perspective

Got Hope?

/ LaShona Sellers / Leave a comment

🎶”…A thrill of hope, The weary world rejoices…”🎶

There’s a lot of talk about hope this season as we reflect on the year and holidays past; counting  blessings, lamenting losses and anticipating  better for the future. We have hopes, great and small, from the unspoken flickers of our heart to the health & wholeness of our families and communities. Yet hope can be a precarious thing when deferred or unfulfilled. So how do we hold onto the thrill of hope? All of our hopes, every single one, must be anchored to the hope of the world, Jesus Christ. He was born, died and rose again to give us a living hope.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Because of his great mercy  he has given us new birth  into a living hope  through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead â€ť -1 Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬ ‭CSB‬‬

In this truth we can be confident of His love and His plans for us.

“For I know the plans I have for you” —this is the LORD’s declaration—“plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” -Jeremiah 29:11 CSB

“This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” – Romans 5:5 CSB

🎶”My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness

I dare not trust the sweetest frame

But wholly lean on Jesus’ name

On Christ the solid rock I stand

All other ground is sinking sand

All other ground is sinking sand”🎶

May the hope of Christ be yours this season and beyond ! Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays & Happy New Year!

A Drift

/ LaShona Sellers / 2 Comments

Existing on fumes of glory past

Serving but not seeing Him

An exercise of habit, not of the heart

The power of the Word

Alive and transforming

Traded for substitutes and distractions

Coasting on memories of what He’s done

Unable to grasp what He’s doing

No denouncement of faith

No blatant disobedience 

Just a drift

Subtle and subconscious 

Far from His peaceful shore

Burned out. Discouraged. Disillusioned. Drifting.

God loves you. He’s calling you. Come back. Draw near. Surrender it all to Him. 

“…I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, and to know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭17‬-‭19‬ ‭CSB‬‬

The Release

/ LaShona Sellers / 1 Comment

Last summer I released my first book Barnabas Blessings. It was a major accomplishment and still feels a bit surreal.

This summer I’m working on another major release…my first born into adulthood. There are documents and releases to sign declaring his new legal status. There are checklists and deadlines preparing to send him off to college. There’s the shift of authority as he asserts his independence.

There are other releases too. There’s the pruning necessary to remain, fruitful and connected to the Vine (John 15:5). There’s the shedding of weights that bound and distract (Hebrews 12:1). There are trust falls into the arms of Jesus instead of my limited understanding (Proverbs 3:5).

This is a season of joy and the bittersweet, fear and courage, hope and tinges of regret, answered prayers and not yets, hard questions and some hard answers. This season testifies to the power of Christ at work to sustain, transform and renew.

I’m reminded that a hand and heart open to release are also open to receive. As I release, I’m receiving the blessings of a present Father who proves Himself faithful over and over again.

What are you releasing and receiving today?

“I am convinced and confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will [continue to] perfect and complete it until the day of Christ Jesus [the time of His return].” – Philippians 1:6 AMP

Angles

/ LaShona Sellers / Leave a comment

I couldn’t have imagined I would call Baltimore home for the past 20 years. Yet here I am. I’ve worked downtown for over a decade now and the cityscape never gets old. Yes, I know this is just a small part of the city. Yes, I know the city has its ills. But Baltimore has grown on me in ways I didn’t expect and I find my soul irritated by the consistently negative narratives. Can anything good come out of Baltimore? Yes, everyday. I see the ugly but I also see the beauty and I choose to seek the good.

What are you seeing? What are you seeking? Here’s a reminder to FIND A NEW ANGLE.

Messy Blessings

/ LaShona Sellers / 1 Comment

Order & organization, methods & plans…this is what usually makes me tick. But on this faith journey I’m constantly reminded of and blown away by the “messy” blessings. The blessings found in the unorganized and the unplanned. The blessings I might have missed because a person, place or situation didn’t render on my “perfection” meter. The “perfect” and the imperfect…God works in it all. Don’t miss Him.

What’s Your Name?

/ LaShona Sellers / 1 Comment

My name is LaShona with a “La” for melody, a capital “S”, and a long “o” . But I’ve been called LaShonda, Shalonda, Shalona and (a favorite) Lasagna.

Like a mispronounced name, sometimes we are labeled as something or someone we are not. Those labels can be hurtful, demoralizing and relegate us to boxes that can’t possibly contain all of who we are.

That label? That’s not your name. It’s not who you are. Just because it’s what you’ve been called doesn’t mean you have to answer.

“But now, this is what the Lord, your Creator says, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭1‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Starting

/ LaShona Sellers / Leave a comment

Some mornings are picture perfect. Other mornings? Not so much. Maybe it’s been one of “those” mornings or one of “those” weeks…the good news is we don’t have to finish the way we started. REFOCUS. RECLAIM. REFRESH…RESTART.

This Way

/ LaShona Sellers / 1 Comment

Sometimes faith looks like walking in the opposite direction, going against our natural tendencies and everything we think we know. It’s uncomfortable, intimidating and…like a breeze of fresh, brisk air awakening the senses. Listen carefully, walk closely, God is doing something great.