Beauty Is Your Name

1 Peter 3:3-4: “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles, and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather it should be that of your INNER self, the unfading BEAUTY of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”

I've been noticing how so many women/girls seem to be overtaken by LOOKING a certain way more than BEING CERTAIN of the One Who is LOOKING for a relationship with them. Our TRUE BEAUTY comes from above and no amount of outer appearance will be able to cover up an inner void only meant to be feed by the ONE who made us...GOD! So today I want to share a short story I wrote last year that may help you with evaluating if you are relying on your outer beauty versus your inner beauty. I hope it INSPIRES you to be set FREE...

"I was listening to a song that I use to love to play over and over again – “Beauty” by Dru Hill. There is a part in the song that says, “Cuz my eyes have seen the glory, in the coming of your smile… Walks by me every day, her and love are the same. The woman that's stolen my heart, and Beauty is her name. I'm hoping I can make you mine, 'for another man steals your heart, and once this Beauty is mine, I swear we will never be apart.” Then, the scripture 1 Peter 3:3-4 came to mind, 'Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles, and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather it should be that of your INNER self, the unfading BEAUTY of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.'"

Just in those few moments, I noticed the contrast between God’s view on beauty and the world’s view on beauty.  See everything the singer was singing about had EVERYTHING to do with outer appearance without any reference to the inward beauty of the woman. Sure he saw the beauty of her smile but what did he really know about her other than her outer appearance. Yet he sings that she has stolen his heart and he swears they will NEVER be apart just by her outer beauty.

I remember days when I thought my outer appearance was all that I needed to attract the kind of man, I hoped to marry and live happily ever after. After a few bad episodes with some male fool’s gold, I had to re-evaluate my initial thought. All that seemed to glitter in their lives was definitely not gold. I also was looking at appearances when I was selecting them to date. Men who on the surface had all the right words, appeared to be secure financially, seemed trustworthy in character, appeared to love me and look out for my best interest.

I remember one man telling me if I was his woman I would not be doing this or that. Another telling me if I kept doing whatever it was he didn’t like, that he was going to trade me in for a new model. Then the most memorable act of disrespect was the blatant lie to my face about the woman I could clearly see he was taking on a date.

Some men can make a woman feel like she needs to change this or change that if she is not secure in who she is, but mostly it has to do with how we see ourselves or feel about ourselves prior to any man coming along. We think that the outer beauty is the only thing he will see but we also carry an inner image that is just as evident as the outer image.

Maybe you are thinking you need to have sex with him to keep him, or you need to have bigger breast because he always seems to talk about that as a joke around others, or that you shouldn’t confront him about his wandering eye when you are with him. Take these actions as warning signs that it is time to move on.

Get to know yourself by getting to know God better. When you know what God says about you, no one else can come along and make you doubt what you know for sure. If your relationship with God is not in order, your relationship with anyone else will not be in order.

Outer beauty or any other thing will not be the glue to hold anyone together. We must have the radiant LIGHT of God in us to even attract the type of people that God would have for us. When we have the TRUE INNER BEAUTY of a gentle and quiet spirit it is only by way of the intimate time we have invested with the One who is Ultimate Beauty.

One thing that set me free from trying to manipulate attention towards my outer beauty rather than allowing my inner beauty to validate who I was, I began asking myself some inner questions to help me make decisions regarding my actions:

     1)      Why am I doing this?

     2)      Is this really who I am or am I masking a part of me when I do this?

     3)      How do I feel about myself right now?

     4)      How will I feel about myself after I do this?

     5)      Does this action value who God made me to be?

     6)      Am I devaluing the standards God as set for me to follow?

     7)      Whose approval will I gain with this action...God’s or someone else?

     8)      What does God’s Word say about this?

Beautiful and Beloved one,  you have all the beauty you need as you apply the BEAUTY of God’s Word to your heart and allow it to transform your inner self to a radiant beauty that exudes outwardly. No amount of outward appearance will be able to compare to the attractive beauty of a women exuding the Light of God from within. So allow God to pour His beauty into you then you will later be able to display His beauty to whomever He places in your path…Oh yes, Beauty is your name!

