Guard Your Heart

"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." - Proverbs 4:23
Proverbs is a book that's full of wisdom and advice to help us through life. We're instructed to guard our hearts. Too many times we open up our heart to someone that doesn't deserve it. Too many times we open our heart to a situation that is not worth it. When we become emotionally invested in something, we open ourselves up to a world of hurt. We must give our hearts to Jesus and allow him to be the keeper of our heart. Anything that doesn't line up with Jesus is not good for us. Jesus is and always will be the standard.

When it comes to relationships (romantic or platonic)  it is so important to guard your heart. When you become too invested too quickly, and things do not work out, it will be harder to get over. I recently got out of a relationship. After 10 months, it was over and all I could think  about was how much I invested. When it comes to love, we must take it slow. Songs of Solomon is a book all about romantic love. "I charge you... that ye not stir up, nor awake my love, till he please." -Songs of Solomon 2:7. This scriptures reminds us to wait on love & let it come naturally. 

While I'm sad about my relationship ending, I have to realize that God makes no mistakes. My last post was "The Bad That God Allows",  so I have to trust that God is working it out for my good. I will use this time of singleness to focus on my relationship with God, grow as a person and go after my goals. I will wait on God to send me the right person and until then I will guard my heart. 

-MemoirsOfJazz (MoJ) 

The Bad Things That God Allows

       It's funny because "bad things" happen and we get angry, we cry, we question God's plan and then we realize life goes on. We begin to find peace in a situation we never imagined that we would have to experience. We see the silver lining and understand that this "bad thing" was part of God's DIVINE plan for our life.

        As time goes on, we experience so many new opportunities brought about by this "bad thing". We reflect on the state of happiness we are now experiencing. God filled our heart with an overwhelming sense of peace. None of this would be possible unless this "bad thing" happened. 

       We cried when it rained because we disliked the dark clouds. However, once we dried our tears, we saw the beautiful flowers that bloomed from the rain. We were struck with a startling epiphany. We realize the grass is greener on the other side... of the storm. 

         We ask ourselves, "How can it be a bad thing, if it brought so much good? " God allows "bad things" to happen, to show His sovereignty. God allows "bad things" to happen, so that we will realize that He alone is in control. God allows "bad things" to happen, so that we can use our story to testify to others of His goodness.

Never forget Genesis 50:20 "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." 

-MemoirsOfJazz (MOJ) 

Don't Pray and Worry

       Don’t pray and worry. How many times have we heard that phrase? And if you haven’t heard it before, allow me to introduce you. :) We may have heard this phrase many times, but how many of us actually apply it to our lives? This phrase comes from the scripture, “Don’t worry about anything: instead, pray about everything.” (Philippians 4:6a) Oftentimes we find ourselves worrying about things. How am I going to pay for this? When am I going to be able to do that? Worrying about things you cannot control is pointless, because it does not change the situation. It only leads to frustration, bitterness and it drains your energy. Worrying about things you can control is
also pointless. Why waste time worrying, when you can go to God in prayer and He will help you overcome?
           Worrying makes the situation seem worse than it really is. Oftentimes we worry about something and then a few days or weeks down the road, we realize that things worked out just fine. Then we find something else to worry about. There has NEVER been a situation that God did not deliver you from. Think back to your worst situation. Did you die? NO. Did it break you? NO. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them ALL.” (Psalms 34:19) I love this scripture. It is such a peaceful thing to reflect on.

         So before you start to get worried about finals, your job, your partner or just life in general, remember to pray. God is able and willing to help you through any situation. There is nothing too big or too little for God to handle. You don’t have to pray a long prayer. You can just say a simple one like, “Jesus, I’m trusting you to help me with this situation. Please take away my worry. Amen.”

 

-MoJ (MemoirsofJazz)

Get Over Yourself

Sometimes we miss out on our blessings because we are too picky. We give God a list of how we want our blessings to come. We have a "type" and "preference" but we fail to remember that our "type" was what BROKE our hearts and our "preference" led us astray.

We keep telling the Potter what His masterpiece WANTS, when He's trying to give us what we NEED. We keep giving specifics to what we think we want, and we're ignoring the blessings right in our face. We let our pride and prejudices keep us from great things. We try to make our lives look glamorous to other people but have we forgotten that God sees it all?

Maybe if we stop fronting, we will connect with those who God sent into our lives. Maybe if we stop trying to build up our image, we will realize there are so many people like us. If we reject others because of their failure to measure up, we give God (and others), a reason to reject us because of our shortcomings. If God accepts it, what makes us think we are too good to accept it?

We claim that we don't judge, but then we handpick the people who get "the pleasure" of talking to us. Do we not remember that ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God? (Romans 3:23) Are we not aware that everyone has a purpose in the kingdom of God?

Don't be the person who keeps you from your OWN blessing. Get OVER Yourself.

.:JRSN:.

Forget People, Do YOU !!

Don’t let people put you in a box. People will try to say you’re only meant for one thing. People will try to say that one thing DEFINES you. People are WRONG.

Don’t let people limit you. People will try to reason with you and tell you that you’re being unrealistic. People will tell you that you’re “too young, too poor, too little.” People will tell you that you “aren't smart enough, aren't rich enough, aren't qualified enough." DON'T listen to them.

Don’t limit yourself by setting your goals too small to encompass your potential. You have to set goals big enough to cover all the things that you are capable of. Write down your goals and look at them often. Everything you need to be successful. YOUR definition of successful is within YOU.

You future depends on the goals you set today. If you want to get anywhere in life, you have to set goals and stick with them. Don’t let anyone talk you out of your goals. To be talked out of your goals is to be talked into a life full of MISERY. To be talked out of your goals is to be talked out of your DESTINY.

Remember, what’s for you is for you and it WILL be for you. So claim it. 

.:JRSN:. 

Write the Vision

It is so important to have a vision for our future. We must set goals and checkpoints of what we want to be doing and where we want to be 1 year, 5 years and 10 years from now.  Once we get a vision in our head, we should write it down. “And the Lord answered me, and said, write the vision, and make it plain...” Habakkuk 2:2. Once we write a detailed description of what we hope to accomplish we should put it somewhere where we can see it every day.

 When we have a vision, we become future orientated. We don’t make decisions based on where we are now. However, we make decisions that will help us get where we want to be. People who do not have a vision are present orientated. The decisions that they make are for their short term pleasure. They lack the foresight of the things they should be doing.

Everything we say and do should be to help us bring our vision to pass. We take advantage of every situation so that we can advance and get better. A lot of people say they have visions for their future but they do not act on those goals. “Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.” –Old Proverb.

One of the things that separate the successful from the unsuccessful is sacrifice. So many people have all sorts of dreams and vision but they lack the discipline to sacrifice things that stand in their way. When you have a vision, you cannot do what everyone else does, when everyone else does it, how everyone else does it. When you have a vision, you must take a step back from everything and everybody and see what you need to eliminate from your life to get to where you want to be.

Don’t be one of those people who have big dreams but little discipline. Don’t look around wondering why everyone is advancing but you. Take control of your future. Write the Vision. 

.:JRSN:.

Year Twenty

Year twenty, God has brought me thus far,

Even though things were a little bizarre,

A change has come upon my life,

Receiving liberation from hurt and strife,

Take a look around, I’m not where I used to be,

When did I change into a better me?

Everything that happened, good and bad,

Nurtured me to appreciate the life I had,

Take a look around, I like the view, 

Year twenty, I don’t look like what I’ve been through 

.:JRSN:.