What Is It You Really Want From God?

Do you really know what it is you want or need from God?

If Jesus were to say to you, “What can I do for you?” would you be like the blind man in Luke 18, who said, “I want to see Lord” [my paraphrase] because he knew that one thing would change the quality of his life forever? Or would you be like the person James talks about who asks amiss for things for your own pleasure? (James 4:3)

The blind man knew if he was given his sight, he would no longer have to beg and depend on others—he knew being able to see would change his life forever for the better. Some of us think that if we had more money it would change our lives for the better forever. Maybe—maybe not! I say that because I know for a fact that some of us need to be better stewards of what we already have. And more money would only equal more mismanagement of your funds. Many say, “I would pay my tithes if only I made more money.” Start giving something faithfully now, until your faith is built up to tithe on what you have—don’t wait for more money!

There are so many women bombarding God daily with prayers for a husband. Why? Because they think they would no longer be lonely, they would have someone to talk too, someone to care for them and the list goes on. But the truth is you are wrong in your thinking and what you are asking for…this so often falls under “asking amiss”. I know some of you don’t like that, but it’s the truth. I say this because if you are seeking God and His will for your life, you don’t have to worry Him for a husband or really anything else. Yup, that’s right! You grow into wanting what He wants for you.

We should spend time trying to figure out what it is we really need or want from God that will change our walk and life in Him. Tuning out the constant chatter of what the world and everyone else says we need to make life good.

Are you one who has trouble being submissive to those who have authority over you? Don’t get along with your boss or supervisor, so you’re begging God for a new job? It’s not so much the job as it is you and your attitude. Wouldn’t it be better to ask God to show you why He has you there, and help to learn the lessons needed?

Maybe you’ve become a nag to your husband. You’re constantly trying to get your way or change him. You might even be one who wants out of the marriage because it resembles nothing of what you had dreamed. Wouldn’t it be of a greater benefit to ask God to help you to see your husband through His eyes and love him as you love yourself? Wouldn’t it change your life to be obedient to God’s Word in the way you deal with your husband? Yes, it would.

Are the problems in your life ones you created by poor choices or running ahead of God? That is a good question we need to ask ourselves. Reason being, often the answer is “Yes!” Once we can take responsibility for our mistakes, then we can move forward in a more productive and meaningful way with God.

Unforgiveness of past hurts, clouds our world on a daily bases. A rebellious and disobedient spirit causes problems in every aspect of our lives. Total disregard for the things we already have, will not set us up to gain more. A lack of caring for others and a selfish heart does not express the love of God to others. The absence of common sense and wisdom will always 'cause you trouble and not trusting God is a recipe for disaster. Jealousy and envy will only make you unhappy. These are just some of the problems many of us struggle with and the list is quite extensive.

So if Jesus were to ask you, “What is it you want me to do for you?” wouldn’t it make more sense to ask for that which would change us to look more like Him? Wouldn’t it benefit us more to ask for a Heart that forgives and a spirit of obedience? What about wisdom in making decisions, a pure heart, a spirit of gratefulness and a gentle and kind spirit? What if we could love our neighbors as we love ourselves? And most of all, the ability to trust and love God with all our heart and learn to lean not to our own understanding but acknowledge Him in all our ways. How about that?

Sisters I hope I have stirred something in you today so that you will take a deeper look at what you are asking God for and make sure it is not a waste of your time. I say that because, we can ask and beg all we want, but if it is not God’s will for our lives it ain’t gonna happen! So let us focus on those things that we know to be His will for us. We can never go wrong in striving to be more like Christ….never, never, ever!!

Look for a blog next week, until then….be blessed!!

Love & Hugs
Ponnie

Grateful Beyond Measure

On Friday, January 4th I turned 60 years of age. And I was so surprised at how very grateful to God I was to see this milestone birthday. Wow!! I was so excited that I stayed up til midnight. Well, I fell asleep watching TV before that, but the Holy Spirit was gracious and woke me up at 11:50pm. ~Smile~ You would think that would have been enough, but it wasn’t. I kept waking up throughout the night thanking God over and over!!! My birthday celebration was fabulous and all I had hoped for. And I found myself throughout the day wanting to cry great tears of joy because I was so overwhelmed with gratitude for God’s great love for me.

It’s been one week since my birthday and I’ve had time to think about why I was so excited and happy about turning 60 years old? I know women who won’t admit that they are 60, I know some who were very depressed when the big 60 rolled around. I also know women who never got to see their 60th birthday and others who are sick with bodies that are just giving out. And then there are those, whose lives resemble nothing of the things they had hoped. So, why was I so wonderfully elated?

