If you are reading this, you might as well shout! You made it to another year. (Cue shouting music). Lately, I’ve been noticing that many people still feel a sense of hopelessness, even during a new year. Today, during my quiet time, I read this scripture in 2 Corinthians 4:16: “So no wonder we don’t give up. For even though our outer person gradually wears out, our inner being is renewed every single day”.
After reading this, I got this revelation:
I think hopelessness becomes strong as we end a year and start anew. It feels like a failure… that the conquer we are to be is lost somewhere, or doesn’t exist. But I think this is because our human nature wants to keep yesterday in today. Ok… let me bring clarity. We keep saying we surrender, we let go… but reality is…we just change the packaging of things. We feel like if we do enough tweaks and changes, it will make us feel better. Not realizing that we are not making room for the manifestation of GOD’S promise to do something new. He can’t do new with old. He is not in the business of refurbishing. New today is just that. Something we have never experienced, no knowledge of, or awareness of how to move through without Him. I think that’s why He gives us new grace and mercy. It’s an opportunity for us to trust and lean on Him.
Prayer: Daddy, help us to make room for your new by being ok with the fact that we don’t have to know or understand it to embrace it. Help us understand that trusting and leaning on you is all you need from us. We surrender our imperfections, perfectionism, and doubt to you. You never see our mistakes and failures as we label them. You see them as opportunities for detours and recalculations to get us to your will, assignments, and perfect peace. In Jesus’ Name. Amen!
It has been a while I know and that is because life has been lifeing. I have had so many changes and challenges while still trying to keep the faith that Daddy says that it will all work together for my good and will bring him glory. But where is the glory in disappointment and delays? OOOO…. that just hit me like a ton of bricks. I am sure I am not the only one who has asked that question at least once in their life. However, we are in a new year and you know the saying “new year, new me”! I don’t always agree with that, because there are some things from the previous year that I probably still need to work on in this new year. With that being said I am inviting you to come on a 21-day journey with me as I fast from personal things. I am doing something new and including a video with the blog. GOD is really creating this fast as I work on developing it. The fast will start January 22-February 12, 2024. I know you asking now Shawndrika what’s different about this fast, versus the one that I am doing with my church or small group. Well, this fast is personal.
Let me explain, I have fasted on numerous occasions with my church, friends, and small group. Though it yielded some great fruit, it had me hyper-focused on dos and don’ts versus the GOD will and have your way. Let me be honest it didn’t feel personal. It didn’t feel like what I was giving up was a sacrifice that could move the heart of GOD to see how committed I was to making room for Him in the area(s) I didn’t trust him with. Yes, the Daniel fast is great, but because it’s one of the popular fasts it starts to feel like a cliche that we do as a church at the beginning of the year. Translation it is a routine to add to the many routines we already have. This fast creates a level of accountability and self-examination. It dives into a space of personal sacrifice on an individual level versus that of a collective, while still creating discipline, community, and consistency. This fast will make you evaluate how you trust and see GOD in this present moment and cause you to start your own record book with HIM. Listen, I am getting excited thinking about it. I am in a place where I have to take GOD out of my comfortable box of how I know Him and expand how He wants me to know Him. In other words, I can’t keep limiting my intimacy because I fear the process that comes with it. *So if you are curious about this fast join me on the 22nd and see if this is for you. If not that’s cool. However, I challenge you to check how you box GOD. Does your relationship with Daddy cause others to be curious about how to get to know Him?
Prayer: Daddy, we thank you for this new year. Help us not to box you to our comfort level, allow us to meet you where you desire us to see you. Let us never become comfortable with our level of intimacy with you. Help us desire more of you in a world that is forever changing. In Jesus Name, AMEN
Great Day Readers!I’m so excited to get back into the flow of blogging. A lot has happened and I’m ready to share the journey.
So, today I want to share this scripture from my devotion and the revelation with you. I am going to meditate on this for a while I challenge you to do the same.
“You made me; you created me. Now give me the sense to follow your commands”. Psalms 119:73 NLT
Did you read that? Listen, that scripture hit me like a ton of bricks. I feel a lot of us are book sense Christians, we read the Bible and try our best to follow the principles of it. But this scripture give a whole outlook on what sense we should have. It literally says that we should ask for the sense to follow GOD’s commands.
