Keeper of Weak Hearts: God Hears You

Keeper of Weak Hearts: God Hears You: Genesis 16:11 And the Angel of the Lord continued, See now, you are with child and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Ishmael [God ...

God Hears You

Genesis 16:11  And the Angel of the Lord continued, See now, you are with child and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Ishmael [God hears], because the Lord has heard and paid attention to your affliction.

Being a single parent was not the way I envisioned motherhood.  I had the same dream most women have, I would marry and we would raise our child together, in a complete and happy home.  Well needless to say that is not how things turned out.  I ended up being the sole caretaker for my daughter.  I think of the story of Hagar, forced into a situation that left her on a back road in the desert.  Hagar and her son had ran out of water and she was waiting to die there alone with her child.  The challenges of a single parent can be overwhelming and out right exhausting.  You feel alone and left to handle everything by yourself.  You literally feel like you are on a back road in a desert somewhere.   There are times you feel like you can't make it another step.  


I know first hand how this feels.  Raising children is not an easy job, not even for a two parent home.  But I am comforted by Hagar's story, not only did God let her know that he hears her and understands her pain; but he also makes her a promise.  A promise from God is a covenant that cannot be broken.  In Genesis 21 an angel of God gives Hagar instructions and a peek into her son's future.  He tells her to get up and raise her son and support him with her own hand, because he has a great future waiting on him.   This let's me know that the path of a single parent is a laborious one but with diligence and faithfulness can have longterm rewards.  Yes, you will have to raise them on your own.  Yes, you will have to support them on your own.  It is a day to day process.  The same troubles and trials you face today will not be the same troubles and trials of tomorrow.  


Remember God hears and sees your affliction.  This is not a struggle you have to face alone, call on the one who has the answers to your afflictions and receive his promise today.
Genesis 21:17  And God heard the voice of the youth, and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven and said to her, What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the youth where he is.18  Arise, raise up the youth and support him with your hand, for I intend to make him a great nation.

More than a Conqueror

Gratitude for his Grace

1 Corinthians 8:3 AMP

But if one loves God truly [with affectionate reverence, prompt obedience, and grateful recognition of His blessing], he is known by God [recognized as worthy of His intimacy and love, and he is owned by Him].

I woke up this morning with a profound sense of gratitude.  Gratitude shows up in the following ways; reverence, obedience, and recognition.  There is a level of intimacy with Christ that is grown out of relationship.  It is the master's desire to know us intimately, meaning with a fond affection.  This relationship is built from our willingness to obey his word, reverence who he is, and be thankful for his blessings by recognizing what he has done in our lives.  

The more I take time to thank God, the more I feel closer to him.  The closer I feel, the more secure I am in him.

LIsten to, Thank You Master by Donnie Hathaway and be Grateful today

More Than A Conqueror

Sustaining Power

2 Timothy 1:7 AMP For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.


It was in the A.M. and the caffeine had not quite reached the places it needed to yet.  Fumbling for keys I sit a stack of folders on the roof of the car.  As I open the door a shadow looms over my head, a warmth flutters across my face.  Instant reflex causes me to jolt back, tripping over the curb and landing straight on my behind.  I look up and soaring upward is a hawk.   I stand and brace myself against the car as I look around to make sure I wasn't under attack.  I see it at my feet, the hawks early morning prey, stil in tack.  I hurry inside the car, still startled I wonder what kind of message was that.  I start the car and drive to orientation for my new job.  I remember the story of Elijah being fed by the ravens and I think I know you will provide Lord I have new job and a new place.

Sitting through a full eight hours of orientation, excited and exhausted I pulled out of the parking lot, headed home my cell phone rings.  I looked at the caller id, I recognized the area code, it's probably human resources I thought to myself.  I answered the call it was my new supervisor.  She called to tell me that there had been a mistake with my paper work and that I was not eligible for the job.  I hung up the phone and instantly started to panic.  My savings account was down to its last dollar.  What was I going to do?  How was I going to provide for my child?  Fear flooded my heart and I started to envision the worse case scenario.  I pulled the car over and started to cry and then I was reminded of Elijah and the ravens.  A sudden sense of peace and power moved over me, I thought I will survive this.

I believe the hawk that morning was a message from GOD, that he will sustain me during this season of drought and famine.   I later told the story to a woman who was a native Indian and she told be that hawks  are very sacred in her culture and that they rarely relinquish their prey.  She says it wasn't by accident that the hawk had dropped his prey at my feet.

