Are You Living Your Destiny?

I have not been! I have wanted to for quite some time now, like for the last eight years! Sorry…I tend to get upset when I think about how much time I have wasted not being everything God desires me to be while on this earth. Now, from searching the Lord in this season, I find that I am entering in to my destiny. Finally… I’m saying that like he kept it from me and actually I have been refusing to step into it. I can’t believe I’m actually saying that but it’s true. I have been hiding from my destiny because I know how much it will cost. What’s so sick about that is whatever it cost won’t compare to what I will receive. So exactly what do I think I’m giving up? MY WILL. I can not hide the fact that even though I realize that victories in God in my life have been many, it’s still hasn’t convinced me to give up my life to him. What in the world is preventing me from yielding my everything to him?

So, now it’s time for my honesty that I always share in this blog. My questions back to God are: What are you going to make me do if I yield my complete will over to you? Are you going to make me invite the neighbors over every Sunday for fellowship in a house filled with peace? (Sundays are my day to recoup for the week Lord.) Are you going to make me get up in the middle of the night to pray a lot? Are you going to make me fast more? What are you going to make me do!!!

He said to me that he is going to give me LIFE. What does life mean? It means everything you need life to be for you and your family. What do you need in your life? I know what I need. I need my marriage to be successful and last. In this day and age that is really a big prayer. Sometimes in my marriage I can literally feel the enemy trying to find a way to target my marriage for destruction and the battles are hard and long fought sometimes, and sometimes the Lord will reveal the exact plans of the enemy and I cut him off quickly. I need my children to become successful as adults. Right now it does not “appear” so, but God and only God can do what I need for my children’s success. I want my ministry career, my books, my bills paid, and abundance to do whatever God would need done in the kingdom.

So what’s the difference between what I’ve been living and what he’s calling me to? If you remember my blog regarding the all knowing parent trying to draw us in because he knows there’s a better path but it’s our choice to take it. Well that all knowing parent God, is showing me that yes, you are a prayer warrior and that is why you have witnessed by blessings and many victories over you and your family over the years. But have you ever had COMPLETE VICTORY? When he said that I knew exactly what he meant. They were hard fought victories. Hard because I wasn’t completely sold out so God had to do a lot of convincing me of his goodness. Then you mix that with the condemnation I would put on myself and that would slow me down. Not to mention when I was not as spiritual as I would like because I was distracted by life, trials, or nothing. On my next blog I will discuss what complete victory looks when we yield our lives to him. He’s shown me and I want it!

Do small groups work??

I have had 2 conversations recently regarding small groups and if they work at CLC. One came from leadership and they expressed the opinion that CLC is not a small group culture and so they don't work here. I begged to differ with them because I don't look at the outcomes for answers. I always look at the structure of things for answers because it tells you how the outcome came to be.

When you compare Willow Creek church, which has succeeded in small groups, with CLC you see what happened within the structure. Willow Creek's pastor preached small groups just about every 4 sentences within most of his messages for years in order to be successful in the buy-in of the congregation as a whole. He also structured his church operation and leadership structure around small group functions. Point blank, it was weaved into their DNA as a church.

So what happened with us? Why didn't it work? The answer appears pretty simple. It was not weaved into our DNA as a church. Meaning, it was not enforced when the children acted up or didn't act like they were suppose to. Like a parent, someone should have said, "don't ever give up until you succeed, you can do it", every time there seem to be a distraction in keeping the small group culture going. I think this is also the reason why the pastor at Willow Creek spoke on their small group culture every WEEK. They noticed "life" could get in the way of a successful small group culture. My definition of "life" has always been, "an interruption in your daily activities." That could mean sickness in your family or you, a death of a love one, or special projects you take on for a season. "Life" happens, and the proof of life happening is your house ends up getting dirty!!

You look up two months later and if no one has checked on you, you end up sliding away from your small group. Or if you led one, you don't schedule the next one due to "life" happening to you. Then you write, "I'll let you know when the next meeting is scheduled." You really mean it too. But with no one to encourage the culture, life moves on and you end up looking at your other small group members saying, "we really ought to get together..............."

Can I tell you another little secret, since we're being so honest here. I can't think of more than a handful of times that I truly couldn't wait to be at my small group meeting. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy small groups for the fellowship. But somehow, when I get off of work that evening of the small group I get sad that I have to leave my house again. I fantasize about what I would do if I didn't have to go to small group tonight. I remember one small group I was a part of and we moved our gatherings to Saturdays for just that reason. Well you know what happened? I then felt like I was dragging myself out of the house now because I was already in my comfortable clothes and I had on no makeup and I don't feel like interrupting my Saturday and leaving my house!!

