Gifting or Godly Character?

Last night as I was teaching in our bible study class on the Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts we hit on a subject that is often overlooked, and that is CHARACTER! Character is the personality, features, and traits that form the individual nature of a person.  Your character is what proceeds or goes before you!  In today's society and church world we are often so enamored with the individual's gift, that we close our eyes to their morals, their lifestyle, their character!

We started to talk about the nine fruits of the spirit, which are:  Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control.  I began to share with them that it takes the Holy Spirit living on the inside of us to produce and live out the fruits of the spirit!  It is the unloveable people in our lives that show us how to Love! Sometimes it's in the midst of the bottom dropping out of our lives where we choose Joy instead of going into depression!  Kindness is developed when we make a choice to do good to those that despitefully use us!  These are the unseen things that produce Godly character.  When we get to the place that we desire Godly character above giftings, I believe we will see the power and Glory of God demonstrated all over the world!

Character is not something you can grab off the shelf in the store, take 5 quick steps, or microwave up!  Character is made!!!!! It is made by pressure, crushing, and is developed in the dark!  It is in the dark room of our lives, where noone is looking, that private Holiness is developed, and the fruit of the spirit becomes rippened!

We must come to a place where we realize that our ultimate goal is to become fruit bearers, and as bearers of fruit someone should be able to eat from our tree!  When we have a Godly life we will produce ripe fruit that is pleasing to the eye, good to the taste, and produces life!  It is the fruit of the spirit that puts God's character on display, and the gifts of the spirit that puts God's power on display. When we have them both operating in our lives at the same time then we will see the Glory of God on display!

I heard a wise man say, "Don't allow your gift to take you where your character can't keep you!"  I encourage you today to place emphasis on a life that produces character and matches your gifting.  

I pray that you enjoy this throwback from the Clark Sisters "Walk In The Spirit!"

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"TIME"........Marching, Beating, Ticking!

I haven't written anything in a couple of days

So many thoughts running through my mind not sure of what I want to say

I feel my heart filling up, my emotions are stirring overflowing my cup

My cup that contains my words that connects you to my joy, my peace, my sadness, my love

My cup that is brewed with time and patience offering up an aroma with just the right amount of everything

Everything that mixes right well in the pot

All the things that makes the first sip hit the spot

All the things that make you say hmmmmmm...... meditate and pause, yes sit back, relax, and take a pause for the cause

Just because I can, I want to, I need to!

Let life do what it's going to do, but not let it overtake me, consume me, subdue me, or be rude to me

I take a deep breath so that I can be a wise player in the game, sit back and take note of it's name, see which way the game of life is played 

Study my words, know my opponent, load my arsenal, and be ready to aim

Aim for the target, no time to miss, time the precious commodity, I recognize and see it as my gift

It came in marching, marching in time. Time keeps on ticking, I must get in sync or be left behind

I hear the beat of the drum, I connect my step with a hum and the drum that just keeps moving, moving, moving, moving

And I join my heart to the beat that keeps on beating, beating, beating

And time just keeps on marching, beating, ticking..................

into the future!

"Lord Teach Me to Number My Days"

Living The Live Experience~

Producing the Fruit of Gratitude & Thanks

I started this blog with the intent and desire to share my Heart, my Hope, and my Life! At one point and time that wouldn't have been the easiest thing for me to do for various reasons, but now I understand that it's not just about me, and sharing my life is what I must do! That definitely means being transparent and opening myself up for others to see into my heart, glean from my life, and eat from my tree!  So the fruit that I'm producing today is Thanks and Gratitude!

  Recently I have been having some issues with my phone and my charger, and as a result my phone died during the night.  Since I use my phone as an alarm, and it didn't go off, I woke up about 30 minutes later than usual, causing me to miss my morning manna from Bishop Jakes.  I found myself rushing to get ready and my daily routine was now thrown off.  My husband is usually at work by the time I start to get ready in the morning, but it was his day off so he was still asleep.  So now, I'm not only behind, but I'm stumbling around in the dark and failing miserably at keeping quiet.

I head off to my sanctuary; however, I'm not feeling my best, I'm a little jaded.  I can feel that my body is off!  I keep moving forward in an effort to pull myself together, and as I begin to brush my teeth my heart is filling up with gratitude and thanksgiving.  I start thinking, "God I am so blessed!" I'm realizing in that moment that it was not my alarm that woke me up on time this morning, but it was the goodness and faithfulness of God!  I went to turn on the shower and there came another place of praise, "God I thank you for hot running water."  I begin to think of others who have received the same diagnosis as myself that can't step into the shower alone and bathe themselves, and again the words "Thank You" start to flow out of my mouth.  

