Taking a Break

Me at 35 weeks pregnant!

Hi everyone!

I know it's been a while since you've heard from me on the blog, and some of you were thinking I'd stopped blogging altogether.  That's not the case at all.  As most of you know, my husband and I are expecting our 3rd son, who is due to arrive in 27 days.  We are all so excited!  And you know what?  Mommy has been exhausted these past few weeks.

So as time fastly approaches, I have decided to take a break from writing.  This is the last post you will see on the blog for a while.  I am taking this last little pre-baby time to rest and prepare for my new little guy.  And once he's here, I will take some post-baby time to adjust to life with three children. (A newborn, 2 year old, and 8 year old.)

To those who follow my Inspirational Column in EEW Magazine, the #1 online publication for black Christian women, you will get one more post from me in the next issue.  After that I'll be on a writing hiatus until early October.

In the meantime, keep me in your prayers.  Pray with me for a safe, uncomplicated delivery and a healthy baby and mommy.

See you guys soon!

Love you for real,
Keisha

Pray For Them...

A few days ago, I received a late night phone call from someone close to me.  She never calls me that late, out of respect, so when I saw her number flash across my TV, I immediately became concerned.  "Did I wake you?" she asked.  "No, I'm usually up pretty late." I replied. 

"I'm sorry to call you so late, but something is really bothering me." By this time, I was almost nervous about what she was going to say.  I had already received some sad news earlier that day, so my nerves were kinda shot.  I erected from my lying position, "What's wrong?" I asked. 

She went on to tell me how much she loves me and my husband and children, how she adores our union, and how she "don't play" when it comes to me.  As soon as she said that, the voice in my head said, "Somebody's been talking about you again."

I knew by the irritation in her voice that what she'd found out did not sit well with her one bit.  She was very upset.  Now, she and everyone else who knows me, knows that I do not do drama, or any of that guess-who-said-what-about-who mess.  I despise gossip.  Not that I've never been guilty of it, but when you know better you do better. Amen?

As I sat quietly on the phone, listening to what she had to say, tears began rolling down my face.  I was shocked and angry. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.  And I completely understood why she felt so compelled to tell me what was going on.  You see, someone that I care about was saying some ugly things about me, my husband, and our children.  Now I don't believe I'm above being talked about in a negative way, but when it comes from someone I allowed into my heart, it hurts.

After we hung up, I sat in my bed and cried.  Not becase someone was saying awful, untrue things about me, but because my trust, love, loyalty and support had once again been taken for granted.  The human side of me wanted to call that person and give them a huge chunk of my mind, but the God in me knew that would not be the right thing to do. Oh, but I was tempted!! 

The next day, while spending time in prayer, the Lord helped me to understand what had transpired.  He told me that there's somewhere He's preparing to take me, and some of the people attached to me simply cannot go.  He said that there's a special anointing upon my life, and though people may claim to love me, there are some who are envious of what He's doing in me. So with that, thought it still hurts, I know that God exposed this person's true character to me only for my good.  Being surrounded by undercover enemies is not cool.

I'm not into all that "my haters are my motivators" nonsense.  I mean, clearly not everyone who smiles in your face has your back, but to say that I'm motivated by that is crazy to me. I'm not motivated by hate.  I'm moved to do what I do for the Lord because I love Him, and I seek to please Him and give Him my very best in all that I do.  That's my motivation.  Some people take pride in their "haters" but I don't.  Not one bit.  I actually feel bad for them, because it just means that they lack confidence within themselves and the abilities that God has given to them.  So instead of celebrating those who secretly dislike me, I do as Matthew 5:44 instructs - "But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you..."

Yep, I pray for them, and continue to love them as Christ loves me. Now, I probably won't have any intimate dealings with them, but you get the point.  I sincerely pray for them, that God would help them to be confident in who they are in Him.  That way, they will learn to celebrate the good in others instead of being envious of what they feel they lack.

So, I said all of this to say that people you love will often turn out to be people you can't trust, undercover enemies, haters, or whatever you wanna call 'em.  But that does not mean that you're supposed to fly off the handle, go off on them, and treat them the same you they've treated you.  As children of God, we should always live by the Golden Rule - Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you. (Luke 6:31)  Even if you don't get the same treatment in return, you are still obligated to live up to Godly standards and portray Christ in all you do.  Now does that mean you have to continue to be a sucker for someone's mistreatment?  Not at all.  There's a nice way to do or say anything.  If you've been betrayed by someone close to you lately, although it may hurt, don't try to get revenge.  Vengeance belongs to the Lord and He will repay. (Romans 12:19)

Just pray for them.

Simply Grateful

Today I am grateful.  Not that I'm ungrateful on other days, but today my heart is exuding gratefulness.  Ever since I awoke this morning, Thank You Lord, has been on my lips.  It's not because of any one thing in particular, but for the simple fact that God is faithful.  He continues to prove Himself to me time and time again.

