Haunting Words

 

Words bear fruit…

 

It is sooo good to be back….writing again 🙂

Happy New Year!!!

This blog post has been in my belly for a few weeks now. I literally couldn’t shake it off.

A few weeks ago my team investigated a case where a lady committed suicide. It initially drew my attention because she was older and those aren’t so common with older females. But the words on the note she left stayed with me…

She left a note to the effect saying….as a young girl I was told I would not amount to anything, and those words have haunted me my entire life…

My heart broke for that little girl….

It broke for that ‘seed’ that was planted and been watered over the years…That was never plucked up and destroyed.

The mouth is a powerful tool. And who ever said ‘sticks and stones may hurt my bones, but words can’t hurt me’…LIED.

The focal point for my church this month is discipline my mouth. And it is a great focus to incorporate even as we start 2019.

Proverbs 18 is loaded with wisdom on how we should and should not use our mouth.

My favorite is Proverbs 18:21 “Death and Life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits”

So, whatever we say bears fruit.

What about when we say “I was just joking?” There is no provision for careless words. It all bears fruit.

Some of our self talk is damaging…..and I know we say things innocently or perhaps ignorantly (not knowing its spiritual impact).

”I suck at math.”

“Girl, I’m not good with money”

”He’s so bad”

”You’re a little trouble maker”

”I’m so behind, I’ll never catch up”

Proverbs 18:20 went so far as to say that words satisfy the soul. The right words on a person’s lips brings satisfaction…

It is not only what you say……but how you say what you say…

There are many wounded men and women, little boys and girls all around us. And as believers we need to speak life to things that glorify God and death to things that don’t bring Him glory.

My final thought is a prayer for us to not just see the flaws in each other, but see destiny and purpose in each other. That we will declare LIFE over each other. May God give you soothing words today, even in times of anger. Amen.

What are your thoughts on this topic? And are there words that you still remember to this day?

Blessings

JC

 

Time waits for no man…..

Today for my weekly post I was fairly sure I knew what I was going to write about. That is, until I happen to log into Facebook. As I was scrolling through I came across the news that a high school mate had passed.

As a homicide detective, I deal with death in some way or form almost everyday. But I felt a little shock on finding this out……a light gone out of childhood eyes 😦

Someone summed up my feelings accurately “As children we never really expect to die”

Sitting at my desk I felt this sobering nervous dread because time is really going by. You know that feeling when someone passes who was close to your age?

Time waits on no man or woman…..so

Love while you still can…

Forgive while you still can…

Serve while you still can…

Live on purpose while you still can…

Find out who YOU are while you still can……AND

Be the best YOU while you still can…..

Blessings always

JC

 

 

Can you pray for me? Are you living on purpose Part 2

Do you remember throughout your life journey people ‘seeing’ promise and gifts and talents and destiny in you before you ever saw it in yourself? Or rather, before you ever admitted it to yourself?

Things like; ‘your life story is so awesome, you should put it in a book’,

‘your fashion sense is so instinctive you should do something with that’,

‘you make the best cakes or pies or ice cream or whatever, I would totally pay for it’,

‘when are you going to preach?’

‘you are so good with kids’

‘you are so creative, you should do interior design’

I don’t know what your thing is, but I am sure if you took a second to pause and look at the bread crumbs left throughout your life you will see a pattern in your proclivities.

If you are already pursing them, praise God!!

But if not, take that step…write that business plan (again)….

enroll in school….

get that certificate…..

read some books…

find a mentor….

take that sewing class…

take that photography class…

There are so many people waiting for you to serve what only you can serve!

The other day I woke up and commanded my morning that I would have a productive day. Would you know that Satan jumped all over it? I mean all morning I felt like I was wading through molasses!

Around noon I went down to the gym, as I had mapped out for the day, determined to press through. Finished my work out, showered up and was heading upstairs when I ran into a fellow officer. A friend had recently told me that he was in seminary so I stopped to chat. Mind you, I have seen him many times over the years and even worked a case with him, but never knew this.

