Living in the Moment?

Make no mistake, sometimes living in the moment can be synonymous to complacency. Avoid being preoccupied with "the moment." While it is very necessary to be concious and appreciative of the very gift that each moment in the present offers, the present must not be our permanent cognitive residence. But,if you must focus on the present, then meditate on how  you will use your present circumstance to positively transfigure your future.---BLJ

Strategic Stillness

While soaring through life can be exhilirating, there comes a time when stillness is necessary and equally as exciting. If we are constantly running in the direction of our dreams, when are we taking time to regroup, reflect, or reposition ourselves? While faith without works is dead and we must make moves towards the promises that rest in our purposes, we must remember that balance is the key to life. Therefore, instead of sprinting towards the mark of purpose sometimes an easy stroll will give us just the retrospection we need to prepare for the next leg of our race. Be still today and allow your strategic planning team, The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit to advise you on the next chapter you've been called to write.

Listen Up!

It is no coincidence that the same message has been making its way to your being in various forms. When God has something in mind that is indeed pressing on your spiritual agenda, He is actually quite relentless, creative, and even cunning in getting the message across. You might find it in the conversations of others, stumble across it as you thumb through your favorite magazine, or even in the lyrics of your favorite song that takes on new meaning due to your current circumstance. One thing is for sure, these messages are usually sent by train, plane, or automobile to confirm a whisper that has already been floating around in your spirit. The recurring messages are God's way of turning that whisper into an affirmative scream!! He will not be ignored, so listen why don't ya!!---BLJ

Power; Part II

So, what is the origin of true power, and how do we access it? It was Francis Bacon who said, "knowledge is power" and Proverbs 4:7 warns "in all your getting, get understanding." What is it about knowledge that is so powerful?
Considering knowledge as power is not a new concept. Surely knowledge is a source of power that can alter the entire scope of the world in which we live. Knowledge has the ability to open doors that no one can ever close making it a true and sustainable source of power as opposed to a fleeting vehicle of influence like money, for example. Why do you think the mind is such a war zone? We fight ourselves on the way to ourselves. Sometimes, the knowledge that we gain along life's journey is rejected by our psyche, because with knowledge comes responsibility. Your better self gains revelation from knowledge and wants to act upon it, while the most comfortable nooks of your mind would rather go on living the same mundane way. Knowledge causes us to be accountable, because once you learn anything, it is yours forever. In the same way, what you do or don't do with that knowledge is completely up to you.
So, where does the power come into play? We choose to make knowledge our source of power. Once we choose to activate our acquired knowledge, we tap into the ability to change our circumstances. Imagine an electrical socket and a plug. Seperately they are just that, but once united they have the ability to light up a room.
Remember, power can only be internalized after accepting an external force. But, once we internalize it, which is how we gain revelation, it is our duty to apply it externally to illuminate the very context of our world.  If the mind is a powerful place, even it is not inherently this way. The mind is a calculation of external words, sights, and experiences that guide its processes and most importantly its evolution. Even still, the mind itself must be trained into its power. Each time we make a conscious choice to activate our knowledge to make a life change, we are conditioning the mind to handle the potency and potential of knowledge. The more we use our knowledge for good, the less powerful our complacent selves will be and the more powerful we will become in the universe. Knowledge can not be taken away, but it is as useless as an electrical socket with no plug if it is EVER withheld.

Tap into the power that can never be eradicated; learn, reflect, and share your revelation. Turn on the lights, it's been dark for way too long!

Power; Part I

Power is not manifested. It is derived from a source and channeled through a vessel that recognizes, accepts, and activates it. Power can only be internalized after accepting an external force. Therefore, whatever you accept as powerful will become your own source of power. For this reason, those who deem money as true power will use it to influence and alter their circumstances. Others who accept the power in sensuality as their source will exercise it to open doors that might otherwise be closed.

But what happens when those temporal things fade, and the seemingly supernatural things they accomplished for you dissipates? Sure, you may have attained some influence, but influence itself is not power. It is merely a residual entity of it. ---BLJ
(To be continued)

Are you a Teacher?

