What makes God Smile?

While reading The Purpose Driven Life, I was plagued with the thought of not being in God's will for my life or the fear of not fulfilling my purpose and the end of my life hearing..."Wait... I didn't call you to do this particular thing." God just helped me realize He is not one dimensional. While reading Chapter 9 of the purpose driven life it is titled "What makes God smile?" The chapter is talking about how everything we do brings Glory to God. I find that quite interesting because for a long time I thought it was certain things that we do brought Glory to God. Like you know, fasting for 40 days, praying, bringing people to Christ. For a long time I felt "less" spiritual if I wasn't doing those things. According to Rick Warren "Every human activity, except sin can be done for God's pleasure if you do it with an attitude of praise. You can wash dishes, repair a machine, sell a product, write a computer program, grow a crop, and raise a family for God's Glory." I was lead to believe that my purpose was solely tied into this "one" activity or "calling" that defined who I am as an individual. I couldn't have been more wrong.

For example Moses He Had  a "Calling". He heard God call out to him through burning bush . Exodus 3:1-15. God tells Moses specific detailed instructions of exactly what he wants Moses to do.
1. My people have been in slavery
2. My people have been crying out to me and I am touched
3. I am sending you Moses to tell Pharaoh to let them go

Granted Moses didn't know how this all would happen but along the way God filled in the blanks.  God took His time to explain to Moses that He would be with him and answered the other questions that Moses had. I always thought that is the exact way that my "calling" would be expressed to me in a Booming voice, maybe with doves floating through the air, I just thought it would be like something out of a Disney Pixar movie. I didn't pay attention to one thing. How could Moses be able to speak to a  Pharaoh?  What gave him such authority to do so? You may say the power of God. Yes. but not quite. Before Moses was called by God, Moses spent 40 years in the palace with the Pharaoh. Think about it... No one could get through to someone quicker unless there is a connection with them. Notice how a colleague of yours may not be able to reach you on your cellphone but an old friend can reach you at your home number. There is something sacred about connection that only 'time'can MAKE IT GROW.  40 years is ample time to make a connection with anyone, that is what Moses had.

After that Moses spent 40 years outside of the palace as a Shepherd!

Dictionary.com states:  A Shepherd is:  a person who herds, tends, and guards sheep. What did being a Shepherd have to do with Moses and the Israelites?... Everything! If any one is a pet owner you can understand how difficult it is. I own a dog, I know. I got caught up in how cuddly my dog was and forgot, Hey I have to feed him and take care of him. It is not an easy task with one pet, can you image 100 sheep or even more. The grooming, feeding and leading them must have been major for Moses.This leads to the 2nd definition of a Shepard which is:  a person who protects, guides, or watches over a person or group of people. Moses would not have been prepared to lead a multitude of people if he didn't understand how to lead Sheep.

What I hadn't realized was that Moses got the "call" 80 years later can you believe it? 40 years in the palace, then 40 years as a Shepherd. All for one thing... "Preparation" God was preparing Moses to be a shepherd over the Israelites. In the same way all of our experiences, regrets, talents, failures, strengths and weakness are preparing us for our purposes. Could you imagine going to battle without a war tactic or a strategy or worse no experience or training whatsoever!

That's why God wouldn't give us a billion dollar company if we can't budget 100 dollars. We have to be able to manage the hundred dollars. God wants us to be prepared for our mission in life. Let's get prepared! It may not be fun... but it's necessary for our development. So strap on your seat belt and get ready to embark on this journey called life.... P.S. Don't forget to make God smile along the way :-)

Vicky S. Joseph

School is Cool!

This Semester (Aug-Dec 2010) has been very difficult for me. I was over extended and over booked with church events, obligations to others and even family issues. I had to let go of organizations that I joined in the summer, postpone meetings, stop going to different activities and say the scary "NO" word. Not because I wanted to but only because I HAD to! The breaking point for me was the middle of the semester.

I took an exam that I know that I bombed. I handed in the exam and walked out in tears.  I started my car and drove off balling.... In the mist of my tears... I started singing "Just can't give up now, I've come to far from where I started from" This freaked me out because I was like where did that come from... I continued to sing this song all the way home. I couldn't believe in the mist of my turmoil God wanted to comfort me. Nonetheless, I determined in my heart that I would withdraw from the course. I refused to fail and get kicked out of the program. I even shared this info with the female bible study that I am apart of as well.

When I went to class the next week my professor "chewed us out"! Apparently 5 students failed the test miserably. She went on to say that she refuses to sign off on Master's Degree for students who were not willing to apply themselves. I took what she said to heart and met w/ her ready with my withdraw form fully filled out. I just needed her signature to complete the process. I told her that I wanted to withdraw from the class  and she said : "You are avoiding the issue, you have grown in the past 2 years in the program, and  you have come to far too give up now. Can you believe it? She said the same words as the song I was singing in the mist of my tears. She continued to tell me that she will not fail a student who applied themselves and that this program is my full time job.

