I'm A Chritian Living With Fear

"The phrase 'do not be afraid' is written in the bible 365 times. 

That's a daily reminder to be fearless everyday."

I have seen this quote several times and I usually agree with it, but I find it hard for me to be fearless when I hear about another black man being shot and killed by the police. It's hard for me not to think, "Will this happen to my husband, son, father, nephews, cousins, etc." It's also hard for me not to think, "Will this happen to me, my daughter, my mother, my sisters, my nieces, my cousins, etc."

My wedding day...There's POWER IN PRAYER

I was raised in a strong Christian home where we were taught to live by faith, but sometimes I whisper to God that I have very little faith right now. During those times He reminds me to have faith in Him, and not those who were sworn in to protect us or our judicial system. With that said, do I live everyday without fear? No, I don't. However, when I do I'm honest with God about my fears and go to scriptures on fear; such as, 

• Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. (Isaiah 41:10, NLT)
• For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7, KJV)
  
• Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. (1 Peter 5:7, NLT)
• Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
   (Philippians 4:6, NIV)
  

Do my fears immediately disappear? No, but I do have a peace that surpasses all my understanding. Yes, God wants me to live a life without fear, but He also wants me to be honest about how I feel and trust Him to protect my family and I. So today with fear in my heart, and unanswered questions in my mind, I declare "Lord I believe, but please help my unbelief." The only way I know how to stay sane, and not worry myself to death during all these senseless killings is to:

1. Pray fervently
2. Dig deeper in scripture and remind myself and my family of the promises of God
3. Quote scriptures throughout my day, and personalize them with the person I'm praying for name. (For example: God knows the plans He has for Tiffany, Dontay, Joy, and Bry, plans to prosper us and not harm us, plans to give us hope and a future.)
4. Surround myself around those who are strong in their faith
5. Hug my family a little tighter and spend more time with them (the dishes can wait)
6. Continue to trust God because He's still in control even when I don't understand the whys and hows of life. 

There are so many more ways we can encourage ourselves that are not listed above. I'd love to hear ways you encourage yourself and combat fear.

Plan To Get It ALL Done!

“Simplicity will stand out while complexity will get lost in the crowd.” ~ Kevin Barnett

Today I will find a way to do all I have to do without being overwhelmed by it or lost in it all. I will simplify things instead of making everything seem so complex. I realize the effectiveness of what I do is not determined by how complex it is, but how simple I ...make it. I will force myself to see the simplicity in each task I have instead of complaining about how difficult it is to get everything completed in a timely manner.

Photo credit:

 http://www.dawn-productions.com/as-i-see-it/confucian-wisdom-life-is-really-simple-but-we-insist-on-making-it-complicated/attachment/confucius_life-is-really-simple-but-we-insist-on-making-it-complicated/

If you’re following my Keys to Excellence page on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/keystoexcellence) you may recognize the words above. Each year for the past few years The Lord has given me a word to use to better my life instead of me using New Year’s resolutions. Well, a few years ago He gave me the word simplicity to use. That was one of the best years of my life. I am a very detailed person, and because of that I tend to focus on things a lot longer than I should and make things bigger than they really are. Every since I began incorporating the word simplicity into my life I’ve realized that I’m not as angry, I do a better job of planning ahead, and I’m not as overwhelmed or anxious. For the record there are days where I feel like I’m being pulled in one thousand different directions; however, I choose not to move in every direction I’m being pulled in. I pray and ask God for guidance and for Him to lead me in the direction He wants me to go.