Are you a teacher? As you may as well know, I am in fact an elementary school teacher. But, I am also a teacher in the spirit. Teachers, in the spirit realm, are fixers and givers. They are problem solvers and instigators of thought. More than anything, teachers in the spirit realm want to share all that they currently know with those who are on a quest to find. You may know some folks like this. In fact, it is no wonder that the incomparable Oprah Winfrey, whom I affectionately call "Auntie Oprah" wanted to be a teacher growing up. Isn't that exactly what she became? Think of all of the students she has had the opportunity to rear, inspire, and lead towards their own purpose-filled selves. She is a teacher in the spirit. Her classroom may be a bit larger than most, but it is not about how many students you have the chance to touch. It is about how many you actually do. Like, Oprah, we all have the chance to make the universe our universities.
The true sign that you are a teacher in the spirit is knowing that you have some answers and wanting with everything that you are made of for others to possess, for themselves, those answers. You embrace the beauty in sharing the trials and tribulations of life so that others won't make the same mistakes you made. Each time you give of yourself, some student is a little bit closer to getting the lesson. Teachers are not only found in classrooms. They are all around you. And for some of us, they are the embodiment of who we are.

Love, Baria Leshea Jennings

What Is Love?

Love is...watching  your children play and being comforted in the fact that they currently have all that they need.
Love is...the foresight to plan ahead for them beyond today so that the future their minds don't yet have the capacity to see, will avail itself to their dreams.

Love is...knowing that while you do all these things for your own offspring in the name of love, God's perfected Love is doing the same for you, giving you present day provision while preparing you for the bounty of your future.

If that ain't love, I don't know what is!

Love, BLJ

Thanksgiving

When you approach this life with thanksgiving, there are no small things for which you are grateful-only big blessings in small packages. Enjoy your day, and reflect with grateful hearts on all of the blessings that have been bestowed upon you.---Love, BLJ

The Waiting Room

Things are not always going to happen exactly when you want them to. But, if you would just stay encouraged and continue the necessary work, they will eventually happen. If you allow yourself to become discouraged, then you have given up the most critical component to the manifestation of dreams. That, my friends, is COURAGE. It takes courage to dream and reach beyond your mind's capacity. It takes courage to continue pressing towards a dream when everyone and everything around you is seemingly in complete opposition. It takes courage to muster up the patience necessary to surmount doubt. 

Be courageous, even in the waiting room of your biggest dream. For, when you give up on a dream, you have given up on a promise that is so much bigger than you!

Love, 
BLJ

Creative By Design

This is a day handcrafted by the Creator with the same loving hands that designed you. He was satisfied when He stepped back from His creation, because everything that you would ever need to be successful in your lifetime was divinely downloaded in your DNA from conception. You were not an accident. God made you on purpose, wonderfully and fearfully created. As a purpose filled creature, know that you are also a creative being by design. Even if you never paint like Van Gogh or have the ability to compose symphonies like Mozart, creativity is innately at your disposal.

You see, we were not intended to live a life void of creative expression. Instead, our words were meant to create sentences that have the power to propel others towards their destinies. Our hands were made to bring forth peace to all those we touch. Our feet were crafted to charter paths of greatness for all those who will come after we are long gone. We are creative beings by design. Every facet of your being was meant to innovate! Think about it. If there were no need for you to do something on this Earth that has never been done before, you would have never been created. But, Aha!--- Here You Are. Don't underestimate the power you possess as a purpose-filled, creative being.

Go out today, and create a way out of no way!
-Love,
Baria Leshea Jennings

Active Ingredient

While brushing my teeth this morning, I glimpsed over at the back of the mouthwash bottle and had a revelation about something that I probably saw hundreds of times before. On the back of the label there were the words, Active Ingredient:Sodium Flouride....Purpose:Anticavity. Immediately, I thought about how the manufactuers made it their business to make the consumer, me,  aware of the one ingredient that truly made their product effective. Of course, I extended this line of thinking to the spiritual realm and began to acknowledge how true this was for all of God's beautiful creations walking upon this great land.

It makes so much sense doesn't it?! In order for us to get down to the nitty gritty business of our purposes, we must first identify our active ingredients. What is it that God has placed within you, His divine product, that will make you truly effective to all those who are in dire need of whatever innate gift you harbor within your being? If you are not sure, think of the one thing that rises to the surface above all of the other inactive ingredients, the thing that not only makes your spirit smile but illuminates the lives of others. Put your finger on that thing, and share it with the world!!! This is your ACTIVE INGREDIENT! One thing that I know for sure is it was not intended solely for you. Instead, this gift of yours was meant to help you fulfill your purpose by making you more effective wherever the Lord has assigned you. Go out and activate that potent ingredient in your divine elixir, and trust that God will give you all of the Directions for proper use! ...Love, Baria L. Jennings

More Than Meets The Eye!

