Blog Archives
Trust and Honesty
What a powerful topic ~ trust and honesty. There were many values I was raised with and one in particular my father told me was the most valuable thing one has is their name and to make sure you could take it to the bank. That also falls in the same guidelines as honesty. When one is honest they can be trusted. My mother has always told me I’m too honest for my own good. Well, everyone ‘says’ they want honesty; that is, until it’s something they don’t want to hear.
Many relationships fall apart because someone abused the other’s trust. There are marriages ending up in divorce, friendships ending, problems between parents and children and on into the work place as well. This lack of trust isn’t immediately there, one has to do something for this to occur. There are circumstances that make it hard to trust, i.e. abuse, adultery, etc. and in these situations ~ yes, do let experience teach you but try not to make others pay the price for what someone else has done.
Of course we are all familiar in the world of being a child where we weren’t honest with our parents to keep out of trouble and see how much we could get away with. How many times have you heard or said to your child “I just can’t trust you…”? Well, I guess it’s time for me to confess I am definitely familiar to hearing it! I wasn’t always this sweet!! 🙂
Also, be careful who you trust. Remember, Satan was once an angel. The One we can trust explicitly is God!!! All throughout the Word He proves that His promises are always kept. He will be there for you, He will guide your paths and His way is the only right path. The more you spend time in His Word, seeking His guidance and walking daily with Him, the more you will experience that without a shadow of a doubt ~ you can always trust God.
In closing, let’s be honest ~ we can’t rely on ourselves 100%. Talk with God, ask Him to guide you and take that step ~ trust Him with your life.
This is DeVaughn ~ bringing it home.
I’m Not Perfect….
Let’s get real for a minute – there are so many people we all know who seem to think they’re perfect. They are always telling you how to do things, how you could do better and this comes without ever asking. In fact, unless you do things the way they do you are wrong!! First lesson in life to remember – life is not a ‘one size fits all’. What works for one person may not work for the next. In fact, God spent time making sure all of our fingerprints are different for a reason. We all are unique by His design.
Second point in life ~ no one is perfect!!! Only Jesus Christ and His way is perfect. Does that mean we have nothing to strive for? Of course not! We can exercise every day and still look in the mirror and find flaws ~ at least one! We also know that even though some flaws remain and more will add to the list as we get older that exercising and a good diet will help us live a healthier life. In our spiritual life our exercise and diet helps as well. The more time and energy we spend in His Word the better our walk with Jesus will be. Our spiritual exercise is walking with Jesus in our lives daily and our diet is reading the Word to feed our minds the spiritual food and knowledge we need.
I will close today’s writings leaving you all with a reminder not just for today, but everyday. “I’m not perfect….but thank God I am forgiven.”
This is DeVaughn ~ bringing it home.
Encouragement
As an author of her first book I truly have experienced how much a few words from others can mean. Of course, most people focus on the few words others say that have hurt them. Imagine how we would all be if we spent more time focusing and remembering the encouraging words, even if they are few and far between.
First and foremost when we feel the need for encouragement and/or inspiration all we truly need is to open the Bible and read God’s Word. We can also turn to Him in prayer and find a sense of peace in the darkest of storms. Then there are times when we need something with a little more flesh – someone we can ‘literally’ talk to and hear from right here, right now. For instance, a child may have a nightmare and you can assure them they’re not alone because they have God watching over them. Even with that assurance the child still doesn’t want to be physically alone. We need to remember we are God’s children and He recognizes our need to have someone here and He does put people in your life to help you for that very reason.
Take a look at your life very closely. Do you find yourself encouraging others or always telling them how much better they could do things (which in it’s own way is discouraging)? Every word we say to others makes a difference and we need to be conscious if we are making a positive difference in others’ lives or are we subconsciously tearing them down. I know that when I look to see how many views my page is getting, how many ‘likes’ my posts are getting, comments, etc. it encourages me to keep writing no matter how hard it may be that day. I thank you all for your encouragements.
