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life

Don’t Settle for Someone else’s Word. Get Your Own!

Let’s be honest. We can get so worked up from all the people, places, and things that we’ve encountered during the day that there’s little to no time for God. And when we do have time, it can seem so awkwardly difficult to wind down and quiet ourselves long enough to get spiritually in tune to have a meaningful, quality conversation with God.

At times I get hung up on my racing thoughts and it seems like my thoughts are actually fighting for my attention. Sometimes I get distracted so easily that eventually, I’m tired of trying to focus on God and I find it much easier and appealing to simply fall asleep and hope for a better connection next time.

What makes things worse is that life is so fast faced that it could be awhile before we get that “next time” to attempt connecting again. Or the cycle of trying, getting discouraged and resorting to sleeping repeats.

This whole scenario is why I believe that God is stirring up something amazing during this time of quarantine due to the Corona virus.

Our lives have slowed down significantly.

Lots of us are working remotely or not working at all.

It has been mandated by many governments around the world to stay home unless there’s a good reason to go outside.

Reports of people we personally know are coming down with the virus.

The majority of what we see and hear is related to the global pandemic.

Do you realize what this means?

Something is stirring in the spiritual realm.

While giants are surfacing, God is very intentional!

We not only have even more reason to turn to God, but we also have the slowed pace of life (as we’re quarantined in our homes) to make a more meaningful connection with God.

Through this crisis, God is expressing the need for us to make Him and His voice our priority!

Through this elevated need for connection our primary motive should be shifting ourselves to consistently and intimately dwell in the secret place of our Most High God.

Because God is up to something!

He is preparing our all of our spiritual senses for such as time as this.

So I want to encourage you…

Don’t give up the practice of seeking God’s face and beholding the beauty of His glory.

Struggle with the racing thoughts of your mind. Shutdown the thoughts of fear, panic and anxiety as you vent them out at Jesus’ feet…

Struggle with God Himself… Be relentless about boldly entering the throne room. Tell God that you won’t give up until He blesses your soul with His presence and a word that He personally speaks to your heart.

Don’t settle for someone else’s word!

Go get your word!

We’re going to need it, not just to get through this global crisis, but for our lifetime of fulfilling God’s purpose.

We need everything we can get during our intimate time with God so soak it all up because the exchange we make in His presence is everything we need to walk into our God-given destiny and experience the promises and presence of God like never before!

Here are some suggestions for practicing the art of dwelling in the secret place with God.

Start with worship music to help you get into zone if you find it difficult to do so. Music can help quiet your thoughts.
Find a scripture passage to meditate on. I like to break scriptures down by words and phrases to draw out more meaning and context. I also like to expand on scriptures in my prayer journal as thoughts come to my heart.
Read the scripture out loud or verbally express gratitude and worship as something strikes your heart. We have to release a sound in the earth’s atmosphere to break up the enemy’s noise and territory.
Pray over specific things that come to mind that need to align with the truths that you’re covering in your scripture meditations.
Work your way into a quiet, meditative silence before God and practice tuning your ear to His voice to hear what He has to say concerning your life and the world around you.

Communion with God is all about an exchange.

We should never feel as though we’re doing all the talking. The truth is that we need to be emptying ourselves of our own thoughts, preoccupations, and agendas so that we can make room mentally, emotionally, and spiritually for God to fill us up with His wisdom, His power, His plans, and His glory.

Giants are Surfacing

Faith, life, Prayer, Purpose, Spiritual Warfare

The state of our world is unbelievable.

I never would’ve guessed that we’d be experiencing what we are today.

Just last week Wednesday, the company I work for announced that we would be testing the systems environment as we work from home Friday through Tuesday, but then on Friday things turned quickly and they announced that we’re mandated to work remotely at least until April 6^th.

In a matter of days major events have been cancelled and schools have closed. As of today, restaurants and bars are closed in Illinois. When we log onto social media people are passing along jokes (especially about the shortage of toilet tissue), news articles, and scriptures that seem most fitting for the moment in the world of fear.

There’s no shortage of online debates and arguments of whether churches should follow suit and close. Text messages of supposed leaked governmental decisions and speculations of these events previously predicted are circulating all surrounding the Coronavirus epidemic.

