Red Light, Green Light

I know when you saw the title your mind probably drifted back to a childhood game that you use to play. Although that game is relevant, that's not what this blog is about. It actually derives from one Saturday morning when I was on my way to class.

 I didn't leave from home as early as I should have so I was a little pressed for time. You should have seen me, I had that little black Sentra in the wind (don't tell my pastor..he'll get on us quick about obeying the laws of the land, I'm going to do better). I had just gotten off of my exit."Yes!" I thought, "I'm going to make it". As I was approaching the traffic light I watched it turn yellow, then red. That moment kinda reminded me of watching something fall in slow motion. You know what I mean right? When all you can do is reach out your hand and try to catch it while saying "nooooooo". I was fussing the entire time. "You should have just taken it" I told myself. "Now you're gonna be late for class" I thought. I even hollered at the light "COME ON AND TURN ALREADY" as if it could hear me..wow Regina really?

Why was I so upset? Because I viewed that red light as something that was hindering my progress. I had a destination to get to that was of great importance to me and I was stopped. Some of you may be facing some red lights right now. Perhaps you had a dream to start your own business and had to put it on hold. Maybe you were planning for a long awaited vacation and couldn't go because your money is looking funny. It could be that you are just trying to reach a certain point in your life but everything is at a standstill. Trust me, I understand. You may feel like throwing up your hands and saying what's the use. You may begin to beat yourself up concerning the things you could have done differently.  But guess what...the light will change!

Yep, I did all of that fussing and complaining for what???  The light turned green and I was on my way. Losing that space of time didn't affect the overall ending of my story. I made it to class on time and before a lot of the other students. I said all of that to say don’t let a temporary setback still your momentum, your hope, or aspirations. If you have to stop and regroup, do just that.

One of the scriptures that I love is this one right here: “Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase.” Job 8:7. Oh yeah, I can’t forget this one: "And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm.." Joel 2:25. You should give God praise right where you are for your latter being greater. Say it with me, "My latter will be greater!" Your words have power. 

So let's not beat ourselves up about bad choices or dwell on where we could've been or could be. Instead, let's look to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. Let's entrust our lives to His leading and focus on where we're going. The trial is only for a moment. Weeping is only for a moment. Disappointment is only for a moment. The red light is only for a moment. The light will change. Your life will change!

Until next time......

Peace Be Still

"Peace Be Still!!" How many times have you heard that phrase? I like to watch the Madea plays and always get a laugh as she echoes those words. It's a phrase that many of us like to quote, both believers and non-believers. All we know is that when the storms of life start raging, we want them to STOP!

You see the bible tells us something like this... the afflictions of the righteous are many but don't lose hope, the Lord, Jehovah Jireh, El Shaddai will deliver us out of all of them. Psalm 34:19. Did you get that? Basically if you are righteous you can expect to have afflictions but you can be confident that you won't stay in that state.

There have been many times I 've looked up towards heaven and thought "c'mon Lord, give me a break". It felt like Hurricane Hugo was centered around my life. Then one day I learned something that was very valuable. Some of the things that we go through have nothing to do with the enemy but are directly from God. Yep, you read it right. You may be thinking but God loves me He would never do me like that. Well, that's exactly why He does it. His word says He chastens who He loves. The NIV has it like this "..because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son." Hebrews 12:6. So just like your mom or dad went and got the switch off the tree (or made you get it) and tore your behind up, He has to get us like that some times. Our parents didn't discipline us because they were mean (although we thought so). They wanted us to be successful in life.

God just wants us to be successful in this race. He wants us to be stable so we are not easily shaken or knocked down when the wind blows. He wants us to be resilient and steadfast. He wants us to be confident in who we are and know whose we are. He wants to make sure His word has taken root within us. So when the wind blows and the rain starts to pour down don't cry, worry, or get your blood pressure up. Don't go raid your refrigerator. Don't stay cooped up in your room in the dark with your phone off the hook or on silent. Instead, look towards the sky and thank God that you are considered to be one of the righteous. What a privilege and honor! Know that eventually the winds will have to cease and the waters will calm. This too shall pass.You will have peace.

Until next time....

What's In Your Heart

Sometimes we are quick to point out other people's obvious faults whether it be fornication, drinking, cursing etc. Some of us are so bad you would think Inspector Gadget was our mentor. We walk around with our magnifying glasses trying to look for stuff in order to "put people on blast" as the young people would say it. We are quick to bash the brother that's standing on the corner with a blunt in his mouth. We shake our head or turn up our nose at the lady with the mini skirt.

You may be thinking "well Gina isn't that we are supposed to do, otherwise we're condoning the act". Yes, we do have an obligation to share what we know with others concerning living a holy and righteous lifestyle because some may not know. They may have never had guidance nor been brought up in the things of God. Our paths will cross with people from all walks of life. We have to let them know that Jesus wants to show them a better way and that He loves them. When done in the spirit of love and with the right agenda, this is acceptable.