Today I have an assignment for you. The only thing you will need is a sheet of paper or your journal, a pen/pencil, a quite space with no distractions, and honesty. At the top of the paper write SIMPLICITY. Now, take a look at your life, your home, your schedule/job, and your relationship with others. What tasks seem to cause your head to hurt, your heart rate to speed up, or your palms to become sweaty? Write those tasks down as quickly as possible without thinking too much about it. Now, I would like for you to organize this list from smallest to largest. The reason for this is because we sometimes become so consumed with tackling the larger tasks that we forget about the smaller ones. Those smaller tasks that we once forgot about will eventually become bigger tasks. Next, write down your current plan of action and how you actually get those things done at this very moment? This is where the honesty really comes in. Don’t write down how you imagine or perceive yourself to get these tasks done. Write down how you really get them done. If you put them off then write that down. If they never get done, then write that down.  Draw two columns: 1) What works for me? 2) What doesn’t work for me? Then list the things that work for you and those that don’t work well for you. If you have to think about if it works longer than 10-15 seconds then you need to write it down under the do not work for me column. Each thing you have written down on your paper is an elephant (tasks) you need to “eat one bite at a time.” Now, turn your paper over and answer this question:

 How can I break things down into smaller task and still accomplish the same goal?

I haven’t made my list yet, but one thing I’ll definitely have on my list will be laundry. I absolutely hate folding clothes. I’ve tried telling myself I love it over and over again. I’ve tried reminding myself that I have small children who will one day be adults, and that I need to make the most of these moments while doing their laundry. Guess what? I still do not like it. I do not mind washing, drying, and putting the laundry up, but I hate folding it. Since we will be moving soon I need a better plan. The plan I had before was that I would wash and dry everything, and my husband and the kids would fold them. With my husband work schedule I can’t expect him to keep the laundry folded for me weekly. My new plan is to:

        ~ Assess everything I have and see if we really need all of the clothes we have moving forward. Do I really need as many “walk around the house” clothes? Does the kids really need as many play clothes? I already know my answer will be no. I will do this by going through one room at a time over a period of 3 weeks (3 bedrooms at 1 per week). So, I will get rid of even more clothes than I did when we moved.

        ~ Also, I will do a better job of recycling clothes and see if we can wear them again before washing them.

      ~ I will stick to a schedule of doing laundry 3 days per week with a minimum of 2 loads of clothes per laundry day (I might not have to 6 loads per week, but I want to set myself up for success).

      ~ I will fold and put away each load of laundry as soon as the drying cycle is complete.

       ~ I will continue having the kids to help hang and fold their laundry. They will only be allowed to get their laundry done on the weekends, so that means I will have to make sure all of my husband and I clothes, the towels, and linens are washed on laundry days opposite of the kids.

        ~ Finally I will ask for help when needed. This is one of my biggest struggles, but I’m determined to overcome it. We all need each other.

Please comment to let me know what’s one task you plan to work on “one bite at a time.” By the way, this blog post was created on August 11, 2014; however, I forgot to post it because of trying to make it "perfect". Today I decided to post it as it, so please do not focus on the mistakes more than the overall message.

In His Love,

Tiffany

 

The Perfect Time to Trust His Timing

Life gets so busy, and we sometimes use the mundane task and business of life as our excuse to not live the life we were created to live. I’ve really wanted to jump full force into the blogging thing, but when you’re a newbie and don’t know what you’re doing it can seem to be so cumbersome. With all of my duties as a wife, mother, founder of one organization and co-founder of another, living with my parents for the time being (will blog about that later), and still trying to incorporate my gift of writing into all of that, it became extremely tiring trying to figure out “how to blog”. I do a pretty good job of updating my facebook pages, Keys to Excellence https://www.facebook.com/keystoexcellence and Destined for Royalty facebook.com/pages/Destined-For-Royalty/114523315305311, but I still feel detached from my love of writing about how I feel. I feel that I can reach more people via Facebook, but I still miss the opportunity to just write without boundaries. I’ve been feeling the Lord leading me back to my blog, but I kept giving into excuses instead of giving into His timing and trusting that He would straighten out the details. A lot of times we sit back and wait for the perfect time, but we have to first make sure we’re connected to the Perfect One who knows exactly what we need at just the right moment. Today I really needed to read this excerpt from Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling (http://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Calling-Enjoying-Peace-Presence/dp/1591451884):

"Trust Me and refuse to worry, for I am your Strength and Song. You are feeling wobbly this morning, looking at difficult times ahead, measuring them against your own strength. However, they are not today's tasks - or even tomorrow's. So leave them in the future and come home to the present, where you will find Me waiting for you. Since I am your Strength, I can empower you to handle each task as it comes. Because I am your Song, I can give you Joy as you work alongside Me.

