My Friend Fred

So... It has been entirely TOO long since I've consistently blogged. The LORD has been truly faithful, and has been teaching me so much these past two years. One of those areas that He has been dealing with me in is TRUSTING Him in every single area of my life. One of the ways he has been teaching me is not only through circumstances, but through people.

About a year ago, my husband and I met a man named Fred. He is a 62 years old street evangelist in Atlanta, GA. And he is FAITH-FULL!! I mean, in the same spot, at the same time, every day, at probably the busiest train station in Atlanta, Five Points. What really captures not only my heart, but my admiration, is that he is homeless and blind. He has endured affliction after affliction, but has clung to the rock that is higher than him. Psalm 61:2 "From the end of the earth I call to you, when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I." ESV

Though he cannot see, he makes his way to the train station at about 8am everyday. The location is extremely noisy, but his voice projects over all that is going on, proclaiming the truth of God's word. It's not a ministry of condemnation, but reconciliation. His life--the way God has graced him to live it--has not taught me a message about how God will prosper me, but how even in the hard, troubling times, there is a JOY to be found in God. There is a peace and a confidence to know that even the bad times are meant for my good... internally and eternally. I have learned that sometimes, in order to live by faith, the pillars that I have so comfortably leaned on, (money, jobs, people) MUST be torn down to help me learn to depend on GOD. If we're honest with ourselves, our American culture, has taught many of us, how to depend on ourselves and our parents. It's not until life gets tumultuous that we have the opportunity to learn that God is our strong foundation and refuge. Money, jobs, people etc. are all just resources that the True Source supplies! When all the resources are gone God still has an abundance of peace, provision, and power. These earthly, temporary thing come and go, but God does NOT change. James 1:17 "Every good and perfect gift comes from above, coming from the Father of lights with whom there is NO variation or shadow due to change." ESV

I've often wondered how I would fair being homeless. Yet even without a home, Fred is a person who remains faithful in little, and my prayer is that God will soon allow him to be faithful over much. Consider my friend Fred the next time you have to drag yourself out of bed to get to work, at your next unexpected financial expense, or when any undesirable life circumstance comes up. He has truly learned how to be brought low, while finding contentment in God. He is an example to all of us that joy abounds in our fellowshipping with our Father. There is NOTHING too hard for God, and with Him, you CAN endure and do all things through Christ who is your strength. Philippians 4:11-13 "Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."ESV

Please be praying for our friend Frederick Brice, as we help him embark on this journey of physical and financial restoration.

If you would like to learn a little more about Fred's life and want to be a part of his restoration, please visit his gofundme account. Here's the link: http://www.gofundme.com/7rgdj4

Here's a short video about Fred. I hope and pray that it blesses you! 

Love,

❤ Kamaria

Cracking My Pride

Hey guys! I hope all is well with you! I'd like to share a piece of my life with you!

To make a long story short, I went to an O'Reilly Auto Parts store to have my wiper blades replaced and now have a cracked windshield. I won't go into too many details, but I am 99.99999% sure that the damage was incurred by the person attempting to change the wiper blade. This happened roughly 2 weeks ago.

So, needless to say, in the past few days, I have talked to the store manager, the district manager, and customer service...and have pretty much received the same treatment all the way around. When I say treatment, I mean... imagine being completely innocent, yet people are treating you like a thugged out, no good, convicted felon, con artist. Like you mean them nothing but harm! This is how I was treated. Sad, but true. Though I can continue to take this issue higher up the totem pole, Holy Spirit instructed me to, "Just let it go." When I heard that, I immediately tried to knock the thought out of my head! "NO, that can't be right! I'm almost in the position to have my windshield replaced! No, Nooo, Nooooooo!!!!!!!!!!" Hahaha! This made me even more frustrated because I knew this would be the right thing to do.

