25Jan
Tyra Lane-KingslandReal Life, Spiritual Life 16

What Season Are You In?

With a God vision and a God plan I had carefully mapped out my 2015-2016. My 2014 ended with working on my vision book for 2015. Yes Lord! Let’s steamroll right ahead into the New Year and into my next level of success.

 

And for once, I was giving myself permission to dream big. Yes, big God-sized dreams. A few months into 2015 and I was working the plan. One of my goals was to be in the best physical condition to date. As a result I bought in 2015 with a 3-day green smoothie cleanse followed by 7 days of eating only raw foods. My exercise regime was great and I was dedicated and focused working out at least 5 days a week. And as always I continued to research new recipes, foods and findings that would support my efforts to maintain a nourishing kitchen.

 

Spiritually I was right where I wanted to be. Then in March I attended a retreat and had several supernatural encounters with God that absolutely blew my mind. Essentially He elevated me, calling me to a higher station and level of responsibility in the Kingdom. I was thanking Him, praising Him and experiencing worship in fresh new ways.

 

I researched pre-schools for my 2 year old with plans to enroll him in school 2 days a week in the fall. I would use those 2 days as office hours, continuing to establish the Inspired Life brand and enlarge my speaking platform. My 4 year old was slated to start kindergarten too, thus creating time and space to work my business.

 

After years of mastering smoothies in my kitchen, I finally decided to write a 30-day smoothie book. Even though I was making a different smoothie almost everyday, I never wrote any of the recipes down. But repeated promptings from friends and one conversation in particular, it finally hit me, yes you must do this project. That first day I sat down to write the recipes the Lord gave me 17 complete recipes in one sitting. Then a few months later, the Lord prompted a photographer to offer to bless me by doing the photo shoot as a deposit into my ministry. First book nearly there. Indeed it was a time to rejoice.

 

Yup, I had it all lined up only to find that the Lord was preparing me for something else entirely.

 

There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens

Ecclesiastes 3:1

 

My husband started a new job and was inundated in getting acclimated to that new environment rendering him unavailable to assist in several ways he normally would. That additional work was to be physically and mentally absorbed by me.

 

The seat that I thought my kindergartener would secure at the same school as his 3 school-aged siblings wasn’t secured after all. In fact, quite the opposite happened. He was denied by the school, denied by the appeals office then subsequently denied by the school board itself. As it stood, he’d be separated from his siblings, forced to attend our boundary school.

 

My brother in law became ill and the fight for his life ensued. My sweet husband spent countless hours by his beside. My father was having a major crisis hundreds of miles away. After hearing the agony in his voice for months on end, I packed up the children to take an emergency intervention trip to visit him.

 

Nonetheless with all the added pressure, I was hopeful that the many God sized dreams in my vision book would come to pass as a few of them were already underway; my spiritual growth and my physical health, yes Lord thank you for faithfully bringing the vision to pass.

 

Then I began a 40 days fast completely surrendering all. Easy to say, but much harder to live out real time. Nonetheless, I surrendered control and my prayer for the 40 days was YOUR WILL YOUR WAY. Yes Lord, together let’s keep the vision moving forward. Little did I know He’d give ample opportunity for me to practice this declaration.

 

The school year began and my son still did not have a seat in the school with his siblings. While I continue to fight and pray, he was enrolled for home school. My pre-schooler was sign up and ready to begin his 2 days a week. My brother in law succumbed to his battle for life.

 

And in his departure, I conceived. In fact, in my brother in law’s passing, I specifically told the Lord, “A baby cannot replace him so don’t get an ideas.”

 

But since God has known each of us from the beginning of time, he knew exactly when this baby would be conceived. And conceiving a baby was ONE thing that absolutely was NOT in my vision book for 2015. Trade my four-pack for a fat pack? Umm…no thank you. I’ve been working diligently for you Lord to honor this temple and this is how you repay me? All day, everyday sickness and a swollen belly?

 

Really God?!

 

He has made everything beautiful in its time.

Ecclesiastes 3:11

 

New life. What a blessing and a joy.

 

Extra time with my kindergartener before he had to leave for school.

 

Extra time with my husband to comfort him as he grieved.

 

Indeed He does make everything beautiful in its time. But in order to embrace that, we have to SEE through eyes of faith. We have to be able to see “In Time”. Seeing in time is begin able to embrace the now moment, not living in the past nor pining for the future but being “in time” for IN TIME is where God is.

 

But I wasn’t in time with God. I was on the sidelines of my life, having a temper tantrum. I pouted and whined as I saw the death of my vision book. I threw myself on the floor replete with kicking and flailing as I mourned the death of my God vision.

