Why Waiting Until Marriage Should be the Norm

Recently I came across an article about a Christian artist who I listen to quite frequently on the JoyFM radio station. Colton Dixon, an alum from American Idol, gave his testimony about how he and his wife remained abstinent up until their wedding day and how they are both very glad that they did. He gives his testimony to People magazine here.

It didn't take too long after him sharing his story for the negative comments to come flowing in on various message boards. We live in a highly sexual driven society, who also doesn't care one bit about God's standards or morals. It got me to thinking how sad it is that in today's society people actually think it's crazy or bizarre for a person to decide to stay a virgin until they get married. Not only is it backed up by God's Word,  but there are so many benefits in general of keeping yourself pure until the special day you get to say "I do" to your other half. I believe it's the best gift you can give to your spouse, by letting them know you waited just for them, for them to have one of the most intimate parts of you and for them only.

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Feeling Distant from God?

Have you ever had those moments where it felt like God wasn't there? Or that your relationship with Him was becoming distant and you could no longer feel Him in your life like you once did and things were not how they used to be when you first gave your heart to God? If you're feeling this way it's because God wants to have sincere fellowship with you. That's Him tugging on your heart telling you that's how He's feeling about your relationship with Him. He loves us so much and desires to spend time with us.

Here are possible reasons that you are feeling distant from God and ways you can begin feeling His presence again in your life.

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Never Give Up!

You know that thing you've been praying for, or that situation you may have been asking God to intervene in and it doesn't seem like nothing is happening or getting any better. Do you ever feel like quitting? Well join the team! There's always going to be a situation where we will get tested in life, and we may not feel like we can get through it, but don't give up! There is a blessing around the corner, and there is hope when we turn to Jesus, even when we may not feel like it. He is always there to pick us back up and remind us of who we are in Him and that we are capable to see it through.

Somethings in life we go through to learn valuable lessons and also it's an opportunity for us to praise God through the bad, if we only love God through the good, then what does that say about our relationship with Him? We have to be patient in the waiting, and show God we love Him through the good and through the bad. Don't give up and keep pressing, and remember to pray and resist the enemy, this too shall pass.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Love and happiness, 

♥Shaniqua

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In Over my Head

Sometimes we all have that one song that's able to capture how we're feeling perfectly in some moments in our life through the lyrics and melody. I've been finding myself on repeat with this song by Jenn Johnson. I really enjoy the soft melody and the lyrics are very meaningful. I like how it's about getting immersed in God and letting our thoughts be focused on Him.

Instead of being in over our heads with worries let's be in over our heads with the goodness of God because He's faithful, through the good or the bad.

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Counting Your Blessings

This week while spending time with God I discovered that I have so much to be thankful for. I think it can be so easy for humans sometimes to look at what we don't have instead of focusing on what we do have. It's good to remind ourselves of where God has taken us from and what He continues to bless us with each day.

It can truly change out perspectives when we keep our eyes on God and how great He is to us. The enemy wants to distract us and make it seem as if God's dead, and He's not working in our lives, but each day God is working by providing breath in our bodies, giving us another day to live out our purpose in Him.

Last night I finally got the opportunity to watch the movie God's NOT Dead and it was truly a blessing. It's great how God sends us confirmations from what we've been praying about. After the movie was over me, my husband and sister-in-law discussed it and we ended up opening up to each other about what we were going through, being able to encourage one another that we are truly blessed and God's in control of it all. It's good to be able to have those people in your life that helps you see things from different perspectives.

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Watch your mouth!

Many of us have probably at some point of time or another in our lives have mastered the art of complaining. In this own area of my life I'm still asking God daily to let my words be turned into praises versus complaining. It can be easy to see the bad and overlook the vital lessons we can learn at different stages of our lives. While spending time with God the other day I was reminded that our words hold power and can really set the mood for our entire day.

Our words can also be used as warfare against the enemy when we go into prayer and decree the promises of God over our lives. If we speak by faith and believe all that God has promised us concerning giving us an abundant life we should start seeing the positive changes in our everyday lives.

There are a few important topics we have to keep in mind when it comes to watching the words that come out of our mouth as believers.

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Dancing through the Storm

In life there's always going to be sunshine, but along with the sunshine there may come a little rain. Such is true with our journey and walk with God. Sometimes things can seem like they are going so perfect, that we finally have a hang of this walk with God, but then suddenly a storm comes and then we have to figure out how to get through it.

This year has not been the easiest for me, in fact it's been the year that I've been learning the most about God, myself and life. Sometimes learning experiences aren't fun, but they do produce results that can have everlasting benefits for your entire life. So through the storm remember to learn what it is that God wants you to take away from it. Storms look rough when you're going through them, but at the end of the storm is a beautiful sunny day.

