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a lily grows through a valley of concrete by markeeta denise foster artwork by donald t williams

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© copyright 2010 by markeeta denise foster all rights reserved this publication is designed to provide competent and reliable inspirational information regarding subject matters covered no part of this publication may be reproduced stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic mechanical photocopying recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the author except for brief quotes used in review artwork for book cover by donald t williams book cover digital design by smart numedia technology llc isbn 10 1-4505-9619-3 isbn 13 978-1-4505-9619-0 printed in the united states publishing services smart numedia technology llc new jersey website http www.gladstonepublishing.com

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acknowledgements to the utmost i have to praise my god without ceasing with the thanksgiving from my heart if you know anything about this man this father this brother this great i am you would do the same if you dont know i advise you with the utmost respect to get it love it adore it and keep it it is everlasting bishop scott elder simmons and the congregation of st james i will always and forever thank you for the patience youve shown without judgment that in itself means plenty thank you god will as always bless you pastor tony evans and congregation of tenth street baptist church i will never forget the first sweet sounds of encouragement i am grateful to you for following the instructions of the lord leading me to and now im living in acceptance with this precious gift sharing my talents from the lord thank you god will as always bless you camille and mrs viola you two mean more then you think to me you dont tell me much about your feelings towards me but you have shared with others and the message was delivered that is what makes it even more special i love you both dearly deborah smart i am truly grateful to you because you as an experienced publisher/editor has shown my work to be pretty good without too many mistakes that in itself has blown me away just like many i dont always believe in myself i like to thank you for believing enough to continue to work hard for me wow me you believe in me it still hasnt all sunk in yet im trying to get mr larry miles mr miles i thank you powerfully because you stepped out on a faith that i didnt know placing my first endeavor in your store la unique african-american bookstore and cultural center in camden new jersey was the greatest act of faith you

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didnt know me from a label-less can of paint but you trusted and believed in your own instincts that proved to be the right choice thanks donald t williams donald i thank you for being there with me through my mothers illness supporting my efforts throughout i thank you for being such a talented artist and doing my book cover with perfection thanks brother i like to thank all those who have supported my efforts showing patience concern for my well being and constantly handing out those encouraging words what have you written today there were many times that it was all i needed i love you all and always thanks again for everything markeeta

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of course god comes first in everything i do so thank you god in the precious name of jesus dedication i dedicate this book from my heart to all my family members especially my mother and grandmother who have passed from this earth three days apart it was my darkest hours back and forth i was watching two very prominent people whom i loved dearly just disappear from within right before my eyes it was hard as i know you can imagine i lost a big part of myself i couldnt function i couldnt think and most definitely couldnt write having to bear that process i knew god could only bring me through jesus jesus thank you however what i believed to be the hardest thing to do the mourning process was even harder i still couldnt see this project being completed and again thank you jesus see i know there is a god and i believe with all my being the second most important to believing is trusting with the same weight it was a difficult time for all involved during the passing these two beautiful people but though it all here i am healthy growing writing and doing it well so they say so this is for you mom mom-mom i love you and god knows i miss you.

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introduction identifying and confronting the enemy within for we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities against power against the rulers of the darkness of this world against spiritual wickedness in high places ephesians 6:12 i have started this so many times not really knowing how to explain this complex theory actually its not really complex nor is it a theory its really simple and reliable you just need to have an open spiritual mind and most importantly an open heart there are so many of us meaning some of the human race who put aside the spiritual aspects not realizing it has everything to do with life not to mention the ones who just dont believe theres anything other than their own mind there is good and evil in gods eyes and it dont make a difference we as human have the tendency to compare the good and evil the funny thing is it is only the good and evil thats in and of the natural realm disregarding whats behind the scene that triggers the natural everything has a beginning a seed a root somewhere where things start just keeping that natural thought in mind lets you know you didnt create yourself now today i believe there are more people realizing the creator no should i say acknowledging him i also believe there are those who still dont

