Love is the Freedom to Let Go

On By Ashley GatewoodIn Love:: Lifestyle:: HealthLeave a comment

How to stop controlling and start loving

The freedom to love and be loved without fear is an internal work we can do with God’s help. It will eliminate the need to control others in order to keep them from getting too close or to keep them from leaving. One can freely let people come into their life or go out of our life without feeling broken. The connections which remain are more secure, nourishing and real when we learn to love and let go of our fears.

Love that controls is selfish in that it seeks to protect the controller. Keeping someone at a distance so we don’t get hurt and shackling someone to us so they can’t leave isn’t love, it’s fear-based anxiety. And it only causes more anxiety because, alas!, we can’t control other people.

One way we can let go of our fears is by accepting them and not being overly fearful of being hurt. In-other-words, we may know what it feels like to be abandoned or rejected and accept that it hurts. But we can also understand that we are worth it. Finding true meaningful connections is worth trying and losing sometimes throughout the course of life.

Identifying the source of controlling behavior

Controlling others in order to keep ourselves from getting hurt stems from two pressure points:

  1. The fear of intimacy – getting too close to those we love, thus risking hurt
  2. The fear of abandonment or rejection – a direct hit to our self worth

God’s love will envelope both of these fears, I promise you. But we have to yield to Him and let Him do the work within us to learn that people come and go and our worth isn’t based on their decisions.

What we sometimes don’t realize is this; if there is anyone who does not deem us worthy to be with them or part of their lives, we never question if maybe it’s because they shouldn’t be or at least, not yet. If God is making you wait, it means He hasn’t said ‘no’, but get busy while your waiting and improve yourself. it may just be that God has something better for us. Let’s stop giving people power to set our value. God’s already set our value: we are worth the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. Priceless.

Every one makes judgments, as we all should, just make sure you aren’t directly tying your self worth and self esteem to someone else’s judgment of you. This is co-dependent behavior. The ultimate correction to this is putting God first, and not another human being above God. Codependency is a form of idol worship, hands down! Don’t do it. It will crush you and your relationships.

How to recover and learn to love again

Moreover, we can make it a choice that losing isn’t going to harden our hearts but instead, we can learn from bad experiences and keep our hearts soft and palpable.

Do you think that’s weak?

On the contrary, when we are weak we build walls and turn cold. The truly strong person is the one who is able to dust themselves off from a huge disappointment and go on to love again, completely open and vulnerable. It’s called endurance. It’s called courage. It requires staying humble and understanding our worth and value.

Is that difficult? Sure it is, but it reaps far greater rewards.

And we don’t have to do this inner work alone. God’s love can help us stay warm and positive in our relations with others. We as humans are defensive by nature as a form of self-preservation. It’s our ego that betray us because we can’t see our true worth. When we understand our true worth, then we know we are complete and lacking nothing. No one else can complete us. God will bring the right one to compliment us, but never to complete us. This is codependent behavior when we think we aren’t whole without someone else. It’s also idolatry. But more on that later.

A great article here if you want more on how to eliminate defensive behavior in your life and relationships.

Protecting ourselves from the pain of heartache

Should we not worry about protecting ourselves? I think we should protect ourselves – but not by worrying about getting hurt or trying to control our circumstances to yield less hurtful results. That’s exhausting.

Let’s go about it with a totally different mindset: put God first, serve others, do our best in relationships to be open and caring and know that anyone who stays is genuine, and anyone who leaves is not meant for us. Our lives are God’s tapestry work, some threads come in and go out of the tapestry, others are worked throughout the entire tapestry of our lives.

God knows what He’s doing. When we try to manipulate outcomes, keep people stuck and unable to leave or push people out because we are afraid, we are getting in His way and hurting ourselves and others. He knows what is best for you and me – He cares about every big thing and small thing that concerns you. Let go and let God work things out in your life.

Let God’s love lead the way

Love affords us the opportunity to be at peace. Listen to how God talks to you and comforts you:

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5.7

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29.11

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” John 15.7

When anxiety was great within me, Your consolation brought me joy. Psalm 94:19

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, [the Holy Spirit] to help you and be with you forever.” John 14:16

Will life bring hurtful situations? Sure, that’s life. But the grace to handle those situations should flow from a place within us where we are confident in who we are, confident in God’s love toward us, and that we know we’ve done our best.

The understanding of God’s love remedies codependency

Ask God for wisdom about this and ask Him to open the scriptures to you. He’ll lead you to the right people who can teach you and feed you the pure milk and substantial meat of the word of God. God never disappoints!

“Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the whole earth as your possession.” Psalm 2.8 (wow! God always goes above and beyond)

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. James 1.5

Taking the first steps forward to love

So then, dealing with the controlling, fear-based approach to love and patiently changing that into an ability to allow people to come and go from our lives without reacting negatively and trying to control them is a good step forward.

Putting God first, serving others, working on ourselves by asking God to increase our knowledge and being open and vulnerable (with God’s help, prayer is the most powerful force on earth) is another good step forward.

Love is the freedom to let go

Learning how to process hurt and rejection so that it is understood as a feeling separate from our worth and value is so extremely important to our healing and growth as individuals. Remember, we want people who stick with us because they choose to stick! We want people who come into our lives and bring beneficial positive contributions longterm, where the equality is on-point and the partnership is mutual.

