New Life-New Outlook-New Me

I never thought of myself as the person who does the sympathetic shoulder to perfection. But I had a friend tell me to stick to doing the sad, heavy-hearted stuff that I’m so good at. I didn’t quite know how in the world to take that comment. I mean, who wants to be known for making people cry or making people think about stuff they’d rather forget? I didn’t set out to build that kind of legacy. But, I suppose God had other plans for me.

Well lately, I’ve been living a totally different life, getting completely new and sometimes fresh perspective, and rethinking some of my prior decisions, goals, etc. I find much more comedy in things than I ever did before. I’m realizing how circular the world is and what that means for my own joy, peace and contentment. And now, I can understand how to calm my mind and heart when tragedy strikes or hard times persist. For one thing, the sun keeps rising and setting. The days are going to pass and the struggles will change. Life truly goes on. And anyway, if I could stop it, it wouldn’t be in the middle of a painful episode. And since I know that whatever comes will also go, I learn to enjoy every aspect of this brilliantly created masterpiece that God left for me to navigate. He has the book of my life with Him, already written, already edited, already a bestseller. He’s read it so thoroughly that He knows every word of it by heart. Of course, I’m only on chapter 36 and like a soap opera character, I don’t know how this thing will end for me yet. But, I know who knows and I trust Him implicitly. Embracing a new me fully without question.

Pleasure Reads

Reading is probably one of my favorite hobbies, but then sometimes it feels like a task. I suppose it gets like that when I have to read for edits versus reading for pleasure. I finally got my tally for last year and I'm so very proud to announce that I read approximately 43 books in 2011. So you know I have to take it up a notch for 2012. I think my goal may be 50 books, but with all the writing and deadlines I have for this year, I'll be lucky to get in 10 pleasure reads.


I will post a list of last year's reads within the coming week so that you can see what kind of material has warped me. ROTFL!

Don't Be So Rigid

Sometimes when we feel worn down, mentally exhausted, slightly dejected, those are signs that there is something foreign in our lives that need to be purged out. For sure, purging hurts because normally we need to release something we want to keep. But part of maturity is learning that God knows what's best for all of creation, and He sees much further than we do. It's better to listen to what He says and tune in to the subtle cues He gives us when change is coming.


I'm learning to be more flexible. I figured out that the rigidity that I've always had has also been the cause of a lot of my pain. I'm resistant to change at times and it only ends up making things worse. So, I'm still on the path of learning. Amen to that!

Prophetic Appreciation

There are very few things in the world as amazing as the gifts of the Spirit. Nearly every Christian has read about the 9 spiritual gifts given by the Holy Spirit for the edification of the Body of Christ. Yet, those gifts are still misunderstood and abused, some more than others. But of them all, the prophetic is perhaps the most abused, the most overused and the most misunderstood. Somehow, the prophetic went from always 100 percent accurate in the Old Testament to seemingly less than 10 percent accurate today. We make every excuse in the book when a prophetic utterance is off, but ultimately it comes down to the prophet. This is why when we find someone who truly speaks the words of God, we must appreciate them and be grateful to God for actually speaking through them to us as the Body of Christ.
One such man of God is Apostle K.C. Sparks. Since our meeting in 2008, I’ve watched his ministry very closely and have learned a great deal. The biggest part of his ministry is healing and restoration, but almost always through prophetic utterance. In our first meeting, his first prayer for me was for my books, businesses and the family I so desire to have. Having that prophetic guidance from God changed my life permanently. It gave me some foundation and direction in a time when I had an abundance of ideas, but no sure plan or path determined to bring them into fruition.
Apostle Sparks gave me the Word of God and told me in May 2008 that I’d get international coverage for my bestseller and that he saw movies and television spots. Months laters, I met some officials who were interested in making my book into a small, independent feature film and that was the first fulfillment of what God had spoken through Apostle Sparks. Since then, we’ve become friends and co-laborers in the Kingdom of God.
Like many reading this article, I’ve experienced the pain of having false prophets sell me dreams, but I’ve also experienced the blessing of having God truly speak over my life through another human being. Meeting real prophets who truly serve God is an honor and a privilege. When God sent Apostle Sparks into my life, I learned how to distinguish true men and women of God, learned to hear from God on a deeper, more personal level, and learned how to keep myself covered under the blood of Christ when it comes to idle words and word curses, the biggest enemy to the prophetic.
This is my salute to a man of God who walks, talks and teaches the truth, someone who has forever altered my understanding of the magnificent love and graciousness of God. To Apostle Kenneth C. Sparks, keep speaking the oracles of God because hungry souls are listening!

Chances

This is a little off the mainline for me, but today I wanted to talk about chances. This isn't biblical law, but personal musing. I hope you can enjoy it and maybe lend some much needed feedback.


It is true that most people get multiple chances at most aspects of life, but that isn't always the case. Sometimes opportunity knocks only once. The prepared open and reap the benefits. The rest spend months or years or a lifetime pondering how life could be different if only.


Sometimes, when I have nothing else to do... okay, who am I kidding? I always have something else to do. But sometimes, I get into a reflective mood and I begin to think about my choices and how my life could be different if I'd done something differently in the past. Each day, I make more choices, all of them leading me somewhere, and often not quite where I intended. But no matter what happens, I can never undo prior decisions. I can only correct what I can and move on. That is what life has taught me... we all get chances.


