by Torrie Oglesby | Aug 27, 2015 | Faith + Expressions
Shutting off the world and connecting with my maker is one of my favorite times of the day! Creating an atmosphere that is going to allow me to focus and hear the Holy Spirit is vital to how effective my devotional time is. Light some candles, put your phone away and allow this playlist to play quietly in the background! I hope you enjoy.
The Devotional Playlist
- Lauren Diagel: Once and For All
- All Sons & Daughters: Great Are You Lord
- Sarah Hart Pearsons: Sweet Holy Spirit
- Tamela Mann: Take Me to the King
- Kim Walker:Smith and Skyler Smith: Christ The Rock
- Kari Jobe: I Am Not Alone
- Lauren Diagel: Here’s My Heart
- Meredith Andrews: Not for a Moment
- All Sons & Daughters: Christ Be All Around Me
- Ellie Holcomb: My Portion and My Strength
- Rend Collective: 10,000 Reasons
- Janice Gaines: Wait On You
- Jesus Culture: Set a Fire
- Kim Walker: Yield My Heart
- Bethel Music: Anchor
- Hillsong: Love Goes On
- Beckah Shae: Overflow
- Brothers McClurg: Lean Not
- Forever JONES: He Wants It All
- Fellowship Church: Everlasting God
With love & big smiles,
torrie
by Torrie Oglesby | Aug 27, 2015 | Family + Relationships
We as wives have a personal responsibility for praying for our husbands. I mean, think about it, if you don’t pray for him fervently, then who will? I have found in my personal journey with my marriage that praying for my husband often stops me from nagging him and the fruit of praying for your husband goes beyond the physical world and into the spiritual world. There is a spiritual war going on all around us and the only thing that fights it is our faithful and fervent prayers. The devil is at work, fighting to get into our hearts and heads and the first place he goes to attack is the head of the home.
The Bible urges us in 1 peter 5:8, Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. We need to be alert and sober minded not only for us, not only for our children but for our husbands too. Physically, we can’t fight anything for our husbands but spiritually, we are prayer warriors, faithfully and fervently praying against every spirit that tries to attach itself to our husbands.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Ephesians 6:12-13
It’s important to know that when your husband seems to be going through something, acting a certain way, or struggling with something that it’s not him that you need to be angry with, rather a spiritual force that is attacking him. We need to put on the full armor of God so that we can stand our ground and fight back. Don’t get angry at your husband, that’s what the enemy wants, you two divided and angry. Instead, focus your energy on praying against the enemy and get angry at him by praying fervently to our God. If you cover your husband with the blood of Jesus and His promises and words the enemy has to flee.
Our husbands are mighty and strong but that doesn’t mean they don’t need our prayers. Commit yourself to praying for your husband daily. I challenge you ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom and insight on what exactly he is struggling with right now and watch the power of God move through him. Write your prayers down and be amazed at how God answers them. Pray for your man and watch it transform him and even you!
With love and big smiles,
torrie
by Torrie Oglesby | Aug 27, 2015 | Family + Relationships
Recently I’ve been extremely dedicated to praying for my children fervently and constantly. We have a real enemy out there and if we aren’t covering our children in the blood of Jesus every day, before they start their days, then we are forgetting the most important part of being a parent, which is building up strong souls that will live for and love Jesus Christ. As much as we take care of our kids’ physical needs we need to submit their physical and spiritual needs to God and trust that he will provide, protect and guide our children during their journeys. Here’s a prayer I stumbled upon that I would love to share with you guys. I’m enjoying this prayer so much and I hope it blesses you and your children!
*Disclaimer: I did not make this prayer up, this prayer came from Jennifer Flanders at www.lovinglifeathome.com
by Khojdeshia Denise | Aug 27, 2015 | Faith + Expressions
“Establishing, then committing to, and maintaining daily spiritual practices is crucial. They form the painful and truly necessary process of surrendering your life into God’s hands.†–Iyanla Vanzant
Here we are roaring into the third week of August 2015! Here at STRONG we have many things to be excited about and much more to share with you! With only four months left in this year (times flies when you’re fulfilling PURPOSE) have you found yourself feeling like you need an extra boost? Many of us are going into the last quarter of this year with plenty of accomplishments under our belts, but in need of a little more to make it toward the finish line of our 2015 Goals List! If you’re anything like me, sometimes you just need to switch up or add something to your daily routine to get fresh energy flowing! This year, I changed A LOT, but the most beneficial change came from my inner-work to feel stronger and more grounded within.