Proverbs 2:7 tells us that common sense is a gift. “He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walks with integrity”. NLT
This scripture reiterate what we need to add on from Ps 119:73. In other words common sense and the ability to be obedient to GOD is not in the actions its in the asking. When was the last time you asked Daddy to give you the sense to follow Him and the gift of common sense to sustain your walk with Him? I hope this bless you.
Chew on it and see how you can apply this to your now. It may be the missing piece to your next level, faith growth, miracle, increase, and breakthrough.
Prayer: Daddy today after reading these scriptures we realize that our ability to follow you and be Christ disciples is not in the actions its in the asking. Daddy we ask that you give us the sense to obey you and that you continue to offer the gift of common sense so we can maintain our obedience to you. In Jesus Name. Amen
I am so excited about the revelation of today’s blog. Sunday, we had a guest pastor come in and minister to us. He came from the topic: Is There a Cause? I love how he used the story of David to demonstrate the cause to ignore the doubters and be reminded of the promises and covenant of GOD. But, what got me was the knowledge he gave about the roar of a lion. He stated that the roar of a lion could be heard five miles from the place where the lion roared. He stated that the lion’s roar is so powerful and loud that it paralyzes his prey, making it easy for him to kill. OOOOOOOOO!!!
Can we take that concept and apply it to the supernatural world? More importantly to the enemy’s effect on our life… Look, 1Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” ASV
Can we examine that scripture a little more and apply it to the fact I stated at the begin about the lion’s roar? It says the devil is as a roaring lion. (Pause) I don’t think you saw what I did. It says he is LIKE A ROARING LION… Ok here is the revelation I need you to grasp. If he is like a roaring lion, that means his roar really doesn’t carry the power, weight, and authority of a real lion. See it may sound like it’s paralyzing and that there is no way of escape, but the reality is… It’s just the roar of a lion come from the mouth of a kitten. (Had to give you a visual) That’s why fear can feel seem so real. The enemy is a great imitator but not an originator. He has smokes and mirrors that create the perfect atmosphere to paralyze you in fear, insecurity, doubt, depression, disappointment, frustration, and negative thinking. See, here is the thing about the enemy, he’s good at his job and perfects it daily. Where we go wrong is being caught up in his perfection. We forget that our Daddy is the creator of all things and that we have the authority over the enemy. His roar can’t paralyze something that was meant to hunt him. He is the prey we are the predators. He can’t paralyze us!!! But, we forget our position, our place, purpose, and title, and this is how we become paralyzed and become his prey.
I know you are wondering… How do I get over the enemy’s roar? How do I stop being the prey and become the predator? Simple, focus on the right roar. Oh yes, there is another lion whose roar is greater than the enemy. He’s called the lion of Judah. Revelation 5:5 says, “But one of the twenty-four elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
The Moral of this blog is simple: Stop listening to the roar of the enemy and focus on the roar of Judah. It is the roar of Judah that causes you to be victorious in all things, including the attacks and roars of the enemy.
Prayer: Daddy right now we thank you that we are no longer paralyzed by the roar of the enemy. We are so focused on the roar of you through the lion of Judah. We thank you that we are paralyzed in your blessings, overflow, love, peace, joy, and grace and mercy. We seek to be the lions that roar to the enemy your word, promises, and will causing him to paralyzed. In Jesus Name! AMEN!!!
I know it’s been a while, but I have been in an unmotivated funk. No reason on the why, but just have. But this past weekend a statement was made that blew my funk out the water. “GOD will break your heart to blow your mind.”
What do you do when Daddy breaks your heart to blow your mind? Well, with a heart of thanksgiving you tell Him thank you. I am sure that the statement alone has some of you all confused. Why would Daddy break my heart, when He told me that He would give me my heart desires? (Ps 37:4) Well, can we quickly (and I do mean quickly) examine that scripture? When Daddy talks about giving you your heart desires here, we must examine the three verses prior. It says that we must delight ourselves in Daddy. When we delight ourselves in Him then, He will give us the desires of our heart. But we get the desires of our heart because they are actually His heart desires for us. Which brings me back to the statement that I said at the beginning of the blog that shook my world. “Daddy will break your heart to blow your mind.”
