Category: Restoration

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Hope Fulfilled

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.”

Proverbs 13:12 NKJV

Have you ever been in the midst of a circumstance or situation that you desired to change. Your health, a family relationship restored, your living situation or even your finances. I believe everyone has at some point in their lives, in some way shape or form. That’s what “Hope” is… a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. But what happens when those breakthroughs don’t happen when you expect them to. That’s when disappointment attempts to set in, especially after countless attempts to see change in the situation come to pass. It’s only when the breakthrough reveals itself that Hope is fulfilled. The message bible translation of Proverbs 13:12 says it best; “unrelenting disappointment leaves you heartsick, but a sudden good break can turn life around.”

Unrelenting disappointment leaves you heartsick, but a sudden good break can turn life around.

Proverbs 13:12 MSG

That sudden good break is when after several attempts to see change, you finally receive a good doctor’s report or that prodigal relative returns to restore the family bond. It’s when you finally find the long awaited permanent home you’ve been seeking or your financial situation is no longer a disparity. That’s Hope Fulfilled.

This past weekend my husband and I had the opportunity to serve at an event at our church called iHope, where they provide Christmas gifts to families in need. The families were able to sign up or be nominated to participate. They would then come to the church the day of the event, receive a shopping cart, partner with a family host and have the opportunity to choose several gifts for each of their children to be gift wrapped and sent home with them providing a hopeful experience on Christmas day. All at no cost to the families. The event served over 200 families providing gifts for over 630 children. That’s not all! In the midst of the church being the hands and feet of Jesus through this event, each attendee received prayer, resulting in 14 people giving their life to Christ with 24 people receiving healing. More than 500 volunteers showed up to give hope to those who needed it during this Christmas holiday. That’s Hope Fulfilled.

During the highlight video, one of the individuals nominated for iHope shared their testimony. She mentioned that in 2016, her and her son lived in a homeless community. During that time, she acknowledged, she didn’t grow up in church nor did she go to church but since a bus would come by the community to pick everyone up, they would jump on it and go. At church is where she got saved, receiving Jesus as her Lord and Savior. Fast forward to 2023, she stated that her kids are saved, they are baptized and they all haven’t been homeless since. She actually had the opportunity to volunteer and serve at the very homeless community they used to live in during Serve Day 2023. She stated, “It was just a full circle moment for me”. Now that is Hope Fulfilled!

For everyone out there, remember Jesus Christ is our blessed hope and because of His sacrifice for us (John 3:16), we can always live in expectation of having Hope Fulfilled.

Until the next faith testimony…

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Consistency Is Key

HI Faith Travelers!

How many times have you heard the phrases “Consistency is key”, “Consistent actions create consistent results”, or even “Success isn’t about greatness, it’s about consistency”. Well all of these quotes aren’t just true in the world and business but they can also be applied biblically.

Consistency is Key!

Consistency can be defined as the quality of always behaving or performing in a similar way, or of always happening in a similar way. When I hear this definition, it makes me think of the most consistent person in my life, Jesus Christ. In Hebrews 13:8, the bible states, ” Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever”. He is consistent with His love and faithfulness seated at the right hand of the Father. He was consistent in His compassion and power as He walked this earth over 2000 years ago. And He is consistent in His character and stance as He never compromised God’s word even when His own life was at stake. Jesus is consistent because of the unchangeable name of God. It’s just like the bible says in Numbers 23:19, God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good. Basically, if God promised it, He will do it because He’s consistent.

We all know that God being consistent is a given. But our relationship with Him isn’t just about His consistency, it’s about ours. Its about our consistent faith (Mark 11:22 AMP), our consistent prayer (I Thessalonians 5:17 NLT), our consistent obedience, our consistent trust, our consistent time in His presence… our consistency period. Our relationship with God is a two way street, meaning even after we have talked to God in prayer, we should listen just as long as we pray to hear what the Lord has to say in response. Prayer is not a monologue, it’s a dialogue/conversation.

