Time for Rejuvenation

Sisters, I’m taking a couple of weeks off to spend time meditating on the Word of God and allowing my spirit to be rejuvenated and renewed as only the Bible can.

 The Kitchen Table blog was started back in 2008, and in 2010 the blog posted 6 days a week with 10 different bloggers. We posted 272 blogs alone that year! Scroll down to the bottom left of the page for the archives and have fun perusing through the many blogs of encouragement written over the years.

Look forward to seeing you on Friday, July 4th….

Until next week,

Love and Hugs

Ponnie

We Could Use More Cheerleaders in the Body!

In the sisterhood of Christ we are to help one another in ways that the world doesn’t. I have Bible to back me up on this, “They will know that you are mine, by the way you love one another.” Yup, that’s what Jesus has to say about it. But, many don’t know we belong to Him by the way we love one another, because we are weak in the love and giving department.

One area we are very weak in, is encouraging each other to soar. We aren’t the cheerleaders we could be. We are not applauding each other and shouting, “You can do it sister! Go, Go, Go!” We’re not grabbing hold to support our sister when we see she is ready to give up or fall—no, secretly we are hoping she fails.

   

Writing this blog made me dig deep within myself, because there was a time this was me and I wanted to come clean and be transparent as to what motivated me at the time.

For one, I was a very insecure person, who wore low self-esteem as if it were a royal gown and had a heart full of envy. These are the things that stopped me from being totally happy for anyone else.

During the period when I wanted to be married, it hurt every time I heard someone had gotten engaged or had married. I would paint on a happy face and pretend I was happy for them, but the true state of my heart was one full with envy.

Whenever we put our self-worth or value into what we do or accomplish, we will always be envious of others. It stands to reason, because we feel we are not measuring up when it seems someone is doing better or one-ups us.

Well, this was all fine and good when I lived outside of the Kingdom of God, because that is what sinners do—but it was not okay when I gave up my residency in the world to move into the Kingdom. God demanded more of me as He does all His daughters. It was time for change. I had to start putting on the new me, the Jesus me!

Let’s fast forward to today…Now that I understand how much God loves me and that there is nothing He has for me that anyone can rob me of—I am free of envy!

The more I strive to walk in love—I am free of envy! I Corinthians 13, tells us, “Love does not envy!”

It has taken time for me to learn to believe God and what He has to say about me. It took a lot of work, to no longer think that my value or self-work are linked to what I do or achieve. But it was worth the struggle, because now—I am free! But this is a truth that some of my sisters have yet to realize, and it is hurting the Body.

As you all know, I’m a writer. Okay, big deal! There are plenty of writers in this world and so many different types of writers to boot! (But I am so happy I don’t have to write text books—of any kind! J) But guess what? None of us are the same—we all have different skill sets and personalities, and that should make us happy for each other—but I don’t find that so much in the Kingdom. We are so insecure in the Lord and envious that we are not cheering each other on as we should.

It is sad to have to say this, but I know women who don’t even confess to know Jesus, who help and encourage me more than many of my sisters-in-Christ when it comes to my writing and what I am doing with it.” Prime example—for all the people (including family) I send a weekly email to with this link—very few bother to read the blog. How do I know? There’s a tracker on the blog site.  It doesn’t tell me who reads it, but just how many. The numbers are low, compared to all the people I send it to.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not in the numbers business and I am faithful in doing the blog as God has instructed, so it is up to Him as to who reads it and who doesn’t. I’m just using this as an example of how we don’t support each other when we have an opportunity too.  

Yet, folks will not hesitate to ask me to edit things for them or share information that will enhance their writing endeavors. See, the Kingdom has many writers, want-to-be writers and writers-in-the-making. And I have learned to be happy for them all! Because what they are doing, has nothing to do with what God has anointed me to accomplish.

We are big on quoting scripture concerning sowing seed and gleaning a good harvest when it comes to our finances, but it can be overlooked when it comes to sowing seeds of love and encouragement. We don’t seem to put the same value on it as money. But a harvest of love, is something money will never be able to afford you.

