God certainly has a sense of humor :)

I actually have two posts to write today but I think I'll write just this one because by the time I'm done I'm almost certain that I won't remember what I was going to write for the second post.  You're right...I could simply jot down right now what I'm going to blog about but that's just not how I roll :)

So for the last couple of days I have been stressed to the MAX trying to find a place to live in Nashville AND a roommate all in basically 10days!  LONNGGG story...actually I think that's what I was going to blog about!  Anywho so yea I've been searching and searching...to no avail.  So today I'm at work and I thought to myself "I've been doing all of this and putting all my faith in myself to get things done and not once did I stop to ask God".  Now I had certainly thanked Him and praised Him for grad school and everything especially when I thought I had my living situation squared away.  But when things went haywire I panicked and began stressing and searching...exhausting myself to say the least.   So yea I'm at work at my desk unfortunately doing absolutely NOTHING work related but instead searching and stressing over my living situation.  So I bow my head in prayer and I PROMISE you as SOON as I said AMEN my phone goes off with someone looking for a roommate.  I couldn't do anything but laugh at myself for taking so long to even ask.  He's NEVER let me down and I couldn't believe that I hadn't made Him my first option after all.  So yea  even now I'll admit I'm still slightly freaking out but truthfully I'm kinda over it...I know that God's got it...I've done my part and I'll continue looking a little but I know that things will work themselves out...so I'm GOOD :) and so is God.

Onto how God got his second laugh off of me today.  So I came home from work EXHAUSTED today...partly probably because I haven't been eating the most square of meals as of late and I also haven't been taking my vitamins.  So yea I take a nap and then I get up thinking of all the things I needed to do before bed tonight...most of which consisted of readings.  So I roll over and feel for my glasses in the usual spot that I toss them when I nap and you guessed it....they're no where to be found.  I searched HIGH and LOW for those glasses for an HOUR.  I mean I'm looking under the bed thinking Dino (my dog) may have taken them to his hiding spot...I've looked in the bathroom, in the window sill, on the desk, in the laundry basket...yea...random places I lay them at times...don't judge me lol.  So I then send out a tweet talking about how it's gonna be a long night since I can't find my glasses and then I REMEMBERED (you like how that's in reference to an earlier post I wrote huh?..yea...go check it out! lol)  what He did earlier so once again I bowed my head in prayer.  I go upstairs to get my iPod to charge and you guessed it...I found my glasses! LOL.  I literally "lol'd" at myself.  I'm not going to tell you where they were as it is embarrassing...how they were in the most common of places.  So I was thinking to myself He probably sits up there laughing at me looking in all these weird places shaking His head saying "All you had to do was ASK".

So there you have it people...that's my simple post today but it speaks volumes.  This not only works for housing and glasses but in LIFE.  Sometimes all we have to do is ASK Him.  It's easy to say that we have faith but when storms come or stress comes our way we tend to put our faith in ourselves or our own resources but I ask you today to begin to ask Him and watch Him move!  Be blessed and don't stress love buckets!

-Jess

My body is a Temple

So lately I've been stuck on this treating my body like a temple thing.  This is God's gift to me and everyday that I wake up I thank Him for my life.  I thank Him that I can breathe on my own and not by a machine, I thank Him for my health, my sight, the ability to walk, my hearing, that I'm in my right mind, etc.  These are things that many of us take for granted or really we simply don't take the time out to even really ever think about them.  But I look at people who can't walk or who were in some type of accident and aren't able to carry out these everyday functions and I thank God for His grace and mercy because that could certainly be me.
At the age of 12 I had surgery on my back because I had scoliosis so I have a metal rod on each side of my spine to keep it aligned correctly since it was curved.  I had to learn to walk again and do things differently after surgery but I definitely gained an appreciation for these things.  I don't take my health for granted or my ability to walk. 
We should begin to take care of our bodies.  Not only by practicing celibacy (for those of you that do...no shade to those who don't God still loves you and so do I!...don't worry there's no condemnation here :) )but on top of that I think that a good way to treat your body as a temple  is really to just take care of yourself by eating healthy and exercising.

