Do You Know Who You Are? Don't Suffer An Identity Crisis!

While riding to work this morning, I listened Jonathan Nelson's song, My Name Is Victory! As I jammed, I thought about how many people have IDENTITY ISSUES. Christians too have identity issues, it's not just the lost souls. I have included the lyrics to the song and it's all found in THE BOOK! That's the evidence they are singing about is in the Word of God. How can God get glory from a person living a defeated life?!? God wants us to succeed because we are His creations. We are supposed to help point people to Christ. If you are living a defeated life, how can you draw someone to the God that you serve? We are Victorious! We are MORE than conquerors! It's all in the Word!



I've got evidence I've got confidence I'm a conqueror I know that I win!
I know who I am, God wrote it in his plan for me!
MY NAME IS VICTORY!
God gave me AUTHORITY

To conquer THE ENEMY

He wrote in MY DESTINY

That my name is VICTORY

He said that I've OVERCOME

I know I've ALREADY WON

He wrote in my DESTINY

That my name is VICTORY

I know who I am God wrote it in His plan for me!

MY NAME IS VICTORY!

I know my identity, my name is victory!!

Victory... That's my name... Victory.... I KNOW WHO I AM!!!!

Scripture References

NEW LIVING TRANSLATION

Luke 10:19
Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you.

Romans 8:37
No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

Deuteronomy 28:13
If you listen to these commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, and if you carefully obey them, the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always be on top and never at the bottom.

1 John 4:4
But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.

1 John 5:4
For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.

What Are You Afraid Of?

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

-Marianne Williamson, A Return To Love : Pearls Of Wisdom

Remember, Reflect, Reward, Revealation

It is not my intent to brag or boast about myself but about the goodness of God. I had a revealation last night that is penetrating my heart so I have to share. I understand why God wants us to meditate on his Word day and night. Two scriptures come to mind before I give you this praise report.

Psalm 105:8 (New Living Translation)
He always stands by his covenant—the commitment he made to a thousand generations.

Deuteronomy 28:12-13 (NLT)
12 The L ord will send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens and will bless all the work you do. You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them. 13 If you listen to these commands of the L ord your God that I am giving you today, and if you carefully obey them, the L ord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always be on top and never at the bottom.

Now I have been praying and meditating on the Deuteronomy scripture for a while. I am claiming to be debt free, because God's Word states that those who are in covenant with Him should be lenders and not borrowers. I put DEBT FREE in my prayer list when our church fasted together and I posted the scripture on my fridge and my vision board. Last night in my counseling class, Dr. D mentioned that when we get a Word from God, we can't lose sight of it.

Well, without putting all of my bizness out in the street. God has moved in my life recently in a way that I could have never thought or asked. (Eph. 3:20) I encourage you all to TRY GOD!!!!! Love you!!!!

Malachi 3
10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the L ord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!

Philippians 4:8: 8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Peace & Blessings!

Graduation Revelation

Ephesians 3:20

20 -21God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. (The Message)

There are a lot of things that we know yet sometimes we don’t have a full grasp of until the picture is painted very clearly before your eyes. Yesterday on my graduation day, that picture became crystal clear. Sitting at the dinner table surrounded by family and friends who have become my family; for a moment I did not see their faces, I simply saw their love. In that moment I was emotionally overwhelmed.

I know that I am blessed and yesterday was a wonderful visual representation of my past, present and future. My village…..My parents and other family members made deposits into my life that fed me with confidence and security. My siblings and cousins poured into me and now allow me to pour into them. My girls and I have been able to see each other bloom into the phenomenal women that we are! We got some scrapes and bruises on the way; but they are part of our story. The future spoke that we are impacting their lives. Texts, emails and phone calls, from those who couldn't attend but still wanting to send their love.

If I could bottle that day up and savor every moment………

As Ephesians 3:20 states, God is able to do far more than our finite minds could ever dream.

20Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, (KJV)

Marque Messages

Every morning I drive by a church that has a message on it's marque that changes every week. The message that's there this week has actually been there for about 2 or three weeks. I was wondering if it was a mistake or if it's deliberate. Nonetheless, this morning as I drove by and read it, I began to really reflect on it.

The message said, "How good is your word with God?"