We don’t want to keep people in our lives we feel compelled to control, who don’t care to stick with us and leave us feeling anxious all the time. Controlling behavior is toxic, negative, unfulfilling and hollow. When we allow people to come and go freely, then those left in our lives are the result of genuine mutual interest. Once we better understand this, when quality connections come into our lives we’ll be able to make positive connections and keep them. Putting in the extra effort then will be rewarding when the feeling is mutual and each individual has excersised freedom in their choice of each other.

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4.18

God’s love instills us with courage

Perfect love casts out all fear. God can help us with this understanding. It’s His love that endures all things. What I am writing about is not a simple, easy change. This takes work – a lot of hard introspective and difficult work on oneself. It has taken me years and I’m still growing every day in the ability to become more vulnerable and less defensive. I’m not writing about something I don’t know and haven’t struggled with – and one thing’s for sure, God has made ALL the difference. His love is perfect over us..

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 Love never fails.

We can learn to love each other with His love and not our own, broken, selfish love.

But letting the right people move freely into and out of our lives means that the ones who stick are the ones that are real, true, committed and pure in their intentions. These are the bonds we should look to nurture.

Embrace love, trust in God and let everything go. Instead of wasting energy and time controlling people, let’s use those precious commodities to love others. Know that it’s a process that starts small and then grows with time. Those who stay are the real deal and worth our time. Whoever doesn’t stay leaves room for the real to show up and form secure bonds which will last and fulfill us for life.

Featured Image by Karim MANJRA 

The Difference Between Righteousness and Holiness

On By Ashley GatewoodIn Bread & Butter Morsels1 Comment


Righteousness and Holiness are not the same thing, but it’s easy to get them confused. They sound like the same thing, right? But they are actually quite different. Here is the difference between each. let’s take righteousness first.

Righteousness: Being right with God the father. 

If you are a believer, you are right with God. This reality is true because of one Man, Jesus Christ. Make no mistake, you and I have nothing to do with how right we are with God. Our righteousness is as filthy rags the bible says. That means we can live our lives following every rule and always doing good in the world – which is impossible, even rush hour traffic takes care of most of our own righteousness – and we still would not be right with God. Only one Man could have ever paid the price of our right standing with God and remain standing in the gap today as High Priest and Intercessor, and that is the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

Since God Himself wrought this work, it is perfect. He alone has made us right with God. No mortal man could do it. The righteousness of God IN CHRIST JESUS. Without Jesus, there is no beginning your walk with God. 

Which brings up the next reality: Holiness.

As Christians we want to walk with God…well most of us do. Relationship is the whole reason why Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice and God accepted him, so that God might be reunited with His people. Sin separated God from His chosen people, it’s a long story but His chosen people started with Israel and then God graciously allowed us Gentiles to also be grafted into the olive tree. Before Christ, God could only get as near as the appointed earthly mortal priest, the Levite who would be appointed to carry out certain tasks in the tabernacle. Only the priest could enter the Holy of Holies, the very innermost part fashioned on this earth where God’s presence resided.

Jesus made it possible for the Holy Spirit to dwell within us.

Oh but praise God for Jesus! No more of that, God lives in our hearts, Paul said WE are now the temple of the Holy Spirit. John Chapter 15 explains it. Wow, just take a moment and wrap your mind around the awesome power of God and the blessings which come through Jesus Christ…thank you Lord.

So now we have God so close to us, we become one in Him. the root, the branches the fruit, we are one with God as Jesus said He was one with the Father, I in You and they in me. This is where holiness is so very important to understand. 

Holiness: Right living before God.

Those who are not Christians don’t have to worry about this – they have much bigger things to worry about…like understanding who Christ is and accepting Him as Savior. One cannot begin to understand the need for holy living until they understand the reality of the need for a Savior. 

God is not present in unholiness. He has mercy and grace in the face of it, but He isn’t going to hang around for long without holiness. Be holy for I am holy He said. One cannot do this without the Holy Spirit and some good old fashion discipline. Let’s take a look at what hospitality means.

Our Hospitality toward the Holy Spirit

You have a friend you’ve invited over for lunch. You know he doesn’t like smoke and is allergic to it, but you like to smoke. When you know your friend is coming, you do your best to clean the house and to not smoke while your friend is with you. Now, what kind of friend would invite you over, knowing you hate smoke and are allergic to it, and fill the house with it right before you show up – maybe blow it in your face while you’re eating, and continue smoking while you are trying to talk, share and visit with each other? Not a very respectful gesture right? Not a hospitable environment for your friend. That friend isn’t going to hang around for long! Not because they don’t love you, but because they are allergic to smoke, eyes burning and watering, unable to beathe and terribly uncomfortable.

Let’s work to welcome the Holy Spirit into our daily lives! And make an environment He would be pleased to dwell in and remain. This is where holiness is so important. Holiness is what we can do for Him, just like we would for a friend.

Don’t Be Nonchalant About Sin: It still has consequences

Paul warned us of having a nonchalant attitude towards sin and God’s mercy saying “God forbid we go on sining just because grace would abound.” There is still death residing in sin, dear people, and it will kill. And believe me, there are a lot of ways death can happen without it being mortal death. Remember King David sinning with Bathsheba and killing her husband? What did God say, “The sword will never leave your family…” That’s what the prophet Nathan said to King David and David had trouble with his family for the rest of his life. Please take heed of this – there are inescapable consequences to sin.