Unfortunately, this is not always the case. You have some people that just want to point out the faults of others not to help them and lead them into repentance but to somehow make themselves appear to have "arrived". To those I say, "You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!'  Acts 7:51 NIV.  Be like Michael Jackson and start with the man in the mirror. Take the flashlight that you are walking around with to scope out others and shine it on your heart.

Many of us walk around with hidden sin. This type of sin can't be seen with the naked eye. We do things like calling our friends to start gossiping about our neighbor. We talk about their strongholds and what they are dealing with instead of praying that it is broken off of them. We get jealous when we see others in the faith getting blessed, not knowing what they had to endure in order to receive blessing, instead of positioning ourselves likewise so that we too may be blessed. We smile at the person sitting next to us knowing inwardly we can't stand them. The bible says in 1 Samuel 16:7 "....The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." NIV

Let us take a moment and begin to examine ourselves so that this type of behavior is not named among us. Let's do this the bible way, "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven". Luke 6:37 NIV. "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves....". 2 Corinthians 13:5 NIV. By doing this, we will be ensuring that we are not just sounding brass but we are operating in the love that our Father commanded.

Until next time....

This Just Ain't Fair

"Man, this ain't even right!" I know that's not grammatically correct but how many times have you said or thought those words? Whether it was something that happened on your job, in your family, or even at church, we can sometimes feel that we got stuck with the short end of the stick. 

 

It's like standing in a long line waiting to purchase tickets and as soon as you get to the front of the line, they slap a SOLD OUT sign on the window. You could be the one that's always to work on time, meeting or excelling your requirements, and they still give the position to someone else. You could be paying tithes and offering, faithful to your ministry, and always doing what you can for the kingdom but it's your neighbor, that blatantly does nothing, who seems to prosper.

 

If you look at these type things in the natural you may get discouraged. It can make you feel like saying "what's the use’. This is why it is important to first check your motives and agenda. Make sure that you are doing things with the right spirit. You're not doing things to be seen or have your name called but you're doing them from your heart. You are doing them because you know it is your reasonable service. The bible says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men," Colossians 3:23 NIV. 

 

When you look at things in this perspective, you know that God sees and that He is well pleased. He is pleased because you kept your joy even though that family member did you wrong. He’s pleased because you still showed love even though they talked about you at work. He’s pleased because you kept on yelling “Jesus Saves!!” even though they called you radical and a fanatic.

 

You will find in Hebrews 11:6 that He rewards those that diligently seek Him. You just keep on keeping on!! When it looks like people are getting over, know this “The eyes of the LORD [are] upon the righteous, and his ears [are open] unto their cry” Psalm 34:15. Read it again…one more time. It says His eyes are on us! 

 

Believe that He sees everything that is going on. Those that are being underhanded and mischievous, He has their number. Follow these instructions, “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord” Romans 12:19. That’s right!! Our Father pretty much said don’t even worry about it baby, I got you.

 

As for those of us who are operating in integrity, with character, and are His, we have these promises: “So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen” Matthew 20:16 and "I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten…” Joel 2:25. Great God Almighty!!!! Did you catch that?? You may have been on the bottom, may have been counted out but God shall exalt you. Whatever you lost along the way our God shall restore. Hallelujah!!! Take comfort in these words.

 

Until next time…

You Rock

Tonight I finally got the opportunity to see the BET special "Black Girls Rock". This show was designed to celebrate the accomplishments of black women. I saw a plethora of women representing various walks of life. I applaud their successes. However, I thought to myself, none of those women are any different than we are.

It doesn't matter what your race or gender is we all have the potential to achieve greatness. So why aren't we? One of the biggest hindrances from seeing our dreams and goals come into fruition is how we see ourselves. The bible says, "Where [there is] no vision, the people perish..."Proverbs 29:18. It could be that we see ourselves a certain way because that's what was propagated to us. If you hear something long enough, you tend to start believing it.

Even though this may be true, why aren’t we moving forward? I understand if you feel like you were not dealt a fair hand. This actually may be the case. Your neighbor could be trump tight while you are over there bleeding (had a Spades moment). LOL!! As I often say, your background or situation does not determine your destiny. I can sit here and tell you all day how special you are but change will not come until you believe it. I'm preaching to the choir!! All you have to do is position yourself properly and never give up. It's inevitable, the possibilities will become endless.  The bible says it like this, "The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all" Ecclesiastes 9:11 NIV. This means at any given moment it could be your time to shine.

So I want you to let go of what happened in the past. Remember, take your past off repeat. People may have intentionally hurt you. They may have tried to break you but I want you to take a piece of yourself back each day. I told you for me it was a great struggle and took time to heal. I had to take the years of negative words and criticisms and replace them with positive words. I spoke life. "Death and life [are] in the power of the tongue...."Proverbs 18:21.

