The Power of Stillness: Connecting with God

What happens when we are able to get still and know that He is GOD?

“be still and know that I am god”.-Psalms 46:10

Being still is more than just not moving; it is accompanied by its most delicate partner of being quiet. It provides us the opportunity to get off the hamster wheel of life. To stop perpetuating the chaos. To stop moving in all directions… Also, be still and quiet in our minds and thoughts. To be still and quiet in actual movement. To be still in Spirit without anything or anyone pulling on us in any way. 

To know as in to perceive directly; to be acquainted or familiar with; to have experience of. Or having developed a relationship with someone through meeting and spending time with them, as Oxford, and Webster’s define it.

To “know” God offers us an intimate experience in developing our knowledge and discernment of who He is. But as the “knowing” implies, we can only develop this by spending time and becoming directly acquainted with not only who He is in theory but also in developing our understanding and intimate knowledge of the many facets of His character and love. Yes, we learn this through our specified day-to-day activities. However, many miss the impact of being still with Him and seeking the knowing. It takes a lot more effort to be still in current times than it does to look back at a situation we’ve come through, and give God the nod of, ‘That had to be You’! 

To “be still and know He is God”, gives us something to anchor to. Now that we have stopped, we need to be anchored to something so a huge gust of wind from one of life’s storms doesn’t blow us in yet another direction. The knowing provides an anchor that facilitates peace, stability, and grounding. Most of us have a fear of the unknown; we don’t want to trust what we have no experience of. This knowing affords us a type of trust so deep it transitions us into a state of faith. So, the “knowing”, from this aspect, can demolish fear altogether. 

Meditating on the sovereign power of God puts everything into perspective & diminishes the power and control our negative thoughts have over us.

The greatest challenge we all face is “How do we become still?” What can we do individually to become still? To activate our focus on knowing and connecting by faith to the peace that HE IS GOD! 

I remember a particular day when I was spending time getting still so I could focus on the “knowing.” I was dealing with a lot in my life, and I was beginning to feel the weight of my troubles creating a burden in my soul, the place where our opinions, thoughts, attitudes, and decisions are formed. Whenever I become weighed down in this manner, it starts my descent into the darkness of thoughts and perceptions of myself. However, being aware of what happens to me when I am overwhelmed like this and because I do have intimate knowledge of who God is to me, I know when I need to be intentional about getting still. On this particular day, I took some time to stop. Quieting my space first. Then I quieted my movements, got comfortable, and still. 

Then, the process of quieting my mind began, which takes patience if there is much internal noise. In these moments, my thoughts are some of the loudest, sometimes accompanied by the opinions of others. I recalled one of my favorite affirming verses from Jeremiah 29:11, “…I know the plans and thoughts I have for you… plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster…” I meditated on that verse, repeating it softly over and over in my mind. As I meditated, the truth of that verse began to speak louder and became the only thing I heard and was focused on. One of the most precious blessings God has created within us is our imagination. We can imagine a heavenly-type place while we meditate on His words. My heavenly place is void of clouds and a man with a white beard. My heavenly place is a place of peace. It sometimes has grassy meadows, vibrant colors, fragrant joy, and life-giving waters. A place where I can breathe in love and exhale grief. 

I saw the King, and we walked, and He talked and showed me things about myself. I became so overwhelmed to tears at this moment because before I could hear anything that was said, I could feel an overwhelming amount of extravagant love encompass me! As He poured out His love all over me, my dark thoughts began to stir up to remind me of things I had done in the past. The not-so-honorable things. It was bringing forth feelings of shame. Suddenly, I felt like I heard the Spirit of God quickly say, ‘Not here Daughter, they have no power here in My presence!’ And just like that, I watched them diminish as fast as they came in. I wept deeper as I looked in awe. That day, I learned that when I am feeling like I’m slipping down into the darkness of what wants me to be bound and enslaved, all I have to do is be still and know that in the presence of God, I am free, safe, protected, and full of peace and joy. Nothing can touch me there, but what is Holy. It is up to me to seek this piece of heaven’s affection for me and to carry it with me at all times. 

That is how I activate and participate in “be still and know that I Am God!” The rest is His grace He blesses us with. Practicing this method of calm and peaceful surrender regularly will not only change our perspective of ourselves, as we still and calm the noises of life. It can potentially impact every environment we enter into and affect how we interact with those around us!