So in wrapping up, we must rightfully divide between these two realities.

1.Holiness is not being right with God. Holiness is right living before God and it is the only way to grow our relationship with God.

2. The righteousness of Jesus Christ is what qualifies you to walk with God in the first place. We as human beings can never be righteous enough – Jesus took all of our unrighteousness, He was the only One who could because He was perfect and blameless before God. We have the righteousness of Christ, what a gift from God!

I pray we all gain understanding of the difference between righteousness and holiness, and that your passion for God far out shines the need to walk according to the flesh. Walk in the Spirit and be led by Him and you won’t fulfill the desires of the flesh. It takes practice, patience and persistence. Praise God He is faithful and long-suffering and will never give up on us!

Featured Image by: Bart LaRue@bartlarueeppler

Sunshine Walks

On By Ashley GatewoodIn How to Follow Your DreamLeave a comment

“Enoch walked with God, and then he was not, for God took him.”

I have been walking every day I can find the time and making the most of the pleasant weather. When I first started walking, I just threw on some flip-flops and headed out to one of the parks in town. My main thought was to get some sun and fill up my vitamin D tank. (Be healthy about it and don’t forget to grab some sunscreen to put on.)

But as the summer progressed, I found my walking had some beneficial side-effects. One particular benefit I wasn’t expecting was better posture. It just automatically comes with toning and exercising your core. Sitting behind a desk in an office all day is not good for the body. (or the soul for that matter.)

Getting Serious

I upgraded to some cushy walking shoes because my speed got faster and I went from leisurely flip-flopping for 30 minutes to walking at a faster pace for more than an hour. Any longer than an hour-and-a-half, and I’m feeling it in my back and hips. But hopefully I’ll build up endurance to keep it up for two hours. Then, if I can ever get my hands on a bicycle, I’ll switch over and cycle come Fall with its cooler weather. It’s been a fluid progression to start out walking like I was headed to the mailbox and my body increased in ability over the course of a month. Pretty cool how efficient and adaptable we humans are.

Just start, that’s all. Ten minutes, fifteen minutes. And before you know it, you’ll have your own little program going. The shoes I bought were cheap enough – nothing crazy – but importantly, they fit well and keep my knees from hurting. Good shoes will help you walk for longer periods of time without wearing you out.

Here’s a great article for beginners that goes into the specifics of walking on Very Well Fit And more info about shoes and such.

But the best benefit of walking, besides the sunshine, is it gives me time with God. I talk to Him, or pray to Him – really it is a conversation. If you’ve never had a conversation with God – like you would with a friend – I would encourage you to approach Him in this way.

God is Always Available

He’s not a God that is only accessible when we are in church, or quiet and in a reverent posture (whatever that means to you) but He is accessible at all times, in all situations. A personal relationship with God is like no other. He created you, He knows you like no one else ever will. He counts every hair on your head – that’s how much everything about you means to Him!

Enoch Walked With God

The Bible says Enoch walked faithfully with God for 300 years. Then I guess he got so close to Him that one day, God just took him. All other people were described as ‘died’ or ‘was laid to rest’, but not Enoch. He was just taken up to heaven it sounds like to me. Fascinating!

So, concerning these sunshine walks; maybe one brisk morning while I’m out talking with God among the cicadas songing in the trees, the sun shining, or the summer rain sprinkling and like that – “I was not, for God took me”….

Yeah, probably not but if nothing else, I’ll have walked and talked with a Friend who will never leave me, and that’s good enough for me.

Find your ideal park and get out there in the sunshine! Fill up your vitamin D tank, enjoy the extra benefits and let your body take care of the rest. You’ll feel much better, trust me : )

I Slept, But My Heart was Awake

On By Ashley GatewoodIn Love:: Lifestyle:: Health2 Comments

Song of Solomon is a fascinating dance between two lovers unmistakably bound to each other yet struggle to make a connection they both long for. It’s beautiful, haunting and perfectly revealing of the human condition. This parallels God’s pursuit of mankind – the love of God faithfully wooing us, in spite of our sin, never giving up drawing us nearer to Him.

Surely I would have given up if not for His faithfulness to find me time and time again.

Song of Solomon Chapter Five

I slept, but my heart was awake.
A sound! My beloved is knocking.
“Open to me, my sister, my love,
    my dove, my perfect one,
for my head is wet with dew,
    my locks with the drops of the night.”
3 I had put off my garment;
    how could I put it on?
I had bathed my feet;
    how could I soil them?
4 My beloved put his hand to the latch,
    and my heart was thrilled within me.
5 I arose to open to my beloved,
    and my hands dripped with myrrh,
my fingers with liquid myrrh,
    on the handles of the bolt.
6 I opened to my beloved,
    but my beloved had turned and gone.
My soul failed me when he spoke.
I sought him, but found him not;
    I called him, but he gave no answer.
7 The watchmen found me
    as they went about in the city;
they beat me, they bruised me,
    they took away my veil,
    those watchmen of the walls!
8 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
    if you find my beloved,
that you tell him
    I am faint with love.

For more on the Song of Solomon A Seal Upon Your Heart delves into God’s protection over us when navigation relationships.

Taking a Closer Look

Now I am no religious scholar but I see a lot in these verses, and these two figures haunt me – I think we can all relate to both the Lover and the Beloved at times. So let’s look into these verses from the perspective of the human condition..