 

For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.

Habakkuk 2:3

 

But God is faithful. He sheds light, speaks truth, heals broken hearts and hugs you even mid tantrum. I thank Him that He’s not like me because I probably would have left me there kicking and screaming to flounder on my own. But he picked me up, wiped my tears and reassured me of His truth.

 

He whispered:

~Your prayer was MY WILL, MY WAY. I heard your prayer and I answered.

~This delay is not a denial.

~This is not the death of your vision but a pause for character development

~The appointed time for all I am working on will come to pass better than you can imagine or think

~I love you so much I made an in person visitation to touch your womb

 

For a moment my vision was blurry (read more on that HERE). I thought what I put in that book had died. But the truth is, He is working overtime on my behalf, behind the scenes to align the hearts (mine included), the people and the resources to bring the vision to fruition. The vision WILL manifest at its appointed time.

 

And in the interim, I will embrace the process. Oftentimes we want to circumvent the process and take shortcuts but in this there are no shortcuts, just the sure true steps of following paths of righteousness for his namesake.

 

[bctt tweet=”Circumvent the PROCESS and you circumvent your BLESSING.”]

 

What season are you in?

 

How do you behave when a season change catches you off guard?

 

Do you react with tantrums, rebellion or fear?

 

Or do you respond with a yes in your spirit and a yes on your lips?

 

It is my prayer that you delightfully obey Him and embrace the now moment as you have not seen, nor have you heard nor has it entered your heart the things the Lord has prepared for you. His thinking is SO vast, deep and wide that we cannot comprehend it. But we do know that His plans are to give us a future and a hope. Be hopeful and find delight in whatever season you find yourself.

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!
Happy to connect with these friends  sharing the Good News LifeGivingLinkup, Mommy Moments, Purposeful Faith

18Jan
Tyra Lane-KingslandReal Life, Spiritual Life

What Are You Worth?

Worthy –

  • 1
:  having worth or value: estimable, honorable, meritorious
  • 2
:  having sufficient worth or importance

 

Synonyms: admirable, deserving, excellent, laudable, noble, true, valuable, respectable, satisfying, good.

 

Life circumstances, usually occurring in childhood, influence our perceived self worth. We come to believe and accept certain things about ourselves. These become our core beliefs. Core beliefs are beliefs that help us define who we are and how we fit into the world around us. Along the way, we can adopt negative or unbalanced core beliefs.

 

Some commonly held negative core beliefs are:

I am unworthy

I am unlovable

I am unsafe

I don’t belong

I am wrong

I am defective

 

Then we react, make decisions and interact with people based on these negative core beliefs.

 

Since January of 2014 I have been on an inner healing journey. The excavation process has been long and hard. Like an archeologist, I have been digging, brushing, picking and chipping away to unearth the negative core beliefs I’d come to accept. In order for me to walk in the liberty that Christ has offered me, I MUST unshackle beliefs that do not align with His truth.

 

I have come a long way over the last two years but as I saw from an incident recently there is still work to do.

 

I was completing the registry for my 6th baby. In my heart of hearts I desired to have a new car seat and stroller for the baby. All of my children after the first had been using the hand-me-downs from my other children or from the bounty that is shared among my women’s group at church. And realistically, I would have to get a new one anyway because many of the old car seats have long passed their expiration dates and I’d recently gotten rid of the ones I had here at home. But when it came time to put it on the registry, the negative self-talk arose.

 

“You don’t deserve it.”

“You ingrate, just accept a hand-me-down one.”

“No one will buy you one.”

“You expect people to pay all this money for this? You made this baby. It’s your responsibility.”

 

This was and is still a difficulty thing to address, as the emotions are very raw.   In fact, I want to backspace and delete this illustration but God is also working with me on vulnerability so I’ll leave it be. I write what He tells me to write.

 

And certainly I would accept hand-me-downs. I’m queen frugal fanny and know how to thrift, consignment and overall how to make a dollar out of fifteen cents so going used is a regular for me. But for this one request, this one need, I had a desire and wouldn’t even give myself permission to dare to dream that I was worthy to receive the gift. And surely I could have purchased it for myself and done away with this whole emotional battle but I know God is working on something in me, something that needs to be excavated.

 

Surely His is working on something in me because it came up again in another issue with a subject I’ve been called to teach on. With that came feelings of being unworthy and unqualified to teach on the subject because I feel it’s an area that I do have plenty of practice but seem to fall short from time to time.

 

What’s the deal with this convoluted thinking?

