Red Sea Situations

April 23, 2011

Welcome To Red Sea Situations!

Welcome To Red Sea Situations!

We hope you shall continually come here for continual revelation and renewal. The insight at this site was created as a safe haven for you to enjoy and retreat and relax from the rest of the world.

Please take the time to tell us if and how Red Seas has blessed your life. To the right, you have a chance to check out the actual CHAPTERS in the book and observe the prayers that offer insight in each chapter. You can also read the preface of the book.

This blog belongs to the humbled of God. Those who are open enough to consider that life trouble may not necessarily be a bad thing. That maybe the strength we gain from great difficulty may have great possibility, purpose and a plan.

You are not alone. God wants to display your story, for His glory.

Selah.

Thanks for visiting! Let me know you were here. I would love to respond and hear what you think about the excerpts from the book at this new site! ~ Jennifer Owens

Comments Off | posted in Let Me Hear From You! ;0)

May 19, 2012

I Speak Life… Praise Moment

By Gifted & Expressive

Leave a comment | posted in Praise Moments

May 19, 2012

Prayers For Our Children’s Destiny

By Gifted & Expressive

‘God, we have pushed so many of our children into the tumultuous sea of life in small and leaky boats without survival gear and compass , forgive them and help them to forgive us. help us not to give all our children the anchors of faith and love, the rudders of purpose and hope, the sails of health and education, and the paddles of faith and community to keep them safe ans strong when life’s sea get rough.’ ~

Taken from the book: The Sea is So Wide and My Boat is So Small: Charting A Course for the Next Generation – by Marian Wright Edelman

Children go through Red Sea Situations too. Lest we forget about them today, say a prayer for them and for their sense of identity and purpose, the futures they have and the dreams they dream.

I was once a school social worker for about ten years, in Syracuse N.Y. I felt like a “mini- Martin Luther King that year, in that role. It seemed I was so compassionate about my children. They became so familiar to me, their issues and concerns, their hopes and their families. After a summer visit to Atlanta to visit the The King Center one summer I was so impressed by what I felt so attuned with in my spirit. I was so impressed with Martin’s work. How could one man be so impassioned to make a difference int he lives of so many people and literally change their lives over a few decades of work through speeches and writing? Inside the glass cases I observed, stood images of the suits MLK wore, the letters he wrote with his own handwriting …and I could literally feel the passion on the pages of his life as I laid my hands on the cases, I said a prayer. I prayed for similar passion and connection of purpose as MLK had. Something happened in that moment on a spiritual level. I am not sure exactly, but I believe my prayer was answered. I immediately felt such a connection to his movement, I wanted to start my own movement for families. And so I received that prayer. Jabez asked God to redeem him, generationally. In 1 Chronicles 4:10, we read:“And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that Thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that Thine hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.” Ironically enough, I had prayed this prayer in order to get to Africa, for about an entire year. And the last part of this amazing scripture occurred.

I had gone the same year to South Africa and spoke with and for my mission of Kamau Center. I had visited schools and attended rallies for children to promote their self-confidence and I noticed the contrast and similarities & differences between African-American and African children, and their parenting. The nuances of hope and esteem and love and self-confidence was so connected to the pride they had in their children. I asked a teacher about the pride in the children and she responded by saying historically, they believed that “Children are a heritage of the Lord.“ ( Psalm 127:3) I decided at that moment, I wanted to impress upon children in such a way that left a strong imprint upon their hearts of hope and history and identity. The children here, in S. Africa were consistently esteemed. They were proud. Their sense of identity had not been lost with the Middle Passage. Their community surrounded them in teaching them the same, and instantly I knew what the adage “it takes a village to raise a child” - had personal meaning, because it was community-purposed. Not only did parents teach it in the home, their esteem was valued int he street, community, schools an every place they went. I write about the esteem of the youth in my South African Journal. I never saw children again through the same lens after these two experiences. I realized that parenting from one generation to the next meant planting seeds in the parents as well and giving the parents a hope and desire to be whole as well.

