Steps to Living Equivalent to Destiny - PART 1

The first step to begin Living Equivalent to Destiny is for you to accept the creator of both you and your destiny into your life and allow Him to have control. Like most new believers you will probably ask yourself “What’s next?” What’s next is for you to begin to follow some things known as Godly Qualities. Some of these qualities include integrity, honesty, generosity, joyfulness and teachability.

The first is integrity which is defined as strict compliance to an ethical standard: the state of being whole or sound. You must decide from the very beginning what you will stand for even as a teenager you must make this decision. You must decide to follow the things of the Spirit, because your divine destiny is tied directly to the Spirit. Next is honesty, you must learn to be honest with God, yourself, and others. How can you change this world for the better if you can not be honest with yourself? This is one of the most difficult areas for most people of all ages. This is the area that most teenagers get on themselves and give up on their dreams and their destiny. Please read the next line very carefully…. IT IS OKAY! You are going to make mistakes everyone does, it doesn’t make you a failure. There is only failure in quitting what you know is your destiny. Just learn from your mistakes continue to move forward. Even if you only take one step forward, it is still a step in the right direction.

Move at the pace that is right for you and your destiny. The next Godly Quality is generosity. Generosity is defined as gracious, unselfish; ample (ample is sufficient to meet ones needs). What is generosity to you? It can take on many different forms, depending on the individual acting it out. Think about what it means to you and how you show it. I will touch on it and the other Godly Qualities in Steps to Living Equivalent to Destiny – Part 2.

Talking to your parents

I got asked, "How do you talk to your parents without arguing and yelling?" So I thought I would try and offer some insight and possibly even some strategy to this question. As much as you don't want to hear this your parents do only want what's best for you. At the same time it is sometimes hard for a parent to begin to realize that you are your own person. Just as you want them to remember that you are only human and are going to make mistakes you must have that same understanding towards your parents.

Most parents would rather their kids talk to them about things prior to just going out and doing something that they may later regret. Like most things it is all in your approach. Depending on the type of parent you have (and you know yours the best) you can take several different approaches.

If there was something that you are thinking about doing. You need to be honest with them and simply say that you need to talk to them about something you have been thinking about. Make sure to emphasize that you have not acting on it yet and you want to talk to them openly about it. If your parent is not the type to be able to handle this type of upfront conversation you can talk with another trusted adult that you do have that type of relationship with have them talk to your parents with you. If you feel that none of things will work, something that I have found out for myself is that writing them a letter works as well. That way you have their undivided attention.

Now with growing into adulthood also comes your responsibility to be able to handle their response. You want them to listen to you and your opinions, you must be willing to do the same when they respond to you. Make sure that you maintain respect for them as your parents and above all things pray before you speak with them. The Lord will give you the words to say as well show what method you should use in relation to your parents. Stay encouraged it gets easier! Trust me!

How do you know when to let go of friends?

This is a question that people of all ages ask themselves. It is a question that I had to ask myself as well. It is one of the hardest questions to answer, especially with people that you truly consider a friend. The question that you have to ask yourself is are they being a friend to you?

A true friend is someone who adds to your life. They are to be there to encourage your dreams, help you through your failures, and tell you when you're wrong. They should love you unconditionally. They should love you with what is know as agape love and that is the pure love of God. If your friends do not love you with the principles with which God loves you then it's time to let them go. Because with a relationship God your friendship will always be conditional. It will come with the conditions that best suits them at the time.

Healthy relationships are ones that can be brutally honest, but still have the tone of love in them. My best friend can tell me anything. We don't always agree with each other, but we always love each other. These are the type of friendships you want to have. As long as you are following the Lord then He will place the right people in your life. Ask yourself if your friends are really your friends. Do they have your best interests in mind? Do they support your dreams and your destiny? Are you afraid to show them the true you? The answers to these questions will be your answer to whether you should let them go our not.

How important is your destiny?

