Let Go! The Plan Isn't Yours!

So...its a wake up call. That's right! Its that moment when the penny finally drops and you get it...You get what?? You get it! That thing....the missing piece of the puzzle. The light bulb moment. The Revelation!....Wooo!

All your life you believed you had it nailed. You had what you believed was the PLAN....You knew what you were going to do. You knew when you would have it by. How old you would be...The salary you'd command....The business you'd have....The postcode that beautiful house would be sitting on....How fine he or she would be....what the wedding date would be how many kids you would have..right???

Then guess what??? It doesn't happen. Not the way you think....

Were you wrong to plan?? No! Direction is important and most necessary.Were you wrong to have desires and aspirations?? No it keeps us on our toes. But here is an ingredient that is full proof and is a must for any plan.

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 NLT

Couldn't say it better myself...God knows the plan He has for YOU!. So lets take a look at this.... If God knows the plan, instead of stressing, worrying, comparing our lives to other people, trying to figure it out in our limited mental capacity isn't it easier to spend a some time with God and let Him reveal the path?? 

Why?? Whats the point you might say??? 

Well as you read on, He says His plans are for good. So if His plan is for our good that's a great thing right? That means we are going to be lead in a direction that profits us. That is beneficial to us. His plan will be bountiful and fertile. Advantageous and honorable. It will be Divine.

Now I will be the 1st to lift my hand and and say....my hair brained schemes or plans...led me to disaster in some way shape or form.I'm sure if your honest... You've done it too!! Did some foolishness and then came the repercussions. You were caught up in pride, arrogance and selfishness. You looked around at all the rubble surrounding you and said "Why did I do that?" Well at the time the idea seemed great and then you planned and then....you know the rest...

But Isn't it refreshing to know with God, you don't have to relive those moments? Doesn't mean life cant and wont happen, but the piece of mind of knowing Gods plan for your future is good and full proof is priceless. Knowing He is going to give you the future you expected and the Hope to have even better. Minus all the self inflicted mess???? Minus the aimless soul searching and years of 'I don't know what to do' Stalling, wasting not just our time but others too?

How do I know God's plan is right for me??

I'm so glad you asked...go back to Jeremiah Chapter 1

“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5 NLT

I love this. No God has not appointed us all to become prophets to the nations,but He has appointed us all for a purpose. Our very birth has meaning behind it. Although like myself my parents did not 'plan' to conceive me,God had a plan for me. He knew exactly what my birth was to signify even if my parents didn't at the time. There is a reason you were not born 1889 or scheduled for 2014. There is a reason why you were set apart for this season, this time, this place right now.

Even before the nine months of development our bodies went through to survive outside out mothers womb He knew us. He weaved together every cell, vein and molecule our body has. He knows you intimately, like no one else. He knows the imprint you are to make on the world. 

With all this in mind, surely His plan is better than your plan A,B and C?....Just a thought x

" The Door" by Ava DuVernay

"The Door" is a Love Story with no words. An Intelligently beautiful and breathtakingly elegant short film written and directed by the amazing Ava DuVernay for fashion house Miu Miu. One of five international female directors commissioned to tell their story of a "Woman's Tale", Ava tells a beautiful story of friendship, love, commitment and compassion. 

Unity among women is often un-celebrated despite its strong existence. We are portrayed as catty, insecure, covetous and vengeful. Reality television has endorsed these concepts, tainting the perception of valuing anyone other than ourselves.

I fell in love with how Ava captured visually the beauty of friendship, the essence of who women really are. We are supportive and caring. We leave positive footprints on lives we touch. We are capable of loving through circumstances and seasons. During transition and change we can be non-judgmental and non-critical ushering each other through new doors. We can be honest and pure sometimes without the need to say anything at all.

Cinematic bliss is created through back drops of beautiful settings. Graced with the talent of Gabrielle Union, Alfre Woodard, Adepero Oduye, Emayatzy Corinealdi and artist Goapele keep you locked in. Miu Miu heighten the elegance of these woman by adorning them with pieces that represent real prowess and demure.

Ava DuVernay is the first African-American woman to win the Best Director Prize at Sundance Film Festival, for her second feature, Middle of Nowhere, in 2012. An achievement that speaks for itself.

Watch her creative work below and share your thoughts.