With anything in life growth comes with growing pains. It's important through storms to stick close to God more than ever because He's our navigation through it. Get around people who will hold you accountable through the storm and won't throw you a pity party. Pity parties are the worst and are only an aid to continue in misery and play the blame game, I know because I was recently going through one of them. Instead of doing the blame game learn ways that you can make your situation better. Know in your storm that this is not the end game, your storm is preparing you for something greater, but first you have to get pruned and refined.

It's important to don't give up and know that storms don't last always, we all have our different seasons in life. The Bible tells us that there are many seasons in an individuals life.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: - Ecclesiastes 3:1

Sometimes it's up to us with how long we'll last in the storm,or how long it will take us to learn the lesson God places us through the storm for. Some storms we can bring on upon our self. Whatever the reason it's important to seek God even more so He can strengthen us to overcome.

With these previous storms in my life, I've learned to be content with where I am in life at the moment, although it's not where I WANT to be, it's where God has me for right now. Being thankful for each breath God blesses me with has given me a better perspective on things. It's always important to be thankful to our Creator. He knows us more than we know our self, and He does all things for a reason. Trust that He loves His children and He's leading us to still waters. Even if we may make a mistake while going through the storm, He's a faithful God and He'll stick with us if we continue to lean on Him.

Keep the faith, the main thing the enemy wants us to do in a storm is to doubt God. But we have to keep our eyes on Jesus unless we'll sink like Peter did.

Life's Storms can produce the most beautiful results if we learn to grow from them.


                                                     Love and happiness, 

                                                            ♥Shaniqua

Celebrating my love's bday last weekend!

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How to Pray

When I used to teach Bible Study for middle and high school students a common question came up when it referred to prayer. Many didn't know how to pray or even what to pray about. What is prayer? Simply put prayer is us having a conversation with God. Prayer is us going to God and just pouring out everything to him, our hopes, our desires, our praises to Him, our thanksgiving and it’s also God speaking back to us. Even if it’s the smallest thing we can go to God and tell Him about it. In fact God desires for us to have communication with Him, He wants to have a relationship with us where we can know Him and become more like Him.

Just like a relationship with friends, families or a spouse. The more time we spend with someone the more we pick up some of their traits, that’s why it’s important to hang around the right flock of people. Have you ever heard the saying “birds of a feather flock together?”  Such is true with our relationship with God. If we are not continually going to God in prayer to be recharged and filled with His Grace, then life will start to get overwhelming. We will start to get irritated and then our flesh will start to take over because we are not walking by the Spirit anymore.

We’re like a battery and God is the source that we must go to to be recharged again and again. This life will come with trails, but no trail is hard enough for God. With every obstacle we face if we go to God we will be sure to be set on the right path.

Regarding prayer there are a few important things we must know about it from Scripture.

We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. John 9:31

The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous. Proverbs 15:39

So according to these verses we must be believers in order for God to hear our prayers. That doesn't mean that a sinner who sincerely repents to become saved won’t be heard, but what this does mean is that in order for our prayers to hold any merit or power, we have to be living for God and in His will. We can’t be willfully living in sin and expect God to bless our mess, it doesn't work that way with God.

I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless. Isaiah 13:11

For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. Romans 8:13

Also when we pray to God it’s important for us to be honest to Him. Though we shouldn't always come to God complaining about everything we should also be able to go to Him with our concerns. God tells us to cast our burdens to Him (1 Peter 5:7).

I find when I’m overwhelmed after going to God I leave with a peace that surpasses all understanding, but it’s important to stay consistent with our prayer to God because we don’t want to be up and down with our emotions. We need to learn how to continually be in that perfect peace and that takes a daily relationship with God and also constant obedience to Him as well.

When we pray we need to also remember to give God thanks.

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

So when it comes to prayer we can see that God does have some requirements for certain promises in the Bible that He’s made.

We must be in His will, and we should regularly be praying. It’s also a good idea to set aside a quiet time daily with God, whether it be 30 minutes to an hour. Jesus was always in communication with the Father, and it was one of the reasons why Jesus was able to complete the mission he was assigned to do on the earth realm. It takes God for us to be effective in our lives. So go to Him when life seems overwhelming because God has the perfect road map to the destination He desires for us to take. You can do this!

God’s grace is limitless,

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Dead Faith

In my previous post I talked about my goal to having a more self-disciplined lifesyle. And you better believe a test came right after I declared that it was no more of me being lazy and putting off things this year. The very next day I posted my goal I woke up that Sunday morning very tired and with a sore throat. I didn’t feel like going to Church at all and I told my husband that he would be going to Church alone. But as I laid down about to go back to sleep God spoke to me and this is what He said.

God: Why aren’t you getting up to go to Church?

Me: Lord I’m tired and on top of that I’m not feeling well.

God: But if you believe and have faith that you can be more self-disciplined you are going to have to get up and put works with your faith. If you just get up (works) and believe (faith) I will empower you to succeed in your efforts by My strength.

