Monthly Archives: September 2015

Where is the source of your it is well statement?

Posted in Christians, Disciples of Christ, Guidance, Spiritual growth by

image

Some of the struggles that I face as a blogger who’s mission is to share the word of God, is allowing the spirit to guide me with the topics/post that are needed to help others. I have experiences in each of my post and that’s why I make sure I listen to God and how to bring it to you. This past week has been a struggle for me write one that because I truly allow God to lead my blog and that includes waiting on Him to share His wisdom with me in order to break it down to you. In between my post I ask God to reveal what my next post should be and I study the Bible and spend a lot of time with Him. Quite a bit of different topics crossed my mind but nothing pricked my heart like this topic. I’m not sure about you guys but whenever you try and share God’s word, the enemy tries to feed you distractions that are meant to block what is truly needed. When experiencing the closeness to God, that will allow you to hear His voice and trust only what He is saying to you. That is the source of my blog!

In my family I have challenged some (including myself) to really search our hearts and line it up with our speech/actions. For me the real results actually reaffirmed me and the path that I am on NOW. Years ago (not too long ago) my heart and actions were actually on complete opposite sides of each other. My heart was not right which led to a lot of my actions that went against the Word of God. I did not truly understand how much God loved me and what that actually looked like. The feeling that God punishes every time you mess up and no good things will happen when you do those things basically calling you a failure is what I held onto. I didn’t understand that in the midst of your sin, God’s love will never fail and because He loves you… He will never leave you. The enemy wants to keep your sinful identity and call you by your sin which makes you feel like you’re a failure and not worthy of Our Father’s Love. I fell victim to that lie for the longest time and I know that a lot of you are struggling with that as well. Don’t allow others to tell you that God can’t love you because you did XYZ. We all have a redemption story and it is worth sharing to help someone that is truly struggling with guilt, shame, pride and/or depression etc.

It. Is. Well. When you say that where does your confidence if any come from? Does it come from the security of your job making a certain amount of money? Does it come from just repeating it because you love to sing that beautiful song? Does it come from someone else telling you that everything is taken care of? Does it come from just reading it somewhere and able to recite it? OR does it come from in your heart of hearts that God has given you the confidence through Him that reassures you that in the midst of your trials and tribulations that IT. IS. WELL? Does it come from knowing truly what the L❤️VE actually looks and feels like in your life? Living it out and not just SAYING those “Jesus” phrases because that is what Christians should do. That mentality is very dangerous and before you know it, you are blinded by yourself and not understanding the whole word of God. That makes for a surface type of relationship with God which really means no relationship if you are honest with yourself. That ties back into your heart and what you believe about God’s love. That song is actually one of my favorite hymnals to sing and to be transparent and honest with you guys, all of those above questions about what the it is well statement means was my way of thinking and no thought or feelings of God’s love and security in Him was present. I praise God for the transformation of my way of thinking that flows from my heart and the identity and true love that I know exist. So in the midst of your test and trials, is your heart at peace knowing that God’s love for you will never fail? Believing that He has your back and that you can look your trial in the face and with the confidence of God and say IT.IS.WELL!!!

Do a heart ❤️ check and allow God to show you the true source of your IT IS WELL with my soul statement. IS IT FLOWING FROM YOUR HEART OR AN OUTSIDE SOURCE?

I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW WHAT YOUR INTERPRETATION OF THE PICTURE IS VIA TEXT, EMAIL OR COMMENTING BELOW!!!       Sweetinspirationsbycandyce@gmail.com

‘TIL NEXT TIME MY LOVES!!!!!!!!!!!!

Advertisement

I’m going to make an example out of you!

Posted in Devotionals, God's word by

image

I know that you have probably heard that ever so haunting phrase “I’m going to make an example out of you”. For a lot of us, that phrase carried a fearful and demeaning tone/message that was associated with it. Whenever you got in trouble or did something that another person that was in authority disagreed with, they felt that a punishment should follow. That punishment would show other people not to make the same mistake or to not disobey their authority. Either way you look at it, there was something to learn.

The Scripture 1 Timothy 4: 11-14 MSG

11-14 Get the word out. Teach all these things. And don’t let anyone put you down because you’re young. Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity. Stay at your post reading Scripture, giving counsel, teaching. And that special gift of ministry you were given when the leaders of the church laid hands on you and prayed—keep that dusted off and in use.

