The F.U.N. Principle™

Check in on your desire

Some of you may know that I'm completing a book project about spiritual desire that will be released soon. I'm also going to be teaching a class tomorrow at A Beautiful woman in Christ retreat in Oakland called "When Desire Leaves Your Workplace".  Tonight in my quiet time, I was reminded once again about the importance of maintaining your desire.  When your desire is off in one area of your life, it will spill into other areas as well.

Some may consider the times in which we live to be challenging and difficult.  Getting up and making it happen may seem as difficult as climbing to the top of a mountain.  Yet, I am coming to learn that if you allow God to move in your life and surrender yourself to him, your desire to be faithful in spite of it all  will remain in tact.  No weapons formed against you will become a living banner that you carry daily. 

If your desire is waning in any kind of way, it's time to do a check in with God.  Align every part of your life with him and weed out the unnecessary.  Take the remaining part of this year to renew and refresh yourself in Christ.  When I was a child, my grandmother would spend the last part of the year cleaning and purging the house to ensure that the unnecessary did not transfer to the next year. 

The time that you have on this  earth is so critical.  You can't afford to allow the unnecessary to go into another one of your days.  I pray that you will stop what you are doing even at this very moment and give some time to the Lord. 

Be blessed!

Gina

Are you giving with an Open Hand

For the past 40 days, I've had a great opportunity to encourage a friend in writing every morning.  This process will continue for 10 more days.  Today, I woke up with the prescence of God and just felt compelled to share day 40.  I pray that you are blessed by the reading of it just as much as I was blessed by the revelation

When you life is a gift, it is your appointed time to give God the glory.  No matter what stage you may find yourself to be in, keep your hands open and up.  Enter every opportunity without conceptions, restrictions or personal agendas. Don’t tell people you are going to help them and simultaneously think in your mind how you are going to benefit from the situation.  That is internal negativity that is designed to destroy your purpose.  If you have personal needs, you may find yourself tempted to do otherwise.  Yet, your job is to be the gift and receiving will be done when God sends divine gifts your way.  Throughout the bible, God required the sacred part of your gift—your first fruits.  This offering needed to be untouched and pure.  This is even more of a confirmation of what God requires. 

Proverbs 18:16
A man's gift makes room for him And brings him before great men.

The word gift means mattan  in the Hebrew which is derived from the word mathan meaning to give, put, set, applied, appointed, execute.

The word great means gadol in the Hebrew which means great, bigger, exceedingly, great men, mighty and great, nobles.

God is saying are you looking to get or are you looking to give?  If you are stuck or life just seems to be dealing you a bad hand, it’s time to evaluate your giving process.  Put giving into your daily practice.  This bible verse is quoted all the time.  I’ve heard it and said it when I was at a point of evaluating my gifts.  I used to think that the atmosphere should automatically change because Gina arrived and my gifts were ready to be used.  Yet, God wasn’t looking for my haughtiness or my capabilities.  Pastor Saed often says, God is looking for your availability and He will do the rest.  Since God gave me the gifts in the first place, He doesn’t need me.  He needs my heart that is not tainted with vanity.  He needs my right motive.  He needs my renewed mind that is not conformed to the world’s way of thinking.  He needs me in the right place at the right time so that I can be used to give Him the glory.  He needs to use me to bless someone else.  He may have gifted me, yet my gifts are not for me. 

This may be common sense or duplication of thoughts for many.  Yet the world is frustrated right now.  We may get confused and want to use our gifts for ourselves.  It’s impossible to do so for a long period of time.  We will dry ourselves out and drain ourselves to the point of no return.  We will then blame it on our circumstances, when it is really us.  We’ll wonder why our gifts are not making room. We’ll wonder why we are not making the right connections in our business or workplace.  Yet, with the wrong motives, we enter every situation like a stingy man arriving to a birthday party for someone else and refuse to give gift to the person that is being honored.  We want this selfishness to expand and will knock over anyone that is in our way. We want to rise to the top.  Yet, we are heavy because we have not released our gifts properly. I’m looking at the man in the mirror for my self-check.  How about you?

