First things first, Happy  New Year!  I pray and hope all is well and you are amped to begin your new year.  I  wanted to take time to chime in while you are still excited about leaving 2017 behind and building your list of resolutions for 2018.   We want to invite you to join us this year as we explore the word of God. We want to hear/ read your comments, prayer request, and questions. Also, we are going to try something new this year with videos. We hope and pray that  it will bless you and help you to develop a deeper relationship with God.

Love,

L

The idea to create the blog To Reach The One (TRTO)  came to me in my prayer time 5 years ago. I was on my lunch break and in my devotion time when  the Lord spoke to create a blog to empower and encourage the one person who may be struggling in their faith, who do not have faith and is looking, who may need to brush up on some knowledge,  or just need a word of encouragement.  The thought was that if we (Sha and I ) could reach one, that one could give birth to millions. Over the past few years, the dream got crowded with a new job,  new place, new relationships and life period. We tried to revive it in the midst of chaos, however, life snuffed it out. But even with the false starts and busy life, there was always a tug of what about the one? Even if it’s just the one,  is it not worth it?

TRTO   was founded and based on   Luke 15:4 -6.It states

What man among you, who has 100 sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the 99 in the open field and go after the lost one until he finds it? When he has found it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, and coming home, he calls his friends and neighbors together, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’ I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who don’t need repentance.

Though we were missing in action, the mission was not missing from our hearts. Our focus and desire have always been to make sure we equip and empower people to live the life God created them to live.In order to do such, this means we will have to tackle some areas that may cause you to rethink mindsets, self-evaluate,  and push you to make some changes. This also goes for us (Sha and I ) as we walk this journey with you. We will share our experiences and revelations in faith that it will help someone make sense of this journey called life. And even if it is just for the one,  we are standing here recommitted and on fire to bring to you a word of encouragement and empowerment to continue your journey.

Love always,

L

Dear God’s Beloved One,
We are all a work in progress. Jesus is committed to see you come into a work of perfection. Will you stay committed to the journey?

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”
Philippians1:6 NLT

TRTO

Dear God’s Beloved One,

Happy New Year and hello to all! I hope that the New Year has been kind to you so far. I imagine that all have started their new year with the hopes and dreams that drive you to be a better you than last year. As you have notice the TRTO writers have been MIA (for those that don’t know what “MIA” means, it means Missing in Action) for about 9 months. It was not because we wanted to, but because we became so busy and life just got in the way. We were inundated with a bounty of activity that prohibited us from slowing down enough to get focused and write to you. And for that, we apologize. These seasons of frantic living do not come without a few lessons. We have prayed ( and are still praying) for God to reveal to us where we went wrong, what we did right and what changes should be made to our lives so that we can fulfill the mission he gave us.

So the first post of 2015 will detail some things aimed to help thrive and not merely survive.

1. Establish Priorities – Not having a list of priorities could result in wasted time and resources. Begin each day with a list of priorities to maximize your time and resources.

2. Planning is key – God is a planner. He planned everything from the creation of the earth and man to how all of this is going to end. If he is a planner, shouldn’t we also be planners?

3. Boundaries – Setting boundaries for your time is very much important (once again me). You have to know when to say, “NO” and not feel guilty.

4. Balance- You have to live a balanced existence. Too much of anything is not good including having a monotonous schedule filled with identical activities. Varying your activities can help stem burnout.

5. Anything new is not going to be easy. Change is challenging- So I added this because all I’ve written so far require that I make some major and minor life changes. Lasting change require persistence. Do you only try one time then stop? Nope. You keep at it. Believe me this is one that hits me hard. Things become habit after a person does the same action for 21 days. It has to be continuous to become habit.

God has a plan and a purpose for all of us we have to be open and make his mission one of the priorities in our lives. Before we end this lets pray

Lord,

We thank you for reminding us to “Number our days.” Our stewardship is not limited to material possessions but includes our time, talent and resources. Help me to be a better steward of the time and resources you have entrusted to me. I want to be a better for you, God and I need your help accomplishing all that you have purposed for my life. I thank you in advance for responding to this prayer. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Love,
TRTO

Dear God’s Beloved One,

It has been a very long time since we’ve last written and here at TRTO, we have some catching up to do! Long story short life took way over and when we looked up it was July. However in that time frame so many things have happened in my life that has made me reflect on some things about my relationship with God and my prayer life .
Have you ever had to rethink the way you approach prayer? Have you ever reviewed your prayer life ? It can be an eye opening experience that reveals more about you and the relationship that you have with God. Recently I  thought about  the prayers I  prayed in the not so distant pass  and  thought to myself” Man that was a little selfish” or ” That conversation with God was totally one sided.” And those revelations was God calling out to me  to reflect on the relationship that I have with Him. It’s Him saying to me  that the  relationship I have  with Him can go to new heights and have a deeper understanding of his nature.

Proverbs 15:8 says,

 The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked ,but he delights in the  prayers of the upright !

NLT

To me that says that God is waiting to hear from his children. He loves to  converse with them . Its like a parent  waiting for a phone call from their child  .The Father is waiting to hear  you from your heart. He does not want to hear  what you think he wants to hear so that you can ask him  for your blessing . He wants  you to speak to  him from your heart with no façade .  As  a way to  start you to reflecting on your prayer life , below are  a few questions that  could lead us( including me)  in the right direction to the prayer life God wants  us to have .Also  if you have questions  about what prayer is,  our Life foundation  page has  a link  to our document called ” What is Prayer” .

1. What do you think prayer is ?
2. How do you feel when you pray?
3. Is it a chore to you to pray ?
4. Are you just saying words out of routine?
5. When you pray, where is your mind?
6. Where is your heart?
7. Where is your faith?

Love,

L

 Dear God’s Beloved One,

 Today is the last day of the 2013 year.  This year has brought  good times and times we wish we can forget. Whatever the  year has brought let us be thankful to God  that we survived  it thus far. I  hope that  you all have a wonderful  finish to the year and a  beautiful  beginning to the new year.

Love,

TRTO  

Dear God’s Beloved One,

Merry Christmas to All! Today we celebrate the savior Jesus Christ’s entrance into the world. Remember all that he has done for us.

Love,
TRTO