Don't Worry

Here lately I've been guided to talk about relationship at the root: the relationship that you must have with God. And I will be obedient to that guidance for the next few posts and share my insight on the nature of that relationship. Because you cannot hope to have a perfect relationship with anyone else until a relationship with God is established.

Peace and Blessings
James Fant

Don't Worry

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. http://bible.us/Phil4.6.NLT

The definition of "worry"- to torment yourself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts.
Why would you want to do that to yourself? You're you! And worrying about a situation won't make it better. So instead of spending your entire day thinking about how something will be done, how the bill will be paid, how the way will be made, ask God how. Ask Him to guide you; tell you what to do. But what ever you do, don't worry.

As a matter of fact, just tell Him what you need and thank Him for all He's done. And in doing that, you will have taken stock of how God has brought you out before. And that will build your confidence that He will do it again. And after that, just chill out and enjoy your life in Him.

Strong Foundation

The strength of your house depends on the strength and indestructibility of the foundation on which it is built.  We have become so technologically savvy that we can now construct buildings able to withstand hurricanes and earthquakes.  Why don’t we just try to find ways to stop the hurricanes and earthquakes?  Because that would be insane.  And besides, the hurricanes and earthquakes serve a purpose.  And likewise we can’t avoid the shakes and storms that life provides us.  Instead, we have to make God our foundation.  In Psalm 62 David called God his only rock, salvation, and fortress in which he would never be shaken. That doesn’t mean that there weren’t storms and quakes.  It just means that the storms and quakes couldn’t shake him.  In Acts 20:24 Paul said, “None of these things move me.”  He spoke of the trials and tribulations that had no effect on him and could not steer him from his course.  When God is our foundation we can be troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we can be perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.  The God inside of you is much stronger than any outside obstacles.  Please comfort someone else with these words.

Very Present

I was invited to speak at the House of God, Southern District Conference.  The blog post below is a synopsis of the message God gave to me.  Very Present.  I really enjoyed speaking and look forward to doing it again.   Be Blessed.
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We can’t see oxygen. And yet we breathe.
We can’t see sound waves. And yet we hear.
We can’t see heat. And yet we’re warmed.
Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there.
God is invisible. Yet he’s always there.
Psa 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
God is not only present. He’s VERY Present!

Through tough times, through challenging seasons, God is Very Present.  He’s more present and more real than the things that we can touch with our hands.  He’s more powerful and more valid than things that must be proven through experimentation.  Jesus gave us a great glimpse when he compared His Kingdom to a mustard seed; small, slight, hard to see from far away.  But with closer inspection, its potential can be seen quite well.  So one might complain, “Wow!  Is this seed all that we have?”  But our faith knows that that seed is all that we need.  For that seed contains within it all of the instruction to pull in water and nutrients to grow exponentially.

The invisible realm is way more powerful than the visible realm. No matter what happens in the physical, God’s kingdom cannot be destroyed. Build your hope on things eternal. Don’t be stressed about the storm. Realize and recognize that He’s not just powerful. He’s ALL POWERFUL. He’s not just mighty. He’s ALL MIGHTY! He doesn’t just like you a whole lot. He loves you unconditionally. God is not just a help. He is a VERY PRESENT HELP!

Open Mic: Hold On

This Four Part Poem was written by Jeff, Joe, Vince, and William; four suitors from my novel, “An Ode for Orchid” and it highlights their relationships with the leading ladies. A little something called Hold On.    Enjoy.

Jeff:

What up, Brook? You gon’ love me. Trust me!
The way that you smiled at a brother, there must be
Something there. That coupled with the fact that you hugged me
Plus the way that you blushed when I whispered sweet lovelies
In your ear. And I don’t care about you saying I’m chubby
Stomach round like a ball. But I’m handsome and tall
That is all! Here’s my number, Shawty. Give me a call
And I promise when I answer the phone I won’t tell you to Hold On

Joe:

What’s up, Dawn. Mami, love when you laugh
Even though I do not slang hash, or live fast
I do make sufficient cash cutting grass and I’m glad
To be doing that as opposed to living life like I had
‘Cause on the real, in the past my every action was rash
Yes I spoke as a child. But I’m a grown man now
And check this out, I’m steppin’ to you and my feelings are strong
All I ask is for a chance to truly give you a home. I’ll Hold On

Vince:

Cicely, I’ve got you right where I want you
I’m gon’ run double time through your mind ‘til I haunt you
I really don’t care about the things that you’ve gone through
With your mom. You were strong, but I’ve come to disarm you
My pimp hand is strong and I going to harm you
Didn’t Mr. Inman warn you that I would put it on you?
Matter fact, shut your mouth and have a seat! What you gon’ do?
I said shut your mouth. I got my wife on the phone too! Hold On

William:

Hi Karen Cole. I’m someone you can depend on
We’ve been friends for a while and my feelings have been strong
The thing about it is you got your boy in the friend zone
On the 50-yard line. I wanna be in the end zone
It’s really hard for me, but I’ll have to accept
That you think that because you wanna wait to have sex
That I will step. But here’s the deal. I’m a man and I’m strong
And listen.  If I have to wait until the wedding band’s on, I’ll Hold On

In my novel "An Ode for an Orchids", I liken a woman to a precious flower. If you nourish her, she will blossom and beautify her surroundings. But if you neglect her, she'll wither and become less fruitful. And the world will be a lot less beautiful.

Please visit the page www.facebook.com/jamesfantbooks and Like for more info about the upcoming novel 7/4/12

Nothing New Under the Sun

The world is getting no better

The world is getting no worse

It’s just getting smaller

There’s nothing new under the sun

What does that mean? It has many connotations and I don’t have time to go into every aspect of its meaning, but I will touch on innovation. Every app, device, convenience is just an adaptation or improvement of something that was already being done. The microwave heats our food faster. The barcode allows us to track purchases, rentals, and library transactions. Indoor plumbing makes going easier and more comfortable. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. allows us to communicate in real-time no matter where we are in the world. E-books save paper and make publishing easier and more economical. Yet all of these tools only allow us to do what we were already doing either easier or faster. We’ve always prepared food for consumption. We’ve always transacted and kept records. We’ve always used the bathroom. We’ve always communicated and read. So the question becomes what can we do now to improve upon the improvements? That’s how you become innovative. You have to see a problem and find a solution for it or make an adaptation to that solution that makes it easier, faster, or more economical. I don’t know about you, but every day I’m looking to find ways to make adaptations and improvements to existing actions.