I Need A Sign...Lol

This is seriously too funny...source

Fearless

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love." 1 John 4:18

Perfect love casts out fear. Fear is a crippling agent; it prevents growth, movement, freedom. Love is & of God and where God is so is the spirit of liberty, or freedom. So, what do I do when I get nervous and fearful about the next step or chapter in my life? I remind myself that God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, LOVE and a sound mind....Love, it always comes back to love. Love is what moves us, is behind most of the decisions that we make, even the excuse we hide behind to justify what we do; but what happens if we let ourselves be exposed to the PERFECT LOVE? Can you imagine how different we would be? If we let ourselves be exposed to the Almighty God in all His greatness, awesomeness, perfectness. I remember when I first came across this verse, I was so shocked how it just spoke to my situation with such a simple answer I wanted to slap my head and say "duh". I have a relationship with my Lord and Savior and because of our relationship, His Perfect Love removes all my fears because He is not the type of God to cripple me and prevent me from moving forward. He's the exact opposite: He is the type of God who by His huge capacity to love a sinner like me, had His Son die for me so that I can move freely in Him. His love allows me to grow, learn, seek and love Him. The loves we experience now: Storge (love between family members), Philia (love between friends), and Eros (love between husband and wife) are just a piece of the love that God has for us. God's unconditional love (Agape) is a love that is so powerful it makes us fearless. We know that once we on on Team Jesus, we can face anything. You can face anything, and do anything through Jesus who gives you strength. Be blessed.

"It will be said on that day,'Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, that He might save us.This is the LORD; we have waited for Him; let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation." Isaiah 25:9

I'm No Longer A Fraud

Last night, I had the pleasure of hearing a word that rocked me to my core. It was by Jesse Peterson, my pastor at Village Vespers (associate pastor at Neighborhood Church of Greenwich Village). I can't even put into words how it spoke to me. In the business that I work in (fashion) it is soooo easy to try to be someone else, to fit the ideas that people want to have of you or to even fit the mold for the job that you do. That was my main problem when I first started working in fashion: trying to be someone I was not. I can't even begin to imagine how much it grieved God that I was not happy with the person He made me to be and that I was trying to be someone else. It was like me telling God that He made a mistake when He created me this way. My new job has allowed me to be more like myself. I'm surrounded by people who love their job and love self-expression (did I mention that I work at my dream label?). I have to say that the one thing about realizing you're a fraud when you're a Christian is knowing that there is Someone that take over and handle it for you. I could say I don't know where I would be if I wasn't in the Lord, but that's not true: I would be dead, literally. But now I have someone who takes on my burdens, stress, pain, etc. and gives me strength, patience, love, peace, joy, etc. And believe me, in this business I need it. So, now that I'm no longer a fraud I have the freedom and the joy that comes with discovering who God intended me to be: and that's awesome. Be blessed.

Compromising......

“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in faithfulness….” Joshua 24:14a ESV (Bolded by me).




I hate when I find myself in a place where my words doesn’t mirror my actions. Lately, I have been asking God to make sure my “Sunday language” (I love this phrase. It means the things I say in church) matches my everyday lifestyle. Let me tell you: never ask God for something because when He delivers on His side you will have to deliver on yours. I can say the past month; the past week even has been an eye opening experience. I realize there are areas in my life that I will not compromise with and than there are areas where I would and I shouldn’t at all. I realized that I have reached a point where I love God more than wanting approval from peers, co-workers and friends. I want to please Him and make Him happy; so that requires a no-compromise on my part in many areas. Why a no-compromise? When people see that you are CONSISTENT (there goes that word again) and your lifestyle lines up with the word of God, you can draw people to Christ because your “no” is always “no” not “yes, on the weekends” and “no during the week”. If we compromise in certain areas of our lives when the word tells not to we become a hindrance to the
 building of God’s kingdom instead on a help. Let me use an illustration for you: imagine a wall is being built and you are assigned to a certain section. You make the bricks and build the wall. You have a certain list of ingredients and a mock up of how the wall should look. You decide you will use your own ingredients or skim on some and build the wall the way you like because the mock up and ingredients list is to hard to follow and will take too long. Soon, part of the wall that is being built start to crumble, but it’s not just your part of the wall that’s starting to fall it’s the WHOLE WALL! If you did your part the way you were supposed to, it wouldn’t have happened. That’s how it is in our walk with Christ, God lays out a plan for us and we know for a fact it’s not a bad one (Jeremiah 29:11). He even illuminates the way for us in His word (Psalm 119:105) which is our guide book with all the ingredients to make this life a good one. If we swerve from the path and still try to do the work and confess with our mouths and not with our lives, we will push people further from Christ instead of closer because we decided to cut corners.


