Every New Year, we make new plans. It's a time of renewal, starting over, or starting something for the first time. We have so many goals for ourselves. Sometimes we ask ourselves, "Can I do this?" My answer is, "Yes, if God directs your goals, yes, you can." God never gives us a goal he doesn't allow us to accomplish. 

Each one of us will experience success differently. We may not know when or how our success will occur, but God's providence happens to each of us. God knows the plans that he has for you, and he is the one that will bring your success to fruition. Some of you will do great things this year, some next year, and so on. But there is a truth to your situation you WILL be successful. Your success will happen not because of your strength, knowledge, following, or other things in your life but because you love God, and he loves you. If God is leading you, he will give you success.

Knowing that God is directing your success doesn't mean that you grow passively. It also doesn't mean that you won't have struggles. The best thing you can do is to give your goals everything you've got. Still, be careful of self-reliance. Be cautious of the mindset that your success is all because of YOU. Success is a gift from GOD. If you are blessed to succeed, know that God has done it. 

Because we can trust God with confidence, the surety of our success is fantastic news. It means that you don't have to worry about whether your knowledge is enough, if your following is enough, if you speak elegantly enough, etc., God gives you favor and alignment. He aligns the things in your path that will help you succeed. These include people, finances, and opportunities. He will cause you to be in the right places at the right times and more. 

In 2023 let your mantra be "I trust God." In him alone is where we put our faith. In him alone is where we put our trust. In him alone, we place our dreams. We believe God to bring about a promising future. In him alone, we will succeed.

Ecclesiastes 3:13 says, "And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God." 

Let us enjoy the gift of success that will come as God brings it about. Believe that 2023 is going to be an incredible and prosperous year. Let your spirit and heart be blessed as you trust God and move forward.

Let's dive in!
Happy New Year!

​-Lakisha B.

Joke for the day: Once upon a time there was a couple who had a house with a hole in the roof just above their bed. They looked at the hole and said, "I feel God telling us to fix the hole in the roof." They grabbed their tools and went outside but they noticed some dark clouds. They looked at each other and said, "I think we should fix the roof another day, it looks like it's going to rain and we don't want to get wet." 
 
How often do we tell ourselves, “I’m just trying to wait for the perfect time,” before we take action and accomplish the things that God has put in our hearts?

We tell ourselves, “I want to do it, but timing isn’t right,” “I don’t have time in my daily schedule to do it,” and my favorite, “maybe another time.” Waiting for the perfect time to do this or that keeps us from moving forward. What if the timing never becomes right? Does that mean we give up on our dreams? Does that mean that we never accomplish those God things? Not only should we ask ourselves these questions, but we should also ask, “What will I miss if I don’t step out and how will it affect me or others if I don’t take action?”
 
We are often bombarded with uncertainties, doubts, fears, and undesirable circumstances. How many of us have witnessed the devastation of Covid-19 and decided that the timing isn’t right to move in the direction of your goals and dreams? We cannot predict the future. Circumstances may not always be the most desirable, but that doesn’t mean that life stops and it also doesn’t mean that you stop dreaming or casting vision and it definitely doesn’t mean that you pause on taking action. Adjustments may be needed but we are very capable and strong enough to make transitions and keep moving forward. Our God dream doesn’t stop because circumstances seem to put the brakes on our vision. We have enough mental pizzazz (smartness) to find ways to keep our dreams moving forward.
 
Ecclesiastes 11:4 (NLT) says, “Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.
 
The first part of this verse says, “Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant.” Israel was built on agriculture. They had to plant seeds and wait for them to grow for their livelihood. If they looked at the weather and said, “Oh no, this is not a good day to plant anything, look at this weather,” they would never plant and they would face some serious consequences. It's like choosing not to work because it's raining. Our actions have consequences.
 
If we are always looking for conditions in our lives and in our society to be perfect, we will never move. We will never start new things. We will never take action. It doesn’t matter to us that God is giving us a desire to accomplish something, we are always looking for perfect timing. God didn’t tell us that timing would be perfect. When apostles went out to plant new churches, timing was anything but perfect. Yet, they still went out. As a result, we can come to faith today because we have the knowledge of their teaching.

God has given you a desire to start something that other people may need. Don’t sit on your God dream.
 
My dream of being a writer and starting my business didn’t stop because of Covid-19, it just transitioned. I do meetings online. I took a week long online course. I have had time to re-write business plans, develop marketing strategies, and come up with new ideas. Use everyday as a stepping stone. Even now, there are online sessions, meet-ups, classes, discussions, etc. that you can be a part of. You can take an hour each day to write out a plan or if you’re like me, write and edit your next chapter. The point is keep moving. Don’t let yourself get into a funk (depression, sadness, loss of zest). Go ahead and plant!
 
The second part of the verse says, “If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.” Harvesting was the act of physically bringing in the crops. It was work. If the people in Israel said to themselves, “Look at those clouds, I am not going out there,” they would never bring in their crops. Likewise, if we continue to wait for favorable times, we will never get our blessing. Actually, we will miss our blessing because we are too busy watching the clouds. Note to yourself: Don’t be a cloud watcher. Get out there and make your dream happen. Your blessing awaits you.
 
When God is in your corner prompting you to move, the timing is always right. If we worry about all of our situations, we will never take action steps and if we never take action steps, we will never see the outcome. Listen, there is a blessing attached to your planting season. There is a blessing attached to your God dream. So, in the words of songstresses Mary Mary…
 
“Go get it, go get it, go get your blessing
Go get it, go get it, go get it
It's yo time, It's yo time, It's your time.” 
 
Dream Big and go after it.
- Lakisha B.

The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing;
But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich. (Proverbs 13:4 NKJV)

Accomplishing your dreams is hard work. It is definitely not a task for the faint. I was recently listening to my daughter as she talked about how much work it is to lead her fashion club at school. She talked about how on some days she has to stay up late at night finishing projects and getting things ready for her meetings. The hard part is the work but the joy of it is seeing her club come together.

Hard work pays off. We can find many scriptures about the importance of work:

Proverbs 6:6 "Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise." (Wisdom)
2 Thessalonians 3:10 "...if anyone will not work, neither shall he eat." (Food)
Proverbs 14:23 "In all labor there is profit, but idle chatter leads only to poverty." (Profit)
Ephesians 4:28 "Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need." (Blessing others)

And the list goes on...
Hard work keeps us out of trouble, helps us to have our physical needs met, helps us to profit, and gives us a means to bless others. 

When you begin to look at your goals with new eyes you can see the impact that moving forward can have, not only on yourself but also on the people around you. With your dream, whether it's a big dream or a small dream, you have the power to be an influencer, an encourager, or a trend setter. Not only will you motivate others, but you will simultaneously build your confidence.

Make yourself a professional of your dream. Many of us have jobs that pay the bills but what is the ultimate thing you want to do? Make the commitment today that you will work hard until you see your dream happen. Nothing comes over night (most of the time) so putting your dream into action will take work on your part. Don't be afraid of the work. Don't allow the enemy to get inside your head and make you feel as though your dream is too impossible to reach, or that it will be too difficult or too much work. Sometimes you have to counteract negativity and feed yourself a nice bowl of affirmations. Here are a few biblical ones to get you started:

Psalm 139:14 "...I am fearfully and wonderfully made."
2 Corinthians 12:10 "...When I am weak, then I am strong."
Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

God has given us everything we need to put our dream into action. Don't hesitate, don't stall, just do it. Move in the direction that God has for you.

Blessings Always,
Lakisha B.