I Wanna be Led!

A few days ago, I was driving and saw something that got me thinking. I was sitting at a red light, and saw a lady who was walking her dogs. However, while in the middle of the intersection, the light turned green so she began to jog to get across the street. Without even a word from their master, the dogs, began to follow suit and and hustled to the other side of the street. The dogs did not try to run ahead of her, nor did they begin to walk slower or at the same pace. They all moved on one accord.

I want to be led by the Holy Spirit in the same way! I want to be so in tune with the Spirit's guiding that even at the slightest bit of change in movement, I will quickly follow suit--with no hesitations!

John 16:13 When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. ESV 

The Holy Spirit IS the Spirit of God, and He is also referred to as the Spirit of truth. He reveals to us the deeper things of God, teaches us the ways of God, and He leads us in the way everlasting. He is our helper, and He is God. We must learn to trust the Holy Spirit, just like we trust that the sun will rise every morning. When He says, "run", let us run with all we have. When He says, "slow down," let's move at a slower pace. When He says, "make a right," let us cut the wheel right. If He causes us to yield, or stop, let's trust that He knows what is best for us. 

The owner of those dogs knew something the dogs didn't know yet. She knew that danger was coming if they didn't get across that street. Just like the owner of those dogs scurried across the street to keep her dogs safe. The Holy Spirit directs away from things that could harm us, but it's our decision to obey. I don't know about you, but I want to be led! 

♥ Kamaria

What a Girl Wants AND Needs

In reading Deuteronomy 17:15-20, it made me think of my single sisters and how they can use these guidelines while choosing a proper husband. Though this set of scriptures are talking about setting a king over Israel, I think the same rules can apply to a husband. Let's consider the following guidelines!

He must:

• Be one that God chooses

→ Not you because we cannot see into the heart like God can.

• Be from among your brethren, not a foreigner who's not your brother. 

→ Meaning he should be a Christian -- a fellow believer in Christ.     

 • Not have many wives, lest his heart turn away. 

→Things that he is committed to that keep him from living for God.

 • Not acquire for himself excessive silver and gold. 

→  In order to keep him from being arrogant, prideful, et cetera. Excessive material goods (such as money) stored up for himself does no good

• Not multiply horses for himself nor return to Egypt to multiply horses.

→This was regarding military power -- instead of forming a militia of horses and chariots in case of a war to ensure protection, God wanted Israel to know He was their strength! Also, Egypt is somewhat symbolic of bondage -- and I think of bondage to sin. The man you choose should not lead you back into sin, but be so protective of your soul, as if it were his own.

• Read the book of the law all the days of his life so that he may learn to fear the LORD. 

→Read the Bible DAILY! This would be a demonstration of his true devotion to God, His laws, and his love for God, which also demonstrates his love for you because he can't truly love you unless he truly loves God! :^)
→ Verses 19-20 says, "¹⁹ And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, ²⁰ that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel." -ESV


Galatians 5:22-23 also has some good traits to add to the list. ²² But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! -NLT


As a king is selected to rule over a nation, a husband should be carefully selected to be the head of your household! May your Knight in Shining Armor find you, and rescue you from this jungle of a dating world filled with fire breathing dragons, but avoid that Prince Charming, who's a toad you'd have to find yourself and kiss!

Be encouraged ladies... (and you gents out there looking for a lady)! There are "good ones" out there!

♥ Kamaria

Sticks and Stones

Proverbs 11:9 & 12 With their words, the godless destroy their friends, but knowledge will rescue the righteous.
It is foolish to belittle one’s neighbor; a sensible person keeps quiet.

It was kind of hard for me to focus on just one proverb out of this chapter. So many stuck out to me today. But I went ahead and chose these two guys because I think it's so important that we're conscience of what we say you know? Life and death lies in the power of the tongue. We will be judged for every idle word spoken Matthew 12:36. The tongue is the fiercest organ that is a fire and a world of wickedness James 3:5-6.