So that was confirmation for me to stay in the class. I was nervous but I stayed in the course. After that meeting I completely cut back on my over booked schedule. I had to weigh my options as well. It was so difficult for me. I went through withdrawal symptoms. Every time there was an event I couldn't go it hurt. I wanted to support others, be in the now and have fun! I couldn't.... Study? are you serious.? I was so used to doing the bare minimum. Now I really had to work... here goes nothing!

After I turned in each paper assignment my grades were exceptional. 39 out of 40 points, 49 out of 50 points and even 50 out of 50 points. I was so excited! My professor even sent other students to look at my paper as there example. I was in shock. I couldn't believe it because my 1st semester in grad school a professor told me my writing was not on the graduated level. Now a professor was sending students to me.... WOW God is Awesome. I'm glad I stayed in the course to see this change of events.

My final exam grade was 89 out of 100 points and my final paper grade was 148 grades out of 150.
Praise God! How awesome is He! :-)

Make the Ordinary Extraordinary ;-)

Making the ordinary extraordinary Gives honor to God!

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3

My heart

Putting my heart on the table and letting God operate! SN: Vunerability isn't weakness expressed (nor is it fun) but it allows others to see a commonality-->Humanity! -Princess V <-- (me) :-)

Doll with no voice

Crazy how inner turmoil seeps in...
breaking through the edges of insanity, crying out can someone help me. Being what everyone approves of is not all glitz and glam.
She can never fit the mold...
she says "I'm too young, not light enough,  not cute enough, not well-versed, not thick enough....Not happy enough..."
Like a rag doll pinned up on a stand for everyone's disposal.
People say "Hey she's bendable, smiles and agree's let's use her. Like the end of a q-tip throw her away... far far away...but wait... we need more from her, more, more, more, we can never throw her away, what a deal! She has no Voice... we speak for her, she has no opinion we think for her. She can't leave us, we made her. like a puppet we pull her strings."
Guess what her favorite words are: "YES", " SURE" and "OF COURSE!" Pushing her wants and desires to the side... who cares, not us. As long as we get our needs met. Confused, frustrated and annoyed. Like a Chameleon she blends into every environment, circumstance and theme. She is who you want her to be when you want her to be it... No objections for her, she smiles and does everything in good spirits.. until she gets home and no one is there, she screams from within.... Leave me alone, Go away....Not now! To no avail because there is no one there to hear her. As her voice echos through the wind, tears stain her cheek only to walk out and begin the destructive cycle again.

Hey Blending in has it's perks... Acceptance. One problem: self-destruction.

Heart Afar

Lord this heart is far away....
Lord this heart is in distress....
Lord this heart needs to be settled but it wanders, further, further and further away each day.
How dare this heart beat and not be connected to you... dark, dry, no love, no care no soul.
Where have you gone heart?
Where are you?
God needs to hear you!
He needs to hear you praise Him in the morning!
Come back heart...
He needs to hear you sing once more.
Heart, He wants to love you truely and deeply.
Heart He wants to get to you intimately.
Heart don't leave Him because He wants you...
You know you're always first on His list... always valuable.
He cares for you so much He died for you.
All you have to do heart is die to your old ways.
Die to your old thoughts, that way you can come back from being so far away!

From your Princess V.

The Best Deal in Town- Testimony

I have lost one of my mentors "MAMA DIVA" gave me a mic and allowed me to expres myself through the arts... I took her death really hard... not to long after that finding out that I find out my cousin's husband pasted away... later that day My car started acting up...can some one say that was a LONG DAY....

Currently I am a Substitiute Teacher and basicly I only have a job during an active school year. We are in the summer time so I am not working. I have been pinching pennies...Guess what? My car started messing up.. I was freaking out! NO! another expense and my account hasn't been looking so hot. So I went to Sears and I met a guy who had connections with someone at Toyota and I paid only $50 for diagontic check. The Speed Sensor had a malfunction. I was told the same estimate by two different places $244.90, $35.97, plus $150 labor. My dad gave me $250 for my car to get fixed.

I was like WHAT! So then I went to my account and I was freaking out! I was talking about this issue to a friend of mine and she was like I have "I have a friend who fix cars" I was in my whole world frustrated about me being a college grad who can't afford to fix her own car and WOE IS ME! The whole time my friend is begging me to call her friend... I called her mechanic friend He said he'll do it for $200 I was so excited....

I thought I was having a bad day untill a former classmate called me and he expressed to me his issues and his pain w/o having a job and God allowed me to minister to Him and He did the same for me. Through pain, Iron sharpened Iron! God helped me to Shut up and help my brother in Christ.

God works things out and I am learning that one of my flaws is looking at the situation, and the whole time God was working it out.. My homework assignment is DO NOT BE ANXIOUS ABOUT ANYTHING BUT IN EVERYTHING BY PRAYER IN SUPPLICATION MAKE YOUR REQUEST TO GOD...

Though I went through different trials --->; I should count it all joy!

Discover the Possibilites

Isaiah 42v 16-17

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them, but those who trust in idols, who say to images, ‘You are our gods; will be turned back in utter shame.