You can find your way to stillness and knowing, too. All you have to do is set aside time and make yourself available to the stillness. How you choose to do that for you is your process; there is nothing to it but to try it out. May you be filled to overflowing with the knowing that He is good, He is God. He is for you and offers you the greatest love, peace, and protection you will ever encounter!

With Love, Shaherah

Prayer: God, thank You for the peace in Your powerful presence. Help me to quiet my mind and my life for a moment so I can pause and be still with You. I am open to whatever You want to show me. Renew my mind, and reveal truth. Help me to be refreshed in Your oasis of love. –Amen

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. -NIV

Uniquely You!

“There is a crown there which nobody’s head but yours can ever wear. There is a seat in which none but yourself can sit. There is a harp that will be silent till your fingers strike its strings…”

Charles Spurgeon

We live in a world where it seems every time we turn around there is something or some ad campaign trying to tempt us into being someone who we were not designed to be. Subliminally sending the message that we are not enough with what we have or being who we currently are. You ever notice that? Buy this car, get these clothes, get this body! Or if you are under the deception of the “A” reels of social media, it can cause you to begin to question, compare and even covet someone else’s life!

“Oh look at them. I wish I could do that. Why am I not… Why don’t I have”.

It can really get out of control. At the end of scrolling you can feel a little lower in spirit than you did before you took any of that in. I want to remind you to take control of your focus and be uniquely you!

I have a friend I call KD, that I love and admire so much! She always shows up as herself she has a style and a flow that lights up a room. It lights me up when I see her coming. She totally embraces and celebrates the exclusivity of her being. As women especially, it is so important that we are comfortable in what makes us who we are. The world around us is healthier when we are intentional about maintaining a healthy view of ourselves and show up with confidence in it. When we try and fit into a mold not made for us, because we want to impress others & appear different than who we actually are, our insecurities will actually speak louder than the lie of the statement we think we are deceiving others with.

One thing about my friend KD that she may not know is that I need her to be herself. I need her to show up exactly as who God made her to be. Why? Because she inspires me! She unknowingly holds me accountable to standing firm in me being uniquely me. Fact is there is no shortage on insecure, inauthentic people, and being in their presence for a while, makes me really treasure someone like my dear friend KD. Someone secure in who she is that appreciates my authenticity and uniqueness too!

So if I may encourage you, being the unique you is a powerful position that only you get to hold in this life. It’s ok if you’re still not sure yet what all that means for you. If you are still finding your way within yourself. Just be intentional about it. Seek the truth of who you are, who you were created to be, and show up as that. Unapologetically, unabashedly, standing firm with love, and light up this world with your presence! There are people around you who want a relationship with that you, not the synthetic version. Don’t be afraid to cast your cares to God, about all the different and special parts of you, especially the ones you just don’t understand. He made no mistake when He created you. Period! You never have to pose as someone you think you should be for acceptance or inclusion. Those who are meant to be in relationship and connection with you will. There is purpose in every one of those connections too. The same is true for the ones who have been granted a specifically timed season in your life. When seasons over, please, let them go Beloved. Trust, it will effect who you become when you hold on to things that have run their course too long. Because no matter who stays or goes, when you are intentional about knowing you and just being (remember you are a human being, not a human pretending) who you were made to be, that’s all part of God’s plan and purpose for your life. That purpose is special and exclusive to you, for those you will encounter in this life. So do your part, and just be.

I celebrate who you are and who you are not! I join you in loving you where you are RIGHT NOW! You are God’s love manifested! Find some way to make your day beautiful and see others nourished from the overflow!  -Shaherah

A special note for Moms: Please always remember that although your children may be small, they are sponges. Soaking up every behavior and hanging on to every word we say. Especially our daughters, who may identify even more with us. Make it a habit to be mindful of how you speak about yourself in front of them at every age bracket. Your self sabotaging talk, albeit unintentional, may have unintended consequences. It can lead that sweet young lady in your life down a very long and dark road of misplaced self worth and lack of self love. Many young women who struggle with body image and feelings of worthiness, begin their first battles in their mind at a very early age. If we constantly nit pick ourselves and how we look, we are inadvertently teaching them by demonstration to have these same unhealthy, unproductive associations with their own bodies. Associations that will effect relationships they have not only with themselves, also with other women, as well as their romantic relationships. So let us be mothers, aunties, friends, and loved ones intentional about not diminishing our uniqueness and value, but ready to celebrate and honor the truth of what is well and precious about us being the only one like us!