He's so good.
He's so merciful.
He's so understanding.
He's so compassionate.
He's so loving.
He's so forgiving.
He's so sweet.
He's so caring.

And He's been, and continues to be, all of that to me.  I love Him so much. 

Whenever I find myself wanting to complain about particular things not being the way I want them to be, I think about how good God has been to me.  I think about how in spite of all the times I was clearly worthy to be harshly punished, He was merciful towards me.  I consider how he took my sin-stained soul, and made it white as snow.  I ponder on all the times He was there for me, loving me, when I turned my back to Him.  I get lost in worship when I look back over my life and see how He saved me from a life of self-destruction, and gave me purpose.  When I think of where I could have been...my, my, my.

I can't help but be grateful.  I can't help but to lift my hands in praise, and my heart in worship.  I can't help but cry and give God thanks.  He's such an awesome God!

I'm sure that if you'd just take a moment to think about it, you'd be grateful to.

No, life may not always be going the way you want it to.  You will face hard times, and weak moments.  But in the midst of all that you go through, God is yet faithful.  He's yet good.  He's yet worthy.  He yet cares for you. 

Take your mind off of whatever situations you may be facing today, and give God thanks for your life.  Don't worry about what you don't have, what's not working out, or what's going wrong.  Just tell Him, Lord, I thank you for my life.

You know, something that I've learned along life's journey is that despite how gruesome personal situations may seem, things could always be worse.  For that alone, we should be grateful.

Go ahead and give God a grateful praise!

Til next time...

Love you for real,
Keisha

Here's a song to meditate on...enjoy.

Refreshing Fulfillment...

A little while ago, I decided to make my way to the kitchen for a snack.  My taste buds were definitely begging for something, but I had no clue what I wanted.  First, I tried a ham & cheese sandwich.  After one bit, I knew that wasn't it.  I sat the sandwich aside, and scanned the fridge for something else. "Yogurt!"  I said out loud.  Surely my favorite strawberry yogurt snack would satisfy my taste buds.  Wrong!  After two spoonfuls, I was sadly disappointed.  My favorite snack did not hit the spot.  So back to scanning the fridge I went.  That's when I laid eyes on a bright red watermelon halve that I purchased from the store yesterday.

Excitedly I grabbed it out of the fridge, cut half of it, and put it on a plate.  I was confident that the third time would be a charm, so I headed upstairs to my room.  With my shiny silver butterknife, I sliced into the watermelon, took a bite, and it was if I could hear a choir singing "Hallelujah!"  I closed my eyes and said "Mmmmmm", as juice dripped from the side of my mouth.  It was so refreshingly delicious and mouth-watering.  It definitely satisfied my taste buds, and I was one happy pregnant woman...dancing on my bed with every bite I took. 

Food really moves me! Don't judge me, LOL!!

As I  was enjoying my delectable watermelon, I saw a spiritual lesson that I'd like to share with you.

Have you ever been hungry for something, but couldn't quite figure out what you wanted or needed to fulfill your hunger?  I'm sure you can relate to that in the natural, but think about from a spiritual aspect for a moment. 

You knew you were hungry and thirsting for something, so you tried sex, but that wasn't fulfilling.  You tried alcohol, but that didn't quite hit the spot.  You tried drugs, but that still left you hungry.  You became a shopaholic, but still you weren't satisfied.  Have you ever been there?  I certainly have.  I've been in that place of trying to fill a spiritual hunger with natural things.  It never satisfies.

Instead it leaves you malnourished, and desperate for something to nourish you.  What better nourishment can we find than that that comes from Jesus Christ, who says "...but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14)  How refreshing and fulfilling is that!

There is nothing and no one that satisfies like Jesus.  Nothing can refresh our souls like Him.  No one can fill our hearts like Him.  No one can loves us like Him. 

Stop searching for temporary fulfillment, and grab hold to The One who gives eternal fulfillment.  Our Lord, Our Savior, Jesus Christ.  He who hungers and thirsts after the Lord; after His righteousness; after His peace; after His joy; after holiness...they shall be filled.  He is the most refreshing fulfillment!

Til next time...

Love you for real,
Keisha

I Desire More

Today I cried. 

I sat in the middle of my bed, and I cried until there were no tears left.  What's wrong?  Nothing at all.  So why was I crying if nothing's wrong?  Let me tell you...

You see, lately I've been in a really strange place.  I've felt a void; some kind of emptiness, and I couldn't quite figure out why.  I mean, I have the Lord, my husband, our children...I'm satisfied.  So where did this hollow place come from?  Why was I feeling like something was missing in my life?  Why did I feel like I needed more?  And more of what?

After spending some time in prayer, God revealed some things to me.  What it all boiled down to is that the regular, mundane, routine encounters I've been experiencing with the Lord are simply no longer fulfilling to me.  My spiritual appetite has greatly increased, and my normal spiritual meal just isn't enough.

