Tag: lifestyle

Spirit · truth

Don’t Stop. Do Wait.

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Corey Rives Visual Art

About two months ago I wrote about a spiritual mountain I didn’t want to climb. I explained that the mountain would require me to exercise more faith in God and His ways than ever before. I also shared that more faith required me to exchange more of my selfish, stubborn wants and ways for His path forward.

Well, I’m truly happy to report that the climb up is going VERY well.

You see with each step I take I am reminded of the truth that faith… Faith is a lifestyle.

To me faith isn’t simply believing in God and His Kingdom. Instead, it’s an action. It requires us to continuously and consistently step outside of our comfort zone to do the things He’s asked of us, even when we don’t see immediate results in the physical.

And sure, it’s very easy to do what works for us because we’re selfish, stubborn people who like the idea of having control over the situation; however, if we can’t fully follow through with where God is leading and be patient in the process, then we will most definitely become stagnant, frustrated and completely overwhelmed with “why” things aren’t “working out.”

And I guess I’m sharing this because I want to encourage you to keep moving forward in the things of God, but also to be very patient with His leading. A lifestyle of faithfulness doesn’t produce a harvest overnight, especially if He’s asking you to do big things for His Kingdom. Instead, it takes many, many moments of stepping out and stepping forward before we reach the destination He’s promised us.

So, if you feel like I have, please don’t stop, but do wait. 🌱 #cultivatelife

death · soul · Spirit · truth

Year Five

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Five years ago today I watched my dad take his last breath. All in one moment the reality of death made his appearance in my life.

You see it was evidently clear that I was starring at my dad, but then at the same time I wasn’t.

Every part of him (the smile, the jokes, the instigation I couldn’t stand, the love, the brilliant gifting that made him unique)… It was gone. His essence… His soul… His spirit… The aura that filled his body was gone. And so he was gone.

And so that was the moment… The moment I realized life… Life really, truly is temporal. And our bodies…. Our bodies really are nothing more than the vessel we use to travel in while we’re here on earth.

So now you might be thinking, “Amanda, why are you sharing this?” Well… To be completely honest with you, I just really care about the health of people. Actually, let me rephrase that…. I care about the inner health of people. I care that we are alive on the inside. I care that we thrive on the inside. I care that we find grace, love, forgiveness and healing; and then that we maintain that healing long after our moment of transformation.

You see in today’s culture I believe it’s so easy to get caught up in our outer appearance, race, sexual orientation, religion and political background… But don’t forget, before any of that can matter, we are all intangible on the inside first and foremost. We’re all created with some type of God-spark that makes us eternal and immortal.

And so I guess that’s why I’m writing this…. Because I want to remind you and encourage you to look past the surface of what you can see and shift your focus to what you can spiritually feel. Because the health of that “thing” inside of you, that “thing” we all so casually overlook, is what is truly alive in life. 🌱 #cultivatelife

Confidence · Mind · soul

What Gives God?

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How can I confidently stand firm on God and His words and His promises when I have days like yesterday? Moments where I feel impatient and start to flip flop about the promises.

And what about the “bloom?!” God promised I’d see a bloom in my life, but now I feel like He meant the trees around me!!

What gives God? Where are your promises? What’s your delay? What’s the delay? And why do I still have to be still?

In the stillness there’s still growth though… There’s still constant and consistent movement and life.

And even though my soul flips back and forth everyday… I still have hope. I still have joy. I still believe cultivating LIFE in the Kingdom of God is the best way we can choose to live life! 🌱 #cultivatelife #justlive

soul · Spirit · truth

Selfless Madness

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I’m convinced the most challenging part of being selfless is the reality that you gain virtually nothing from it. Sure there’s some type of intangible lesson learned… But as far as tangible gain, it’s not there.

And that’s where I am right now… Wrestling with God over this idea… Over this lifestyle of being selfless. He told me He’d bring me to this place, a place where I’d be left with nothing more than Him and His wants and needs for my life and others… And so, here I am.

