Dark Night, We Meet Again!

The Dark Knight of the Soul

The first thing I thought about when I woke up this morning was how angry I was yesterday. I “let the sun go down on my wrath” after years of practice. The events that transpired came from the shame and hatred I’ve felt towards myself when I disappointed the people I cared about. Shame manifested in unique ways through my experiences in the real world. I still look in the mirror sometimes to confirm what I’ve heard from many strangers, family members, and people that I thought were friends, “You’re Ugly”, “I didn’t notice your face without makeup” or, “Is that a man?”, ‘Why do you have that gap?”,”I thought you were your sister’s mom”, “they don’t do favors for people that look like us”, a former co-worker had said to me while waiting to order food in our cafeteria. Their words joined forces and created a monstrous echo that tells me I am not worthy or good enough. When I attempt to step outside my comfort zone, a place where the noise phases out and peace prevails, those voices speak louder than my sanity can handle. Normally my first thoughts are to run by indulging in irresponsible behavior but, I don’t want to feel this way anymore.

Life is but an adventure in which we learn how to become one with rourselves with the help of the dark night of the soul. The dark night will challenge our ego and force us to confront all the things that keep us from progressing on the journey through life. The Dark night has been nudging me for a long time saying, “It’s time to let go of what no longer spiritually serves you,” and to,“ irrevocably give yourself grace and love.” I will never be what others expect of me. Real life is the opposite of what the world accepts and expects. How someone else is doing isn’t a real comparison to the story of your life. So far I have learned that gratitude is the most important tool to combat oppression. What I don’t have or how I look is nothing in comparison for all I do have.

 I am grateful to be 42 years of age and have lived through hardships that blessed me with my beautiful and brilliant daughter. I love my family, I appreciate the friends I do have, I value my peace because it is the space where magic happens, and I am grateful for the gifts I enjoy pursuing. All of these things are enough because I know that my gratitude will increase exponentially when I count my blessings.The dark night has been teaching me to give thanks to the pain because it allows me to grow into someone I’ll always be proud of instead of becoming someone I will one day be proud of. Always remember that life is a beautiful journey written by you. The dark night is challenging you to be in this world but not of it so that you can make your story an epic one. 

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The Bleeding Heart Finally Caught My Attention

Ephesians 6:12 New International Version (NIV)

¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

I often wish  I could go back to the day when I sold myself the lie that caused me to hate the sound of my voice, despise my tested integrity and reject the opportunities to love whenever I  passed my reflections. I really do. I try so hard to get around my hindrances but, there is always this one question that seems to linger when no one else is around. How can I began to fix what could never be broken in the first place? If you are willing to unlock the secrets to your own heart know that the unlocking comes with a price. The price I had to pay began with the need to tend to my bleeding heart. Happiness is often something we are told we cannot search for. I’ve discovered a different path to that answer. Happiness is something we can search for but, it can only be found from within. In my truth, the heart bursts with forces that can serve or harm our individual universe. My heart was bleeding and the rhythm of its bleeding has caught my full attention.

In my world external judgment was designed by way of the art of show and tell. People are defined by their appearance, we then connect the way they appear to a particular nostalgia and then we place each appearance into a category just so we can accept or reject a person, place, and/or thing. If I am wearing clothing that appears to be dirty then much of the time I will be viewed as homeless or financially inept. I hadn’t realized that I had stepped into the pit of sharp glass of  this reality until I recalled the first “ism” in my life; the first time I began to build the bridge away from self-love and acceptance. Show and Tell taught me that I should, in this order: hate my color, hate my mind, hate my race, hate my image, and hate the audio vibrations that I’ve created in this world. The most heart breaking out of these, I  learned to hate my differences. This incorrect information caused my heart to bleed for ages in a valley where other people got lost with me.  Set free and able to move forward, I now see my world clearer. The ideas in which I’ve collected in my past were just floating words that got caught up in my imagination and as I patch up an already complete heart I am beginning to see the soul of my perfection.

