The journey continues…

Woooooooow yesterday marked my 9 month journey here in NEW YORK… I can’t believe it!! As you can see from the GIF below, this expresses my reaction to that thought mixed with tears and gratitude to God.

For the past few weeks I have been in some rather unique situations that have led me to doing A LOT of reevaluating my purpose, my move, my future and so many more things. The most interesting situation so far has been that of me seeing why God moved me 1,500 miles away from the known and placed me dead smack in the middle of the unknown. The why has blown my mind and has overtaken me in such a way that I have never experienced before. As I am typing this my eyes are full of tears of gratitude to God for even thinking that I am worthy enough to help carry out such a huge plan that He has for His children. That goes for each of you as well. When you start to feel less than or start to question why am I in this place doing this… The answer is that God wants you to show this world the masterpiece that He has created within you. Your smile, your kindness, your love, your personality, your talents, your beauty, your style, your voice, your creativity, your gentleness, your generosity and the list goes on and on about what this world needs to see because of the God within you.

Some pretty amazing opportunities have occurred for me that I would’ve never experienced if I were still in my known/comfort zone. Don’t get me wrong, moving outside of your comfort zone will bring pain, fear, tears, beauty, growth and vulnerability but through this journey which I still face daily, God’s promises stay the same. My go to scripture is Matthew 6:25-26

25That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life–whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?

26Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?

I never realized how much a worried until I decided to take this faith walk journey and all I could depend on was God My Source to provide the resources that I needed exactly at the times that I needed them. By me doing my part of working and doing as I am instructed to do, led to doors of opportunities that led to more resources. I struggle daily with not worrying and doing what I was sent here to do but I remind myself along with some pretty awesome people that are in my life, that I need God to help me in those moments of weakness.

As I sit here and think about all the people that I’ve met since I’ve moved here, reminds me that these types of connections and relationships don’t just happen everyday. God connected us all together for such a time as this and I am forever grateful. When you allow God to write your story and not get ahead of Him, you will experience a crazy amount of peace and it will make it easier to trust Him more and more. The next blog post topic will be on trust and boy oh boy do I have plenty of stories about that. You’ll have to check on back with that new topic of discussion.

Always remember that you will have struggles, disappointments, highs and lows in life and they are only here to mold you into the best version which is the masterpiece God created before this world began. So show this world proudly who God is and how His way is the only way that works by creating Kingdom success/fruitfulness.

Please leave a comment below on your experiences with moving out of your comfort zone. Can’t wait to read them!! Praying for each of you and if you have any special prayer requests, feel free to contact me and I would love to join you in prayer.

‘Til next time my loves… Be the change that you wish to see!!

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3:2 Jump in

Hey y’all!!! I’m going to miss hearing y’all LoL!! Today was pretty chill for me. I rested more and allowed myself to be ok with doing that. I didn’t realize how much my lifestyle was based on service. So now that I’m in a completely different region and season of life, I am going to have to learn how I fit in.

Ok so I couldn’t sit still that long. Ordered me an Uber and off I went to church. My roommate told me about Uberpool so I decided to try it out tonight, the lady that joined my uber didn’t talk at all. She only said hello when she got in the car and thank you when she left. No eye contact or pleasant smile. That drove me crazy not to talk to people. So when I got “there” my driver dropped me off across the street from it, mind you this is an extremely busy intersection. I asked him if he could get closer and he said no, so I got out and held my bible and my purse close as I said a prayer. I had to look like I knew where I was going and like a New Yorker while inside I was praying that I wouldn’t get hit by a car or robbed. So let’s just thank God I didn’t get hit but a car seemed like it was very close to me but I wasn’t going to look at them. As I walked inside the church now late, Bible study had already started and I absolutely loved it. We actually studied different stories in a different way and had discussions. I will forever be a life long learner. I love learning! Afterwards I was introduced to THE sweetest people that welcomed me in with open arms. A family even dropped me back home so that I didn’t have to uber again. God has a way of doing things perfectly and timely.

Jump in…. As you learn how to swim, in order for you to even begin the process of learning, you actually have to jump in and get wet. A lot of times we don’t even want to jump in, we just want to hang out around the pool. Do you find yourself waiting for someone to TELL you to jump in, waiting on someone to PUSH you in or you are TERRIFIED to jump in? Either one that you are identifying with, they each require a certain type of person to carry it out.

For example I could’ve told myself that you should get all settled in before going to visit churches, or do more research on the area of town of these churches, rest more or even it’s absolutely too cold to be out tonight. But I decided to jump in because I’ve decided that my walk with God should not depend on how I feel or others. If you’re struggling with jumping in… ask yourself the discussion questions that I will post at the bottom.

