Today's featured song from Toni LaShaun Music is, "Dear God Just Be You." This song was inspired by the post below from last year. I have not recorded it yet, but just meditate on the words... Dear God, Just Be You...11/29/2012 Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you had a problem, but you knew the solution was unlikely to happen? I have. In fact, I struggled with something just this week that fit into that category. I say all the time that God wants to hear all of our problems, big or small. Even if others might not think it an issue, if you are His and it is an issue to you, it is an issue to Him. So, I started praying about this problem. Stop being nosey; I am not going to say what the problem was (I keep SOME things to myself...LOL). I knew what a great solution to the problem would be. I knew it was highly unlikely to get the outcome I envisioned, but God is able to do the impossible. So, I kept praying...the same prayer...over and over and over again. "Lord, let this happen so that my problem can go away. And, please let it happen soon." Days went by and I thought my head would explode because the problem persisted and I was pretty sure that God was saying "no" to my request for assistance. Then, in the middle of praying the same prayer, "Lord, I just need You...," I paused. And, then I thought about it. That was the perfect place to stop. Instead of telling God how to fix my problem, I just needed to say, "Lord, I need You!" After praying that prayer, I started to feel some relief from the situation, but it still lingered. I knew that God was on it, so I added to the prayer, "Dear God, just be You for me." I thought I knew the solution to the problem; an improbable solution, but one that would change the circumstances surrounding me. God is showing me that my circumstances don't need to change. I just need to trust Him to change me and how I view the circumstance and how I view what He is capable of doing. He knows everything. And, He knows everything we need. So, I continue to pray and I invite you to pray, "Lord, I just need You. Dear God, just be You." Ms. EV Dear God Just Be You Copyright © 2012 Toni Wortherly Lord, I need You Dear God, just be You ‘Cause I don’t know what to do But I know You have it all in control Lord, I need You Dear God, just be You Even when the storm is raging You can still bring such peace to my soul You are the only One Who knows just what I need So, dear God, just be You for me
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Why do people say, “When all else fails, try God?” I was listening to the radio and I heard a song that said something to the effect of, “When everything you have tried has failed, try God.” I mean, if you do not know God, I can understand this logic. For someone who doesn’t know God, complete and utter failure may drive her to her knees in repentance and confession. However, for a Christian (and this was a gospel song), God should be the first option, not the last resort.
I understand that I might sound preachy, but I promise that I am writing this to remind myself. There have been many times in my life that I have been faced with a situation and I tried to handle it myself. This sometimes resulted in victories that helped me to believe that I can make it on my own, which is a dangerous mindset for a child of God. Other times, I have tried to handle situations on my own and it resulted in utter failure, which led me to cry out to God to help me fix the mess I made. I am not saying that we should not attempt to do things that we are capable of accomplishing. I am just reminding myself and you that rather than forgetting about God until we need Him, we need to factor Him in to every part of our lives. God wants us to depend on Him and turn to Him before there is some catastrophe that we cannot overcome alone. And, when someone comes to us with a problem, rather than feeling defeated and thinking, “The only thing I can do is pray,” we should victoriously claim, “The best thing I can do for you is to pray” (not my original thought, I think it was Oswald Chambers). So, rather than saying, “When all else fails, try God,” we should say, “God never fails, I will choose His way.” Ms. EV Yolanda Adams has a song called, “It’s Gon’ Be Nice,” and I love the message of the song. It is a song to encourage everyone that, though, things might seem crazy, when God gets through with the situation, it will be VERY nice. Enduring hard times is one of the hardest things to do in life. As I write, I am thinking, “How do you tell someone who is going through the worst of circumstances, to ‘hang in there,’ when they feel like their world is crashing in on them.”