My future looks brighter because it is I who designs the information for my acceptance. The heart is a substance we should never learn to  ignore. The issue with my heart has been resolved and now I am able and willing to see the completion of my hopes and dreams in this life. My heart no longer bleeds for I have allowed healing to take its place. Prepare yourself for the adventure of happiness as you dive deeper into the caves within the ego. If you resonate with me, like and comment below. Follow me on my happiness journey and share with the attached links.

A river flows by the forces behind it, the things we cannot see. Like a river, there are similar forces at work behind the human heart and what a careless tragedy it is when we don’t take the time to tend to our forces?

Miya

My Identity

Jeremiah 1:5 New International Version (NIV)

⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew^[a] you,     before you were born I set you apart;     I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

For the first time ever in my life I spoke to myself in the past tense. On this very day where new ideas await to be born I saw me! With urgency I surveyed all of my blemishes and neatly wiped them away because they never truly existed in the first place. With kind and loving words I spoke into a dark mirror: “Why don’t you love me?” Perplexed by my own identity the only thing I knew with certainty; I was an expert at loving others with no condition but, to my dismay the love I held had been a one way ticket. I knew how to accept the rejected but, the shattered mirror looking back at me was never worth the effort to amend a conceited love. I could not collect the meaning behind my fellow man’s early dismissal of relationships that were only sacrilegious.  I would have given my last breath to proudly say that I had a friend in someone who wasn’t me. No more! All the love that I have has been waiting for the evanescence of self-love to appear and say:

“I Love You!”

“You mean the world to me!”

“You are so dang cute!”

“You are infinite!”

“You are super smart and unique!”

“I am, I am, I am, my identity.”

The 1990’s r&b all girl group En Vogue sang in a beautiful song called, Part of Me, that rain was a simple thing, on their debut album Born To Sing. Rain droplets are the external particles of the millions of different cells that defines our identity as a whole and we are able to see the narrative which becomes our reality by watching the droplets fall just by looking out of our bedroom windows. The rain outside my window today was bleak and murky. But, why? Why was this my perception? Until recently I didn’t comprehend or even know that my perception was a projection of my genetic makeup. Evolution tells me that my level of happiness is determined by my parents and all of my ancestors. The beauty in this logic is that genetics can change by way of my intent. Meaning, what I do, who I am and who I am always becoming is cultivated by the words I say. Once again our lives are tied to the origins of life and death; the tongue.

The book of life has already been written by our hearts meditations. This information transforms me into my new self even further. I get chills when I think of what will come now that I’ve accepted the power we were all given. The heart is the lonely hunter, always waiting to be tamed by us. The resolution of identity happens when we interweave faith with our words. When this is done we begin to understand that our physical beings are masked cauldrons. We create past life recipes that we call the present and what deeply effects me is this: Many of us wake up and say we live for years and years and refuse to step out of the darkness and then we go to our graves never truly living. Not only today, but every day I accept my power because I know that the complexities I created made me wiser, stronger and more individualistic. Thank you for reading today! Follow me on my journey towards happiness, like this post, comment and share with the links below.

So, to conclude what I’ve learned about the nature of my power is this: When I looked into my rear view mirror I replied, no longer with a kiss, “Yes I will love you with every fiber of the greatest parts of me.”

Miya

Face to Face with Courage

John 14:27 New International Version (NIV)

²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

This morning when I woke up I was full of joy and gratefulness. I sat down at my work computer, as I always do, said my prayers and prepared my heart and mind to be used by God for His Glory. Today was an exceptional day. I learned more of who I am by speaking with my customers. Every time there was some indifference in the conversation I knew that it was something in me that I needed to process with love. I knew that the indifference did not match what God gave me and I knew that how I felt wasn’t contingent upon God’s commands. I used to have small blockages when I wrote my blogs. I would have to research what these blockages could be but, I knew that I had received the same blockages while speaking with my customers. First I asked myself this question, “Miya, what does it feel like when you have these blocks?” And to help me move on instantly I provided a solution, “When you have mental blocks correct your flow point by applying a positive mantra to help correct your thinking.” Most of the mental blocks I’ve had come from fear. When my heart went ablaze in the past I would tell myself that I wasn’t good enough. My correction for fearlessness allows me to accept that courage was part of my birthright.

