Monday, December 5, 2011

If I Coulda Shoulda Woulda...

If I was taller I could have been a model.

If my hair was straight I could do so much more with it.

If I was smarter then I could have been a lawyer, 
doctor or an accountant.

Why couldn't I have been as smart as my siblings 
then I would not have to study so much.

If I were popular then I would have friends 
and I would not have to spend so much time alone.

If I would have waited then everything in life would be better. 

As children of the most high God, why do we continue to live in the land of If I Coulda Shoulda Woulda?  God wants to take us to the promise land and we're the ones stopping it.

Are we willing to go where God is taking us?

God's promises are real and he has good things for us.  He did not say the road would be easy but He will walk with you every step of the way.

Are you ready to move?

How long do we want to wander around in the wilderness when God has a promise land flowing with milk and honey?  How long do we keep ourselves stuck in a past we cannot change?

Stop making the wilderness your home!
Step into your promise land!

God has something amazing for you.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Gifts from God

God has gifts for each of us that He has given us but 
some are too scared to open them.
Take hold of each gift that God has given you.  
Open them and unwrap them and use them for his glory.

Some of the many gifts are :

PEACE
           Unwrap and take it. You no longer have to live in torment.

JOY
This includes laughter.  The Word said the Joy of the Lord is our strength.  
Smile even when you don't feel like it and regain your strength.

LOVE
This is one that we desperately NEED because the Word said 
if we don't have Love all the other gifts are pointless.  
Love covers a multitude of sins.  
Two ways to demonstrate Love are random acts of kindness 
and praying for people who use you or who have mistreated you.

MERCY
This is treating others as you would like to be treated.
Mercy looks into the situation and has compassion and can pray for the situation.
The Word says HIS mercies are new every morning.

PRAISE & WORSHIP
It changes our heart and takes the focus off of us 
and puts it back on God where it belongs.
We need to praise Him through our circumstances 
for He alone is worthy of our praise.
We need to become true worshipers 
and stop giving God lip service.
Praise and worship Him even when you don't feel like it 
and watch your heart change.

FORGIVENESS
This one is a very interesting gift because to get this gift 
we have to be willing to give this gift first.
God forgave us of our sins when He paid 
the ultimate price on Calvary but yet still
it is so hard for us to forgive someone 
for saying something about us.  
The more you give this gift away the greater the reward.

These are just some of the gifts God has given us.  
Ask the Holy Spirit to show you which ones you have not unwrapped yet 
and open them then use them for the glory of God.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

The Image of Jesus

We need to stop depicting Jesus as a “pretty boy.”

The Word says HE was plain.  He was ordinary so why do we chose to depict HIM as this buff pretty little boy?  Can we really truly understand the nature and image of Jesus while He walked the earth?

For awhile that image was OK but I recently had an experience with Christ Jesus that changed my perception and my thoughts about how we depict Jesus.  A true image of Jesus would consist of all the characteristic of all the races.  He would look ordinary.  It bothers me to see a crucified Jesus prettily laid out on a cross because the image HE gave us was not a pretty and cute Jesus that died for me.  HE said he was beaten beyond recognition.  That means HE was bloody and in a lot of pain with raw flesh showing from beatings he had taken.  They put a crown of thorns on Jesus’s head that means that there was blood running down his face as the thorns stuck HIM in his head.  Jesus was stripped naked that means HE bore our shame and guilt.  Then they drove stakes through HIS hands and feet. Can we imagine the agony that HE was feeling? They tried to give him vinegar which was bitterness and in the midst of all that pain and agony HE said Father forgive them they know not what they have done.

The image of a pretty boy Jesus does not compare.  Does it bring comfort or does it keep us in our mess with an unwillingness to change?  The image of a bloody Jesus will change and transform your walk with God because the true image of a Crucified Jesus will set you free and change your heart and mind.  Christ Jesus died a horrified death for your sins and my sins that is something a pretty boy would not do because with a "pretty boy"... it’s all about HIM and HIM alone.  

Jesus loves us so much why is it so hard for us to show each other love?  
When we have a true depiction of the crucified Jesus then we can love him and see HIM in the right light.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Heaven Bound

We need to live as if this is our last day on earth. 

If we knew that tomorrow God was coming back for this world how would we live today?  We would be conscious of our words and actions.  In everything we do we would make sure God is reflected.  So why don’t we live like that each day? 

If we knew when he was coming we would spend a little time pleasing him, and spend a little time reading his word.  We would think about repentance and truly mean it.  We would want to tell as many people about Jesus, we would make sure we have no un-forgiveness in our heart.  Most of all we would inventory our heart, mind and soul to see where we are and to repent for any and all sins and iniquities.  So why do we as Christians live like tomorrow is promised to you?  The term Christian means Christ like, Christ followers.  We need to be set apart.  He said this world is not my home so why do we look so much like the world?

He said no man knows the day nor the hour of his return so we need to take stock in how we live. 

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Dare to Dream

Dare to dream, Dare to dream!  What did you dream of being when you grew up?  Have you accomplished that dream?  Is it possible that God put it in your heart?

Dare to dream!  Did you dream of being a lawyer, doctor, teacher, policeman, a firefighter or chef?  God has placed so many gifts in each one of us because of His extravagant Love for us.  Dare to dream, Dare to Dream Again !

Dare to Dream because there is no dream too big or small for God to accomplish.  He created you, he knows you, what makes you think that there is anything to hard for him to accomplish in you?

Psalms 139:13-16 says :
“For you created my inmost being you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made, I  know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place when I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eye’s saw my unformed body.  All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” 
Dare to Dream about the life God has ordained for you.  When we dare to dream we can accomplish God’s will and purpose for our lives. 

