Self Image

Today we live in a society where image and reputation is everything. From the way we look down to the house we live in, the car we drive and or even clothing labels. Growing up as a teenager in a home with love and from my family, I still struggled with my self image.

Now when I looked up the word self image in the Webster's dictionary, it is defined as one's own idea or self perception".Things can be perceived in so many ways. If I were to ask three students in a classroom to describe a picture painted by Michelangelo, I would get different adjectives.Would any of them be wrong? No. Why? Because they described to me what they saw.What I am trying to say is that we all perceive things differently.

My mom never gave me the perception that my self image was a problem. She always taught me that how I perceived myself is important.But the question is why did I feel as though my physical shape was all wrong? I often thought to myself why my friends had longer hair than I did, or how come the other girls hips were much bigger than mine or how come I was the shortest in the neighborhood? This was how I saw myself.I thought the way I was born was all a mistake.It even got to the point where I would starve myself and attempted to commit suicide so I could escape my mind.There were other factors that came into play with my self-image.

     I admired artists like Brandy, Tamia, and Beyonce. The way they dressed and how men would just lust after them. I remember my mother taking me to the salon to change my hair-style every 2 weeks and buy me new clothes when she could.To be honest after all that,I still felt something wasn't right with me.That feeling that I had was all because it was not about my physical structure, but all internal.Trying to look like a celebrity and adding weave to my hair was becoming exhausting and costly.

     Years later, I came to know someone who would help me see that there was no mistake in the way I looked.His name is Jesus.The scripture that I can first remember and never forget is Genesis 1:27-
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of GOD he created Him;male and female he created them". If God made me in his image then that means that I resemble him in a realm that I can't see. From the various science books of the theorists and their opinions and how this world was created, they all concur that God is an artist whose personality is mysterious.

     Basically as I take this time to encourage myself and have a panoramic view of what I should look like, I want you to look at yourself in the mirror and point out all those areas you don't like and ask why.While looking, you should also realize unless you're a twin (whom by the way has differences), you are a designer's ORIGINAL.There is no one who looks like you or can be you, other than you.So what if I don't have round hips like Beyonce, long hair like Ashanti or legs like Tyra Banks, that's not the image I was meant to have.Learn to wake up daily and love on yourself. Tell yourself daily no one looks like me,I am righteous,loveable,wonderful and I AM a designer's ORIGINAL.

Then I noticed as I started to accept the image I was created in and began placing a higher value on  knowing who I belonged to, people started seeing me differently as well. People around me saw me as this flawless beautiful woman inspite of what I thought was wrong at the time.God's desire is that we see what He sees.

Because no matter how much surgery you have,tattoos or breast implants you have,YOU have to realize that your image must change inside first so you could be at ease with how you were made. YOU ARE NO MISTAKE!!!!

What If?

As I sit and think about past fears,I begin to bask in the wonders and awesomeness of my God. I remember the first time that I relocated from the Bahamas to the United States after 20 years. The decision came as a result of wanting a better life than the one I had left behind and pursue my career. Of course the only thing that ran through my mind as the plane lifted off the ground was "what if this is not right?" Forty-five minutes later, the plane landed and home was no longer in sight.I left a place where everyone I knew that loved me was there,family friends, my job, transferred out of college, sold my car and every possession that my mother gave me after her death.

 

     The outcome of re-developing a relationship with a man I had not seen in 13 years was scary. Sitting in the waiting area of Miami International Airport, adrenaline rushed through my body as a man approached me.Right away I wanted to scream and run away,but he looked into my eyes with a look of happiness and smiled and said, "hi coo coo". Coo coo is the name my mother said he called me when I was an infant.I felt like I knew him from somewhere.This man was my biological father.I was embraced in his home with my step-family.We had so many challenges along the way, but 2 and 1/2 years later,we have become the best of friends.