There are so many servants all around us, we are really not alone in our pursuit for God.

Anyway, we talked for about an hour or so and he told me a quick story that exemplifies the point that I was making in the opening;

Many many moons ago, when he was a young officer, they were attempting to arrest a bad guy who was just a terror to the neighborhood. The plan was for them to drive by in a U-Haul truck and scoop him up before there was any potential for a shootout. He was the driver. The plan was successful and no one was hurt, although several people called 911 stating the guy was just kidnapped. Once he pulled over, after things settled down, he got out of the truck and went to the back of the truck to check on the guy. When he pulled up the garage styled door the guy said ‘Man, can you pray for me?’

He quickly closed the door.

He thought for a few seconds then opened back the door and asked him what he said.

He said again ‘Can you pray for me?’

The officer said, “Of all these other guys why do you want me to pray for you?” The guy didn’t even know. Anyway he asked him what he wanted him to pray for and the guy said that he and his family would be alright. The officer said, I’ll pray for you, but I’m not closing my eyes. And he prayed.

This was just one of many breadcrumbs that pointed to the call of God on his life and he is actively pursuing it now. It’s a beautiful thing to live a purpose driven life!

We chatted some more, exchanged more ‘God’ stories, shared tips, and encouraged each other on this journey.

And, I had a productive day indeed 🙂

Go after that vision and dream that you see, write it down, make it plain and keep it ever before you. Don’t worry about the ‘how’ of it, that’s God’s job….

Have a great week.

Blessings always

JC

 

Are you living on Purpose? Part 1

 

When the student is ready, the teacher will appear ~ Buddhist Proverb

Do you believe this? I do.

Since the beginning of this new year I’ve been focused on accomplishing everything that God had in mind when He created me. Using every gift, talent, treasure, my personality, experiences (good and bad), attitude, humor, passions, hobbies….you get the idea. I want to go back to Him empty.

There is a venue that I love to use for my Junk in the Trunk sessions (another post all together) and the price has gone up. I was a little irritated by that so I asked God to let me know if I should even bother. Even though I already knew the answer (I just hadn’t settled it within me).

Well, the other day the clip on the case of my work phone broke. So I went to get a new one from the person that handles our phones. She’s a little lady, very unassuming, with stringy hair and frumpy clothes. I’ve seen her for years heading to her car, head down and going about her life. Never really talked to her and only knew her name by the placard outside her door.

As I stood waiting for her to get the clip, my eyes were drawn to a photo collage on her left wall. One particular photo caught my eye again and again. In the photo was a little dark skinned boy and she was holding a stethoscope to his chest.

As I was standing there God said “Ask her about the photo.”

I was like ‘I don’t want to be all in her business about her photos, I’m just here to get my clip.’

Again God said “Ask her about the photo.”

So I was like “Fine.”

When she bought the clip back I said “Ma’am, that photo with the little boy, where is that?”

And it was like she was waiting for me to ask! She lit up in front of me. She went on to explain that the photo was taken in Jamaica on one of the mission trips that she and her husband go on every year. And they had been doing it for twelve (12) years! She said they go every year for about two weeks. She said the mission field in Jamaica was their heart. The area they go to has no running water and no medical treatments available etc. She said they pack their suitcases to the max and leave everything they bring.

She said at the end of the trips they are told to leave their dirty clothes. She said the first time she didn’t want to leave her dirty clothes for someone else to wash, but once she found out that someone could wash her clothes for money that would enable them to eat for a few weeks, she gladly left them.

One year she said she and several women from her church went and spent the whole two weeks in a room sewing uniforms. It was like Christmas morning delivering the uniforms to the children. She said she even left her sewing machine so someone maybe could start a small business and have a way to feed their family. She said she always has a hard time living in the excess we live in here when she comes back; taking so much for granted.

She told me about so many stories of how God showed Himself on those trips and stopped herself several times to ask me ‘if she was being too personal’. I told her ‘no, I’m right there with you.”

We talked for about 45 minutes and then she said ‘I’ve shared so much and I don’t even know your name.” I told her, but it really didn’t matter.