This was my outfit for tonight! I had on gloves and eventually put on my hood while I was standing outside waiting for the sweet wife of the husband that dropped me off at home. We actually got snow today and it was such a sight for me to see in person.

3:2 Discussion questions…

  1. What are you holding back from jumping into? Whether it be a goal, your purpose or something that you are fearful of doing. Identify that and pray directly towards that to break that chain on fear.
  2. Do you think that you are only affected by the fear of you jumping in?

‘Til next time my loves remember to jump in and learn the process of what God is trying to teach you so that you can teach others.

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3:2 The coast is all clear

It’s official ladies and gentlemen I am a New Yorker!! I still feel like I’m just here visiting so like any other normal person that feels like this… what do they do? They unpack and move furniture around LoL!! That’s exactly what I am doing right now. I absolutely LOVE to decorate so I can’t wait to make it my own.

I am going to have to get use to this time difference. It was already dark by 6 o’clock and only one thing comes to my mind with darkness and New York… can you guess what it is?………………THE ATTACK OF THE HUGE GIGANTIC SIZED RATS. Well quick story about that… I originally ordered some pizza from a Pizzeria not too far from my place and it was getting closer to the deliver time and I hadn’t heard anything from them. I go look on the app for any updates and it says CANCELLED. My little heart dropped and was like wait, why? All I wanted was some pizza. But I guess they close at 9 and I placed my order and it didn’t tell me that they were about to close. So I was all in my feelings thinking “I am a brand new New Yorker how dare you treat your fellow people like this LoL”. After those thoughts one fact still remained… I was STARVING! I looked for another restaurant and I settled on Wing Stop can’t go wrong with them right?!? *Blank stare* 😒 first off let’s talk about how I ordered the wrong meal, secondly my fries were cold, thirdly my drink was just tossed in my bag spilled all in the bag. Here’s some pics of this disaster.

As I’m closing the door what do I see running it’s little big happy tail across the walkway down the stairs… Stuart Little 🐀 it wasn’t close to me but I saw it and jumped. As long as they stay outside we are good.

I think that it’s safe to say that I have already experienced the New York life. I rode in a taxi with a CRAZY driver, thought I was about to die in his vehicle, saw a rat, heard some loud old school RnB Dru Hill music from someone’s house LoL oh and stood in a super LONG line and waiting at the airport for a taxi. Thanks for the welcome New York.

Now I can get to the meaning of the title. I’m not sure how God communicates with you but with me especially today was a still small voice but very affirming and direct. As I was gazing out the window looking out into the open sky at these types of views

I thought to myself why aren’t there any clouds like I’m use to seeing when I fly. I kept thinking that and I even dozed off and took a nap and woke back up to the same type of view. So I really asked God saying basically what’s up with this view? Oh boy why did I ask that? Because right after, God just began to drop in my spirit the significance of that clear view that had been around for hundreds and maybe thousands of miles.

He started off by saying The coast is all clear for you Candyce. You have and are doing what I’ve been fighting so hard for you to walk into. Because of your faith and obedience… Your coast is clear. I thought that was the most affirming and sweetest thing to feel and to know that God sees me and He cares all about what I’m doing. He has fought for me and will continue to make my path clear.

I’m not going to share all of them tonight but here’s one more:

Your path is only smooth and clear with me (God). He is the only one that sits high and looks low at all that is going on in our lives. We can’t make our paths clear and smooth on our own. Step aside and Let God make your coast clear.

Last pictures of the night. I know that a part of my purpose is to help others get out of their comfort zones and live the dream that God has for them. I bought this shirt that has several “Dream” prints along the sleeves and around the bicep and tricep muscles area. An early birthday present from a very special new sister friend/little sister was the charm called World Traveler and look what it has on one side of the suitcase… LA, PARIS AND NYC. That charm is so special to me because it is representing this new season.

3:2 Discussion questions: What has God shown you about clearing the coast for you? Do you believe Him even if you don’t see any evidence of the coast being clear?

I am very curious to read your comments to these questions.

‘Til next time my loves remember to always wait on God to go ahead of you to make sure that the coast is clear. I will go deeper on that tomorrow!!!

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3:2 The process

I cannot believe that I am one week away from my big move. Throughout this whole entire process of transition, God has shown me how much I’ve grown deeper in him and that I’m at a different level in Him. My faith has been tested, stretched, grown and pruned for such a time as this.