I continued to lay down and think about what God had just said to me. As I thought about it more I suddenly began to gain more strength. Then I came to the conclusion, God is right! As God always is right of course! If I truly believed that I could be more self-disciplined I was going to have to make those steps in every area of my life to achieve that.

I knew that if I was to go back to sleep I would sleep the rest of the morning away and fall right back into my same slothful routine because I had already started off on a bad foot. I wouldn't have been exercising my faith. So I got up and went to Church and there was a reward for my obedience. The service at Church that day was very encouraging. Not only was it awesome, but the message was confirming of what God was teaching me.

The Lord spoke to me confirming to me that the change started now! I was reminded that I must continue to make the steps to get to where I’m supposed to be going. If I keep making backtracks then I was just prolonging my goals and would never reach them.

Don’t get me wrong I’m still a work in progress in this area, but the point is that I’m making those steps to get where I need to go and I can’t go back, I must continue to go forward. Although some steps maybe small, sooner or later those steps are going to add up and I will soon be to the finish line of this particular race of self-disciplining myself with my time.

So in all of this I’m learning the importance of having faith that is alive! Having a faith that produces fruit, because in the end real and authentic faith will produce works and that will show. On the other hand dead faith is the opposite.

What does dead faith produce?

No Works:

James 2:17 Even so Faith, if it hath no works, is dead, being alone. - KJV

When our faith is dead we don’t want to work for those things which God has for us. We may have heard God say something in the past that he has for us, yet we don’t see it manifested in our lives yet, but it could be due to the fact that our faith is wavering. You may say well I believe what God says He has for me is for me, I have Faith, I do believe, why isn't it here yet? I've been waiting and waiting…

But Faith is not just about waiting for God’s promises to manifest in our lives, we also have to have works with our Faith. God may have something for us, but first He wants us to be equipped and ready to receive what He has for us. Just like Jesus had to be prepared first before he did his ministry, hence him fasting for 40 days and 40 nights and being tempted by the devil in the wilderness.

In order for us to be trusted with the gifts and great things God has for us we must first be tested and tried. We are no better than Jesus. If Jesus had to be cultivated first then we will have to do the same as well. Faith and works go hand and hand with one another, so if we have real faith then we will put action with our belief and it will be shown.

It’s the same for when we become Christians. If we now believe by Faith that we are children of God, we are going to start behaving like children of God. That means we are going to get rid of the sin and bad things in our life that we know is not pleasing to God. When we put works with our Faith, God’s strength will empower us to be victorious in our walk with Christ, and in our life as a whole.

We need to constantly examine ourselves to see if we are living that real and authentic faith that the Word of God speaks about. That goes for every area of our lives. Don’t allow yourself to never see God’s promises in your life because you were just sitting down waiting for God to do something. He’s already empowered us to do it and trust Him in the process. You can do this!

God’s Grace is Limitless,

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What Are You Doing With Your Time?

It’s 2015 and I decided that it would be a great opportunity for me to reflect on areas in my life that need to be perfected by God. If I’m honest with myself the greatest area I struggle in is self-discipline, in particular self-discipline with spending the time God has given me the best way possible.

When it comes to everyday plans and activities I admit I can choose laziness vs. hard work quite often. It’s not something that I’m proud about and I believe this has caused me to miss out on many opportunities that God has for me. For example I published my first novel “Leaving Jade” in May of 2014. By now I was hoping to have novel #2 already available, but due to my lack of disciplining and managing of my time book #2 has been delayed. Lack of self-discipline has also caused me to put on hold other goals that I have set out to achieve, but as I write this post I am declaring that “it’s no more!” It’s no more of me wasting time and putting off what I know God has called me to achieve.

As I pondered this subject, dealing with what I’m doing with my time the Lord lead me to some very convicting yet encouraging scriptures to get me on my way to a more disciplined lifestyle.

And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. – KJV, Luke 9:23

The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat. –KJV, Proverbs 13:4

Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger. – KJV, Proverbs 19:15

So as I read and studied God’s Word I’m reminded that my life is not my own. When I may want to lay on the couch for a brief rest or search the internet, I should stop and be more focused on the things God desires for me to do that day. I’m not saying that it’s not OK to have a rest once in a while, but first we need to be concerned with the responsibilities we have and get those successfully completed first.

Instead of putting things off, it’s time to get those things accomplished now. It will certainly pay off in the long run. If we desire a certain goal we must put action with our faith. We can’t accomplish anything by doing nothing.

My goal for my entire life, not just a year, is to remain focused on God’s plans for me and not my own plans. In order for us to attain what God has for us we have to show ourselves as good stewards, not just by being a good Christian, but also good stewards over our precious time on this earth that God has blessed us with. Before God blesses us with more He wants to be sure we can handle the little that we have. It’s time for me to stop just saying and start doing!

