My Hands Are Full.

There are a lot of things people say to me when I am out in public with my twin daughters, Kennedi and Brooklyn. I almost always get the question, "Are they twins?" I usually chuckle under my breath and then answer, "Yes, they are!" Maybe it is because I don't dress them alike that kind of throws people off? Who knows? I also get people who look at me with such pity and say, "Better you than me!" My usual response is, "Yes, you are absolutely right!" I remember my goal was to have people ask me if I were their nanny, because they couldn't possibly tell that I actually had twins. So far that has only happened once and I think it was their lighter skin and green eyes that confused them. So, I am still working on that one. Haha. The other statement I get quite often is, "Wow, you sure do have your hands full!" Besides smiling, I hadn't quite figured out a response to that one until last week. As I was getting ready to run up a small mountain with my jogging stroller and daughters in tote, a gentleman reminded me that I had my hands full. My response was, "I wouldn't have it any other way." He smiled and so did I. 

There is a Difference. 

There is a significant difference between lugging extra, unnecessary baggage along your journey of life and your hands being full from carrying the blessings and purposes of God. In a previous video post, I urged each of us to rid ourselves of any unnecessary weight that we may be carrying. This week, my hope is to encourage you to not let go of the purposes and blessings of God as you journey through life. If you are like me, you pray for blessings, miracles, new jobs and new opportunities. We imagine life becoming better, or easier with these added blessings. Finding out that we were expecting twins was one of the best and most memorable days of my life. Being 30 weeks pregnant with two babies was probably my most uncomfortable, most tiring, and if I'm honest, most miserable days of my life. I was carrying a lot of weight. I was carrying a lot of blessing. At only 7 weeks along, I never imagined being pregnant with twins would be so much work and not always so easy.

There is Resistance. 

Fast forward to last week as I was gearing up to run up this mountain. Pushing up two babies that weigh about 20lbs each, plus a jogging stroller, I calculate I was pushing up a lot of weight. I was still smiling from the gentleman's comment to me about my hands being full, and as I made my way up that mountain I was overcome with joy. I thought to myself,  "I wouldn't want to run up this mountain with empty hands, but instead with my hands full, gripping onto my blessings and miracles in hand." By pushing this stroller, I faced more resistance than the other runners climbing the same mountain. As I looked over, their stride looked effortless, meanwhile I was huffing and puffing all the way up. The more blessings and promises of God we hold onto, the more resistance you and I will face. Where extra, unhealthy baggage will break you, the grace of God will sustain and give you the strength you need to make it up the mountain.

There is a Purpose.

I have been running with my girls in a stroller since they were born and every time I run, it is a challenge. I love to push myself and get a great workout in. At times it can be discouraging because it can appear as though I have not progressed in my fitness goals or have developed strength. It was not until a few days ago when I went on a run alone. I needed to clear my mind and so I left the girls at home with BJ and went for a run. I ran one of my usual routes and as I  was halfway through the run, I realized I wasn't breathing as hard as I usually am and that it felt like a walk in the park. It was right then that I noticed from weeks and months of pushing weight and experiencing resistance, that I had developed strength. The people that are normally zipping past me on my run were behind me today.

There is Hope.

There are blessings, miracles and promises that God wants to give you and me, and not every time do those come into our lives to make life easier, but instead they come into our lives to make us stronger and more equipped to carry bigger and even better blessings and promises. When we choose to walk in the fullness of what God has for us, we must be prepared to walk this life with our hands full! I wouldn't have it any other way. Would you? Have you experienced resistance that is causing you to be discouraged? If so, my hope is that you not only distinguish the difference between unnecessary baggage and carrying the promises of God, but that you not lose heart when you see others zipping past you and instead you climb that mountain with all that you have, knowing that you are getting stronger with each step you take.

Every week I highlight a TRUTH about you, your life, or about a situation you may be facing and then I DARE you to believe it. 

Here are this week's TRUTH or DARE.

TRUTH: "If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you." -Fred Devito

DARE: Hold onto your promises and climb that mountain.

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Dodgers.

I love going to watch a baseball game! I am not sure if it's actually "watching" the game that I love as much as I love eating the food. So although I may not be the world's biggest baseball fan, I am in the running for being the biggest baseball stadium food lover. Last night I tried the famous "Dodger Dog", garlic fries, some pizza and a few bites of a pretzel with cheese. It was so worth every calorie. The weather was absolutely beautiful and I was able to wear just a tank top most of the game. It was a great night spent with special people. We ate way too much, laughed way too hard and cheered way too loud. 

