GOD MADE YOU TO BE YOU – SO BE YOU!

June 18, 2013Kim Sweeting 5 Comments

GOD MADE YOU TO BE YOU – SO BE YOU!

GOD MADE YOU TO BE YOU

God made you to be you.

He did not make you to be anyone else.

There is no one else on earth who can be the you He created you to be because there is only one you.

Only you can do the things that you do like you do because there is only one you.

Embrace the unique you God created you to be.

This is important because that you is connected and essential to the effective execution of the divine purpose that God sent you to earth to carry out.

How can you effectively fulfill your divine purpose the way God intended if you are trying to be me?

How can I effectively fulfill my divine purpose the way God intended if I am trying to be you?

As Believers we are each called to become more like Christ, to show His character, His way of being and doing, and to develop and display the fruit of the Holy Spirit, but to do so in the framework of our own unique God-given personality, not in the framework of someone else’s.

God does not want robotic clones.

If He did, He would not have taken the time to make each of us unique, to give each of us a distinct personality signature that can not be duplicated.

A pigeon is a pigeon. If it tries to take on the personality of an eagle, that does not make it an eagle. It simply makes it a pigeon trying to act like an eagle. Selah!

There is much talk in the business world today about branding, about making yourself and/or your products and services unique and stand out from the crowd.

The best brand that you can ever have in this life is to be yourself in Christ, to discover and exude who He created you to be and to walk in and fulfill His divine purpose for you.

It is key to be who and what God calls you to be.

From reading the New Testament, we can see that the 12 disciples of Christ had distinct personalities yet I do not recall Jesus asking any one of them to change their personalities.

Commenting on the disciples’ personalities, J. F.M. Reed says,

“Jesus’ twelve disciples had very different personalities. Peter was impulsive, passionate but innately conservative. James and John, called by Jesus, ‘The Sons of Thunder,’ were boisterous, fervent but thoughtful. Thomas had a gloomy, pessimistic, intense disposition. Matthew was probably gregarious and methodical; Philip rather hesitant and lacking confidence; Andrew positive and enterprising. Needless to say there is room for all sorts of personalities in the life of the church. No-man’s personality debars him from the Kingdom of God.”

(Source: http://www.jrtalks.com/Luke/luke6v12to16.html)

God made you to be you.

He did not make you to be anyone else.

There is no one else on earth who can be the you He created you to be because there is only one you.

Only you can do the things that you do like you do because there is only one you.

Beginning today, embrace the unique you God created you to be.

Be encouraged!

Kim

Image courtesy of “People of Group” by Vlado/FreeDigitalPhotos.Net

Video “Called to Be” – by Jonathon Nelson courtesy of vyrtuouswann– http://www.youtube.com

A TRIBUTE TO THE MOST AMAZING FATHER IN THE UNIVERSE

June 15, 2013June 15, 2013Kim Sweeting 6 Comments

A TRIBUTE TO THE MOST AMAZING FATHER IN THE UNIVERSE

I originally wrote and published this post as a tribute to my Father for Father’s Day of 2011 and thought I’d repost it again this year because He continues to be so amazing to me.

Be blessed!

Kim

I have the most amazing Father in the universe.

He is the most caring Father that you can ever imagine.

Before He formed me in my mother’s womb He knew me and called me and gave me a purpose and destiny to carry out on the earth, He even prepared good works in advance for me to do.

Although I have millions of brothers and sisters all around the world, My Father always has time for me. Whenever I call on Him, whether night or day, He is there. He has an open door policy and loves when I come to spend time with Him; He never rushes me out of His presence. Wherever I go, my Father is with me, in fact, He promised never to leave me nor forsake me. I am so special to Him that He has numbered the very hairs on my head, no I did not say counted, I said numbered, He actually has them numbered – wow!

My Father takes really good care of me. He is my source.

Because of Him, I do not have to worry about what I will eat, drink, or wear. When I have a need, all I have to do is ask Him, and guess what, He is so caring and attentive to me that He knows what I need even before I ask. Whatever I need My Father supplies whether spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, social, or material. He does it all according to His riches in glory. He has unlimited access to everything because He owns the earth and everything in it, including the cattle on a thousand hills, the gold and silver and all other resources. – My Father is rich and generous!

