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Finding Hope When You Feel Hopeless

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Are you feeling challenged or overwhelmed? I would say join the club! Lol!  Currently, I am recovering from severe chronic illnesses that I wasn't supposed to be able to recover from.... Well, I am recovering! I thank Jesus for that everyday. Problem? I am not recovering as fast as I want to!  I do consistently recount how far I have come. I shouldn't even be alive at all at this point. But God has preserved me for a reason. My journey towards healing is as important as achieving healing itself! Since I have battled health issues from the beginning, this has been an important time to relearn so many things that many may take for normal. So there is a reason why this is turning out to be a process to move forward.  Valuable Lessons? One thing I am really coming to grips with is realizing that I do have a lot of valuable lessons to share. Yet, all through my life, I was told that nothing I said was worth listening to and if I thought something, it would automatically be a m...
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What Could Be Possible for RVA

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  A City of Reconciliation?   Richmond VA (affectionately known as RVA) has quite a reputation. One of the things Richmond is most famous for is being the Capital of the Confederacy. There were a couple others, but RVA is the most well-known location.  As an RVA area resident for most of my life, this one was a surprise to me. A few years ago, I heard Richmond maintained its reputation as Sin City. I had never heard that reference before. Then last Christmas, I heard that RVA was known as Sin City in the early 1800s.  I do love RVA. I am not a city girl, but the parks of Richmond are incredible. Having the river with amazing rapids running through it. The views…. The history… the architecture. All I know is I keep getting drawn back here to live.  But I have always had a deep feeling RVA could be so much more. There have been failed projects (most famously 6th St Marketplace that people still reminisce about) and other projects that get a lot of false starts (li...
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Is the Prophetic Getting Crowded?

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  For a long time, the prophetic was not a major focus I have always tested high for the prophetic gifts in the Spiritual Gifts tests that churches and work were given to me. It always left me confused because I didn't see any examples of the prophetic around me despite hearing how all the gifts were equally important.  I didn't know what the first step was and didn't even know who I could ask about it. On top of that, I didn't recognize it when God was revealing things prophetically to me. Looking back, I can recognize that He was giving me a glimpse of what was coming. I am wondering if there are many others out there like me... who have a gift for the prophetic but didn't know what to do with their gift when it appeared to not be practiced for many of us. Between the growth of social media and the rise of top prophetic voices, not only has awareness of the gift has grown, but people want to practice it because they have always felt a pull towards the gift.  Has i...
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What Does A Welcoming Church To Singles Look Like?

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What do I envision in a ministry to singles? If you read the post , where I give a broad brush stroke of what I was imagining, you were probably left with a lot of questions. The ultimate goal is to create an environment where singles feel welcome and can build relationships in general. Through these relationships, they will have room to heal and to work on building trust. Most people I know who are single or divorced and older tend not to have great relationship models to learn from in their life.  I feel like this is why groups consisting of just singles can be so toxic. I am not saying everyone who comes is broken, but there are enough that do come that can make a singles only ministry difficult for leaders and attendees to navigate through.  For a long time I was broken due to poor relationship models and not having any kind of emotional support as I was battling life threatening illnesses.  As my body healed, God taught me a lot about myself and gave me a lot of insi...
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Gaslighting in the Church

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  I was excited about an open door....  It all happened unexpectedly at the church I have been attending. The pastor was excited. Maybe this is an open door. Honestly, I was expecting not much of a response from him. So I contacted the leader involved in a particular aspect of the church. He knew I wrote the pastor.  No need to get into the details of the conversation, but multiple times I was gaslighted about not being able to make it to some events due to health issues. I was to blame for the lack of connection I felt. (Actually, I had multiple people share with me a frustration of very little relationship building and they had been to most of the events.) Excitement quickly left my spirit. He then complimented me on living up to the challenge of living with chronic illness. The compliment fell flat. One, I felt excluded. Two, I called trying to find a way to bridge the gap I felt. Complaining was not my goal. It was to forge a solution and I had a list of ideas....
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Come To Me Who Are Married with Kids.... Wait! That's Not How It Goes!

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I have been thinking.... That is when things get dangerous!   After visiting a number of churches with a desire to meet people who are like-minded, I have come to a conclusion.... I feel like an alien!!!  This is confusing for me because I tend to meet people I end up staying in touch with almost everywhere I go. Why is there such a disconnect?  Obviously, I am not the only one who feels this way. How do I come to that conclusion? Churches are not exactly swarming with singles. Actually, I greeted for a season at the main entrance. Each Sunday, I could count how many singles came each time on one hand if any showed up at all.  Yet, statistics tell me that half of adults in the US are single. In my own county, 46% of adults are single. Ultimately, how is church relevant to singles these days if it is at all?  This is a test....  This topic has been on my mind so often. I talk to other Christian singles. Oddly enough, I am feeling a huge disconnect in terms o...
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