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Testimonies That Are A Blessing

Testimonies That Are A Blessing

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I woke up so grateful this morning, and I knew that God was going to show up big time…and He did.

Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful for every day that God wakes me. I once heard the testimony of a young man that really blessed me. He stood there telling us that he had suffered not one, but two, massive strokes. Did you miss the part where I said he “stood” there? To look at him you would never have known what he had been through. 

Our God is amazing. He knows exactly what we need when we need it. We were actually attending a service at a local rehab facility, and his testimony gave those patients hope…it gave me hope. We all left that service believing that God could do anything. The patients believed that if they put in the work, it could happen for them too. When one of the patients was on the way back to his room, I offered to push him, and he said, “No, I have to do the work!” Praise God! That’s how a testimony should make you feel.

That’s what it’s all about…encouraging and motivating one another to go a little further, and push a little harder. 

Sometimes, God will place us together to help one another do what we think is impossible. Sitting in a wheelchair, you may feel like it will never get any better, but keep doing the work. Having to go to a job you don’t like may seem like punishment at times, but keep doing the work. Watching others succeed while you continue to struggle may seem unfair, but keep doing the work. 

God has a blessing with your name on it. If you stay faithful, and keep believing…anything is possible.

Until next time…

Be blessed

I Lack Nothing

I Lack Nothing

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This week, our promise is found in Psalm 23:1,  “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want” The part I want to focus on is the part that says,” I shall not want.” Some versions say, “I lack nothing.” I think I like that better, because when we make the Lord the head of our lives, we lack nothing. We may “want” some things…but nothing we really need will He withhold from us.

For some reason, thinking about this promise made me think about friendships, and how even though the Lord is a friend “at all times,” He has made us to need each other. The Bible says, “A threefold cord is not easily broken.” We can’t handle this world alone, and we weren’t meant to. We grow, and are strengthened through our relationships with one another.

I thank God for the people He has placed on my path. The people who hold me up, and pray for me. The people I can lean on in good times and in bad times. I think God has given everyone at least one “ride or die” friend. That friend that won’t co-sign your foolishness, but will be there when you need them no matter what. I believe that is one of God’s gifts to us.

I thank Him also because He leads us, and guides us, and sometimes even hides us when we need it. He keeps us safe, and in spite of all the left turns we make, He makes sure that we lack nothing.  I’m so happy that God loves us, and that every day He gives us new mercy, new hope, new grace, and a new beginning…

Until next time…

Be blessed

Moving forward

Moving forward

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This year has been a wake up call for all of us. I don’t think we could have predicted how much our lives would be changed by this pandemic. Although the Bible speaks of the end times, I never really thought that I would be around for any of it. I’m not sure why though, because many of us have been burning the candle at both ends for a long time. Just letting life happen. And I guess it had to take something this drastic to get our attention.

I have to admit, at first I didn’t believe it. I didn’t want to believe that we had let our guards down so much that it not only affected our country…but the whole world. No one was left untouched. Either, it touched our lives personally, or the lives of people we knew. This thing didn’t care about our social status, or our economic background, age, gender, or religion. It was an equal opportunity virus. But I have to say…at first, I was still holding out hope. I wanted to believe that it was just a hoax. That somehow we would all wake up from this dream, and laugh at the absurdity of it all. Needless to say…I am still waiting.

Thank God some things didn’t change. We still celebrated the end of the old year by looking forward to the new one. The celebrations this year, although different, were still just as powerful, and motivating. I still made plans about the things I wanted to leave in 2020, and those things I wanted to achieve in 2021. I was determined to not allow COVID-19 to dictate what God had in store for my life this year. Jeremiah 29:11 says that God will give us a hope and a future. I am definitely going to put my money on Him.

So, my goal for this year is to do something every day that gets me closer to the purpose God has for me. I know there are things God is calling me to, but I have not been able to get past my own thinking. This is the year to move forward. To challenge myself in ways I never have before. To go into this new year unafraid. Determined to walk in my calling. I pray that you will join me, and step out on faith. No longer holding back…but moving ahead declaring that God is greater.

Let’s do this!

Until next time…

Be blessed!

