Tag Archives: christian

Faith, Forgiveness, God, Presence, Thoughts, Uncategorized

.:I Choose:.

The other day as I was driving to work, I remember feeling uneasy…I had every reason to show up angry and upset or even crying while thinking, “will this ever end?” Certain personal situations had been happening and things had escalated the night before that it felt overwhelming as I drove to work. I decided to switch my thoughts to positive and flush the toxic ones. I remember telling myself “This situation does not determine how you will feel today, you are in control of your emotions”. I started to pray over what was going on, declaring that things were going to be OK, I prayed for the people involved and declared peace in their hearts. One of them called me crying, about 10 minutes before we both started work. We both shared our frustration, but I had to remind her that we can’t change people and that no matter what…God is still good and working things out. I reminded her that we have to trust Him and not worry, and we have to align our hearts with His and show unconditional Love… as much as we both wanted to be bitter and hurt with this person.I was able to make it to work knowing that God was taking care of what I couldn’t control, I chose to have a good day.. to be happy and joyful because I refuse to ALLOW negative situations to determine how I will feel or choose what mood I will be in. I choose Joy and Love. Any day! I don’t want to be someone who allows situations to take over my day or decide what mood I will be in. I don’t want to be someone who thinks and thinks and thinks and worries and stress’s over things… when there is no benefit attached to that. I’ve already been that person, and life SUCKS that way. Plus, Romans 8:28 tells us that God works EVERYTHING out for the good… that alone should put all worry at ease.

Reminder: Unconditional Love transforms lives and situations… so does trusting God and praying

-Martha Inez
Prayer:
God, so many things are out of our control… what we can control is how we respond to things. Lord I pray that we would be people who know how to respond to things…in love and not anger. I pray that in the midst of chaos in our lives, we know how to remain in peace because you are the anchor… you’re all we need and the re-filler of what we lack. We want your heart God…and we want to always be people who know how to maintain peace in our hearts and who know how to come to you when life seems like a raging storm. We don’t want to rely on our own strength and we don’t want to worry… we want your strength in our weakness… help us to be wise in situations that are difficult..and to always show love to those that need it most. thanks God, we love you so much. amen.

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Presence, Thoughts, Uncategorized

.:Your.Heart.Is.Revealed:.

Your heart and who you are is revealed when the toughest of times has made its way into your life. Which is why I LOVE the story of Paul and Silas in prison! In Acts 16:16-40 we read about these two men who were, stripped, beaten, severely flogged.. then thrown into a prison cell and feet fastened in stocks. Stop for a moment and think about what your state of mind would be. Where many would blame God, or sit and complain about what happened…in agony be questioning God and His plans…  these two men prayed to God and sang hymns. Worship was their response to what was going on, not doubt, or worry, or fear.

In the most difficult time for them, their heart was revealed by their response to a situation. Their heart’s were still for God. They decided that worshiping and singing hymns to Him in that moment…was the best way to handle what was going on, it was necessary and the first thing they could think of. How many of you would be able to respond with prayer and worship after having the worst scenario thrown at you? Because of what they did, BOOM! Ground shook and the all the doors flew open and all the chains were broken off them and the other prisoners. How amazing that God would use the heart and worship of someone else to set others free. No matter what you face, Don’t allow anything to take away your love for God…and your worship!  You have no idea how powerful it truly is. Your story can bring freedom, your worship can break chains, your prayers are powerful that heaven invades! Never doubt the power of God in your life and what He can do in your situations. No matter how messy you think it is, He can still move in your circumstance and work a miracle. Believe.

Prayer:
God you are incredible, you are able to turn around our situations… you are able to take a mess bring healing and freedom. We pray that you would invade our hearts, and cause our heart to always to love you NO MATTER WHAT WE FACE. In our happiest and in hardest of times… be the center, be the joy and strength of our heart! amen! [Psalm 73:26]

-Martha Inez

 

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Uncategorized

.You’re Faithful.

