If I could go back and change one thing in my life, just any one aspect,
chances are good you wouldn't be visiting this site because it wouldn't exist.
But, if my life hadn't unfolded the way it had thus far, I wouldn't have had
the courage or determination to put my thoughts to paper for complete strangers
to read.
There is a story in the book of I Kings of a widow who during a time of
drought had only a handful of meal and just enough oil to make one last meal.
Elijah the prophet came to her and requested that she make a little cake for
him before making the last for her and her son. She reponded in faith and as a
result, the barrow that housed her meal and the cruse of oil miraculously never
emptied during the remainder of the drought. Prophetically, I have been told
that writing is my cruse of oil to pour; that it is the key to not only
financial, but spiritual success. Somewhere along the road of hard knocks, I
began to believe it.
God in his word tells us that as believers, we have to work out our salvation.
Taken out of context, religious people would say that one must do good in order
to make it into heaven as though God is keeping brownie points of all our
works and if our good outweighs our bad, then we have a shoe into the pearly
gates. This couldn't be further from the truth. To work out one's salvation
means that once a person is genuinely born again, that person has the kingdom
of God residing within. It is up to the individual to expose what God has
deposited on the inside to the outside so the world can take note. It is easier
said than done.
Through the leading of God's Spirit, he develops his people into whom he has
called us to be. Our trials and tribulations are the cocoons of transformation.
God has given gifts to the body of Christ and it is our responsibility to
develop those gifts. More importantly, God also teaches us that we are to
produce fruit, but fruit doesn't grow on stumps, it grows on branches. You
have to get in the mix and extend (branch) into the world.
I have come to learn that writing a book is the easy part. In the literary
arena, you have to promote yourself as well as your work. In developing and
perfecting your talents, God oftentimesis developing and perfecting you. In an
industry where rejection is the norm, you have to constantly remind yourself
that if God is for you, he's more than the world against you. You have to
actively pursue the promises of God in order to realize them. God molds and
shapes you along the way, that's if you allow him. Realizing the best that
God has to offer in any area of life comes from application rather than just
contemplation. You have to go forth and step out in faith. Well, I think
that's enough Bible class for now. By the way, my name is Connie Barrett and
welcome to my site. I hail to you, a native of Benton Harbor, Michigan, the
third of eight children and the mother of two. I invite you to mark this site
for updates and to follow me on my journey as I continue to branch into
destiny. May God Bless