Really treat your body like a temple.  Be conscience of the things you eat, exercise, relax.  If we just eat eat eat and allow ourselves to become fat then not only do we introduce the risks associated with health problems but we also open ourselves up to depression and other things.  My old pastor would preach about people getting into shape and taking care of their bodies....especially since a great portion of the congregation was overweight...primarily the Black women.
So for the past couple of weeks I've started back exercising and eating healthy.  I even have my coworkers joining with me and they are exercising and eating healthier!  I'm still working on my mom...eh *shrug*.  But yea ladies and gentlemen what are YOU doing to treat your body like a temple?  I promise you that you'll feel better!  I have more energy now and it just plain old feels GOOD.  I LOVE jogging outside...to see the trees and the clear blue Carolina skies.  It also helps to relieve stress.  If you've been considering getting into shape or anything lately go ahead and start now!  To help you all out I found a great FREE site!  Check out www.caloriecount.about.com  It's really cool!  You can type in the foods you eat each day, the exercise you do each day, and your daily weight.  Actually seeing what you eat each day will help you be a more conscious eater and the numbers will certainly motivate you...trust me!  Anywho  I wish you all the best and I hope you'll join me on this mission to get tight!...literally....I'll post some before and after pictures when I get toned so you guys can see!

SORRY GUYS!!!

So I know I haven't updated this thing in ooooo saaayyy forever but yea!  Let me catch you guys up to speed.  I've been SO BUSY with graduate school applications, work, AND school.  But the good news is that I got into the PhD graduate school at Meharry Medical College!!!!!!  Thank GOD!!!  I was sooooo excited when I got accepted!  I got an email on a Wednesday when I was getting off work and literally went into my own little praise and worship break at my desk...no shame baby no shame!

After what I thought to be a HORRIBLE phone interview with the graduate admissions committee I just knew I would get rejected :(  Everything that could go wrong DID go wrong...a few of the interviewers had accents and they put me on speaker phone and anyone who knows me knows I HATE speaker phone because I can never tell what the heck people are saying!  Add that to an accent...and we have a recipe for disaster...I had to keep asking them to repeat themselves and on TOP of that my cell phone hung up on them in the middle of the interview!!!  I called the number on my phone back and luckily they answered.  I apologized and allowed them to continue to GRILL me!

After I got off the phone I was initially depressed....I called my close friends to tell them how bad I bombed the interview but let me tell you how good God is,,,,literally EVERY one of my friends that I called had a Word for me which definitely lifted me out of my slump.  Speaking of which, if you don't already you DEFINITELY need some friends who know at least a little something about the Word in your corner.  They help hold you accountable and will def hold you down on issues that others simply can't.  Also a great source of encouragement and even confirmation to an extent.  So anywho after talking to them I talked to God.  I was reminded of what He said and I had to let go of the self doubt.  If He said it then I believe it so I just had to believe that despite the fact that I think I had the world's worst phone interview I would get in...and I did.  GRATEFUL is an understatement!  So anywho I'm excited still and I've been busy trying to find a place to live in Nashville...which under normal circumstances would probably be a simple task but I have a pitbull and most apt complexes will certainly not allow that.  So I decided today to hire a free apartment selector...hopefully they will email me a list of options and I'll just take a leap of faith and choose one.
Truthfully at this point in my life I don't think I want a roommate.  Only because I've always had one...all during college and after graduation I moved back in with my grandparents so I would really just like some SPACE...even if it's just to relax nekkie by myself in the living room and play the xbox kinect ...that's fine by me!  Kind of just want to try things on my own.  I've always paid for everything on my own but I mean to really live in my own...no distractions...just myself. 

So that's all I just wanted to update everyone to let you guys know that I have not abandoned you I am simply trying to get things squared away and once that's all in order I'll be back!

God Bless!

Faithful in the Rain

Last night was GREAT!  Pastor Andy preached a great sermon which I shall delve into after I get a few rants and raves out the way!

1) I signed up for a showcase! whaaaaaat! Yea so those who know me know I have absolutely no talent other than *drum roll please* being completely awesome #LookAtMeNow!  Anywho I signed up for the showcase at church b/c I found this AWESOME spoken word video on DD's blog and I LOVED it so much that I decided to perform it!  Go me woop woop!...Only thing is auditions are Sat morning at 8am so I only have 2 days to learn and master this thing!  Decided I would try new things this year so yea.  Anywho I shall keep you guys posted..trust me if I make it into finals you'll know.  Yea so auditions are too legit...videotaped and all...if you even make it to the final round (can't believe they even have rounds!)...at least you know that you won't have to sit through people who think they can sing but really can't! This should be entertaining...