“You’re faithful through every season”...
During worship on Wednesday, this one line kept repeating over and over in my mind… and I couldn’t help but cry. I began to think back to all of the different seasons in my life… the really good ones and the extremely hard ones… through some of my happiest moments or heartbreaking moments… God has been faithful. There have been so many different seasons in my life but the one that stuck out to me the most… was this past year and how very difficult  it was for me… I cried a lot. No really, A LOT. My heart hurt and many times I just pushed the pain aside and tried not to focus on it, instead of giving it over to God. Well that wasn’t very smart was it? Because it didn’t fix anything, it prolonged the healing process. Eventually, after being sick of still crying over the same issue, I ended up giving it over to God, and almost DAILY! I think I the only reason I kept pushing it aside, was because I didn’t want to appear like I didn’t have things together. I didn’t want to look like I was an emotional mess, I wanted to believe I was strong and able to handle this with no problem. It was obvious to those around me, that I wasn’t OK, when you’re not able to be yourself… it’s obvious there’s something wrong. When you try and handle things in your own strength, you’re bound to stay in a pit. Friend, get out of the pit… call for help, there are helping hands ready to pull you out!

I’m so glad I have friends in my life that have always checked up on me, that have encouraged me and prayed for me and with me. And how amazing is our God that He is always there through it all!! He was comforting me, pouring out love and peace and bringing the most incredible people in my life that knew how to call the Gold out in me…when all I felt I had was some measly rocks and pebbles… He used others to be my iron  that sharpens iron and show me that there was far more in me than I realized.

I think it’s REALLY IMPORTANT to surround yourself with men and woman of God. Especially when you’re in times of difficulty and struggle. That is a time to be closer to God and those who can help you, that’s not a time to run and hide. Don’t try and hide your “junk” or “mess”… its OK to be messy and not have it all together. We’ve all been there!! Be open and honest with those close in your life and the ones that you know can provide words of wisdom that will help pull you out of a pit. And never forget, that no matter what season you’re in… GOD IS FAITHFUL. Always.

He isn’t intimidated by our junk, or scared to touch it. He’s an expert at healing, mending, restoring, etc. Whatever season you find yourself in right now… remember He is there, His love never fails and His love will carry you through it all. Whether the season is your best or worst 🙂 He is faithful in EVERY season.

Martha.Inez

Prayer:
God, thank you that no matter what we face… no matter what season we’re in… You’re there. You’re Faithful. You’re comforting and pouring out your love and peace. You’re constantly reminding us of how loved we are and you’re bringing the right people in our lives that know how to call out the Gold and help us walk out our destiny and calling. Thank you God, for never giving up on us… we love you SO MUCH! Help us to never be ashamed when we’re in a rut, but to learn to call out for help to those you have put in our lives to be our iron that sharpens iron. amen. 

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Presence, Thoughts, Uncategorized

.LET.GO.ALREADY.

Remember that one time [OK, those several times!] When you told God “I trust you! Here, take this!!”… “This” being: a situation, a bad habit, a relationship/friendship, etc. Whatever it was for you, you knew it wasn’t good for you and though you said to Him “Here, take this!” … you still held on to it like a rope, with a tight grip 😉 I mean, this thing wasn’t going very far from your reach since you held held on to it with a mighty passion! Do you FULLY trust God to take care of you or do you not trust Him? I woke up this morning having to apologize to God for saying I trusted Him in a certain area… yet, with smile had a grip on the rope 🙂 it was easier for me to Trust Him if I knew I slightly had control. That’s not trusting God at all. That was me being confident that I could still have my way if I held on to this thing for as long as I could… though deep deep down.. I KNEW.. this just isn’t for me.

So, how about we learn to LET GO of things that we KNOW we shouldn’t be holding on to. YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IT IS… today, let’s FULLY TRUST GOD and actually mean it when we say “God, I trust you… I know you will take care of me..” .. and let go of the rope.. if you have tied a knot around your wrist with it, get the scissors or a knife.. sometimes I feel like I took a rope and tied it around my whole body.. haha! or If I did let go.. I quickly ran after it as it flew away, jumped up on and started to climb right back to it. Let’s be wise with our heart ♥ and know that God has never failed us… so we needn’t have any fear or worry, He’s got our back. He will provide, He will comfort, He will make a way, He will restore, He will look after your heart 🙂 Has he ever given you a reason NOT to trust Him? He knows what’s best for us and can do some amazing things in our lives if we fully trust Him and surrender wanting to know ALL the answers.

