Unapologetically Marcia

He Has Made EVERYTHING Beautiful In Its Time….. Ecclesiastes 3:11

This was written in December 2019 (keep that in mind as you read), but reading it this morning, I felt inspired and I hope you will be too. Allow the words to be understood, received and push you to YOUR new season. You don’t have to wait until the New Year to make a change; any day, month or hour can be used to turn things around! Be blessed. Be encouraged.

From my previous posts, you may have gathered that I have a belief. I believe in The Most High God, I’m a Christian and have been baptised. When setting up this blog, I thought that I wouldn’t let my Christianity be my main focus or that, maybe, I wouldn’t even mention it. HOWEVER, it’s very hard not to have it creeping in. As the song from The Greatest Showman goes…’This is me!’

The title of this post is from the Old Testament of the Holy Bible. The Book of Ecclesiastes happens to be another of my favourites. As well as having the knowledge that scripture is God breathed and/or inspired, it amazes me that it’s possible to one day come across a verse or chapter that speaks directly to your life, body and soul, then on another occasion you may be reading it, with a little more information from previous verses or chapters, and it will take on a completely new meaning. It is the same with life. Things happen, but when thought about in the future, it can sometimes take on a new meaning. We can usually gain a new understanding. Occasionally, we are even able to laugh, after initially crying, pulling out our hair and being distraught.

The year’s last loveliest smile – John Howard Bryant

My aim was to get this post out whilst we were still within November but, unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. Three days late isn’t too bad! Above is a beautiful autumnal scene. Autumn is the transitionary period from summer to winter, which is September to November. The view of that same area can differ greatly, depending on what time of year it’s being looked at. It will, on most occasions, be the same trees in that area, unless something drastic has happened to alter it, i.e death, disease, drought, fire or the birth or planting of a new tree, amongst other things. However, sometimes, all that glitters is not gold. At a first glance a tree may seem beautiful, but at a closer look there may be evidence of rot or wear and tear. There can even be things that cannot be seen by the naked eye. Our persona can also be affected by these same things, mentally, physically and spiritually. Our needs can or will change because of internal and external factors. The same can be said for family and friends, even strangers that we come across. We do not have a clue of exactly what each person is dealing with and also what coping mechanisms, if any, they may have. But by being given a little (or a lot of) love and attention, they can be transformed.

He can make everything beautiful in its time…

In the Book of Ecclesiastes, the third chapter tells us there is A Time for Everything. The very first verse says ‘There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven’. Everyday we can take a walk and see how wonderful this earth is, that we have been blessed with. This is no matter what the weather is like or the season we’re in. Beauty can be found in Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Likewise in people.

In every change, in every falling leaf there is some pain, some beauty. And that’s the way new leaves grow – Amit Ray

Deciduous means tending to fall off. In Autumn, the deciduous trees or shrubs no longer need their leaves for survival in the forthcoming season, so it loses them. The leaves fall to the soil, which then enables its decomposition to provide soil bacteria and fungi. This soil bacteria then gives important nutrients to the roots. There is no longer a requirement for so much photosynthesis to take place in order for it to survive and this process provides food for other life forms, such as other organisms present in the soil below. This is a prime example of the cycle of life. The tree or shrub will then create a leaf scar, so that the water that has been collated before does not freeze over. Isn’t that amazing! I know I learnt about this stuff when I was at school but had to refresh my memory. The shrubs I have at the front of my home need not fear, they are here to stay! What a wonderful God we serve! Not everyone reading this will realise this, but my prayer is that you soon will! Before I get sidetracked, I will proceed. Yesterday I looked out of the window and the ground was covered with leaves. Prior to this, I was wondering why they were still hanging on, which is when I started reading about the cycle.

Everything has its season.

When the spring arrives, the weather begins to warm up and the sun provides the warmth they will all need to give birth to new leaves and photosynthesis will reoccur.

Give that a thought for a minute…in the midst of the beauty of God’s creation

Give that a thought for a moment…take yourself away and think about it. What is it that you require for your ‘next season’? What is it that needs to ‘fall off’ your life. What is it that would be good for you not to take through to the new year approaching? What do you need to attract and overcome? What are you waiting to give birth to?

The point is that your thoughts on a particular thing can change from day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month and so on, but that doesn’t matter because as you go through different things; receive different information and meet different people…it can change your view; the way you feel and think about something can alter. It doesn’t necessarily mean that your thoughts were wrong at a particular time but just that you’ve learnt more. You’ve grown. You now see things from a different perspective.