After praying with my boyfriend, Jonathan, I was led to begin reading 1 Peter, and "coincidentally," it lines up with and addresses this whole issue. Below are the links to some key verses for me at this time and how they applied to my life:

1 Peter 1:6-9 - You will be tested, but do not lose sight of who God is and where He is in your trials
1 Peter 2:19-24 - It's good to keep God at the forefront of your mind when enduring hard times. Jesus suffered for something He did not do but instead of retaliating, He entrusted Himself to His Father--GOD!
1 Peter 3:13-17 - It is good to suffer for doing good, if that is God's will. [I could have easily lied, schemed and manipulated in order to get the outcome I desired but chose to be a woman of virtue & integrity.]
1 Peter 4:12-19 - Don't think it strange or be surprised when you are tested, it is good to suffer for doing good, entrust you soul to your faithful God while going through it!
1 Peter 5:6-9 So be humble, consider God and pour out your heart to Him. Don't try to carry your own burdens, He cares for you and wants to help you! Watch out for the enemy, he's looking to destroy when you let your guard down, stand firm in your faith and pray for your brothers & sisters in Christ, know that they are experiencing sufferings too!

There are several instances in the Bible [including 2 Chronicles 10:4] where God instructed people not to fight, and they would obey, because I mean, let's face it, without God fighting with you, what good is fighting at all?!

At any rate, I have experienced many emotions/feelings in this time--frustration, pride, anger, unforgiveness, hate, hey... I'm just being real here! So looking back on it, I can see WHY God instructed me to leave the situation alone. It was really becoming a stumbling block, and it has taken everything in me to NOT react how the old me would react. Of course, I felt that it was not fair for me to have to pay for the repair costs since I was not the one who damaged my windshield. I mean, why should I have to pay for something I didn't do!? But you know what? Christ paid for something He didn't do as well. What He endured on the cross, and leading up to the cross, was not fair. Yet, He CHOSE to pay for something He did not do -- sin. He was perfect and sinless, yet He humbled Himself  and accepted ridicule, toture, mockery, beatings, all for love.

I know that letting go of the situation is the humble way out, which is why I've had such a hard time. I am so prideful in so many ways, but I thank GOD for showing me the RIGHT way.  A cracked windshield is not worth my life [holding on to my sinful pride], nor is it worth coming between me and God. I love Him more than anything on this earth, let a lone a car! So as I continue in this love walk, running the race of faith, enduring trials and tribulations, I find hope in knowing that My Savior has overcome it all. He has left His peace with me and has told me to not let my heart be troubled. So let's keep trusting Him, the author and perfecter of our faith!

❤ Kamaria

Can't Box Him In

The Holy Spirit spoke to my heart one day and said, "STOP TRYING TO PUT GOD IN A BOX!"

I paused for a second and said, "wow, You're right." I began meditating on that and realized how much I WASN'T expecting because I was feeling like it was "too big" for God to handle. But, whenever I think something silly like that, I always go back to... "Wow, God of all the universe, the Maker of the Heavens and earth, the ULTIMATE Judge... can't handle my situation???? Really?" -___-

But ALL GLORY to GOD!!! 2 Timothy 2:13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself. Then again, Luke 1:37 For with God nothing will be impossible. And again, Matthew 19:26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Mark 9:23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

This is what God has been speaking into my life, "Just have faith and trust Me." Simple as that. But to some, and even to myself sometimes, it doesn't seem "that simple." But didn't Jesus say Himself, "if you have faith the size of a mustard seed..." [Luke 17] Jesus said this after His disciples asked Him to INCREASE their faith.

I pray that God will continue to build us up in faith, may we not focus on the temporal or the things of this world, but place our thoughts on the things above. May God's thoughts toward us become our thoughts. May God's ways become our ways. May what He desires for us become so deeply rooted in our hearts that we will live that reality!


LORD, INCREASE OUR FAITH!!

♥ Mari

For Such a Time

A VERY brief synopsis!

The Book of Esther paints a beautiful picture of redemption, favor, grace, humility, and how a  devastating situation can do a 180 degree turn!!

Esther was beautiful woman who found MUCH favor in the sight of the king. Out of the many women who tried to catch the king's eye, Esther excelled above them all! The moment King Ahasuerus [a.k.a. Xerxes] first laid eyes on her, he pretty much fell in love [awwee how precious lol]. I would like to think it was her outer and INNER beauty combined that really captured his heart.

Haman [who thought of himself as most favored of the king], an enemy of the Jews who also greatly despised Mordecai [Esther's uncle] sought to annihilate all the Jews [out of pride].

