Operation: Address the Mess

   I arrived home from work and walked into my apartment building only to be greeted by a bird flying almost square into my face last night. I guess that's what happens when you live in the ghetto burbs ha-ha. After that I was finally able to relax, but admittedly not for long. I have my gorgeous, softhearted friend who I haven't seen since last year coming into town this weekend. My apartment wasn't ready for company and my schedule is pretty much booked for the rest of the week. There was a small trail of clothes starting at the front door that led to my bathroom. There were magazines, mail, and newspapers forming a club on my coffee table. The way my shoes trickled out of my closet, and the way the sleeves on my shirts seemed to be reaching out for my attention would have had you believe that there were surely monsters in there. I was exhausted. Surprisingly, my kitchen sink was empty.

    I couldn't help but look at next month's schedule after that: my brother coming into town, a bridal shower, a bacherolette party, a mixer, two weddings, another wedding the next month, you name it. I dared not complain though because there once was a time where I probably complained about being bored. In fact, I'm actually looking forward to all of these fun filled events and cannot wait to reach each weekend, and hopefully with grace. Here's where I started to get things a little twisted: I was dwelling too much on what I have to do to get ready for these events and not enough on slowing down so that I will be able to enjoy them. As I look back, I am reminded of the Bible story about Mary and Martha. 

    Martha was so consumed in making everything perfect for Jesus while Mary sat at His feet and enjoyed His presence. My problem wasn't that I was not spending enough time with God. My problem was I wasn't spending quality time with God by basking in and enjoying His company throughout the day. Because of this I was worrying and full of anxiety instead of resting and putting my trust in Jesus. I know that the only way I can deal with the problems that I face and the busyness of life is by spending my time in His presence so that He can heal my pain and give me rest so I can recharge. While I spend time in His presence He reveals to me my true state and truthfully, it's not where I want to be. I yearn for so much more. I want to get to know Him deeper. I want to have a divine revelation of His love. I want to understand His power more and more. I want to be a dedicated slave to Jesus. I want to obey. I want to be content in my circumstances, but not in my relationship with Him. I want more.

So today I will relay the word that the Lord gave me this morning for you all:

Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS, again I say rejoice! No matter what you're struggling with, no matter what temptations grab for your attention, no matter the busyness of your schedule or the lack thereof, no matter your circumstances - good or bad, no matter your home life, no matter your work situation, no matter your social "status" REJOICE. There is a shift that takes place in the atmosphere and in our thoughts when we give Him thanks instead of complaints. You can do this today. I believe in you and most importantly Jesus believes in you.

    You see, beloved, as we put our trust in Him to do the work in us it starts to happen. We come to a place where we learn to fully rely on God and not on our own efforts. We have to address the mess and realize that the only one who can truly free us is Jesus. This is where we arrive at a place where we can successfully advance to what He has for us next because we are willing to deal with the now. For example, you can't arrive at your destination safely without taking your car to a mechanic to get your oil changed, to have someone come and change your flat tire, or to have a mechanic check under the hood for any underlying problems. We don't just stop the car and quit. We don't just trust that the car won't break down or that the problems won't grow bigger when there are already red flags. Therefore, we stop being stagnant and come to the realization that God already has the solution to every single situation. We give it to Him and realize that we CAN face each and every day with exuberance. We see that we can be sassy in the Spirit and that with authority we can tell Satan to stick that in his juice-box and suck it. We see things for what they are, the importance of the state of our hearts above all else and the ability of God to reform, restore, and transform us into strong soldiers in God's army. So again I say, "REJOICE!"

2 Timothy 2:3 - "Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus."

1 Corinthians 1:29 - "......so that no man may boast before God."

Philippians 4:4 - "Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice!"