However, had I not visited the The King Center, I may not have been motivated to esteem them in with a naming ceremony. I see them as destined to reach mountains and places and have a sense of peace and hope that begins with seed-planting and hope-giving and having celebrations to help them recognize they are appreciated and feel invigorated in the understanding of why they are here on earth and believe and know they are here for a reason to make their claim int he world. As we as adults esteem them, they realize their worth. If we don’t take the time to do so, we fail them. Some place along the lone, they will learn from others their worth, and it’s up to us – their village – to help them realize they have potential and they are indeed IMPORTANT.

As I wrote this post, I listened to Micah Stampley’s – You Are Lord and it just makes so much sense to have a deeper understanding of where you come from and who you are connected to, before you are unctioned to live out your purpose in the Lord.

Leave a comment | posted in Destiny., Dreams, Family: Healing, Follow Me., King Dreams

May 13, 2012

Why I love my Mom….

By Gifted & Expressive

Mom, I love ya.

I decided to write a blog to you, today, because you know of course, writing is how I express my love.

Nothing fancy, just writing to let you know that I appreciate you and all the special memories you have seeded into my life. They have yet allowed me prosper and gather a harvest of fruitful blessings.

One of the most memorable times I have with you mom has been when I was a little girl and having you tuck me into bed each night. What I remember most about those nights is the prayers. Your teaching me to pray has influenced my life in such a way that prayer is a way of life, for me. Life without prayer is life without breath, for me. I recall you telling me each night ( despite the chaos we were living in at the time), everything would be alright. I even remember you crying and telling me this some nights and God knows your faith lives on in me, because not only do I love to believe past beyond what I can see , feel and experience, I love to write about faith and believing as well. In fact, my very first book as an author this year is about believing and having faith.

Mom, the greatest example you have taught me in life has been to endure. to have faith and trust God. You did this, not only by showing me daily you believed, but you walked out your life before your children and your family, by being an example for what you believed.

Other times I found to be quite valuable was being able to enjoy holidays and birthdays and special moments like – coming from the dentist and eating cut up peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because my teeth were too sore to chew. Or playing outside in the snow when I was freezing from head to toe and you gave me a cup of hot chocolate and it was all warm inside. Or the times I the Halloween parties where we bobbed for apples and dressed up at my parties. The faith you had to have them, despite my dad possibly coming in and making a scene, showed your courage to make sure your babies baby girl had a good time! Smile.

I sometimes hear my friends say: “Jennifer , you are so sweet!” Little do they know I have the BEST example , EVER. The merciful acts you provided during those tulmultuous, yet loving years, Mom gave me purpose and endurance. They helped me to notice the imprint of God’s hand upon your life. They increased my faith and made me the strong believer that I am today.

I remember the day you told me you and and I were going south for the summer, to be away for a while. I believe I was about ten years old. I really didn’t know what was going on, but Ma, our family was on the brinks. deep in your heart, you must gave been heartbroken to leave your older kids behind , taking the youngest (me) and choosing to step out on faith and believe God for a new experience for your family. That meant leaving your husband behind and starting anew. Daddy was in recovery, and he needed to determine how much he really wanted his family to thrive. But you stepped away so he could make that decision. And I am so glad you did.

These were formative years for me. These years are forever cemented in my mind as growth points. Purpose for families all over the world, today, is my mission in life. Your baby girl has been to Africa to fight for families and through mission work has given hope and encouraged hearts. Your decision to step away to save your family, cemented in my life a purpose to forever FIGHT for families to live. Amazing, Ma – how absolutely powerful one decision was, to step away and save your own family, became a mission for your children. I say children, because not only do you have me, working in the field of substance abuse and addictions to help save families ; you have Reginald, who was just hired by the state of NY to do his own Fatherhood and Mothers’ programs across counties all over New York; you have Darryl, who is a Captain in the Salvation Army and works to help families everyday; and Jeffery, who works with young people as a coach every season helping young boys find purpose and stress relief and leadership in the sport of football. Your children are stronger and closer today than they ever have been. They believe in family, purpose and love. They bind their hearts together to believe for THE GOOD of families all over the world. How powerful was your definitive statement of LOVE for your own family, indeed.

