Day 14 - 40 Day Prayer & Empowerment Challenge

Sister-on-sister fighting is the worst ever!!!  Women can be so vicious.  We tend to aim at drawing blood and kill if we have to; and, I don’t mean literally except when it comes to our words.  Boy, it is hard to forgive a woman once you’ve been wounded by one, so I’ve been told.  I know firsthand how crafty I can be with words in a split second and without thinking about it much.  It’s like there’s this smart, antagonistic, sarcastic you-know-what inside of me hard asleep UNTIL…   Yes, someone is reading this right now, laughing because you know exactly what I am talking about.  There’s this internal button that someone pushes at the right or wrong time and words fly out of our mouths that we wish we could take back.  If you’re like me, you may even ask, “Oh my, from where did that come?”

I will unapologetically tell you, it comes from the heart.  We carry so much in our hearts without knowing it.  My guess is that those kinds of improper, un-lady like responses take root in our hearts when we are listening to our other sisters speak of the transgressions, which have happened against them, and we instantly think, “if that happened to me, I would have done this” or “I would have said this” and we store those actions and responses for another day.  Then, on that day, that it happens, when the lash happens against the people who love the most; and, in a split second we’ve made ourselves hard to forgive.  We used words and phrases that were so cruel and painful and we cannot take them back.

Let us purpose in our hearts today to think on things which are pure, righteous, and loving and stop creating negative comebacks in our minds and hearts because of our fear of being hurt.  We are only setting ourselves us for failure in our relationships when we make ourselves hard to forgive.  Let us intend today to be the gentle, nurturing, loving, empathetic, and compassionate creatures God made us.  He is our protector.  He will speak for us and deal with anyone who attempts to wrongly deal with us.  Let us rest in that.

My prayer right now is that every woman who is gifted with the gift of gab and creativity will use her talents in ways which edify and encourage others.  Lords, strengthen our lips to remain sealed when we know that the words we are about to speak may be harmful to others.  Help us to guard our minds and hearts at all times, block any foul thoughts which may enter it from remaining.  We understand we cannot always control what comes to our minds, but we know that we’ve got the power to determine and control what stays there.  Empower us with your Spirit, daily, to aid us in this process.  We desire to be women loved and easily forgiven by others.  Help us, Lord, and bless us, too!  Thank you!  Amen!

#IAmMySistersKeeper 

Day 13 - 40 Day Prayer & Empowerment Challenge

How long do you harbor offenses?  I mean someone lies on you; maybe even slander your good name.  How long do you choose to be upset with that person? Are you irritated every time you hear their name or see them?  Are you waiting for their day of doom or for karma to take place? 

Now, let me flip just a bit.  When have you lied on someone, maybe even slandered their name? I know you would never do it on purpose.  You may have simply repeated what was told to you by reliable source.  It could have been that your side of the story was just so different from theirs.  Nevertheless, when have you committed offenses towards others and knew it, either instantly or later?  When you realized that you were wrong, did you acknowledge, confess, and ask for forgiveness?  When you asked forgiveness, how soon did you really want it?  How does it make you feel when others’ forgiveness of you is delayed?

I ask these questions simply to help provoke objectivity.  When we find others’ wrongdoing towards us as offensive, then at that very moment we are no longer thinking objectively.  We have now taken things personally, which means that we have become subjective; yet, we want others to keep an open mind when it comes to our mishaps with them.  The basic rule for forgiveness is the same golden rule for everything, simply “do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”  Forgive others just as you would like to be forgiven.

The ultimate goal of course is not to take offense at all.  You may ask, “how do I shake it off when people are lying on me?” My answer is, “Jesus did it!” We are made in His likeness, so we are able to do the same.  When people lie on you and drag your name through the mud, their actions are a reflection of their character.  When people believe them and continue to spread the news that they don’t know to be true or false, their actions are also a sign of their own issues. People who have joy, peace, love, and respect in their hearts don’t gossip nor do they entertain it.  So, the gossiping, lying, and backbiting is not about you unless you are the one doing it.  Therefore, if you choose to be offended at your naysayer’s actions, please forgive quickly; but, the grandest goal is not to have to forgive but to never become offended.

