“You have entered a restricted area, the police have been called, please exit the premises immediately”. Fear. The feeling that I felt after I pulled the door at my church and the alarm went off. The person who had access to the church came out scared because they thought they caused the alarm to go off so I stayed quiet and let them believe it was their fault. But after the look of fear and complete redness took over their face guilt set in and I screamed “It was me, I pulled the doors because it looked open”. Everyone turned and looked at me and sighed….

This  Is How It All Began……

I got home after church and quickly realized I forgot my keys. We turned and headed back to the church to see if maybe the keys were left on the pew or somewhere in the church. The person I was with had access to the church and told me that they would let me in so that I could look for my keys. However, I decided to pull on those red doors because I thought it was open and set the alarm off in the process. I didn’t find the keys. I was locked out of my apartment for the whole day. I made sure I had money, phone, headphones but forgot my keys. The landlord came to my rescue but only had keys for my apartment and not the primary door lock downstairs. The neighbors downstairs were away and would not be returning for a few hours. I had some time to reflect. The obvious thoughts such as “Cynthia you need to be more organized, blame your kids (my daughter told me she had the keys in her coat pocket) or how could this happen” came to mind but I learned some fundamental lessons that I need to share including how some of us remember everything but our “keys”.

Worship, Prayer, The Word

One mistake led to a series of events and inconvenienced many people along the way. I am in one of the most uncomfortable places in my life. I trust God but…. But I don’t understand. But I feel a bit confused. But at times I feel like quitting. Am I the only one that has been here? God sees you but do you know who else takes notice? The enemy. When you are in these moments he takes full advantage and often our guards are down so we forget our keys. Our keys are prayer, worship and reading The Word. These keys are vital, indispensable in the lives of everyone especially a believer. When I left my keys home I was sent down a path of confusion with circles and turns trying to figure out what was next.  After I was settled in, it dawned on me that this is how my life seemed to be going at the moment. I forgot my keys. I wasn’t in the Word as I should be and when I did read I wasn’t focused, I prayed but it felt forced, I left church feeling good but 2 hours later I was right back in my funk. What happened? I tried to keep how I have been feeling from God (I know stupid right) but then He began to reveal to me what I had been feeling and why. I can’t stand it sometimes! We often don’t like to admit when something is wrong but unless we get to the root of the problem we will continue to go around the same tree. But back to the keys situation, when we are idle, we become weak and distracted and give a wide open door to the enemy. We begin to rely on our ever-changing emotions. Like our house keys gives us access to our homes, our keys give us access to God. We can’t afford to forget them. God has a way of sounding the alarm in your life to get your attention (like with the church alarm) and it’s usually by allowing  circumstances to happen not to us but for us. This too is for your protection. Exodus 6:8 states “I  will bring you (insert your name here) to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord (you have the PROMISE of My CHANGELESS omnipotence and faithfulness)” (Amp). Jesus led me to this passage a few times during the past few months and I want to encourage you with this promise as well. I remind Him of this promise constantly! However, trust is what sustains any relationship and it is no different with God. It is even a cure for anxiety.

Gratitude

My children are never satisfied and I have to beg them for help around the house or even a small shoulder massage. (My daughter gives the best massages). I find myself telling them “I work hard to make sure you have a roof over your head, you guys complain about everything and you guys don’t appreciate anything!”). I wonder how many times God has said the same thing about us. I mean shaking His head at all the complaints, murmuring, griping when we don’t get our way, reminds me of the children of Israel. As I thought about not being able to get into my apartment, I thought about the people who don’t even have an a home  as an option to escape the cold. The homeless, the people in shelters or even the ones who have a roof over their heads but it’s in the least than favorable condition. I took a trip to DC recently and was heartbroken over the number of homeless people even small children. Or how about the people who prayed for a new apartment and the money to afford it but still did not appreciate it or trust God enough to take care of the least after He has taken care of the most. I’m talking about myself! Did I tell you guys my lease expired July 31st and God placed an apartment on my lap 10 days before the Chick -Fil- A Soft launch which happened to be on July 31st as well? Or the fact that the new apartment was right around the corner from my old apartment? Did I also tell you guys it’s an apartment with brand new everything? Or He made a way for me to cover ALL the moving costs? Did you know gratitude is also a cure for the soul? But here I was moping. Gratitude is huge. But how many times do we really forget to practice it? I know when there seem to be mountains in your way its hard to think positive and happiness seems far away but remember what the Word says: Deuteronomy 8:2 “And you shall remember (always) all the ways which the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness….” (Amp). It is easier said than done however gratitude is a huge weapon against discontent and defeat. As we enter the holiday season and you find yourself stuck, discouraged remember all the times God has came through, write them down and make a gratitude list.  We are all facing issues and different hardships but the truth still remains “God is good”, I get mad at Him sometimes but He promised ALL things not SOME but ALL things are working together for our good to them that love Him. (Romans 8:28)

Wisdom

You have beautiful skin a girl said to me one time and continued to complain about her acne. I said “Thank you, do you drink water?”. “No” she replied “I drink a lot of soda”, well “there goes your problem, you need to drink more water” I replied.  Now I’m not saying that will totally cure her of acne because there are other factors to consider such as hormones, skin conditions, etc. However, drinking more water is a step in the right direction. See below.

Soda Contains:

• High fructose corn syrup / sugar
• Caramel coloring, depending on the flavor
• Phosphoric acid
• Aspartame for diet soda only
• Caffeine

All of these ingredients can lead to acne. Click this link. Ok I’m back.

“If any of you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking” (James 1:5). The majority of solutions to our problems can be resolved by just asking God for wisdom. I had a problem a while back and I said “God what is a strategy for this problem”, He said “wisdom and understanding”. It really was that easy. We can’t always rely on people because not that the people God has placed in your life don’t love you or want to help but a majority of the time they are consumed with their own life’s hiccups and challenges. At times you carry the solution to your own problem and don’t even realize it. All you had to do was remember your keys and use them.

Just a few things:

-Our Single Mom’s Day event will take place on Dec. 1st. We will release details in the next few weeks.

-You can donate via our website under the “donate” tab.