Tag: spiritual

soul · Spirit · truth

Power Source

AmandaLeave a comment

Is the world dark? Is fear an absolute in the minds and hearts of multitudes? Does it seem like there won’t ever be an end to the chaos, confusion and division in our current world?

Now… If you answered “yes” to my questions, then answer this: What perspective are you viewing life from? Are you looking from your spirit or your soul? And, if you’re looking from a spiritual plane, is it broken and imbalanced, or have you allowed the Godhead to restore it while bringing new life and health to you as a whole?

You see I’m asking these questions because I’ve opened my heart and allowed God to refine my spirit and soul. So, what my spirit perceives is from the Kingdom of God, where power, glory and goodness reside. And, honestly, it’s very challenging for me to believe darkness will win because I believe in and actively use a power source that is stronger than what the physical world is currently experiencing.

I believe in the supernatural power of Jesus Christ.

And, in this eternal moment, He is King; and He has given every single person that calls out to Him power, authority and dominion to trample darkness and every evil agenda that comes his/her way.

You see Jesus isn’t an act, a game or a religious pursuit. Instead, He is entirely alive, real, active and close to those who are accessing Him through his/her human spirit.

And my God, why wouldn’t we want to access Him? Why wouldn’t we want to pursue an agenda that offers us the ability to become a new creation: spirit, soul, heart and body? Why wouldn’t we want to thrive in all that we’re doing, saying and thinking?

And I’ll end with this… I understand Jesus is 100% misunderstood. I get that He’s been misconstrued by religious heads and figures of our days. And honestly, I am very sorry for that. I’m sorry that He’s been given a pathetic, heinous reputation; however, it’s time to do away with the way He’s been perceived. It’s time to lean heavily into the power coming from the Kingdom of God. Because, I truly believe with my entire heart, we won’t make it in the days that are coming if we are living without His great power. 🌱 #cultivatelife

 

Spirit · truth

Do You Feel It?

AmandaLeave a comment

It’s getting really rough out there… Do you feel it? Can you sense it? Is your mind and spirit comprehending what’s happening, or are you still asleep, numb and dumbed down to it all?

I don’t know how any of us plan to move forward in life at this day and age if we don’t know how to overcome the war that’s constantly taking place in the supernatural. I don’t know how humans that believe in Christ plan to survive if we don’t constantly protect our minds, emotions, energy and space.

I can tell you this though… Over the past 8 months I’ve been learning how to rule and reign within my own head and heart. It isn’t easy. It’s very challenging. Millions of thoughts and questions probe at me daily seeking a home in my heart…. But I can’t let them in. I won’t let them in.

Because, you see, if I let them in then I begin to lose the power and authority given to me through Christ. I begin to become controlled by the world around me, rather than ruling and reigning over it like God intends for me to do.

So, if you can feel it… If you can sense the evil and darkness that’s replicating and invading the supernatural world… Then please, please be encouraged to command it to stand back. Please speak in the name of Jesus so that it cannot come any further and overtake you. And please, please ask the Holy Spirit to show you how to rule and reign as the child of God you’ve been created to be. 👑⚔️ #cultivatelife

Spirit · truth

Spiritual Warfare

AmandaLeave a comment

When I was a kid I always thought spiritual warfare was this thing that was over when the war was won. And while that’s true, I never really considered how many wars and battles could go on at one time. I also never considered that spiritual warfare is a lifestyle. It’s not a fad we pick up for a moment and then toss to the side when the war has been won or (God forbid) we’re tired because we’ve been praying for days on end.

You see there is a constant war between dark and light/good and evil going on around us. And although most of us can’t see it, it’s very real and extremely intense.

So… how do we fight in this war? Well when you believe in Jesus Christ that means you’re filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. His power is actually stronger than the powers of darkness and evil. However, we can’t use His power unless we are willing to speak in the name of Jesus.

Jesus’s name is basically like the sword we fight with in the war.

So next time you feel overwhelmed in your mind… Next time you know you’re up against something a human being alone cannot solve… Then speak to the darkness that surrounds you. Tell the evil it can’t come any further because you have a relationship with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit lives inside of you. And then please be encouraged to make this your lifestyle ⚔️💃🏻 #cultivatelife

(Video below for more)

Spirit · truth

Walk

AmandaLeave a comment

Walking… Walking has produced more life and goodness in my life than I ever thought possible.

Now I don’t mean physical walking; although it’s great too.

I mean spiritual walking.

I mean the walk of life.

You see I believe the cultivation of life is a process that takes time, and it’s also a process that asks us to just walk. Not to run. Not to sprint. Not to become overly stressed, anxious and afraid that we’re moving too slow because the world around us is moving so fast… But to just walk. To just take in the reality that we are created to be and to take one step forward (no matter how big or small) at a time.

So if you feel overwhelmed… If you feel like you aren’t doing enough… If you feel like you’re missing out on peace and harmony… Then just know God’s only ever asked us to walk.

*See video for more about the walking journey of life!

Mind · soul · Spirit · truth

Should I Stop?