"My almost two year old son was looking through a pair of his binoculars yesterday, and he kept saying "Look mommy, look!" You see, he desperately wanted me to see what he could see, just the way he could see it. Not satisfied with my response though, he moved on to his older brother with an intent on getting SOMEONE to see his magnified point of view. As I watched his exuberance and desperation for someone to confirm his vision, I thought about how so many of us are on a nebulous quest to merely get others to see our vision, to affirm the grandness of God's promise for our lives, when it was never even intended for their eyes. Every vision that the Creator has placed before the binoculars of your spirit was not meant for someone else to see or even understand. In fact, if noone ever believes what you know you are called to do on this planet, the vision-the promise-that God has placed within you will change none the less! So, give up on trying to get others to confirm what you know is your grand design and begin the work that makes the binoculars unnecessary. Believe the Creator, Focus on the Vision, and Walk Boldly in the direction of your dreams. Before you know it, you will be face to face with a reality that the naked eye of your past could never grasp."---Love, Baria Leshea Jennings

The Seed

"The very moment that you were a divine thought, there was a seed of purpose planted in the depths of your being. If you find that your seed has not yet sprouted, or the tree that was once overflowing with fruit is now barren, don't be afraid to dig. That's right, dig deep within the core of your being until you tap the seed. You see, the beautiful thing about the seed of purpose is as long as you have breath, there in your spirit, it will be...just waiting for you to remember it. It could very well be that your seed needs a little love. So shift it around in the soil of your soul, pat it, water it, and most of all sprinkle it with the light of your gifting. In no time at all, you'll find that your life will spring forth with evergreens of hope, love, and truth that not even the most bitter winter could devour."--Love, BLJ

The Truth

The truth has never been an easy pill to swallow, but it is one worth gagging on. It may have a bitter shell, but if you can endure the bitterness long enough to bite into its love-filled center, it will cure the worst case of denial, blame, and shame. The truth, in all of its potent glory, has the power to unlock all spiritual, mental, and physical cages of bondage. The truth has never lied, and it shall surely set you free. Have you had your dose of truth today?

Mind your Mind

Whatever makes its dwelling place in your mind, will kick off its shoes and get comfortable in your daily dialogue and activities. So, whatever thoughts you find floating around in the crawl space of your mind, be sure to check out the intent preceding the thought. Those thoughts that are intended to rob, steal, and destroy your purpose must be immediately evicted before they make themselves at home. However, those thoughts that have come to inspire, motivate, and transcend you out of your current circumstance must have their own chamber in your psyche, because such affirmative thoughts have the power to carry you anywhere your mind will ever dare to imagine.
--Baria L. Jennings

Live, Love, Laugh

Live today as if EVERY tomorrow depended on it.

Today, love SOMEONE you never thought you could as if love itself were becoming obselete.

On this day, laugh and bring laughter to ALL who are in your presence.

For whatever you give the power to take life, love, and laughter have already claimed YOU.

BLJ

The Mediocrity Frame

Avoid mediocrity at all costs today! You were not given another opportunity to breathe, move, and gloriously be, to merely  skim the surface of your boundless potential. Live on purpose with the bigger picture of your life's unique design in mind. Stand clear of those who attempt to bind you down with the complacency of complaints. Complaints have never accomplished anything revolutionary. Only complainers are comfortable in a room brimming over with complaints, because as long as we complain we can avoid doing anything that will ever matter.

It is in the doing that our single lives will begin to make a communal difference. So, kindly excuse yourselves from the stifling presence of complainers today, and get to the duty of doing. If you don't like the picture of your circumstances, step out of the image and reconstruct the frame.---Baria Leshea Jennings

Use Your Fear!

If you haven't done something that positively scares you out of your socks, but moves you in the direction of your dreams, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!!! Seriously, it's just really that simple today. You may have heard it said that fear is simply False Evidence Appearing Real. Well, jump on the trampoline of faith today and leave that liar,fear, shaking on the ground where it belongs.
Fear is the enemy of Fulfillment. If you never want to walk in the fulfillment of your purpose, keep amplifying the whisper of fear. On the other hand, if you want everything that is divinely yours, you have to dismiss discouragement while welcoming discomfort. The more than a conqueror shoes may take some getting used to, but you just keep wearing them. If you feel your ankles quivering as you walk towards your dreams, it is only because they are breaking through new ground...with your name all OVER IT!--Baria Leshea Jennings

