When your Faith is Low..

Sometimes we can get tested out of NOWHERE and those tests can sometimes bring a fear to our heart. But it's in those moments that you have to APPLY your quiet time with the Lord, what you've learned at conferences, church and the books you read on faith. It's not enough to simply be fat off of the word of God - at some point, we have to take what we've learned and APPLY it to our life. We walk by FAITH and not by SIGHT. Which means, although the circumstances look BAD as you live for Jesus - it doesn't BOTHER  you. It doesn't bother you because you don't LIVE by circumstances, you LIVE by FAITH. So, you're eyes are on the UNSEEN. You know that God has your back & that He is for you! He will restore every hurt, every confusion, every situation, every circumstances! Thank God for the Cross!! He has tore the veil so that we may be ONE with Him so that when we experience hard things, we can have the RIGHT perspective!
Now, Things are going to work out as they ALWAYS do. We must get to the place in our walk where whether things "work out" or don't "work out" - it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter because you know that whatever God has for you cannot be taken away from you. So, if it doesn't work out  - it wasn't supposed to work out in the first place.

2 Corinthians 5:7

For we walk by faith, not by sight.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Romans 10:17 

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

I adore these scriptures because they reiterate what I said above. We walk by faith, we don't lose heart and faith comes by spending time with God & getting the word in your heart.

So, if you don't have the RIGHT perspective, most likely - you've given your attention to something or someone else. If you feel like you're not walking by faith.. you're losing heart THEN you're most likely not spending time with God, or surrounding yourself with His word. It's NOT enough to go to church one time a week and hear an hour sermon and expect to be sustained. YOU must do your part! What are you listening to all day? Have you put your technology down for one minute to spend time with God? Technology is a huge blessing and also a curse. It's a curse if it's replacing the time you've spent with God and created discontentment in your heart as you compare yourself to others online. Staring at peoples Facebook status or periscopes won't sustain your faith walk! All of hell is fighting against you and you don't have your armor on!! It's important to recognize when your "tank" is empty! I always say this - if you need gas, you go to the gas station. If you are hungry, you go to the kitchen. If your spirit man is STARVED, you pick up your phone, call a friend or vent on Facebook about how you hate everything.

You constantly reach out to everyone for prayer but you refuse to pull away and pray to the Father. Now, don't get me wrong - I'm a fan of prayer and a fan of two or three getting together in prayer. I ENCOURAGE you to pray with your sisters in Christ but I encourage you to not DEPEND on your sisters to sustain your prayer life. At some point, you gotta grow in your walk and stop running to everybody for advice, prayer and whatever else and go sit at the feet of Jesus. YOU need a relationship with Him and it's going to cost you your entire life.
..Matthew 10:39 "If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it."
Yes, it's hard. Yes, you won't understand. Yes, you will have moments where you feel like nothing is working out. BUT, who are you clinging too? It's time to start clinging to God & not man! Not your bank account, not your business, not your degrees, not your whatever else!

So, I pray that this short blog reminds you to trust in the Lord and not in what you see. We must finally start maturing in this walk and stop seeking the "quick way out." Let's get to applying and stop coveting everybody else's walk in the Lord. YOU are as close to God as you want to be.

God loves you like crazy,
Heather Lindsey

Me & my princess, Taylor!

Pregnancy & Labor: Taylor Milan Lindsey's Birth Story

Introducing the world to our little princess, Taylor Milan Lindsey! 

First, how did we come up with her name?

While me & Cornelius were courting, we used to joke and make stick figures creating our little family. The first stick figure was a little boy named "Logan," the second, a little girl named Taylor. And.. there was a third & I think we are going to adopt him/her! :) 

So, as we searched high and low for girl names, we couldn't agree on one name. It's crazy how many people you realize you know when it comes to choosing names! :) So, we were sitting at Houston's restaurant and I said.. remember our stick figures? The names? Cornelius smiled & said "TAYLOR!" Yes!! That's it! The name we've always loved and had peace about. So, with further research, I checked out a few more things. 

Taylor definition: Transferred use of the surname derived from the Anglo-French taillour (tailor), which is from the Old French taillier (to cut).

Milan definition: "Gracious" 

So, as we paired it together, we figured that God would use Taylor to graciously share the word of God which CUTS deeper than any two edged sword. She will be used to share Christ in a dark world as she shows people how important it is to CUT out anything that isn't like Him. :)

So, onto my birth story!

If you read my birth story with Logan, that I had a ROUGH, long labor. The doctors had been measuring Logan for awhile and found that he was a big boy so a C-section was always a possibility in the back of my mind, EVEN with my birth plan. I ended up having a C-section with him but I was open to a VBAC (Vaginal birth after C-section) and so were my doctors. We agreed that we would continue to monitor the size of Taylor to determine if we were going to try for a VBAC. So, we went to our 33 week doctors appointment and Taylor was measuring 6 pounds and 11 ounces! Whoaaa! ANOTHER big baby! My doctor was shocked, she said, "And you don't even have diabetes! You just have BIG babies!" So, she suggested that I schedule a C-section because obviously, we tried that whole vaginal birth with Logan and he didn't come after 27 hours because he couldn't fit in my pelvic wall. Hey, some women are smaller down there and I just happen to be one of them that births big babies!

39 weeks & one week later with Taylor! 

So, I told the Lord that if for some reason, I go to into labor before my scheduled C-section at 39 weeks and a half, that I would go for the VBAC!

Welp.

On Tuesday, July 7th, ONE day before my scheduled C-section, I went and got my hair done (the photo above), I got a manicure and a pedicure. That morning, I noticed that I was having contractions, REAL contractions (not braxton hicks) and they were about 10 minutes apart. So, I continued about my day and they became more spread out. Then, at 6pm - the contractions were every 10 minutes until 2AM. I'm thinking.. wait, this isn't normal. My contractions are getting closer and closer together! The other part of me was thinking, "WHY LORD!?" We had PLANS to go in & get a scheduled C-section! Why are we adding extra tests?!" lol! So, then the contractions started to come every 5 minutes for an hour! Those contractions were PAINFUL! Whew! So, we rushed to the hospital and shockingly, I was already dilated to 6 CM! We were shocked! With Logan, I never went into labor and the fact that my body was going into labor was a sign to me to let it run it's course.

Until.. 12 hours later.

Lots of contractions and I was still only dilated to 6 CM! The doctor continued to check my cervix to see how far Taylor was from my cervix and we kept running into the same issue, her head wasn't dropping.

It couldn't fit. Again. 

Welp, I tried Lord. And about 18 hours later.. the doctor said to me, "Heather, we've been here before, Taylors experiencing some stress from contractions -  what do you want to do?"

C-section please, sir. 

Did I want another one? Um, who wants their abs cut open and a child ripped out of them!? lol! Of course I didn't but it wasn't about me! It was about the safety of Taylor! To me, it was a tiny sacrifice to get her here safely!

1 hour later on July 8, 2015 at 4:10pm, we were holding Taylor in our arms! She was a perfect 9 pounds and 2 ounces and 21 inches! When I heard her cry for the first time, I cried happy tears! Gosh, my little baby girl is here! I have a DAUGHTER! A mini me! There's so much I want to teach her. There's so much I want her to learn! 

