WHAT ARE YOU FOCUSING ON?

Song - "I Trust You" by: James Fortune

The thing that we pay the most attention to, will be nurtured and grow.  If you feed your fears, doubts, faithlessness....it will enlarge. They grow because you are focused on it.  It will consume you if you don't catch yourself and change what you focus on.

That is why we are to be in God's word.  We are to not only read it, but study it.  Do research on it.  Apply it.  It will build our faith.  The things that stressed you and worried you so, will fade with time because your focus is on God's word and all HE SAYS.  

If you don't believe me, do an experiment.  Take two plants.  Put one to the side and ignore it.  Take the other and water it, make sure it has plenty of sun, but not too much.  Put your attention on it.  See which plant dies, and which grows and enlarges.

So if you are dwelling on negative things, make a conscience effort to put up scriptures and positive quotes where you can see and read them. Use sticky notes. Start reading God's word and things that are uplifting.  Declare to your day what it will be instead of,  letting it fall however.  

We can't always help being in an negative environment but we, ourselves can change our bubbled area with songs of praise, God's word, and positive outlook.

No matter how gloomy things may seem today, they can change in a second.  Hope is still there.  Reach for it.  Call for it.  Declare that God is going to turn your situations around. 

God has a plan for your life.  When you are able to look up and see that he isn't going to leave you where your at forever, hope will come back. 

Hope delayed maketh the heart sick.
Proverbs 13:12 
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Hope deferred maketh the heart sick - When once a good is discovered, want of it felt, strong desire for the possession excited, and the promise of attainment made on grounds unsuspected, so that the reality of the thing and the certainity of the promise are manifest, hope posts forward to realize the blessing. Delay in the gratification pains the mind; the increase of the delay prostrates and sickens the heart; and if delay sickens the heart, ultimate disappointment kills it. But when the thing desired, hoped for, and expected comes, it is a tree of life, עץ חיים ets chaiyim, "the tree of lives;" it comforts and invigorates both body and soul. To the tree of lives, in the midst of the gardens of paradise, how frequent are the allusions in the writings of Solomon, and in other parts of the Holy Scriptures! What deep, and perhaps yet unknown, mysteries were in this tree!

When we put our hopes in God's word then we can have Great Hope.  No matter what the situations around us look like we can know that God has a better plan for our lives.

I am not going to lie, I have had some rough spots when I felt down, and my heart sick but I had to get up, shake it off, change my garments into praise and start reaching for hope. God's word has given me hope, life, and a new start, many times. My inheritance lies in God.  My future, and anything good lies in God.  So when I put my focus on God....I know it is much brighter than my today.

I pray that you learn to focus, and nurture good things in your life, and let go of the negative and damaging things that try to plague you.

“A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.” – Proverbs 17:22 (New King James Version)

Laughter - by: Jesses Duplantis

CLOTHED IN YESTERDAYS GARMENTS FOR TODAYS BLESSINGS!

Song - "The King in You" by: Donald Lawrence

Did you know that when it is a new season, you will find out that you have outgrown many things.  Some small, some big, some times you have outgrown people.

This is officially a new season, and new year according to God's calendar.  So this is a time to examine your spiritual closet, friends, involvment, habits....etc...to see what you may have out grown. Begin to celebrate.

Now it is time for celebration.  God wants to clothe you in a new wardrobe.  A new life.

It is like a coat, as you grow, you will no longer be able to squeeze into it.  You will have't to forward it on to someone else who may need.  It is not that you aren't appreciative of the time you wore it and had. but when the NEW season comes....you won't be able to fit youGod has new garments of war, worship, praise, truth,  and ministry for you to take on. You will have't to allow God to take off, strip off yesterdays decisions, plans, failures,  company you kept, places you went....

Song - "Seasons" by: Donald Lawrence

Clothing matters.  God wants to clothed you with the right clothing to represent him for the Kingdom

We are called to put on a new wardrobe.  

The clothing industry has made huge inroads into the pocketbooks of consumers.  If you don’t believe that to be the case, just think of your own familiarity with some of the following mottos:

You are what you wear.

Clothes make the man.

Dress for success.

To the degree that thanksgiving is present in your life, it is to that degree that you have realized and appropriated and appreciated the grace of God.  Show me someone who has no heart for thanksgiving toward God and I will show you someone who has lost sight of God.

SUMMARY

We have been speaking of the new clothes the Christian is called to wear -- the clothing of...

- Truth-     Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, 10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him  11 ‑‑ a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all. (Colossians 3:9-11).