God Bless you x 

The Crossroads of Life

Sometimes we undermine and undervalue the power of CHOICE. We are the common denominator in every situation, test, trial or circumstance we find ourselves in. Some situations we are in because we made bad CHOICES. Some we could of avoided but we CHOSE not to. No! Everything is not our fault. It was not your fault you may have been lied to, cheated on, abused, abandoned or worse. However, how long we choose to dwell, reside and wallow on those experiences is OUR CHOICE. We can be dead men and women walking, carrying our burdens and cares or we can STAND UP. DECIDE. CHOOSE. Make a CONSCIOUS DECISION that your our lives are gifts and what we do with OUR LIVES MATTERS Stand up and LIVE! For Your son, Your daughter, Your family, Your church, Your loved Ones, Your colleagues on your job. There are people, waiting for YOU to CHOOSE to be all YOU were created to be so they can become who they were created to be. Waiting for you to see past yourself, past your circumstances, past your pain. We have all been given the CHOICE to CHOOSE LIFE or DEATH. What are you doing with your CHOICE?

What Is She Reading: Lioness Arising

 

Hey Beautiful,

I wanted to share with you a book I'm reading that's had the cog wheels of my mind turning. An old high school friend and I had recently rekindled our friendship via facebook. She had observed my posts over a number of months and surprised me one day with sending me this book.

I had no expectations and had never heard of the author Lisa Bevere myself. Needless to say, I've been Awakened and hooked ever since. I haven't quite finished it yet, but its been such a blessing.

If any of you have read Lioness Arising, please feel free to comment and share your thoughts. I'll post a full review once I'm done. Thanks for being such a blessing Katrina

God Bless you x

Thank You!

Overwhelmed. Its the most accurate word I can use to describe how I'm feeling. I just wanted to thank you all for taking the time to visit my blog page, read and leave comments.

I was nervous in this new venture of expression and wasn't sure what to expect. I'm seeing the fruits so it was well worth it.

Your feedback has been more than I could have ever imagined and will endeavour to post updates as regularly as my schedule allows.If there are any topics you'd like me to cover feel free to let me know and I will do my best to include them.

Remember....Jesus Loves you,

Love Serena x

Living Life In Overflow

When thinking about what the content of my first ever blog should be, I thought about the purpose placed in my heart to write one. I've always enjoyed reading and writing and I actually didn't realise how much until I began to declutter my living room and bedroom, preparing for my long overdue home decorating project. What a lot of junk I had amassed....

I’d asked my adorable mother to assist me and she’d brought along an extra pair of hands, in the form of my gorgeous younger cousin Allana... The hidden treasures we dug up were worth far more than rubies! I found Birthday cards, Christmas cards, family pictures, invitations and Journals that were 5 - 6 years old. Everything from non-fiction books, cookery, interior design, autobiographies to educational psychology books (my favourite scientific topic and my current major).

Reading and reminiscing over some of my happiest and darkest moments filled me with a mixture of emotions that propelled me into moments of silence and deep thought. I was saying goodbye to aspects of my past and present. Seeing so much of it flash before me all at once, gripped me quite suddenly.

As Mum and Allana left, I felt off balance. Every “Why did this happen to me” and “Why did I do that” possible floated through my mind. I decided I was going to spend some time with God. Get in His presence, Talk to Him, pour my heart out, read His word, but most importantly allow myself to be still enough to hear what He had to say. I'd had a lot on my mind and needed direction, I knew the only place I was going to get exactly what I needed (not what I wanted) was from Him.

For most of the day, ‘abundance’ kept rising in me. ‘Abundance’, ‘Live in abundance’. I’d hear it over and over and over again. I looked up John 10:10 the Amplified Version and found

 “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it ^[a]overflows).”

I looked up the word ‘Abundantly’ to understand its true meaning. What did Jesus mean when He said this? Why was it so relevant to me? This is what I found.

Abundance means - Exceeding some number or measure or rank or need

1.       Over and above, more than is necessary, superadded. exceeding abundantly, supremely

2.       Something further, more, much more than all, more plainly

3.       Superior, extraordinary, surpassing, uncommon, pre-eminence, superiority, advantage, more eminent, more remarkable, more excellent

Wow! My Goodness!

Christ came so you and I could have access to the above. A life that far exceeds our expectations. A life that is more than extraordinary! Where we have advantage and superiority over anything and everything that life may present to us!

