Building Wealth

As we are now in the month March we can say that almost a quarter of the year is done already! I don’t know about any of you, but so much seems to be going on, and all at the same time! If I’m honest I have been fighting to maintaining mental clarity. Thankfully I get to re-listen to and edit my podcast “The LittleRose Podcast.” The topic for week’s episode was the  “FOMO: Fear Of Missing Out.” I have to say recording podcast episodes on a regular basis you can forget what was discussed. Having to listen to them again for editing purposes helps me to fully benefit from what was discussed. It is my desire to not only create content, but to also grow and learn from the content I create. As I record weekly podcasts and work at my church two days a week I am still pursuing other employment opportunities. I am currently awaiting a response from another company regarding a part-time job. I have actually been waiting for a response from this company for quite some time which leads me to wonder if I ever will receive one. Nevertheless the delay had given me time to work through my mindset on being an entrepreneur. 

Daily working towards building my brand/business has forced me to look at the way I think and how my current mindsets limit my advancement. When you have spent so much of your life thinking and believing a job was the sole avenue to build a life and accumulate wealth launching out into the unknown as an entrepreneur can really be unsettling. Thankfully yesterday at church I was reminded of what the Word of God says in Deuteronomy 8:18.  It says “But remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms His covenant, which He swore to your ancestors, as it is today.” The book of Deuteronomy is a book of instruction, caution, warning and encouragement for the children of Israel. They were about to the cross the Jordan river and possess the promise land. This was the very land the Lord swore to give their ancestor Abraham. The Lord was reminding them that it is “I”, the Lord your God, who is giving you the power and ability to lay hold of the promise land and produce wealth. He was letting them know He would bless the work of their hands as long at they continue to put Him first and honour the covenant He made their ancestor Abraham. 

As I read this scripture it is rather difficult for me to conceive that wealth can be build through an idea or any type of business venture I choose to pursue. The stability of a paycheque eases the inner turmoil of having to face the unknown, even though I know nothing is a hundred percent secure. Needless to say my faith is being stretched! You hear of people having a idea and building a multi-million dollar company or at the very least a successful small business. I am praying to God for vision regarding my business. I know no one who has ever built a successful business. No one in my family has ever achieved anything other than job. No one in my family has ever build anything or produced wealth, yet God is positioning me to do just that! 

In this season of great change I have to be committed to learning new things and unlearning old ones to be better equipped to build the business God desires for me. I will continue to share this process with you all although it is immensely stretching, and at times overwhelming.

I pray reading this encourages you to seek God for vision and ideas that will propel your life and finances to the next level.

Blessings,

LittleRose 

P.S.

If you haven’t already make sure you check out the “LittleRose Podcast.” The link will be listed below.

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-littlerose-podcast/id1710258821

Facing Failure

One of the hardest things to get over is being disappointed in yourself. I tend to be very hard at myself. I set the bar high expecting more of myself than is humanly possible sometimes. But failure is apart of life. It helps us to grow, bringing maturity through the events of life.

In the bible Peter failed to meet the standard he had for himself. He swore he would never deny Jesus. He was sure of himself and yet he did not only deny Jesus once, but three times! I can only imagine how devastated he was with himself; to look in the face of what he had done and have to admit the truth about himself. Thankfully when the dust settled the Lord reassured him his failure will not be his undoing. There is life, blessing and success after experiencing failure. 

I have often punished myself for my failures; holding myself to unrealistic expectations. The idea of being gracious to myself is and was foreign concept. Over time I became weighted down and I realized the weight I carried were unnecessary burdens. God did not punish me, therefore I could stop punishing myself. Jesus reassured me like He reassured Peter. Failure is not the end. It is an opportunity to grow and learn as you continue to move forward. 

Do not let the failures of the past or present stop you from moving forward. There is life and grace after every mistake. Receive the gift. Jesus died for you to get it!

Blessings

Littlerose

Agree With God

Identity. One of the fundamental things you receive after accepting Jesus into your heart. As you develop your relationship with Jesus and grow in the knowledge of His Word He begins to line you up according to the truth and redefine who you think you are. For me there always seemed to be this never ending accusing, critiquing, and judgemental voice in my head, and like a broken record it would play to no end. It was the background music of my life and I am sure I am not the only one. Little did I know I silently believed what it said, and because of my agreement it continued to play. As I grew in my faith the voice became more faint. There were even days where it was not heard all, but it never completely went away. Recently after a number of immensely stressful and difficult experiences the voice, that used to be faint and barely heard, returned even louder than it had ever been before. As I make use of the time in quarantine God is reminding how He sees me and who I am created to be.