In future post I will be giving practical tips and documenting my own journey to a self-disciplined life. I know it’s possible because God has already freed me from so much! I’m praying that you all have a great new year’s. Be blessed and know that whatever your goals or visions God can see you through it, as long as we obey and put forth the work as well.

Love and happiness, 

♥Shaniqua

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And the fun continues! Five important things I've learned from 2 years of marriage so far.

So my husband and I  recently celebrated our 2^nd year anniversary on November 30^th!To be honest it feels like we have been married for much longer, it's just so super being married to him. On being married for 2 years with the love of my life I've recapped just 5 of the most vital things I've learned so far that helps to maintain a happy marriage.

      1. Prayer

Since being married I have noticed I pray a lot more than when I was single. This is true because not only do I need to constantly pray for the Lord to guide me, but I need to pray for my husband as well. There is no greater thing a wife can do for her husband than to constantly be praying for him. I pray for my husband when he’s at work, when he’s on the road and I also pray for my husband in general as he leads our household. Also if I’m feeling aggravated with my husband concerning an issue I go to God about it and ask Him to help me relieve me of my negative emotions. It’s nothing worse than acting out on your emotions in the heat of the moment. It will create an argument that can 100% be avoided if we go to God about it first instead of reacting immediately. Through prayer I've learned when to be quiet during disagreements and leave it in God’s hands to sort it out. This way my husband and I have learned how not to argue and instead talk things out with respect towards one another.

      2. Selflessness

When you decide to marry a person you are now agreeing to become one with them physically and spiritually. This means that their problems becomes yours and you can’t think of yourself first anymore. It’s really a beautiful thing when you can put someone before yourself. It’s similar to how Jesus tells us to lay down our lives for God. When you become selfless it’s much easier to become that spouse you need to be for your other half.

      3. Patience

Some of the things your spouse does may aggravate you, for example leaving their dirty socks laying around or snoring at night. But in all these things it’s important to be patient and not lash out on them about it. Learning patience has kept me from getting easily angered at my husband. Instead it makes me reflect on myself and how I can make the situation better and not worse.

      4. Romance

I've always been a romantic ever since I could remember. I knew when I got married I wanted a husband who did romantic things. My husband is a pretty practical guy, but lately he’s been doing these really sweet things for me J! Doing romantic things for one another keeps the spark alive and it adds to the tenderness in the marriage. Don’t forget to treat each other like the time when you were first pursing each other. Romance is not only for the husbands to do, but I also do romantic things for my husband as well, which shows him how special I still feel to be his wife!

      5.  Love

Last, but certainly not the least is that I've learned to love another more than I ever thought that I could. My love for my husband is beyond words. There's a oneness I feel with him that is truly beautiful. As I continue to love him and go through this journey of life with him I become a better person. God definitely gets the glory, because without God we wouldn't know what true love was. If you love your spouse you’re going to do anything in your will power to keep the marriage happy and flourishing. I love my husband so much and I’m excited for the many more years to come of being married to him!


God's Grace is Limitless,

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What Does it Mean to be a Christian?

Is being a Christian just about saying the sinner’s prayer? According to the Word of God being a Christian will not only reflect in our words, but it will also reflect through our lifestyle most of all.

Christians are Christ followers who obey the teachings of Jesus. When a person becomes a Christian they become a new creature, their whole life becomes centered on glorifying God in EVERYTHING they do. Their old self has passed away and they allow Jesus to make them new. They actually receive the very nature of God himself. When that occurs things MUST change and old sinful habits MUST go. There is no way we can call ourselves a child of God yet habitually or deliberately sin because “God forgives us”. Although God does forgive us we can’t use his mercy or grace as a license to sin.

Once we know that something is displeasing or a sin to God we can’t make excuses about it and continue in it. If we do this we become deceived and it shows that God does not live on the inside of us. God HATES sin and there is no way He will dwell in a person who rejects His ways.

Having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. 2 Timothy 3:5

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left. Hebrews 10:26

No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 1 John 3:9

So from these scriptures and many more in the Bible we can see how serious God is about sin. He expects for His children to turn away from sin to show His righteous character in the earth realm through us. If we say we are of God yet we keep having sex outside of marriage, stealing, lying etc. when we know better God says there are no more sacrifices for that sin.

The great thing about God is that He provided us with His grace to overcome every sin. Though at first it may take some getting used to, when we began to walk in God’s holiness we start to hate sin as much as he does and love righteousness. But getting to that stage first takes us repenting and turning to God for His help so we can stop doing the things that are breaking His heart.

No sin is worth spending an eternity away from the Father. If you claim to be a Christian it should show through your lifestyle. We can’t be hypocrites by professing God yet holding hands with the devil. Allow God to change you and make you His. You can do this!