Leave yourself open to new experiences and challenges. Be willing to eat new foods, go to new places, try a course and/or meet new people. Be willing to do things that you never would have done before. Do things that YOU have always wanted to do but never had the guts to. Make changes in your personal life or work. You never know what situation is waiting for a Project Manager (YOU) to take it in hand! Let the spring of 2020 mark a year of adjustment, improvement, renewal, transformation and the manifestation of anything else that is positive. Be like a caterpillar, inside its cocoon, waiting to reveal all its glory when it emerges. For He has made EVERYTHING beautiful in it’s time. Whatever you choose to do ensure you are just the way you want to be; exactly as you were meant to be. Prepare yourself by meditation, prayer and supplication. Let 2020 find you being unapologetically you…

Ecclesiastes 3 v 1-8

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace…

NIV: New International Version

Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – Seasons

Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall. Seasons do not just relate to weather patterns. They also reflect the seasons in life that you will go through.

Many of you will crave Spring and Summer because they are the seasons that reflect lighter evenings, flowers blooming, warmer weather and all round feeling good. Not as many look forward to Autumn and Winter, with falling of leaves, darker nights and colder weather. I want you to remember that all the seasons that I have created are beneficial to all.

In every season you face there is purpose. Remember to find me during Spring and Summer so that I can share with you what is needed to prepare you for when Autumn and Winter come. Many turn their backs on me during the darker seasons, but these darker seasons are not a curse. Each season is a blessing when you are willing to find Me. No matter the season, I am always walking with you. It’s okay to take My hand and allow Me to lead you.

Activation: Ask Holy Spirit to show you what season you are in. Write this down and then list the highlights of this season and start by giving thanks. Allow God to teach you and prepare you for the next season.

As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.”
Genesis 8:22 (NLT)

Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
Deuteronomy 31:8 (NLT)

#lionbites

Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – Dive in Deep

My Dear Child, imagine you are looking out over the ocean. Do you wonder what is under the surface? Have you questioned what secrets it hides?

The view looking out over the ocean is very different from the one you experience if you dive deep under the water. There are so many treasures I could show you, more incredible than you could ever know.

Will you allow Me to take you beneath the surface, into the deep where your knowledge can grow. Don’t be satisfied with the shallow depths, content with your current view. Will you hungrily dive deep and let Holy Spirit reveal My many secrets to you?

Activation: Pick one of the scriptures below and ask Holy Spirit to help you understand its full meaning. Then read it out loud. Are there any words that particularly stand out? Ask Holy Spirit to help you focus on the ones that are closest to His heart. Then write the scripture down and circle these words. You might want to look their meaning up. Now ask yourself these questions, what is the key truth the verse is telling Me? How will this affect My life? Is action needed to bring this truth into My life every day? Jot your answers down.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever.
Isaiah 40:8 (AMP)

‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and tell you [and even show you] great and mighty things, [things which have been confined and hidden], which you do not know and understand and cannot distinguish.’
Jeremiah 33:3 (AMP)

10 For God has unveiled them and revealed them to us through the [Holy] Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things [diligently], even [sounding and measuring] the [profound] depths of God [the divine counsels and things far beyond human understanding].

11 For what person knows the thoughts and motives of a man except the man’s spirit within him? So also no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the [Holy] Spirit who is from God, so that we may know and understand the [wonderful] things freely given to us by God.
1 Corinthians 2:10-12 (AMP)

#lionbites

Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – Emotions

and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul (life), and with all your mind (thought, understanding), and with all your strength.’
Mark 12:30 (AMP)

While your emotions matter, they are not the final word. While you often rely on the state of your emotions, it is my Spirit within you that will cause you to walk in my statutes, spurring you forward on the race set before you.

So, bring me your wayward emotions, feelings, and hurts. I am the one who deals with these. I care about your intimate life. Bring your heart to me. Bring your soul to me. Bring your mind to me.

All must be brought before me in obedience, and I will mould the transformation you desire to see.

Activation: Reflect on one thing, from your heart, soul, or mind that currently results in a lack of peace. Ask God for His revelation as to the source and then choose to respond the way God leads you.

See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
Hebrews 12:15 (NIVUK)

9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

10 “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind,[a] to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”
Jeremiah 17:9-10 (ESV)
Footnotes
[a] Jeremiah 17:10 Hebrew kidneys

25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.

26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
Ezekiel 36:25-26 (ESV)

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Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – Soaring Above

In this world, we go through many sufferings. I know the sense of grief you have experienced; loss of loved ones, pressure at work, hurt, and abandonment.

Remember My promise, that I will never leave you nor forsake you. Know that I am still here. This season is not wasted because in the midst of the storm I have moulded you and shaped you for greater capacity.

