music monday// beautiful day

hi, guys!!! happy new year! i hope the new year found you rejoicing in the presence of God! :)

via

so, let’s start the first monday in 2015 with an upbeat song, shall we?! i love, love this song. it reminds me that i don’t have to have all things going perfect before i know life is beautiful. the fact that i’m breathing is enough reason to praise God. and i know sometimes that seems to be not enough reason, like i must have all the things i ask God before i’m joyful. nope. i’m alive, and that means God has a purpose for me. i don’t want to take His breath in me for granted. psalm 51:1 says restore to me the joy of Your salvation.. if nothing at all, heaven waits for me, and that sure is enough reason for me to be joyful and revel in each day that God wakes me up to. 

beautiful day ~ jamie grace

Oh oh oh wake up and smile cause it’s been a while

It’s been like a whole day since I stopped so You could hold me

This child awakes strong in the faith,

Lord, You are the refuge that I can’t wait to get to

Cause I can’t let a day go, can’t let a day go by

without thanking You for the joy that You bring to my life

and oh, there’s something ‘bout the way Your sun shines on my face

it’s a love so true I can never get enough of You

this feeling can’t be wrong

I’m about to get my worship on

Take me away, it’s a beautiful day, yeah, yeah, yeah it’s a beautiful day

When trouble seems to rain on my dreams,

It’s not a big, not a big deal

Let it wash all the bugs off my windshield

Cause You’re showing me in You I’m free

And You’re still the refuge that I’ve just got to get to

So I won’t let a day go, won’t let a day go by

So put the drop-top down, turn it up, I’m ready to fly

I’ve got no need to worry, I’ve got no room for doubt

No matter what’s coming at me, You’ll always be the beautiful I sing about

There aint no limitations to Your amazing grace, Your amazing grace

And there’s something ‘bout the way Your love shine on my face

Oh no, I just could never get enough of You

This feeling can’t be wrong

I’m about to get my worship on

I’m gonna sing a brand new song

Yeah, I’m about to get my worship on

Take me away on this beautiful day.

Beautiful day, it’s a beautiful day

Such a beautiful day.

“You make known to me the path of life;  You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.” Psalm 16:11

“the Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Psalm 18:2

“come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.” Psalm 95:1

“sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise His name; proclaim His salvation day after day.” Psalm 96:1-2

“I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.” Psalm 104:33

“the name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” Proverbs 18:10

“therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:1

“it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand form, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1

“do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6

God sends down the snow for a change of season, making us to be even more thankful for spring showers and new beginnings. He shines the brilliance of the sun on us to warm our bodies and displays His creative spark all around us…lovely sunrises and sunsets leaving the skies with mesmerizing streaks of pink, purple, orange and golden hues. no matter the brand of crazy you may be facing, it’s still a beautiful day. focus on God, and you’ll see!

have a purposeful and blessed new year! :)

xoxo, gen delali.

Hello, 2014!

We made it into 2014, didn't we?! :D whew. I’m forever thankful to God. Personally, i call this year ‘the takeoff’ cos i believe it’s going to launch me into so many beautiful, Christ-worthy adventures.

via

So, we have a clean, fresh start at this thing called life. Question. How are you going to live it?

Are you going to let yourself dabble in things that do not absolutely matter or will you commit yourself to goals that ultimately bring you joy and glory to God? The ball’s in your court, you choose. But as for me, I choose to continue bringing glory to God in all I do. He gave me this life in the first place, and He absolutely deserves my all.

Based on Acts 2:42, there are four key things I’ll pursue this year. It says “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.”

1. I need to steadfastly dig deeper into God’s word. The Word of God is a mine, and in there are precious gems. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15

2. Like any quality and viable relationship, I can’t sustain my relationship with God without spending time with Him. I gotta spend more time with Him in His temple with other Christ followers. I can’t walk in God’s power by isolating myself, I need fellowship. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:23-25

via

3. I need to commune with my Father and passionately pursue my personal relationship with Him. I gotta have date nights with Him. ;) “And when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 1 Corinthians 11:24

4.  I need to pray more this year. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” Philippians 4:6

“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:14-16

So, guys, I hope you make the most out of this year. I really do. Know that you need to leave the stands and be on the pitch. Live this beautiful gift from God called life, and let what you do always bring Him the glory. He deserves it and it’s totally worth it. And throughout this year (and your entire life), i hope you remember this scripture:

“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:8

Have a joyous and blessed new year!

xoxo

Delali.