This new way of living

This new way of living

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I think that I am settling into this new way of living a little too much, and my old life is beginning to feel like a distant memory. I have always loved being around people. I mean I like having alone time, but there is something energizing for me about being with people. I believe I am an extrovert with introvert tendencies. That combination is typically a plus for me, but COVID-19 kinda put a stop to everything I knew as “normal” (Whatever that means). 

I am learning to be a little more creative, and a lot more adventurous, and even though loneliness stops by every now and then, I still love having my alone time. I find myself using this time to try things that I have never tried before. I am making decisions without checking with 10 people first. I am learning to depend on God more, and not so much on other people. I realized that it puts an unfair burden on folks to expect them to solve my problems and theirs too. Besides, I love learning new things. I always have, and those feelings are beginning to come back again…like an old lost friend. It feels good to spend time reading, or writing, or praying without feeling like there is something I need to do, or some place I need to be. It feels good to go to bed late, and sleep even later or not. It just feels good to be free, and I want to hold onto this feeling as long as I can.

My goal for this new season that we have all been catapulted into is to live according to God’s plan. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “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.” He also says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” I love those verses, and I really am loving this new way of living. Because it’s not about my plan, or anyone else’s. It’s all about Him, and that’s more than enough for me. 

Until next time…

Be blessed 

What I’m Praying

What I’m Praying

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Since this pandemic began, my life has been transformed in so many ways that it is hard to keep up. And unless you have been living under a rock, your life has gone through some kind of transformation too.

Lately though I find myself forgetting every now and then. I’ll go out to run some errands, and pull up in front of a store that is no longer in business or has not reopened yet. It feels unsettling a little. Uncertain…even a little fearful. At those times, I wish things would go back to pre-pandemic days when things felt more familiar. I want to go out without grabbing a mask first, and get together without having to sit six feet apart. I even want to complain about having so much to do that I can’t wait to take a vacation. In short, I want my life back. But do I really?

As I worked through those thoughts, I realized that what my life is like now is to some extent…what I had been praying for. I had been asking God to help me focus on what was really important. To allow me to do the things that I loved to do. To have the time to finish some of the projects I had been putting off, and the biggest one…to spend more time in communion with Him. So why would I want to go back to a lifestyle that always left me wanting? The answer is…I don’t. At least not all of it.I enjoy having uninterrupted time to think and to pray and to really stop and smell the roses. I enjoy Zoom calls and Facebook Live and working in my yard. 

I think it’s in our nature to want what we don’t have. I’m praying that things never go back to what they were before…I’m praying that things will be better. I pray that we take the blinders off, and really look at what is happening around us. I pray that we are more aware of the injustices in our country, and in our world. I pray that we focus on someone other than ourselves and our own comfort. I pray that we treat each other better. And I pray that if nothing else, this pandemic has awakened us all to the reality that tomorrow really is not promised.

Until next time…

Be blessed

Stay focused

Stay focused

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When I am feeling down, my two cats, Bizzy and Jack always find a way to make me smile. One day, I was working at my computer, and I was having a hard time completing a task for work, and it was starting to get the best of me. I was sitting there feeling kind of useless, when my cat Bizzy meowed. When I looked at him, he quickly began moving towards me. 

At first, I didn’t pay it any attention, but then I noticed that as he was walking, he wasn’t looking to the left or to the right–just straight into my eyes. It was amazing. I couldn’t stop watching him, and for some reason, it hit my spirit in a way that made me feel all weepy inside. What I realized was that I wanted to be just like that when I look at God. I want to be able to keep my eyes on Him…no matter what. That even if the world were crumbling around me, my focus on God would not waiver. 

More than ever, our world needs something to hold onto right now. Our faith is being tested like never before. This Coronavirus is like nothing most of us have ever seen. There are so many updates, statistics, and warnings that it is overwhelming. I have spoken to people who are fearful of going out, and to some extent…of staying in. But, I am determined not to live my life in fear. So, in the midst of all of this uncertainty, God is answering my prayer by giving me the opportunity to be just like Bizzy, and keep my gaze fixed on Him.

Until next time…

Be blessed