- Kindness- And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. (Colossians 3:12-13).

- Unity-And beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. (Colossians 3:14-15).

- Thanksgiving- And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. (Colossians 3:15).

You remember the story.  The sisters of Lazarus had sent word to Jesus that their brother was sick.  They had asked for Jesus to come and to heal their brother.  But Jesus had not come in time.  By the time He did arrive, Lazarus was not only dead, but the funeral was over and he had been buried in a tomb.

Jesus ordered that the tomb be opened and then He called for Lazarus to come out.  John 11:43 tells us that he who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings; and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."

Do you see it?  He was dressed in grave clothes.  He was dressed in that which represents death and rot and decay.  Those clothes had been perfectly appropriate to his state.  He was dead and that is what dead people wore.  But then life came and those grave clothes were no longer appropriate.

How about you?  Have you come to the new life that is in Christ?  If you have not, then it will do not good to change the clothes of your outward life.  It would be like putting new clothes on a corpse.  You need to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, appropriating through faith what was accomplished upon the cross.  You can trust in Him and enter into new life.

Most of you have already done that.  You have been walking with the Lord for some time.  But there are perhaps some of those old grave clothes still in place.

- Immorality

- Impurity

- Evil desires

- Greed, which is just another name for idolatry

Paul gives these as representative samplings back in verse 5 of our passage and perhaps some of those continue to adorn your life.  I want to give you notice -- they CLASH with your identity in Christ.  Time for a change of clothing.

Let’s do that right now.  We are going to have a time of silent prayer.  I want you to take that part of your life that has been clashing with your Christly character and I want you to take it to the cross.  You are not telling God anything He does not already know.  Just as He called out to Adam and Eve in the cool of the Garden, saying, “Where are you?”  He is calling today.  He is calling you to see your spiritual nakedness and to come to Him and to be clothed in that which He has prepared for you.

No-one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no-one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.' (Mark 2:21–22)

Zechariah 3:4

American Standard Version
And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take the filthy garments from off him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with rich apparel.

Isaiah 61:3

To grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of theLord, that he may be glorified.

Isaiah 11:2-5 

And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.

HE THAT ENDURETH....

Song- "How He Loves Us" by: Kari Jobe
Many times I have questioned the road I have been down.  I have wondered if it was something I did, for it has been a hard, rough, lonely road.  I have wondered what I did so wrong that I would have't to travel such a path.

Now I understand that it was for my good.  To help me grow as an individual.  I relied too much on other people's opinions and advice.  Now I know the voice that I need to listen to.  I know where to turn when things don't line up or trouble comes.

I know how it feels to sit 2 and half months without electricity...wanting to cry, but understanding that God had not left me but was watching over me even then.  God taught me how to make the best of things.  The kids and me cooked on the grill, and open fire as much as we could.  We walked to my parents for showers. We played games, had long talks, laughed, fought, and prayed together.  I wouldn't trade those moments for anything.  I don't miss the hard times back then, but I am so glad God trusted my family enough to allow us to walk through it.  Times without a car.  No car for almost 3 years.  My sister, Cindy came and got us once a week so we could get groceries.  God love her!!!  If she hadn't, we would have perished.  Just sitting staring at 4 walls and wondering if we would ever get out of that pit. Nothing to do, no place to be, just sitting, then getting tired and laying, walking, then sitting some more.

Watching my son, Kyle, go through so much depression, drugs, and angry at where we were.  I knew he had a call on his life and the enemy wanted so badly to take him out. His name is Dexter Kyle Allen.  I never called him Dexter, because that reminded me of his Father and I didn't want to remember him in the same sense as his father.  So I always and will always call him Kyle. He is so different than his father.  Curses have been broke off of him.  Generational curses no longer tug at him.  He is free to be the man God formed in my womb with purpose.  He is a strong mighty Man of God now.  I am very proud of him.

My daughter, Scilla, stood by me through so much.  She was the one who took over when I couldn't handle it any more.  So much was on my shoulders and I didn't see the light at the end of the tunnel.  She grew into a nurturing, loving, organized young woman.  I can't believe how great she is at fixing things and getting things organized.  If I had a business I would have her as my assistant.  She is awesome in that way.  She knows how to pull things together. She can create things, fix things, figure things out, great with math, and soothe a person when they are falling apart. 

I know when we lost our house, it was in God's plan.  God wanted me to take care of my parents and as much as everyone wants to push me back into the rat race....taking care of my parents is what I am called to do for now.  I know God wants to use me in other ways and he is going to open that up soon, but I will be able to have someone stay with Momma and Daddy while I am busy about the Kingdom.  God will provide all that in time.  

