Being Made...Still

Love breaks

Fight fire with fire and it will only grow and perhaps consume you for the worst. 

Cold hearts,
Bitter hearts,
never healed anyone nor any situation
neither witnessed to any.

It only makes things worse...the fire intensifies...soon it is out of your control.

But with a sensitive heart...
Love conquers all.

Again I am reminded...that "Most important of all, [i should] continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins" - 1Peter4:8/NIV...

...Yet again I am reminded that I am still being made! One day I shall love like He does. Oh to be completely like Him...not in part, but in whole.

Original Inspiration: 16/Oct/2012. Revised: July 10, 2014

That Place with God

Ever been at that place where things that you regularly could not do without slowly loses its appeal? My friends and family know that I just loveee my food :) In fact, if I miss a meal (and I'm not on a fast), it's like I'm 'deading', unless of course I'm occupied with some super fun activity like shopping, (then and only then would I not notice that I am hungry). Lol. Seriously. Apart from that, I get extremely weak, distorted, then cranky over the simplest of things. I just cannot function. My husband pretty much runs away from me. :) 

So there's this pull, at first we don't even realize what's happening. We may push it aside; we may even wrongfully label it as 'feeling down'. Silly rabbit (a little voice whispers you're not down, Terese, in fact you are being lifted). Ha, I push that aside too. But the more we ignore it, the more it manifests itself in other ways, finding other means of pulling you in.

Sometimes the only way God will get to you, your core, that heart, that soul is by stripping away some things. Just to be alone with you. You lose interest in social media or other sources of non-soul-quenching things. Sometimes He may even have to suppress some of your desires and passions. And it's not like a loss of passion or so (note carefully that I am not encouraging anyone to not have passions nor dreams). He knows you, His child, uniquely and so He knows just how to get your attention; just what to pull you away from. Sometimes He may fill you with burdens overflowing, and you may have to run with it...alone. You seek for others to join you; sometimes they fail to match the zeal and passion you have been birthed with. You are forced to travel that path alone. Not a problem, God really desires to commune with you. He lifts your thinking and viewpoints. You are filled with such peace and high spiritual expectancy. Confusing right.so many things happening at once. It’s just that some greater power is commanding your time, your interests. This rush, it’s inexplicable. It’s not a feeling, for feelings are temporal, it’s deeper than that, it’s more like a calling unto the soul.

All this just so He may become your focal point.
Yes, He wants to be the center. 

I'm a lover of Interior Design, and one of the key principles of design is to create one or more focal points in a designed room or space. A focal point draws attention and encourages the viewer to look further. Jesus wants to become our focal point; He wants to draw our attention, and drive your innate thirst to seek Him further. He wants to take you to another place in Him.

Sometimes He just wants to reorder the elements of your design. Perhaps to shift your priorities until it aligns with His great plan? To re-instate himself as your focal point, and shift other things in their due order, behind Him and your personal relationship with Him? The possibilities are endless. Whatever it is, uniquely for you, God is pulling you. And He is calling you deeper.

Alone, yet not on your own. God is with you. "There's a lonely place where God makes men". This time He’s calling your soul to a deeper place, to a higher ground. Ignite your prayer warriors, partners and friends to intercede on your behalf.

That place…spiritually alone with God, being moulded/matured by Him. He wants to continue to work on your clay.

Question is: Are we stunting our own growth if we fail to accept that next level in Him? Wise Jamaican elders always say "If u waan good, u nose afi run". God is calling you deeper, will you accept?

[Check out these two songs: Marvin Sapp - Deeper and Micah Stampley - Another Place]

~Special thanks to a great friend, mentor, and respected Minister of God's word, Tyrone Reid, for editing this post.~

Wait For It

I'm loving my mom!!! :) ♥...I can actually talk to her as a sis now...It's quite unbelievable, looking at our history...We can totally relate to each other on so many things now, its not funny. 

There's this comedy-sitcom my hubby and I love to watch "How I Met Your Mother"; Barney has this phrase "Wait For It". Its funny how he uses it, but I'm realising there's much wisdom in it. 

I recall her sharing with others, the story of how she would ask me in my younger days to be her friend, and I would reply saying "No mom. You're not my friend, you're my mom :)" (lol at the things kids say :) ). That may have been disappointing for her then, if it was, but at that point perhaps we wouldn't have appreciated it as much as we do now. The connection that we now share may not have happened in the past, but for such a time as this its happening, and I love it! :)

So, peeps, let's wait for it. Some things may take a while. In fact, they may never happen, sadly.
But in the meantime let's enjoy our now...until some day we can enjoy what was once our dream, and has become our now :).

So, will you wait for it? :) 

Love's Learning Curve

I'm constantly, constantly, constantly learning about this marvel called L.O.V.E.

Sometimes its tempting to be soooo mad when I have been wronged. And I do sometimes, I snap. Pssh I'm not perfect; far, far, far from it. 

But little by little I'm being moulded by Christ. :)

Love is when you've been wronged, and 'deserve the right' to be upset at that person, but somewhere along the line that ole' self melts, and you choose not to. You choose...you choose to love anyhow. 

Now that's phenomenal.

Can you guys keep it together? Or do you snap like I do?