I work as a Technical Support Representative for a well-known company. One of the greatest benefits of working at my job is that I get to communicate with some really amazing people every day. However, I admit that I didn’t always see everyone I encountered as amazing. How I felt in the mist of confrontation used to limit me spiritually. I used to pray that I would not have to speak with anyone difficult so that I could manage my temper throughout the day. I broke free from that fear by assessing my identity while speaking with my customers. This assessment allowed me to draw in the courage to express love not only for my customers but, also for me. I courageously love, respect, honor, forgive, and offer compassion to me constantly. These offerings of gratitude allow me to fulfill God’s Law and Purpose. I no longer have a problem loving my neighbor for, the sacrifice of mercy is facilitated through my actions.

Day 2 is complete and I have been shown the light of the true definition of courage. Courage manifests when I can authentically speak with love to anyone on the outside of myself. Someone once considered an inconvenience now helps me to be a courageous defender of love. I fulfill the Law because I treat others as I would want myself to be treated.  One customer I spoke with today was extremely apologetic. Initially, I wanted to be short with her but, then I started to really listen so that I could tune into her frequency. I knew that encounters like these were something that I needed to confront. I heard myself in her voice. In my past my nickname could have been Apologetica because I would constantly apologize to people as if I were an inconvenience. Hearing her voice helped me to tap into my voice and by the end of the conversation I was only left with words of encouragement; the advice I would need to hear type of encouragement.  Not only for me but, also for my customer. My customer was not a bother; I am not a bother. I am loved more than I can comprehend and this is why I give insurmountable amounts of love to all I am blessed to encounter, more than I can illustrate in words.

Thank you for reading my blog today. I am happy to say that love requires exercise. The only way we can exercise love is by discovering where we are in the process. First, we must love God and then we must love others as much as we love ourselves. We are all equations of the completion God created. Love seals what has already been completed. If you would like to read more of my content sign up to receive alerts by following my journey of how I find joy through all of life’s conditions. Comment below, like this entry and share with the attached links.

We are all courageously gifted,

Miya

Mind Transformation

Romans 12:2 New International Version (NIV)

² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

When I was a child I can remember being asked what came first the chicken or the egg. I can recall considering the chicken came first because the chicken was the evidence of everything you could see. I can remember thinking that this was an unnecessary question. Chickens lay eggs so, in my opinion I believed that what I did see was the paramount observation of truth. It was the most logical explanation. I’ve discovered for myself that the chicken and the egg question is a matter of faith. Now that I am an adult I believe the egg was the product of thought. That thought transpired into words and those words transformed into substance. Why is it so hard to remain consistent in the walk of faith? Was a question I once inquired from within much of the time when I failed to meet my own expectations. What I didn’t realize I was doing, I was affirming my faithlessness because everything I saw or experienced was validated by an inner feeling, or an auto-suggestion. Words are transformative. In an instant what we say produces the evidence which confirms our preexisting beliefs. We all have the power to mold our minds in new ways we may have never thought were possible.

I love this biblical text. Its premise of life-giving words instruct us to live life outside of conformity and allows us to see that life begins in the mind. Nothing external can ever give life indefinitely. As I mentioned everything external is the evidence of what we affirmed with faith. I once believed that faith was attached to all things good and this is far from the truth. Maybe I missed a lesson or two when I attended Catholic school on the subject of faith. According to Dictionary.com faith is the confidence or trust in a person or thing: Faith in another’s ability. Faith is the tangible thing that our spirits execute, but the predecessor of faith is executed by the conscious mind for it defines what we believe as good or bad and mystically we are able to validate what is true or false. The beauty of thought is that we all have the ability to decide which life we want. I once lived circumstantially if I am being honest with myself the breakthrough has allowed me to prevail. The way I finalize negative patterns I know that my conditioning must be tamed. I once allowed external forces to decide how I felt and what I thought. When the implementation of my reactions lead to something good I compartmentalized my reactions. I gave myself instructions on how I should feel when someone treated me poorly, for example.

