Galatians 6:9

Oh how I hated this verse of scripture. I didn’t want to read it and I definitely didn’t want to hear it. I remember so clearly when I started to consistently hear it and the turmoil I felt on the inside because 1: I was fairly new at living a Christian lifestyle and 2: Surely it would look bad if I didn’t like all of God’s Word. Joyce Meyer made it her personal business to quote the scripture every time I watched her on TBN.  Since I liked her ministry, I would grin and bear it all the while thinking to myself “yeah Joyce, that one doesn’t work.”

You may be wondering why would I hate a particular verse of scripture. And especially one that promises a great return on my investment. The thing is, my walk into a Christian lifestyle came at the cost of leaving the only lifestyle I’d ever known: dysfunction. This verse promises that I’d reap a harvest at some point called due season. Well, I was at my limit of holding out hope that I’d ever have a due season. No matter how much I tried to keep the peace within my family because of their arguments amongst each other, I would still be overlooked, left out and even not considered when they came together as a family unit. 

The weight of the change they would have to make seemed greater than the promise held in that scripture. I was constantly looking at how much they weren’t changing but I never fully realized that in fact it was me that was being changed. I started writing this post months ago because I sensed that there was a “due season” happening in my family. I put it on the waitlist because even then though I had a level of expectation, I couldn’t seem to find the words. 

It’s now the day after I’ve witnessed the dynamics changing from a nineteen year “rift” in my family to what looks to be the beginning stages of restoration. Only God can take what seemed like an impossibility in my family life and bring all the broken, complicated and bruised pieces back together to create a thriving, functioning unit. There truly is a due season if you do not give up. 

Galatians 6:9 NIV Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 

Calling ALL Partners

POE Update ...As I neared the launch date for Paths of Encouragement, I had a vision that the response would be overwhelming.   That by now I would be utilizing the help of my friends to navigate through all the email submissions that would come pouring in. The closer the launch date got the more it appeared POE would not make it past the few submissions that I’d already gotten. 

Instead of looking at the circumstances, I went to God on behalf of this new segment of My Journey My Story and He spoke to me. He told me that those who partnered with Him would be willing to submit a post. I’m grateful to the people who heard the call and submitted a post for Paths of Encouragement. However, I’ve experienced from talking with some that not everyone has come into their own as a writer but would be willing to partner financially. 

It pleases me to announce that you may now give to Paths of Encouragement financially through PayPal at poesubmissions@gmail.com. The benefits of me partnering with God in order to Encourage His people has now opened up an avenue for You to partner in more than one way. I look forward to not only receiving your blog submissions but your financial support as well. 

If I knew then...

Finally, my life seems to have the meaning I’ve been trying to give to it for what seems like my whole life. Thing is, those things I was doing I was doing out of order; without seeking God first. The more I tried to make my dating relationships work, make more money so my ends would meet and hold on to some form of family connection, the worse things got. No matter how hard I tried, prayed or even withdrew into myself, nothing worked. 

Not until I let go and let God. I know, I know, that’s religious speak and you’re not interested in hearing it. But hear me out anyway. Like you, I’ve never been a bad person so I could never figure out why things never seemed to work out for me. After I was born again, things started looking up and it looked like my plans would succeed. Then I started to grow up spiritually and things seemed to start getting harder to handle; because I was handling them on my own. 

I was expected to know how to handle situations that I didn’t have a clue about -let alone taught anything about. How could I have a healthy dating relationship when I didn’t know any couples who hadn’t dealt with infidelity in their relationship. As for making more money, I didn’t even have a clue as to what to do with the money I did make. And as my siblings and I grew older, their relationships with each other deteriorated thereby further widening the gap between them and me; because I’d grown up with their kids. 

So if I knew then what I know now, I would have taken more time out to get to know the real me: The one who really wants to help others. So that I’d know which boundaries needed to be in place in order to protect my heart. I wouldn’t have allowed myself to worry so much and not ask for help. But then when you lack boundaries, you feel like you can’t trust that when you do ask for help, it won’t be broadcasted to make you look bad. And I definitely would have found out the true meaning of love before I gave all mine away when only the barest hint of interest was shown. To truly know that love is a choice and that I also have a right to say no especially when no is the answer I want to give. And the only way to really know these things is to be in daily fellowship with the One who created me in the first place: Almighty God. 

Dive in!

My Pastor is doing a sermon teaching on Change: How to stay Relevant in a changing world (part 6). Today he gave 3 stages of change: Debate and Decision, Dead Zone and Dive In. I am gratefully in the Dive In stage and I’m loving it. This stage has reaffirmed my decision to get out and stay out of debt for life. 

For me, the Debate and Decision stage was all about me determining whether or not I would still use credit cards. This time when the bottom fell out, I’d only had one credit card that I used. But now that was no longer an option. With a growing pile of credit card offers arriving in my mail each day, a decision had to be made. Even though I was still in debt, do I open a new credit card account creating more debt when I was trying to get out of debt?