To read more about TRUE BEAUTY, go to... http://cindylumpkin.org/2012/08/in-search-of-true-beauty/

Faith Work

James 2:17

So also faith, if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up), by itself is destitute of power (inoperative, dead).

Being a Single Mom can be CHALLENGING some times but we must keep our eye on the END...where God wants us to go...by planning to MOVE STEP by STEP in FAITH.

We must PRAY, PLAN, and PURSUE! When we want to ... ACCOMPLISH a goal that LOOKS like it's going to take a lot to get it done, we must be FAITHFUL to it no matter what comes up in our life...because we will always have surprises in life...they are actually sent sometimes to TEST if you will CHOOSE FAITH over doubt, distraction, discouragement, delay, or defeat. We need to know that we are TRUSTWORTHY of the BLESSING we desire.

However, we must FILL our Spirits in the WORD to be STRENGTHENED for the work. FAITH and WORK are companions! You can have all the FAITH you want but without APPLYING the FAITH what good is it??? Conversely, you can have all the WORK efforts but without the FAITH to go with it you will burn yourself out with SELF EFFORT. The key is to COUPLE/MARRY your FAITH with the WORK that has to be completed to get there.

Let's say you are a parent of a child who has been labeled by the world as learning disabled, but you BELIEVE your child "can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens" him/her. You will NOT ACCEPT what things look like at that moment because you BELIEVE otherwise. Then your ACTIONS will began to match what you BELIEVE because you will begin researching ways that others have OVERCOME that same situation and start taking the steps to COMBAT that challenge.

Like wise, you may want to be DEBT Free...you'll want to LOOK for opportunities that INCREASE your income while FREEING up your time for more of what you desire in your heart. Don't continue being POOR (Passing Over Opportunities Repeatedly) because of what things LOOK like now. We must "PRESS toward the mark of the HIGH CALLING in Christ Jesus". God wants you BLESSED so you can BLESS others...for the Kingdom of God...it is NOT JUST ABOUT YOU...You are meant to be an INSPIRATION to your children and those around you so that they will DESIRE the God you know!

So GET on your knees, PRAY to God for His Help to make the right decisions needed, GET UP once you KNOW what He wants you to do and DO the WORK! STOP just ACCEPTING what life dishes at you...you are made to TAKE DOMINION, to RISE ABOVE your circumstances, and to SOAR like an eagle that WORKS WITH the wind to GLIDE where its FOCUSED to go!

How about you??? Are you GLIDING with God through your FAITH WORK??? If not, apply the steps mentioned above and FINISH your race to the end. Remember you are MADE to WIN with God's help!

http://open.spotify.com/track/61bUZL0jHtyILBPZmmtNXp

I KNOW I'M SUPPOSED TO FORGIVE, BUT...

Mark 11:26
"But if YOU do not FORGIVE, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your failings and shortcomings."

"I KNOW I'm SUPPOSED to FORGIVE, but..." Have you ever started thinking or SAYING this when YET ANOTHER thing reminds you of the HURT you encountered??? Yeah you know all the cliches about FORGIVENESS, like... "Forgiveness is not for the other person its for YOU...to heal and MOVE on." "Unforgiveness is like taking poison and hoping the other dies from it." "Holding a grudge (unforgiveness) is LETTING someone LIVE RENT-FREE in your head."

The reason why MOST do not FORGIVE is that they have not come to a NEW REVELATION of what the hurt encounter was meant to TEACH them! We LOVE to POINT the finger at another when we are HURT but the TRUTH is...people show us parts of ourselves we aren't WILLING to look at without the hurt. Let me give you some examples...

1) That guy you were so intrigued about that you LET into your life and HEART because He made you FEEL whatever way, but you often SAW him DECEIVING others but because he hadn't done it to you YET, you CHOSE to IGNORE the signs over what made you FEEL good.

