Top Her Couture

We live in a world filled with uniqueness.  Each day.  Each situation.  Each person.  Each journey.  There are no two paths alike.  We make the best of it.  We overcome the cracks, bumps, mountains; and regardless of whether we can walk a mile in their shoes.  The fact is, we are not them and they are not us.  Their journey will never be like ours. I often see posts of one-sided, tunnel vision, egotistical, and rather troublesome statements of what competing should look like or how much time it should take.  I personally find it belittling and disrespectful to fellow competitors.  Who are we to judge what it should or shouldn't be.  Each of us has our strengths and weaknesses when getting ready to take stage.  Some of us it is mental.  Others it is genetics.  Sometimes it is food & dieting.  Some of us take longer that a month to get on stage for whatever reason; but that reason is theirs.  We ...

"We may not reach around the world to people.  But that doesn't mean God doesn't value all we do.  Though each believer may only touch a few lives, that impact may go far beyond what can be seen.  In the end, God may show the whole world that the blessed silver-tongued saint who lived down the street was priceless to Him and His work."

Let the ways of childish confidence and freedom from care. . .teach you what should be your ways with God.  Leaving yourselves in His hands, learn to be literally "careful for nothing." We should not be fearful of anything.  We should pray about everything and tell the Lord about our desires and what we have need of.  He will take care of us....he is a all sufficient God.

Let us be thankful for every trial that will help to destroy our earthly chariots and that will compel us to take refuge in the chariot of God, which stands ready and waiting beside us in every event and circumstance of life.

"And Jesus answered them, "Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' it will happen.  And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith."  Matthew 21:21-22 Fig tree?  Well in Matthew 21:18-20 it talks about how Jesus curses a fig tree for not bearing fruit and it withers.  This is hardly a literal reference and a major symbolical climax.  Bearing fruit in our lives is a metaphor for faith and not just any kind of fruit; fruit that is loving, joyful, kind, patient, faithful, and houses self control.  One of the ways we eat of this fruit is through prayer. “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep, but are really wolves that will tear you apart. You can detect them by the way they act, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit. You don’t pick grapes from thorn bush...

"After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means. While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable:  “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up.  Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants.  Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.” When he said this, he ...

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."  Proverbs 1:7 Being new to religion and faith, I find that when you hear "fear the lord" people tend to confuse that with being scared of Him.  This is hardly the case whether you are a believer or not.  Fearing the Lord is about having such reverence for Him that it impacts the way we live our lives.  The fear of God is respecting Him, obeying Him, submitting to His discipline(s), and worshiping Him in awe.  We should live our lives in such a way that it pleases Him. I look back on my life and reflect on all the displeasing ways I have come to where I am.  Sure, I am human and mistakes are inevitable.  It is not about being perfect; it is about letting Him teach you and guide you through being human.  It is about submitting what you think you know or what you want and allowing Him to do His work through you.  The Lord always gives you the mea...

"Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statues; and I will keep it to the end.  Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.  Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it.  Incline my heart to your testimonies and not to selfish gain!"  Psalm 119: 33-36 With being in many difficult situations in the past 6 years, it has come to my attention that I am not as good of a listener as I may have thought.  For years, I let other people's words hurt my feelings and anger took hold within the deep recesses of my being.  It stole my time-my time away from joy, love, and God.  My knee-jerk reaction to hear someone, make a conclusion, and choose to be offended became a choice I did not want to make anymore.  I had pushed the only thing I loved more than myself toward others and in return set myself up for some major disappointments.  The hardest part was looking in the mirror and realizing just how ...

"A positive transformation is to take place.  We have most of us tried to do it for ourselves and have grievously failed.  The Lord Jesus has come on purpose to do it for all who put themselves wholly into His hands."

It's not enough that we cannot stop and ask for directions in such an independent driven society; but when we get the strength to ask, we seldom listen.  I have learned in the last few days [heck, six years] that people may ask for honesty; but when you give them the courtesy & respect of honesty, they seem to not be able to handle it.  Perhaps because it is such a foreign ideal they just can't wrap their head around it.  Perhaps ignorance to them is truly blissful.  Society sure enjoys a reassuring lie than the inconvenient honesty!  Whatever caged approach it may be, I commend those who share honesty.  The ones that can take a stand not just for themselves but for others.  The ones who take risks to call people out on their nonsense.  It shows so much integrity and respect. Along with that comes the art of conversation-breeding a nation of passive aggressive people.  I know, I've been caught up in world wide web.  The idea of...

"And it holds, my anchor holds; blow your wildest then, O gale, On my bark so small and frail, By His grace I shall not fail, For my anchor holds, My anchor holds." ~W.C. Martin There are pros and cons to every decision we make in life as well as consequences [some big, some small, some mistakes, some worth it].  When we make choices, it is important to realize that if the choice is right, the rewards will outweigh the fears [even as we second guess the decision].  We will be able to open a new door and move forward.  We will be able to take a chance and walk in good faith.  Not only will we have God as our anchor, but we will then become someone else's anchor.  A sturdy foundation to build!  Nothing is impossible with God!!

"Let grace and goodness be the principal loadstone of thy affections.  For love, which hath ends, will have an end; whereas that which is founded on true virtue will always continue."   ~John Dryden

"Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.  Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and delight.  I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God."   ~Psalm 43:3-4

"Beauty is the mark God sets on virtue.  Every natural action is graceful; every heroic act is also decent, and causes the place and the bystanders to shine." Ralph Waldo Emerson Happy Easter weekend everyone!!

"Life a father, God never gives up on us, even in our disobedience.  But just because He forgives, we can't take advantage by forgetting He is still Lord of the universe or by treating Him without respect.  Because He loves us, He doesn't hold sin against us, but our Lord disciplines unrepentant children.  If He didn't so that, He wouldn't be our Father."

"Has prayer become mechanical, a chore instead of a joy?  Remember how beloved you are by the One you're speaking to.  He doesn't want to hear details of just anyone's life-He asked you to share with Him, and you're blessed to know His love." Prayer is meant to develop and grow in our relationship with God.  With any good and connected relationship, it is the time we spend with that person.  It is our whole-hearted self being selfless [even if for just a moment in time].  It is giving up our ego, wants, and materialistic ways to touch and be touched profoundly!

"We are so preciously loved by God that we cannot comprehend it.  No created being can ever know how much and how sweetly and how tenderly God loves them." What we can do is accept the abundance of love around us.  We all have an infinite source to tap into.  We just have to choose to see it and let it in.

"Finish every day and be done with it.  You have done what you could. . . . Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense.  This day is all that is good and fair.  It is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on yesterday." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Amazing grace!  How Sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!  I once was lost, but now am found; Was blind, but now I see." ~ John Newton Grace is not a gift we all choose to receive.  In fact, many of us clumsily fall over [or for] whatever might be on our path.  We hardly stop to think about the consequences of our attitudes, actions, or reactions.  Allowing Grace into our life requires us to first have a relationship with God.  This will help to lead us to other wholesome relationships and allow us to have Grace to see other hearts.  To see past labels, accusations, hurts, and habits.

"When I know what it is to abide in Christ and to yield to the Holy Spirit, I begin to learn that God will give power in answer to prayer." Andrew Murray Prayer is not meant to get what we want; it is to answer with what we need.  Sometimes we do not like the answer and sometimes the answer confuses us more because it was not the answer we were expecting.  Take away all expectations when God is at your door step and realize He knows what is best for us.  The gift of change is sitting at your doorstep.