Keep bringing your mind back to the present moment. Among all my creatures, only humans can anticipate future events. This ability is a blessing, but it becomes a curse whenever it is misused. If you use your magnificent mind to worry about tomorrow, you cloak yourself in dark unbelief. However, when the hope of heaven fills your thoughts, the Light of My Presence envelops you. " (Exodus 15:2, 2 Corinthians 10:5, Hebrews 10:23)

This excerpt reminded me that today is the perfect time to trust His timing. I will write without fear. I will give all of me without the fear of being exposed. I will no longer use the excuse “it’s not the right time”.  I will no longer measure things against my own strength, but against His strength. My power to be who I was created to be doesn’t lie in me or my abilities, but it lies in Him who empowers me. 

{Picture above found on Pinterest...original source unknown} k as it comes. Because I am your Song, I can give you Joy as you work alongside Me.

Keep bringing your mind back to the present moment. Among all My creatures, only humans can anticipate future events. This ability is a blessing, but it becomes a curse whenever it is misused. If you use your magnificent mind to worry about tomorrow, you cloak yourself in dark unbelief. However, when the hope of heaven fills your thoughts, the Light of My Presence envelops you. Though heaven is future, it is also present tense. As you walk in the Light with Me, you have one foot on earth and one foot in heaven.

The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
—Exodus 15:2

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.
—2 Corinthians 10:5

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
—Hebrews 10:23

30 Days of Positive Thinking...Day One

I know for a fact that I've intentionally practiced being positive since 2009 (do not get intentionally mixed up with consistently), but I'm determined now more than ever to make a habit of speaking and thinking positively. This morning as I was watching television I felt like The Lord led me to begin a 30 Days of Positive Thinking Challenge. Paula White states, "Proverbs 18:21 reveals that death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. Job 22:28 says we can decree a thing and it will be established unto us and the light shall shine upon our way." If God can speak to a situation and tell the storm, "Peace Be Still", then so can I since He did say that I was created in His image (Genesis 1:27). We have not experienced what God want us to experience because we have not used the power and the authority He has given us through our words. Today I accept the challenge to live the life God wants me to live. I will no longer allow dead things to live in my life and things that should live to die in my life. Today two scriptures that I am declaring and decreeing over my life is Jeremiah 1:5 and 1:9-10. Are you up for the challenge? What scriptures do you speak over your life?

Seeking God first in all your ways

This morning I opened my Bible to start following a reading plan instead of just doing my own thing during my devotional time. The scripture for today is Matthew 6:33..."But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you." (ESV) I almost slammed my Bible shut when I read this scripture because I've read it so many times but never allowed it to sink as deep into my spirit as it did today. In my mind I was like, "Really God? Is that all I have to do?" I don't know why I asked God such a silly question when I already knew that was all I had to do. Sometimes the hardest part about doing is doing what you already know to do. What I've learned these past few weeks is that as soon as I take control of my mind and allow that space to only be occupied by Godly thoughts then my life seems to flow so much smoother. It's not that everything is peaches and cream, but it makes going through the tough days much easier. I refuse to allow the devil to use my mind as his playground, see-sawing and merry go rounding while swinging back and forth and eventually sliding down the slide into my actions. I refuse to be used by Satan to glorify him. I do have the mind of Christ, and I will follow after His righteousness in all of my ways. So today I encourage you on your journey to perfectionism to perfect living out Matthew 6:33 and watch God start adding things to you. 