 

Yet another device of Satan. He is adept at whispering lies that sound very much like the truth. He is skilled as contorting and twisting innocent, pure desires of the heart. And if left unchecked he will write a whole screenplay full of lies and we’ll rehearse the lines over and over again then masterfully act out the play in our everyday lives.

 

What are you worth?

 

BUT for the GRACE of GOD.

 

FAITHFUL & TRUE, He heralds in on a white stallion. He is the KING OF KINGS and THE LORD OF LORDS.

 

He opens His mouth and declares:

 

I am worthy

I am the righteousness of God

I am the apple of His eye

He loves me with an everlasting love

My worth is far above rubies

I am a jewel in His crown

I am His beloved

 

I am not worthy because of MY righteousness, MY works or MY abilities. I am worth it because Jesus declared it is so. [bctt tweet=”Because of His unfailing love for me, He says I am enough just the way I am.”] He says I am valuable, I am worthy, and I am loved.

 

Mmm…I bask in the radiance of His dazzling, pure, true love for me.

 

Thank you Lord for declaring my worth.

 

The Assistant Minister of Music at my church, The First Baptist Church of Glenarden sings a powerful song echoing this truth. Please listen to Anthony Brown & Group TherAPy sing WORTH as you allow this truth to penetrate and minister to your heart.

https://youtu.be/ZRA0XkcO3SU

But then something happened: God our Savior and His overpowering love and kindness for humankind entered our world; He came to save us. It’s not that we earned it by doing good works or righteous deeds; He came because He is merciful. He brought us out of our old ways of living to a new beginning through the washing of regeneration; and He made us completely new through the Holy Spirit, who was poured out in abundance through Jesus the Anointed, our Savior.  All of this happened so that through His grace we would be accepted into God’s covenant family and appointed to be His heirs, full of the hope that comes from knowing you have eternal life.

Titus 3:4-7

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!

 

Happy to connect with these friends sharing the Good News Purposeful Faith, Grace & Truth, Mommy Moments, Faith & Friends

13Jan
Tyra Lane-KingslandHome Life, Nourishing Life 11

Aloo Matar: My Childhood Fav

I love my Dad for many reasons. He is wise beyond his years, insightful, resourceful and smart. He’s deeply spiritual, good humored and youthful. One of the things I appreciate most about him is exposing me to many things at a young age. As a pre-teen I was reading the autobiographies of Angela Davis and Malcolm X, in my teens The Isis Paper and Aristotle. From my youth, he took me many places he went: adult business meetings, concerts, to the harbor to skip rocks. These were especially treasured moments because in my early youth, we didn’t live together so I eagerly anticipated him coming to pick me up and take me away for an exciting adventure beyond my housing project.

But some of my most vivid memories are of us dining at Indian Restaurants.

To this date, Indian food remains my favorite. Out of my love for Indian food, I’ve read COUNTLESS Indian cookbooks and even declare I have an Indian Aunty that taught me to cook breads (though we’ve never met. I highly recommend you visit my Aunty Manjula by CLICKING HERE).

This is the first Indian dish I taught myself to make. It is the second meal (after spaghetti) that I taught my daughter to make when she was nine years old.

Aloo means potato and matar peas. [bctt tweet=”This is a kid fav because it is creamy, mild and a little sweet. Aloo Matar”]

Based on regional differences, some make the gravy by blending the tomatoes; some add different creams such as yogurt, ground cashews or coconut milk. So here’s my take on Aloo Matar. This dish also won me a special place in my husband’s heart. It was one of the first meals I cooked for him and to date is his second favorite meal of all time. At the time he was a serious meat eater but with this good home cooking, he soon became a vegetarian.

Aloo Matar

16 oz green peas

12 oz potatoes bar boiled & diced (about 3 medium potatoes)

8 oz tomatoes diced

1 large onion diced

2 cloves garlic minced

1 tbsp grated ginger

8 oz coconut milk

½ cup water

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp turmeric

2 tsp coriander

½ tsp chili powder

Salt & pepper to taste

Aloo Matar 4

Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger cook additional 2 minutes. Add spices and cook 1 minute. Add tomato and cook 2 minutes. Add potatoes, coconut milk and water. Cook about 5 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Lastly add green peas. Cook just a few minutes more. You want peas bright green and just tender so be careful not to overcook. The heat from the pot is really enough to cook the peas. Serve with basmati rice or naan or paratha.

*let me add I’m usually a little heavy handed with my spices so I use more. Start with these measurements then adjust to your liking adding more if you desire. Not too much tumeric though.

Aloo Matar 5

Enjoy!

Aloo Matar 2

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!
Happy to connect and share with friends at Plant-Based Potluck

11Jan
Tyra Lane-KingslandReal Life, Spiritual Life 4

BELIEVE: My #OneWord 2016

This image has been my phone’s screen saver for months.