I know you wondering why did this statement shake you so much? Well, it’s because a lot of times we see Daddy’s no as a punishment, as an indication that we are not doing something right or we did something wrong. But, in reality, His no, is His way of telling us what you are asking for is not big enough for me to give you. That I need to break your heart, so your mind can be blown by the thoughts I have towards you. That you need to realize that you aren’t thinking my heart desires for you. That you are not connected to me like I need you to be. This what this statement is saying. Daddy is telling us to be bold enough and have so much faith that we are willing to trust Him to break our hearts so, I can blow our minds. WHEW!!! That was a lot to tell and take in, but it was worth it.
We must shift our hearts and minds when it comes to Daddy. We can’t be content in our thinking, or even our heart desires that we miss Him. Daddy wants the best for us, and though we are thinking best, bigger, and greater for ourselves, Daddy feels as though we can go deeper and bigger. Today, do me a favor… Let Daddy break your heart so, he can blow your mind!!
Prayer: Daddy, break our hearts, that our minds can be blown by your grace, favor, love, joy, and peace. Break us so we can be in a position to desire more of you and last of us. Break us, that we may be a testimony of your love towards us. Break us that we may enjoy life more abundantly here on earth. Break us, so we can see you. In JESUS Name! AMEN!!!
I know, I know!!! I haven’t posted in two weeks!! But, can I be honest I haven’t had the energy and know how to post, what you need in order to be in encouraged. So, I had to get my life and pray about what I needed to share with you.
So, today is a special day. I didn’t want to release this blog on Tuesday as usual because I wanted you to be a part of my birthday celebration. Yes, today is my birthday and I am super excited about it. Every year for the last 6 years I have always been in a funk when it is time for my birthday countdown. I would find myself comparing where I should be to where I am. I would think about all that I lost. My areas of lack. My areas of fear and frustration. Anything negative, I thought about it as my birthday approached. But, this year was different I don’t know what happened or when it happened. (That’s usually how Daddy works. He will shift you and transition into your next without you being fully aware of the shift or the transition).
Today is not your usual blog. It is a blog filled with revelation and insight. One to encourage you to enjoy life in spite of! This blog is to bring you more aware of what is going on with you. What Daddy wants to do through you. How you can live the abundant life that Jesus talks about in John 10:10
Let’s get started!!!
As I prepared for today I decided to do three things. 1. Reflect. Not on what I wanted and needed. Not on what I did not have. But, reflect on the fact that I did not look like what I had been through. I start to look at pictures from the last 6 years. I saw how I lost and gain weight. I saw how my mask sometimes showed, but no one confronted me about it. I saw how I pushed through despite feeling like life was not even worth living. 2. Realize. I came to the realization that who I am will never be who everyone needed me to be. I will not be able to please everyone, fit there mode, or even be accepted by everyone. Last 3. Revelation. I got the revelation that I have not lived up to my full potential. That I have allowed myself to become complacent, fearful, and doubtful. I found myself comparing myself to people I thought I wanted to be, instead of asking Daddy what He needed me to be.
Through these decisions, five things were birth out of me. 1. Concentration. I realize that I need to focus on what is in front of me. Learn from what is behind me. Prepare for what is ahead of me. By doing these things I will be able to be productive. 2. Consistent. When you create a routine that works keep working it. Keep building on it. Having foundation is the key to success and consistency is the cornerstone. Daddy is consistent, and because we are made in His image we must be the same. 3. Courage. You must be bold enough to think outside your box. To be in a position where you are willing to say “Yes,” in spite of the test. Your “Yes”, can’t be compromised due to your discomfort. Which brings me to the fourth thing…4. Comfort. You must become comfortable being uncomfortable. See the more you get used to being uncomfortable the more you get shifted and transited into your next. Last but not least 5. Completion. This one is hard because I am so goal oriented that I felt like this referred to my assignment and not me as a person. But, this completion is about being whole. It’s about realizing that what you thought you needed was not what you really needed. It’s about being ok with you despite your flaws. It’s the summary of everything I have discussed with you so far.