Not only is my Father caring, He is also extremely loving.

He loves me so much that He allowed my oldest brother, His first-born and only Son to suffer and die to pay the price for my sins just so I could be a part of His family. Can you imagine that? He gave His first and only begotten Son to die and pay the price for me to become a part of His family and because He made such a big initial sacrifice for me, He promised not to withhold any good thing from me – I am so blessed!

Not only is my Father caring and extremely loving, He is also very forgiving.

Whenever I do something wrong, if I go to Him and confess it with a sincere heart, He is faithful and just and forgives me of that sin and cleanses me from all unrighteousness. He never despises a broken heart. He is long-suffering, compassionate, and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love. He does not harbor anger. My Father never treats me as my sins deserve or repays me according to my faults. To give you an idea of the size of His love toward me, go outside and look up into the sky. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for me and as far as the east is from the west, that is as far as He removes my sins. – My Father is the best!

Not only is my Father caring, extremely loving, and very forgiving, He is also wise and powerful.

There is absolutely nothing or no one more powerful than He. As a matter of fact, He holds all power and authority in the heavens and the earth and any power you see manifested has been delegated or allowed by Him. He sets up kings and queens and takes them down. He reduces the rulers of this world to nothing, no sooner are they established, He blows on them and they wither away. He laughs at His enemies. He blows them away like chaff and they melt in His presence like wax on a candle. – You don’t fool around with my Father!

My Father is so powerful and wise that He created the heavens and stretched them out like a canopy. He created and named each star and hung them in the galaxy. He measured the waters of the earth in the palm of His hand and the dimensions of the heaven with the breath of His hands. He commands the winds and the waves. He is so wise that no one can counsel Him. He knows and declares the end of a matter from the beginning and whatever He declares becomes; He says “be” and it is. His purposes stand and He does whatever He pleases and absolutely no one or nothing can stop Him. – Mind blowing!

My Father is not only caring, extremely loving, very forgiving, powerful and wise, He is also entirely trustworthy.

Not only does He tell the truth, He is Truth. It is impossible for Him to lie. Whatever He says He will do, He does; He never ever breaks a promise. I can lean, rely, and completely depend on Him for all things and in all things. – I am so privileged to have such a Father!

Who is my Father?

He is the God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Israel, the one and only true and living God.

He is Jehovah, the Self-Existing Eternal One.

He is Jehovah-Jireh – The Lord my Provider.

He is Jehovah-Nissi – The Lord my Banner of Love and Protection.

He is Jehovah-Shalom – The Lord my perfect Peace.

He is Jehovah-Tsid-Kenu – The Lord my Righteousness.

He is Jehovah-Shammah – The Lord, the Omnipresent One.

He is Jehovah-Saboath – The Lord of Hosts, my Protector.

He is Jehovah-Rapha – The Lord my Healer

To whom can you compare my Father?

To what can you compare Him?

There is none like Him, absolutely none!

I have the most amazing Father in the universe; He is simply amazing!

On this Father’s Day, as a small tribute to Him and an expression of my love for Him, I just thought I’d let you know.

Shalom!

Kim

TO ALL FATHERS,

“HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!”

UNWALLED IS NOW AWARD FREE

June 11, 2013Kim Sweeting 12 Comments

“Unwalled” is Now an Award Free Blog

No Awards Please

While I am truly humbled and honored that persons have considered me worthy of blog award nominations, due to insufficient time to meet the requirements to receive these awards and to do so with integrity, I have decided to make “Unwalled” an award free blog from hereon and as such will graciously decline any future nominations.

I want to give a special shout out and thank you again to David Stewart author of “Green-Walled Tower”, http://www.greenwalledtower.wordpress.com from whom I received my first blog award, the “Liebster Award” and to Joseyphina Amoako author of “Joseyphina’s World”, http://www.joseyphina.wordpress.com from whom I received my second blog award, “The Shine On Award”.

I also want to thank Josephina again for later nominating me for the “Super Sweet Blogger Award”, “Best Moment Award”, “Very Inspiring Blogger Award”, and “The WordPress Family Award” even though I had to graciously decline receiving the same.

