Proverbs 28:19 - Get your bread!

Soooo I was reading my word last night and as usual asking the Lord to reveal to me the things he wants me to garner from his word. Currently I'm in Ezekiel but this verse popped up. Ill give it you in two versions:

NIV
He who works his land will have abundant food, but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.

ESV
Whoever works his land will have pleanty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.


I PREFER the ESV so I'll go with that :) but anyways BAM this verse hit me hard! Let's dissect it a little....

WHOEVER (me and you) works his land (works his talents, what he is tasked with, what he is given etc.) will have plenty of bread (success, money, something to show for your hard work etc., this is subjective)

So this verse is talking about me really working my land. Now obviously I'm no farmer so my land must be something else right. What is your land? Without getting too personal, my land is preparing for the next level in my life. (There are about 3-5 specific things within this preparation that I need to be doing) This is my current "job" from the Lord. I know it deserves almost all of my daily attention and most of my free time as well but I have been straight up neglecting it. THERE IS NO EXCUSE EITHER. I don't have a job right now.... so I have ample time for the more important work which is tending to my "land". By neglecting I'm talking about playing computer games, sleeping late, talking on the phone, thinking about other things etc... Stuff I know good and well will not help me accomplish my goal or tend to my land.  This is sad but I needed another wake up call. I needed to be reminded of what's at stake.

THE VERSE lays it out plain and simple.... If I take care of my "land", I will have lots of bread (success)
Do I not want the bread? HECK YES I WANT IT, In my case I know exactly what my bread will be!
So why wont I do what needs to be done? Fear, uncertainty, laziness etc. The same ole excuses I have given before. No these are no longer acceptable. I must do the work if I want my bread!!

What's the rest of the verse.... BUT he who follows WORTHLESS pursuits will have plenty of POVERTY.... so this is what I'm trading my bread for.... POVERTY or being without. I have to remember that this is the choice I make. There is no middle ground, when I follow worthless pursuits it will end in poverty. It is a very clear equation.

Very Sobering

I think I found my wedding cake...

No I'm not even dating...
...engaged...
or  pregnant lol
BUT THIS CAKE IS BEAUTIFUL....

Jenny's Bakery Houston, Texas

31 Days of Prayer for your husband or future husband

31 Days of Prayer for Your Future Husband


1.To become a holy man, mature and growing in the Lord.
2. For contentment.
3.To take every thought captive, and not be conformed to the world’s thinking and to think scripturally.
4.To seek God with all his heart and grow in dependance on Him.
5.That he would be ever captivated by my love
6.To be a man of courage and boldness.
7. For wisdom to lead his family physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
8. To look at the plank in his own eye before seeing other’s sawdust.
9. To be a called man, not driven, with well thought-through and prayed-through goals in life
10.To be a man of prayer, guarding his heart and mind, putting into practice what he has heard, seen and learned.
11.To stand firm against the wiles of the devil and resist Satan in all circumstances.
12. To strive after the Christian ideal, and partake of the deeper truths of the gospel.
13.Not to depend on his circumstances for happiness but on God alone.
14.That he would enter victoriously into spiritual warfare.
15.To have God’s strength in the midst of his busy schedule.
16.To have a burden to see lost people saved.
17. To be kept from strange women.
18. To have godly companions.
19. That his self image might be a reflection of the Lord’s thoughts toward him.
20. That he might not be deceived into unbelief, sin or bitterness.
21. To learn to love as God commanded.
22. That the fruit of the Spirit might be exhibited more and more in his life.
23. To grow in humility.
24. To grow daily in Godly character.
25. To keep a clear conscience.
26. The Lord might protect him.
27. To learn to manage his time well.
28. The Lord would put a song in his heart.
29. To have a holy fear of God.
30. To have a desire to minister to others.
31. That I would be the best helpmate and encourager for him.

P.S. I read this book and it was FANTASTIC! These prayers didn't come from here but it is still a good resource :)

Nails

Those who know me know that I have a slight NAIL obsession and I only use OPI, well everyone has been asking about my nails so I will tell you :) These colors are all OPI and most are from the ballet line, I forgot to write down the names but since I got stopped so many times I will let you know the next time I go in the shop:)

Happy Nails to you !