Anyway I told her about how I was debating about paying the extra to host my sessions and she said “so what are you going to do?”

I told her “You have blessed me, I will confirm the date for my session.”

I am always moved when I see people who find themselves and their ‘thing’ in life and are going after it with gusto. Honestly the extra I had to pay was in no comparison to what it would cost to go to Jamaica, take supplies, take off from work for two (2) weeks etc. When we are on purpose, we throw everything we have behind it.

Have you found your niche in God’s Kingdom? Is it a business, writing a book, studying to be a better teacher, studying to be more versed in His word, finishing that degree, blogging, photography etc? Or just maybe you need to start getting ready because when the opportunity presents itself, there is no time to ‘get ready’ then!

There is something that we all already have in us to give.

Have you become distracted, unfocused and discouraged? Well please be encouraged to know that there are several of our brothers and sisters around us who are living on purpose. And I know that when we ask God to show us who we are, why He made us the way He did, why we had the experiences we did, why certain things anger us and certain things don’t, why we gravitate to help children or elderly or animals or hug trees etc…..He will show us.

Have a great week, and be looking for all the opportunities coming your way!!!

Blessings always.

JC

 

 

Find your Thing…

I was away this past week at a training course when I received a notification that it had been a year since I started blogging. It didn’t feel like it and as I laid there I quietly reflected on the marker, trying to decide what was on the radar of my mind and whether to put it on paper. This was what gnawed at my spirit:

Have you ever been in an environment or at an event and felt extremely inspired as a result? Well, I had three such experiences quite recently and I wanted to share.

The first one was when a friend of mine got inducted into the International Karate & Kickboxing Hall of Fame (IKKHOF). Joining the likes of Chuck Norris, Bruce Lee and a few of the over one hundred inductees. What an accomplishment! The required mastery of so many disciplines, hours upon hours of instructing, sometimes for free. But most of all the dedication to a passion!

I am an avid martial arts fan, plot or not 🙂 So I was quite enthralled.

 

Loving my SHAPE…

There is something about the New Year that causes us to make all kinds of resolutions and promises of betterment. It’s perhaps the allure of a ‘start over’ or ‘do better’ that the freshness of a New Year suggests; even though it’s a freshness we get everyday 😉

This year I decided to set quarterly goals for myself instead of waiting to evaluate my growth in November or December. The first quarter was for me to learn about me. I was quite intrigued to see what would play out at the end of March.

Back in February, God led me to best selling author, Rick Warren’s “What on Earth am I here for?” It was a 40 day journey of purpose. I was totally stoked. I gifted it to myself and wrote in it “To Jacqueline, From Jacqueline, 2/15/14. Two of my co-workers laughed at that, but hey, if I don’t invest in me who will?

It has been an absolute blessing, and I couldn’t help but share this day entitled: “Shaped for Serving God”

I think the reason this was beautiful to me is because it is often difficult to tell someone that an abusive childhood, a disability, the death of a child, a failed marriage, job loss etc will shape them into the person God intended them to be. But difficult as it may be, it’s true. Nothing that happens in our life is insignificant.  God uses all of it to mold us for ministry to others and shape us for our service to Him. 

Here’s some of what it said about our SHAPE:

Spiritual gifts

Heart

Abilities

Personality

Experience

Spiritual Gifts – These are special God-empowered abilities for serving Him that are given only to believers. We can’t earn nor do we deserve them…hence them being gifts. Our gifts are not given for our own benefit but for the benefit of others, just as other people were given gifts for our benefit. If others don’t use their gifts, you get cheated, and if you don’t use your gifts, they get cheated. Have you taken the time to discover your spiritual gifts? An unopened gift is worthless (and I believe, an insult to the giver).

Heart – Your heart represents the source of all your motivations…what you love to do and what you care about most. Another word for heart is passion. How do you know when you are serving God from your heart? The first telltale sign is enthusiasm. When you are doing what you love to do, no one has to motivate you or challenge you or check up on you. You do it for the sheer enjoyment. The second characteristic of serving God from your heart is effectiveness. Whenever you do what God wired you to love to do, you get good at it. Passion drives perfection.