Father, I thank you for my sisters reading this at this moment.  I ask that you remove any anger, malice, and resentment from their heart that has taken root.  I pray that their eyes are opened to their own ways and that they remained focused on their own journey and aim to never participate in the things in which they find offensive when they are on the opposite end.  Lord, I ask that after heart surgery is performed and all of the unforgiveness is removed, that you fill the hole with confidence, peace, purity of speech, and truth.  Thank you, Lord! Amen!

#IAmMySistersKeeper

 

Day 12 - 40 Day Prayer & Empowerment Challenge

What is it?  What did you do?  What has you so ticked off at yourself that you cannot let it go?  You know, we have all done that one thing in life that causes us to think, “If only I knew then what I know now.”  Some of us have taken it unhealthy levels, however, where we just keep trying to fix it and make it right.  Please hear me, a mistake is just that, a mistake – something you did that could have been done differently or better. At some point, you have to accept that you did what you did, and move on.  We cannot change our yesterdays, we can only learn from them.  Therefore, we must not dwell there or we lose the precious moments of the here and now and miss new opportunities and blessings.  Staying stuck in the past hinders our dreams and plans for a solid and beautiful future.

Think about putting a car in drive with intent of driving forward for a mile or even 500 feet while you are looking backwards as to go in reverse.  It would not work, you’d wreck everything, your own vehicle and everything within its proximity.  The same is true when we try to move forward in our lives but our focus is in the review mirror.  It will not work.  At some point we have to make peace with our past and forgive ourselves for that mishap or unwise choice, learn from it and move forward.  You cannot go forward and backward at the same time.  It’s not physically, mentally, spiritually, literally, or figuratively possible.  Please do me and you a favor: Stop right where you are, do an about-face, take an empathetic look in the mirror and say, “I forgive you! Yesterday is gone, my future is bright, and today, the present, I accept as a gift to create new and better experiences.  I am worthy in God’s eyes. He’s forgive me.  So, today, I forgive me!” Then, forward! March!!!!

Lord, I pray for my sister soldier right now as she turns her back on the past, armors up, and marches forward.   I know life hasn’t been easy, and she has not always made the best choices; but, let her know of your unfailing love and your everlasting forgiveness towards her.  Father, please whisper in her ear, “Daughter, forgive yourself: I find no fault in you!”  I pray she believes it, Father.  Strengthen her faith!  Let every encounter she has today remind her that she is worthy of new mercies and blessings this day.  If it necessary Father, remove her past mistakes from her memory if that will cause her to walk in the freedom that you desire for her and that she so desperately needs to live a fulfilled life and the abundant life in which Christ came to give us all. Amen!

My sister, please know you are forgiven.  Forgive yourself!  I love you, but God love you more than you could ever imagine!

 #IAmMySistersKeeper

Day 11 - 40 Day Prayer & Empowerment Challenge

I’ve heard it said that forgiveness is for the forgiver more than it is for the forgiven.  I did not understand that for a while but today I get it.  I’ve learned that when we do not forgive, we carry a weight that is much too heavy for us to carry.  When we are burdened with holding on to offenses, we can find ourselves seeking vengeance even if it is just wishing for the demise of the one who has wronged us; and, we are qualified or capable of making others pay for their wrongdoing.  Refusing to forgive wraps us up in our pain so much that it’s not possible for us to think logically or spiritually.  If we were, we’d remember that what we desire for others, we bring to ourselves.  So, yes, forgiveness is more for the forgiver that it is for the forgiven.

I am reminded of the saying, “there’s a thin line between love and hate.”  I say to you that there is contrast to all good and evil.  Therefore, for love there’s hate, for courage there is debilitating fear, for peace there is angst, for happiness there is sadness, for forgiveness there’s resentment; and, there’s a thin line between them all.  Why not step back over the line to love, peace, happiness, and forgiveness?  Life events will sometime pull us back and forth, but it is ultimately our choice to determine where we will reside most of the time, in misery or in joy.  My hope is that you choose joy; but, you must forgive in order to get there.

