Discovering the Power of Intentions and Trust

2025 is here, and I'm back after a rejuvenating break, ready to walk with you through the intricate paths of dating, engagement, and marriage from a young Christian perspective. Have you ever wondered how a simple exercise like a prayer vision board could transform your spiritual journey? This episode is packed with examples of showing how faith and intentionality can lead to profound changes. My word for this year is "abundance," and I invite you to explore with me what it means to expect extraordinary blessings and trust in something greater than ourselves.

Reflect on 2024 with me as I share the remarkable experiences of answered prayers and the power of staying connected through faith. Together with my girlfriends, we've been using prayer vision boards to focus our intentions, and the results have been nothing short of amazing. Whether you're just starting your faith journey or have been practicing for years, there's something in this episode for you. We'll talk about setting your intentions, the significance of trust, and how to enter this new year with a heart wide open to abundance. Let's embrace this journey of faith, trust, and great expectations together!

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:06

what's up guys? Welcome to demo with mo. I'm your host, monique simmons. We'll be discussing dating, engaged and married objectives from a young christian's perspective. Are you guys ready? Let's dive in.

Speaker 2: 0:24

Hey guys, welcome to a new episode of Demo with Mo. I am your host, Monique Simmons. If you are listening to this episode, live happy new year.

Speaker 2: 0:35

It is officially 2025. I have taken a break for a few years. I wanted to enjoy the holidays and, to be completely honest, I have been tired. I just needed a break. This year has been a whirlwind. It has been a whirlwind, so I am officially back and wanted to wish you a happy new year. I'm excited to see all of the things that God is going to do in this new year. It hasn't even happened yet, but I'm already expecting it as if it is already done, and I hope you are doing the same in your own life.

Speaker 2: 1:15

I don't necessarily make new year's resolutions per se for the year, but I do prayer vision boards and I started this with my girlfriend in 2024. And I always have a word for the year, and I started it a few years back and my word for last year was trust and my word this year is abundance. And the reason I chose that word for this year is because I'm expecting God to do abundant things in my life, not just enough, not just a little bit, not barely, not a little bit, but I'm expecting exceedingly abundantly above what I can ask, think or imagine. That's what I'm asking God for this year. My girlfriends and I did a prayer vision for last year and on my board I had various envelopes of things that I was going to be praying for my finances, my marriage, the podcast, just various different things that I was going to be praying for. In the middle of that board I had an envelope that did answer. So each envelope had individual folded sticky notes of things that I was praying for and throughout the year, every quarter, I would go through those envelopes to see if these things had been answered. Because I was praying for these things every day during my morning time which I'm sure you guys, if you've been with me for a while, full listeners know these but I have my alone time with God every morning before everyone in my house wakes up. But I would be praying for these things and no specific order whatever I felt like I needed to be praying for from those various envelopes During that specific time. I would be praying for those things and if God asked them, I would move them to the answered envelope.

Speaker 2: 3:22

So my girlfriends and I we did this past week we did an update on our prayer vision board to see kind of where we were, what God had answered, how we felt about what God was doing in our life throughout 2024, if we were still praying for some things. Just an update to see how things were going. Well, when it got to me, I got my answered envelope and I dumped the envelope out because at this point I hadn't done it, as God would answer things, I would just move those folded sticky notes into their envelope. But I had never just went through the envelope. I would just as he would answer them, I would just move it into the envelope. So this time, when we were doing the update, I grabbed everything out that fell out of the envelope and I was going through it with my girlfriend over our Zoom call and I was reading off God did this and God did this and he answered this and he answered this and you guys, it's on the Zoom call and I'm going through everything that God has answered for me in 2024.