Let’s let go together 🙂

Prayer:
God, you’re amazing… we love you and we surrender wanting all the answers or feeling like we need to know what’s going to happen next. We fully trust you, we fully let go and trust that you are going to take care of us… that you’re going to make sure our heart is save.. you have our best interest in mind… God we let go of fear, worry, doubt, and we say I TRUST YOU GOD. I LOVE YOU.
yup, amen  

-Martha Inez

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Thoughts, Uncategorized

.Just DO IT.

[My FB status posted 5.10.13]

I’ve been having moments lately where I JUST DO IT! “It” is different for all of us. Most likely “It” can be taking a risk. This past month is exactly what “It” has been for me  and I just did it!! More than once, I’ve taken that leap WITHOUT thinking long and hard about it, WITHOUT consulting with myself first, because too many times when I do that I TALK MYSELF OUT OF IT! So this time I just did it!! I feel nervous now…BUT I’m not listening to the thoughts of doubt and fear, ok sometimes I do haha! Not for too long though, I flush them out of my head because I know who I am.. I know who God has created me to be.. I know what HE says of me… and His words alone… are all I need to move forward.Take the leap! Jump! Hop! Skip to it! Just DO IT!! Sometimes we’re the ones holding ourselves back from things we desire to pursue. Stop it!! A risk is no guarantee that things will work out… oh but what if it does?! If ur heart is in it… n you’ve got the passion… ??!! I just can’t say no to something for the FEAR of FAILING… I know about some people who failed a few times at something they ended up being great at. *caugh* Michael Jordan. Fear is a dream stopper… and I give fear the boot  it doesn’t have my permission to hangout in my life  I’d rather take a risk then live in fear or constantly wonder “what if”. 

**my response to someone who said: I COMPLETELY agree with you! I just wanted you to remember that taking a risk doesn’t necessarily mean success since I seem to have that delusional logic in thinking…**

aww.. you’re not delusional! its called hope. and hope is good to have. Healthy Hope! Any decision we make… I think they should be made from a healthy heart and with wisdom. If we make decisions solely off emotions, we may find ourselves standing in a place we didn’t envision for ourselves. I don’t think all impulse decisions are bad.. every case is different.. but I do think if you’r going to “Just do it” and take a risk.. then monitoring your heart and knowing where you are mentally and emotionally is wise. They go hand in hand. Healthy mind and healthy heart. Wisdom is so important. my recent risks weren’t done without having considered my hearts health and where my heart stood in the situation. These were both decisions that I feel were for the best, one was something I’ve been passionate about for a long time.. and I KNOW I haven’t done anything in that area because of fear. the other decision was an opportunity for me to grow as a person and to help families out too… both things I really want to see in my life. So they were risks and changes I took knowing that my heart is in a good place, mentally Im in a good place.. it was a decision off impulse but definitely soaked in wisdom and knowing where I am in life to do just say yes to them  ya know? But yeah, making decisions without considering certain things in your life.. probably not the best thing to do. We’ve all been there.. done that..and learned from it

Papa God:
Help us to just do it ..and go after the things in our hearts… as simple as that 🙂

-Martha Inez-

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Thoughts, Uncategorized

.You were born.

I don’t care what anyone has told you or even what YOU have told yourself! YOU WERE BORN TO BE GREAT AND AMAZING! Please discover how ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE you truly are! 

Sometimes you just have to SHUT DOWN how YOU feel about yourself and your “lack of experience” or “talent” etc. and just MOVE FORWARD.. grab a hold of opportunities before you and stop telling yourself you’re not worth it or able to accomplish it.

STOP TALKING YOURSELF OUT OF BECOMING SOMEONE AMAZING AND DOING INCREDIBLE THINGS! …I say this in my nicest and sweetest tones ♪ with love 

Prayer:
In this area Lord, we soooooo need a deep revelation of WHO we are and WHO you have DESIGNED US TO BE… we speak to the negative thoughts and say GO! And we declare that from here on out… we will WALK in authority and with confidence in who YOU say we are.. amen!! 

-Martha Inez-

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Presence, Uncategorized

.Press.IN.

I was with a group of ladies the other night and we talked about a few different things. I noticed there was a theme in the different things we were sharing. One of them being this battle of the mind and our thoughts and how we so easily believe a lie from the Devil. That Jerk!

One lady shared about how she can’t feel God anymore and wonders what’s wrong with her and if the issue is her. I immediately, internally, was upset that the devil would make her believe this! oooh.. that stupid muther sucker! I hate when he implants a thought in our head and we begin to believe that God doesn’t like us because of such and such. You know?

