A Decade of Writing

The 9th of January marked my tenth year of blogging!

That’s a huge milestone for me. So much has happened from making the decision to start blogging. I have met some amazing people, got confident in my writing and even wrote a book.

I remember when I first started. I was afraid because I didn’t know how people would respond to what I was writing, and anxious because I didn’t know anything about blogging. “How was I going to do this” I thought?

But the important thing to note is that I did take the step of faith to start and God has been so good.

I want to encourage you to do what God has put in your heart to do. This is the best time to start. You may be like me who was fearful of the unknown or anxious but God is with you. He will help you as you take that first step. Just start friend.

If you gave up and think it’s too late to start again, you are not too late. God is the God of second chances and He is waiting for you. Don’t bury those desires God has put in you. That’s what the enemy wants you do. He doesn’t want you accomplishing what God has called you to do.

And as I come to the end of the post I want to thank all those who have been with me on this journey, new and old. Your support means so much to me. Here is to another ten years of writing!

Do what God has called you to do friend!

Rolain

Where You Start Is Not Where You End.

On one of my recent podcast writing episodes I talked about this.

If you didn’t know, I have a podcast where I talk to authors and aspiring authors.

I provide tips, advice and encouragement. The podcast is called,

The Writer’s Creative Space.

If you would like to listen to the episode here is the link.

Anyway, as I recorded the episode I realized this was not just a life principle but a

spiritual principle.

“Where you start is not where you end” is a spiritual principle too.

I am reminded of Rahab. She didn’t have the best start. She was a prostitute and people

saw her in one way. Her narrative for a time was negative. I don’t think anyone saw

greatness in her. But that all changed when some Hebrew spies came to her.

Her life changed forever. Her narrative changed for good.

“By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed

with those who were disobedient.”

Hebrews 11:31

Her end was so much better than her beginning. And if you search deeper into her

story you will find she was included in the lineage of Jesus Christ!

What an honor, what an ending.

So you see. where you start is not where you end.

Let me share one more example.

The disciples were ordinary men with no real purpose before Jesus. They were fishermen.

I wouldn’t say being a fisherman was bad but it wasn’t the greatest thing to be.

The disciples were probably overlooked. They probably overlooked themselves!

But look at what happened when Jesus came onto the scene.

Everything changed. Their lives were changed forever.

They became fisher of men and turned the world upside down!

And that’s the other thing I want you to see.

Only Jesus can change the narrative.

Only Jesus can change the ending.

You may be in a place today where you can’t make sense of how your life is going.

You may not understand how God can turn it around but He can and will.

No matter how you have started know that your end will be very different.

Look to Jesus for help.

Trust Him to change the narrative in your life.

Trust Him to change the ending.

Bless you friends

Rolain

What is God really up to in the midst of the pain I face???

I finally finished reading, Live, Love, Lead written by Brian

Houston. What a journey it’s been. I loved every chapter

of it. I would like to share something he said in the last chapter

that spoke to me deeply. It has been a source of peace for me

in this week:

 

“We know that all things work together for good to those who

love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

Romans 8:28

 

“Simply put, life has moments that we could not describe as

good, some simple inconveniences and other serious trials.

But in case there is any doubt, let me drive the point home

for you.

In Romans, the Bible is talking about ALL THINGS.

All things means inconvenient things, difficult things, upsetting

things, hurtful things, confusing things, painful things,

shameful things, sorrowful things, and ucertain things.

God wastes nothing, and somehow, he weaves everything

together for his glorious future, as only he can. All things

includes connections and disconnections, things coming

together and things falling apart, your best day and your

worst day, opportunities gained and opportunities lost,

good seasons and tough seasons, problems and solutions,

conflicts and resolutions, trials and triumphs, relationships

and acquaintances, sickness and health, poverty and wealth.”

 

What a profound thought. I have always read that scripture

but the way it was explained really blew me away. God works

ALL THINGS for our good. No matter how bad, no matter

how confusing, no matter how frustrating, all things work

together for good. God knows exactly what He is doing.

I am comforted that in the hard times, God is working things

out for good.

 

It’s amazing to think that the bad that has happened is not the

end of my story. There is a better end.

You may be going through hell but God is working things out

for your good. The enemy may think he is working things out

for the worst but he is seriously misinformed. No matter what

he throws at you, God is working it out for your good! He is

working all things together for your good. There is a man in

the bible who experienced this truth first hand. His name was

Mephiboseth.