Trading Happiness for Joy

Happiness is evasive and contingent upon circumstance. Happiness can make you laugh, play, and even dance. Happiness can be so close and yet so very far away. It is in the sticky-finger grip on a lollipop stick and in a sun shower at the break of day. Hahahaha!!! Happiness, you slay me! But, when you leave, all is blue. Until, I feel the rejuvenating breath of joy on my back, pushing me towards all that is true. Like the undeniable truth of a brand new day, or the peace that blankets my pillow at night. Or, the anihilation of all that is wrong for the one thing that is right. Yes joy! I will have you any day with all of your simple ways. You are the answer to happiness gone wrong. My joy, you are here to stay!
Don't let anyone steal your joy, my friends. For, if they ever do, you'll see. You can never really lose it. Joy is what you find inside the belly of misery. ----Baria Leshea Jennings

Girls Are Little Earthquakes: Earthquake Thought of the Day

Girls Are Little Earthquakes: Earthquake Thought of the Day: "Make a comment to dialogue about the 'Earthquake Thought of the Day' with author, Baria Leshea Jennings Happiness is evasive and contingent..."

Looking Back

Remember where you came from without taking your eyes off of where God is taking you. If you look back too long in the direction of what is already gone, you just may look up in time to see that your scenery has remained the same, yet the time has trudged along.So, remember your past only to push you into your present destiny. Everything that you have gone through until this present hour has shaped your mind, thought processes, and attitude. So, be thankful for the lessons of the past, but allow the present to renew your spirit and mind so that your work will be completely and utterly in the moment. That very moment may be someone else's lifeline.--Baria Leshea Jennings

Today

Today will never be again. So, kindly tell Yesterday that it is over! Yesterday could never do what Today will do for you. Give Today a chance. The two of you have so much yet to accomplish. And whatever you do, do not waste your valuable time together, discussing Tomorrow.  For, what you do with Today has the ability to change the scope of a thousand tomorrows.---BLJ

Back to Purpose

When you find yourself looking for validation from others, you are usually far away from the trail of your purpose. The only validation you will ever need will not be heard from another set of human lips. So, find your way home to purpose, and drop a few divine bread crumbs along the trail so that another will find their way too.---BLJ

The Higher Route

God has such a wonderful sense of humor!!I walked up behind a woman today who was the only one in line at the cafe in Sam's. I stood there for a moment, then stepped aside to pull my son closer to me and got back in line.Meanwhile, a man walked behind me on line. When the woman walked away, he jumped in front of me at ...the counter and ordered! I looked at him and said "I was here sir!"He replied, "You were around the corner." I smiled at him and said "No, I wasn't but God bless you anyway--All of your days!"He didn't know what to say. As I sat down to eat, I noticed that he and his wife had a problem on line and had to wait. Well, I ate all of my food, in perfect peace, and they were still standing in line 20 minutes later!Just goes to show you, when you take the higher route, the Lord fights your battles. No need to get flustered!!

-BLJ

Do You!

Love yourself beyond explanation today! Treat yourself to a compliment why don't you!! Lather up in the gift of self-love.Take yourself for a long walk through the park. Go window shopping in the city, and whistle at your own reflection in the glass. You are everything that your mind could ever imagine and more! Dream yourself out of a daily existence, and begin living to dream! It is in the resuscitation of self-love that breathing takes on new meaning and haters become your oxygen! Do you, beloved, do you!!!---Baria L. Jennings

Special Delivery

Prayer is best when it has someone other than yourself attached to it. Take the time today to avail your heart, mind, spirit and threshing floor to whoever God places in your spiritual point of view.  It is so easy to become consumed with our own needs and desires, but when you bring some unsuspecting sister or brother before the throne of the Most High, it is in those utterances that your own prayers make their way to your doorstep. So, send up a special delivery in prayer for another today, and when you least expect it, your  own mailbox will be overflowing!---BLJ

Bumping Into Destiny

There I was, walking along, minding my own business when I tripped on an inconspicuous speck of destiny. So, I brushed myself off, looked it square in the eye and introduced myself. "Hello Destiny" I said boldly, "To what do I owe the honor of making your acquaintance? I am usually more careful, and I must not have been watching where I was going." Destiny replied "The honor is all mine, and you could not have avoided me if you tried."
This response struck me as odd, so I said "What do you mean by that?" "Well, you see," Destiny went on, "ours was a preappointed meeting of sorts, but I am only one fragment of your journey."
Even more confused, I scratched my head and began to walk away though I could hear Destiny's voice trailing behind me. "When you meet the other specks, you will understand that we are the only way that you can ever be introduced to Purpose!"
I didn't know what that speck of Destiny meant by that, but as I walked along, pondering the meaning, I stumped my toe on a talking rock named Fate and it all made a little more sense.
---BLJ

Lead The Way

When was the last time you took a moment to look in your rear view mirror? Sometimes, we get so focused on the road before us that we fail to see who is following our lead. Whether we are aware of it or not, there are lives that will be forever changed by the detours and turns we choose to take. So, before you stop abrubtly or make a u-turn prior to reaching an expected end, consider those who are depending on you to lead them out of their own neck of the woods, into the luminous direction of opportunity. So, don't forget to look in the rear view while traveling life's road, because the objects in the mirror are closer than they appear. ---BLJ

Your Enemies Need You

Hatred is simply love turned inside out. Don't waste your precious energy hating your enemies.  For, they merely love some intangible quality about you that they themselves don't posess. Look closer into the creases of your foe's seemingly glaring eyes, and you will find that those eyes are simply smiling in awe of your divinity.