We are ONE body (Romans 12:4-5) (arms, hands, feet, toes, fingers, back, legs….you get the picture) and we must work TOGETHER. Body parts can’t operate apart from each other, imagine how we would look if one hand decided to go one way the other another way and our feet in two different directions= absolute chaos! That’s how it is in the body of Christ. We all have certain functions, duties and gifts that TOGETHER work for the building of the church and kingdom. So I have to do my part and you have to do yours and that means INSIDE and OUTSIDE of the church. If you feel like I do, like there’s areas in your life that you compromise aware and unaware bring it before the Lord in prayer….I warn you, He will answer and there maybe things that you may not like about yourself when He reveals it but the blessing is knowing that you have a Father in heaven who loves you and wants you to be more like Him. So when He reveals it to you ask Him to work on those areas in you (you may have to do work as well, don’t be lazy! Lol) and watch the difference it will make. That being said, I (finally) close with this over-used quote: “If you don’t stand for anything, you’ll fall for anything.” That statement packs a punch when you really think about it. What are you not standing for that is allowing you to fall? Be blessed.

When I Enter Your Rest

"Early in the morning, I seek Your face
I find my life in the fullness of Your joy.
Every stress and anxiety, it is gone;
When I enter Your rest, when I enter Your rest.
I find my life in You, when I enter Your rest.
My peace is complete, when I enter Your rest.
My faith is refreshed, when I enter Your rest.
I am surrounded by the power of Your love."

-When I Enter Your Rest/Cuando Reposo En Ti- Joann Rosario

The first time I heard this song, I was at a concert at Shepherd's House. There were two sister singing the song acoustic. It spoke volumes to the situation I was going through at the time. So when I was trying to find a song to praise dance to for Resurrection Sunday, this song kept playing over in my head. The words along just give me strength when I read it and I agree with it. When we enter the rest of the Lord; we find peace, we have our faith renewed, we are strengthened and restored. No one can do that for us but the Lord. In Deutronomy 33:27a "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are everlasting arms..." The Lord is not only our rest but a refuge, a strong tower; our fort. Nothing beats that.

Good Without God?

The BigAppleCoR.org has placed ads in the subways of New York City that says the following: “A Million New Yorkers are good without God……Are you?” This has really hurt my heart, but it has also opened my eyes. Who wants to be just “good” I rather be in an amazing experience with God in my life than just be “good” without Him. I don’t understand people sometimes. I was reading a series of articles on cnn.com and wikipedia about the things people are doing. SMH. I thank God for being a merciful God. There are times when I don’t want to be here anymore. I don’t want to be “good” without God. In a world of wickedness and where everyone indulges in “what feels good” why would you want to live without God? Loving without God is living without a purpose; without having that void filled. Sorry, I don’t want to be “good without God” I want to be complete and in awe with Him. Be blessed.

Awe-Struck

Only God can never let you down. Only He can be all you need and so much more. Only God can be everything you dreamed Him to be and never have you wanting more. I say this because I realize that we paint this picture of people in our mind and when they mess up (because we’re human and we do mess up) we’re disappointed. I realized I have been doing this for a while. Even in the midst of the mess I wanted to see them as a hero and a victim when that wasn’t really the case. But in the midst of it all, I learned about the incredible power of prayer. I ask God to show me what He wants me to pray for but I never would actually pay attention to the answer until now. He has been showing me all along in every conversation, situation, etc what to pray for and now I see; now I’m listening.

Global Warming? Are You Completely Sure?

So it's "supposedly" Spring but I don't have to tell you the weather didn't get the memo. Isn't it supposed to be extremely hot to the point that I might pass out? Where are the heat waves? The blackouts because its so hot everyone is using their AC? I am at a loss. It's raining and if I didn't read the Bible and knew of God's promise I would be convinced it is going to rain for 40 days and 40 nights. Lol. I think its Global Cooling. Have you seen the Day After Tomorrow? Something to think about if you have and if you haven't; you need to rent it and get your winter clothes ready, lol.