Mom, you “ have fought a good fight, you have finished your course, you have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for you a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give you at that day: and not to you only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” 2 Tim. 4:7, 8

Thanks Ma, for your statement of love and courage. Your Red Sea Situation was undoubtedly a struggle but a testament of what the redeeming purpose of God’s love can do for a family and do to sustain a family. Your love taught me what was right, what was wrong, and much about my worth and value. Your love purposed my destiny.

Of course there are many other reasons why I love you, but these are central to who I am today and what makes me the person who I am today living the purpose which I live, today.

Thank You Mom, I love you.

P.S. Thanks for making me go to Sunday school , even when I didn’t want to every Sunday. It laid an excellent foundation. Smile.

2 comments | posted in Costly Situations, Family: Healing, Purpose, Strength

April 2, 2012

I Refuse…

By Gifted & Expressive

Sometimes being in a Red Sea Situation means having a determined mindset and not allowing ANYTHING to get in your way…

Leave a comment | posted in Praise Break!

March 1, 2012

My Life List

By Gifted & Expressive

Original title: My Leap Year – Life List

Hey, this only takes a minute… but what in the next miniute can you think of that might take four years to create that you would lOVE to have happen in ONE DAY!!

Take a leap, go for it, redeem the time and just DO IT!!

Well, I decided to share my LIFE LIST just for fun! And I am sharing it for the first time, because I believe in Leap Year Logic.. How about you? What’s on your life list??

Visit south Africa and hold a women conference.
Publish Red Sea Situations.
Help other talented leaders build life coaching businesses like Kim Powell.
MAKE www.red-sea-courage.com a full fledged website.
*Daily include grace-filled days in my life making it possible to increase my sense of gratefulness.
* Buy a bldg. In Tulsa for our practice.
Travel route 1 on the California coast w/ hubby.
Become a mommy.
Take our kids to DisneyWorld or family excursion.
Have a mini -retreat for Red Seas – overnighter in NY, MD., ATL, Albany GA. & TX.
Hold a women’s Red Sea Courage conference in the U.S.
Hold a womens conference internationally
Visit Maneva in Switzerland.
Visit Keneilwe. In the UK.
Publish my first Kamau Magazine release.
Write. 100.WOMEN STORIES FOR RED SEA COURAGE
Buy a Canon camera.
TAKE A PIC OF THE STATUE IN BRASIL.
Fly to San Fran in one day and take master pictures with my Canon…
Make a spontaneous cruise for women to recapture their identity and purpose!
Learn how to play the piano
Write and distribute my ” kamau care” workbook in 2012.
Create writers/ vision casting conference. (For bloggers.)
I want to write a series of children’s book and read it in Swahili.
Attend a silent retreat.
Create a women’s self care hub online for all cultures around the world.
Redecorate a room in my home.
Write a workbook for Red Sea Situations, the book.
Eat healthier than I ever have.
Join a women’s exercise club.
Write with or for a favorite author.
Go on a girlfriend excursion with a few women out of town.
Visit south Africa and hold a women conference.
Be a blogger administrator for at least five blogging sites as an entrepreneur.
Start a Photo blog.
Start a venue for teen voices to be shared and have teens write on my blog!
Start a vennue for family voices to be shared.
Start a venue for families to be heard.
Hold a Kamau Care Series of classes for women to explore their new lives and be “self aware”.

2 comments | posted in Destiny., Dreams

February 3, 2012

Search Me, O God...

By Gifted & Expressive

Reblogged from Red Sea Situations:

Psalm 139:23,24

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Have you ever been so confused with life you forget to take care of yourself?

I have.

I have found that ridding the mental and emotional clutter is about really focusing on what “really” matters and getting back in tune with God.

The Destruction of Divorce.

By Gifted & Expressive

I had three friends – very close friends suffer divorce this past year. It was not easy to see them grieve the loss. The loss of a loved one, the loss of a family unit, the children, lose the sense of security. It was actually quite saddening. I am not sure what to say about divorce, but I do know the pain of it. When meaningful relationships were purposed to be together for a lifetime, according to the Bible, the marriage decree is extremely devastating when a couple is harmed by divorce. I believe the reason this is true, is because divorce harms the spirit of a man and woman.