Now, instead of using her beauty to glorify herself, Esther used it to redeem her people. Through corporate fasting, Esther prepared herself spiritually to face the king to attempt to redeem her people. Esther boldly took the chance of being killed to go into the King's courts to plead for the redemption of her people.  "Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this." Esther 4:14 NKJV

Esther, of course, found favor in the king's sight! A chain of events unfolded where the circumstances changed, Mordecai found much favor in the king's sight, and Haman was no longer "the king's favorite." Long story short, the device Haman built to kill Mordecai [which didn't occur because the king favored Mordecai] was the same device that the king had  Haman killed with. [Esther 7:9-10 ~ Psalm 7:14-16, Psalm 57:6]

This is when Mordecai asked Ether to go to the king and make supplication: Esther 4:13-14 "And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" NKJV

Because of one woman's boldness, a people were redeemed! My friend, is there a place in your life where God has called you to speak up, speak out and be bold? You have two choices, you can either sit back and say nothing, or step out in courage and do what God has called you to do. Know this: there is ALWAYS someone else God can use to perform His perfect will. He doesn't really need you, so count it an honor to even be elected by God "for such a time as this." Take heart and be courageous... who knows? You just may redeem a people, a city, a nation through an act of selfless faith. God Bless!

♥ Mari P.

A REAL LIFE Fairy Tale

I know many are wondering, and very, very few know the full story. I hope this post brings clarity, encouragement, and much joy :^)

So.... Kamaria (that's me!) got a man!! HAHA!! Not just "a man..." or "any ol' man" but a GODLY MAN!!! THE MAN she has prayed for! PRAISE GOD!!! HALLELUJAH!!! I know many are speculating but I'm here to clear the smoke and shine some light on this.

How did we meet?

Initially we were Facebook friends, but we never really "talked" to each other like that. Just were, I guess, "cordial" on Facebook. Jonathan stays in Alabama because that's basically where his entire life is. But we actually did speak a few times outside of Facebook, nothing real serious. Actually, the first time we spoke, we prayed for each other!! Much like how our relationship is now :o)
Anyway, while he was on Spring Break, he came back to Atlanta for a few days. Around this time, I was transitioning churches, so I actually JUST started going to a new church. THAT is where we met. The timing and how it happened couldn't have been more perfect... nothing BUT God! When we saw one another, we spoke, but kept the conversation fairly short. Or should I say, I kept the conversation short ;^) LOL We were actually in this orientation-type session for people who wanted to know more about the church. Afterwards, I left, and he texted me. And honestly, the rest is history.... nothing but God's hands all over, around, and through our relationship!

How long did you "wait?"

Long enough. LOL about as long as God saw fit! I came to a point in my life though where I said, "Lord, all of this is in Your hands." True enough, I expressed to God what I like in a man [as if He didn't know] but I also asked the Lord to keep my eyes and my heart open, so I wouldn't miss out on THE ONE He has for me. There also came a point where I realized that whether I'm single till the end of my days or not, I would always find my joy in Him. Nothing/no one else.
Fact of the matter is, I made up in my mind, and made a declaration that I was going to wait on the Lord. And in the meantime, I'd make sure I'm doing whatever my Father was telling me to do. WHICH INCLUDED [but was not limited to] no casual dating & no wasting my time just talking to people. God called me to cut a few people off and let some people go, and honestly, I was fine with it. LOL Single isn't really as bad as some make it seem either. It gives you time to prepare, and helps ensure that you have a strong foundation with Christ.

Are you happy?

Words cannot EXPRESS how happy I am!! Waiting on God was the best decision I have ever made! Jonathan is everything I've asked for and then some! Exceedingly, abundantly above all I could ask or think! God really SHOWED UP and SHOWED OUT with this one hahah! ;o) And I am not ashamed to say that I am so much in love with him!! The amount of growth WE'VE experienced these past few months is beyond amazing. All glory to God!!!

Is it REAL?

Is God real?? LOL Of course, thru many answered prayers, I can rest assured knowing that I am in God's will. Knowing that Jonathan and I are in God's will. None of this is just by happen chance or "coincidence." Our initial meeting and everything that happened leading up to us meeting was divinely orchestrated. But, it took obedience, prayer, and just knowing, hearing, and taking heed to the voice of the Lord.

My prayer is that many will be encouraged to wait! I will leave you with this scripture:
Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. [ESV]


♥Grace be unto you,
 
 Kamaria and Jonathan

Mirror in the Book

This is something I heard Pastor Gregory Dickow say, "Mirror, mirror, in the book, tell me how I really look."  Have you ever thought about how the Bible is much like a mirror? 