2) I have submitted my application to the PhD program in Biomedical Science at Meharry Medical College!  Keep me in your prayers guys!  I'm EXCITED about this...I've been praying about it for a while now and I'm done praying about it...I believe it I receive and that settles it so I'm letting go and I'm watching God! siiiiiiiiiiggghhhhh ....that just felt good to say! 

3)Me and D-Money (self proclaimed nickname of my best friend...lame but you've gotta love this guy) started our Bedside Bible Study Prayer Group last night (yea I made that name up..cool huh?)! woohoo!  It was great we went over Tim 4-6...good stuff.  I LOVE discussing the Word.  I learned so much from what he thought about it and he from what I thought about it.  Amazing how God surely sends you confirmation to assure you that you're on the right track! yasssss!

Okay so service last night was great.  The sermon was titled "Faithful in the Rain!"  Pastor Andy preached from the book of Job and I Corinthians 6.  We talked about how people always say they want the wisdom of Solomon, the heart of David, the faith of Abraham etc etc but no one ever asks for the spirit of Job.  The truth is that we NEED the spirit of Job.  ALL things come from God, both good and bad.  Who are we as Christians to only accept the good?  It's easy to love and praise God when He is blessing you with someTHING but what about when He is still?  "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them" Luke 6:32  Surely I praise Him when he is moving in my life but when He is still I continue to do so because I am REMINDED of what He has already done.  We praise Him when the sun is shining but what do you do when the rain comes?  "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God." Psalm 20:7  
Think about this scripture for a second.  During a time of war imagine being surrounded by opposing forces and weapons of all types.  Instead of fleeing and instead of surrendering or thinking that their own chariots or horses would save them, these people REMEMBERED what God had already done for them and KNEW that he would NEVER leave them nor forsake them.  Even while you are going through God is with you.
"³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. " ~Luke 6:35-39

Faith is so much MORE than believing God for someTHING.  We need to be able to worship and praise Him despite our circumstances or situations.  Weeping may endure for the night or maybe a couple of nights but rest assured that joy cometh in the morning.  I praise God because he LOVED me so...He DIED for me, He comforts me and consoles me, He protects and shields me, He saved me...even from myself..  If He NEVER does another thing for me I promise you I will STILL praise Him because He's already done more than enough for me.  I REMEMBER what He did for me.  Also know that there is ALWAYS a reason for things happening in your life....even when you can't recognize what that reason is.  I've wondered about this several times in life and from my own personal experiences it just so happens that maybe years later I'm ministering to someone else about what I've been through.  Often times your ministry is developed through your testimony.  Someone else finds motivation and help in your testimony and becomes delivered.  If God did it for me He will surely do it for you....I truly believe that.  So if you haven't already today take a moment out to tell God THANK YOU for all the things that He has already done for you.  REMEMBER those things.  Show a little love to someone and have a blessed day!  Glad I had the opportunity to share this with you guys!  Peace Out!

-Graham

***O and PS I sent up the most beautiful prayer for my unborn Goddaughter and her parents last night! :)

Hope you guys are ready!

OK so!  In all seriousness I am probably the world's most sporadic blogger but that is allll about to change!  I used to enjoy writing a lot so I'm going to attempt to get back into it.  Anywho as far as this blog is concerned I will certainly be blogging a lot more.  I've decided that for the next month or so I'm going to get back into vigorously reading the Word.  I'm really excited about this because I feel like I'm on the verge of something...not sure what but I trust God.  I just feel like He's moving in my life and is developing me and I'm excited about it...I'm open.  I'm even more excited because my best friend has decided to join me in doing this and so we've agreed that every night we're going to have our bedside Bible study sessions and go over the Word together!  I think it will bless us both and he's been meaning to do this for a while so yea!  Anywho I'm going to post a few times each week the things that are heavy on my heart and the things I learn along the way as well as the things that he and I read each day.  I'll also be sharing some testimonies with you all and of course I'll include some of my #random rants and raves that have absolutely nothing to do with ...well anything but that's just me...you'll start to notice my randomness if you follow the blog.  As of right now I'm almost certain I'm the only person following this blog but that's cool because truthfully I think I will more so be ministering to myself which is ayyyyyy ok with me in my book.  So yea that's all hope u guys are ready!

Love,
Jess