Beauty in Preparation

The most amazing thing happened this week. I delivered one of the best talks of my career thus far. What made it so remarkable in my eyes was the preparation that I put in before hand. For a couple of weeks I rehearsed and re-rehearsed my speech committing it to memory – bible verses and all. By no means was my talk perfect, but the victory was in the delivery. I literally felt as though I had moved out of God’s way and given Him free reign to work.

Do The Work

I wish I could say I had the same faith during my financial trail as the woman in a story that my sister once told me.  The woman stepped out on faith in pursuit of her dream career. Like other testimonies I have heard, the result of her faith was not immediate reward. She instead fell on trying times. She was out of work for almost two years, but she kept believing and trusting God and now she is fulfilling her destiny, doing well financially and her trial brought her closer to the Lord.

I went through a financial trial where I was out of work for nearly one year. I expected God to use my many gifts and talents to make room for me (Proverbs 18:16). But that didn’t happen. (You are welcome to read the full story here). I have been trough a number of trials in my lifetime. And, although I face each with the same God, my response to each challenge and the way that I handle it is not the same, unfortunately. In this trial I was frustrated and felt betrayed. I was like the Psalmist in Psalm 73, “When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.” (Verses 21 & 22)

The True Test of My Faith – The Starting Point

Photo By: Khayla Williams

My sister told me the testimony of a woman who stepped out on faith in pursuit of her dream career. Like others testimonies I have heard, the result of the woman’s faith was not immediate reward. She instead fell on trying times. She was out of work for almost two years, but she kept believing and trusting God and now she is fulfilling her destiny and doing well financially.

Where Did it all Go Wrong…And Now What?

Photo By: Khayla Williams; Model: Taylor Jones

 
I made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior when I was in middle school. I loved Jesus, going to church, reading my bible and giving. When I got to college in 2001, I started attending a mega church. I thought it was the best thing that could ever happen to me. This church was very different from the church I grew up in. The pastor challenged my thinking and view of life and God and success. After three years of consistently being under the influence of this pastor’s teachings, my faith was derailed by messages of hope. Yes, hope. Let me explain.

The Promise is in the Presence

I got a good message out of church today that I though I might share. I cannot remember every point made by the preacher, but I did get the lesson that was intended for me.

Process

Photo By Khayla Williams

It is impossible to get my toddler to cooperate with me even when I am trying to give her what she wants. All she can see is the goal that she is after. She has no perception of, respect or concern for the process. Today, her goal was to go outside. She cried and fought me with all her strength to get through that front door. No matter how I tried to get through to her, she could not comprehend that I was giving her permission to do what she wanted. However, there are some things that must be done in preparation for her to go anywhere. 

The Perfect Person

(Photo By Khayla Williams)

I had this thought a long time ago. I figure I would share it with you because I still feel the same way. I think that our imperfections are what, in essence, make us “perfect” people. Why would I say that? Let’s think about it. There is not one person, besides Jesus Christ, who does not have any imperfections. Actually…let me take that back. It was prophesied that Jesus “had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him” ^a. So although he was a without sin, he actually was not “perfect” in the sense that we would use the word. He had physical flaws. When we encounter a person (celebrity or otherwise) who appears not to have flaws, we are taken aback. We wonder aloud or deep down inside what is really wrong with that person. “He/she cannot be perfect,” we say. Some would even go to great lengths to find that “Achilles Heal”. If there were a perfect flawless person, there would be something wrong that. So to have flaws, to make mistakes, to mess up sometimes, makes you normal. And that… makes you perfect.