God, Thank You for the intention and care with which You created me. The time it took for me to be so uniquely designed was nothing short of a miracle. Forgive me for the days that I have not been able to see me and all that I am, as Your divinely created masterpiece. Help me to see myself the way You do, and to walk confidently in who You have called me to be. Teach me how to love myself through and through, from the inside out and to believe that I am loved and beautiful just as I am. – Amen

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Healing Stages

Healing happens in stages. As you breathe through your process may you embrace more peace, new hope, and calming perspective…

Wow God, you want us Whole and Healed…

But not a minute before it’s time. There is a divine time for everything, just as Ecclesiastes states.  It’s all about the process. The progression. The promise. God has a meticulous and precise way He moves when it comes to our healing. He purposefully bring things to us. Allowing old the old unmanaged issues to surface. With such unmanaged issues God brings the provision alongside them to facilitate the new place that we will one day call our healing of them. We may find it many seasons after the initial incident occurred, that we are prepared to finally step into a safe place to begin to allow those things to have a voice and support.

As tough as it may be for us to begin traveling the road to face these hurts and traumas again, the space between is needed so that they don’t further break us, or worse break us all over again. The pain this time is more a catalyst towards our healing because we have had time to associate to it differently than before. The shock value has changed. We have space to allow it to be what it was. We are better equipped to handle looking it right in the face to begin examining all that it is, all the places it has been with us and all it touched in our lives. The beauty of this divine timing is that God will place people in our lives that may not have been there during whatever happened, but are here now to help us understand, place things into perspective, and walk with us into wholeness and healing.

Cheering for you as you walk out your healing journey, as I continue walking out mine! -Shaherah

Thank You Holy Spirit for your gentle way that you comfort and advocate for us in all these moments of healing and wellness. Sometimes you are advocating to the grown woman or man in us for the little girl, little boy, in us…

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Work Wit’ It!

One evening the fam and I were entertaining some dear friends at our home. We were playing a game we have affectionately renamed, or re-pronounced Sa-Quan-Sey! It’s actually called Sequence, but we “extra” so… If you are familiar, this is a game of strategy to get a sequence of 5 chips all in one row. You can play as an individual against your opponents or if you have more players can play teams. One of the rules of the game does not allow talking across the board to your teammates. Everyone has to be paying attention to the moves each one makes to see where to make the next best move. You can block and remove  your opponents chips, so you must be watching. When playing teams, once there are two row sequences that team wins! So there we were playing along and it was my turn. I wanted desperately for my team to see what I was doing so they would not miss the opportunity my move provided, and since no talking or pointing out the obvious moves, I did the next best thing. I tried to sneak and under my breath, and sing in the late great Aaliyah, Rock The Boat fashion, ‘Work wit’ it’! No sneak, busted! My girl on the other team, was like “really”? Everyone erupted in laughter, as they called me out for trying to be clever…  Hey we had taken a couple “L’s”, I had to do something!!

In this moment we were just playing a game and having fun. In life isn’t it true that sometimes you are put in situations, that you have to learn how to quietly tell yourself to ‘Work wit’ it’! There are days that one unforeseen thing can happen and cause us the need to re-strategize our next move. Life isn’t guaranteed to move in our preferred sequence. Oddly enough when we are faced with a moment like this, that seems to throw us off target, or away from what we perceive as the path we were so easily traveling, we tend to get all discombobulated for a minute or more. But I have found, after experiencing a handful of out of sequence situations in my life, they were actually right on target. I had to perceive them under the right mind position, which usually came after a sequence of a few more life moves, then I could see aaaahhhh, this didn’t throw me off. It actually propelled me into a different  and more pertinent direction! A life strategy beyond my control, but under divine control.

When the option presents itself to ‘Work wit’ it’ I’m not suggesting that we don’t pause for a min to allow for processing of the shift. Whatever it is, we always need to process, gather ourselves, plant our feet and steady ourselves for the next move. We simply need to be sure we don’t get paralyzed there. Our teammates are counting on our ability to adjust and keep going. Teammates can be our children, husband or wife, mom, dad, siblings, a friend, or coworker, our community. Whomever is in your life to whom you have responsibility, is counting on you to be able at some point to readjust so that you can be ready to make the next move! The great thing is that being taken out of our chosen perceived sequence, does not have to completely derail our path. We may even get to create a different and usually more relevant to who we are becoming, way to move. Nothing in our lives says divine appointment or assignment like a unexpected shift in circumstances. So let’s do our best after the processing, to find our way to make it work, and Work wit’ it!

