"Spring"-ing Forward!!

I am truly excited about several things that God is doing in my life:

1) My new book that I released this week, "Choosing the Road Less Traveled," which chronicles my journey towards Grace and redemption in the midst of trials and an unplanned pregnancy
2) I was admitted to three Universities, and have a few choices to make about the direction that we will be going this summer. I'm still seeking God on that one.
3) The new BLOGTalk Live! Talk show which has caused me to connect with some powerful women in an open format, and blessing me so much with the relationships that are being formed.

and 4) The Heartwood Project is finally DONE! Which, if you read my previous posts, is a 16 hour life empowerment workshop that is followed up with a 40 day journal that will change generations~!

The goal of the Heartwood Project™ is to empower those who desire to cut of ‘the dead roots’ of their past, re-generate new roots, and cultivate a healthy legacy for the next generation!

First of all, the credit for this project goes entirely to the Father above. Normally, I work with youth and teens, and that remained my focus for quite some time. But I noticed that a lot of parents (myself included) were passing on things to their young people that were affecting them negatively.  There are a lot of books and workshops that tell us to change our ways in order to achieve success in life. The thing is, we know that we must move forward, let go of the past, we know also we are told to forgive, etc….but we don’t exactly know HOW to do these things. Like Paul in the bible, we really WANT to do the right things, and we struggle, and sometimes make small steps in progression, but when we continuously try in our own strength, we often fail miserably, and end up in a constant state of condemnation and failure. It’s a vicious cycle that eventually makes us feel discouraged, and disillusioned.  In my own life, I did not have the guidance and proper role models that I needed in order to be a successful adult, and even became a teen parent. 

 According to all research, with my upbringing I should have wound up a statistic.  God, however, intervened, and put me in a home with a Christian family that gave me the love, encouragement, and spiritual base that was lacking in my own childhood, (read more about it in my book) and it is this experience that I continue to draw on when raising my own family. At one point, I made a conscious decision to make different decisions than the ones that I watched my parents, and older family members make. I decided that I wanted to learn from their mistakes, and travel a different path than I watched them take. As I got older, and started counseling and mentoring, I noticed that many other adults (including myself) were stuck in habits and patterns that they wanted to get rid of, but were finding it extremely difficult. They/I weren’t aware that part of the key factor in changing your life is to make different choices than those before you made, in order to change generational patterns for the future.

In designing the Heartwood Project™, God showed me many things. He originally gave me the vision of the inside of a tree, with the spirals, and rings. Doing research, I noticed that throughout the bible, there are constant references to trees, vines, branches, seeds, and fruit, which shows us that we are similar in nature to growing, living organisms, and have the same cycles of growth and production; we too need light, nourishment, and care as well, and when we are not adequately nourished in critical states, we begin to die inside, even as we grow.

I was then led by the Lord to begin to study planting, gardening and farming, and the growth cycles of trees, (me who had never even planted a single seed!) and I was amazed at what was revealed to me.

I learned several important things, all of which have been incorporated into the Heartwood Project™: 

1) The Heartwood of a tree is in essence a dead center, which serves no purpose other than keeping the tree erect.  Many of us are living our lives this way...dead on the inside, yet functioning in life as if we are totally fine, still attempting to produce good fruit in our lives.

2) A tree will grow in any direction that it feels that it will be nourished, good or bad. We tend to do this as well in our own lives, by being drawn even towards toxic people and relationships for internal validation.

3) If your tree is damaged, you can cut the entire root off, and it doesn’t necessarily have to die, as I previously believed. On the contrary, if you place it in water for several months, you can re-grow the roots, and start over, making a healthy tree with better fruit!

"Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.”~ Matt. 12:33.  In order to produce healthy harvest for the next generation, we need to either plant good seeds, or get rid of the damaged root, which starts with checking the soil (heart) first to assess the toxins: bad habits, patterns, and strongholds that keep us from growing strong and moving forward and achieving our purpose…and threatens to negatively affect the next generation!

