You see me...

You see me, the chick with the crooked smile and small waist...You see me, the chick with the serious face. You ask yourself, what could it be that makes her so blue? If only you knew... You see, this crooked smile and serious profile does not come from a place of anger or insanity. You actually see a woman focused on her destiny. Yeah sure, I often wonder what it would be like to fit comfortably in the "convenience" box that many have made for me but my Creator quickly reminds me by saying Nata Bee, I made you in the image of me and you see, my ways will not be your ways and my thoughts, not your thoughts because when I made thee, I applied uniqueness with a dash of this and a pinch of that so stop ANALYZING and WONDERING about that. Your quirky ways and awkward daze will by no means bother the people I'll send your way. Just let me handle this and maneuver this so stop with the play. Your mind will not fathom the complete picture because you see...I set it this way. Your mission is to WALK, not by sight, but simply by faith. You do this by accepting who I've made you to be and not what the enemy fools you to see. So...You see me, the crooked smile and small waist...This face is not the result of being in a dark place or insanity. The face you see is focused on her destiny.
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The above flowed from my pen to my pad in a matter of minutes. For some reason, God wanted me to write this so here I am. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. To all that see this, never be afraid to let God use you. His intent is not to hurt us but to mold us into the people that he has called us to be. In order for him to do that, we must let him LEAD. With that said, thanks for reading!

Peace, Love, & Blessings!

Nata Bee

copyright © 2012 Renate' Bender All Rights Reserved.

What's Your Choice?

For many are called, but few are chosen

Matthew 22-14

Many people use the above scripture without actually knowing what it means. I've seen it used pertaining towards friendship quotes as well as used in a manner that tries to spread some sort of hopeless message regarding the kingdom of God. I'd like to encourage you to read God's word and meditate on it before carelessly throwing it around without an actual understanding of what it means. Read the bible for yourself. Many simply go off of what "grandmama & nem" said and run with it without actually reading and gaining a personal understanding for themselves. As God's children, lets stop recycling religious sayings that we've memorized from other people and actually start walking our own walk with God because when it's all said and done, we will be standing alone before him. God put this passage on my heart and gave me an understanding as to what it actually means. This passage represents God's love for us. He calls all of us at one point or another in our lives. You may wonder what I am speaking of when I say "call". This simply means that God calls us through messengers, sermons, visions, & experiences to live a life that represents him and is pleasing to him.

As a person who is trying to accomplish this, I will tell you that it is by no means easy which brings me to my next point. Few are chosen because alot of people simply do not want to change their "comfortable" way of living. Most believe that a comfortable way of living is what is actually acceptable and smiled upon in the world we live in. The revelation I received from this passage tells me that God never excluded us but we exclude ourselves by knowingly, actively & consistently making choices that reject his ways. When God calls us, it is very uncomfortable at first because it goes against the grain. It is the opposite of what the world deems as "normal". The world doesn't view voluntary celibacy & abstinence as "normal" or even sane. The world views this as "unreasonable" & "delusional". The world doesn't view loving and helping your enemies as a smart thing. The world says, "Do you". The world can't understand why some of us who choose to be more Christ like will actually walk away from a tall,dark, and handsome unsaved man that we can see for a man that we don't see. The world doesn't understand this because the world can't see what we see. The gospel is hidden to those whose hearts are hardened against his word. Don't simply go off of my word, check it out for yourself. * 2 Corinthians 4:3*

You will find that the world rejects people who strive to do what Christ has called them to do. It will portray an image that we are idiots and have no brain to think for ourselves. It will portray that we are too "radical" and "crazy" to think that way of living is achievable and normal. One thing that is correct about the previous statement is that, we are radical, I'll admit that. We have no choice but to be because we serve a radical God and I make no apologies for that.

Many times we can get so caught up in what the world is saying is "normal" that it impairs our vision and we start to chip away at our value system just to fit in and gain acceptance but what many don't realize is that the world is much like a "bad romance"..word to lady gaga...it feels so good at the beginning and you become blind to the red flags & unhealthy consequences that once you've completely invested yourself in it, it rejects you without an ounce of sympathy. It actually smiles at your tears and misfortunes. The deeper your despair, the happier it gets. Do not be deceived by it.