You got this. It’s not necessarily a set back. It could be a set up for the win up ahead! -Shaherah

Prayer: God thank you for your divine wisdom and detailed orchestration of my life. Help me to always be able to adapt, overcome, and improvise when my path gets re-routed. Make the tools I need to work with any situation that presents, clear. I know I may not always understand why, but I want to be able to accept the pertinent intervention, from your loving all knowing hands. Amen.

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Gratitude & Thanksgiving

There are many ways we can live a life of gratitude and thanksgiving. While these two expressions are often used interchangeably they do have two different points of focus. 

Gratitude is defined by Merriam-Webster as, a feeling of appreciation or thanks. 

Thanksgiving is defined as, a public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness; a prayer expressing gratitude.  

So one is connected to an overall feeling of appreciation to anything or anyone. The other is directly connected to divine celebration of goodness, especially through prayer. 

Since prayer is simply when we address God and make our petitions or requests known, living daily in a place of thanksgiving should be a relatively easy act. We don’t need anything extra to speak to our creator. It doesn’t require anything more of us outside of us. And we can do it anytime, any where. Same with gratitude. I often say ‘gratitude directly effects our attitude’. It’s all about perspective and how we choose to perceive things as they occur. Practicing gratitude daily has a way of cleaning up our attitude and refocusing our attention. 

Have you ever been around a person who always seems to bring up the negative things that are happening in the world and around them? They spend most of their conversation retelling the dramas of the news, or the workplace, or other gossip. I know I have been in the presence of that person before. I may have even been that person at a space in time. I recall saying to someone one day, we have been talking for 20 minutes and everything that has come out of you has been a negative. What was something that happened today you can be grateful for? Crickets. The point is, we all have things we can point to and say this went wrong or this is not going well. Or things we are still dealing with further back in our past that may still carry a sting or make us feel broken or cynical. Maybe things we don’t understand that have happened. But we still have a choice. We can exchange the narrative from one filled with doom and gloom, to one of light and acceptance.  To put our focus not only visually, but in thought, on how and what we speak, and on a deeper level, our heart posture to be focused on daily gratitude and thanksgiving. 

I remember a time when I was going through a set of extremely unfavorable events. There was nothing but hurt and brokenness all around me. Things were just not going well. I was crying everyday and not able to pull out of it. I read a book called You Can Heal Your Life, by Louise L Hay. This book talks about the power of our thoughts and how we speak and think over ourselves plays a part in keeping us either stuck in a diminishing unhealthy pattern or liberates us into living free and full. I began to do the work to start to turn my thoughts around and eventually my entire attitude and how I was showing up in my life. Once I began on the journey so many windows of peace and love started to open up in my life. My journey brought me to a deeper understanding of who God is and what He says about me. That I can move from a victim mentality to a victor mentality because of His love and purpose in my life. Understanding the actual moments when I was someones victim, I can reject from becoming a burden of a life sentence. I learned how to disempower that situation and activate my power as a survivor through healing. The tools and clarity the Bible offers on the subject are unmatched.  Yes it has taken time, and I’m not yet a walking gratitude journal. I am however, intentionally focused on how I think, speak over myself, and release the unfavorable and hurtful things after I have processed them, holding on to the true, lovely, admirable, honorable, pure, excellent & praiseworthy things just like Philippians 4:8 has taught. These things I choose to think of often. 

So what can we do to start living this life of freedom with gratitude and thanksgiving? It starts with our mindset. I often pray God, please continue to transform me by renewing my mind. 

We can also start changing the way we recall our daily happenings and the perspective from which we share them.

Remembering that not everything is happening “to us”, victim position, but most of the time it’s  “for us”, victor position changes things. 

Forgetting the “I have to, had to”, go to work, ungrateful position, and having the awareness to say “I get to, got to” go to work, help my mom, go buy groceries, keeps us speaking from a place of gratitude and thankfulness. When we simply change the way we talk about even the most remedial things in our life, we begin to train ourselves to live in gratitude. 

