Popcorn & a Movie – I Still Believe

I had the privilege to see the movie I Still Believe right before the pandemic started. I think I cried throughout most of it. Here is my attempt to not give away all the details if you haven’t seen it yet. The thought of finding the one you love and just wanting to be with them is so beautiful. To love regardless of the circumstances or what the outcome might be. I can’t say personally that I’ve loved this way but what a beautiful example of how Jesus loves us. This movie is based on the true story of Jeremy Camp and seeing that he still believes in Jesus after all that he went through is beautiful. I would recommend this movie especially for a girl’s night if you’re into love stories. Please remember that regardless of what you’re going through or have been through in this life. God promises to never leave or forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6.) Have a blessed week!!

Happy Mother’s Day 2020

If you’re a mother, Happy Mother’s Day!!! Hope your day was filled with some fun, relaxation and quality time with the kids. This quarantine has been awesome when it comes to my selection in clothing. It now consists of some sort of comfy material, this is the first year I decided to go outside with a sweatshirt and ripped jeans on Mother’s day. I’m usually dressed up or at least in a dress and boy was it a blessing to just be myself. I share this to encourage mom’s today to embrace your true self and walk in confidence. Regardless of what others might think or say the Lord calls moms accept the calling with confidence. Proverbs 31:30 remind us “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” It’s awesome if there’s time in your day to look nice all the time but if their isn’t, it’s okay your relationship with the Lord is more important. Be blessed and have a great Mother’s Day.

Love

With Valentine’s Day behind us, I could not help but think about love. What does love truly means? I can tell you first hand its not always butterflies and happiness. I believe love is truly a choice, a choice to love someone even when they’re unlikable or unlovable. A choice to forgive the person that wronged you, a choice to admit that something is not quite right in the relationship, a choice to speak the truth in love, a choice that your spouse is not your enemy, a choice to not respond when you really want to etc.

While pondering on what to write this verse came to me. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 NIV

In God’s love for us He sent His one and only Son to us here on earth. To save those who believe in Jesus to have eternal life. How deep must God’s love be for us, that He sent His only son generations before we were even born to be save us. It’s a beautiful thing that Jesus sacrificed his life for us to complete God’s will. I know we can’t love each other how God loves us because He’s God. I’m pretty sure He wants us to love each other how Jesus loved here on earth. So what does love truly mean it’s making the choice to love someone even when it difficult. Be encouraged!!

One Step One Day At A Time

Have you ever been in a place where you’re not even sure what you’re here for or what you’re suppose to be doing in this life? It’s just the same day to day stuff, get up read the word sometimes, pray daily, care for all the children, pick up the groceries, make all the meals and being the only one in the home that cleans, so your home looks like a tornado most days. I want to save my children from things I experienced and was exposed to as a child but can’t watch them every minute of everyday. Also, I want to ensure they make better choices because they have been given better tools and know the Lord. I’ve been there, matter of fact I was there this morning and then church service today changed my perceptive.

It’s not about me and never will be it’s about sharing the good news with others that are dead on the inside, filled with a void that can not be filled by anything available in this world. Only JESUS can fill those broken/empty spaces.

My children are not really mine, they are my responsibility right now but belong to the Lord, it’s not my job to worry about them but trust that He has them in the palm of his hand. I will continue to keep growing to be the person He has destined me to be from birth. Cover your children in prayer and may the promises of God be over their lives and may their God fulfilled destiny come to pass.

May the chains and bondage that have been holding you down for so long be broken in the name of Jesus and may you see the world from God’s perspective. You are capable to fulfill the call because God is with you. He knows your faults, strengths and weaknesses and is working everything out for your good. I really do hope this encourages you just as much as it has me today.

And if you don’t know Jesus Romans 10:9-10 says “that if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”

Happy Mother’s Day 2019

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mother’s out there. I’m so glad we have this special day to honor our mom’s, all they are and do for families. I don’t know what life would be like without having a mom but I know there are people out there that do. My condolences and prayers go out to you and your family on this day, may the God of peace rest on your heart and mind.