 

Luke 1:45

 

I rarely look at it. When I first saw it, it resonated deeply within me because the Lord had been dealing with me on my ability to BELIEVE. So Believe is my One Word for 2016. Instead of making resolutions, for the last few years the Lord has led me to a word that is to be lived out for the year. And as much as I wanted to be done with this, as much as I want this to be a non-issue for me, I won’t run from it. I’ll embrace it knowing God is going to faithfully continue to walk me through this journey of limitless belief.

 

I don’t question MY God’s abilities. I KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that my God can do what he says he can do. I know my God can perform miracles. I know my God is able.

 

My question is, will He do it for me?

 

Lord will you protect my children?

Lord will you really supply all my needs?

Lord will you give me my heart’s desires?

Lord will my God dreams ever come to fruition?

 

Well, I’m still grappling with this.  While it’s been under construction for nearly six months now, the issue persists. And I’m okay with that. I’ve been learning over the past few months to not try to circumvent processes in life design for my growth and development. And the issue of believing for me is deep. Yet I thank the Lord that He’s willing to unearth whatever is hindering or hampering my ability to fully believe. He is excavating deep-rooted lies and casting on them the Light of Truth.

 

I want the kind of immovable faith and ability to BELIEVE like David when facing Goliath. In 1 Samuel 17, David made a BOLD declaration.

 

David just KNEW that Jehovah Sebaoth, The Lord of Host, would protect him and ensure the victory.

 

All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.

1 Samuel 17:47

 

Oh Lord that I would have David like belief.

 

One day God directly asked me, “Do you believe?” I answered, “I believe Lord but help my unbelief.” That belief that knows you’re able but is unsure if you are willing.

 

So I followed that up with a question for Him. “Lord, are you willing?”

 

And with a look of compassion in His eyes, He answered, “I am willing.”

 

While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.

Luke 5:12-13

 

[bctt tweet=”No longer will I allow lack of belief to suffocate God’s desire to bless me.”]

When I doubt, it smothers my faith. It quenches that God can do and wants to do in my life. No longer will I take my own pillow so beautifully embroidered with the word BELIEVE and use it to asphyxiate God’s plans for my life.

 

If you have ever struggled with believing God, trusting God, or wavering faith, please join me in prayer.

 

Lord, the maker of all of heaven and earth, what a great and mighty God you are. You are Sovereign. You are King. It is an honor to love you, to serve you and to partner with you in building your kingdom here on earth. Lord I confess that sometimes my ability to believe is hampered. I repent for hampering your ability to do exceedingly and abundantly in my life through my lack of faith. But I thank you Lord that the prayers of the righteous availeth much. I add my faith to those reading with me now. May our prayers bombard and intercept heaven right now. I pray God that our ability to believe would not be smothered. I thank you for removing any obstacles and false beliefs that would interfere with believing your Truth. You Lord are the way, the truth and the life and when we follow and trust in you there in no need to doubt. Take our mustard seed faith, planted in your nutrient rich soil, watered by your word and make it grow into tall flourishing fruitful trees to bear witness to your glory. I thank you Lord for hearing and answering the petitions of your sons and daughters.

 

Do you have #OneWord for 2016? I’d love to hear about it and to pray for you. For more on the One Word concept, CLICK HERE.

 

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!
Happy to connect with friends at Purposeful Faith, Grace and Truth, Dance With Jesus

06Jan
Tyra Lane-KingslandHome Life, Real Life 1

Eating Clean in 2016!

As a foodie, I’m always on the hunt for new, exciting dishes to prepare. After cooking day in day out, 6 days a week, 52 weeks a year, the recipe roundup can get banal. To keep that from happening I challenge myself to make at least 2 new recipes per month. Even if it’s a familiar staple like carrots, I love learning new ways to prepare them. In my house we typically go a month without eating the same thing twice for dinner. That just works for me as to not get bored or discouraged with my commitment to eating clean. By no means am I suggesting you eat something different every night of the week, I’m simply stating keep it fun and tasty.

 

Some of the new recipe ideas go over well and are incorporated in our rotation. Others are scrapped not to be tried again; and those are usually not because of taste but because they are just too FUSSY or time consuming to prepare.

 

As a busy mom of 5, I like making dishes that tantalize the taste buds yet are accessible and give a good return on investment for the time and cost to prepare.

 

With that said, at the end of last year I began cooking through two new exciting Vegan cookbooks. While I do not ascribe to a particular dietary title (you can read more on that HERE), we do eat 85% plant-based foods in my home.

