More than a One Night Stand

Many of us are familiar with the Biblical story of Esther. It was a historic account of a young Jewish girl's journey to become queen. The drama begins when she hides her true identity in order to be chosen. Chosen she is! The saga sets in when Hammon plots to kill the Jewish people.  Esther is challenged by her cousin Mordecai to speak to the King on behalf of the Jewish people and ultimately reveal her heritage. It was customary to request to be summoned, for without an official invitation into the King's presence one would be killed. 

Esther knew the risk of saying something and she knew the risk of remaining silent. Either way it was potential death. Talk about being between a rock and a hard place. Esther made the decision to sacrifice herself on behalf of others and accept what consequences may come. Well, thank God for his intervention. Esther is not killed and saves the Jewish people. Whew...that was close. 

We can all applaud Esther’s story. After all it sounds like a good script for a reality T.V. show. While Esther’s story may seem glamorous and even scandalous it is not too far-fetched from many of you.  Maybe Esther’s story is not your story. You may not be like Esther at all. 

Perhaps, you don’t have a squeaky clean background. Maybe you don’t have a record of faithfulness or purity. Maybe you’ve been the harlot, the absent mom, the rejected woman, the wounded friend. Maybe your past causes you to shrink back into the shadows of yesterday and hide in the crevices of rejection

 

The Bible is full of stories after stories of women just like Esther and even women just like you and me. Women who are in desperate need of more than an experience…we need a night. We need a night that will change who we are. We need a night of hope, healing and restoration. We need an need of complete invasion of our souls. Would you agree? Being in the King’s presence if life changing. No one is the same. 

What brings you into the presence of a KING?

·       Problems?

·       Complaints?

My answer to you -  is yes, because for most of us this is the only time we come to the King. The King’s role is to provide solutions to our issues and our problems but we limit ourselves and we limit what the KING can do in our lives. So while problems and complaints may bring us into the King's presence, they will not usher us into His chambers.


The more intimate space is reserved for those women who know who they are and spend time in communion with the King in prayer and is willing to sacrifice for others. Anything outside of this is simply a one-night stand.

Intimate conversation is the tool to entering into the secret place of God. Prayer is the key that opens the King's heart.  Do you ­­­­­O’ King Seeker believe that your prayers will bring you into God's presence?  Don't you want your prayer life to bring you into the King’s chambers?  If Esther had not had intimate moments with the King, she would have been destroyed.

 Psalm 45:11 declares, “the king is enthralled by your beauty, honor him”.  If I had a man that was enthralled with my beauty, there wouldn't be much this world had to offer that would make me want to leave his presence. Yet, because of past abuse and experiences, we fail to see ourselves as beautiful and we hide from the one who loves us.  See, for many of us we believe that God will do great things for others and we will even so much as walk others into His presence, but when His gaze turns towards us we are filled with shame and we disappear from the King’s presence. 

We hide because we feel that we are not beautiful; that we are not loved and that we are not worthy of his approval. I want to take you to a place where you can accept yourself just as you are and learn to honor the King. 

   Learn more about overcoming trials visit http://www.latoyabrown.com

What brings honor to the King? Esther did three things that honored her King and changed her nation.  Esther submitted herself to God; prayed for God to turn the situation around and lastly, Esther acted on the word of God.

Esther's role as queen was to empower and encourage  her people to go deeper into the Lord’s presence and that only happens when you go deeper in your prayer lives. A prayer life is something we often talk about but how many of us really do spend time in prayer and actually see the results of our prayer life. It’s often been said:

·       Little Prayer—Little Power

·       Some prayer --Some Power

·       Much Prayer –Much Power. 

See, prayer is not about what we can get. It is about who we are becoming. Prayer is God’s instrument of fellowship that causes change.

Let me ask you, are you looking for an intimate lifetime encounter with the Lover of your soul or are you just looking for a One NIGHT Stand? 

Are you longing for more than a few short spiritual quickies to soothe your ache or are you in search of lasting love as you deserve?

 

Do you want more of the King? The only way to intimately know the King is to spend time in his presence.  You must do what you haven’t done and that is pray.

Get Your Dance On!

When was the last time you danced? A year? Two years? Never? Girlfriend you have been waiting too long! Life is like a young man at the junior high prom who is standing against the wall not knowing if he should ask you to dance. There are some things that should be left against that wall, but sister there are times when you have to take action and grab Life by the hands and dance.

I know you've been through a lot...we all have. Yet, some of us choose to make lemonade and put on our dancing shoes. If life is to be lived, then it should be lived with a smile on your face and not a care on your mind. Dancing is not easy. Hilariously it can be very awkward for many, but people do it anyway and so should you. Forget the naysayers. Refuse to relive the moments from your past. Forgive those who hurt you. It is time to celebrate your journey.

Haven't you lived in agony long enough? I dare you to grab your favorite CD, put it in the CD player and dance as if no one is watching. Sistah...get ready to experience a freedom that you've never felt. The earth will move under your feet. Trample upon the enemy's head. He deserves it. Go ahead...you have my permission to "get down and funky".

New Eyes

I remember several years ago, when I first began my weight loss journey, standing in front of my living room mirror berating myself for not being skinny enough. I was relentless. I had no mercy on myself. I told myself that I was "fat, ugly, never good enough, a waste of time, stupid, etc". In that moment of self-degradation, the Lord quietly asked me a simple question that changed not only the way I saw myself but of how God sees me.  He simply asked me, "who are you to contend with your maker?" I was dumbfounded...speechless. In my self loathing attempt to boost my motivation for weight loss, I had failed to realize that I am a reflection of Christ and all that I do either glorifies or minimizes who he is in my life.