As long as we are thankful/grateful for the many things that God is doing for us, most of which we do not get to see. We can actively live in thanksgiving.  Grateful for what is happening “for” us, even if it is shift in your job status, or a relationship break up. And ALWAYS thankful for what we “get” to do, because some can’t afford groceries, your mom is not going to walk this earth forever, and there are people who could benefit from an income even more than you because of their deplorable living conditions. We can push through to our victories and healing. We can come to the understanding that just being able to be in the struggle sometimes has a way of being its own victory.  And PRAISE HIM all along the way…. My first act of thanksgiving that I start every day with, is when I open my eyes in the morning. I thank God for keeping me through the night and allowing me to see another day, because as long as I have breath… you already know. My last act of thanksgiving comes just before I close my eyes to sleep. I thank God no matter what happened that day, if it was troublesome or unfavorable, or whatever, I thank God for bringing me through to the possibility of getting another chance to do more tomorrow. And throughout my day I am able to be grateful especially for the little treasures of life and from there it just multiplies… 

It all begins with having the presence of mind to commit to yourself daily, too slowing down enough to begin to examine your thoughts and see how you are perceiving your day, situations and others around you. From there you can start to remove, diminishing, dishonoring, negative thoughts each day. The thoughts that diminish and dishonor the goodness of God in you, and them. Choosing to seek the one honoring, excellent, admirable, thing about that person, or yourself in the situation. Sometimes it’s a “Thank You God, for sustaining me through this…” See how you experience your life changes as you grow forward. Peace, joy, love, light, freedom, thankfulness will be evident.

I love you and I’m grateful for the purpose of your life in this world!

~Shaherah~

How are you going to be intentional in your gratitude and thanksgiving walk this year? 🙏🏾💜

Prayer: Father God, thank you for helping me to keep my eyes focused on you and giving me yet another opportunity to choose how I show up in my own story. Through your Spirit I am reminded of what is good. You are good. Continue to transform me from the inside out by renewing my mind, & my thoughts. I give you authority over my tongue, so that you may restrain, check, and guide the words I speak about myself, others, and situations I experience. Forgive me when I have surrendered my thoughts, attitude, and dialogue to a less than honorable position. Thank you for your continued pursuit of our relationship. Thank you for the healing that comes as we go together. I want more of you! Manifest your love in me so deep that I walk in the joy of you daily.

It is so!

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A Holiday Prayer for The Lonely

Although it may be cold, and even dark in the deep spaces of your heart this season, you have not been forgotten.

Breathe Beloved…

God is near to the broken hearted. May you find yourself in a blanket of peace and love as you continue to exhale breath by breath. May an Angel of light ignite a flicker of hope, and a reminder that although the sorrows may be much, joy is on the horizon. God’s Plan.

Amen.

Sadly, It’s not the most wonderful time of the year for everyone. We have brothers and sisters who are surrounded by sadness, grief, loss, depression, anger, trauma, pain… Fighting each day to just breathe, as they participate in the world that continues to whirl around them. Trying to make it through the day, the moment, and it is actually painful. The struggle for footing is real. Maybe that person is you, or it was you in another season. Feeling like the world around you had not even noticed that you were still crying, caving, dying slowly on the inside. They did not pay attention to the lifeless words you spoke. Nor did they realize how deep in the darkness you actually were or maybe still are.  I know what that feels like, and let me say I’m sorry for how that affects your thoughts of your worthiness here, because you do still have value in the midst of it all.

When I lost my father many seasons ago, the last thing I had the strength to do when the holidays inevitably rolled around, was to make my ‘Yuletide Gay’. It’s not that I was alone, there were actual people around me. Like physical breathing bodies, I mean I wasn’t in complete isolation. But they seemed to be in a different heart space. Ever been in a room full of people and felt so lonely you could hardly breathe? That part. I actually loathed that time of year. I had deep needs and one was just the need to feel anchored to something that didn’t hurt. And what made it worse or better or worse, was I had a little set of eyes looking to me for ‘holly jolly’ direction. I had no idea which way was up let alone where to find some holiday ‘cheer’. I didn’t want to participate in any of it. As a matter of fact, it would be several christmases before I felt like participating again. I did the best to smile on cue, laugh when others were laughing, and sneak off any chance I could to the nearest bathroom for a silent cry releasing the built up hurt and pain…

As much as I wanted to give up, and was battling that all too familiar voice telling me that I and everyone else around me would be better off if I in fact did, something kept a small tab on my heart. Something like a little gentle nudge that when I became overwhelmed to earth shaking anxiety attacks, would comfort me. I can’t really explain or describe it, all I know is as I have matured I have come to know it was the Spirit and voice of God in me. Turns out that entire time God was right there with me. In my pain. My anger. In my struggle to continue doing the day to day thing again and again. God with me…Emmanuel himself gently loving me through the darkness into the light. It took some time for me to truly recognize it as God, as I had not met that part of His character yet, but I know Him now! 