Amanda1 Comment

Over the past few days I’ve been back and forth about whether I should keep sharing what God’s giving me to write…

You see I feel like there aren’t too many people who care about Him and His design for life. I believe people aren’t truly trying to cultivate a relationship with Him… But are just interested in fame, power, money, comfortably and false security.

It’s discouraging you know?.. To see mankind so consumed with hate, jealousy, judgement, immorality and insecurity. It’s just sad.

So… In this moment I’m not going to stop sharing what I write because if I stop then I believe I’m allowing evil to win in my life.

But then I do wonder… Why can’t we, as humans, just wake up and realize we are all in troubled place without security in God? Why can’t we stop instigating the evil and promote life instead? Why can’t we see that Jesus isn’t a religion but a relationship that comes with freedom and abundant life? Why are we so deaf, dumb, dead and ignorant?!

And I might seem a little passionate… But I’m just so sick of the distractions we’ve all fallen for. I’m so sick of the war we’re all losing because we aren’t equipped to fight.

So if you hear what I’m saying… Wake up. Pursue God. Accept your forgiveness through Christ. And then cultivate a lifestyle of security in Him and His principles for life… Because not doing so will inevitably cost you your soul.

Spirit · truth

Intentional

Amanda1 Comment

Freedom through Christ… It’s an interesting concept to ponder… But it’s an even more interesting concept to experience and fully live.

You see I’ve come to a place in life where I feel very liberated: spirit, soul and body. I feel like God has made me whole and set me free of so much oppression and spiritual sickness, death and disease.

However, now I’m beginning to wonder, “How does one sustain and maintain his or her freedom? How am I supposed to move forward in the Kingdom of God… especially when it’s a constant unknown?

And I don’t know if I’m making complete sense; however, what I mean to say is… How does a free person stay free from the things that once bound him or her, but then cultivate life on top of that freedom?

And I don’t have an answer in this moment… I am truly seeking one with all of my heart. However, I am beginning to wonder if it’s time to become more intentional with the Holy Spirit and the things of God. Because I believe we can come to a place in our relationship with Him where we can converse with Him in such a detailed way… An intentionally detailed way.

Spirit · truth

Upside Down Kingdom

AmandaLeave a comment

What happens when you realize you’re wrong? How do you move forward when you see that the picture… The truth… The reality was upside down from what you imagined it to be?

That’s where I stand… Again realizing that my ideals and opinions have been upside down in so many ways…

You see for close to three months God’s been telling me, “Let go of your opinions Amanda. Let go of them and then you will move forward with me.” Funny thing is it’s a challenge to let go of my opinions in an opinionated culture. But I’ve tried, really I have…

And then yesterday something hit me like a school bus going a million miles an hour. Because I realized that I’ve been viewing Him all wrong. You see I set out on this quest to gain a clear and pure perspective of God, but then my ideas of Him are that He’s high and I am low because He is a King on a throne in Heaven somewhere. And, using the world’s ideas of monarchy, well they are high society. So reaching the heights there kingdom is nearly impossible. However, I’m realizing that God isn’t the kind of King we see in movies and on thrones around the world. No, instead He is a King that stands at the foundation of the mountain, or the entrance of His Kingdom’s gates. He’s not on some lofty hillside making Himself incredibly difficult for us to reach.

Now, His knowledge, understanding and wisdom is definitely more sophisticated and complex, but His heart for us is simple. It’s to the point. It’s almost one dimensional in a way because it’s right in front of our face at all times. He loves us and there’s nothing less to that. There’s no judgement or hate or condemnation or spite or even confusion. He just loves and cares for the condition of our heart.

And I know in my heart there’s so much more to discover from this point! However, this is an understanding I’ve needed because the wiring in my brain was off. My opinion led me to believe I’d get to this place in following Him where I’d discover the “top.” But really, what I’ve discovered is that the “top” is relational. And that He isn’t a King waiting for me to climb high and come into His throne room… No instead He is a King that is humble enough to stand at the foundation of His kingdom and say, “I’m right here Amanda. Come as you are into my Kingdom so that we may cultivate life together .”

Spirit · truth

Spring…. Spiritual Growth 

Amanda3 Comments

It’s Spring… And somehow I always tend to forget what Spring means for me spiritually… What’s it’s meant to me for the last 10 years…It usually sneaks up on me in the most unusual way… This area of life that I need growth in… That I need work on…

In one way or another… Well I find the Holg Spirit challenging my soul to grow… To grow deeper and become stronger…

And it’s not always easy… And it’s usually different every Spring… And I usually don’t like it…

Of course in hind sight… Well in hinge sight I’m so grateful for the past Springs of spiritual growth… Because they’ve truly helped shape me into how I’ve become today…

But being in the midst of it… Well that’s a different story…

Because as much as I’d like to be completely confident… Well I see cracks… Areas where I’m not so confident… Where insecurity is leaking all over the place… And I feel like I need a towel to clean the mess of myself up…