Your Life is a Gift

“When you realize your life is a gift, you can’t help but to keep on giving!” – Gina Dacus

 

Be blessed!

Encouragement on Purpose

About a year ago, I challenged 40 women specifically and anyone that read my blog to develop a plan for their lives.  I just asked one question, "Do you have a plan?"  I further challenged everyone to identify one thing in their lives that they needed to address and surrender to the Lord.  Initially, I received feedback from women regarding several areas of their lives.  The main issues for women included: finances, relationships and personal goals.

One year later, the questions have not disappeared.  In these difficult times, women are still pushing to make it while facing some of the same issues. If you are able to read this blog, then you are still pressing through towards your destiny.  You are still being a wife, mother, sister, career woman, stay at home mom, student, etc.  Many of you have managed to just get the job done, but it has cost you dearly.  You are getting up in the morning, getting the kids to school, going to work, going to school and just making it happen.  Yet, you might feel worn out, ready to give up and your desire may be on the blink.  Yet, today I felt led to just encourage you in the midst of it all.

Some may even find themselves in less fortunate situations.  Some of you may believe yourselves to be victims of the economy.  Whatever your situation, I would like to encourage you to press through your situation.  We are living in a time where some of our trials may be unavoidable.  We have mastered everything except the difficult items in our lives and the unevitable is now facing us eyeball to eyeball.

A familiar scripture was placed in my spirit this morning and I would like to share it with you.  Psalm 27:14 (NASB) --

Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.

 

This scripture reminds me that I have a pending promise on my life with tools to get to my promise from the Lord .  All I have to to is wait. Now stop.  It is time to recondition your mind.  Some of us have waited on things of this world and they never arrived. When God asks us to wait on Him, we try and box Him into our last experience.  Yet, when we choose to wait on God, it is a different process than what we experienced when we were waiting on people, places or things to manifest in our lives.

 

The word wait compels me to be in a position of expectation.  My pastor says that "Expectation is the birthing place for miracles."  It says nothing about stressing out, worrying or disbelief.  I can wait in expectation when I believe that God is able.  I wait because I know that He will never leave me or forsake me.  I'm not waiting on just anybody.  Scripture says wait for God Himself.  So, while I'm waiting in a position of expectation, I can be strong. I don't have to buckle down to depression, stress or worrying because it looks like it's not going to work.  I'm expecting a miracle.  In fact, disbelief can't be present during a miracle.  So I purposely wait in a position that is not based on my own strength, but the strength that I can seek and obtain from the Lord.  It is during my weakest times that His strength can consume me.  I look like I have it all together not because of what I do or who I am, but because of who God is in my life.  There is no struggle between me and God when I am weak because I am fully aware and can receive the strength that He provides me.   And when I wait and stand for the Lord, I do so boldly and with the courage that He provides me because my inner man has been strengthened.  My soul is renewed and spiritually balanced.  I can then speak with confidence, "I can do all things in Christ which strengthens me".

 

Be blessed!

 

Legacy of My Sister - Just One Week Away

The Legacy of My Sister event is just a little over a week away now.  Since I scheduled this event, it has been a press, but I'm determined to stay focused, available and on my assignment. 

The idea was birthed as part of my desire to want to be an encouragement to my sisters.  I also happen to have one of the best sister girl networks and they have been a blessing in my life.

Since I announced the event, I've received mixed feedback.  Some people don't have a network.  Some people no longer have their mother's or mentors...this time of year is usually a sad time for them.

Whatever the case and whatever the struggle, I just compel you to come out of this scenario fits you.  Even if you are living the peachiest of lives, come and spread your positivity in the midst of other women who also desire to celebrate. 

For more information about this event, call Gina Dacus at 925.565.0494 or go to:

http://legacyofmysisters.eventbrite.com

 

Be blessed!

 

I'll see you on May 3rd!

 

Gina