The People Pleaser Reader

    Have you ever went out and fed the homeless and had someone tell you that you're focusing on works to be saved? Have you ever preached about grace and had someone tell you that you're using it as an excuse? Have you ever preached against sin and had someone call you legalistic? Have you ever preached about God's will and had someone say you believe in the law of attraction? Have you ever preached about reaping what you sow and had someone say you're this or that because it's karma? Have you ever preached about humility and had someone say you're prideful because you're preaching about humility? Have you ever preached the law of righteousness and had someone tell you it's not love? Have you ever felt confident and had someone call you conceited only to make you go back to feeling insecure? Have you ever preached about purity and had someone tell you that because of your past you can't? Have you ever used wisdom and had someone demand that you can trust them? Have you ever tried to reconcile God's way only to have someone reject you? Have you ever told the truth to a friend only to have them say you're judgmental? 

    Have you ever? I know I have many times. First off, I want to encourage you to examine your motives. 2 Corinthians 11:28 - "Examine your motives, test your heart, come to this meal in holy awe."  Please take into account that what people say might be true and that we're all going to be put to the test. From experience of impure motives I had to take a look at my actions before I could see others reactions in the right light. Proverbs 16:2 - "All a person's ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the LORD." Secondly, if you put your words to the test of God's and find that you're in right-standing with Him then please don't let people's misinterpretations and assumptions discourage you from your walk. So many times I've let people steal my peace just because I let in what they were pushing on me. No. More. 1 Corinthians 2:11 - "No one can know a person's thoughts except that person's own spirit, and no one can know God's thoughts except God's own spirit." If we are all doing what we're supposed to be doing by testing our hearts and testing spirits then our lives are pleasing to God.

    Life gets dangerous when we take our eyes off of Jesus. Many words, lies, assumptions, and hurts come our way and if we aren't living in the Spirit then those spirits can severely damage us. If we aren't living in the Spirit we are living in the flesh and if we're living in the flesh, we're focused on flesh. I used to let other people's words and actions affect me tremendously. I began to look at those people for my identity, my approval, and my affirmation. Believe me when I say that I'm still not perfect when it comes to that now, but I think we all do that at times and it hurts us even more so when those people were once close. We then start to live to try to please them, but we can't take things personally because people hurt us purposefully. When we accept what they say we reject what God's Word says about us. (Click Link For More) Ephesians 6:12 - "For we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against principalities, powers, and rulers of darkness of the unseen world." When we focus what's really at stake in the Spirit we see it for what it is - Satan using people to work against us. We start to see that their spirit is not in line with the Spirit. Luke 6:45 says, "A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." After first examining ourselves we are able to execute righteous judgments about spirits when we test them. When we focus on Jesus we're able to see who we really are. We become a God pleaser like we should be because let's just be real; nobody has the time or the energy to please everybody! So honey, do yourself a favor and live to please your Father.

Sleeping With Sin

    Lust is a big problem in society today and I don't have to tell anybody that. It is obvious that you pass the objects of its affections on billboards, on everything from internet to television to magazine ads, you see it in the mall on store front windows and you see it walking the halls at school or at work.  It is a struggle that I have personally gone through and a battle that I face every day, as most of my faithful readers know. I have talked about this subject a lot in the past, but today I am going to touch on something different (feel free to look back at my previous posts for more). It's not something you should hide and it's not something you should be embarassed about because let's be real - 99.9% of people go through it. That statistic is made up, of course because there is no real way of knowing unless I am God. The point I'm trying to make is that your church may not be talking about it or they may be judging you by it, your parents might be acting as if they have no idea that you're going through it, and at some point in your life as a Christian you probably were or are getting mad at God that sex before marriage is sin.

    I am familiar with that "logic". I am familiar with wanting it. I am familiar with not caring anymore. I'm familiar with thinking my relationships will work despite it being in the mix.  I'm familiar with it, period. I'm also familiar with the mind of Christ, thinking upon things that are holy, admirable, lovely, and pure. I am familiar with the struggle of going back and forth. I'm familiar with wanting the things that God wants for me. I'm familiar with the pain it brings when those relationships don't work out. You hear a lot of people tell you to not focus on the negative, but when it comes to sin looking at the negative can become an advantage because the negative effects always outweighs the seemingly positive effects of it. Most of us have developed this addiction based on not feeling loved or even because of insecurity or greed. Well guess what? God doesn't want to see you mask these problems with more of them. He wants to heal you, completely heal you and He doesn't want to strip away your fun either. 1 Corinthians 6:9 says - "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor those who practice homosexuality..."

