An Unfolding Relationship With God- Guest Blogger Michelle Copeland

God morning! Yes, it has been awhile since I posted or even had a guest blogger. I wanted to share this email (daily inspiration) that I received from my sistah and friend, who just happens to also be my sister-in-law for more than 20 years. (My brother is a blessed man!)

Michelle shares her perspective on hearing from God. This piece spoke to me because so many people ask when we talk about hearing from God " How do I know it is God speaking?" Well, you have know Him and be in relationship with Him to hear Him speak and know that it is Him (and not your own ideas and desires leading you). So the next questions might be " How do I prepare to hear from God and What do I do once I have heard?" I am glad you asked, Can We Talk?!

Good morning saints! In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He will direct thy path.

''The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines even brighter until the full bright of day''.(Proverbs 4:18)

I've come to know that one of the best things about hearing God's voice is that it is progressive. It's not a skill that we can master; it can be an unfolding relationship we enjoy. As the relationship unfolds, we learn to communicate with him more often, more deeply, and more effectively; we learn to follow the holy-spirit more closely; we learn to pray with more confidence; and we learn to hear His voice more clearly.

Have you ever been happy in your relationship with God, feeling that is was going quite well for a while and then, for no apparent reason, you start to feel restless, bored, distracted and unsatisfied? Have you ever felt a nagging in your spirit that something was just not right about your fellowship with God, or you had a stirring inside of you to do somethings differently? Most of the time when we experience such impressions, it's the Holy-Spirit trying to tell us something.

The inner man (your spirit, the part of you that communes with God) knows when something is not right in your prayer life, because the Holy- Spirit lives within your spirit and will let you know when something needs to change in your relationship with God. When this happens you must to have it in your mind to be obedient, and be bold enough to follow the Holy-Spirit. God knows when we are ready for more and is urging us on to a deeper place of communing with Him and hearing His voice. Our great and wonderful God is always on the move and He desires us to move with Him. God would not have our relationship with Him to remain the same. I'm learning for myself through studying His word, that there is so much more about God that I must learn in order to better my relationship with Him.

Knowing God and being able to hear from Him is the way for us to know what plans He has for us.

How is your relationship with God progressing? Can you hear Him when He speaks? When He speaks are you listening? When He speaks are you bold in the way you respond to the Holy-Spirit? Most importantly, Are you choosing to be in the light of His righteousness and obedience ?

In God's Love, Sis. Michelle

Michelle and her daughter, Cierra

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