Every week I highlight a TRUTH about you, your life, or about a situation you may be facing and then I DARE you to believe it. 

Here are this week's TRUTH or DARE. 

TRUTH: "For it's 1-2-3 strikes you're out in the old ballgame." 




DARE: Wait around long enough for the victory!

Adopt-A-Block.

This past Saturday I decided to take myself up last week's DARE, to "live outside your box" and I joined the Adopt-A-Block ministry of my church, The Los Angeles Dream Center. Every Saturday for the last 12 years The Los Angeles Dream Center has served its community. It has grown to be 35 sites covering over 85 blocks in the communities of Echo Park, Silverlake, Skid Row and South Central Los Angeles. Every Saturday morning, an average of 500 volunteers reach out to people that live in these neighborhoods in the spirit of service. Teams clean homes, paint over graffiti, make minor home repairs, organize games for the children and visit with the elderly. Requests for appliances, clothing, food and furniture are filled. To date, Adopt-A-Block teams have assisted over 30,000 people by knocking on doors and simply asking: “How can we serve you?” (Information from The Los Angeles Dream Center)

Rally.

Who needs coffee when you are sitting in a room with over 500 volunteers WORLD CHANGERS who are ready to go out and serve their community. Jonathan Martinez, a great friend of mine leads the Adopt-A-Block ministry and many of the other outreach efforts of The L.A. Dream Center. Just like every Saturday morning Jonathan encouraged us, energized us and sent the 500 of us out feeling as though we could change the world. The place was electric and I was so honored to share the room with such amazing people. 

Buses.

I felt like I was a part of an army as we left the rally and began loading the buses with boxes of food, supplies and other items to be taken to the community. We loaded the buses and made our way to South Central Los Angeles. We made a few stops to two other sites along the way. I was joining a new friend of mine, Mindy Kirkland and her team to the Jordan Downs site located in Watts, CA. I'm so glad I did.

People.

When you hear about "South Central Los Angeles or Watts" you don't usually envision a place filled with love, joy or peace but instead you imagine gangs, poverty and hopelessness. And although South Central is a place of high gang activity, drugs and poverty, you could have fooled me to believe that we had missed our stop and were in a different part of the city. We were greeted with smiles and hugs as we got off our buses. In the midst of hopelessness, the LA Dream Center provides hope. In the midst of brokenness, the LA Dream Center provides peace. In the midst of tragedy, the LA Dream Center provides peace. It has not always been this way. In fact, we started serving uncharted territory that morning and began to develop a relationship with another part of the site. Some people were hesitant to smile at us and most people just observed to see what we were all about. The LA Dream Center has proven themselves in this community and people of all walks of life gathered in the Recreation Center to play basketball, talk and to spend their Saturday morning together.

My Moment.

My favorite moment was when we were standing in front of the Rec Center and this little 3 year old girl saw Mindy for the first time and screamed, "MINDY!!!!" She jumped out of the arms of the girl holding her and ran into Mindy's arms. I have only seen little eyes light up like that when a child sees his/her mother. My eyes welled up with tears and I did everything I could to hold back the tears from falling on to my face. It was a priceless moment. When this little angel baby saw Mindy she saw love. I was so thankful to have witnessed that moment. It is a moment I so desperately desire to have over and over again. I want people to see the love of Jesus in me. I want to live my life loving people without limits. 

My Pastor.

This ministry started over 12 years ago by my pastor, Matthew Barnett. He and his wife Caroline Barnett are my heroes. I am so thankful and honored to call them my pastors not because of WHAT they stand for but for WHO they stand for. Pastors Matthew and Caroline Barnett have not only changed the lives of countless people through their ministry but they have truly changed mine. I will forever be different because of my day out in South Central Los Angeles. 

Serve.

 If you attend a church or know of a local charity that has opportunities for you to serve, I encourage you to do so. If you don't and you are in the Los Angeles area and would like to be apart of Adopt-A-Block, join us any Saturday morning at 10am. Have you ever been a part of something like Adopt-A-Block before or have had a life-changing experience when serving others? If so, I would love to hear about it. Share your story in the comment box below.

Every week I highlight a TRUTH about you, your life, or about a situation you may be facing and then I DARE you to believe it. 

Here are this week's TRUTH or DARE. 

TRUTH: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world" -James 1:27NIV

DARE:  Love People.