iShineInMinistry

I Samuel 3:9-10 (NKJV)

“Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.”

“Now the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.””

Lately, I have been noticing that I have trouble sleeping. Usually when I tell people this, their first thought is that I am stressed. However, in these last few weeks, it has mostly been in part to the fact that God has been flooding my mind with countless ideas for ministry! I lay in bed and then a thought pops up...I quickly pull out my journal and pen, use the flashlight app on my phone and begin to write, then write even more! He keeps showing me tons of things between the hours of 11pm and 1am...the sometimes again even later. When those moments happen, I decide to quickly type whatever thought comes to mind in my notepad app on my phone.

Since I frequently have sleeping issues, this seemed to be a little random at first. I thought to myself, "Lord, why can't you tell me these things during the day...then I could sleep at night!" Now, I welcome the ideas because He has given so many. I'm beyond excited for all the ministry plans God has and I want to see how everything comes together when it's all done!

How about you? What has God been showing you lately with regard to ministry? Have you been listening intently? Are you ready for all the new things He is ready to do? Are you really listening?

Can I encourage each of us to make sure our hearts, minds, ears (paper and pen) are ready to hear everything the Lord wants to tell us? We are living in the last days and really want to make sure we are ready in season and out of season. So, when the Lord speaks, let's be ready to listen and do what is pleasing to Him for His purpose and His plan.

Lord...speak, Your servants hear!!

Read I Samuel 3 and jot down the things you notice most. Then ask the Lord to speak to you...and really listen to what He has to say!!

Psalm 45:1 (NKJV)

“...My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.” ‭

Psalm 147:1 (NKJV)

Praise the Lord!


For it is good to sing praises to our God;


For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful. I have no idea what is going on right now in the area of ministry that you serve; but I know that sometimes we just need to sing to the Lord and abandon all that is in front of us to be in the presence of our Heavenly Father.

So, rather have a devotion, I thought I would share this song with you. I am singing it right now…and whatever idea I thought I had about writing a devotion is completely gone as I sing. Sometimes, we just need to get out of the routine and get on God’s plan. Enjoy and have blessed week of ministry!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQja3FMj7yU

Psalm 139:3 (NET)

You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest;

you are aware of everything I do.

It's that time of year again! School is in full swing and so is ministry for the upcoming holidays. There isn't a moment in the day where you don't have some task or duty on your unending to-do list. You are to the point where you may have to start scheduling sleeping and eating to stay afloat. We all know this is the time of year where we get too busy to really take care of our bodies; yet we know that we need to stay healthy to do all the things we are called to do as we serve the Lord and the people of God. We need to take these three safeguards to heart so that we don't burn out before Christmas Eve! See below and then ask the Lord to help you consistently do these needed things.

1) Eat Well: Take the first few hours of the day to get filled up spiritually and physically...doing your devotional and having some fruits, veggies and protein. You will keep your energy level up in every sense of the word and also get the vitamins needed to keep you immune system ready to fight off fall germs!

2) Pray Often: When the going gets busy, we seem to talk and listen to God less. This should be the opposite effect considering that we need His strength to do what He has called us to do. As soon as you feel the need to flesh out, ask God for grace and mercy (for yourself and that thorn in your flesh that is standing in front of you). Then make sure to go before the Lord throughout your day, having a constant line of communication with Him, so that all that flows from you in those stressful moments is the fruit of the Spirit, not the wrath of a mean girl.

3) Go to BED: Your body has to recuperate from all of the extra time, work, ministry and activities that are going on during this season. This is not the time to become a forced insomniac. Say no to a dinner outing or early morning coffee date, you can't be everywhere all at the same time. Even Jesus went off alone...trust me, we aren't as legit as Jesus so we need some sleep. Cuddle up with some chamomile at night and sleep in a little on Saturday morning. Your body will thank you...and not go on strike by way of sickness.

I hope you will prayerfully find ways to place these things on your priority list during this active season. We can't shine as bright with the flu or a hangry attitude because our blood sugar is too low from lack of food. Be wise as you serve and enjoy this fabulous and fast season of ministry!!