2) OR maybe it was that girlfriend who told your personal business to someone else but the whole time that you knew her all you two every did was TALK about other people behind their back...but NOW all of sudden she's wrong for doing what you've been doing together the whole time!

3) OR maybe you have had a conversation with a SIBLING or FAMILY member over and over again about something you would like them NOT to do. You have come to the conclusion that they just DON'T CARE about YOUR FEELINGS since they keep doing it. However, HOW many times have you done the same thing OVER and OVER again that YOU KNOW is not PLEASING to God but He GIVES you ONE more chance when you ask for Forgiveness???

The BEAUTY of "hurts" in our lives is that they WAKE us up to the SLEEPWALKING that we sometimes do because we are not IN-TUNED to something in OUR CHARACTER that God wants us to SEE! He would NOT be a LOVING Father if He continued to let you WALK like darkness when you are a Child of LIGHT. Hurts SERVE the PURPOSE of GROWING us up to help us SEE a NEW PERSPECTIVE we never would have seen without it.

So take some time RIGHT NOW and take up YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to FORGIVE and PRAY for that person who gave you the WAKE call...They we're actually GOOD to and for YOU...from God's Perspective...and it will FREE YOU too!

ALH, Always Loving Him/Her'

 

 

God Loves a Cheerful Giver

 
^{Corinthians 9:6-11 MSG
6-7} Remember: A stingy planter gets a stingy crop; a lavish planter gets a lavish crop. I want each of you to take plenty of time to think it over, and make up your own mind what you will give. That will protect you against sob stories and arm-twisting. God loves it when the giver delights in the giving.
^8-11 God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done. As one psalmist puts it, He throws caution to the winds, giving to the needy in reckless abandon. His right-living, right-giving ways never run out, never wear out. This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God.

This morning as I was REFRESHED in the Word of God, I was reminded of the GIVING principle that brings forth blessings and favor into our lives. We can't EXPECT to get without GIVING! It's a spiritual and natural law. If we are desiring and expecting something in our lives that we have not been sowing towards, how can we even EXPECT to get a harvest in that area???  God does not need our giving...WE DO! He already owns it all anyway, and He is just TESTING our HEARTS to see if He can TRUST us with what He has GIVEN us, so that He can later get MORE to us for us to BLESS OTHERS!

The sowing and reaping principle applies to EVERY AREA of our lives! If we SOW mercy, we will receive mercy....if we SOW love, we will RECEIVE love...if we sow generously, we receive generously....just as if  we SOW SPARINGLY, we RECEIVE SPARINGLY... no matter what it is! Giving grudgely and with a poor attitude is just as important as our giving. We can sometimes believe that just because we don't think a person needs or deserves our giving that we are somehow excluded from giving. UNTRUE! God wants a WILLING and CHEERFUL GIVER who is OBEDIENT to His Leading!

Many of us are needing FINANCIAL HARVEST for our households, but we have been reluctant or have not GIVEN/SOWN to get a harvest. It may not actually be money that God is asking you GIVE. Are you giving to that family member who is going through hard times but because you think the person has been irresponsible you won't GIVE even though they are in need? Or you know you have tons of things that you no longer need or us but something in you can't part with them because of the money you have spent or whatever special sentiment you hold to them? Or maybe there is a cause that is dear to your HEART that you aren't ready to GIVE your full commitment to because of the TIME it would require?

God is no respecter of persons and He has MORE than enough to GIVE You everything you need along with anything that you GIVE away for His Glory. Remember we can NEVER OUT GIVE GOD! The only thing is it requires a WILLING and CHEERFUL HEART to GIVE/sow seed towards it to spring up a GOOD HARVEST from it!

God's Blessings!

