What an Incredible 8 Days…

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What an incredible 8 days.!!
What appeared to be simply Christian Yoga Teacher training turned into a journey of reflection, the over-coming of fears, physical challenges to the point of exhaustion, incredible teaching of life plus yoga all wrapped up in Jesus.
With each day I was challenged on so many levels. You know the kind of challenges that you are not sure your strong enough to tackle. The kind that make you ask these questions:
• Where have you come from?
• Where do you want to go?
• Who is your advocate for the journey?
• What am I doing with the time God has given me?
• And am I making a difference in the every day lives of others?
How could I have known the many fragile things in my heart that would surface during these 8 days?
Checking in at the Jackson airport shook me to my core. I had to walk right through the pathway where I dropped Dennis off that last time. His words echoed in my ears. “ Baby, always remember how much I love you.” Last words He ever spoke to me. What a blessing and gift from God.
I was still crying as I took my seat on the plane thinking back on the day we flew out to try to get him home.
I call these moments markers. Specific moments in time (your life) that change you forever.
About 5 days in I truly wondered if I would be able to complete the training. It pushed me in ways I’ve never been pushed. I kept clinging to the conversations Dennis and I had had about this training many times over the last few years. It’s really been about a 5-year process.
During Graduation yesterday I was anointed with oil while prayer was being spoken over me. I clung tight to Dennis’ wedding ring. It was as if I could hear him whisper, “you did it baby.”
My prayer is that moving forward, this training, this transformation, can be a stepping stone, a tool, to help keep myself healthy and to help other women get healthier, happier and whole.
I am so grateful for every teacher who helped mold me and who spoke into my life these past 8 days. May blessings come back to each of you.
God is so good and HE wants good for each of our lives. RYT-200, RYFT-200

When did Facebook become the BOOK?