The majority of my life I instructed myself to harness in the power of the experience of hard times. I lived the life of a victim. In my spiritual walk and in every word I cast vocally I played out the messages for people to feel bad for me, pity me, desert me, and treat me as if I had no value. In all I receive I see my reflection. I added these words to my daily affirmations for it reminds me where I am and the choice I have to either continue as I see my reflection or actively make a change. I long to be sublimely happy while my predestined mindset conveys me to my purpose. Recently I was asked the question, “What would happiness look like for me?” I initially didn’t know how to respond. I wanted to smile but, didn’t think of what actually would make me happy. I had to dig deep and when I did I could see my independence. My story began to renovate instantaneously because now I can only see my accomplishments.

Happiness involves me looking out of my window at the San Francisco Bridge while I write my daily blogs to inspire those who are stifled with old, limited beliefs. I see my words effecting my readers in a positive way for I preach that we all have the power to change our circumstances and that we don’t have to allow circumstances to affect our being. I know from experience that it can be a challenge to accept this as truth. I habitually collected the details of failure and wanted to argue with the truth which is that I am perfect, complete and wonderfully made in the image of God. We were all born to purport a prosperous life. I heavily reserve my right to continuously report the message of the power we hold because from experience old beliefs challenge our intent. As quoted by Oprah during her Super Soul Conversations Podcast, “One of the most valuable gifts you can give yourself is time, taking time to be more fully present. Your journey to become more inspired and connected to the deeper world around us starts right now.” It is my wish that everyone receiving these words open up the floodgates of time. Time that we have the authority to give ourselves. So, dear brothers and sisters make a commitment to renew your mind with life.

Thank you for visiting and reading today’s entry. Follow the Happy Nappy Project, like this post, leave a comment and share with the links below.

Let the Transformation Begin Today!

Miya

Meditations on Who I Serve

 

 

Matthew 6:24 New International Version (NIV)

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

On the surface I displayed the internal war which remained dominate in my heart and mind. Externally those I aligned with I used to blame for mistreating me. In truth however, it was me who was the orchestrator of my symphony. Over the weekend I did a lot of meditating with the intentions of seeing how I played the role at self-sabotaging my life. When I began to feel great discomfort in my heart I gave it a name and called it fear. I questioned myself by saying, “What am I so afraid of?” The laundry list of what and or who I was afraid of began piling up. I had come to the conclusion that there have been many times where I gave negative information power and that power ingrained in my belief system. I gave power to emotions that carried the spirit of depression and low self-esteem. I have come to a prevailing revelation, one I’ve danced with before; I create my ultimate reality. There seems to be two sides in which we have the power and authority to choose, life or death.

I affirm that we all battle with different spirits. We live in a society where the dominate reality implements subtle concepts which downloads tons of information for the human brain to consider. However, it is our perception which governs our dominate reality. This is a truth which was very hard for me to digest because I was so used to every cause ruling my every effect. I am the first to hold myself accountable for my diverse views because how I view my outer reality tells me everything I need to know about myself. The great news about knowing who you are is that we have the power to change how we think and how we feel by surveying life-giving or life-taking words before they plunder out of our mouths.

Philippians  4:8 New International Version (NIV)

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

We are currently in the season of giving. The spirit of Christmas brings forth joy and peace. Christ gave his life and around this time we are able to experience the gift of peace which passes all understanding. When we give gifts to one another there is an exchange of love, gratitude and humility. My personal gift to give this season is displayed through my actions when I share what I what strikes my passion and that is the determination that we can find joy through all of life’s ups and downs.  There is a great connection to freedom when we know that we have the authority to change our lives from within. Follow the Happy Nappy Project, like this post, comment and share with the links below.

