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)

It's Okay To Cry

It's Okay To Cry

By: Elaina Grace Morgan

God knows every tear you've already cried,

The reason why,

The pain you've tried so hard to hide.

He knows.

It's okay to cry.

He knows the feelings you've tried to subside,

The trauma that you've internalized,

Every single escape from Him that you've tried.

Honey, He knows.

It's okay to cry.

He knows every feeling of worthlessness stemming from your insecurities,

Every heartbeat stolen by your anxiety,

Every yearn and plead for some security.

He knows.

It's okay to cry.

He knows your feelings of inferiority,

The places of your vulnerability,

The deepest cries of your heart that want to experience purity.

Honey, He knows.

It's okay to cry.

So fall to your knees desperately,

Cry out earnestly,

Sing a song expressing your calamity,

And raise your hands in honesty

Then praise the God Almighty

And brace yourself!

Because you're about to feel..FREE!

Tap To Retry

                          

    Some of ya'll be like I'm not pretty enough, handsome enough, skinny enough, muscular enough, good enough, cool enough, creative enough, chill enough...the list goes on.  Genesis 1:27 - "So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them." Some of ya'll need to tap to retry until you load not your image, not the world's image, not your friends' image, not your enemies' image BUT GOD'S image. YOU are FEARFULLY and WONDERFULLY made! Now let's be even more real here. Everybody on this earth has struggled with self-image at least once. You are not immune. Your self-image is something that can make you or break you. If you never believe in yourself then you're never going to DO, whatever that may be.

    We know from John 10:10 that the enemy has come to steal, kill, and destroy. You better believe he's going to target your self-esteem! If he can cause your confidence to cave then he can get you to fall into the traps of comparison, condemnation, and competition which are not of God. Whoa. Now don't get discouraged just yet. First we need to realize just how amazing we really are. Let's take it back to the last paragraph: "YOU are FEARFULLY and WONDERFULLY made." 

    We're fearfully made? Well we are also told to fear God, right? (Luke 1:50, Ecclesiastes 12:13, Psalm 33:8, Proverbs 1:7 etc.) Most of us know this kind of fear means being in awe of God by respecting and loving Him. So we can make the connection that us being fearfully made doesn't mean God's afraid of us, but that wow! We are the most beautiful creatures to Him (or handsome for you strapping men of God) and He loves us! I know you guys aren't stupid and can figure out what wonderfully means, but just take a second to soak that all in. Crazy, right? God is in awe of US! 

    It reminds me of my reaction to the leaves changing colors this time of year. The once green leaves are now dipped in gold, covered in a blanket of scarlet, and burning with bright orange fire all because the season has changed. I take thousands of pictures of the trees this time of year and I'm not joking! I absolutely can't get enough pictures even if many of those look the same. It's breathtaking. As humans we're constantly changing as well, and hopefully for those of us who are Christians we're changing to look more and more like Jesus. But when we go through an easy breezy season we forget how to fight and then hard times creep up on us. We forget to make war in the spiritual realm. If you recognize that you're a child of the Most High and you know that in the end He wins then why not fight?

    The cool thing about trees is that the brightness of their leaves' colors are based on the temperature and the delay of the leaves changing color is based upon the amount of rain we get that year. The rain that year might be uncomfortable and the leaves may shrivel up on the tree's branches, but the beauty of change ends up coming sooner.. The warmer temperature might be uncomfortable, but the brighter the leaves end up being because of it! So hang on to that tree, lovely ones. We may be going through a rough time of insecurity in ourselves, in what God is calling us to do or if He even has something for us, and we may be going through many other different types of challenges that just seem so hopeless to us but look how much more beautiful we will be because of it if we can only hang on to that tree.

"Staying the same produces pain and negative consequences while change may produce pain, but the results are good!" - Elaina Grace Morgan

   

    However, it doesn't stop there! WHATEVER challenges you've faced, WHATEVER challenges you are facing know that you can use that experience to help someone who is going through the same thing. The challenges you're facing are not only for you to be more beautiful and able to help others; they're also to make you look more like Jesus! They're to make you STRONGER. So next time a thought comes into your head, next time a person discourages you, next time Satan screams in your ear whether it's about who God made you to be or where God wants to take you start declaring your confidence. Count it ALL joy! If you believe in yourself and above all, believe in God to do the things He wants to do in you and through you then you will see it happen. Remember, knowing your worth isn't thinking that you're more worthy than anybody else and it isn't thinking you're less worthy than anybody else. God made YOU unique. There's NOBODY else like you!

James 1:2-8 - "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do."

*Challenge yourself - Spend time with your Lord in worship. Listen to Oceans by Hillsong United, Hold Us Together by Matt Maher, Who I Am by Casting Crowns and Redeemer by Nicole C. Mullen. Don't just sing the words, sing them from your heart and believe them.

Doormat Turned Tapestry

    In the past I've had several instances where my family, friends, and some now ex-boyfriends treated me less than the way they would have wanted to be treated. So how could this happen to me? Treat others the way you want to be treated; that's the golden rule, right? Well then we get caught up in the mindset that we should treat them how we want to be treated and that means continually allowing them back into our lives again and again and again and again until we're so broken that we can't even function. We become stuck in a rut, but that's what forgiving someone means, right? Nope.

    God doesn't want you to be a doormat. He doesn't want you to be someone who won't stand up for themselves or someone who doesn't speak truth regarding whatever the situation is at hand. Hypothetically if someone kicked you in the leg over and over and over then eventually you're not going to be able to walk and if you can't walk how are you going to be able to reach the place you were meant to reach?  It's hard to believe someone is truly sorry when they go back to doing the same thing they were doing before. I came across a really great quote today from Booker T. Washington - "You can't hold a man down without staying down with him." Maybe you aren't the person holding someone down, but maybe you're letting someone hold you down and it's keeping you from everything God has for you.