However, He didn’t tell me what came after this place of selflessness. He didn’t tell me I’d have to pitch a tent and live here and that my soul would constantly feel at war. He didn’t tell me that I’d have to grow and adapt and fully embrace every inch of this. He didn’t tell me it would seem confusing, or that I would be frustrated with my reality.

Instead… He just made selflessness sound so good and appealing. He sold me the idea because He knew I’d follow through like I always do.

And so this morning I sat and said, “But what about me?! Don’t I get some kind of something? A reward? Anything?” He said, “No… That’s the point. There’s no reward to being selfless. You have no personal gain. You’re doing this for the gain of others and my Kingdom. It’s not about you. It’s about Me.”

And so… As angry as I wanted to be with Him… I picked myself up and just embraced what He said. I mean He was and always is telling the truth.

And as seemingly frustrated as I feel about where God continues to lead me as I follow, I’m convinced that there has to be some kind of method and outcome to His madness. There just has to be.🌸🌱 #cultivatelife

Spirit · truth

Simply Alive

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Being alive… What a thought… I mean, you are alive right?!?

I hope you’re always growing: spirit, soul and body. I hope you’re always open to development, maturity and growth from the inside out.

Because it’s a challenge to do that today ya know? Our world is filled with technology. And while it’s good in some respects, it really has stripped the world of it’s natural process to just be alive and thrive from a spiritual perspective.

You see being alive to me has always meant that we are connected to a source… We have to bring our failures and mistakes to God. We have to rely on Him to help us get through the lowest of the lows. And then we also must allow Him to supply us with everything we need, day in and out.

And I know it seems like a funny way to be… A strange way to live. And I’m sure I sound strange to some… But it’s just because I’ve chosen to live differently. I’ve chosen to keep my heart and mind open to the things of God, rather than the things of the world and the church.

Because I believe there’s a time coming (it might even be here now) where we’ll need to have an authentic, real and unaltered connection to the divine. Something that is stable and secure… Something that the world and the church didn’t build for us, but that we worked with God in relationship to structure.

And I don’t know if I’m making sense, but I hope that you’re growing spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically. I hope you’re not on autopilot just waiting for your next instruction from some higher up social figure. I hope that you are simply alive! 🌷🌱 #cultivatelife #justlive

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Spirit · truth

God Needs An Army

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My heart cries for a clear foundation of freedom and wholeness for people. My passion and purpose propel me to move forward as I follow the Holy Spirit’s lead every moment of every day. And while I might not be the best at following through with every detail, I’m learning that the follow is the way of life for us as believers.

You see the battle between good and evil is at an all time high in this world. The war over our minds and souls is being pressed like never before. And I believe it’s time for us to rise up and cut out the bullshit. We don’t have time to be lazy believers in Christ anymore. We don’t have time to be people who are poor in spirit. God needs and army that marches to the beat of one word, and that word is Jesus.

Because I believe as a society we don’t really realize what life will be like if we don’t cut out the crap and pursue Him with our whole hearts.

So please, please hear the cry of my heart and soul that is so pressed towards freedom and wholeness through Jesus Christ. He is the ONLY way to the Father and eternal life. All the other ways are a smoke and mirror show, created by the enemy of our souls. And I say this again, with every pure intention in my heart, do not be deceived… Press into the Holy Spirit… Pursue freedom and wholeness at all cost… And never stop cultivating a healthy lifestyle through the Kingdom of God.

Confidence · Mind · Spirit

Relentless Self-Discipline

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I’ve been told for the better half of my life that I have a lot of “self-discipline.” And while I’ve always attributed it to my father’s example in my life, in this moment I’m realizing something new…

You see I believe that in order to be self-disciplined you have to have something in you that relentlessly won’t give up. For me, that relentless is the Holy Spirit because He’s never given up on me or abandoned me. He simply believes in me because He sees me for who I really am. He sees the depth of my heart and who I can become if I continue to follow Him with my entire heart.