Let me give you a short background on my life, so that you will see it was far from a bed of roses—more like a bed of thrones so to speak. I was born to a woman who really never wanted children, and she was not married to my father, (which I have never met). She felt burden down with me, and it didn’t help that I looked a lot like my father. Her haltered for him and low self-esteem were all played out on me. From as early as I can remember I was told how much she hated me, and that I was nothing (she used other colorful words no one should ever say to anyone especially a kid) and would never be nothing. I grew up with low self-worth and a deep root of rejection. This made me prime pickings for the wrong kind of man, and I ended up making some of the same poor choices my mother did. I’ve been a single mom nonstop for 38 years—my two girls are 18 years apart. And it has taken years for God to convenience me that He loves me and I am a worthy human being, because He says so. My life has been far from easy but God never threw me away the way others have and that is what has changed my world.

Last week I wrote about the “Greatest Love of All” ourselves! Why? Because I know firsthand what it is to live a life of self-hatred, and I also know what’s it’s like to live a life of self-love and self-value.

Last year during my Women’s Bible Study I hit upon the Shalom (peace of God) and Laboring to enter God’s rest in a new way!!! A life changing way!! I really began to Labor (work hard at) entering God’s rest. In fact ladies it is the only thing that God tells us to labor in….hum, now there’s a thought. In order to achieve this I had to pull down all the mental thoughts that rose up against God on a daily bases. (See 2 Corinthians 10:5) Such as, “You’re stupid Ponnie, you’ll never get it!” That is a lie form the pit. Why? Because the Bible tells me that I have the mind of Christ and trust me there is nothing stupid about Him! Also there were circumstances in my life that were trying desperately to steal my daily peace and joy. I refused to let it happen…again! This time I was going to Labor to enter into God’s rest no matter what the heck was going on around me. Sisters, it wasn’t easy, but I did it!!!! And I used my faith and the Word of God to do it!! And you know what? After months of working on this, (and I hadn’t even realized it) I had so much Word overflowing in me and a new found sense of God’s greatness in my life. Yup all that happened for me!!!!

So, when it was time for my birthday, I was excited because who I am today only happened because of all the things I had lived through. God had taken my broken and hard life (my ashes) and turned it into a thing of beauty—according to His Will. My eyes are tearing up now just thinking about His love for me.

One of the best decisions I have ever made while living in the Kingdom of God is, to study out in His Word what it means to Labor to enter into His rest. It has changed my life and the way I view things. It has renewed my mind in a way I never thought possible. The more we trust God and lean on Christ Jesus, the more we tap into the unlimited power source of the God Head, and the more we will achieve.

Sisters, no matter how bad things are in your life today, you can find rest and peace in God. It takes work, that is why the Bible says we are to “Labor” to enter into God’s rest, but it is the best thing you can do for yourself and your family.

I pray that I have encouraged you to get into your Bibles and study what it says for your lives.

The more you know about God the more you will love and trust Him. That only comes with spending time with Him.

Look for a blog next week, until then….be blessed!!

Love & Hugs
Ponnie

The Greatest Love of All

The Greatest Love of All….. We have just transitioned into 2013 and often the transition from one year to the next comes with high hopes, resolutions and goals. Which by the way—may be unrealistic and burdensome and is why we often don’t keep them. It’s not that we are bad people; it’s just that we are human and forget that it took time to gain the extra weight and we can’t rush it off overnight. We forget all the clutter in the garage, basement, and attic or even though out our houses, took time to accumulate and we can’t fix it in one weekend. We try to go to the gym 5 days a week instead of trying to be faithful and consistent for 2 days. We take on the challenge of reading the Bible through in 1 year, when we are not disciplined in reading it once or twice a week. We fail because we forget that change and the renewing of our mindset takes time. So, today I want to focus on why it is important to keep the commitments we make to ourselves.

On Facebook there are so many posts about our kids and husbands being the love of our lives and so on and so on. But apart from the God Head being the greatest loves in our lives, “WE” should be the greatest love of all. Yup, that’s right. Matthew, Mark and Luke all quote Jesus telling us to “Love our neighbors as we love ourselves.” Well, how can we meet that commandment if we don’t love and honor ourselves? We can’t! So it is time we started taking better care of ourselves…spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically.

I have found that achieving a well balanced life takes discipline, commitment and hard work. But doesn’t anything in life worth having or keeping? Even our relationship with God takes work commitment, and discipline.