So, I'm a breastfeedin' mama and right when we went into the recovery room, they let me latch her on! She latched RIGHT on and started nursing! I was so proud of her! I had just finished nursing Logan about 5 months prior to giving birth so, it's like my body already knew the drill!

But, things didn't get much easier after that. 

They noticed that her blood sugar levels were low. They said it was common with larger babies, so they sent her down to the NICU. I had no idea that it was like a baby prison down there! Of course, the nurses were awesome, but I felt like it robbed the freedom I wanted to just take my baby girl with me to my hospital room. I had to get buzzed into the back to see her every 3 hours as I nursed. The first day, I took a wheelchair to go see her, but by day 2 of my c-section, I was walking around. Although my amazing husband would have wheeled me all over the hospital, I tend to be a bit independent and if I'm nursing her on demand or every 2-3 hours, there's a chance my hubby was out grabbing food or even sleeping and I didn't want to bother him. So, as I sat on the 7th floor, taking mini- naps, I would calls to go downstairs to the 2nd floor & feed Taylor. So, up & down, up & down. We prayed for baby girl's quick recovery & that we could take her home with us when we were scheduled to leave the hospital. Talk about exhausting!

Thank GOD that after 24 hours, her blood sugar levels were stable and then they wanted to wait another 24 hours to make sure they remained that way. Sadly, they pricked her every 3 hours to make sure. Although I understand their precaution, I hated that she had to go through those things just days after birth! So, we were pretty intentional about spending hours and hours of skin-to-skin and nursing. Shoutout to my hubby who was right there, present and always active!

Logan came up to the hospital every single day and spent a few hours with us each day! We did the "gift" exchange and told Logan that his little sister bought him his little superhero toys! He was so excited! :)

Finally, we were able to take Taylor home and we got discharged at the same exact time! She was in the NICU for a total of 2 days.

What have I learned? That God's will isn't always what we think. Obviously, I prayed, believed the best but I learned that I cannot control every thing that happens to me, but I can control my response towards it.

Now, back at home-- I'm pretty intentional about resting, walking and getting back into the swing of things. I'm not good at just laying around for hours and hours. I love to be active, work, and run errands but I understand that my body needs to heal! So, I've been in the house dealing with cabin fever BUT I'm enjoying all of this snuggle and bonding time with my Taylor. Never will I have just days and days and days of constant skin-to-skin and laying around together. I'm going to soak up every single moment!

Will we have more?

Long answer short, NO. lol! My prayer is that the Lord will close my womb and that we will be able to adopt a couple babies! :) I have pretty big babies, my pregnancies are usually pretty hard on my body and labor & delivery is a hot mess! My prayer is that the Lord will allow somebody else to do the work & we get the baby via adoption! :) Hey, I'm adopted so I support adoption 100%!

And now, we are a family of four and my heart is seriously exploding. I LOVE being Cornelius's wife, Logan & Taylor's mama! Our hearts are so at peace and we are THANKFUL that God chose us to be parents of 2 precious babies!

Taylor and Logan are getting along quite well and Logan is SUPER helpful. He even tried to explain to me that he needed to nurse Taylor. (blank stare). Hey, he's only 2 years old! lol!

Thank you for your prayers, support and encouragement along the way!

God loves you all like crazy,

Heather Lindsey

Our first family stroll with Taylor! She's one week old!

I love my family! 

"After Graduation & Feeling Purposeless?"

I recall taking an internship my junior year in college (2003) and I had just finished cooking for Jesus & having a "date night. with Him" I was single, focused & very intentional about spending time with God daily. So, as we watched a movie, He told me to turn to TV off. I grabbed a journal and the Lord began to download into my heart. He said,

"Heather, I have called you to preach my gospel. The Gospel of Jesus Christ. You and your one day husband will have a worldwide ministry and millions of people will come into the knowledge of who I am through your ministry. You will travel all over the world and don't be afraid because I will be with you."

I WAS SO EXCITED! The LORD FINALLY TOLD ME MY PURPOSE!! I had been asking Him EVERYDAY for like 6 months so I was thrilled when He made things to plain to me. I recall jumping up & telling my roommate who wasn't a believer! She didn't seem so thrilled & then the Lord told me that everybody isn't going to share in my joy & excitement but it doesn't change what He has called me to do. He also shared that He never told me to tell her. Lesson learned. :) Nonetheless, I felt like I had some type of direction for the first time in my life.

But.

Then I sat there on my bed and thought, wait Lord. I have no ministry experience. I just got saved like 8-9 months ago. I have no parents or even family members in ministry. Wait, you sure that you called ME Lord? I mean, I'm a train wreck. I honestly felt so insufficient. I thought about my past where I chased down bad relationships. I thought about the boyfriend I barely broke up with 3 months ago. I thought about just not feeling enough.

Then, the Lord took me to:

Philippians 1:6

"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."

Galatians 3:3

How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?

Then, He took me to Jeremiah 1:7 

…But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am a youth,' Because everywhere I send you, you shall go, And all that I command you, you shall speak. "Do not be afraid of them, For I am with you to deliver you," declares the LORD.  Then the LORD stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me, "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.…"

I realized that if God started this work in me, He will complete it and why was I trying to perfect what HE said to do in my flesh RIGHT after HE told me to do it? THEN, like Jeremiah, I felt like I wasn't ENOUGH. I felt like I stared at all of my flaws and weaknesses and wondered WHY would God use ME? Then I heard a small still voice.. "Heather.. He will put the words in your mouth. He will show you what to do. He will lead you. Slow down and don't rush ahead of God." I realized that I will NEVER be enough in my own strength, power & ability. Its God that is going to have to finish what He started in me. 

So, I moved back to Michigan to finish school at Michigan State University and I was thrilled to only have 1 year left. I was ready to leave Michigan far behind and never look back because I felt like so much of my past was built up there. I wanted a new start in the Lord, a new beginning. So, in my senior year I began to pray about where the Lord wanted me to go and He told me New York. New York? Lord, I have no job, no connects, no nothing.

My graduation party from MSU! Left for NYC right after this photo!

BUT

I knew He was telling me to go. I packed up a enterprise van with as much stuff as I could fit and I made my way to New York. My best friend, Delan connected me with one of her friends from her hometown who needed a roommate and I moved in with 2 other girls to Spanish Harlem, NYC (around 118th street and 3rd ave). It's almost like if you think you're going to live for God and everything is going to be all pretty & perfect. Um no. No offense by any means to anyone living there but our area wasn't the safest area at that time. Hey, it was 2004, not sure what it's like now. Our building was run down, I saw a roach for the first time in my life on a regular basis, I saw mice, rats running around-- there was no central AC, lots of gun shots and I never felt totally comfortable living there.

BUT

In my NYC Apartment in 2004

God told me to be there. Talk about a season of STRETCHING! I just KNEW that the second I left college, God was going to lay out this perfect, orchestrated plan for my life where I had somewhere to live comfortably, a great paying job, wonderful friends and that perfect preaching husband. 

Psh. I lived where I was most uncomfortable, I worked for free at a job where God told me to tell people about Jesus, I had no friends in NYC, no church home yet (I searched like 20-30 churches) and I only had RANDOMS (men I knew I wouldn't marry but I was bored/lonely so I would hang out with them) pursuing me! I'm like, Lord-- I know you said I'm going to marry a man that preached the gospel but I'm not seeing what you TOLD ME!