I know that I am prone to panic. So, it doesn’t even have to be a dire situation for me to freak right on out, although, I am getting better about that as I continue to grow. But, I feel that, for some of us, it’s hard to think past the present. It is difficult to picture that everything will work out. That is why we need to commune with God. That is why we need to read the Bible. We need to seek God’s Kingdom and His face because, when we can’t look past our own present, we can look in the past and see what the Lord has done. Maybe we cannot think of something that He has done for us (though there is plenty) because we are to frustrated, flustered, or furious to recall the moments when He pulled us through our problems. So, we have the Word of God to remind us of His goodness. We have a Spirit that dwells within us to remind us of His grace. So, as Yolanda says in the song: “I don’t have the right to give up I don’t have the right to give in You’re gonna see me through So, I’m gonna put my trust in You!” When we trust Him, God works out situations in ways that we would never ever imagine. I have a sticky note on my mirror that says, “God’s got this!” It is a reminder that no matter what the day may be, it is not anything that my God cannot handle and turn around for my good. We may not be able to see it, but I am a living witness that it’s gon’ be nice! Ms. EV For the foreseeable future, Ms. EV's Blog will feature music from Toni LaShaun Music. Today's song is He Never Fails. I cannot wait to record this song because I feel that it has the reminder that many of us need all the time that God can NEVER fail! If we can't think of anything in our own lives that proves this to be true, we can open the Bible and see so many testimonies of how God is ABLE!!! He Never Fails
© Copyright 2012 Toni L. Wortherly He never fails There’s no end to what my God can do Just trust in Him There’s no end to what my God can do Fill the barren Split the Sea Raise up a king From obscurity Know the future Forgive the past Create a Kingdom That will forever last He never fails There’s no end to what my God can do Just trust in Him There’s no end to what my God can do Turn water into wine Heal the lame Help the blind To see again Take on my sins Humbly bleed Rise from the dead For a wretch like me He never fails There’s no end to what my God can do Just trust in Him There’s no end to what my God can do I love my day job. I absolutely am giddy about the ability to impart knowledge and wisdom into the minds and hearts of our youth. This was not always the career that I envisioned for myself. My teenage self thought that I would either own my own law firm or be a partner in a law firm at thirty-five. I would be a wife and a mother of pre-teenagers. I would be in a completely different place if my teenage self was correct. I gave up practicing law after a short time and I started teaching. I got a divorce and I am not even dating anyone, so, clearly, that was not meant to be my reality.
Even though I am content with my job and my relationship status, there are times when I come face-to-face with completely unfair situations. Despite my best efforts to do my job as unto Christ, and despite the respect that I have from my colleagues and my supervisors, there are still times when I am attacked. The worst is when it is seemingly for no apparent reason. So, here is what I have learned about life from Joseph and Paul. Like Joseph, I told everyone who would listen about my dream to become an attorney, a wife, and a mother. Though, I was not tossed in a pit by my brothers, I somewhat created my own pit of pressure to live up to this ideal life that I had bragged about before it ever happened. That led to a divorce, depression, and disillusion with my chosen career. So, I changed into what seemed to be career that fit my personality, but that I knew was not my forever job. Even though, I know how to do my job, there are still times when unfair accusations are hurled my way, leading me to feel like I am in prison, where Joseph found himself after false accusations by Potiphar’s wife. So, here is where the lesson from Paul comes in because Paul shows everyone how to react to being imprisoned. Paul teaches us, first of all, that many times, you can be punished even when you have done nothing wrong. However, that punishment should not paralyze you, you should instead use it as a platform to continue to show the love, grace and mercy of Christ. We should not seek revenge against those who persecute us, but we should seek to reveal Christ in every situation. Though Paul was in prison, he didn’t throw a pity party; he continued to pray, praise and preach the gospel of Christ. And, when we feel trapped, imprisoned by the snares set up by the enemy, we must not sit idle; we must continue to move in God’s direction in the best way we can until He delivers us from the situation. This leads me back to Joseph. As my pastor has preached, Joseph went from the pit to prison to the palace. So, we must be confident that there is a better place for us; God has a plan for us. The person, place or thing that has you feeling imprisoned will not be the end of you, unless you let them. Just like Joseph said in Genesis 50:20, they mean it for evil, but God can use it for good. So, if you are feeling trapped, keep praying, praising, and preaching like Paul, and watch God move you from your pit and your prison to a palace like Joseph. Ms. EV I was awakened from my nap by a rather boisterous thunder boom. I groggily sat up in my bed and looked out the window just in time to see a flash of lightning that didn’t look to far from my house. I jumped up and hurried out of the room to make sure that anything that wasn’t plugged into a surge protector was unplugged from the wall, especially my precious laptop that has been charging while I was recharging.