    Those are not my words especially because most of my life I would not have been inheriting the kingdom of God for walking in habitual sin concerning this. Not inheriting the kingdom of God is the bigger picture, but there is also a smaller picture. Why does He tell us this if not to protect us? He tells us this for so many other reasons. Take masturbating, my biggest struggle. If we're so used to pleasing ourselves then when we do have a husband/wife it will be harder for them to fulfill our sexual desires. A friend gave me a great quote a couple of weeks ago or so: "If you keep masturbating and stimulating yourself, when your husband (or wife) comes, you will be fighting in the bedroom because you are so used to pleasing yourself" - Dr. Lorneka Rahming Joseph. It is the same with having sex before marriage or looking at pornography. If you really love the person that you have married then you are going to have such a hard time when these images pop into your head. You will constantly have to be rebuking these. Even in something as basic as having an ex who you've never slept with can be dangerous if you do not rebuke the temptation to compare everyone with them and the temptation to dwell on them.

    God doesn't want you to date or entertain just anybody, for your own sake. Think about it. It can be hard even to be in a healthy relationship if you've had an ex, or even if you've had somebody that you've entertained hurt you. You have to go through a long, painful process of God healing you of trust issues, insecurities, wounds from any kind of abuse and more. It is so much easier when your first relationship is your last relationship, but for those (including myself) who have already been in an unhealthy relationship, or even in many unhealthy relationships, there is still hope. I know because I see healing in my own life. It sure does kill, but I know that sand doesn't become a pearl without the clam going through a painful process. I believe that one day, I will see complete healing from those wounds and that I'll see that healing also happen in many of you. So I will end this post with saying that listening to God never fails no matter what He's speaking to you about. Trusting God to heal you never does either. We're all striving towards the finish line. We're all facing some sort of battle. Why not be here to uplift and help each other along?

"V" is for Victorious, not Victoria's Secret

    Today while singles are complaining about not having a Valentine and couples are complaining about trying to make last minute reservations, while the majority of men who are of this world actually view this day as Happy "V" Day and while the majority of women in this world view this day as the only day where love means they get shiny gifts of jewelry and sweet gifts of chocolate, while Hallmark is making big bucks off of last minute purchasers buying cards with cheesy Valentine's Day poems in them and flower companies are running out of red roses to sell, let's just stop and remember what love really is. Love isn't just a word; it's an action, it's a person whose name is Jesus. I could take this post in a number of different directions. In fact, I already wrote this post and deleted every paragraph that was already written except what I have written above. Isn't God funny? I had written all about what love is and what love isn't, but then God showed me the ideal act of love.

    Well today I fully believe that God wants me to write about forgiveness. He has already spoken that clearly to me and I feel such peace about it. How many of us have been hurt by an ex? I know I have! Well what I'm about to write is something that God wants you to apply to every relationship that you've had and every relationship that you will have. I went through two major heartbreaks this past year by breaking off an engagement and another relationship after that. I can't say that I was completely devastated because I was thankful God had revealed what He had to me, but I can say that I was severely damaged and upset, and rightfully so. I had asked God to help me to forgive and after that I really thought I had done so. Wrong. Every single time someone would bring up something related to the situation I could feel my face heating up. You could say that my blood was boiling out of bitterness, but Ephesians 4:31-32 says, "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."

    It wasn't long ago that I started reading the book Bait of Satan by John Bevere. I'm actually still in the middle of it and I am being utterly wrecked by that book so far. I feel like an advocate for this book because I would recommend it to anyone and everyone. It helped me understand so many things that I was in need of understanding and it helped me realize the importance of forgiving from the heart. I was severely wronged and you might be reading this and relating to that admittance. You might have been cheated on over and over again, you might have been raped or molested, you might have been lied about, abused and misused, you might have been thrown in jail for something you did or didn't do, you might have had your purity stolen from you or you might have given your purity to someone who told you that they loved you but didn't mean a thing they said. Guess what? I've been there and I understand the pain that you're feeling deep inside. I understand the tears that well up in your eyes at night. I've been there. I know what pain is. But beloved one, He says in Luke 6:37 - "Forgive, and you will be forgiven." If we negate the premise, it negates the conclusion. "Don't forgive, and you will not be forgiven."  Do not put limits on forgiveness. Someone could have been utterly wicked to you, but we still sinned against God while He was blameless. The same goes for you and forgiving yourself. What a slap in the face it is that God forgave you and you cannot forgive yourself. His grace allows you to be FREE from your past iniquity. It changes us, wrecks us, reforms us, restores, and transforms us!