Being a mom is a high calling from God, he has trusted us to love, teach, care and nurture His children until He calls them home. As a parent, we have to lead them to Jesus. In the end our children can either chose Jesus or choose to live in the world. I pray that my children choose life because death may feel good for the right now but it only leads to further destruction later. I was not raised in the church or saved until after I had my second child. I really did not realize the role or responsibility I had as a mom and what I needed to do to raise my children up in a way that honors God. I felt it was my husband’s role to discipline my children and I was to take the supportive role until I went to the altar one Sunday for prayer, overwhelmed and exhausted. I was even embarrassed a little to ask for help in the relationships with my family.

The golden nugget received was to cast the lie down that I believed for so long that my children don’t listen to me anyway. I always thought that my efforts were not helping so I kind of gave up. I didn’t notice that I was telling myself this until this day at the altar. The lie was casted down and I was set free from the belief of not being capable.

On that day, I hit the reset button and pushed forward that I had a responsibility to these children. I pray that the Lord will continue to give me wisdom and knowledge on how to be a good mom and raise my children up in His ways. I’m still a work in progress, attempting daily to lead in love and allowing the Holy Spirit to lead me in my decisions and the conversations I have with my children. I think I have more days where I just feel like I’m not breaking ground and then something happens that reminds me that it’s worth the effort. Choosing love is one of the hardest decisions I have to make daily but it’s what’s Jesus wants us to do. He died and suffered for us to have a relationship with the Father, the Creator, the Alpha and Omega of our faith, our Rock, Fortress and Deliverer. I don’t know anyone that’s willing to die for us to have life on this earth. When I choose not to love first someone always gets hurt and healing broken areas is a lot of work.

I’m so grateful to God that He gave me this wisdom. I share this on this Mother’s Day to remind children, mothers and fathers that we all have a responsibility to our children and parents. As children we must honor our parents and as parents we must teach our children to obey God and those authority. I believe this wisdom can only come from God. I hope this wasn’t too deep on this Mother’s day but hope it bless you.

Sharing Can Lead to Purpose

This week has been challenging, a friend of a friend passed away and I couldn’t help but ponder on whether or not he was saved. I couldn’t help but feel like I have been off my job as a Christian and follower of Christ. I’ve had numerous gatherings with this individual and even if I didn’t know him like that. I should have at least asked if he was saved. Salvation is every individual’s responsibility, not all of us are called to preach and teach but we must share the biblical truth. Christ when to cross for us, died and was resurrected. He forgives us for our sins, His love is so great and He saw us that many years ago that He would give His entire life for us, He was only 33. It touches my heart just writing about it.

I found Christ 5 years ago and my heart has never been the same I walked around with a huge void. Alcohol, money, and men could not fill this void only the love of Jesus. I had done so much wrong, made some awful choices how could a Holy God forgive me a worthless person for free? I’m sure there was something I need to do to earn this salvation, but their wasn’t, it was just accepting that He had forgiven me and surrendering my life over to Him.

My heart of stone eventually turned into a heart of flesh, it was a process but I started to believe that God has forgiven me for my sins. My focus before Christ was mainly on materialistic things and myself. But now His purpose is more about others and building them up to know there is more to life and a hope greater than anyone can imagine. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future Jeremiah 29:11 NIV. May His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Being a mom or a dad is not just something to do but a divine calling, God has entrusted us to raise His children and has equipped us to do it. This is all apart of His purpose and plan for our lives. Our jobs are tough and challenging but He saw something in us that would bring the best end result. Your doing a great job.

Be encouraged today that God has a purpose and plan for your life that’s greater than you can ever imagine. Be blessed!!!

