HOME IMPROVEMENTS: Working on the inside, Working on the outside

Everybody's got a body. This is a call to action.

Be a CASTLE for CHRIST

Let's say my church building had a beautiful interior and a glorious sanctuary...but externally, it was falling apart, the paint on the walls was chipping and the outside of the building was unappealing. Would I say, "well the inside looks beautiful, so who really cares if there's rust on the doors?"

You better believe I would never rest with it staying in that condition! This is the house of God! I have reverence for it! Every part of His house should reflect that honor and reverence. The first thing people see is the outside. They should know from jump that someone cares deeply about the purpose of this building.

[insert LIGHTBULB moment here]

Jesus reminds me daily that I am a temple. Not made of bricks, but flesh and blood. Jesus lives here! This is the house of God! I have to have reverence for it! 

"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?"

1 Corinthians 3:16

So, I have resolved to make some home improvements. As I'm allowing God to work on my heart and spiritual health, I want Him to work on the WHOLE HOUSE as well.

"For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's"

1 Corinthians 6:20 KJV

A spiritual foundation is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING (and I cannot stress that enough). However, every part of my body and my life should be evidence of striving for excellence because as a child of God, I REFLECT HIM! Only presenting some areas beautifully is like saying that the beat up building with the beautiful sanctuary is okay. 

What is the way you present yourself and care for yourself saying about who you serve?

As marvelous and adorned as the temple Solomon built was, God yet chose His children to be His temples. Walking epistles, in fact! We are to be living, breathing proof of the Word (2 Corinthians 3:2-3). Yes, that means US, flawed and imperfect as we are. He could have chosen absolutely anywhere to dwell...and He has sanctified us that He might dwell right in our hearts. The GOD of the universe CHOSE to live here! Let that sink in.

If God is living here, it should be the best possible residence for Him. Physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. I don't want to limit the way God wants to be glorified, the way God wants to move, or the way God wants to use me by lack of health in any of those areas.

So many of us live in extremes. We are so obsessed with the superficial that we spiritually starve to death, or we are so uber holy that we neglect our bodies, our appearance, and a host of other things.

Is it crazy to think that we should consider God in everything we do...even something as simple as what we wear or what we eat? I don't think it is! If we're in Christ, our bodies, souls, and spirits belong to Him.

"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"

1 Corinthians 6:19 KJV

EVERYTHING is His. And we do everything as unto the Lord! So, how you talk to people, how you dress, how you take care of yourself, how you think...that's all a form of worship!  It doesn't begin and end during church service.

I firmly believe that God wants holistic health and holistic prosperity for us! He is concerned about every single part of you, your WHOLE being. We put God in a box if we believe otherwise. Our mind, body, soul, and spirit are all connected. I believe everything in the natural is tied to the spiritual, and we can't reach our full potential trying to compartmentalize and separate the spiritual from everything else. He wants our faith to abound as well as our fitness, family, and finances. No, I'm not saying everyone will be rich, but we are all called to live richly through Christ. Rich relationships, rich revelation, rich experiences in Him and through Him.

"Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth"

3 John 1:2

There is NOTHING mediocre about a child of God. 

He wants the best for us. He has literally given the greatest thing He could for our very sake...HIMSELF.

So, will dressing raggedy send you to hell? Will being physically unhealthy pull you out of heaven? No, probably not. BUT why wouldn't we seek to exemplify abundant life? Why wouldn't we want every area of our lives to be a perfect atmosphere for God's name to be glorified?

This isn't about having loads of money, or looking like a supermodel. This is about being your best self.

It's time for a life check. Are you the building with the jacked up exterior and gorgeous interior? Or are you the beautiful building with a run down interior (1 Samuel 16:7, 1 Peter 3:3-4)? Are you somewhere in the middle?

I'm on a mission to make some life changes. I want to live in the more of God, and the best of my purpose. Who is with me?

Take honor for this temple. Do the very best with what you have, as unto the Lord, and God will do the rest. I promise...actually, He promised.

love, compassion, royalty

Queen

P.S. What are some HOME IMPROVEMENTS you are making? What's your take on this? Let me know in the comments below!

Lips of Character

At my church, this is the year of "Get Healthy, Stay Healthy". And I'm trying to invest in life changes to be holistically healthy in every area of life.