To further drive the point home, I will present you with a parable regarding getting caught up in the world's way of doing things. There was a certain individual eating a huge ice cream cone but this wasn't an ordinary cone, it had a sharp blade buried inside it unbeknownst to this person. The person licked this ice cream cone with vigorous delight & eventually was lost in the joy of this cone that they didn't recognize when they started to lick the blade. They eventually started to cut up their own tongue and lick their own blood because they were so caught up in the initial pleasure of the ice cream cone. Don't get so caught up in what the world says is OK that you miss out on what God is calling you to do. Read his word and meditate on it. Who cares if people don't understand or label you as "crazy". People label things as "crazy" when they don't understand it. They then try to demean and reject it. Do not let people deter you from a peace and joy that is unshakable. Listen, people that willingly live their lives in the dark, lose their "sight" so when the light comes into their room, they will become angry and reject it. Don't lose your sight. There's never a pit so deep that God can't reach in and get you out. Yes, we all are a work in progress & God has ordained grace for us through Jesus Christ because he knew we would fall down but do not be deceived into thinking that means life can be lived any kind of way as long as we scream "forgive me" without any true remorse. True remorse brings about change. Grace is actually the strength to refrain from living your life any kind of way. It is not a manipulation tactic that can be used as a pass.

A person that seeks God with their whole being will by no means be forsaken. God will hear their voice and day by day we start to become more like him. This means we start to gain his spiritual characteristics. When this happens, it will be very difficult to go back to our old way of life because his Spirit constantly guides our steps and once we step outside of his will, he alarms us. If we choose to ignore & continue outside of his will, then the spirit becomes grieved and therefore we will become grieved in our spirit because it dwells inside of our being. If you're on your own journey with him, you will understand. If not, what I'm expressing to you will sound "out there" & probably make you defensive and angry. To that, I urge you not to reject the truth aka light but to embrace it. While the light may shine on & reveal our imperfections, it will also work to free us from the bondage that connect us to these imperfections. In the words of Amistad...GIVE US FREE:) CHOOSE to be one of the few today.

Nata Bee

Happy New You!

Trade in your mind of history for a mind of destiny. Do not waste another year nullifying new opportunities with an old mindset. ~Nata Bee

I'm sure most of you reading this have by now heard or have personally stated & sworn to the cliche' sayings of reaching new weight goals, zero debt, getting rid of "baggage" & every other saying that many state during the New Year holiday. We often abandon or forget about many of these goals around the end of March or so when the hoorah has died down. I'd like to take the time to encourage you as well as myself by saying, make this year the year that you actually see these desired goals through. Let's start by actually praying to God to change our mindset because where the head goes the body follows. Let's adopt a healthy and spiritual mindset for the year 2012. It's time that we rid ourselves of negative circumstances and people. It's time that we actually take responsibility for alot of the mess that has been accumulated. While I know without a shadow of a doubt that we can't control every circumstance that we face, we can control our perception and way of thinking towards these circumstances. We must develop a clear vision in order to be mobile. A distorted vision will always cause some sort of immobility. This means that we must learn to be honest with ourselves and actually know who we are in Christ to find the answer to the questions of what roles we may have played within various scenarios. A victim's mindset will always place blame on other people when presented with an issue while a victorious mindset will tend to see the opportunity to grow stronger in a certain area of life. We need to stop giving human beings so much power and control over our mental state. Our moods and attitudes towards life should never be dependent on if the next person is in agreement with it. Stop expecting big things from little people. Most of the time people have their own problems and issues to work through so for us to actually place our livelihood and worth on something so unstable would be completely foolish on our part. Stop painting a different picture of people when they have shown you their true colors. We only waste valuable time and hurt ourselves. Lets learn to take responsibility and strive towards bigger and better things. Stop making excuses as to why you can't do something and getting jealous/mad when you see the next individual prospering. If we're not willing to actually be steadfast throughout adversity and sacrifice to reach the next level, we can't blame anyone but ourselves. Stop seeking approval from people whether its a boyfriend, girlfriend, friend, family member, "the elite" in society, or an associate. People's attitudes and outlooks are never constant and solid so we set ourselves up for failure when we do this. We must stop searching for the living among the dead. This means you can't expect prosperity and abundance out of a situation that is bankrupt. Everyone will not understand & some may mock while others will simply walk away. That is perfectly OK because the reward of submitting to a mindset and lifestyle that pleases God is priceless. We don't have time to convince people of our vision nor can we waste time trying to please everyone that doesn't understand. To those that don't understand, simply say, "Talk about me all that you please but I will continue to pray on my knees". If we learn to be steadfast and actually finish things through, there will always be a reward. Let's challenge ourselves to invest in the things that actually can't be purchased, like a renewed mindset and heart. Happy New YOU!

Nata Bee