I realized that God won't lay out my life on a perfect platter giving me step 1-100. Instead, He leads me with step 1. After I am obedient to what He told me to do, then He shows me step 2. If I ignore God and run from step 3 then I will stay at step 2 until I'm obedient to Him. Some people get stuck and stay at step 3 their whole life because they are afraid of step 3. Can I be honest? I was scared to not be obedient to the Lord. I was afraid of what was on the other side of my disobedience. I mean, I know you want to marry that man, but that man is HOLDING you back from doing what God called you to do. I know you want that job, but that job is keeping you in a state where you aren't supposed to be! I know, you want to please everybody but God never called you to that career! I know you want this or that but if it isn't what God wants for you, IT MUST DIE. 

Matthew 16:25

"For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

Now, this isn't a pretty process. It's actually pretty ugly. God literally prunes you from the wrong mindsets, attitudes, relationships and crazy ways of thinking, This pruning doesn't FEEL good. This pruning includes YOU being honest with what God called you to do. Yes, you went to school and took out a bunch of loans to become an engineer because so & so was an engineer in your family. But you know for a fact that God has called you somewhere else. Listen, MONEY will never truly make you happy. It will become your SLAVE as you go into work and HATE your job. Then, you take your frustrations out on everybody else because you're in a job & doing something that you HATE in which.. GOD never told you to do.

I wanted to host TV. I pursued it. I actually got on a pretty big network. But it was MY idea. My plans. My thoughts. My vision. I thought I needed to "create" a platform for Jesus but I realized that God Himself can create the platform & then put me ON it.

 I don't have to go & try to do something & then tag God's name to it. After I stopped trying to tag God's name on everything, I actually let God take me through a process. A process of working at jobs that I wasn't crazy about but I KNEW God told me to go  there to develop in love, patience, character and integrity. Will I bend the rules and take the company car service home when I technically can.. but I shouldn't? Will I use all the ink to print my bible studies and hide it from my boss? Will I jump into gossip and join my co-workers when they cut up?

You won't "all the sudden" ARRIVE at your purpose. It actually takes you being intentional in waking up every morning and living for Jesus. Saying yes to Him and no to your flesh. You can't live any o'le kinda way and expect for the Lord to trust you with your calling! It takes great discipline! I'm not saying that you have to "earn" God because you cannot do that but what I am saying is that He has to be leading you. So, check your heart. Check out your life. Who is making the decisions in your life? Do you even talk to Him? Do you hear His voice? I did a blog on "How to Hear God's voice" and I encourage you to read it if you're struggling there!

Although I was working on Wall Street for a season in my life, I knew that God called called me to something great. I would talk to Him everyday and He would remind me that He has not forgotten about me and that He loves me. If I didn't talk to Him for long periods of time, I would start to feel purposeless. I realized that I needed constantly communication and fellowship

Met my now hubby while serving in those 5 ministries!

with the Holy Spirit to hold on to what God told me. And, while I was doing that I served in ministry. I served in over 5 ministries for about 6-7 years faithfully as a leader. I didn't quit when it got hard. I dealt with mean personalities. I dealt with christians talking behind my back. I went through this pruning process and everything I learned along the journey was NECESSARY for what I'm doing today. I am THANKFUL for the process, the hard times, the journey, the eating eggs every night for dinner because I couldn't afford anything else, the working for free, the volunteering, the whatever else because I was doing it as onto the Lord and NOT man.

Remember that it is GOD alone that placed PURPOSE in you and you will never be satisfied with what you're doing unless you are doing what HE has called YOU to do! For me, I loved helping women, reminding them of their worth, value and pointing them to the cross. It burned my heart to see women settle with the wrong men & to pursue anything outside of Jesus. I wanted to see them flourish in their relationship with God! I wanted to teach them to cook, dress cute & curl their hair so they would feel beautiful on the inside & the out. I didn't want to see them jealous or envious of one another! I wanted to see a generation of women rise up & actually support and push each other closer to Jesus! God used that to start Pinky Promise! What is He telling you to do? It may not happen right away, but it will! Has God called you to bake? Bake for your local church, for free! Has God called you to make modest clothes? Go find some budget fabric and make it work! Has God called you to be a Doctor? Study & show yourself approved and trust Him to use you to be a light!

So, hang in there. Whether you graduated or not, whether you've been searching for a job or looking for a career, slow down and let the Holy Spirit lead you. I saw bits & pieces of God using me over a 9 year time period before I stepped into ministry full time. You have a season and a time under the sun. Be faithful to God RIGHT where you are & let Him lead your path.

Just a few things:

1. Find my (4) books (including my NEW book, "The Runaway Bride"), purity rings, shirts & all that good stuff via pinkypromiseboutiques.com!

2. We have developed an APP! Think: daily post notifications + weekly devotionals, recipes and so much more! It's out NOW for iphones + Androids. Under: Heather & Cornelius Lindsey: Today With the Lindsey's

3.  If you live in Atlanta, I want to invite you to our church. Join us on Sundays at 11:00am at Landmark Midtown Art Cinemas. Our churches name is: "The Gathering Oasis"  931 Monroe Drive NE Atlanta, GA. 

4. Register for the 2016 Pinky Promise in Atlanta, GA! It sold out last year so you don't want to miss out! http://pinkypromise2016.eventbee.com

6. As always, you can join a Pinky Promise group locally! There's about 35,000 ladies that have joined! Find a group near you by joining & checking out the intro page! Join here: www.PinkyPromiseMovement.com

7. Pinky Promise is hosting a statewide baby shower for low income & single mamas in Atlanta, GA on September 12. If you want to donate or be a part of it, please email pinkypromisequestions@gmail.com For donations only, you can send the payment via PayPal to pinkypmovement@gmail.com & be sure to note that its for the Statewide Baby Shower. All donations are tax deductible. 

I love you all so much!
God loves you like crazy,
Heather Lindsey

New Book: The Runaway Bride

Eeeek! I am THRILLED to announce my fourth book, "The Runaway Bride" is FINALLY here! This book is going to challenge you, convict you, make you cry, laugh and most importantly, push you closer to Jesus. After I preached "The Runaway Bride" at the 2014 Pinky Promise Conference, the Holy Spirit told me to follow the sermon with a book. I had no idea that for the next 9 months, God was going to wreck me, change me and restore me by showing me that I even run from Him in some areas.

You can find the book available NOW via a few avenues!

1. If you order it via my Pinky Promise Boutiques, for a limited time, I will sign the books BUT they won't ship until the week of June 15th! You can find the boutique HERE. 

2. You can order directly from my publisher HERE.

3. OR You can go on Kindle/Amazon & order HERE! 

P.S. I WILL be selling copies at the 2015 Pinky Promise Conference and I have a few scheduled book signings there as well!

I love you all and I'm thankful for your support!

Heather Lindsey

"Lord, Help Me to Be Content"

Gosh, what a dangerous prayer to pray.

And it seems like if you don't renew your mind in this area of being content with your season then it creeps back up around and you will look up and not even realize that.. you're discontent.

You may cry out to God and say.. "LORD! But... I thought I passed this test of contentment" and in all honesty, you did pass it at one point. But now you're experiencing tests, trials & different situations and you may find yourself simply complaining. Guess what, you passing those previous tests was wonderful, but now you're maturing and growing in Christ. There's a new level of contentment that you have to pass!