Click the quote’s image to read the blog!

If we don’t step away from it all…

We will find ourselves as believers feeling afraid, panicked, and suckered into the intimidation schemes of the spirit of fear.

In the state of shock, we mindlessly head to news blogs and social media to be inundated with messages filled with the undercurrent of anxiety.

I have personally made the decision to limit the amount of exposure to all of this. No matter how spiritual we think we are, we’ll soon find ourselves subjected to the fear of uncertainty just like everyone else, rather than giving God His space to say what He wants to say.

We can recite scriptures, pray for it all to end, and assume the most spiritual thing to say, but at the end of the day, I think this should spark our curiosity to hear God’s perspective.

He is a living, moving, and intentional God, so…

What is God doing amid all the noise?

What qualities is He trying to bring out of His people during this time?

Which leaders is He looking for to stand up and speak His word over the situation?

What glory is He going to get?

How is He going to turn it all around for the true believers that don’t just talk about God, but know Him enough to seek His face, His comfort, His voice, His direction, and His timing?

We don’t know how this will all end.

We don’t know if the chaos will dissipate over the next few months or if it will worsen. This crisis could cause major unemployment, unforeseeable deaths because of the influx of those visiting the hospitals, scarcity of necessitates beyond toiletries to even food and water. Next to scarcity is even more fear, panic and the resulting crime. We don’t know all the residual effects…

Here’s the thing though, giants are surfacing…

Recession, inflation, grief, depression and many more are trying to threaten us.

My stance is to seek God now rather than waiting for things to worsen.

Limit the amount of scare tactics you expose yourself to.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be taking a deep dive into the scriptures to face, fight, and annihilate the spirit of fear and all the masks fear puts on to disguise himself.

Join me on Instagram and Facebook for daily content as I dig into Psalms 91 and others, word by word, phrase by phrase, scripture by scripture to get the life and perspective that we should hold as believers.

Feel free to share any scripture that you find powerful and impactful during this time as well.

In addition to this, I’ll be practicing the art of quieting myself to tune in to heaven. I hope you’re doing the same.

May God bless you, keep you and protect you…

Love,

Natalia Shelton

Power Up With Purity

Faith, life, Purpose

Over the years, I’ve learned that purity is not just about abstaining from sex. Purity is not a prescription of a list of rules and regulations to keep people in line with the will of God… Purity is beautiful, empowering, and liberating! Chasing purity can’t be forced; otherwise, it’s tainted and oppressive… It’s about trading in our own ways for the perfection of God. His perfection is derived from His holiness and righteousness, so we represent Him like He should be rep’d by being of reflection of His nature out of pure love for Him. continue reading

There is Power in Purity

Faith, life, Prayer, Purpose, Worship

Everything that we go through has some type of an effect/influence on us whether we realize it or not. The way experiences affect us depends on what we carry on the inside of us. The Bible describes us as earthen vessels. Why the word choice “earthen”? because our physical outer shells are made of dust. We’re called vessels because our earthly flesh holds eternal things such as our souls, human spirits, and other spirits that have influence over us. continue reading

He Waters My Soul

Faith, life, Prayer, Purpose

In “You are the Air I Breathe,” I wrote about how the air we breathe is equivalent to worship and how essential it is for our spiritual wellbeing. Right after oxygen, water is the most important substance for our personal health and for life in general. It is the substance that supports practically all of our bodily functions. Since water is so essential to our health, it is advised that we drink so much water per day. We should have water at our disposal at all times, not only for drinking, but also for hand washing and cleaning up our surroundings for protection. continue reading

How Glory to Glory Feels

Faith, life, Ministry, Prayer, Purpose, Worship

After the final push, my son was delivered. I remember the emotion that came over me as my son took his first breath and cried out with a loud voice. I just wanted to hold him… After the nurse cleaned him off a bit, she laid him on my chest and he began to root. Rooting means he instinctively searched for his source of comfort and milk. He found it, he ate, was comforted, and then satisfied. This milk would supply his first helping of nutrients as a new member of life outside of the womb.

He took a breath, cried, searched for his connection, then he ate, and was satisfied…

We’re going to take a closer look at this amazing birthing experience as a repetitive cycle that we go through as we’re birthed into the royal family of Jesus Christ and elevated (multiple times) from one level of glory to another! I mean how generous can God be to show us a proven way to navigate through promotion to achieve sustained growth and maturity.