Staying Connected in 2018

The initial intent was to write about allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us and not doing it ourselves to get the glory but allow God to receive it all. My heart this year would like to focus in on encouraging parents and their daily struggles. Trying to be the best mom or dad even when you feel like running away. To be honest, my life needs more order but I believe that the Holy Spirit is working on me and it’s a process. For moms, the well can sometimes get dry and we experience fatigue, stress, and for me overeating. It may look different for others. Staying connected to the Vine is crucial and I pray that we can all be encouraged to seek God, rest in Him, read His word and pray. Jesus did all the work we just have to let go and allow Him to carry the baggage, so life won’t weight us down.

If you have no idea what I am talking about Jesus is the Vine and He died to save us many years ago. It’s not until we accept him into our hearts will we experience His love and strength. Romans 10:9-10 says “that if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” Be encourage this week, that you are a good mom or dad and rely on God’s supernatural strength instead of natural strength. I love you all!

Busyness and the Christmas Season

During the Christmas season, the stress in my home can be overwhelming with shopping, cleaning and preparing. Christmas décor, Christmas trees, church rehearsals, over demanding projects at work and the list continues. Constantly, checking boxes to make sure everyone gets a least one thing on their list. It just doesn’t stop and today we ran out of toothpaste. This is so tiny, people are homeless and starving in this world and my household ran out of toothpaste big deal right. No, I’ll just get the backup toothpaste, the one no one really likes but is there for moments like this. Until I realized the backup toothpaste is missing. It does not have legs and cannot walkout of the bathroom. Where has the toothpaste gone? This simple question triggered a response that included yelling and an irritating attitude.

This afternoon, it dawned on me that maybe this attitude was not really about the toothpaste but about the fact that I did not sit at the feet of Jesus this morning. One can only find lasting peace and strength in His presence. Not making time for it only made my day more difficult. This song has been in my spirit for a few days; by your Spirit I will rise from the ashes of defeat the resurrected King is resurrecting me. I need his strength daily so I ask on this afternoon Lord fill me with your Holy Spirit today.

Don’t allow the busyness of the holidays to invade your time with the Creator, Lord of Lords, King of Kings, Author of our lives, Alpha, Omega, and Abba today. He can change our perspectives of the reason for the season the birth of His son Jesus.

He Turns Things Around

The Lord has given me a promotion and I must say it is not as easy as I thought. I’m passionate about doing a good job, it doesn’t have to be 100% perfect but it has to be good work. This week, I kept making silly mistakes and would not give myself a break because I want to make a great impression. Yesterday was an important day and the day I could not get into my desk to get my laptop. This situation was so stressful and a little embarrassing, I prayed for wisdom and ended up borrowing someone else laptop. This situation helped me see that its not always going to be easy, the situation may change and change rapidly but that does not mean He abandoned me. In those moments, we must look to him and lean on Him. He gave me strength and wisdom in that moment to work it all out. This situation reminds me of this scripture “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose Romans 8:28 NIV. He would not give you something and leave you there to figure it out alone. He is there; next time you face a tough decision, or difficult situation. Say a quick prayer as simple as Jesus help me and He will. I hope this inspires you today, have a great week!!

Love Chases

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8 NIV). God saved us when we didn’t even know Him. He saved us at the exact right time. I can’t thank God enough from rescuing me, I was so lost and I’m so happy to be saved today. Love is something I have never experienced in my years on this earth until after accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior. A few years later, one day while fasting and praying the presence of the Lord was so strong that all I could do was love people, I mean anyone. His heart is so big that He truly loves us uniquely its so beautiful. My heartbeat was to a different drum.

Right before being saved, I was in a dark place. The people I thought I loved never loved me back. My self-confidence and esteem was literally on the ground. There was always an empty feeling like something was missing, I was hurting and so sad but could not see why. Even during that time God was chasing after me, trying to save me from myself but I couldn’t see or sense it. He chases after us, trying to rescue us from the chains. I always thought being a Christian would restrict so much of my life. It did the exact opposite and set me free from those chains and gave me a new identity and purpose.

If you’re not saved and would like Jesus to come into you heart and change you from inside out. Say the following. 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved (Romans 10:9-10 NIV). Welcome to the family, find a local church and get a bible. Be encouraged today!! Have a great weekend!!