Hey friends!

I know it has been a long minute since I posted on the blog. Life has surely been moving for me. I am amidst a career transition. I have published 2 books: “Girl Power God’s Way,” and “The Best Five Minutes: A Prayer Journal for the Woman Unlearning Busy.” Both can be found on Amazon if you’d like to purchase them. I am also taking a class for the industry that I am moving towards, and I am an apprentice. So, yeah, life is moving and grooving for me.

In regards to my walk with Christ, it is still moving too. Moving in a good direction, slowly. I’m learning, growing, failing, winning, and blossoming all at the same time. I am learning to stand on my own two feet in my faith and get my own oil, and extra at that! God’s maturation process for me has been steady. While there are many beautiful things happening in my life that I previously mentioned, I still am in want in a few areas. Some of the wants are in my hands like:

• Wanting to grow closer to Christ and grow in understanding of His word
• Wanting to adopt a healthier lifestyle
• Wanting to spend more time with my family

There are other things that are solely in the hands of God and are subject to the timing and sovereign will of God. Those things I will refrain from listing out, sorry.

This morning, I was reminded of a passage of scripture that came alive for me last night. I was in need of encouragement, desperate even, and there was none for me. I cried out to the Lord for something I rarely ask for, a personal word. I needed a word only for me, sacred for me, one to ponder in my heart and hold tight. A word that I didn’t have to share with anyone, and even for a moment, be selfish with. Now I will preface this by saying that Good News is for sharing, and what God gives me and approves for me to share in His timing, I will always obediently share. Last night was different. What I am about to share is not the personal word the Lord gave me (I’m still waiting on it I think), it is the process and importance by which having His word in me and in you means, and no one else can do it for you, you must have Him, and enough of Him, for yourself.

“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. ³ Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, ⁴ but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. ⁵ But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

⁶ “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom ^[a]is coming; go out to meet him!’ ⁷ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.⁸ And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

¹¹ “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’¹² But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

¹³ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour ^[b]in which the Son of Man is coming.

Matthew 25:1-13 (NKJV)

There it was, a process to my question. The process in short, prepare. What made five of the virgins wise and the other five foolish? Preparation or the lack thereof. They all fell asleep on the journey awaiting the bridegroom, and they all were virgins, but five brought extra oil, and five did not. Due to the lack of preparation of the five foolish virgins, they missed out on the very moment they were waiting for. Were the five wise virgins wrong not to share their oil? No. All of me wants to say yes, but the truth is no. We all have a personal responsibility to get a supply of the Lord for ourselves to make it through life journey. Grandma’s prayers go but so far, and the help of friends goes but so far. You have to have enough for yourself.

My encouragement to you today and to myself is to trim your wick, that is to prepare to burn bright for Christ, and bring enough oil. Our oil is the supply of His word applied to our lamp so that we can pull from to be a light to ourselves first and then to others as we journey through the dark times in life. I am grateful for my teachers who do not know they are my teachers revealing this lesson to me. I’m all the better for it.

What are practical ways to fill up on the Oil of God’s Word? Here are a few things that I am doing and re-doing:

1. I wake up early and make room for God to have the first fruit of my day– the demands of life will always await our attention as soon as we open our eyes to a new day, but we have to choose, sometimes assertively, that we will give God the first of our day. It is building a muscle and He says that if we draw nigh to Him, He will draw nigh to us (James 4:8 KJV)
2. I’m keeping the word before me– I used to use post-its all the time to post scriptures EVERYWHERE– in my car and each room of my home. I even posted them in my office too. This helps me to remember the Word until it is rooted in my heart. I used to hate repetition, but it truly is a solid way of learning. If the Word is in us, we have a supply to ask the Holy Spirit to call to our remembrance.
3. Lastly, I am learning to stop speaking against the good God is giving me and instead show daily gratitude. You can journal it or write it on your phone, I do both. I simply recall the blessings in my life and count them– acknowledge them, and tell the Lord thank you. Recalling His goodness is reinforcing His character in my heart and building my confidence in Him moment by moment.

I pray something you read blessed you today. You are not alone, and God will send encouragement to you (and me) in seasons where He knows we need it, but you are responsible for filling your own oil and having enough of it. May God bless us as we draw closer to Him and draw from the well that never runs dry.

With love,

Jerrica