But then in the midst… Well I’m reminded that this is part of life… Part of my life specifically… Part of choosing to continue to follow even when I can’t see what next…

And in this moment… Well I am a little nervous… Not as nervous as five years ago… Two years ago… Or even last year… But I’m still nervous…

But I feel like through it all I’m about to press through this season of spiritual growth… Which encourages me to just keep living in today…

Confidence · Mind · soul · Spirit · truth

God

AmandaLeave a comment

2015/01/img_2324.jpgOver the years my relationship with God has changed… It’s evolved so very much…

When I was a kid… Well he was the one all the adults around me talked about… The one I’d hear it was important to have a relationship with… And my grandmother taught me so much about the Spirit of God and how he was the one I should cultivate a very personal and intimate relationship with…

As I grew up… Well God became more of something instead of a someone… I learned more and more about him through people than for myself… At school, in church, at Bible Studies… It was my responsibility to have a relationship I knew… But everyone kept telling me what theirs was like so I watched as listen… Never truly trying to cultivate a relationship with him… Because I thought I knew… I thought I had all the answers…

Then when I turned 17 I began to hear the voice of God for the first time… And I realized how prideful I was in thinking I had so many answers… That I knew the personality of God, when all I truly knew was based on other experiences….

So I started cultivating my own relationship with him… Unfortunately I will still listening to those around me too much… It was still more about what I thought I knew versus what was real…

So not until I turned 21 did I truly begin to cultivate a relationship with him… And for the next 4-5 years I would stay on this amazing journey… Learning about God in ways of never thought about him before… And he’d speak to me and tell me things in the realist way I knew…

And I enjoyed that relationship so much… I learned for myself that I strongly disliked the church for what it had taught me about God… And that I strongly disliked the school I grew up in for the same reasons… And then I found myself strongly disliking my grandmother and her ministry too…

Of course I’ve had to come full-circle with all of it… Realizing that I was gaining something of my own… Not something that was someone else’s… Not something that was borrowed and then passed out and expected to be believed by everyone… But a relationship that truly belonged to me…

And then came the time that I realized that I wanted to study Jewish teachings and learn more principles about the way God designed the earth… And those things were and still are cool and so real to me…

And as I did that my relationship with him changed even more because I grew more annoyed by what I was being told versus what I knew God was directly saying to me…

In a way I can compare my relationship with God like the one I experience at work… I feel like God’s a celebrity… He’s printed about in the tabloids and everyone thinks they know him and who he is and what he stands for and does… But those that truly know him… The ones that talk to him on a daily basis like I do with my boss… Well they know for a fact that God is who they experience on a moment by moment basis…

So now… Now I’ve come this far… And being out here in Cali… Well I’m disconnected from the religion I was raised in… Meaning… I’m alone… And nothing is really familiar… So I’ve tried to connect myself to what I knew… To jump into a church… Something familiar…

And you know what I’ve learned… Well I’ve learned that my relationship with God is changing… It’s still not what I hear the preacher preach about… And honestly I still find myself annoyed with church as a whole…

I don’t read my Bible… I haven’t read my Bible in years… I don’t find anything really intriguing and interesting… Maybe it’s because of the years it was crammed down my throat through a Christian upbringing, Christian school and the Bible college…

It’s just not for me…

But you know where I do find God?… Where I feel like our relationship is at its realist?… Where I am at my realist right now?…

It’s in my drive to work… Or my drive anywhere for that matter… Of course I can always talk to him… But my relationship with him has changed because I’ve changed… I’ve changed through what I see… And what I see on a daily basis is so spectacular… The mountains… The hills… The trees… The sunsets… The 24/7 greenery…. The colors of a flower blooming year round…

God stopped becoming what’s in a book and what other people were telling me… He stopped becoming what he told me he was and what I assumed he’d always be… He became something more when he showed me the simplicity of his creation… When he opened an opportunity for me to move to Cali and stand in awe of his creation… Well that’s when it got real…

And even more than that… It became so much more real when I got this job and became a kind of mother to three kids… Because I’ve learned so many principles from them… And I stand in awe of the way love can overpower anger, hate and jealousy in a child and home… As long as I stay patient and willing…

So too me… Right now… Within my relationship with God… Well, I thought it was real before… But as I continue to live… Well I realized it’s so much more… And it’s truly alive now… More than ever before…

Because it’s no longer him talking to me while I sit behind a computer and piece information together… It’s no longer laying in bed at night and talking to him… It’s no longer the long walks to class I used to have in college… And it’s definitely not what everyone else is saying…

Because for the first time it’s a realness through what I see… And through what I experience through helping children learn and grow… It’s so real… It’s so much God that God isn’t even mentioned within it… I just know he’s there and I thank him for it…

And if being in awe is what this relationship is right now… If it’s what’s keeping me full on a constant basis… Well then I’m ok with that… Because I honestly don’t want to read another scripture or hear another message… I’m ok with just where I am…

And the best part is… It’s mine… It’s my relationship… Based on where I am in life… Standing in awe constantly… And I’m so ok with that…