Let’s all start this week out focusing on encouraging others as God instructed us to do in His Word. Yes ~ one person CAN make a difference.
This is DeVaughn ~ bringing it home.
Coincidence or Luck?
There are many people who consider great timing a coincidence or some call it luck. Personally, I don’t believe in either. In my opinion saying something is coincidence or luck is taking the credit away from God. “In the right place at the right time.” A phase you hear over and over. Did you ever stop to really think about why it happened that way?
About 7 1/2 years ago when I was waiting tables a man walked in, sat in my section and constantly stayed busy on the phone throughout the whole meal. By the time he was ready to pay he was off the phone and we talked briefly. I spoke with him asking if he needed an assistant because I knew I couldn’t continue making it on what I was making. Four months later he called and asked if I was still interested – of course my answer was yes. His name, Rick Curren, III. He trained me to work Per Diem for a medical device company. We had many conversations during training and he never missed a beat talking with me about how I needed to get back into church and guiding me for a much more positive direction in my life. In April 2008 I lost the job and broke my back in September 2008. I was alone and scared and who else did I call – Rick. He planted seeds which God took His time to make grow. By this time Rick and his beautiful wife, Tanya, started a ministry called “Boundless Limits” and were extremely busy. Tanya wrote me a long letter and sent me Women of Faith Bible Study Guides while I was laid up. What an impression that made on me. Not long after that they went full-time into ministry which has now led them into filming and producing their son’s new TV series, “Scaly Adventures.”
Through the months and years different things Rick said to me stuck way down deep inside, words that in their own way haunted me because I wasn’t yielding to God’s call through His messenger. Yes, the job with the better money was great – but what was greater was that God sent someone because He knew I had a greater need. It was time for me to come back home. A lot of people I knew told me how lucky I was. What they didn’t realize was this had nothing to do with luck or coincidence, it was all God’s doings and in His time in His way.
Today I still keep in touch with Rick and Tanya as I go through the process of writing my first book, taking care of my mother…just life. I won’t say I’m “lucky” to have met them – but I will say I was blessed!! The next time something turns out great – remember, it isn’t coincidence or luck. On the flip side of the same coin, when something doesn’t work out – that’s just God keeping you from where you don’t need to be because He has something much bigger and better for you, even if it is years down the road.
This is DeVaughn ~ bringing it home.
Patience
Patience is one of life’s hardest lessons and we tend to be taught the same lesson over and over – just have patience. It’s getting a lot harder in today’s world with all of the conveniences we have such as fast food, internet, email, the list goes on and on. We always want something now. Even in our prayers we may ask God for something and subconsciously we follow-up with “..and I want it now.” The first house my husband and I looked at seemed to be ‘the one’ and it all fell through. About four months later we were looking at a MUCH nicer home and never thought it a possibility, but with God everything is possible. Two months ago we bought the beautiful home to now live happily ever after.
Last week I met a wonderful pastor who spoke at our revival. I was talking with him about one of the chapters I was writing and he mentioned getting me in touch with a publishing friend of his. Today I spoke with the publisher and wheels started getting ready to turn. Of course, I have more writing to do and money to come up with. I want to sit down and finish writing the book immediately and get everything done. Problem is, arthritis won’t let me do too much at a time so once again the lesson of patience. It will all come together when it is time ~ God’s time.
This is DeVaughn ~ bringing it home.
Commitment
In writing my book I have found that it seems to get done a little here and there, which is pretty much the way most of our life is. Although, have you noticed how quickly things can get done when the pressure is on? For instance. when the in-laws all of a sudden tell you they’re coming for a visit. It is amazing how quickly the house can get cleaned! Well, possibly if we made a commitment to do a little at a time when we can it wouldn’t get that bad. Not too different than our Spiritual Life and our walk with Jesus. We all need to make that commitment to speak with Him daily and take the time to listen to Him as well. So ~ in summary for today ~ let’s all clean house (both the house we live in and our Spiritual life) and commit to keep it that way.
This is DeVaughn – bringing it home.
DeVaughn Rosendahl 