Additionally, I want to give a big shout out and thank you again to Tanya M. author of “The Typical Tanya Blog”, http://www.typicaltanya.com who nominated me for the “Super Sweet Blogger Award”, Andrea Ogunba author of “Spicey Morsels”, http://www.spiceymorsels.wordpress.com who nominated me for the “Super Sweet Blogger Award”, Obiamaka Onyebum author of “The Blossoming”, http://www.obiamaka.wordpress.com who nominated me for the “Very Inspiring Blogger Award” and Tamara Benson author of “Lessons By Heart”, http://www.lessonsbyheart.wordpress.com who nominated me for the “One Lovely Blog Award” for their kind gestures even though I was unable to accept these awards due to time constraints.

To all my followers, readers and fellow bloggers, thank you for your presence, encouragement and support; always know that it is greatly appreciated.

Moving forward, if desired, leaving a comment or a “like” to let me know that a post encouraged, edified or inspired you, providing a link back to “Unwalled” or spreading the word about it in some other way so others may be encouraged, edified or inspired also would be the best “award” I could ever receive and any such action on your part would be most appreciated in lieu of a blog award.

Thank you for your kind understanding and blessings to all!

Kim

SEVEN-WORD SOLUTION TO CONFUSION

June 10, 2013March 16, 2017Kim Sweeting 4 Comments

SEVEN-WORD SOLUTION TO CONFUSION

CONFUSION -> SOLUTION

STOP

what you are doing

LOOK

to the Lord for direction

LISTEN

for His voice

WAIT

until He speaks

HEAR

what He tells you

PROCEED

and do what He says

REPEAT

as necessary

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.”

(James 1:5-7 – NIV)

Be encouraged!

Kim

Image courtesy of “Who, What, Why, When, Where Signpost” by Stuart Miles/FreeDigitalPhotos.Net

The Duck Story: A Story of Wisdom and Grace (todaysfreshmanna.wordpress.com)

FASHION DISTRACTION IN THE HOUSE OF GOD

June 4, 2013June 4, 2013Kim Sweeting 16 Comments

FASHION DISTRACTION IN THE HOUSE OF GOD

Are you a fashion distraction when you go to the House of God?

On Saturday past I attended a funeral and just prior to the start of the service, in walked a woman wearing a short dress with a very wide open low-cut front that exposed more than half of her breasts which were pushed up and by no means small making them very noticeable…….actually you did not have to look at them, they were looking at you……yes it was that bad…:)

She glanced around then sauntered up the aisle and took a vacant seat near my husband who upon turning to his side to see who had sat next to him ended up seeing far more than he had bargained for; I jokingly, well kind of jokingly, whispered to him “You need to keep looking straight” and we both laughed.

Are you a fashion distraction when you go to the House of God?

After the service my husband and I had a discussion about the apparent increase in the number of women wearing revealing clothing in the House of God and what he believes is, and to a certain extent I agree, their seeming obliviousness of its inappropriateness.

As we spoke several thoughts came to mind, a few being:

It seems as if the personal awareness of women that they are going into the House of God so they ought to be adequately covered as an act of reverence and respect to God is decreasing.

It’s amazing how some persons have no problem modifying their attire to meet the dress code of a secular environment but get offended, or even angry when asked to modify their attire to dress modestly in the House of God.

Many restaurants, stores and other business establishments place a dress code on or near their door such as, “No Hats, No Plaits”, “Swimsuits Must Be Covered”, “Jackets and Ties Required” etc. I wonder what would happen if the church decided to do the same thing and put up a dress code such as, “No Low-Cut Necklines, No Open Shirts, No Mini Skirts, No Mini Dresses, No Shorts, No Skin-Tight Clothing” or perhaps because these things are relative, how about a more specific dress code such as “No Low-Cut Necklines that Expose Breasts, No Open Shirts that Expose Chests, No Mini Skirts, Mini Dresses or Shorts that Expose Thighs, No Skin-Tight Clothing ……….No????………hhhhmmm……I wonder what would happen????

Are you a fashion distraction when you go to the House of God?

Many years ago, a former pastor of mine told the women in the church to please stop wearing low-cut tops, explaining how distracting it was for him, especially when they came to the altar for prayer because everything was popping out in his face.

