The Secret to Living is Giving!

'Pay if Forward' is a title to a movie but the concept has been around from the beginning of time.

The gift of life was given to us so that we can return the favor. When you give you release a kingdom principle in your life.

As the author of 'If You Played In My Playground' I know 100% that I received the gift of life from God to write this book on purpose for purpose; to pour out my trials, struggles and breakthroughs so that my process of transformation would work in your life (the reader) so that you may be complete within yourself.

I did not write the book to just 'sell' a book. My desire was to restore hope into the lives of many women, men, boys and girls all over the world who have simply given up or lost a sense of hope. It's not just ink on a paper, it's the written expression of a true living God- inside of me. What made me a believer was what He was able to do with my story- my mess. And in return I just want to pay it forward...

We all have a playground filled with unique stories. Imagine in Iraq right now; what their playground looks like; a war zone.

Sometimes that 'thing' in your life that can be your greatest gift, that also first presented itself in a moment of pain- it isn't ideal or picture perfect and all you want to do is give up, but on the other side of that 'thing' is where your victory is at.

The thing that hurt me the most is the very thing that I am using to help people today.

What is the 'thing' you have that you can give? Is it your story? Your time? Your resources or money? Is it your smile or a listening ear? Find it and give it away!

Love, Lizzy

What Do You Focus Your Thoughts On?

There are two things I instantly think of when I think of the 'old me' and that is ego and anger. Because I had so much stored up inside of me, it only took a second for my ego to rub me the wrong way. This was a big problem of mine until I began practising self-awareness and mindfulness. I am still a work in progress as it's a lifetime journey. As I hear daily, I apply daily.

Self-awareness is observing your emotions, thoughts, breathing, eating, your words, working and so on- while continuing to be aware that you are doing these things. In one simple sentence, self- awareness FREES us from suffering.

The most valuable thing I learned on my journey to transformation was that I could stop alowing my mind to run me. You're probably doing it right now while you read this! If you don't watch and observe your thoughts closely, your mind can get you into a lot of mischief. 

Ok, let me put it this way, you know how easy it is to watch the actions of others? Well, it's one small step from watching YOUR thinking to watching your actions and the actions of others.

How do we do that? Pay attention!

Don't just look up at the clouds, observe the clouds. Don't just look at the birds, observe and LISTEN to them. Don't just breath- smell the air! Don't just stand in the shower thinking about the office, your to do list, the kids, your bills, stand there and FEEL the water tapping on your skin. Don't just cook your food, smell the food. Take it ALL in. 

Can it be that simple? Yes, you are NOT your mind. They're separate. So you have the power to control it. Tap INTO that power. It lives inside of you. When you remove the blinders, you experience a wholesomeness that brings with it- inner peace.

Thoughts lead you further and further from living authentically in the present moment. Each time you become aware of SELF, you strengthen self-awareness.

Lizzy's Word:

Be mindful of the places your mind wanders through!

The Light of this World!

My light, yes 'my' light...is the truth. It's the God that abides inside of me. The God inside of me is truth and truth is light and God is light, so I am light!

The truth is God is our Father
The truth is we are sons of God
The truth is EVERYTHING God says we are, WE ARE!
...

No, I wasnt always this FREE. But now I am. Because truth has 'made'me free! Ohhh what a feeling.
Seriously...I mean while thousands of people were our poppin bottles this weekend and screaming at the top fo their lungs- watching and worshipping 'all star' celebrities that have no idea who they are and if they do, it's only for a night or two.. breaking their bank accounts to rock the latest red bottoms, hustlin to get into the VIP sections at the clubs and perhaps even looking for their new found love.. I was home with my family popping jokes. I woke up Friday, Saturday and Sunday feling like I was partying for Jesus. Oh what a party!

And no I am not acting all bran new- for those of you who are reading this saying "oh Liz acting like she wasnt out here with us years ago...." Yeah I hear you and guess what? I was in my 20's! Yes I once was lost too. Been there, done that so I know all about the hustle, all about the game and all about the world. I have no regrets because it was all apart of my purpose. But there comes a time where we gotta just 'throw our hands up in the air' and surrender.!

Truth is not laying up in a man's bed. Truth is not up in the club. Truth isn't is all those material things we chase after. Truth is God and God is truth. And once I knew who's I was, I knew WHO I WAS! And if I am light, than I gotta be the light. Knowing this changed 'the game' for me! That's how I became a hustler for Jesus!

The most intelligent , beautiful, loyal, giving, humble and FINEST man in this world chose ME! Did I mention His name? Yeah and what????

Know who you are, so that you may know who you are NOT!