I don't claim to be full of answers, or know everything, for I have so much to learn.  So much that I don't know.  I am on a journey of growing daily.  Like a sponge absorbing God's word, and knowledge along the way.  My desire is to fulfill God's dreams for me.  What God longs to see come forth out of me.

I am not a spotlight kind of person.  I work great behind a desk, phone, or one on one.  I can stand before people but I generally just like pushing everyone else to be out there.  I know it has been my place to war for my Children and their destinies.  satan has longed to still it, and destroy what God has planned for them both.   I have had to steal away and declare over them....call them what God calls them.... for years.  Watching them grow up and start to step out into God's plan ....brings a joy that only a Momma could understand.

I am blessed.  Rough, the road has been, but great are the blessings of God who endure.  I stand firm and know that my God is going to take care of me and restore all that I have lost.  God may allow you to be stripped, but only to make room for what HE has for you.  Greater, better, larger, beyond our imaginations. 

I know God has my provision, ministry, boaz, home, future, destiny.....all lined up according to HIS desire and I will receive all of it in HIS timing.  

So my encouragement for all of you is this, you will have hard times. But just like seasons, they come, and they will go.  They won't last forever.  So be faithful to pray, fast, read God's word and trust his word that no matter how hard it gets, God will bring you out.  He will restore you. 

God has plans for each of our lives.  We have't to desire that path, and allow God to lead us to fulfill it.  He wants us to be whole, complete, happy, blessed Christians more than we want it.

Song - "More Beautiful You" by:Jonny Diaz

Mat 24:13

But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

A WOMAN'S JOURNEY.....

"A Woman's Journey"

Then the time came when the risk it took 

To remain tight in a bud was more painful

Than the risk it took to blossom.

~Anais Nin

Song - "The Real Me" by: Natalie Grant

I believe that there are a lot of Women who have faced something treacherous, something, heart wrenching, something so painful that in her heart she feels she dare not tell a soul.

These things can leave a Woman feeling handicapped, cripple.  When she is meant to excel, grow, flourish.  It causes her mentality to be altered.  God created her to have dreams, visions, hopes.  These things....cause her to feel hopeless, unworthy and broke.  Dreams that she would have followed after, are left behind.  Things that she would have dared to be ....she no longer has the strength to do.

Many Women keep these THINGS, these horrible things locked up inside.  Feeling that they dare not tell a soul.  That no one would understand.  No one would believe them.  That people would think horrible things of them.  When in reality, most Women have been through something similar.  

There is a freedom in revealing, facing and beginning to deal with these hidden things.  It is so liberating to be able to say...yes...that happened to me...but I am not going to let it control me or chain me down any longer.

I come to tell each and every Woman that have experienced any of these THINGS...(rape, molestation, abuse, poverty, divorce, abandonment, loss, failures, addictions, etc...) that God has a plan for you STILL.  That nothing and I mean nothing can alter the love of your God.  That he not only adores you, but wants you to fulfill your dreams that he has placed in you. That it's not over, but you will begin again...when you face it, expose it, deal with it, and release it.

Just like a flower as a bud, it becomes too painful to stay closed.  There comes a time you must open up and release the fragrance God has placed in you.  You are more precious than any jewel.  He loves you so much he sent his only Son, to die for you.  The Holy Spirit has been assigned to you to help you walk the process of healing.

I pray tonight that God will place someone to open up to and release the pains of your past.  God is going to do some supernatural things in your life when you do.  I am praying for a divine encounter in your life with God.

Song - "Woman Thou Art Loosed" by:Vicki Winans, Sheryl Brady

(You can reach your destiny...your are loosed)

"In that day," declares the Lord,

"You will call me 'My Husband';

you will no longer call me 'My Master....'

I will betroth you to me forever;

I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,

in love and compassion."  Hosea 2:16, 19

GENERATIONAL CURSES

I learned a lot in the Prayer Summit at my Church.  One thing is that sin and iniquity are different.  Sin, you can have control of, but iniquity is much deeper.  It can be in your dna from generational curses.  It's that kind of thing that you don't want to do but can't seem to stop.

That is why God says to search the deep parts of yourself.  You do it in prayer.  I believe strongly in counseling, because you must get to the root of problems and bad behaviors.  When you do then you can begin to change things.

There are prayers you pray and declarations over you life that you need to say.

