Stand the Storm

This morning, I woke up reflecting on a conversation my husband and I had over labor day dinner last night. Why are you so angry? He asked. You don’t see it, but lately, you have been. I tried to dismiss his observation with a gentle rebuttal that instantly confirmed that yes! I was furious and highly pissed off…when I snapped at him and replied, “have you seen the state of our world?” my rant must have gone on for 10-15 minutes before he said, “has anything you just said made you feel better?” then he called me out…


Where is your faith??? Don’t you know everything that is going on right now has an expiration date on it? You know, you talk a good faith game at times, then you let what you see shake your faith, and then you allow what you see to pull you towards the pit with the rest of them who are easily tossed about when the Storm comes.

Lately, my Spirit has been highly vexed, agitated, angry? I have tried to suppress it and cover it up, but after being married for 32 years, that is almost impossible to do. My husband and I have been together since I was 17, so covering up or hiding my inner thoughts or feelings doesn’t work. He can always tell when I have gone internal.

I had to admit he was right; the troubles on this side of Heaven were starting to shake my faith and beginning to chip away at my peace and the hope that “Trouble don’t last always.”

During our tuff love conversation, It brought to mind a message I heard years ago from a well-known pastor that preached, “When the storms of life come, you have to learn how to be an observer. You have to have an unshakeable faith that will allow you to stand amid the Storm and watch everything swirl around you without getting caught up in it.”

Unshakable faith comes from being prepared, covered. Like the story “Sleeping though the Storm,” about a Farmer-who owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. Most people were reluctant to work for the Farmer whose land was along the Atlantic. Storms were awful and would wreak havoc on buildings and crops; finally, after many reluctant interviews, a short, thin man well past middle age approached the Farmer, and when asked, “Are you a good farmhand?” the farmer replied, “well, I can sleep when the wind blow,” answered the little man. So the Farmer hired him, and he proved to be a good worker.

Then one night, a bad storm hit with howling loud winds from offshore. The owner of the farm jumped out of bed, grabbed his lantern, and rushed into the hired hand’s bunkhouse. He shook the little old man and yelled, “Get up! A storm is coming! Tie-down everything before it blows away!” The little man rolled over and replied firmly, “No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind comes.”

The Farmer was tempted to fire him right then and there, until he noticed all the haystacks had been covered, the cows were all in the barn, the chickens were in their coops, and all the doors had been barred. It was then the Farmer understood what the hired hand meant, and he went back to bed and slept while the wind blew.

You see, when you cover yourself with the Word of God, you are prepared, you can sleep when the winds of life blow. You have nothing to fear because like the song says “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweet frame but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ the solid rock I stand All other ground is sinking sand.”

Art work entitled “My Deliverer” by Jeanette Sthamann

Lord, amid life’s many storms, strengthen my capacity to sleep, stand or even rest in the center of your peace – LaShaun Jackson

I woke up this morning, and my Spirit called out to Psalm 91. It’s one of my favorite scripture in the bible; it is a scripture where, when read, you can feel your soul coming back into alinement with the Spirit of God, and if you have good people around you that are sensitive to your Spirit, they can tell when you need a “Faith Check.” Psalm 91, along with my husband are my Faith Checker’s, psalms 91 pulls everything back together and grounds me with God’s Truth and Promises, despite what my eyes see. Lord, Forgive me for going by what I see and not trusting in your Word and what I know.

I thank God for My Husband this morning. God has given Him the ability to have hard conversations with me, in love, and as hard as those conversations are at times, they are always for my Good and God’s Glory. My husband reminded me last night, over our labor day dinner, that I was letting the situations and circumstances of our world’s current Storm to steal, kill, and destroy my joy… Don’t let it!

Beloved Wind Sister, How are you resting in this current Storm? Have you secured your foundation to withstand the storms and winds of life? Do you have a Faith Checker in Life?

Declaration of Faith for Standing Storms

Lord, my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God, I take refuge in you. When the storms of this life flood my soul, You are my deliverer, my rock, and my peace. Sometimes the situations and circumstances of what I see get the best of me, and I start to drown in fear. But you are my lighthouse, and the light of your Love guides me back to peace. Thank you, heavenly Father, for shining your light of Love through others to remind me of your faithfulness.
In Jesus name I pray,
Amen

Psalm 91; Psalm 18-1-2; 2 Thessalonians 3:3

If this post ministered to you or encourage you in any way, please share with your fellow Wind Sisters.

May the Joy of the Lord instantly become your strength to encourage you to overcome any fears that you might experience. Remember, in our daring to be brave, when we throw caution to the wind, casting our cares in Faith upon Him through the ride. Peace, love, and joy are set loose in the atmosphere, and it permits other riders to do the same. Allowing us to all rejoice in knowing we have triumphant victory in Riding the Good Ride of Faith.