 

You ever pick up a cookbook whose cover is oh so inviting? Then you flip the glossy pages and the dishes cause you salivate? You proceed to bring the book home with lofty ideas of cooking ALL the dishes only to find that they are too fussy, too complicated, or require eccentric out of reach ingredients?

 

Well my friend that is NOT the case AT ALL with these two books.

 

If you’ve committed to starting your New Year focusing on your health, these plant-based recipes will not disappoint. They will delight your taste buds while nourishing and honoring your temple.

 

Here’s some of the fun I had cooking my way through Nom Yourself by Mary Mattern & Happy Healthy Vegan Kitchen by Kathy Patalsky

 

Nom Yourself

 

Nom Yourself

 

I started following Mary on Instagram a few months ago because her pictures were so inviting. With every picture I thought, “I would eat that”. So I had to go pick up the book and give the recipes a try. The #1 new dish in my home for 2015 came from this book, Sesame Tofu Tacos.

 

Sesame Tofu Tacos

Sesame Tofu Tacos

Her Jambalaya, Tortilla Soup and Buffalo Cauliflower Mmm, mmm, good.
 

 

Happy Healthy Vegan Kitchen

 

Healthy Happy Vegan Kitchen

 

1st of all, the burger on the cover just draws you in. My 11 year old exclaimed, “Mommy we HAVE to make that!”

 

I’ve been following Kathy for a few years now via her blog. Check it out HERE. Tons of great recipes. So as soon as the cookbook came out I knew I had to get my hands on it. I feel like Kathy is my cooking twin. The flavor profiles she conjures together are so similar to mine. I think our shared love for warm/cold salads is what virtually bonded me to her forever. I’m so proud of the work she’s doing in sharing her love of eating clean while keep in delectable and exciting.

 

From Spicy Peanut Soba Noodles (yay I keep most of these ingredients on hand daily) to Kale Salad to Gingerbread Bundt Cake this book is chock full of yum to help you maintain your clean eating goals in an exciting, tantalizing way. Oh and what I most wanted to make, the Peanut, Tofu, Kale Black Rice Bowl.  How I’d been waiting for a reason to cook this black rice that was just sitting in my pantry. No boring tasteless steamed broccoli here.

 

[bctt tweet=”So what are your plans to ensure you’re eating clean in 2016?”] Do tell. I’d love to hear it.

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!

04Jan
Tyra Lane-KingslandReal Life, Spiritual Life 3

What Do You Do When Your Vision Is Blurry?

Eat Healthy

Lose Weight

Quit Smoking

Stop Drinking

Attend Church Regularly

Workout

Wake Up Early

Write A Book

Start A Business

 

I find that most people start the year with lofty goals. Even for those who’ve renounced resolutions, they still espouse some type of yearly focus or goal i.e. a word, theme or phrase to help guide their choices throughout the year.

 

At the end of 2014, I hosted a small vision board party (CLICK HERE for more on vision boards). A few friends, my daughter and myself sat around my dining room table loaded down with poster boards, a plethora of magazines, scissors, glue, stickers and more. I had such HUGE vision and wanted to not only SEE it represented visually but also to WRITE it out, that I didn’t complete a board but a book.

 

vision book

 

I delighted to see my daughter quickly put hers together, as she has a very clear picture of who she is and what she wants to accomplish. I smiled on the inside as I saw my cousin put the theme of marriage on hers as I vividly pictured her beautiful chocolate skin in a stark white gown. I nodded in agreement as I saw my bestie of 35+ years put changes related to work and moving on her board.

 

2015-01-03 20.28.39

 

2015-01-03 21.31.26

 

2015-01-03 20.30.39

With guarded trepidation I wrestled over committing some of my images to the page. “Glue them on already!” I had to tell myself. I knew in my heart the images were things I did want to see manifest but what if they didn’t come to pass. What would that mean for me?

 

Would it say I was a failure?

 

Would it say I have no right to dream so big?

 

Would it demonstrate my shortcomings?

 

Would it expose my lack of faith?

 

In reflecting over the last year, I rejoicing in knowing that my 11-year-old daughter has lived the fulfillment of some of her vision. She has travelled to Texas and California with a competitive STEM team. She has spoken at the Department of Agriculture and at the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals annual convention. She has developed significantly in her flute playing and has just begun playing guitar. She was also voted student council vice-president.

 

I celebrate with my cousin for completing her Master’s in Divinity and landing a job that on paper she wasn’t qualified for. She travelled the country and grew emotionally and spiritually.

 

I give a shout of praise for my bestie for packing up and leaving all that was familiar and relocating out of obedience to Christ. I am in awe of her bravery to approach her job and outright ask for certain conditions and have had those requests granted.

