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MY TRANSPARENT
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 Have you ever been in the mood to just clean like you have lost your mind. The past few days I have been in the mood to “get my house in order.” This Spirit hit me Wednesday and I have been doing some cleaning and decluttering. I realized that after a busy year filled with traveling for funerals, pastoring, ministry engagements, school, family functions along with building spiritual houses and The Sanctuary it is time to give my home some required attention. I am not a person that can live in disorganization. Some people call it OCD, I call it being able to function at my highest level when everything has a place and a purpose. Subsequently, when I slowed down I realized for my mental and emotional health, I needed to stop to de-clutter, get rid of some things, give away some stuff that I don’t intend to use and organize some rooms. I am bringing chaos into order. And this is not just a physical reordering, I am being very intentional with my spiritual house as I want to be properly positioned to receive the new wine that I’ve produced from my “labor.” I have learned that order helps us live at our highest state of being and it brings stability. It gives us an anchor so we’re able to deal with whatever life gives us. The truth is, if we’re unable to manage the everyday details of our lives, how are we going to deal with crises when they erupt? Or when the transition to a new level happens how will we manage the increase. How are we going to face the enemy when we can’t face a sink full of dirty dishes? And how will we be of any help to anyone else if our life is ruled by chaos? Order is a good thing. It is defined as "a condition in which each thing is properly disposed with reference to other things and to its purpose; methodical or harmonious arrangement". In Genesis 1 it says that, "The earth was without order, and empty"; it speaks of the chaos that reigned on the earth before God began His work of creation and before He brought everything into a perfect order and harmony. He then speaks "let there be light" and everything changes at once. Did you catch that? From nothing to everything, from chaos to order. God changed everything. The Spirit of God had been studying…examining…lingering and only after this hovering did God act and move by bringing order. And as He looked at His creation, He was so pleased with the "order" He brought to "chaos"; He declared that it was “very good.” But it's important to note that God brought order from chaos by first hovering over the earth. When the earth was without form and void, the Spirit of God hovered over the abyss as He began to bring order out of disorder. This was His Holy wind of love conveying the promise of life, order, and beauty to what was of itself a mess. Because God’s spirit was hovering over it, chaos became promise and by speaking to it, He brought light. God’s actions in creation help us understand how He approaches our lives, and the ways He can help us today as God still brings clarity to confusion. He replaces disorganization with organization. Uncertainty is replaced by certainty. Chaos is replaced by order. Those who are aimless are given His plans. Emptiness is replaced by meaning and purpose. And any sense of darkness is replaced by His light. Are there areas of your life that feel chaotic or out of control and could use God's light? As we approach the end of the year I am taking responsibility and bringing order to my chaos, will you? He is hovering looking for you to take this opportunity to look over our marriage, family, relationships; business and personal, finances, and stewardship to ask Him to bring order out of your chaos. My finances is another area that I have taken stock of in August of this year with our Ezra fast and I realized that I needed to implement some strategies to bring complete wholeness so that I can be in proper position for His next move in 2019. It may seem as if our marriage or our family is falling apart – it could be an illness, or death; it could be infidelity or lack of commitment; it could be falling into depression, the routine, the unhealthy comfort of life; it could be an abandonment of our spiritual connection with God and thus with one another. Whatever it is that’s brought disorder and chaos in our life, in our marriage, in our family, we can ask God to send His Holy Spirit to restore order, to bring back harmony, to make something very good out of the chaos we have created. Pray and ask your Heavenly Father, to speak to the chaos in your life so that He can shine His light so that He can get your house in order with His plans so that you can have His peace and His joy! If this thought has been profitable to you, please share with your friends and family. Like or click the social share button or leave a comment in the box below for Pastor Yolanda.
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 This weekend I will be traveling to my home city of Charlotte, NC to minister at my home church Beauty for Ashes Ministry pastored by my mother, Pastor Rosa Marion. It is my mother’s 2nd Pastoral Anniversary. She has been an ordained Pastor for 5 years. But her work in ministry started well before. My mother accepted Christ when I was 9 months old and she has been saved all 44 years of my life. I have never known her to do anything else but serve the Kingdom of God. As I have been preparing my sermon for Sunday I have been reflecting over the 44 years and I can unequivocally say she has received Beauty for her Ashes! If you know the story of The Sanctuary you know that I had two very influential people in my life pass away four months apart. One was my Father and the other my maternal Aunt. As a result of her passing, a firestorm broke loose on the maternal side of my family. Once the smoke cleared there were so many casualties, one, being my mother. And as the fire was smoldering, the ashes of fear, anger, mourning for the loss of relationships, and despair were floating amongst the ruble. She was left without a job and many friends and family were gone. Many questioned her integrity and motives. Not only was she dealing with sorrow and grief from losing her only sister and best friend, but she was also dealing with the loss of all she had known for over 25 years. She was in such a dark place. She had to deal with some very hard truths in her life. My sister and I were