I’m here reminiscing… I remember when we were planning our wedding, there were certain things on my to do list—like the honeymoon for instance—which by the the is very important…but I was like if it didn’t happen the way I envisioned it, l’m probably not going lose sleep over it.

I guest when you grew in church and you wait and wait and wait some more to be married… the most important things is to prepare for the marriage and not so much the wedding day—even though the wedding day is as equally important!

Over the years I was very fortunate to witness some splendid weddings and see the honeymooners going above and beyond to enjoy the most extravagant honeymoons—because, yes, this is a very sacred time to consummate the union…but I came to the conclusion that “A lot of couples enjoy beautiful wedding days, beautiful honeymoons but very ugly marriages.”

When I was given my chance to stand before God and many witnesses to exchange vows to “the one” He kept for me—to me standing before a Holy God was the most important aspect, and that sort of trumps everything else. Don’t get me wrong because I do consider every aspect of the wedding details important—every part, great or minuscule.

I do believe that we all have preferences and desires—-and they should be carried out if your heart so inclines accordingly. When I was fixing to get married, the only person I have to depend on to pay for my wedding was me and God. So for years upon years I had been putting away pennies towards the big. I was encouraged by this verse in proverbs 30:25~6:8 “The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer; Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.”

I know this might sound silly to some but I had purposely bought myself a blue water bottle to save my loose coins in—I also wrote on the side of it “For my wedding.” My mother always said every ‘mikkle makes a muckle’ or one, one cocoa full basket. I love my mama, she’s a wise woman. I must add that I was always preparing myself for marriage as long as I can remember. I felt like it was something innate somehow. Even though I hadn’t much clue about its institution nor did I had any prospect—in my heart I was somehow sway towards its threshold.

By the way, I was well aware I had no parents, nor maternal grandparents to secure a dowry for me so I had to work hard and save. I wasn’t of the mindset, that I should wait for my husband to come and pay my share. I wanted to be independently ready to enter the marriage-ship without any added burden on my bethrotal. I came from a single parent household and my mother had no monetary blessings to bestow upon me excepts her consent and wisely words of encouragement—which was few because my mother was never married of course.

However, my church family and friends poured in and gave us monetary gifts but the real wedding bills we had to fit ourselves. When Jacob and I came together to budget out our wedding—our honeymoon didn’t take precedence.   We planned it that way on purpose. Our honeymoon was at the bottom of our list. One of the main reason is that we knew God had brought us together and because of this we anticipated a lifetime to creat marvellous memorise! 

Secondly, we didn’t want to end up in debts. I’ve seen people today still murmuring, or ended up in divorce because they never get over the cost of the wedding. Please don’t get me wrong, everyone is at liberty to go all out but it should be done in moderation. It can become a burden if you don’t make good choices and plan wisely. 

So, Jacob planned our honeymoon and we spend it locally. Yes we sure did. He droves us to Connecticut Hampton Inn hotel. It was very modest with an indoor pool, gym and super wifi but who needs wifi on their honeymoon—if you get the jest🤪wink wink. Ha!  It was about an hour away from home—just down the street it seems. And I never once complained about it for I was too happy and I trusted my husband.

The truth is, I would have love to be flown✈️ to Paris like every bride wants to… that was my true💞desires but I was so grateful to be finally rejoined to my husband (who was predestined for me before the foundation of the world). I was more worried about my stretch marks and getting to know Mr. Nimocks for the very “first time” if your get the witticism at play here. We were total novices. Ha! So, I was more than happy to work with our meager budget plan and no I didn’t settle—I was more than contented! 

Thanks to Dave Ramsey. We stayed there for only three days, then we return home and it was life not as usual… Serval months before our 1 years anniversary the babes Informed me that the company is sending him overseas and he was taking me with—and oh boy I was over the moon. So again my hubs planned a surprised honeymoon trip for me to Mexico City—to make up for the fact that he too wanted more for me  but we’re both agreed to remain within our budget. 

You can see the pic for yourself. With all of that said—we entered our union with minimal debts. What I’m saying to the girl who’s getting ready to do this—keep it beautiful, romantic and simple. You don’t need to break the bank for one day. It’s vital to celebrates with family and friends but remember the core goal is to plan towards the lifetime of a blissful marriage—too often, countless couples secure the plans for the wedding day and not the marriage union after.

