I am constantly being asked the question, “What have you been up to?” I have my standard line that I answer to, however, if I were to respond in a one word sentence I would respond with one acronym…. I have been B.O.L.D.

Believing

On

(The)

Lord’s

Direction

For those of you who are not familiar with my background, my past year has been a faith building experience. I graduated from high school in May of 2016, moved to a different city to work over the summer, the job did not work out and I went back to Wichita and to live with my parents for the summer. When summer was starting to end I went to enroll in a program and I found out that the institution that I was planning to attend cut the program. I applied to a different school, was interviewed, and accepted, but I felt God clearly saying, “No” to me. I was stubborn, but listened to His direction and did not enroll. So you could be wondering… what now? Well, I was wondering the same question!

He has always had a purpose for my path even though I have felt lost at times. This past fall God revealed to me through some sisters in Christ that He is “preparing me.”  I am not yet sure in which ways He will take me; however, while I am waiting on Him to show me where I am going to be walking , I am still believing in His perfect direction. 

Within the time that I have not been in school, I have dedicated myself to my Lama Leah blog and my writing career. I have learned about myself, too. For instance, I love advertising, who knew? I always said that I would not work in the same field as my father but he has had me work on some projects with him and to my surprise I enjoy it.

I have also had the honor to be a guest blogger for some amazing ministries: The Dawson McAllister Network, The Starving Christian, and Urban Society Christian Ministries just to name a few. Additionally, I have become a permanent writer for Discovering You Magazine.

Even though I have had some rare opportunities for being a typical 19 year-old, I still have feelings that I am not “enough” because I am not currently pursuing higher education. I somehow have it in my head that my core value lies in earning a degree that I have not achieved or even really desired.

For instance, (almost) every time I have a writing deadline, I deal with anxiety and self-doubt. I deal with thoughts of being unworthy to write a simple article because I have yet to pursue higher education. I tend to think thoughts along the line, “I cannot do this because I am young.”

It is when I have these thoughts that I do two things.

1. I give myself a pep talk. I put on an outfit that I feel beautiful in and promptly say, “I am wise, I can write; my words can be used to impact others for the work of Christ, and I can do this!”
2. I remind myself that I am doing this type of work for God and I truly believe that is what He has called me to do, at least for this season. I may not be “qualified” by the standards of the world but He is equipping me and If I wasn’t supposed to be writing, God would not be blessing my ministry in the ways He has.  The words I share are never originally my own. God gives me the words and concepts that I am supposed to share with my readers.

To this day I am B.O.L.D. I cannot compare my journey to others my age because my path is different than theirs. I have made great strides in my own well-being over the past year. For the first time I have built the confidence to speak up and share my own thoughts and opinions. I stand tall and have a genuine smile; NOT because I am overly confident in the form of being conceited but I have learned my true value in Christ.

I am truly believing in the Lord’s direction as I wait upon Him to show me where I am suppose to be going with Lama-Leah blog and wherever He is going to take me after He is finished, “preparing me.” At the same time I am excited to see where God is going to take me in the future and how my writing is impacting the Kingdom of the Lord. I humbly ask my readers to pray for me as I expand my writing. I do not take it lightly that I am Christian writer and that my works can help show others the gospel, therefore, I am cautious not to misrepresent Yeshua and the book of God. It is an honor to know that this blog has played a part in some of my reader’s walks.

As I go through the motions of life, feel free to follow my journey on social media as well as this blog. My account names are the following — Facebook: Lama-Leah blog; Twitter: lamaleahblog; Instagram: lama12215leah and lamaleahbog Additionally, you can send me an email at lamaleahblog@gmail.com

I challenge you to be BOLD and share with others how you have been doing it, and where God has brought you.

-Lama Leah

Chag Sameach Purim! Happy Purim!

Purim is the celebration of Queen Esther saving the Jews from being persecuted from Haman. If you are not already familiar with this event, I encourage you to read the book of Esther. This festival is celebrated on the 15th of Adar (usually March) and is a time of rejoicing. Often times children dress in costumes of their favorite character in the story, some perform a purim ‘spiel’ (retelling of the story), and a traditional purim food are cookies called hamantaschens. 

As there is rejoicing during this season, it is also a reminder that we live in a word filled of anti-semitism. I have witnessed it in my own communities and you probably have too. As I was doing research for this post, I accidentally came across the google search, ‘anti- semitic memes.’I was shocked by the hatred of Judaism, especially towards events such as the Holocaust. I would not recommend searching this term.

Every year during Holocaust remembrance we say phrases such as, “never forget” but I can’t help but wonder if we have. If we have forgotten where anti-semitism thinking leads to. The Jews are God’s chosen people and the enemy delights in the destruction of them. Throughout history Satan has tried to demolish the Jewish nation. Even within the Garden of Eden the serpent attempted to destroy God’s people. Although there have been generations of an anti-semitism mindset, we can be grateful for those who have the courage of Queen Esther to who defeat the Haman’s.

You may be wondering how anti-semitism relates to you if you are not ethnically Jewish. It is easy to look away, especially if it does not directly affect you. However, if you call yourself a believer anti-semitism should be a concern for you. The Jewish nation is G-d’s chosen and they must be protected. Jesus was Jewish. If Hashem hadn’t used his people as tools to protect the nation of Israel, would Jesus have been born? If (strong) anti-semitic thinking ever becomes a part of the church, what kind of testimony are we having for the Jews who do not yet know Christ?

My challenge to you is to reflect upon this:

• Has anti-semitic thinking become a part of my thoughts in anyway?
• How has anti-semitism become a part of the community that I am a part of ?
• Who are the Haman’s in my life? How can I influence their thinking, minister to them, and be a Queen Esther in their lives?

 

 

 

 

It is national eating disorder  awareness week. If you are fighting the demons of an ED I want to remind you of three words.

YOU-ARE-BELOVED! 

You truly are. You are worthy of fighting to recover. Your value does not consist of the outside of your physical body but is in the depths of your soul. You were created with precision and passion by a loving heavenly father. He is in pain as He is watching you struggle because you don’t understand just how much He deeply loves you. If you are considering taking the rewarding road to recovery here a just a few of my thoughts on how this can be achieved (note that I am NOT a therapist these are just some of my own ideas).

• Research and try *fresh* juices such as Boathouse, Naked, and local juice companies
• Seek professional help. I cannot stress this enough
• Create a reliable accountability system
• Make an appointment with a nutritionist
• Make a list of your goals
• Remind yourself regularly your reasons to be healthy
• Stay away from fashion magazines
• Take a break from social media
• Meditate upon the bible
• Volunteer work on making genuine change in the world in the areas that you feel most passionate about
•  Adopt a pet
• Reward yourself the small but yet challenging steps of healing physically and emotionally!

If you choose to recover it might not be an easy walk, however I promise you that it is worth it. I challenge you to consider if it worth to die only to be thin.  YOU ARE BELOVED!