In the Moment

Now that my life seems to be on track and headed in the right direction, I’ve purposed in my heart to take the time to Live in the Moment each and every day. For years, worry, stress and fear dominated my life to the point where I was just trying to survive each moment - I had no time for trying to Enjoy it. But things have truly changed for the good in my life now. 

I no longer have to be in control-or appear to have control over everything and everybody. When the music is playing, I’m dancing. When the song is being song, I’m singing (this is especially true at church). And when Life is happening, I’m living! I don’t let what others think I should or should not be doing stop me from living the life I want. 

To be perfectly honest, I could have been living this “in the moment” lifestyle long before now; but I’m not so sure I was really ready to be this “independent” of what others thought before now. For so long I wanted so desperately to “belong” that the more I tried to hold on to people and things, the harder it seemed that I was able to hold on to them. 

So now that I’m Living in the Moment, I’m ok with being misunderstood about why I’m not taking pictures at the party. But rather I am Enjoying myself talking to others, eating good food and being Present enough to make lasting memories. It doesn’t bother me now when others want to know why I don’t attend a particular event because in the past I’ve “always” attended the event. I’ve decided that Dave Ramsey’s motto has become one that I fully intend to embrace: Live like no one else so later I can live like no one else. 

Ah Man!

On my Journey to Debt Freedom, I’ve experienced several Ah Man! moments and today I want to encourage you on your journey- whatever that may be, for when you experience your Ah Man! moment(s). In case you’re wondering, an Ah Man! moment is every time something comes against you reaching the goal you’re trying to achieve. Ah Man! is not your first choice of words you’d like to utter when these situations arise. However, by the time you get to the point of declaring Ah Man! you know it’s in your best interest to keep your words pure, your heart clean and your mind stayed on the outcome you desire. 

Let’s look at my most recent experience with Ah Man!  Here I am excited about becoming debt free so that I can experience a lifestyle beyond my wildest dreams. I’m budgeting, paying off debt and telling everyone I know about the benefits of truly being debt free. So when the toilet breaks, the kitchen sink leaks and my money won’t add up, I go to God and ask Him to show me why I shouldn’t give up. Now that I’ve got Gods wisdom, I dealt with the irritability, handled those situations and got my budget back on track ready to take down debt once and for all. I started working overtime only to not be paid for all the overtime I worked. Being informed that the difference would be on my next  paycheck, I waited two more weeks only to be paid at straight time. The only thing I could say was Ah Man!

So here I am encouraging you on your journey and the moment(s) you meet Ah Man! If you’ve gone to God and you know He’s got your back no matter what, these moments are just a test of your faith and belief in what God said to you. I’ve learned that I have to trust God no matter what the situation looks like. In every case, when it looked like I would fail or some need would go unmet, God always had enough provision available for me to cover every need. Sure, my Journey to Debt Freedom is slower than I would have liked for it to be but then this Ah Man! moment of pause has afforded me the opportunity to encourage you. 

Because I know that I’m not the only one experiencing Ah Man! moments, I wrote this just for you:

While you’re on your Journey 

Here’s one thing I can say

Keep your eyes on God at every step

He’ll help you find your way

While you’re on your Journey

Here’s one thing you should know

It’s gonna start small but in God’s hands

Watch it grow and grow and grow!

If you never start at the beginning, you’ll never get to The End! 

Enjoy the Journey! 

I’m so Irritated!

I know it’s just an attack to take my focus and blur my vision of the future I’m planning. Little things have been irritating me since last week and now I’m at the point where I just want to scream...Ugh! I’m no longer willing to wait it out; wait for the attacks to end. I’m declaring and decreeing right now that no weapon formed against me shall prosper. 

People have been saying whatever they want to me and I’m no longer keeping quiet trying to “keep the peace”. If what’s being said doesn’t line up with your actions, I’m calling you on it. Don’t tell me you want change and when an opportunity is presented for you to be that change agent, DO NOT revert to your old ways and expect me to not say something. I’m finally seeing how that hinders me in my own life and keeping quiet with you is what I used to do. 

These little things that I’ve been seeing in other people that has been causing the irritation in my life is the evidence that I needed in order to see that I’m truly making a change for the better in my life. It’s apparent that I’m no longer going with the flow and in the process the butting of heads with those who only talk change but are unwilling to walk in that change is what has been causing the friction.

Colossians Chapter 3 in the Message Bible really brought home to me what my stance should be and why I shouldn’t entertain irritability in my life. Being irritated was part of the old way in which I used to process circumstances and situations, however, being in Christ now affords me the ability to stand firm in my decisions and not allow the “little things” that have no part in my destiny to influence my life. Just that adjustment not only cleared my vision but brought into focus what’s truly important in my life right now: Debt Freedom. 

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!