Behold, I have given you an extraordinary ability to fly above the storm with an unusual strength to bear much weight. I will give you a long and sustainable vision and the grace to see things from a new perspective. Note the change that will begin to happen as a heavenly current of air will materialise under your wings. You will begin to sense supernatural strength lifting your body, mind and spirit.

Look up.

Activation: Ask the Lord to lift off any remaining heaviness that you might carry from a past season. Then, ask for His perspective on your current situation and how you can partner with it. Picture yourself flying above the storms. Imagine yourself carrying weight with great ease and lightness. Ask God to continue to increase your capacity with His divine strength.

Why would you ever complain, O Jacob, or, whine, Israel, saying,
“God has lost track of me. He doesn’t care what happens to me” Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening? God doesn’t come and go. God lasts. He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath.
And He knows everything, inside and out. He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts. For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall. But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, They run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind.
Isaiah 40:29-31 (MSG)

I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.]
John 16:33 (AMP)

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Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – Beauty in Process

My sons and daughters, your world is changing. I delight in seeing how you are mirroring My creativity, coming up with new inventions and new ways to make your short time on the earth fruitful. But, don’t be like the world and believe that the purpose of innovation is to ‘short-circuit’ processes and make life easy.

My Children, I designed for you to experience abundant life. That means all of it – the joy, the sadness, the trials. There is beauty in process. It’s in process that you experience growth, learn to overcome, and find that even in grief, I am there with you.

So, will you commit and embrace the process, knowing I am in it with you? It will challenge you, stretch you, and grow you – but the result will be an increased capacity to experience all of My life, that inner life, where My sustaining power is found. So don’t be in a hurry; put away some of your innovations and take time to encounter Me as we walk together through life.

Activation: Take a Sabbath Rest, or make a choice to fast TV, your phone, or social media and instead pull up a chair and grab a coffee and sit with the Lord. Have a real talk, tell him the things buried deep that you haven’t even told your closest friend, or that you have been too busy (even intentionally) to sit and process with him. Choose to set aside some time to be fully present with Him.

Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace].
James 1:3 (AMP)

3-5 This doesn’t mean, of course, that we have only a hope of future joys—we can be full of joy here and now even in our trials and troubles. Taken in the right spirit these very things will give us patient endurance; this in turn will develop a mature character, and a character of this sort produces a steady hope, a hope that will never disappoint us. Already we have some experience of the love of God flooding through our hearts by the Holy Spirit given to us.
Romans 5:3-5 (PHILLIPS)

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Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – I Am Still Here

My child, sometimes when you face situations, you may wonder where I am. Let Me assure you, when you arise in the morning, I am with you. Throughout the day and even at night when you close your eyes and rest, I am still here. I want to give you a sense of My abiding presence, its depth and its breadth.

I called Samuel from a young age and taught him to hear My voice. I called Jeremiah and even though he felt he was too young to do My will, I cleansed his lips and prepared him for the task of a lifetime. During a time of drought, I sent Elijah to the Kerith Ravine to drink from a brook and used ravens to feed him, then on to Zarephath where a widow would provide food and water for him. When I called Gideon, I allayed his fears by allowing him to prove it was Me instructing him, by laying out fleeces.

It is Me, my child; I am calling you today. Let Me dispel your doubts and fears. Let Me assure you that I am always here with you. Irrespective of the circumstances, I will never leave or abandon you. I will bring solutions, instructions and directions to you in your situation.

Activation: Turn to the Lord and thank Him for His abiding presence and the fact that He is always with you. Tell Him about your situation. Ask for His direction and advice. Be still and listen to what He has to tell you. Thank the Lord and ask for the strength to follow His guidance.

11 “I, [only] I, am the Lord,
And there is no Savior besides Me.

12 “I have declared [the future] and saved [the nation] and proclaimed [that I am God], and there was no strange (alien) god among you;
Therefore you are My witnesses [among the pagans],” declares the Lord, “That I am God.

13 “Even from eternity I am He,
And there is no one who can rescue from My hand;
I act, and who can revoke or reverse it?”
Isaiah 43:11-13 (AMP)

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit them together in my mother’s womb.

14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous—and how well I know it.

15 You were there while I was being formed in utter seclusion!

16 You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book!

17-18 How precious it is, Lord, to realize that you are thinking about me constantly! I can’t even count how many times a day your thoughts turn toward me.[a] And when I waken in the morning, you are still thinking of me!
Psalm 139:13-18 (TLB)
Footnotes
[a] Psalm 139:17 I can’t even count how many times a day your thoughts turn toward me, literally, “How precious are your thoughts to me.”