heavy with so many feelings. To us it seemed as though her life was in ruins and ashes, however, to God He was ready to crown her with beauty. Isaiah 61:3 says, "To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” I'm sure we have all heard the term beauty for ashes. Do we truly understand what beauty means? The literal meaning of the Hebrew word is an ornament, tiara, or turban. Some translations use the term "crown". That's what God has done for us. Our gracious God sent His son to die on the cross, he exchanged His beauty for the ashes of our broken lives. He came for the poor… the afflicted… the broken-hearted… the captive, to give us a beautiful crown! Ashes in Scripture are a symbol of mourning and repentance. I am sure many of us have a bonfire going on in our lives and we are mourning and doing some repenting. But His Word says that He will take our mourning and repentance and give us a crown. He will then replace the bitterness and sorrow with oil of joy. Psalm 23:5 says, "Thou prepares a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anoints my head with oil; my cup runneth over." This speaks of God anointing the head with oil. Oil of joy has reference to joy of the heart. Oil represents the kind, sweet, comforting words that give encouragement and new hope to the heart of the wounded. It refers to the healing and protective power and strengthening power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. He also promised a garment of praise. This describes the radiance, the happiness, and the sweetness that fill the heart and the life of the child of God who loves the things of God, and lives for the glory of God. This garment is entirely from heaven. The Lord wants to replace our spirit of heaviness with praise. The "Trees of righteousness" and "Planting" He spoke of, is when the people of God are restored, and are again growing and fruitful. Isaiah 61:3 is relevant for today as it is God's desire to replace the ashes of loss, bitterness, and sorrow with the beauty of joy, new hope, healing, and strength to the heart. God wants His Holy Spirit and His Word to comfort our heavy spirits. With God's help, we can be restored, move forward with our lives, and again become fruitful and productive. I know this to be true, because I have seen my mother, Pastor Rosa Marion, take every last ash and give it to God and He has graced her with beauty. She birthed "Beauty For Ashes Ministry." This ministry has provided food, shelter, clothes to a underserved part of Charlotte. But most importantly she planted, hope, love and kindness into a community that has shown her that labor is not in vain. The "trees of her righteousness" and "planting" has brought forth astounding testimonies of those who have come under her care. And she rejoices with each of them as she takes their transformation personal. I can testify that she has been an example of a servant committed and sold out to the cause of the King. I am witnessing her experience joy, strength, gladness and peace on a whole new level. You see, there were some things that she needed to deal with within herself and the fire the adversary thought would ruin her brought transformation, refinement and liberty! I want you to know that this just can't happen for my mother, it can happen for you. If you are in a bad place and feel all burned up, your ashes of a broken life are redeemable for something more beautiful than can be described. In those times of trouble or despair, turn to the one who loves you, and will always be there for you. Even when you bring an offering of ashes that you think are worthless, He sees you as worth it. Why? He loves you, unconditional. So today, ask God to give you a new song - a song of praise and the garment of praise. If this thought has been profitable to you, please share with your friends and family. Like or click the social share button or leave a comment in the box below for Pastor Yolanda.  We are halfway done with another year and 2018 has been filled with many ebbs and flows, so much that we have gotten sea sick. Some of us have even said that we are getting out of the boat. We are at the point of giving up and throwing in the proverbial towel. We are one-second away from throwing down the bloodstain banner and retreating back to our comfortable hiding place. We know that we should keep moving but we don’t know because our weariness has gotten the best of us. Our staying power, the capacity to withstand the trials of this life is just not there. In the past I had given up many of times. I was quick to make excuses when it came to giving up on my dreams and desires. I allowed the demons of stress, worry, inadequacy, and fear of failure to weigh me down and render me completely ineffective. My thoughts became larger than me and I would fall victim to them. I learned to stop giving in and to continue to fight the good fight with a persistent faith. However recently, as I was dealing with some hard decisions and was feeling pained, stressed and torn about what direction to take in some personal areas of my life, thoughts of sitting out this race creeped in my mind. And as I was praying, questioning my Father about my race being so hard and justifying my "give up to do something less challenging" plan I heard, "Are You Finished or Are You Done?" At that moment I realized just how close I was to falling into that same destructive cycle. It is clear if we give up in this amazing race of life and take the course of least resistance we will be defeated and not experience the rewards of the well laid out race our Father has for us! That was a pattern that I knew very well. I always became discouraged when it seemed like time and chance was happening at an alarming rate and I would through in the towel and miss myreward. Ecclesiastes 9:11 says that: Again, I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.” King Solomon, the author of Ecclesiastes puts his powers of wisdom to work to examine the human experience and assess the human situation. His perspective is limited to what happens "under the sun." It is a carnal view. He considers life as he has experienced, and he observed it between the horizons of birth and death -- life within the boundaries of this world. So, what does Solomon mean? How could the fastest runner not win the race? How could the strongest man not be victorious in battle? Are we all subject to fate? Solomon was saying it isn’t always the strongest guy or the fastest guy that wins in