-Meghan

Solomon's Temple

1st Kings 8 and so on...

So I am currently on the Chronological Bible reading plan which is AWESOME! I did it last year and it was the first time I REALLY read the bible from cover-to-cover. I like it because it enables you to read the Bible in order of how things actually happened and it gives you a little more historical insight and understanding. Now that I'm doing it a second time I have even MORE insight because of additional bible studies and books and sermons so it really is awesome because every time I read a passage I know a little more and I get something different but anyways...

I used to think the Bible was extra boring especially the long parts about "So and so begot so and so" and Solomon's Temple... I was like "Why I gotta know how much gold he used and how he decorated the walls????" . Around this time last year when I was reading it I really just sped through it so I could say I read it... but TODAY, ohhhh today, I asked God to stir up some revelation for me and make this word speak to me.

For those who don't know the story I will give it to you in short. King David (yes same David from David in Goliath) grows up and has a son named Solomon. Now David was supposed to build a temple for the Lord but in the end he doesn't get to do it and the task is passed down to his son Solomon. Solomon grows up to be the wise king and he begins building this intricate, extravagant and beautiful temple for the Lord. It took him 7 years, help from others (craftsmen, artists, laborers etc), and alot alot alot of fine materials (cedar, gold, bronze etc.) He took his time to oversee, pray on it and make sure it was done right.

God spoke to me in this story today, and he pretty much told me I NEED TO BUILD A TEMPLE in my heart for the Lord like Solomon. I need to make this special place for us. Lately I have not been honoring our relationship properly. This is right on time because my pastor gave a great bible study on Thursday about Relationship and it bothered me (in a good way). Solomon did it right, he did it just the way God asked him to do it, he did it with honor, he used the finest materials, he enlisted the proper help, he prayed over it and even though he couldn't do it overnight he still worked at it daily, for seven whole years. He made SURE it was done and he didn't take any short cuts in work or finances because he knew the value of the temple, and why he was executing/performing this task. Excellent food for thought.

Like I said, I used to just skip and skim over these chapters in my BIBLE but EVERYTHING in the word applies to you if you let it and ask the Lord to HELP you. Today I read with intention, sat with it and changed my attitude to be open to hearing from God about what I was reading. We get so "busy" with life that we don't build upon our personal relationship with God. This is not just about going to church every once and awhile, your relationship is yours, its PERSONAL. Only you can praise God for you, he wants to know you and hear from you.

I CAN BUILD A TEMPLE. Yesssss its gonna take time, but its gonna be beautiful and worth it.

I can take my blueprint from good ole Solomon. I'm getting the best materials (gold, bronze,cedar/ time, discipline, effort), resources (craftsmen, artists, laborers = pastors, friends,mature Christians & books ) (y'all know I love a good book ;) ) and the BEST GOD!

As I keep plugging away and pushing this relationship with God :)

Things I want... Inspiration :)

Focusing on things I want this month and how to get them 

Legs like Tracy Ellis Ross, gotta hit the track/gym

This bedroom set I saw at Star Furniture, yes I snapped this pic with my wonderful Windows phone because it is a lovely set

 No words needed

 To be in harmony

To take a walk through these trees

To have my honeymoon here at this resort in the Maldives :)

Dear Future Husband

This is not my writing but it is a find on Madame Noire :)

It is refreshing to see that someone else writes to their future husband as well :)

great great great!!!

Dear Husband of My Future,

      Although I have yet to lay eyes on you, I have faith that you are worth the wait. Contrary to what I used to believe, you will not complete me, but you will compliment the whole person that I already I am. With that said, I have been and will continue to take advantage of my time of singleness because I realize that singleness is not the plague, but a time for me to work on myself and evolve into the woman that I was destined to be. This is why I will not waste this great season of my life sulking and complaining about not having a man. I was taught that patience is a virtue and great things come to those who wait. So instead of doing all that, I am using this time to attain multiple degrees, pursue the career of my dreams, travel the world, learn more about myself as a person and even learn what it means to be a wife as opposed to a girlfriend.

