Masterpiece: My Journey to Uncovering His Light & Finding Beauty in the Ashes

By Sydnie B. Honeywood

For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us new in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: LJLP Investments
• Release date: Aug 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9780578384764

Book preview

Part I: Uncovering His Light

You are an undeniable

Masterpiece.

@TheeSydniehoneywood

Masterpiece

noun

mas·ter·piece | \ ˈmas-tər-ˌpēs \

Definition of masterpiece

1: a work done with extraordinary skill

especially: a supreme intellectual or artistic achievement

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us new in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Ephesians 2:10 NLT

God, the author, and creator of the universe took time to create you.

You are one of the creator’s masterpieces.

What separates you from everything you want and who you want to become is the realization of who God created you to be...a masterpiece. Your value and worth come from your identity in Jesus Christ. I don’t think many people understand just how powerful that truly is!

Merriam Webster defines identity as the distinguishing character or personality of an individual. Therefore, everything Christ is, you are too! He loves you no matter what and wants a relationship with you. Imagine someone who loves you unconditionally and wants you to live your best life. He sees your flaws and wants to turn them into strengths. His love is reassuring and doesn’t pressure you. Who wouldn’t want to serve a God like that?

If you have not already, start by having a conversation with Him. What do you have to lose? Your peace, eternal life, and dreams depend on it. This one step towards a relationship with Jesus will change your life for the better— only if you let it.

Take some time, pray, and be led by the Holy Spirit. The truth you will uncover will lead to freedom, joy, and endless love. Let’s start by praying...

Let Jesus into your life.

Lord Jesus, thank you, God, for coming down to Earth, living as man, and giving your life for my sins. Thank you for giving me life and thinking enough of me to bring me into this world. I want to know more about you and your plan for my life. I apologize for all of the things I’ve done that didn’t align with you and ask that you forgive me of all of my sins. ( You can get a little personal, a little huge, not-so-secret point, God forgives! Let that sink in again, you are forgiven). I’m done fighting you for a place in my heart. I surrender to your will. I can’t promise that I will always get it right but I can promise that I’ll keep looking to you for HOW to get it right every day. Thanks for loving me enough to never leave nor forsake me. I pray that your Holy Spirit lives in me every day through my relationship with you and that I bring You alone the glory by walking into Your purpose for my life. Do something incredible through this book and me. I surrender it all to you.

In Jesus’ name, Amen!

The angels rejoice when a soul is saved. Enjoy this moment and savor it!

Luke 15:10 reads, Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

As a follower of Christ, this journey can have lots of trials as well as many rewards. As a child, I thought that believing in Christ was all that I needed to succeed in this life but I was mistaken. This journey called life begins with the belief in Jesus but calls for humility and alignment. John 3:16 states, that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son so that all who believe in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Believe in Him. Check. ✔

Get eternal life. Check. ✔

Thank God for honesty but I figured as long as I confessed that I believed in Him that I would get eternal life. This verse is the foundation of Christian life but if more evangelists and preachers were honest they would include Luke 9: 23, Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. Denying yourself is hard but it’s what separates us. If you are faithful over a few things, He will make you a ruler over many. Matthew 25:21. Our human nature is to run after things that please our flesh or desires but it’s only temporary. People, clothes, make-up, jobs, ambitions are all temporary. Each of these things has a shelf life that expires at some point or is destructible. Your relationship with Christ and your belief in Him graces you with life after death so let’s choose something everlasting or better yet someone...Jesus.

Foundations are the most important part of building a house. Your life requires a foundation.

Your foundation will determine what is left of your life after a storm like a break-up, divorce, death, loss of a job, depression, or any traumatic event.

Just like a house needs walls and windows, life needs values and strategies to make it withstand the storms and test of time. My life without Jesus was unstable and futile. It was vain and superficial. As I share the joys and struggles in my life, you will find…everything gets better with Jesus.

Before we get to the grit, let’s start with rebuilding your foundation.

WHO IS Jesus CHRIST?

Jesus Christ is Lord. He is the Son of God.

He is The Way, The Truth, and The Light.

Jesus is the Messiah.

He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is a way maker, He is a burden bearer.

Most importantly, God is love. He desires love and to be loved. He created Heaven and Earth so that He could love you and you could love and glorify Him. We fell short in the Garden of Eden by disobeying God. For years, humans continued to fall short so God placed His Spirit and flesh inside of Mary, who birthed Jesus, who became flesh to bear our sins on the cross. Before Jesus, the Israelites and Jews sacrificed animals to atone the sins of man. Each time you sinned, you had to sacrifice and burn an animal to receive forgiveness from God. Man continued to fall short and succumb to the flesh rather than the Spirit of God. Therefore, God, being a loving God, came down from Heaven in human form to show us the way to live. He showed us how to live without sin and walk by the Spirit and not by flesh. God created you with a purpose and plan. Sin misses the mark and causes you to stray from that purpose or plan. Through God’s sacrifice of His Son, the ultimate love, He showed us how to love. He was ridiculed for being in the company of harlots and lepers or in today’s terms, the thotties/hoes, and the sick/diseased. He wanted a relationship with everyone no matter what they looked like or what their past was like. He used love to lead people to everlasting life. He transformed even the darkest lives into beacons of hope and light for the world to see. He died on the cross for our sins and trespasses. How many people have died for you? How many people laid down their lives so that you could live a better one? Better yet, how many people sacrificed their pride to stand up for you? No one else I know has done it faithfully and for that, I am eternally grateful for Jesus and His sacrifice made on Calvary. His blood covers our sins. There is so much power in the blood of Jesus. God gave me the grace to share my story with you, as a testament to His Glory and power. The beautiful thing is that my story is still being written and so is yours! Allow God to reveal your strengths, your weaknesses, His purpose, and most importantly His hand over your life.

Don’t forget to step back and see it’s all truly beautiful… A masterpiece.

I grew up in the church. hearing and learning about God. I learned right from wrong and the basic moral code of Christianity. In essence, I learned religion. What God desires is a relationship with you. Most of my relationships were filled with pride or lust even from a young age. Our relationship with Jesus Christ is what sets us free and gives us spiritual and eternal life. When you think about your greatest relationship, perhaps your parents, your best friend, or even your significant other, you think of how much you cherish them. Although it may not be something you think about often, you had to build that relationship with time, love, and effort. Jesus wants the same thing for you and Him. With a relationship with Jesus, you are connected to everything good in this life and the next. How heavenly is that? He is the greatest parent, friend, and significant other that you could ever imagine. He’ll do more for you in one second than any human can do throughout your life. Trust Him and see what true love could be...

For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already because He hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light comes into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. John 3:16-21

Christ is returning soon and He is preparing the Earth and