A Grow~Forward Message: Keep Moving Forward

Your destiny/destination and so forth depends solely on your forward thinking.  Will you ever get to that place that your imagination keeps taking you, of course you will. Dr. Cindy Trimm said it best “your feet can’t take you where your mind hasn't been.” What a powerful statement!! If you can’t go there in your mind, than your feet will never take you there. I believe that our problem 99.9% of the time is that our feet continues to moonwalk backwards, because of our negative thinking. I want you to think about where you want to be in the near future, instead of wasting your thought life on the "Should have Could haves" of your past. I now give you permission to dream again. 

Over the years you have had so many people tell you “No” or it can’t be done, but all you need is ONE “YES” from God and you've already won half the battle. The second half is belief in yourself, and aligning your thoughts accordingly. Your forward thinking is the fuel used to get you to your destination, it's imperative that you think forward thoughts. It’s quite simple when you really take a look at it, when God gives you a dream (which can come in several different forms: Night dreams, a vision, an unction, your passions, etc.) you take that dream(s) and use it as your blueprint guide to success. 

Also you want to make sure that you take the necessary steps to prepare for your dream come true. I believe It's God’s way of showing you your proportion that he has set aside just for you, but don’t lose it by overlooking God's best for you-believe in yourself, you have a right to your proportion. Today I give you permission to dream again, start believing in yourself again, and teach your thoughts a new dance like the forward “Running Man” (You get the point). Remember your destiny/destination and so forth depends solely on your forward thinking. Today’s assignment: Think Forward.

Remember Growth is intentional and you’re responsible for it. Take the time Everyday~Grow Forward.

Mechelle Stokes

Driving on Empty

Have you ever tried to drive an extra mile longer, after noticing that your gas light had come on?  You continued to press on the gas while praying for all green lights, in hopes of getting to your destination safely and on time (Can I get a witness?). So by God's grace and your "You Can Make It" Pep-talk to your car, you sped right pass the nearest gas station and made it (by the skin of your teeth) to your destination. But now it’s time for you to get back into your car, and drive to your next destination-Houston we NOW have a problem, you’re driving on Empty.

For the past two months I've been working on my first book, and lately I've been getting a bad case of writer’s block. Now don't get me wrong, everything that I do and write about is inspired by God; he is the one who gives me the words to write, and is in charge of the direction of my creativity. But lately I've been hitting a brick wall of writing nothing. Words were not flowing for me like usual, and my creativity was shot. I felt crippled in the very thing that I was created to do-I was so frustrated!!! I remember walking away from my laptop (to prevent from throwing it out the window), and I found myself sitting in my living room in silence, staring at the wall as I tried to calm myself down. Being in a state of frustration is a bad place to be, because the flow of your gifts and talents are being blocked by your frustration.

After a moment of sitting in silence the voice of the Lord spoke to my heart and said “You’re Driving on Empty.”  The Lord begins to explain to me that he is the source (the gas station) and I must take the time out to let him recharge me on a daily bases-Quality Time spent praying and reading His word. In order for you to pour into the lives of others, you must first allow God to pour into your spiritual pitcher so that you will be able to pour into others- You no longer can drive on empty. 

Just think of it this way-before going on your road trip, you made sure that your bags were packed accordingly, your GPS was set, your snacks were packed and within arms reach for you to grab, but with all of your preparation you cannot hit the road without having gas in your car-No Gas= No Road-trip.  God is your gas to your car, allow him today to spiritually give you a fill-up.Now put your blanker on and turn right into God's 24 hour Gas Station. Stop Driving on Empty. 

God Bless

~Mechelle Stokes  

Make Your Vision a Tangible Reality

When God gives you a vision for your life or the next stage of your life, the good news is that you have already been equipped with the necessary tools to carry out that particular vision for your life. But the reality of it all is that it’s not a folding of the arms and a blink of the eyes that makes your vision become a reality. You must put in the work!! The time, energy, and effort to make your vision a tangible reality. 

Now I’m sure we all have experienced purchasing something online before or know someone who has, but let’s just say you needed a dining room set for your new home and you're looking to purchase it online. You’re big on earth tone colors so you’re looking for a Mahogany colored dining room set with a modern feel to it(now stay with me because I promise you I’m going somewhere with this).

 After hours of searching you finally found the dining room set that fits your vision and your budget completely. You’re now jumping for joy as you received your confirmation page via email and can’t wait for the arrival of your new dining room set (whoop!! Whoop!! Life can’t get any better). After a week of waiting, your delivery date had finally come, so you rushed home to meet the delivery guys, only to find 3 humongous boxes waiting for you on the doorstep, with your name printed on all 3 boxes, and an invoice attached to one-your excitement balloon had immediately deflated.  

So after sitting in the car for a while dumbfounded at the fact that there are 3 huge boxes staring you in the face, instead of a completed dining room set, you manage to get the heavy three boxes inside. Angrily, you pulled the invoice off one of the boxes and called customer service right away. After 10 minutes of yelling and expressing your frustration, the chipper customer service rep on the other end explains to you that all furniture purchased online is disassemble, boxed, and delivered safely to your home. And it’s up to the customer to reassemble the furniture by themselves with the help of the instructions. (Stay with me I’m almost finish ;)

After days of looking at the 3 boxes sitting by the door, you finally rolled up your sleeves and went to work on your vision…oops excuse me, your dining room set. After a whole lot of sweat, tears, and even threats to return the half assembled dining room set, you finally finished after 2 whole weeks(right before your house warming party). Fast forward: During the party friends and family gravitated the most to the dining room area, which became the main attraction the entire night. You were well pleased and appreciative that everyone who came to the party had enjoyed most- the one thing you put your hard work, time, and effort into- your vision had finally became a tangible reality.

Sometimes in life we carry many grand visions for our life, and they never become a tangible reality. Why? Because most of us would have stopped at the 3 boxes being delivered onto our doorstep Stage, instead of doing whatever we had to do in order to make our vision a tangible reality. If we can just learn how to respect the process no matter what shape or form it is delivered to us in, instead of relying on a microwavable vision, we can get to our Tangible Reality. If you don’t remember anything else from this message, remember this: “The Gap which bridges your vision to your tangible reality is the Process. So respect and learn through the Process.”  And that's your encouragement for today. 

God Bless

~Mechelle Stokes  

Run Your Forward Race

“You cannot run a forward race looking backwards.”

That word came to me on yesterday when I was tempted for a slight moment to give ear to a temptation of my past. When temptation was whispering in my ear as I was driving home, I begin to picture myself running a forward race while looking backwards-It just doesn't work. Immediately I smiled and thank God for my window of escape by his encouraging words to me-“You cannot run a forward race looking backwards”.

This word helped me so much that I had to share it 
with you. You cannot bring your past into your present and expect to get to your future all together-that’s called insanity. Your past is marked history and belongs behind you. The very moment your past decides to cross the boarder lines into your present, you forcefully remind your past where it belongs, and demand it to cross back over to the lines of history. 

You cannot entertain the very thoughts and people of your past, because they don’t know or respect the NEW YOU; they will always perceive you as how they met you. You don’t have time to try to explain the new you to your past, it’s just a waste of time and energy. Keep in mind my friend that your past does not have the capacity to walk alongside with you in your present, and grow with you into your bright future. So face forward and continue to run your purposeful race that has been set out before you.

God Bless

~Mechelle Stokes