This blog was birthed from my OWN recent struggle. I'm 31 weeks pregnant (about 8 months) and I'm in the middle of finishing off the final edit of my new book coming out in less than a month, I'm planning our 2015 Pinky Promise Conference is next month & negotiating a contract for 2016, then, our statewide baby shower in September, marriage & single retreats, still running our Pinky Promise non-profit, I'm still trying to be a great wife, mother, friend, prepare for a new child and then the list goes on and on! On top of all of that, I started to get a few third trimester pains that really started to slow me down. I started to complain, I thought, "Gosh, Lord- must you pile all of this on me during the busiest time of my life?"

So, as I sat before the Lord in my quiet time yesterday, I started to complain and fuss as I prayed. Sounds crazy, right? Then, the Holy Spirit took me to Philippians 4:4 and I saw Paul write.. "always be full of the joy of the Lord." Of course, Lord-- you would take me to that scripture. But I couldn't stop reading that same line over and over again. It struck me like a ton of bricks.

First, let's break down the word always:
al·ways
adverb
1. at all times; on all occasions.

Wait, so at all times, on all occasions, be full of the joy of the Lord?

Does that also include being 8 months pregnant and trying to do a bunch of things? Does that also include when tests and trials hit your life? Does that also include when you feel rejected, hurt, mad, frustrated, lonely, lost? Does that include when you lose your job? Does that include when your boyfriend leaves you and you had plans for marriage? Does that include when a loved one passes away? Does that include when you hate your job? Does that include when you feel ugly? Does that include when you get hurt by a friend or a family member?

Yes. At all times, on all occasions, be full of the joy of the Lord.

Talk about CONVICTION!

And to add to that fun conviction, Paul is in PRISON telling the church to be CONTENT and to find JOY in the midst of their situation. He's in prison. In a tiny little cell that I'm sure is dirty, with tons of insects, it smells, other prisoners are yelling, screaming and let's not even talk about the food. He may or may not have had a small window to look outside. He sat in the prison cell, day in and day out. Not even know when he was leaving. And, he's telling your comfortable self to be content. I cannot imagine what prison is like back in those times. Paul, like the other Apostles, were hated by most of the Jews because they openly and publicly taught that Jesus was the Son of God. The Jews thought this was blasphemy against God and were more than willing to throw someone in jail over the issue. Paul was in jail for about 5 1/2-6 years in total during the time he was on this earth-- all over sharing Christ! Paul was shipwrecked, snakebitten, stoned and eventually beheaded all for the gospel of Jesus! And THIS man is telling US to be content and AT all times, on ALL occasions, be FULL of the joy of the Lord!

This slapped me in the face and seriously challenged my heart. Paul detached from earthly things because the only thing that mattered what "CHRIST BEING WITH HIM." His mindset wasn't on getting a job promotion, on that next TV show that is debuting, or that concert. It wasn't on "when he was gonna find a wife (even though he had the gift of singleness, his focus was what mattered), it wasn't on some fleshly desire. It was on Christ. He knew that he could REALLY do "All things who Christ who strengthens Him" in Philippians 4:13 because Paul was focused not on what he "thought" he should have but on the task that Jesus gave him. Most people totally use that scripture out of context! They scream verse 13 while totally ignoring the scriptures before hand while they operate in their own strength, hoping God will fund their (not His) ideas.

Are you focused on the task that Jesus gave you or are you distracted by what you think you should have?

• Lord, when is it my time for a husband? I'm tired of being single.
• Lord, when is it my time for a job promotion? I hate this stupid job that I prayed for and I want more money for doing what I do. They don't appreciate my hard word and I have EARNED it Lord!
• Lord, when is it my time to be debt free? I've been claiming debt freedom for 15 years and I'm still in debt and broke! (Honey, the same way you get outta debt is the way you got in it. Stop spending)
• Lord, when is it my time to shine?! I want a stage! I want to see my purpose come to pass! My question to you is for what? For you or for Him?

I'm sure there was a lot of things that Paul "thought" he should have but He made a decision to shut up and encourage others in the Lord. And it wasn't positive thinking. His foundation was actually really trusting in the Lord and allowing for the Holy Spirit to fill His voids. 

What do you do when you are having a rough day? Do you run to an ex, food, porn, a friend or do you run to Christ? I get it, I get it, we all need outlets and times where we pull away but you better make sure that the Holy Spirit is giving you the ok to do what you're doing. Emotional eating, shopping, rushing back to your past or watching pornography will never satisfy you. It will only produce a greater lust in your heart to continue to use those things to temporarily put a bandaid on the issue. 

Isaiah 58:11 "..And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail."  

Ok, so if this scripture says that the Lord will guide and continually satisfy you, it tells me that most of are aren't giving Him a chance to satisfy our desires. We are too busy using our discontentment as an excuse to continue in our sin. And lets be honest and call it like it is, you just don't trust God to satisfy you. Trusting Him takes way too long  and if Jesus ain't moving fast enough, then you need to help Him out. I have learned that as the Lord guides us continually and leads us that our desires truly become HIS desires. I always say this and I will say it again, it's not that there's a shortage of good men, jobs, whatever else, there's just a storage of patient women that are willing to be developed by the Lord to actually go through the process of trusting Him.

This also goes for your marriage. Some of you are in your marriage and you are not content. You're sitting there dumbfounded because you thought that marriage would cure those feelings that you have but nothing your spouse does is good enough for you. You're just not content with him. Honestly, if you aren't content with him, you're not content with you. You are one flesh and you have brought the spirit of discontentment into your marriage. Instead of bashing him for what he's not doing, why don't you start appreciating him and thanking him for what he IS doing. Maybe he doesn't always take out the trash or clean up after himself. But, he goes to work, loves you, is faithful and he at least tries. Maybe, if he sees you taking out the trash, he will feel convicted and help you. For some reason, we have a hard time with 1 Peter 3:4 and that says that "we should win our husbands over with our quiet and gentle spirits." Let me translate in Heather terms: Shut up and stop nagging him for 10 minutes so the Holy Spirit can speak to him. Your husbands job is not to make you happy. Marriage is ministry and marriage is about serving one another and it's his job to love you like Christ loved the church. Jesus could care less about your happiness because your happiness is relative. It could make you happy to cheat on your spouse. It could make you happy to overeat. Jesus is much more concerned about your eternal salvation than you being led by your happy flesh feelings on this earth. So, it was on my heart in the midst of this blog to just say, "give your husband a break from all of that complaining." Build him up and pray for him like crazy. Speak up as the Holy Spirit leads you and be gracious in your tone.

So, how can one be content?

1. It's time to refocus, spend time with the Lord and really renew our minds concerning the things that are important to us. Search the scriptures on contentment and see what the bible says about it and ask yourself questions like, "have I ever been content? What does contentment mean to me?"

2. Identify open doors. If your void filler is shopping, maybe you need to delete the app that pops up every time there's a sale.  If your void filler is that ex, you need to erase and block his number so you aren't tempted to reach out. If it's overworking, you need to set boundaries and go home at a certain time to make sure that Christ is truly in the center of your life.

3. Admit it. It's time to be totally honest with ourselves and say, "I'm not content with my life and I compare myself to others, Lord help me." Don't push it under the rug & say, "no, that's not me, I'm good. I'm content." But deep down, you desire this things in the pit of your stomach and you constantly question God about those things. Contentment says, in all season, at all time, on all occasions, I will trust in you Lord. 

