Janina B.

“Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land”.  (Genesis 12:7 NKJV) . In Genesis 12, the Lord told Abram to leave what was familiar to him ( his land and father’s house) in order to go to a land that He would show him. In other words, God told Abram to leave his comfort zone. Everything that Abram knew was in the land that his family was settled in, but God had other plans for him. All Abram had to do was be available. When God tells us to do something, my belief is that something special is attached to what He telling us to do. In Abram’s case, God wanted to bless the earth through him. Abram had a choice to make. We know that he choose faith, but what about you? What have you chosen? What are you choosing; comfortability or availability?  Living in a state of comfortability can be safe and predictable. Comfortability can also be a hinderance to your destiny and a clog in heaven’s drain pertaining to how and when you will receive the b

The crazy thing about traveling is that it can be really expensive, but price is only a minor technicality to people who really want to go to where it is that their heart desires to go. For the budget conscious person, high price tags can be discouraging, especially after you see 4 digit numbers with a comma attached to the place that you desire to travel to the most. For those who are not afraid to take a leap of faith, consider for a second where it is that you desire to travel. • Now, consider the cheapest city for you to fly out of? • What airline do you desire to fly on? • How long will you be at your destination ? • Where will you stay when you land? • Are you traveling alone? • How much will it cost? • Is there a lay over? The price for a plan ticket from Atlanta, Georgia to Abuja, Nigeria on a Delta flight is $5797.55. The lay over for this flight is 23 hours spent in beautiful Paris,France. All of this information seems exciting and perhaps ideal if you ha

Everyone wants to create multiple steams of income, but what has God already given you? You are afraid to take a leap of faith by going forward with the business plan or writing the book, but yet you are still praying for more money and money making opportunities. In Matthew 25, Jesus tells His disciples about 3 men, their master, and the talents (money) that he gave them to be a steward over while he went on a journey. One servant got 5 talents, the second servant got 4 talents, and the third servant got 1 talent. While the master was gone, two of the servants were wise with what they were given and doubled their master’s money. The third servant operated in fear and buried his talent. As it was, the master came back unexpectedly and asked the servants about the talents that they were given. Two of the servants, who were good stewards over the talents that they had, were given even more talents, but the third steward was called lazy because he hid the talent that he had been giv

“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted, He   rescues those whose spirits are crushed”(Psalm 34:18 NLT). I recently called my father to tell him that I loved him, and he didn’t say it back. I felt led to call him and choose to not take his response personally, although I wanted to. I deserved to; but God is doing a work in me concerning this area. I try to make things pretty, but hurt is never pretty and forgiveness is rarely easy. I’m challenged to forgive and to not be offended, even when I deserve to be. People do things that I don’t like, but because I want all that God has, I have to be intentional about dealing with both my heart and my hurt. It may seem crazy, but the best thing that anyone can do for you is to count you out and hurt you. Hurt can either damage you or it can create a passion in you that God can use for His glory. I am the definition of a foolish thing that God has chosen to use. All that He requires from me is that I submit to Him, even when I don’t unde

“And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren” (Luke 22:31-32 KJV). I have traveled through some tough moments, especially the ones that I experienced as a teenager. Those moments felt as if they would last a life time. To be honest, I had no idea that I would ever make it to a place where I could be able to look back on all of them and be able to see that I was being processed. I remember the times when God showed up at the right moments in my life to remind me that I was His. I didn’t see it that way back then, but those moments were like life lines. I lived in the dark and I had no notion of what it would be like to function in the light. I was being processed. The devil is funny. He will take you through hell on earth in order to destroy the hope that God has something different for you. I was so mentally brok

Everyone wants to fulfill your purpose until they realize what it costs you to say yes to God. People judge struggles and trials that they have not had to survive in. They want what you have, but lack the understanding of the number of tears that you have shed in order to continue to bend when the applause of man says that you should stand- up and be honored when you do something great. Your greatness is attributed to God, but people who merely seek applause from others have no idea what that really means. “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images” (Isaiah 42:8). Walking in your purpose is beautiful. Walking in your purpose with a holy anointing will cost you something. God is not looking for people who want to be seen. He is looking for people who want to submit. Seeking to be seen out of season will set you up for attacks that you may not be ready for. It will cause you to be identified by enemies when your jo