God’s Grace is Limitless,

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Following Your Dreams

If we are like most people we all have that one thing that was placed deep in our hearts since we were a child that we wanted to do. That one thing we wanted to be or accomplish when we got older. The passion was so alive and on fire and today it still is, but we may not know how to get there. But God says to walk by faith, be obedient and trust Him to pave the way there. Whatever passions God placed inside of you He wants you to use it, and He wants you to use it for His glory. We can take God with us everywhere and in any profession.

When I was in Elementary school and first learned how to start writing, I fell love with the art of writing ever since. The beauty of weaving words together to create a beautiful message or story has always intrigued me. But I always kept this gift as a hobby or simply a “dream”, something that I would wake up from and never really be able to live out. I became unconfident in my ability to get published or get my work out there so I just settled, but now I am resolute on accomplishing this dream. I will live it out by God's grace.

Anytime you want to live out your purpose the enemy will fight against it and make you feel like you aren't able enough to do it, but God is able to do all things, and if we just let Him lead us in everything we do He will make a way. Don’t give up on your dreams.

I've decided now that I am going to chase and grab onto these God given dreams no matter what. As many of you may know I have published my very first novel titled “Leaving Jade!” I am just so thankful and humbled by all of your support and love, it really means a lot to me.

The book will be available May 5^th, 2014 via amazon.com. I am just so excited to see where God is taking me. I trust Him and I put it all in His hands. I know that becoming a bestselling author is my destiny and that He will pave the way for its success.

So I encourage you to go after whatever dream you had since you were a little boy or girl. You’ll never get anywhere by staying still. Let your feet hit the ground running and grab for what’s yours. All things are possible with God! You can do this! I’m so excited ya’ll! I can’t wait to see God do great things through all of us for His kingdom!

Love and happiness, 

♥Shaniqua

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What's so sinful about having sex outside of marriage?

This is a question asked a lot, especially from those who are in “committed” relationships and they have children together. I see a growing trend in my generation. Many of the young people are having babies, yet there is only a household of one, generally it being a mother. And even if it is a household of two, the parents are not married for some reason or another. I am in no way writing this blog post to condemn anyone, I am writing it so I can express the beauty of marriage done God’s way and how it’s so important that if you label yourself as a Christian to live as one by doing things the way God designed for it to be. I am also writing this post so we can bring back Godly values to a dying generation who seem to be moving further and further away from God.

Many “Christians” think its OK to have sex and still call their selves “Christians” when they are not married to their sexual partner. I mean they love their partner’s right? Their doing no one any harm and most of all they are "committed".

The fact is is that these people are not really in fully committed relationships; rather they are in semi-committed relationships. And some of the reasons why marriage keeps being held off is at least one person in the relationship is not ready to commit, or maybe they are not sure if they want to spend the rest of their life with this one person, or simply put why would they buy a cow when they can milk it for free?

Another thing important to realize is that if we proclaim ourselves as Christians we need to understand that sex outside of marriage does cause harm. It causes harm to our spirits and most importantly is causes harm to our relationship with God. Sex is more than just an act of physical pleasure; it’s literally the bonding of two people mentally, emotionally and spiritually. It’s something so intimate and if done God’s way is so beautiful. God meant for sex to be done within a marriage between a husband and a wife, and that doesn't include engaged couples. The Bible says you must be married.

1 Corinthians 7:2 But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.

Hebrews 13: 4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

1 Corinthians 6:18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.

1 Thessalonians 4:3 It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality

Sexually immoral people in the Bible are described as those who can’t control themselves and are having sex with men/women who are not their spouse. If they couldn't control their flesh the Bible says it is better for that person to marry than for them to burn with lust (1 Corinthians 7:9). Premarital sex is a sin and if you are having it you are not in a good place with God, and it’s grieving His heart. He knows how precious you are and He doesn't want you selling yourself up short to please a human. God wants you to put Him first.

God designed sex for a husband and a wife for a reason. For one it saves a lot of emotionally heartache when you thought the person loved you for forever, but all they really wanted was sexual pleasure. The reasons why a lot of relationships don’t work are because they think sex is what’s going to keep someone. For a while sex will keep a lustful person, but after a while they get bored, the arguments start and you realize you aren't compatible. It’s because your relationship was based off of lust and not pure love. If a person sincerely loves you they will wait for your hand in marriage to join physically one with you by doing things God’s way.

Sex clouds a person’s judgment. When you know the person isn't right for you you still try to be with them because you have joined yourself to this person when you shouldn't have in the first place. Now you’re unhappy and struggling to make the relationship work, but it’s not going to work unless you start putting God first in it and serving God with your body.