I am a divorcee. (Ouch). It sounds funny for me to even admit it. I never identified with this term before but I suppose it’s what people are called when they divorce. I would never place the harm of being divorced soley upon one person. As I look back and determine what broke up my first marriage, I realize I may not have been very mature in my marriage, but that may be because I made choice to marry to very early. Before my soul was mature (my mind, will and emotions).Though it caused a lot of pain for us both, I truly believed I was in love when I did it. Anyone can look back and have regrets perhaps, but I believe the real pain of divorce is in the breaking of the covenant before God. Since God created marriage, it would only make sense that you feel the deep pain of a covenant broken, spiritually between a man, woman and God. It’s supposed to be one of the strongest bonds there is. God doesnt take the breaking of covenant lightly, so I believe that’s why it’s felt so strongly. Yet, there is life after divorce.

Malachi 2:10,11, 13-16 describes why marriage is so special to God.

“Have we not all one Father?
Has not one God created us?
Why do we deal treacherously with one another
By profaning the covenant of the fathers?

…You cover the altar of the LORD with tears,
With weeping and crying;
So He does not regard the offering anymore,
Nor receive it with goodwill from your hands.
¹⁴ Yet you say, “For what reason?”
Because the LORD has been witness
Between you and the wife of your youth,
With whom you have dealt treacherously;
Yet she is your companion
And your wife by covenant.
¹⁵ But did He not make them one,
Having a remnant of the Spirit?
And why one?
He seeks godly offspring.
Therefore take heed to your spirit,
And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.
¹⁶“ For the LORD God of Israel says
That He hates divorce,
For it covers one’s garment with violence,”
Says the LORD of hosts. “

Divorce sounds like an act of violence in the Bible. Hmmm….perhaps the violence to the soul is the greatest harm. The mind, the will and emotions all suffer tremendously, because of the fact a covenant is broken before God. God describes it as a ‘treacherous’ act in the Bible. Usually someone’s heart has been deceived or offended and with divorce the pain of being offended in this manner is illegal and immoral to God. Perhaps that’s why it’s also so painful. A law is broken that God has considered to be sacred.

If you have been broken by the pain of divorce, know that God is a restorer of broken and contrite spirits. Know that he has a plan and a future for you, despite all. When I look back over my past, I see divorce as a painful period during my life, but also a time to have had a new opportunity and to begin anew and be healed by God. I repented to God for breaking His precious covenant, I dwelt in sorrow, I grieved the loss…then I acquiesced. Today, I have peace.

God also made me over again and gave me new life as evidenced by where I now stand. I have come through my Red Sea.

Leave a comment | posted in Costly Situations, Great Expectation, Handling the Unexpected, Redemption, Strength, Vunerability

January 31, 2012

Airport Hues

By Gifted & Expressive

At one point in December ….the last day of the month…
I was sitting in an airport trying to make sense of what was to come in 2012.
You never imagine the last day of the year you’ll find yourself camping out in an airport. But I did. I ‘love’ the idea of flying more than I do the ‘reality’ of flying. But this trip was special. I love the significance of meaningful things being born in the air. Here’s where the enticement of travel begin in my life… i love the fact it was inspired by someone special.

Creativity looks attractive on me in the sky… here’s proof.

Leave a comment | posted in Jen's Photos

January 18, 2012

Release Your Rest.

By Gifted & Expressive

By ZaNuDa

In this life we worry too much about things that should require a more restful approach.

We need to reach for rest. We reach for rest in vacations, sex, relationships that are futile and cause us to be restless, we reach for rest in our children, our jobs, our house and the white picket fence, but we don’t really reach for where true rest comes from.

What if true rest came from self-evaluation, honesty, seeking peace and joy and self-preservation?

What if true rest came from being open-minded and mature?

What if true rest came from practicing obedience unto God?

What if true rest involved opening up your heart and taking a risk to share it with someone you really didn’t trust, but you knew needed your empathetic point of view?

That kind of rest can only be God-given.

Why struggle? Why fight? Why worry?