This morning as I sat in silence, I began to pray.  What started as my normal daily communication with God shifted into a brand new encounter with Him.  I recall saying over and over again, "Lord, I need more of You...give me more of You."   The more I said it, the more I felt His presence engulfing my entire being.  With tears pouring from my eyes, I became completely lost in Him.  Wow!  Talk about an experience.

Even when the tears were no longer flowing, I still felt as if God had sat me in His lap, wrapped me tightly in His arms, and was saying, "Here...take all of me."   It took me a good minute to come out of that moment, and although that was hours ago, I can still feel His presence in my room.  Needless to say, I feel whole today.  My cup is indeed running over.

I think there comes a point in all of our lives when the ordinary just won't do anymore.  That's definitely where I am.  In those times, we should seek and desire more of God.  There is nothing more fulfilling than His presence.  Oftentimes, when we feel a void in our lives, we tend to think that we need to fill it with tangible things.  But sometimes it's our spiritual appetite that desires more nurturing; more of God's word; more of God's presence; more prayer time; more worship.

I don't know about you, but normalcy with God is out of the picture.  God wants us to have so much more of Him.  Do you desire more?

Til next time...

Love you for real,
Keisha

You Can't Rush It

Today marks the first day of my third trimester. Woohoo!! I'm so excited to finally be in the home stretch. Twelve more weeks, and this season of body aches, dizzy spells, heartburn, gestational diabetes, headaches, and all that other good stuff, will be over.  And my husband and I will have a new, precious baby boy to love and care for.  I can hardly wait!

Truth be told, I would absolutely love to wake up tomorrow, and it be August 31st.  But there are some things we simply cannot rush.  And most ladies know, that pregnancy is definitely one of those things.  It's been a rough run this third time around, but the reward is priceless.  I have no choice but to patiently wait for the next twelve weeks to play out.

Wouldn't it be great if we could know when particular seasons in our lives would end?  It would be so wonderful to be able to place a big, red circle around a date on the calender, noting "This season ends here!"  Wishful thinking.

This week, I wrote about embracing dry seasons in EEW Magazine.  And for some reason, God is yet speaking to me about seasons. 

On separate occasions this week, three people made the exact same statement to me - "I wish this season would just hurry up and be over."  Have you ever said that?  I surely have...many times.  We have no qualms about those times when things are going right in our lives.  When our husbands are acting right; job promotions are falling into our laps; money is increasing; our health is in tact; and all kinds of wonderful blessings are being given unto our bosom. 

During those times we bask in God's goodness.  We shout all over the church.  We call up all of our friends, and shout from the mountaintop that "God is so good to me!"  And we never want that season to end.  In fact, we think I can stay in this moment forever.

But then something happens.  Our well seems to dry up.  Money becomes funny; change becomes strange; friends become few; marriage gets rocky; health begins failing; we lose our job; everything seems to be going left.  Then our feet become a bit heavy at church.  We find it kind of hard to smile.  We begin to wonder if God has forsaken us.  And all we want is for this season to hurry up and be over.

We long for those words that in seven or thirty days, our dry season will be over.  We simply want to rush right through it.  But that's not how God works.  He does not work according to time...especially not ours.  Just because a season is difficult for us, does not mean that God will allow it to go by faster.  No.  But what He will do is sustain you and help you get through it. Just like we cannot rush the natural seasons that we don't particularly care for, we cannot rush the spiritual seasons in our lives.  I'm not at all a fan of winter, but I have no choice but to stick it out and make the best of it until spring arrives. 

This is exactly what you must do during those unfavorable seasons in your life.  You absolutely cannot rush it.  And just because you're experiencing a tough time does not mean you go into hibernation until it goes away.  No ma'am.  Put a smile on your face, and praise God as if it were the best season of your life.  Because no matter where you are, or what you're going through, God is worthy.  He's still good.  He's still blessing you.  He's still loving you.  He's still keeping you.  He's still faithful to you.

Since you can't rush it, you may as well embrace it, and take it for what it is - a necessary part of your growth and development to becoming the person God has ordained you to be.

Til next time...

Love you for real,
Keisha

Made Some Changes...

Happy Monday!

Today I would like to reintroduce you to the blog, previously known as Divine Words.  It was impressed upon my heart to make a few changes, so I obeyed what I believed to be the voice of the Lord, so here you now have Real Woman, Real God!

I am excited about the topics and issues that the Lord is leading me to share with His women.  I believe that all of us need to know that just because we are Christians and we love God does not mean that we won't experience our fair share of hangups, strongholds, setbacks...real issues.

Unfortunately, until we make it to heaven, everyday will not be Sunday.  In fact, I have had (And sometimes still do!) quite a few "Mondays" in my life.  Those dreaded days that you wish would just disappear from the calendar.

I pray that as I share what the Lord gives me, you are encouraged, inspired, and empowered all the more to trust in our very real and sovereign God.  I believe that He wants to show someone just how real He is!

I hope you enjoy the changes, and the blog continues to serve as a blessing to your life!

Love you for real,
Keisha