Last week God blew my mind with my living arrangements. I’ll be living where I wanted to live at an AMAZING price with a person that I know AND in such a beautiful home. So you can’t tell me that having faith in God doesn’t payoff. Being obedient even when it doesn’t make sense is what God wants. He has everything worked out and He reveals His plan at the perfect time.

I had a BLAST as always with my Moni tonight. She and I have been best friends pretty much our whole lives. It’s so amazing how God has us work together in ministry. Tonight was supposed to be like a planning night for our class tomorrow BUT laughter and celebration took over.

This is our favorite sushi restaurant

The process that you will have to go through is a very tough one and I would not have a settled spirit if I didn’t tell you that. But the beauty of the new you and walking into greater is SO worth it all. You will cry, be angry, happy, excited, sad, confused and many many more emotions. Keep pushing past those feeling of wanting to give up.

I am honestly still pushing and have not arrived. The faith and trust in God that I am experiencing right now shocks me everyday that I wake up as I say “WOW I’m moving to NY”. I didn’t know how it was going to be done but it’s working out perfectly. The real mystery lies in what exactly I will be doing once I’m there. To be continued on that…….

‘Til next time my loves, trust the process and not the pain. Fall in love with the process!!!
❤🗽❤🗽❤🗽❤🗽❤🗽❤🗽❤🗽❤🗽❤🗽❤🗽❤

3:2 Leaving my legacy

Let me start off by saying I have been THE biggest cry baby today. I’m not sure if you’ve ever been in my current situation and how God is moving you from your familiar into the unknown. My time back in Houston has been full of mind blowing experiences.

From not having a job when I moved back to how God used me to mentor so many children and adults, has definitely played a HUGE part of why I was such a cry baby today. The start of Hey! G.I.R.L. last year has taken off at a rapid pace.

I didn’t realize how much of an impact that I was making. Today I was taken to lunch by my little mentee’s. God knew that we needed each other. Even though they are sad, upset and confused about how God calls us to do things that we don’t understand at the moment but all in due timing He will reveal it to us.

I know that my legacy will continue to illuminate in Houston as I depart to my next assignment. The evidence of God is my legacy that will be still be in place years and years from now. It is so humbling that God decided to use me to show people that He is the only way.

Be prepared for lots of pictures from some of my assignments in Houston. I am so honored and blessed to have met some amazing individuals. There’s no way that I could post all my pictures. I tried to put them in chronological order as much as I could. Enjoy and there’s 2 questions at the end.

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Eduvention Mentoring and Consulting

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Five Star

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Eduvention Mentoring and Consulting

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Pathway to Hope

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WHCC lead team

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Soul Link

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Love y’all so much

3:2 Discussion questions: What do you want your legacy to be? How are you working towards making that a reality?
‘Til next time my loves, put smile on someone’s face!!!!!

❤🗽❤🗽❤🗽❤🗽❤🗽❤🗽❤🗽❤🗽❤🗽❤🗽❤

 

3:2 Paths

Tonight’s post will be shorter because I want to leave you with some questions to reevaluate some things in your life. This idea was just laid on my heart. I titled this post Paths because we are all on a path of some sort. My path does not look like yours and vice versa. A dangerous outlook is comparison. What it all boils down to is, how are we utilizing the path that God created for us? I will admit that I have compared my path with other paths that my heart desired. For example, marriage and raising a family, traveling the world and having a certain type of lifestyle just to name a few. All that did was make me depressed, stagnant in every area of life, unhappy and miserable. I had to get to the point to where I was happy and content in both the good and the bad in my life. That only took place when I shifted my view from what I didn’t have to what I actually have right in front of me and within. One of the most awkward season that I went through was the season of moving back home, not having a job for some months and trying to find my place in church and home and with friends and family. But during that long season God was pruning me and molding me for this very moment as I’m preparing for my huge move to New York!! My path is tailor made just for me and God knows exactly why He chose me to carry it out. I do not have all of the answers to most of the questions that people ask me about my move. My one and only answer is God needs me there for an assignment. I honestly don’t know what it’s going to look like or what I will be doing BUT I will continue to watch God happen.

So here’s your questions for you to reflect on:

  1. What are you holding onto in this season that could be holding you back from getting to God’s path for you?
  2. Do you wish that your path was created differently?
  3. In a culture that prides itself on making a lot of money, do you get caught up in that sometimes?
  4. If God’s path for you included the very thing that you dislike the most, how would you approach your circumstances? (What would your attitude consist of)
  5. Does your current path fully represent Jesus? If not then what changes can be made to your path to match THE path made by God?

