"What To Do While Waiting For God's Answer"

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Sharing C. G. Trumbull's Insight via Streams In The Desert:

"God is going to test me with delays; and with the delays will come suffering but through it all stands God's pledge: His new covenant with me is Christ, and His inviolable promise of every lesser blessing that I need. 
The delays and the suffering are part of the promised blessing; let me praise Him for them today; and let me wait on the Lord and be of good courage and He will strengthen my heart."

My Personal Take...
Waiting patiently is everyone's "Achilles' heel" which attributes to an area of weakness or vulnerable spot. If we let our emotions and feelings of yearning dominate us, even our faith begin to fail and hope slowly departs.

What Would Jesus Want Us To Do?
"God sees every tear that falls; every whimpers that breathes in us and every prayer that we cried out loud and muttered." God implores us not to be consumed by the process of waiting. The Lord wants us to focus on His Word for His Word gives us eternal Bread of Life. His Word is unfailing and will not return void. When your spirit is vexed with exasperation, just give it all to God. And if there are people that you love that are ignoring your worth despite of you reaching out, it's time to cut them loose. You don't want to be with people that don't appreciate you or have neglected you. It's not worth giving yourself away to those who are weighing you down.
All we need is God's strength working through us. "You can take that to the bank."

What Works for Me...
I have gotten skillful in understanding the root or source of my emotions/feelings racing spirally. It really does take longevity to be real and stick with what truth is. Many times I associated my romantic fluidity to Astrology. Wait a minute, I said to myself, my Horoscope sign as a Sagittarius has no weight for gaining wisdom. As a Christian, that thought shouldn't even be entertained.
Now I can say that whenever I'm perplexed and discouraged, I hold on to the things that makes me whole, beautiful inside & out:
That would be reading God's promises about eternal life; continuing to believe in faith about the importance of family values; gearing on activities that are freeing and endorphin inducers such as jogging/walking 20 miles per week; immersing myself to more reading that makes me adept to everything that surrounds me; and listening to contemporary/soft/rock/classical Christian music and of course...lending an ear and a helping hand and reaching out to the needy. This, I admit, I have to move into the course of action, for Love is...

I think that it is very crucial that we stay physically, mentally, & spiritually fit. Thank God that I could play the guitar and knows when I'm out of tune...Playing a musical instrument is a good way of de-escalating brokenness even just for a Moment. And To God Be The Glory that He gifted me Teaching as my "Bread & Butter. Counting your blessings everyday is a big reminder that He is still on the throne. Please take this for me!

Let me close with this quote by C. S. Lewis:
"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts to us in our pains."
On a Final note, what was your most beloved-answered prayer? How long did it take for God to answer? Thanks for reading.

Love Always...Shing

"A Good Reason To Keep Believing"

I believe that God opens doors for new journeys and windows of opportunities for us to be better at life. There are no coincidences or what you call"they just happen" point of view. Nothing is insignificant and trivial on His sight. 
The Lord is big on giving second chances. God brings you the people you need to be with to accomplish His plan for your life. And because He loves us so much that even when we don't deserve blessings, God and His unmerited grace showers us in abundance.
I love the fact that He answers our prayers on His perfect timing. You better believe that. We may not see it as that but I have so much faith in His Word that He granted my earnest prayer. Even my prayers got second chances. And it exceeded all of my expectations.
Just when I thought of tossing and quitting and about ready to accept defeat and throw away my dream, He gave me you...

"Take Heart" On Second Chances

We're all guilty of not saying and doing the right choices in our lives. Some of our decisions are hasty for lack of maturity & wisdom. And of course there's that "flesh" and pride in the mix to obscure the right path we should have taken. 
There are also a magnitude of people like you and me devouring every excuse in the planet just not to be blamed for their present condition but in fact,  devoid of real accountability more so, responsibility for wrong and not so good actions.

        What I really Learned Today
Take heart before, during, and after you say and do something. Be honest and speak your mind through your heart. Seek the truth through your heart. The heart never lies...
There's an incredible peace, freedom and joy when we use the heart as the barometer in decision-making. You can never lose...
The same perspective I have with moving forward on second chances. Faced with it, I have no qualms pursuing second chances. I'm a Sagittarius. I speak my mind thoughtfully... I stand vigorously for what I believe to be true. That's liberty and commitment. 
I owe this to myself.
Today is the culmination of God's blessing, grace and wonder in my life. I'm still in cloud nine as they put it when you're overjoyed and ecstatic. Just when I was ready to accept my defeat, something beyond my imagination happened. Who knew I got my dream of owning my second chances today? What I do about it is all up to me. But I tell you this: there will be no regrets hovering for I'm taking my second chances with him. Final closure is within reach. Nothing is happenstance. Everything happens for a good reason.