These gardening revelations also showed me that even in our own lives, despite being what we consider ‘damaged goods’ and ‘beyond hope’, it is never too late to CUT OFF the dead roots of the past, and start new traditions, beliefs, and patterns for the future! Although I once seemed destined for an uncertain future, God was still able to turn my life, and situation around. Once I was able to make some radical changes and adjustments, which were not EASY, I laid the NEW foundation for my children to experience a life that I never did…with a successful intact family that made God the head and center. God is not a respecter of persons, so what he did for me, can be done for any one of us with a strong desire to have a different life!

Change for the future is an ongoing process that begins with three major steps:

·        Awareness of your past: why you became the way you are, and do certain things.

·        Acknowledgement of your present situation and taking responsibility for your choices

·        Action to discontinue to be ruled by strongholds, and make a radical life change

The true question, however, is: Are you really ready, willing, and determined to change?  

In John Chapter 5 the story is told of a certain pool in Bethesda in which the lame, crippled, and invalid people came in order to get into the waters to obtain healing. There was one particular man who came to this pool who had been ill for 38 years. When Jesus came up to him, he was lying by the side of the pool and unable to enter the waters. Jesus did not ask him what his ailment was, nor ask others to help him into the water. Instead, Jesus simply asked him, “Do you want to be healed?” (John 5:6) That may seem like a strange question to ask of a man who has been sick for 38 years!  Immediately the man came back with all of the excuses why he couldn’t be healed. He said, “Yes I do…BUT...” He then blamed others for getting in his way, and also said he had no help. If we truly want healing and deliverance in our own lives, no excuses should be made, and nothing (and no one) should be allowed to stand in our way of receiving it.

 

The truth is: many people SAY they want to be healed, but find that the process is too long, too hard, too time consuming, too painful, or blame others for their lack of progress.  Although they get excited initially, they cave in and quit mid-way through…like a crash diet and exercise program that becomes too intense. We must first recognize that healing isn’t a ‘quick fix’. It involves a conscious, determined effort that is sometimes long term, and extremely uncomfortable.  For example, if you were to go to the doctor with a broken arm, and he prescribed surgery, as well as a cast and medications, you would complete the process, no matter how painful. Why? Because you know that afterwards the end result will be healing and wholeness to your precious arm.

If you refused treatment because it was too hard, long, or painful, you would live the rest of your life with an arm that has limited function and use. You realize that the entire process: the surgery, the cast, the meds, etc., are beneficial to long-term gain: proper healing and full restoration.

This is the same in our spiritual and earthly lives. We cannot just go to church “once in a while” or get saved and don’t follow up with the prescribed course of growth, (which includes bible study, fellowship with other believers, and obedience) and still expect a healthy, close relationship with God and others…then when we fall back into our former lifestyles (because we weren’t rooted and grounded deep enough), we say “You know, I tried it, it just didn’t work for me.” Even tooth brushing, baths, and good hygiene must be reinforced daily in order to remain effective, and such is the case with your spiritual life, marriage, and personal relationships…there must be consistent maintenance in order for them to grow, and flourish.

Once you make a decision that you want to do what it takes to change, then you must follow the entire course of treatment; which in the case of The Heartwood Project™ is first the weekend 16 hour Life Changing Empowerment Workshop, followed up by an entire 6 weeks of hands-on implementation: lasting 40 days and nights. Will it be fun? Not likely. It will test you, bring you out of your comfort zone, and even cause you to face and deal with your own shortcomings. At times it may be painful or difficult, and require discomfort and sacrifice…but if you keep pushing through, and finish the course, the end result will be a freedom, growth like never before, along with a new mindset, and destiny, for yourself and your future generations!

“To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.” ~Rev. 3:21. In other words, it will be worth the struggles. Let’s just continue to look at the ultimate example of righteousness and sacrifice; Jesus Christ, who although faced with painful tasks and many obstacles, continued towards the destiny that God had for him, with steadfast obedience, and faith for the end result: salvation for all future generations to come after Him!

Now I just need to find 12 women willing to be my 'test dummies' and volunteer to be in my test workshop ;)

 

Looking forward to restoring hearts...renewing minds!

 

~Myckelle