I also remember a church bus driver asking the young girls not to wear their skirts and dresses so short because it made it difficult for him when having to look in the bus’ rear view mirror as he was seeing what he did not need to see.

When touching on the issue a few Sundays ago, speaking on behalf of the men to the women, my pastor made the statement, “We may be saved, but we ain’t dead!”

Of course this sparked a certain amount of laughter, but it was a good reminder to us women that whilst a man may be our brother in Christ, he still has to fight the same battles with his flesh as men who are not.

His statement was in no way intended to let the men in the church “off the hook” re: their responsibility in this matter because men of God do have a God-given duty to guard their eye-gate and they do have a choice as to where they allow their eyes to linger.

It was simply a reminder to the women that men are visual creatures and do respond to what they see so to please help the brothers out by being appropriately dressed when they come into the House of God.

Are you a fashion distraction when you go to the House of God?

For many women of God, finding suitable clothing is often a challenge because we live in a hyper-sexed society…….we have “sexy toothbrushes”, “sexy laptops”, “sexy cars”, “sexy furniture”, “sexy (you fill in the blank)”……. and in keeping with this, many designers make clothing to expose and or accentuate the female physique in a sensual way.

While I empathize with this plight, and it is a real issue, it still does not take us “off the hook” in terms of being accountable for what we choose to wear, particularly in the House of God.

Figuratively throwing our hands up in frustration and jumping on the bandwagon of over-exposure, tossing modesty aside and telling ourselves things like, “well this is what’s in style” or “well this is what the stores are selling” won’t justify our actions in God’s view, especially in situations where He has already convicted us in our heart that certain items of clothing have crossed His line……selah!

Ladies whatever the event, when we enter the House of God, let’s remember that it is the House of God and be more mindful of what we wear and if we inadvertently “cross the line” and someone brings it to our attention, let’s not get offended but instead prayerfully consider the matter then change our choices accordingly.

Are you a fashion distraction when you go to the House of God?

Selah!

Kim

Image courtesy of “Fashion Stock Image” by digitalart/FreeDigitalPhotos.Net

MOTIVES – IT MATTERS TO GOD WHY

May 31, 2013March 16, 2017Kim Sweeting 4 Comments

MOTIVES – IT MATTERS TO GOD WHY

GOD JUDGES OUR MOTIVES

OUTWARD APPEARANCE VS INWARD TRUTH

OUTWARD APPEARANCE – You said you joined the praise team because you believed it’s where God wants you to serve in ministry at this time.

INWARD TRUTH – You joined the praise team because you were tired of the leader “nagging” you to join and simply wanted to get her off your back.

MOTIVE – RELIEF FROM THE AGGRAVATION OF NAGGING

OUTWARD APPEARANCE – You said you want to become a pre-school teacher because you love teaching children in that age group.

INWARD TRUTH – You want to become a pre-school teacher because you feel it will give you more opportunities to sexually molest children and satisfy your evil deviant desires.

MOTIVE – FULFILLMENT OF SEXUAL DESIRES

OUTWARD APPEARANCE – You said you turned down the promotion at work because it would mean you taking on too much responsibility at this time considering your other commitments.

INWARD TRUTH – You turned down the promotion because you did not think were competent enough to handle it and thought you would fail.

MOTIVE – AVOIDANCE OF FAILURE

OUTWARD APPEARANCE – You said you took your wife out to dinner and bought her a nice gift because you love her and want to do something special for her.

INWARD TRUTH – You took your wife out to dinner and bought her a nice gift because you felt temporarily guilty about your involvement in an extramarital affair.

MOTIVE – SOOTHE GUILTY CONSCIENCE

God will not only judge us according to your actions, but according to our motives too.

“We justify our actions by appearances; God examines our motives.”

(Proverbs 21:2 – The Message Bible)

I posted the below poem in April of 2010 and thought I’d post it again as a reminder that God is not just concerned about what we do, He’s also concerned about why we do it; He is concerned about and will judge and hold us accountable for our motives.

God’s Not Just Looking At The Outside, He’s Looking At The Heart

His words came across with great passion and flair,

Electricity and excitement filled the air,

He had unquestionably mastered preaching as an art,