     I said that all to say had I dwelled on the thought of "what if", my I would have never reconciled with my father.Was this my idea....not really. For all I knew he had other children and I didn't need him after I became an adult. It was all apart of God's plan and purpose for my life. I have also been re-born again into the Kingdom of God and I will never turn back. Like me, you probably have thoughts that go through your minds that start with a...what if......?

What if my family doesn't forgive me for leaving?

What if my boyfriend leaves me?

What if I get persecuted for my belief in Jesus Christ?

What if I get fired and I have no way of paying my bills?

What if I tell the truth and they don't believe me?

What if I fall in love again and get abused again?

What if this is not the best school God wanted me to attend?

What if this is not the person God told me to marry?............... and the list goes on and on.

By stepping out on faith and just trusting God,I guarantee you that you would begin to decrease the amount of time you dwell on the unknown. The bible tells us that' without faith it is impossible to please God '. I am a living witness that when you stop the 'what ifs' and just begin to move on that voice that dwells in you...all will begin to fall right into place. So no longer as a Christian do I ask so many 'what if'.But now I come against that spirit of fear. Doubt is a lack of trust. Fear is a lack of Faith.Faith co-exists with trust.They are inseparable. My friends,live life as if it were your last day knowing that you stepped out boldly, followed that voice and at the end of the day accomplished what you believed!!

When the 'what ifs' come into your mind..combat it with the word.Repeat stuff like,God has my back and He told me He will never leave me nor forsake me. I have learned the only thing Satan responds to and run away from is truth.The truth is the word of God.

Now I can say that leaving home for an estranged land, following Christ, loving people even when they don't understand me was all apart of God's plans for me.

Who am I? I am...

A child of God (Romans 8:16)

Redeemed from the hand of the enemy (Psalms 107:2)

Forgiven (Colossians 1:13-14)

Saved by grace through faith (Ephes 2:8)

Justified (Romans 5:1)

A new creature (2 Corin 5:17)

Partaker of His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4)

Redeemed from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13)

Delivered from the powers of darkness (Colossians 1:13)

Led by the spirit  of God (Romans 8:14)

A  son (daughter) of God (Romans 8:14)

Kept in safety wherever I go (Psalms 91:11)

Getting all my needs met by Jesus (Philippians 4:19)

Casting all my cares on Jesus (1 Peter 5:7)

Strong in the Lord and in the power of His might (Ephesians 6:10)

Doing all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13)

An heir of God and a joint heir with Jesus (Romans 8:17)

Heir to the blessings of Abraham (Galat 3:13-14)

Observing and doing the Lord's commandments (Deuteronomy 28:12)

Blessed coming in and blessed going out (Deut.28:6)

Healed by His stripes (1 Peter 2:24)

Above only and not beneath (deut.28:13)

More than a conqueror (Romans 8:37)

Establishing my authority over the enemy (Luke 10:19)

An overcomer by the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony (Rev 12:11)

Daily overcoming the devil (1 John 4:4)

Not moved by what I see (2 Cor 4:18)

Walking by faith and not by sight ( 2 Cor 5:7)

Casting down vain imaginations (2 Corin 10:4-5)

Bringing every thought into captivity (2 Corin 10:5)

Being transformed by the renewing of my mind (Romans 12:1-2)

A laborer together with God (1 Cor 3:9)

The righteousness of God in Christ ( 2 Cor 5:21)

An imitator of Jesus (Eph 5:1)

The light of the world (Matt 5:14)

Blessing the Lord at all times and continually praising the Lord with my mouth (Psalm 34:1)

Allow no one and nothing to define who you are in life. God is your creator and He is the only one that determines your purpose based on who you are and how you were made. I pray that you seek purpose and counteract negativity with these confesions. If you don't know where to start, please feel free to send me an email at lornekajoseph@gmail.com.

I need you to show up!

Tonight as I sit and prepare myself for another day of  work, I cannot help but think about what my true desire is at this point in my life. For the past few weeks my brothers and I, along with many other Christians have been praying for the release of the Holy Spirit to manifest on earth like the day of Pentecost.