Our consistency with God nurtures the very relationship that orders our steps to and through purpose. It builds trust not just for us towards God but for God towards us. When dealing with trial after trial with my health several years ago (See Blog Post Here), I didn’t know God for myself nor how to hear His voice but I consistently cried out to Him, read His word and prayed as much as I knew how because “something told me”, which I now know that something is the Holy Spirit, that it was going to be okay and just keep praying. Soon enough I unexpectedly yet expectantly received the answers to my prayers and the healing to my body because I consistently prayed, consistently spent time with God and consistently stood in faith. Not only did my consistency build my trust in God which, in turn, strengthened my faith but it also showed God that He can trust me too when it comes to divine assignments He leads me to do concerning His children(all of you), for His glory.

It’s December 1st and some of you are wondering what’s next for you before this year ends. Just because there are 31 days left in this year, doesn’t mean God can’t do something profound in your life through your next 31 days of consistency. So I challenge you to allow God to wow you in the midst of your consistency in seeking Him, consistency in prayer, consistency in faith, consistency in discipline, in writing that book, applying for that job, starting that business and LLC, and consistency in obedience of doing what God is leading you to do in this last month of 2023. Pick up those projects you thought had died, take the steps of consistency with God and watch yourself finish the year stronger than you could have ever imagined.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us

Ephesians 3:20 NIV

Until the next faith story…

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Peace Amidst Holiday Grief

Hi Faith Travelers,

In light of the Thanksgiving Holiday celebrated in the United States this week, I pray this week has been filled with gratitude and thankfulness for you and your families. For some that has been your sentiments, but for others there has also been a wave of emotions of loneliness, grief and sadness. This is all too common for those who have dealt with the loss of a loved one and those who are in a place where they feel lonely during the holidays even without loss. You may feel hurt, sad, lonely, angry, confused, or even lost in the midst of the flood of emotions but it’s okay. I know that sounds kind of weird coming from a Christian blogger but I am here to tell you there is nowhere in the Bible that tells you to keep your emotions of grief bottled up. In fact, the Bible tells us in Matthew 5:4; “Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.” In the midst of the emotions and the thoughts that take us to that unwanted place, we have to realize that it’s okay not to be okay, but we just can’t stay there.

“Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.”

Matthew 5:4

It is normal to grieve loved ones who are no longer with us. It is normal to feel a certain way when we are attempting to celebrate a holiday that was once filled with their presence yet now it is not. Remembering the words they uttered when you saw them, the chair they once sat in, the meals they once cooked and even the warmth they made you feel just from being around them can all be a lot to process. It is okay to mourn the loss of that loved one and the very essence of who that person was to you. We just can’t stay there because when our emotions begin to lead over our God given spirit it leaves a foothold to the devil. The enemy would love to take any attempt to bring you down deeper into a state of mind that you once had control over but is now flooded with consuming thoughts taking you into a hole you can’t dig yourself out of. The Bible says in I Peter 5: 8, “Be sober, be vigilant: because your adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” Therefore recognize when you have those moments, understand you are human and its okay for you to not be okay in those moments, then proceed to ask Jesus to help you stand on His word in faith and receive His perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3-4). This is better described in I Peter 5:9-10 where it states “Resist him(the devil), steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

8 Be sober, be vigilant: because your adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

I Peter 5:8-10 NKJV

After you have suffered in the things you are going through, whether that is grief, sadness, loneliness, confusion, depression, physical pain or anything else not God given, God will perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. God will perfect meaning He will mend and restore what has been broken. He will establish meaning God will stabilize and render your mind constant. He will strengthen meaning God will make your soul strong. He will settle meaning God will lay the foundation and ground you there. God will do the work for you, you just have to trust Him and surrender the burden to Him.