     It is in this time of singleness, I have chosen to refrain from certain activities in which most single young adults in my age group engage in, such as sex. On August 8, 2010, which was my 20th birthday, I made a public vow in front of my entire congregation that I would refrain from sexual activity until the day that you and I exchange our vows in front of our loving family and friends, sealing our promises with an “I do.” Most would see this decision as absurd and unrealistic, but I believe that with God all things are possible. I wish to fully commit myself to you as well as our marriage well before we even cross paths. Although I am in no way perfect, experiencing things the way that God truly intended for them to be done is extremely important to me. I realize that sex is not merely for pleasure but it is a responsibility and a bond that should be shared between a husband and wife. I have also been a witness of the detriment that sex before marriage can bring and I wish to give our marriage a fair chance. Sexual intercourse can spiritually and emotionally tie you to a person and I wish to walk with as little baggage as humanly possible in your direction. No disrespect to anyone else and their choices.

      With baggage in mind I have also made the conscious decision to refrain from recreational dating because along with physical purity, I wish to enter our covenant of marriage emotionally and mentally pure as well. I will not date guy after guy just because, acquiring broken heart after broken heart just to appease my boredom or to satisfy my temporary loneliness. I don’t wish to come to you with a shattered heart covered in scars and bruises seeking for you to put the pieces back together. I refuse to enter our relationship not trusting you because of something some other guy did or did not do in the past that I could’ve completely avoided had I just waited for you. I will not jump at the first guy who smiles at me. I have been a witness to church hook-ups gone wrong that have even evolved into church marriages gone wrong and have made the decision not to partake in all that. I’ve been the church girl devastated to find out that the church boy she had been dating had been dating every church girl in and within a 25-block radius of said church. That is why I will stay single instead of calling Tyrone as one Madame Noire writer stated. Engaging in frivolous relationships to merely cure singleness as if it some devastating disease is pointless and not worth the trouble that it brings. I will guard my heart as Proverbs 4:23 instructs me to and I will follow the instructions of Song of Solomon by “not awakening love until its time” and setting my affections on no one other than you. Whoever you are.

      I’ve been called a dreamer for believing that a man like you exists. I’ve been called unrealistic and impossible. I’ve even been told that I believe that I am living out a Tyler Perry movie, but despite the naysayers, something deep down in the pit of my stomach tells me otherwise. I don’t believe that I am unrealistic for not settling for any old Johnny or Tyrone for that matter. I don’t believe you to be perfect, no one walking this earth is; however, I do believe that we will perfectly balance out one another. Call it picky, but I only wish to be with the one that God designed specifically for me instead of the man who alters himself to fit the mold of what he believes that I want. We may not cross paths for another five years, five months or five weeks, but once again, I have been convinced that patience is a virtue and I am willing to wait.

See you soon,

Jazmine

Still a work in progress...

This is what I did yesterday :(
Log on my computer
Log onto Facebook
Check my email
Check my financial aid status
Research my fave celebrity crush who I'm really not supposed to be looking up anyways...
See that my crush has a new GIRLFRIEND who has many many many intimate looking photographs of him
Major FREAKOUTTTTTTTTT/Breakdown

CANT BREATHE, SO MAD, CONFUSED, HURT
(Like he is cheating on me but he doesn't even know me), Knowing that on the inside this is crazy to feel this way but still sooooo mad...

So then I research this girl and find out everything she has ever tweeted, thought, posted or said online...for like an hour


After much research on this new girlfriend I find out that all of these photographs are fake, PHOTOSHOPPED... I feel like a fool, a crazy, crazy fool.

By the time I had done all of this I had already had a major shift inside of me:
1. I decided for myself that my crushes crystal clean image was now shattered
2. I had decided that I didn't like this man anymore, I mean how could he choose HER!
3. I had passed MAJOR judgement on him as a person, man and Christian.
4. I had passed judgement on this girl I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW!
5. I had prayed to God to not let me like this guy anymore.

even as I type this now I think CRAZEEEEEE but it's true I did all of this. After realizing that these were all fakes of someone who has too much time on their hands I realized my mistakes.

