It Had To Happen: Are You Ready to Experience Something New?

As I was out inspiration seeking this morning, I ran across a blog post written last year by Cynthia Patterson or more affectionately known as Elder P. I hope you find the same encouragement as I did. And please check out her book, It Had to Happen. Be blessed today friends! - Nakia

It Had To Happen: Are You Ready to Experience Something New?:
By: Cynthia A. Patterson

Your car broke down, you learned you have to take a pay cut, or even be laid off. Things are not going right. Sickness may have overtaken you, relatives died. Unemployment, disability, all the stresses of life. You barely have ends meeting now and things by your calculation are even worse the next few months.This year, you have experienced the ultimate test of faith, and have been faced with some of the worst situations. The questions are: can you make it through? Can you still believe? And does the Bible give you enough strength and scripture to go on with excitement? The answer friend is yes!

For God promises us in His word through Isaiah 43:19 For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.

God is going to do a new thing. You can have a day filled with opportunities to create yourself and your results anew. Take charge of your life today and everyday moving forward. Try not to focus on the past, move on. Learn from your past, make new choices, and move on. A person living in the past is like a driver who is driving down the road starring at the rear view mirror. Sooner or later, driving in this manner will lead to catastrophe. Allow the past to serve its rightful purpose as a teacher. Your past does not determine your future.

I believe there comes times in our lives where there are circumstances we don’t understand why. If you are not happy with the results you have had in your life up until now, be grateful for those results and experiences. They are true gifts. What do you mean by gifts? God was revealing important messages to you to mature your faith in Him.

You have to stay strong and be diligent in your approach to viewing your situation now. Here’s a question, why do people continue to get what they always got? The answer to this question is quit simple: If you continue to be who you have always been, you’ll continue to have what you’ll always had. In other words, if we don’t like what we are getting, we need to look at who and what we are being.

You cannot go on with this same drama in your life. You cannot be caught up in what used to be or who you used to be. God wants to give you new blessings. But God can’t give them to you if you continue to treat the new things like the old things by holding on to what has been.

Philippians 3:13-14 says, Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. This word straining means: To pull, draw, or stretch tight: strained the sheets over the bed. God has been stretching you. God has been preparing you. He’s been getting you ready for your blessing.

We have to learn to leave the former things where they are. It’s time to move on. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! Thank God for a mighty great year. Thank God for all he has done for you. Thank God for what He taught you this year. Thank God for walking with you. God’s word will not return void.

Join me in declaring “GOD IS DOING A NEW THING.” Declare you will receive complete restoration. Declare doors will be opened that no man can shut. Declare you will be blessed with new ideas, new strategies, new businesses, second chances, new worship, and the list is endless. Whatever your new thing is, speak it. For the word promises us, if you declare a thing and it will be established for you. Your current situation isn’t the destination, but a chance to do something new.

Cynthia A. Patterson is the author of, It Had to Happen – Understanding that everything you go through in life is for God’s Purpose. A sought-after conference speaker, teacher, and powerful prayer warrior who has a passion to inspire and encourage women. Her message of faith and wholeness is raising the awareness of God’s purpose and exposing each woman to the reality of His never-ending, love, mercy, and grace. Cynthia resides in Houston, Texas with her son Michael who she calls her “mighty man of valor” as he is her first ministry.

Beating: It's in the Eye of the Receiver

A headline in the news caught my attention this morning… Texas judge needs help, says beaten daughter. Judge Who Beat Daughter Not Remorseful… Judge William Adams Who Beat Daughter Says He Did Nothing… a long list of catchy one-liners popped up in my Google search.


After only being able to bear watching parts of the "beating/spanking" video, I was curious as to what my Facebook friends thought about the Adams Family Video, so I asked them. Some felt that she deserved the beating she received because she was wrong for downloading music illegally from the internet and that they themselves had experienced much worse beatings than that one. Others felt that after watching the video, the father’s words were much worse than the beating that he gave his daughter. Some vehemently opposed to his discipline tactics altogether.

Xavier, a fictional character in my latest novel, Running from Solace, told his school principal and child protective services that he had been abused by his mother. But, Xavier had bruises and very noticeable ones which led to immediate action on his behalf. Not one person that read Running from Solace sympathized with his abusive mother, Mona. Some readers expressed empathy at times, but never sympathy or understanding. However, why in the real-life case of Hillary (daughter) and Judge William Adams (father), are we questioning the validity of what Hillary, then sixteen and now twenty-three says happened to her. Hillary flat out feels as though she had been abused as a child and that her father could benefit from some help. Who are we to question that? Who are we argue that it wasn’t that bad or defend her father because she didn’t burst out in a waterfall of tears. If you read Running from Solace, remember Xavier refused to give his mother the satisfaction of seeing him cry. 

Why is it that because what happened to you was worse than what happened to me, then it means that mine wasn’t that bad? You say beating…I say spanking. No matter the case, for Hillary to hold onto a video-taped beating for seven long years, well, for me… that smells like smoke. And we all know the old cliché, where there’s smoke, there’s bound to be a fire. You see, abuse, beatings or spankings look different in every family or relationship and whether it’s a black eye or bruised heart—they both hurt. And they both need to heal and the entire process takes time. And for the Adams family, the process is only now about to begin.

Now, I'm not defending or persecuting anyone here, but, if we can cry for Xavier, a fictional character, let’s show some compassion and shed tears for real victims because every 10 seconds an allegation of child abuse is made in the United States.

Nakia R. Laushaul Dishes on Debut Novel | Rolling Out - Black News, Celebrity Videos, Entertainment, Business & Politics

Nakia R. Laushaul Dishes on Debut Novel | Rolling Out - Black News, Celebrity Videos, Entertainment, Business & Politics

My Poetry: Labels

I wrote this poem out of a desire ... not to be labeled, stereotyped, or considered a victim. It's a movement: No labels.

Psalm 139:13-14

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made: your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.