Spoken Word

Hello Everyone,
Hope you are all doing well. I saw one of my little sisters-in- Christ yesterday and she sent me this youtube link. It fired me up and spoke to me on a different level. Thank you Jonelle :). None of us is perfect, but we are all given a choice and the opportunity to manifest His glory.

Check out this spoken word:

ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG!
It is definetly, a food for thought piece.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzZTfbr-wiA


Love ya,
Natasha

Heart of Gratitude

Greetings Family,
For those of you, who may be thinking "im not in her, family" lol. Yes, you are. The same God who calls me His, also refers to you as his daughters and sons. So, in being his children, we are family. :)))))

THANKFUL
Today's post comes from a heart filled with gratitude. God has done so many amazing things in my life, that I would not have enough time or room to fill this blog. Literally, a storehouse of blessings that I could have never bought or earned. This weekend, Thanksgiving is usually a time where people gather with friends and family and enjoy a meal. For some it may be a joyful occasion and for others not so great. Whatever season of life you may be in, I encourage both to give thanks to God for his goodness and his faitfulness to carry us through.

Scripture states:

" In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."
1 Thessalonians 5:18

I begin by giving God thanks for Life, which we sometimes take for granted in the hustles and bustles of every day life. For my family, those near and far I give God thanks for you and pray his continual protection and blessings over your lives as you live each day for him. I give thanks for fooooooddd- including garlic tea which healed my cold this week! LOL. There's more but I will just include this last tid-bit.

Most importantly, thank you God for Jesus. Through every trial that I have had to face, for every time I wanted to turn and run the other way. For every blessing, for every person he sent along my path. For every revelation that I have received, for every form of discipline you used to shape me and all of YOUR LOVE- in being my Father and sending your Son, Jesus so that I may have eternal life ("For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16). I look forward to being reunited with you, my mother and other family members who have gone onto glory. I give thanks.



I leave you with the lyrics of a song, my family has shared with me:


"Give thanks, with a grateful heart.

Give thanks, to the Holy One,

Give thanks because he's given Jesus Christ his Son."

And now, let the weak say I am strong,

Let the poor say I am rich,

because of what the Lord has done, for us.

Give Thanks..."


LOVESSSS YA,
Natasha ;-)

Dreams

Hello Family,
Soooo much has happened since I last posted (July), which I deeply apologize for. We are now in a new season called fall. Over the summer months and the beginning of fall, God really used the time to deal with me on the matters closest to my heart. He has given me new insight into what he would have me do in this season. The subject matter that God has layed on my heart to discuss with you: Dreams and Vision. I pray that you would discover the new blessings and giftings he has in store for you.

DREAMS
Last week, I read this quote from the bulletin I received at my young adults group:

"The journey between the dreaming and the coming true is a journey made on holy ground. It is a journey made through silence and longing where, if we will listen, we can hear the whisper of the Dreamer echoing deep within us, calling us to become what the Dreamer sees when our names are first whispered."
- Robert Benson

Do you have dreams? Do you know what God's dreams are for your life? Are you living out that dream'?

One thing I have discovered, is that God does not have ordinary dreams for our lives, but EXTRA- ordinary visions he would like to accomplish through us if we are willing and obedient. The dreams that he has placed in you will not only benefit you, but will benefit others and outlive you into eternity.

The book of Joel states:
"And afterword, I will pour out my spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions."
Joel 2: 28-29

One dream from God can change the entire direction of your life. For instance, the late Martin Luther King Jr. lived out his dream fighting for equal rights between African Americans and White Americans in the United States. His dream outlived him, and led to lives being changed by the policy reform in that country. Terry Fox had dreams of becoming a basketball player, and later a High School Phys. Ed teacher, however after learning he had cancer and his leg needed to be amputated, he dreamt of running across Canada to raise money for cancer research and to encourage others with cancer not to give up the fight.

God has placed a dream inside each and everyone of hearts. He has created and designed us to do something that can only be done in and through us. Often times, the thing that we are most passionate about or has brought us pain could be the very thing that God uses our dream.

Sometimes, we run or we shy away from what God is calling us to do. But think about, as I often have- when we deny the dreams God has placed inside us, we hinder the growth of others surrounding us from experiencing the gift that only we have to offer. Nelson Mandela says: "There is no passion to be found playing small- in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living."

