I CAN and I WILL.. activity

So I was encouraged by an activity I participated in on a womens prayerline and decided to try it a different way.

Preface:

You are so much stronger than you think you are! You CAN be everything God says you are; you CAN do everything Jesus says you can do; and CAN be free from everything Christ died for! So my question is: what "CAN you..." today? Leave a comment....

I, Rhemma Payne

CAN live a life free from sin
CAN be set free from ALL fears
CAN refuse to participate in gossip
CAN choose to guard my eyegate from traps
CAN be physically, mentally, emotionally pure in my thoughts, actions and speech
CAN have healthy godly relationships
CAN have clean and lust-free thoughts
CAN share the gospel
CAN win souls for Christ
CAN have compassion for others
CAN forgive those who have hurt me
CAN be forgiven by those I've hurt
CAN break the cycle of shame and guilt in my family
CAN receive household salvation and Pentecost
CAN see God break fear in my family

....put your list on your fridge and ask yourself for each one- "are you willing?" we have the free will to not only acknowledge that God has given us the authority to be and see these things, but will we do it? When you have decided, put "I WILL.." in front of each one.

Say aloud and watch what God does in your life...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

My OVERSEAS Blog...

Hey followers!!

Top of the mornin' to ya! Haha...this is just a quick post to ask you guys to follow my second blog- As I will be updating this one more than likely from overseas from South Africa! I have more on that blog about the South Africa trip and would love to hear your feedback and comments about my posts as I prepare these last couple of days.

I did a tester today on my iphone with a wifi signal and so that should work when overseas!

here's the address

http://rhemmaoverseas.blogspot.com

Enjoy and Have a great summer everyone!

Addressing the Past....

...keeps you LEGIT!

Today, as I was cleaning through my trunk of junk (haha) I found so many old things that I've kept throughout the years. I got this trunk the summer of 2003 in preparation of my college years and in order to keep valuables locked in it. Now after 7 years of moving this trunk from here to there and so forth, I have decided that since my college days are over, I should tackle the haunting task of emptying out this trunk and moving ON!!



It's interesting, to say the least, to see what I considered valuable over 7 years. From beanie babies, to bills, to old school papers, and pictures. It was all considered valuable at one point, but as I move to this next stage in life--It needs to be cleaned out!

To go about cleaning this trunk out, I find it necessary to go piece by piece with a garbage pile, shred pile, and keep pile. You would be amazed at how much you can find out about yourself after reviewing 7 years worth of valuable "junk" =)

What started as a minor task of simple sorting turned into a major task of addressing my past. Some positive memories were displayed in birthday cards, high school pictures, etc. Some negative memories though, seemed to shift my mood-- Drastically....


I came across a selection of my writing that did not please me. It shocked me back into my frame of thinking and caused me to reflect and address this part of my past.


This particular selection of writing was during a period of my life when I was not only depressed, but extremely open and graphic about my thoughts and feelings.
Even reading snippets from each poem, and short story, enraged me. Perhaps, an overreaction, but it still angered me to see myself in this light! I wrote sex stories with vivid and profane language that would definitely SHOCK most people I know now. I even began to remember how I was about to work on publishing some of my short stories and poems with another female author so some of my work (under my tag name "GhettoluvChild" had art work done for them by a friend.

Although, I know that these stories no longer represent me and my character, it still angered me. I didn't want to recognize this part of my past and I didn't want to address it. However, God does not want us to hide from those things that we once were but to address it in order to move on with our lives. When thinking about my mind frame during that time, I began to rejoice in the fact that I was lost, but now am found! All of a sudden the miracle of the death of my old self began to be revealed! Praise God for sorting through this junk, because it gave me a revelation of who I once was and who I am now! The fact that this old life and memories shocked me should only cause me to BOAST IN THE LORD. Like many old church sayings, "Look what the LORD DONE DONE!!"