Each time we make good decisions, we have the chance to learn about the benefits of good decision-making abilities. Each time we make bad decisions and live through it, we learn what to avoid and how to make better decisions. We always have a chance to learn as long as we are alive. Age is not a deterrent. Socioeconomic status, family ties and history are merely road bumps. They cannot keep you from living and learning if that is what you choose to do. Take every chance afforded to you to better your life, not by the material and temporary only, but emotionally and spiritually as well. I know I am. I made a decision to stop fretting over what is and what isn't in my life. I choose now to learn what I can by the things that come and the things that go. 

Valuing Yourself - The Abundant Life

Hard work teaches us how to value various things in life. The harder something is to accomplish, the prouder we are when we actually accomplish it. The more costly something was to obtain, the harder we work to keep it in great condition.

Unfortunately, we understand that concept with everything but self. We often don't know how to truly value ourselves. We judge ourselves so harshly on things that don't amount to a hill of beans anyway. We look at our appearance, our degrees or lack thereof, our pasts, our pains, our flaws and we find ourselves feeling like less than dirt and accepting mistreatment from others because we don't think we deserve better.

If this is you, here's what I would like for you to do right now: go to the nearest mirror and look yourself in the eye for 20 seconds without speaking. Then, point your finger at yourself and tell yourself that you deserve everything Christ died for you to have including that abundant life, that life that includes more than we can ask or imagine. Do it now and live it daily!

Good and Bad Days Interwoven

There are good days and bad, but it takes them both for us to learn what we must to survive the bad and truly appreciate the good. I'm grateful for those who have been beside me through my recent health issues and scares, for those who have prayed, fasted and encouraged me. GOD is still a healer and His work is never done.


Recently, I've began to think about how beautiful this world really is from a whole different perspective. In fact, I've come to appreciate humanity, though for so many years I was bitter against it, even my own. I wanted to be flawless, perfect, yet the more I sought out perfection, the more miserably I failed at it. It was a tricky situation. But God was teaching me that humanity, flaws and all, is yet beautiful. That a hideous green thread when interwoven with a soft purple, a deep blue and a muted red is somehow breath-taking... Enjoy your good days but also realize that your bad days are part of the reason you have something to enjoy. Learn how to see that silver lining always and life will lose its sting and frustrations. All that will be left is a better, more content, happier you!

LOVE for the UNFAITHFUL

Just last night, through the grace God has given my husband, He spoke so clearly to me. I am grateful and now I share with you a most personal moment.

In the time I've been with my husband and even before we married, we've endured infidelity. That's just honesty. Am I proud of it? No! Do I condone it? Heck no! But real talk is just that. What's more, the majority of it has been on my part. I had to stop and shake my head right there for a moment. Nevertheless, we continued to grow in the midst of the worst imaginable trials.

Last night, God showed me LOVE more clearly than I've ever seen it. He showed me a picture of a Bentley broken down on side of the road. The owner was upset and had to call for help. As angry or embarrassed or hurt as he was, he didn't even once think of getting another car. He loved his Bentley. He then showed me a woman crying because her child was on drugs. As hard as it was to fathom, she couldn't turn her back on her child. She loved him. Then he showed me my husband's heart. All the pain, the anguish and tears, frustration, but in the middle of all that is this man holding out his hand to me telling me that he choose to be like God. He choose to love me anyway. He choose to keep on loving me. The tears started and I didn't know if they would ever stop. And I could feel my hubby's heart which made me feel like I was drowning. And yet, I hadn't even considered who I'd really sinned against, my Father.

Then GOD hit me with that third knock out blow. He said, I am Father of all creation. I never created anything I didn't love. You said you wanted to see my heart, feel my pain, understand me better. Feel some of the pain of loving someone who do not love you back, loving someone who refuses to put you first, who doesn't appreciate all that you've given, who wants everything you are willing to give but not from you. The pain is suffocating! It's hard to breathe through it. It's hard to think through it. It's hard to fathom staying there and taking that abuse, right? But I love and choose to keep loving you no matter your flaws, imperfections or choices. The thought of having to destroy anything I made makes my heart melt in despair. I created you in my image but very few of you ever truly understand what that means. You don't consider my feelings. You don't consider my love. You, YOU have a GOD to pray to. You have me. I, well, I am alone and all that happens in creation stops right here at my door. I am GOD and there is none other beside me. I have no GOD to pray to. And when I created a way for those I love to alleviate my pain, I find that most still won't lift a finger to help ease my pain. Yet, I still will not turn my back on you, not any of you. 

So I asked in my spirit what could I do to ease God's pain. I mean, I've caused more than my fair share of it. And the answer to evangelism hit me like a ton of bricks. Each time a soul is won over to God, each time the shackles of sin are broken off someone, each time we walk in love toward someone who doesn't necessarily deserve it, each time we overcome some deeply engrafted issue, each time we are obedient simply because our Father has commanded, all of those things are like plucking thorns out of God's body. Each of them brings Him a measure of relief, gives Him a joy that overshadows all the pain. He smiles. He pokes His chest out. His countenance is brightened. GOD is REAL! His love is real. While our emotions are unstable and prone to be toyed with, His are not. He is always emotionally, physically, spiritually attached and invested. He chooses to be that way. That's no easy task!

I could go on, but some of what I want to say is much too much for online writing and the timing is not yet. So let me make my point. God's love does not take an accounting of the wrong done to it. He knows the wrong, but it doesn't change anything as it concerns His decision to be our greatest lover. It bears all things. There is nothing in this life or the next that will ever separate you from the love of God. We try to understand this through our carnal mind but the concept is much too big for that. It was love that created, is love that sustains, will be love that redeems. And for those who miss it altogether, it will be love (with streaming tears) that administer punishment. And this is where the saying "This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you" comes from.

With my deepest love,

Lacresha Hayes

www.lacreshahayes.com

(originally posted to my Facebook profile on April 11, 2011)