New Year, New You?

So it’s a new year ...again and most of us have decided on some changes that need to be made in our lives. These changes could be in the area of how we are, our attitudes, our spiritual lives, careers, education, relationships, health and the list goes on. We’re all determined to make the best out of this New Year and that’s a good thing.

Some map out things that are attainable within their capacities while some people get so carried away with all the excitement and make over the top goals that do not look close to reality. It’s good to make changes and want to be better. And yet some don’t even make an attempt to set goals for the year because they have this mentality that people never really change and that’s a rather sad and pessimistic way of thinking because change, and I mean good change does really happen. With such mentality such people find it difficult to embrace anything good because their minds are in this dark, gloomy place and their attitude can unfortunately dim the hopes of others who genuinely want to change for the better. To the cynics and pessimists out there, stop believing and spreading that lie that people can't change, because they do change by the grace and help of God.

A new year does not mean you automatically transform into this whole new person in a blink of an eye or achieve all these things you want in the year without any hitches here and there. No, that’s some fantasy. In fact for the new year I didn’t get me a new hairdo or some new look. I look like the same ol’ me but I have a renewed mind. Moreover, the only sure time we will change in a twinkling of an eye is at the sound of the trumpet. 1 Corinthians 15:51,52. So till then let’s keep working on sticking to our plans for that change that we so desire because change can happen when we are deliberate and conscious about it.

A new year gives all humanity a whole new slate to write on, it’s a chance to somehow get it right this time. Change can be a gradual and stressful process and needs utmost commitment. We shouldn’t expect any of our plans to see fruition when we’re still so lazy, making excuses and keep postponing things we ought to do.

We start the year with so much energy and enthusiasm but as the days slowly pass by, that fire and passion slowly dies out. You may be wondering why. Well have you spoken with God about the plans you have? And what did He say? God speaks to us through His Word. 2 Peter 1:3 says “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.”  So are your plans for the year in accordance with the Bible? Are they godly plans or a bunch of selfish, ungodly goals? God put us on this earth for specific purposes so we must seek Him and be sure what we plan is endorsed by Him. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

We must not lose that passion we commence the year with. We must keep it burning anew each day. A vision board might as well help you focus on these plans. Here's my vision board for the year.

I don’t want to be getting mad all the time so I write boldly “SLOW TO ANGER”. Also, I want to learn how to drive this year (I know, I’m such a late bloomer, lol better late than never.) So in view of that, I put an image of a car on my vision board. I've also decided to write and blog more often this year in working towards being a professional writer soon so I put there “Writer”. Seeing these visual representations of my goals helps me remember what I need to be doing. If you’ve not yet come up with any goals, do some soul searching and find what you really need to do this year. It’s not too late, you can create your own vision board too, plus we’re only a week into the New Year. :-)

We must continually pray about our goals throughout the year and ask God for the strength to stay on track. We must be patient in Christ for all that we pray for. “Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.” Isaiah 40:31 Lets not try to do it all by our strengths but rather put all our hope, dreams and goals in the Lord.

Don’t be like Nahor who didn’t even start the journey to Canaan by being all pessimistic about change. Don’t be like Terah who stopped midway in the journey because he got into a comfortable zone. Don’t be like Lot who strayed from the right path because the beauty of the Jordan valley caught his eye when they were so close to stepping into Canaan that he decided to settle in Sodom where there were wicked men and great sinners. But rather be steadfast to your goals like Abram (later Abraham) who obeyed God and stayed committed to the journey and in return God was faithful and gave all that land to he and his descendants. Genesis verse 11:31,32; verses 12 and 13.

We must not expect God to turn our lives around when we fail to do our part. He’s ever willing to help you but are you willing to sacrifice time to help you? Are you going to stay new throughout the New Year?

Jesus loves you for real. xxx

Delali.