4GiVeNeSS 4 rEaL

Don't suffocate possibility with the unbearable weight of the pressure brought on by an unforgiving heart. Forgiveness cannot exist in singular form; it is only sustained through a mutual exchange. God is very clear on this issue. If we should fail to forgive those that hurt us, that betray us, that offend us...we will not receive forgiveness.

• Matthew 6:15 "But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." 
• Luke 6:37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

God does not ask of us anything that He has not done, first. "Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Col 3:13 - If we all accept that we are imperfect, that is to say that we all must at some point and in some way seek forgiveness than why is it so difficult for us to give it? Why are we constantly placing rigid conditions on the act? Do we know without a doubt that we would never ever be in the position of the person seeking it from us? Do we have eyes that see into the future? How many of us have found ourselves doing something we swore we would never do? Was certain that we couldn't possibly ever bring ourselves to doing such a thing? Am I alone? Am I the only person that has done, at least one of the things, I said I would never do. I don't believe I am. I think there are A LOT of us...perhaps all of us..have found ourselves there. Trying to remove the foot from our mouths without anyone noticing, but God. We developed a saying, I gather due to the excessive occurrences, NEVER SAY NEVER. I supposed we deduced that if we never say we'll never do something..than we can avoid hypocrisy; we failed. The moment we judge another person, unjustly, that is what we say though not audibly but in our mindset towards them we scream in silence: I WOULD NEVER DO THAT. There is a place for "judgment" and that seat does not belong to anyone of us. Not you, me or anyone. 

Don't confuse correction or rebuke with judgment. Someone, including you, may speak the truth regarding a person or situation and though it may offend them...it does not mean you "judged" them.  In my humble opinion, judgment occurs when however you feel about that person or situation changes how you would normally react. Speak the truth in love: continue to love that person regardless of how you feel about what they're doing. Christ continued to love us even though our hearts, decisions, our minds...our very existence would cost Him his life. Who are we to decide that someone is undeserving of that type of love when Christ decided they were? Do we know better than God? You must forgive the imperfection we all admit we're afflicted by.

You are not punishing the other person by holding a grudge. You're only crippling yourself. Let it go. Move on.

Forgiveness is the only way to truly live...FrEE.

KONY 2012 Campaign: The Ultimate Act of Desperation with Patrick Henningsen

I decided to post this here because of the amount of information provided. Ignore the sarcasm and whatever you consider opinion and listen to the facts. There are ALOT of facts given in these 15 minutes.

LISTEN.

Empowering yourself with knowledge is an important part of freeing yourself. If you refuse to be in "the know" you will remain on the outside and wayyy behind the curve. Just watch it...be blessed.

jUsTiCe KnOw PeAcE

Justice is not the absence of peace it is the fulfillment of it. Compromise is not always the most effective means by which to get a particular thing accomplished. Sometimes it actually hurts your cause rather than make it more appealing; it negates it's value.  Not saying that it isn't ever appropriate but it must be done with wisdom. People are so afraid of standing for something and losing the favor of others.  Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani is currently facing execution not only for being a Christian but for opposing the establishment. This is the fear, in my opinion, that the majority of us face. Perhaps not literally losing our lives but figuratively doing so. In essence we have managed to convince ourselves that the tangible part of ourselves exist in things: the people we know, the materials acquired, status in our communities, and so on and so forth. We hold onto them as if we could possibly keep them. It isn't wrong to acquire nice things...God gives them to us because He wants us to have them as well. (Jeremiah 29:11-12) The problem is when we covet them above all else. When the thought of losing them feels like we losing ourselves. 

