Tag: life

Categories
life

RIGHT against the tide..

James 3:13 says: If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. (NLT)

There is a charge for us to live differently.

I wrestled with this concept growing up because it requires responsibility. It’s not always easy to live differently when the majority around us is “living the crazy life”. It doesn’t always feel good to make the decision to swim against the tide.
I made a decision last march to be celibate after 10 years of ignoring what I knew. It has NOT been easy. It has been VERY worth it. I don’t drink anymore. That actually was easy because I have seen personally how alcohol can destroy good people. I have never used drugs, but I have seen what they do to people. So maybe I didn’t list your vice. Maybe it’s over eating, over spending, both examples of gluttony. Maybe it’s list of other things, idolatry- putting things before God, maybe it’s a mental barrier or a hardened heart. Know that #1 God still does heal. He fills empty places! #2 this world doesn’t choose God, so YOU choosing God puts you in a blessed majority. There are rewards on earth and in heaven for living a righteous life. The word calls us to be Holy because God in holy. There isn’t a pause button on that request.

Jesus was the original remix. Your past is forgotten AND forgiven in Christ. Your life is BRAND NEW thanks to the blood of Jesus! There is no hurt He can’t heal! It pays to be different! Living holy takes a heart decision and day to day progression. YOU CAN DO IT!

Ivy Out

Categories
life

Advance like chess pieces

It’s the little things that will always matter to me the most. The subtleties that will always scream from their silent places. When you have peace…so much goes unspoken. When you DON’T have peace…the conversations in your head are loud like grunge bands.

I have peace because I don’t have to know all of the answers.

Two years ago I would try to align pieces that are smooth on all sides. (Impossible right?!) Today, I smile with a request on my heart.

Abba, You know Your daughter’s heart. Tuck it away under Your safe keeping. Guard my mind, that the enemy, nor my own thoughts, root negativity and foundation-less inquiry. Bridle my tongue, that I don’t speak out of turn or withhold that which is given to me to say. -Amen

I want to scream, but that would be insecurity…and with a foundation in Christ, that wouldn’t be ok. I will smile. Test Passed. Next lesson?

Ivy Out

Categories
life

Muck to Masterpiece: Happy

Happy is SUCH A GREAT CHOICE.

So many people are mourning, doubting, breaking, crying, frowning, cowering, and body bent in the world. BE a part of a positive trend to CHOOSE happiness. Not happy because things are just peachy perfect around you. Happy IN SPITE of the situations. Paul talks about being content in any season. Seriously… the made up mind is the champion in this scenario.  I admitted to some of my brothers and sisters at church that I had an Elizabeth spirit. I have learned to truly celebrate with those around me. Like Joseph (Barnabas) I have learned the value of encouragement. Like David I can dance. Like Martha, I know who to trust (the I AM). I am really REALLY smiling right now…as I type this.

The reality means nothing to a God who can do anything, use anyone, …Jesus is the ORIGINAL REMIX. Revelations 21:5 He came to make all things new!!

Trust that the muck can be a masterpiece! Abstract art makes sense to some and no sense to others! I am ART. YEAS! Happy is the most beautiful thing you can put on in the morning and one of the most generous gifts you can give!

**there is an underlying theme in this piece…did you see it? T R U S T G O D;)**

Ivy Out

Categories
life

food for thought

When given an opportunity to make a stand against the status quo, do your instincts tell you to speak up or run?

It can be very uncomfortable to be the “different”, but yet very rewarding.

Individuality in the world is celebrated, individuality in morality is shunned. Why do we do that? Why do we pick and choose from the Bible like a buffet. We don’t get to pick and choose which part of salvation or mercy we receive…why then do we pick and choose what to observe and follow?

If your children obeyed your rules, like we obey God’s, would you punish them?

Food for thought.

