by Altimese Nichole | Sep 21, 2015 | Faith + Expressions
It is said that you can tell where one’s heart resides by the things (or people) he or she spends the most time and money. It’s a very true statement but can I be honest? As I type this I feel conviction in my spirit. As a woman of God, I say (and truly believe) that God is the most important in my life. But is that reflecting in my time with him? Do I talk to him daily and allow time of silence so I can truly hear His voice when he responds? What about my time in His word. Can that be better?
Absolutely.
However, in all transparency—I knew that I had to do more than simply read. I had to STUDY. I did a bit of research on how to truly study the Word of God as a beginner (meaning a newbie at truly studying and digesting the context of God’s word). While searching, I found this amazing method called SOAP.
The acronym, SOAP means “Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer.†How amazing is that? It helps the people like me create a bit of focus and structure to my study time. I seek a scripture that I want to set my mind on for the day, and follow the soap method to go a bit deeper into my time with God. It’s helped me a lot with doing more than just reading—but truly finding ways to apply what I’m reading to my life.
What methods do you use to study the Bible?
by Torrie Oglesby | Aug 27, 2015 | Faith + Expressions
Lately, God has been quietly showing and reminding me just how important, precious and valuable my body is. As a woman, I get to carry my children in my womb, I get to feed them from my own breast, and then I get to carry them and nurture them all the days of their young lives. After I had my first child, I got back into shape immediately! Watching what I ate, working out everyday and being diligent with getting my body back into top shape. After I had my second child, life was a little bit different and I didn’t have the focus that I had with my first one to commit myself back to getting in shape.
Let me be clear here, it’s not about being skinny, that was never my focus and still isn’t my focus. It is, however, about treating your body like the most precious, rare, and valuable commodity that it is. We only get one and yes we are women and we have children and our bodies change in shape and size, but that’s not an excuse to stop feeding and moving your body with the upmost respect. If anything, having children should motivate us to be healthy so that we can see our children grow up.
Unfortunately, life gets in the way and we trade healthy meals for convenient meals and sitting down on the couch catching our breath from the constant mundane movement over getting up and working out. I haven’t workout or fed my body properly for a year and let me just say, I have never felt more unhealthy in my life. The funny thing is, if a stranger looked at me they would think I was in decent shape, but it’s not the outside appearance that is suffering it’s the inward aches and pains. My body is constantly trying to tell me that it’s lacking something and needs me to do something about it. This is when I hear God whisper:
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodiesâ€
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Even as I’m writing this, that scripture convicts me in so many ways. The beautiful thing about conviction, is that it calls you to a higher place. My prayer for all of us is that we learn to honor our God by honoring our bodies. Not just with what we feed it, but how we move it, what we allow our eyes to see, what we allow our ears to hear, what we allow our hands to touch, what we allow our minds to read and receive, and what we allow our mouths to say. Be empowered today, and with every action you take, remember that your body is a temple, not a garbage can.
With love and big smiles,
torrie
by Torrie Oglesby | Aug 27, 2015 | Faith + Expressions
Did you know, that from the time a girl reaches puberty until about the age of 50, she is twice as likely to have an anxiety disorder as a man? Anxiety disorders also occur earlier in women than in men as well and women are also more likely to have multiple psychiatric disorders during their lifetime than men. As if that is isn’t enough, the most common mental disease to co-occur with anxiety is depression. (www.adaa.org)
This is disturbing. It breaks my heart that so many of my sisters out there are fighting a battle within their minds against anxiety and depression. I have not been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder or depression, but I do struggle with worrying and deep thoughts sometimes weigh me down. Minutes before writing this, I was so anxious that I couldn’t focus on what I wanted to do. I would read my book for a second, then surf the internet, then write and then look at my phone. I’m aware of my body, spirit and mind and they all were completely out of order and antsy. I became aware quickly that something was off and maybe I just needed to spend a moment with God. I shut the computer, threw my phone across the room, grabbed my prayer journal and poured out my spirit. I started with a heart of thanks and asked for forgiveness and went into proclaiming that Jesus has the victory over everything.
After that, I began to pray for others who were specifically on my heart in that moment. Everyone I prayed for had a common need and the need was God’s peace. I felt in my spirit to then proclaim peace over everyone in my circle of influence. I feel like creation as a whole is searching and crying out for Gods peace. I then let the Holy Spirit lead me to scripture and to no surprise, he lead me to Judges 6:23-24:
The LORD said to him, “Peace to you, do not fear; you shall not die.” Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and called it, The LORD Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites.
   Let’s be honest, I wouldn’t have found that scripture without the Holy Spirit prompting me to, I mean when was the last time I read judges? (The answer is never.) We search everywhere trying to find peace and the only place to find it is in Him and through His word. When we rest in his promises peace overflows and when we realize who He is (THE LORD IS PEACE) all doubt, fear, anxiety, depression and sadness have no place.
Sweet girl, the Lord Is Peace so stop worrying yourself. Trust that He is holding you and carrying for you. He is so close to you, he’s for you and he sees you. My prayer is that he covers you, me and anyone struggling with fears with His blanket of peace. Whenever you feel anxiety, depression, or fear creeping into your space and spirit chant this mantra of HIS promises:
“THE LORD IS PEACE. THE LORD IS PEACE. THE LORD IS PEACE.â€
With love and big smiles,
torrie
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 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
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