‘Til next time my loves!!!!!!

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3:2 Puzzle pieces

Hey my loves!!!

So if you’ve been following my blog then you should be updated on what this series is all about. But if this is your first time on my site then oh honey bun WELCOME TO SWEET INSPIRATIONS BY CANDYCE. Also before you finish reading this scroll down to the first post 3:2 and catch up then jump back in to this post.

Well if you remember from yesterday’s post I talked about how God exceeded my expectations on some answered prayers.

Tonight I titled this part PUZZLE PIECES. I absolutely LOVE to put puzzles together and I’ve always loved sitting and completing them ever since a very young age.

Before I post I always ask God to reveal what I need to hit on. Have you ever thought about puzzles from a different perspective? I view my life as a giant size puzzle and I am the outside pieces. Let me break it down, the border pieces represent my purpose/calling on this Earth. Those are the given pieces that can represent things such as my general framework, human limitations, the day that you entered into the world etc. Typically border pieces are the easiest to spot out as the most obvious on where they are to go. Their role/purpose is already predetermined for them because without them there would be no closure/stopping point. I hope that you are still following me. Another observation of the border pieces is that don’t ever really show you the full picture of what the completed puzzle will look like. Ok raise your hand if you see what I’m getting at!! I know that I cannot see you raising your hand but God can and that signifies that there’s something down within you that knows that there is greatness within you and a calling that needs to come together.
I want to go into more detail about the statement that I made about the border never gives you all the details of your life and what it’s going to look like. I’m at a point now where God is adding more pieces and I can’t see what it’s looking like but I can FEEL the beauty that’s coming together. Each person that I have met up until know have played a part in putting my puzzle together. Experiences have also played a part in completing my puzzle. I want you to pause and think about all the people and experiences puzzle pieces. Do they have beautiful detailed colors that show fruit bearing experiences or are they dark that represents sin and strongholds that are keeping you stuck? The beauty about each of our puzzles, God designed it perfectly for each of us and He knows EXACTLY how many dark and colorful pieces that we will have. But oh please be encouraged, God still uses the dark pieces to complete our puzzle.

All of the people that I have strategically met from this time last year up until now was all God ordained and I’m learning that they  play a part in my purpose and my move to NY. The young lady pictured below that is standing next to me is just one example of how God needed for us to cross paths and for me to remain an encouragement to each other throughout last year and continuously until He says enough.

My closing thoughts… remember that each piece has a position, a predetermined color and position, a different shape and purpose. We were all created to carry out our purpose and calling but in order to do that, you will need all the pieces placed in the correct spaces to put you together in order for you to be complete in Christ Jesus.

3:2 Discussion question #1: What colored pieces (colored or dark) do you think you have more of right now that make up your puzzle right now. (Refer back up to the illustration about the colored pieces representation).

#2 What do you think the size of your puzzle can represent?

‘Til next time my loves!!!!!
🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽

UPDATE… God uses plain ordinary people to do extraordinary things! 

WoW I can’t believe that it has been a year since I posted about God using us to do extraordinary things. So much has occurred since that post. Please click on link and read it before you proceed to read this post God uses plain ordinary people to do extraordinary things!!!

Ok WELCOME BACK!!! SO.MUCH.HAS.HAPPENED. Well let me get right into it. I was given a vision by God to start up a ministry on September 22,2015. At first I was super excited and ready to spring into action but then the enemy took over. I’m not saying that I turned into this crazy woman but my passion and purpose was attacked and I couldn’t figure out why I stopped pursing my God-given vision. 

After reading Fervent by Priscilla Shirer it was revealed to me why I stopped pursing my purpose. Satan knew that by me walking in my purpose that I would going against his plan. He knew I am a force that will be victorious. Shedding tears of frustration and formulating a battle plan, empowered me to fight for my purpose! So 5 months later I stepped out on faith and presented this ministry to the youth minister at my church. Since then SO MUCH has happened. God has huge things in store for this ministry and I’m so humbled and blessed to be a vessel to carry His vision out. 

My biggest update is that on August 12-13,2016 I will be hosting my very first City- wide sleepover conference. I would have never guessed that in a million years that I would be hosting anything. There are so many emotions that I am experiencing leading up to the sleepover. I am SUPER PUMPED to see what God is going to do. He is definitely working on me and my trust levels. Throughout this year so many mind blowing opportunities have been given to me and I can’t wait to see what happens with them all. You’ll just have to stay tuned in to find out….

I know that I haven’t been blogging as much as I use to, but I will be posting more again. I’ve been extremely busy making moves walking in my purpose. Love you all and thank you for your support. ❤ 

 

 Check out my ministry website Hey! G.I.R.L.