Prayer:

Father I thank You for being the God of a second chance. I acknowledge that I have not been seeking You and Your kingdom first. I acknowledge that sometimes I seek my own righteousness because it makes more sense to me. I refuse to continue to worship Satan by not following after You and Your righteousness. I thank You for being a forgiving God, and for forgiving me for my trespasses. I declare today that I will seek after You and Your ways in every area of my life and I thank You in advance for what will be added to my life for doing so...Amen

In His love and mine,
Tiffany

Why is being authentic so hard?

     I haven't blogged in a while because it seemed like blogging was the last thing on my mind with everything else I had to do. I believe that we focus less on the things that we should be focusing on more a lot more often than we want to admit. I have been trying really hard to be authentic, but sometimes I find it hard because I allow my pride (fear, rejection, doubt, etc...) to keep me from revealing the "real me" to the world. I honestly believe the world is tired of seeing fake people, but social media (in my opinion) encourages its followers to post/reveal the good looking things in our life. I'm at a point in my life where I do not mind revealing the not so good stuff about my life if it will help encourage and lift others up. 

     I started this blog in February, but I never shared it because I was unsure if I would keep up with it. Well, after 2-3 days I decided to stop blogging because it was taking too much time and energy away from my family. The entire process of trying to figure out how to set my blog up, share my blog, get followers, etc...was overwhelming to say the least. The same thing happens when I use Facebook. Sometimes I find myself on a role posting encouraging messages and then it seems that the few minutes it takes me to log on and post a message and log back off is time I could be spending with my family. I know that God has called me to do the things I do, but I just can't seem to get the order that He has called me to do them in correct. I know for a fact that the reason I can't get the order correct is because sometimes I find myself putting Him last. Have you ever found yourself finding every excuse to use as to why you were unable to read your Bible, pray (I mean really pray not just babble a prayer), teach your kids bible scriptures, etc... 

     I am determined more than ever to start back putting more energy into cultivating my relationship with God than my relationship with my husband, children, family, and friends. I was on a role getting everything right and when I say my life was unbelievable...I honestly couldn't believe how awesome my life was myself (and still is). The thing that made my life so awesome was that God was actually first. I started my day with Him, I allowed Him into each and every part of my day, I never made a decision without consulting Him, I became intimate with Him, I ended my day with Him, I dreamed about Him...God really directed every aspect of my life. The last 3 weeks I feel like I just haven't been able to get it right, but it was because I refused to acknowledge that God was no longer first in my life. He was no longer my "boo thang" as much as I hated to admit it. Do you sometimes find yourself afraid of admitting the truth when God already knows the truth? I don't know why I was afraid to admit it, but once I did it seems like the dust that was covering my eyes was gone and I was able to get out of the rut I found myself in.

    Sometimes we find ourselves hiding from the truth, or hiding the truth from others when what we need to do is acknowledge the truth so that we can be set free to grow and become who we were destined to be. So many people hide behind social media and only post to the world the stuff that looks good. I refuse to be that kind of person. I refuse to blog or be on facebook posting stuff when my home is out of order, my marriage is hanging on by a string, my kids are out of order, I'm out of order (lol!), etc... I refuse to live a lie in the public eye and feel like it's ok. It's not ok because I’m missing out on my chance to help set someone else free. 

     So many Christians and non-believers are hurting because no one is willing to be authentic anymore. The last six months of my life has all but fallen apart. The thing that has kept me sane and kept my life in tact is my faith in God. I can't think of any other way I would've made it through what felt like the hell I was going through. I know that God has taken me through so much because my testimony will glorify him, but why did I press pause on my quest to be vulnerable for Him and allow others to come behind the scenes of my life? I can’t answer that question, but one thing I know for sure is that I’ve pressed play again and I’m ready to be who I know I was called to be. Being authentic, truthful, and vulnerable is who God has called me to be in this season. God may not have called you to share the things that He has called me to share, so don’t judge me because I’m being who I was called to be. I challenge you today to be who you were created to be. The way to do it is the same way you eat an elephant "by taking one bite at a time, and enjoying each bite you take along the way." 

Hello world, I am Tiffany Williams, and I'm a royal woman that’s destined for royalty. 

In His love and mine,

Tiffany