"I have not gone back from the commandment of His lips; I have esteemed and treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food." (Job 23:12)

I recently read a statement in a life changing read about Spiritual Discernment, by Roberts Liardon..."The love of God is unconditional, but His blessings aren't!" When I read it RANG SO TRUE in my spirit that I began to realize why SO MANY CHRISTIANS are living beneath God's INTENDED Life...We AREN'T AWARE of the conditions to RECEIVE BLESSINGS or we AREN'T FOLLOWING them. Either way we are LIVING with the MOUNTAIN defeating us instead of us MOVING the MOUNTAIN with the tools God has given us....HIS WORD!!!

So many are TURNED OFF by the WORD of God...(BIG TRICK of the enemy by the way)...to KEEP YOU FROM the BLESSINGS of God...and the bad thing about it is...CHRISTIANS are FALLING for it too!!! We have what we need to be VICTORIOUS in this life, we just AREN'T UTILIZING it for what it was made to do...MOVE MOUNTAINS in our lives and the lives of others by the FAITH that ONLY COMES BY WAY OF THE WORD OF GOD!!!

So I ask you...How MUCH WORD are you getting into your life??? A measly Sunday meal at church is not going to sustain you throughout the week...when YOU ARE STARVING!!! All day long, we are BOMBARDED with all the negative forces around us from the people, music, TV, videos, and whatever else we are ALLOWING into our space to ROB us from a life that is VICTORIOUSLY BLESSED according to God's Standards...all because we AREN'T PUTTING IN THE TIME that is needed to COUNTERACT all of the negative forces surrounding us.

So let me ask you a question, HOW MUCH SPIRITUAL FOOD are you FEEDING yourself each day??? Think about it, the ALL GIVING, ALL LOVING, ALL POWERFUL GOD wants to FILL YOU with MORE of HIM!!! So, why wouldn't you want to FEED on Him??? It's AMAZING to me how we can put so many things before our time with God that can not GIVE us the same Blessings that He can give us...Nothing but PRIDE! Pride that we know better than Him, Pride that we can do it ourselves, Pride that we don't need Him to get everything done...Just plain FOOLISHNESS that the enemy has tricked us into believing and ACTING on this sin.

So what are you going to do about it??? I would recommend and CHALLENGE you put in AT LEAST the same amount of time you put into eating your physical food...for most that's 3x's A DAY...Morning, Afternoon, and Night! Here are the steps I recommend that I have noticed work well for me...

1) You may want to set a dedicated space within your home for your time with the Lord! (This can help in keeping the area holy and sacred for the Lord).
2) You may want to turn on some Praise & Worship Music to awaken the Spirit within you.
3) Be sure to PRAY before you begin your time with reading THE WORD and ask the Spirit to REVEAL to you what He wants you to know during your time together and watch how the WORD will POP OFF the page and prick and speak to your HEART about you and your life situation.
4) You must ALSO be willing to COMMIT TO LISTENING to what is REVEALED to you during this time.
5) Journal your thoughts during your time of LISTENING so that you will have a WRITTEN PLAN of what God has to say to you and what He wants to DO through you.
6) Next, be sure to PRAY for His assistance to do His plan
7) Lastly, get to MOVING Obediently toward God's plan by measurable steps of FAITH (Speaking, Hearing, and BELIEVING the Word of God to you) with action. God will surely BLESS the work of your hands because you have a heart that is diligently seeking Him and willing to do His Plan.

Please don't MISS your moments to be EMPOWERED by God...what better way is there to be EMPOWERED than from the ALL POWERFUL One who is WILLING to GIVE His Gracious Power to YOU if we ask!

Stay in the BLESSINGS Beautiful Ones!

FRUIT...It's Developing!

"But the Fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His Presence within accomplishes] is Love, Joy (Gladness), Peace, Patience (an even temper, forbearance), Kindness, Goodness (Benevolence), Faithfulness, Gentleness (meekness, humility), Self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is NO law [that can bring a charge]." - Galatians 5:22-23 AMP


How much FRUIT is SHOWING up in your life??? When God's Presence has overtaken you...there will be EVIDENCE of His Presence in your life. His Presence is LIGHT that can NOT be hidden. Quite often we think that FRUIT will IMMEDIATELY SHOW-UP in our lives because we have spent a few Sunday mornings with Jesus and His people, read our devotions each morning, and gave our tithes like we are supposed to do. But it takes MORE THAN that to DEVELOP FRUIT. It TRULY is a DEVELOPMENT of making the choices towards the things of God...and it's usually NOT COMFORTABLE!