Feel free to leave a comment below on your yearly update. I would love to see how God is working in your lives!!! 
‘TIL NEXT TIME MY LOVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

This little light of mine….. Part II

Last night as I’m sitting at the stop light waiting for it to change, I was confused by all of the green lights that were shining when my light turned green. The confusion moment that I experienced showed me that even though light was present, it caused confusion to me because I didn’t process the timing of them being synced. At times in our lives, yes our lights are shining but they are off synced with God’s plan and purpose for us. Take time to get back in sync with God and make sure the light is shining with His control panel. I’m not saying that it’s necessarily a bad thing to have the light out of sync because it should caused you to pause and allow that conviction to do its job. Having those convictions were created to steer us back to our Father. Admit that getting out of sync with God caused you to be confused and that you are going to get back on track with him. Another thing that God revealed to me about all of those green lights that I experienced last night, was Him giving me the green light to keep going pursing my dreams and that He has already gone ahead of me to make that happen. I invite you to truly seek God’s will for your life and allow Him to speak to you. It’s all about building that intimacy with Him. His desires will become your desires if you fully let Him in. Invite Him in so He can unpack a become a permanent resident.

SPOTLIGHT VERSE:

But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin 1 John1:7

Have you ever wondered why when you meet or are around someone who is full of joy, causes you to feel extremely comfortable around them and happy? That person or persons are living in the light of Christ. The “comfortable” feeling  that they are experiencing is God’s light. When I was living in darkness, I didn’t appreciate and fully understand the meaning of the light. That caused me to try and avoid the light or most times I would just tolerate it and put my shades on to block it out as long as I could. I pray that you understand what I was saying. Are you wearing your sun shades right now or in constant search of some sort of shade? I’m here to tell you that being in the presence of the light and walking in the light is the way that God created us. He created us to be dependent on it and without it, unfortunately we will never live a fruitful purposeful life that He designed us to experience. I don’t know about you, but I want to experience all of the blessings that God has for me on this earth. It’s the only way to live! So be encouraged my friend…It’s not too late to turn towards the light and take off those sun shades.

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I have the light!!!

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Both of these pictures symbolize me living in the light of God. 🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞

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

 

♡Posted by Sweet Inspirations by Candyce♡

You can’t stop now!!!

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When God created each of us, He designed us for a purpose. Whatever that purpose is, God’s plan is to bring glory to Him and to serve others. We all have a different story which makes us each unique. Have you ever asked “Why this God?” or “Why me?” I have asked those questions quite a bit and still do at times. When you start to ask those questions, God ALWAYS shows you the answers. As I shared with you guys before, my life was turned upside down in order for my new season purpose that I was designed to live out could be fulfilled. I see how everything that I have gone through has prepared me for this season. Have you felt like giving up or when people try and knock you off track due to their own insecurities/negativity? Cling closer to God so that He can fill you back up when you start to feel empty. Not everyone will understand and appreciate your unique gifts and personalities, but remember it’s not all about them! This season of my life has been the most rewarding season because I have not only grown spiritually but I have seen God’s hand over my life. He has guided me from the path of certainties into the path of uncertainties. For that I am forever grateful. The uncertainty moments in life cause you to become stretched and growing in faith. For some that is not a desired or welcomed location but once you think about it, it is all for the best. God wants us all to grow and we can not stay in our same ol comfort zone. I encourage you to seeks Gods plan for your life and diligently work at your purpose. He does not call us to be negative, selfish with our time, stuck in our ways etc, There is someone out there that needs you to use your purpose!

Now let’s talk about when there is a rejection on our part. That’s when bitterness, complaining, negativity and jealously will start to invade your life. We should be so engaged to God’s purpose for our life that all other things should fall by the wayside. You must first and foremost LOVE GOD WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART ❤️. Don’t forget to keep on your God-ggles to stay focused when people and situations try and knock you off course.

Remember to seek God in all situations and YOU CAN’T GIVE UP NOW!!!! WE NEED YOU TO STAY ON TRACK❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

If I would have stayed knocked down and stuck in my Candyce ways, I would have never met all of the amazing kiddos that God has brought into my life. I have blessed them in ways that I would have never imagined in a million years and vice versa. Continue to watch God happen in your life so that you can live a thriving lifestyle!!! Love y’all 😘

1 Peter 4:10

Each one should use whatever gift He has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.

‘TIL NEXT TIME MY LOVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
♡Posted by Sweet Inspirations by Candyce♡