Walk steadily with your head held high using faith as your guide

Miya

What I Choose

This morning I was listening to a song by one of my favorite bands, Forget the Lies by Quietdrive. I have been on a downward spiral in regards to my personal success. My turn-around began yesterday when I talked to my cousin. The reason for my journey for finding joy through all things was because I wanted to be able to overcome the lies that I’ve lived with for most of my life. My cousin told me that these lies were only conversations and what matters in the end are my intentions. Nearly in tears while speaking with her I reviewed so many demons that I’ve allowed to conquer my mind. I’ve declared countlessly that I was never enough and I let my past thoughts rule my every thought process. In the song the lead singer magnificently belts out lyrics that seem to hit every vibration of what is true. In the Bible Paul writes:

Philippians 4:8 New International Version (NIV)

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

This Bible verse directs you to the storehouse of how we should handle matters of depression, anxiety, bi-polar disorder, low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, illness, and all confrontations against things that are true. Today I would like to discuss what I choose.

Proverbs 18:21 New International Version (NIV)

²¹ The tongue has the power of life and death,
and those who love it will eat its fruit.

 

This is a biblical verse that I meditate on when things are going well in my life but, not so much through hard times. I believe that this verse is intended for the difficulties we face and it gives us the manual on how we respond initially to hardships. Everything we say delivers instant manifestation. Meaning, the words we speak and the meditations of our hearts instantly pours out what life will be. I had the tendency to speak death upon my life repetitively that it became routine. I have lived with the spirit of depression and didn’t realize that I was making the choice to not praise my worthiness. When people made fun of me or when I was rejected it was a result of the personal conversations I had with myself. What held me back was me alone. Each day we are all faced with the decision to live a life of lack or live abundantly, it is our choice.

 

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 New International Version (NIV)

³ For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. ⁴ The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵ We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

What I choose in regards to spiritual attacks is to pray, read the word of God, fellowship with others and live a life of accountability. I no longer want depression to rule my every thought. We are all entranced by the history of the story of our lives and many of us don’t realize we control our destiny, we control what is to come. The only way I am going to defeat depression and low self-esteem is by living a life where faith is my only sight. Life has so much to offer and we hold the power to resist the devil and stand on every promise of God. Immediately after the holidays I became physically ill and immediately after my recovery the battle continued in my mind. I chose not to write my blogs because I believed in the lies of my old life. With God I have been made whole. This tells me that I am more than a conqueror and that there is no weapon that can ever be formed against me that will prosper. The battle will never be over until God says that it is over. In the end my life is what I choose not what others choose for me. I control my fate when it is placed in my Father’s hands.

 

James 4:7 New International Version (NIV)

⁷ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

In this verse the children of God are instructed to resist the devil but, most importantly we must submit ourselves to God and the devil will flee from us. When my focus is not on my true purpose the devil comes to encourage false information that God does not love me and I am not enough. He has told me that I should end my life, keep my head down and be afraid of others. The devil is the father of lies and I am happy to say this: He has no power over me. My power is stored in the house of my Lord and savior Jesus Christ. I expect to be tempted even when I am on top. I know there will be days where I will want to through in the towel but, my options will never go back to the lies which once ruled my thoughts and my heart. Quitting is no longer an option.

Romans 3:23 New International Version (NIV)

²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

What this means to me is that God’s glory holds all the power and He has gifted us all to take part in his glory. However our nature gets in the way of God’s glory. It is so important for us all to never accept a low vibrational thoughts as truth. They are not apart of God’s glory. These thoughts lead to sin and we all know that sin leads to death.

Romans 6:23 New International Version (NIV)

²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in^[a] Christ Jesus our Lord.

We are living out a spiritual promise and it is our duty to allow God to fulfill His promises in us. I am the first to say that the road through life is not easy but, I can affirm once more that trouble won’t follow when you don’t create it. What we say is more than words. What we say are instant manifestations of our ultimate reality. A choice is more than vapor and I implore you to choose a life where limitations do not exist. Thank you for visiting my site today and reading todays entry. As we move closer to the holidays there is a spark that moves inside of me which makes me proud to be the founder of the Happy Nappy Project (Happiness Project) and it is my hope to encourage anyone who feels like they may not be enough. I’ve always believed that no degree is required to help a fellow human. We are all born under the same design. When we are down and out healing takes place with love for we are NOT broken. I am on a mission!  If you like this post and my site please join me on this mission today! Like this post, read other entries comment on this post and share with the links bellows.

