Speak Up!

Our voices are a gift. We have the ability to speak our desires into existence. We also have the abilities to speak our fears into existence. We can change our reality. We can change our thoughts. We can change our lives when we speak. We have become complacent and comfortable. We are muted. If you are not content with your life its time to speak up!

Seek

One of my favorite childhood games was playing hide and seek. As an only child, I typically could not play unless we were visiting one of my mother’s friends or extended family. My friend's daughter likes playing hide and seek, but tends to hide in highly visible locations. I think that most of us don’t like the idea of having to seek anything. We prefere to find things in highly visible locations. We have been conditioned for comfort. We want everything in its designated place in our designated time. Life doesn’t work like that. Usually, we have to wait. We have to pursue. We have to earn. We have to seek. God requires us to seek his face. Love requires us to seek a mate. Dreams require us to seek out opportunities. Destiny requires us to seek out a path. Everything we value requires us to seek. Find comfort in knowing that those who seek, shall find.

Behold

“Behold, I am with you…” This phrase occurs several times in the bible. It seems that everytime God was trying to get someone's attention or show them something specific he used the word, “behold.” Behold means to observe or see. What are the reoccuring themes in your life? How is God trying to get your attention? What do you need to behold in your life? Behold what God is doing. Behold your blessings. Behold your new opportunities. Behold your circumstances. Behold yourself. Behold your gifts and talents. Behold your God.

Bloom

I love cherry blossoms. I love how they look when they are in full bloom. Their beauty is something to behold. I imagine that God has the same expectation when he patiently waits for his creation to bloom. We are God’s creation. We are being planted when things feel like we are being buried. It’s dark. It’s uncomfortable. It hurts. It’s all part of the process. We will grow. We will mature. We will develop and we will emerge in full bloom.

Believe

To believe is to accept something as true. If I am completely honest, there a few things I just don’t believe in anymore because my experience says otherwise. I no longer believe in Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy because I discovered they weren’t real. They were fantasies that my mother perpetuated to keep hope alive. If we’re completely honest, there are people and things we still believe in because of our desire to keep hope alive. Hope is such a strong emotion. It is the substance of faith. It is the foundation for our belief system. Ask yourself, “What do you believe? Who do you believe? Have you given up hope? Why?” For those of you who no longer have faith in people, or even yourself, maybe you should try believing in something bigger than you. Believe that there is more. Believe that trouble don’t last always. Believe it does get better. Believe that things will work out for your benefit. Believe that you are enough. Just believe!

Beyond Limits

Mary J. Blige is like the Aretha of my generation. She has been credited with being the “Queen of Hip Hop Soul.” Her song, Love No Limit debuted in 1993. I was all of eleven and a half years old belting out the lyrics as if I had any clue of what love with no limit really meant. Funny thing is I’m on the verge of being thirty-eight and love still has limitations for some. We love with conditions. We love based on contractual agreements. We love based on arrangements. We love based on feelings. We love based on convenience. However, God’s love is our example of what real love should look like in our lives. God’s love is beyond limits.

Beyond Expectation

Fear plays a big part in our expectation. Past experience also plays a part in our expectation. If we have been disappointed, then we typically expect disappointment. If we have experienced failure, then we expect failure. If we have been hurt, then we expect pain. We have experienced the worst and now that is our expectation. God wants us to think beyond our past, beyond our hurt, beyond our failure, and beyond our disappointment. God wants us to cast our nets into the deep. He wants us to walk on water. He wants us to experience the miraculous. God’s ability and resources are limitless. God wants us to think BIG. God wants us to think beyond our reality, beyond our limits, beyond expectation.