Ivy Out

Categories
life

Grow through labor…

There is a comforting place that can sprout out of discomfort when you know that you are in God’s hands. Things won’t always seem right, feel right, or feel comfortable. Comfort is actually a stagnant place. Comfort is where the dust settles and you’re ok. That is NOT a good thing. That means you aren’t growing, you are being tested – therefore you don’t know your strengths. Am I advocating a tumultuous life? Absolutely not! I do know that the life happens to us all, but God orders the steps of a righteous (wo)man.

Carved into every lesson, every new-ness, is labor pains. Thanks to some pesky fruit eating human beings (satirical truth), there is pain associated with birth. I have not given birth to children yet (as a wife, it would be on my “to do” list, lol), but I have heard many say that mothers forget or forgive the pain the first time they see their child. I have experienced this when something I’m assigned to do is difficult. You don’t enjoy the pain that is associated with carrying out a task, but once it’s done it’s an amazing feeling. I have planned events, worked projects with my hands, created new meals, set personal goals, worked with people (JESUS!), and worked with myself. Most all of these required a special measure of endurance which can only be accomplished by finishing until the end. In that, I find a place of comfort in the following words: God has all power. If God assigns me to do something, He has empowered me to complete that work.

If it’s beginning to look a lot like a storm in your life, put on your rain gear and gird yourself with a WHOLE HEAP of JESUS, and grow through it. That very storm maybe the deliverance testimony that someone on their way to your life will need. God is also awesome enough to send you not only the Holy Spirit to comfort you, but great friends. Friends who pray with you, stretch with you, and sometimes just hug you when words are too heavy to speak.

Daddy is good like that 😉

Ivy Out

Categories
life

How Do You Define?

Can people live without definitions?

In school you learned the definitions of terms to help you understand new concepts. Let’s face it, every new concept comes with its own vocabulary. Every grown up knows that industries come with their own language…we call it jargon or acronyms. And yes, I said grown up, maturity doesn’t play a part in detecting that jargon exists.

Can we exist without clear definitions? If we can’t, why did the dictionary fail to define ministry for me? Seriously, I went to two online dictionaries, which left me baffled. The definitions given, although extensive, didn’t tell me what I wanted to know. The perimeters, the confines, the structure of the meaning of the word “ministry”. Ministry, Love, Healing…these are all heavy concepts. Healing as it relates to the medical field could be defined, easy enough, but what about as it relates to the human existence. So many people are seeking healing but they can’t define what they are healing from or what’s needed to heal. So how do you do what you can’t define. How can we effectively minister if we can’t define ministry? It’s simple…you don’t look in the wrong source for the definition.

*insert audible*

Love: can not be defined by man because man didn’t create it. Have you ever realized that if you ask a child (and some adults) what color love is, they will begin to hypothesize answers. Seriously, I work with students, I’ve done it. Our social concepts are constructed without formal education’s guidance because it can’t teach everything. Love is best defined in the word. It’s defined in actions. If I want to know what love is, I look at what love causes people to do. I use the term people lightly because the ultimate view of love was shown by God. From this can I surmise what love “is”. Ministry can also be defined this way. When I looked in the wrong place for the answer, I came up empty handed.

I do NOT believe that human beings with minimal intelligence can live in a world without definition…which means the “super-smart-intelligent-can-figure-out-anything” human beings MOST CERTAINLY CAN NOT. So throw caution to the wind and realize that you must look in the right place to set your foundational knowledge.

*women define relationships, men define boundaries, politicians define policy, God defines love. (not an inclusive statement…but definitely true by definition, lol)

Ivy Out

Categories
life

For once in my life!

i respect the necessary

i understand patience

she isn’t out to get me

she is working in my favor

for there are some clouds that come with the rainbow

first it must rain

i’ve been through four years sprinkled with pain

i’ve had to say hello and good bye countless times

i’ve had to grow up and face the facts

some of the people that hurt me,

i let them do that

i now realize that time isn’t my enemy

she’s stood by me

quietly waiting

for me to get to today

my hope is in the Lord

not in man

and with all the emotion in my body

i am not over come

my prayers are my BEST friends

they fortify me when life seems to sink

my praise uplifts me

and there is NOTHING like my worship

you’d think we were siamese twins

because loose or win, I worship

this is a good place.

i don’t touch everything i like

i don’t like everything i see

and what i like, i wait on the Lord to give me

put yourself in my shoes,

for once in my life,

i can say…I’m GOOD. =)

Categories
life

Truth Serum

I really am curious about who/what is shaping our nation. There is a generation of misguided people running around here with strong opinions. Unfortunately…when people feel strongly about what they “know” they become argumentative.