I shared with her that it’s clearly a lie from the devil, he wants her to believe the issue is HER and that “something must be wrong with me because I can’t feel God.” I told her, PRESS IN EVEN MORE! especially when you don’t feel him.

I find that many Christians buy into that lie, that we’re so messed up that God doesn’t want to come hangout with us or something. Hey, let me tell you something… HE’S IN LOVE WITH YOU! Of course God loves being around you… BUT… how much are you willing to GO AFTER HIM?! How much more time will you give him? How hard will you pursue HIM?! He’s crazy about you, DON’T ever believe that you not feeling God is a result of something being wrong with you!

I think the issue is that many Christians just want his presence to come easy because they’re used to “feeling” him at church. It’s easy when the worship team is ON IT and ushering in The Presence is a done deal! [Good job worship team!!] It’s easy to feel God when Pastor is preaching up a storm, right? Have you ever wondered if perhaps you not feeling God… is not because God is upset with you… but maybe… He’s just curious as to how much you would really pursue Him… without a feeling? When the worship team isn’t around, when Pastor isn’t giving an amazing word, or when someone isn’t prophesying over you etc. Have you ever stopped to think… “I wonder if He just wants my heart…”

So, I ask you this, WILL YOU GO AFTER GOD WHEN NO ONE IS LOOKING?! If there is no community group or prayer meeting or worship night going on, will you pursue His heart and get in His presence still? When you can’t FEEL Him, will you PRESS IN MORE?! Or do you just rely on the feeling, the butterflies and tingly sensation to do the trick for you? God knows when we’re so desperate for Him it causes us to go after Him with everything! All because WE’RE IN LOVE and not to get anything from Him. We’re not going after the “feeling”… be reminded of why you passionately pursue Him. Your motivation should be LOVE and that alone. It’s because you’re so CRAZY IN LOVE with The Most High King… you have to get before Him… and you’ll do anything to get yourself in His presence! Especially when you can’t feel Him… because it’s not about a feeling… its just about being in love.

My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, LORD, I will seek. -Psalm 27:8

-MarthaInez

Prayer:
God we are filled with distractions all around us, 24/7! We have the internet, out smartphones, people, etc. Our attention is constantly being pulled all over… God, we want to REFOCUS our attention where it matters most.. ON YOU! Help us to seek you more.. when no one is looking, when we’re in the secret place with you, behind closed doors… that we come before you and surrender it all… that we continue to fall madly and deeply in love with YOU… just for you! not gain anything… simply because without you in our lives…we’re nothing! we love you God! we love you so much Papa God! Amen

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Thoughts

.Thoughts.Power.

I think the voice that say’s “YOU CAN DO IT” should be louder than the voice that say’s “YOU SUCK, DON’T EVEN TRY!!”… who wants to listen to a bully anyway? Not I 🙂 so be reminded, you really CAN do it and achieve all that your precious heart desires ♥ Your dreams can one day be your reality.

Our thoughts play a powerful role in how we live our lives. If I truly listen to the voice that say’s “You won’t even come close so why try?”… I’m pretty sure I will believe it and then make decisions based on that “truth”… but its only a “truth” if I believe it to be so. It’s important to remind ourselves that God is for us, that HE has the best plans in store, that He knows what He is doing and more importantly… that we know WHO we belong to and WHO’s Image we are made in.

Once we forget those things, it’s easy to listen to the negative voice over the positive. Daily filling your mind with the promises of God and what He says of you makes it easier to flush the lies of the enemy. A thought can arise that tells you, “You’re never going to make it, just stop now”, but when you KNOW who you are IN CHRIST… lies won’t easily sink in your heart. Truth resonates in your heart when you know your identity, when you know who you are… lies can never penetrate your heart.

Whatever dreams and desires you are trying to achieve, don’t give up. This goes for myself also 🙂
Keep going, you were only given one life and one passionate heart… don’t you dare waste it…

-MarthaInez

Prayer:
Father God, you are amazing and more than able to open up the right doors for us. Help us to not doubt our gifts, talents, dreams and passions etc. Help us to stay motivated and encouraged to go after the things you have placed in our hearts by design. When thoughts of fear or doubt come in our minds, I pray we don’t easily believe them but that we easily flush them out of our minds. Thank you so much for all you are and all you do… you’re an amazing and good God.

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