Are you living your life in constant search of something? Are you having trouble figuring out what that something is? I have come to know that what we are in constant search of is our destiny. What have you been placed here on Earth during this season to do? For everyone it is something different and though everyone's destiny is different it is no better than the next person. Someone's destiny might be to give you the smile that you needed to inspire you to move forward. Or it might be the friend that keeps the person that is meant to change the world motivated.

No matter what it is your destiny is important and necessary. It is my purpose to be the beacon of light that leads you as a young woman to her destiny whatever it might be. Because you might be the next multi-billionaire who can fund medical research to change the lives of those with disease. Or you might be the person who is destined to be a politician that changes laws that our country. So I am here to be that motivating force that let's you know that you are beautiful no matter what this world tries to make you believe. Someone might think that is a small thing, but I take pride it because your life is worthy of living and important to God's plan for the world. Just imagine what would happen if the person who is thought to have a small destiny did not fulfill their purpose.

For example, there's a girl out there right now that is destined to touch the lives of thousands, but would happen if the person whose destiny it was to show her kindness and touch her life didn't fulfill because they thought their role was too small. It could be that one person's act of kindness that launched her forward showing her that somebody does care and that she should too. Without that one smile or kind word it would alter God's perfect plan. Can He still accomplish His end goal or course He could, but not with the same level of perfectness that He had originally intended. Funny is this thing called free will. We all have it and we use it whether it be for the good or the bad.

Always move toward your destiny whatever it is. Don't let those around tell you that your purpose is small or unimportant. Your smile can have a lasting effect, your words live on even after you, and you are a blessing.

Who do you surround yourself with?

All of us have people we consider friends and some friends we even consider family. The question we need to ask ourselves is "Who are we surrounding ourselves with?"

As much as I consider myself my own person, I would be lying if I said my family and even my friends didn't influence my decisions in one way or another. My closest friend even influences how I think or view certain situations. Most of the time there's nothing wrong with that, we all need relationships to lead a fulfilling life. However, our number one relationship needs to with God. Having a relationship with Him helps to keep everything else in life in perspective.

In my 29 years I have found that when I concentrate more on my conversations with God that everyone else's opinions do not carry the same weight in my decision making. Also when I remained focused on Him he begun to lead people into my life that would add to my destiny and not subtract from it. He introduced me to those that motivate me, those who challenge my thinking, and those who will be a refuge for me when things get rough. And those people that I thought (or wanted to believe) were my friends slowly began to show their true selves and were removed from my life, a lot of times with no effort on my part.

So if you were to be truly honest with yourself who do you surround yourself with? Are you surrounding yourself with people showing you God's love or those offering you a counterfeit of affection? Jesus surrounded himself with people he considered friends and even he was betrayed by one of them. What is to be learned from his life is that no matter whether good or bad He never allowed his friends to steal his focus from doing what His Father (God) had called him to do.

Ladies, you must do the same, remember to always walk in your destiny. You are the daughter of the King of Kings and as such you were destined to be surrounded by His love. Take notice everyday on who you are surrounding yourself with and if necessary make those tough decisions and make the adjustments needed it is critical for you destiny. Don't delay the things that God has in store for you by holding on to those people you need to let go.

Is Lying Worth It?

We have all done it at one time or another. Whether it be what we consider a white lie or some elaborate story that is completely made up. It is something that can trip us up so easily. It happens when we are trying to impress others, hide something, or live a life that's not our own. But is it really worth it?

The Bible is clear about it's thoughts on lying, but what are your thoughts? We know it only leads to continued lying yet we do it anyway. What is its appeal? What do we have to gain? We should always be aiming to be more like God and the bible tells us that "He is not a man He should lie..." (Numbers 23:19, KJV) So why can't we be more like Him in this area?

I think that it is our desire to belong to something in one way or another and to live a life that in some way seems better than our own. We must understand that life is about choices and we can choose how we will live life day to day. If we return our focus to what matters, Living Equivalent to Destiny, which is the divine destiny set before us. Whatever your talents are or the things that bring you joy are turn to those things and God will lead you to a place where lying will no longer by necessary. You will begin to truly enjoy your life and the person you are in the present and not have to look to those things that are not. When you look back over your life, lying is really not worth it all.