I think, even though I hate studying History, I need to get back to History. How do we have a strong opinion and be complete ignorant? How do we expect respect and we speak out of turn? Where is decorum hiding? Where is respect? Who is teaching, who is learning? Where are we as a nation if our children AND legal adults are unlearned.

What you don’t value leaves your life. What you don’t learn now…will rise up again.

Where are our Elders?

Help us LORD!

Ivy Out

Categories
life

THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT

Before the world became addicted to technology…there was an application put in place for our lives: THE BIBLE.

That’s it. Nothing super-deep.

Ivy Out

Categories
life

Golden Honesty

The good thing about honesty is it keeps its own track record.

When you are faced with the opportunity to be honest with yourself, you then have to deal with the implications of that honesty. Are there things you can do better, and more importantly, are there things you haven’t celebrated enough? One of my mentors told me that I’m too hard on myself. My reaction: Really? I don’t really think I’m hard enough on myself. That’s probably part of the problem. Not having a realistic scope of what is acceptable and what is not. I blame my prior high achievement. I grew up not really “accepting” compliments based on things that I should do well naturally. I mean…I’m supposed to do well in school. I’m supposed to perform well in competition (isn’t that the point of rehearsal?). I am supposed to excel in everything I do, right? Well, kinda.

I have created a Ft. Knox around my life to shut people out who don’t enhance my life. That conversely means that I have shut myself in. I have walled up a huge defense system with no offensive mechanism. My football fans can attest…you can’t win a game without Defense AND Offense. Blocking out others maybe useful at times but it won’t WIN for you. My entire scope of winning was based on my past alone. Well, the world isn’t just built on my personal past. There are the “cloud of witnesses” looking down on me and either encouraging me or praying for me, lol. There are those who paved the way before me. (Good practice, know who paved the way in your particular field of endeavors) There are those who are running this race with me at the present time. They are not in competition with me, we all have our own destinies. There are valuable people in this world who are planted to help me advance. Our relationships are symbiotic. It is a true give and receive relationship that isn’t one sided. I am grateful for people who plant seeds in my life. I am grateful for those who served in their season and were plucked and pruned. I am grateful for those who are dormant until their harvest season. I am grateful for my heavenly Gardener who doesn’t give up on his little orchid in all of the delicate environments that I have lived in. I am thankful for my earthly gardeners who groomed and watched over me as I began to mature. I am distinctly grateful for my LIFE mentor who told me to STOP beating myself up. She, someone I greatly respect and admire, has gone through life and learned a great deal. She didn’t bottle it up, she shares it with others in hopes of seeing them elevated. She is a very pretty reflection of God’s grace and growth. Her words to me echo in my ears now.

In my little fortress there is one way in and no way out. That leaves me with one solution. To relive the pressure on myself, I have to decompose the bricks. One by one, I am honest about my growth. I am honest about my accomplishments. I recognize where it is that I’ve come from. I most certainly am grateful to God for the ability to see far beyond my current situation. I am going to remove the bricks of my fort and build a monument of gratitude. I will use what I’ve experienced and been taught to enrich others. I will take time for myself. If I don’t preserve the self I have now, someone else will be burdened with my final preservation. I’m not ready to lay down and die, so I have to wake up and live!

If you can share my thoughts on “living” and not “existing” then know that you are human too. Every plan doesn’t end well. Every day doesn’t slaughter your to “done” list. Each vision doesn’t come quick. Ahh, but every day you have a reason to celebrate. Start there. Live celebrating the fact that you still have life!

Brick by Brick,

Ivy Out (With special reverence to Ms. Jade Gold)