Genesis 32 takes us deeper into the story of Jacob. At this point in his journey (arguably, the most important), Jacob is on is way to reunite with his brother. They don’t have the best of histories - so he knows that this may not end well. Therefore, he sent his family ahead of him (with a peace offering) to warm up his brother, and right now…he’s in the woods. Suddenly, this…man shows up & starts fighting….(rude, right?!) 

This morning, I read Colossians 3:23, which says “and whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.” To me, it served as a wake up call, and I wondered if you needed one too. I get it. It’s March. The new year feeling is long gone. Midnight has lost its magical sparkle. Gyms are empty. Some old attitudes have returned. Relationships that we said we’d cut may or may not be back in action. In some ways, we’ve lost our….umph. Why?

Ecclesiastes 3:1 reminds us that there’s a time & a purpose for everything. There’s a time to be born, and a time to die. There’s a time to build up, and a time to break down. There’s a time to weep, and a time to laugh. There’s a time to…”embrace”, and a time to pull yourself together & refrain from embracing. Time to gain, time to lose; time to keep, time to throw away. Time to be quiet, time to speak; time of war, time of peace. Everything has a set time and a set season. So, one of the most important questions in our lives today (and everyday) is: what time is it? 

Last week, God fussed at me (He does that occasionally….or often…who’s to say). I had gotten impatient, moved too quickly (I’m really good at that), and stuck my hand in His plan. He made the promise, He gave the instruction, and…I may or may not have been aiming for extra credit, and I don’t think that move had high approval ratings in Heaven. While He was fussing, He said something that…sparked something in me (that’s so God by the way lol). He asked me a question that He now wants me to ask you: do you want it bad enough to wait for it? ​

I will be the first to admit that I’m kinda sorta…extremely childish at times. I laugh at a lot of things that I probably shouldn’t laugh at. My sarcasm turns into a childish joke (or…5). I have natural childishness down to every tee; it’s the spiritual childishness that I struggle with (surprising, right?)….

The story is told in Genesis 19 of the destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah. Sodom & Gomorrah was…..a mess. You name it, it happened there. Eventually, God….got a little upset & decided to destroy it (ALL of it). However, before He set it ablaze, He sent a few angels down because He didn’t want to destroy Lot. The angels made their way to Lot’s house & said (warning, Valencia Version coming soon) “Pssst!!! You need to get out of here. It’s about to go down. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Don’t turn around. Get….out” Lot leaves the city with his family, but he didn’t make it to Zora with all of his family (very unhappy ending). Why? Well….what had happened was….

“I haven’t called you to perfection, but I have called you to purpose.” That’s what God said to me in one of my recent ‘chit chats with Christ’. In a way, it was funny because it’s one of those things that I knew….yet felt like I’d just learned all because of how & when He said it (He does that so often with me lol)….

A few days ago, a really bad storm came made its way across my city. Sirens were going off all over the place. Winds were at around 65 mph. It sounded like the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans were being released over my little home…and I’m sitting on the couch, giving Jesus a concert, reading for my next class. Then, it randomly occurred to me that I was awfully peaceful for somebody who could possibly be caught up in a tornado. I mean, I wasn’t panicking at all. If the sound of the storm did anything, it soothed me, and made me want a nap (which is partially why I gave Jesus the concert). All of that made me wonder about life (because that’s what I do lol), and about the storms that we face on a daily basis. What if I (well, we…I don’t want to be alone here lol) faced my spiritual storms the way I faced the physical storms? 

​Well, the first week of 2017 is over (sidebar: no, I'm not moving the new posts to Friday). For some, it's been inspirational (new year, new things!!!! Oh glory!!); for others, it's been rooooouuugghhhh (new year....new things...like heartache, and pain). Regardless of where you are on that scale, I've been thinking about you, & I want to share something with you that God shared with me: He came so that you (yep, YOU) would live abundantly.

​So, Christmas is over. Everybody has their presents. We (myself included) are all at home playing with our new Apple, Samsung, etc. products. The hype is falling, and just before practicality sets in.....it's time for New Year's Eve (and THE day). So we have something else to be hype about. Soon, we'll be hearing a lot of 'new year, new me', but I believe that now, God is is saying 'new year, new things', and that's great, but......let's just get to it.