Rebel with a Cause :)

I've been listening to India.Arie and Chrisette Michele over and over and over and over and........did I say OVER again? LOL!!! I love those women: they are soulful, classy and beautiful. They know who they are and what they want. They are young non-conformists who refuse to live by society's rules (or in their case, by the rules of today's music industry). I love that and I WANT that! I don't want to live my life by society's rules. Now, before you get any ideas I am an extremely law-abiding citizen: no arrests, misdemeanors or run-ins with the police here. Heck, no tickets! Okay, may be that doesn't count. I don't think a lot of pedestrians get tickets out there-but these days, who knows? :)

What I mean when I say that I don't want to live my life by society's rules is that I want to know what I stand for, WHO I stand for, what I believe in and WHY I believe in it. I stand for Jesus Christ-for His Kingdom, His authority, His sovereignty and His LOVE. I believe that He died for you and I, is alive in those who receive Him and continually transforms my life with every encounter I have with Him (that is no exaggeration). I believe that I am loved more than I will ever understand-that the Hands that carry me are invisible yet all-powerful, that every single step is orchestrated by Him, that my present and future are already taken care of. I believe in it because it has been proven in my life time and time again, because the love I know I feel is so overwhelming that no words can ever describe it; because I know that when I lift my voice in song to try to express it (I'll have you know that I act like my life is a musical), a well of love runs so deep within my soul that I know that even those heartfelt notes will be insufficient; because I see miracles happen in my life; because I have absolutely no reason to be where I am today, who I am or be this consistently joyful; because there is no other reason for which li'l sinful, prideful, doubtful (and many other -fuls) "me" should be this blessed to be have relationships with some of the most amazing people in the world.

I don't want to live my life believing what everyone believes, doing what everyone does, wearing what everyone wears. I want to be different-not for the sake of it or because I think I'm all that and a slice of mango-but because I want to live the right way. I am sooooo human sometimes that it annoys me. I can get scared easily, worry about things that have not even happened, refuse a helping hand because I am "Miss Independent", disappoint myself, those I love and God; the list is endless. I want to be different because I want my life to have meaning. I want to have a purpose. I want my life to count for something. I want to leave a legacy. I want to know who I am by knowing who He is so that I can contribute to the world in the only way that I can: in a way that no one else will ever be able to duplicate. See, you and I are originals. I will never be you and you'll never be me. That's what makes us special!!!

In doing these, I want to enjoy my life. I LOVE being a woman and I love the challenges, responsibilities and maaaaaaany perks that womanhood brings. I want to be the best young woman I can possibly be-even if it means going against the grain some days. I sincerely hope that you do, too. So go out there, be as gorgeous as you are, love every inch of you and dare to be different. You are so much more than a sheep without a shepherd.

Mango Kisses,
On Eagles' Wings

P.S. Yes, I admit I LOOOOOOOOOVE mangoes. I think they are one of God's ultimate gifts to humanity. Now, you know what I really want for Valentine's Day :)

Feminity Series-A Day in a Woman's Mind

What does it mean to be a woman, to be that gender that is called "Female"? What is it that God had in mind when He thought about us, designed us and finally created us? We are the epitome of creation, God's masterpiece (Thank you Stacie Elderidge "Captivating"), the most beautiful of all the creatures on earth. Men fawn at us, gaze at us, lose their minds in their admiration, "love" us to distraction!!! Wouldn't it be simply amazing if we understood that about ourselves? Wouldn't it be awesome to know loads and loads of women who recognize that they are badddddd mama jammas: confident, intelligent, made in God's image, priceless and irreplaceable?

The reality of the matter is that almost all women see the negatives in themselves far too often. We cling to negative images, criticisms and flaws and quietly discard the compliments that have been thrown our way time and time again. We are our own biggest enemies-unfortunately!!!! Two days ago, I had a very interesting conversation with a friend. It centered on the woman's favorite topics (Ladies, don't front!!! You know it's true!): marriage, romance and relationships. We talked about the "together forever" clause in marriage and how exceedingly scary that is. What would it be like to spend the reeeeeeeeeeest of our lives with this man? How do we know that we will be good wives (perish the thought: GREAT wife)? For me, how do I know that I will be able to keep my man wanting to come home to me every single day? We all know how fickle men can be. I look in the mirror and some days, I am totally in love with myself, I know that I am beautiful, powerful and priceless. I cling to my hopes and dreams, my vision and purpose and my strength. I bless my God like there is no tomorrow and I bask in the beauty of His presence. I know that I am special and undeniably a gift to the world because God said so. On other days, I don't like what I see in the mirror, escalate every criticism that has come my way, list all of my supposed failures and wonder how God can have any sort of purpose for my life.

Women, when will we wake up and smell the coffee. We are unique and PERFECT just the way that God created us-our personalities, our "knob noses", our tiny ears and little eyes are features that HE chose to put there to give Him glory. Let us learn to see our beauty through His eyes because, believe me, there is a tremendous amount of it to see if we just open our eyes, listen and see through the eyes of the Spirit.

Psalm 139:14,16: "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works....in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned..." We are all custom-designed by God. WE are all GORGEOUS!!!!! Embrace that today, act on it, meditate on it, celebrate it! This ain't no flattery. It's the Gospel :)