Decision made, I quickly entered the Dead Zone. With no credit card available as my emergency catch-all, things started to happen. The previous blogs detail a few of those things but the point I’m making is that the Dead Zone made me feel like I’d made the wrong choice. That maybe I should have gotten another card “just in case”.  Then I wouldn’t have had the added stress of wondering if I would be able to get this fixed or pay for that. All in all, I’m glad I decided to not get another credit card. 

When your vision is clear, you can Dive In without hesitation. Now that this was fixed and that was paid for and it was all done without creating more debt, I’m even more motivated to continue my Journey to Debt Freedom. I have new hopes and dreams and plans for a bright and prosperous future. Even creating a budget has become a thing I like to do because I now truly know where my money goes -because it was planned in the budget. If I can motivate you to do just one thing, it would be to ask God to show you what “step” you need to make towards your own Journey to Debt Freedom. Enjoy the Journey!

Even Death

What do you do when everyday life happens while you’re on the road to debt freedom? Your budget is made, you’ve already had to readjust it due to an unforeseen emergency (a real one this time) and now you’re ready to execute. But in the midst of all that, your coworker experiences a death in the family. Now that wasn’t on my budget. 

I don’t know about you but where I’m from, it’s common practice that you give to the person “experiencing the loss” during this time. I don’t mind giving and I want to give but right now it’s not reasonable to try to adjust an already to the limit budget that for all intents and purposes had been executed before I was asked to give. In other words, the creditors have been paid and the budget is at zero. 

What did I do? I signed the card and explained to the person taking up the money that I didn’t have money to give right now. What I was able to give though were words of Encouragement in the card. And since this person had been dealing with the reality of a loss for months beforehand, I’d been praying for the person (and family) and allowing the person to talk (vent) their feelings about what they were going through. 

This situation taught me that even death may try to take you “off budget”. But it showed me that living a debt free life is the best choice in how I live my life. When Life happens, I want and plan to be able to respond in a life-giving fashion simply because I’m not bound by debt. The choice is yours to make for your own Life. 

Takeoff!

Walking in to work one morning, I saw an airplane that had recently taken off and was steadily ascending in the sky. I watched it climbing higher and higher until it passed over my building and then I went inside. I had this sense of wonderment come over me as if I should receive something from what I’d just witnessed. I did! I got a Word and soon sent the following text to my friends:

Follow me if you're in the spirit... it's time to TAKEOFF!

The day has come when your paycheck will only be used for Sowing Saving and Spending-no debts allowed!!!

I could clearly see what my next step was to be in my Journey to debt freedom. To climb higher than the situations, test, trials and temptations that were coming my way. To rise to a new level in my thinking if I truly wanted to become and stay debt free for life. I soon sent this second text of the day to my friends:

I've stopped worrying about money; e.g. bills being paid, toilets running over, refrigerator repairs and the like. Why? Because multimillionaires don't worry about money. I can't wait until I get there to stop worrying. I have to learn how to not worry about money before I become a multimillionaire. How do I do that? Make a budget and stick to it. When situations arise before I can implement the budget (believe me, they will), I refuse to worry about it. I pray then adjust the budget accordingly - trusting God to provide the difference. 

This revelation grounded me so much so that I now know challenges will no longer be a source of dread in my life. But a stepping stone for me to become more creative (as I reroute and readjust), confident (as I lean more to becoming a problem solver) and cool (as I realize that with God on my side I am truly unstoppable). I don’t have personal experience of making a plane stay in the air, but it does. And since witnessing one Takeoff and stay in the air, I’m even more determined to just take God at His Word that if I plan my way, He’ll direct my steps. 

Vision

I went to see the play the Color Purple with a group of ladies who are some awesome women in their fields. Also saw a few older women that we knew from church. After the play we were all taking group pictures and pictures with the cast when the spirit of intimidation tried to overtake me. Telling me that I was a fraud and if these women knew my money "issues" they would be ashamed to be seen with me. I rebuked that thought and in my car on the way home, I rejoiced!

Why? If God brought me in the room, He has prepared me for what's in the room. I’m on my own personal Journey to Debt Freedom and God put me right in the midst of women who can not only motivate but inspire me on this Journey. These ladies that I spent the afternoon with are women who look like me but have what those who don’t look like me have. They have titles, influence and money. On top of that they are loving, kind and generous. 

I’m not gonna lie and say I wasn’t excited about being surrounded by so many influential women of color (wait til I tell my regular friends who I hung out with). But I had to get angry when that spirit tried to make me cower in a corner because I dared to dream that one day I would be just as and even more influential and wealthy as them. These women were the picture of what my future can and should look like. They were my inspiration to take God at His Word that I can have, be and do anything that I set my mind to do. 

This situation made me look at the way I valued myself. Was my value system based on presenting myself as a person who’s lifestyle mirrored that of others; whether I had plenty of money in the bank or even because people knew me. I am at a place now where I see myself as healthy and whole and it doesn’t matter how much money I do or do not have at present. I was surrounded by women of color who wanted to spend time with each other regardless of what the other person did or did not have. I count that as a Win!