4. Recognize your problem areas. This goes back to #2. If you know that after a huge test, you want to "go to a bar, drink and get drunk", then you have to avoid those tempting situations. Don't just go and tell yourself that you're getting a "Cranberry drink." If your issue is sex, it's not the best idea to go up to his house or apartment if you know what happens when you do so.

5. Communicate daily to the Holy Spirit. Talk to Him throughout the day. Tell Him that you're not happy, vent, take moments where you just ask Him how He's doing. He's real! He's active and He's more real than the person sitting next to you.

Bonus: PRACTICE this contentment and remind yourself that God provides for you and that you have what you need. It's not going to happen overnight, especially if you have 15 years of discontentment.

You're NOT alone in this walk and satan is after your mindset concerning contentment! He wants you to think that God has forgotten about you and isn't for you. Instead, recognize that on this earth, we WILL experience tests and trials and these tests will develop things OUT of us that aren't like Him.

Just a few things:

1. Find my (3) books, purity rings, shirts & all that good stuff via pinkypromiseboutiques.com!

2. We have developed an APP! Think: daily post notifications + weekly devotionals, recipes and so much more! It's out NOW for iphones + Androids. Under: Heather & Cornelius Lindsey: Today With the Lindsey's

3.  If you live in Atlanta, I want to invite you to our church. Join us on Sundays at 11:00am at Landmark Midtown Art Cinemas. Our churches name is: "The Gathering Oasis"  931 Monroe Drive NE Atlanta, GA. 

4. Register for the 2015 Pinky Promise in Atlanta, GA! It sold out last year and it's 99%  sold out now, so you don't want to miss out! www.pinkypromiseconference.com 

6. As always, you can join a Pinky Promise group locally! There's about 35,000 ladies that have joined! Find a group near you by joining & checking out the intro page! Join here: www.PinkyPromiseMovement.com

7. Pinky Promise is hosting a statewide baby shower for low income & single mamas in Atlanta, GA on September 12. If you want to donate or be a part of it, please email pinkypromisequestions@gmail.com For donations only, you can send the payment via PayPal to pinkypmovement@gmail.com & be sure to note that its for the Statewide Baby Shower. All donations are tax deductible. 

Hang in there.
God loves you like crazy,

Love ya'll!
Heather Lindsey


A maternity photo! :) 8 more weeks to go!

"Help, I'm Insecure"

**(Before we start reading, I was actually writing a chapter in my new book, "The Runaway Bride" and I titled the chapter "The Insecure Bride." I felt led by the Lord to share a snippet of the chapter with you. Note that this isn't the entire chapter, but you can find the rest of it on June 5, 2015 on this site when it goes live! :))**

One of satans biggest weapons is doubt. Satan loves for us to question who we are and how we measure up to others (Ephesians 2:1-2; Ephesians 6:12; 1 Samuel 16:7). He wants us to feel insecure over the meaning and purpose of our lives, where we’re going, and how we’ll get there. If Satan can get you to doubt God, then you don't think that He will use you. If satan can get you to doubt your looks, you will think that God spent less time on you and more time on another. If satan can get you to doubt your purpose, you will chase after money, get rich schemes and other things-- all distracting you from your main purpose. More than anything, if Satan can get you to doubt Gods love for you, you will quit on God all together.

I just exposed his plan. So now that you know that, lets fight BACK.

Have you ever felt insecure before? As women, I think its like a secret society where we pretend like we have it all together. We pretend like we are confident, we never compare our lives to anybody else, we always feel beautiful, we always have it all together. 

Let me tell you right now that its a lie. 

EVERY person on this earth has dealt with this area of insecurity. 

Including me. 

As you all know, I shared my story, "When I was Single"  and I grew up in a small town where I constantly compared my looks to everybody else looks. Social media and technology wasn't as popular so instead of comparing my life to a persons life on instagram, I compared my life to my classmates. It seems like they always got the guys and no guys from my school asked me out in elementary, middle school or even high school. I went to a predominately caucasian school and I honestly felt left out. 

Well, maybe if my hair was straight enough.. or if I was skinner.. or if I was this or that, maybe guys would like me.

I measured myself by a mirror called men. If they gave me attention, I ran with it and I felt good about myself. If I walked by a group of guys and they didn't give me attention, I would go home and feel rejected. Yes, it was that deep for me. Hey, I was 15, what do you expect?

Those insecurities didn't leave me when I got to college, it only worsened. Now, I'm on a campus with 45,000 students and ALL of the sudden, men are giving me attention. I look around and think.. "WHO are they looking at because there's NO way they are looking at me!" I CONSTANTLY looked at everybody else and compared my life to their life! I just wanted to feel enough. I just wanted to be enough. So, while in school my freshman year in college, I maxed out about 5 credit cards, buying clothes and makeup to make myself feel better about who I was. I figured that if I cannot fix this feeling on the inside, at least I can dress it up on the outside. I wore all of these clothes to fill this God-sized void in my heart that could ONLY be filled by God! 

How FRUSTRATING! Then, I jumped into a relationship with someone and what did I see in him? Nothing. He was older and he gave me attention. The attention I once craved when I watched little boys flirt with little girls when I was 10 years old. The 10 year old girl in me wanted so bad to feel secure in who I was so I acted out on my insecurity by dating a man that had no standards. I didn't know how I was supposed to be treated because my affection was hurt. "If you hurt me, it's ok. I'm ride or die. I will ride and die for you because I have no standards and I don't feel good about myself. I'm afraid that if you leave me, then I will be rejected and I don't like that feeling. I don't like being single because my security is in this relationship."

Thankfully, I found my way right out of that relationship and eventually gave my life to Jesus after a couple more dysfunctional, purposeless relationships. 

So now, I  KNOW better not to be insecure, right? I gave my life to Jesus, He washes my rejection, hurt and pain away and now I'm all the sudden "confident that He that started a work in me will complete it." - (Philippians 1:6) Psh, I wish. 

I have to be honest, I think some people from the outside looking in, think that for some reason that I have it all together. Like I don't have "ugly" moments, like I don't feel insecure in the calling of ministry, like I don't feel enough. Let me clear this up really quick so that you know you're not the only one. 

I have my moments where I feel absolutely not good enough, not pretty enough, like I didn't preach a sermon right, like I didn't write a blog right, like I didn't do this or that right. 

I want to highlight a few areas where I noticed insecurity hitting us the most as women. 

Let's look at the definition of insecure: to be insecure is to lack confidence or trust, whether in ourselves or someone else.

And to be totally honest and to call it what it is, insecurity is OUR failure to trust God. 

Jeremiah 17:7-8

New Living Translation (NLT)

 “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.

They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.

When we are insecure, we are placing our CONFIDENCE and our hope in something ELSE other than Jesus Christ. SO of course this world is wandering around here insecure. Do you know that the plastic surgery business is a BILLION dollar industry? If you don't like it, let's change it to make you more "appealing" to society. You want to get women? Make money. Find ways to make a lot of money so you can attract women. Their hope and security is in looks, money and temporary things. 

So, the first area we are going to look at in regards to getting attacked with insecurity is our looks.