Although I was moving a little slower than normal this morning, it didn't stop my praise!!! The praise that flows from my heart of gratitude and thanksgiving!  I have learned and I am still learning to take every opportunity to find a place of gratitude!  Everything may not be looking good or feeling good, but when I am thankful in everything the will of God for my life is being fulfilled!

I'm sure that we all have some things in our lives that we could complain about, or that we would simply like to be better.  I know that I have some things I have been praying to change, but I have come to realize the more I focus on the situations that I can't change, the larger the problem becomes in my mind!  My heart of gratitude redirects my focus and energy and causes me to change until my situation catches up with my mindset!

• Today I want to encourage you to find a place of gratitude; not in place of your situation, but in spite of your situation.
• Take a minute to count your blessings
• What are three (3) things that you have to be thankful for?  
• Please remember a heart of gratitude always proceeds your miracle.

I pray that this song blesses you today! 

 

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Working For My Good

There is something that has been on my heart for the past couple of days that I have not been able to shake!  Romans 8:28 has been stirring in my spirit, over and over and over again.  "And we know that all things WORK together for GOOD to them that love God and are the called according to His purpose!" This one scripture is packed with so much goodness that you can dissect and chew on it for days; however, the two words WORK and GOOD are what stood out to me!
 I started to ponder on those words, asking God what it was that He wanted me to understand an take away from this verse!  All I kept hearing, ringing in my spirit, was WORKing and my GOOD!  So I took a minute to look up those two words and there were so many definitions.

The meaning for WORKing is the process of shaping material, and the word GOOD is derived from the Latin word bene, which is where we get the word benefit or beneficial.  Once I saw the meaning, it was at that point the light bulb went off for me..............And we know that all things are the process of shaping (life, situations, issues, disappointment, etc.) together for the benefit of them that love God and are the called according to His purpose!  It is The Things in our lives: failed relationships, unfulfilled dreams, a broken heart, promotion, sickness, loss of a job, the birth of a child, the loss of a loved one, a graduation, missed opportunity, relocation, and the list can go on and on, that are working together for our good!

• How many times have we cried out to God about the things that are going on in our lives? 
• How many times have we asked God to remove certain things from our lives? 
• How many times have we complained all the way through the process, not remembering that ALL Things are Working, shaping, cultivating, grooming, and making us for our benefit?

Psalm 119:71 says, "it is Good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn your statues."  Look, it is really just this simple, "where there are no things, there can be no-thing to work with."  I continue to preach the message of perspective and perception because it has everything to do with how we see things, and the attitude in which we deal with the things we see!
Life comes for all of us, and sometimes it seems harder for some than others.  We have various things and situations that we are going through, and some days it feels like the cares of the world have come in to overtake us.  I'm not here to tell you that what you are facing is not real; however, I am here to let you know that your past, real life present, and future things are the process (the working) of shaping your life material together for your benefit, your GOOD!

Please take a minute to listen to this song "It's Working", I believe it will bless you!

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I Trust You

I was awakened at 6:30am by a text message! I rolled over to look at my phone it was The "Queen!"  I'm thinking to myself, what could she be texting me about this early in the morning! I looked at my phone and saw that she sent me an audio text and I'm like great, I still don't have to open my eyes.  After listening and pondering on what she had sent in her message I lay there for a while just thinking.  I'm really wanting to go right back to sleep, but I just keep thinking...........

I start going through a laundry list of things that are on my plate, and in my thoughts I begin to become overwhelmed.  My mind is going a mile a minute and it doesn't stop until I fall back off to sleep.  I finally doze back off to sleep and then my alarm goes off!!!  I hit the snooze button, turn on Daystar, and wait for Bishop Jakes to come on. Whew, I must have been really tired this morning, because I kept hitting the snooze button and falling back to sleep; needless to say, I don't remember a thing Bishop Jakes preached this morning!

I finally got up and I sat on the edge of the bed and took a moment to gather my thoughts. I turned the channel to the news, turned on Pandora, and proceeded to get ready for work.  When I went in the bathroom I began to pray as I always do:  it has become one of my favorite places to meet with My Father.  I started to verbally talk to Him about my situation and what I needed him to do, and in my prayer I began to say, "God if you don't do it, it can't and won't be done, but I trust you!"  I trust you with my finances, I trust you with my marriage, my children, my life, with all of me! It seemed almost immediately the song "I Trust You"  started to play! Now this is not a song that I would consider one of my favorites, but it was what I needed right in that very moment!  I know that God hears my prayers, but right then and there was a GOD Moment for me! I knew that He was right there, continuing to be the faithful prayer answering God that He is!  Suddenly a peace came over me, where my mind had been racing!!!!  Again, I was assured that God knows what I have need of even before I ask (Matt 6:31-34).

