By: Crystal Harkless

When I started this blog, I had no clue how things would turn out or if anyone would even read it. I believed in my heart that I had something to share with the world that would encourage other single Christians. I told myself I would write even if I only had one reader and that one reader was me. LOL Here it is months later and in spite of everything that has hit me this year, I'm still determined to keep my promise to myself. Although I have no clue who is viewing this site, my stats have grown and continue to show activity on the site. For that I'm so grateful.

My prayer is someone is being encouraged, motivated, healed, delivered, and receiving insight as I continue to share what I believe God has given me. In this life, we must be determined to fulfill every God given purpose even when things get hard. You never know who is in need of what you have. You never know how your testimony may help someone else to keep going a little longer. It is a honor to be used in the Kingdom of God.

For those that are still trying to discover your purpose in life, Don't Give Up! You may not have a mega ministry. In fact, you may only have a handful of people that God sends your way. Regardless of the amount of people or money, do what God has given you to do to the best of your ability. As you walk in your calling, go knowing that God trust you enough to help His precious children. 

Remember that it is a privilege to be used for His Glory. Know that it is not in vain. I consider it a blessing to be able to encourage others because I know how it feels to need a word of encouragement. I want to thank all of you for your support. Know that I am praying for you and I pray that you continue to pray for me as well. God bless and Happy Reading!

By: Crystal Harkless

Isaiah 25:1-5 The Message (MSG)

God, you are my God. I celebrate you. I praise you. You’ve done your share of miracle-wonders, well-thought-out plans, solid and sure. Here you’ve reduced the city to rubble, the strong city to a pile of stones. The enemy Big City is a non-city, never to be a city again. Superpowers will see it and honor you, brutal oppressors bow in worshipful reverence. They’ll see that you take care of the poor, that you take care of poor people in trouble, Provide a warm, dry place in bad weather, provide a cool place when it’s hot. Brutal oppressors are like a winter blizzard and vicious foreigners like high noon in the desert. But you, shelter from the storm and shade from the sun, shut the mouths of the big-mouthed bullies.

This scripture really spoke to me this morning!  Not many of you know what I have been going through and I will not go through it on here, but I will say that I feel like I have been attacked in just about every area of my life these past few months. There have been days when all I wanted to do was cry. There have been days when all I wanted was to be alone with God. I needed him desperately and nothing or no one else could help. 

As I went through my storm, there were times that God didn't say a word. He was silent! I had no clue how long I would have to go through this or what the outcome would be. I had to walk by faith and not by sight. Now this is easy to do for a short period of time, but it becomes difficult as the months drag by and there seems to be no end in sight. It was especially hard for me since I had to be still and rest.

It's easy to take your eyes off of what you are going through when you can fill your calendar up with different activities and run from one event to the next. You don't have to focus on the elephant in the room. This time, I couldn't run from my issues. I had to face every last one of them and it was overwhelming to say the least. I knew there was no way I could fight this battle alone.

I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and I am so thankful!! As I look back, I can see how God has carried me through it all. I can see how He was using my trial to lead me to my purpose. He used what I was going through to bring about divine connections. He used what I was going through to build my faith and increase my prayer life.

It was through reading the Bible, praying, and just being quiet in His presence that He began to reveal more and more of himself to me. I learned that there are some battles we have to fight and there are some that only He can fight for us. I am learning to rest in Him and pay close attention to what I think and say. I am so thankful we serve a God that knows how to take care of all our problems whether they are people or situations! Those things I once thought I would never overcome are defeated! 

Those voices that taunted me and told me I would never make it are now silenced! God has protected me and proven to me that He is for me and not against me. He has been my shelter from the storm. He has caused the enemy of my soul to behave. Over the months, God has come through for me in a big way and the beautiful thing about it is the best is yet to come! 

Today I want to encourage someone to prove the doubters wrong! I want to encourage someone to trust in the name of the Lord! He is doing wonderful things and I challenge you to praise Him in spite of everything that may be going wrong in your life right now! I encourage you to stay focused on the promise God made to you! Everything you have been going through is serving a purpose! In the end you will see exactly why you had to go through what you went through! It was PREPARATION for a season of RESTORATION AND MANIFESTATION! Receive it!

At the beginning of this year, God lead me to share a word with my readers. The title of that blog was "I'm Expecting". I knew God had placed a gift in me that I had to carry in my spiritual womb until it was time to birth it. I was so excited that God would trust me with such a gift and just like a mother expecting her first child, I started to prepare for my baby. Awww, the joys of motherhood!

After some time went by, I began to experience some difficulties. Things started happening that threatened to abort the gift I was carrying inside. Have you ever received a promise from God only to have something happen to make you question the delivery of that promise? Let me tell you, it's enough to rock even the strongest Christian's faith. That was probably one of the hardest test I've ever had to endure.....BUT GOD!

I have heard that many new mothers like to have a midwife help them during their pregnancy. Midwives have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to preparing for the delivery of a baby. They bring a sense of peace to the mother because they know what to expect during the birthing process. They also know how to deal with those unexpected issues or difficulties as they arise. As it is in the natural so it is in the spiritual.

During my period of difficulty, God sent me some "midwives" in the form of friends, pastors and acquaintances to help me stay calm and focused. They had already gone through what I was experiencing and knew how to handle the situation. I thank God even now for sending them because I would have panicked and possibly aborted what I was carrying. As you are preparing to give birth to you spiritual baby or babies, don't be afraid to reach out to someone for help. God will send exactly who you need to encourage you or be that shoulder you need to cry on when you feel like you can't go on!

Here we are, nine months into the year and I know my time has come to PUSH this baby out and I believe there are many of you in the same position!! How do I know you ask? When you start to experience a flood of attacks in different areas of your life and the pain becomes unbearable, you my dear are ready to give birth to something great! So, pack your bag and get yourself to God's delivery room. You are going to another level and the pain you are experiencing now will be a thing of the past when you are holding that heaven sent baby in your arms!


Luke 1:45 New King James Version (NKJV)
45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

It's been awhile since my last entry. To say things have been a little crazy would be an understatement! I shared in my last entry that I was diagnosed with a blood clot in my brain. That one diagnosis changed my life in so many ways that it's impossible for me to share it all. This life can be so unpredictable.

So, what do you do when the unexpected happens and there's really nothing you can do to change your situation? You begin to analyze the other areas of your life at least that's what I did. You begin to see that life is way too short to stress out about those things that once had the ability to get under your skin. You start to evaluate your friendships. You realize that time is too short to be doing anything that doesn't serve a purpose. Basically, you realize it's time to make some major life changes.

Many of us pay little attention to how we spend our time and who we spend it with. It's not until we are forced to slow down that we realize just how reckless and unintentional we have been when it comes to living this life. Although, my situation has been challenging to say the least. I am able to see the blessing in it. My mandatory time of resting, has taught me the importance of spending quiet time with Jesus.

It was during my quiet time that I learned to listen as well as pray. It was during my quiet time that I received valuable revelation and instructions. It was during my quiet time that He begin to deal with my fears and my unbelief. It was during my quiet time that I learned to forgive myself and others. Thank God for the sweet moments of quiet time.

If you have found yourself in a place where things are just crazy and everything is just running together. Take some friendly advice from me. Sit Down, Be Quiet and Listen. Most likely, you have been trying to figure things out on your own and He already has it worked out. He just needs you to sit down long enough to listen to the instructions He's been trying to give you all along.


Psalm 85:8 New King James Version (NKJV)
I will hear what God the Lord will speak,
For He will speak peace
To His people and to His saints;
But let them not turn back to folly.