Month: April 2020

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Use This Time Wisely: A New Season is Coming

April 20, 2020 jcladyluv

It has definitely been a crazy time for this world in the last several weeks, or is it months now (I’m losing track of time), and it’s safe to say a new normal is on the way. I will admit that I don’t follow the news of what’s going on minute by minute like a lot of people I know are doing. As a person who is prone to suffering serious heavy bouts of depression and who also has severe anxiety on top of that, anxiety which has drastically increased in the last 4 years (you know why), I just can’t feed my mind with the news on a constant loop. I stay informed, I get the notifications that are specific to my state, or the state my sister lives in (Oklahoma) and I may catch a Cuomo briefing here or there but I don’t watch the daily stats or that daily circus that happens on a grand stage. It’s not good for my mental health and I have to take care of that if I am going to survive this thing and come out better than I was when it started.

What I have tried to do is find the positive in all of this mess and I know there is nothing positive about anyone dying but there are lessons and things that you can take away from any tragic situation in order to make it all mean something. Back when the social distancing was implemented and we couldn’t got to church services anymore, for our very first live stream church service my Pastor said that he believed that this pandemic was going to be a reset for a lot of people and for a lot of communities. I think that he was right. I see a lot of people spending time with their families now, time that they claimed they didn’t have before. I see a whole lot of communities actually acting like a community and helping each other, helping out the small businesses in their communities, buying small items from people who are just starting their business because they want to be supportive.

I see people taking the time to be more kind and decent to their neighbors and actually asking the people around them are they okay, do they need anything from the store, do they just need someone to vent to so they can get their feelings out. There are also people going through financial hardships who are getting a major reset in terms of maybe they are having a debt that was interfering with their credit history forgiven, or maybe their getting a reprieve from the expectation of being evicted from their home and not having to deal with the possibility of being homeless while all of this is going on. I’ve also seen a lot of people taking the time get back on track spiritually and working on their relationship with God during this time.

I know that there are a lot of bad things that we can pluck out this pandemic that’s happening and we could allow ourselves to get stuck and dwell on them. But why do that? Why not allow ourselves to rest in the good that is coming out of this tragic situation. Again, as I stated earlier, I know that there’s nothing good about anyone dying, of course not. But doesn’t it make you want to make your life mean that much more. Doesn’t it make you want to treasure the time that you do have and do what you were placed on this earth to do. Whether you know what it is or not, we all have a purpose that God put you here for and if you weren’t sure what that purpose was before then now is as good a time as any to figure it out.

Don’t waste this time worrying about things that you simply can’t control. Of course you have to be cautious and make sure that you and your family are staying safe but don’t forget to cherish the quality time that you are getting with your loved ones and spend time on being productive and fulfilling your purpose as well. Also, last but certainly not least, don’t forget to take care of yourself both physically, and mentally. The time for a new season is shifting into place so, in every way you can, get ready! Until next time… #BeSafe #BeProductive #BeGrateful

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

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Don’t Lose Sight of Hope

April 13, 2020 jcladyluv

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” ~ Philippians 4:6-7

We just celebrated Resurrection Sunday (Easter) and my Pastor (via live stream of course) talked a lot about having Hope in Jesus and allowing that Hope to shape your thinking and your attitude and how you go about things. He talked about having confidence in the outcome of God’s will, whatever that outcome may be. As he was preaching this I actually realized that I had finally gained that sense of Hope and that inner peace that I’ve always wanted. It is interesting when you start to notice changes within yourself taking place (usually you are the last one to actually notice them) because even when you are working on yourself and your personal growth for that very purpose, it often feels like you’re the same person you always were.

I found it odd that when the current world crisis that we are in hit that I wasn’t as freaked out about it as a lot of people around me were. It’s what I would’ve been doing years ago. I would have been overly paranoid, overly worried, and my OCD would have went off the charts. But I’m not doing any of those things, at least not when it comes to this pandemic. I feel an overwhelming sense of peace and calm and I think that is attributed to this journey of spiritual growth that I have been on.

I knew at the beginning of that journey that I wanted to get to a place where my anxiety and depression didn’t have such an overwhelming hold on me and to where, even if I felt a little bit of worry over a particular situation (because I’m still human) and even when I’m staying cautious about certain crisis I can still feel gratitude and still trust that ultimately God is going to do everything that he said he would and that includes all of the promises that he made over my life. God said in Jeremiah 29:11 that his plans for me and my life are to prosper me and not to harm me and to give me hope and a future, and not just any future, but an abundant one. If I believe that and if I trust that then there is nothing to worry about or to panic over.

I never used to get it when people told me that even when all hell was breaking loose in their world they felt at peace and they were as happy as they could be because they knew God had them. I didn’t get it before but I get it now because that’s how I feel. Things still aren’t great for me right now, financially or career wise, but I have so much to be grateful for and the fact remains that I still have each day that HE wakes me up to get it right and to get things on track. I have confidence in the outcome, whatever that outcome may be because God’s will is always going to be done no matter what. So let’s not lose Hope in a time when it is very easy for us to lose sight of how much God loves us. Until next time… #BeHopeful #BeConfident #BeinFaith

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

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When Time Can No Longer Be Your Excuse

April 6, 2020 jcladyluv

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” ~ Ephesians 2:10

So a few weeks ago my Pastor, in our newly formatted virtually streamed church services, began a new series about “Repairing our Breaches” which is very timely for the chaos that we are currently dealing with in the world. So this Sunday the subtopic of the message was developing a mind to work. He mostly talked about us using this time to work on the things that God has set before us to get done, to not get complacent in this time of what he best described as a reset, and to essentially not let the grass grow under your feet while you’re waiting for everything to get back to ‘normal’. Here’s the thing. I think that this may just be our new normal and oddly enough a lot of this chaos has gotten us back to the basics but I supposed they say everything that was once old becomes new again for a reason.

So are you going to spend this time wishing that things could go back to what you’re used to and then you’ll get started working on that project you were finishing up again or are you going to take this precious time that the universe has given you, where you can’t make any excuses as to why you’re not finishing, and actually get the work done. I’m not just speaking to all of you out there; I’m speaking to myself as well. I’ve been having plans for this, that, and the other, that I have put off for far too long, some out of not having the time, some out of not being properly equipped (at least I didn’t think I was), and some out of sheer fear that likes to rear it’s ugly little head every time I get the nerve to do something that I wouldn’t ordinarily do. Hearing this message on Sunday I had to come to terms with the fact that I am people. I have to develop, or better yet redevelop my mind to get this work done.

One of the things that my Pastor said on the live stream service that really struck a chord with me also and that I hope helps someone else out there is that you have to stop comparing how things are now with how things used to be. I know we tend to use how far we’ve come as a measuring stick to see and rationalize with ourselves just how much work we have actually done and doing it that way can lead us to believe that we’ve come a long way and that we can stop and rest for a bit. However, my Pastor suggested that we measure whether we are truly doing the work that we are supposed to be doing by measuring how things are now in relation to how things should be. In other words, you may be in a good place now but what place should you be in?

Are you doing just enough to say you’ve accomplished something or could you be doing more? If you are doing everything that God has instructed you to do then the task would be completed and there would be no more in that particular goal left to achieve and you can then move onto the next goal because God’s work that he’s placed on you is never truly done. I know this time that we are in right now is chaotic and it’s stressful and can be hard to navigate but you’re not in it alone and I am right here with you. Let’s use this time to get some of those things we didn’t have to time to do before completed and let’s put some good back out into this world. It sure could use it! Until next time… #BeMindful #BeProductive #BeofService

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

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