#30 - Living Vanilla? Add Chocolate, Carmel, Whip Cream & Nuts

Good morning! It's going to be a jammin day today! Excited about it.... excited to get a lot done and accomplished. Yippee! So... let's get our roll on....

Proverbs 8:6-8 - ...the opening of my lips shall be for right things. For my mouth shall utter truth. All the words of my mouth are righteous (upright and in right standing with God); there is nothing contrary to truth or crooked in them.

Proverbs 31:26 - She opens her mouth in skillful and godly Wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness [giving counsel and instruction].

So much good stuff today. Where do you even begin? Words. Truth. Our words are so important. We even see that when our Proverbs 31 friend opens her mouth, good stuff is coming out! She opens her mouth in Wisdom. When she speaks it is with Wisdom and kindness. As we see in Proverbs 8:30, Wisdom was here from the beginning. Wisdom was here as the earth was created. Wisdom was hear before man was created. Before the sun & moon. Before animals, the water, fish of the sea. Wisdom has been here since before the beginning! So within Wisdom, it also accompanies the truth. Wisdom can not be a lie. Wisdom can not be false. Aside from everything else Wisdom is, Wisdom is truth. Our Proverbs 31 friend opens her mouth in truth. Wisdom often is love. Our Proverbs 31 friend most often probably opened her mouth in love, in encouragement or, as it says in verse 26, in kindness. 


I heard a statement the other day that shook me. It came at me and it was bold. It affected me. When truth comes, it separates bone & marrow. It comes straight. Straight! It comes hard. It comes bold. It comes in a glass that is not watered down. Truth does not try to wear flowers. It does not try to dress up. And we see the Word, JAM-PACKED with TRUTH. I began to think about it. I began to think about who I am attracted too. When we started our business about 7 years ago, I remember early on going to a conference. I heard people speaking boldly, and speaking truth. I heard things that, at the time, I did not even hear at church. I was attracted to the bold. I was attracted to these people who stood up for the truth. Who spoke the truth without standing down. The attractiveness of the Radical.  Truth is like a magnet. Truth draws us in. Truth is attractive. Truth is powerful. I go back to the statement I heard that shook me. When truth comes, it separates bone & marrow. It comes straight. I hear already some people saying, "Well, you have to leave room. You have to not be so dogmatic. You have to be gentle." What I have realized though is THE WORLD WANTS THE RADICAL!!! Think about it. Who do you want to follow? Someone who is passionate. Someone who is sure. Someone who follows their heart, who follows truth. Someone who is bold. Someone who moves you to tears. Someone who knows & speaks truth. The WORLD wants the BOLD. I have realized that the WORLD is following and wants to follow those who speak loud. I  am reminded of Lady Gaga. We call her radically saved in Jesus Name! She has almost 5 million followers on Twitter, and just passed President Obama for followers on Facebook. Why? She lives her life BOLDLY! People are attracted to bold. 


Wake-up call. Before this blog began.... I was living my life "Vanilla." I was living my life "not to offend." Everyone likes vanilla. I then, finally couldn't take it anymore! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! GIVE ME THE CARMEL, HOT FUDGE, NUTS, MARSHMALLOW'S, CHOCOLATE CHIPS! I AM NOT VANILLA! I think as Christians we often live life "Vanilla." We live life not to offend, while the World is living life BOLDLY... (ie: Lady Gaga- dancing on poles in a cage, whips, chains, scantily dressed, colored language, cutting edge ideas). The world is not "living Vanilla" and the WORLD is getting more followers than MY JESUS! 


Jesus lived a life that was not vanilla. During his life, people were offended. He lived boldly. He knew His purpose for being here. He lived and spoke TRUTH.


That brings me to association. Finding a church that speaks the truth and believes the truth. Comparing it with the Word. Cross-referencing it with the Word. Does what they speak or teach line up with the TRUTH? I'm not so quick to jump on the "ban-wagon" of ministers or churches that appear to be big. I am very CAUTIOUS in the books that I read... the authors... and what "school of teaching" they come from. I steer clear of some that I know I feel don't believe the WHOLE truth. Those who have taken bits of truth, but have disagreed with some parts of the Bible. Last time I checked, the WHOLE BIBLE was true. So, I'm cautious of "what" I put in. 