life. We have seen those whom everybody thought were a cinch to win or achieve but was unable to fulfill their dreams. Time and chance happened. Time in this verse means "opportunity” and chance suggests "occurrence" or "incident.” What this verse is saying is that we all have the opportunity to make something of our lives, but eventually; there are elements of circumstance that have to fall together even before someone with great abilities can accomplish his or her goals. But as Solomon stated, things don’t always work that way, despite if you are a believer or not, we all are subject to things not coming together and falling apart and nothing is guaranteed to us but death in this world. Many of us have had experiences that confirm the truth of this verse. All our carefully laid plans have fallen apart; all our dreams that we had in some particular area of life crumbled, and we could not understand why. We had to learn, as this text says, the race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong. The Word of God clearly acknowledges that men, even those seemingly well-deserving, will be met with unforeseen, chance setbacks, including death! This may not seem just. It may be worrisome to contemplate and very painful to experience, but we are warned through Solomon that such things will occur. Such possibilities must be part of our thinking if we are going to face the trials of life in a mature manner that will glorify our Father in heaven. However, the illusion that the society presses upon us all the time is that we can handle our life by our choices. It's your life! You can live it the way you please. We’ve been taught and conditioned to think that if you want to succeed you have to compete and be aggressive, get up earlier, go to bed later, put in more hours, do unto them before they do unto you. But God says it cannot be done that way. Often it will seem that time and chance plays a bigger part in our lives than God’s providence and sovereignty. But that is not so as God knows the plan for our lives. God has a plan that is divine, and He is always working in our lives. It may not seem like it sometimes, but we must not be fooled to think that we are in control of our lives. We must realize that His plan will lead us to a purposeful and meaningful life if we allow Him take complete control of our life and our will. This is not to say that we will not encounter some bumps and have some bruises from the struggles, and things will always work out. Life will not be perfect. But if we have faith in the master plan He has created for us and trust that He is divinely orchestrating everything in our life; all those storms, mistakes, bad decisions, good decisions are going to work for our good. But for it to work, we have to keep moving, building endurance. Romans 5:3-4 says, “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” Even though I wanted to give up, I did not as I remembered. If we continue to endure as good soldiers, never giving up, reverencing God and honoring His commandments while fighting the enemy with a faith-based consistency and persistency we will be delivered to receive our just reward in the end! So, are you finished worrying, stressing, complaining and being in fear? Are you done crying over the past, doubting your abilities, not trusting His plan, and feeling frustrated because you don't see the fruit from your labor? If so, let’s make notes of the GAME PLAN to get you to the finish line of faith!
If this thought has been profitable to you, please share with your friends and family. Like or click the social share button or leave a comment in the box below for Pastor Yolanda.  We’ve all had our share of storms in life and here lately it seems as though everyone I know is experiencing some type of storm. And what’s so ironic is that right now one of the largest hurricanes this season is hitting the coast of my home state of North Carolina. Hurricane Florence is causing many to flee their homes or get prepared for a Category 2 storm. Meteorologist are predicting heavy rains and billowing winds and if we look at our lives, some of us can say that we are navigating through some pretty heavy rains and being tossed about and battered by the hollowing wind, surging waves, and torrential rains ourselves. I know in the month of August for us it felt as though we were in the eye of a hurricane. We had the moment of sunshine before the rain but we looked up and suddenly we found ourselves weathering a life shifting storm. The blankets of rain battered us making it look as though there was no end in sight. You ask yourself how did we end up in this midst of this storm if we heard and headed the voice we knew to be God’s? In the midst of battling the storm I had a real conversation with my Father, God. I asked Him, “I have done all you have instructed me to do with a resolute faithfulness, what am I supposed to do in the midst of this storm. I am so overwhelmed” His answer, “Lean on the Rock. “ Life is full of situations that can overwhelm us. First of all, let us look at how the dictionary defines the word “overwhelm:”to overcome completely in mind or feeling: overwhelmed by remorse; to overpower or overcome, esp. with superior forces; destroy; crush to cover or bury beneath a mass of something, as floodwaters, debris, or an avalanche; submerge; to overthrow.Have you ever felt any of these things? I have. And we are not the only ones that have felt overwhelmed. We can look in the scriptures at David, a man after God's own heart. Yes, even godly people like David experienced times in their lives when they lacked courage, motivation, or was fearful and had a general lack of strength. We can find his cry in Psalms. It reads: “From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety, for you are my safe refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me. Let me live forever in your sanctuary, safe beneath the shelter of your wings!” Psalm 61:2-4 (NIV) David needed a rock of protection, one that was higher than his troubles, a divine protection. He was physically and emotionally drained, so he cried out to the "rock that is higher than I," knowing this was a place of safety with God. David was not literally at the end of the earth, but he was in a place where safety and deliverance seemed obscure. Anyone feeling overwhelmed today? I call you to remember the Father’s invitation to call to Him when times get rough and rocky, cold and dark. The next time you’re at the end