 

vision board copy

 

Then I look back on my own 2015. It started with such great hope and promise. Dreams of writing a book, growing my brand and filling my speaking calendar.

 

Oh what dreams may come.

 

As I turn the pages on my vision book, it is difficult not to allow depression to reel me in. It is challenging to SEE the promise and feel like sand trickling through my fingers, that it’s not within my grasp. It takes ALL of the Jesus in me, to redirect these thoughts so that a toxic brew of self-condemnation doesn’t overtake me.

 

So how do you respond when you feel like your visions, goals and dreams for the year have not come to fruition?

 

So what do you do when the vision tarry’s?

 

What do you do when your vision is blurry?

 

You take your eyes off self and keep them focused on Jesus who is the Author and Finisher of your faith.

 

You remember the truth of His word that his promises are YES and AMEN.

 

You remember that indeed there is a time and place for everything under the heavens.

 

For the vision is yet for an appointed time;

But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.

Though it tarries, wait for it;

Because it will surely come,

It will not tarry.

Habakkuk 2:3

 

You vigilantly stand armed with TRUTH as to ward off the lies that the enemy wants to recite over and over and over in your head.

 

There is therefore now no condemnation

to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do

not walk according to the flesh, but according

to the Spirit.

Romans 8:1

 

We also have to grant ourselves some grace for crying out loud. We can be our toughest critics. While my speaking calendar for 2015 was not FULL and my book was not completed, I did have several speaking engagements. I did write and facilitate a 5-week course on Honoring The Temple. I was the healthiest I’ve ever been. I was the fittest I’ve ever been. I may have read more books in 2015 than I’ve read in any other single year. I did write and nearly finish a book. I did minister to the hearts of my children. I did support my husband as he grappled with the loss of his brother. I did pack up my children and drive hundreds of miles run to my father’s aid as he suffered loneliness. I did minister to the women I’ve been called to lead in the women’s group for which I serve as director. And in 2015 I also managed to have a womb that was ripe and ready to produce new life. Yup! Kingsland Baby #6 is growing in that secret place as I type these words.

 

It is with the MIND that one thinks, decides and acts. And we’ve been assured that we have a sound mind.  So I will focus my mind on TRUTH and think, decide and act according to what HE instructs me to do.

 

And finally, we can rest in knowing that with man things may seem impossible but with GOD nothing is impossible.

 

For nothing will be impossible with God.

Luke 1:37

 

So my friends I rejoice over the possibility that 2016 holds. I am listening attentively to hear, and looking to Him to see what wondrous things He has planned for me this year. I already see that what “I” would have planned for 2016 has already been altered. But I yield, surrendering my will for the will of Him who orders my steps.

 

His Will. His Way.

 

I pray your 2016 is off to a great start. I pray your year is filled with the blessed assurance that Christ is indeed Lord over all and that His love for you is immeasurable and that with Him all things are possible.

 

What is your vision for 2016? Do you have resolutions, goals or a word that will direct your goals for this year?  I’d love to hear about it.

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!
Happy to connect with these friends sharing the Good News Purposeful Faith, Mommy Moments, Words With Winter

25Dec
Tyra Lane-KingslandHome Life, Real Life 3

This Christmas

“Duhn duhn dunna-na, shake a hand, shake a hand”.

 

This song does it to me every time. Donny Hathaway’s version of This Christmas is a holiday staple that can be heard in most African-American homes. But this song takes me back to ONE Christmas in particular. The year was 1990. I was 16 years old and it was the first Christmas that my Mother, my sister and myself were together again.

 

Finally.

 

Back together again.

 

After years of separation, years of pain, years of deep hurt, not only were we together but my mother was thriving. She was sustaining her sobriety, had regained full custody of my sister and was residing in a rooming house awaiting the rental of a townhome.

 

It was in this rooming house, in our one little 10×10 room that I had the best Christmas ever. This rooming house where we shared a kitchen and bathroom and all other common spaces, a rooming house filled with men, no other women and surely no other families but we were happy. In fact, my sister was so happy, she vomited. I can clearly remember her smile, the toothless grin full of cheer. I had just braided her hair the night before and she was oh so cute!

 

We had a tiny tabletop tree, soulful Christmas tunes played in the background and love permeated the atmosphere.

 

This Christmas.

 

This is the Christmas that I remember most.

 

These are the memories that I cherish and hold dear.

 

I don’t remember the gifts.

 

I don’t remember what we ate for dinner.

 

But I do remember the love that was shared.

 

The Christmas that followed was special too as it would be the last Christmas I’d ever have with my mother.