So, I am sure you are wondering how can all this information help you out. What can you do with this information? Simple. Use it. Look and see what you need to work on in the three decisions. What decisions do you need to make that you haven’t made? What decisions do you need to re-evaluate? The five things birth out of me… Well, those or my tools, revelations, elements of life. They are the things that I need for this next chapter. They can be some or all that you need in your current journey.
Today, I challenge you to use my birthday to create a new year for you. No, not a new you, a new year. We are always waiting for January 1 for us to start all over. But, the reality is, our new year starts every time we open our eyes and breathe the breath of life.
Prayer: Daddy, we thank you for this moment. The moment to breathe, your breath of life. The moment to really get somethings straight in our lives. We thank you for the ability to point out the things we need to deal with. The thing that we need to evaluate and make decisions about in our lives. We realize we do not have time to waste, and we must stay in tune with you. Thank you for your guidance through your Holy Spirit. This moment could not be productive without your Holy Spirit. In JESUS name! AMEN!
Daddy, I am over it! The heartache, the frustration, the cycles, the relationships, the rollercoaster ride of emotions, the debt, the worry, the stress, the fear, the disappointment, the failures, setbacks, and setups. I AM OVER IT!!!
This is the conversation that I had a few days ago with Daddy as I sat in my living room crying and stressing over the bill collectors calling me, worrying about how I am going to pay, this and that. This is the mindset I had when I thought about the investment I poured into so many relationships and friendships. This is even the mindset I had when it came to church too. I was OVER IT!!!
Have you ever been there? To the point, you were over everything that affected your life in such a negative way? I mean to the point you even contemplated taking your life? Well, that was me. Yep, this is a transparent moment. One that I think plenty people have but are ashamed to admit. I mean who wants to be in the position of showing that they trust GOD and then turning around and saying life is not worth living anymore?
This is probably going to be a real transparent moment for me because I have not told anyone, but you, my readers this. I have been keeping these things bottled, masked, and hidden. I mean I am a licensed therapist and minister, how does it sound and look for me to be speaking or thinking suicidal thoughts? But, there I was only a week ago in my living room trying to Netflix and chill and these were my thoughts.
But, guess what? The same things that I just told Daddy that I was over, are the same things that He was trying to use to get me to my next. UGH!! Don’t you hate it when Daddy uses the things you hate to get you to your next? How He uses issues, situations, circumstances, and failure to show you how to grow. To birth out new assignments, ideas, and gifts? How He takes your constant complaining and creates a moment for you to experience His glory and presence?
I hate it, but it’s in those same moments that I realize how much GOD is I AM! I AM is over it, and I AM is in it. He takes over and uses His strength to create new beginnings for us to be in Him and over IT … The IT is us. We are the IT!!! I mean the IT is our…..will, word, and way. It is our ability and desires to want to operate in our strength, mindset, and emotions.
But how do we get over the IT? By allowing Daddy to be it. I was reminded of the game tag. How the object of the game when being IT, is to tag as many people as you can before they get to the base. That’s what Daddy wants to do. He wants to tag as many of your problems before they get to the base of your mind and you feel defeated instead of victorious. That’s why I John 5:4 says “for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith”.
So today do me a favor join me in playing a game of tag. Let your problems run but allow Daddy to be IT!
Prayer: Daddy, thank you that you have already told us that you will handle all that concerns us. We thank you that even when it seems like our problems are weighing us down to the point we want to give up on life, we will tag you and allow you to be it. You are the source of our strength and everything that we need to get through every moment of our lives. We thank you for being IT. In JESUS name. Amen!
I know it’s been a while and I do apologize. I am realizing that in order for this thing to really work you all need to hear from me. So today you, my readers are my accountability partners. That’s right I have given you the task to email me at: shawndrikaLcook@gmail.com if you aren’t getting a blog once a week. See we must realize that we are meant to do life alone, and sometimes strangers, people we don’t know are for us will hold us accountable. So welcome ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNERS!