Be strong and of good courage,
LaShaun and Mrs. Cavatica

September Blessing

I am believing God for Miracles and Breakthroughs…

As women of faith, we serve a faithful God who gives to all generously and without reproach. So, let’s come into agreement and believe God for greater things to come in the month of September.

Women of Fearless Faith let’s get our hope and expectations up…. Hit the ground riding! But don’t expect anything to be handed to you…. Believe God For It!!!

Go after what belongs to you! Are you ready to receive everything that God has for you in this month of September?

Let Us Pray!

Heavenly Father,

Thank You Lord for keeping me through the month of August. Father God, I am grateful to see September and I’m looking forward to all that it may bring. 

Declaration of Faith for September

I declare the month of September as my month of miracles, breakthroughs and healing. I will receive every blessing tied to September for my life. I declare September will be my season of joy and peace. I will not live and ride in fear because I know everything that concerns me, and my family is in your hands. My life is in your hands, my ride is in your hands, my time is in your hands, and nothing can separate me from your love and Riding the Good Ride of Faith.

If this post ministered to you or encourage you in any way, please share with your fellow Wind Sisters.

May the Joy of the Lord instantly become your strength to encourage you to overcome any fears that you might experience. Remember, in our daring to be brave, when we throw caution to the wind, casting our cares in Faith upon Him through the ride. Peace, love, and joy are set loose in the atmosphere, and it permits other riders to do the same. Allowing us to all rejoice in knowing we have triumphant victory in Riding the Good Ride of Faith.

Be strong and of good courage,
LaShaun and Mrs. Cavatica

A Long Ride.

Have your eyes ever opened to a brand-new day that you have never seen before? And as soon as your feet hit the floor, your soul says, “We Need a Long Ride.” Well, it just might be your creator calling you back to yourself and joining Him for a long ride on the open road.

Be the kind of women who, when your feet hit the floor each morning, the devil says “Oh, no! She’s up.” – Joanne Clancy

Nothing is more understanding or forgiving than a good long ride on the open road. Along ride on the open road knows what you need without you asking, and it gives you time to come to yourself, acting and thinking like one’s usual self. Much of our day-to-day calls us into being everything to everyone, except being ourselves. A long Ride brings all of you back to being you.

When you need Grace, the unmerited favor of God, you will find a straight road up ahead to clear your thoughts and ease your troubled mind. When you need Mercy, God’s loving-kindness, the opened road will bring you a few curves to lean into, reminding you if not for God’s Grace and Mercy, where on earth would we be? And when you need reassurance, along comes a fellow rider offering the two-finger wave, letting you know you are not alone on this crazy side of heaven.

Photo Credit: Can Am Spyder Gallery

In some ways, I think a long ride on the open road on a beautiful day is better than talking to a friend. You see, a long ride is just there to listen to you, and it creates a stunning backdrop for the soul to commune with its creator.

Photo Credit: Can Am Spyder 2014 Photo Gallery

It does not judge you or make you feel obligated to listen to other opinions or suggestions. On a long ride, you can be yourself and can share your heart, vent, and be ok with a long pregnant pause as you breathe in all the beauty surrounding you and exhale all that troubles your weary soul.

I often imagine a long ride as being a Church. My Spyder Mrs. Cavatica, the pew or mourners’ bench from where I confess all my shortcomings and release all my fears and worries upon the one who cares for me. A long ride can and will minister to you if you let. A long ride is like a good Sunday Morning word from your favorite Pastor, and if the sun is shining, the sky is blue; well, the choir has just sung an A & B selection that was sure to bless your soul.

The worries and trouble on this side of heaven are never-ending and can overtake us at times. Still, I believe the Spirit of God gives you and me an out, called “A Long Ride.” A long ride to vent, repent, relax and release all
that burdens our souls. So, we can experience first-hand, from the saddles of our bike’s true freedom, because where there is freedom, you will find the Spirit of the Lord.

Beloved wind sister, I pray that when the worries of this side of heaven try to flood your soul and drown your Spirit with fear and weariness, the open road will call you to a long ride. And as you ride, your soul will be refreshed, your Spirit fed, and your heart made glad. May every mile you ride fuel your faith and flood out any fear.

Declaration of Faith for a Long Ride

Dear Lord,
You promise me peace that would surpass all my understanding, the peace that would guard my heart and my mind.
Lord, as I suit up, boot up, and mount up on my bike, I lay aside every worry, situation, and circumstance that is weighing my heart down.
Lord, ride with me, speak to be, cover me and love all my worries and concerns away.
Lord, help my mind rest in you, dwell in you as I take this long ride, and remember that I am held safely in your hands and safe with you.
Amen

Proverbs 22:23; Psalm 138; 91:4; Philippians 4:7; Psalm 55:22; 2 Corinthians 3:17; Psalms 91

If this post ministered to you or encourage you in any way, please share with your fellow Wind Sisters.