 

Jonathan, saul’s son, had a son whose feet were crippled.

He was five years old when the news [of the deaths] of

Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. And the boy’s nurse

picked him up and fled; but it happened that while she was

hurrying that while she was hurrying to flee, he fell and became

lame. His name was Mephiboseth.

2 Samuel 4:4

 

Of no fault of his own, Mephiboseth was crippled. That must of

been hard to deal with. He didn’t ask to be crippled. It just

happened. What were his thoughts like?

Where there days he wanted to give up?

Did he hate his life?

Had he forgiven his nurse who dropped him? Things would

of been very different if she had been more careful.

To top that all off, his father had been killed in battle. How

much of his father did he remember?

Did he see King David as the enemy?

Did he think things would ever turn around for the better?

 

He may of thought things would never change but the fact is,

God turned his situation around for good. In the baddest of bad,

God turned things around for good in his life.

 

“And the king said, “is there no longer anyone left of the house

(family) of Saul to whom I may show the goodness and

graciousness of God?”

Ziba replied to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan,

[one] whose feet are crippled.”

2 Samuel 9:3

 

David gave him everything that king Saul

owned. He also told him he would eat at his table for the

rest of his days. (2 Samuel 9:11-13)

Things turned around for good in a way Mephiboseth never

imagined! No man could ever orchestrate how things would

turn out for him.

But God who is true to His word turned things out for

Mephiboseth in such an amzing way.

I love that.

 

I love that through the pain, the confusing times, the intense

times, the good times, God is working all those things out for

my good.

And that is true for you. He is working all things together

for your good! The enemy will not win. Things will not stay as

they are. God is working all things for good. Will you trust

he is working all things together for your good? You may not

see it, and it may not seem like it but things are working

together for your good! That is the God we serve and He is

worthy to be praised! Amen

 

Rolain

 

photo credit: google images

 

 

Purity and dating….What really matters here???

 

I had a thought the other day about my blog. I have rarely written anything

about dating. I have written a few posts here and there but nothing really substantial

about this very important piece of my life. It’s what I pray about constantly and talk to

God about. It’s an area I struggle trusting God in. If there is one thing I have

realized when it comes to finding the one, it’s we as people have no control over who we are to be with.

What I mean is God is the one directing us and guiding us in our relationships. He is involved

In the choosing process, it’s not just us. If it was up to me only I would of being married by now,

I would of chosen someone and that would have been that. But that is not the case for me. God has

really used this area of my life to teach me to trust in Him wholeheartedly! That is what I believe and

that is what I have experienced. This won’t apply to everyone. We are all unique and God works

differently in all our lives.

 

What is your point you might be asking??? Please bear with me a little longer. I am getting there….

 

I had a great week last week. It was great because God spoke to me about grace. I have always

known what grace is but last week was different. I got a whole new perspective on grace. But with

that perspective certain areas of my life were highlighted. The area of dating and relationships

was one of the areas that were highlighted in my life.

Let me explain. I have always prided myself in the values I have been taught concerning dating.

 

–         I have never dated in my life ever!

–         I have never kissed anyone passionately (That honor will go to my wife)!

–         I signed a covenant of chastity even.

 

 

There are others but this post is not about what my values are and getting the praise but about

what God showed me. These are the things that made me proud and even conceited. Because of the

values I had I thought I could dictate who I wanted. God, I want this kind of woman and she must

be that and and and………

I am so ashamed writing this because I was seriously misguided. This is not how God works.

One of the things I prided myself in……
But what matters is God’s grace!

 

Last week He showed me how getting a wife was not because of all the things I had done,

and the high standards I had and the values I believed in but because of His grace!

It is because of His grace that I will find the One. It won’t be because of my intelligence and

how holy I appear to be and how together I try to be but it will be because of His grace!!!!

This is one area He will get the glory! He wants the glory in every aspect of our lives.

When I realized this I was dumbfounded. How could I have not seen this?

 

Please understand me here, keeping yourself pure and all those other decisions about purity

you have made or should make are important. But those things need to be done to glorify God.

I had that intension when I first started out but it changed some where. It became about me

some where down the line.I will meet the woman God has for me because of His grace. I won’t

have anything to add on and say to God “but it’s because I did this or that…..no!”

That is how amazing God’s grace is. His grace extends to every other area of our lives and not just in

our relationships.

 

Will you lean fully on His grace? Don’t rely on what you have done or what you can do and and and….

Rely on His grace!

 

Rolain