    He forgave a debt we could NEVER repay so how dare we not forgive a small debt in comparison to that. (See The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant in Matthew 18:21) They might never change their ways, but you do not want to live the rest of your life being stagnant because you've held onto those offenses. There was one quote from Bait of Satan that struck me (along with several others I might add): "We are to be so far removed from avenging ourselves that we willingly risk being taken advantage of again." Now please don't take that and put yourself in a position where you could risk getting abused again. We are also told to use wisdom, but what a revelation that is. Luke 17:3-4 - "So watch yourselves. "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times he comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him." Romans 12:20 - "On the contrary: 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." What a blessing it is to love those who do not love you back!

    One of my favorite Bible stories lately has been the one of Saul and David. David loved Saul, he looked up to Saul as his leader! They were super close, best bud status. But Saul grew jealous of David and sought to end his life. David was devastated. David ran for his life! (Oh, Sweet Brown ha ha! That YouTube video is absolutely hilarious.) Anyways, David had the chance to have revenge two times. The first time Saul was pursuing him vehemently. Saul had gotten close enough to kill him, but he didn't even know because David had hid in a cave. David could have taken Saul's life at the swing of a sword, but instead cut Saul's jacket and made an appeal to him of his innocence and integrity. Saul left, but even after knowing David's heart Saul went after him again intentionally. The second time David could have gotten revenge was when him and his military leader, Abishai, went into Saul's camp while they were sleeping. Despite Abishai's encouragement to kill Saul, David would not relent his stand. He refused to avenge himself and ultimately proved the purity of his heart. Romans 12:19 - "Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord." Only God's justice is righteous! Later on in the story we find out that Saul dies at the edge of his own sword. What was David's reaction? He mourned. Not only did he mourn; he composed a song in his honor. That is truly the definition of a man after God's own heart.

    This past week I also realized that I had an offense toward a place that I needed to forgive (yes, a place). I was angry about all of the things that happened there. I want you to realize from this that it is possible to have bitterness in your heart that doesn't even concern people. You might have bitterness in your heart towards, say, Valentines Day. You might not have gotten chocolate or flowers or even somebody simply telling you that they love you. Well first, I want to say that I love you dearly and Jesus loves you perfectly. I encourage you to look at this day as one out of many days to celebrate the definition of love. Jesus is SO worthy of your glory, honor, and praise! You can do what I do and use this day as an excuse to buy yourself a box of chocolates or (as long as you can afford it) use it as an excuse to buy a shiny piece of jewelry from Jesus. (It works!) Also, radiate the love of Christ to those around you. If He lives inside of you then you should be that light of love. SO many people need to be aware of how much they are really loved especially on Valentines Day, but also on every other day. I'll leave you with this: love your brother, love your enemies, love strangers! God knows each and EVERY single one of them personally and remember this Valentines Day that "V" is for victorious, not Victoria's Secret. This means living a life of forgiveness.

Synthetic Love

Synthetic Love

By: Elaina Grace Morgan

It was the summer of 2000 whatever when I was wrapped in a blanket of synthetic love.

I had known that real love was wrapped in swaddling clothes..lying in a manger.

But this kind of blanket birthed a stranger to it.

I didn't see that this blanket was fabricated

By lies and manipulation,

Dedicated constantly to seeing me come to the end of my rope,

Dedicated to pushing and shoving me so that I'd lose all of my hope..

Even if it meant tattooing a name on me - hypocrite.

Yet the next day supposedly God's grace was sufficient,

And it really only applied to it..

In every relationship.

I became weak.

I heard of intoxicating love,

But I was intoxicated by drugs at the end of the week.

