LaQuitia Thomas

You know how you can hear someone (or maybe more than one person) tell you something over and over, but it just goes in one ear and out the other? You hear what they're saying but you never take the time to actually apply it to your life. Well, for years I've heard people talk about the importance of changing your mindset and thinking postively.  Variations of phrases like "change your perspective and you'll change your life" and "if you can't change your circumstances, then change your perspective", but I've never really stopped to think about how true those statements are. . . until now.

Happy Thanksgiving! Ahh, this time of year is my favorite. I love absolutely everything about these last two months in the year. The food, the decorations, the smells, the food, the trees, the atmosphere, the food, spending time with my loved ones, the food, just being able to relax, and did I mention the food??

You know that aha moment when you're simply minding your own business doing whatever and then all of a sudden you get a "revelation" of something deeper than what you were originally doing? No? Just me? lol. Either way, that exact thing happened to me recently. And no matter how many times I experience it I'm still just as amazed at God as the time before. So, I was sitting in Church and my feet began to hurt in the shoes I was wearing. Not because they were necessarily too small (they were actually the same size I always wear), but because of the way these particular shoes were made they fit a little bit more snug. So much so that I eventually had to take them off for a little while. But as I was doing that I started to think of how that discomfort could very easily represent some of us in our daily walks with Christ...

"When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul." -Horatio Spafford Life can be   is challenging. It's a balance between the highs and the lows. It gets real. It gets rough. But through it all, how many of us can still exclaim "it is well"? Not a pitiful 'I have no other choice' type of it is well, but I'm talking about confidently declaring that no mater what it looks like, no matter what it feels like, no matter what comes your way, you know deep down in your heart that all is truly well.

Dear Younger Self,                                                   I'm not writing you this letter as someone who claims to know it all or have all the answers. I'm writing you this letter because I wish someone would have done the same for me when I was your age.

"Have you ever been in a place in life where you could just FEEL God getting ready to bless you?? You didn't know how, you might not have known when, but something deep inside of  you just kept reassuring you that greater was coming? Well that's the season I've found myself in right now. This past week God has just been giving me so much peace and a positive outlook towards what is to come..."

Have you ever seen a UHAUL truck being pulled by a hearse at a funeral? No? Me either. In fact, it sounds pretty crazy right?

This is for the woman who thinks she's not quite good enough. Not quite smart enough. Not quite old (or young) enough. Not quite pretty enough. Not quite strong enough. Not quite developed enough. Or just down right not quite capable enough. It's for the woman who sometimes chooses doubt and fear over faith. It's for the woman who would rather relax in her comfort zone instead of fearlessly dancing into the unknown. It's for the woman who has a desire for more, but just doesn't have the guts to go out and grab it.   This one is for you...

Ya'll. God is SO good! Even when I doubt. Even when I lack faith. Even when I lean on my own understanding. Even when I stress. Even when I worry. He's STILL good. In fact, I would even go as far as to say that He is even BETTER to me during those times. Because it's in those times that His compassion and mercy is made all the more perfect. And yet I still find myself doing all of those things from time to time, as if I have no recollection of how He has blessed me before, and the time before that, and the time before that, and the...you get the point.