Our God is the God of Second Chances. He hears our earnest prayers. He answers them in His perfect timing, never early; never late. There's a joy unspeakable in my heart, Today. Thank you Lord.

"My favorite Quote Today"

I'm "biggie" on beholding freshness especially on propelling such message on A Blessed Sunday Morning at the pulpit. Freshness to me equates creativity and creativity compels my ears to listen notoriously in the spiritual realm. I say my Amen, Hallelujah, Thank You Jesus and Blessed be the name of the Lord, intentionally. My praise gets louder unabashedly when God's message to the messenger, the Pastor or a Guest Speaker succinctly delivers the anointing...God's Word for Today. I'm all Ears, Heart & Mind. I jot down every word that touches my spirit.

The Splendor Quote 

"We set the conditions to receive what we Honor."

Defining "honor" when it has been relatively distorted by many including myself doesn't give me ease to explicitly write about it.
What I can do is give you a plethora of synonyms such as; respect, reverence, integrity, homage & commitment. These words all carry subsidiary meanings when we know how God divinely uses it in  the book of Proverbs 3:9 (NLT) which says:" Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. "

My Personal Take on "Honor" used in this Domain

In this day in age where we are bombarded and perplexed with so many secular inundations and relative domains of our society's aggression to  dilute the truth from the Word. That is for me mind-boggling. As a Christian, I try to the utmost of my ability to filter what goes through my mind because I believe that "what you think, you are..."
It is a sole responsibility to honor the truth of what is given to us and put forth good stewardship of what we're called to do. If until now we don't know what our innate calling is, I entreat you to pray with me because I'm struggling with that, too. And I won't rest until I do.

I am blessed that I have a mom who believes strongly in tithing 10% of her income. Because I've watched her do that, I give my "first fruit" on time; even when there were times in the past that I couldn't afford to give 10% of my "take home" pay. And I honor the implication of it...that what you honor determines what you receive according to His will. That is my daily testimony, that God is my "El Shadai," My Jehovah Jireh, my constant Provider, forever.


"Just a penny for my thought and yours, do we really think that giving ten percent-tithe needs to be justified, rationalized and compromised?"

"God's Grander Plan..."

"If you have a relationship with God, this is true for you. Whenever you encounter a closed door, God knows what He is doing. Trust Him; He is for you. He has a plan. But His plan will never come to fruition if you do not persist and persevere. That is your part, and making it all together is His. If you stop when you encounter an obstacle or a closed door, you can't blame your failure on the obstacle or a closed door. If you stop trying at that point, then your ultimate failure is your own responsibility. Keep going until you find the right thing. The obstacle is there not to stop you, but to turn you toward a better way---God's way for your life." 

That's why persistence and perseverance are so vitally important. We have to press on, even when we hit obstacles and roadblocks. They might be the strengthening of the shell that we, like the birdie, have to break through in order to grow strong enough to succeed. Or they might be the closed doors that God uses to redirect our lives to His perfect plan. Really now, in spite of the heartbreak and the agony of rejection, aren't you glad that the relationship you had in high school did not work out?"

 Happy Friday, everyone.

"Golden Nugget for Today"

On Faith by Victor Hugo

   "Let us be like a bird for a moment...perched on a frail branch when he sings; though he feels it bend,
       he sings his song, knowing that he has wings."

 
            Figuratively speaking, our wings represent our faith. If we believe in God's omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience in our life, there are no mountains we couldn't climb; there are no rejections we couldn't learn to go above them; and no apparent excuses why we shouldn't trust the covenant of His promises.
It's a daily struggle to create an atmosphere of hope amid the high volumes of technology. I can hardly function without operating a gadget, a tablet or sending a text to mobilize almost anything. But one thing that I'm adamant about is how I utilize them. And that's accordingly. I don't make them enslave me. Because if I did, my communing with His Word be compromised. And I know that Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God. (Romans 10:17) NKJV

"Forever, The Hope In My Heart..."

The "blessed rain" has been pouring in for 2 days now in a row. May be even scattered rain that sprinkles in some areas tomorrow. Here in Central Texas, this is glorious.Perfect "chill and nippy" outside but I love the cold, cold,brisk breeze. We appreciate every downpour of rain. I know that every farmer that cultivates acres of heartland breathe a reverberation of an upcoming harvest, a blessing from  the sky. Grace that comes very timely...and Hope thickens its truth within. That is to say...my heart is singing over my brain.

I heard this song today from a different perspective. Played it over a few times then many more times. What I've got is a clear indication that our journey of good, bad and in-between experiences  are the sum total of what your God's given purpose. Sometimes, we don't "hit the nail" of it all especially when we want to maneuver and manipulate the majority  of our souls' will. But we know for a fact especially if you're a real Christian, that, that doesn't cut it...

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