Pastor Paula White-http://store.paulawhite.org/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=114&category_id=2&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=225

Arch Bishop Duncan Williams

  http://duncanwilliamsministry.com/DWM/BOOKS.html

John Eckhardt Ministries-

http://www.johneckhardtministries.com/

Each of the above sites have amazing books, DVDs, CDs  to read about breaking generational curses and things that have been passed down to you, and called upon you.

I pray this info helps.  

Song - "Give Me a Clean Heart" by: Fred Hammond

Psa 64:6

They search out 2664 iniquities 5766; they accomplish 8552 a diligent 2664 search 2665: both the inward 7130 [thought] of every one 376 [of them], and the heart 3820, [is] deep 6013.

Psa 42:7

Deep 8415 calleth 7121 unto deep 8415 at the noise 6963 of thy waterspouts 6794: all thy waves 4867 and thy billows 1530 are gone5674 over me.

Psa 107:24

These see 7200 the works 4639 of the LORD 3068, and his wonders6381 in the deep 4688.

CREATURES OF HABIT

Song - "You have it in You" by: Tina Baker, Tamika Carter and Pastor Sheryl Brady -

We are creatures of habit.  As a child we are taught to get up, go potty, brush our teeth, take a shower, eat breakfast, then go to school.  This ritual continues on through out our life.  We are taught to do chores, home work, take the dog out...etc...and we continue what we are taught.  We do it is systematically.  Often we do things as a adults and wonder why in the world we do them.  

It is because someone taught you.  Someone had you do this daily.  Create a habit.  So we understand that if it is taught to us, we do it daily, that it is going to take time to undo some things.  

You have't to retrain yourself.  If there are habits that you have that are bad, coming between you and your spouse, hindering you from becoming your best, fulfilling God's plan, or maybe it is literally destroying you, then you must take time to evaluate the habit.  Then you must retrain yourself.  Catching yourself when you go to do something, stop, and do what you are supposed to do or something else.

If you continue in the same ole habits  and yet find failure....you must change something.  There are bad behaviors, or habits, that must be dropped.  

Don't stress because there are a gazillion new habits to learn.  Things can always be turned around with prayer, God's word, fasting, and good Godly instruction.

I knew some teenagers who had problems with cussing.  They wanted to stop their potty mouth. lol So they put rubber bands on their wrist.  Every time they cussed they would snap it, reminding themselves this isn't what I want.  

So be creative while you are trying to remold yourself.  Remember to address it in prayer.  God has sent the Holy Spirit to instruct us, befriend us, and help us with such things.  

So pick yourself up, dust your self off and get started on the new you.  The new habits that you are going to form.

Prayer in the morning before you leave to start your day.  It doesn't have't to be 4 hours...it can be just a few minutes.  Then read a verse...dwell on the verse all day.  Let God speak to you through it.

Create NEW Habits.

These are some things that I read about.  They are bad habits that can literally paralyze you.  

