Category Archives: God’s word

The journey continues…

Posted in Christians, Faith, Faith Walk, Fruitful living, God's word, Journey to New York, Legacy, New York by

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 The newness

Posted in 32, Blessings, Christians, Faith, Faith Walk, God's word, Journey to New York, New York, Purpose Driven life, The call, Uncategorized by

Raise your hand if you have ever become overtaken by the newness of something. Whether it be a new job, car, pet, home, promotion, relationship, career, gadget and the list goes on and on. Have you found yourself stuck in that initial moment when you experienced the newness of whatever you had? What did that do you in the first moment of interacting with it? Did you have a sense of wholeness? Or feel that you have arrived honey? Whatever you felt in that very first moment, we can all agree that the initial emotions and feelings went away.

At what point do we get past the initial feelings and into the reality of the power that our newness can and will have over us?

I’m asking these types of questions to get your mind and actions from being stuck in the initial moment that align with putting actions behind the newness.

So as you know by now I have moved to New York just a few days ago. My lifestyle since I graduated college has been that of GO,GO,GO. “Go after it”, “make it happen”, “do whatcha gotta do” etc. As I’ve had these few days to reflect and just sit quietly before God, I have realized that I don’t know how to be ok with not doing anything. I think I’m afraid that I may become too comfortable with not doing anything that I literally do nothing. I’ve had to push myself out of the mood of just laying down into make plans and write them out. I’m not saying don’t do anything, the way that my life has been set up and the current season that I’m in, I can’t afford to settle into the newness for too long. That will completely go against the purpose of why I’m even in New York.

I am being very transparent tonight! I absolutely love it here already and I know that I can get distracted easily. Please check in on me to make sure that I am still walking in my purpose. I have so much to do for the Kingdom but the difference this time is, I have God’s power to make things happen to help build His Kingdom. I know that it’s not my doing but it’s the Holy Spirit that is within me. I had things backwards before, it was me doing things in my own will, not God’s. I know better now!!

3:2 Discussion question: What newness have you settled deep into lately?

‘Til next time my loves remember to push past the newness smell and into the natural scent of where you are called to be.

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3:2 The coast is all clear

Posted in 32, Blessings, Christians, Faith, Faith Walk, Fruitful living, God's word, Journey to New York, New York, The call, Uncategorized by

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 Write it down

Posted in 32, Are you listening, Blessings, Christians, Devotionals, Disciples of Christ, Faith, Faith Walk, God's word, Guidance, Journey to New York, New York, Purpose Driven life, Spiritual growth, Spreading the Gospel, The call, Uncategorized by

If you know me, then you know that I LOVE to write. I LOVE journals and pens!!! Pens just make my world so much better!

This pen was a gift from my friend Jessica.

Ever since I can remember, I have loved to write. I especially enjoyed writing on walls at home and furniture and yes I did get whooped for that. When I began to journal in high school, it helped me pour out my heart in a way that I felt safe. Sharing what was going on inside of me with others was not something I felt comfortable doing. Once I got to college, journaling was quickly replaced with all of my Biology and Chemistry notes, new friends and a new environment for me to try to change my past. Yeah that didn’t work out very well but during those years, I thought I was really changing and doing better. Oooh boy was I wrong!!

Next comes post graduation life aka the real world with real bills and real struggles. I found myself trying to get back into the journaling swing of life but that was short lived. There were too many new things going on around me. I moved to a new city hours away from home, I had a real full-time job in a career that I didn’t even go to school for or any training, dating and new friends on top of so much more. I was all over the place and distracted by so much. During that season I was depressed, broken down even more, faced failure in the most difficult and trying way possible. Inspite of that I pushed through all of the pain into God and truly desired a real intimate relationship with Him. I never had a real intimate relationship with Him before and only with a few people in my life up to that point.

As you read the title of this post Write it down, what came to mind? Well God downloads information inside of us that He wants us to bring it to life with our uniqueness that He has created within us. Only you can do what God has designed for you to do in a way that only you can with your personality and looks. Nobody else can do what you are called to do like you can. I REALLY want for you to get what I’m saying because I know that someone that is reading this post needs this. I have struggled pretty much my whole life with identity issues and how I didn’t understand why I looked this way and not like others. Especially when it came to my personality, I am am extremely silly person that is very spunky but at the same time I can go real deep with you in .005 seconds. A lot of people aren’t use to that and I included myself in that because I wasn’t use to it due to never meeting anyone like myself. God has used my personality in mind blowing ways that I am grateful for. He knew that I could only cross paths with certain people that needed to experience Jesus through the Spirit that’s within me and the way that I deliver it all.

So let’s get back to the title. I was told several times tonight that I need to write down the visions that God has shown me so that I won’t get distracted and off course. Ask God to reveal the different parts to your vision meaning who is apart of it and what you are desiring. My main take away from tonight’s Bible study was I can’t share my vision with everyone. God will release me to tell those individuals that will be apart of it. Everyone can’t handle and understand what God is doing in your life. He will separate you in order to elevate you to the level that He needs you on. That was for somebody 😊

3:2 Discussion question for tonight… Have you created a vision board for this year and wrote out the plan for it? Disclaimer… your plans and God’s plans may not match up and His plans will ALWAYS overthrow yours any day so make sure that you hold very loosely to your plans and trust that if God throws you a curveball, you will be ok with His greater plan.

Proverbs 16:3 NIV Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.

‘Til next time my loves remember to grab your favorite pen and sit quiet before God and let Him pour into you!!!

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Oh and let’s just say that I DEFINITELY made up for the fewer tears that I shed on yesterday… Today – signed the big cry baby!

In the presence of God!

Posted in Devotionals, God's word by

1 John 1:9 But if we confess our sins, God will forgive us.We can trust God to do this. He always does what is right. He will make us clean from all wrong things we have done.