I slept, but my heart was awake. (Wow, so much in just one sentence. I’ve been here before – the mind shuts down, turns off and forgets. Love hurts sometimes. The intellect really can’t comprehend love – it’s lost to it. But the heart, it keeps beating, waiting, watching for what it is looking for and knows it immediately even if the mind is still asleep and unable to make the connection.)


A sound! My beloved is knocking. (The heart hears it but the mind is still playing catch-up..)
“Open to me, my sister, my love,
    my dove, my perfect one,
for my head is wet with dew,
    my locks with the drops of the night.” (Sensual and alluring. At this point, I’m wondering, where did he go? And how long has he been looking for her? Where has her Lover been that he is now in such a state? The passing of time can be cruel to the soul.)


3 I had put off my garment;
    how could I put it on?
I had bathed my feet;
    how could I soil them? (So here we find her hesitating to move toward him. It’s as if she made the decision to move on and change her clothes, change her circumstances and situation, put off the old and put on something new because – well – maybe she thought he wasn’t coming back. She was comfortable and sleeping (though her heart was awake and wouldn’t let her go) she’s going through the motions until the knock and voice of her lover jarred her – now she’s questioning, ‘what to do?’ She wasn’t expecting him..


4 My beloved put his hand to the latch,
    and my heart was thrilled within me. (He grew impatient. One translation says ‘My beloved thrust his hand through the latch-opening.’ The symbolic intimacy of this verse is undeniable: love will pierce our strongest defenses and break through the walls we build around us which we think protect us but really only bury us. Love causes us to arise from our cold slumber. Love breaks through the lock she had placed on the door and she is moved, excited, hopeful and anticipating a positive exchange with her Lover.


5 I arose to open to my beloved,
    and my hands dripped with myrrh,
my fingers with liquid myrrh,
    on the handles of the bolt. (Oh my goodness! She’s anointed herself for him and changed her course. She’s fully awake. But it’s too late! She hesitated, dithered about, questioned for too long – and now, though she makes haste to the door to throw the latch, her hands are too slippery with oil and she’s unable to get a good grip. So more time passes fumbling around with the lock until…..


6 I opened to my beloved,
    but my beloved had turned and gone.
My soul failed me when he spoke. (It’s heart-wrenching. She’s lost him again.)


I sought him, but found him not;
    I called him, but he gave no answer.
7 The watchmen found me
    as they went about in the city;
they beat me, they bruised me,
    they took away my veil,
    those watchmen of the walls!

The Impact of Love

Love can move us to do things that would otherwise be unthinkable. Love is beautiful. Love is fierce. Who can withstand it? She is laid bare, dignity trampled, pride bruised – those who think they know better for her tell her she’s wrong to be outside, searching the streets like a mad woman and ‘beat her up’ emotionally so-to-speak. I can hear them now ridiculing her; ‘how could you ruin your clothes like this? What were you thinking? Don’t you care how you look? You’re a disgrace for all to see in the city streets.”

But she didn’t care because her heart took over and her intellect finally made the connection. There are those who resist being moved by the power of love while others embrace it, are moved out into the streets by it, hair dripping with the dew of the night, tossing-turning struggling to understand it, care less what others think about it – they are all in. Unrelenting, passionate and unwavering in pursuit of their beloved…


8 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
    if you find my beloved,
that you tell him
    I am faint with love.

Featured Image: ‘Song of Songs IV’ by Marc Chagall 1958

Want more information about different interpretations of Song of Solomon? Check out Britanica’s insightful article Song of Solomon Biblical Canticle

A Seal Upon Your Heart

On By Ashley GatewoodIn Love:: Lifestyle:: HealthLeave a comment

Let me be a seal upon your heart, 
Like the seal upon your hand. 
For love is fierce as death, 
Passion is mighty as Sheol; 
Its darts are darts of fire, 
A blazing flame. 
Vast floods cannot quench love, 
Nor rivers drown it.” ~Song of Songs 8.6-7

I wish I could speak more eloquently about this verse. Passion without God, to me, is a fire that will consume everything without mercy. It is ignorant of itself and has no proper direction. It’s a carnal love that excludes the spiritual aspect, and leaves only the fallen nature of human beings trying to connect to each other without the divine cords of God’s love leading them.

But when love and passion have God’s seal upon them, it’s like the fire which set the bush in the desert aflame, yet did not consume it. There is direction, hope, faithfulness and truth within the connection as well as an unquenchable fiery passion as fierce as death because the fingerprint of God is woven into it. Where there is wisdom and love, passion can exist without harm.

Passion can be disastrous when separated from God – after all, God is love which is gentle, patient and kind. Passion is hollow, draining and dissolves into lust without the protective seal of the Holy Spirit. But a union solidified with God’s love is satisfying and transcending when God is understood to be the giver of it. Love fulfills it’s purpose when God is invited into a union. Then the passion, the fire and all that comes with it can be experienced with trust, happiness and freedom because there is no fear of harm in it.

The above verse from Song of Songs is written by the Beloved, in-other-words, the woman. A beautiful expression laid down into scripture as a means to understand Jesus’ love for His Church. The Holy Spirit used a woman’s sentiment to express this love – I find that powerful and beautiful.

Featured Image taken at the Cincinnati Art Museum exhibit: “No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man” 2019

Complaining Moves the Hand of God – But You’ll Regret It.