A way you can tell if you are in a serious relationship based on love is by telling that person you will not have sex with them anymore until after you are married with them. If that person gets angry, doesn't understand and starts trying to convince you to change your mind, then that’s lust not love, and it reveals their true intentions. Their desire for you is conditional and based mainly on physical pleasure. Staying with this person will not help your relationship with God, but hinder it. That person is keeping you from a prosperous relationship with God and furthermore they don’t care about the eternity of your soul, all they care about is fulfilling their fleshly desire. That shouldn't be so.

The love of your life should love you no matter if he/she can have sex with you or not. Do things God’s way and see the positive changes it can have in your relationship. For one you should do things God’s way because you love Him, and as Christians we are to obey Him. My husband and I first started as sinners and argued constantly because we were doing things the devil’s way, but once we got saved we practiced abstinence and our relationship has never been better. It’s because we planted our relationship on solid ground by following God’s principles. Check out Our Not So Ordinary Courting Story.

I will leave you to ponder on some questions. Why can’t you give up sex for God? Has sex become your God? If so repent and move away from it. God forgives a sincere heart who cries out to Him and stops committing the act of sexual immorality. You can live the holy life God desires for you to live, which is a life worth pleasing to Him.

1 Thessalonians 4:4 that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable

Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

It is with great love that I write this post. As Christians who love the Lord we live to please God, and not people. We can't call ourselves a child of God, but act like children of the devil. Value yourself and put God first. You can do this!

GOD’S GRACE IS LIMITLESS,

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Sinner or a Saint?

Many times I hear people who are saved say they are just a sinner saved by grace, or that we are all sinners. The phrases sometimes can be a little irksome to me because I’m sad to see as Christians we don’t realize our new identity in Christ. The church is having an identity crisis and that’s the reason why a lot of the times we see churches or "Christians" compromising to the present evil times. It’s because we are trying to mix the old man with the new or as the Bible states it we are trying to pour new wine into old wineskins (Matthew 9:17).

The Bible says we become a new creature when we come into Christ Jesus.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! - 2 Corinthians 5:17

So that means we have a new nature, a new name and we now belong to our heavenly Father who sits on the throne.

We must realize that we are now a child of God and we will be called a new name. In the Bible Jesus even would change the names of the Apostles he chose, and if you notice when reading the letters to the Churches in the New Testament they always address the audience as Saint’s now. We are no longer sinners, for if we were Christ death would've been in vain. He died so we could put to death the old man (sinner).

The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. - Romans 6: 10-11

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. Romans 6:6

Let’s define what a sinner is. The New Testament Greek word for sinner is hamartolos and it means:      1. Someone who practices sin or is devoted to sin.

2. A person who is not free from sin

3. Sinful and wicked men

As the Bible says there is power in the tongue, and it can either bring life or death (Proverbs 18:21). If you find yourself still being a slave to sin, it’s probably because you’re still identifying yourself as a sinner (or you need to repent and dedicate your life back to Jesus) A sinner is someone who is a slave to sin. In Christ Jesus we are no longer slaves to sin (Romans 6:6). If you keep seeing yourself as a sinner, someone who is still a slave to sin, you will keep acting that way.

Think about it, a teacher is called a teacher because he/she teaches. An author is called an author because he/she writes. It’s the same with any other profession or label that you give yourself.

Those who are born again through Christ Jesus are no longer sinners and it's only by the power of Christ that this is so. That’s the beauty of Jesus coming to die on the cross for us, so we can be free in all areas and become totally new in him, in this way we can live a life worth pleasing to God. The devil wants you to keep thinking he has a hold on you. There are so many false teachings that have crept in the Church because the devil wants us to have an identity crisis. But the devil is a liar, we will use the full armor of God and know that we are a new creature in Jesus. I encourage you to live that new life of victory and freedom through God’s never failing Grace. And if you are still living as a sinner, but call yourself a child of God, that's being a lukewarm Christian, and God says he will spit those types of people out of his mouth. Repent and turn to God so you can live a holy life that's pleasing to Him. You can not have one foot in God's kingdom and one foot in the world. You can do this!

God’s Grace is Limitless,

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Is it possible to stop sinning?

This has been a topic laid heavily on my heart for some years now. I have been very reluctant to write about this topic, but God has been leading me to do so.  I pray that while you read you let the Holy Spirit direct you and open up to His will and purpose and to His truth. There is so much regarding this topic that the Holy Spirit has revealed to me that I might have to do future parts to this.

I can’t tell you how many times I have saw the saying “Don’t judge someone because they sin differently than you do”. It really makes me just shake my head in amazement. Many times people like to use quotes, but they skip around the scriptures that tell us to live Holy lives that are pleasing to God. They fail to quote scripture, yet they are quick to quote a man so that it will make them feel better about their sins.

I would like to start this post off by saying first thing first. There is no one on this planet earth who hasn't ever sinned before. All of us have sinned and fallen short. Jesus is the only person who has lived on the planet earth without ever having sinned. We all need him as our savior.