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understand his purpose this is understandable when we constantly live in the natural realm keeping the thinking habit most of us have we see touch smell feel and taste in the natural now imagine doing all that in the spiritual realm you can do that you know see clearer touch softer smell cleaner feel better and god knows it tastes better who wouldnt want better the reality is if you dont know better how can you want better so many of us close the deal on the natural realm thinking that it is all that before we look at the real price we pay with our natural thinking habits payday is coming very soon i am here today to relay the message theres still time to check your surrounding starting from within as well as from the spiritual realm theres another funny thing its not hard to turn or should i say change the thinking habits theres no need to wait until something bad happens thats just more time and energy wasted god says his labor is easy and i believe it but whats hard is the willingness to want to change the way we think about everything this book is the formal introduction to how strongholds are placed in our mind to be acted out in our lives from the smallest to the largest obstacles the most important obstacles we face are the one we hold within starting in the areas most overlooked as i mentioned the mind is a terrible thing to waste it is also a terrible thing to develop without god depending on our characteristic as humans meaning the strength and weaknesses we hold naturally we can sometimes get the understanding of what strongholds really are and how they really affect us they come in all shapes and sizes they appear in any situation or circumstance we may face they are slick and convincing to a point that you really think you believe it what am i talking about right i know you are asking that question because i asked that same question before my eyes

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became open see at one time i was just plain ignorant to the true meaning of having god in my life like most people you just go along with the program kind of like riding a wave you know just go with the flow ignorance to the word can leave openings in your defense that just dont make sense to do when you dont have to if you dont know your rights as a child of god then how are you to defend yourself against the madness that will surely come your way even its only in your mind strongholds are enemies wait before we get all wrapped up in the wiles of the world and definitely in ourselves let me tell you about just being a child of god i know and have always known that i am a child of god even before i really knew what i was talking about believe me i dont always know to this day but i do know that im not far from the main point to all this in my life listen no i mean read there is so much going on in my head right now that its driving me crazy but this type of crazy is welcomed big time i am so excited to be able to tell you what god means to me and how he has worked it out my life is no different from yours wait a minute maybe it is different but in gods eyes its the same i dont want to sound like im trying to teach nor preach i am on a mission that i believe will be fun and at the same time enlighten your mind and hopefully bring you closer to the real man god is all that and some and his goal is to make sure we as his children have the best please dont limit yourself to thinking that gods best is prada jones new york coach or the klein family meaning ann and calvin nor am i talking about a big house on the hill with a bedroom made from 24k gold and maids to do almost everything for you the 24k thing is stupid i saw that on television you remember the houses of the rappers or something however thats not what i am talking about although it sounds pretty good besides that 24k thing.

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the best im talking about comes from within its not about stuff that will come when you first seek him he says seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and everything will be added when you start feeling free inside from a world of madness the world of madness doesnt matter too much anymore it becomes you living in the world but not of the world its just the best feeling one could have and after that theres even more gods best doesnt ever stop thats just simply beautiful just knowing it when you first hear it its an overwhelming excitement thats felt throughout the bones you want to know everything you can possibly know about god you start reading the bible you start talking the bible to everyone you know or dont know of course it wears off but its not because you didnt believe its because the flesh is weak and in luke 8:14 it says and that which fell among thorns are they which when they have heard go forth and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life and bring no fruit to perfection by now i guess you can figure out why right well my thoughts are because the strongholds of the world set in the flesh is weak or just because the belief system was just that moment the world around us is like a whirlwind that just sucks us up as though it is through a straw let me tell you something i struggle with so many things and am still going through the struggle to be honest i dont think the struggle really stops if theres not one thing its another all the time as i mentioned earlier im not trying to teach nor preach im just telling you my experience from one point way back when okay maybe not so way back but from then to now i am overwhelmed with gratefulness for the process and even more grateful to be able to see the process in motion there needs to be an understanding right now this process of change took a long time so dont think it happens overnight if you think youre different and it dont take time all youre going to do is piss yourself off allowing another door to open for another stronghold to keep you in bondage dont go there its a trap.