It makes me want to shout and proclaim to the world because this is hard evidence of my old life and my thoughts and actions now are the complete opposite. There was obviously a shift and I thank God that every lie the enemy told me then has been exposed and I'm FREE!! Not only did addressing that I was at one point "LOST"..I also was reintroduced to my passion for WRITING...

I've always enjoyed writing and being creative with my expression and it saddened me that I stopped writing. Lately, I've been trying to keep a journal but it never lasts long. Sometimes I feel as if there is nothing to write about. I've lost this passion because of how the devil perverted it in my past and changed it into something that I would not be proud of - BUT God ...

God is restoring this passion for creativity and it is reflecting a life devoted to HIM. Finding these poems and short stories also helped me address this lost love for writing. I was so open and free when I wrote and God has that for me now. This time, my work will reflect godly character and be used to edify, strengthen, and exhort! I understand that I can redeem this passion and use it for GOOD! Maybe I will still publish a book of short stories with GOD inspired life stories!

So to encourage you all, as we spring/summer clean out our trunks o' junk, don't simply discard, but address the things that you are letting go of! Then, get ready to move forward to a new day of fresh revelation of God's will for your life!!!

"HAPPY ARE THE PURE IN HEART" MATT 5:8

Having a church home....

...keeps you LEGIT....

(check out these two video blogs) --they both get cut off at the end, but i'll make the next ones better...

Peace

Part I

part II

Being still in God's presence....

keeps you legit!!

Today, (tuesdays) are my official days of rest. No class, no internship, no other responsibilities. For this reason - I made a point to read my WORD early instead of waiting until I got too busy... After reading the Word, I wanted to go on about my business, but for some reason was led to play this song by Matt Gilman -- Holy ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atGUMMJzoMI )

First i watched it on youtube from the Onething Conference in 2008, then I played the cd song and put it on repeat... as I was trying my best to carry on with my day, my thoughts stopped and realized that God is HOLY... it seems so simple but it hit me and i fell on my knees - clenched my chest and cried out to God... I realized that He was a good dad..and that all the things i've been avoiding stepping into - the things HE has placed on my heart...that HE was faithful to see them through.. I knew it was a wrap for me watching tv and going into autopilot... God in that moment told me to give HIM my Tuesdays!

This is the time of the week where I have no time committment-- nothing to rush off to-- no one to go visit or meet with -- basically NO excuse for not spending time with HIM. I turned on the IHOP prayer room and began to worship God and pray along with their prayer themes. I then laid down and played a cd (Best of IHOP prayer room) and listened until I fell asleep. It is soooo awesome being alone with God with nothing going on in the back of your head.

I am going to work on honoring this. Tuesdays alone with Jesus! It's a DATE!!!

Having a mentor.....

keeps you legit...

I have a mentor (or what we call at my church, discipler) that definitely keeps me LEGIT! When sharing my walk with her it creates a place of transparency, humbled heart, and self-reflection--- So necessary in my walk with Christ!

I met with my discipler a couple of weeks ago and tons of emotions that I had no clue were in me came pouring out - with just a simple question - I came to realize that I still need to work through some things that I was avoiding.

It through me for a loop that I had all these emotions that i was unaware of in me but having a place to talk on a regular basis is awesome! we may think we have it all together but God knows where we need to be touched on a deeper level!

It's awesome to share this with someone who has your best interest in mind. My discipler is awesome and she is very sincere when she prays with me! Her time is set aside for me and it is evident that she is engaged when we speak.. This is very important when looking for someone to disciple you. Please pray about it.. your best friend may not be a good discipler for you (maybe accountability partner- i'll speak more on this later) Find someone who has endured some stuff, not a rookie Christian who is still struggling with you. This is not to put anyone down but you want to go to someone who has some things figured out so that you can draw from them! God is a great matchmaker when it comes to this-- seek HIM and ask HIM and He will lead you to the right match!

Everyone go and get a discipler --- NOW..

but seriously... DO IT...