{ American Idol 2011: I Will Always Love You

{ Repost: Will Smith explains his love for Jada: ‘Marriage cannot be a prison’ }

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith have one of the most celebrated marriages in Hollywood. The couple has been together for 17 years, and seem to have navigated the murky waters of marriage and fame masterfully. They seem to be each other’s best friend, and have raised two talented and ambitious children in their son, rapper-actor Jaden and daughter, singer-actress Willow. But in a recent interview with NecoleBitchie, Will discussed just how much work is required for he and his wife to make things work. He opened up about insecurity and how it can derail a relationship–and also shared just how much loving Jada has helped him be the best man he can be.

“I think a lot of people think that when you have money, that everything gets really easy–Hell Naw!” he says. “Jada and I have been together for 17 years. If you look at it like a sports record, we are probably like 15 and 2. When we got started, we both truly connected on wanting to be better. That’s where it all started. There were other people that we were dating and other people that we were attracted to but there was a commitment to constantly be better that was what we connected on. Our whole world and relationship was that, “Hey, I know that I may not be all of that today but what I’m not going to do is lay around and not keep working to be better to deserve you.”

“I would say that concept is very central to having any success in this game of love at all.  The central idea of love is not even a relationship commitment, the first thing is a personal commitment to be the best version of yourself with or without that person that you’re with. You have to every single day, mind, body, and spirit, wake up with a commitment to be better. Don’t make that same mistake tomorrow that you made today.”

“When you look around at the six people that you spend the most time with, that’s who you are. I think that in making those decisions in who you are going to be married to, who your friends are going to be, those are really huge, critical, life decisions. Who gets to talk to you everyday, is almost like the food that you eat.  It is a very huge critical situation to choose who the people are that you are spending your life with, spending your time with and who you are choosing to give your love and everything to.”

“The idea is that you are two people together but in that process, the marriage cannot be a prison. There has to be a freedom that allows a person to grow. A person has to be allowed to make mistakes and a person has to be allowed to become and grow without the threat of punishment. I think that in the concept of our marriages because of our own insecurities, we lay it out in a way like, “Hey, that’s a deal breaker.” I hear people talk about the concept of the deal breakers and it’s really in conflict with truly loving somebody.”

“As soon as you put yourself in a relationship, you’ve got to check your insecurities when it comes to love. When you love somebody and you feel yourself slipping,  you will fight, scratch, and claw, not be in that uncomfortable space. You have traumas that happen with your mother and father, or an old girlfriend, or an old boyfriend, that you’ve got to address personally if you want to truly be able to love somebody. Our traumas keep us away from being able to truly love someone unconditionally.”

“In this world, there are difficulties with just getting out of the bed everyday. Trying to love on top of that is excruciating. It is absolutely not something to be taken lightly or easy when you say you’re going to marry somebody, you have to be willing to go through hell. You have to be willing to collide with the weakest parts of yourself. You have to look at the things about you on a higher spiritual plane. You have to look at the things about you that are cowardly, that are angry or mean, resentful. You have to be able to look at those things about yourself that are not spiritually healthy parts. Love truly is when you change yourself for a better love with someone.”

“Jada has made me a better person than anyone on earth could have ever done. There is nobody on earth at this point that in my life and in my career with the successes and the things that I’ve done, there is nobody on Earth that I would still try to be better for. Jada is a beast. Just her passion,  power, and relentless unwillingness to let me lay down at night when I’ve only done 92 percent of what I was supposed to do that day, holds me to a higher standard.”

{ Hillsong Youth Summer: Grace }

for Your presence calms thy weary soul... 

#arrestedbyyourgrace

{ Bigger than "it"... }

"Just decide to be bigger than "it" and move on..."

_C. Caine

{ When God nudges... }

G: "yes you can!"

gentle & securing your behind...

{ I need a break! }

rest, restoration & renew.

the only thing to give up, is our own strength.

{ Day 29: Jesus Is_ - J&C. Smith }

• John 13
• Believe in yourself that you are God's favorite
• You expect good things to happen
• "God is me, the one You love..."

{ Day 28: Jesus Is_ - J.Smith with E&A. Waters }

• John 15:13
• "You're My friend..." (Such a relational term)
• God wants to be involved in every part of your life, being together with us all the time
• Consider God as your friend, He's interested

{ He's looking for YOU! }

"As I painted this piece I found myself looking into His eyes, and wondering 

"Who is He looking for?"