Berating myself with degrading words was no different than me hearing those same words as a kid. Isn't it funny how those things come back to haunt us? Unknowingly we participate in the subjugation of our own self worth. Yikes! After much repenting, I had to face the truth that I didn't want to see or couldn't see that I was fearfully and wonderfully made. I am a beautiful masterpiece in God's creation and to see myself as anything less was an insinuation that God had somehow failed in making the woman I had become. Humble pie was on the menu for sure...and I ate a lot of it that day. So, I plumped my newly appreciated body on my couch and cried. To see myself as God saw me was not going to be easy but I at least wanted to try. It all had to start with truth.

See when you believe lies for such a long time you tend to lose the ability to decipher between them and the truth. The truth always dwells between memory and reality. The truth set me free that day. I was free from self-inflicted pain and torment. Truth opened my eyes to a determination to never dance with the devil again.

Fast forward years later and I still struggle with my weight but not from a place of failure or hatred but from a place of responsibility and health. I now see myself as beautiful and loved regardless of the shape my body has taken. I choose to see with new eyes and to leave the negativity in the past...right where it belongs. I choose to take hold of a new perspective and to live my life for the audience of ONE who is well pleased.

I encourage you today to reevaluate those ugly thoughts you have of yourself. Recognize their source and put those lies to rest once and for all and then pick up your pretty head my friend and choose to love yourself...kindly. God is on your side!

In His Love,
LaToya Brown, LMSW

Where There Is No Light

My friend called me one day after the Grammy's Awards to tell me that Queen Latifah had married over 15 gay couples. I sensed the outrage within the Chrsistian community within hours. Should there be an outrage? Absolutely, if you disagree with her actions or the movement by gays and lesbians.

I believe there is something that we as Christians are missing. The world is supposed to be controversial - mean-spirited - intolerant. They are not believers in Jesus Christ. They are supposed to do what sinners do...sin.

So, could the current state of our world be an indicator that the world is getting darker...more evil? I don't believe so. The world is not getting darker. We as believers are becoming dimmer.

Darkness can only exist where there is no light. So, if you are bothered by what you now see in our nation perhaps it's because you...we...failed to shine a light.

I invite you to let your light shine once again!

Visit www.latoyabrown.com to read more of LaToya's impact in her world.

God Is In The Unplanned!

Over the past few days I've thought about the plans that we make as humans and the expectations that we have for the outcome of a matter. I regularly organize events and community outreach to only find that many people don't show up for one reason or another. It is easy, at least for me, to become discouraged when things don't work out as "I planned".

 I have all my hopes and dreams packed into a little package called "me" without considering God - sometimes.  Far too often I think that every part of my life should be planned, mapped-out and understood, not realizing that God specializes in the unplanned parts of our lives as well. 


It is in the unplanned portions of our lives where God shines the brightest. If we could do it all, we wouldn't need him. He wants us to make plans, but these plans must include his purpose. So, before you jump 2014 off with a good start I encourage you to make it a God start and include him in the process.

 To see how God shines bright in LaToya's life click here

All Things New

As you all can I see I put my pen down for awhile. I was feeling as if my words had no voice and that I was wasting my time by writing encouraging post. For what seemed like a very long season, I moved from one direction to the next trying to figure my life out - trying to find my next step. I met with a wonderful young woman today who encouraged me to write again...this time about my story.

She reminded me that my story is compelling, healing and powerful. I must say that she SPARKED a passion and desire in me to not only write again but to speak more loudly. I believe that I have something that the world needs to hear. I promised myself today to never walk in the silence of my own fears but to continue to be the conqueror I've always been. My story is not of victim hood. It is a story of truly overcoming every obstacle I faced and beating all the odds. It is my story of healing through sexual abuse, teen parenting and poverty. I overcame and so can you.

I was molested at the age of nine by my step-father. I struggled for many years with homelessness, sexual assault and self-hatred. I was pregnant by the age of 12 and had my first son when I was only 13 years old. I later had a second son at 14 and my third son at 17. Many had given up on me and many counted me out. I was expected to fail, to be on welfare for the rest of my life and to be a horrible parent. I am none of those things.

 In spite of the verbal, physical, emotional and sexual abuse I suffered I attended school every day and was able to graduate with my class. I later went on to college and graduated with my Associates Degree in Liberal Arts, a Bachelors in Social Work and a Masters of Science in Social Work. I was determined to be more than what others said about me and more than what I thought.

To hear more about LaToya's story visit her page at www.latoyabrown.com

I was recently honored by Pat Smith's Treasure You -Second Chances for Overcomers event in Dallas Texas this past weekend. It was an honor and pleasure to be featured among national and local female overcomers. It was a stark reminder that I have overcome and should shout it out to the world.

To learn more about second chances visit http://dallas.culturemap.com/news/society/01-21-14-pat-smith-robin-roberts-treasure-you-celebrating-second-chances-overcomers/

To view comments about overcomers visit http://www.ohsocynthia.com/2014/01/pat-smith-honors-second-chances.html

It amazes me how God never forgets the story. God never allows us to forget how far we've come. He did that for me this weekend. He reminded me of not only His love for me but also of his acceptance and support of my dreams. I was greatly humbled and appreciative.

So, with that in mind, I've decided to write and speak again. I'm writing again because you deserve to heal and you need a friend along your journey who can help guide you to the healing place. I will be honest with you...I pull no punches. Life is what it is and I believe in transparency at all cost. Only the truth will set us free.

I want you to be free. You are worth it. You are stronger than you realize and more powerful than you ever believed. You have what it takes to make your life different. If you will decide to be better, then you will soon find that your life can be not only different but whole.

Nothing is Final Until You Give Up...

In HIs Love,
LaToya Brown, LMSW