 

James 1:22-24 "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was" NKJV

"But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like" NLT 

As you would look into mirror, we should do the same with God's word. When we look into a mirror, we look for imperfections, blemishes, spots, wrinkles; a mirror reveals whatever faults we have. People may tell us we have a booger in our nose, or a pimple on our cheek, but sometimes it doesn't hit us as hard until we actually look into a mirror and see it for ourselves. Then what do we do? We go and try to fix ourselves up the best we can.

Likewise, people may tell us our faults, or our wrongs/shortcomings/sins but we often brush it off and tell them they're being judgmental , I mean holier than thou, I mean.............."rude." It's not until we look into a mirror, THE MIRROR, that we actually begin to try and either cover it up with "spiritual makeup" to give it a more appealing appearance, take it for what it is and just leave it alone, or take extra precautions to make sure it doesn't get worse, spreads and ultimately try to treat it.

So, the next time you glance into a natural mirror to make sure you look presentable, consider this blog post. Look into the spiritual mirror as well, but don't take a quick glance in it just because you may not like the reflection....conform your image to that of Christ so every time you look into The mirror [open the Book], you see a reflection of Him.

♥ Mari

Mercy Cancels Judgment

The Mercy Seat

1 John 3:19-20 ¹⁹ And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. ²⁰ For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. NKJV

1 John 3:19-20 ¹⁹ Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. ²⁰ Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything. NLT


We serve a God full of so much MERCY. To those who really love Him and desire to do His will, we often are more harsh on ourselves than we should be.  

Why?

Probably because we know as humans we can't amount up to His standards, but God discerns the heart and considers the pureness of it. Our Father is more compassionate and understanding than we may realize.

Even though our hearts may condemn us, the blood of Jesus screams, "MERCY!!" And God says, "you're already forgiven." Our Father is truly greater than our hearts.

-Mari

You can't handle the truth..!!

I've found myself keeping it "real" with people lately. But now I'm seen as someone who is judgmental and thinks I'm better than everyone. Really?? So...would you rather me agree with you and your wrongdoings when me, as Christian, is trying to spit knowledge to you and open your eyes? When I tell you you're wrong for something and try to help you to change it, why would you get so offended? Because you know IT IS wrong but you don't want to stop living in sin? Because you know that what you're doing isn't for the glory of God? When you sin who are you serving? WHO wants you to sin? (The devil)--EXACTLY!! WHY justify your sin?? WHY make excuses? You're only hurting yourself in the end!

Proverbs 14:12-14 "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness." Proverbs 15: 10 "Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die." Romans 12:2 "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of the mind that ye may prove what is good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." James 4:4 "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God."

There are so many more CONVICTING scriptures man, if some of yall would just OPEN your heart and listen to what God is telling you! Man, God turned His back on His ONLY son because of SIN! Jesus suffered for my OUR sins! So we can be here TODAY and LIVE a life righteous and worthy of the gospel! And all I'm trying to do is tell my fellow brothers and sisters that some of the things you are doing.. is showing God that you hate Him. And it breaks His heart, it breaks my heart! Christianity is a brotherhood! I Peter 2:17 "Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king." When you get mad and begin to put me down, talk bad about me...it does hurt because I care about you and want to see YOU in heaven, but you are too busy wrapped in your own sin and lies that you can't even respect the Gospel..or give God the love He deserves.

Jesus is at your door right now. He wants you to open it and let him in! As I was downtown with a few of my friends last week, I walked past this alley and that's what this reminds of. A time in my life when I had my door shut, locked, bolted etc. I knew Jesus was outside, but man I was too busy inside enjoying the lusts of the world. Getting high, drunk, fornicating, lying, shacking up, disrespecting my parents...and the list goes on. But man, I stand before everyone TODAY, CHANGED! I am a testimony right now. God can change you if you let him! You can break away from the chains of sin. But it starts with giving your life to Him, letting go of sin, and getting into the Word of God. I Peter 1:14 "As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance." It requires a change of lifestyle, old habits, and renewing your mindset. And it's not easy! I'll be the first to tell you that. But it can be done. Everyday I strive to become a better Christian, and everyday I grow more in love with Him! He's the only man who has ever died for me! He's my OUR hero! Jesus has already shed his blood for the world man. He's already saved me, but now, you have to let Him save you.


With Love ❤ ,

Mari