 

“And this Christmas will be a very special Christmas for me”.

 

It was a special one indeed.

 

Friends I pray that where ever today finds you that your heart will be filled with love joy, and cheer. I pray that you will be purposeful in embracing each moment, as we do not know what the future holds. Even if you are grieving, even if you are bitter, even if this year isn’t wrapping up as you envisioned, there is still reason to rejoice.

 

THIS moment finds you with your heart beating, with your pulse steady, with a measure of good health and with the never-ending, immeasurable love of Christ.

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!

14Dec
Tyra Lane-KingslandSpiritual Life 6

Do You Wanna Build A Snowman?

While we’ve been seeing 60-degree days here recently in the Mid-Atlantic, this is the time of year we get imaginings of Walking in a Winter Wonderland. My children are already dreaming up a White Christmas. Last winter we didn’t have a ton of snow. But one snowfall was just enough for us to build a snowman. It’s like the songs from the movie Frozen won’t leave me alone. They see snow and all I hear singing is, “Do You Wanna Build A Snowman?”

 

Now let me preface this by saying I don’t like snow and I don’t like to be cold. But for the babies, yes I’ll brave the cold to help you fashion a magnificent snowman. You know like the ones you see on TV. Three perfectly symmetrical balls ascending in size from top to bottom just right. In my mind this would be an easy feat.

 

Well I soon came to see that the process was far from easy.

 

In my mind we would just pack the snow into a large ball then roll that balls into the snow, gathering enough snow to the ball to make the head about the size of a basketball. We were able to gather the snow all right and somewhat pack it into a semi round shape. Now the rolling part….well that never quite worked out. Sometimes it stuck, sometimes it didn’t. We ended up with a head that looked more like Ernie from Sesame Street than the head on Frosty. Repeating that process two more times to form the body proved even more challenging. Meanwhile, my children were having a blast with this while I, the perfectionist A-Type was having an internal meltdown that it wasn’t picture perfect. We gave him eyes, a nose and a hat and the children stood back, looked on in awe and rejoiced at their masterpiece.

 

Oh friends, we too are being shaped, fashioned and formed into works of art. We are the Father’s masterpiece.

 

O people of Israel, can I not do the same to you as this potter has done?

You are like clay in My hands—I will mold you as I see fit.

Jeremiah 18:6

 

The Father is consistently:

Packing

Removing

Squeezing

Pinching

Stretching

Smashing

Pulling

Kneading

 

All in an effort to mold us into His image. As the original designer He knows the desired outcome. [bctt tweet=”Along the way we pick up and pack on accessories that can mar or detract from our unique design.”]

 

Here lately He’s pinching off control, selfishness and pride to reveal the likeness created in Him of surrender, selflessness and humility.

 

And yet, O Lord, you are our Father.

We are the clay, and you are the potter.

We all are formed by your hand.

Isaiah 64:8

 

While the pressing between those MIGHTY PALMS feels like it’s squeezing the life out of me, I exhale long and deep, throw my head back and smile as I go for the ride of my life on the potter’s wheel.

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!
Happy to connect with friends sharing the Good News at Purposeful Faith

30Nov
Tyra Lane-KingslandSpiritual Life 1

Are You Ready To Receive?

I pray constantly. Upon rising in the morning, all throughout the day, before I fall asleep at night.

 

Praying, praying and praying some more.

 

Pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5:17

 

Sometimes though, I’m not actively conscious of the fact that my prayers are being heard. You know, like I expect God to answer but I’m not thinking like, “Oh I KNOW at this very second He has heard and is answering”. In my head, I know God hears and answers prayer but it’s not at the forefront of my mind while I’m actually praying that He’s dispatching His reply immediately.

 

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

1 John 5:14-15

 

I know that I pray in faith.

 

But am I ready for Him to act?

 

Am I ready for him to deliver the answer?

 

Am I ready for Him to move on my behalf?

 

Is my heart ready to accept?

 

Am I ready to partake of the answered prayer?

 

Am I ready to respond?

 

Am I ready to move as needed?

 

Are my hands free and open to receive the blessing?

 

I find that often times we pray a thing and when it is answered we are caught off guard. Perhaps we’d tailor made the manifestation of the prayer. We could see exactly how God should bring it to pass based on OUR expectations. [bctt tweet=”We’ve prayed according to His will, but when He does it His way, can we embrace it?”]

 

What happens then when the answered isn’t delivered how WE expected?

 

What happens when the long awaited Christmas gift comes wrapped in burlap instead of red paper with little santa’s on it?

 

You prayed.

You asked for it.

You got it.