On By Ashley GatewoodIn Bread & Butter Morsels, How to Follow Your DreamLeave a comment

Don’t wander in the Desert, move through it to get to your Promise Land.

Want to wander around out there and die of exhaustion? Of course you don’t. The key to not fainting in the desert is to remain faithful to God in seasons of discomfort.

Sometimes life just isn’t fair. I mean, don’t we all think that sometimes? And isn’t ‘fair’ relative? Right, well before getting too upset that you could be doing so much more if only, I’d advise anyone feeling the pressures of life to not complain to God about it.

Israel did that and lived to regret it. After being delivered out of the hands of their Egyptian oppressors, they grew tired of following God in the desert and started complaining. They wanted meat to eat, not the same old manna day after day – you know, that got boring!

I can relate partially. It’s hard when you have to walk through the desert or wilderness in order to make it to your Promised Land. Whatever your goals or dreams may be, you’re going to hit rough patches, character building seasons (that go on and on forever!!) and believe me, I understand.

It’s like ‘let me shed another tear to put in the bottle He keeps with my name on it’ (you do know scripture tells us He collects all our tears in a bottle…I’ll write about that sometime). Be encouraged, this season in the wilderness won’t last forever. And it will make you stronger and build more character than one could imagine.

Another awesome truth to know is this:

The quicker you submit to God’s will and be faithful in the season He’s taking you through, the more expedient your journey will be to your Promised Land.

I can complain, not going to lie. But refocusing that energy into something more positive gets me moving forward and keeps me from reaping the consequences of whatever I’m tempted to complain about. It makes me stronger and builds my endurance in difficult times. Let me get back to the illustration..

So God was feeding Israel with manna from heaven which was sort of like bread they would pound into cakes and boil or cook over a fire and eat. Day after day after day, the same stuff – it’s just like life sometimes, whatever it is we’re doing that makes us weary — diaper after diaper, dirty socks-wash-pickup from floor-fold-wash again, baby puke, (lol, the struggle is real though I wouldn’t personally know. I deal in feline coughed-up fur balls which are pretty gross) pushing papers, fixing computers, answering phones day after day after…

Ooo, don’t complain. Because sure enough, God will hear it. And He heard Israel and called Moses into a meeting. He told Moses, I’ve heard the complaining of the people that they want meat, so they will get it. They will eat meat until it’s coming out of their eyes, ears noses…. (whew, don’t make God angry). So God brought the people quail, and they journeyed out and caught it, loads of it! But there was also another consequence…

Numbers 11, specifically 31-35 but the chapter gives you a good idea of the problem at hand.

But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the LORD burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague.

While the meat was still between their teeth…for sure, if we skirt the edge of God’s plan for our lives, when we get what we think we want , then even before we can satiate our appetite with it, there will be consequences to bear. If we shortcut the path God has laid before us, we will not be ready for what we want. We won’t be ready for our dreams and our visions.

Let’s understand a couple of things here:

  1. God still feels the same way about sin, He just deals with us differently now than in the Old Testament due to the work of our Savior Jesus Christ. His mercies endure forever~
  2. God will always give us reprieve in the desert that does not bring sorrow with it.

The blessing of the LORD makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.

And here’s is how you get the blessings of God – remain faithful through the difficult times, knowing with surety that God will deliver you from distress.

One of the most powerful verses in scripture on deliverance is also one of my favorites and one that I have used to build my faith and receive the promises of God for my life. So I’m here to tell you, this works and is powerful if you only believe!

“He is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food. Job 36:16

So beautiful, so lovely and filled with power to deliver. God’s word never returns to Him void. Because it’s truth. But we must remain faithful. No shortcuts — or what was supposed to be our victory will end up a pile of ashes and we might even find we get burned in the process.

Stay true and fixed on God’s word. You’ll get there, one faithful decision at a time~ Until God delivers us and sets us free from our distress~

Featured Photo by Yeo Khee 

Adventures Take Courage

On By Ashley GatewoodIn How to Follow Your DreamLeave a comment

Back in 2009, I decided to sell/donate/trash most everything I owned and move to a remote island for two years to teach Marshallese children on the Island of Ebeye.

I was talking to a client at work and telling them I was leaving and that their account would be in good hands. Chuck was an entrepreneur who made great money and travelled everywhere his heart took him. He was free, satisfied with life and fulfilled.

After telling him of my plans to pretty much insert an intermission in my conventional 9-5 work day and slam the door good-bye on it, I remember Chuck saying, “Wow, now that’s really living right there. You know? You’ll really be living…”

I’ll never forget that – it took me by surprise but he was right. Fear had kept me strapped to a job making money for someone else that I didn’t enjoy doing in the first place. There was no reward, no sense of satisfaction or fulfillment for me.

Just money to pay the bills, steady income to stay independent and ugh! The boredom of it all!

For some people, this is a perfectly fulfilling life and they don’t want anything crazy or out of the ordinary. That’s great and I wish I was more like that sometimes – it isn’t easy never being satisfied with a life that’s so readily available. Why do I have to pine away for adventure, new experiences and something beyond the normal day to day routine of work– eat-sleep- do it all over again? Why do I feel this way about it?

Writing helps – painting helps – of course traveling eases the tension within my soul but it’s just not enough – I still feel fettered by this thing called ‘work’. I find no sense of freedom in it because it isn’t satisfying for me.