"You have no friends if you are poor, but you have lots of friends if you are rich." Proverbs 14:20

This proverb is true. Even if you do not believe in God...you also know that this is true. The poor have no friends; poverty is the most powerful proprietor of isolation. Mentally, physically, and emotionally it creates a separation that is truly remarkable. The world will make you to feel that without money your existence is completely insignificant; that you are incapable of doing anything. I have been trying to rid myself of my dependency on money, on this system and it has been difficult to say the least. There is so very little that I know how to do. I cannot build any houses, cultivate crops, hunt, and I'm in no shape to walk any significant distance. I look back and wonder how we got here. (Because I'm know I'm not alone.) There was a time when people were capable of living off the land; they respected it and it gave to them. The earth produced what we needed and humanity lived in harmony with it. I was not around during this time but I can honestly say, I miss it. 

My roots are in the country and I spent ALOT of time outside; running through the woods, making mud pies in the yard, and eating the fruit from the trees. I suppose you're wondering what all of this has to do with justice? What any of this has to do with peace? There is something very wrong with what's happening in this country and around the world. People have forgotten, and others like myself are completely ignorant about, how to live in harmony with the land. Humanity has grown so accustomed to exploiting good things that the few in power have made us all completely and hopelessly dependent on them. "The poor are ruled by the rich, and those who borrow are slaves to the moneylenders." Proverbs 21: 7 We have been convinced that we need the latest car, Apple product (or any other technological gadget), fashion, the biggest home, the job with the most notoriety etc...but we don't. People we do not NEED these things. We're in debt and dying trying to get them, starving our souls to keep them. 

Again , I am not saying that having nice things is wrong, however, do not lose your mind behind them. Revive your own consciousness and look at these things for what they are. They do not define you. There is real evil we need to fight and until we can see past the matrix...we are short soldiers. God is amazing and He will not withhold any good thing from you! There is no need to covet them. Live BELOW your means...and give to God out of a grateful heart and He will give you even more. I think that we all need to BREAK FREE of the hold society has on us...stop feeding into the lies and the hype. We're in a war people and losing the fight right now simply because...we are NOT fighting. They're playing chess and we're playing connect four. 

free"ME"

I have grown tired of labels. I cringe each time I fill out an application and have to check myself into a little box. Black, female, single mother, student, employee, minority...a statistic and number in someone's assessment of humanity. Someone trying to determine how my life will most likely turn out based on their numbers. I am not a number. I am more than my social security (number), driver's license (number), student id (number), registration (number), my age (number), birth date (numbers), employee id (number), license plate (number)...etc...jeez..can I identify myself in some other way rather than reciting a series of numbers? Is their some other method that can be implemented to determine I am...me. Not according to the world; you're a number. Regardless of what you do a number is assigned to you; you're the 1st to do this or the 1 of 20 to do that.

I know there are many Tiffani's...but none of them are me and I am none of them. Tiffani is not who I am...it's what my mother named me but it does not define me. My job title does not define me. My calling myself a disciple or christian does not define me. My being a mother does not define me. I am a sister, daughter, cousin, a friend...still none of these define me either. No more than any of what people call you - define you. These are the roles I have here on earth and they grow every day...develop into more than the labels themselves are able to convey. So, who am I?

Plan & Purpose: Finding my Feet

"There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord." Proverbs 21:30

My life has not been an easy one but I'll own it. I'll take responsibility for everything that has happened and will happen. I am fully aware that my plans are not always going to manifest in the way I envisioned them to but I take great comfort in knowing that God's plan always does. HIS plan, is the plan, that matters most - after all my presence is a part of that plan and not my own. I did not, as far as I know, tell my mother to conceive me but HE did. It was probably not my parents plan to have me when they did, however, it came to pass. Why..because no other plan can succeed against the Lord. It took me sometime to understand this. As I stated previously my living..has not been without hardship. I lost my mother when I was three years old on Christmas morning, I would be the one woman out of the group of three that has been raped and abused, and I could go on..but I only reveal those things to show the power of God. I do not believe that He intended me to suffer in the way that I have and it would appear, on the surface, that obviously something did thwart His plan.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

His plan was not harm me yet I have experienced pain. So I asked...did something change His plan? Did something succeed against it? Then I looked closer...