I don't know what you're facing today, but I just want you to know that God is a prayer answering God, and that He knows what we have need of even before we ask!  We simply have to be willing to put all of our hope and trust in Him!  If He did it before, He can do it again!

I pray this song blesses you~

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Opposition -VS- Opportunity

May 20, 2013

Good Morning & Happy Monday!

I pray that your weekend was blessed and fulfilled!  Full and filled with peace, love,  happiness, and rest.  As I 'm writing I'm thinking some of you may have had a very busy, event filled weekend, with very little rest; however, with all of our busyness, peace, love, happiness, and rest is a state of mind and a state of being.

A couple weeks ago I wrote something and shared it on my facebook page, and I wanted to repost it on the blog.  I pray that this word will blesses you as much as it blessed me!

I was listening to Bishop Jakes as I do every morning. He was preaching from his "Open Door Series." I am usually laying there, waking up, and getting my morning manna, when he started talking about slaves and a master and I'm like, ok Bishop where are you going with this. Well of course, you know he was going somewhere, I just had to listen long enough to see where. He started talking about these slaves and how they were different from those of a western culture mentality, and how they had relationship with their master. The relationship was evident because of the conversation that their master was having with them, and the fact that he was having conversation with them at all. Bishop Jakes started to talk about the fact that the master had given the servants talents, but more than giving them talents he had given them an Opportunity!!!!

I love when he said opportunity is something that is discerned and it has everything to do with perception. You have to be able to discern when opportunity has presented itself. When he started talking about the fact that opportunity has to be discerned I got stirred up! He said that most times when opposition comes and a storm arises, we typically pack up our bags, gas up the car, and start heading for the opposite direction, and like the wicked and lazy servant, out of fear we take our talent and bury it in the ground! That is the reason why it is often said that the grave yard is one of the richest places: so many have died with their gifts still inside of them instead of dying empty.

There are very few people that will see the storm coming and start walking toward the storm.  Those that will face the storm are usually those that have discerned that their opportunity is wrapped up in their opposition! Could it be that your hard place, affliction, test, mountain, obstacle, is the very thing that God wants to use as your opportunity?!?!  The master gave the servants an opportunity to increase and the same goes for our relationship with The Father.  God wants to give us an opportunity to increase, based on what He has placed in our hands! Now here is where perception kicks in, what God has placed in your hands may not look like opportunity for increase! You may say how can the loss of my job, loss of a loved one, sickness in my body, a wayward child be opportunity for increase?  You must know that increase is not always monetary!  It's through your opposition and hard place that the opportunity has come for you to Trust God, for your Faith to increase, for your Character to be refined, and for someone to see the Greatness of God in your life! 

I think it all boils down to knowing that our Daddy God is worthy of our trust and that everything is working out for our Good!  What a privilege it is for God to choose us, so I want to encourage you to allow your place of opposition to become an opportunity to reproduce in the earth! Let your passion be driven by purpose and fulfilling the perfect will of God for your life!

Living The Live Experience~

Jodi

To New Beginnings

Welcome To Jodi Litmon Heart of Worship Blog! 

 

I am so very excited about the opportunity to connect with all of you and share my heart! The JL Heart of Worship Blog will open the door for me to dialogue and to begin an ongoing conversation. I am attentively listening to the Father that as He shares His heart with me, I will share His heart with You! I believe that this will be the start of a really great relationship! :-)
I have so many things in my heart that I'm like, "where do I begin?!?!" I'm sure that I will blog about one of my greater passions, Music and The Word! I absolutely love my family, so you will hear about them from time to time as well! God has allowed me to go on an amazing journey and has opened up my life to talk about what I've been through, so I want to connect with others who are going through the same thing! I will simply be spreading the HOPE that God has given me, to those who have been diagnosed with, battling, or surviving cancer. Oh and I haven't forgotten about those that are the caregivers, love-givers, and the life-givers to those of us on this journey! These amazing people are often forgotten, but are the ones that get in the trenches and fight just as hard as we do!

If there are things that are on your heart that you wish to discuss with me or would like for to share please let me know! I am very big on confidentiality, so if there is a private matter, please feel free to inbox me at: https://www.facebook.com/JodiLitmonTheLiveExperience.

Until the next time...........
"Living the Live Experience"