As I sat on my couch, I turned on the new to see the local weatherman, Captain Obvious, telling me there were severe thunderstorms. The lightning was striking what seemed to be inches from my condo and every single thunder clap shook my whole house. So, I did what any sensible thirty-four year-old would do, I called my mommy. She laughed at me and told me that she was eating dinner and it was just a thunderstorm. I played down how scared I actually was in the moment. There are a couple of trees near my window and I started thinking, “What if one of these trees crashes through my window?” It was just me and my cat, Joy Bella, huddled on the couch waiting for the storm to pass. Then, the power went out. It went out in such a way that I was sure lightning had struck my electronics despite the surge protector, so I called my mom again. She assured me that the power would come on again very soon. When I hung up, I had a moment. All I could think was, “This would be a good time to have someone here with me to comfort me.” I mean, I couldn’t leave the house because the weather was so bad. Then, the storm brought cold weather and thoughts of how nice it would be to snuggle up with someone I love. That same thunder and lightning that were scaring the mess out of me would have been romantic in a different circumstance. And, there I was again thinking, “Lord, why don’t you want me to have someone special in my life?” A little while later, I picked up my guitar and started playing some new songs I had written. I soon forgot the lonely feelings. Then, during my quiet time, I read Romans 9 and the last verse really touched my heart, Romans 9:33 (The Message), “If you’re looking for me, you’ll find me on the way, not in the way.” It was as if God was saying, “My Love, I know you are seeking me and I know that sometimes you feel lonely. But I’m here. And, as long as you look for Me, you will find Me. I am not standing in the way of you being in a relationship. I just want you to enjoy our relationship. Enjoy the moments when it is just you and Me. Everything will work out in the best way possible because I love you.” He is not IN the way, but I can find Him ON the way in every moment that I feel scared and alone, or joyful and excited. He is always there, and if you look for Him, you will find Him; not in the way as a stumbling block, but on the way as everything you need. Ms. EV For the foreseeable future, Ms. EV's Blog will feature music from Toni LaShaun Music. Today's song is Stay In My Lane. I wrote this song after waking up one day and realizing that I was getting upset over how God blessed others rather than focusing on where God was leading me. It is a great compliment to the blog earlier this week, Stay In Your Lane. I have not recorded it yet, but here are the lyrics: Stay In My Lane
© Copyright 2012 Toni L. Wortherly I have a chance At victory If I keep my mind Stayed on Thee If I’d stop looking Yo the right or left Maybe I could stop Envying someone else I have to stay in my lane Ket God take the wheel He has not steered me wrong And He never will Your road to success May differ from mine But we will get there In His perfect time Chorus God is so much wiser than me He sees the dangers that I cannot see He will change my direction Reroute my path Close doors that were opened To nothing but bad If I listen to His Spirit He will be my Guide For He knows what is best for me For He knows what is best for me So, everyone knows that teachers are way overpaid and extremely rich, right? (Insert sarcasm) But, seriously folks, if I had a dime for every time someone asked me why I am a teacher instead of an attorney (because I have a law degree and passed the bar and practiced law for a short time), I would be stupid rich! Nevertheless, I have come to realize that it is not how much money you make; it is what you do with all that God gifts you, your time, talents and treasure that really matters.
No disrespect to the profession of law; I have several friends who practice law very successfully. Being an attorney did not fit with my personality. I had to decide if I would stay in a profession that was literally making me ill, or if I would pursue a different path. I chose my current day job because of the opportunity to enrich the lives of younger generations and because of all of the days of vacation. It was never about the paycheck. It was about finding something fulfilling that allowed me the time I needed to pursue my other dreams and passion in life. With my passions and dreams firmly in sight, I taught for the first couple of years, and then, I bought a house. In order to pay for my house, I had to work more hours. That meant I had less time for dream chasing because I had to work, which left me exhausted. But, last year, I made a conscious choice to put the extra, “time robbing” pursuits aside and focus on my faith, my family, and my future. Letting go of the extra jobs meant letting go of the extra income, and at first, it was a struggle. It had been a long time since I had too much month at the end of my money, and I was not really sure how to handle it. One thing was for sure, I was confident that my actions were God-led, so I knew He would take care of me. I didn’t know how, but I knew He would. In this season, I learned about God Math. God Math is when you make less money, have more bills, continue to give your tithes and offerings and end up with a surplus. It makes no sense, but, then again, when does anything supernatural make sense? I stopped balancing my checkbook a long time ago because it was depressing. I do live on a budget, though, and at the top of the budget, is giving my first fruits to God. I am not saying that I didn’t tighten my purse strings when I got a pay cut because I do have common sense. What I am saying is that if you put all of the numbers in a calculator, they would drive any accountant crazy! That is how God works. When your relationship with Him and your pursuits for His dreams for your life become your focus, He will make miracles happen. I used to hear the church folks say, “He’ll make a way out of now way,” and I didn’t really understand what that meant. Now, I do; it’s God Math! I made straight A’s in mathematics and I don’t understand it, but you don’t have to understand; you have to trust! Ms. EV In 1 Samuel 13, Saul and his army are fighting in a battle with the Philistines at Gilgal. The Lord, through Samuel, told Saul to wait seven days, until Samuel arrived, and then, He would give Saul the victory. Saul, though he was holding his ground, however, felt that Samuel was taking too long, and as soon as the seventh day hit and Samuel was not there, Saul took it upon himself to make a sacrificial offering. Just after he did this, Samuel arrived. Samuel let Saul know that, because of his disobedience, he would be replaced by God as king.
