Gender Swap by Julianne Pearson

Just a few days ago, a question was posed to my husband that actually caused me to take pause.  Although he only had a few moments to mentally formulate his answer and deliver it with clarity similar to the events in the Miss America and Miss Universe competitions, I embraced the opportunity of time to ponder the question and decide what my response would be if I was asked that same question.  Are you curious?  Ok…I won’t make you wait another moment.  The question was:

If you could be the opposite sex, what advantages would there be?

      Interestingly, if someone had asked me this question some twenty-five years ago, I would have been able to quickly rattle off a list of advantages that I thought came with being the other gender.  Why, because my perspective came from being raised in a male-chauvinistic household where the male children seemed to have way more freedom and privileges than the female children.  The unbalanced scales or double standards based upon gender alone left me feeling bitter and resentful for many years.

      However, God has a wonderful way of healing our distorted perceptions.  As I began to study the family infrastructure from a Kingdom Perspective (God’s Imagination), I began to rejoice and praise God for purposefully creating me as a female and not male.  That’s right!  The very thing I despised being and considered a liability, I actually now view as a wonderful opportunity and a huge asset.  WOW!  Healing does wonders for one’s lenses! (Now, that’s a Word for somebody!)

      Consequently, I continued to ponder this question.  I could no longer readily list the advantages of being a male now that my King-Father has given me a greater understanding of the enormous responsibility each male-man carries.  The Kingdom Expectation of every godly man is to be a lover, savior, healer, provider, protector, defender, sustainer, nurturer, deliverer, and an initiator of peace…just to name a few.  And unfortunately, most males have not had the privilege of having a godly man as an example or mentor to emulate.  Therefore in essence, the blind have been leading the blind.  The rejected are rejecting.  The neglected are being neglectful.  The abused are perpetuating the cycle of abuse which causes the wounded to be purveyors of more hurt.   

      As Al and I discussed my answer, after I had what should have been ample time to formulate my response, I stated...

The Advantage of being a male is that I would be able to plant different seeds!

      Since every male scientifically and metaphorically is a farmer – a seed sower – one who releases seed in the earth, I would enjoy having the opportunity to sow a different seed so that a different harvest could come forth.  Although there are times different does not mean better, in this case and in my opinion, it does!  As a female-man, I am not too happy with the harvest I have been seeing in the earth due to the seeds that have been and continue to be sown by male-men.  The harvest that this earth is experiencing is no longer acceptable to me.  I expect more, for each seed deserves more.  Please let me explain.

The INSANITY has to Stop!

      Insanity is frequently defined as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”  Therefore, if we ever expect for things in this earth to be any different, we have to begin doing something different.  However, one thing that concerns me is how we have become comfortable with the abnormalities of the current “state of human affairs.”  Therefore, we no longer appear to live with the expectation that things could be different.  Again, I expect more, and each seed deserves more.

      So as a farmer – a seed sower – I would…

·        Experience (fellowship) true Love (God) so that I could be love.

·        Pursue my healing; for hurt people hurt people and healed people heal people.

·        Be very careful of the seeds (actions) I sowed into my soil (wife, mother of my children, or children), knowing that my actions will determine the condition of their souls (mind, emotions, and will).

·        NOT need the court system to tell me when and how to financially provide for my children and family.

·        Never consider babysitting my own children, instead find joy in watching over my children.

·        Be an initiator of peace, quickly apologizing or being the mender of any breach – whether it’s my fault or not – so that an atmosphere of tranquility would be provided to foster positive growth.

·        Spend more time investing in my children than simply buying for my children; for they need my presence more than my presents.

·        As a step-parent, understand the privilege I’ve been given to cultivate a seed I didn’t naturally sow and yet have the potential to enjoy its harvest.

      Have I caused you to take pause and consider the seeds you’ve been sowing – whether you’re a male or a female?  Then purpose has been fulfilled.  Today, choose to change for a change!  Begin to surround yourself with others that cause you to expect more.  Arrest faulty mindsets that provoke your paradigms that will ultimately alter your behavior patterns.  This will allow you to reap a more bountiful harvest.  Again I challenge you to start expecting more!  For our seeds and the earth deserve more!  MUCH MORE!!!

© 2011 Julianne Pearson

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Building in the Dirt – Part 3 of 3 by Julianne Pearson

"Preparation is NEVER a Waste of Time!" - Bishop T. D. Jakes

Throughout the week, I have been sharing with you lessons I’ve learned from my various dirt-dwelling experiences.  First, I spoke of the PLANTING process.  We must consider ourselves planted seeds that God, our Farmer, has strategically positioned in the earth for maximum growth.  Every soil condition was divinely selected in order for us to yield a fruit-full harvest.  Additionally, it is also important for us to embrace the Truth that we are seeds with seeds!  Too often we look outside of ourselves for wealth, when in actuality God has already empowered us to prosper from the inside out.