"How Do I Find My Purpose?"

Have you ever asked yourself, “how do I really know what my purpose is?”

Look, God created purpose before He created person.

 

The bible states that we’re the workmanship of God. So, we’re perfectly designed and crafted for a purpose. I mean everything He’s created was created with and FOR purpose. Think of the trees. The cows. The lakes. The fish. Ohh and let’s not forget bee’s!!

Everything about you was created for a purpose. Your struggles, your past, your story…it’s all a part of your blueprint. Trust ME!

Frustration comes when a person is not seeking and walking in purpose. This is where the devil wants us. This is where he traps us. Then all of a sudden we feel lonely, sad, unworthy, left out, not good enough, not smart enough, too old, too young, too white, too black, too poor, too skinny, to thick… and all these things lead to depression and that’s exactly where he wants us; because in a state of depression, you do nothing! Your body is still here but you inner being is dead.

Remember, the average person dies at 75 but stopped living at 25!

The devil’s job is to ‘kill, steal and destroy’ and that is his only mission. He cannot ‘GIVE’ life so his job is to make sure he takes it!
Your primary purpose is to seek God and ONLY in and through Him, you’ll discover your secondary purpose.

If you think your purpose in life is to get married or have children, that is not so! If it’s a desire, that’s different. It may or may not be a part of your destiny. Your only purpose right now should be to ‘be’ the best version of YOU! Work daily towards that and in finding yourself, you WILL discover your gifts and passions. And your passion is what you will use to serve the world.

When I began to seek God and know God for myself, I started seeing and believing exactly what He wanted to do in and through my life. That did not happen overnight. I worked diligently on recreating that little girl who lost herself at the age of five. It took time BUT it has been the best time of my life and I can only imagine what’s to come!

Purpose = Your Supreme Reason for Being

 

Love, Lizzy

Be A Woman of Excellence!

Just some Sunday Inspiration!

Daniel was a man of excellence, and because of that, the King promoted him to a position of great influence (see Danile 6:3).

Daniel was also a man who refused to compromise. Even if his choices endangered his life like when he refused to stop praying and got thrown into the lion's den, he would not compromise.
He believed strongly in keeping his commitments, promises and vows, and he was willing to endure personal discomfort to do it.

Our God is an excellent God, and He has called us to be excellent too. To be excellent is a decision we must make and it means we got to go the extra mile to do OUR best. We don't have to be THE best- but we must 'DO' our best. We should always strive to do what God would do in the situations we encounter.

Make a decicion today to BE excellent!

Lizzy's Top 15 Healthy Foods

Whatever your lifestyle is, it's not difficult to make small changes.

I don't know about you but I had more sugar in the last couple of months than I've had in the last few years.

For the last four years, I've been eating pretty healthy and for some reason I went off a few months ago. Not good. It's not good because I don't 'feel' good. I went from juicing DAILY to juicing a couple of times a week in the last couple of months. I know how amazing I felt before I fell off so it's time to get back!

I started my week on Sunday with no sugar. I had a coffee this morning and added some natural brown sugar but I'll let myself off the hook this time....The last two days have been great. I know two days isn't much but what a difference I already feel just in two days. Despite still going to the gym at least a few times a week, diet is everything!

So here are my TOP healthy foods that I went and stocked up on yesterday for eating and juicing!

Apples: Calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin C, beta-carotene, pectin

Avocados: Potassium, tryptophan (an amino acid), vitamin C, beta-carotene, vitamin B5, vitamin K, high in vitamin E

Bananas: Potassium, vitamin C, beta-carotene, vitamin C, beta-carotene, vitamin K, vitamin B6

KEFIR: kefir is made by fermenting milk with 10 to 20 different types of bacteria and yeasts, where yogurt is usually just fermented with a handful of types; this leads to a higher probiotic count in the final product. Kefir is a source of several B vitamins, which are essential for our good health and functioning. It has B12, which is important for your blood and nervous system, and B1, (otherwise is known as thiamine) which is important for helping you withstand stress. Kefir also contains biotin, which is a B vitamin that helps your body use other B vitamins.

Grapefruit: Calcium, magnesium, potassium, vitamin C

Lemons: Potassium, vitamin C

Tomatoes: Calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, beta-carotene, folic acid, vitamin C

Beets: Calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, manganese, folic acid, vitamin C

Carrots: Calcium, magnesium, potassium, beta-carotene

Fennel: Calcium, magnesium, sodium, folic acid, vitamin C, potassium, rich in phyto-oestrogens

Spirulina: Potassium, sodium, vitamin B3, gamma-linoleic acid, beta-carotene, It's a nutrient rich algae available as a dry powder

Squash: Calcium, magnesium, potassium, vitamin C

Ginger: Calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium

Molasses: Calcium, magnesium, potassium, B vitamins

Quinoa: Iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, vitamin B3

I've obviously got more like salmon, flaxseeds, bee pollen, tuna, lentils, chick peas etc but for now there's a short list. By making good health your goal, you will have a better understanding of food and of the factors affecting health issues.