You Are the Air I Breathe

life, Prayer, Purpose, Worship

Ask yourself if you can confess with sincerity of heart, “Jesus, You’re the air I breathe?” Or do you have certain supplements that you run toward to fill voids that you haven’t allowed Jesus to fill?

Can you get beyond the point of praising God for the amazing things He’s done for you and into an experience of intimate worship? …Where it’s all about surrendering yourself to Him as a living sacrifice?

Are your worship encounters restricted to Sundays when you’re at church, or do you engage in intimate connection with God consistently throughout the week when no one’s around?

Your response to these questions should give you an idea of how well you’re progressing to your destiny in God.

Your Heart: What is it Pumping?

Faith, life, Prayer, Purpose

Your Heart: What is it Pumping? Is it life or death? Is it filled with the substance that you need from Heaven to reach your full potential? I’ve been studying the matters of the heart so much lately. I can’t get away from it! I want to share my reflections because when we know better, we should do better!

Our lives are a journey to a specific destination and our hearts fuel the way. Since the heart is a vital part of our destiny it deserves a lifetime’s worth of attention! The passage through life on earth to eternity can be tricky because of the fallen nature of our hearts.

Paul describes this dilemma in Romans 7:19-24 (NIV):

21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am!

Overcoming Insecurities: When Old Buttons Don’t Work Anymore.

life, Prayer, work

One of things that annoys me most is when people know that they can push buttons and they take the liberty to do so, when they want to get on my nerves and ruin my day. How dare they?!

What annoys me more though, is every time, my reaction is the same. My day is ruined and I’m highly upset that they’ve pushed that old button yet again! UGH!!!!

I’ve realized that words can bother you depending on who’s speaking them. Like, if you least expect your mother to tell you that you look like a monkey, that’s terribly hurtful. But, if your husband or brother always calls you fatty and it eats away at you every time, then honey… this fault is on you now. It’s like how can you give them power over your emotions like that? Can they simply push a button and you fall to pieces every time. Why can someone’s predicable ways cause you to explode anew every… single… time…?! GRRRRR!!!!

While people can be ridiculously annoying, that’s just them. You can’t change people, but you can change your reaction which takes away the power they have to affect your emotions. So let’s focus on things we can actually change.

If a person is known to push the same buttons, then why do you throw a fit as if you wouldn’t expect them to treat you that way? I believe that there may be something in you that triggers an alarm. It’s an internal issue that you possess.

Come on… be honest with yourself… The truth is that sometimes those words are so abrasive because it’s pointing to a real weakness or insecurity that you have. You may be denying that truth or wishing no one else could notice that thing about you. Of course, it’s always rude for people to call you names or verbally abuse you, but let that annoyance turn you around and work out for your good. Use it to sound the alarm and respond by confronting yourself and addressing yourself to become stronger.

When the infection is gone, that area isn’t sore anymore.

Destined Initiatives:

Overcome all insecurities. Be honest about your weaknesses. Face your real self and deal with you. I know it’s hard to face hard facts and realities about yourself, but start now so that you can move on to greater feats. If you’re insecure, it can hinder you from reaching your destiny. (Read more on what destiny is all about: 5 Myths About Destiny). You’ll be a much better person when you overcome these things. You’ll be more confident, you’ll take more authority over yourself, you’ll challenge yourself to greatness.

And when you overcome insecurities, can’t nobody tell you nothing! (I know, but it’s intentional use of bad English to demonstrate my attitude. Shaking my head, rolling my eyes, and rolling my neck with my hands on my hips 🙂

You can do this. Find the deep rooted reason you feel so insecure by praying and asking God to reveal to you why you’re so vulnerable. Ask Him to make you whole. Ask Him to be your strength.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes”. Ephesians 6:10,11

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God”. Philippians 4:6

Destined Initiatives is the safe place to dream and be inspired. Natalia Shelton, author of the blog, is taking advantage of the space. As she reflects on various issues in life, she shares with readers. Her intent for this blog is to create a community for those who will do what it takes to reach destiny! Let’s go get that life!