So much pressure on every side of me that somehow freedom was too far off,

Because I had forgotten my worth

With every single abusive word.

It was not too long after being freed from that

That synthetic love decided to come back in a new form.

It wrapped me up again,

Reminiscing wanting to play pretend.

It really took God uncovering all that He needed to mend

For me not to think and feel obligated..

To bend over backwards to please synthetic love,

That real love

Hanging up on that cross,

Rich in mercy

Made me fearfully..

Intricately.

Sticks and Stones, Honey

    Most of you who know me on a personal level know that I'm a very sensitive person. When I'm not thinking deeply I'm feeling deeply. Well this past year I have probably felt more emotions than every year of my life combined, but let's throw it back a few years. In 2011 I felt the Holy Spirit come into my life and lead me for the very first time. I was freed from addictions. In 2012 after coming back from backsliding I gained a little more wisdom. In 2013 I thought I was entering into ministry that came in the form of what I desired to do for the Lord. If you can call it ministry then it would have been best described as masked ministry. It ultimately put me right back into the very thing it preached against. In this time of my life I am gaining more wisdom than ever before mainly in the subject of the spiritual realm. I blindly stepped into the season I'm gladly exiting out of. I did not have much knowledge of the Word as a whole at the time.

    Besides being sensitive I'm also someone who believes the best in people, gives people second chance after second chance, and someone who trusts in man too easily. Man, has that gotten me into a lot of trouble and my heart broken time and time again. That's how I got to the place where I am now. Psalm 118:8 - "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans." I sure am in the process of learning this now and if I would have learned it a year and a half ago I would have saved myself a lot of pain which is why I am sharing this with you all. I was talking to a wise pastor a week ago who asked me, "Would you leave a child molester alone with your children?" I thought the question was absurd! "Of course not," I exclaimed enthusiastically! I immediately had to take responsibility for letting people into my life that were not only sinning against me, but tempting me back into sin. (Note - We are all responsible for our own actions.)

    You might be saying, "Well I already failed that and now I'm broken as ever." Well there's good news. God heals! I'm going to quote my tweet from earlier today: "Let's be real. Emotions can suck. But God heals and that healing INCLUDES your emotions, not just the physical! Rest in His presence" (Psalm 107:19-21, Psalm 30:2, and my favorite Psalm 147:3). This past year I was called everything from a whore from the same lips who did the same thing to delusional and crazy for listening to what the Holy Spirit was telling me. I suffered many accusations that weren't true because of my sin and for letting there be cracks in my life for demons to enter into. I texted my spiritual mommy in tears while I was at work about how hurt I was to keep myself from going off the deep end and into real insanity from all that I've had to endure this past year. She simply told me to look at it from a spiritual perspective and that God will heal my broken heart. Yesterday I realized that God is doing two more amazing things in me by going through this: 1.) He is purging me of my pride and getting rid of all my self-sufficiency and will. 2.) He is teaching me the fear of the Lord.

    This little girl who was once made fun of for being so sensitive is also learning to not care what people say about me or scheme against me because God knows, and if I take into consideration what He thinks about what's going on all around me then I don't have to worry or defend myself. Words, words, words? They're sticks and stones, honey. I've spent the last three months trying to defend myself and fight for worth and it didn't work, but thing is, none of us have to! God avenges (Psalm 94, Nahum 1:2, Deuteronomy 32:35). God says you're worthy (Psalm 139:13-15, Jeremiah 29:11, Luke 12:6-7). Take rest in that, weary soul.

(Credit to Anthony Young for the photo. Go like "The Reading Group" on Facebook)

Forgiveness Like A Crown

Forgiveness Like A Crown

By: Elaina Grace Morgan

I know that I have forgiven

When the tightness in my chest loosens

And the substance of my heart softens..

Towards that person.

I know that I have forgiven

When I realize that we're all human

No matter how wicked

And when forgiveness..does not mean revenge

But me leaving them in my Father's hands
To avenge

And that my hand..

Will not touch them.

So that I don't sow discord among the brethren.

I know that I've forgiven

When I realize my own flaws 

And disobedience to the law of holiness,

When I realize that I'm a mess

And I need Him to desperately heal my brokenness,

And reteach me about what trust is.

