This week starts our 12 week bible study plan concerning RATCHET FAITH and today concludes our 21 days of reviewing scriptures that encourage our faith. Ratchet Faith is the kind of faith God marvels over.  I find that there are moments in biblical history where Jesus was taken aback by someone's faith.  It appears that when He marveled it was in response to a different level of faith.  As if it to suggest that there is faith and there is FAITH. Faith that is gritty, unapolog

January 17 | 1 Corinthians 13:13 Today is day 17 of 21 looking at how we can turn our faith into RATCHET FAITH! This is exciting for me, because there are some pretty significant doors that won't open unless God does it for me this year. These doors require me to have ratchet faith. The kind of faith God will marvel over. I know one thing, when you are experiencing the sharp hot point of a fiery dart it is easy to lose most if not all of the faith you had. Because real talk w

God help me be the one who believes! The one who believes regardless of what my past reports back to me. The one who believes despite what I see currently. The one who believes because that's just what I was made to do! Ratchet Faith requires belief. The belief that what is actively happening in my world, environment, home, life, work place does not have to be the end of the story. There is an after this for each of us! After the divorce, after the government shutdown, after

Impossible is a real word - but with God the impossible is possible. The scary things are possible! The difficult things are possible! The things that remind you of your past! The things that "they" told us we could not do! The things that we failed at previously! ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD! Let's do all those things that we may not want or are scared to do. Those things that give God pleasure and glory, let's do them with God! This devotional is based on Luke 1:37. #Ra

We were friends right up to the moment we talked about what would happen if we kissed each other. I liked him for a couple of months before we made it official. He wasn't ready to be romantic. We were best friends. We spent so much time together it was ridiculous. Ministries started to collaborate and eventually co-mingle. He made me laugh and I made him laugh. It seemed like all of our time was spent together. But dude wasn't ready. He was healing from a relationship that h

We are bombarded with messaging all day long! Every person, company, agency, and artist is trying to get our attention. If we aren't careful we will be stuck in a cycle of listening to everyone and everything else but God. Romans 10:17 teaches us that in order to have faith and grow faith we must hear the Word of God. There is no other way to have faith in God unless we are engaging God's word. You can't inherit faith in God from your momma 'nem. You can be a witness to their

hope is contagious, powerful and resourceful. hope can shake a bad attitude. hope can remind us why we have to keep going. hope often is the sound that pushes us out of the bed. but we need more than hope. we need to pray. today spend some time praying for the things, character traits, gifts, collaborations, and kinds of relationships you desire, hope for and/or need. #RatchetFaith #faith #hope #love #motherhoodunplugged #blog #21days #21DayPlan #changeyourmind #changeyourlif

it's been awhile since my husband and i had an intentional date night. he's a full time student, we have one income and let's face it by the end of most days and weeks we are exhausted. but tonight is different. it's sabbath and after the kids are done with rehearsals at church - husband and i are meeting up with a couple to make a sweet roll delivery. we admire and are encouraged by this couple. this couple reminds me to savor all the time we have with each other. savor it l

Loyalty can be a difficult trait to find in relationships we cultivate. Some of u expect loyalty to show up in ways that are completely irrational, unreasonable, and unhealthy. Chiiiiile you can't be everybody's ride or die! Everyone can not nor do they need your total devotion. Draw some boundaries for you and your family. You are worthy of safety and wellness. You are worthy of rest and establishing priorities that end with you excelling. Can I tell you a story? I used to d

I was on travel from Nov. 7 - 10th and that makes it a little difficult to post daily because I don't have a laptop that I can travel with right now. Ugggh!!! But this is not about what i'm lacking - this post is about being grateful for what I have! So here goes. Eleven of us from work traveled to Detroit, MI for the Facing Race Annual Conference. And while I didn't blog each day I did track the opportunities in which I could be grateful and express gratitude! I am thankful

I LOOOOOOOOVE IT! OK truth is maybe we use the word love way too loosely! Like that time we saw something funny and the first thing flying out of our mouth is "I LOVE IT!" or you meet someone and really dig their style and personality and say "I just love her!" Do you really know how to love? Do you know what/who to love? Love requires that we do more than share the post! Love requires that we do more than cheer that person on! Love requires that we stand for the people! Love

being the salt as detailed in matthew 5:13 is about bearing witness to people experiencing oppression, trauma, pain or devastation and we activate to preserve them until Christ returns. today is a tricky day for so many people living and visiting the USA. children are being caged and separated for many whose families are seeking asylum. women are still making less money for the same jobs as their male counterparts. black people in this country are still gunned down and mist

this is motherhood. but it's not the same for every mother. some of us burried our children. some of us can't post bail. some of us. some of us never got to foster their dreams. some of us can't stand what came out of us. some of us hope. some of us pray with our eyes open. some of us are at the gym. some of us are on tour. some of us. some of us worked a double. some of us are writing sermons. some of us are in the streets looking for ours. some of us are listening. some of

Lord God Almighty. We are not living the life you promised. Help us to fully accept YOUR abundant life. We've been existing. Waiting for the next opportunity to relish in everything temporary. Lord you have a blueprint. For each of us. Please reveal to us in YOUR WORD the strategy, resources, and the empowerment so that we can abandon our way so that we can bind up our way so that we can trash our way so that we can surrender our way Because YOUR WAY is peace is abundant is e

I used to crave attention on stages and hitting the mic in big crowds was my favorite thing to secure for myself regularly. Today, I am content with being part of the crowd that is seeking God, serving behind the scenes and making sure the laundry is folded. There is more. There are other roles that I know I will need to fill, but for now I am #humblessed - the intersection of being humble + blessed. I like this position. It's low profile, almost like I am in hiding. I like i

There is still time for us to do something with ourselves that maybe we've been too intimidated, afraid or FEELING stuck to do! For me it's sticking to an exercise routine and being disciplined and consistent in that thing! This month's scripture writing challenge was all about DISCIPLINE. I refuse to let what I read, wrote and believed abput discipline to be good of action! Discipline now produces a great reward later! If I can stay disciplined now I don't have to be discipl

BLESSED NEW YEAR! Photo Credit: https://www.eyeforebony.com/ As you continue to wrestle and/or enjoy 2018 and the close of 2017 I pray that you be challenged to be EVERYTHING God intended for you to be in this season. I pray that you move past your feelings and dig deep. I pray that you surrender every one of your hurting places to God. I pray that you release your need to be in control of your destiny because it's already done. I pray that you live out loud. I pray that you

#TheDarkRoom is a blog series that highlights the lives of people who are answering God's call to minister. From a very long time I never understood why I would have issues with lying. Before you share this post with large eyes emojis, please listen. We all lie to each other, to God, but mostly to ourselves. Want a simple test? "How are you doing, really?" That simple word on the end exposes the truth and underscores the fact that we lie. We have told ourselves we are okay wi

TRIGGER WARNING: sex offenders, perpetrators, harmdoers among us. If your loved one, mentor, neighbor, favorite entertainer or reporter, respected community member or hero has committed sexual assault(s) - you can still love, care, and deeply respect them. It is important to accept that we all fall short. Sex offending behaviors does not make the offender/perpetrator/harmdoer a monster or devil - that person made one of the poorest and trauma inducing sexual decisions but t

Living in poverty has shifted how I think about ourselves & how we think about about those we serve. I believe we now serve people as friends that are experiencing hardships and no longer as strangers that are struggling, because that's what Jesus is teaching us. "Jesus is way more faithful to me than i could ever be to Him!" - Che Burgess People are struggling and it's time to change the narrative. The evidence of God being a blessing is not someone’s abundant finances, big