Forgiveness is for you!  It may appear that you are letting the other person off the hook, but what’s most important is that you are letting yourself off the hook.  Doesn’t it feel good to know that you can just let it go?  Let it go or let it continually rob you of life, love, and happiness.  Don’t let it go just for you, but let go for all the people you love. When we harbor unforgiveness, it’s like carrying poison that is not labeled hazardous substance and it cannot be contained; therefore, it is spewed out upon the people closest to you.  I bet if they knew where your anger and frustration were really coming from, they would say, “Please, let it go!”

Lord, I pray that you bless my sister right now and bless her indeed!  Open her cell and beckon her to come. Help her make the decision to walk out of bondage and into freedom, today!  Lord, you’ve given her your Spirit in every breath she takes, please remind her to breathe and release and do not to take that breath for granted, because you are the giver of life. I pray she accepts that gift every time she exhales. In those moments may she blow out the negative feelings towards others, for they are your children, too. May she inhale the fruits of your Spirit, like joy, peace, gentleness, self-control, and love as she remembers that she too have wronged others and need forgiveness.  Give my sister the strength, courage, and determination to let it go, TODAY!!!! Amen!!!  

#IAmMySistersKeeper

Day 10 - 40 Day Prayer and Empowerment Challenge

Growing up in love can be one of the most challenging actions.  I love seeing a new born baby cry because she want to feel the warmth of her mother’s touch.  She calms as she nestled tightly between mommy’s breast and forearms and rocked gently.  Then, she matures to a low level of independence, where she wants to walk without guidance, yet she wants to be hugged and hummed to sleep.  She continues to grow and grown and eventually desires to mimic what she’s witnessed as love between mother and father or simply man and woman.  Only, one day she wakes up and suddenly feels like she’s been improperly trained because this “love thing” doesn’t always feel so good and often times seems to go wrong.  Sounds familiar?

What if it could be as easy as when we were babies?  That’s a wonderful thought, but it will never be because we are not babies, we are teenagers, and we are not college students: We are women and just like our bodies mature, our minds, emotions, and our love must mature.  The body matures naturally, but the rest of our maturity takes effort.  We must be intentional about our mental and emotional development and open ourselves to the wisdom of other women with loving spirits to help guide us.  That woman may be your mother, a mentor, a friend, or even a role model. It really doesn’t matter.  What matters is that we realize even as grown women we need someone in which to glean knowledge to help us grow wiser and more loving with time.

We must also be willing to share what we’ve learned with other women, young and old, who are not at the level of maturity in which we’ve reached.  The mind and heart are so sensitive that this work cannot be taken lightly. We must be handled with velvet gloves and we should be careful to do the same when helping others reach higher ground.  It’s every woman’s responsibility to help another sister know true love, IF she knows it.  It’s every woman’s responsibility to share the wisdom and knowledge with other women, IF she has is.  It’s every woman’s responsibility to first examine herself to determine if she should share anything yet or just keep learning as to not cause more harm to other women than is already done.  No matter which woman you are, to do what’s best for the next woman is to be your sister’s keeper; and, that’s the woman’s responsibility.

My prayer today is that you commit to your own personal development and growth.  Know that no matter what you’ve achieved, you have not arrived.  Father, always keep us at a place that we desire to press in closer to you, to learn more about your love, and convict us until we are obedient and living by what you share and passing those wisdom nuggets on to other women.  Lord, give us some sense of responsibility to every woman you entrust in our care, to love her, nurture her, encourage her, uplift her, and give to her!  Remove all envy, jealousy, backbiting, two-facedness, anger, resentment, and pretense that we may have against all women, but especially ones you’ve given to us as assignments. Let us support our sisters, because we so desperately want and need their support.  Help us, Heavenly One, to be our sisters’ keeper! Amen!

#IAmMySistersKeeper

Day 9 - 40 Day Prayer & Empowerment Challenge

I am looking forward to the day that the term “I LOVE YOU!” becomes real again.  With the blast of information that’s transposed through the waves of today’s internet era and utilization of innumerable social media sites, people are now sending out messages and warm sentiments to thousands of others they know and don’t know grounded on cyber relationships.  Most of these people never meet each other, never to get to know the other’s true character, don’t know to whom they are related, or even what’s in their hearts; yet, they are saying, “I love you” And “I love you more” to complete strangers.