Dare to dream “stay at home moms” – you have chosen a road that is rewarding and fulfilling.

Dare to Dream teachers -  you instill life long lessons and memories.

Dare to Dream, Dare to Dream Again!  God knows our thoughts, words and actions. 

Dare to Dream, Dare to Dream Again about who God called you to be.  Negative self talk kills the dreams and gifts God has placed in us.  Words have consequences that can be dream killers or dream builders. 

Dare to Dream, Dare to Dream Again !  God made you special and he put special gifts and talents in you. 

Dare to Dream, Dare to Dream Again !   What has God created you to do?

Dare to Dream, Dare to Dream Again !   What has God created you to  be?

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Who’s your Decorator?

God is a decorator.  He loves to decorate our lives.  How do we know this?
When we let Christ come to live in your heart, he starts to redecorate.  As he changes our mind he decorates our heart.  Our heart then becomes a portrait of grace.  Anger is replaced with Loads of Love, un-forgiveness is replaced by Songs of Joy. 

Think of this, when the “Carpenter” steps in he assesses the damage to see what  wood needs replacing.  Sometimes there’s so much damage that demolition is required before rebuilding can take place.  There are times when God has to rebuild our lives, heart and mind from the ground up with a strong foundation, a foundation of courage and strength. 

What does the window look like that you’re looking through? 

What wallpaper are you looking at? 

God wants to change the wallpaper of our lives.  He wants to change the window treatments and clean the window we’re looking through.  He wants to give us “windows of blessing” and “wallpaper of truth.”
 
God loves us. 

He wants to change the portrait of ourselves that we see and he shows us that in Romans 8:1 “therefore there is now no guilt for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.”  God is a loving and compassionate God that is the reason for our transformation.  God is the “one who is” and God is the “one who causes” us to be transformed from this world. 

God is Love and HIS love covers a multitude of sin.    

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

It is about your Obedience

I love to sew because it’s some of the best time for me in the presence of God.  While I sew I find I have peace and clarity in my thinking and when I don't have peace and clarity I know something is wrong.  

I've been trying to cut two outfits out.  One outfit is an olive green and the other is a chocolate brown fully lined suit.  I've found myself trying to cut these two suits for over two years and I've been gripped with fear and anxiety every time I try to finish cutting them out.  I shared this with a friend who told me I should find out where this fear is coming from since fear isn't normal in this situation.  I prayed and asked God for insight into this problem and God played me a video to show me where this has come from.  A few years ago a lady asked me to make her a suit.  I initially told her no because God said no but she wore me down.  To keep her from asking me anymore I agreed to do it.  It was a nightmare!  I had the most trouble making that suit.  The fear and anxiety came into my life because of my disobedience.  I've been asking God to remove this from my life but I realized that the fear and anxiety will not go away until I tackle the problem.  I had to repent and ask for forgiveness and come to terms that obedience is better than sacrifice.   

I recently pulled the fabric out to finish cutting out the suits and the fear was not there.  Now the suits are cut and ready to be made.  The message in this for me is when God says no he means no and when we are disobedient we don’t know what doors we open into our lives.  We open these doors and then we ask God why is this happening to me?  We need to stop blaming God and take an  inventory of our lives.  God is such a loving and redeeming God that He will still come alongside us and take our hand and walk with us.  

Be obedient to the word and the will of God.  

Obedience is better than sacrifice.  

It is about your obedience.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

From Victim to Victorious

As a victim of rape and molestation I have often wondered how do I get free from being a victim?  I realized I was asking the wrong question because only God can do that through us.  When we let Christ in our hearts then the process can begin.  We have to learn how to see Jesus in the midst of the circumstances and how He protected us …how He kept us from loosing our minds, or even when there is a mental break, …how He kept us.  As long as we focus on the circumstance we will never see Jesus as the protector, the healer and the lover of our souls.  We have to take our eyes off the circumstances and focus on Jesus.  When Peter focused on Jesus he could walk on water when he took his eyes off Jesus he began to sink. 

There are several ways to travel this road from victim to victorious but this is the one that worked for me.  I had to learn how to forgive the person that hurt me …but first of all I had to forgive myself and let go of them.
Forgiveness is a daily walk.  Sometimes a smell, sound or a word can trigger a memory but we still have to choose to forgive.  It is not your fault.  When we walk in un-forgiveness we carry that person around our neck and they are choking us to death.  When we forgive them they no longer have power over us and we are free to be victorious.  At this point we can call all our “parts” back home to us to become that whole and complete person that we were designed to be.  Forgiveness is freedom and now we are victorious and are no longer a victim. 

Christ died to set us free now walk in freedom with Christ Jesus.  Take hold of your victory and let Christ show you how to walk victoriously.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Pleasing To Our Father

I recently got the opportunity to teach a group of young women how to sew but it involves more than just sewing.  We are learning to see ourselves the way God sees us.  We are created in the image of God and we are all beautiful.  We come in all different shapes and sizes but we are all beautifully and wonderfully made.  As we lose and gain weight we must learn to dress the body we are currently in.  When we look in the mirror we shouldn’t be looking for our flaws but we should look for our assets… that something that we like about ourselves.  We can better dress our assets if we’ll stop looking at our flaws. 

We live in a world where people judge by the size you are, God doesn’t. 

When we are dressed properly with the proper fit then we can camouflage our flaws.  Women, play up your assets but do it in modesty because we represent Jesus to the world.  If we look like the world how can we set ourselves as apart from the world?  We are beautiful in the eyes of God.  When we know who we are in Christ our “dress” will match the inside and we’ll be pleasing to our Father