My prayer is that if you are currently walking a similar season out that you will come to the knowing that as much as you feel alone, you are not. Lonely maybe, alone NEVER! I pray you make it to the end of this day, and wake up tomorrow with just a teaspoon more of strength to give it a try again, and again. And again. And again. Because what I know is that God is faithful to his children, and like any great father when their child hurts, He cares for them. Psalms 56 says “you’ve stored my many tears in your bottle-not one will be lost.”-TPT So with that may you understand that as you breathe you are loved, cared for, and the creator of the universe sits with you in your hurt dark places, softly ministering love and healing. He will send Angels of light to deposit hope in you along the way, until you can consistently stand firm again. For now it’s ok to feel what hurts because pressing it down can have a devastating release as it inevitably makes it way out. So grieving is necessary and healthy. Seek help of others, doctors, therapists, they are all gifts from your Heavenly Father, to assist you in your emotional wellness you don’t need to carry the weight of the season on your shoulders all by yourself. Especially now that you have a new perspective that Love is manifesting inside and will not leave you or let you down. Love never fails, and won’t let you fail either. As long as you have breath you are still in God’s plan.

I love you and I’m praying for you.. -Shaherah

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Seasons Change

Isn’t it so incredible how the seasons change? Being in Cali I don’t live in an area where we get definitive changes in the seasons, but I do make it a point to travel to places where I can experience this beautiful gift from God. I sit in awe and wonder like how do the trees know and how do the animals the birds know, and everything in nature seems to transition peacefully and with ease. There is no fight. The tree is not holding on to the leaves it will now loose to winter. The caterpillar, is not screaming in pain saying ‘no I don’t want to cocoon’. Even the reptile that sheds it’s skin is just like shake it off, shake it off.

We seem to be the only ones on the planet that resists change. Why? Why do we try and manipulate a natural progression of life? And we are so smart we manipulate it in all types of ways. In our youth we do things to appear older, our clothing, activities, we can’t WAIT to be old enough too, fill in the blank. We rush into things we haven’t prepared for. Marriage, jobs, positions, status. And when I say we haven’t prepared for, I mean we have not allowed the natural progression of allowing our life to prepare us for it. As a result we do things out of order. Which can really throw the cadence of our life off. Sometimes it makes things more difficult than it has to be. I have often thought we are too smart for our own good. But actually the only way we can avoid the pitfalls of our own self destructive behaviors, is when we come to a place of pause and become intentional about seeing our seasons for the blessing they are.

If a girl in her youth would really understand that not complicating your life too soon with a relationship and the things that can come with it, is actually a sign of maturity. Understanding the true dangers of dressing older than the season she’s in, and how much she isn’t prepared for the wrong attention it brings. If women in their latter years would be comfortably seated in acceptance and truly feel the embrace and encouragement of aging from all of society. The blessing in the levels of wisdom that only life experience can bring. If the beauty of what a well seasoned woman has to offer those around her was a thing, carrying great respect and honor. That she is celebrated, instead of every where she turns media is telling her she’s not it. Not enough, and in fact needs to begin reversing the natural gift of the process.

I look at my friend Jesus and He modeled the natural season changes so incredibly. He would not reveal or do anything before it was time. When people came against him with mistruths about who he was he didn’t stay and argue, he didn’t even entertain the lie, he just spoke a truth and he left. HE WALKED AWAY! JESUS WALKED AWAY, usually to go pray! Talk about boundaries. But when it was His time to complete what he came to complete at first he did what any of us may do. He asked can we, kinda, do something else? (That’s the ST, Shaherah Translation, lol) Then He accepted that this was not about him it was about the progression of the season, the assignment, and the timing. That it was not for him to manipulate or control. It was about the mission and the call He was here for.  He may have been trying to hold on but he let go and let God.

There is power in us being able to surrender our seasons to God. To let go when it’s time to let go. To stay when we aren’t ready to advance yet. To say good bye, hello, and see you later all within the rhythm of our own lives. Now I haven’t been perfect at this but in the past few years I have been starting to surrender and respect season changes. And what a difference it has made in my peace holding its position in my heart. I am more intentional now than I have ever been in seeing my seasons and transitions for what they are.