Sisters, if you are one who is envious or jealous of others, you have a heart issue that needs to be worked on. First confess it to God and asked Him to help you change, and then purpose to encourage and cheer on as many as you can.

When we see a sister trying to start her own business, we should cheer her on! Instead of being jealous that someone bought their first house before you—cheer her on! She’s published her first book and you are still working on yours—cheer her on! She’s pregnant before you—cheer her on!

Become a cheerleader and let’s show the world what it really looks like to belong to Jesus.

Until next week,

Love and Hugs

Ponnie

Change Can Often = For A Season and A Particular Reason….

No one who has been walking with Jesus should look the same as they did even a year ago, let alone 10 years ago.  And I say that because, growth in the Kingdom is a given. Either we grow forward or we grow backward, but it is impossible to stay in the same position without some type of change in our lives.

We all grow in different ways—some are little minions of their pastor—hanging on every word and believing everything they say, drinking only milk.  Others are thinkers and study the Word of God. Then there are those of us, who maybe once studied a little more than we do now, and we are trying to live on “yesterday’s” ah-ha moment, versus a “today” revelation. And there is a group of us who fall into the—if you don’t use it, you start to lose it category. It all boils down to one thing—individual growth. Either we move forward or we move backward—but some type of movement is going to happen either way.

Over the years I’ve come to see that it’s okay to not want to embrace everyone that comes into your life for more than a minute. The truth is—sometimes that is all they are supposed to be there for. But then there are the people we think will be there forever and surprisingly enough there comes a time we must let go. Now that’s a hard one for me—because I don’t want to let go!

When I was an inner-city missionary I helped all types of women with all kinds of problems, and to date I have no friendships or contacts with any of them. It did take time for me to learn to not be hurt and take it personally as they moved on; never looking back once the assistance I provided was no longer needed. It did take time and growth on my part to understand I was only a stepping stone God had placed in their lives. I learned to not hold them tightly and let go when it was time.

God still uses me in that way, but now He seems to be making some new changes and I don’t like it.

I hate to say this, “I am not good with change, even when it is for the better.”  But I know that I am not in the minority either. And I say this because every time Facebook makes a change it just reinforces for me, how much we as human beings, must be dragged kicking and screaming when it comes to anyone messing with and changing that which is familiar to us—especially God!

But you know, God is God, and He is going do whatever He deems to be best for us, whether we like it or not!

There is a big project I’ve been working on and it could really change my life in a big way. Exactly what that change will look like—I don’t know. But I do know it’s going to be more than I could ever imagine—that’s for sure! And I’m excited about that, but what I didn’t expect were some of the changes the Lord is making now in preparation for what’s to come. He’s weeding out people and changing the position that some have held in my life.

The funny thing though, it has all been very subtle.

I have a long time friend who I have just recently realized how much we have grown apart. But there hasn’t been anything bad or harmful that has happened between us, it is as simple as growing in different directions We still have Jesus in common, but no longer on the same level.

Friends grow in different ways—together—apart—and some of us grow while the other goes backwards. And when we grow apart or even faster than the other it can have an effect on a relationship and change our core group of friends.

Sisters, sometimes friends just pass away, and it is not through death of the body, but a slow redefining of the relationship. No one is angry, and you still love and care for the person, it’s just God’s way of saying, “The purpose is served.”

Probably all of us have had friendships we thought would be a part of our lives until death do us part—but that is not always what God has in store. A 10, 15, even 20 year old friendship can have a God given expiration date before anyone leaves this earth. And you will know it’s Him because there will not be a falling out of any sort—it will just slowly begin to slip away.

Sisters, if you are experiencing a season where God is making change in your relationships and friendships—follow His lead and let go. I don’t know why God is moving things around and changing placement of some people and moving others out? But I’ve decided not to spend any more time trying to figure it out and just trust the pruning process.

Letting go is not easy, especially when it is a relationship that has been a good one that has stood the test of time. We may never understand God’s reason, but the truth is—all relationships (marriage, friends, work, church and family) have an expiration date. It just may not be the one we had hoped for.

Until next week,

Love and Hugs

Ponnie