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and she said take heed discern comprehend the words understanding and insight she cried at the head of a noisy intersection the entrance of the city gates she speaks of counsel and sound knowledge and giving understanding might and power her ways are highways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace she is the tree of life to all who lay hold on her she walks in every way of righteousness moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation in the midst of the path of justice she has built her house cut off and set up her seven pillars she has killed her beast and mixed her spiritual wine she has also set her table she has sent out her maids to cry from the highest places of the town come eat of her bread and drink of her spiritual wine which she has mixed her eyes look on with fixed purpose and her gaze is straight before her when there was no deep she was brought forth even when there were no fountains laden loaded with water she was inaugurated ordained from everlasting from the beginning before ever the earth existed and she said she is wisdom

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chapter one reiterating change is good as well as a process there are two parts to change the change that happens automatically and the change i had to put into place the automatic change is easy i didnt have to put my hands in it the other side of change is a humdinger thats the side i had to work at and failed a zillion times and at times i seemed to never get it right i wondered why for years after failing for years now finally i think i got it i like most people from my era came up in the church if they didnt their mother or grandmother did if by any chance they didnt they heard about god somewhere along the line inside the family or out as i said it took me years to make a connection that i already knew about its just like a math problem you know the formula you know how to complete it but when it comes time to put it into action you get the wrong answer well thats how life became i tried it this way many times wrong answer i tried it that way many times wrong answer again i was like lord whats wrong with everybody of course i wasnt the reason i was getting the wrong answers no one was going along with the formula we all need it in one area or another and sometimes every area that has to do with the actions and reactions to life itself change is a big word to most people those same people dont have a clue to what it really means its talked about debated written and read but it does not mean anything if theres no action to withhold change there is not one no not one who doesnt have something about themselves that needs a change i am talking about a permanent change not the one you do for the moments you know the one im talking about the one we change to get what we 1

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want and after the process we are right back to the original self no not that one im talking about what lays deep within the soul and speaks outward through our beings im talking about that one that is noticed by everyone that has eyes not mattering if they know you or not majority of time thats the one that is only imagined when its coming from someone like me let me not include you and focus on me but if it sounds like you than i guess it is bottom line its the one that god puts in place and without him you can do nothing when i think about the full context in its entirety it took me to another dimension in thought i picked up the bible and tried to find where it was that would help me understand even more well i couldnt find it so i called my cousin to ask where in the bible it says you can do nothing without god she of course knew and said john 15:5 what it said was i am the vine ye are the branches he abideth in me and i in him the same bringeth forth much fruit for without me ye can do nothing i said okay what does god mean by nothing he means you can t do nothing i started thinking about all the some things i did and can do but without him i wouldnt be able to do anything that is a serious scripture and it ought to make you want to do only right sorry there i go again talking as if i am talking about you im talking about me but if it sounds like you then its you however the thought of change stayed with me i wanted to do nothing but be perfect in the eyesight of god the funny thing is it was impossible to be perfect then it came to me that god said all things are possible of course again i didnt make the connection by understanding the whole scripture so i looked that up on my own and found it in mark 10:27 it says and jesus looking upon them saith with men it is impossible but not with god for with god all things are possible i failed to put god in everything i did i 2

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tried to be perfect with my own will the more i tried to be perfect the more wrong i was and just because i tried so hard i felt even worst during these feelings i grew i realized it may have only been an inch but it was growth my thoughts were pray relax and watch however thats not always easy i was the one who ran around like a chicken with no head thinking i had plenty to do come to find out all that running was to keep in shape because i still didnt get anything done by the end of the day again i missed the connection circles by day circles by night then i was sleep when i was growing up i had always heard to pray day and night i had family members doing just that and i wondered when they got anything done how can you just pray all day and night i thought praying was on your knees at the side of the bed again there was no understanding so of course i looked it up and found in col:1:9 for this cause we also since the day we heard it do not cease to pray for and to desire that ye might be filled with knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding it dawn on me that i have grown another maybe half an inch my inquiring was a true sign to the knowledge of god it also dawn on me that i was changing it all had to do with the same thing getting knowledge and change went hand and hand now that i am thinking about everything goes hand-in-hand when it comes to god anyway when i think about everything god has brought me through all i can say is thank you lord i believe it is god who brings the thoughts of what ive learned back to my mind i cant do nothing without him those words make me shake my head sit back and really think about the word nothing in the natural term 3

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