God has created us to do more in life. In his will we find our ultimate fulfillment. At times, we may think that we have all the answers. At other times, life can seem puzzling and even discouraging without direction. But Jesus has all of the pieces to the puzzle of our lives. So instead of us trying to piece it together on our own, why not invite Jesus to put the pieces where he sees best? Today, why not seek God in discovering and fulfilling the plans he has in store for your life?

"For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11

Love ya,
Natasha

Sho Baraka’s Testimony

Sho Baraka’s Testimony

Christian Artist Sho Baraka- his testimony of how he got saved, and using the talent God gave him to impact the lives of others.
He will be in Toronto alongside Trip Lee and Spoken on August 1st, 2010 4401 Steeles Ave. W. (All Nations Full Gospel Church). Come out and show your support. Let's do this!

Le Crae

So here is another passion of my heart: MUSIC! As a child, I could recount the lyrics of songs so much so that my mom use to say "I hope you study your book as much as you study them songs." However, the music that I was singing was self-exalting and had nothing to do with Christ.

However, Lastnight I went to the Lecrae concert and I left feeling soooo excited about what God is doing! If you haven't heard about him, Lecrae is a Christian Hip Hop (Missionary). He speaks the word through the form of spoken word/rhymes. He's choosen to go against the culture by repping Christ through the means of Hip Hop.

Check out his website here:

Le Crae: http://www.lecrae.net/


Additional Christian Hip Hop Artists:

Reach Records: http://www.reachrecords.com/



Lovess ya!

Slow it Down :)

Hello folks,
So sorry that I haven't been on here in a while. I will give you a quick recap. Uh lol... where do I begin? I'll start with June.

So for the month of June it was a whirlwind as I had my trip to the Bahamas, Report Cards, Graduations to attend (including my baby sisters!) Play day- gotta love the musical chairs lol. And field trips to Milliken Park with my class including being soaked by the water sprinklers. Lastly, there was the last day of school which was a bitter sweet experience as it was also my Birthday! I loved my birthday party- thrown by my class. The kids in my class are so sweet- I love my Orchid!

WORLD CUP- so sad that Ghana and Brasil didn't make it :(( (had to make that little note for you Spain supporters).

Now we are onto July-moving to a new place, Gone to Florida and back to begin another Masters course. Gotta love the rush!

So with all of these things going on in my life... I'm pretty much feeling the need to sllllllooooowwww iiitttt down!

The Lord's word says "Come to me all who are weary, and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

Life comes with new seasons, challenges and responsibilities. It's important to take the time to rest in God as it will enable us to find true and solitude as well as prepare us for the next task up ahead.

Love ya,
Be blessed

Everything by Lifehouse

Yesterday the youth at my church put on the renactment of the skit: Everything by Life house. Every time I see the video it puts me to tears. Check it out here:
Love ya,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyeJ480LYA

Changes

Relaxed with a New Perspective

I'm bacckkkkk! I had one of the BEST vacations of my entire life ! Within such a short space of time I was able to learn so much about myself and others. God really used the time to bless me and to encourage others in their walk of life. Yay! It's the ending of the school year, graduations, my birthday, etc., But I have come to realize that now that I am back, I have been faced with a lot of changes and so this will be my discussion for today.

Websters Dictionary defines change as:
- to make radically different; to replace with another; to give a different course, position or direction.

How do you feel about change?

In the book of eccelesiates it talks about the changes of life. The author notes: "There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven." Ecclesiates 3:1. We face changes in the weather, the seasons of the year and with the relationships and seasons of our lives. Change is something to be expected but at times it may be something that we wish to ignore or resist. We often resist because we enjoy our comfort zones but it is the changes that we experience that develops character and perserverance within us. God knows what he has placed within us and so when we face changes we can resist fear embrace his words: " I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13.

Each persons situation is different and so for this reason we react in different ways to change. It is not always easy to walk on water, or in my case... let go of the life raft! lol. I will give you one example of a change I went through on my trip. For the first time in my life I went snorkling and I can say, it was like a whole new world to me. At first, I was gung-ho about doing it. Then, when I was in the middle of the ocean and the reality became clear to me "What am I doing? I don't know how to swim!" I began to resist the change. I was then faced with the decision of either getting into the water, or staying on the boat and missing the experience. Step one: Get out of the BOAT NATASHA! It was a struggle, would I embrace the change or embrace the fear of the change?