I think it's interesting that verse 9 says, "with their words, the godless destroy their friends." If the words of the godless can destroy their friends, how much more do the words of the GODLY destroy their friends, their families, and even strangers? Is it safe to say that those who are believers in Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit, have weightier words? Words that are sharper than those of the godless? Verse 12 says, "it's foolish to belittle one's neighbor." Christians should definitely set the example for others. How we chose our words, is a testimony of our lives. How we chose our words can either, build up or tear down. As believers, we should definitely choose words that are edifying and building each other up since we are the Body!

"But knowledge will rescue the righteous; a sensible person keeps quiet." The latter part of verses 9 & 12 express the importance -- once again -- of silence and knowledge, which seem to go hand in hand. If knowledge recuses the righteous, one would first have to accumulate knowledge. A righteous person would, at some point, learn that in some cases, silence is key, and that words should be chosen before spoken... Not thrown around because you can do "damage control" later. I don't care what anyone says, words really do hurt, and I think that it's important we choose our words wisely.

I don't want my words to judge me, I want to judge my words. Matthew 12:36

Anger, Wisdom and Gentleness

We know Proverbs is all about wisdom, things that seem to be common sense, yet we don't often take these proverbs into consideration on a day to day basis until we READ them on a day to day basis, that's why I'm really enjoying reading Proverbs everyday as these months go by! Starting this day off with Proverbs 29:8 is great for anyone working in customer service, or with "sandpaper people" period! Proverbs 29:8 says, Mockers can get a whole town agitated, but the wise will calm anger. DAG! A whole town though?? Lol A mocker is someone who challenges, attacks or treats someone with ridicule. I know for me, this is so relevant, remaining humble in times where my flesh wants to react in prideful ways."But the wise will calm anger." Who are the wise? Proverbs 29:11 says Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back. And Proverbs 15:1 says A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger!

I once heard a story about Buddy's house, Buddy is one of the elders at my church who has a house that's about 5 minutes away from Grace Midtown--walking distance. He had Matt R., and a few ppl that Matt was discipling cleaning up some trash that was around the property due to construction. As they were throwing large items into the trash, the owner of the dorms across the street came out in FURY because they were packing his garbage can down. Matt went to get Buddy, and Buddy, as wise as a serpent and gentle as a dove that he is; after talking to the guy for about 5-10 minutes, he was able to have the guy smiling and willing to let them put as much trash in the garbage can as they wanted.

I'm wondering myself, how often am I wise as a serpent and gentle as a dove. What about you? How many times have you answered softly while someone was mocking you? I hope this can be a constant reminder to me and you as well... not to render evil for evil, but to be wise and chose to calm anger with a gentle answer, and maybe not even an answer at all by "quietly holding it back." Though anger isn't necessarily a sin itself, we know that it is a STRONG emotion that can quickly develop into sin. I will end with this, Proverbs 29:22 An angry person starts fights; a hot-tempered person commits all kinds of sin. All... kinds... of sin... that's scary! Ever notice that heavy, violent arguments only occur because both parties respond in hot-tempered actions and harsh words? But how awesome would it be, if we as believers in Christ responded gently, and in love, as if they were the person we loved the most...I know this is a lot of scripture but last one... for real lol Proverbs 25:22 If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat. If they are thirsty, give them water to drink. You will heap burning coals of shame on their heads, and the Lord will reward you. 

It's easy to be kind to those who are kind to you, but the challenge is being kind to those who persecute, mock  or despitefully use you... But blessed are those who love on them anyway! There is truly an internal and eternal reward for those who endure, to those who are lowly and gentle and kind! May we grow in this truth, and fruit of the Holy Spirit! In Jesus' name!

AMEN!

 ♥ Kamaria

Jesus Culture - Come Away

This song has been so relevant in this season of my life. I listen to it nearly everyday.
I just sit and soak in the words, it really stirs up my spirit!!

"Come away with me. It's never too late, it's not too late for you. I have a plan for you. It's gonna be wild. It's gonna be great. It's gonna be full of Me."