One of the exercises Pastor had me do was look in the mirror and say "you're a beautiful black woman." As I said those words tears would roll down my face. It took all I had to look at myself. I didn't even like the sound of my voice. I didn't believe what I said for one minute but I was obedient to what my leader said. I can't tell you when I start believing those words but hunny, you can't tell a sister nothing now..LOL!! I'm a fine chocolate thang!!

You are an authentic creation by God almighty, not some cheap replica. You are precious cargo, a rare jewel. You were fearfully and wonderfully made. He wants you to prosper and to succeed. Anytime you start to doubt who you are and what you are capable of, I want you to come back and read this post. I hope you read it until you believe it. You rock!!

Until next time…

A Young Girl's Cry

"Babies having babies"....I cringed as I heard those words echo from the pulpit. The undeniable truth was that this Sunday's topic was derived from my current situation. Ugh, how embarrassing! I felt the eyes glaring and saw the heads shaking back and forth as I dropped my head.

As I look back on that moment, I wonder how many other girls had a similar experience. Did we intentionally get pregnant to bring shame to our parents, our church, and ourselves?  Were we just some fass girls running around out there for no apparent reason? Did you even see me…no, the inner me? Did you see the nights I cried because I thought I wasn't pretty enough and the years of low self-esteem? Did you see the battles I fought in my mind trying to figure out why I didn't have a father in my life? Did you see that girl who was molested and was just searching for a way to deal with it?

Yes, the bible does say in 2 Thessalonians 3:14 " ..that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly....note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed". Nevertheless, it also says..."if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness;considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted". Galatians 6:1.

I am not justifying my actions nor the actions of those who've made similar mistakes. Sin is sin. However, I am saying that as a body, we have to get to the root of the problem. Many are dealing with strongholds, generational curses, and other inward issues that you may never see. We have to be slow to condemn and quick to restore.

To those who've faced what I've faced or who are dealing with it right now, this is NOT the end. Guess what, you have someone who loves you so much. He is our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ. What you've done doesn't dictate who you are. Where you are going is not predicated on where you came from. The word states, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" 2 Corinthians 5:17. You are the apple of God's eye. It doesn't matter what they call you. Just like God gave Saul and Jacob and new name, He can do the same for you!! I love you with the love of Christ, from one young girl to another.

Until next time....

I Do When He Does

"I Do!!" Those are two words that a lot of single women long to say. I mean think about it. When we were growing up as little girls we would read or have stories read to us about the princess who was done wrong but in the end got her "Prince Charming." So we think awww, that's going to happen for me one day. After a while, the fairy tales are substituted for movies that have the same storyline. You know, the girl who works hard but is under paid or mistreated and the man of her dreams comes and sweeps her off her feet. Talk about a tear jerker, I cry like a newborn baby. LOL!!

We already have these preconceived ideas of our "happily ever after" but where does that come into play when you are in Christ? Our first and foremost goal is to advance the kingdom. The bible says, "I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord's affairs--how he can please the Lord"1 Corinthians 7:32 NIV. We see that God doesn't want us to worry about these natural things but focus on how we can take care of His business. 

I have to tell you, it took some time for me to really understand this. As my pastor describes it, I had head knowledge but it wasn't in my heart. I remember saying, there is no way that I will end up alone like my mom and my aunt (no offense mommy). So whenever the opportunity presented itself to date or go out with someone, I accepted. Why, why, why do we do this to ourselves? I'm not saying that there is something wrong with going out on dates. I'm just saying that if you already know that this person is not going where you are going, why entertain the idea just to have someone with you? For instance, I know that whomever the Lord has for me will have to be saved, sanctified, and Holy Ghost filled. I'm not talking about they have the potential for these things. I mean they are already walking in it.

While you are waiting, take this time to seek God unlike ever before. I mean really chase Him and find out His plan for your life. Use this time to pray, fast, and study. In addition to those things, I've used this time to go to school, started this blog, and a blog radio show. My focus shifted from wanting someone to wanting to share the message of Jesus. You never know what God will do through you and the lives that will be impacted from your submission and obedience to Him. 

You probably are thinking ok Gina all that's fine and well but you still haven't said when it will happen for me. That's an easy one, it will happen when He (God) does it for you. It will be in His divine timing and not a second sooner. We have to understand that God knows when the time is right. Sometimes we think we are ready for things and God is like no you need me to work a few things out of you first. It may be some past hurt that you need to be healed from before you get into another relationship. If not, you may sabotage what God has for you based on what happened in your past.

So, as the word of God says, "...let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not" Galatians 6:9. Praise Jehovah!! If we just hold on to His promises we are going to receive everything that God has for us. That means Boaz and not Bozo!! God knows the desires of your heart. Just continue to put Him first and watch what happens!

Until next time.....