Jeremiah 29:11 (HCSB)

“For I know the plans I have for you” – this is the Lord’s declaration – “plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

Once again this area of scripture keeps popping up in my line of vision and I find myself clinging to the words that the Lord promises for dear life when things do not go my way. The interesting part about my future and hope is that I have no earthly idea what area of my life this is pertaining to…it could be my career-path, my life in New York, my singleness or a menagerie of other fabulous things floating through my mind at this present time. I am sure that many of you wonderful ladies also have your hope for something that you want to come in the near future, but I must ask you (and myself), where is your hope right now?

Is your hope deferred?

Proverbs 13:12 (KJV)

Hope deferred maketh the heart sick; but [when] the desire cometh, [it is] a tree of life.

For some of us that have been waiting for something for a particularly long time, hope may be faltering or wavering on empty. You may be sick of hoping for that matter. If this is the place we find ourselves in, we must guard our hearts so that we do not react in the flesh or do something rash because our fickle feelings tell us to do so. While it may be hard to wait, day in and day out, for that hope that is not even glimmering yet, do not give up for a cheap imitation of what you are waiting for, that will only make the outcome worse.

Is your hope enduring?

Romans 8:25 (NET)

But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with endurance.

Are you enduring in hope right now? Maybe you cling to the fact that God is faithful and even when you have bad days; you know that your Lord will come through…even if it isn’t in your timing. We can seek Him and ask Him for strength to continue as He orchestrates each and every element, all the small and big details and we will finally see one day that our enduring hope was not in vain.

Are you blessed with hope?

Jeremiah 17:7 (NKJV)

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord.”

God is faithful, amazing and perfect in His ways…you know this to be true. Whether or not you can see what He is up to, you choose to say yes to joy; to wait patiently, be a blessed person and an encourager to those around you in the meantime as you allow Him to work in your life. You stay in that blessed attitude and spread the sparkle to all those around you that need a little more hope in their lives. Depending on who it is, you may be the only demonstration of Christ’s love they ever see! Continue in that blessed hope!

No matter where your hope is today, please know that God can meet you right where you are and guide you through each and every step as He brings you to what you are hoping for. Stay the course, stand strong in the faith and trust in Him always. Even though you don’t see it yet, please know that God is a keeper of His promises. Be joyful as you hope in Him.

Hebrews 11:1 (ESV)

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

James 4:17 (NKJV)

Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

I consider myself to be pretty in shape, even though my physical appearance would not immediately lead you to believe such. I work out multiple times a week, have a very active lifestyle and love to run and find other fun ways to burn calories. While my constant state of movement is a great attribute for staying healthy, I must admit…I HATE strength training. Until about three weeks ago, I had not done any strength training in over three years! I would work out up to six days a week, having a grand old doing cardio workouts and breeze by the weights, machines and other equipment. I figured, how bad could that be?

Fast forward a to few weeks ago with me trying to do bicep curls and planks…and struggling BADLY. I used to be able to do a 5-minute plank with no problem; now one minute is actually difficult for me. All the cardio workouts I completed led me to believe that I would probably still balance out health-wise since I was not doing the other needed exercise; that theory did not work! Now, I might as well be back at square one, trying to get back to a place where my friends can once again call me “workout Barbie”!

The funny thing about coming to terms with my out of shape-ness was what God showed me spiritually speaking. We can go to church, serve in ministry and think that our relationship with the Lord will just “balance out” even though we stop reading our bibles and praying. Or we can pray and listen to Christian music all the time and think that balances out the fact that we haven’t attended church in five years! Can I just tell all of us…it will never balance out!

In the same way that I need to do all parts of my workout to stay healthy, we need to apply all parts of ourselves to worshipping the Lord. We can’t tithe and think it will balance out the habitual/life-dominating sin we commit. We can’t overdo something to make up for what we don’t do; it just does not work that way. The scripture above even tells us that if we know what we should do and don’t do it, we are sinning! That is not a place any of us want to be in. So, let’s all ask God to show us those places we are neglecting or trying to balance out with something else and surrender it to Him - letting Him do a work in our hearts and minds as we grow in our faith. We will be glad that we did, even though the first few weeks may not feel so great (just like my bicep curls), but in time, we will be blessed and filled with Him!!

James 1:4 (NET)

And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything.

Are you trying to balance out an area of your relationship with God? If so, ask Him to help you fully commit to doing His will, no matter what the cost. Have someone hold you accountable if need be, you will be glad you did!!