I am in a place that I don’t quite understand, but it’s a place that I need to be in. I am in a place in which I feel as if I have to go backwards in order to move forward. Most people say, “I never go backward, I only look ahead”, but in some cases, it is necessary in order for you to survive in the land that God wants to place you in. That land is a place of healthy relationships and emotional stability. Most of us have a tendency to operate in dysfunction and not even know it. It’s not healthy to want to avoid men and not understand why. It’s not healthy to always be in conflict with other people. It’s not healthy to hate correction. It’s not healthy to hate your family members and to walk in offense. It’s not healthy to avoid intimate relationships with the people that God sends to be builders in the repairing of you. Let me ask you something; who tainted you? Who touched you the wrong way? Who broke your heart, insulted you, and left you in a spiritually dead place? Who st

I’m not obsessed, but I’ve been thinking about marriage a lot more lately. As a Christian, I’ve learned where I went wrong concerning my standards of dating before I knew Jesus. I have been looking at the profile pages of exes to see if, perhaps, I was missing something. I’m happy to report that I am not. I more so found myself thanking God for what He didn’t allow. Even though I’m thankful for every failed relationship, I find myself encountering the hurt that still remains as a result of my insecurities. There is so much that I have not let go of. In a way,I’m afraid to let go of the hurt that I am carrying because that vacant spot could potentially attract more pain in its place. I want to trust people, but the fear of them knowing who I intimately am always gets in my way.                 I so badly desire God and everything that He has for me, but the past is a hinderance. I feel as if I should finally forgive those that misused me, but “what if they hurt me” is a thought

Nobody gets into a relationship ready to support someone as they go through a heart transplant. Boyfriend and girlfriend titles have no vows. You’re in it for as long as it lasts and hopefully it leads to more; but what if something changes? What if your attraction to that person did not change, but how you are attracted to them did? Suppose you wanted to love them differently then you did before? Suppose your heart changed and theirs did not? Whenever I emotionally opened up to a guy (pre Jesus),we went together, period. There were no ifs, ands,or buts, we were a couple. I didn’t understand the importance of protecting who I would become because I never wanted to become anything independently from someone else, if that makes since. I allowed myself to waste years on 2 separate occasions , but the last time was different. In that season, God was in motion and I fought it for a while. I got to a place where I wanted God and he did not. My heart changed  and he remained the same.

This morning, I thought about people who have left the ministry. I understand that everyone has a different reason for making this choice and my intention is to examine 2 of those reasons. Some people leave ministry because of offense and other people leave because the “burden is too heavy”. “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls”    (Matthew 29:11). The first issue that should be addressed is the heart. Your heart should always be Godward. People and their expectations are heavy. I can imagine, that ministry can be heavy, but Jesus says, “ take my yoke upon you ”. The ministry belongs to Jesus, not you. Where is your heart? I know that you’re tired. I know that people can be a mess, but always lean on Christ and you will find rest in depending on Him.  Church has become a place of tradition. Many of us attend because we “have” to, not so much because we want to. We have jobs to do and some of us

Today I realized that I was afraid of success. I’m afraid of being all that God has called me to be because I am afraid of the accountability that it will intel and I feel undeserving of all that He has for me. I feel like 2019 is a time to grow forward and to excel. It’s like we are knocking on the door of the promises of God after spending so long in a wilderness. The thing about being in a wilderness is that that place is meant to make you a warrior, not a weak-minded victim. You are supposed to learn how   to fight   and encourage yourself in the wilderness, but some of us have become content with the dryness of the land instead. Today, I wanted to shrink because so much seems possible for me right now. Things that I have been working for are right in face, but a part of me wants to just shrink because I am comfortable. I became comfortable with fighting and with the thoughts of giving of up. I became friends with being disappointed, but now God is wanting to call forth the f