Your looks

In a world of photoshop, airbrush, youtube gurus who have crazy before & afters and whatever else, it may be hard to embrace who God called you to be. As I mentioned earlier, it started out with my looks but then it trickled into other areas where I used those areas to measure my security. Sadly, looks will fail you because they're built on a foundation called society. You may feel like your hair isn't curly enough, or straight enough, or you aren't light enough or dark enough. You may walk into a room with other single Christians and immediately start comparing yourself to them because.. you feel like you're not enough. Or, a guy at church may pass you over (And you REALLY liked him & thought you guys would court Gods way..) for one of your friends. Don't you DARE let insecurity rob you from knowing that God hasn't forgotten about you. God knows the desires of your heart and you lookin' at this fine man at church but God is looking at his HEART. He's saying' baby girl, he may look good to you but his will and purpose doesn't match yours. So, I'm going to protect you from this relationship. I'm going to keep you hidden so he doesn't even look at you. YOU may be thinking it's YOU He doesn't like but it's really God BLINDING his eyes from seeing your beauty. 

On TOP of God hiding you, one group of people MAY think your pretty while in another culture, they think you're unattractive. I recall meeting a family in an african country who told me that my husband was unhappy because he was skinny and I needed to feed him more. Whoa. Huh? In their country, the men and women were much larger because the larger you are, the more "prosperous" and happy you are. Huge change from America huh? 

Today, we must recognize that our looks ain't everything. You can have all the looks in the world and die tomorrow. Or, you could get into an accident and lose your looks. We must settle this truth that 

“And those who know Your name put their trust in You, for You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You” (Psalm 9:10). We must get back to our first love. Our real trust. And that's in Jesus. Our hope and our confidence is in Him, not some mans opinion of us.
So, remember that you are BEAUTIFULLY and wonderfully MADE by God. He makes NO mistakes and your value isn't found in a mans opinion. Settle this truth in your heart.

Lets look at another area where we are attacked, in our "status" or materials. 

Money & Possessions

I believe that the world gives us a false sense of security when it comes to things. So, if you accumulate a lot of things, you're blessed. If you don't have much, you are cursed. If you don't have the latest iPhone, newest car, biggest house, bank account or whatever else, then you're considered a failure. It's almost like whoever has the most toys wins in life and that's totally incorrect and not biblical. The bible is clear when it tells us not to put our hope in things on this earth but in God alone. 

1 Timothy 6:17

New Living Translation (NLT)

Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. 

I can assure you that money and things will bring insecurity to those who place their hope in them. 

This can go for college as well. You may be getting a ton of degrees to feel valued because you don't feel good about yourself, or you want to "prove" yourself to those who said you wouldn't be anything. What a terrible reason to get into debt! People bondage. Or, even you parents! (gasp!) We must be led by the Lord in our purpose and not others expectations. What if you weren't called to be a lawyer or a doctor? What if God called you to do something else? I know in some cultures, it's considered disrespectful to disobey your parents but I would rather feel some heat on this earth than to stand before God and be judged on an entire life of disobedience all because I wanted to place my earthly parents. If you're in this situation, pray and ask the Lord to change or move on your parents heart

 Matthew 10:37 - "If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.  We must love God more than anything or anyone and in loving Him, we remain obedient to Him at all times. We are currently saving for our sons, Logan's "purpose" fund. Not an educational fund. If God doesn't call Him to college, why would we make him go? God may call him to preach. Or to do something else and we support what the Lord has called him to do. I know it's almost unheard of to walk by faith but this is why we have a bunch of people in positions and they are miserable. God aint' call you to that honey, it's time to get on your face & go to where He's telling YOU to go. 

Worrying about the Future

Another area I find that people struggle in and even my own life is being worried about the future. Oh God, what if I never get married? Oh God, what if I can't graduate, oh God, what if my husband divorces me like my dad divorced my mom? What am I going to eat tomorrow? Lord, I don't have any money! I thought you said you would take care of me? Lord, what if the guy I'm courting isn't a good leader, how can I trust him even though I know you showed me he is Gods best!

Matthew 6:31-34

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow.” 

This goes back to my point earlier, insecurity in God providing for you will cause you to doubt HIS provisions! If you doubt that God will provide for you, fear will grow in  your heart followed by no peace and eventually depression. You will begin to meditate on your situation or "what ifs" over, "Lord, you're faithful. I trust you. Show me what to do. Give me wisdom Lord.

Distractions of this world

Insecurity may also result from being preoccupied with the things of the world: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15). Let's be clear, security is not to be found in this world’s people, things, or institutions, including government institutions. Some people become obsessed with having the right leaders in government, the right laws, and the right policies. When the government is in the wrong hands the nation is doomed. However, the Bible teaches us that God is in control and His sovereignty extends to governmental leaders (Proverbs 21:1; Daniel 2:21). While we should practice good citizenship and vote our conscience, we must also recognize that government policy cannot save us. Only God can do that (Isaiah 33:22; Psalm 143:6). 

Church Leaders, parents, boyfriends or husbands

Lastly, we can at times put our trust and hope in our pastors, parents (especially their bank accounts), boyfriends or husbands. We must understand that MAN can and WILL let you down. Our trust and foundation must be in Christ alone as HE is the only true foundation. “So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic’” (Isaiah 28:16). Jesus is the solid rock and our only hope of security (Matthew 7:24). So, insecurity CAN be birthed from placing all of our hope in the WRONG people and then when you get let down by them, you can began to charge other people like "everybody is the same." Even, (gasp) your husband. I love my husband, but he isn't my god. I look past him and I put my expectations in the Lord and trust Him. What if God forbid, something happened to my husband and all of my hope was in him? And don't let your hope be in your boyfriend who isn't interested in Christ. You will lower your standards because you don't feel good about yourself and do things that are on ungodly to keep this man. Your insecurities are setting your standards, not God. It's time to be free sis. 

These are just a few areas, but let's be real here, the reason for our insecurities is because we are focused on ourselves. We are too preoccupied about our life, our future, our money, our stuff, our looks and everything else. The bible warns against self-absorption and pride in Romans 12:3. Remember that GOD started this work in you and you HAVE to let Him COMPLETE IT! Pull out your scriptures, spend time with God daily, cut off crazy relationships and identify what areas in your life are birthing insecurities!  

True security comes when you recognize that “God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). When struggling with feelings of insecurity, never forget God’s promise: “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” (Isaiah 26:3). So now, when I get tested, I remind myself that I will believe the best, and that God started and finished a work in YOU and that I trust Him. There's a battle going on in your mind and it's time to surrender that a battle and give it to the Lord. 

Just a few things:

1. Find my (3) books, purity rings, shirts & all that good stuff via pinkypromiseboutiques.com!

2. We have developed an APP! Think: daily post notifications + weekly devotionals, recipes and so much more! It's out NOW for iphones + Androids. Under Heather & Cornelius Lindsey: Today With the Lindsey's

3.  If you live in Atlanta, I want to invite you to our church. Join us on Sundays at 11:00am at Landmark Midtown Art Cinemas. Our churches name is: "The Gathering Oasis"  931 Monroe Drive NE Atlanta, GA. 