I know, this is the ugly only child in me I'm sharing with you. But you know what always happens when I leave the house? A wonderful, spirit lifting, love fest goes on when I get there and by the end I can't imagine not being there that night. It has happended to me every time with every small group I have been in. When those groups stop meeting we wonder how on earth did that ever happen.

Well guess what, it is not going to happen with the ladies I am with now. NEVER, EVER. I am fighting tooth and nail not to allow that to happen again. I am still envisioning us preparing food and cooking together in the kitchen while the men folk are taking care of the grill outside with a little dominoes or spades with Johnnie Taylor, Otis Redding, the Staples Sisters and Al Green are playing in the background. Has it been so long that you have forgotten what a good backyard b-b-q is about? Well I haven't and darn it, I want one before the end of summer. So I am not going to give up. "I will let you know when the next b-b-q is scheduled. ":)


Coach Teresa

I love good old fashion hospitality!

We definitely had that at our last gathering. Our hostess really knew how to pull out all the stops. All the way to providing us all with footies to wear to be comfortable for the evening. Of course the food was great and health conscience...THANK YOU! I'm telling you she thought of everything.

It was nice to see more of us too, and re-connect with everyone. What I do realize is that we need to give our hostess more time with us because there's so much to say. So let's please make a committment to try to be absolutely on time so we can enjoy more fellowship time. Try not to eat too much before we get there so we can enjoy the spread.

This month we shared testimonies of God awesome goodness to us. One testified that her daughter witnessed God's miraculous deliverance in a civil battle. I continued my saga of finally having victory in my life trial now in 2008. I asked God to bring about a total deliverance to my family, and bless us to really walk in him. Sometimes I feel like I'm not giving my kids enough of their own experience with God. We also have challenges with our children because of issues with behavior. Well....God came through again! God led my hubby and I to the realization that the Spirit of Shame is a ruling spirit assigned to our family. Through a series of events starting in my trial last year, a christian counselor that specializes in working with youth helped me to understand this problem when I asked her to start therapy with my oldest daughter whose had been really acting up this past year.

To wrap up this long story, let me just say that we now know what we have to do to bring that spirit down from it's throne over our house. I wish I could really share with you what that means for each one of my family members. It's just not enough space here. I now have more tools to stop the enemy from having my children. It will still be a battle, a word given that night said that I won't have a long battle though. Why? Because we have located the enemy.

Do you know what it means to locate the enemy in the word? Proverbs 6:31 says, If a thief is found (located, identified) he must restore seven fold, and he must give it all back!!!! So I praise God that I have identified that spirit and I have already commanded that my family is restored from the Spirit of Shame to a Spirit of Boldness for God in our life. Did you know that shame actually hides itself within the body? An actual psychologist wrote a report on how they dislodge shame out of the body of children in therapy sessions with specific exercises.

Okay....I wll wrap up with our final exercise that focused on our husbands. All the ladies wrote down everything they would like to see happen with their husbands that all of us can pray over. We are also making a Prayer & Purpose Planner page to go into our book that will be pictures of our prayers for our husband. We actually filled up an entire paper with our requests...Whew! So what does that mean? Are we saying our hubby's need alot of help? I'm going to say NO. That was not the jist of our request. The general consensus was that we want our husbands to be passionate about God in their life and do the yardwork! Some other things were to talk more to each other, desire better health and see the doctor more, and just plain have more fun with us!! Let's be together with no TV.

My suggestion ladies is that we narrow our list down and really stay focus on EXACTLY what you want God to do for your husband. Make sure it is realistic and truly based on his personality. I said I want my hubby to whisk me away unexpectantly for a weekend where he has worked out all the details including the kids. Now, for my man that is a stretch at this stage. But I believe through prayer that I can ask the Holy Spirit to prick his heart to desire to do this for me. I can also ask my hubby to pick up on seeds from other men who do this for their wives, let him hear about it on TV, ESPN, at church, etc. This is realistic. Do I expect it to happen any time soon? NO... but now I know it will happen through prayer.

Now, I am not asking for my hubby to be a world renowned evangelist. Again...let's keep it realistic to the type of hubby we have. Mine is not a talker, but he does have spiritual gifts. So I am going to put examples of the gifts I know he has on by PNPP page.

Until next time,

Coach Teresa

Best Macaroni & Cheese Ever!