Answered prayer.

 

Well now it’s here and you’re all out of sorts. You’re blaming the devil. You’re having a temper tantrum. Just all out of sorts.

 

You prayed.

You asked for it.

You got it.

Answered prayer.

 

When I first got saved almost 13 years ago I prayed, “God please deliver me from being controlling”. My need for control dominated my life. It impacted my relationships and made me quite neurotic. From the way towels were folded to managing my time down to 15 minute increments, I was just out of control with my need for control.   Well God heard and answered that prayer. Little did I know the primary method He would use was by bringing me children. With each birth (five to date) I’ve had to surrender a new level on control. Long gone are the days of perfectly folded towels in my linen closet. Long gone are the days when my time is my own.

 

You prayed.

You asked for it.

You got it.

Answered prayer.

 

I’ve prayed and asked God for more family time. My husband’s work schedule is very demanding and I just wanted time for us to all be together as a family. When the prayer was answered, I found myself wanting to retreat to a quiet corner or to proceed with the never-ending household chores and let hubby have time with the children. Hey, I see them everyday ALL day, you guys bond. But that was not what I prayed. My prayer for family time had been answered and I was trying to move in the opposite direction of it.

 

You prayed.

You asked for it.

You got it.

Answered prayer.

 

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

John 15:7

 

When we pray in faith, according to His will, EXPECT that He will answer. Expect His answer to come differently than you can imagine or think. In advance, prepare your heart to receive. Today, I am positioning myself to delightfully receive His answers in the manner in which He executes them.

 

Are you ready to receive?

 

With an open mind, an open heart and open hands, receive Him today.

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!

 

Photo Credit

25Nov
Tyra Lane-KingslandHome Life, Nourishing Life 2

Tips For Maintaining Weight Over The Holidays

Many reports suggest that people gain from 7-10 lbs during the holidays. How can you ensure that you don’t fall into that group? Simply follow the tips below. Honor yourself by honoring your body. Everything you consume either contributes to or detracts from your health. I encourage you to choose well. To help you in choosing well, here are some tips for maintaining your weight over the holidays.

 

First Things First

Schedule your exercise for the first part of your day so it doesn’t fall to the mercy of the extra holiday errands you’ll probably be running. Picking up food for the office party, a gift for the hostess, Christmas shopping; these extra errands can cut into your time and before you know it, the whole day is over and you haven’t exercised. Author and blogger Ann Voskamp says “Word In, Work Out, Work Your Plan” in that order.

 

Don’t Skip a Meal

Skipping breakfast and lunch so you can really throw down at dinner? No. Don’t self-sabotage. You need to adequately fuel your body for optimal energy and performance throughout the day.

 

Make it Count

If you’re consuming calories, make them count. Why waste a significant portion of your caloric intake for the day on empty beverages like alcohol, soda, cider and eggnog? I LOVE eggnog but I don’t love what it does to my body. Your average cup of eggnog has nearly 350 calories and 19 fat grams! So I have to exercise self-control and stay away from the stuff. I’ll save my calories for the small treat that I’ll allow myself to enjoy.

 

Portion Control

On most round dinner plates there is a ridge about 2 inches in from the edge. Your food should be contained within that inner circle. But most of us fill the plate to the very edge. To prevent overeating, we can exercise portion control by eating off of a salad plate instead.

 

 Be Selective

Does EVERY item present need to be on your plate? For Thanksgiving I’m going to be selective. I am indifferent when it comes to stuffing so I’m not even going to put it on my plate. Rice pilaf and mashed potatoes, well I could eat those anytime and they aren’t my favorites either so I’ll pass on those too. Again it’s about making those calories and fat grams count.

 

Beware Of The Sneaky

Oh the sneaky calories that can catch up on you when you aren’t paying attention. You are standing around chatting at a party and each time the hors d’oeuvres come past you grab some. Pretty little phyllo purses filled with goodness, fried little somethings, wrapped little somethings, cheese and crackers, all manner of spreads and dips…and before you know it, BAM! It isn’t even dinner and you’ve consumed enough fat and calories that equate to a dinner.

 

Wait Before Having Seconds

After eating it takes the brain 20 minutes to register that you’ve eaten. So before you go for that second plate, wait a while. There are also times we mistake thirst for hunger so while you’re waiting sip some water.

 

It is my prayer that by following these tips you’ll maintain your weight over the holidays and not feel the guilt or weight (no pun intended) of carry around those extra holidays pounds. If you remain steadfast, you can enter 2016 feeling great about your choices and perhaps won’t have to have the proverbial LOSE WEIGHT New Years Resolution.

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been inspired to live fully.

 

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