of your rope in the marriage, the job, or your circumstances seem to be swallowing you up, and life is overwhelming you, be sure to run to the Rock you find in prayer. No amount of wishing and hoping and positive thinking will rescue you, you must cling to the rock through these stormy days and He will grant you peace. When you feel overwhelmed, when you begin to feel hopeless, when you lose heart, cry out to the Lord. Remind yourself that the God you serve is a mighty God. He will protect you. He will keep you safe. And He will deliver you. Always! We’ve all felt overwhelmed and hopeless at one time or another. But it is not okay to continue feeling that way – not when Almighty God is your Father and His Eye is in the storm. He promised to see us through the storm! If you cling to the Rock, you will be on top of your problems and see your circumstances from a far different perspective as I did. The storm was designed to draw me to stand on the Rock who is higher than I. And from that vantage point I can see very clearly, He is our Rock, our Strong Tower, our Safe Refuge from the storms of life. If this thought has been profitable to you, please share with your friends and family. Like or click the social share button or leave a comment in the box below for Pastor Yolanda.  Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. One day as I was working hard to cross off things on my ever growing to do list for all the many facets of my life that I manage, this popped up in my notifications in my memories on Facebook:  I can't remember what specifically happened to make me post this, but I do remember my last traditional marketplace job was ALWAYS filled with hate, drama and it sucked the very life from me. Reading this made me even more grateful that I said #nomoredrama and took the leap of faith 7 years ago to live out my destiny in a context that is challenging but yet has left me fulfilled. No, this journey in being a business owner with my spouse hasn't been easy or without its share of risk and uncertainties but I wouldn't go back to the dreading and drama I would feel each day walking into that toxic stifling environment. In 7 years, I accepted the calling on my life; started a viable business that serves a segment of the real estate marketplace; started a ministry that reaches across the nation and abroad; completed a undergrad degree in Religion; and currently completing the last year on my Master of Divinity. Yes, it was the best decision I ever made was taking my Father up on His offer to be a woman focused on living out His purposes thru my vocation. I am sure you have heard the saying, "I was born to do more than pay bills, go to work and then die." How many of us have felt the sting of these words as we realize that this one sentence summed up how the vicious cycle of our lives. I know I can raise my hands and say that this is were I was 7 years ago. I worked in the traditional marketplace from the age of 18 years old. I was born in a time when we were told to go to school, find a good job so that you can pay your bills and be a productive citizen. You will vacation about 2 weeks out of the year if you have a decent PTO plan and you will also have the 10 paid holidays, 11 if your employer recognized Veteran's Day. Those gifts and talents, that thing you are good at or passionate about, you take that up in your spare time or later in life. But you never have the spare time and your later never comes because we are to tired and to burned out to explore it. We are never really encouraged to utilize our gifts in the marketplace to earn money or a living when we are seeking our vocation in life. It has been made clear in the Word that every believer has spiritual gifts. Our Creator gives us each a different combination of spiritual gifts, and as we grow in Him the gifts we have develop and mature. In fact, we may even see that the gifts change over time as God uses us in different capacities in the vocations and ministries of our lives. These gifts have been freely bestowed by the grace of God, we didn't earn them, and we certainly don’t deserve them He has gifted us with everything we need to serve Him not just in a church context. He understands our limitations, and by the power of the Holy Spirit within us, He has given each one of us unique gifts that enable us to build up and advance the Body of Christ to glorify Him. Our Lord is gracious! He never asks us to do anything we are unable to do. But He does give us bigger task that stretches and challenges us to show His glory by doing them through us. Its almost as if our Father doesn’t want to leave us any room to say, I really would serve You if I could, but I just don’t have anything to offer. The decision to allow Him to work through us, is the stimulus from which we move from the ordinary lives to the extraordinary. When we use our gifts wholeheartedly for Him giving Him glory for all He is doing in and through us we experience an extraordinary, joyful life. I can attest to this. I have such joy teaching others in my mentorship and empowerment programs how to heal as I did so that their gifts and talents can emerge into profitable and purposeful streams of income. I am most fulfilled when I see the fruit from our #TrueVisionTour and witness women breaking down barriers and living with #nolimits. Reading this memory is reminder that everyday I am blessed to see the sunrise and able to work the land I have been given I will #pursueandbuild it with a passion and drive that will be pleasing and profitable to my Father. If this thought has been profitable to you, please share with your friends and family. Like or click the social share button or leave a comment in the box below for Pastor Yolanda. If you have been searching trying to discover your gift and how to live your extraordinary life, click here to discover more about my empowerment and mentorship programs.   