It made me think. We really want God to keep His Word with us, even though we should know that He is incapable of lying. But how good is your word with God? How many times have we presented God with an "if, then" statement? If you get me out of this ________, then I will/won't _______.

Not only that, but how good is your word to others??? Are we promise keepers or do we consistently have to modify our agreements? If you can't keep your word to a person that you can see with your natural eyes, how are you able to keep your word to a being that you MUST see with your spiritual eye?

Food for thought! Be blessed!

3’s

My sisters tease me about my OCD tendencies or as a friend put it my “appropriately detailed” need to do things in 3’s. Ironically this weekend I received a message from God in the form of 3’s. I would admonish each and every person reading this to be present in every moment in your life. You never know when God is trying to get a message to you.

We hear preachers all the time state that we should be thankful that we were “clothed in our right mind.” Ironically, that is one of the many church clichés that I have a desire to address.
1. On yesterday I attended a funeral of a person who had succumbed to Alzheimer’s. As we all know the disease is a devastating condition. The minister made it a point that if we woke up without mistaking your foot for your hands, then you have something to be thankful about.
2. Less than 2 hours later, I ran into someone that I had not seen in years. During our conversation it became clear to me that the person was in an altered mental state. The person I had known years ago was not the same person I was having a conversation with. I was so affected by the encounter; I had to immediately give God glory for how He has kept me.
3. This morning at church, the minister gave a sermon about telling God “thank you.” He stressed that it did not matter how bad our lives get, we should always have a reason the give God thanks. Even for the simple things. He mentioned the fact that we wake up and know that toothpaste goes on a toothbrush and can actually perform that act is enough to tell God “thank you.”

I know these experiences may seem menial to some but it really is a message behind it. We tend to focus on all the problems that we face day to day. The truth of the matter is that we should be thankful that we are able to deal with the problems without losing our minds. You’ve heard the statement of the “straw that broke the camel’s back.” It would not be a popular statement if it did not have any meaning behind it. Some people actually snap after one situation that may not affect one person the same as it would another. Road rage is an example. If you cut me off, yes I will have a few choice words for you, but I am not going to follow you or pull a gun out and shoot your tires flat. But who’s to say the next person you cut off won’t go there???? You never know. If you don’t tell the people you love that you love them, who says that you will get the opportunity to do it again? Make the most of your life! Make the most of your experiences! Even the not so pleasant ones!

Change your perspective. Be thankful what you have right now. God will honor your praise faster than He will honor your pleas.

BE BLESSED!

Perspective

This entire Ike experience has helped me put a lot of things into perspective.

Yesterday I was reflecting on the 10 days I spent away from my home and I wish that I would have remembered to bring my gratitude journal with me while I was away.

Yesterday I also returned to work for the first time since Ike. I listened to co-workers who are native New Orleanians and experienced Katrina and others who have immediate family from Galveston and have no idea what it looks like in person. The greeting on campus yesterday was “Good to see you. How did Ike treat you?”

My answer to that is that I truly can not complain. My situation is NOTHING compared to others. Yes I was inconvenienced but who am I not to be? I am nobody in God’s great scheme of things. As I spoke with a few SisterFriends this week, I stated that if I did not know it before, I definitely know now that GOD is in total control! HE is the Man!!!

Things that were lost can be replaced…..that’s what insurance is for.

While on my “hurrication” I really did have many good times. When was the last time I got to spend so much time with my family? I thank God for my family, because I know people who are not as close to their family as I am to mine. I was able to laugh, play and chat it up with nephews. I’d like to think that I have a big influence on them, and this time I may have been able to deposit something into their already precious life accounts. I was able to have some slumber party type conversations with my sister. Not too long ago she mentioned that she missed spending time with me because of my school and intern schedule. Well guess what. God took care of that! I feel a lot closer to my family than I did 10 days ago. Who thought we could get any closer? I was in constant contact with my Sister Circle. We pulled one another through and we are not done yet.

I am also very grateful because I actually have a job to return to. There are people in Bolivar and Galveston that have nothing to return to. Don’t take this experience for granted. Just like my first blog advises find the lesson in every experience or you will have to repeat it until you get it right.

Be blessed!!!! Actually you are blessed!!!!