So back to the title. In this sense of “making” an example out of you, God wants to use all of us as examples to this world to show how GREAT & LOVING & ALL POWERFUL He is. So when things occur in our lives no matter what age you are, be certain that He wants to use you as the perfect example of how God forgives and redeems us from our past. Being the perfect example is simply being who God created you to be. No matter what mess ups you have committed, God uses our MESS ups to be apart of our great MESSAGE. So do not be ashamed of them because we are redeemed!!

If you have any comments or questions please leave them in the comments or you can email me at sweetinspirationsbycandyce@gmail.com

Photo credits: CANDYCE D. I TOOK THAT PICTURE A FEW WEEKS AGO OUTSIDE AT THE MILLER OUTDOOR THEATRE.

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
‘TIL NEXT TIME MY LOVES!!!!!!!!!!

♡Posted by Sweet Inspirations by Candyce♡

Do you want the real deal or a knockoff?

Posted in Christians, Devotionals, Jesus Christ, Loving yourself, Purpose Driven life by

image

🚪🚪🚪🚪🚪🚪🚪🚪🚪🚪🚪🚪🚪🚪🚪 Settling for imitations of love are like all of these closed doors. You are dancing in the hallways of “bliss” & “happiness” only to realize that you don’t have the right key 🔑 to open any of those doors. All of those doors represent something different in each of our lives. For example, one door could represent a relationship that you have invested so much time and wasted energy that functions outside of the will of God. Another door could be a job that you have but it’s not stretching or growing you into your purpose. Or a door that was closed by God in order to protect you from what you thought you wanted. Whatever these closed doors represent to you is something that you are going to have to take to God in prayer and ask him to show you why they are closed.

When we settle for knock offs, we are telling God that we don’t deserve His best for us and that we are ok with whatever comes our way. If it doesn’t line up with God’s word then it is an imitation and we should have no part of that. Knowing your true worth and value has nothing to do with monetary values and materialistic views, it comes from knowing that Jesus died to save us from these knock offs that fill our hearts with lies.

Romans 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Lies that say you should do whatever you can while you can, you’re only young for a short while so do it, this person really loves you so accept it and love them back even if they are living contrary to God, your biological clock is ticking so hurry up and get a man/woman no matter what his/her view point is of God etc. And the list goes on and on of these imitations. So I’m asking you, do you know what true love is and what does that look like in your life? You have to be careful with those knock offs because they not only will lead to those closed doors everytime but heartache, stress, possible drugs and emptiness just to name a few. Trying to use those knock offs as the real deal will only lead to mediocrity and disappointments. There’s no way the hallway  “bliss” dance will ever supply you with the REAL love that God has for you.

His love will unlock those doors and will never be a knock off! I have been a victim of accepting the knock offs and dancing in the “blissful” hallway thinking that I was really enjoying life and “making things happen”. I had to learn what God’s love really meant and how that looked in my life. Accepting His real love will change your whole approach on life (relationships, attitudes, how you treat people, walking in your purpose, experience joy, eternal gain and kingdom building etc.) Walking through those doors will take you to another level in experiencing God’s love. He will never stop loving us no matter what BUT to understand and feel His love requires the imitations to be thrown out. When you love someone or something you naturally give your best and do not want to mess anything up. Give God your best and share His love to others so they can stop accepting the knock offs.

If you have any comments or questions please leave them in the comments or you can email me at sweetinspirationsbycandyce@gmail.com

Do you know what love means? ❤️

‘TIL NEXT TIME MY LOVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

♡Posted by Sweet Inspirations by Candyce♡

I wasn’t readyyyyy!!!

Posted in Loving yourself, Spiritual growth by

image

One of my favorite comedians is Kevin Hart. He has a lot of funny sayings and this one is one of my faves. Well anyways I thought that it would be perfect with this post because I definitely WAS NOT ready for love and Godly relationships.

Song of Solomon 2:7 (MSG) Oh, let me warn you, sisters in Jerusalem, by the gazelles, yes, by all the wild deer: Don’t excite love, don’t stir it up, until the time is ripe-and you’re ready.