A change in bad habits leads to a good change in life…

1. Expecting life to be easy. – Nothing starts easy; everything begins at some level of difficulty.  Even waking up in the morning sometimes requires notable effort.  But one beautiful thing about life is the fact that the most difficult challenges are often the most rewarding and satisfying.
2. Overlooking your true path and purpose. – What really matters in life is not what we buy, but what we build; not what we have, but what we share with the world; not our capability but our character; and not our success but our true significance.  Live a life that makes you proud – one that matters and makes a difference.  Live a life filled with passion and love.  
3. Chasing after those who don’t want to be caught. – Do not chase people.  Be you, do your own thing and work hard on your passions.  The right people who belong in your life will eventually come to you, and stay.
4. Not asking for help when you know you need it. – No matter how far you’ve gone down the wrong road, you can always turn back.  Be STRONG enough to stand alone, SMART enough to know when you need help, and BRAVE enough to ask for it.
5. Letting one dark cloud cover the entire sky. – Take a deep breath.  It’s just a bad moment, or a bad day, not a bad life.  Everyone has troubles.  Everyone makes mistakes.  The secret of happiness is to count your blessings while others are adding up their troubles.
6. Holding on to things you need to let go of. – Letting go doesn’t mean giving up, but rather accepting that there are things in life that should not be.  Sometimes letting go is what makes us stronger, happier and more successful in the long run.
7. Spending time with people who make you unhappy. – People can be cruel, and sometimes they will be.  People can hurt you and break your heart, and sometimes they will.  But only YOU can allow them to continuously hurt you.  Value yourself enough to choose to spend time with people who treat you the way you treat them.  Know your worth.  Know when you have had enough.  And move on from the people who keep chipping away at your happiness.
8. Not making time for those who matter most. – When we take things for granted, these things eventually get taken away.  Too often we don’t realize what we have until it’s gone.  Too often we are too stubborn to say, “I’m sorry, I was wrong.”  Too often it seems we hurt the ones closest to us by letting insignificant issues tear us apart.  Appreciate what you have, who loves you and who cares for you.  You’ll never know how much they mean to you until the day they are no longer beside you.
9. Denying personal responsibility. – You’re getting almost everything you’re getting right now based on the decisions you have made; and you will continue to receive the same things until you choose differently.  You always have some element of control.  There are always other options.  The choices might not be easy, but they are available.  You will not get a different result until you exercise a choice that forces you to grow by habit, by action, and by change.
10. Letting everyone else make decisions for you. – Never allow someone or something that adds very little to your life, control so much of it.  You’ve got to stop caring about what everyone else wants for you, and start actually living for yourself.  Let go of the people and things that continuously hold you back and no longer serve you, because you only get one shot at life.
11. Giving up who YOU are. – Remove yourself from any situation that requires you to give up any one of these three things:  1) Who you are.  2)  What you stand for.  3)  The goals you aspire to achieve.  
12. Quitting as soon as things get slightly difficult. – An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backward; and such is life.  When life is pulling you back with difficulties, it means it’s going to eventually launch you forward in a positive direction.  So keep focusing, and keep aiming!
13. Doing too much and pushing too hard, without pausing. – Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never find it, but because they never stop long enough to enjoy it.  Sometimes we are so focused on what we want that we miss the things we need most.
14. Discrediting yourself for everything you aren’t. – STOP discrediting yourself for everything you aren’t.  START giving yourself credit for everything you are.
15. Running from current problems and fears. – Trust me, if everyone threw their problems in a pile for you to see, you would grab yours back.  Tackle your problems and fears swiftly, don’t run away from them.  The best solution is to face them head on no matter how powerful they may seem.  Either you own your problems and fears, or they will ultimately own you.
16. Constantly mulling over past hardships. – You’ll never see the great things ahead of you if you keep looking at the bad things behind you.  To reach up for the new, you must let go of the old.  You are exactly where you need to be to reach your goals.  Everything you’ve been through was preparation for where you are right now and where you can be tomorrow.
17. Denying your mistakes. – Remember that most honorable people of all are not those who never make mistakes, but those who admit to them when they do.  And then go on to do their best to make the wrong things right.
18. Expecting your significant other to be perfect. – Remember that you will never find a PERFECT partner to love you in the exact way you had envisioned, only a person who is willing to love you with all that they are.  Someone who will accept you for who you can and cannot be.  And although they will never be PERFECT, finding a partner like this is even BETTER. 
19. Focusing on the negative. – Positive thinking isn’t about expecting the best thing to happen every time, it’s about accepting that whatever happens is good for this moment, and then making the best of it.  So stay positive, and hold on to what’s truly important.  Let your worries go.  No matter how you look at it, some outcomes just don’t make sense right away.  Choosing to carry on with your goals through this uncertainty is what matters.
20. Never allowing things to be good enough. – We are human.  We are not perfect.  We are alive.  We try things.  We make mistakes.  We stumble.  We fall.  We get hurt.  We rise again.  We try again.  We keep learning.  We keep growing.  And we are thankful for this priceless opportunity called life.

WATCH YOUR WORDS

Song - "You Can Use Me" by: Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir

Proverbs 18:21

The Message (MSG)

²¹ Words kill, words give life;
    they’re either poison or fruit—you choose.

The bible clearly lets us know that whatever we are speaking, professing, declaring, will be.  That we can talk negative and bring it forth, or we can declare God's word and promises watch our situations turn around.  

We can speak God's word into someone and watch it manifest or talk negative about them and watch them wither up.  We can't go by what we see, we must speak what needs to transform.

You can either speak to the fool in a person or the King in them.  Which ever you speak to will eventually show up.  When you speak to the King in a Man he will eventually answer back.  

This is a new year in God's time table.  So we have to strategize our thoughts and how we are going to speak daily.  We need to loose old habits and practice new habits of speaking positive.  Speaking good about one another.  Declaring good things and change in our situations, no matter they look like.  

I challenge you to pray God's word, speak God's word, declare God's word and watch your situations, and lives begin to change.  God's word is anointed and it must come to pass.