Flowers from my garden .My covenant sister/partner/friend/homegirl/confidant/rider, Natosha sent me a meme after I taught about our annual Ezra Financial Fast in August, “Whenever you have a need, plant a seed.” She sent this meme as it confirmed the seed that she had planted before our Bible Study for the fast. By the end of our Friday Bible Study she had harvested her seed back plus additional in her CashApp account. Her seed was harvested within two hours to meet her need! The power of the seed is mind blowing. In the Book of The Beginning, we are given the first glimpse in the power of a seed. Genesis 1:9 that on the 3rd day that God brought the earth together in one place and the waters together in one place and He spoke that, “The earth would bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so." (Genesis 1:11) And the earth did exactly what He commanded, Genesis 1:29-30 says, “Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant that grows throughout the earth, along with every tree that grows seed-bearing fruit. They will produce your food. I have given all green plants as food…” Then on the 6th day, he made man and then gave man every seed-bearing plant. These passages of scriptures have really resonated with me as I have been believing God will allow me to manifest a seed of life, as well as a harvest from seeds that have been sown for our family, ministry and business, and I have been expecting that harvest with every ounce of faith I have. Moreover, this expectation has brought such deep thought that has harvested rich revelation. A true revelation of God’s Word is the single most important element of a triumphal Christian life. Both of my grandfathers were farmers. I spent a great amount of time with my paternal grandfather watching him farm our family land in South Carolina. My mother loves plants and flowers; our homes were always overflowing with plants and vegetation growing up. Today at her ministry Beauty for Ashes in Charlotte, NC she has grown fruits, vegetables and plants from the soil of broken bottles and trash. I was exposed to the power of a seed and how our hands can produce literal life or death my entire life! As I have matured in my walk-in life I have grown to be quite the gardener and have learned to appreciate the wisdom and knowledge acquired from my elders and ancestors about seed sowing. The physical act of planting a seed opens your mind and spirit to the power of the Spiritual act of seed sowing. Every action we take in life is a seed. The Word of God often refers to itself as a seed. There are a total of forty-four verses in the New Testament that refers to the Word of God as a seed. The Lord uses these agricultural references to compare His Word as this is a natural law that is unchangeable, not an institution of man. Its immutable. It can't be changed.  Flowers at my mother's ministry I constantly meet people who pray and believe for God’s intervention in their lives but remain frustrated with the results of the Harvest. It’s because they are missing the seeds of conception; they just don’t know the power of the seed. To conceive and give birth the Blessings you need, you must first plant God’s Word like a seed in your heart. Conception cannot take place without first planting the seed in the right season. And the seed must be planted in good soil. This is a valuable lesson I learned from my earthly father, you must open your spiritual eyes and be mindful as to where you sow your seeds if you expect to yield a major return on your investment. The soil of The Sanctuary has been the place that I sow in my time, talent and treasures and I have and like many that are a part of this ministry has yielded an amazing crop.  Natasha CappApp Harvest This system of reaping and sowing cannot be manipulated. You can cheat or manipulate nearly all systems that men have created. The legal system can be beaten, letting the guilty go free. Our educational system can be beaten, passing students who haven’t really learned the material. But you can’t change seedtime and harvest. What you reap you will sow. If you haven’t sown, regardless of how sincere you are or justify not sowing seeds at the proper time, you will not reap a crop. Case in point, NaTosha sowed in the right season, in the right soil and in the right teaching and she received an immediate harvest. Today, I want to encourage those who haven’t been faithful in sowing. If you want to see a need met, sow a seed. And this is just not for finances, I am referring to relationships, heart needs and desires in your life. In need of kindness, sow kindness. In need of goodness, sow goodness. The law of seedtime and harvest cannot be violated. Then for those who have been faithful in sowing seeds, that have been diligent in nurturing, watering and fertilizing them in the natural and spiritual - especially in the last 8 months it has NOT been for naught or in vain. All of the hard preparation, long waiting have brought us here to the season we have been anticipating - the season of fruitful fulfillment. Finally, the season of fruitfulness is here for those who were faithful in the prior seasons. The expectation of a thousand-fold harvest stands ready to be reaped. This is the season of the manifestation of the seeds of prophetic Word rooted in our Father’s Words that “if you faint not you will reap a harvest” is here! You will become a blessing to others because you sowed out of obedience. This is the season where His Hand and faithfulness will shine forth on your good work even in bad soil. This is a season of thankfulness because you are able to witness the fruit of your labor. I pray for endurance, faithfulness and that you maintain an attitude of gratitude as you walk into your season of epic reciprocity and compensation! What you have sown shall return back to you in GOOD MEASURE. If this thought has been profitable to you, please share with your friends and family. Like or click the social share button or leave a comment in the box below for Pastor Yolanda.  I had a family member ask what I did for a living. When I explained all the many facets of what I do for a living, they asked the question again in a different way, “Do I work?” I guess my answer did not meet the traditional views of “working.” As I've spent the last eight years navigating the balance between the distinct parts of who I am; the full-time student pursuing a Master’s Degree of Divinity, a full time Pastor/Mentor/Encourager of a unique virtual based ministry and entrepreneur working to grow a business from the ground up, I’ve experienced this response quite often. And I have learned a few things that might be of encouragement to those living on purpose. I have learned in the last eight years just how true this statement is, some people will not understand the unique calling on your life, and it is not for everyone to understand. Those people will question you and try to talk you out of pursuing and living in your unique calling. I have also learned they many will not support you. A few will ignore you