For those who are having a difficult time this Holiday season here is a prayer for you to pray over yourself:

Father God in the name of Jesus, thank you for being Lord over all, not just in my high moments but also in my low moments. Thank you for Your love to comfort me in the midst of mourning and for Your perfect peace that surpasses all understanding as I keep my thoughts stayed on you. Thank you Lord for helping me to understand in my heart that as believers my loved ones may be absent from the body but are now present with You Lord and I will see them again. I thank you that my faith and trust are anchored in You and Your power at work in my life. I decree and declare I am more than a conqueror and the devil remains a defeated foe in my life. I decree and declare even in the midst of grief, You are perfecting, establishing, strengthening and settling me in Christ Jesus. And I thank you that I can forever live from a place of peace. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!

Until the next time…

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Faith and Miracles: God Healed My Eye

Hi Faith Travelers!

Happy Faith Friday!

I want to talk about a topic near and dear to my heart today. The topic that saved my life. The very reason this blog was brought to fruition…FAITH.

Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1 NKJV

What is Faith? According to Hebrews 11:1 NKJV, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”. Faith can also be described as complete trust or confidence in someone or something; a hope or belief. The Hebrew word for confidence is Bitachon, meaning to be at ease, to trust and to be confident. Think about when you put your trust in something or someone, there tends to be no doubt or disbelief in it, yet there’s also an assurance and certainty regarding that person or thing. This is how we ought to have faith in Jesus…with trust, certainty and assurance. This is the faith in knowing that He is the Son of God who walked this earth over 2000 years ago sharing the Good News and the message of God’s kingdom while also performing miracles including healing the sick, raising the dead and casting out demons (Matthew 10:7-8 NKJV). When Jesus laid down His life for us, dying on the cross yet was resurrected and is now seated at the right hand of Father God, His sacrifice forgave every sin/ iniquity and healed all of our diseases (Psalms 103:3 NKJV). This didn’t just end in biblical times, we still have possession of the free gift of salvation that includes all of the above as our benefits.

In John 14:12-14 NJKV, Jesus says to His disciples, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works (in quantity) than these he will do, because I go to My Father (God). 13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. Well this doesn’t just apply to the disciples then, it also applies to the modern day disciples, who happen to be us.

Where there is hope, there is Faith. Where there is Faith miracles happen.

Anonymous

Years ago I put my faith and this scripture to the test. Around this time in 2014, I nearly lost my eye from a fall that shattered my orbital floor in my right eye. The doctors wanted me to get surgery even though I didn’t live in the area where the incident occurred. They informed me that they would need to go in, lift my eye back up and put a plate in to keep the eye stabilized. I refused the surgery because my FAITH was in my eye fully healing on its own. Sounds crazy, but I knew this situation was no match for God. Due to the incident, I no longer had right peripheral vision, was sensitive to light and my brain and eye were not communicating so basic function like walking straight and turning when someone says something to you was very limited. During that week I laid hands on my eye and prayed to God that my eye would heal on its own without surgery. I backed my prayer with Mark 16:18 “…they will lay hands on the sick , and they will recover” trusting that God’s word was true and would work on my behalf. Once I returned home, I went to an ophthalmologist to make sure my vision was still okay and my eye hadn’t dropped and everything with my vision checked out good. I’d forgotten to give my CT scans to the doctor until the end of the visit. He came back looking like he’d seen a ghost and based on the scans recommended me seeing the plastic surgeon and getting the surgery recommended by the other doctors. Again my FAITH was in my eye fully healing on its own without surgery.

Shattered Orbital Floor CT Scan
Shattered orbital floor and loss of peripheral vision in right eye
Two weeks after the injury

Within 2 weeks my eye looked as if the injury had never happened and I had full functionality. Fast forward to my 6 month check up with the ophthalmologist, my eye had fully healed on its own with no changes to my vision and without any surgery! The doctor’s assistant came in and said “You know you’re really lucky because someone came in with the same issue and had to lose their eye. I told her “that’s not luck, that’s God! I could’ve literally lost my eye and according to the doctors the vision in the other eye would’ve diminished too…But God! He performed not just a miracle but a medically documented miracle for me! How, you ask? Because of my Faith. While faith sometimes doesn’t make sense, it does in fact make miracles.