This is what it's about! God says, "come unto Me, and I will give you rest."  It's never too late to turn to Him, you're never too far from His love! He says He has something great and wild and fun for you! Go away with Him and He will reveal to you what His plans are for your life! Open up your heart and let Him in. Enjoy the presence of Papa God :)

♥ Kamaria

You of Little Faith

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is recorded saying "O you of little faith" 4 times. So, it's apparent that God calls us to have GREAT faith in HIM. Jesus said if you have faith, even if it's the size of a mustard seed, you can move a mountain from Point J to Point F if you wanted to.
Think back to earlier in the Gospel of Matthew in Chapter 14 where Jesus took 5 loaves of bread and fish, He fed 5000 people! And they ate, and were FILLED... meaning they were satisfied... AND they had leftovers! Whhhuuuttt!!! LOL 

He can take your 5 loaves of bread & 2 fish and feed a multitude with it! Jesus doesn't really ask much, He just asks that we believe that He CAN do it! To believe that He can free us from the bondage of sin. To believe He can break EVERY SINGLE CHAIN off of us. He just asks that we have some faith and NO doubt! In the same chapter, Matthew 14:31, Jesus asked Peter why was He doubting His power. After stepping out on the water, Peter began to doubt [like most of us do]. He began to doubt whether he should trust God. And really, it SHOULD NOT be that way. God IS in control of EVERYTHING and whatever the situation, He's working it out for YOUR good, and for His ULTIMATE glory! :-D


James 1:2-7 ² My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. ⁴ But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. ⁶ But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

Funny, here James says, "for he who doubts is like a wave in the sea driven and tossed by the wind." Which is precisely what Peter would have been, had Jesus not snatched him up! LOL Sorry... I find that funny :-X


God wants us to have some faith! Even if it's just a little mustard seed, let it not be perverted by doubt. God said be anxious about nothing BUT pray about EVERYTHING Philippians 4:6 Take your little seed of faith and plant it somewhere! God can deliver you out of those dark places where you think you can find no refuge. He definitely delivered me! :-)

 Scriptures! :-)
1 Peter 5:7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
2 Corinthians 4:13 And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak, 
1 Peter 1:7  that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
2 Corinthians 5:7  For we walk by faith, not by sight. 

Peace, love & blessings to you!
♥Kamaria

For All You Lovers...

This post is something that is out of the ordinary for me, but I had to share! I'm not really a bookworm but since recently graduating, I've been reading my fair share of books including a couple by Dr. Gary Chapman. The first one I would like to talk about is The 5 Love Languages. I actually got this book by accident lol. It was 50% off at a Berean Christian Bookstore, I believe in honor of Valentine's Day lol. I got it confused with this other book that I heard about, Things I Wish I'd Known Before We Got Married. At any rate, I still chose to read it, because I knew a couple of Bible study groups that were encouraging people to learn their "love language." So far, the book has been really good and is helpful for those single, married or dating! The author discusses 5 major ways people tend to show their love and affection to the ones they care about, and how to discover your own love language. The 5 love languages are: words of affirmation, quality time, gifts, acts of service, and physical touch. Find out how you best receive love! Here's a link to the website to take the quiz for the 5lovelanguages. I highly recommend all to take a gander! ;-)

The next book I'd like to talk about is Things I wish I'd Known Before We Got Married. By the title I guess you can tell this books is geared towards those either single, dating or engaged. It does however, shortly cover the 5 love languages but does not go in depth. Dr. Chapman focuses in on different personality types and how they may conflict, ways to solve disagreements, forgiveness, reasoning with one another etc. It helps a couple, or individual who is looking to get married, be better equipped to spend a lifetime with the one you choose. I know some may think this is common sense, but this book actually helps you apply your common knowledge in practical ways. One of his main points that stuck out to me was, "being in love is not enough to make a successful marriage." Very true, but no one seems to give this point any consideration. Though "love" should be one of the reasons a couple decides to wed, it should not be the sole reason, as marriage is so complex, a couple should really take the time to get to know one another before making the decision to become one flesh.

Both books are an easy read, they're not overloaded with information, yet not too simple where you feel you could have written the book yourself. It's obvious that Dr. Chapman has done his research and applied everything he observed in his own marriage, and the marriages of his clients. He has made a way to help others be able to achieve what he and his wife have with much less heart break and confusion. I think these books are to be read intently, and possibly studied to either improve a relationship/marriage, or to help one prepare for a marriage/relationship.

Enjoy! :-)

♥Kamaria