4. Register for the 2015 Pinky Promise in Atlanta, GA! It sold out last year and it's ALMOST sold out now, so you don't want to miss out! www.pinkypromiseconference.com 

6. As always, you can join a Pinky Promise group locally! There's about 33,000 ladies that have joined! Find a group near you by joining & checking out the intro page! Join here: www.PinkyPromiseMovement.com

7. Pinky Promise is hosting a statewide baby shower for low income & single mamas in Atlanta, GA on September 12. If you want to donate or be a part of it, please email pinkypromisequestions@gmail.com For donations only, you can send the payment via PayPal to pinkypmovement@gmail.com & be sure to note that its for the Statewide Baby Shower. All donations are tax deductible. 

8. I'm headed to California & VA/DC area in April. Check my calendar for event details!

God loves you like crazy,

Heather Lindsey

"Trusting God Through the Hard Times"

I know that its hard to trust God at times. I know that you have your good days and then you have some really rough days where you're like.. Lord, how long before.. this or that?

I've learned that I can't focus on "this or that" or what I think I'm lacking. My focus must be on the Lord alone because if I ain't content with just Him, then He won't bring things into my life so that I can make those things my idols. 

Philippians 4:11-13 New Living Translation (NLT)

 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ,[a] who gives me strength.

So, the secret to not having a man or having a man is Christ. The secret to not getting that promotion or getting it is Christ. The secret to not having a car or having a car in Christ. Now, insert your situation. The answer is knowing that Christ gives you strength to be content and to trust Him, even when you don't understand. So, whether it happens or not, you are content in Christ. Isn't that a powerful statement? You may have read that scripture a million times but maybe it hasn't really become real in your heart. We must come to a place in our walk where we say, "Lord, whether it happens or not, you are my portion, you are my strength, you are my joy. I TRUST you as a good Father to provide what I NEED in due season."

Do I "have" everything I want? 

Gosh, that's no longer my focus. It can't be your focus either. Just wake up, take each day.. day by day and give your days the the Lord. I used to focus on what I didn't have and then those things became amplified in my heart. If you stare at something long enough, that thing will be all you can see. And some of us keep staring at other peoples relationships, other peoples ministries, other peoples success, other peoples this or that. We've taken our eyes off of Christ and we have put them on humans. 

How can we change this?

Our focus must shift from what we think we need to the cross. So, if that door opens or not, it doesn't matter. Our focus was never in that door opening, it's in Christ so if the door opens, great, if not, It wasn't supposed to open so I trust Him. 

My husband and I took a walk the other day and we walked by this apartment building that was being demolished. It looked TERRIBLE! Bulldozers were everywhere and I was thinking, gosh, what a huge undertaking! The Holy Spirit told me that THIS is what we look like when we give our lives to Jesus. It looks like a huge bulldozer came in and destroyed your entire heart. God wrecks our relationships, our old mindset and our lives and then, brick by brick with the RIGHT foundation.. He prepares our hearts. And, this is where it gets hard. 

Why?

Because you're used to a certain level of being comfortable prior to Christ. And although the foundation was jacked up, you were still comfortable in your bondage. You were comfortable in your dysfunctional relationships. You were comfortable in your depression.  You were comfortable in your sin. 

Then Christ came and changed your heart. He convicted you of your sin and the Holy Spirit came in, destroyed the sin and started the real healing process. So, as the foundation is laid.. it can be pretty painful. It can be hard. It can be frustrating. Things can seem slow. God won't allow certain bricks to be laid from your past. Things can seem almost like you're forgotten but you must stay faithful to the Lord an keep living for Him. You cannot stop, you cannot quit, you cannot run back to the vomit that the Lord has freed you from! There's NO profit there! One day, your house will stand tall and beautiful with the RIGHT foundation. So then, when the attacks and the winds of this world come, it won't be able to knock your house down. 

Matthew 7:25 "The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock."

Jesus is preparing you for ETERNITY. This life is so much bigger than these temporary things. SO, learn to be content RIGHT where you are. An event won't change a discontent heart so even with that child you prayed for, you still may find yourself unhappy. Even with that husband you believed God for, you will still find that he ain't the source of your joy. Even moving to that new location, you will find ways to be unhappy. Being content is a heart issue. Your contentment proves who you trust. 

Who do you trust?

God loves you like crazy,

Heather Lindsey

6 Months Pregnant with baby girl Lindsey! :) Me & my best friend Delan!

Just a few things:

1. Find my (3) books, purity rings, shirts & all that good stuff via pinkypromiseboutiques.com!

2. We have developed an APP! Think: daily post notifications + weekly devotionals, recipes and so much more! It's out NOW for iphones + Androids. Under Heather & Cornelius Lindsey: Today With the Lindsey's

3.  If you live in Atlanta, I want to invite you to our church. Join us on Sundays at 11:00am at Landmark Art Cinemas. Our churches name is: "The Gathering Oasis"  931 Monroe Drive NE Atlanta, GA. We also have our New Years Service at the same place at 10pm EST! Join us! 

4. Register for the 2015 Pinky Promise in Atlanta, GA! It sold out last year, so you don't want to miss out! www.pinkypromiseconference.com 

6. As always, you can join a Pinky Promise group locally! There's about 32,000 ladies that have joined! Find a group near you by joining & checking out the intro page! Join here: www.PinkyPromiseMovement.com

7. Pinky Promise is hosting a statewide baby shower for low income & single mamas in Atlanta, GA on September 12. If you want to donate or be a part of it, please email pinkypromisequestions@gmail.com For donations only, you can send the payment via PayPal to pinkypmovement@gmail.com & be sure to note that its for the Statewide Baby Shower. All donations are tax deductible. 

8. I'm headed to California & VA/DC area in April. Check my calendar for event details!

"When It Feels Like God Abandoned You"

This area has just been heavy on my heart so I wanted to remind those of you who are going through some hard times that God has not forgotten about you.

Yes, you.

In the world of social media, technology and TV, it's so easy to glamorize what everybody else is doing while thinking, Lord, have you forgotten about me? Have you abandoned me? 

No, God hasn't abandoned you. But, He is disciplining you. And you have a choice. You can either press through this test and mature in your walk with Him or.. stay the same and continue to go around that mountain as you run from God. 

I'm going to scream this from the rooftop and I want you to get this: God is MUCH more concerned about your eternity THAN He is you being happy. Wait, What do you mean Heather? God doesn't want me happy?

No. He wants you Holy. Holiness means to be set apart for proper use. God has to UPROOT some things that are INSIDE of you to show you that you cannot DWELL with Him and DWELL with this World.  You are going to either hate one or love to other. (Matthew 6:24) And sadly, most people end up hating God and loving this world. They hate God because they feel like:

"God, why did you let my mother die?"

"God, why did you let me get abused growing up?"

"God, why didn't you protect me?"

"God, why am I homeless?"

"God, why does my husband treat me like this?"

Why?

Because we live in a fallen world that is plagued by sin. And because sin is running rampant in this earth, but these tests and trails we experience will prepare us if we respond in a godly way.

James 1:2-4 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,  because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Romans 5:3-5 "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." 

The question is, what do you do with your mother passing away? Do you carry on her legacy and do what she cannot do anymore? Which is share Jesus with others? Yes, grieve. Yes, have your moments, just don't stay there. You know your mother or that family member would want you to get up and do what God has called you to do! 

What do you do about getting abused growing up? Have you forgiven who has abused you? I cannot imagine what you've gone through over the years carrying that pain but don't you dare give another day or a moment to that person that abused you. You've already given them too many years. Instead, take your care to the Lord and ask Him to heal you. Ask Him to help you. Tell Him that you're upset, scared and it's hard to have relationships. He can heal you and then, He will use you to help other people that have gone through the same thing. I've learned that my heartaches and victories are to be shared so that people may come into the knowledge of Jesus Christ. So that they may know God took this absolutely messed up country girl from Brooklyn, MI and gave her purpose when she felt like she didn't have any. 