Even if you made poor choice this year, make 2016 a year of transformation. You deserve it!

Your True Identity Is Hidden in Him!

Being a young girl 'today' is soooooo far from what it was in my playground; when there were no reality shows, no facebook, instagram and twitter. No cell phones with data, no girls injecting their boobs and backside and of course their lips, no red bottoms...we just wanted a pair of jelly bean shoes from 'Honest Ed's' and a wind breaker oh and maybe some 'madonna glow in the dark' rubber bracelets and some ty dye to design our jeans and t-shirts... or a time when pills, mollies and X were never a cool thing to try. A time when drug addicts were soooo seperated from us......


Our youth are searching for their identity.

Their trying to find it in other boys, girls, music, drugs, alcohol, sex, celebrities, actors and rappers.

There is ONLY one place their going to find it!!! In the One who created them!!! ‪#‎God‬

I am Back In School at 40!

 

 

In the last few months I have been thinking a LOT about purpose.

Just five years ago, I barely saw any of this coming. Yes, I knew God had a purpose for my life, but I also discovered that-that purpose was rapped up in Him and in order to get to it, to have access to it, I'd have to rap myself up IN Him as well.

It took discipline, courage, strength, determination, passion, motivation and FAITH to do this. To believe that I could and would walk into all that He had ordained for my life. You see it was nothing but faith. Because looking at the conditions of my life- and especially 5/6 years ago, it was not evident that I would have overcome. No not at all!!

  

I had many plans. Plans of owning a clothing line / store, an accessories boutique, a skin care line, a perfume line, a juicing booth, an image consulting business...you name it. But none of those plans stuck with me. The more I studied Gods word and allowed Him to work through me, the closer I got to discovering my purpose. For many years, I wanted to go back to school. I've probably thought of 4-5 different degrees to study in the last 15 years. Everything from Public Relations to Social Work to Fashion. I became more and more frustrated with myself for not going to school. I was watching the time and the older I got the more frustrated I grew.

 

All of this changed when I started listening closely to Gods direction and voice. I discovered that my primary purpose was to live with and for Him (God). And through Him, I would discover my

secondary purpose. I knew that I had to be still and stop all 'my own' planning in order to allow His plans for my life to prevail. Once I surrendered my life to His plans, then I would and did discover my secondary purpose. It was only then (in the last year) that I finally got the OK in my spirit to go back to school. I know 100% what my secondary purpose is and so now is the PERFECT time (Gods time) to do so. Otherwise, I would have wasted time, money and energy.

Going back to school at 40 feels fantastic! I am a more dedicated student now than I could or would have ever been. I am stabled in my mind. I am disciplined. I am settled. I am focused and I am a leader. I am a leader because I serve many people. Not because they serve me.

Whether you're 18 or 80, Gods timing is the BEST timing!

  

With Love, Lizzy

Are You A Game Changer?

You must decide what you want and it WILL happen....

In other words, you must know your purpose before it comes into manifestation. So when you decree a thing (make a decision) you then cut things away...

There are things in your life that just don't fit any longer. That season is over. It's been over. You're just refusing to let go! And this why you're frustrated and stressed out. You really think God created you to be stressed out? You've lost your passion for life and passion is the very thing that gives you POWER!

It's not what you hang unto that changes the quality of your life. It's what you cut OUT!
God wants to use you as an agent of change..to advance the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is Gods Royalty, the Rule, and the Realm. When we talk about advancing he Kingdom of God, it's not just some lofty word. He has given us power and authority. He's not just trying to get us to Heaven (that's such a religious mindset) He is trying to bring Heaven here TO earth!

But the question is, do you avail yourself?

Stop asking, " God what can I ask you for today? What can I use you for?" and start asking, "God what can you use ME for today?"

When we allow God to use us to be game changers, we put a smile on His face. I know all about games. I use to play them. A lot of them. Dangerous ones too! I lived more then 20 years of my life playing games. Worldly games and it kept me in bondage. But I have chosen to turn away from the world's fun and games and I am now a game CHANGER for Him. He has equipped me for such a time as this. Ohh what he can do with your sin. Trust me!!

I wake up every morning with purpose...

It's up to YOU to discover YOURS!

Love, Lizzy