            Secondly, I progressed in thought by releasing the importance of the GERMINATION process.  It is time for all of us to capitalize on our dirt-dwelling experiences, gaining all the benefits of cultivation that is necessary as we continue to grow up and out of our circumstantial confinements to a level of personal freedom.  There’s no need to live in the spirit of comparison.  God, our Farmer, knows exactly the amount of time and style of cultivation that is necessary for us to finally be transformed into our authentic “you”!  Believe it or not…our authentic “you” is the worship God has been longing for since He earthed each of us into time.  For when we grow into our authentic “you” and are living re-presentations of that Truth, we are His Imagination of us made a reality.

            Now as we proceed in this process of building in the dirt, let’s continue sprouting to breakthrough as we discipline ourselves to…

Appreciate the Building Process to Breakthrough!

            If you have been struggling like me, begin to appreciate and embrace your time building in the dirt.  It is our time of preparation.  God promises to do “exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think, according to the power that [works] within us” (Ephesians 3:20, NIV).  May the power within you be quickened to produce wherever you are planted.  Trust me when I say that your chances of being transplanted before you grow in your current soil condition is very unlikely.  Know that the Farmer Himself has scheduled the set time for your exposure and the set time for each harvest of your life.

            When we grow to understand our lives are in His Hands, we will continue to pursue destiny REGARDLESS of the conditions we are planted in.  When we tap into the authorized power within us, circumstances and surroundings will be our launching pads instead of our cemetery plots.  Nothing and no one will be able to prevent our growth just like the seed that is surrounded by the earth’s soil and is determined to germinate, sprout, and breakthrough its confining space.  We would never know the potential that lies within a seed without its time in the dirt.  Our dirt-dwelling experiences give God the opportunity to show us our true, authentic potential.  Many of us would remain content in the status quo or the too familiar positions of mediocrity if it were not for the uncomfortable, dirty places of our lives.  Like the seed, it is the soil conditions that push us on, pressing us to produce what we would otherwise not even know existed within.

Like me, some of you must consider yourselves transplanted seeds!

            I confess...I am a transplanted seed.  God saw fit to plant me first in one soil condition, allow me to begin germinating and then transplanted me into yet another pile of dirt.  It’s safe to say, my dirt-dwelling experiences seem to be an extended process.  At times, I have to rebuke the urge to live in the spirit of comparison, wondering why someone else’s seeds have been planted, germinated, sprouted, and harvested.  All the while, my season for breakthrough seems to be delayed again and again.

            God showed me that my distorted perception of my growth progression had to change.  Maybe I have more to die to or maybe I am a hard seed to crack.  Or just maybe, for the purpose God has placed in my seeds, they must take d-e-e-p root so that when my breakthrough does take place, and I have emerged from my place of hiding into full bloom, I will be able to withstand the weight of the calling and anointing on the harvest that has been produced. 

So now, I am hopeful your perspective has been renewed to reflect Truth.  No longer see yourself as just dwelling in the dirt…You are building in the dirt, and the bountiful harvest will be worth the wait! 

© 2011 Julianne Pearson

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Building in the Dirt – Part 2 of 3 by Julianne Pearson

Two:  GERMINATION

Each seed has a germination period or the span of time between planting and the beginning stages of development.  Interestingly enough, each seed has its own determined time for germination.  Because farmers know the germination period of the seeds they have planted, they aren’t concerned if there is no evidence of seed growth before the expected time period.  They don’t even live in the spirit of comparison when looking at other farmers’ fields, especially when they have planted a different seed than their neighbor.  Each farmer knows how long it should take the seed to germinate or die, develop, and be transformed into its new state.

Consider yourself a seed germinating!

            Listen fellow dirt dwellers, our time in the dirt has been predetermined, divinely orchestrated, and set.  Our dirt dwelling experiences are enhanced when we let go and let God!  God knows how long it is going to take us to die to self, die to our agendas, and die to our plans and preconceived ideas.  God’s desire is for each of us to die to self with a willing spirit to embrace the development stages that transform us into the authentic “you” He established before He said, “Let there be light!”

