Life With Sly

Tag: Encouragement

  • Honest Before God

    Honest Before God

    I had to be honest.

    I had to stop trying to convince myself that I was wrong for wanting what I wanted and believing what I believed. I decided to open myself and the space I was in into God with purity and honesty. I confessed the desires of my heart in that moment while admitting my understanding of why others believed it to be wrong.

    God listened. He heard me. He didn’t judge me. Then, He blessed me and granted the desires of my heart to me. May we all learn to be more honest with ourselves and God so He can move accordingly in our lives. May His will be done. Amen.

    “And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he wanted to do, that the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. And the Lord said to him: “I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built to put My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. Now if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’ But if you or your sons at all turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight. Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples.”
    ‭‭I Kings‬ ‭9‬:‭1‬-‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
    https://bible.com/bible/114/1ki.9.1-7.NKJV

  • Growing Up with My Role Model: Embracing Individuality

    Growing Up with My Role Model: Embracing Individuality

    When I was growing up, I wanted to be JUST like my big sister. She was smart, funny, and my best friend. There was no one in the world I wanted to be around more than her. I’d even go as far as saying I wanted to be her.

    Whenever we went shopping, I tried to make sure we looked like twins. I’d pick the same outfit she did in the same color, too.

    “Pick something else,” she’d say, and my little heart would break. Why did she get so upset that I wanted to be like her? Didn’t she understand that she was my favorite person in the whole world? I knew at such a young age, that no matter what happened, I’d be okay as long as she was there.

    My sweet big sister, my role model to this day. You have always been an inspiration and I’m grateful to God that I have you in my life. While the instruction to “pick something else” was hurtful to me then, I appreciate it now. It taught me the importance of having things “just for me.” I’m finding my interests, pursuing them, and having a blast!

    Thank you for being my role model, SiSTAR. I love you!

  • I Still Hurt Sometimes Pt. 2

    I Still Hurt Sometimes Pt. 2

    When I was 20 years old, I thought I found love. Finally. I didn’t have to chase love anymore, because love found me. The best part? I didn’t need God to find it. I didn’t need to follow the biblical rules my family raised me on; I didn’t have to sacrifice the worldly pleasures I grew accustomed to. I just needed my dreams and a go-getter attitude to achieve them.

    As we fast forward to the present day, I can honestly say, I was wrong. I did find a version of love but it wasn’t the love I was looking for. It wasn’t the kind of love that meets you gently in the morning and forgives your bad breath. It wasn’t the kind of love that held your hand when you were nervous while waiting for the test results. It wasn’t the kind of love that wrapped you up in a blanket of peace when the pain of the world brought you to your knees. It was a version of love but it wasn’t God love.

    In 2022, I started to look for God. I experienced a series of unfortunate events at that point in my life and I struggled to find peace. My good friend and some family members suggested that I seek God. They asked “what else do you have to lose?” Nothing. Besides my life, I had nothing left to lose. The first thing I did was watch a sermon on YouTube. As the sermon was ending, I heard a strong voice gently whisper my name. I knew it was God. I knew He was there waiting for me with arms wide open. I found my way home and discovered true love. God’s love.

    Luke 15:6 KJV
    6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
    https://apps.microsoft.com/store/detail/bible-multi-version/9PPRWS532N91

  • Embracing Vulnerability: A Soul’s Reflection

    Embracing Vulnerability: A Soul’s Reflection

    Awake. I’m awake right now. At this time of day. Wondering what you’re doing and when you’ll come my way. “It’s my first time, ” I think to myself. It’s my first time opening myself up in such a public way. I’m excited, but the excitement quickly turns to despair. Will you like me? Will I say the right things to make you stay? Or will you walk? So many thoughts.

    So many questions that only God and time can answer. Again, I ask, “Will you stay?”

    I ask as if I’ve never asked before. I turn to the heavens and ask God through my broken mirror, “Why did You make me like this? Why did You allow me to suffer so long that I find it so hard to trust?” My thoughts are like splattered paint. Wandering. Moving, according to their own will, and refusing to mold into any interpretable or recognizable image. Then I hear it. I hear Him. God says to me, “Peace, be with you.” He reminds me that I am who He needs me to be. A broken vessel being made new. A light for those who aren’t ready to know Him. I have been perfectly decorated. Shaped and placed to show God’s lost ones where our home is. A torch in the wilderness; lighting the path. Illuminating! I thank God for the peace He’s given.

    And so, I sit here. Awake. I’m awake right now. At this time of day. Wondering what you’re doing and when you’ll come my way.

    John 14:27 KJV
    27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
    https://apps.microsoft.com/store/detail/bible-multi-version/9PPRWS532N91