The Season of Advent 2022

HOPE

This past Sunday was the first Sunday of Advent (coming). This is the time of year when we prepare our hearts to celebrate Jesus’s birth. 

“The promise for Israel and the church is Jesus Christ. 

The Lord has come to hear and will arrive again. 

This is the essence of Advent.”

The Advent Wreath is usually made of evergreens wrapped around a ring. The wreath has candles placed around the circle surrounded by evergreens.

There are three purple and one pink candle.

Those candles represent HOPE, FAITH, JOY, and PEACE.

There is a fifth white candle inside the ring, and it is lit on Christmas day to celebrate Jesus’ birth.

The evergreens of the wreath symbolize everlasting life during winter and death.

The ring’s circular shape symbolizes God’s never-ending love and eternal life HE makes possible.

This past Sunday, we started our Advent season. A family is chosen or volunteers to share a devotion and lite the candle.  We lit the first purple candle, which symbolizes HOPE, sometimes called the Prophecy Candle. It represents the HOPE felt in expectation of the coming Messiah.

The Bible: Isaiah 40:31

“But those who HOPE in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.” 

The Dictionary describes HOPE:

“HOPE is a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen, a feeling of trust.”

Bishop Desmond Tutu said:

“HOPE is seeing the light despite all of the darkness.”

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
 And ransom captive Israel,
 That mourns in lonely exile here.
 Until the Son of God appears.
 Rejoice! Rejoice!
 Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

I have thought a lot about HOPE over the years, especially in this current season of my life. Sometimes I had to dig deep to find reasons to HOPE, continue living, and come out of the pit. 

Jesus was the HOPE I had to re-embrace to survive. I said re-embrace because I had let go of all HOPE and had nothing to cling to but pain, grief, suffering, and deep sadness. Ironically, I saw my most significant turnaround during the Advent season.  Toward the end of the Advent season in 2016, I saw a light of HOPE at the end of the tunnel. It took a year of HOPE, prayer, God’s word, and therapy to get into a good head space. I knew that I could not bear my burdens alone, and I desperately needed Jesus if I was going to survive.

During the Advent season of 2017, I started to find my way back to my first love.

Back to HOPE.

Back to Living.

Back to Christ.

I have rediscovered my HOPE again, and I don‘t intend on letting my HOPE or my GOD go again!

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Fall: The Season of Transformations

Fall is finally here!

Fall has always been my favorite time of the year. Emily Brontë’s poem, “Fall, Leaves, Fall,” tells of her love of fall:  

“Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;
Lengthen day and shorten day;
Every leaf speaks bliss to me.
Fluttering from the autumn tree.”

When I was a little girl, I used to love to rake the leaves into huge piles and fall into the beautiful bundle of orange, red, green, and yellow leaves. The enemy would like me to continue associating one of my favorite times of the year with sorrow, grief, and pain.

I choose to celebrate the Fall that I love. The Fall that God created.

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.

2 Corinthians 9:10

God, the ultimate Master Artist, has beautifully designed the fall season. Unlike the green trees of spring:

I love the color palette of red, orange, and yellows of fall leaves.

The crunching sound of the fallen leaves as I walk is like music.

The refreshing feel of the crisp cool air upon my face slightly tingles my cheeks.

The warmth of the nighttime bond fires and the crackling sounds of the fire burning.

I cannot forget it; it’s boots and sweater weather.

 

Fall is a season of transformation. We are transforming from the seasons of new beginnings to the seasons of contemplation and reflection. It is a season for thanks, giving, and gratitude that will lead us into the season of faith, hope, and giving. 

Let’s not allow ourselves to fall into a season of despair and hopelessness. Let us CHOOSE to focus on what is good in our lives. The good things that God has done and will continue to do in our lives. My brother/Pastor said,

“The Lord has written the full chapters of our lives.

We need to walk in the good that He has already done.

We need to have that right now, faith. Jesus is trustworthy.”

Minister Kai Brown

Every season presents its challenges, the storms of Spring, the unbearable heat of Summer, and the cold, snow, and ice of Winter. However, the beauty of fall gives me hope. Fall is not dead or dying; Fall is a beginning as the sun rises and sets on picturesque views of the season. We will reflect on the past year and determine where we need to adjust our focus for the following year.

Enjoy this beautiful Fall season of transformation and reflect on what’s good in your life.

I love you all!

