.: Food for the soul (Soulfood) :.

Day 5 of "Stillness"- I took a major step today and mailed off some forms that may effect where I will be in the next year. * Sigh * I'm proud of myself...I didn't think I would do it. You know how sometimes you can be all talk...I was scared I was falling into that "stereotype". But I did it...I trusted God and I did it.

Yesterday was my first Sunday in my moment of Stillness. As I stated before, I'm just a congregation member for the next month or so. It was different. I made it to church on time, I sat in the congregation and I didn't linger too long after service. I was only there long enough to order my CD's to catch up on Bible Study. I did get comfortable for a sec, but my big sister Samia checked me and told me I was already supposed to be gone. I had forgotten that quick!!! So thanks SAMIA...How awesome it is to have accountability partners...

So what is stillness?


**Stillness is the beginning of Creation
**Stillness is all knowledge
**Stillness is extreme power

Like I've said before, God is birthing new things in me...(Creation) God is implanting new ideas, new realizations, new visions [Knowledge] and God is the head of it all [Extreme Power]

In stillness, everything imaginable and unimaginable has the power to be created...Why?

Because...

Stillness is GOD

I am SOOOO Excited for this journey...

.: Reflections :.



Phillipians 4:4-8 Hallelujah Anyhow

Yesterdays sermon fed my soul in so many ways. Bunny reminded me yesterday that after my breakthrough a few weeks ago, when I was set free from the rape, I emptied out my system. Now, during my moment of stillness, I must be careful with what I fill myself back up with. So I'm remembering all of this during my time away. Now is not the time to completely shut myself out from things, but I must be careful of what I'm allowing to be poured into that hole...

So yesterdays sermon was good food for the soul and spirit...

:Nourishing points:
*No matter how tough my situation may be...no matter how many things I've been through, and may be going through, GOD is still worthy of my PRAISE, and my WORSHIP...

*No matter what is going on in my life, I can still Rejoice because it could be worse!

*Even though I may not understand right now, where God is taking me, Hallelujah Anyhow!

*My Hallelujah makes the Devil Mad...My Hallelujah is how I can praise my way out of a situation.

*It may be rough right now, but HALLELUJAH ANYHOW!

*I may be struggling, but HALLELUJAH ANYHOW!

* God is worthy of my praise-So what does this mean? It means that I must have working knowledge of God within the perimeters of my life. I can't praise, if I don't believe he exists...

Sometimes I'm asked, Leslie, how are you able to overcome your obstacles? How are you able to continue to smile, even when it seems like your world is crumbling before you? How do I overcome? I look back at where God brought me from...I am able to smile because of the joy that God gives me. The Joy of the Lord is my strength. It's how I endure during tough times. GOD is the reason I smile.

So how do I continue to press my way through? I keep a few things in mind...

1. Pray my way through [Gotta stay in constant communication with God]
2. Put my trust in God and NOT Man! [Allow God to have total control over my life]
3. Reference God [I'm nothing without him, but I can do ALL things with him] Be thankful

My prayer for today:
Hallelujah! Thank you Lord for your faithfulness. Thank you for your goodness and your mercy. Thank you Lord for your unmerited favour. Thank you Lord for you friendship. It's another days journey, but I'm glad about it! Thank you for continuing to show me new mercies each and everyday. You are God alone. I love you, I thank you and I praise you for being God. In Jesus' name, Amen!

Well, that's all for the day...

Until next time...

Remember, I'm always here with a listening ear.

Always [LOVE] Forever,

.: LA :.

.: The journey begins :. [Newness Part I]

Whoo! It's been a while.

I must say, August has been a busy month thus far. Bridal Showers and weddings, Family Reunions and Cookouts...I have had one busy month and we are only half way through!

Update: God has called me back into a moment of stillness. This time I really must be still. I had a lot of distractions last time, and he wants my full attention. As a result, last night, I had to do something that was very difficult for me. I had to let the dance ministry know that I would not be participating in anything with them for the next month +. :-o Crazy Right!?!?!

Some may not understand how hard that was for me. A little over 4 years ago, there was no dance ministry at church. I moved back from Norfolk and with the help of Bunny, was able to bring it back to church. When you invest so much of your time and energy into something, it is sometimes hard to let it go. I'm not leaving the ministry, but this temporary break is going to be different for me.

I think that God is trying to prepare me for something greater. He's already told me that I won't be in the same position over the ministry forever. I've grown to accept that. That's something people miss sometimes. We think that because we started something, that we are supposed to be over it for the rest of our lives, but does that really leave room for growth?

Like I told David's Dancers last night...As far as the minstry, I'm not going anywhere, but I'm going somewhere. God is preparing me for a journey...He is taking me somewhere, and I want to be ready...

Life for me is about to change...

For 26 years I've lived my life as this overly active church member. I was always singing or dancing, ushering or leading and so on and so forth... I've always played an active role in the church in some way. How different is it going to be for me to just be a congregation member? Very different!! I will be coming for service and going home, Attending bible study on time because I arrived on time, not because I had a meeting before...

It's going to be new and different...but I intend to take on this journey with an open mind and heart and open ears so that I hear exactly what God wants from me.

My new journey is about to begin...

So, either come along for the ride...


Or get to steppin...


Cause I'm headed to the top...

Geez, I'm so corny sometimes...

But as always, I'm here with a listening ear if you need me...

Always [Love] Forever,

.: LA :.