Moral of the story: Marriage is beautiful. The wedding day is a once in a life time even but be smart about every aspect. Be a good Steward with your money. Also check out the story of the first wedding Jesus attended in the NT-The wedding of Cana in John 2. Hope I could encourage any future bride to be.

Thank you for reading~ I love you but Jesus loves you more!

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When I was only seven years old, I had my first encounter with the Lord Jesus CHRIST! I remember sitting down on my mama’s broken down bed and began to cry so bitterly😭😭. I had to stay home from school that day because I went to school barefoot👣 the day before because I had no shoes👠…and I bucked my big toe real bad. The previous day before that, I learned who my father was for the first time…and I came to find out he didn’t want any thing to do with me…and my heart broke into million little pieces and I just cried. 

So, I sat there and poured out my broken heart before a God I didn’t really know. I cried, “Lord, why am I so poor? Why was I born out of wedlock? Why am I called a bastard? Why don’t I have any shoes and why don’t I have a father?” It was within that moment the God of heaven, the omnipresent one, the God of the universe came down in my poverty stricken home and enveloped me with his love and made Himself known to me. He then directed me to Paslms 27 and verse ten captivated my whole heart. I was floored and flabbergasted when my heart saw what God was saying to me.

“When thy father and mother forsake you, I the Lord will receive you.” 

That very day God took legal guardianship of me and I gave Him full access to my life. I became his daughter and He became my daddy!🤗

Thirty years later and He’s still keeping me…(I might be much younger considering the fact that my mother confessed that she had no money to register me after my birth…so she had wait to register me two years later lol🤣. I love my mama💕 but that’s what poverty will do to you). 

My whole life belongs to Jesus! He chose me and I am His. He’s my father. Growing up we were too poor to celebrate birthdays but today He just showered me with love and some amazing blessings through my hubby. Jacob.

My soul loves the Lord and I live for Him. My life was designed to honor and give Him glory! 

💙Can I encourage someone today, especially if you’re fatherless… I want to tell you that God can be more than a father to you. You can trust Him! 

Once you give your life to Him, He will restore All you missed out on all the days of your life. 

Thank you all for your birthday love and wishes😘

love you all to pieces😘

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I love their lush, rosy cheeks, my beloved sisters. We all share the same smiles and the same mother. What do I love about them…. I love that they love learning, I love that their thirst for knowledge and a better life, changed their entire future.  We all realized how very poor we were. But even while stricken with poverty as it were, poverty didn’t stand a chance to measure or determine our future. It’s quite sad that all our fathers denied us the moment our births were announced. Little girls need their fathers, don’t they? But as Fatherless as we all were, God, our spiritual papa, stood by and covered us. 

Joan, Shelly and Marcia, You came out and from Litchfield and conquered all the obstacle. Many said we wouldn’t amount to anything much, but that’s what they also said abut our Lord Jesus coming out of lowly Nazareth.  ( And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see) John 1:46. Our mother had tremendous courage to fight for survival in rearing her quiver filled with eight children alone. This fueled our bones with COURAGEOUS FIRE. Her courage and strength left us astonished day by day. One woman was filled with so much love to be willing to bear such a heavy cross alone (She’s the single woman). This reminds me of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was willing to bear the cross for the world because He loved us. (“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins for righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed”) 2 Peter 2:24.  All of us went to school barefoot, our lack cannot be numbered, but God was gracious to us. 

Joan, your courage gives me hope. I can never forget when you were the oldest student at your high school, just because you were so determined to change your future and started high when you were in you twenties. Joan, that’s what I called true courage. You graduated from Sam Sharpe Teachers College and Northern Carribbean University with honors and distinctions.

Shelly, you became ill while you were at Mico University College, but that didn’t stop you. You went on to receive your Masters in Special Ed, and you also graduated from Northern Carribbean University  at the top of you class with honor and distinctions.

Marcia, the baby, you followed suit also and earned your Diploma in Teaching from GC Foster Teacher College. You also served as an excellent EMT worker and Nurses Assistant. 

All praises to these awesome teachers who stood against the ODDS of life titled ‘poverty.’  Let me encourage someone to go ahead a give your current situation or circumstances eviction notice. Tell yourself, “I shall arise” and live and declare the destiny the Lord God has prophesied over you. His words declare you shall be the head and not the tail.  You can become anything you put your mind to young people. When you work hard you will achieve. My sisters did it and you can too. Be encourage beloved. 