One of the benefits of seeking the Lord and spending time in His presence is you are reminded of who you are. Whether you want to admit it or not we ALL need reminding. We often (more than we realize) willingly trade the truth God has given us for the lies the enemy freely hands out. I was watching this message/workshop and the speaker said “Give God your yes. Come into agreement with who He says you are and what He says you are called to be.” As simple as it may seem it has been a painful process for me; getting into agreement with the Lord. I know I am saved and dearly loved by God, but there was and has been an inner war. A war to let go of the what I was raised to believe, and to reconcile the way I have been treated and process the things I have experienced. Nevertheless letting go of what has been said and done makes room. You open yourself up to receive healing and wholeness thereby giving God the opportunity to move in and through your life.

Another blessings from being in quarantine is you have unlimited time to spend in the Lord’s presence. You almost forget what a wonder it is, and how much one can receive in an encounter with the Lord. Kneeling at His feet and allowing Him to impart His truth to your heart….there simply is NOTHING else like it! My mind goes back to when I was newly saved. Oh how I sought earnestly to see His face! He was the object of my affection. To know Him and see Him for who He is. Through this time I have also been aggressively taking my thoughts captive. For “We can demolish every deceptive fantasy that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude that is raised up in defiance of the true knowledge of God. We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One” (2 Corinthians 10:5 TPT). As I come into agreement with Jesus Christ I win the war against the contrary thoughts in my mind. Through reaffirming my “YES” to Jesus the enemy is defeated. My war is over.

Looking back over the past couple of years a lot has happened. Sometimes you do not realize how much you have lost and the toll it has taken until you sit still long enough to honestly survey the damage it has caused. Although I do not rejoice over those affected by covid-19 this time of quarantine was desperately needed. It is a moment I forever will treasure.  It is preparing me for what is to come, and at the time renewing my mind and strengthening my spirit. I get to deeply drink from the wells of life my Father has laid out for me. As I drink He washes away lingering memories of the past while silencing the Accuser, now and forevermore. I can now move forward free from his constant accusations.

I encourage you to come into agreement with what God says. Give Him your YES and receive the truth about who you are, even if it is only just a reminder! As you do He will silence the accuser and render him powerless. 

You do not have to fight the war alone. Reach out Him today….

Thank you for joining the journey 

Know you are loved,

Little Rose

In His Hands

In a time where we are all forced to be still I have to say I personally struggle internally. Being on my own since I was fifteen and having pretty much raised myself it has always been challenging to wait on anybody for anything. Furthermore, to rely completely on and trust the Lord to follow through with things has always been a stretch in my mind. Although His track record is perfect and I continue to declare the truth of His Word I do wrestle with my flesh. Now with everything being up in the air and all plans coming to a screeching halt I am without anything to do. I know without a doubt that God is up to something, but there a choice to make. To wait and leave everything In His Hands or to “make” something happen on my own.

In 1 Samuel 13:9-14 Saul failed to wait and presumptuously acted causing God to shorten the length of his reign as king. Impatience and lack of faith came at a great cost. To wait on God, trusting Him to move at the right time is a battle of your will. The world tells women “you do not have to wait on anyone for anything” and that “you can do it all yourself.” This is their definition of female empowerment. However this is an incorrect understanding of empowerment. Empowerment is not a matter of self will; a blatantly licence do whatever you please. Saul’s life is proof of that. Real empowerment is relying solely on God and His Spirit to lead and guide you. To turn to Him for strength, instruction and wisdom. Yielding your will to His maybe difficult at times, however it brings unspeakable blessing, peace and joy.

On the heels of making the most of my Mary moments I thought it would be fitting to share this. We live in time where women are given a distorted a message. Nevertheless, the message of female empowerment does hold some degree of truth. Women are incredibly insightful and complex. We possess beauty that goes beyond the exterior. It is our natural instinct to nurture, fostering growth and development in those around us. Sacrificing is in our DNA along with the inner strength enabling us to “will” ourselves to whatever we set our minds to. But there is another side to this. Willfulness is sin and a lack of patience on display. One full of regret and consequences that can not be avoided.

This is a season for great blessing, but it is not without the element of choice. My prayer is we all will take time to wait on God. This time of seemingly inactivity the promise is not lost, it is actually being prepared. Therefore learn from the life of Saul; it is written for our benefit. I for one can not afford to make the same mistake……  

Thank you for joining the journey 

Know you are loved,

Little Rose

A Mary Season

The Corona Virus has the world at a stand still. Our daily routines radically changed over night as the world has shutdown to enforce self-isolation measures. Many of us never thought it would have come to this, but here we are. Life in quarantine is definitely not ideal, nevertheless I believe it has created an unique opportunity. For many of us live our lives on a treadmill. The term “I am so busy” is used now more than ever. We jam pack our schedules with seemingly important things never taking a moment to just be still. I have to wonder if the pace we choose to live our lives is simply a way to avoid the whispers from the Holy Spirit asking us to draw closer. We all have issues we struggle with, yet many opt for “being busy” rather than dealing with issues that plague us. This momentary pause may not be what you want, but it could possibly be exactly what you need.

