updates and reminders..

woOow..where did all the time fly to?! These past few weeks have been a whirlwind and I can't even look back and say that I was having a good time. I'm glad I went through all of it though cause now I have a lot of stuff to share with you all. Just to recap, nothing in particular has happened but I kinda felt like I was in a rut. All of a sudden my work schedule changed and I was putting in all sorts of crazy overtime. In addition, I had fallen into a routine of going to work, coming home, dropping my stuff wherever and getting back into bed. If I didn't have anywhere pressing to be, I was in bed. Now that I reflect on it, I was displaying symptoms of depression. I didn't feel sad at all, just complacent. I had settled into a routine and accepted that there was nothing I could do to escape it. Nothing excited me, even though I was laughing and smiling as much as usual. Thursday of last week was when something shifted. On my way to work I began talking to God. It occurred to me that I hadn't REALLY spoken to him in a long time. What little prayers I had prayed had been in passing, quick and heartless. In spite of this, He heard me. After work, I went home and called into Pastor Bessie Sims blog talk radio program where the topic of discussion was "Hearing the Voice of the Lord". On Friday, the Lord told me to fast for 24 hours, which I could only assume was to shake me out of the rut I'd gotten myself into. That night I went to hear Pastor Jonathan Sims preach at Bethel Temple in Richmond. I forget the topic of his message but it was from 2 Chronicles 14 and it was right up my alley! Again I felt that the Lord was speaking directly into my situation. Saturday, I literally spent the entire day at church. It was the beginning of restoration week and every word that I heard was meant for me. By the time Sunday rolled around, I felt like my old self again. Nothing in my life had necessarily changed, but my perspective had shifted.
     Lesson: Whatever little time you have, make sure you dedicate/set aside a portion of it for worship. I know that none of what I went through would have happened had I stayed in my Word like I should have been. It is the times in which things are going well that we should fight just as hard as those times in which the trials come. Take a moment to store up some worship and praise. Take some time to get some prayers stored up to sustain you in those times when you don't feel like praying and worshiping. My Youth Pastor says that there have to be absolutes in your life. There have to be some things that you do no matter what, that you don't compromise on. Make sure that faith, prayer, and worship are 3 of those absolutes. In these last times, God is allowing us to go through more and more trials so that we will depend on Him that much more so. Even if it's just 5 minutes every day, spend some time with Jesus. This isn't the topic that I wanted to write on today but it was needed, just as a reminder. Stay tuned for more! Be blessed, Children of God.

Further reading: Hannah, Asa