BC (Before Christ)
September 19. 2019
I was talking to a few friends about our "BC" days (before we came to Christ) and it amazed me at how all our stories were so different! I sat there for a moment, as one of them jokingly teased me, Nicole what have "YOU" done?! All I could do was laugh because clearly they felt like their "BC" days were way worse than mine. So, I began to share about my "BC" days! No I never had sex, went to a club, drank/smoke but…. I KEPT ME A LITTLE BOYFRIEND! I was constantly in and out of relationships. As soon as I was done with one boyfriend, I was texting another guy. I was extremely insecure, and sad. I craved that attention from any and every guy even if though I knew they weren't God's best for me. It wasn’t until I was 22 years old, and I decided that I was going to stop looking for "love" and figure out who I truly was in Jesus. It became difficult for me, because as I got closer to Jesus, I started losing friends! My Friday nights became even more lonely, and I made up in my mind that I was going to cling to Jesus and never look back. Soon after, God blessed me to reconnect with my high school best friend and she was also seeking the Lord, and desired Godly friendships. We grew together in the Lord, and soon after, I was surrounded by other Godly friends and women of God who prayed for me, and poured into me. These women are now my sisters! What are you trusting God for? In that season, I didn’t understand. I knew I was hurting, insecure, lonely, and lost. I knew I needed more of Jesus because being a pastor's kid and going to church on Sundays became "the norm" and my soul was still lost. He looked down from heaven, and He saw me. He reached down, and He grabbed me, He loved me, and He helped me. He restored my heart, and my life! Here I am today, 26 years old and God has never ever failed me. My sister, He never ever will! Jesus is madly in love with you.
Decrease
November 25, 2019
As I prayed during my prayer time with the
Lord tonight, all I could feel in my heart and in the depths of my soul is “God
be glorified” it was my hearts cry that God be glorified in all that I say and
do. It’s not always easy to decrease our selfish desires, and ways but if we
want to truly live a life pleasing to God, He must become greater, and we must become less (John 3:30). In this, He will be glorified . Lately, I've been extremely careful in how I treat others in my work place. I realized that I won't be working here forever, and that God has something greater for me to do so I've started handing out little bags of encouragement! In each bag I put a few breath mints, a mini journal, and a scripture or encouraging word of some sort and I pass them out to all the fellow women managers that I work with. I want to sew a seed of God's love into their hearts so when I leave this place they'll remember that bag I gave them, and know that Jesus loves them and that He is real, and desires a relationship with them. Before God placed on my heart to do this, I dreaded coming to work! I had an attitude 50% of the time, and couldn't wait to go home. Then I was convicted, how am I glorifying God with my bad attitude? How can you lay aside your
selfish ways today and allow God to increase in your life ? How can He be glorified
in your life ? Maybe it’s by the way you talk to others, or the way you put Him first when you wake up in
the morning. We’re not perfect and doing some of the
things listed above may seem impossible! But I am confident that God is able to
help us lay aside our ways, for His ways. If we call on the name of the Lord,
He will help us and save us. My prayer for you today is that you will think of
ways that God can get the glory out of your life, and then act on it! May God
be glorified in you and through you. Always remember, He is madly in love with you!
Undistracted Devotion
December 31, 2019
As I was spending time with the Lord I heard a song come on my YouTube worship playlist. It was called, “Dove’s eyes” by Tasha Cobbs. It was such a beautiful song, and it really spoke to me! In one of the verses she states, “give me undistracted devotion for only you..” it really spoke to me because at the time, I was extremely distracted! Even in spending time with the Lord, my mind wandered to planning my wedding, my agenda for the next day, I got a text message, a social media notification! It just seemed like any and everything got my attention in that moment! But when I heard that verse, my mind became still. What does it mean to have undistracted devotion for God? What does it look, and feel like when we are with a loved one and they’re paying absolutely no attention to us. They’re on their phones, texting others, and etc. We become frustrated and start to feel unimportant, or unloved in that moment. Yes, we should not give God human like characteristics, but imagine how it must feel to Him when we’re so caught off guard or put other things before Him. For some, quality time is a love language, and they feel most loved when they are having quality time with the ones they love. I imagine that quality time is also one of God’s love languages! He is absolutely in love with us, and wants to have that undistracted time with us! I’m guilty of not always giving God my undistracted time! Let’s be better at giving God our undistracted and undivided attention in the year 2020, and beyond! How can you hold yourself, and your sisters in Christ accountable with this? Be open, and honest! Pray together, and encourage each other to run to the feet of God. Never ever forget, He is madly in love with you!