Tag: Positive

Categories
life

Ode to my thirties

Being embraced by the first day of fall, 2023. Andonnia backed by the blue skies and green trees.

Many times reflections start with alllll of the negatives… BUT THIS AINT 35 MM FILM… so… BLESSINGS from my thirties!

There were trips. I didn’t take many trips as a youth unless it was a school conference. Shout out to that trip to NYC in seventh grade with our intercity choir! So… my thirties held visits to friends in other cities and states. It also included some passport stamps, discovering some cool places, taking stunning hobbyist photos, and enlarging my mind.

Here is the beautiful thing about the mind, don’t read brain because they are related but not the same, once it expands…it expands. The new knowledge becomes a part of your knowing and of you! Come on. That’s exciting. (The hard part is recalling the knowledge when you want to… whew ::insert a great big exhale here::).

So the three most powerful parts of my latest decade is: The POWER of GOD in my life, people, and expansion.

If I was to string together the pieces of my testimony that steamrolled my thirties we’d have to also develop those negatives, but KNOW that I know Him. I have seen Him Move for myself. I have felt His embrace. I have prayed and He has answered. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17)… and the more you hear and study the Word, the more of God you learn. You lean into that new knowledge and in turn… activate more trust that the Bible is truth.

People. I know and have met some pretty awesome people. What I love is when I meet someone and God whispers to me that they are a gift! I’ve met musicians, politicians, artists, preachers & pastors, but the most impactful are my friends! I’m grateful for the people God’s sown into my life like seeds that bloom in DUE season.

Finally, the expansion. Mind expansion. Faith expansion. Creative expansion. Expansion of self. Knowledge expansion. Lesson expansion. I’m grateful for it.

I’ve begun to really settle into my house. I’ve been in it over a decade…but slowly I’m making changes that reflect my current pallet. My tastes are being refined. It’s the same with my life. Boundaries aren’t prisons, they are protection. The same way expansion pours in newness, it recognizes what must be pruned away or restricted. That requires a healthy perspective. Will you allow yourself to expand into your current season and assignment?

My thirties were a lot, but not perpetually bad. I am grateful for it.

Hello forties. Bring some hydration, sunshine, sweet memories, and expansion ok?

IVY OUT

Categories
life

PACK EARLY

There are sooo many things that I really wanted to share, but I will settle on short and sweet. 

When you begin to pack for a trip to a new destination you can take one of two approaches. You can meticulously plan ahead and pack with time to spare…or you can rush and throw things together. The latter usually accounts for things left behind. Things of value and purpose. 

Why do we treat our lives in the same manner? Most of the time people long for destinations and things without being ready to transition there. If you want to work…generally you acquire skills needed to complete that work. If you want to cook a dish, it can’t be done without the ingredients. If you want to be married, it’s time to burn the black book. There is ORDER in preparation. (I could segway into people asking God to bless them but living however they choose…but I won’t)

Psalms 37:5 – COMMIT EVERYTHING YOU DO TO THE LORD, TRUST HIM AND HE WILL HELP YOU. 

If the steps of a righteous man are ordered…there are things YOU must do FIRST. 

 

**Disclaimer: THIS BLOG WAS FOR ME!**

IVY OUT

Categories
life

Words are puzzle pieces.

Have you ever wondered why pictures are worth a thousand words? Why language…as it advanced…was filled with more words than pictures? Why, as we grow older, our books are filled with more words and pictures seem to confined to book covers?

It’s a WORD that plays into your puzzle, into the conundrum of life. (Conundrum:
According to dictionary.com 1.
a riddle, the answer to which involves a pun or play on words, as What is black and white and read all over? A newspaper.
2.
anything that puzzles.
Origin: 1590–1600; pseudo-L word of obscure orig.)

Words create our pictures! I can’t help but celebrate the fact that words are immortal! The Word of God, is written in the Bible. It has transcended ages…once orally spoken…then written to continue its mission.

It’s is in this vein that I address the WORDS coming out of our mouths! WHY, speak negative things into our lives? Some of us do it unconsciously. We’ve create this pattern for so many years that its an automatic response! RECONDITION your reactions!

Proverbs 18:21 tells us that the power of life and death is in the tongue. Creation begins in the heart…out of your heart you speak. It’s time to create the fertile ground for greatness, SPEAK IT! When stuff happens, SPEAK AGAINST THE NEGATIVE. Practice today..just say positive things today! I promise the sheer positive energy of a great WORD environment will make you smile!

Ivy Out