Live knowing that the choices you make can lead to life or lead to death.

With Gratitude,

Miya

 

Road to Complete Recovery

John 16:33 New International Version (NIV)

³³ “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

I one believed that my status always kept God’s promises far away from my life. With these meditations at hand I began to drink heavily and aligned with individuals who had no interest in keeping me from harm. Instead of goodness and mercy following me throughout my life, trouble and negativity magnetized in every area. To add to the bitterness I felt that discord would always find me especially when I would begin to elevate my circumstances. My life consistently was unleveled and instead of believing I could make a difference in my life I blamed other people and God.

Over the weekend I reminded myself that if God be for me then who could be against me. Since this is true, once I submitted my cross unto God He began the process of change within my life. When “bad” things happen, it doesn’t mean God is against me. When I am denied abundance it isn’t necessarily bad, discomfort creates growth. God continually lights a fire underneath me to build the servant that I need to become. In life I will have to be alone much of the time and I will have to endure much in order to live out the life God has for me. My faith has been weak but, the day I saw the light of God was the day my heavenly Father required so much more of me then I could ever comprehend.

In my journey I have been abused, told that I wasn’t smart enough, told that I was ugly, had to lose all of my possessions, had multiple Judas’ that betrayed me, more than a few Peters that denied me and as I look towards my future I will face each trail with the assurance that God is fulfilling what is required of me. What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger along this winding road of my recovery from self-hate. In  Luke 12: 48 it states:

New International Version (NIV)

⁴⁸ But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

I honestly can’t say what that requirement is but, I trust God. Each time I was knocked down I’ve gotten back up declaring the validity of God’s grace, love and mercy. My conviction verifies that the God I serve is greater in me that he that is of this world.

We all have different stories to tell. Some have lived a very easy life and I call that a blessing. On the other hand there have been people who had to overcome some heavy battles and I call those blessings as well. I’ve seen people who were given beauty for ashes and some who continue to struggle because of their circumstances. The difference between the two types are gratitude and forgiveness both must prevail in order for circumstances to change. God can’t fully bless us when we are at war with what He has declared that we must go through. The more we complain the more things stay the same. When we are in the thick of a storm it is hard to see that we have the ability to wade through troubled waters. The storm is part of the recovery process. Instead of wishing for trouble to end be grateful for the strength gained from the lessons you will learn from the storm. Be grateful and forgive yourself and whomever else that may need forgiveness and trust that in the process God is building a new person in you.

Thank you for reading my blog entry today. Follow the Happiness Project, like this post, comment below and share with the links attached.

Stay Strong,

Miya

Confrontations, A Good Thing?

James 1:3-4 The Message (MSG)

Faith Under Pressure

^2-4 Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

Confrontations invoke the fight or flight mechanism. Daily I scroll through Facebook reading various posts from family and friends. Quite often people vent using social media as a cathartic method. Even from myself there are moans and groans that pour out all the issues of life which can be too much for the heart to bear. As a result people either draw closer to God, question Him or rebuke Him. Sometimes I have to ask myself the question, “Does God even owe me anything?” The answer is, No God doesn’t. God takes a bad rep for the problems we must face. There is a river that flows out of the heart and it travels directly to the mind. Once the mind is contested with passion all power lies in what we say. Do we speak from our deceitful hearts? Or do we accept the challenge to ride the storm with courage and praise? I say we should hold our heads high and praise God through the storms because God has granted us the gift to overcome any adversity we must face in order to grow stronger in Him and walk in fullness of our purpose.