One day I thought, maybe He's looking for me. 

The Savior knows and loves each of us. And no matter how far we may wander, He will never stop seeking us until He has found us and carried us home." 

Artist: Liz Lemon Swindle

[Repost: W. Prince via Instagram]

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i teared with a shot of His love as i read this... sometimes we find ourselves looking for Him... asking the ridiculous question of "where art Thou?" where all this while, Grace was right in front of us! looking and hoping that our wondrous eyes could stop being distracted by our surroundings, and meet with His.

for it is Grace who has found us, it is Grace who will carry us to the Father, and we shall hear these glorious words that has already marked our life for the eternal...

"My beloved, welcome home."

{ The Power of Right Believing - J. Prince }

• 2 Cor 10:4-5
• These strongholds is not up there in the sky in the heavenly somewhere but it is in our mind
• The obedience of Christ is by one man's obedience which all of us are made righteous
• The essence of warfare is that the enemy wants you to take your mind of that obedience, and put your mind back on your obedience or the lack of it
• There is no way you can make your thoughts obey, but you can bring your thoughts to His obedience
• As long the focus is on you, it is never enough
• 1 Cor 11
• In of of ourselves we are unworthy - Jesus's body was broken for unworthy people
• If you see His body is broken that your body might be healed, you are partaking worthily of what He did
• The enemy always wants you to focus on yourself
• The enemy comes to your mind and puts the personal pronoun to your mind - But do not receive that as your thoughts and take responsibility for it
• Your flesh has been crucified and dead, but the lifestyle of it is still there
• If you accept those thoughts, you go down on a downward spiral
• You are not righteous by your performance but by what Jesus has done
• Obedience to the faith is believing right - Believe right and you will live right
• The righteous shall live by faith 
• When you have right believing, you release the power of God, you will have right results and it will be effortless

{ Nothin' On You - B.o.B feat. Bruno Mars }

inspired only when you switch up the lyrics. heard this at the store today with thy wingwoman, and it shot us down with a revelation. it was a moment... haha.

{ Day 27: Jesus Is_ - J. Smith & I. Waters }

• 1 John 4
• This is real love...
• Life itself is so much more about God's love for us then it will ever be about our love for Him
• Romans 5:8
• Everyday God wants to remind us of His love 
• Stop and learn to let Him love you
• Sometimes we need to be reminded of His demonstration
• Clearly He demonstrated His obsession with us
• It gives us security that His love does not change through life

{ Day 26: Jesus Is_ - Judah, Elliot & Gracie Smith }

• Ephesians 3
• We are to experience God's love even though it does not make sense,or do not understand it
• We experience God's love not base on our merit, but because He loves us - Ask, expect and receive it

{ Step Into Jesus' Supply Daily - J. Prince }

• "Don't worry about tomorrow, live one day at a time..."
• There is only enough grace that God gives daily
• "Give us this day our daily bread..."
• Everyday the mana falls
• We must live in a supply mentality
• You might understand about law and grace, but piratically you are under law - You break down, and everything depends on you
• By all means plan for tomorrow, but do not worry about it
• All the grace is for today
• Don't even think about tomorrow, live today
• When you wake up in the morning, all the supply is there already
• God works the night shift - Even when you are sleeping, God goes to work
• He is giving to His beloved while His beloved is sleeping
• If there is a demand, step into the supply
• Become people who see supply instead of demand

{ It's only the beginning... }

only His heart is pure, all else flesh... is beyond mention-able. ps. the King has yet made His move... and when Grace gets hold of things, all else that once stood falsely still, will fall right to the pit where it belongs. "something is moving... and it won't be too long" :) #itsnotover ♥

{ American Idol 2013: "Rumour Has It" (Cover) - Amber & Kree }

powerhouseee!

{ American Idol 2013: "Cry me A River" (Cover) - Angie Miller }

one of her very best! the high note at the end was pure epic goodness...

{ American Idol 2013: "Lately" (Cover) - Amber Holcomb }

all time fave... true blue rhythm and beats with some serious soul!

