Soul
soul (sōl/) ) noun
1. the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal.
2. the essence or embodiment of a specified quality.
There's a part of you that is immortal. It's inside of you. It's living. It's breathing. It's speaking. It's whispering ancestral chants. It's guiding you. It's that part God gave you when he created you in his image. It's your inner voice. It's your soul. You can't ignore it forever. You can't deny it. It's in your eyes. It's your voice. It's in the fabric of your being. I see it. I know you got soul.
Release
The totality of the human experience can be described on the spectrum of love and loss. We are blessed to experience love and often devastated by the loss of it. Sometimes, it seems like we experience more loss than love. Count it all joy. For every tear, there was a smile. For every moment that feels like you can't breathe, there was a moment that left you breathless. Love and loss are two sides of the same coin. Cherish the love. Release the loss. Let it go.
Quality Time
My love language is quality time. So, I feel loved when someone gives me their undivided attention and time. According to Gary Chapman, there are five love languages: words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch. When I first started dating my husband, I felt it was important for us to know each other's love language. We both felt it was important to understand that we are individuals first that were raised in different households coming together to try to get this love thing right. I needed him to understand that for me, the most valuable thing he could give me was his time. I'm an only child, so not just time, but quality time. Quality time means no distractions. It means no cell phones when we're having a conversation. It means doing things together, even if it's going to the grocery store or running errands. One of the top three reasons people fail at relationships is due to lack of communication. No matter what stage you are at in your relationship, marriage, or friendship its important to know how your loved one gives and receives love.
Feel free to take the love assessment below:
http://www.5lovelanguages.com/profile/
The Program
Get with the program! I know that sometimes order and discipline can be hard, but your purpose is tied to your obedience. You have to do something. You can't continue to be complacent. You are bigger than this, and God is bigger than your circumstance. Write the vision. Don't worry about things outside of your control. There will always be obstacles. Look for the opportunities. Look for the open doors. Stop making excuses and get with the program!
Overtaken
What does it look like when blessings overtake you? Is it like The Wizard of Oz when the tornado swept Dorothy up? Is it like a storm surge? Is it like a surfer that wipes out on a wave? Is it utter chaos followed by bliss? Imagine what it must feel like to truly be blessed. Now, realize that you are blessed. You are blessed in the city. You are blessed in the field. Your children are blessed. Your home is blessed. Your job is blessed. You are overtaken by blessings every day. You woke up. You had a roof over your head, food to eat, and clothes on your back. You made it to and from wherever you went without any bodily harm. Your enemies scattered. Your friends gathered. God is with you. You are overtaken by God's grace and mercy every morning. You are overtaken by God's promises daily.
Deuteronomy 28:1-8 (KJV)
And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
What's Next?
Perspective is everything. Do you have an optimistic or pessimistic perspective? Is the glass half full or half empty? Are you hopeful or do you expect the worst? Do you feel that the game is rigged or do you have a fighting chance? What's next? Do you have plans? Are you moving forward or are you waiting on life to happen? Are you defeated or did you just lose one battle? What's next? Do you see God's favor or do you simply see another closed door? Do you understand God's providence and sovereignty or do you only see consequences? Is your God punishing you or preparing you? What's next? Is your latter greater? What's next? Are you looking forward to what's next or focusing on what's already happened? What's next? Are those dreadful words of damnation or declarations? What's next?
Malum
Ephesians 6:12 (KJV) For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
I think that sometimes we forget that Lucifer was an angel. I think we are ignorant of the fact that spiritual warfare is real. I think we substituted faith for crystals. We use "energy" in the place of spirit. We have forgotten that the battlefield is in our minds. Our souls are at stake. Our humanity is being challenged. Our character is being tested. Execution is the cost of fear. Detention is the cost of being an immigrant. Torment is the cost of being a minority.
2 Chronicles 7:14 (KJV) If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.