and will make a concerted effort to not recognize any progress you make. Others will outright criticize you. In times like this you have to pray for grace and discernment to not go in on them and discernment to know who is motivated by ignorant love and who is motivated by malice. There will be times where you have to look the other way. Life is full of well-intentioned people who think they understand you. It's also full of people, like the people who criticize or don’t support the way I have been called to reach people across the world, it isn't really ministry or “church” since church happens in the confines of church building. As you work harder at fulfilling your God-given calling there will be plenty of awkward relationship moments. It may be difficult to cope. You might feel hated, isolated, alone or misunderstood. You might feel confused, frustrated or angry. Your confidence might even take a hit. I encourage you to learn not to major in the minor and keep this in mind, many stood in the crowd mocking our Christ as He hung on the cross. So you are in good company! They never tried to understand Him or what He came to do. Instead, they labeled Him a lunatic and sentenced Him to death. These are the people of which Christ said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34). It's possible to forgive those who never tried to understand. We must love the well-intentioned but misinformed the way Christ loved those who outright hurt Him. Sometimes it's possible to have close relationships with people who don't fully get who you are but then there are times that you have to press forward to your mark alone. And as you push forward toward the mark and assignment the only person that needs to understand you and be pleased with you is the ONE who created you for the assignment. So as your pressing forward ask Him to give you a Heart like His. A heart that can honestly say “Forgive them, they have no idea what they're doing.” And then continue to press forward thru the mocking, just as Christ did, to fulfill Your calling. That’s the good news is that the Father ALWAYS puts people in your life to support you, but you don't get to choose where that support comes from. Sometimes you have to go outside the ones you most love in order to find the love you need right now. You have to go outside your normal networks to find your soul tribe and your like-minded folks who will understand you in ways your family and friends can't. It doesn't make them wrong. It doesn't make you right. It just means they don't understand that you are different.
 Growing up in church, I heard the seasoned saints sing, "The Road hasn’t been easy. Nobody told me that the road would be easy….But I don't believe He brought me this far to leave me” Many of us can identify with this. We can say as we look back over the years that, “We’ve come too far from where we started from.” And we can only attribute the safe passage on the not so easy road to “grace” and “mercy.” I am not a stranger to God's grace and mercy. I have seen it show up quite often in the course of my life. Hebrews 13:5 says, “…….For He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” These words have never been more true for me and Monte in the last few months. We have witnessed the dynamic duo, grace and mercy move in an extraordinary way through some pretty turbulent storms along life’s road. And one particular storm we have been in for 18 years. Yes, 18 long years we have prayed for our Father to deliver us from this hard place as it was causing us to be at a standstill in a particular area of our life. And while we were praying about the issue it sent us to the Throne, which is the corner of Grace and Mercy. The issue we have been dealing with for 18 years was the result of a bad decision in our younger years and although it has hindered us, it could have been so much worse. Mercy is defined as God not giving us what we deserve; a deliverance from judgement. His mercy has been unrelenting and a prophetic fulfillment of what He told us at the beginning of 2018 that we would experience divine acceleration; breakthrough; new beginnings and new doors. And He has guided us out of the mistakes of our past, and right into the fruitfulness of our future. He showered down His gift of mercy and we are certain its because we have been steadfast and did not give up. I am filled with joy that after 18 long years of walking through what most times felt like miry clay our Father has steadied our footing and brought us to safe and sturdy ground. You, see, He has been protecting us and now has lifted us out of eye of the storm and showed us that the storm is OVER NOW! Thank you, Father God for your Son, and Your Spirt! We are so grateful for our Father‘s mercy and grace! Gratitude is the normal and natural response to one who has received grace. “Grace” means unmerited favor. Grace is God blessing us despite the fact that we do not deserve it. Actually, “Gratitude” comes from the Latin word for grace (“gratio”), and in this season we are witnessing God bless us "exceedingly and abundantly more than what we can ask, think or imagine" (Ephesians 3:20) with His Grace. On August 1, 2018, after 18 years of praying, many heartfelt conversations asking Him when He was going to do it, in 4 months, move us out of the parking space and lead us to the corner of grace and mercy. And no one can take the credit but Him! His continued covering of grace and mercy kept us and caused us to learn the greatest lesson as we lived with the ramifications of a bad decision for 18 years and that is that you can’t give up on faith, as faith leads you to the corner of grace and mercy! Our faith is expecting God to do the extraordinary as it’s our faith that moves mountains. (Matthew 17:20) Faith has a confidence in the Words of our Father that His mercy is everlasting, and His grace is sufficient. It's rejoicing through the disappointment and tears. It's being thankful in the midst of the worst storms and knowing that the He will not allow the storm to harm you. It's knowing that while your past may cause them to give you a negative report, His Word will cause every tongue that rises up to be condemned. It's knowing without doubt that He will do what He said He would do. When you have this type of Godfidence, it doesn’t matter what mistakes you have made, as we all make them (James 3), but if you walk in wisdom and understanding in all your ways He will make your paths smooth and ultimately bring you to the corner of His Grace and Mercy! (Proverbs 3:5-8) If this thought has been profitable to you, please share with your friends and family. Like or click the social share button or leave a comment in the box below for Pastor Yolanda.  