May the Joy of the Lord instantly become your strength to encourage you to overcome any fears that you might experience. Remember, in our daring to be brave, when we throw caution to the wind, casting our cares in Faith upon Him through the ride. Peace, love, and joy are set loose in the atmosphere, and it permits other riders to do the same. Allowing us to all rejoice in knowing we have triumphant victory in Riding the Good Ride of Faith.

Be strong and of good courage,
LaShaun and Mrs. Cavatica

Invest Time Don’t Spend Time

Time is precious. Time is valuably sacred because it is a commodity that you cannot ever get back if wasted. So as a new rider to the motorcycle riding community and a woman daring to be brave riding my Can-Am Spyder on the open roads, it is essential to me to invest my Time where my ride and faith Matters.

I was reminded today that not everything deserves your Time, and not every Group deserves your presence, when a clipart I posted today was flagged and all comments were blocked by one of the Lady Spyder Riding Facebook Groups. Now, the average person these days would take offense, but when you are seeking how and where to invest your time, you thank God for Confirmation. You shake the dust off your feet, pick up your mat and move on. Do not spend any more time there. I like how the bible puts it in Matthew 7:6 “Do not cast your pearls before swine,”. In other words do not give or offer something valuble to someone who do not understand it’s value.

Thought To Ponder

Our Time is our greatest Weapon when it comes to fighting fear when we set out to Ride the Good Ride of Faith. And when Time is spent uselessly, we cannot ever get any of it back.

This image was flagged and all comments were removed and blocked from one of the Lady Spyder Facebook Groups.

Let us consider this. Every Time our leg straddles our motorcycles, and our kickstands go up in the air could be the last Time we ride. So, any words of encouragement or prayers for safety are always welcomed when it comes to me riding the open roads.

Every weekend, thousands of women take to the open road on their Spyders, Rykers, Rallys, Trikes, and Motorcycles. I always pray that everyone makes it back to their home and loved ones safe and sound. Mostly all of them do…but some of them do not.

So, when prayers or inspirational words are expressed and rejected, where danger and the Spirit of fear torment the hearts of women, daring to be brave while riding their bike on the open road…I question the care, concern, and commitment to me as a fellow wind Sister.

This picture and post about how my Spyder got her name was also pulled from one of the Lady Spyder Riding Facebook Groups.

As Women, Time is our most valuable commodity, and since Time is irreversible and irreplaceable, we as women should carefully consider how we spend our days and even our minutes. Time is our gift from God; we are not the owners of it but stewards of it, and we will one day be held accountable for how we used what God has entrusted to us.

As a Woman of Faith, and a new rider to the motorcycle community, I would like to encourage my fellow wind sisters to invest Time in the things and people that fuel your Ride. Invest Time where your soul is fed, your heart is inspired, your hope is ignited, and your Faith is sparked and allowed to be sprinkled with GOD. Dare you fall off your bikes; words of Faith will reach out to pull you up and back upon your bike again.

Declaration of Faith for Investing My Time

My Father in Heaven, please show me what I am investing my Life in. If it is not fuelling my Faith and the desire to know you more and all the benefits of giving you my heart, please help me exchange it for something that will. Lord, instruct me and teach me to number my days so that I may gain a heart of wisdom. Bring order to my mind and my Life and keep me focused on the essentials that fed my soul, inspire my heart, ignite my hope, and spark my Faith, as I Ride The Good Ride of Faith.
In Jesus Name… Amen.


Psalm 90:12; Psalm 25:4-5

May the Joy of the Lord instantly become your strength to encourage you to overcome any fears that you might experience. Remember, in our daring to be brave, when we throw caution to the wind, casting our cares in Faith upon Him through the ride. Peace, love, and joy are set loose in the atmosphere, and it permits other riders to do the same. Allowing us to all rejoice in knowing we have triumphant victory in Riding the Good Ride of Faith.

If this post ministered to you or encourage you in any way, please share with your fellow Wind Sisters.

Be strong and of good courage,
LaShaun and Mrs. Cavatica

Beautiful!

Proverbs 31:25-26 NIV

She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

Every bike should tell a story or bring a message of hope. Mrs. Cavatica brings a message of encouragement to women like me who at one time were scared to trade fear for Faith. Women who are afraid to throw caution to the wind and give their hearts permission to be brave, while trusting in the God of all creation as they attempt to Ride the Good Ride of Faith on the open roads.