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‪#‎WHATSYOURPROBLEM‬??? A friend of mine made a post this morning about folks with illnesses. All kinds of illness. Things that people have that others make fun of. She named a few of them. She was really upset and it got me to thinking. Truth is we all have something going on. Some are just better at hiding it than others. She was actually talking about people’s intolerance to those who have problems you might not can see. Mental struggles/issues. She mentioned people judging them, talking about them. IT seems we’ve become good at ‪#‎shamingothers‬ due to hiding behind social media.
Mental health issues scare people cause they can’t see it. People aren’t really sure what is wrong with someone with mental issues. And i’m not necessarily talking about the kind that you have to be institutionalized over. Truth is some days you yourself might want to bust into tears, you might become angry, or you might feel scared and unloved for some reason. Any of those could cause you to have some kind of emotional outburst.
Ya see If you have cancer you usually lose your hair after CHEMO and people say, “oh bless their heart they must have cancer”. If you fall and break your arm the doctor puts a cast on and then folks say, “oh bless their heart they must have broken their arm”. ‪#‎yougetthepicture‬ BUT when someone is struggling with a broken heart, anxiety, fear, loneliness people usually run the other directions and then talk. If you find yourself in a conversation where someone says, “did you know about…… ( you fill in the blank) remove yourself from the conversation. OR if you find yourself in a conversation that goes something like this, “honey did you know that so n so did ( you fill in the blank) be praying for them”. Remove yourself. Is that the southern way for GOSSIP? ‪#‎NOTREALLY‬…
I’m not pointing a finger at you or saying I’ve never been involved in conversations like that cause sad truth is, I have been. Over the last few years and especially the last few months I’ve been learning some things.
1. IF we prayed for people as much as we talked about them they might GET HEALED.
2. If we encouraged others as much as we wonder what the heck is wrong with them, they might smile &
3. NO BODY can fix your problems but GOD.. The more people you tell it to, the more people that are telling it to others. God is a Great secret keeper.
Walking through the valley of losing Dennis taught me a lot. ‪#‎awholelot‬ ‪#‎stillteachingme‬ . As i’ve said before…. It has taught me more about GOD and more about myself. Truth is I thought I had conquered a lot of my emotional issues but I was put to the test here recently. See over the past 3 weeks my daughter n law has been really sick. I mean really sick. ICU, hooked up to a VENT sick. Fighting for her life. There came a time during that time that I thought we might lose her. ‪#‎doesthatsoundweak‬? It sounds real. If I’m honest I have to admit that my flesh rose up and my emotions were thrown back into those first few days of when Dennis got sick. My heart was sitting in my throat, I was scared, I felt out of control, helpless and truthfully alittle physically ill. I didn’t put it on Facebook nor call for an unspoken prayer. I was FRIGHTENED… SHAKEN TO MY CORE again…. IT was another LESSON TEACHING TIME WITH GOD. Thanks for God’s Healing Hand.
At some point in the quietness of my house, sitting and holding God’s word in my hand still feeling pretty defeated I realized that I had to STAND AND STOMP. My pastor had preached a sermon a Sunday or so prior about claiming your land. I began to hear his words in my mind and then in my spirit. I began to pray outloud. I knew I couldn’t sit around and wonder and worry. That may sound crazy to some of you but the more I did it, the stronger my spirit got, the more courage I found, the more I was assured she was coming home. Some might say, “well God’s gonna do what God is going to do” YOUR RIGHT, HE IS, HE WILL…. but in the throne room there is STILL room for PRAYERS, mighty PRAYERS. Those that you might not say in front of others. GOD will always BE OPEN to our DESIRES of the heart and the OUT CRY of our Soul. He has been persuaded by prayers before.
Stand and Stomp you should try it.
Luke 8:23-25 One day Jesus said to his disciples, “let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and started out. As they sailed across, Jesus settled down for a nap. But soon a fierce storm came down on the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in real danger. The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves, Suddenly the storm stopped and all was calm. Then he asked them, “where is your faith?” The disciples were terrified and amazed.
MY VERSION of this bible story : One day Jesus said to his children, “lets do life together”. So each of the children ( some older in age) started out to find their place in the world. Jesus looked and thought, “gosh, they are doing good, I can go and take a nap.” BUT, then without notice life began to get tuff… Some of them got sick, some of them lost their jobs, Someone close to them died, one of their children got hurt, etc. etc. They began to cry out, “Oh no, what are we to do, what is going to happen, how will I ever get over this, how will we overcome this, I can’t live like this”. Jesus woke up from his nap astounded by all the commotion. He heard them crying and he heard their fear.. HE held out his hand over them and CALMED their hearts and their minds. He drew them close to HIMSELF. SUDDENLY, they turned to face HIM, they called out His name They felt peace again. They knew their HOPE was IN HIM. Their troubles were part of a new testimony. … Jesus then ask them, “where is your faith?” They were troubled, YET AMAZED.
What is your version of LIFE? are you AMAZED? STAND AND STOMP…..

ENDURANCE…..

ENDURANCE……
Endurance for Life’s journey can be very hard. WE want what we want, we aren’t prepared for disappointments, and sometimes we are blindsided. IF we can walk each day with HIM and hold on to our patience HE will show up. He will hold us, guide us, love us and GROW us in ALL things. Pain comes as a reminder that LIFE is fragile, Peace comes as a reminder of whom it is found IN.
James 1:3 “For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.”
In verse 2 James doesn’t say IF trouble comes your way, but WHEN it does. Are you facing troubles today? the latter part of verse 2 says “Consider it an opportunity for great joy.” Sounds strange to find JOY right dab in the middle of pain-trouble. IT’s a balancing act that I’ve been working on for some time now. It’s hard, hurtful, lonely, brings tears and emptiness. Many days I’ve felt as if endurance is for others.
When the pain of losing Dennis overcame everything about my life my Good Good Father came along beside me and softly at first, he began to whisper in my ear, “you can do this”. Then HE got alittle louder, “keep your eyes on ME.”. Then He began to shout, “ENDURE sweet child of mine… you got this, cling to me.” As days and now months have gone by, I’m still learning to ENDURE…
There are no greater words than the sweet words of the Father, no greater peace than time spent with the Father , no greater place of prayer than our prayer room and no greater privilege than the power of PRAISE.
ENDURE…..

 

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