With that being said let’s talk about transition! So for the past 4 months, I have been in a place of total transition. I went from working a full 8-5 in my field, to leaving there and doing ministry full time!! Yep, ministry FULL TIME!!! Now I know you are wondering what causes me to make this move. I mean I just passed my licensure examine only a year ago, I have not been a private practice therapist at all, and now I am in ministry. To answer the question of why, is simple, obedience. But, in my obedience, the walk and the focus of my next has been hard. I find myself feeling lost, confused, out of place, ill-prepared, hopeless, distraught, and discourage. Any negative feelings that a human being can express… This girl expressed them and more. I know you are wondering why did you experience all these negative emotions. I mean you were being obedient right? Well, here is the thing with obedience comes sacrifice, thought 1 Samuel 15:22 states, “Obedience is better than sacrifice”. There is a sacrifice that comes with obedience. Maybe I shouldn’t say a sacrifice, there is a surrendering that comes with it. To some that surrendering position can feel like a sacrifice. I mean give up everything you know just to be submerged into something you know nothing about.
So, here I am in the 5th month of the transition and I am stuck! Yep, stuck like a truck in the mud. I am not writing this blog from a place of overcoming this time. This time I am writing to you while the process is still going. While I am still in the place of getting to the prize or the next that GOD has called me to. I am in that, “I have to more trust GOD moments”, rather than “I will figure something out moments”. I’m at a place where I need the manifestation whether than being on ok with waiting for the manifestation.
I know someone who is reading this is wondering why am I telling the story as it is happening? Well. it’s because you need to know the process of transitioning. When you are in a place where the transition is not by choice, but assignment there are certain things you can’t control or deal with because you truly trust Daddy to guide your every step. For instance, I can’t control the demands that my assignment has on my life. I took a $2500 pay cut, yet I have not wanted for anything for real. I have tried to apply for a second job with the conviction that I couldn’t because of the demands of this assignment.
Why tell you the now of my transition for real?!? Because you need to know that transition is worth it!!! It’s worth leaving something that you do know for something you don’t know. It’s worth moving beyond you to get to Daddy. It’s worth the process… OOOOOO!!! That’s a word PROCESS!!! The process will be the foundation of your transition. How you see your process will determine how long you will stay in your transition. If you see your process as a burden, then your transition will last longer, because you are not able to receive the benefits of the process. But, if you see the process as a purpose, that it pushes you to your next, stretches you to another level in GOD, and betters your faith and trust in Daddy. Then the transition will be short and one that you can talk about as part of your testimony. Let me say this I don’t care what kind of transition you experience good or bad, no one likes the discomfort that comes with it. No one likes being in limbo where you aren’t sure what’s going on, but you know where you are going. No one likes looking at the preview of their promise and wondering when they will get there. These are the feelings of transition.
Today, I want to encourage someone to keep pressing in their transition!!! Keep enjoying the process no matter how uncomfortable it gets. Remember this transition is not about you, but about those who are looking at you. You are the only manifestation of GOD they may see! This is about your legacy, your future, your next…DON’T FORFEIT IT!!!
Prayer: Daddy transition is not easy. It can be uncomfortable and stressful if we don’t allow You to guide us. Today we say guide us!!! Open our ears to your instructions. Open our minds to the thoughts that you have towards us. Remind us that your thoughts towards us are good and they have the outcome of your perfection. Open our eyes that we don’t see things in the natural but in the spirit. Let us see the manifestation of the prayer that the Prophet Elisha prayed for his servant in 2 Kings 6:17, where he said: “LORD open his eyes so he can see”. Daddy open our eyes so we can see. Let us see your hand of protection and provision on us. Let us see your wisdom, knowledge, and understand. Let us see that your plan is great than our process. Daddy, help us with our words. Help us speak the words that line up with your will, word, and way. Let us not get so frustrated in this transition that we forget the power of our tongue. That we speak life when we feel like death is trying to overtake us. We respond to situations and people with a soft answer. Daddy, be our Jehovah Shalom and let us experience your peace like never before. Be Jehovah Jierha so we can know that you will provide and meet our needs and wants. Daddy, we thank you that we will be the examples we need to be during this time of transition. In JESUS name AMEN!!!
