TRANSITION

2021 will be a year of great transition

We will move from one state of being to the next. 

You will see great and dynamic movement in government 

You will see great and dynamic movement in the church.

Transitions in and transitions out.

One minute we were heading in one direction the next minute we were not.

Transition the process or period of changing from one state or condition to another.

We have already moved from one state of living in 2020

We will now enter into a new state of existence in 2021

Your body will transition into total health existence

Your mind will transition into a growth mindset existence 

Your money will transition into a wealthy existence 

Your spirit will transition into all things are possible existence.

Your businesses will transition into fortune 500 existence 

Your ministry & the church will transition into 

glory realm existence! 

What will it take to transition?

It will take you changing your perspective 

A friend of mine told me there is a reason the windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror.

It's because whats ahead is so much greater than what's behind you. 

We have to move from looking at how

2020 may have taken you by surprise and now see that 2021 can be taken by force. 

There is no limit to what you can see in front of you.

Change your perspective so you can transition your world into a new level of existence.

2021 is a year of great transition!

EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED!

Have you ever had something to say, but you just can't put all the words together and say it? Well, I've been experiencing this on the inside since March. I've shared portions with others, but I now have the fullness of it here. I truly know and believe it is a word for the times.

Nothing is the same.
Everything has changed, including you!
Every time you try to look back and do something familiar you experience resistance.
Resistance happens when you try to push through to another level and hit what looks like a ceiling.
But the resistance/ceiling is not always bad thing.
If you are into market structure you know when trading price can get to a point where it has to make a decision.
The price of the trade can either retreat back to its usual level or breakthrough to a new level and price point.
Once it makes the decision to go forward the resistance or ceiling is no longer against it, but it now becomes the floor or support to uphold it to the next level.
We are all at a point of decision in our lives.
We must decide whose report we will believe.
We must decide who we will receive and even be.
The resistance of these times is honestly becoming the support that will push you and me into our next level of living and being.
So stop trying to go back.
Look forward and press into the new.
Nothing is the same.
Everything has absolutely changed - Even you!

Isaiah 43:18-19 - Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?

Who Are You?

Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, Who do men say that I am? Mark 8:27 NKJV

Who am I? In essence this is what Jesus was asking. The savior of the world wanted to know who he was. More importantly he wanted to know who people said he was to them.

I'm sure you're probably asking why would Jesus want to know what people thought of him. It's because Jesus' entire purpose of being was to serve others. He was not here for himself. He was strictly here for others. 

For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Luke 19:10 KJV

You see Jesus knew his purpose. He knew what he was born for. He knew what he was called to do.

What about you? What were you born for? Why are you here? What are people saying about you? Is your life a reflection of service or is it a reflection of being served.

When I made my career change into education, I knew it was an act of service. For one I have my own school of 4 children at home and two there is no amount of compensation that can equate to the time you put in to help children. So it wasn't about me. I knew it was for others. My purpose then and now 12 years later is still the same - to help young people discover their purpose too.

Have you ever thought about who is missing out on your purpose? What if there were hundreds, millions of people who need your creativity, expertise and abilities? What if there was one who needed you to be uniquely you? 

I had an amazing experience at church recently. I got baptized (pictured above)! It was so wonderful especially, because as I got out of the water I could see so many people cheering, smiling and just celebrating my experience. It made the day all the more memorable and rewarding.

So, it's true that you are who you are. But who you are to others makes you YOU! 

My prayer is that God will tell every person reading this blog who you are in Him. And that others will confirm it in the days ahead.

As always thank you for reading and sharing.💗

There Is Nothing Wrong With You

The Holidays can be a time of reflection, but it does not have to be a time of rejection. Most often, we can be so consumed with getting everything right that we focus on everything that is wrong. And I think we can all agree that never makes anything right.

Matthew 6:31-32 NLT - “So don’t worry about these things, saying, “What will we eat?What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.”

Worry, like fear, is simply negative thinking. You think negatively about situations, places, people or things based on your experience or the experience of others. Your mind is so overwhelmed with concern about something wrong happening that you can’t even see anything right.

Can I tell you a secret? You and I will never get it all right! So just go ahead and forgive yourself now. You will make mistakes. You will miss the mark. You will have regrets. But even in all that, there’s nothing wrong with you.

Our lives are not DIY projects.  We are not accidents waiting to happen. We are not in this by ourselves.  We are all uniquely designed, handcrafted masterpieces created to reveal a God that wants to be seen in a real world amid real problems.  His goal is to work through us, so we can begin to solve them. 

So, if you find yourself not having met your goals, or feeling rejected, abandoned and alone; there is nothing wrong with you! Why?  Because Jesus himself took on those same feelings too! 

He went to the cross alone. He took on the sins of the world alone. He died alone. Despite all this, he still came through. And there is nothing that he came through that you can’t come through too!

As we move toward the new year and new season, give yourself a break from the pressure of your performance and allow yourself the freedom to enjoy the beauty of His.