As I read this scripture last week for a daily devotional, it hit me like a ton a bricks because I never understood why I would never be fully open and vulnerable while dating and vice versa. There seemed to be a wall up on both sides and an emptiness that would never become filled. My understanding of what true love was ❤️ and how to love was not something that I was really taught in details growing up. It was something that I saw on some occasions and mimicked but did not truly grasp it. I also did not love myself in the manner that God wanted me to and that really led to so many heartaches and disappointments. I got fed up with all of the of the dead end relationships and emptiness. Once I started desiring more of God by studying His word and understanding what love looks like, my heart began to soften up and began to be healed. My heart had to become broken in order for my transformation to begin. This was not a quick fix healing process because I was carrying sooooooo much baggage and didn’t even realize it. It’s taken YEARS to get to the point that I am at now. The thoughts about my past hurts don’t shake my emotions and feelings up like they did before. Understanding and being obedient to God’s word will help you make better decisions and will lead you down the right path.

Here are some tips to become open to God’s L❤️ VE:

SPEND TIME IN PRAYER THROUGHOUT YOUR DAY. ⌛⏰ 🙏

START A JOURNAL AND JUST SHARE YOUR FEELINGS AND THOUGHTS. 📖✒

SPEND TIME OUTSIDE LOOKING AT ALL OF GOD’S CREATIONS AND HOW HE PROVIDES FOR ALL CREATION. 🌞⛅🌹🌻🐒 🐶

SLOW YOUR LIFE DOWN & BE STILL. 🛀📵

PRAY FOR SIGNS MEANING PRAY THAT GOD WILL SHOW YOU WHAT YOU’VE BEEN PRAYING FOR. 🙏

LISTEN TO OTHERS. GOD USES OTHERS TO HELP US OR SEND COMFIRMATION.👂

TALK TO GOD AND SHARE YOUR HEART ❤️

APPLY WHAT YOU’VE READ AND LIVE IT OUT AND WATCH THE TRANSFORMATION OCCUR IN YOUR LIFE. 👀

SING THE SONG JESUS LOVES ME 🎤🎶🎶🎵🎵

Now back to the title I wasn’t readyyyy, God revealed to me that I was in no shape or fashion to be in a healthy loving Godly relationship before. I thank God for the time that He has given me to get my heart right and so I can have healthy relationships with everyone (friendships, church family, mentee’s, family etc.) I can tell a major difference in all of my relationships all due to God working in my life and changing my heart. As messed up as my “love” life was, God has used it to be able to share it with you guys to help you out whether you’re married or single. If you’re not healing from your past, you will continue to pour your junk into your new relationships. Take my advice and DON’T do it, it hurts the other person in the end and prolongs your healing and growth process! Be encouraged and continue to seek God in all that you do!  God will reveal when you are healed. If you don’t wait on Him more heartache and being outside of His plan for your life will continue to be the driving source of your self destructive life. It’s best to know if you are READYYYY by doing a heart check with God!

GOD TOOK MY 💔 BROKENNESS AND MADE ME 💓 WHOLE!!!

👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑  👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤  ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
‘TIL NEXT TIME MY LOVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

♡Posted by Sweet Inspirations by Candyce♡

Grabbing the hand of Jesus

Posted in Devotionals, God's word, Jesus Christ by

image

I wrote this post last night and sent it out to my message receiving crew and it was such a joyful feeling when I recieved several messages stating:

“I really needed that!” “Amen” “I was just praying and I really needed that”

Let me tell you how God is… If you don’t have a relationship with Him, please get one because He will lead and direct your life to where all you have to do is sit back and kick your feet up👣! I know God is leading my life and I’m being obedient simply by those responses from my crew.I am no where near them and have no idea what’s going on in their lives. But God does and he will use you as a vessel, if you let Him! Let God use you so He can get all of the GLORY 🙌

Mark 4:39 NIV

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

THINK ABOUT HOW YOU RESPOND WHEN STORMS COME IN YOUR LIFE. DO YOU START TO PANIC IMMEDIATELY? DO YOU GO DIRECTLY TO GOD FOR STRENGTH? OR DO YOU TELL GOD TO REMOVE IT RIGHT AWAY? DO SOME SELF REFLECTING AND PRAY 🙏 FOR STRENGTH TO GO THROUGH IT WITH HIM! THERE ARE REASONS FOR STORMS IN OUR LIVES, MAKE SURE YOU GET THE MESSAGE!

HAVE A BLESSED DAY!!

‘TIL NEXT TIME MY LOVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

♡Posted by Sweet Inspirations by Candyce♡

Mushroom production time 🍄🍄🍄

Posted in Christians, Disciples of Christ, Spiritual growth by

image

Those individuals that really know me, know that I am allergic to mushrooms aka fungi. So this post is rather interesting and I thought about this yesterday after seeing some small mushrooms sprouting in the front yard. If you know the science and significance of these fungi, you can begin to see where I’m going with this.