I know it’s been a while, but I have a good excuse… I’ve been stretching and the stretch has not been easy. So let me tell you what this looks like and why the stretch has been one for the record books. Last year I talked to Daddy about my next. I had a conversation about what to do now that I was finished with school and I was in a high leadership position. For a while, I didn’t hear anything. I keep praying and being silent, but nothing. One day an event at work happen and it causes me to really feel like it was time for me to go, I prayed and this time Daddy gave me an answer. He told me a date that I would need to turn in my resignation and where to go afterward. Now it was where he told me to go afterward that had me kind of shook. I remember the conversation like it was yesterday. He said: “It’s time for you to trust me fully, and do what I have equipped you to do. It’s time that you go and do ministry at your church”. After hearing this I spoke with my pastors to see what we need to do, to get me set up for the transition. They were so excited and felt like this was the best time to do so. I, on the other hand, was feeling some kind of way, but I knew what GOD said so I was in an ” I trust GOD mindset”. So long story short I resigned from my job and working for my church full time as the senior pastor’s assistant and mental health consultant. I have taken a $1400 pay cut, but nothing in my house has lack… NOTHING!!!
I know you are wondering what is the stretch. The stretch is letting GOD be GOD. How can we name Him provider and not give me the opportunity to actually provide? How can we call Him healer and not allow Him to heal us? How can we say we have victory in Him, but never give Him the opportunity to win the wars and battles that life throws at us? This is the stretch… Letting Daddy be all he says he can, will, and has been. Allowing Him to be everything we need when we need it as we continue to be obedient to all his instructions.
Let me say this… THIS HAS NOT BEEN EASY!!! I have tried to get another job, sought out ways to earn extra income, make my own plans, but GOD has blocked and convicted me of it all. This stretch has really reminded me of Jeremiah 29:11 where Daddy says: “I know the plans I have for your life, plans to prosper you, not to harm you.” In this stretch, it doesn’t seem like the plan looks prosperous. It kind of feels like Daddy has brought me in the middle of the ocean and said now, swim. No direction, no guidance, only the action of doing what he said. Let me say this I thought that swimming in the ocean would be hard, but can I tell you I have been floating like a fish.
The stretch has taught 5 things… (If you don’t know I love the number 5, it’s the number of Grace):
1. Learn how to be comfortable being uncomfortable.
2. The weight may seem unbearable, but the wait is worth the process.
3. Remind Daddy of his word and promises. Daddy sees your heart, but HE responses to his word. He said that his word will not return to him void, so speak what he already said and watch him work.
4. Stay focus. When you are being obedient you may feel like you need to explain yourself, but there’s not needed when you trust Daddy… Which brings me to number 5.
5. TRUST DADDY!!! When I tell you that Daddy has met needs before I even ask…He has. It can be as simple as lunch to money. I have never been a place where I’ve never seen His word manifest so quickly. But because I was obedient and I speak His word even in the midst of distractions, I have seen Him come through for me like never before.
Prayer: Father right now we thank you that you have already given us an example of the effects of what relentless faith looks like. We thank you that greatness is in us and though we may never see the whole promise we are grateful for the position to see pieces of the promise. We will pursue you like it is our last time, and seek your face over your hand. In the Name of JESUS… AMEN
I speak wholeness in your life now… We will not wait until 2018…you will finish strong… You will face the dark, hidden, and broken place in your life with boldness and walk into your God given calling in his strength. No longer will you down play the greatness in you or settle just to be love. You will prepare for your king like a queen… You are Royalty….. You stand strong because of the intercessors that pray for you. Life will no longer be the same as of today!! It’s over… Depression is sent to a dry place no longer keeping you in silent isolation. Joy is your strength, peace is your portion, and love is your life. You will never have to want for anything for the father will, has, and shall supply your needs and you will call him Abba and he will answer yes Daughter… No longer will you wait for moments you will create them with your worship and record them with your praise… You will hear the songs that the Father sings over you and you longer feel unworthy of his love. In Jesus Name! Amen!
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