Stick With It!

So, I should be leaving out on my way to class right now, but before I do, I just had to say this....

(Y'all already know how I blog.. I don't know where this is going, but I'm letting God move ;)

Where is the Sticktoitiveness?? I've noticed that in almost everything I do, I start off really well! I go through this whole preparation process, but when it's time to actually go through with it... I bail out. Not on purpose, it just happens. I'll be on my way out the door headed to class (not like right now though lol this is different.. I'm early) and then as I'm turning the fricken knob.. I'll just stop, but my bag down, and do something else. Or  I'll get this great vision from God about something , let's take this blog for example, start it off strong... and then slowly... DEGENERATION.

If you haven't already noticed, I like to separate myself from my problems and just examine them from every angle. After examining THIS certain situation, I discovered that its a mind issue for me. I could pray all day long, "Lord, I just need you to help me to do better in this" or "Lord help me to be better at that" but at the end of the day, if I don't renew my mind, I'll be in a new test with the same mindset. (& note I said NEW test, not DIFFERENT. We'll talk more about this later). Its just like failing a quiz at school because you neglected to study. You go to your professor and tell them the truth, they have mercy on you and give you another shot, but instead of studying.. you don't.. AGAIN... and thus, you fail...AGAIN. What sense does that make?

So I've been given instruction to eat (the word) more. Pretty simple right? Then, why is it so doggone hard? WE MAKE IT HARD. You see, the mind plays a very important role in decision making, but of course that's obvious and you already knew that, right? Then why is it one of the last things we tend to give over to God? The enemy knows that if he has our mind, then he essentially has control. Our mind, along with our will and emotions, is part of our soul. When a thought enters our mind, a lot of times, we connect emotions to it and then finally, we act it out. For example... |  Let's say I'm watching t.v. late at night. A commercial comes on about ice cream (Because they always show "ICE CREAM" commercials at 2am...  -____- ). Now I'm not hungry, but because I saw the commercial, ice cream is on my mind. I now all of a sudden have a strong desire for some ice cream. I have some in the freezer, but its just too late to be eating, let alone something as sweet as ice cream. I convince myself that its too late, and I'll just continue watching t.v. ...Ten minutes pass by and I STILL have ice cream on the brain! Since I can barely find a good enough reason why I shouldn't eat the ice cream...I cave and go get some.|  *Let's take a second to analyze this before I move on. First of all, why am I up at 2am watching t.v. anyway?! The only commercials on at 2am are "ice cream" commercials. Secondly, As soon as that thought entered my head, I should have immediately combated it with the word. It would not have even gotten as far as triggering an emotional response, let alone affecting my will! But if I don't study, meditate on and internalize the word, I won't have anything to fight back with, therefore making myself susceptible to the nonsense in my immature and underdeveloped mind. |Dear folly.. #BAGBACK!| This doesn't just happen with sex, (if you have yet to realize that the word "ice cream" was standing in for the word sex, well then... now you know lol) it happens with a lot of different things. It's important to understand that the enemy stays on watch, trying to see which area is easiest to attack us in. It only makes sense for us to be prepared. All we have to do is show up to battle.. we've already won. But if you fail to show up, then we give him the victory by default. #NowWhyYouWannaGoAndDoThat?!*




**Ps.. y'all know I'm #TeamVirgin That "Ice Cream" would be REAL LIFE ice cream in my case! lmbo! God ain't too fond of gluttony. We like to forget about that.. **


One of my most recent prayers has been that God help me to be spirit- led in everything I do, instead of soul- led (remember the soul is our MIND, WILL, and EMOTIONS). It's so easy to just "go through" life, a lot of times, it even seems mechanical and robot-esque. Then, when something happens that we feel may be unpleasing to God, we're automatically "awaken" and sorry. "Lord I don't even know how this happened! Please forgive me. Help me to handle this situation differently next time" (smh I said this to God just last week as a matter of fact!) There's nothing wrong with that plea, but we get ourselves in certain situations that could have been avoided altogether if we would have just been a bit more spiritually sensitive. I've noticed this happening in my life quite often, granted those situations haven't come close to causing astronomical havoc; I still want to be more spiritually cognizant. So before I make any decision, no matter how big or small, I've been consulting God (This is after using discernment by the way.. You don't even need to seek God on some stuff, just use common sense!) Also, before I make certain decisions or even do certain things, I've been asking myself, "Would God find this pleasing or displeasing?"-- That helps A LOT!

So which brings me back to what I first mentioned above. Sticktoitiveness... or should I say the lack there of. I never used to be the type to give up, but it's been such a challenge recently. In almost everything! I know it's only because I'm getting closer and closer to my destiny though.... but still! smh! I've talked to God about this and I know it is displeasing to Him. He wants me to finish the work he puts before me, just like I'm trusting in Him to finish the work He's started in me. However, in the middle of my tasks, something always becomes of greater interest. #Distractions. I am guilty of letting distractions come in between me and my work sometimes. I am working on it though, and I have been seeing a shift... except in one area, which I'll blog about at a different time ;) But I went to God with that issue and that's where I received the instruction of spending more time in the word. I just received it about 20 minutes ago, so I haven't seen any results yet lol But I can guarantee there will be results! If it's a God given instruction, why wouldn't you see results? Remember, His plans for us are plans of hope and are to prosper us. =] (Jeremiah 29:11) He knows what's best and WANTS what's best for us. Ask Him for insight and instruction AND OBEY and you can't go wrong. (You should make some time to read Deuteronomy 11. If you can't make time to read the whole thing, be sure to read Verse 13-15)

*almost done*

I almost forgot to revisit the "New test vs Different test" matter. As far as ME and MY LIFE is concerned.. I was so tired of going through the same thing over and over again! So tired that I just quit trying. Little did I know that quitting would only make things worse. I kept going through the same thing over and over because I was  am being tested. The only way to move forward and mature is to pass the test. So when I gave the example in the very beginning about the tests, this is what I meant. Let's use the same example as before.....|  The test that the professor let you retake would not be a test on a completely different chapter. If the quiz you failed was on chapter 2, your professor would not give you material from chapters 4, 5, or 6 on the quiz. Sure, they may change the structure of the quiz and swap a few questions around, but changing the substance of the quiz would not be healthy for your grade or growth in the class. It's the same way with life. When we fail to pass a test, we can't move on to the next until we've passed the one before us. Not only would we be unprepared for the next test, but we would be immature and frail. God doesn't want that. He wants us to be nice and fat (full of the word.. #duh lol) and mature. One more quick and classic example. You're baby is eating baby food for the first time. Would you give your baby with one little tooth pieces of steak because they didn't like the way mashed peas taste? Ummm, didn't think so! That poor baby could choke! Not only that, but a stomach that's used to milk wouldn't be able to process and digest a piece of meat like that so soon. | *Okay, chile.. hurry up. What are you trying to say?!* *Moral of the story.. You have to go through the process. The process is sooo necessary. Don't rush through it. The test is to make you stronger and will help to prepare you for what He has in store next. Seek God every step of the way and obey His instruction and you can't go wrong. It's THAT simple. :)*

Signed,
Sticking to it ;)

#whew! Okay... I MIGHT be done..hol' on let me check.....

(15 mins of rough revising later)
Yup, all done =)

Thanks for reading! Comments are appreciated.