The first thing we must do is agree with God that we are worth it. We have to work on killing the spirit and root of “Low Self-esteem”! How do we do that? Read our Bible and agree with what it says about us. Will it happen overnight? Nope! But it you start to fight the lies from the pit and other people’s evaluation of you with God’s truth, your mind will start to change its thinking process about whom you are.

Have you allowed food to become a “god” to you? Do you find comfort in eating? Are you a healthy weight? Do you need to lose weight and be more active? If so, don’t go all hog wild and take on a gym membership, join a paid weight loss program, or get crazy with what you’re not going to eat and throw everything out and buy foods that you are not used to eating. I say this because starting off doing these things before looking at what the real problem is, is a setup for defeat. How do we find out what the root is to being overweight? Start talking to God about how we really feel about ourselves and confess to Him that we NEED Him in order to change. If you stick to this, the Holy Spirit will help you sort through the mess.

Start out slow in making change. Take a week or two to look at how, when and what you eat. I found that when I was upset I would automatically go to the fridge or cabinet to grab something to calm my nerves. Somewhere along the way in life I had gotten into the bad habit of trying to sedate myself with food when I had an emotional upset. It took work to change that behavior. If you find this is something you do, then you can try doing a small chore when the urge. Prayer is good; because sometimes the urge would be so intense I had to pray out loud and ask Jesus for help and command my body to sit still! I also started keeping a water bottle in my bedroom and drinking water without having to go to the fridge and it really helped. This was the beginning of looking at how much I used food for other than its sole purpose of nourishment.

Exercise is something we really need to do and I say again….start out slow or in moderation. Get into the discipline of 1 or 2 days a week of walking, going to a dance class, or even a home exercise video if you don’t already belong to a gym. Don’t jump out there 5 days a week and set yourself up to fail….slow and steady.

Do not starve and deprive yourself, it won’t last long. Again, make small changes that will turn into lifestyle changes that stick. Try drinking more water and giving up sodas, even if they are diet…give them up. That alone with some form of exercise will make a big difference. But no matter what you do, stick to it because you are worth it!

We need to eke out time for ourselves on a daily bases. I know some of you have lives that are jammed packed! You take care of a household, work, go to school, and have ministry work at church, kids, husband and much more. That is all good and well, but the Bible tells us that we are to have a day of rest and most Sunday’s or whatever day you attend church services is not a day of rest for us at all. So my point is…we are not doing what God has said we are to do and that is not good.

I now live in a home where the bathtub is very shallow so I don’t take baths anymore, but my last home had a wonderful spa tub and I made it a special event to take a bath. Candlelight, music, nice beverage, bubbles and a good book or magazine always played a big part in it. Yes, I always ended up adding more hot water before I eventually had to get out. Ah, it is the little things that can really bring happiness. Music is a good way for me to unwind and relax my mind and nothing really tops a good book. Well, the Good Book does, but that’s about it…LOL!!! Going for a walk is good and helps to relax my mind and gives me time to hear myself think. I love magazines too because they keep me abreast of the latest fashions, hair products, fragrances and beauty tips. What’s something you can plan for you to do during the week to relax and nurture you?

Yesterday I looked at my hands and noticed I could really use a manicure, so if things work out I’m going to treat myself to one on Saturday morning. Ladies we need to deem ourselves worthy so that we take better care of ourselves. We must go the extra mile when it comes to self love. Our appearance really does affect how we feel about ourselves. So, start taking time to make yourself feel better about you! You don’t have to lose 50lbs before that happens, you have to love yourself today right where you are. So treat yourself to a new hair cut or color. Get a pedicure or buy a new lipstick. You are worth it!

Making time for God on a daily bases is a MUST! This is the best medicine for our emotional, mental and physical wellbeing. And for anything else we desire to achieve. If the schedule you are living by does not include private and quality time with the Lord every day, then your life is messed up and your priorities are wrong. If you have time for the internet, Facebook and TV, yet not God—it’s time to seriously rethink things. Church once a week won’t cut it….we must live a daily life of worship and obedience and without spending time in the Bible, prayer and meditation, those things are hard to achieve.

Again I caution you on jumping off the deep end and reading the Bible through in one year. I say that because it becomes a routine of how much you must read each day versus spending time reading and talking to God about what you have read. I have worked on one verse for over 3 weeks because it was life changing! God wants a relationship with us, not for us to perform, use a formula or try to stick to a schedule that often ends up being a form of bondage versus something we do out of love for Him. The best thing to do is get into a discipline of reading the Bible daily if only for 15 minutes a day. Why? Because if you can handle that everyday then you are going to learn something about God and yourself that you didn’t know before, and in time, the time you spend with Him will grow.