So many people break out of it and become entrepreneurs – how is it I can’t manage this? I think I get comfortable with the ‘easy’ and I fear losing out and having to start again. Which is odd because I’ve already done that once and I’m more blessed now than before my little island intermission.

I’m kind of using this blog to hone in on what exactly I’m desiring and how I’m going to attain it – changing your life around takes time and a lot of planning. Instead of journalling I’ll blog it because maybe I can help somebody somewhere out there who feels the same way I do. And that will make me happy – because that’s what I enjoy doing!

I love the satisfaction of work in general- it’s fulfilling….when I’m being creative and/or helping others I find satisfaction in that. Not so much anything else. The rest of it is total monotony. Pushing papers that helps no one, fighting computer glitches, printer malfunctions, slaving through the day so that I can…..turn around and do it all again tomorrow. I’ve helped no one better themselves, I’ve encouraged no one, I’ve created absolutely nothing and so it’s just dead to me.

If I can offer any inspiration, don’t give up on your dream, keep it in your sight. When you give up, you lose. Better to try and go for it and lose – at least you’ll learn something in the process and be ready to go for it again having learned from any mistakes and being stronger the second time around.

I just think life is too precious and the people that are in need are too vast to just sit behind a desk pushing papers. I need to make a contribution for the kingdom of God. God’s got a plan – I’m just going to have to be diligent in searching, patient in waiting and remain faithful right where I am until it comes to fruition and God (or is it me?) is ready to move~

Unconventional Thinking: The Potential of a Seed

On By Ashley GatewoodIn Unconventional ThinkingLeave a comment

Without seeds, we wouldn’t have Earth, we’d have Mars. There would be nothing to sustain life. A single seed is a powerful creation of God because inside one seed is the ability to produce multiple seeds after it’s own kind. Plant one tomato seed and it won’t just produce one tomato for you to eat, but multiple tomatoes containing a multitude of seeds – which you can then replant – and thus the cycle of multiplication, abundance and continual supply is set in motion.

Corrupt Seed That We Don’t Want

Satan works to stop anything that produces good results. He will either change it to produce evil results or simply bring death. A superior example of this is the Monsanto soybean. It’s a genetically modified seed which, when planted, will produce a soybean plant that is edible. The evil of this creation is that the seeds produced from the plant have no reproduction life in them. The code of life God placed in the seed has been genetically knocked out of the DNA strand.

In other words, plant one seed, get one plant, then death. You must purchase more genetically modified seeds produced by Monsanto if you want to plant and eat again. The devil takes life out of everything he can. Take note of this. (The implications of this is the setup for the One-World government that is coming – which is a different topic altogether so let me stay focused…)

The True Nature of God’s Creation is in a Seed

Now, we have God’s seed which is perfect and beautiful and creates life for others and within itself is abundance. The power of the seed is self-contained and it has it’s own DNA. One can never plant a tomato seed and reap a harvest of green beans.

The other mystery about a seed – which contains so much life within itself – is that it must die before it can produce anything. Jesus said,

Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

So in the kingdom of God, seed is many things and incredibly powerful. As Christians, we are the multiplication, the harvest, the fruit of Jesus falling into the ground, dying and rising again on the third day. Satan thought by killing Jesus he would end his own misery and win – to his dismay, Jesus was then multiplied in every direction as God’s word spread and watered the seeds of the harvest of the Gentiles.

Jesus also said if we have the faith of a mustard seed, the tiniest seed of all, we can move mountains! How is this possible, you ask? The genetics of God’s seed is a powerful force my friend. It confounds the wise and saves the simple!

More on the process of how to plant a seed and what you should be doing during the waiting season before your harvest.

Now, let’s look deeper into what faith is because it’s easy to get it confused with hope.

How Our Faith Works is Just Like a Seed

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen.”

First of all, if it is the substance of hope, then it is not hope, but altogether separate. Secondly, it isn’t just a feeling or state of mind like hope because it refers to tangible things: substance and evidence.

When we have faith in something, we are taking an action as a result of the hope we believe in our hearts. And that action displayed in the natural world is the evidence of that which you are waiting and hoping.

Here’s an example: Peter clearly saw Jesus walking on the water in the midst of a raging storm. He hoped he also could walk on water and not sink – the action of stepping out of the boat into the ocean was faith in it’s purest form. Hope is an attitude on the inside, in your heart and mind – faith is you taking action (evidence) on that hope and the substance for Peter was his ability to then walk on water.

Here’s a secret (which isn’t really a secret, it’s scripture): Faith works by love. Because as soon as Peter looked around him and feared, he sunk.

Without this understanding of a seed, of faith, and of hope, then the fruit of the seed won’t be seen. To go one layer deeper (like that phenomenal movie Inception) if the seed is corrupt, or isn’t sown into good soil, misses and hits the sidewalk, isn’t protected and gets eaten by fowl, or not tended to and the thorns choke it out – then there will be no harvest produced. Or worse, a corrupted harvest is produced. This idea in the kingdom of God is exceptionally powerful either way you use it, so be cautious.

Plant Good Seed for a Good Harvest

And here is why: scripture says, “God will not be mocked, whatsoever a man sows, that will he also reap.”

This goes for all seed, all deeds, all things good or evil – they will be reaped by the sower who planted them.

So you thought living for God was some stodgy ‘ole religious practice of counting rosaries, penance and rehearsing a prewritten prayer or two? Perhaps thinking that God is miles away ‘somewhere up there’? Well welcome to a completely opposite reality, it’s nothing of the sort! You want manmade religion? You’ll find it in most churches-noun-place today with their rituals and time schedules and formalities – what a bore!