Maybe you feel like, "God, why didn't you protect me?" Honestly, I don't know what happened in your life and situation but I do know that at times, we take our own path. We make our own way and we reject God. So, while God is urging us to go in another direction, we turn and go the other way. When we do this, we reject His covering and protection. 

Maybe you're homeless or you cannot find a job. Maybe money is your issue. I must say that I can relate with you. I've had my own eviction notice when I first moved to NYC after college. I cried out to God and I told Him that I was gonna quit on this whole God thing if He didn't come through for me. He literally came through the next day and I was able to move with a female friend and we eventually got a 2 bedroom apartment and lived together for 5 years before I got married. In those moments of hardship, I learned to cling to the Lord. I wouldn't trade a second of those years of eating only eggs for dinner every night. I began to depend on the Lord for my daily bread. I began to cling to Him for direction and clarity. You see, if I was eating 5 course meals everything and my lights were on, I wouldn't be as desperate for God at that point in my life. I needed to be stripped of my mindset that money took care me. No, God takes care of me. So, if I have to sleep in my car, God still takes care of me. And things didn't all the sudden "turn around" for another 3 years but I went through that season of being financially tested because God needed me to KNOW without a shadow of a DOUBT that HE was GOD and GOD alone. I didn't truly believe it at that time, even though I sang the songs at church and served in ministry. That was my God-encounter that changed my heart forever. 

Maybe you're in a marriage and you aren't happy. Maybe you want out and you feel like God cannot raise your dead marriage. So if you're bored and in what you think is a dull marriage, then most likely your relationship with God has become dull as well. There's no way that you can honestly pursue Him with your whole heart, surrendering pride, egos, your feelings and what you think you deserve and still leave your husband. I know, I know, I may not understand your situation. But I have been in a place where I wanted to leave my husband. I actually had it planned out in my head of where I was going to go and what I was going to do. I thought life was easier without him and I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I believe that God designs the marriage covenant relationship to provide real love and fulfillment and the grass on the other side of the lawn is an illusion of temporary happiness. So what if I'm not happy Heather? Happiness is relative, based on your feelings and what you can see. You won't be happy at times in your marriage. In marriage, you will always need to work on things. Instead of focusing on what your spouse needs to do, ask the Lord to show you yourself and what you can do differently. GREAT joy has been birthed in my marriage from loving my husband when I don't think he deserves it. Now, I actually think he deserves it because I love him as onto the Lord, and not as onto my husband. My love is for Jesus. That's why I love my husband so hard. The love I have for Christ POURS out into my marriage. My husband has a very strong command-man type of personality and I've learned to make appeals to him in a respectful loving way. I watch the way I say things and I work on never nagging him. And, I've watched him in return love me like Christ loved the church. He even loves me in those moments that I don't "deserve" either but we've learned to push past our feelings and unconditionally love one another. 

Maybe you're single and you feel like God has forgotten about you. Sis, it's nothing to God to bring your spouse. But do you want a spouse more than you want a relationship with Him? Anything that you build higher in your heart than God can be used against you. God won't share His glory with anybody else and He desires ALL of you. Not a part of you. Maybe, just maybe this season is preparing you to show you that God isn't finished with your single season. Don't prolong this season stepping out of His timing and rushing to get a man to fill your voids. You will get a man and send him back because of he was a Ishmael and not an Issac. 

Now, there's so many scriptures that can be applied to waiting and trusting in Gods timing. Write down a few of these and stare at them when you get tested. Stop giving into the enemy and not making this word a priority! 

Ecclesiastes 3 New Living Translation (NLT)

A Time for Everything

3 For everything there is a season,

    a time for every activity under heaven.

2 A time to be born and a time to die.

    A time to plant and a time to harvest.

3 A time to kill and a time to heal.

    A time to tear down and a time to build up.

4 A time to cry and a time to laugh.

    A time to grieve and a time to dance.

5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.

    A time to embrace and a time to turn away.

6 A time to search and a time to quit searching.

    A time to keep and a time to throw away.

7 A time to tear and a time to mend.

    A time to be quiet and a time to speak.

8 A time to love and a time to hate.

    A time for war and a time for peace.

(This is me adding a few words just for the purpose of this blog)

A TIME to get married. A TIME to have kids.

*Add whatever "time" you see and how it applies to your life. 

1 Peter 3:14 

"But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don't worry 

or be afraid of their threats."

Ephesians 4:32

"Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you."

So, yes, you're being disciplined right NOW in this season.  Discipline means to teach and to train. Discipline sounds negative to many people because some disciplinarians don't seem very loving. God, however is the source of all love. He doesn't punish us because He enjoys inflicting pain but because He is deeply concerned about your development! He knows that in order to become the person He has called you to be, we must learned the difference between right and wrong. God's LOVING discipline enables us to do that because He leads and guides to the right path and way. 

YOU are NOT alone in your tests right now. So, in the midst of them, are you rushing back to this world? This world will never satisfy you. It's like going to get in the shower using mud water. Stop running back to your past because you think God hates you. He doesn't hate you. He loves you. He created you. He's for you. He's with you. Stop rationalizing and arguing with Him and return to Him. 

How do you return?

1. Repent of your sins. Don't want for Sunday service. Fall to  your knees right now and surrender to our king Jesus. 

2. Spend time with God daily. I blogged about it here. 

3. Now, it's time to let God instruct you and lead you. As you acknowledge Him in all of your ways, (Prov 3:5) HE will direct you. So He may direct you to cut off a bad relationship, stop listening to certain music, or some other area. So, guard that heart as you go about your way. You cannot afford to listen to whoever, do whatever or live however. The Holy Spirit lives in you. 

Obey quickly. 

Just a few things:

1. Find my (3) books, purity rings, shirts & all that good stuff via www.pinkypromiseboutiques.com!

2. We have developed an APP! Think: daily post notifications + weekly devotionals, recipes and so much more! It's out NOW for iphones + Androids. Under Heather & Cornelius Lindsey: Today With the Lindsey's

3.  If you live in Atlanta, I want to invite you to our church. Join us on Sundays at 11:00am at Landmark Art Cinemas. Our churches name is: "The Gathering Oasis"  931 Monroe Drive NE Atlanta, GA. We also have our New Years Service at the same place at 10pm EST! Join us! 

4. Register for the 2015 Pinky Promise in Atlanta, GA! It sold out last year, so you don't want to miss out! www.pinkypromiseconference.com 

6. As always, you can join a Pinky Promise group locally! There's about 32,000 ladies that have joined! Find a group near you by joining & checking out the intro page! Join here: www.PinkyPromiseMovement.com

7. Pinky Promise is hosting a statewide baby shower for low income & single mamas in Atlanta, GA on September 12. If you want to donate or be a part of it, please email pinkypromisequestions@gmail.com For donations only, you can send the payment via PayPal to pinkypmovement@gmail.com & be sure to note that its for the Statewide Baby Shower. All donations are tax deductible. 

God loves you like crazy,

Heather Lindsey

New Journals! Find them via www.pinkypromiseboutiques.com