Picture this, you are blind folded and your best friend is holding your hand, leading you around in a maze. While he/she is leading you, you scream at the top of your lungs “I better not fall! Where are you going! What’s going on?” That friend of yours will not be too happy with you. As a matter of fact he/she may not feel like you trust them. Well how do you think God feels?


Along this path of life we enter into the depths of what we call the unknown, the inadmissible place where our mind drifts into anxiety and dwell on “what if’s” and “how will’s.” Once those thoughts come flooding in our mind we leave access for Satan to enter and shatter the trust we have in God. Some of us are blind spiritually and God is trying to guide us into a place of certainty, but we will not allow him to. What we fail to realize is that God is not out to get us. He longs to be gracious to us and rises to show us compassion (Isaiah 30:18).


The bible says to be anxious for nothing! Yet we continue to stress ourselves out with things we cannot control. What we need to do is take our thoughts captive and remind ourselves that as God will guides us through unfamiliar paths he will not leave us nor forsake us. Outstretch your hand, take a deep breath and discover the possibilities of stepping off your throne and letting God take the lead for a change.

By: Vicky S. Joseph

In the Potter's hand

Jeremiah 18:1-6

1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD : 2 "Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message." 3 So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. 5 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 6 "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares the LORD. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.

poster photo by Bethany R. Freed.

I am taking it one day at a time. If you know anything about me, you know that I am some what a perfectionist. I want to do everything right. I want to know how to do things the right way, so I don't mess up. I don't want to make the slightest mistake. Guess what? The more I try to do everything exactly right, the more I find myself stressed out, tired and upset. I say this because I know we are all looking for the perfect way to praise God, minister and serve him. The truth is this there isn't a perfect way! Wait a minute.... what if we make a mistake? What then?

Webster dictionary defines perfect as: being entirely without fault or defect: Flawless. God knows that we are not perfect in and of ourselves. I just didn't get the memo yet! Hebrews 10:14 says:... "by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy."  The one sacrifice is referring to what Jesus has done for us on the cross. In a nut shell, Because Jesus died on the cross, those who accept him is being made perfect.... "being made" Wait... that sounds like a PROCESS to me. Each day God is making us perfect... not by our own strength.

The Potter that is in Jeremiah 18:1-6 formed the clay in the way in which He wanted the clay to be. Let's be putty in Gods hands and let Him shape us in the way in which we should be. This is definitely easier said then done. especially when we may feel like we need to be in control and relinquishing control may make us feel weak. Guess what? Being weak may not be so bad.  

The beauty of this is in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 we become perfect in weakness!

(9) "My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness."

Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become. (Message)

(10) So for the sake of Christ, I am well pleased and take pleasure in infirmities, insults, hardships, persecutions, perplexities and distresses; for when I am weak [[d]in human strength], then am I [truly] strong (able, powerful [e]in divine strength). (Amplified)


I realized that I must give myself room to make mistakes. Though I want to be perfect, I am perfected through Christ! With God's help we WILL be who He has created us to be! God cares about us so much and wants us to the best representatives for Him. Our flaws make us interesting. embrace our mistakes and turn the into lessons to teach others. Remember the only thing that is flawless is the word of God. (Psalm 12:6).

By Vicky S. Joseph

You're a gift!

You are a gift to this world! Celebrate! You are Unique. You were created on purpose. Give yourself room to make mistakes, Guess what? You are only human! His grace is sufficient. Stop beating yourself up and walk tall. This world is a better place because you woke up this morning!- Via Holy Spirit -Vicky S. Joseph

“Rejected? Who cares?”

1 Peter 2:4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him—

I realize hey! Jesus was rejected by people, insulted, brutally murdered for my sake. (1 Peter 2:23) What do I possibly have going on in my little bubble that is so hard? Yes! People may reject me, take advantage of me, and hurt my feelings… but God won’t. All He asks of us is to trust in Him with all of our heart. We get into trouble when we lean on people for support, love and help apart from God. What is He chopped liver? NO! He is the maker of Heaven and Earth, creator of all things. It’s great to have friends, but when we value man’s opinion above God’s word, that’s when we enter into a realm of people pleasing. God doesn’t want half of us, He wants it all...EVERYTHING! Just like Jesus, (if we believe) we are God’s children. God will never leave us not forsake us. Let’s make a habit to gain God’s approval! 1 Peter 2:9-10 (Message) “But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted”. The bible says we were chosen. Chosen means best, superior (dictionary.com) and synonyms for chosen are: elite, excellent, exceptional, exclusive, rare, hand- picked, special, valuable, winner (thesaurus.com). God chose us because He knows we are valuable to Him! So I say: “Rejected? Who Cares?”

The Pursuer

What a gentleman.... pursuer...with quiet authority, renders a heart which is stonecold to melt like ice. A knight in shining armor, the lover of our soul.... look no further... He is here in our mist. Closer than a brother, in Him there is no other... try if you will, there is no comparison to Him.... His hand is out stretched, will you let Him in?

LIVE

http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/474747/wyclef-jean-rivers-of-babylon-yele-live.jhtml#id=1630164