God is alive and active upon this Earth and with His people. The powerful Third Person of the Trinity is with us today (who makes us His living temple 1 Corith 6:19). Living the Christian life is nothing like Religion has made it out to be. God is far too intelligent for that rubbish…

One Tiny Seed Can Change The World

That tiny seed you hold in your hand – with God – it can move an entire mountain. It can pull up a tree by its roots and plant it in the sea. Miraculous altogether!

But only…….if you believe.

The next installment we’ll talk more about what a seed planted in your heart can do because there is seed given by God and there is seed corrupted by the devil. We want the good, positive life of God’s word to produce from out of our hearts and mouth.

For whatsoever a woman thinks in her heart and speaks with her mouth so is she…….Proverbs 23.7

Plant good seed. Reap a good life.

Until next time~

Featured Photo by Hean Prinsloo 

Unconventional Thinking and Following Your Call In Life

On By Ashley GatewoodIn How to Follow Your Dream, Unconventional ThinkingLeave a comment

Being unconventional can get you into a load of trouble with humans. It can also be a powerful tool in a boring, (even dangerous) lemming-like society.

I’ve never been one for following the crowd, and as long as I am quiet everything is fine. But I’m usually not quiet. And when you begin blazing a trail in the opposite direction, and those conventional humans start seeing it, (even seeing you doing well at it) you’ll receive plenty of flack.

Many people choose to follow the mainstream because their parents and grandparents did. If it worked for them and they are happy, then they made the right decision… for their life!

I. Never. Wanted. That.

The problem is, I see people resigning their lives to the pressure of the mainstream. That’s different than making a decision to do so. Mainstream is intolerant of unconventional ideas and ways of thinking.

Seventy-five years ago in 1945, getting married, having children, holding down a good with a pension, (or if you were a woman, keeping house and husband and kids at the expense of your own desires), was all the rage. It’s what a contemporary American family looked like. No more. And I like to challenge people and why they believe the way they do and why they’ve made the choices they’ve made – oh boy! That’s a crowd pleaser, let me tell you!

But I do care. I care that people 1. Get out of this way of thinking if they want to, but if not 2. Don’t impose this way of thinking on others, which decreases one’s value as an individual person and limits people’s potential.

It is a difficult balance to keep: not caring what people think about me and yet, showing people that I care for them. Fortunately, I did a pretty good job of staying out of the clutches of traditional, conventional living.

Alas, but not quite.

Here I find myself – again – in a daily corporate grind. It is an unhappy place for me. Think about this: eight hours of the best part of the day spent making someone else lots of money. Pushing papers. Calculating totals, Excel spreadsheets, emails, phone calls….working for a paycheck is not freedom. Just try to leave at 2 in the afternoon and go enjoy a hike for the rest of the day without telling anyone. Just try sleeping in until 8am, then instead of getting in your car and rushing to work because your late, you head to the park, or shopping or anything – you’ll be getting a phone call. Or your ears boxed tomorrow.

Or maybe even a pink slip.

Oh, you can do whatever you like, but there’ll be consequences for it.

Lack of freedom is anyone or anything capable of dictating to you how your time is to be spent without you having a choice to agree to it or power to refuse it.

Work is important. Very important. But so is satisfaction and especially what you are called to do in this short life you’ve been given. God’s Calling over your life isn’t to be taken lightly. It’s serious business..

The Calling is a pull – a steady desire of your heart that you want to fulfill or that you feel drawn towards. It could be broad or specific but it will not let you go. The sad thing is, many people let the Calling go because they see no other way to get out of societal judgment, the corporate grind, the conventional machine, the daily slog of humanity to make a living.

Forget. That.

I found my way out once with God’s help. I’ll find my way out again.

Let me also say here, that sometimes there are silent, unnoticed seasons God will take us through to prepare us for the Calling over our lives. We’ll talk more about this later, but the Bible does say, ‘despise not small beginnings’. The critical issue is not giving up your dreams because you see no way out. Determine in your heart that giving up is not an option for you! God will show you how to overcome the situations you encounter so you can move into the blessings He has for you.

The problem can sometimes be people, especially when they don’t think like you. Most people find unconventional thinkers an affront to their carefully indoctrinated, socially-accepted lives. But when these people are our friends, family or mentors, we’ll listen to them, be made to feel guilty by them, have our value decreased or be made to feel foolish or selfish and before we know it, bam!, right back into the slog we go…

After all, who are you to have something different and better? Or maybe they don’t understand that their ‘happy’ is not your ‘happy’? Or perhaps they had to give up their dreams to fit in, and their hope of a better happier life in order to be socially accepted — so you should too! Because what does that say about them if you get out and blaze a better trail when they did not? You should suffer the same way they still suffer…

No. Way.

I just cannot accept less than what my heart is longing for – it’s what God put there to begin with and I must find it. Is your heart burning for something more powerful that will impact people’s lives in a great and meaningful way? Don’t forsake that desire in your heart. It’s probably your Calling.

Time. Oh Lord help me. I am starved for time. My energy is taken from me during the 8-5 workday, performing for something other than what my heart desires.