I love you so much, I’m always praying for you.

please like and share to encourage someone.

Your sister in Christ.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
Blessings beloved, I know some of you have been waiting patiently for part two of the bald head man story. Haha! But would you still marry him if he was bald and missing some teeth? So, here we go.

Years ago, a beautiful young lady came to me and shared that someone at work liked her. I knew everyone and couldn’t quite figure out who she was referring to. In my mind, I had a suspicion of who it was but said “No way” to myself. She wasn’t 100% certain about him and here’s why. Truthfully, he was very handsome and got lots of attention from the girls since he was so nice to look at. However, no one wanted to be with him because he had lost a bunch of teeth due to drugs over the years.

Let me tell you the truth ladies. I liked him and thought he was so handsome as well. He had an infectious smile, but once you saw his teeth you’d be like “Oh gosh, what in the world!” No way! Those teeth didn’t match that smile and cute face. Don’t think I’m harsh ladies because if not all, most of you would be skinning up your faces too. Any ways, that part of his life was over, and he just wanted to move on and live a normal life. So, one day my friend walked up to me and asked me what I really thought of him. And so, I quoted something I learnt from my mama. I said to her, “Darling girl, every pot has it’s matching lid.” I never discouraged her. She took it and ran with it. I was a bit shocked when I saw them walk in the next day. Ladies, all I could think of was his teeth, no lie. I was quite surprised when she shared with me that she and him just came from their dental appointment. Ladies, she took him to get his teeth fixed. I will always respect a woman like her.  She said, “Kacey, nothing is wrong with him. He’s a good man, and he has a good heart. He just wants someone to help him.” This reminds me of why God created us women in the first place.
 Genesis 2:18 
And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an helpmeet for him.  

So, she FIXED HIM UP! The sad part is, he left home at a young age to make a life for himself and lost his way in the process. How many of you would see past his missing teeth? Again, I want to make myself clear; I’m not encouraging any of you to go marry a bum. If they are working, have a purpose, and potential, don’t just look the other way if you observe a flaw in them.

Have a seat now ladies, this is where the story takes a surprising turn.

The following week, she walked in with a bling of a ring on her finger. I was like wow… girl. All It took for you to get a rock was just to have a bit of faith and a desire to fix a brother up.  Within a few month’s time they were M.A.R.R.I.E.D. One year from that they had a sweet baby.

I lost contact with her for approximately ten years, but then we reconnected. Yes, they’ve been happily married all that time, just incase you were wondering. They’re both entrepreneurs; she believes in his dreams of wanting to own his own business. When we reunited, she shared her story with me right away; how they wanted to move away from New York and in the middle of her move, she questioned her husband about the whereabouts of his folks. She did some research and made contacts and came to find out that her husband had inherited two beautiful homes from his grandmother who loved him very much; One home is on the countryside and the other one in the city.  She also left him a large sum of money in the bank! She had left him with an inheritance he knew nothing about.

My goodness. Somebody pinch me! This is what you call unexpected blessings in abundance. Who would have thought this how the story would end? I bawled tears of joy when she told me about his new-found life. She fell in love and married a toothless prodigal, and after she reunite him with his family, they came to find blessings waiting on the other side.

Sometimes we lose our way just like this young man. God still welcomes us home, cleans us up, and loves us nonetheless. Didn’t He welcome the prodigal in Luke 22?
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So, they began to celebrate.”

We should be very careful how we handle our blessings. Just because the blessing is presented and wrapped differently from what we have preconceived or expected, doesn’t mean it isn’t any good! As we all know, we should never judge a book by its cover.

May God richly bless and keep you, and help you to see how He sees. I pray that He will cause you to see beyond the person standing in front of you and catch a vision of the purpose.

Please leave me a comment or a question.

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I love you, and I’m always praying for you.

Your sister in Christ.

If God presents him certified bald, or almost bald, would it matter? Truth be told I loved princess D and her son Prince William. Wouldn’t you say he’s a fine man? God blessed lady Catherine who stole your heart. Come on now ladies, don’t be judging me, because we can all agree that the man is fine lol. Seriously now, am I the only one who thinks he’s adorable and cute? I bet lady Catherine didn’t know he would go bald that quickly. However, would she change her mind… Absolutely not!