If I may encourage you, whether you are still in your teens or a little further deeper into your seat of life, or in your golden years, surrender to the seasons. Keep your heart and mind open to when change comes and surrender. Try each time to put up less and less of a fight. Embrace where you are, I promise you there is treasure in it. Delicious fruit for you to eat and share with others, now and for a later time. Because as long as we live there will be change. Feel it, don’t manipulate it. When it feels good enjoy it. When it hurts acknowledging it, so that in time you can heal. When it is time to say good bye do so with blessing and love for yourself and move on. It’s all part of God’s plan. Nothing is forever here, not even life. So give yourself a little grace, and receive God’s mercies that are new every morning as you walk through seasons that bring about change. We can also be a piece of the solution, so always do your part to encourage someone through their transitions of change. You might be the only encouragement they will hear to accept this natural progression of life. Be bold. Tell them as I will tell you right now “You are beautiful, whole, and loved just as you are, right NOW”!

With love, Shaherah

Prayer: Father God, thank you for always being available to us. Help us with our surrender. Help us to take our hands and fingers off situations so that we may stay in rhythm with the movement of your kingdom. Remind us daily through your Spirit that change will come, and we can bring our fears, concerns, and questions to you and be blessed. Teach us how to do the season change and how to let go to let you be you! Amen.

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Manifest

Manifest to make evident or certain by showing or displaying. 

Synonyms: reveal, show, display, expose, demonstrate, communicate, declare.

Hebrew: cry out, discover, find, find out 

Latin: “caught in the act” evident, obvious, convicted, clear, open.

Living a life to declare and expose God’s love every day, is to live connected to the Spirit that is in and around us.

Manifesting is all about seeing and believing. You have to believe enough to be able to see, otherwise you may dismiss what you see as coincidence or pass it by altogether. When we believe, we can see what is before us.

Gods love for you is tangible, and has always been with and in you. No matter what you may have been taught, or how your life is going, you can believe He loves you just as you are right now! His Love is demonstrated constantly through various means. We just need to know where and how to see…

-Shaherah

Prayer: Father help us to see you in all our experiences past, present and future. So that we can believe what you say about us, that we are your ‘chosen masterpiece, set apart’ for your glory. Help us to be intentional in seeking you daily, and with the confidence of knowing when we have been found. Through your Spirit remind us that no matter what it looks like we are deeply loved, treasured, and free. That you have a plan for our life that is of hope and a future, and it is good. Forgive us when we have allowed the pain and uncertainty of our circumstances to hold our attention over the truth of your power as sovereign over all things. We thank you for all you continue to reveal because you love us, and ask you to teach us how to love ourselves like you do, so that we may love others like you have asked. Amen

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Love

Love is the most powerful force we have. Love is what our spirits were created from. Love is the very source of our existence. 

God is love, it’s not only what He does, but it is the fullness of His character.  Since we were created in His image we carry this in our DNA. Our natural sense when we are born is to love. Ever witness a new born baby looking into the eye of it’s mother? Love expressed without words. Hate is taught, learned, projected upon. NO ONE IS BORN HATING, PERIOD. Throw a heavily weaved blanket of love over hate and it will break it down and dispel it every time. Yes it’s a process, but not impossible. Even the animals know how to love.

We have two responsibilities in manifesting love. One is to give it, the other is to receive it. It’s really astounding how many people have difficulty with the latter. But this is our mission in life. To love and be loved. 

Love can only be authentic to release it’s power. Love covers and protects. Love is intertwined with acceptance. It changes the entire atmosphere. It’s roots go deep and wide. Actions and deeds rooted and seated in love will often produce the most positive outcomes. 

And because love is the most powerful force, we have so many ways in which we can display, reveal, honor, express and be it! Does it get misused or reduced to common or dismissed? Sure it does. Do people try and manipulate with it, use it as a means of control, and otherwise pervert it’s meaning? They do that too. But in those situations the truth will always be revealed. Because love is the current, the frequency of the earth. The misuse of it will not stand. It will be exposed in those situations because that is the nature of love. It exposes, it heals, it is a defender of truth. Love is the truth. Hate is a lie. 

The greatest thing we get to do in our lives here, is to choose. We get to choose to be love’s advocate, love’s voice, love’s song, love’s witness, & love’s representation. We get to choose often. We get to choose daily. We get to choose for them and for us. It’s easy to love. It’s easy to respect love. Whilst it’s opponent hate takes a whole lot to perpetuate. Hate is exhausting, depleting, and requires much thought as it is not a natural vibration of our soul. 