 How quick are we to pass judgement? We are not called to judge others... How quick are we to turncoat? How quick are we to pray to God for crazy things and not for wisdom, discernment, his will in our lives etc.? How quick are we to do things we know we are not supposed to? How quick are we to act on our emotions? How quick are we to be unwise?  How quick are we to waste time on trivial matters?
The ONLY thing we need to be quick about is dying to ourselves and LIVING in the Lord....

#stillaworkinprogress

Justification

I JUST need you Lord, only you...
I need YOU in the times when I need you and in the times when I don't think I need you
I need you to LOVE me
I need you to breathe on me
I need you to wash over my face and SEEP into my skin
I need you to give me new LIFE
I need you to hold me up
Just hold me up
I need ALL that YOU want for me
I need to do the work you have called me to do
I need to go where you have told me to go
I need to find you everywhere in everything
Thank you for being my GOD...
M.M. 3/31/12

Raising Little Girls

(Not my writing but good to share)

3 Things To Do When Raising Little Girls:

1) Prepare your mind before the day begins. (1 Peter 1:13)

The best way I know how to do this is by spending time with the Lord, letting Him show me where I need my heart cleaned, talking with Him, and spending intimate time in His word. Without this “renewing of my mind” Romans 12:2 my day just doesn’t go the same. I am not filled up with Him in order to give to my children. Also, it helps set my priorities for the day.

If you are not a morning person, no big deal, the best solution I have heard for this is to simply make a note or two of what the Lord teaches you at night and then make sure you wake up the next morning and give your day to Him and refresh your memory on what He taught you and wants you to do by looking at your notes from the afternoon or night before. 

2) Exercise Self Control (1 Peter 1:13)

At my house, emotions run high. I have two girls 14 months apart, and both have very strong personalities. There is no passive child at our house. Therefore, it’s easy when the girls emotions take off with them, for mine to as well. For example, one girl steals another toy, one screams, the other screams, they hit each other, I walk over and they start hitting me. What I really want to do is to get mad because let’s be honest, no one likes to get hit, but the Word says I must exercise self control. I must as the original language suggests of this text, be calm, collected and temperate. It is not an option, it is a command. My girls are looking to see how I react and in essence I am teaching them how to respond by my example. 

3) Practice Being Grateful (1 Thes 5:18)

Being ungrateful is a vicious cycle that begins when we are children. The only way we begin to express gratitude is when we are taught to be grateful and thankful. Whenever the girls start whining about wanting something they don’t have (in other words being covetous and ungrateful) I redirect their thoughts to how many things they have to be grateful for and then if it continues I tell them that if they cannot be grateful for what they have, they will simply not get to have or play with anything at all. Even if gratitude is not their heart felt emotion, sometimes we have to practice until we do “feel” what we are disciplining ourselves to do. In other words, if I continually remind our children to be thankful, most likely, they will take this action on themselves and even if they don’t, they will remember that they should, in their hearts. 

The Lord has laid it on my heart to continue to write out areas of my life that I need to give to Him in order to show an example to my girls of how to love Him. All three of these areas I have struggled with or am struggling with currently, I, by no means do all of these things perfectly, but by searching His word for how I am to raise my children and live a life for Him, He does teach me. I am thankful that through my kids,  I see myself before the Lord as His child whom He disciplines because He loves. There is nothing that has taught me more about myself than my marriage and children, and although some of the things revealed are hard to swallow, I love how much it challenges me to grow in the strength of the Lord. Without Him, I really can do nothing. (John 15)

Week 2 of Jan

Its been a whole week of 2012 WOW!
I have been fasting for the past week and all I can say is... when I am weak he is strong!

2012

HAPPPPPPPPPPPPY NEW YEAR!

I am extremely excited for what God has in store this year... I believe:

1. That I will continue to grow stronger in the LORD
2. That I will be financially stable and will have an over abundance of revenue in order to pay for school.
3. That I will have a safe move into my FREE God ORDAINED California apartment.
4. That my relationships will be strengthened.
5. That I will grow in vision, clarity and purpose.