Small changes turn into big accomplishment with time. Most of us can handle small and will find it much easier to stick to “small” versus “huge” and overwhelming ourselves.

As you spend time learning to love yourself, you will begin to see the value and beauty in others. That comes with being able to see through the eyes of God and not ourselves. If we value what God says about us and believe it to be true then we will value all who He has made in His imagine and deemed righteous and holy.

I hope that I have encouraged you to look at your life with a touch of wisdom and not get caught up in the whirlwind of a New Year of unrealistic expectations to put on yourself.

Let your expectations be in the Lord and you will not fail or be disappointed in the least.

Look for a blog next week, until then….be blessed!!

Love & Hugs
Ponnie

What The Heck Is Going On?

I’m writing this on Monday, December 17, 2012……Eight days before Christmas, 18 days before my 60th birthday and 3 days after the horrific massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, USA. Emotionally I was numb this morning (spent an entire weekend of watching news reports on the 26 killed on Friday) and my spirits were low, to the point that I’ve removed myself from Facebook for awhile. Why….

….It seems that we had just gotten a reprieve from the great divide of the American Presidential race. And now here we go again. Should we have guns? Do our teachers need to be packing? Should we have armed guards in our schools? Should Congress finally stand up to the NRA? Do we as individuals need assault weapons to protect our homes? God has given most of us the ability to form opinions, but it seem of late that is all the “Church” is about….Opinions! We talk a lot, post a lot but it seems we are falling so short of what we should really be doing.

I spent most of last night and today thinking about life and talking to God about things. I realize that I have been becoming increasingly disgruntled with the celebration of Christmas over the past few years. The reason being, it really has so little to do with Christ anymore. To begin with it is not the date He was born; it is something that man came up with….not God. And as the world moves further and further away from God, the less Christmas looks like anything that pleases Him or Jesus. If Christmas Day doesn’t fall on a Sunday you are hard pressed to find a church open, yet we say it is a Christian celebration. Churches have toy drives for the less fortunate kids, but after Christmas we go about our merry way. It boils down to the fact that we are not showing the world Jesus on a daily bases…just at made up Christmas time.

We now find ourselves in the great debate about….if only Prayer was back in schools! Allowing prayer back in the schools I don’t think will make a big difference. Why? Because I don’t see anywhere in the Bible where it says the public school system is to teach people about Christ. We act as if satan and Madalyn Murray O'Hair have outwitted God! That’s insane…if we were to spend as much time reading our Bibles as we spend on Facebook…we would know better than that. And the real truth about prayer is no one can stop a Christian from praying! No, not really! You may not be able to pray out loud, but so what! We can pray whenever and wherever we want! Who can really stop us? Who really knows? So every Christian who works in a public school should be standing in the gap for that school anyway. Every Christian parent who has a child attending public school should be praying for that school every day. Teachers should be coming in early to pray for their classes and calling each student by name. Who can stop that? No one…that’s who!

The Bible does tell us that we are to help people all the time, and show them the love of Christ every day by the way we live. So instead of toy drives why not be a haven for children after school, helping them with their homework, feeding them supper so that hungry kids will be fed. Why is it we just adopt a family for Christmas, and not the entire year to make sure their needs are being met and show them what Christ looks like on a daily bases? Gaining access to witness and share the gospel with them.

Christmas to me has become a “Holiday” that is all about greed, covetousness and money…even for Christians. We get upset because people say, “Happy Holidays versus Merry Christmas!” but why? So many Christians are no different than the world when it comes to celebrating Christmas. We lie and tell our children that Santa Claus is bringing them gifts, instead of teaching them that God has blessed and given us the means to buy them, we go into debt to buy gifts, (but will not tithe) we become selfish and self-centered about what we want and what we think our kids should have. Why? What does any of this have to do with celebrating the birth of our Messiah? How are we showing the world the grace of God and the love of Christ when we are in the crowds on Thanksgiving Day or Black Friday that are running people down to get a deal on a TV or computer? Of course this is not all Christians, but it is way too many to count. I’m really talking about Americans here.

Sisters I am sad today as I look at the world and the things that are going on because it seems the Church is asleep and we are not seeing the signs. I say this because so many who say they are Believers seem not to be living in ways that will convenience those who are lost and need to be evangelized. The Church wants to fight about things that really don’t amount to a hill of beans versus that which will be pleasing unto the Lord and bring change to a dying and lost world.