In our lives there’s a lot of things that are happening on the inside of us that no one can see at first. That’s the “birthing” phase of something great that God has planted inside of us to show the world. 🌍 The more we water and fertilize our life with God, the more our lives/inside will begin to produce mushrooms. Mushrooms are products of a healthy fertile soil and perfect environment. Are you producing any mushrooms 🍄🍄? Look for those areas of growth and transformation and those my friend are your MUSHROOMS!!!!

Some examples of evidence of mushrooms:
*better attitude
*grateful attitude
*witnessing to others
*blessings and Gods favor
*new positions and promotions
*joy in the midst of a storm

Keep producing them and showing them to the world so that man will glorify our Father in heaven. The perfect Scripture that ties in with this is Matthew 5:16 NIV

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Mushrooms need the perfect amount of light in order to grow. We are Christians use our light source which is Jesus to glorify God. So continue to work on your soil so that you can produce more of those intriguing mushrooms!!! If you aren’t producing mushrooms, try fertilizing your soul with the perfect amount of Son light and picking those choking weeds aka sinful lifestyles out.

So I guess I’m not allergic to this type of mushroom LOL!

‘TIL NEXT TIME MY LOVES!!!!!!!!!!!

♡Posted by Sweet Inspirations by Candyce♡

Do you see it? Take a closer look…

Posted in Are you listening, Christians, Disciples of Christ, Loving yourself, Spiritual growth by

image

Do others people see it in me? 🙈🙉
Do I see something different in myself? 👀
Am I allowing God to be the head of my life?

Well these are some questions that you should ask yourself when you start to question how far you have come on your journey with God. The IT that I am referring to is change in you that has taken place because you are allowing God to shine through your life. At times we get down on ourselves because we start to feel like we aren’t growing at a certain pace that we “feel” that we should be keeping with. I encourage you to stop ✋, take a deep breath and exhale those feelings. Those are those subtle attack 👊 methods that the enemy will make you believe. You will start to feel like you are going backwards instead of forward, you will be reminded of your past mistakes, you will start to compare yourself to others around you and look at their life, things will trigger old habits and thoughts that once kept you captive to your sin. Please be clear that these will come up when you are trying to grow. The enemy is not going to attack and fight if there’s no real competition to keep God’s Kingdom growing instead of his.

My dear brothers and sisters please look to God and be reminded of your journey thus far. Look at the change that has taken place whether it has brought you closer to God or sin has continued to keep you in bondage. Always look at the positive first and use that to motivate you to keep growing spiritually. Our sin should not keep us from reaching the full potential that God has placed in us. Take my word for it, it’s not worth it! We are all sinners BUT sin should not control our lives. Encourage others to see the positive change in their lives as well because we are called to be the light of the world! Sin = darkness

Matthew 5:14-16 MSG
“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

‘TIL NEXT TIME MY LOVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

♡Posted by Sweet Inspirations by Candyce♡

It’s time to reclaim your thrones

Posted in Christians, Purpose Driven life, Spreading the Gospel by

image

I will be honest, the thought of me ever being married use to scare me because I didn’t truly understand it and appreciate why God created it. Seeing so many different marriages around me break apart from an early age, left a bad taste in my mouth. Not knowing at the time what was going on inside of me, created the mindset of never let that happen to you Candyce and protect your heart. Which is exactly how I approached dating, I had no idea how to explain my actions of pushing guys away, filling those voids and not being vulnerable. I thought it was normal and ok because it was protecting me from what I didn’t want to happen. It’s ok to protect yourself right?!? Like I said in my other post, I met some amazing men but I was not in the right mindset that I should have been in to make it really work and vice versa. I’ve dated guys that were pretty much like-minded in that area which I now understand why we connected. We connected because our brokenness brought us together which created an unhealthy situation. Lots of lessons learned in that area.

It’s so funny how you never see these type of things during the areas of your life, but when you look back… all you can say is WOW THANK YOU GOD FOR THE MATURITY THAT YOU HAVE GIVEN ME!

I never viewed myself as a queen like royalty even though I was crowned Homecoming and Prom Queen. God was trying to remind me and show me how full of Royalty that I was and am. I was so blinded by that at the time and never truly understood the meaning behind being a King and a Queen. What are your thoughts on what a King and Queen is when it comes to how you act? The definition for King & Queen:

King a boy or man who is highly respected and very successful or popular.

Queen a person or a thing personified as a woman considered the best or most important of her kind.