Ingredients

6 tablespoons butter 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups milk warm 1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Dash salt and freshly ground black pepper Dash hot sauce
Dash Worcestershire sauce 3 cups(blocks) Extra Sharp Cheddar
1 pound of macaroni, cooked al dente

*This is only if you like a crispy top on your mac n cheese because the inside is so silky.
1 cup crushed Sour Cream and Cheddar Lays potato chips for topping
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, for topping

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt 6 tablespoons butter in a large saucepot over medium heat. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Whisk in the warmed milk and bring to a boil, continue to whisk constantly. The mixture will thicken as the heat increases. Continue to stir while adding the dry mustard, nutmeg, cayenne, salt, pepper, hot sauce and Worcestershire. Stir in the 3 cups of Cheddar until it melts.

Pour the cheese sauce over the noodles and add to a 3 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle the chips, and parmesan on top and bake for 35 minutes.

It's Time For Change!

I am so excited! Why?... I don't know! I think it's because I can feel change is coming.

Actually, it's already here. What I have noticed with God is that he opens the door to opportunities but never insist that we walk through those doors. He is like a good parent that shares with you the benefits of going down a path they know will lead to success. Then they smile at you with an enticing smile that hopes you choose the right path, but it's your decision. The child then slightly smiles back at the parent while internally trying to figure out exactly what they want to believe, what the parent said or should they make my own decision.

I feel like that's what our father is doing with us right now. If we choose his path it won't mean it will be a less bumpy road, we know that. As a matter of fact, it's the uncertainty of that path that makes you hesitate. A parent would say, "if you follow this right path now it will mean more work, but the end result will get you the reward you're looking for". But you're already familiar with how the road you're on looks like at least for another few miles anyway. Hey, you're still making it. It's not perfect but God is with you on this path too, right? Why change and go down this other path when I don't know where it's going to take me because it's so unfamiliar to any life I've ever known. Yea, there are some on that right path that I've witnessed that just don't seem to go through as much as you seem to go through, and it seems they've been given some special instructions about the path that you don't seem to be getting. This even further makes you want to continue on the path you've already been on. But I'm sorry to tell you that in this season of newness and growth, both naturally and spiritually, your father is enticingly smiling at you and asking will you take this new path.

Okay, so what does this mean? At our last gathering we put this new path to the test. It was a wonderful meeting, of course! But we took it to another level purposely designed to yield our issues completely to God. Based on the things I talked about over Stephani's house regarding being completely open with each other and going deeper in trusting each other. We can truly be a group of women sharing wisdom with each other in a safe environment of love for one another.

I reiterated this point at our last gathering over Bernadette's BEAUTIFUL HOUSE. I expressed to the ladies what God had been showing me since the last time we got together, and how he was stretching me basically to go down this new path and trust him. Then I shared my testimony of what this new path looked like in my life over the last year of hell 2007. Believe me my road was indeed bumpy! But out of it came this new person who knows I can trust God with everything!!! I can lay down my life on this path and stifle my "feelings" for his directions on what I should be doing, no matter how I feel about it. I came out of this with a boldness I have never experienced before in God. I can look anyone in the eye and tell them to trust and believe in God with everything you got, never ever give up until you get EXACTLY what you want from God. And make sure you think BIG in what you need God to do for you. Be specific, be determined, and know exactly what you want it to look like when it's over with, then start CLAIMING IT WITH KEY, SPECIFIC SCRIPTURES UNTIL YOU GET IT. Sorry for the caps but it's just this serious. Aren't we tired of Satan entering our life with his scrap and trying to destroy our faith in our God?

Aren't you tired of "trying to figure out God" and what he wants you to do? Hey, how about trying ALL of God. How about believing that God can do exceeding abundantly above all that you could ever ask or even think, and then actually living that way. How about that! I believe that those are the special instructions others seem to have that makes their life look like they never go through anything. If you know you are not going to come out smelling like smoke then why would you act like you're in the fire! Act just like the 3 Hebrew boys and go on with your day in the midst of the fire. Remember, they did not choose to worship that idol, but at the time of the day of that worship they went separately to worship their true God. So then when they were thrown into the fire at the time of the idol worship, they still did their thing, they started worshipping their God right in the fire. Yes! So what did I do throughout 2007? I continued to worship my God in the midst of the fire, no one knew what I was going through because all they saw was me at church, worshipping.

(You had to be at our last gathering to know my trial, maybe we will share again)

Until next time,

Coach Teresa

What Have You Decreed Today?

Have you decreed what is going to happen to you today, tomorrow, next week, or this year? I mean really decreed! I have been "coaching" a close friend in Chi town who is going through a divorce. I'm still reeling from the fact that we have spent every summer together since our kids were infants. She finally confessed to me that she immediately went home after seeing baby Jordan and got pregnant. So our sons are just a year apart.