There is nothing wrong with you. All He sees is right when He sees you. Can you see it too?

www.ethelisgrace.com
His voice – My Life – Our Ministry
@Ethelisgrace |facebook |twitter |instagram
#mum #workingmother #wife #family #leader #God

FUHGEDDABOUDIT!

I recently visited my hometown NY; and as we were leaving, I peeked out the car window and noticed a sign that read “Fuhgeddaboudit!”

I chuckled after reading thinking NY vernacular is hilarious!  But in my laughter I could hear God saying the words are “the truth!”

“You see you can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the ocean shore.” -Christopher Columbus

Talk about Vision and Faith! You know what's in front of you, but you want to see what's beyond you. In order to experience it, you have to lose sight of where you are. But how?

Columbus knew it. In order to go from here to there you have to lock in and focus on where you are going.

In the mornings getting my “final4” ready can be taxing. Everyone has to perform their daily routines so that we can make it out the door. My daughter bless her sweet little heart...loves to take her sweet little time. She is constantly encouraged to eat faster, brush her teeth faster and get dressed even faster.

One day, she said, “Mommy, why are you always rushing me?” And I simply said, “Baby I'm just focused on where we're going.”

You see focus is intentional. It's like the lense of a camera. It will only zoom in on what it wants to see magnified and zoom out of what it wants to lose attention of.

How about you? What has your focus magnified on lately? Is it your daily schedule or lack thereof? Is it your child's behavior and grades in school? Or is the focus all about your spouse or not having one?

The same is true for work. If you have a high demanding job or you are a stay at home mum, your attention span becomes even more divided. The juggle of getting it all done can have you spent. And to be very honest burned out.

Listen, while all those daily to do items and attention grabbers are important, there is nothing more important than causing your attention to zero in in one direction.

Hebrews 12:2 says it: Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.

We can't get anything done until we do what needs to be done. And we need our focus on HIM. Everyday HE is our priority. Everyday HE is where we are going. Everyday HE is what we are magnifying above everything else in our lives.

As we do, our to do’s become easier. Our concerns become quieted and our lives begin to express our deepest desires, because the author of our lives has taken our focus.

Have you ever taken a moment to forget about what's not working and possibly lose sight of the current shore?

Have you ever just locked your attention on HIM?  Where is the author of your life taking you? What is the finisher of your faith saying?

It’s funny, because today marks my 14 year anniversary of relocating to the DMV.  Back then I had to forget about everything and look towards what was ahead. 

So, as you start the new school year, new business or new career, can you forget about everything else & just focus on HIM?

If I did it, I know you can too!

www.ethelisgrace.com
His voice – My Life – Our Ministry
@Ethelisgrace | facebook | instagram | twitter
#mom #workingmother #wife #mum #family #leader #God

"OG"

When you’ve had four kids born within five years, work a demanding job and volunteer to serve selflessly at church; folks are bound to ask you questions. I’m constantly approached with questions and comments like, "How in the world are you taking care of four kids?" “I don't see how you do it with four little ones running around." "If I were you I would be at home with all dem babies." If I can be totally honest, I have asked myself the same things. 

Being a mother is no small feat! Being a woman even greater. I wake up everyday at 5:30am, head to a full time job in the midst my full time life.  Scrambling for the time to meet everyone's needs to include my own would probably send me to the coo-coo house. However, I don't and can't do it by myself. Even with my supportive husband, the demands are just too great. This is why I must rely on the greater One.

You see, I didn't want four kids. By the time I considered having children, I had already experienced two miscarriages.  I was resolved on having one & done. But as I considered scriptures like John 10:10 "I have come to give you life and life more abundantly." And Psalms 115:14 "The Lord shall increase you more and more you and your children," I began to be open to the idea of taking the limits off my life and allowing God to have endless access to me. Now, I'm not saying I could not experience the abundant life with one kid. I am saying that He always wants to do exceedingly abundantly far above what we dare ask and even think (Ephesians 4:22). And when you finally let Him do what He wants, you'll know its only grace that did it.

Only grace positioned me as a wife, mother and leader. Only grace equips me with all that I need to not only survive but to thrive. Only grace will allow you to step out of your comfort zone to move into the unknown. Only grace will allow you to experience the super imposing love of a heavenly father and cause you to share the same with others. 

As I consider my life story its only grace that has brought me out of dark places to experience the joys and freedom of His marvelous light. It's in moments where I feel like I'm at my weakest and only grace steps in to show me I'm the strongest. Or when I want to say I'm done and only grace tells me “It’s already won!”

If you or I could do this life alone, that wouldn't be worth sharing. But when we say an invisible God took time to make himself visible and known in your world, now that's something to talk about! 

I firmly believe God wants His grace known to all mankind. He wants everyone to know His ability, His strength, and His power is available for everyday living. He wants people to ask you questions so that every time grace is seen in your life, He ultimately gets all the glory.  And that's the story we all want to tell!

So the next time someone asks me why my life is not like what they would expect it to be. Or why my story looks a little different than theirs; my only response will be "OG" - ONLY GRACE!

www.ethelisgrace.com
His voice – My Life – Our Ministry
@Ethelisgrace |facebook |twitter |instagram
#mom #workingmother #wife #family #leader #God