Back to the Basics

Glory to God! For he is truly worthy to be praised!!!

For the past few days, I have been experiencing a battle within my mind. The enemy tried to use my thoughts to trap and defeat me but, because I serve a God who never leaves me or forsakes me, what the enemy meant for my evil has turned out to be God's plan for my victory!

Let me just pause for a moment to say "HALLELUJAH"

In the midst of the war that was going on inside of me, I began to wonder why the enemy kept bringing negative thoughts and moments from my past back to the surface of my head and I realized that because the enemy has no control over our futures, he has to hold us back with our past but I decided that I would not fall doomed to the traps of satan and I began to pray for renewal of my mind, and restoration.

As I began to pray for restoration, God began to show me something vital not only to me but to you reading this as well. He began to show me that in order to be restored, it was important that I got back to the basics.

Sometimes we veer off so far into temptation, sin, and on the wrong path that God has to pull us back to where we first began in order for us to experience true peace of mind.

So today I ask you, where were you where you first began your walk with chirst? What was it that gave you peace of mind and granted you an abundance of victorious thoughts?

As I began to take a deep look into myself and into my life I realized that though I thought I was operating in my gift of inspiring others and speaking positive words into their lives, I got so caught up in the hype of the world and in the hype of myself that I neglected the gift that I should have been operating in all along that would have made room for me to achieve all my other dreams later down the line.

Today, I stand before you ready to get back in the fight, ready to return back to the basics, and ready to give God all the praise, honor, and glory because in the midst of my storm, God comforted me, In the midst of my sin, God cleansed me, In the midst of my battles, God protected me, In the midst of sickness, God healed me, In the midst of darkness, God showed me the light, and in the midst of me veering in the wrong direction, God pulled me in and allowed me to return Back to the Basics.

I'm so excited to know that we serve a God of Grace and Mercy! He has given me a fresh start even though I don't deserve it and for that I shall praise him the rest of my days.

Life is Filled with Valuable Lessons

Life is filled with many lessons, decisions, and situations that alter and feverishly change not only the present but the future as well. In my life, I’ve been in many situations that have weighed me down and have caused me to lose myself and become wrapped up in negative thinking. Though I tend to appear to be a very positive, motivated, and outgoing individual, I too face obstacles that sometimes cause me to lose sight of my visions and dreams but, I consider those moments lessons to better myself, strengthen my faith, grow my confidence and another reason to continue to operate in my gift.

This week, I had to meet stress head on when things with my new business: Religious Expressions went wrong. For the past 11 months, I have been dealing with branding my company: creating an identity, developing and finding unique products and creating the overall experience of my company. Because, my vision was perceived the wrong way, through one of my contractors, I faced a major breakdown that caused me to lose faith in my dream, re-think my vision, and ultimately lose sight of what I should do next.
The Devil would have loved that! Me giving up on making my God-given dream a reality but, luckily through passion, my faith was restored and God directed me in the way I needed to go in order to take the next step in fulfilling my dream.

Sometimes, we are faced with obstacles and we immediately think of them as a sign that we should give up but I believe Success doesn’t come the first time around, It goes to the person who is willing to look beyond their failures and setbacks, and continue to move forward until their dream has been achieved.

I’m operating in my gift and though I’ve had a setback, I believe that the lessons I am being taught through this entire process are just preparation for what God has destined for me to do in this life, in this day, in this time, and in this year!

Next time you are setback, keep believing in your visions and dreams, Next time an obstacle comes in and destroys the very path you were walking, take heed to the lesson, trust God, and let your steps be ordered according to his divine purpose!

Until Next Time, Stay Driven, Motivated, and Inspired to Succeed

Jaylen LaGrande
Chief Executive Officer – J. LaGrande Enterprises
http://jaylenlagrande.com

Publisher – Motivation Magazine
http://motivationmagazine.net