Peace and blessings! I would like to introduce you to contributor, Mrs. Debra Alise Norwood.
Debra Norwood is CEO, Founder, Minister and Soul Confidence Builder for Glory Realm Living and Be Soul Successful, LLC. Glory Realm Living was launched in April 2009 as a home ministry and virtual ministry blog to spiritually inspire believers toward greatness, destiny and life within the realm of God’s glory. The blog to-date has been viewed virtually in over 70 countries worldwide. Debra later introduced the innovative Christ-centered soul healing business platform of Be Soul Successful, LLC in December, 2011 where she is extremely passionate about her mission of helping others to heal, achieve wholeness, abundance and purpose in life, and to share their passion and voice to make a greater difference in the world.
Here is what Mrs. Norwood shares about her faith:
1. What does “faith” mean to you?
Earlier years of my life led me down a path of so much pain that it caused me to become traumatized with fear and brokenness. I experienced a lot of torment and sickness. I'd been saved since childhood, but it was later in life that I deeply longed to have God's goodness and blessings.
Therefore, faith became an essential key ingredient in my life. In fact, it is stated in Hebrews 11:6 that without it, there was no possible way for me to please God, and I desired to please Him. Additionally, I learned that my faith becomes empowered to work for me when I walk in love, according to Galatians 5:6. So I endeavored to be loving to myself and others. Overall, because I take God at His Word, faith (to me) is the key to every possibility and breakthrough in my life... a lifestyle of believing that all things become possible through my trusting God!
2. Describe a time in your life when you had to solely rely on your faith.
Since I've lived now what seems to be a "lifetime" relying on faith and trust in God, there are innumerable events and miracles that have taken place, making it quite a challenge to sum it up to one event. I have had to solely rely on my faith in God for healing, for financial needs, within relationships and for many other circumstances in which I needed Him to show up, and He never fails to show Himself faithful.
However, it has been and to this day continues to be a day-to-day reliance on my faith when it comes to my purpose. Once the Father revealed to me my purpose, it was bigger than me, and not about me, but about what He desired to do through me. This journey of purpose, ministry and entrepreneurship has been about me totally relying on His Spirit and the greater dimensions that draw, lead and propel me into each assignment, and His grace being there to help me every step of the way. But I love being a part of His bigger picture, led by the One Who knows the end of everything from the beginning, so I know He knows the way.
3. Have you ever wavered in your faith? If so, when?
Yes, there have been many times I wavered in my faith. When you've gone through a traumatic past such as mine, unfortunately, some pain gets so deeply rooted that it's an ongoing process to renew my mind... which is a continual renewing to consider my thinking and choices. Therefore, many times I was overwhelmed by emotions and made choices based on my feelings instead of on the wisdom of God. So... my faith always wavered when I'd feel afraid... especially if I was hurting. Feelings of me being defeated or worst-case scenarios would seem so intense that my faith would undoubtedly waver.
Example: At the end of an intimate relationship, I was devastated because I thought it was actually headed toward marriage. But when it ended, unexpectedly, it was so painful. I grasped for my faith through prayer and wanting to believe for God to intervene, but my feelings of pain outweighed faith, and instead, I became depressed and thought that maybe God didn't care about my happiness. But those are the "lies" the enemy wanted me to believe, and though I knew that, the overwhelming negative feelings and emotions caused me to doubt God's promises over my life at that time.
4. What do you do when you recognize you are wavering in your faith?
Each time I allowed myself to be guided by my feelings is when I'd recognize wavering of my faith. Therefore, now whenever the lies of the enemy come during times that I'm feeling down, I act as a watchman over my life. I've set myself to act very quickly to encourage myself or get to a place where I'm poured back into. I've noticed that when I'm pressing forward being about my Father's business and not taking the necessary time to pray, meditate and fellowship with Him through His Word, I become depleted.So I've set myself to guard my heart with all diligence since the Bible acknowledges that every issue of my life will flow through the "most present or current" condition of my heart... or of the "most present or current" condition of my thinking and decision-making abilities. I guard my heart by starting my day with prayer, worship and meditation. I guard my heart by allowing myself to be poured into from the Word of God or from a motivational message. I guard my heart by speaking the truth of His Word and promises over my life. I guard my heart by keeping my eyes on the vision and purpose He has entrusted to me. These very applicable strategies help me to keep my faith and trust in God in tact.
5. What words of encouragement/empowerment/advice would you give someone who is on the path to seeing their vision realized?
I encourage each person that has a vision to keep their focus on the end result by writing the vision down (either by journal or vision board) so that they will always know the direction they're headed. Although you may not see the whole picture, just begin by pouring the most loving steps of what you know to do into the direction in which you are being led. This way, confidence will come from being led by an inner-knowing of what the Most Divine and Intelligent Father is doing through you. That direction may come through prayer, meditation or just knowing something simple you may need to do in taking that step of faith to move forward. The more that you move forward trusting God, the more you'll experience His guidance.You have been called and selected for this particular purpose or vision. And because God chose you, it means you've been prepared for it. Therefore, some things you will just know. Our mess prepares us for our message to the world. There will be divine connections of people whom you will meet that will help you along the way.Faith sets you up to be a doer of the Word, not just a hearer. Doers take faith and love as actions to be done. Faith may not be easy, but is essential to seeing your vision established. With so much going on in the world, I encourage you to keep your eyes on the higher possibilities of what God can do, because that realm opens doors to the greater of what you cannot yet see, but has already been prepared and is awaiting you. You were born for such a time as this... for a reason and for purpose... to make an impact, influence and difference in the world. And always trust that nothing is impossible with God.
Mrs. Norwood can be reached at:
www.BeSoulSuccess.com (website)
Thank you, Mrs. Norwood, for sharing your faith!
If you would like to be a part of this blog and share your faith, please contact Sheronda Barksdale at: faithfrfr2014@gmail.com.
Your blogger:
Sheronda L. Barksdale
Sheronda L. Barksdale is an author, speaker, life empowerment coach, and entrepreneur. Her motto for life and business is, "Empowering your vision to your path". She believes that through faith, anyone can see their vision for their life manifested. You can also read her blog, Faith....Frfr.
If you have any comments,
questions, or prayer requests, please contact Sheronda at: faithfrfr2014@gmail.com.
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