And I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’ve been so wrong over the years… Because my self-discipline comes from the imprint the Holy Spirit has left inside of me. And though God is a bit chaotic, there is also an extreme balance to Him that cries for order. So, if you’re looking to become more of a self-disciplined person, then walk a little closer to the Holy Spirit. Get really up close and personal with His infallible love and determination to see you become all that He’s created you to be as you cultivate life!

Spirit · truth

Figure or Follow?

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Living from a place where I don’t try to figure it all out… What a way of life!

That’s where I feel like I need to be right now. Having the discernment to see the truth, but trusting deeply that all of the pieces of the puzzle are coming together as I watch them move.

Because I feel like the wind of God has started to blow in my life in a more violent way than ever before. And when the wind blows you cannot stop it… Because the wind is very about you following It’s own path, not It following you. And I very much agree that it’s time for me to stop breaking things down and figuring out how He’s blowing and why He’s blowing, and instead just be moved. I mean… that’s what Jesus did… Right?

Now I’m not saying, “Don’t seek out His will.” Because we do need to have some type of understanding on how to make decisions. However, trying to solve a puzzle God has designed is extremely complicated, exhausting and time consuming. Plus, doing so causes us to get distracted and miss out on the journey!

So if you’re anything like me, slow down on the inside and just follow where you’re led! And even if it gets dark and depressing for a moment, keep following until the light of His wind pushes you forth. It’s worth it! I promise!

Confidence · Spirit

Life Cues

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IMG_1074What happens when you finally control your own life?… When you feel like no one holds the keys to your future anymore but you?… When everything you were working for isn’t a reality anymore?…

Because I’ve left it…. Walked away and I’m trying to discover my own way…. What my purpose is…

I need more than anything to figure out my purpose…. What I’m created for… Because I know deep down when I do… Well I’ll follow it all the way….

It’s not normal for me to be in this place…. This place were I don’t feel motivated for anything really….

I honestly don’t know what I’m doing…. I feel like I’m a little afraid…. When I look at myself I see someone who is happy, but so afraid… Afraid of taking the next step because I don’t know what the next step is or where it will lead…

But I do know that this spot… This place isn’t where I want to be forever…

So what do I do? Do I simply live in the midst of this moment? Or do I continue to try new things?

So many times I feel behind… Behind the curve… Like I’m always playing catch up in life to all of those around me that I know….

It would be so nice to just shut social media off completely…. To close off the idea of what others are and aren’t doing…. Because watching others is torturing sometimes…

I think, “why do I have to be so behind? Why am I here at this place? Why did I have to be so hard headed and think that I have all of the answers?”

Then I wonder how will I be able to lead my own life when I don’t even know where I’m going… And I think I’m coming back to this place of serendipity… This place where I just followed God and trusted that life was going to pan out well… I feel like that plan was good… That is used to get me places….

But gosh life doesn’t really work on serendipity, coincidental type of moments like it used to… It’s changed it’s course completely…. And I don’t like that sometimes…. I liked the little life cues that showed me I was moving in a healthy, good direction…

And maybe those little cues didn’t leave me… But maybe they changed their clothing a little… Maybe they look different and feel different now and I’m just not trained to pick up on them…

Whatever the case… I really miss those little cues… The ones that reminded me I’m following my arrow…

And I wish they would come back or reveal themselves to me in someway again… Because I need them now… Just to have them to guide me… To guide me through the fear I feel and help keep me on my own path and journey in life…

Because in the end… Death is teaching me, it doesn’t matter how much you watch others and want to follow their lead… Because it’s my journey… It’s my story to tell… It’s mine to live and love and share with others… And if I can’t be open to accepting that it’s my story, and that it shouldn’t look like someone else’s… Well then what’s the point of having a story anyways? What’s the point of living a full life if it’s a replicate?

I think that’s what I need to realize for myself and really tell myself… That it doesn’t matter that my journey doesn’t look like another’s… Because it’s mine… And it will always be mine…