Looking Back

Every now and then look back, look back, look back.

I'm not advising you to live in the past. But if there is some beautiful trait of value that you have allowed to be crippled or have somehow left behind by the experiences of this life...Claim them. Claim that beautiful you. Look back and remind yourself of your beauty.

Don't let the enemy convince you that you are no more. People change surely, but they ought to for the better, and not for the worst. Change ought to be for progression and not for regression.

Be honest with yourself if you know some things have fallen off. But don't let it stop there; go claim revival; go claim healing. The enemy wants us, once we've been knocked down, to stay down. To top that, he convinces us that this 'down' state is who we are; that its the new you. Foolishness!

Today I'm looking back, but with the intention of claiming that which I have allowed the devil to steal from me.

Will you join me on this journey? Look back at the beauty in you, claim it, and live it all over again.

Gift Wraps

I love gifts! :) I get all excited; my curiosity runs wild :) Top that with appealing packaging, and an awesome presentation...I rip the packaging apart, look at it and go yasss!!! Now that's the good stuff. :) 

But then came that September! Bam! God took a beautiful loved one home.

Peeps, God challenged my 'love for gifts'. Surely I love gifts, but wrapped like this? Seriously? Ahm...timing? I wanted to send it back. Re-wrap it, buy as many stamps and ship it away, as far away as possible. 

But then He scrolled back through memory lane with me. Showed me some days when wholeheartedly, through sincere worship, I said YES to His will. That day when I sang:

For your glory, I will do anything…If you can use anything, Lord, you can use me…Whatever you’re doing in this season, don’t do it without me…and so on.

When we say YES with a genuine heart, God takes us at our word. He unfolds His will, gift by gift.

Of course, sometimes, in a gift wrap that you are shocked by! Wrong colour, size, packaging; at a seemingly wrong timing; in a seemingly weird path. 

But don't worry my peeps. :) As it was for me in my weakness, "...[His] Grace is sufficient for you..." (2 Cor. 12:9) and even the "...foolishness of God is wiser than men..." (1 Cor. 1:25).

The Lord has a way of maturing His Vessels through gifts, some wrapped as exciting acquisitions, some jolly roles. And then those. Those gifts wrapped as not-so-welcomed predicaments, tests and even valleys. 

"The purpose of these troubles is to test your faith as fire tests how genuine gold is. Your faith is more precious than gold, and by passing the test, it gives praise, glory, and honor to God..."

This is what that YES all boils down to: availing yourself to His path for your life, no matter which gift wrap He sees fit. Are you willing to do that?

~extracted from notes of the heart written September 25, 2012

a New Day :)

<Borrowed from the net>

Have a great day everyone! :) Seize the day!

Love,

Terese aRobin

Just Smile

The only words I have for you today are: just smile. 

Life is hard, I know. Some things aren't right, believe me, I know. Some days all I can do is smile. Immense myself in the company of those I love, and just smile.

In spite of what is happening, somebody deserves your smile. In fact, according to the path God has for you today, someone is in waiting to be blessed by your smile, little did you know. To you, you're just heading to the bank; but to someone else, you are the chap/or young lady whose smile brightened their day!

Just smile. Maybe eventually the other person's smile will make your heart smile, until your smile grows wider and wider.

It is a simple gesture, yet powerful in its own right.

Just smile.

Try it. Let me know if you regret it. ♥

Borrowed.

Popularity Votes

Today I share a quote from my wise husband.

We are presently in the midst of decision-making, which has caused quite a bit of stir around us. One evening, as we had a heart-to heart discussion about the varied reactions, he looked at me and said "The will of God is not always popular, but it is always right."

Sometimes too often the world develops pre-conceived notions of what ought to happen. Other times people just jump on to a particular bandwagon. In both instances, leaving little, if any, room to hear from the Lord His will concerning the situation or decision at hand. But the good book says that we should not lean on our own understanding, including those popularity votes. In all things we should go with the leading of the Lord.

I smiled at the Lord in my lord. I thought how fitting for our present situation, and how complementary to my last post. Its no wonder he's my husband; he completes me. :)

~all credits belong to my beloved hussy, my love, my dove. :) ♥~

a World of Ideals

That moment when you go "*sigh* if only things were different!!! If only I had more money, got a promotion, a different job, a different background, different car, different family structure, graduated earlier, different this, different that...Then maybe things would be better off?!"

The world has its 'perfect ideals' of how your life ought to be. 

I have learnt, however, that the world's ideal life is not necessarily parallel to God's custom-fit life He has designed for you, and only you. 

The world may paint your current situation as unfortunate, and you may be pressured to feel you are either failing or lacking. But know that: 

What God has for you and your family is for y'all, and only y'all. 

What God has blessed you with shall work for you, and only you, unto His perfect will concerning your life.

God is your strength and power: and He makes your way perfect (2 Samuels 22:33)...not slapdash, neither in any thoughtless manner, but unto PERFECT methods, paths, outcomes and purpose. 

Don't watch no face. Don't be dampened by how your life is not fitting this ideal life. Be encouraged that the perfect life God has custom-made for you is nothing compared to the ideal life the world has factory-made for you. 

Love ♥ 

Tejar