So, love your enemy like both of your lives depended upon it. You need each other more than you'll ever understand. Smile at them today. It may be the only glimpse of God they see. ---BLJ

Get The Lesson

There is a lesson that comes with each rising sun. So, make sure you are prepared for class today.--Ready to listen carefully to The Master Teacher with a pencil and paper handy to take meticulous notes. The beauty of the school of life is you cannot be retained, only promoted to a new day with its' own innate lessons. However, if you have not truly learned the skill the Master Teacher was trying to teach you yesterday, you may find yourself repeating the course until you ace the test. So study hard, all of the experiences placed before you, and when you come across a person, place, or thing you don't understand-let discernment be your dictionary. There is a lesson to be learned today, and it is imperative that you get it, because the lesson is not really intended for you. You are only being schooled to be the teacher!--Baria Leshea Jennings

A Dream Fulfilled

When the thought of a dream manifested scares you out of your socks, walk barefoot in the direction of your vision. When your feet get blisters from the rocky road you must travel to get to your destiny, soak them in a salty pool of prayer and meditation and then go on! If a dream deferred "festers up like a raisin in the sun," then let's not talk of deferred dreams. Instead, let us ponder the potential of a dream fulfilled. When you have exhausted every avenue of a dream until the very mention of it makes you ill, don't give up!!-That's when you know you're close! You can never give up on a dream that has your DNA all over it, and it could never be birth through anyone else quite the way it was intended to be birth through you. So, hold fast to your dreams, and when you're at the end of your rope-tie a loop, sit in it, and swing-Wheee!!! When you want to cry, cry until you laugh so hard it makes you cry again! Whatever you do, don't give up on you,--- barefoot, blisters and all! You too can press on towards a dream fulfilled. Rest assured somebody, somewhere is waiting on the fulfillment of your dream.

Legacy

Do not spend your limited time in this Earthly realm focusing upon making a name for yourself. Instead, work towards being worthy of the value your name has to The Creator and conscious of the potential the mere utter of your name has to cause The Enemy to quiver. It is then that you will find your name will no longer be simply a composition of letters but the origin of an impenetrable legacy.Tomorrow is not promised, what will you do today that outlives you?
---Baria Leshea Jennings

The Best of You

Your best you is not found in the eyes glaring back at you in the mirror each day. Instead, the you that matters most, is found in the corners of each smile gracing faces you may never know. Or, in the remnants of light, writing your firefly name in the atmosphere long after you've left the room.

The best of you is in the selfless laughter of your last dime hitting the bottom of a tin can  in the hand of a beggar others pass each day. It is in the thank you's that shall come your way without you ever knowing why.

My friends, the best of you, of us, will never be found staring back at us in the looking glass, but instead in the rhythmic symphony of heartbeats that beat stronger because we were here!

The best of you, beloved, has yet to show her unforgettable face!

Trust the Process

Along the path least traveled, the walkway is not straight but the focus must remain infinitely linear. Though your feet may trip amongst themselves, they too will find grace. Although your hands may tremble for fear of their own power, they will be still long enough to create the masterpieces that only they can.
One can not let the mind linger in the desolate dungeon of doubt for destruction will surely surmount. Instead, be one with your own breath until you recognize its familiar touch in the wind. Find solace in  your palpatating heart until you realize its rhythm in the roaring applause of thunder.

Oh yes, there will be brambles, ditches, confidantes turned conquistadors, and unforeseen rabbit holes on the way to Wonderland-(Just ask Alice!), but you must trust the process.

For, there is always a process on the road to an expected end. If you can endure the process, the end will only be the beginning.  
--Baria Leshea Jennings

Welcome to 'Earthquake Thoughts.'

Thank you for visiting 'Earthquake Thoughts': the official "Girls Are Little Earthquakes" blog. Visit daily for your Earthquake Thought of the Day. Also, check back monthly to see who is featured as our 'Earthquake Girl of the Month.'