Personal example: A time back, I was like that about Joel Osteen. I was cautious. I did not know if he was just a "feel-good" minister... or if he just preached "watered-down" sermons... if he really believed how I believed. If he really embraced the whole Bible. Well, I have since read a couple of his books. One of the books I'm reading right now is: It's Your Time. I must say, it is a great read. We don't watch TV at home, so I never watch him on TV... but when I have been at my in-laws, I have seen him on occasion. I don't know how much he teaches on certain subjects...but when I've seen him it has usually been a message of hope. At the time, I thought, "Great, hope is good. Hope is important. But do the people ever go from milk to meat? Are they getting enough Word that they are moving forward. Are they getting the whole package and moving on?" I am definitely not an easy one to just "jump on someones ban wagon." Well.... that brings me to his book, It's Your Time, definitely good stuff. Get ready to get fired up... I'm just going to bullet out some things from it....

• Don't talk about your problems; talk to your problems.
• Speak to those mountains in your path. Declare favor over difficult situations. Too often we talk to God about how big our problems are. We should be talking to our problems about how big our God is!
• With your own words you'd be sealing your fate. You must ask yourself, "Whose report will I believe, the report of victory or the report of defeat?"
• Put a watch over your mouth.
• In due season you will eat the fruit of your words.
• Declare favor every day, all day. Let it flow out your mouth and under your breath. You should be saying, "Father, thank you that Your favor is opening up doors no man can shut. Your favor is bringing supernatural opportunities, divine connections, causing me to be at the right place at the right time."
• I am blessed. I walk in divine health. The favor of God is opening up new doors. I will fulfill my destiny.
• Switch over to the language of victory.
• Our words can bless our future or they can curse it.
• We give life to our faith when we speak out about our dreams.
• He has made you the head and not the tail. (Deut. 28 - One of my, Amy's, personal favorite chapters in the Bible - Talks about blessings and curses. Grab hold of the blessings!!!)
• God does not want you to spend your whole life working for someone else. God wants you to own your own company. 
• When your needs are supplied, keep stretching to bless others.
• Don't allow negative images to play in your mind. Change the channel.
• Turn off negative talk. Fill your mind with thoughts of victory. 
• Great expectations make for great lives.
• When I was tempted to get discouraged, I used the temptation as a reminder to thank God that He was in control and to thank Him that He was fighting my battles for me.
• Dare to dream big and pray boldly, especially - yes, especially - when there is no hope in sight!
• Have you ever dared to ask God to help you OWN YOUR HOME free and clear without monthly payments? "God I'm asking to be debt-free - my home, my car, my business, my credit cards!"
• God expects us to ask. If you are not asking for God's favor, His blessings, His increase, then you are not releasing your faith. 

What a pleasant surprise! Truth. And if you looked back over each one of the blog posts here, you would probably see many of those very subjects talked about. 


So, divine health? Living in abundance? What if I feel sick? What if I HAVE a headache right now? What if I AM broke? What if my checking account does say $0.00... or -$34.89. Apply the TRUTH to your situation! 


Fact -VS- Truth: The fact may be that you have a headache, but the TRUTH trumps the facts. The TRUTH, the Word of God, trumps what the facts say because the WORD says, "By Jesus stripes you ARE healed." (1 Peter 2:24) The facts may be that you have no money in your checking account right now, but the TRUTH says, "My God shall supply ALL my needs according to HIS riches in glory in Christ Jesus." (Phil 4:19) Or the amplified, "My God will LIBERALLY supply (fill to the full) your need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." And our God DOES NOT LACK! So take your situation and line it up with the Word. Line it up with the TRUTH. Claim and speak the TRUTH over areas that may feel like defeat now. Say, "Thank you Father, that the facts may say I have NO money, but your WORD says that you LIBERALLY supply all my needs. That I have more than enough. I choose to believe the WORD, the TRUTH over what the facts may be saying. Thank you Father that YOU are Jehovah Jirah, God my Provider, and YOU do not have a lack. And YOU are my Supplier. I am linked up with the ALMIGHTY Source! Thank you for meeting my needs!"


Litmus Test: Do a WORD CHECK. Check your Words. Whatever you say, behind it add, "In Jesus Name." How does that sound? "I have a migraine, in Jesus Name." "I am broke, in Jesus Name." "I have no friends, in Jesus Name." "I'm not good at anything, in Jesus Name." "I'm fat, in Jesus Name." "I'm ugly, in Jesus Name." CHECK YOUR WORDS! Like Joel said, Our words can bless our future or they can curse it. And that is SO true!


Be Bold. Believe truth. Live truth. The only way to live vanilla is to add chocolate, carmel, whip cream and nuts! Live with Flavor. Live with belief! LIVE LOUD!