That being said after receiving Jesus as our Lord and savior there becomes a transformation. The scripture that so many people like to use as an excuse to stay sinning, that we all have sinned and fall short of the glory is using past tense. That is not the state of a renewed believer in Christ. Once we accept Christ and repent it’s through him that we can get a clean slate. It’s through Christ that he picks us up from our fallen state and it’s through him that we can sin no more. So yes it is possible to stop sinning, but only after receiving Christ and God’s power and grace to do so.

2 Corinthians 5: 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

Ezekiel 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you.

So from these scriptures and many others it is saying that we become new creatures when we accept Christ. We become reborn. We have to stop identifying ourselves with the old nature, the nature to sin and to justify our sins. There is no excuse for sin and God has it in His word how much He hates it.

Psalms 5:4 For You [are] not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, Nor shall evil dwell with You. 5 The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You HATE all workers of iniquity. 6 You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

God really hates sin, so much that he doesn't want it in His sight nor His presence. We have to start thinking like Him and accepting that new heart and spirit He gives us when we become His. When we start hating sin as much as God does, the thought of it alone will make us just as angry as He is about it and we won’t want to do it because we love God and don’t want to disappoint Him.

Jesus tells us to go and SIN NO MORE.

Remember the popular verse people use about not judging others about the lady committing adultery, but they fail to read farther where Jesus says to go and sin no more? For starters when Jesus asked the crowd he who is without sin to throw the first stone we have to look at his audience, they were teachers of the law and the Pharisees, who were trying to trap Jesus anyways, in order to have a basis for accusing him.-John 8:6 It is clear that the Pharisee’s were hypocrites, but does that mean that you have to be one as well? As a matter of fact Jesus tells us not to be like the Pharisee’s.

Matthew 23: Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: ² “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. ³ So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.

Jesus also used this as a means to show that we are supposed to display forgiveness to an individual and not condemn them to death like it were their customs to do back in those times.

But Jesus did in fact still let her know what she was doing was wrong and that she needs to go and sin no more. – John 8:11

He also told the same words to another man he healed earlier in the book of John.

John 5:14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.

Why would Jesus give us a command that’s impossible? Why would Jesus give us false hope? That is not something that He would do, because He is not a man that He should lie. If God tells us to do something then it’s possible. All things are possible through Christ who strengthens us. God also doesn't give us false hope. There is nothing false about GOD. All of His ways are true and pure. If He gives us a command it’s because it can be kept!

1 Corinthians 10: 13 And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

God is faithful, He provides a way out every time, it’s just up to us to accept His power or will we succumb to the ways of the world because we believe what man tells us vs. what is in God’s word.

I remember I too used to believe that it was impossible to stop sinning and usually when I tell people what the Holy Spirit has taught me they look at me like I'm crazy. It can be pretty discouraging and I have to continually fight for the seed God has placed inside of me.  I trust God because I personally know where He has taken me from and I also trust His word vs. the opinion of a man.

You see, God is much more powerful then sin can ever be. He is able to keep us as long as we trust Him and obey Him. God wouldn't tell us to do something that we couldn't do. Let God mold you into the person He is calling you to be. Trust Him, because His ways are always better and they work!

God’s Grace is limitless,

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Growth

One thing I have been recently learning is to not remain at the same level, whether it be in spiritual growth or as a wife. Too many times we can become complacent and just settle, but if we continue to do that then how will we produce fruit? An apple tree doesn't just grow to a certain point, no it grows until it fully matures to produce ripe, bright, and juicy apples. If something is not growing then it's dying. We must set aside time to spend with God daily. Just like a relationship with your spouse, friend, family member or etc. there must be constant communication for your relationship to prosper and grow and for you to know the person more and more. God wants us to have a relationship with Him. He wants to hear our voice and talk with us, laugh with us and expand His kingdom on the earth through Us. Really God is such an awesome and loving God. He wants to talk to His children.

Within my marriage, I must continually communicate with my husband and not through yelling at him, but through really respecting him and understanding where he comes from. That's how relationships grow. I have learned so much more about my husband then the time that we were courting for three years. It's true that being married is so much more different than courting, and may I add it's much better too! I am currently reading a book called A Wife after God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George. It's such a great read to gain more knowledge to keep your marriage established on God and having a peaceful and  happy marriage. 

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Remember to grow, never remain complacent, that's exactly what the enemy wants. Allow God to mold you to the person He wants you to become.