Pentecost was the Sunday after Easter recognized as a church festival commemorating the descending of the Holy Spirit on the believers who were present in a placed called the upper room (meeting place). Just imagine a place filled with Christians from all around the world fellowshipping with one another. Then suddenly comes a roaring sound from above like a windstorm that is heard all throughtout this room. If that's not enough to be amazed by. Well, the bible also tells us that flames and tongues of fire rested upon their heads. What was the result? Everyone in the room began speaking in other languages that was very unfamiliar. You can read the full story in the book of Acts chapter 2.

Basically, I am believing that the same God that did this marvelous work can do the same thing again. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday,today, and forever."

 But what this blog is really about is that after being born again and having a relationship with the divine trinity( Father, Son and Holy Spirit), have I really gotten what I wanted from God all this time? I am not talking about blessings such as cars, houses, land, a career, gifts or even meeting my future spouse. I am talking about knowing what it is to experience the meaning of walking and depending TOTALLY upon the Holy Spirit. Contrary to popular belief, I honestly believe that we as Christians can walk in the spirit 24 hours a day. How do you know this Lorneka?

Well, Jesus was the word that became flesh and as He went about His father's business, he was led the Holy Spirit. Rarely do you see in the Bible Jesus getting out of character as He did His father's business. Except for that one time when He walked into a temple in Jerusalem and drove out the people who had turned it into a place of buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He violently knocked over the tables with money on them.This was Jesus insisting that people keep his temple a house of prayer (Matthew 21:12-13).

I say all this to say that Lord I want more than anything in this world for you to show me how to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit just as you did on the day of Pentecost. I want to experience the Holy Spirit every moment that I am breathing and going about my day. Hear my heart Lord and answer me please. My desire it to please YOU at all times, but I can not do so by being dominated by the flesh and the cares of this world. We can be Holy Spirit filled when sitting in traffic and someone cuts in front of us and we want to curse them out; when our bosses on the job act up; when loved ones do us wrong; when finances are acting up and even when life does not go our way, we can still be in the spirit.

Your word says that when I pray, believe what I have prayed and I shall receive it. I WILL BE WAITING ON THE MANIFESTATION OF THIS REQUEST.

Goodnight Daddy

This shall come to pass

In 2009 and beyond....

Holiness, Holiness is what I long for
Holiness is what I need
Holiness, Holiness is what you want for me

Holiness, Holiness is what I long for
Holiness is what I need (ohoh)
Holiness, Holiness is what you want for me

Righteousness, Righteousness is what I long for
Righteousness, is what I need. (that's what I need)
Righteousness, that's what you want, that's what you want, that's what you want for me
So take my...

Chorus
Take my heart and mold it,
Take my mind transform it, (take)
Take my will conform it, (to yours)
To yours, to yours, own

Brokenness, Brokeness, is what I long for
Brokeness, is what I need (gotta be broken)
Brokeness, Brokenness that's what you want for me

Chorus
Take my heart and mold it, (take... my mind)
Take my mind transform it, (take my wil)
Take my will conform it, (conform my will)
To yours, to yours, oh Lord.

To yours, to yours, oh lord x3

Holiness, Holiness is what I long for
Holiness is what I need (gotta be holy)
Holiness, Holiness is what you want for me

Is what you want for me x3

 

STDs..abstain and have no worries!

Jim- " That was the best sex I ever had, you're the best babygirl."

Sue- " Of all the girls you've dated, you are telling me I am the best? Wow! You do love me"

Jim- "I do love you and I will never do anything to hurt you babygirl as long as we're together"

Sue and Jim are in a long distance relationship. So when they got together on school breaks,they would have sex to make up for lost time.  Sue attends college in South Miami and Jim goes to a community college in Texas. After the summer break Sue noticed something weird happening with her body.She had two weeks of pain when she urinated, inflammation and unusual discharges from her genital area. Sue decided to go and see a physician at a local clinic.