Before the global pandemic I would say I was fairly occupied.  I worked part time at a non-profit agency working with children. There were occasional fluctuation with respect to hours; I would work full days during certain times of the years. I went to the gym regularly and did my best to eat a healthy diet ie food prep, grocery shopping, etc. In addition to that I took guitar lessons and also started a Christian Apparel business. I created t-shirts, hoodie, etc, and was in the process of creating content for podcast as well as other products which would further expand the brand later on in the year. I was, and am still, actively involved in my church and make it a point to spend time in the Lord’s presence, and daily read His Word. However in doing all of this I feel a self-assessment is in order.

The bible shares the story of two sisters, Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42). Depending on the season in your life you can find yourself being either one; Mary – basking at the feet of Jesus or Martha – working hard seeing that certain necessary jobs get done. And although I not apposed to hard work it is dangerous to live in constant work mode never dealing with the issues and challenging that tend to weigh us down internally. Hebrews 12:1 (TPT) refers to it as the letting “go of every wound that has pierced us and the sin we so easily fall into.” So many hide behind tasks, work and busyness all the while never dealing with the crippling pain within them. There is a sense of unworthiness if they are not doing something. Their source of validation primarily comes through doing tasks or jobs. It makes them feel productive, important or useful. They will break their back to get jobs done and sacrifice pieces of themselves to the point of it being detrimental to their wellbeing. All they really desire is a deeper level of healing and worthiness. This is the driving force behind everything they do. This is why it is imperative to periodically have moments be Mary.

In this time of quarantine we have been given the opportunity to be Mary. For a season we get to sit at His and soak in the truth of who His is while allowing Him to remind us of who we are. I have no doubt when the quarantine is over we will be working hard once again. We ALL have to be Martha at some point, if not nothing will ever get accomplished. Nevertheless working and being productive should not come at the cost of our inner healing. The corona virus was not sent by God nor will it stop His ability to work in your life. It just so happens this season is a by product of a situation that is beyond our control, so why not use it?!

I encourage you to send this time seeking God and worship in His presence.  The issues which always seemed be too difficult to face can be addressed with ease away from the daily strain of a demanding schedule. 

I pray after the pandemic you will walk in a greater level of wholeness and confidence in who you are in Christ 

Thank you for joining the journey 

Know you are loved,

Little Rose

For Women By Women

Everybody’s story starts somewhere. We often do not realize how noteworthy it really is until after the fact. We share what we know and understand not ever truly comprehending the magnitude of what God is doing. But as we go along living every day life we step into a new chapter we were never expecting, and that is when it all begins to makes sense. The script changes and hindsight kicks in. This was His plan the entire time. How often do we miss it?  It usually is taking too long for our liking, the process is too painful or it is just simply not working out how we thought it would. Needless to say time is a gift and God is gracious enough to extend it so we can heal, recover and hopefully come around to seeing things through His eyes. And this is where I now find myself; seeing through fresh eyes.

Little Rose was always meant to symbolize the strength and beauty we as women have in Jesus Christ. Little Rose was founded to not only share my personal story, but the one that we as women all share.  A life of faith, hope, struggle, pain, adversity and triumph.  We have all these things (and more) as we continue to persevere and place our trust in God and His Word. The Little Rose Apparel (clothing line) is a outward display reflecting the truth we as women ought to boldly declare daily over our lives. We are more than the roles we fill, how we look or the children we raise.  We a have a story.  My hope is that through this blog you will see yourself in what it shared and find hope, strength and encouragement. Periodically I will feature other women and give them an opportunity to share their story, and how there faith in Jesus caused them to overcome.

When you read this blog I want you to feel known. There is so much that unites us.  Many of our struggles are so similar. This platform will be used to highlight those issues and point us to a God that sees and knows, and who is with us through it ALL! There is a quote that says “To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God” (Timothy Keller). What a powerful truth! To be fully known and truly loved by God is all the empowerment you need to face the challenges of life.

I look forward to sharing the stories of others as well as my own in light of God, His Word and the miracle that is the Cross of Jesus Christ.

Thank you for joining the journey 

Know you are loved,

Little Rose