily living. Put it into action, list 3 ways that you can actively do this in your life. Create goals.

I know this blog is jam packed with a lot of information that can be overwhelming but take it day by day. But I want to invite you to this Color Me Challenge. Below are the parameters which we will start 9/09/14-9/30/14

- Read/Study a book of the Bible for 21 days using the color code system.

- Every Day post/share one message that you received on your social media

- Invite a friend (Tag me on social media @belovedrise7)

So Excited for the amazing things that will happen!

Beloved Rise,

Love Dare: Challenge Accepted

I can not believe that it's already February!! For those of you who don't know this month is my BIRTHDAY month!! *does Happy Dance* and this year I am becoming 23 years wiser! I am that person that celebrates life everyday so I don't consider my birthday (February, 16th) to be a day of celebration because I start the party starts on the 1st and doesn't stop until March 1st =). I begin to think, what exactly should I do to celebrate my birthday?? Should I go out and dance the night away? Should I travel? Should I throw a big party? Should I do something spontaneously dangerous?......And then I hear deep in my spirit, a quiet still voice

"You should love"

"Well, I thought I did that?" I whispered back. Can I be honest with y'all I felt some type of way when this was place in my spirit. My God must have known that I wasn't receiving this message well because towards the end of the month of January I discovered a song. This song was so profound that not only did it inspire this love dare but it inspired me to make loving hard everyday a mission. The song "As Long as I'm Here" by Brandon Heath says....

Some day I'll pass through the great sky above
And the first thing I'll ask is how well did I love
Did I leave the world any better than it was before?
Of all the things I've done, could I have done any more?

How well did you Love? When it's your time to leave this world no one is going to list the amount of degrees you held or the businesses you started.... they are going to reflect on the memories you shared and the impact and legacy you left behind. The question is not going to be how well did you live but how impactful was your love in a world that is in desperate need of it.

So for my birthday month and as long it takes to make love a habit in your life, I am inviting you to a LOVE DARE. This is inspired by the movie "Fireproof" which I highly recommend you to watch. This movie is on Netflix .

For married folks: You guys can follow this dare to the T. This Dare was tailored specifically for YOU. If you are married and you decide to embark on this challenge, I challenge you to be silent. Allow your actions to speak, go through all 40 days of this challenge, journal and pour out the good and bad during your quiet time.

For Single Folks: I am a bold, radical believer in Jesus Christ. I believe in the teachings of the Bible, which means that I try to live my life with IT as my standard. I believe that marriage is a beautiful representation of the relationship between Christ and the Church, therefore it's a holy covenant that should be between a man and a woman. Until a man has paid the price for you known as marriage, he should not be getting husband benefits which means as a fellow sister of mine stated beautifully "NO WED, NO BED". So many of us are deceived into thinking that singleness is a curse. That is so far from the truth! We as singles are in a privilege position where we get to mature and work on different love relationships in our lives. We get to strengthen these support systems and create a network of accountability that will help you in seasons to come. Don't run away from the blessings and lessons of singleness because society is trying to tell you are incomplete. The fact of the matter is there are way to many INCOMPLETE individuals in "complete" relationships. So the LOVE DARE challenge for you is to seek out a family member who is estranged, that difficult sibling or parent, a friend, someone younger than you that you can pour love to. Tailor the dare to that relationship. To be honest there is not much change that needs to be done. Using it as an excuse just allows you to continue living in less than satisfying relationships.

It starts with YOU

Part of the challenge is to truly reflect on the changes you are seeing and the things you are feeling day to day. Use this challenge to go deeper in your quiet time. Jenny What's this Quiet Time you keep referring to? How do I go about doing it? I truly believe that when someone explains something better than you, don't try to beat a dead horse by trying to explain better. Humble yourself and use that person as a resource. I am blessed to be part of an amazing movement known as Pinky Promise. Founded by Heather Lindsey this movement inspires women to truly love and live this Christian life, by challenging singles to live a life of purity while single in a world that pushes the opposite and for the married women living a life of purity as keeper of her home (whatever that means to you and your husband according to your relationship and the Bible) and learning the true meaning and beauty of submission. She has an amazing blog which she talks about several topics one being quiet time. Check it out here: "How to Spend Time with God" by Heather Lindsey 

LOVE DARE RULES

1. Start on Day 1 and end with Day 40. The challenge builds on itself don't cheat yourself out by trying to skip around.
2. Give it your all. You don't want to wonder at the end of this "Could I have done more?"
3. Do it in secret. I love the book of Matthew starting from chapter 5 to chapter 6. Take time to read and reflect before jumping into this challenge. One of my favorite part of the teaching is Matthew 6:1 "Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven"
4. Journal. Reflect and speak to God
5. Don't give up. Before it gets better it can sometimes get worse. True test of love is not loving someone who is lovable but someone that is difficult to love. Those are the people who need it the most.
6. Pass it on. Don't keep this challenge to yourself, all though the person that you decide to have as the receiving end of this challenge should be kept in the dark =) Someone else may need a challenge.
7. Print this. Love Dare
8. Officially starting on February 14th.

 The second greatest commandment given to us by JESUS is to LOVE. The Bible says that "They will know us by our love" not by our awesome knowledge of scripture and theology but how we live this thing out.

Love y'all,