The more we allow love to drive and to be on the throne of our hearts, the stronger and more powerful we become, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and believe it or not, physically. The beautiful beginning of love in each of our lives, is it really does start with loving ourselves first. When we love ourselves, who we are, our bodies for what they do every day, and accept our uniqueness, we place a value upon ourselves that no one can diminish. That includes loving the God that is in us. When we do we become more discerning of love and it’s authentic nature. We can see imitation love that is rooted in deception that usually has an agenda, from a mile away.  Love that is manufactured or fabricated can not stand. It’s an imposter to truth, a fake, a phony, and it will always be exposed. 

So what will you choose today? I choose love. It’s who I am. Who I was created to be. It’s the life I live. And yes sometimes it does hurt when it’s not received or reciprocated, but even in that I have to choose to be wise and accepting of others capacity to give and receive love. I can’t allow anyone’s use or misuse of it to alter who I am to be in love. Love comes from the source, God. God is love. So when those encounters of love dishonored or misuse fall upon my heart, I return to the source and allow Him to help me with healing and pressing on through it, so that I can love even harder and deeper than the last time.  A dear friend once posed the question “does love hurt?” and in a small sweet voice she said “just ask Jesus.” It is the call of our lives to release God’s love, to manifest God’s love in ourselves and others, so we experience heaven on Earth… 

May I encourage you? God has deep, intense, passionate, affection for you. He has an unyielding personal attachment to you. And because of it you are and will continue to be blessed! He calls you His. So manifest that as you walk today. And if you just thought ‘not me, I’ve done things’ YES YOU! He already knows and His Love covers it all!! Hope that offers you peace and a hope that no person could ever give. 

Be well friend, walk blessed, because you are!

Meet the Author

-Meet our Author-

My name is Shaherah White. I am a Daughter, a Sister, Mother, Wife, Friend, Mentor and a Lover of Love. Some of the things I have been known to do is sing, cook, write, encourage and love with my whole heart.  I am a believer and follower in the life and teachings of Jesus. My days are saturated in prayer and conversations with God. I learn and practice daily what it means to be obedient to what God asks and leads me to. I am far from perfect at it, but there is some evidence of my maturity. I share my love with others through all things and various communications, in a transparent and honest way. Authentic is my first choice of how I show up in a relationship. 

I’ve always loved books. Reading is how I have connected to the world, and in a way discovered myself when I was young. I began writing prose, poetry, and journaling around the age of 14 as a way of what I came to understand as coping with devastations and trauma I had experienced. My form of release. It was God’s plan and mercy I suppose…

The thing I love most about my life is that it doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be mine. I believe that our lives were chosen and designed by God the creator of all things. That He created us in His image, gave us His Spirit, His heart, His Son and one of the greatest things was the right to choose Him, the same way He chose us. And HE MAKES NO MISTAKE! YOU ARE NOT A MISTAKE. I don’t care what “they” said to you. There was no mistake in choosing our parents. Our geographic locations, how we had our start, or even the period of time we were born in! He had a plan when He gave us breath here in this world. Each and every one of those plans included physical and spiritual assignments. And once we took our first breath of air it was go time! The first thing I want you to know and remember is that as long as you have breath in your body, that plan that He created you for is still in effect! 

I have lived a very colorful life thus far. Through traveling various lands and hearts, love, pain, rainbows and storms, I have been shaped. I’m still here, so I know God has more for me. More to learn, to grow through, to love on, and to believe in.  Sometimes it has been in hind site, that I have been able to see that the very thing I went through or experienced was all about revealing an undeniable truth that I am and will always be God’s love manifested. Or what I walked through and came out of on the other side was actually guided by God’s love manifested. And it is become so evident that others need to be reminded, or even exposed for the first time to His love manifested in their lives.

So we write. When I say ‘we’ I mean the Spirit and I. My hope on this journey is that your heart will receive the seeds of hope, love, and encouragement planted through these perspectives. That you will be moved to seek more in your own relationship with God, & show up with a little more intention. Some things I share may not always have the fuzzy feels, they may challenge and stir something inside. But it’s all love. Love is my reason, period. God’s Love, and my love for people to walk healed, in authenticity, confidence, and the knowing that they have great value and blessings to deposit daily. So may you receive the intended blessing and share with others…

God’s plan.

Be well Friend! -Shaherah

Prayer: Thank You Father for loving us so much that You would use each of us as messengers of Your love and faithfulness on display. That not one of the challenges, traumas, or sufferings we have gone through are in vain. Continue to empower each of us through Your spirit with courage and boldness to share with our fellow brothers and sisters our stories of triumph, and survival. May we display and reveal Your glory day after day! Amen.

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