I've been eating Proverbs for breakfast, recently. Let me tell you, there is a Word in there for everything.
And it SURELY caught me this morning.

I'll be honest. I sometimes do things in excess. No, I'm not talking about that extra cookie (though I'm definitely guilty of that, too).

I talk too much.

Not in an, "I'm ready to gossip or tell secrets way". I'm actually a pretty good confidant. I am just a natural born talker. As a writer, as a poet, an artist, and a speaker, it comes with the territory. And it has its perks (say, when networking, or improvising in a presentation or performing under pressure).

However, I am really in the refining fire, and a prudent speaker is so invaluable. In relationships, in ministry, in life. Temperance is a fruit of the Spirit, right?


According to James 1:9, I should be "swift to hear, slow to speak". I am learning that a woman who knows when to hold her tongue is a woman of wisdom (and we know how important that is from this post).

James 3:8 ESV says "no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil,full of deadly poison." This is pretty intense. I get a few things from this, including  1. It's in our nature for our tongue to be out of control, 2. our words can be VERY dangerous...fatal even, and  3. the ability to put our tongue into subjection doesn't come from human power..so it has to come from the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. To get it right we have to give ourselves over to God and submit to the guidance of His Spirit.

The Word says the tongue is a restless evil. Jermemiah 17:9 says "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?".  Matthew 12:34 and Luke 6:45 tell us that "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks". There's a parallel in here somewhere. I surmise that If our hearts change, our speech will, too.  And you know what? If my mouth is under subjection of the Holy Spirit, then it's safe to say the rest of me is, too.


I am often praying in this season that:
-God guards my lips
-every word is spoken under the discretion of His Spirit
-God teaches me to bask in the beauty of silence
-I only speak when it improves upon that silence
-as a friend, I learn when to just listen versus when to speak encouraging words
-everything I speak is genuinely in sincerity and LOVE


I am also learning how powerful the words of a child of God truly are...as strong as life and death (Proverbs 18:21). We can literally shape our experiences, our future, our relationships by the words we use and the words we receive. We can liberate others or incarcerate them. I frequently see a bad habit of saints just throwing around words like they are merely sounds with little significance. Any words spoken have weight. But the words of a child of God?...

We are filled with the very Spirit that spoke the WORLD into existence. I mean, before there was anything that was made, there was the Word (John 1). That's powerful. And that's the same Spirit that gives us the authority not only to speak against the enemy, but to speak over ourselves. We declare things into the atmosphere that actually manifest. I mean, Jesus spoke to a fig tree and cursed it...then told us we have the same ability!

That's a big deal. And big responsibility. Which is more reason why I want to be wise with how I wield that power. I want to edify! Not destroy. Not be wasteful with words that just fill up space, or do not produce profit. I want my words to matter. My words give a glimpse of my heart and paint a portrait of my character. The Word says "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." (Proverbs 21:11)

I want lips of Godly character. What about you?

"On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found...
The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom...
whoever restrains his lips is prudent...
The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable...
The tongue of the righteous is choice silver...
The lips of the righteous feed many...
The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life...

Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses"

Proverbs 10:11,12,13,20,21,31,32

So, the next time you're in the mirror, and you're applying your lip gloss or chapstick, and you're puckering up... take a moment to say a prayer. And consider the fruit they bear. Are they feeding the Kingdom?

love, compassion, royalty

Queen G

WISDOM...WIFE?