Speaker 2: 4:37

And God answered almost every single thing on my prayer vision board. There may be two to three things that I'm still praying for on that prayer vision board, but that's how good God has been to me. Last year I told you my word was true. Everything on my prayer board was things that I had to trust God for. They were things that I could not do on my own. These were things that I didn't just need to start praying for in 2024. These were things that I should have been praying for, that I had been needing to seek God for and depend on God for and have faith in God. For that I did not need to be leaning on myself, for that I could not do alone. But I was intentional about seeking him for this year and trusting him for this year. And you know what God did for me. He answered almost every single one of those things and those things that he has not answered yet. And I say yet because he will answer them in his perfect timing and in his perfect will, because his answers don't always look the way we want them to look, but they will always be what's best for us, because God will withhold no good thing. That's how much he loves and cares about us. But I was just amazed as I was going through each one of those sticky notes about all of the things that God had answered for me on last year, and so were my girlfriends, because they said, just to see those tangible things being answered, it encouraged them. So the reason I wanted to quickly come talk to you guys today.

Speaker 2: 6:33

I want to encourage you, whether you're doing New Year's resolutions, you're making goals, you're making plans, you may even want to do a prayer vision board, like I did with my girlfriend.

Speaker 2: 6:45

Whatever it is you want to do, I'm not trying to sway you or encourage you one way or the other. Do what's best for you and the desires of your heart going forward this year to accomplish the things you desire in your life for 2025. But what I do want to encourage you put a die first, seek die first. Scripture tells us seek ye first. The kingdom of God and his righteousness and all those other things will be added unto us. Don't make your goals. Don't make your goals. Don't make your plans. Don't make your New Year's resolution and forget God and then try to accomplish all of those things on your own, by yourself. If you have a desire to restore your marriage, get it right with your spouse or your partner. Get things in order with your child. If maybe you have a broken relationship with a family member, if your finances are all over the place and you want, to be a better steward.

Speaker 2: 7:46

If you've lost faith and your relationship with God is not like it used to be, if you don't feel as close to him as you once did, you don't hear his voice like you used to. If you don't have the job and the career that you desire, you feel stuck where you are now, you don't make enough money, you just don't feel complete, you don't feel whole, you just feel complacent. But you don't feel content. If you desire to have friendships and people that love you, a circle, a community, a village around you, still alone, still lonely, whatever it is that you're desiring this year, if you're desiring weight loss and not just for the look, but your desire to be healthy and to be able to live a longer life, to be around for your children, your grandchildren, the people around you who love you, you're dealing with illness and sickness and you want to take better care of yourself, whatever it is that you're desiring for yourself this year, I encourage you Desiring for yourself this year, I encourage you To put God first, to take your desire To take your goals, to take your plans to God, to take it to him, and I'm telling you from experience God will answer your prayer, but put him first.

Speaker 2: 9:13

None of the things that I faced in 2024 was easy Not one of them. I'm not going to sit up here and lie to you and pretend to be something that I'm not or portray my situation to be something that it wasn't. It was challenging, it was hard, it was difficult what a lot of you know, even from my podcast and my journey. I shared my story on last year about finding out my dad was not my biological father and sharing that story on here, and that's a whole other thing, and I'm now beginning the journey of finding my biological family and starting that whole journey.

Speaker 2: 9:49

All of that has been difficult for me. All of that has been hard for me. None of that has been easy for me. I had major surgery on last year because of some illness that I had been dealing with for years, and now I'm on the other side and I have never felt better physically in my life. But that was only because of God. That was me seeking God first. I couldn't have done any of the things that I did last year. I couldn't have been on the other side of the hard things if it was not for me seeking God first, for me trusting God, putting my faith in God and me not trying to do things alone by myself leaning to my own understanding.

Speaker 2: 10:35

So I encourage you whatever it is. Whatever your goals is, whatever your desires is, whatever your plans are, make sure you're in the will of God. Make sure you're in the will of God. Don't do it without God. Trust God.

Speaker 1: 10:49

Seek.

Speaker 2: 10:50

God. Put your faith in God and I promise you he will answer you. He will withhold no good thing from you. He only wants what's best for you. He cares for you, he loves you. So I encourage you, trust God and I wish you the absolute best going into 2025. Happy New Year. Y'all Remember I love you, but God loves you so much more. Bye.

Speaker 1: 11:27

I hope you guys have enjoyed. Follow me on Facebook at Demo with Mo. If you have any questions you would like answered here live on my podcast, email them to me at Demo with Mo at gmailcom. That's D-E-M-O-W-I-T-H-M-O at gmailcom.