{ Day 25: Jesus Is_ - J&C. Smith }

• Hebrews 10
• Jesus once for all time perfected those who have been made holy
• It is a everyday process and you cannot hear it enough
• Faith comes from hearing and hearing and hearing, over and over and over
• Our faith grows by trusting Jesus in His completed work
• Jesus blood was good for all time -- For all of our times that we have messed up, and times that we will mess up
• Take time and tell Jesus it is enough - It is finished and we are completely free from sin, guilt shame and condemnation
• You are not just free but perfect and made absolutely righteous before God

( American Idol 2013: "I Believe in You and Me" (Cover) - Amber Holcomb }

goosbumps that feels so good when she sings this whitney number so effortlessly... oh those runs can get one slain-ed!

{ Day 24: Jesus Is_ - J&C. Smith }

• John 10:10 - "But I have come, that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly..."
• Here we have a thousand acres of endless blessings from God, but we live in a such a small confined, limited space with God. We feel like this is all we deserve or should ever have, but in reality God wants us to explore and get of our five hundred square foot home, and rome the thousand acers which are His blessing - Don't go camping!
• We are here to explore the abundance that is our God
• Expect that He is going to do something in our life, that He has never done before and that is part of God's abundance
• The price for abundant life has already been paid, you don't have to get anything more to get it, it is yours but just to realize and walk in it
• The abundant life of Jesus is not more things, but righteousness, peace and joy

{ Even our best has it's limits... }

“I have seen that everything [human] has its limits and end [no matter how extensive, noble, and excellent]; but Your commandment is exceedingly broad and extends without limits [into eternity].”

_Psalm 119:96 (AMP)

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the ending of self is one journey one has to take over and over again... something the flesh has difficultly convicting because of the usual "i" that comes at the front. even our grace and own right doing can run on empty and dry, than what else can you rely and act upon?

there will be a constant struggle and lack sweating the big stuff out on our own. saying we trust Him, yet our hand is still actively moving only reflecting our dependence on the limited self we tend to utilize from. 

it is time to let it all go... all the past glories, hurt, desires, dreams, unforgiveness, pain, success, relationships... think it is time to not only bin them, but put the permanent delete on our system. carrying dead baggage is not a good weight to be travelling around in a new promise land or journey He has called us upon.

whatever the outcome and turn out of our lives, there will always be God surprises... things that happen in the way you should not have, or you would not think it would have? either way, He has already pen those two events down in His calendar, and worked all things together for our good.

something commonly used, but yet so powerful as it is He who is doing the working... and hence we rest because "If God gets the glory, why don't we lay off, and allow Him to do the entire job?" (rephrased j.prince)

{ Day 23: Jesus Is_ - J&C. Smith }

• Romans 4
• Righteous: Free from guilt or sin.
• Do you actually see yourself as being free from guilt or sin?
• It is not by anything we have done, we cannot free ourselves from guilt or sin, but the only thing that can happen is through Jesus. And it is not anything we earn, but He gives it to us as free gift. But most of us have a hard time receiving gifts, especially extravagant ones.
• It is not that we are without guilt or sin, but we are free from it.
• When we do not act right, it is hard for us to believe that we are still righteous. But that is the beauty of what Jesus had done for us, for what is His account is accredited to us. And now we are with right standing with God, by sheer grace, trusting and believing that Jesus is enough.
• It is another day to stop, and believe who God says we are, not who we think, feel or act the way we are, but we are who Jesus says we are by His work at the cross. And that is righteous. If we really believe so, we will be free from guilt, shame and condemnation.
• See yourself today as God sees you.

{ Day 22: Jesus Is_ - J&C. Smith }

• Romans 5:8
• God gives us the most extravagant and extraordinary gift in history but He gives it to bad people
• You do not tend to buy gifts to people you don't like or you don't know, but God purchased us by the blood of His Son Jesus for people who don't know Him and rejected Him.
• He knows we were sinners, so no need for pretense and maintaining appearance
• Understand that He loves you as He seen you at your worse, at your best, and everything in between, but His love has remained steady.
• You can quit trying to act like you have it altogether, pretending to be perfect, and let God's love do for you what you cannot do for yourself.
• If God gave us the most costly gift possible while we were sinners, and now we have been redeemed and made righteous by Jesus, what will He be giving to us? And what will He hold back from us? Nothing!
• Believe things that you don't deserve because God has given it to you.

{ Girl Crush: Park Bom - 2NE1 }

girl crushing | park bom

it's all about the eyes...