Where did the year go? I simply cannot accept that the year 2016 is coming to an end. Usually around this time I think of all the things I said I would complete this year and realize I didn’t get around to complete them and say “well at least a new year is coming”. I know our social media timelines will be flooded with “New Years Resolutions”. People look at the New Year as a chance to start over sort of like a new beginning. I was in my kitchen cooking which has been a rarity lately lol but yeah I was cooking and reading my bible when I fell on Hebrews . God was speaking on His sacrifice, you know back in the ancient days when a priest went into the tabernacle to pray he had to bring a sacrifice, so the blood of animals was used as a sacrificial offering to God. When Jesus died He became our human sacrifice, His blood washed us clean, removed every curse, and the bible tells us we were washed with “pure” water (Hebrews 10:2). The definition of pure is free of any contamination, untainted.  What struck me was when God said He does not even remember any of our sins “He has forgotten our unrighteousness and lawless deeds” (Hebrews 10:17). Whew! Talk about a fresh start! Jesus Christ has given us a fresh start today and not just on New Years Day. What that implies is that each morning that you open your eyes is a chance to start over. So Why wait? Why wait for the new year to begin exercising, to eat right, to finally forgive that person that hurt you, grow in your religious walk or begin working on your dreams. Life is a gift.

I started a new routine a while back, I began to “expect” a new thing from God each day. When we begin to expand our mind past our limited expectations, we give God a chance to move in a supernatural way. During my morning prayers I usually include something like this “God do something today that I know only You could have made possible”. Guess what, He usually does.  The same can go for you as well. Why wait on a day which is just like today but on a different calendar year to start making changes.

Procrastination is the enemy of your destiny. Proverbs 13:4 states “The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. The reason many of us never grow or reach our full potential is because we have this predetermined mindset that “I have time”. No you don’t. What are you waiting for? The bible tells you to make best use of your time and don’t waste any days. I had the idea of a blog for about a year and began working on it in March of this year. I purchased the domain and completely sat on it for months. I began to think of every reason not to work on it and allowed other distractions to get in the way. While I sat at work one day someone came in and began telling me a story about his daughter starting a blog and finally doing what she loved. This man began to tell me stories about his daughter which were eerily similar to my own life, but this is how God speaks. I immediately went home and began working on my blog. I began to pray, read, do research and ask advice from trusted individuals.  Now 7 months later, countless web tutorials, and many late nights (I have under eye bags to prove it) I have a blog and Hope Deferred Inc. is officially an organization/business. God is awesome! But He needed me to step out on faith and I obliged. I had all these ideas but it did not avail much until I  put in the work needed to fulfill these dreams. If you are sitting home reading this and are thinking to yourself wow I have so many hopes and dreams, how do I know if it’s from the Lord.  Pray ask the Lord to guide you and ask if you are being led by your own thoughts or His and submit those dreams to God. Do research, read, ask people and don’t stop believing in yourself. But do remember we have an enemy who stands in opposition but stay focused because you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13). But do not wait. Now is the time.

Detach from your past. (Thank you to my Pastor for that word). Move forward into your destiny. Trust God. Have faith. Faith is what activates God. Most importantly just believe. I remember reading through the book of John during the summer and it was as if Jesus was screaming at me “Why don’t you believe Me, just believe in Me and you will see My salvation”. Guess what? I did. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been blessed by my own blog post including this one.

Start today.

Let us be found in His worship, not by the words of our lips, but by living repentant lives (Isaiah 29:13).

Seek Him and be found by Him with all of your heart (Jeremiah 29:13).

By a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh” (Hebrews 10:20).