Confessing your sins is the only way that you will be in fellowship with God. When you approach God, you have to be clean from sins. Asking for forgiveness and confessing your sins gives you a pure heart and that’s what God wants from us. Repent of those sins and ask God to remove them from your life. God will give you the strength to do that and to recognize them as soon as it happens in order to give it to God. The desire to get rid of those strongholds in your life must come from a place of wanting to be pure and a spirit of wanting to be all that God has created you to be. He will guide you IF you allow Him to. Once those strongholds are broken, you will be able to see God CLEARLY!

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

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

Posted in Devotionals, God's word by

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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.

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‘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

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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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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♡Posted by Sweet Inspirations by Candyce♡

Get rid of those weeds!

Posted in Devotionals, Fruitful living, God's word, Guidance, Purpose Driven life by

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Jesus is speaking in John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit- fruit that will last-and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.

In order to be fruitful like God call us to be, we must get rid of those strongholds of sin so that God can use us. God and sin will never dwell in the same place. The only way for those strongholds to loosen its grip from you is to draw closer to GOD. Apply His word and stay in prayer. Switch your focus from self to God and I guarantee that you will start to experience God on a whole new level. Getting rid of those weeds means getting rid of those sins that are choking you and preventing you from producing healthy produce.

Watch GOD happen throughout this day!!! TIL NEXT TIME MY LOVES…

PART II God uses plain ordinary people to do extraordinary things!

Posted in Faith Walk, God's word, Purpose Driven life by

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*SNAPS FINGERS* AHHH HAAA ☝:idea:light bulb moment… suddenly everything that you have been going through in your prep phase greets you head on. Still not understanding why you ended up in the present state that you are currently in. Still puzzled by the events that took place that prepared you for your purpose. Still scratching your head about how your paths crossed with the special God sent people. Then it suddenly  all comes together and you look up and smile 🙂 and say ” WOOOW, I KNOW THAT WAS NOBODY BUT YOU”. All of the long nights, tears, prayers, bible studies, doubts, uncertainties  and disappointments that I endured blended together to create such a beautiful canvas that allowed God to show His best work of art.

Looking back on all of the events that have taken place in my life within the past year, has really changed the way that I view God. My trust level in Him has changed tremendously. It has not been easy at all but I know that He is with me even when I stumble. I’m sure you’re wondering what the Pathway to hope family camp is all about. Here’s how I got involved with this AMAZING program.

Back on Tuesday June 23rd I attended a ladies bible study group. I typically go on Fridays or Saturdays, but the spirit was leading me to go on Tuesday instead. So I got up completed my daily devotional and quiet time with God and ended it by writing in my prayer journal. That morning I prayed for something to do with my time since I have my summers off (somewhat). I didn’t know what He would need me to do but I trusted in Him to make it happen. After the teacher finished her lesson we broke into smaller groups to discuss the lesson in details. Not knowing anyone in my group made it a little hard to open up and share my story and thoughts. I depended on God to give me the right words to say and he sure did! I remember listening to one of the ladies in the group and thought wow her ministry is amazing and I love how God can use anyone! At the end of the bible study, I still can hear Debbie Simmons say “Hey Candyce, what part of town do you live on?” And from that question led me to walking in my purpose by helping families that have adopted children that come from troubled backgrounds, other cultures and countries and special behavioral or emotional needs. All of the test in my prep phase led me to this very moment. The most important part of my journey this far has been to rely on God to provide everything that you need. He uses ordinary people all the time which turn into extraordinary work for the Kingdom.

Pathway to Hope family camp was by far one of the most challenging experiences that I have faced in a while. But I felt God’s hand every step of the way. He provided the perfect amount of training and used my years of teaching background as well. When I wanted to give up and become frustrated because things were happening that I couldn’t control, it seemed as if God began to hug me tighter and tighter. Meeting all of the families that came to the camp opened my heart up even more to how God has adopted us all as His children. We come from dark, broken backgrounds but He still loves us all. He is very patient, corrects us in love and gentle with us and that’s the whole approach of the camp. The camp also showed me how I look when I’m walking and communing with Christ. I am not a naturally gentle and patient person whatsoever. Those traits shine through when I’m in fellowship with God. I cannot describe the healing that I received last week along with the families at the camp. I thank God for using me as a vessel to show Him to this world. I gained some new special people that I will always cherish and L♡VE!!!

Please read more information about Pathway to hope-Anchor Point Church.

Ephesians 1:5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

TIL NEXT TIME MY LOVES!!!

♡Posted by Sweet Inspirations by Candyce♡

Let the past be the past… Easier said than done I know!

Posted in Devotionals, God's word, Spiritual growth, Uncategorized by

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Hebrews 3:7-8  7 So as the Holy Spirit says: “today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness.

The key to those verses is to harden not your heart like they did previously. A lot of times we allow past hurts, disappointments and pain to creep back up in our hearts. Please be advised that when such acts occur, your heart which by the way is the center of all thoughts, emotions and actions will lead you astray from God. We start to block out what God is trying to tell us because we think we know it all or how to protect ourselves better than God can. God wants your heart to be pure and seek after him constantly. Seeking Him will eliminate those thoughts and feelings that caused you pain. The more you consult God and seek Him, the easier it will become when your emotions try to get you all out of whack. Come to Him and be open to all that He is directing/telling you to do. That includes daily in taking of the Word of God and building your prayer life which will build a stronger relationship all together!!

So like the title says let the past be the past… easier said than done, simply means to turn to God when you feel your past is trying to creep back up. He is the only one that can help you with your struggles. It is easier said than done trust me but I know that God is holding my hand every step of the way along my journey. Please grab a hold of Gods hand! TIL NEXT TIME MY LOVES!!! GOD BLESS YOU

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