Who do you love and cherish the most? I know that I have an boundless love for my family and friends that fuels my life. I have always placed a high value on relationships and friendships. I didn’t have to really make friends as my sister Shantell was my day one. We are close in age and my Father made sure we rolled tight. My cousins were my extended friends. We had relationships that resembled sibling relationships. You can see that in my long-time relationships that are not connected by bloodline. I have been fortunate to still be in relationship with my first best friend from Jr. High School, Leslie. We met at 13 years of age. And my second-best friend from college, Rhonda. We met in high-school. I have known them both most of my life! And it has given me so much joy to witness them have families and pursue their dreams. When they share good news with me, I am excited for them like it is me. Because they are my day-ones, my girls, my compadres, my aces in the hole. And when they are living their best lives, that gives me joy. But as I have grown older and developed relationships outside of my immediate family and circle I have learned that there are quite a number of people that have not had these kinds of relationships. I hear so many stories of people not having close knit ties to family. Or even to their siblings. And let’s not even discuss friendships. This is unfortunate as relationships make up the fabric of our world and the Body of Christ. But so many don’t speak well of relationship anymore. It is thru relationships that we experience the nature of God in the flesh. But when everybody is screaming NO new friend’s courtesy of Drake it makes life that much harder. We spend a lot of time pointing out all of the negative facets of relationships these days, and keeping it real one hundred, people now are the most shady, disloyal and finicky than I have ever seen in my life. But their bad can’t outweigh the good of those who know how to stick close! When I look around as our life has transitioned, ebbed and flowed, the day ones that were committed to riding for us are still here and we are ETERNALLY GRATEFUL TO THEM – their LOVE kept us! When they purchased my book, they encouraged me to keep writing the testimony. When they shard our ministry efforts, attended our services, shared our message it encouraged us to keep pressing toward the mark. When they consistently sow into our community initiatives it helps us take the Love of our Father to those in need. And that’s where we put our focus on the DAY ONES who demonstrated the goodness of God in the land of the living. It easy to focus on the bad. But the danger of focusing on the bad is that you lose sight of the bigger picture and you get stuck in the who didn’t, who should have, and who could have. And once those thoughts permeate your psyche you began to build walls to keep out those who have failed to live up to the position they held in your life. And those walls will have you trying to ‘do it by yourself’ instead of walking with Him and the people He has now provided to show you His uncompromising, unconditional, unfailing love. In trying to do it “alone” we lose our effectiveness. Ecclesiastes 4:9 tells us that two people are better off than one. If we fall alone we are in real trouble, but with two, if one person falls the other can reach out and help. We can keep each other warm. We can put our coins together to keep each other from starving. We can put our heads and resources together to advance the vision. As you continue to move forward know that the Kingdom will advance in you thru partnership with new day ones. You will be presented with opportunities to develop relationships with family, friends, neighbors and co-workers. But be mindful that our Father will change the order of relationships to show that true kinship is not just a matter of flesh and blood or who you have known the longest. Our Father is the source of all relationships and His relationships are rooted in an unwavering and unstoppable love. And He has predestined connections ready to manifest for you to experience a higher reality of relationships. The less you resist, the more you trust, the easier you will experience the unfailing love from those sent to show you true relationship. The new order of your life requires a new order of loyalty, honor and respect from DAY ONE and beyond, so be open to the God connections preordained for you, as they will really help you to move ahead into living YOUR BEST LIFE. If this thought has been profitable to you, please share with your friends and family. Like or click the social share button or leave a comment in the box below for Pastor Yolanda.  I had no intentions on writing a blog for my Thursday Transparent Thought as my mind has been slightly drained from school assignments, studying, teaching and traveling; my thoughts were not clear. And when my mind is cloudy I have learned to get quiet as I know this is a sign that I need to draw near to my Father to rectify my hearing. So, as I prepared to post a thought from last year, I refreshed my Facebook memories and all my posts from July 19th populated and then it hit me why I have been slightly off the past few days, this is the anniversary of the WORST day of my life -- It's the day my Father died in 2008. July 19th is a day that will be forever etched in my soul. This day is a reminder of the greatest loss my heart has ever felt. The first few years after his death were so hard. I didn't think I would ever find joy again however, nevertheless. As I scrolled down my memories timeline, I was able to see the progression of my nevertheless. July 19, 2009 "On this day a year ago my best friend, my daddy passed on to his heavenly existence. Daddy, I miss our talks, I miss your gentle voice.I miss your big hearty laugh. I miss your faith in God. I just miss you being here in my life. I haven't been the same." July 19, 2010 I would give anything just to hear my father's voice one more time…to have him hug me and tell me "I love you Daughter"! Those who are blessed to have your father...please cherish it as there is nothing like a father's love...and there's no pain greater than losing it!! RIP Daddy (4/23/51-7/19/08)..Love your