Farewell 2021!! Don’t Take the Bait!

Dear Hearts,

As we bid 2021 farewell, I look back on this year, and I have relished in Jesus Joy. I have experienced love and happiness, and I have laughed a lot. I have experienced some success and overcome some obstacles. There were also moments of loss that produced sadness and crying. But through it all, I kept my faith and trusted in GOD for every and anything. 

This year was not easy. We have continued to battle a global epidemic, personal distresses, and a volatile political climate as a country. There is so much in the news and our world that makes us angry, upset, and disappointed. However,…

God still sits on the throne, and if you proclaim to be a faithful follower of Christ, I tell you… DON’T TAKE THE BAIT!! 

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”  1 Corinthians 10:13

Don’t take the bait of the enemy and have a hardened heart. I will tell you to trust God and keep your hope alive in your heart, home, and community. It will have to start from within ourselves. We have to radiate love and respect from our hearts to our communities. But that love and respect must begin with showing love and grace to our families, and then we can reach out to our communities.

I don’t know how often I can say this, but I will keep saying this statement to everyone who wants to hear it. “Life is way too short for/to ….” (Fill in the blank)

Life is too short to bear grudges against one another going into 2022

Life is too short to hold anger in our hearts going into 2022

Life is too short to hold on to resentment and jealousy, into 2022

Life is too short to hold on to unforgiveness into 2022

Don’t take the enemy’s bait and enter into the new year with the old year’s mindset.

I believe that God has a perfect plan for my life and your life. We just need to trust HIM

“’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

I love you all with the love of Christ

Be Blessed!

Purging My Life (The Physical Edition) We can do hard things Pt.2 (Adjust My Focus)

May 29, 2021

The Lord has told me it is time to adjust my focus.  I talk a lot about my journey with grief and depression, but I want to adjust my focus.  While those issues are still at the forefront of my mind, there is more for me to continue telling you how I survived, how I have overcome, and how I am not just alive but living. 

In previous blog posts, I have talked about purging my life. 

Purging my Life “It’s Time for a New Thing” From Greif & Clutter to Joy & Tranquility

Purging my Life 4: Physically Purging the house and the Body Purge/ Heart Matters.

My home, my mental health, and now it is time for my physical health. 

Yes, I have accomplished some hard things, but there is so much more!  In our mental health wellness journey, we cannot forget about our physical health.  I knew that I could not do anything about my physical health until I handled the thingse going on in my head. Now that I am doing well in that area, it is time to move forward.

I received some numbers from my doctor that I did not like.  It has taken me two years and a global pandemic to face that diagnosis.  I was told that my blood sugar levels were elevated.  I knew that I needed to take action to bring those numbers back down so I don’t develop diabetes.  Whenever I went to the doctor, my numbers were perfect, so I was in shock.  In all honesty, I shouldn’t be shocked.  I did not have the best diet, and I did not stick to an exercise program long enough to make a difference, not to mention that I was grieving a significant loss and COVID-19 25.  (I equate this to the Freshman 15).

I can do hard things!

I did not want to end up with diabetes, so I decided to take charge of my physical health, make significant changes, and fight against it.  I knew I needed to change my diet, but I also needed some physical exercise.  I decided to invest in myself and made a mini gym in my home, including the little bike that goes nowhere, a Peloton Bike.  It is nothing fancy, but I can get up every morning and work out for at least 30-45 minutes and again in the evening. 

Now, when I first received my bike, it sat for a while unused.  I kept thinking about what I have gotten myself into!  I completed my first ride, and my behind was sore. I was breathing breaths I had never breathed before.  I had to call on the name of JESUS to finish that ride!  Then I stopped for a few more weeks thinking, what in the world are you doing!!!  LOL.  I eventually got back in the sandal and found some wonderful support groups through Facebook, and I have completed 65 bike rides and a few boot camps! 

I can do hard things!

Now I have started to attack my diet.  I needed to make significant changes because any fitness and nutrition expert will tell you that you cannot out-exercise a bad diet.  So, it did not matter how many miles I rode, how high my cadence was, or the level of my resistance; I was never going to be successful without changing what goes into my mouth.  So, this is where I am now in this next phase of my journey.  I will keep you posted about my progress. 

Just know that GOD is GOOD, and he has equipped us to do the hard thingsFaithe faith in God, and theFaithe Faith in yourself.

I love you all with the love of Jesus Christ!