Mrs. Cavatiac and I want all Women to know; that fear is only False-Evidence-Appearing-Real. God wants you to live life in Faith, not fear. This is what makes a Woman of Faith beautiful, the Hope and Trust she places in her creator, the Author and finisher of her Faith. That she is beautiful, fearfully and wonderfully made and when she gears up, mounts up and take to the open road on her bike, in Faith not fear, her God is with her. Nothing and no one can ever separate her from Him and His love for her.

Declaration of Beautiful

I am clothed with dignity and strength. I laugh at the troublesome days to come. My mouth is full of wisdom and faithful instruction is always on my tongue. The God of all creation is with me wherever I go and whenever I ride. His Love for me never fails or runs out, I am the apple of His eye because I am Beautiful, Fearfully and Wonderfully made by Him…my life is in His hands.

Proverbs 31:25-26; Psalm 139:14; Roman 8:38-39; Psalm 17:8; Psalm 136; Matthew 19:4; Job 12:10

What’s your story? Does your bike have a message? Does your ride have a mission?

May the Joy of the Lord instantly become your strength to encourage you to overcome any fears that you might experience. Remember, in our daring to be brave, when we throw caution to the wind, casting our cares in Faith upon Him through the ride. Peace, love, and joy are set loose in the atmosphere, and it permits other riders to do the same. Allowing us to all rejoice in knowing we have triumphant victory in Riding the Good Ride of Faith.

If this post ministered to you or encourage you in any way, please share with your fellow Wind Sisters.

Be strong and of good courage,
LaShaun and Mrs. Cavatica

Declaration of Faith for Safety

Under His wings you will find refuge – Psalm 91

When you study prayers of the Bible, you start to notice the prayers that God honors and the prayers that are answered are those that repeat his promises back to him. I love declaring the promises of Psalms 91 over my life….so will you – La and Mrs. Cavatica

Declaration of Faith Psalm 91

I dwell in the Most High and rest, remaining steadfast and secure, under the shadow of the Almighty. He is my refuge and my fortress, my God and Father, and I trust Him with all my heart.

He has given me a sure and certain deliverance from the traps of Satan and has freed me from all deadly pestilence. He has covered me with His feathers and under His wings I taken refuge. His faithfulness is my shield and my rampart.

I do not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that lay waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at my side, even ten thousand at my right hand, but it shall not come near me.

I will see with my own eyes the punishment of the wicked. The Most High God, my heavenly Father, is my fortress and my habitation. He has accepted me as His own. I am a daughter in His royal family. Therefore, no evil may befall me, and no plague, sickness, or disaster is allowed to come near my dwelling.

God has commanded His angels to set up camp around me as sentinels in my life. They guard me in all my ways and keep me from all harm. They bear me up in their hands lest I dash my foot against a stone. I tread upon the lion and the cobra. The young lion and the serpent, I trample under my feet. The devil’s power over me has been completely stripped away. God has made a decree (a fixed law) concerning me saying,

“I will rescue her from every calamity; I will protect her because she acknowledges my name. She will call upon Me and I will answer her. I will be with her in times of trouble. I will deliver her and set her in the place of highest honor. With long life I will satisfy her and show her My salvation.”

Psalm 9:10; 17:8; 27:5; 34:7; 37:34; 90:1; 112:7; 124:7; 142:5; Isaiah 25:4; 32:2; 43:1,2; 46:4; Proverbs 6:5; 12:21; Job 5:19; 2 Timothy 1:7; 1 John 5:18; Malachi 1:5; Matthew 4:6; 26:53; Hebrews 1:14; Exodus 23:20-23; 2 Kings 6:15-17; Luke 4:10,11; 10:19; Ephesians 2:6 98

Declaration Prayer for Guidance

Faith tells me that no matter what lies ahead me, God is already there – unknown

Faithful God, I know every good and perfect gift comes from you. You have consistently supplied all of my needs. When you told me to ask, I was given. When you told me to seek, I found. When you told me to knock, your door was open to me. 

Lord, I ask you for guidance and direction-finding a name for my (say the name of your bike). You are a perfect Father, Faithful in everything, who only ever gives good gifts to his children, and you love to give good gifts to your children who ask. As your humble child, I ask that you give me a name for my (say the name of your bike) so as bike and rider, we might become one in Riding the Good Ride of Faith together. 

In Jesus Name, I Pray, Amen! 

James 1:17, Philippians 4:19, Matthew 7:7-8

Declaration of Faith Prayer

Mrs. Cavatica with her Road King

God did not give me a Spirit of fear and weakness. When I gear up, mount up, and take off on my bike to ride the open roads, I have power (miraculous ability), love, and remarkable self-control because I rely on God. I am unafraid, and I am not scared; what can man do to me? Nothing! Because God sufficiently covers me with His feathers, and under His mighty wing, He shelters me so I can ride the good ride of Faith.

2 Timothy 1:7; Psalm 56:11; Psalm 91:4 Psalm 91