He Loves Me Enough to Nudge Me!~ Guest Blogger Shawn Givens

Wow! It is has been a long time since I posted and you will have to wait a little longer to hear from me. (Don't judge me! I am busy!) Today, a friend posted a note on Facebook and I asked her if she would share. She graciously agreed!

Shawn is a mother, wife, sister, daughter, and friend. She is a woman of God and a child of a King! She finds herself at a cross roads in her faith journey. If you find yourself dealing with consistency, obedience, and hearing from God I think this post will touch you and hopefully move you to take action. What do we do with the gentle nudges from the Lord? Do we recognize and respond to that still small voice? Great questions! Can We Talk?! As you read Shawn's post remember...to hear a still small voice we have to follow very closely AND be quiet! Enjoy!

I was pulled out of a deep sleep by God's voice speaking the word "CONSISTENT"! WOW!! Maybe I didn't hear quite right.. 2 more times I heard..CONSISTENT! Oh, okay Lord I hear you loud and clear. So I got out of bed and began to pray, and I began to do some research!

Consistent: Possessing firmness or coherence, marked by harmony,regularity,steady continuity, free from variation or contradiction and showing steady conformity to character, profession, belief or custom.

~Deuteronomy 4:24 - For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God!~ OMG.. God loves me enough that he is JEALOUS!

{I also came across the word INTENTIONAL: to have in mind a purpose or plan; to direct the mind and a determination to act in a certain way} Which caused me to question myself... Am I being intentional in all that I do?

Consistency is the key, but it requires some effort EVERYDAY. It requires a plan.. no matter what is happening in our lives.

I "intend" to do alot of things every single day that I don't get around to doing. I continue to hurry about my life, seldom taking time to focus. Even before I am fully awake my brain is already running crazy! The thing about intentions is this.. IF YOU NEVER ACT ON YOUR INTENTIONS THEY WILL STAY JUST THAT.. "INTENTIONS" Which means we have no purpose, plan or direction!

I want to be intentional and consistent about everything: My life, walk, talk, marriage, parenting, relationships, career, appearance, showing love/support, my health, my worship, studying God's Word and living a life that is pleasing to God.

As a part of my plan to be a "Consistent and Intentional Woman" I challenge myself to wake up each day and make my intentions into realities by doing the following:

~Getting a clear plan and writing it down

~Sharing my intentions with someone that will hold me accountable to taking action.

~Acknowledge that I did what I said I would do (Being a woman of my word)

By setting an intention and being consistent about my plan, I will make it clear to myself and others that I intend to redefine what it means to me to be CONSISTENT.

I Thank God for loving me enough to nudge me when I am not following correctly!

ARE YOU BEING CONSISTENT AND INTENTIONAL ABOUT YOUR DAILY LIVING?

Shawn R. Givens

Pruned For Greatness! Part I

This week our church began our annual corporate fast. We fast each year for the three weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. During this time of fasting and prayer, we seek the face of God to build a more intimate relationship with Him and to demonstrate His power in us. God is after something from us too during this time. He wants to prune us. God prunes us for our greatness AND for His glory!


“Some of us are so wrapped up in what we want that we neglect what God wants for us.”

The process of pruning involves cutting off DEAD and living HEALTHY parts of plants or trees. So that means we ALL are pruned…no matter how healthy we are (or think we are) in our relationship with Jesus and no matter where we are on this Christian journey. Pruning is a painful process, but pruning promotes growth. Trust the process.

If we are going to be great, transformed, glorified, and living our best and blessed life on this side of eternity, God has to take us through the pruning process repeatedly at various stages and seasons of our lives. Read John 15:1-11. Jesus is the true Vine and apart from Him we can do nothing.

There is much work to do from the time that WE decide to see our lives and ourselves as God sees us…and becoming those people. (You should see the way He looks at you) Unfortunately, not everyone wants to put in the work (Yes, there is work involved) and not everyone in our inner circle is happy or can celebrate our decision to submit to God for change. Count Satan among those who is very unhappy with this decision.

Satan uses his devices and weapons as obstacles to keep us from living transformed lives in the presence of God and those we love and influence. Make no mistake about it…Satan is NOT more powerful than our God. We must decide to yield to the Lord and submit our will to His, instead of allowing Satan to run rough shot over our lives.

Transformation is costly! Ask yourself…What is a relationship with Jesus going to cost me? I contend that it will cost you everything…your very life. After you have an encounter with God, your life (as you knew it and shaped it) should cease to exist. Your life in exchange for greatness! Any takers?

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17

Are you allowing God to prune you for greatness?