Until the next faith testimony..

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Planting and Watering for God’s Increase

HI Faith Travelers!

I can recall the time when I would stress myself over wondering if I did what God asked me to do correctly. For instance, when God would lead me to pray for someone, encourage them, share my story or even buy them food, I would sometimes second guess if I did enough. I would think to myself, “Oh no I should have invited them to church, I should have given them my number so I can continue to talk and pray with them or I should have led them through the salvation prayer. I should’ve done more!” I can recall the internal battle I had after giving the loaf of bread to a family God led me to, as written in my blog post on Following the Voice of God. Even then God told me I could have gone to any house and He would have made it well. It was more about my obedience than anything so that He could continue to direct me in similar ways and use me as a vessel for His glory. Well I didn’t understand it then, but when God directs us to minister to someone whether through prayer, encouragement, providing a meal, etc., we don’t have to make sure we do everything in that one moment to disciple them especially if God has given specific instructions on how to minister to that individual. Consider seeing ministering as seed sowing/planting. For example, my encounter with the family I was led to give the loaf of bread to was a seed planted. I didn’t need to worry about not having done anything else during that exchange except what God instructed me to do which was just to provide the bread. That was the seed planted. I don’t know this personally but I trust that God sent someone else to water the seed that I initially planted and from there, God will give the increase and make it grow. This example is found in I Corinthians 3:5-7.

5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.

I Corinthians 3:5-7

This scripture shows us that in this biblical scenario, Paul planted, Apollos watered and God gave the increase. So we never have to worry about trying to be a mini Jesus to someone or to a situation because God has already ordered the steps as He draws all men to Him (See John 12:32). Nothing is impossible for God, He can orchestrate a divine encounter that sets a person on the path of salvation and righteousness before they even realize. Just think back in your own lives. The people you ran into who gave you that encouragement in the exact moment you needed it. That person who just so happened to stop for you while you were stranded on the side of the road with a flat tire and before you know it, you two end up attending the same church and growing in God because of a seed they planted and someone else watered.

I can recall a friend from college and “my before living for Christ days” who used to throw these grand parties where I would bring my group of friends to hang out and enjoy. Well as I started truly walking in the things of God our connection phased out. Years later, he contacted me and told me he was struggling with faith and it was causing an issue in his relationship. He said he would watch my Facebook posts and figured I was someone he could talk to about this. God led me to share my testimony with him, sharing the faithfulness of God in my lowest moments of battling an unknown illness. I shared my story, sent a scripture, a local church option and a sermon a few days later and that was the extent of the conversation. He thanked me and told me he would continue to read and study what I shared. Fast forward 5 years to this year, he reached out for a professional contact he and his wife were looking for. I shared my contacts and he proceeded to tell me that I had been an extreme blessing in his life more than I knew. He mentioned how I played a part in getting him over the hurdle when he struggled with faith. He even shared that hearing my testimony gave him the mustard seed of faith that has grown so much that God has him and his wife on a journey doing things they could never have imagined. I recall reading the text and tearing up while thanking God for the reminder of why I continue to live my life for Him.

While I planted seeds into my friend, at some point in those 5 years the seed was watered and God gave the increase and is still increasing him and his family. Well, I also want to add that not only did I plant a seed for my friend but he watered a seed that God planted in me about this very blog of sharing faith to spread faith. Him sharing the impact of me sharing my testimony only gave me the full impacting vision of what God is trying to do through Faith Travels. My prayer is that each blog post and testimony shared is a seed sown on good ground in your hearts, that continues to be watered and cultivated for God to increase. Consider sharing your faith to spread faith, planting and watering seeds one testimony at a time.

To be a part of the movement, share your own faith story Here!

Until the next faith story…