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9 (ESV)

#lionbites

Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – I Do

Come to Me, My love. Sit next to Me for a moment. Let us renew our commitment to one another. Let us renew our vows. Look, I have a brand new wedding band for you – a signet ring to once again reinforce that I have chosen to share My life with you. Will you renew your devotion to Me? I am faithful to the end. I won’t use you for selfish purposes.

I am humble. I am kind.

I long for your presence; to sit with you and look into your eyes. I have so many things I want to tell you. I want to whisper in your ear how much I appreciate and value you.

Come, My love, let us slow dance together and connect heart to heart.

Highly cherished one, will you accept My proposal? My heart is aching to hear you say, “I do.” Don’t be afraid. Intimacy with Me will never cause you to feel shame or rejection. It is pure. It is strong. It will last for eternity.

Activation: Sit with the Lord for a while and ask Him:

– Who am I to you?

– Why did you create me?

– What do you want to share with me at this moment?

Then, tell Him what you value about Him and what He means to you.

^[a](The Shulammite Bride)

²“May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!” [Solomon arrives, she turns to him, saying,] “For your love is better than wine.

3 “The aroma of your oils is fragrant and pleasing; Your name is perfume poured out; therefore the maidens love you.

4 “Draw me away with you and let us run together! Let the king bring me into his chambers.”
Song of Songs 1:2-4 (AMP)
Footnotes
[a] Song of Solomon 1:2 The parenthetical headings indicate that the speakers are not from the Hebrew text nor the Septuagint, but reflect an ancient tradition which appears in some manuscripts.

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant

5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[a]

6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (ESV)
Footnotes
[a] 1 Corinthians 13:5 Greek irritable and does not count up wrongdoing

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Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – Release My Spirit

My Children, I want to restore your joy. Picture children when they have a balloon on a string, and as they let it go it drifts upwards going higher and higher as the wind takes it in whatever direction it wills. Children will often chase after the soaring balloon with pure joy on their faces and exhilaration in their hearts as they follow it as far as they can see.

I am calling you to be that child again, to let go of the string that you have tied to My Holy Spirit. Release Holy Spirit and watch as He soars and takes you to new heights and places. My Spirit is not a kite, where you pull the strings, deciding which direction to make the kite turn. So release Him and watch what fun and excitement you have as you let go of control and follow Him, knowing that life and freedom are only found in My Holy Spirit.

Activation: Get a balloon, go outside and release it into the air, don’t just watch it soar, follow it making this a prophetic act and declaration that you agree to release Holy Spirit and follow wherever He leads! (If you can’t do this in the physical, picture yourself doing it in the spirit).

You show that you are a letter from Christ, delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

Read full chapter
2 Corinthians 3:17 (AMP)

Jesus replied, “I tell you for certain that you must be born from above[a] before you can see God’s kingdom!”
John 3:3 (CEV)
Footnotes
[a] 3.3 from above: Or “in a new way.” The same Greek word is used in verses 7,31.

And if the Spirit of Him Who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, [then] He Who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also restore to life your mortal (short-lived, perishable) bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you.
Romans 8:11 (AMPC)

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Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – Know My Heart

Where does your value lay?

Do not rely on your past achievements, great though they have been. Perhaps the bringing up of a child, the enlarging of your skills, or the leading of people to know Me. Reliance on achievements past can lead to you taking on assignments that I have not conceived in My plans.

I have cheered you on and My Son Jesus has interceded for you throughout your life. I saw you at school as you were learning some tiny part of the wonders of My natural creation. You have ‘made the grade’ in so many ways, including learning of the spiritual world. You are Mine to mould and I love your malleability in My hands. Yet your worth is not decided by what you do, as you live out each day.

One thing that I desire is your undivided attention. You have Mine. Don’t just know about Me, how I work, as though you were understanding biology.

In your pursuit to live a life worthy of what My Son, Jesus, died for, die to yourself each day. Each day, bring what you have in your hands, including your time and jobs, your sadnesses and your joys. I will accept them as a pleasing sacrifice. Find out what is on My heart and prioritise that.

Activation: Consider what you have physically, and metaphorically, in your hands. Leave these at Jesus’ feet and then lift up your heart in thankfulness that even without all these things you still have the eyes of the God of creation on you, caring, loving, and leading you each day.

Until now you have not asked [the Father] for anything in My name; but now ask and keep on asking and you will receive, so that your joy may be full and complete.
John 16:24 (AMP)

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
Matthew 6:26 (ESV)

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