Now lets tie those definitions back into God’s view of His children. We are all royalty because we belong to the Almighty God and Ruler. When we act less than our royalty ability to keep the Kingdom growing, we are showing the world that being a part of THE Royalty Family isn’t that great and worth living as Kings and Queens.

There’s two approaches/outlooks to this topic that came to me:

1. As singles we are called to be a part of the building up of God’s Kingdom just like married couples. We are still Kings and Queens. Our unity is not as one like it is when couples are married, but we are still royalty and are valued. Now, if it’s God’s will for you to become married you two should have the same thoughts and act as Kings and Queens do. This is the time to live out that you belong to THE KING OF KINGS and understand that He has a special purpose for you. You should become the ruler of your heart, body, words, mind and actions etc. with the power of God. That is why we are called Kings and Queens and we should rely on the KING OF KINGS to help us do that and serving only God!

2. When Kings and Queens are married their ruling should be full of purpose and God centered. It’s the unity that God designed so that His Kingdom could grow and reach more. He left specific instructions for marriage and families. As Kings and Queens united in marriage, the focus should be on serving each other and God. When you come together on one accord the power of God is stronger. He designed marriage to be a beautiful thing and we should appreciate and follow His instructions.

*I’m not saying singles can’t have a strong power* Once we come together on one accord, there is so much power that comes from God. We all have the Royalty blood flowing through our bodies but we have to choose to reclaim our thrones by living like it.

I wanted to share how my heart had to be changed in order to fully understand how I am supposed to act as Queen Candyce. I had to go through necessary experiences to reclaim my throne. I challenge you to reflect on your life and present to see if you are living like Royalty whether single or married!!! God has transformed my heart on the idea of marriage and the importance of having a purposeful marriage that includes an incomplete Kingdom Man & Woman that know that God is the center of our lives, and that working together is the only way God’s plan will be executed!!! But most importantly that my shift off of self and onto only God had to take place.My healing process was tailored made for me and has given me so much contentment in my circumstances. Every step in your healing process is vital to the plan and next phase that God has for you. I will be in prayer for you in this area whether you’re married or single, that you seek God first and that He is the very center of your life so that your ministry (your walk/life as a Christian with the Holy Spirit) will grow.

TIL NEXT TIME MY LOVES!!!!!

👸👑👸👑👸👑👸👑👸👑👸👑👸👑👸👑👸👑👸👑👸👑👸👑👸👑👸👑👸👑👸👑👸👑👸👑👸👑👸👑👸👑

♡Posted by Sweet Inspirations by Candyce♡

When Sunday comes!!!!!

Posted in Christians, Disciples of Christ, Jesus Christ by

image

There’s a gospel song that came to my mind called When Sunday comes . That song talks about how Jesus rose on the 3rd day with all power in His hands. No this isn’t a post about Easter Sunday, just incase you were wondering LoL.
Answer these few questions:

1. How do you feel physically, spiritually and emotionally on Sundays?
2. Do you have the same excited feeling on Sundays as you do on other days of the week?
3. What significance do you think Sundays play in your life?
4. Does Sunday have a special place in your heart?

Those are some questions that I want you to be honest with yourself so that you will start to understand the significance of Sundays.

Now back to the title of the song When Sunday comes ,that was such a powerful day that spoke volumes about the power of God. Jesus was sent to save mankind from sin and to make more disciples. So when that Sunday came, it caused such an uproar and feelings of comfort for those who already followed him. I said all of that and asked those questions to help you reexamine your life as a believer and disciple. Do you get that same feeling of excitement and power when you arise everyday about God’s glory? Do you treat each day as a powerful gift that God has blessed you with? Do you take time to read His word and apply it to your life so that you will live a glorious life? Are you growing through your tough times and being challenged by what you are reading in the bible? There will never be any real growth if you aren’t challenged and learning more. I encourage you to grow your faith and if you have backed away from God, I pray that you go back to church to be among other believers. He created church buildings for a reason and they are there to gather along with other Christians that are on the same journey that you are on to help encourage you. Don’t forget that you are the church and are called to assemble with other like minded believers.

Sunday is a GLORIOUS day… we will have another “Sunday” when Jesus returns and that my friends will be GLORIOUS!!! View everyday as that Glorious Sunday when Christ arose. What a marvelous and powerful message day that was!!!!

TIL NEXT TIME MY LOVES!!!!!!!

♡Posted by Sweet Inspirations by Candyce♡