At first glance, I read this story and I could not understand why what Saul did was so wrong. He was watching his soldiers die left and right. So, he did what he knew to do and offered a sacrifice. His men were hiding, scattering, and afraid. What was he supposed to do? Well, that question is answered by Samuel. Saul was supposed to wait. And, because he did not wait in expectant obedience, he was later removed from his position as king. This piece of history cuts me to the core. I have so many dreams that I believe God will make come true. Yet, there are times when I, like Saul, think God is not moving fast enough. Or, I think that there is something I am supposed to be doing rather than be still and wait on Him. So, I try to make things happen. And, let me just tell you, it always ends up being a bad choice to be disobedient; even when the action seems harmless. Samuel very plainly told Saul, “God appointed you and then He made an appointment with you. You did not keep your appointment with God, so He will now appoint someone else. Thanks for playing!” Okay, so maybe those weren’t his exact words, but you get the point. We must ask ourselves, “If God appointed me to do this task, am I keeping my appointment with Him or am I forcing Him to appoint someone else?” When God says, “Wait,” we must wait. When God says, “Move,” we must move. It seems simple, but if you are like me, you have messed it up a time or twenty. So, keep your appointments with God, spend time with Him, learn what He wants from you and then, do it, so He does not have to appoint someone else to complete the task that is meant for you. Ms. EV I have been on a bunch of retreats for various reasons. On many teambuilding retreats, there is an exercise called the Trust Fall. In this exercise, one person volunteers to blindly fall into the arms of another person or group of people. The person must face forward, without looking back and just fall. The idea is that you must trust the other person or the group of people to catch you when you fall. It is out natural human instinct that if we don’t trust someone during this exercise, that we will physically prevent ourselves from falling. In those instances, it shows the other person or persons involved that there is not enough trust available to surrender.
For years and years, I have had the dream to pursue a career in writing and songwriting. Last year, I started this blog just so that I would have a forum to share, in writing, the wisdom that God speaks to me. For so long, I thought that the only way to be a writer was to have a publishing deal and that nothing I wrote meant anything if I didn’t have that type of deal. When I started the blog, I didn’t know how much I would write or how often, I just started. I closed my eyes, spread my arms out wide, and fell backwards. I trusted that God would do whatever He wants to do with this. There have been times when I have been discouraged and have considered putting an end to this blog. There have been times when I have thought that maybe I am sharing too much of my life with complete strangers. And, every time I have those feelings, I get some sort of encouragement that I am doing the right thing. This is the easy part. The harder dream is the songwriting one. I think I am just more sensitive about the music that I have been inspired to write. Now, feels like the best time to move forward because, before now, I never knew the steps to start my music career, but suddenly, I am finding out information and seeing paths that seemed to be hidden before. It is somewhat scary, though. It seems like there is so much more to lose. This is one of those big Trust Falls; not the kind where you lean back into the arms of a friend, but the kind where you stand on a really high platform and fall into the arms of some co-workers that you barely know. The good news is that I am not falling into the arms of strangers; I am falling into the arms of Jesus. And no matter how vulnerable I feel, no matter how big a risk I take in pursuit of the dream, as long as I know I am following God’s lead, I can close my eyes, spread out my arms, and fall. I am at a stage where it feels like I won’t stop falling, but I know that no matter how far I fall, I can trust Jesus to catch me. I will land safely, and so will you. So, take all of your dreams and trust God with them. Take a leap of faith; He will catch you. Ms. EV |
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