The Journey of Birthing Cree

Shawn and I were married on July 20, 2014. A few months before we got married I found out at my annual OBGYN visit that the number of fibroid's in my uterus may have grown. I found out a few years ago that I had fibroids and it could cause fertility issues but likely I would be fine and shouldn't have any reason to get them surgically removed. In case you don't know, fibroids are muscular tumors that grow in the wall of the uterus (womb). Fibroids are more common as women age, especially during their 30s and 40s. African-American women

Marriage Is Not The Cure To Unhappiness

If you believe that getting married will cure your unhappiness and fix all of life's issues, you are sadly mistaken. I often see posts on my Facebook timeline that says "I can't wait to get married, I'm tired of being single," or "I can't wait until God blesses me with a husband so I can travel".......I saw that one yesterday and almost fell out. Where in the bible does it say that life starts once you get married? And not to discourage you, but what if God never sends a husband? I understand all to well how women can fantasize about being married and about our wedding day. We grew up reading about Cinderella and other Disney fairy tales and watching "happily ever after" type of movies but we must realize that is fiction and not the reality of what being married really is. If you are miserable and unhappy with life while being single, you will be that same miserable and unhappy person in your marriage. To be happy is to be content with the portion that God has given you. In Philippians 4:11-12, the Apostle Paul explains that he has learned to be content no matter what the circumstance is. Happiness is a choice.

Tis The Season

So Christmas is a few days away, then there's New Year's and then Valentines Day. I remember there was a time when I was single that I would hate Nov-Feb because I felt like it was a constant reminder that I didn't have a relationship. This is also a time of year when a lot of marriage proposals happen so I would avoid Facebook because I didn't want to feel jealous of others happiness because at that time I was not happy being single. Real talk.....I hated being single

A Heart to Give

In my 20's I was a complete mess! I would do any and everything under the sun. I worked at a new car dealership selling cars and I made a lot of money to be as young as I was. I blew through the money as fast as I earned it. I would have $5000 one day and $0 two days later. It's funny when you have money you have a lot of "friends" but when you are down and out they are nowhere to be found. I remember a lot of Sundays being so sick out of my mind from drinking so much over the weekend. On Sunday morning I would be broke and hungry. I could have gone to my parents but I was too ashamed. There was a woman named Ms. Evelyn who sold soul food plates from her home with her son and daughters. If you spent anytime in East Knoxville, you probably ate some of her cooking. Her food was awesome! Ms. Evelyn was an awesome Woman of God. I would end up at Ms. Evelyn's house when I was down and out and even though she cooked dinners to make money, she would always feed me. I never heard of her telling anyone of what she did for me and she never had anything harsh to say to me. I would always feel God's presence when I was at her house. 

The Holy Spirit reminded me of Ms. Evelyn and her giving heart the last few weeks.

Are You Really Living For Christ?

In the late 90’s I was in my late 20’s and with the help of my parents, I opened an auto dealership.  My business did very well and began to flourish. I felt like I was starting to get my life back on track. I stopped drinking alcohol, started going to church regularly, I became chairman of the board of trusties at my church, and lead the renovations of the church. Through all of these deeds, I thought I was so holy. It was a step in the right direction, but I was straddling the fence. There were still things in my life that did not line up with the word of God. It’s almost like some of the posts I see on social media. One day a person can be posting about how great God is and praising his name, quoting scriptures, posting about how God is blessing them, pictures of them going to church and how they are truly living for God and then the next post they’re cursing, talking about clubbing, gossiping, talking about sex and lust and everything that is against the word of God. It’s a double minded life (James 4:8) and the bible says that “a double minded man is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8).” When you address these issues, the first thing that comes out of people’s mouths is “you can’t judge me.”

I'm Free

Sexual soul ties are real!! 1 Corinthians 6:18 says "Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body." While we are teaching our youth to use condoms and birth control to protect against sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancies, no one is telling them the dangers of soul ties. As someone who lost her virginity at 17 and was bound by sexual soul ties for 13 years, I needed to hear about soul ties and the bondage that it puts you in a long time ago.

A soul tie is an emotional bond or connection that unites you with someone else. You can become bound to a person through your soul. An unholy soul tie is formed when when two individuals have sex outside of marriage. It is the forming of one flesh. 1 Corinthians 6:12-16 (NLT) says "You say, I am allowed to do anything - but not everything is good for you. And even though "I am allowed to do anything", I must not become a slave to anything. You say, Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food. But you can't say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead. Don't you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never! And don't you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the scriptures say, the two are united into one (NLT)." So every time you have sex outside of marriage you become One with that person. The soul tie formed through pre-marital sex can be just as strong and binding as those formed through the marriage covenant. Ever wondered

Who Are You Listening To?

Every part of the bible is amazing! As Christians it's our tool for life. The more you expose yourself to the Word of God, the more it will expose itself to you. I enjoy studying it and I always find new scripture that I never seen before or God gives me new revelation as I read scriptures that I've read several times. We often read some of the scriptures that are quoted a lot without reading the back story and the scriptures that are shown right before. We have to make sure we are studying the word of God and allowing the holy spirit to reveal God's word to us so we can apply it to our own lives. 

A very powerful scripture that I often refer to is Psalms 1:1 "Bless is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of the sinner, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful." Do you have that family member, friend, boy friend/girlfriend etc. that talks about God and quotes scriptures but their life shows something different or they have no relationship with God at all. Then they'll always want to offer you advice and tell you how you should live your life and everything that they are telling you contradicts with the Word of God.