I'm sharing this with you because I know....I am not the only woman to have experienced moments of heart ache, disappointment, loneliness or pain.  Life happens to all of us. The devil is real and will attempt repeatedly use our past and even our present to cause us to relive depths of despair and loneliness. He looks for moments to steal from us. Taking our focus away from where and who we are right now, to whom we once were and our momentary circumstances. He knows that if he keeps us there for long enough we will die a slow painful death. Full of doubt, insecurity and fear that will eventually destroy the core of who we are.

I was even thrown into doubt about blogging. "What would people say? I wondered. "What would they think? "Am I even good enough to do this? "Why would anybody care about what me...lil ole "Serena" has to say? But I knew and still know this is not about me about me. Like all of us, I am an instrument. A tool that when connected with others brings about change in the world we live in and eternity yet to come.I'm standing on the promise that Christ came so we could enjoy life. Enjoy it with Him and share it with those we love and who God desires for us to be a blessing to.We cannot embrace all the above if we remain in rooted in what once was.

So this life that you and I are living right now....although it may not be perfect, although you may not be where you want to be. Have the perfect job, house, husband, wife or child, your life has been given to you for you to Enjoy! It is a Gift! What do we do with Gifts??? We receive them, and give Thanks! Live it to the full till it over flows!!!

Here are 6 ways I begin to appreciate and Enjoy Life!

1.       Give thanks for what you already have right now, this very second. Family, friendships, a home, your job, college, University, your health, your life. One way we can begin to enjoy our lives is to appreciate what we currently have. It may not seem like much, but once you begin to call them out you’ll realise you have a whole lot more to be thankful for than you thought! It sounds so cliché ..but there are millions of people all over the world that do not have the most basic things we take for granted day to day. 

2.       Remind yourself of what you have ALREADY overcome. Read this carefully, I'm not suggesting for you to ponder on and uproot your past, but sometimes we forget how much we have already overcome. What has God brought you through? You may have had cancer, survived a horrific childbirth experience, been homeless, jobless, friend of family less. Been lied to or cheated on. Abused mentally, physically or emotionally. But guess what??? Your still here. It didn't take you out! That is something to rejoice about! Life goes on. It does not stop there is renewed strength in you to carry on. Stop being so hard on yourself!

3.      Awaken what Lies Within. You are beautifully, wonderfully and uniquely made. There is no other man, woman or child that has been created like you. In Genesis Chapter 1 at the point of creation,God creates us in His image and then pronounces a blessing over us. He tells us to be fruitful and multiply. There are gifts, talents, purpose living on the inside of you and some of you don’t even know it yet! What have you been called to do? What is the area God desires for you to be fruitful and multiply in? Is it Business, The Arts, Health, Fashion??There is a great joy in tapping into Gods perfect plan for your life. He gives us all things to Enjoy!

4.    Seek out Gods Promises. There are over 3,000 promises God makes to us through His word. 3,000! One new promise to explore every day for years!These promises are a reflection of how much He loves us, is rooting for us and desires for us to excel, have and be the best we can be. This tells us there is more for us to develop, grow and mature into. More for us to Experience and Receive. 

5.    Make a list of things that you ENJOY doing! Do you like to read? Paint or draw? Do you love hair and make-up  Are you a gem in the kitchen? Love to cook or bake? Do you love to travel and experience other cultures? Are you a fashionista and love shopping it up! (Within your budget of course! No need to get into debt over a pair of cute shoes that pinch your feet!) Do you like to put a smile on the faces of those you love by doing special things for them? Start to tap into that side of you you've been suppressing for far too long....you might just realise there’s a whole lot of fun living on the inside of you.      

6.       Take Care of You. Whether male or female we love to look and feel great about ourselves. But the outward appearance is merely the icing on the cake. What's going on on the inside? When you remove the make up and the cute outfit, are you at peace with you? Do you love or hate what you see? What are you battling with? Often, the outward appearance is a façade and you are fooling no one but you! Jesus tells us in Matthew 4:4 ‘Man shall not live by bread alone’ therefore what we feed our mind and our spirit matters! What you watch, listen to and surround yourself with becomes internalised and you become a reflection of it. Take care of you by reviewing and taking stock of what you expose yourself to. There were some things I just had to say goodbye to because it wasn't doing my soul any good. I'm better for it and God has been able to add more to me as a result.

I'll share that with you in another post but, these are the six things that I have done and continue to do to encourage myself to enjoy and appreciate everything I have been blessed with. I want to live that abundant extraordinary life, that life of overflow Christ died for you and I to have.

Its ours if were willing to receive it...Be encouraged...Keep moving forward!

God Bless You x