When I was in my 20s and 30s I had time and plenty of left over energy! Not so much anymore. Listen, isn’t your time more valuable than sitting behind a desk helping no one in any meaningful way? Time affords us the ability to think, invent, write, encounter, discover all kinds of things which in turn, brings the world around us to a better place. Try doing all that behind a desk, pushing papers and trying to figure out which cell has the wrong formula in that God forsaken Excel spreadsheet…there are only so many hours in a day, and even less productive hours…

Remember, what ever it is you’re working to obtain is also what you are exchanging your life for.

Think about this: how many years of your life did you exchange for that car you are driving? How about the phone your holding in your hand right now?

If you made $50,000 last year and your car cost you $50,000, well then, every hour of every day you worked for a solid year was exchanged for that car. It doesn’t matter how many months you spread the payment over.

It seems unfair, but it isn’t – some people can work one month, earning fifty-thousand dollars and exchange one month of their life for a car. It’s just how the world works down here.

The choice then, that we all have is this, “what can I do to make my life more satisfying and rewarding right where I am?”

Trust me, you don’t need to be rich to be satisfied and live a fulfilling and rewarding life. Listen to King Solomon when he said that much wisdom can bring much sadness. Money can also bring its own oppression.

Because money isn’t the answer. Freedom is the answer.

We also must face the truth that in many ways, money is freedom. Or it can at least buy you financial freedom to pursue what you want. But many get slogged down and miss the beat. Money can work for you or against you. And you don’t need money to find your Call or work in a field that is fulfilling and satisfies you personally. Understand that money is only a tool and half the battle is won.

Hold on tight. We’re going to get into a lot of unconventional thinking in the next several weeks/months that encompasses more than just work and the daily grind. Is your work fulfilling and satisfying and at the end of the day helping others and pushing the envelope to make this world a better place? Then thank God for that! We will all benefit from your valuable time being spent doing something awesome for the world. But let’s not stop there because God has so much more for us! And when we are done, we may just find ourselves a little more free and a little closer to living in the Call of God that is over our lives. Until next time…

Be well, be free~

Feature Photo by Dino Reichmuth on Unsplash

The Prophecy June 5th, 2020

On By Ashley GatewoodIn The End TimesLeave a comment

The Interpretation

Eli: The dead and blind church. The religious church.

Eli’s Sons: The behavior the dead church has allowed for 2000 years: killing, slaughter, genocide, hate, arrogance that kills, lust for dominion, greed, leading people searching for God into white-washed sepulchers.

The Philistines: Any worldly system. In this prophecy, specifically refers to leaders, officers, appointed representatives of any United States Political Party. Not the people who are governed by them, but those in leadership positions, appointed, with power and who are holding an office who have committed offensive acts against God’s people.

The Ark: What constitutes the presence of God, a representation of Him and what He stands for. In this prophecy, having been taken unrightfully and used by the Philistines to garner power, mainly political, and for selfish gain.

Dagon: The Philistines’ god, or capitalism at the expense of the impoverished, greed and power for selfish gain.

The King (any President/Leader) that touts the Holy Bible (Ark) to gain favor: God being placed in the same temple with the god Dagon.

Biblical references:

Eli: 1 Samuel 4:12-22

Eli’s Sons: 1 Samuel 2:12-21

The Philistines and the Ark: 1 Samuel 5: 1-12

Trump: King Saul 1 Samuel 8:6-18, 1 Samuel 13:6-14 and 1 Samuel 15:24-29

The Prophecy

And the Lord says,

“Ready yourselves, for I will break Dagon. The Philistines will be punished for taking what they thought was a dead god into their camp, thereby leading My people into captivity and thus defeating them. Along with Dagon, Eli also will fall and break his neck for all the evil he has done in My name when I had nothing to do with it. Depart from me for I have not known you – for Eli will be broken and the Ark returned to My people.

“Arise and thresh O Daughter of Zion! And I shall make your horn iron; and I shall make your hooves bronze and you shall beat into pieces many nations and consecrate their gain to the Lord, and their substance to the Lord of the whole Earth. My Spirit will move over My people like a mighty wind, over the waters of My people and a great awakening will begin. I have reserved for Myself a people for this purpose.

“Hear Me, you do not belong to any system of this world, no system with its foundations rooted in this world. You are My people, and your kingdom is not of this world but a heavenly kingdom not temporal but eternal. This is your inheritance.

“Separate and consecrate yourselves to Me and free yourself from earthly securities. Do not put your trust in them. You are not defined by this world, your reflection is not of this world but I have called you unto Myself, A chosen people in My image. Do not follow Saul who, when he sinned, sought the forgiveness of the people and not of Me – and thus his kingdom was stripped from his hands. But you are in need of no earthly king to lead you – for surely those who follow Saul will suffer loss when I have judged him according to his deeds. But be led of the Spirit who was sent to you as a gift from heaven.

“Don’t be led astray or deceived – there is nothing for you in the world’s kingdom and indeed it is even now passing away from under your feet. The nations rage, do you not discern it? But your kingdom is spiritual and not temporal, but eternal. This is your inheritance.

“Therefore, detangle yourself from that which is perishing and passing away; from earthly things – seek not security and sanctuary in them for they are fading away. Arise and pray. Be sure-footed in Me, who conquered all your enemies; even now I rest My feet upon them. Anoint your eyes that you may see the futile hope of this passing world and rejoice in the eternal everlasting promise that is yours in Me. It is the co-heir’s inheritance”,

says the Lord.