The Power of Your Voice

Faith empowers us to see that the universe was created and beautifully coordinated by the power of God’s words! He spoke and the invisible realm gave birth to all that is seen.—Hebrews 11:3 TPT

Each one of us uses our voice every day to communicate to others but the idea of the power of our voice goes much deeper than that. Our voice is also a way we express who we are, our feelings, beliefs, and experiences with others.

Our voice is one of the most unique things about us and it has power to change us and our circumstances. Just as God created the universe by His word “so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible” (Hebrews 11:3 ESV), you can give form to your vision by speaking words about living a purpose driven life. You can “decide and decree a thing, and it will be established for you.” (Job 22:28 AMP).

We are “rewarded by what the words we say and rewarded by how we speak them” (Proverbs 18:20 EXB).  By using bold “I am” statements, for example, we can activate our faith, and give voice to our vision.

Below are my declarations of faith over my life and I pray that you will be inspired to create your own “I AM” statements that align with the vision God has awakened in you:

I AM given everything I need to BE INSPIRED, EMPOWERED, AND EQUIPPED. Ephesians 6:10

I AM SUCCESSFUL in everything I do. Joshua 1:7

I AM PROTECTED, God keeps careful watch over me. Genesis 28:15

I AM AGREEABLE, LOVING, COMPASSIONATE and HUMBLE. I RUN after PEACE and I am able to EMBRACE LIFE and see my day FILL UP with good. 1 Peter 3:8-12

I AM a woman of STRENGTH and DIGNITY. I have no fear of old age. Proverbs 31:25

I AM ENERGETIC and never lazy. My words are full of WISDOM and KINDNESS is the rule for everything I say. Proverbs 31:26

I AM FAITHFUL to my friends, co-workers and family. I am a VITAL contributor to my community. Proverbs 27:6

I AM a SUPERNATURAL woman. Not superwoman, supernatural woman! I understand that my source of strength, wisdom and ability come from the POWER of the Holy Spirit. Exodus 31:3

I AM able to do REMARKABLE things! 1 Thessalonians 1:8

I AM able to enjoy the many SEASONS of life. I realize each season has its own unique demands, opportunities, and blessings. I am able to EMBRACE the challenges and APPRECIATE the blessings. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

I AM LIVING, LOVING, and LAUGHING each step of my journey!

I AM able to LIVE bolder • DREAM bigger • LAUGH whenever I can • PRAY for the impossible and ENJOY THE JOURNEY of life here on earth! 

People will be rewarded for ·what they say [ the fruit of their mouth], and they will also be rewarded for ·what they do [the work of their hands].—Proverbs 12:14 EXB

Blessings,

Cindy

What is holding your life together?

Years ago, I decided to buy a bunch of outdoor bistro lights to beautify my backyard.

The directions on the package promised me an easy set up- simply attach to the nearest tree and plug them in!

Since many of the trees in my backyard were spread so far apart, I decided to use any rope, string or cord that I could find in the garage-even using balloon string- to tie them to my high trees.

It looked beautiful at first, I have so many memories of camping and singing songs over the fire in our backyard over the years.

But little did I know that without the right tools, ladders or knowledge, I was going to make a huge problem for the future.

I had no idea that putting up my lights would later be torn down by storms and hurricane winds.

After a particularly bad hurricane season, my contractor husband decided to take down all of my hours of hard work and start again.

It took him and entire weekend to cut off the old strings and chainsaw back branches that have been growing over my light chords over the years- causing them to buckle and pop lights.

In the process, we broke so many pieces of glass- trying to get lights out of the maze that I created from old balloon string and cord.

It was a mess! We even had to keep the kids at a friends house for the whole weekend just so that they would be safe and not step on any remnants of glass laying around!

All of this could’ve been avoided if I had just had the right tools, the right knowledge and the right hooks to put up my lights in the first place.

This reminded me of such a powerful lesson of life. Sometimes we try to rush through life and not really take the time to set the foundation and groundwork that it takes to have a successful future and family.

Sometimes we think cutting corners will save us years of time- but in reality it takes time away from our lives and creates dangers for future possibilities.

If we don’t get the beginning and fundamentals right, it could take us years to untangle the mess that we’ve made.

Psalm 127:1 says, “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: Except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”

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Without the principles found in the Word, what principles will we attach our life to? What will hold our life together during the time of storms?

The Gospel of Matthew reminds us to build our life on the bed rock of Christ as the Great knowledgeable carpenter:

Matthew 7:24 says “These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards.”

So what materials are you temporarily holding your life together with? Money? Career? Relationships?

Just know when the storms of life come, you will find out what matters and what doesn’t very quickly.

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Be a bee in the middle of a sunflower field.

A local farm grows a field of sunflowers in my town. For only two weeks, tourists and photographers come to take selfies in the blossoming field of yellow.

I see aisle after aisle of people randomly posing in front of a stock of sunflowers- walking like a model with a friend snapping photos and telling them how to pose.

I see a newborn shoot going on with a professional photographer- everyone is wearing similar clothes and making canned smiles.

From my point of view, as I was taking photos of the flowers, I saw that not only tourists come to enjoy the sunflower field, but hundreds of bees and other pollinators.

Every flower had a different bug, beetle, butterfly or bumblebee.

To all of the Instagram models, they were but a nuisance, ruining their perfect shot. But it fascinated me to see such hard-working creatures just being shooed away.

If people only knew what these pollinators were doing- they were the ones responsible for the sunflower field. They were the ones that were responsible for creating life on our planet. Without them, there would be no vegetables, no fruits and no plants.

Honeybees, especially, were considered an annoying pest in this field of flowers. When a butterfly came by, there were oohs and ahhs, and a quick attempt at a photo. But when a bee came by, there were screams and grimaces.

When I was observing all of these things in the sunflower field,it reminded me that even the smallest most humble creature has a job. Though thankless and misunderstood, it doesn’t bother them that no one wants to take a picture of them.

The honeybees continue to work without stopping- day and night- without accolades and acknowledgment.

The sunflowers get all the attention and the bees are despised.

And for two weeks, the sunflowers have their day in the sun. They get thousands of pictures taken of them and they are praised for their beautiful petals.

But after two weeks, when all of the petals fall and all the roots dry up, what is left of the beautiful sunflower? Yes there are seeds that can be consumed and used again. But what is the legacy of the bee?

After the beer dies, the honey that he has gathered from thousands and thousands of flowers can remain intact for thousands of years without spoiling (there is a true story of an ancient Egyptian tomb with honey sealed and still good for consumption).

His honey not only feeds his entire colony, but he’s been used for medicine for centuries.

First Corinthians 9:25 talks about the analogy of the race of life. In a real race, the winner gets a crown, or a trophy, that lasts for a short time. For us as believers, we get an inheritance that last for all of eternity.

Are you striving to be a sunflower, that grows beautifully- receiving praise and acknowledgment and then quickly fades after having a fleeting moment of glory?

Or are you striving to be a humble honeybee? A honeybee that receives no prizes, but yet creates a legacy that does not spoil. (See 1 Peter 1:4)

Isaiah 40:8 states “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”

It’s very easy to want to be like the sunflower- in this world of “likes” as our soul currency. Who wants to be a tiny bee- that is shooed away and despised?

I tell you the path of humility is one that Jesus Christ took himself- all the way to the hill of cruxifixction.

You might be a mother changing diapers for the 1000th time today. You might be a caregiver that is shut in. God sees you. You are known to him. Your reward is coming.