    You may have thought that you were putting them first. At least that was what I was thinking in the situations I've been in, but in reality you're destroying both you and the person who may be (intentionally or unintentionally) keeping you from the gift God wants to give you. Putting others first does not mean letting people walk all over you. You're God's creation. You were made for a greater purpose than being a doormat. You were made as a tapestry. You are an exquisite, rich design that is meant to be cherished, loved, and admired so that you point to the magnificent, omnipotent Creator.

    God doesn't want His daughter or son to be lead down a path that ends in destruction for you and the person who is treating you unfairly. I'm not telling you to not forgive the people in your life who hurt you and I'm not telling you to leave everyone who hurts you behind, but discretion is advised. Keep in mind that your exit from their life could be their entrance into God's kingdom. You are then guarding your heart and letting God deal with that person in a healthy way and in some cases an even more healthy way if they've been relying on you to be the one that heals them. We should, however, always love one another and be gracious even if it means at a distance. I'll leave you with these words: Evaluate closely the relationships you're hanging onto. Forgive, forget, love, and know when to let go of control.

No Diamonds For Dollas

No Diamonds For Dollas

By: Elaina Grace Morgan

You wouldn't sell a diamond for a dolla

So why sell yourself short?

You are fearfully and wonderfully made,

Worth more than bait and gettin' laid.

How 'bout you trade that?

Say you already prayed that..

You know He paid that.

But you ain't puttin' your feet to your mouth.

You ain't goin' nowhere but south.

Your doing nothing to -

Get out.

But girl, I know He'll see you through.

He never stopped loving you.

He never leaves His child,

Yep.

I'm talkin' to -

 You.

So keep your standards high -

And your pride down low

Instead of tryna drop it down onto-that pole.

Shawty, you're worth more than that.

More than gettin'-your-wallet-fat,

Your lies to facts.

But I know He'll see you through.

He never stopped loving you.

He never leaves His child.

Not even the mild -

Mannered ones.

Not even the wild,

Son.

What about that

Max -

Umm man?

You're supposed to be reppin' your spirit man,

But holdin' her hand

Ain't enough.

So you can't contain your stuff.

You get too pushy.

You start gettin' rough.

Don't you know you're worth more than cuffs

I ain't just talkin 'bout the cops

Or workin' your life away.

I'm talkin' 'bout the other way -

Slavery -

Sin.

Slavery to sin.

You're choosing the devil ova Him

And that being said,

You ain't gonna

Win

When you end up

Dead.



Daughters of Christ

Daughters of Christ

By: Elaina Grace Morgan

Ladies, if you wouldn't want your future daughters

Wearing low shirts, short skirts, skin tight, the works

Then don't wear them presently.

Better yet let's be dressing modestly

Because you're supposed to be.

Encouraging purity.

Daughters of Jesus,

 Being cautious

 Of what we wear,

Taking God's promise

Looking in His mirror.

 He looks at our hearts

Helps us dodge all of those flaming darts

Of insecurity,

All the dirty.

He'll quench all you thirsty.

For eternity.

You don't have to look like Barbie.

Or go to parties

Speaking malarkey to be liked.

Quit using your own psyche.

Clothe yourself with the mind of Christ, See

To it, you agree with it?

 Holy Spirit and you should be tightly knit.

Admit your sins

Fall on your knees in repentance.

You're the one choosing your own sentence.

Silky Smooth

Silky Smooth

By: Elaina Grace Morgan

I used to think having a job close to full time,

a car that I paid in full, listening to those hard rhymes,

& living without my parents at eighteen

made me all that I was supposed to be.

Little miss independent wasn't who she was supposed to be.

Then I started relying on God and in Him I had found my purpose.

He was the right compass, direction,

The protection provided to keep me from hurt,

From all that dirt that made me feel like I was worthless.

The story is I was fed all these lies from all these guys

telling me I was a loser, emotional abusers.

But hey, they were cute

and their smooth words absurd as they were

didn't bring me any closer to kicking them to the curb.

I knew those words were slurred with deception,

But I had a fear of their rejection and

I yearned for their affection.

The only way I learned to keep them was by seduction.

They were my security, a part of me.

My vision for success

was clad in a silky smooth immodest dress.

It was a plan that I ran and controlled.

It only ended up being a deadly hold on me.

This was not who I wanted to be.

That may have been success from a worldly view.

Then #God said, "I'm the only one who can make you new."

Reminded me I wouldn't be content in that and

I hadn't been in matter of fact.

I lacked the only thing I need.

No good deed would suffice until I turned my life around and gave it to Jesus Christ.

In Him I was made right and found all that I was looking for.

That very day was like I was walking through a brand new, unopened door.

God Sent

God Sent

By: Elaina Grace Morgan

I lost myself last year

because I really didn't care.

Tried to find myself,

But is it really there?

If I find her I'm not sure if I'll define her.

She was so loving, and caring, and pure.

She was so precious and giving,

 I'm sure.

She may have been beautiful,

But it's all become a little new to her.

She got lost by the incogonito.

Turned out to be all deceit though.

 Love is true.

It doesn't manipulate.

Guess it's not you

If you didn't know how to participate.

Knowing how to truly love

Only comes from knowing what's above.

It doesn't always mean finding love

here on earth

Because here it might have been birthed,

But without Him it is absent.

Love only comes from a God sent.