I am not suggesting that this is not a true sentiment for all who are saying it; but, what I am implying is that there’s an overuse and watering down of such a profound statement that when used properly has the capability to shape a family, inspire a nation, and change the world; and, I personally never want it lose its power due to the lack of meaning associated with it.  Words have creative power, PERIOD!!!! Therefore, we must be careful what we create and with whom.  We must be aware of intentions and motives behind that which we speak.  Furthermore, we should always choose our words carefully by saying what is true, uplifting, and meaningful!

So many hurtful events have happened in the lives of women, while the offenders said, “I love you” to them as to associate the term with cause of incident.  Many of us really have no idea about true relational love with a man or with others.   Thus, It is time for us, as women, to learn the true meaning of love again, to show love to others which is not based on past trauma and present conditions, to use the phrase only when we mean it (not just because it’s popular), to the possess the power of the same love for ourselves that we desire others to show us, and to stop contradicting what we say by what we do.  Simply put, “Love is as Love does!”

Father, I pray that every woman will know herself, be true to herself, and love herself first before frivolously pouring out her leftovers on others and calling it love.  I ask that you empower us, Holy Spirit, to be obedient to the purity of love and not to contaminate it with control, manipulation, and false desires to be known and popular.  Show us self-control, temperance, modesty, honesty, and show us how to conduct ourselves in the Spirit of Sisterly love!  Help us remember Christ’s action model of love, for He showed us more than He told us! Amen!

#IAmMySistersKeeper

Day 8 - 40 Day Prayer & Empowerment Challenge

How many times have you allowed a relationship gone bad deter you from engaging new opportunities? It could have been a relationship at work, a childhood friendship, a childhood crush, a family relationship, a short term friendship, or long term love affair but its end was so devastating that you vowed not to let anyone else in.  This happens all too often and without knowing it, we cut off our flow to the endless potentials of newness, of excitement, of fun, of friendships, and love unlike anything we’ve ever experienced.

I’ve witnessed people put a pin in a life event with someone else and stick it to the wall as if to say, “You stay right here and I’ll stay right where I am” like they can actually have control over whether they’ll ever feel attraction, love, or warm feelings again.  We can rebuff those feelings as much as we want, but denial does not prevent them.  Besides, why would we allow one person out of the billions on this planet dictate whether we will find happiness with another?  That’s absurd, but we do it.  Imagine if you are destined to meet the best friend you could ever have when you are 70 years old, why would you allow a relationship gone bad at age 20 hinder your happiness and freedom for 50 years of your glorious life? Ponder this for a minute and then take the challenge!

The challenge:   Let us begin to challenge ourselves to try and grasp just how vast love is.  We can never wrap our minds around its immensity, but visualize that it surrounds you, envelops, shadows you, fills you, and holds you up.  I know someone may think, “But, you don’t know what I’ve been through.  The hole in my heart is too enormous, how am I supposed to trust and love again?” I say, “Love is still there!  It is there to fill the hole and make your heart whole again.” Choose not allow someone who was not supposed to be in your life forever, remain there forever; because, when we allow that pain to keep us from newness, possibilities, and other potential relationships, they still hold us captive and we’ve given them dominion over our lives.  We lose our focus on what we want and what deserve when our focus is on the pain of the past and those things we don’t want.  Let us challenge ourselves to be fearless and free! Let us challenge ourselves to love again.  Let us challenge ourselves to befriend someone new.  Let us challenge ourselves to not allow every imperfect act of another create so much pain for us.  Let us challenge ourselves to see ourselves, our shortcomings and our beauty in our relationships and become more accepting of our loved ones when they don’t behave like we want them to.  Let us allow them to stay without our control or leave without our resentment.  Love is freeing!  Let us love freely.  Let us allow others their freedom.  Allow yourself the freedom to love now and love again when that time comes.  Let us allow our future relationships to take place in their perfect timing without thoughts of the past.

My prayer for the woman reading this right now is that she drops her boxing stance.  The fight is over.  Lord, help her see that it is your desire for her to be in freedom and flow not fear and oppression.  Set her free now from the pain of past relationships and open her to the beautiful future and faithful friends which await her.  Give her peace and contentment when she’s alone and defy any illusion of loneliness, and remind her she’s never alone.  You are always there!!! Amen!

#IAmMySistersKeeper