Daughter!" July 19, 2012 "July 19th has not gotten easier for me…it is always a reminder that there is still a void in my heart and that his presence is sorely missed in my life. But I can say that I have found a peace in knowing that he is finally at rest and that he instilled in me valuable life lessons that are serving me well! So continue to rest Daddy....you have prepared me for this journey and your legacy will continue to live on in me and generations to come! RIP Rev. M.N. Kelty (4/23/51-7/19/2008) #DADDY'SGIRL4LIFE" July 19, 2013 "July 19, 2008 was the worst day of me and my baby sisters life. My beloved Father took his last breath on earth and went home to glory. We were distraught! We both felt as though we could not go on another day. We were severely heartbroken. Thoughts of what were we going to do without the man who was always there raced through our minds. This man gave his life for us, so that we can have not only what we needed but what we desired. He was our confidant, our best friend and our protector. But, little did we know that he had prepared us for this moment in time. He prepared us to depend on each others, but most importantly he taught us to lean and depend on our Heavenly Father for strength, for comfort, love and protection. And here my baby sister and I are… five years later and it just seems like yesterday that he left us in the flesh. But we do not cry today. She and I did what he always taught us to do, to lean on each other but most importantly, we leaned on our Heavenly Father like never before in our lives. We rejoice today that we didn't lose our minds and allow grief to overtake us. No, we stand today praising God that we were able to spend time at the knee of our earthly Father, Reverend Marvin Kelty. We take comfort in knowing that he left us with an inheritance that is priceless and we as, Kelty's daugthers, walk in our kingdom inheritance and we do so with grateful hearts that our earthly father prepared and showed us the way! "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." ~ Proverbs 22:6 July 19, 2015 "For the past 6 years I have dreaded this day, and I expressed it. However, today is so different. I am writing with a praise coming from my lips, because everything that my earthly father has taught and poured into us has ripened on the vine. 7 is symbolic of completeness and wholeness and here we stand today saying that grief did not take us out, instead it tore us down and our Heavenly Father came in and reconstructed us into a new, improved and better sanctuary! I would have never imagined that we would be actually carrying the mantle of our father. I thought for sure our lives were over as we knew it, but in essence it had just begun. We leaned into what he told us and that was to lean on each other and our heavenly Father. Because of that wisdom we have become stronger, wiser and sharper. Therefore, today we put on our cloaks of joy and we rejoice in the fact that our Father's grace covered us and His mercy kept us so that we could live in the divine inheritance and reap the harvest of my earthly father's work." July 19, 2016 My dad sacrificed his life to keep his family together and to give us a good life. From a child to the time he took his last breath.. I knew we were his life and there was nothing he wouldn't do for us. And he passed that on to us...I ride for mine. #LegacyLives July 19, 2017 Heaven smiled on me when He allowed you to be my earthly Father! uI was blessed with your ability to smile thru it all! The inheritance of your JOY saved my life! As you can see from the progression of my posts I was devastated by the loss of my father, the grief almost took me out of here spiritually, emotionally, and physically, nevertheless, I found joy and peace in knowing that he is finally at rest and that the spiritual and natural wisdom he imparted in me are serving the Kingdom. It didn't happen overnight, but my nevertheless happened. In the English language, there are few words that can change the entire context of a sentence, a conversation, even the outcome of an entire situation and NEVERTHELESS is one of those words. This single word can transform entire situations, and even an entire world, simply by the power of one simple word: NEVERTHELESS. The definition in the original Hebrew means “a ceasing, an end, a finality.” In the New Testament Greek, (quoted from Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, Abridged) it is used “after negative sentences,” and “serves to mark a transition to something new.” It is used as “an opposition to concession.” This simply means that, although the speaker does not "yield to" or "concede to" the circumstance, they have submitted their own will through the power of ‘nevertheless’. Finally, from the Dictionary.com the word simply means, “In spite of all that…” What I want to point out to you today as I honor the life of the man whose death brought me new life is that our power and strength to transition past the pain, the dishonesties, the frustration, the lies in a simple word: NEVERTHELESS. Today the Father has given you His power to insert a nevertheless. This means you have the power and wisdom within you to withstand whatever it is you are going through right now and not just withstand it but it can come to an end. You can transition into something, your new beginnings and new life. You can flow in the divine joy, greatness, and harvest our Father has for you. You see nevertheless being betrayed, persecuted, forsaken, and cast down the wisdom instilled into me by my earthly Father about my Heavenly Father I learned how to oppose instead of conceding to the grief and I flowed into my Heavenly Father. And what He providentially orchestrated for me after the nevertheless has brought me a new and purposeful life. And because of my Heavenly Father's power, what was intended to "harm me works for my good and has saved many lives." (Genesis 50:20) So grab ahold of your nevertheless! Nevertheless, the grief; disappointment; lack; hard times, pressing and beating, breaking and brokenness; negative words; spiteful vengeance and manipulation you can still flow into provision, comfort, happiness, abundance, wealth, and JOY! Nevertheless, you can stil have JOY! If this thought has been profitable to you, please share with your friends and family. Like or click the social share button or leave a comment in the box below for Pastor Yolanda. |
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