Three:  SPROUTING TO BREAKTHROUGH

          It is during this time that the ability in the seed is given the opportunity to grow in the dirt.  Farmers understand that in order for the seeds to move from germination to the sprouting stage, they must still tend to the cultivating requirements of the seeds.  Some need more water.  Some need less.  Some need tons of sunlight.  Some other seeds need very little exposure.  However, whatever is needed for the seeds to progress in their development, the farmer does what is necessary.  The ultimate purpose is for the seeds to gain enough strength to break through the confinement of the surface with the expectation of reaching its fullest potential.

Consider yourself a seed that is meant to grow and breakthrough where you are planted!

            Based upon the revelation I currently possess, I believe this is a very critical phase of our spiritual growth as a seed.  In spite of the numerous counterproductive atmospheric pressures, we are created to grow wherever we are planted.  It is when we activate the empowerment potential to produce and bear fruit in the midst of the most unlikely places (situations, circumstances, and surroundings that don’t encourage harvest) that we emerge from a place of hiding to exposure.  We come from the background to the forefront, from obscurity to notoriety.  Therefore, do not despise your dirty beginnings.

            Again, Selah!  Think on these things until…

 © 2011 Julianne Pearson

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Building in the Dirt – Part 1 of 3 by Julianne Pearson

Has there even been a time in your life when you felt as if you were making no progress at all?  A time when you felt that regardless of how many steps forward you made something seemed to hold you hostage, hindering your growth and/or pushing you so far back that all of your efforts seemed worthless?  I must confess…those were my exact emotions while driving to the office one day.  Instead of reflecting for inner peace and celebrating where I had come from, I was disappointed, frustrated, and discouraged with how far it seemed I had to go.  I had allowed my view to distort my vision.

            Too often, when I set extremely high expectations for myself and my endeavors, the spirit of perfectionism plagues me; and subsequently, when it appears that I am falling short of those expectations, anger and resentment are the fruit of that frustration.  As I sat in the business meeting that day, despondent and dejected, the Holy Spirit spoke to my soul and changed my perception of my progress.  Addressing our team, Al, my husband and business partner, made a statement that caused my spirit to leap.  He said, “We are building in the dirt.”

            There were so many revelations that accompanied that statement.  I made it person, “I am building in the dirt,” and meditated on those words for the majority of the afternoon.  Let me take some time and share some of the revelations I received with you.  I pray that it encourages you, my fellow dirt dweller…Consider yourself a seed!

One:  PLANTING

            When a farmer desires a particular harvest or crop, he/she plants seeds into soil or dirt.  The type of seed determines the time of planting, soil conditions, sunlight exposure, water frequency, and expected time for germination and sprouting to yield the maximum harvest.  It is important for farmers to know the specificity of these requirements so that their efforts will not be in vain.  Without being planted at the proper seasonal time, even the best soil conditions, light exposure, water, and cultivation will still render the seed’s time in the dirt fruitless.

            For example, the farmer who desires oranges does not go to Alaska to plant orange seeds with an expectation of a great harvest.  Why?  Because the farmer knows that Alaska’s weather conditions are not conducive for the orange seed’s growth.  Since the farmer desires a fruitful harvest or return on his/her efforts, the farmer plants the seed in the part of the earth that will assist in the growth of every planted seed.

Consider yourself a planted seed!

            We are seeds that have been planted in this earth.  God, our Farmer, knows exactly where to plant us in this earth to yield a fruit-full harvest.  The particular sperm that met the specific egg to create you was not an accident.  Therefore, the parents you have and the family you were earthed through was not a mistake.  Furthermore, the neighborhood you grew up in, the high school/college you attend or attended, the boyfriends/girlfriends you had, the ones who left, the person you married, the job you have, the ones you quit or lost…all of this is part of the soil God has allowed you to be planted in for maximum growth of each seed that has been divinely planted in you.  Don’t despise you dirt!  These soil conditions have been prepared for your planting and more importantly for your growth.

Consider yourself a seed with seeds!

            It is important for us to understand that God has planted seeds within each of us.  Each seed is a gifting or talent that when cultivated and nurtured will grow to its fullest in Christ Jesus and produce an earth changing Kingdom harvest.  In Deuteronomy 8:18, it states that God has given us koah (power and ability) to gain wealth. 

            Consider a peach that contains a peach seed, and every peach seed has the koah (power and ability) to produce an orchard of peach trees that will produce a harvest of peaches.  Moreover, the harvested peaches house seeds that have the potential to produce more peach trees and so on.  So where does our wealth or prosperity lay – inside of us in seed form.  It is our responsibility to co-labor with God, our Farmer, to produce and bring forth a harvest in our lives.

Selah!  Think on these things until…

 © 2011 Julianne Pearson

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