Recently, I’ve felt the need to strengthen my core and I don’t mean this hidden six-pack! I mean beneath the surface, on a spiritual level. I’ve always felt the need to pray, but as I’ve matured I’ve developed a need to go deeper. I started to find that bowing my head with requests and some thanks a few times a day wasn’t enough to keep me fueled spiritually and prepared to navigate the battles that we all face daily! When you want to make significant changes in life, in order to manifest changes on the outside you must first make changes within. I realized it was time to take my daily spiritual practice to the next level internally so that my life would follow externally.
Think about it, there are so many things that require our time and attention daily, but if we are not properly fortified to handle these issues and circumstances, we can find ourselves struggling through life as we know it. This is truly unnecessary and leads us to operate in a way that doesn’t support our highest good! While attending my alma mater, Central State University, I started journaling my prayers so that I would remember to pray daily. The benefits far exceeded my expectations and over the years I’ve found adding components to my routine has strengthened me in ways I never thought possible! It is my sincere hope and suggestion that you will schedule time daily to strengthen your core- your spirit.
I consider this dedicated act core strengthening, because these steps improve your life from your core outward! I use this time to spend time with God, fill my heart and mind with His Word, and most importantly LISTEN for HIS directions-uninterrupted by my thoughts and desires. Prayer, reading scriptures along with devotionals, and meditation has taken my faith and spiritual endurance to heights that allow me to focus on higher things! (Colossians 3:2) Focusing on the bigger picture and what GOD has for you will give you the strength you need to continue accomplishing GREAT things with the remainder of 2015!
Every day. Literally, every day GOD wakes you up. Stop, and spend dedicated time with Him. Pray. Read scriptures and devotionals. Meditate. This is ALWAYS the FIRST thing on my To Do List every day. If I miss a morning, then I make sure to end my night with this routine. Do you have a daily spiritual practice? If not, I challenge you to try the one outlined above and/or create your own. Commit to maintain this practice for at least 7-days and be sure to let know me how you feel afterwards!
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LIGHT and LOVE,
Khojdeshia Denise
by Nadya Logan | Aug 18, 2015 | Faith + Expressions
God loves His children.
To any believer of God this would be like pointing out a mole that the person has had on their face since birth. But do you really understand the depth of His love?
Romans 8:37-39 reads, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord,” (ESV).
Romans is saying that there isn’t a mountain high enough to keep us away from the love of God, but come on. There has to be a time when even God gets exasperated by our foolishness. What if my next mistake is the last straw? Then what?
While these fears may seem reasonable and rational, 1 John 4:18 states, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love,” (ESV).
There is no last straw with God.
God’s love is undeniably endless.
Even when lose our faith in Him, He keeps His faith in us.
As any parent would be, He may be disappointed in a decision we make, but God will never leave or forsake us.
You could be the worst sinner out in the world, if one even exists, and God would love you regardless.
In church, you may be told that you’re loved with the love of the Lord and although I am not at all times open to it, to be loved with the love of the Lord is a very powerful thing. Having a love for another person like the love the Lord has for us is loving on a level that is beyond passionate.
Loving with the love of the Lord would cause a person to cross the line and become obsessive in the unhealthiest form.
No one can love you in the way the Lord loves you.
Loving someone the way God loves you would be like loving your partner for better or worse times a thousand.
Could you forgive your partner for cheating on you?
Could you forgive your partner for committing murder purposefully?
With repentance, God forgives us for things without a second thought. As humans, it’s more than just a little difficult to turn an eye unbattingly at things like that.
It’s for that no one can truly love with the Lord.
To love with the love of the Lord would be to accept every flaw that a person wears when you meet them, and accept every flaw that forms after. It means that you must be willing to sit with a person and listen to them cry for hours on end about their issues. It means that you be open to effortlessly forgive someone for acts that they commit before you know them and every day after.
God’s love is unconditional to the point that if He were a person, He’d probably be diagnosed as undoubtedly insane.
For these reasons, the love of the Lord is not achievable by anyone but the Lord himself.
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