But anyway, now her husband comes and visits George by himself with the son, and she visits by herself. They are just starting the whole divorce part, they have been separated for 8 months trying to figure this thing out. They both love the Lord, they minister at there church. But a leviathan spirit entered her husband and their life turned upside down. I know...you're saying, how do you know it was a leviathan spirit? Well I've studied these spirits for so many years because for some reason God chose to reveal demonic spirits to me very early in my salvation. Then I came to the conclusion that this must be a part of my life because I stopped saying it was a coincidence that people with demons kept showing out right in front of me literally. I also realized that when I saw something was "off" with someone I never left it alone I would say there's something going on with you so let's pray and see what God says. I'm thinking God is going to say something prophetic to them in prayer, but what happened sometimes is that the person would start acting "off" and what else could I do?

So anyway, that spirit was on her husband and he did the typical things that spirit is known for. Demoralizing the wife, making her feel like everything was her fault for the marriage, became completely consumed with pride, all of a sudden this upright family man who did everything with his kids was making excuses for not being around as much. You have to understand that that is a spirit that makes a person seem like they have completely turned from what you knew about them. What do we think demonic possession does! It changes you.

So what did the wife decide to do? All I told her at the very beginning was you are the king and priest in the KINGDOM. You determine how this will turn out and it doesn't matter what happens between point A and Z. What matters is that you decree what "Z" will be for your life so that God can operate to bring it to pass. I told her that if you are decreeing the turnout, then you now don't have any excuse for acting defeated. It doesn't mean you don't hurt, or can't cry yourself to sleep every night. No, what it means is that you have an expected end!!!! That's what the word says, we have a hope and an expected end. That's one of the million benefits of the covenant ladies!!! So I asked her what should she look like if she is expecting a certain result? I said, "Girl, now you don't have the distraction of meeting your husband's needs everyday right now, and your oldest daughter is 17 so she can babysit the younger, so do your thang. Go to the gym anytime you want now, lose all the weight you ever wanted now that you don't have to cook everything he likes. Now pick up something you've been wanting to try but he was putting you down for your dreams and ideas"

Well you wouldn't believe what she did. She did all of that. She even cut out the weave in her hair and got her hair cut in a short crop and even her ex-husband told her how good she looks. She lost over 15 lbs so far and her pastor told her that her husband looks like sh-- (yea, he actually said that, he reminds me of our pastor), but he said she look wonderful. Everyone is complimenting her on how she looks and how they can't believe she is going through all this drama (and trust me it is too much drama for me to even begin here). She just told her co-workers last week now that lawyers may be involved and people may be calling her at work. Her co-workers mouths dropped because no one knew she was going through this. They told her that she was different than anyone they had ever met that was going through a divorce.

Now do you know why? Because she is convinced that she is not of this world, she lives in the KINGDOM. She has also decreed a thing, and it shall come to pass!
Again, what have you decreed today?

It's funny that Janice has been told several times, like in prayer at our last gathering, that she can determine how her business will sell. So I can't wait to see if Janice has decreed a thing, and I can't wait to see if she has decreed a hope and an expected end for the sell. Again, it never matters what happens between point A and Z. Trust me, it will definitley look crazy and hopeless between too! It only matters what you have said point Z will look like in your life.

Until next time,

Coach Teresa
Labels: Spiritual wisdom

We are finally apart of the new millenium!!!

Yes ladies it's true, we have arrived.

Like I said at the end of our last gathering, there was so much to be said after our prayers. The spirit was just burning in me and his voice would not stop. So It dawned on me, let's start a blog where we can continue the conversation all the time. I am so excited that what we were talking about concerning really being in touch with each other on a continual basis is actually coming true all the way to a BLOG!

I am just whetting your whistle for this blog to get it started today. no more procastination, just do it. I really don't have a lot of time today to start the blog, but I don't care! I'm starting it, no matter how short it is today. I do this because I really love you guys and I want us to really be connected.

Just a teaser until I can get back on here, or just to see which one of us responds to all of us on here, I want to tell you that so many of us were truly prophetic in our prayers. I was really amazed by Bonnie's prayers because she tapped into the spirit so quickly with just a sentence that had so much insight that got right to the issue the person needed.

And the biggest thing that was the message that night was that it was time to GROW UP SPIRITUALLY. To actual be king and priest in the kingdom of God, and not of this earth. Where we decree what is going to happen for us and not us acting like we are still children wondering if God is going to come through for us.

Until next time!

Coach Teresa(don't ask me where that came from but I have been told alot that I am a coach by my organizing clients, so it just stuck with me)