Last weekend there was a revival at my church. A life-changing revival, preached by a tornado of anointing in the person of District Elder Zulu, by way of West Africa. I have not the time or the arsenal of vocabulary to accurately describe the way the Holy Spirit moved, or the ways in which I was impacted. In the midst of that, he taught us some things about wives. A wife should be: W.I.F.E. WiseIndustriousFaithfulEconomical So, you know, after hearing this we're all thinking, "wow, how clever! Am I all of these things?"I am a 22 year old woman (23 in 12 days!). I got the school thing down (by the grace of God), I am faithful in church, growing and learning in ministry, and a I am madly in love with the Lord. At this point of my life, you know what's on my mind every so often, right? MARRIAGE! It's not a consuming desire, but I aint got no time to bluff. As much as I am loving singleness, few things I desire to be more than a mother and a wife. The ministry of marriage is a beautiful and sacred thing to me. And in due time, I look forward to it. And I know that I am in good company. Keeping this in mind, I am regularly checking my heart to the standard of Christ...and quite frequently finding there are MANY things I need to work on and blemishes that have to be worked out of me. I first have to make sure I am a good, humble, and submissive bride to Christ before I ever even think about being a bride to an imperfect human. Today, I during my bible study, I decided to read that good ole wisdom book...PROVERBS! And I was pretty much blown away by what God showed me. Firstly, wisdom is addressed as a woman. Proverbs 8 says wisdom is above jewels, better than choice gold and silver. Take my instruction instead of silver and knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is better than jewels,     and all that you may desire cannot compare with her...My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold,    and my yield than choice silver (Proverbs 8:10-11,19 ESV) Does this sound familiar? Hmm...well to me, sounds a bit like Proverbs 31 and the virtuous woman. An excellent wife who can find?     She is far more precious than jewels...She opens her mouth with wisdom,     and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue (Proverbs 31:10,26 ESV) For those who don't know, most of Proverbs 31 describes the virtuous, God fearing woman and wife. It paints a portrait of the type of woman and wife we should strive to be. Her example is so important because she exhibits the Christ-like traits through her position of womanhood. Back in Proverbs 8, it ALSO states that he who obtains wisdom obtains favor from the Lord For whoever finds me[wisdom] finds life     and obtains favor from the Lord (Proverbs 8:35 esv) Isn't that interesting? This sounds familiar as well! He who finds a wife finds a good thing     and obtains favor from the Lord (Proverbs 18:22 ESV) On the other hand, folly is actually described as a seductive woman. The woman Folly is loud;     she is seductive[h] and knows nothing. (Proverbs 9:13 ESV) She looks good, but is full of nothing and is in no way beneficial or profitable to your soul.  Proverbs constantly teaches about the wrong kind of woman...the type that is alluring and attractive, but leads to demise. It makes it clear that beauty and charm are not the principle things. In fact,  Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,     but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. (Proverbs 31:30 ESV) 7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. (Proverbs 4:7 KJV) I don't believe these are coincidence, I believe these parallels are very intentional. I surmise that when God says to a man "go get a wife", He isn't merely telling men to just grab the first fine and available woman. He is inviting men to attain a gift of wisdom by loving a Godly woman. So, when a man obtains a wife, he SHOULD be OBTAINING SOME GODLY WISDOM by attaining her...a great part of that favor He promises will manifest from her wisdom. What does that tell us ladies?  If we aren't wise, we aren't wife material. Period. Men, HEAR THIS: A foolish woman cannot become a Godly man's favor! #Lifecheck Far too many women are focusing on attributes that sound more like the person of folly than of wisdom. What are you doing to obtain wisdom? Where does it rank on your hierarchy of characteristics to cultivate? We've got to evaluate ourselves. I know I have a lot of work to do. In all our getting, we need to strive for wisdom and understanding. Gain skills, get fit, present yourself well...I support ALL of those things tremendously (and so should you)! BUT It is my humble opinion that WISDOM will make you more a Christ-like wife than any amount of cooking or cleaning ever will.  Great reads about self evaluation and preparation for marriage: Intentional or Not? Let's talk Marriage...a blog post written by my wise and wonderful sister Brittany and this blog by my wise twitter sister, Alana considering the lily (I suggest you read: The Case for Courtship, The (In) significance of Marriage and dear future wife) love, compassion, royalty Queen G

I'm sorry! I missed you!

I must confess that I don't realize how much I should be blogging until I return from a hiatus. I've been tweeting the things I should be blogging...shame!

But I'm taking a short break from twitter. And I'm going to work on pouring into this blog a little more. Even if one person is helped, one single solitary soul, it is more than worth it.


There are so many things that could be *beneficial* that I have missed the opportunity to write about...but no more!

So many things have happened since my last post. It's less that two weeks to my 23 birthday and I am doing some house cleaning to prepare for the "new year" so to speak. A lot of heart cleaning in addition to my belongings.

To be transparent for a moment, I could use more discipline, clarity, consistency. I'm in a very strange season. But it's a season of preparation! For something more great than I think I actually realize.

Enough rambling. I just wanted to say I missed you. And I love you. And thank you for taking this journey with me.

love, compassion, royalty

Queen