Meditate on promise, purpose, peace and love. and stay there… for a while. At least.

Who are you allowing to steal your rest today?

My Prayer: So I release my rest O’ God unto you today… I offer myself up as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto God, which is my reasonable service. Selah

Leave a comment | posted in Inner Rest, Prayer Meditation.

January 17, 2012

“Trust The Process.”

By Gifted & Expressive

TRUST THE PROCESS. These three words have been on mind like CRAZY for the past week!

Don’t ask why…they have been there… it’s real personal.

One day though, I will share with the right crowd… but nonetheless, I am here. So I will acquiesce.

The interesting thing is… I thought I trusted God with MOST things, until He reached into this pocket. You know, the one pocket that appears to be “safe and untouched,” You know how you pray to God for “safety”, for instance and he places you in a ditch in the middle of the desert until you LEARN how NEAR He really is… and then you see Him. Yea.. something like that. or…. like the time I prayed for God to release me from a situation and He took 13 years to do it,but man oh man when He did… was I free!! So free…

They say God works in mysterious ways! Hunh!

So I looked up to see if “I” really knew what mysterious means: “That which is mysterious, by being unknown or puzzling, excites curiosity, amazement, or awe… of obscure nature, meaning, origin, etc.; puzzling; inexplicable -(in capable of being explained.) Yea… that’s God alright. He seems to work best when He doesn’t explain things. Yet, maybe then.. that’s why He does. How can we trust if we know everything already? Maybe the way faith breeds and becomes a part of our lives, because we decide to go someplace with God we never had the courage to go… maybe that’s what makes us stronger and more viable and more unique. because we take that risk. Sometimes risks though are what MAKES US – not breaks us.

I am adding this picture of me several years ago in 2005, in my ‘rainbow dress’. I don’t really know if I still even have this dress. it was given to me from a friend who had traveled to Africa. And anything from Africa , gives me hope. So I wore it. And man, was I need of some extra faith! I was in a really vicarious place. I went on a cruise to the Bahamas with my family on a family reunion. I somehow felt commissioned to go on this trip, even though I couldn’t afford it. Sort of like I am now. My… we really had an awesome time! I also recall I had only five dollars in my pocket. I wondered and even struggled to consider why God would even allow me to go with such little money in my pocket - yet it was a fully paid trip, so I never needed any money on the boat. I thought to myself: “Really, God!??”…. are you sending me on a cruise with five dollars in my pocket? How humbling. All I could think about during the trip was like: “Wow…for real!.. I am on a luxury cruise-liner in the middle of the ocean, eating like a queen, enjoying wonderful views and clear beaches… actually left the mainland United States… and have only five dollars in my pocket!!” A miracle, indeed! Most people would think, wow…why did you even go?

Not I. I suppose I have never been one to back out of anything; just because of what I don’t have. I go even further and challenge my mind to stretch about how I can make more money when I get there. and believe me, it’s never through begging for anything.. it’s about trusting God’s grace as guidance. And I must say… He always shows up! ;0)

Yea.. so God completely blows my mind, and by the end of the five-day cruise… I somehow have more in my pocket than I came with! Of course. It doesn’t make sense. What.. you ask? The process. It never does. So stop trying to figure it out. Just stay in expectation. It’s the easiest way to go.

So, I’m in that place again. Trusting….

I believe these are our most vulnerable and yet growth producing places… because we TRUST. When we don’t trust, we frustrate His grace. In fact, we cannot even find it. So what does frustrate mean? It means we:” thwart the efficacy of anything, nullify, make void, we disregard, we reject, refuse or slight God’s attempts to reach out and aid us in the time of need.

There fore, my attempts now to reach for God in tough places that look as though they are dark, inevitably painful or completely unbelievable, ( also known as Red Sea Situations…) I now find HIm, because I seek Him. I don’t turn away, I don’t complain nor try to figure out what I did wrong in the process… I don’t moan and complain… I just try not to frustrate His grace. Because there… I find: THE PROCESS.

And then, I realize … I can trust it. I can do all things through Christ. ( Phil 4:13)

Leave a comment | posted in Follow Me., Purpose, Strength, Vunerability