GOD'S GRACE IS LIMITLESS,

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Finding the Balance

Hi everybody! So sorry for the long absence. Life has been busy and there has been a lot of stuff I am trying to sort out. I have learned that balance is so key in living a productive and fruitful life. I am a college student if I haven't mentioned before trying to finish my bachelors degree. Of course I am also a wife now :) still makes me smile every time, hehe, so I have been busy trying to create new recipes for my husband. I totally wasn't a cook when I lived with my mom so it can be challenging sometimes. Later I will make some post about quick new recipes I have stumbled across. It's so much fun seeing my husband enjoy the meals that I make for him. Ministry is another big thing that's keeping me busy, also work. But we will chat more later about these subjects and finding the balance of it all. I hope everyone is having a great Monday!! Be blessed. :)

GOD'S GRACE IS LIMITLESS,

PS thanks so much to my new friends who have followed my blog. I really appreciate you!

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Setting the Example

I have been MIA for a while. Life has been busier and I am learning how to balance it all. As I mentioned in another post my husband and I are now youth director’s for my church. We pretty much started from the ground up creating a system that would work most effectively for the youth ministry. It’s had its late nights of planning and challenges but I can honestly say I can already see a great change taking place. The youth needs God more than ever in this generation.

They are facing things that some of us might not have had to face growing up. There are so many things now considered “right” when the Bible clearly states it as being wrong. So much peer pressure, bullying and compromising going on. More than ever they must learn how to defend their faith and follow God even if the crowd is going the opposite way.

Sadly in this time there are few Christian role models for them to go to. As believers we have to know that blood can be on our hands and that’s why it’s so important to conduct ourselves Christ like in all areas of life at all times. And it’s possible with God’s grace. If the only thing the younger generation sees is double minded Christians then they will in turn produce the same mindset. It’s time to take our young generation back for God and win souls. God has passionately lain the youth on my heart. They after all are our next generation. Let’s set those Godly examples and be the driving force to bring God’s people back to loving righteousness and holiness above all else. You CAN do this!

God’s Grace is Limitless,

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The Power of a Kiss

We've all seen it in the movies, the true love’s kiss, able to transform slimy grotesque frogs into charming handsome prince; they can wake princesses from deep sleeps and give them back their angelic voice.
   

Yeah they might be going on a stretch, but even movies are able to realize the beauty and power that comes along with a kiss from the person you truly love. They might not turn a frog into a prince, but kisses can evoke passion and emotion along with a lot of other things.

In this blog I am going to share with you on why my husband and I decided to stop kissing until we got married. As I stated in Our Not So Ordinary Courting Story we did start off kissing because we weren't saved when we first got together, but when we started getting serious with our walk with Christ my now husband came to me and told me that God laid it on his heart that we should stop kissing until we were married.

At first I didn't understand this. I am really an affectionate and romantic person. I thought since we were “just kissing” that it would be OK and by this time it was just mini pecks. I thought since I had learned how to stop lusting after him that it was all good and dandy, but in the back of my mind part of me still wanted more and to go deeper with our kisses. 

So after thinking it over some more I understood.  For starters kissing is a precursor to sex. What do people do before having sex? Yeah you guessed it right, kiss. So in order for you to remove all temptations it’s wise to get rid of that which leads to it. Why would you continually flirt with temptation when you are trying to fight it off? The Bible says lead us not into temptation. Why would we pray to God not to lead us into temptation, but we are leading our own selves to it?

It wasn't easy at first not kissing my husband, but just because something isn't easy doesn't mean you have to give in. The harder something is the more rewarding the results, and I can honestly say that I am so happy that we did stop. It really gave us the opportunity to grow more as a couple without all the physical stuff. We learned to talk things out because instead of “making up” through kissing we had to dig deeper for the root of our problems so that we could prevent future arguments. A peaceful home is a happy home. Doing things Gods way is the only way if you label yourself the title of a Christian, and when you do things His way the fruit will be there. I definitely see the fruit in our marriage with the decision of no kissing and no sex before marriage.

Kissing is really a deep and passionate gesture to the person that you love. Kisses shouldn't be handed out freely to a person you don’t even plan on marrying, and even if you do plan on marrying let them wait for it. The kisses will be that much more pleasurable within the marriage because you know how long you waited and anticipated for it. I still get butterflies brushing lips with my husband. Still amazes me that I get to kiss him anytime that I want now!

I am not saying this is a mandate for everyone, you should definitely go to God about it. But I believe it’s time that our society looks at things like this seriously and stop acting like it’s just a kiss. It’s not just a kiss. It really goes deeper than that. It shows that you want to connect yourself to this person, and that you desire them. kissing just like sex should be a reflection of your love for the person, not just because it’s "fun" and everyone else is doing it. Be different and regard yourself with high esteem. If someone just wants you for what they can do with you then it’s not love, its lust. It’s an amazing feeling when you are blessed with a person who loves you for you, who just enjoys spending time with you and talking with you. Khalid showed me what a real prince and gentlemen was like when he told me he wanted to wait for me.

So I encourage you to wait for your prince or princess. But wait until the wedding day to see them transform with a sweet kiss. You can do this!

                                                     Love and happiness, 

                                                            ♥Shaniqua

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