We all have developed certain ungodly habits that took time to be apart of our lives, even though they were readily accepted because of their desirable influences. No one had to twist your are to retaliate towards that person that did you wrong or to talk about them to further slander their downfalls. But how COMFORTABLE is it to accept someone in your home and be LOVING, PATIENT, and hospitable to them when they are difficult, disrespectful and ungrateful to you and your efforts?

God will often PROVE HIS FRUIT in us through those TOUGH & UNCOMFORTABLE times in our lives because without His Presence helping us to do it...we certainly could not do them alone. So the next time you are waiting in that line that somehow seemed to slow down as soon as you got in line...REMEMBER God is DEVELOPING His Fruit in you when you do not complain or get upset about the delay...the Fruit of PATIENCE will be SHOWING up through you! Or when you have that person who is constantly testing your FAITH with their seemingly unkind, hurtful and insensitive actions...REMEMBER God is helping you to DEVELOP the Fruit of Kindness through your actions towards them. God is always looking for ways to SHOW UP through you and the FRUIT He has DEVELOPED in you! Now how about go on and SHOW some FRUIT to those around you...to give God some Glory!

Surrender To God

"For we walk by faith [we regulate our lives and conduct ourselves by our conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, with trust and holy fervor; thus we walk] not by sight or appearance.
For we WALK by FAITH not by sight." - 2 Corinthians 5:7

"You have already been cleansed by the WORD that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing." - (John 15:3-5).


It's easier to SAY you have FAITH than it is to WALK it out. You have to be COMMITTED to it! Like...When you say you will FOLLOW GOD and His ways...

Are you WILLING to stop working on your day of Sabbath as HONOR to Him and not your paycheck?

Will you decide to LET GO of the things/people that keep you from having a growing relationship with Him and spending more time with Him?

Will you WALK out on the WATER where it's not as safe as you are used to having it, to be OBEDIENT to what HE wants you to do?

There is a reason the model prayer that Jesus gave us states... "Thy KINGDOM COME, THY WILL BE DONE" (Matthew 6)...most are really not WILLING to COME as God is ASKING us to do...because we WANT OUR WILL to be done more than His. The spirit of control is one of the biggest barriers between our relationship with God. Most won't FULLY relinquish control to our Sovereign God who is in control ANYWAY. Even when you choose not to let go, he will just have to TEACH you LONGER to get you where He needs you to be...and that's a much HARDER ROAD than just surrendering.

It has been my experience that God OFTEN will impress upon my heart to do what I REALLY DO NOT WANT TO DO initially to see if I'll be OBEDIENT to His requests regardless. But afterwards as I MOVE towards His request my feelings and desire for it changes...He gives me little reminders along the journey to let me know I took the right step and that HIS WORD is TRUE over everything that may not be LOOKING like where I'm going. Then SUDDENLY, the BLESSING will SHOW up as I am busy about His Will. God wants to us to know if we can be TRUSTED with what HE wants to give us. Checking our CHARACTER through our efforts...but are you WILLING to get outside of your COMFORT ZONE to get it???

MOST aren't WILLING because there is a SACRIFICE, A COST that comes with STEPPING out on FAITH...we must LEAVE what we KNOW and JUST GO where our HEARTS are leading us...And the funny thing is it NEVER LOOKS like it will work by our HUMAN KNOWLEDGE or Logic!

FAITH COMES as we MOVE toward what GOD has said and by what WE BELIEVE He has said. The MORE we STAY covered by Hearing His Word over what everyone else is saying, what everything is LOOKING like...the more we have the FAITH to do what we may not be comfortable with doing initially. One thing we can be assured of is the PROMISES of God...They are always. "Yes and Amen!"