Dr.Flanigan performed a few tests and had Sue to sit in the waiting area until the results returned.Sitting patiently, sweating and heart beat racing and praying, Sue could not wait any longer for the results. Dr.Flanigan read the results. It turned out that Sue had contracted an STD. It was Herpes Simplex Virus(HSV) type-1.

How many of us have seen or heard about these type of situations that affect us or someone we know? We all do. The thing about these situations is not only are they unwanted, but they produce long term effects. Now Jim and Sue are very much in love as you read, but how is it that love has brought on such grief to a young girl in love? What I did not tell you prior to this scenario is that Jim had slept with another girl during the summer break with Sue.Interesting, I know!

There are a lot of Sexually Transmitted diseases that I have not mentioned. Too many to list if you ask me. Here is a website you can check out. http://www.avert.org/ .But fact of the matter is they are out there and most of them are uncurable. We have all sat in those long sex seminars in high school on the dangers of unprotected sex and STDs ,so I wont lecture you on that anymore. But what I will talk about is an option that is rarely discussed in today's society that can prevent these dangers from happening to us or anyone we know. The best and safe option is called abstinence.

December 1st is World Aids Day and I got a chance this year at school to sit down and really think about how is it that the number of infected individuals keep increasing.I am not talking about thirld world countries that are not educated enough and have no resources for treatment. According to the Center for Disease Control(CDC), there are about 19 million new cases of STDs that show up and the majority of those cases comprise of young people between the ages of 15-24 years old.This statistic is not only alarming, but frightening. Why? Because it makes me think if the majority of young people are infected with an STD, then who is educating the other percentage so that they don't contract an STD?

I will not have you to think that I have never had sex, but I was able to not contract any diseases only by the grace of God. Which I am so grateful for. But after giving my life to the Lord I became a born-again virgin and have been abstaining for the last four years. It was the  best decision I ever made. So many times we look at the reasons why we have sex and want pleasure, but do we really know the purpose of sex? Stay tuned for this on another blog.

The reason I wanted to get this blog out on STDs is because the world tells us that the only way we can be effective in our relationships is to indulge in sexual encounters and please our partners. There are so many activities that a couple in love who are waiting for marriage can do. Sex is not the only thing.Unlike Jim, he did not think about what could happen as a result of his one night stand. No one plans to become infected , but when we have sex, we are basically taking a risk. A risk that I believe life is not worth. It is not worth it for anyone to give their soul to someone temporarily and get nothing but pain in return. Now you are probably thinking how is it that through sex you give someone your soul. Sex is a form of expression that connects people together intimately. However, if not done with the right motive, an understanding of the purpose of sex and not with the person God destined to be with you, hurt and pain can be the end results.

For those who of you who have an STD or in a relationship where you feel you may be in danger, get help or talk to someone about it. As a certified pharmacy technician, we know that prevention is the best medicine. I will have you to know that there are some STDs that are asymptomatic( no symptoms). So the best thing to do is to go and get tested at a local clinic. There are over the counter medications that can alleviate minor problems, but GET HELP!

I leave you with a final thought or word. Better yet, the only word that is proven to give great results.  The word of God states:

1 Corinthians 6:18-20 (New International Version) 

 18Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

By making a decision to never be worried about whether you have contracted an STD or not, I advise you to pray and ask God how to help you to wait on the mate He has for you. One that you can trust and commit to wholeheartedly. Abstinence has been the only way God wants us to honor Him. It takes having a relationship with Christ and then allowing Him to help you through the struggles of wanting sexual pleasures until He brings you a mate. I am still learning how to be pure in thought and in deeds, but I can offer the word of God to you that has helped me over the years.

So until next time...when you are not sure if to have sex and wondering if you will catch an STD..think about the lives that are already infected and those that don't know they are infected. ABSTINENCE IS THE WAY TO GO!