Once I did embrace the change, I began to enjoy floating on the water. But then another change came: PUT ON YOUR SNORKEL EQUIPMENT! I did that, but then got frightened about breathing through my mouth. With the help of others, I began to take my time and learn how to do it. For someone, who's birthday is at the end of the month and in their "20's", I really had to trust God and others through the changes that I was going through. But can I tell you, once I got it down packed I enjoyed seeing the fishes in the bottom of the ocean. There were so many fishes with different sizes and colours. There were yellows, black and purples, silvers, greens and stripped. I went off on my own, not once thinking about the fact that I was once afraid to embrace the change.

I may not know what you are facing or what decision that you have to make, but I want to encourage you: Embrace the changes that the Lord has put before you. It may seem as a challenge at first, but his plan for your life will stretch you and grow you to be all that He has designed you to be. You are special to Him and deeply loved.

Natasha

Who's Voice Are You Listening to?

This weekend was an awesome one! It was great to be outside enjoying the sunny filled days in Toronto. Calgary... im sooooooo sorry for the snow your getting... uh, maybe not. I still love ya though :) ! Can't stand snow. Anyhow, I was out each day, walking around the lake, enjoying family, friends and of course... BBQ Chicken .. mmm! When, suddenly... and I use that word again SUDDENLY, I was faced with a conversation with God, that I wasn't expecting.

When God begins to speak to us, we have the choice to either agree with it or refute it. He knows the end from the beginning, but we often question whether or not we are sure that we are hearing from Him. From my own life, I have noticed that whenever God begins to speak to me he repeats it over and over and over again lol until I get it. When he speaks sometimes its in a gentle soft whisper, sometimes its on the back of someone's car (seen way to many of those) and again through his word. As his children, he wants us to be secure in our relationship with him. And so, he will confirm his word to encourage our hearts in the will he has for us. We may think we know what's best for us, but do we really? Sometimes we can be spoiled children and we want our own way so much so that it could lead us to issues that we did not know would arise from being so stubborn.
I know I can be a spoile child for chocolate... but really what would happen if I were left to my own devices of eating chocolate every waking moment? Most likely, I'd get sick and so do we when we choose our own way instead of what God has best for our lives.

And if your wondering what my answer was to my conversation with the Holy Spirit, I decided to agree with his choice. I must tell you, it came with much joy and freedom. I can guarantee you that whenever you choose to do God's will for your life over your own you will always be blessed from those experiences. I pose the question again: Who's voice are you listening to?

Feel free to comment or ask a question.

Love ya

First Post Ever!

Who Am I?

Okay, so here I am doing something that again lol I'd never thought I'd be doing: Blogging :>!

My name is Natasha, and for those of you who don't know me, writing has always been a very passionate, but personal expression of mine. I have always been a writer, but less acute to sharing my ideas with others. However, as scripture states, there is a time and a purpose for every activity under heaven. As you can probably witness, I am a Christian and I love God with all of my heart. My prayer is that you would be encouraged with laughter, love and thoughts from these writings. God Bless.



First Thought:

You know, God really has a sense of humor. His will for our lives is so awesome in that at first glance its not always something that we would like to do, but it certainly provides us with a great deal of pleasure. But one thing to remember, ultimately the gifts he has given us are to bless us and not to curse us. We bless others when we allow him to use our giftings for his glory. One situation I can think of so clearly is where my passion for singing was beginning to collide with my fear of people knowing that I could sing! But, God was patient with me and just kept on nudging me softly with his reminders. The second those reminders came, I would shut it down. It wasn't until, the promptings became so loudly through his word and the encouragement of others that I knew I could no longer run from it! The scripture that best describes this situation can be found in the parable of the talents. God has and continues to use this scripture to inspire me to push forward away from the fear of man, and live out the divine destiny He has designed just for me. Be inspired to use the giftings that God has given you, to be a blessing to others!

Love Ya,
Natasha

Scripture: Matthew 25-14:30
One man was given five talents, to another two, and to another one. When the man returned to inquire of how is investment was coming along, he was shocked to discover that the servant with the five and the other with the two had in fact doubled the Master's investments. They were rewarded accordingly. However, the one who was given the one talent- had done nothing with it! He responded to the master that in fear, he had buried the talent. His talent was taken away and given to the one had ten talents!

"For the one who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken from him." Matthew 25:29.