That is the bad news; but the good news is that Jesus has told us to be of a good cheer for He has overcome the world. I know that God is faithful and though I am sad today, I still have great hope in my heart for tomorrow, because I know God is already there.

I pray that I have maybe provoked you to think about this Christmas season and what it really means to the Kingdom of God, (not you) and to take a good look at your everyday life…what does it look like to your family, coworkers, neighbors, people in the supermarket, the teller at your bank or the stranger you met, and especially those on Facebook? Do you look like Christ to them or do you blend in so much you look like the world?

We have moved into the realm of where man is a lover himself and not God. Those who live in the darkness of the world, I understand, but for those in the Church….I find it very distressful. Time is drawing near; it is time to be very serious about the business of the Lord. Not manmade nonsense, but that which God has said is His business.

Look for a blog next week, until then….be blessed!!

Love & Hugs
Ponnie

The Gift of Love

Love is a gift that can be freely given or ladled with stipulations. Well, true love (God’s love) is “unconditional” which translates into the ultimate free gift. As Believers we strive to love like God, but often fail because of the human side of our flesh, but still, we should keep striving to come as close as we can. And today I would like to look at lavishing ourselves with unconditional love and respect.

As a mother if the doctor were to tell me that I needed to make lifestyle changes for my children (when they were younger) or they would not live to see adulthood, that would have been all they had to say. I would have done whatever was needed! Why? Because of my great love and desire for them to grow up healthy and strong, to become all they could be. Yet how come I haven’t loved me enough to make changes in my life, so that I am healthy, strong and all that I can be? That’s a good question!

My family health history doesn’t read as well as I would like it too. I can’t say we have a lineage of good genes and we live well into our 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. No, there is a curse of diabetes, congestive heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and several deaths from the complications of diabetes, including amputations and blindness. So, why have I been so lackadaisical about getting my cholesterol and blood pressure under control? How come I’ve allowed myself to put back on weight I had lost, knowing it affects my health and leads to all the above mentioned problems? I guess I could write about several underlined reasons, but the bottom line is—I really haven’t been lavishing myself with love. And I say that because when we really love someone, we desire the very best for them. We bend over backwards to make sure they have the things they need, no matter what the sacrifices. Well, I can’t say I have been acting that way in totality concerning myself.

The great thing about realizing you have a problem or there’s a problem, is that you are now able to deal with it. I have a problem of not caring for myself as I should and though I know my days are numbered, I now want to live them the best that I can. If God allows, I will turn 60 in January 2013. And one thing I’ve noticed is people who live to be in their 70’s, 80’ and 90’s that are able to get around and enjoy life are not 50 to 60 pounds overweight.

Well, my dear sisters if you remember Jennifer and I did a two part blog on February 13th and February 14th about loving yourself, and I now have an addition to mine. I now love me enough to do what I need to do in order to be strong and healthy!

I am starting the journey to becoming a vegan. Yup, getting rid of animal dairy products and all things that add to my high cholesterol. Now, I’m not jumping out there and throwing everything out and declaring “I am now a vegan!” Nope, can’t do it like that. The beauty of being 59 is that I know myself pretty well and I know I have to transition into this new lifestyle. But I’m still very excited about it though.

Very soon (I hope by next week) I will launch a Food Blog to journal my journey. I want to share how I’m doing and load it up with new ways to cook and plenty of pictures of things I cook and enjoy. There are two major reasons for the blog, one is to encourage other women, (especially African American women my age) that huge lifestyle changes are possible even when you’re older, and secondly accountability for myself. The reason I’m targeting African American women is we are very unhealthy compared to our Caucasian counterparts. We have a higher rate of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and heart disease. And let’s not forget being overweight. But I also have Caucasian friends who fall into the same category, so it really is for all women.

I’ve been praying everyday about this because I know I can only achieve my goals with God’s help. So, I’m relying on the fact that I can do all things through Christ who is my strength!!

Sisters, I hope some of you will follow my vegan blog if for no other reason than to encourage me, but I do pray that you might be encourage to make changes in your life if needed. Not saying you will become a vegan, but maybe just start exercising more, and making healthier choices when it comes to what you eat and how much.

I don’t have a name yet for the blog and I am open to suggestions. Please write me at PonnieCousins@yahoo.com if you have an idea for a name.



Love & Hugs
Ponnie

See you next Monday!