Abilities – Your abilities are the natural talents you were born with. Some people have a natural ability with words:They came out of the womb talking! Other people have natural athletic abilities, excelling in physical coordination. Still others are good at mathematics or music or mechanics. Every ability can be used for God’s glory. God has a place in his church where your specialties can shine and you can make a difference. It’s up to you to find that place. What I am able to do, God wants me to do. God will never ask you to dedicate your life to a task you have no talent for.

Personality –  Your uniqueness is a scientific fact of life. When God made you he broke the mold. There never has been, and never will be, anybody exactly like you. It’s obvious that God loves variety…just look around! God made introverts and extroverts. Some who love routine and those who love variety. Some ‘thinkers’ and others ‘feelers’. When you are forced to minister in a manner that is “out of character” for your temperament, it creates tension and discomfort, requires extra effort and energy, and produces less than the best results. This is why mimicking someone else’s ministry never works. You don’t have their personality. You can learn from the examples of others, but you must filter what you learn through your own shape. It feels good to do what God made you to do.

Experiences – You have been shaped by your experiences in life, most of which were beyond your control. It’s the category of ‘painful experiences’ that God uses the most to prepare you for ministry. God never wastes hurt! The very experience that you have resented or regretted most in life –  the ones you’ve wanted to hide and forget –  are the experiences God wants to use to help others. They are your ministry. For God to use your painful experiences, you must be willing to share them. Doing this will probably be your most effective ministry. People are always more encouraged when we share how God’s grace helped us in weakness than when we brag about our strengths. Don’t waste your pain; use it to help others.”

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This was the lesson for Day 30 and it was a joy to read this. But let me share what has blessed me the most on this journey: the first sentence of Day 1. This is what it said “IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU.” 

Ha, so very true. We ALL have unique SHAPEs, but it’s NOT about US! It’s all about GOD.

Enjoy your SHAPE and use what God gave you 🙂

Blessings

JC

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The Simon and Peter in us!

Hi Everyone,

This week I was given the honor of being a guest blogger for the lovely Marlene over at Journey of Joy.

I’d love for you to hop over and check out my post The Simon and Peter in us!, which talks about pursuing our purpose and staying on course in the face of life’s many failures.

While you’re there check out some of Marlene’s stuff too, especially her Anthem, which truly blessed me from day one 😉

You will be blessed!

Blessings always 😉

JC

 

Put it to rest!

make the journey light…

For the past two weeks or so I have been preparing for a session called ‘Junk in the Trunk’. The trunk; where most of us keep junk. Our sweaty gym clothes and shoes, various papers to be sorted ‘later’. Items that were on the back seat, but placed in the trunk so someone could have a seat. The trunk, that unless it is intentionally opened, no one sees in it. Perhaps only visited when a suitcase or two need to go back there.

The trunk of our lives are no different. Junk piles up. Anger and rejection, hurts from past relationships to be sorted out ‘later’, grief that was once on the back seat, but placed in the ‘trunk’ because someone else needed us. Truth be told we might be afraid to open it for fear of everything falling out. Praying that we will find those who will love us in spite of the junk in our trunk.

Anyway, I came across this and wanted to share:

“Know when things are dead, know when to release them and bury them. No amount of work will resuscitate a corpse. Sign the death certificate and bury the past. Some issues must be reckoned dead. It is neither weak nor cowardly to walk away from the past. Leaving behind dead issues does not mean you are quitting; it means you are conserving your strength for things that count, things you can change, things you can control. Somethings you just need to lay to rest. Have the wisdom to know what is dead and have the courage to write it off…”

Some of us are holding on to thoughts, hurts, things and people even when we know God has said to let go. We are stuck on the possibilites; the ifs, woulds, coulds and shoulds. Put them to rest. Lighten the load, empty the trunk. Make room for a spare tire and blanket; perhaps even for more junk we’re sure to collect along this thing called life 😉

Blessings

JC