The Lord brought something to my attention while I was in my ‘waiting season’. He said to me “A lot more of my daughters would be married, but they have a preconceived notion, and they’ve put me in a box.” In our language, at times, “we can be too stuck up and picky.” He said to me that some of us ladies tend to look on the man from the outside and never stop to look or consider his heart. I must say, I’m guilty as charged.

Some time ago,  I got some bad news about one of my girlfriends who married a remarkable and handsome man. He ended up cheating on her and then turned and walked away from their marriage. Right away I prayed in my heart and asked the Lord to choose my spouse for me. “For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

Don’t think I’m any different from you, because I’m not. I like nice things and of course we want the cute guy. However,  it’s always important to know that’s looks aren’t everything. When Samuel went to look for David to anoint him as King over Israel, he would have never chosen David because  of his looks. Remember looks are deceiving and beauty is vain.

My Boaz finally came when I let go of my own will and came down off my high horse. “Sister’s please don’t think I’m saying that you should let your guard down, reverse your standards, or marry an ugly Boaz. “All I’m saying is allow God to choose for you a fine romantic guy.” Yes, I said it. God is the author of love and He writes the best love stories.

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”[Proverbs 3:5-6]

Please leave me a comment, or question.

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I love you, I’m always praying for you.

Your sister in Christ.

THE WAITING STRUGGLE

Two years ago, when I attended my sister-in-law’s Melissa’s wedding; in Alabama, I had the opportunity to meet Rhonda Jewel Mckenzie. She was of Melissa’s bridesmaid. Two years later, Melissa returned the same honor as her bridesmaid. As in the case for me, I waited eight long years after I accompanied my two besties Mouya and Ava down aisle as their bridesmaid before I got married. (It felt like foooooooreeeeeeever!)

I was just looking at how beautiful Rhonda appeared in her dress and how she seems so content with her new husband today. Rhonda, Melissa and myself all tied the knot after thirty. It wasn’t easy to arrive at because of doubts, insecurities and the biggest killer of all things beautiful in God’s own time; the big P-PATIENCE.

Melissa’s wedding~

Often, we look at others and compare ourselves, which is not helpful. We get discouraged, jealous, and envious of others blessings sometimes,  not knowing that they had to pay a price for their blessings. I encourage you to wait on God’s timing for your life. God will give you more than the blessings you deserve, just remain faithful. What God has for you, is for *you*. Cry if you must, but don’t doubt that God can provide all your needs according to His riches and Glory.

There are  plenty of scriptures I could apply, but I’ll use only this one. “For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” (Psalms 84:11). The word ‘uprightly’ can also mean: appropriately, conscientiously, decently, fairly, honestly, honorably, justly, circumspectly , properly, respectably, righteously, trustworthily, truthfully and faithfully.

Dear ones, this was the scripture that God presented before me, amongst others, during my ‘waiting season.’ I had to do a deliberate routine check and evaluate some things. After a while, I personalized the word ‘uprightly’ into the word ‘love’. Nothing good will the Lord God without from them that love Him.

Yes, I cried into my tea and my pillow sometimes because the wait was a bit hard. Like the time when I finished making my spaghetti noodles and was ready to open my tomato sauce to no avail. 45mins later, I cried out to God, and I said, “Lord I can’t open this jar. I’ve  tried every which-way but Lord if I had a husband I could ask him.” I put the sauce jar down and walked away. Minutes later God told me to try again, and at one turn it clicked-clicked and it opened.  Of course, He reminded me in the same breath that He was first, that, “My Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.” (Isaiah 54:5)

Melissa@my-wedding~
My, beloved, I have some of the same struggles like you,  so did Rhonda and Melisa and many others. I want to encourage you to love and enjoy this ‘waiting season’ because it won’t last forever. For those of you, who are believing God for a husband, don’t lose hope. For now, let God be your ‘covering’, let him be your husband maker until He presents your husband ordained.

I fell in love with God and learned how to love him with all my heart, mind, soul, and body. He pursued me and I pursued hard after the things pertaining to His Kingdom. My sweet sisters in waiting, when you seek him first, “The LORD will perfect that which concerneth you: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands. (Psalms 138:8) I guarantee you this promise will follow you.

God bless you.
I’m always praying for you my loves
Your sister in Christ💕