I know that I've forgiven

When I learn that I am worth it,

Repentance,

Forgiveness..

Like a crown.

Drown me now

In Your grace.
Come, let Your love abound.

Carry Us

Carry Us

By: Elaina Grace Morgan

Is there an end to this season?

Maybe one day we'll find out the reason,

But I don't dare to count this as the fifth year

Because I hold onto hope that maybe,

Just maybe the end is near.

So..until then
We're all learning now that we don't lap up what others spill;

But that we wait for what God reveals.

Holy Spirit bear witness.

Bring us discernment

Of these words, words, words.

Bring us all into one accord

While we pray

And supplicate.

Separate..the lies from the truth

In our hearts

And start a great healing among us.

Keep the violation far from our memory

And carry..us far..far away from stagnation

By furthering us along on the road of salvation.

Real Romance

    Sadly heartbreak is a phenomenon you can't escape no matter your denomination, social status, or race. It's something I'm all too familiar with like a lot of people are. We all know heartbreak is inevitable. You can be 23 and you could have never had your first kiss and you still can say you have gone through some sort of heartbreak. Perhaps your dreams were crushed, your daughter or son passed away, you lost your job, or you are going through a divorce. Whatever it is that makes it hard to go to sleep at night and get out of bed in the morning is what I would define as a heartbreak.

    Maybe you think your life is perfect and you are just living young, wild, and free. The reality however, is that we all need Jesus whether life is a roller coaster or a smooth ride. Asking Jesus into our hearts and consistently examining whether we're really saved or not is so very important. This will be a more perfect parallel for those of you who are married or in a relationship, but still extremely important for those of you who aren't. Do you love Him? If you said yes then I am assuming that you are praying and communicating with Him. I am assuming you are spending time getting to know Him more through reading your Bible. Here is a verse that has been deeply treasured in my heart this last week: 1 John 4:18 - "There is no fear in love, but perfect loves casts out fear."

    The rest of what I have to say to you today is short, but powerful. Really ponder this one, precious children of God.

    God has been growing me in the area of my relationships lately. I can't remember a time where I went into a relationship being friends first except for once way back when. I rushed and was rushed. This caused a lot of fear in my heart. I was in these relationships physically, but not wholeheartedly because of this. I spent most of my time in fear than in love, but with Jesus this is impossible to even do. He's patient with us. He's perfect. He has the ability to cast out that fear. The depth of confidence in the Lord results in commitment. The height of trust in the Lord leads to perseverance in all circumstance. What a beautiful picture this is. He waits for you and in that period of time you can see all the other wonderful characteristics of God. It is faithfulness that casts out fear for love is faithful. Are you faithful to Him? Do you love Him?

The Image of Transparency

The Image of Transparency

By: Elaina Grace Morgan

You all up on here carin' about your image like Cain

While I'm just doing damage with the transparency of what I say.

I ain't perfect.

I make mistakes.

But you just on here tryin' to imitate..

The world

With the words you spill 

And the poison you hurl on Saturday nights.

That's what I used to be like

But now on Sunday mornings I learn to be like,

Love like Christ

Instead of loving like those one stand nights.

I'm new.

Let me tell you

It wasn't worth it when the night was through.

Love with no attachments led to other people's misjudgments about me.

Slut, hoe, whore.

Well with that night I thought I won..

The heart of the man who I adored 

In place of the innocent lamb who I ignored..

Swapped..

For a man in a mask,

A man who played around like it was an important task.

Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater.
Had another and didn't love her.

Spiritual maturity like a nursery rhyme,
Recognized, realized, and brought into the light.
I was confused.
Heard so many "God bless you's."
Which "god" are you talking about!?
For the first time in my life I started to doubt
What I really knew -
The truth.
Yet the one and only God pulled me out.
I was blind, but now I can see
The ugliness of deceit.

Let this be a lesson.
Not of defeat,
But of victory and freedom..
Because He was watching over me.
Protected by the blood..
From
Wolves in sheep masks.
Always declare, "Let there be light" and ask..
For discernment,
What a beautiful, beautiful adornment.