Easier said than done but, understand this: There is purpose in your problem. Whenever I am faced with a crisis I pay special attention to my reactions. How I react displays the level of my faith. It is easy to trust God when all is well but, when faced with difficulty many of us will find a hole to crawl into or we look for others to join our party of misery. There is so much power in the unseen realm. I know this is true because I consider my own weaknesses when I am faced with the issues of life. When men have been rude towards me I internalized their behavior but, what I discovered that was most interesting is that internally I mirrored their ignorance prior to the unfortunate exchange. I’ve now come to the conclusion that I did not love myself and it was God who allowed me to endure the mistreatment of others so that I could see that I was the thief of my own joy. I didn’t stop there though I began to see all of my troubles in this light so that I could better understand the level of my faith. Pandemonium can sometimes trick us into thinking that the world owes us something. I thought this way for a very long time. I tripped and stumbled as a result by blaming every person and thing outside of myself. What bothers me is this: I am not the only one and I know the solution lies in where we place our trust.

God delivers me from what I am not able to understand and I trust that He is a way maker. Whatever I must face is with a purpose to build who Christ needs me to be. Spiritual wellness comes when we trust that God has a plan. God never promised that we would not face dark moments. In fact, God ensures us we will be challenged with much adversity more so when we decide to pick up our cross and follow Christ. I pray for your encouragement through the fire because it will most certainly make you stronger and force you out of focusing solely on what you can’t control. Speak power to what you must face and get excited knowing that you have already won the battle. Also, be mindful of the tricks of the serpent. The devil will always be there to test our faith in God. Don’t let your faith fall to the wayside. Faith is there so we can grow stronger in trusting God. With earnest intentions I urge for you to smile and give thanks. Giving thanks to God combats the devil and his tricks.

Thank you for reading this post today. Follow the Happiness Project, like this post and share with the links below.

Walk by Faith and Not by Sight,

Miya

I Once Believed in a Lie

2 Timothy 1:7 New International Version (NIV)

⁷ For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

 

It bewilders me that I used to believe in the lies that swirled around in my mind. I settled with thoughts of lack and inadequacy. I allowed the devil to slander my beliefs and I took to heart that I was not enough. “Greater is he that is in me than he that is of the world” (1 John 4:4) and I know from scripture that the one that is of the world is Satan for Jesus states: NLT      “I don’t have much more time to talk to you, because the ruler of this world approaches. He has no power over me.” Last night before going to bed I was certainly attacked by the adversary. The pugnacity was different because I saw through a different lens my old actions. From a different perspective I saw myself how I believe God sees me when I am under spiritual attack. God has gifted his people with the Holy Spirit of which his gifts befall these benefits: power, love and self-discipline.

Last night I was sitting in my bed listening to an awesome internet radio show facilitated by two of my co-workers. While listening I began to reflect on how I used to handle situations. As I already stated, I saw myself how God assesses me. I could feel the love and forgiveness pour out towards me when I thought that I was not pretty or smart. I literally reviewed, as in considered, all of my thought processes and acts of low self-esteem. Now I have a conclusion and that is, my path with God is one of an abundance of love. God truly does call on those who are weak and I humbly take heed to His wise counsel. I have been lied to by the enemy, by the devil, for much of my life. I took full responsibility for the years I believed that I was predestined to fail. My flesh may be weak but, it is God who has saved me and gives me strength. With the gifts God gives me I am able to say with power, “Get behind me Satan, You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns” (Matthew 16:23).

The devil in all his craftiness used where I fell short in hopes that I would never attain the life God has for me. I blamed myself for how I felt and settled into my own filthy thoughts. Credit to the devil I once thought that I could save myself and that God was not real, at one point in my life. God spoke loud and clear each time I fell from His grace. I trusted my flesh and the results were damaging that’s why I can say with Truth that ONLY GOD can save me. Not a man, not my family, not my friends, not the money in my bank account, not the way I look, not the way I speak and contemplate (Though I was blessed with a beautiful mind), not myself, it is ONLY GOD who has authority over my fate. I know that I was told a lie because I can turn around and see God’s promises ahead of me and feel His forgiveness behind me.

Bless and keep these words I say as a living witness of God’s grace. Thank you for reading my entry today. Follow the Happiness Project, like this post, leave your comments and share with the links below.

Stay Strong,

Miya