We are to have confidence in the fact that GOD will sustain us during all seasons in our lives.  It has been five months since that day and I have been able to maintain an apartment, food, and clothing for my family.  I have also had several close encounters with hawks.  They seem to appear close by when ever my faith is faltering.

Read how Elijah was sustained during the drought in I Kings 17.

Safe Place

A place in-between harm and safety, 
after the rain and right before the sun shines again.
A place where I race the images before they are turned into permanent memories and I win.
A place where the wounds are to fresh for me to even know that they are there.
A safe place is the distance between two paralel lines of denial and grief.

Thinking about the babies out here, where the only safe place is their imagination.  I ask myself and God many times, what are we doing wrong.  Why so many thrown away and battered children.  He didn't give me a direct answer but he did say, "have you prayed for another soul today."  "Have you spoke prophetic words into the atmosphere on the behalf of someone else today?"  We forget the power of the spoken word, said out loud with a declarative voice, going to war.  The-tongue-is-a-sword.  Calling their names as if they were our own.  Have you ever heard a mother cry out for her child; there is something fierce and determined about it, that even God avails her request.

I know it is a heavy subject but it is here, all around us, in our homes, our schools, and... even... our... churches....

Keeper of Weak Hearts: Pack Light This Year

Keeper of Weak Hearts: Pack Light This Year: As women we are collectors of bags.  If you are like my mother and aunt then every time you shop for a garment you also have to purchase a p...

Pack Light This Year

As women we are collectors of bags.  If you are like my mother and aunt then every time you shop for a garment you also have to purchase a purse, pocket book, clutch, or something from the bag family to go with it.  This means that you have collected quite a few bags over the years.  What I hate the most about bags is they do not easily fit into your closet, some are small and others are bulky, not so easy to hang or sit neatly on a shelf.  It is the same as carrying the proverbial baggage of life.  Past mistakes, unresolved grievances, wrong doings, mistrust, and criticisms all these things piled up begin to weigh us down and it becomes a challenge to even move.

Critical Coach

I went through all of my bags and some were hard to let go.  The Critical Coach bag, with it's timeless classical design, skin thick as leather, almost every woman has this bag in her closet and although the style might be outdated we still stick it back in the closet.  Criticism can pick away at the fiber of a person, pulling strand by strand every positive thread until there is nothing left.  Whether we are the ones dishing it out or receiving it, either way it is toxic and to heavy to carry around.  Getting rid of the critical coach bag is hard but with deliberate practice you can start to see more of the good rather than just focusing on the bad.

Guilt Carrying Gucci

Then there is Guilt Carrying Gucci.  Just like the new stylish Gucci purses guilt can be an oversized useless emotion.   You walk around punishing yourself or someone else for something that happend fifty years ago.  Nobody wins with guilt, being shackled and chained to this bag can cause stagnation and depression.  

Prideful Prada

They say pride comes before a fall.  Well, this bag is sure to make you loose relationship points.  You know the type, refuses to admit when they are wrong, can never ask for help when they need it.  Prideful Prada is always trying to maintain a front of perfection, which by the way is impossible.  I know this bag all to well, it was my old faithful.  I carried it everywhere.  I wore it as a shield of protection and it didn't do anything but push people away that really cared about me.

Doubtful DKNY

Have you ever known someone who expects everything to always go wrong, just full of doubt.  It says in the good book without faith it is impossible to please God.  This bag will repel not only people from you but your blessings as well.  Doubtful DKNY is like a self fulfilling prophesy, if you keep on saying it is not going to happen--THEN IT AIN"T.  The funny thing about this bag is you can't fit anything in it but doubt.  There is no room for joy, happiness, blessings, just a small tube of doubt.

Mad Marc

We all have a friend like this, they are always in a rage, huffing and puffing about something.  You know the one quick to curse somebody out.  Mad Marc is a dangerous bag and can either land you in jail or in the hospital.  Ditch this bag ASAP or seek counseling.  The bottom line is if you are always mad then you will never be able to experience happiness.  Unfortunately, this bag seems to be a badge of honor.  Today's reality shows spot light angry, cursing, fist fighting ladies.  A big old grown woman stomping around like a child is not cute, it's ridiculous.  Beauty illuminates from the inside out and if all you are is a ball of anger on the inside, eventually you will illuminate ugliness.

The new year is approaching swiftly and it is time to get rid of some those bags that have been hindering us for so long.  I know I am learning to pack only the essentials; faith, peace, joy, and wisdom.  Honestly, I do not have room for anything else.  So as Ericka Badou would say, "pack light".

Watch the video Bag Lady by Ericka Badu; it can help remind you why you should pack light.

The images of the purses are not literal representations of the emotions.