Enter In

Enter In

By: Elaina Grace Morgan

I've walked this life coming so close to calling it quits,

Many times, many reasons, much pain.

What kept me going was knowing

He loves me more than ALL the grains..

Of sand.

Plucked me out of death's grip with His own hand.

What makes this time any different than before?

He never stopped knocking on my door.

So when the days are great..

And when the days are tough

Enter in.

When my life receives hate..

And when works aren't enough

Enter in.

Grace enter in.

Hope enter in.

Peace enter in.

Love enter in.

Jesus enter in.



My Strength

My Strength

By: Elaina Grace Morgan

It's days like this that I want to climb back into..

Bed,

And give way to the..

End.

Because I feel there's no..

End

When depression's kicking..

In.

 But what keeps me going isn't looking at the now, but the..

End

If I keep on going instead of giving..

In.

The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green..

Pastures.

He heals all the brokenness, bruises, and..

Fractures

Of a wounded heart. 

A..

Preacher. 

A..

Teacher,

He leads me, an undeserving..

Creature

Beside still waters.

He restores my..

Soul.

Replaces the broken with something new and..

Whole.

So that I can get up and enjoy a sunny..

Day.

In actuality any..

Day

The Lord has made.

And when pain comes in the night.

All I have to do is fight

To reach the joy that comes in the..

Morning

And to give sincere thanks in the midst of my..

Mourning.

Truth Reigns

Truth Reigns

By: Elaina Grace Morgan

 

 

True riches ain't found in any daddy Warbucks.

They're found in our daddy up above.

Earthly things shall pass away,

but the truth will always...reign.

 

Never ceasing to break unwanted chains,

Shaking people to their core,

healing unwanted pain,

Leaving you thirsty for...more.

 

And no matter how hard lies try to work

To keep you bound...by your dirt,

Bound...in the shackles of your hurt

Light will always reveal what...lurks.

 

Yet darkness cannot hide...from the light

Or blind...those who are seeking to have clear sight

And it's the feeling many have pushed aside,

The feeling of what is wrong and what is...right.

 

Truth overcomes the lies that tell you you are...worthless,

Shows you what can come out of a sweet, innocent, little...kiss.

Sheds reality that your ecstasy came from...bliss.

Shines light on who really...missed you.
Truth.

Baby Girl

Baby Girl

By: Elaina Grace Morgan

I see the light in your eyes fading away with each and every single passing day.

You look in the mirror.

But you don't like what you see.

You hide away for fear that they might see.

You say, "I don't want them to see the real me."

I see that your breaking at the seams.

You're starving yourself to death.

You're losing your breath.

Who? You.

You're in pursuit.

You're looking for happiness.

So you're dressing for success, but inside you know you're making a mess.

So outside you're looking for what's next.

So you hit the club to see what the hub's about.

Every night is like a roundabout.

But getting slizzered won't make it go away.

You feel that it's your only getaway.
But baby girl, you know there's a battle for your soul and with all that you'll never end up feeling whole.
So give it to the One who already won it all.

He's the only one who can catch you when you fall.

Instead you hide yourself away in your room.

You turn on the dark music and let it consume you.

Out comes the razor and it doesn't even faze you.

Others think you're insane.

But you're cutting with the intent to ease your pain.

They ignore what they saw.

Pretend like they didn't even see it at all.

But baby girl, He'll heal your hurting heart.

He'll make something beautiful from the pieces torn apart.

But you pour out those pills.

You want to forget what you feel.

You just want to escape, make it all go away.

But everything feels the same after you already went that way.

You live to be high, but they're fighting, knowing the ending

of the story you're already in the midst of writing.

The depression is growing darker.

But your past doesn't determine your future because it wasn't written in marker.

So you contemplate your death, every single last breath.

You feel like your life's a living hell.

So you dwell on the darkness.

On all those you found heartless.

You pick up the gun.

But baby girl, the devil's had his fun.

God's not done with you yet.

So give it to the One who will make you alive again,

paid the debt, and gives the ability to survive again.

You've got a plan.

You've got a purpose.

He is the Only one who can make you stronger.

So baby girl hang on just a little bit longer.