Hello!~~~

Welcome!~

It has now been ten years since I started this blog. How quickly time goes by! We are many members but we are one in the body of Christ. Therefore you do not journey alone! Hopefully through this site you will be encouraged by the fact that many things you are going through in your own walk, others are going through (or have gone through) as well. Sometimes we think we are "going through things alone." But we are not. God said that "He would Never Leave Nor Forsake Us." (Hebrews 13:5) and that "There is Nothing New Under The Sun." (Ecclesiastes 1:9). No man is an island. It's easy to forget that. May the words in this blog help you to think, encourage you in whatever spiritual state you are in and may the Lord use them to help us to grow in Him! He is the Author and Finisher of our faith!

I don’t want any readers to think that I am “promoting” being a prodigal. I definitely am not. But what I am hoping to do – is to encourage those of us who either have had or are currently experiencing a hard time in our walk to be honest about it. Personal conviction is a powerful thing, especially if you truly love the Lord. I think that sometimes the Body of Christ critiques and judges to the point where the person who is at the other end of that pointing finger feels ostracized, alienated and alone. I don't think that that is what Jesus intended. When I read through my Bible - I see a firm yet gentle restoration that Jesus ministered to those around Him. Look at John 21:15-19. When Peter who was at an all time low point in his walk - he was firmly, yet lovingly restored by Jesus. He didn't tear him down, or yell or make him feel any worse then he already did. He spoke to him lovingly and gently - and in doing so, Peter was able to repent and minister in a much more powerful, humble and confident way and it became one of the largest ministries ever.

Please note that I am only a vessel, my calling - to write. I dedicate this blog to the Lord and ask that He use it to reach out and touch whoever needs a special, loving, personal touch from Him. My hope is that the Holy Spirit allows you to see Him through the words (and not me). We go through things so that we can extend our right hand of fellowship behind us to assist and help someone else. Our Bible is the same today, as it was yesterday as it will be tomorrow. (I am far from perfect and do not profess to have all the answers...) but the good news is - Our Heavenly Father does! His love, forgiveness, grace and mercy is real!Nothing you are experiencing in your walk comes as a surprise to Him! May He be glorified through this blog and may God bless you at whatever stage in your walk you are in!~



I am a Breast Cancer Survivor

I am a Breast Cancer Survivor
I was diagnosed with early stage triple negative breast cancer on June 24th, 2010 - I have been cancer free for 10 years now. It was only a chapter in my life - NOT my life, but the impact is one that has changed my life forever. Its important for women to know that 80% of the breast cancer diagnosis come from women who don't have a history of it in their family (My family didn't). Early detection is the key. For more information please click on the pink ribbon above. It could save your life.
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March 28, 2016

Time to Fight - You are at War Soldier Pick Up Your Weapons and FIGHT


You can either use the weapons God has given you to fight this war you are in or you can be defeated - which will you do? The choice is up to you.
I often wonder what God thinks of us… Does He sit up there in Heaven shaking His Head?  Thinking, “I’ve given them a guidebook – The Bible.  I’ve given them the tools – prayer and STILL they run around like turkeys with their heads cut off?”
How does God tolerate us?  We are (as the Bible has indicated in the Old Testament) a “stiff necked” people.  We should rejoice and praise God for His patience and grace with us.  I include myself amongst that number.  Sometimes the answer is so obvious we don’t see it!  Last week  my chapel had a movie night – they showed a movie I had not had a chance to see called, “The War Room.”  How appropriately entitled it was because the truth of the matter is – WE ARE AT WAR.  We are in the middle of a spiritual war and even if we choose not to recognize the truth of that matter – it is occurring and happening ALL around us.  We can choose to acknowledge it and participate on the winning side – the side of the Lord or we can choose to hide our heads in the sand like ostriches and act as though nothing is going on around us.  This does not mean that in doing so you will not be choosing by not choosing, either way – you make a choice as to whose side you will be on.  The fact of the matter is we ARE in a spiritual war and just because you cannot see the spiritual side of what is going on does not mean that the war is not taking place.

God has given us the weapon and tool of prayer to bring those things that concern us to His attention.  We are able, through the shed blood of Jesus, to come boldly to His throne by way of the cross and submit things to God through prayer.  The War Room Movie portrayed in a very effective manner how God hears and answers prayer. 
I felt convicted and greatly encouraged at the same time after watching the movie.  It is a movie I highly recommend!  It made me excited to pray.  I have always “talked to God” but this movie lit a fire underneath me and furthered my desire to pray.  You see, prayer is a two way conversation with God.  It’s not a soliloquy – it is bringing those things that are on your mind and in your heart before God for His attention and answer.  The Bible tells us that God knows our thoughts before we even think them – but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t seek Him through prayer.  I find it exciting to see when I have brought things before my Father and He answers!  No matter what that answer is, I know that God cares and that He is listening!  He desires us to come to Him in prayer.

I think one of the biggest attacks of ol’ slewfoot is our not believing that God cares enough to answer prayer – God does!  And I have found that my peace and encouragement has come through being submissive and obedient through praying.  I can do NOTHING in and of myself – but when I bring the attention of things that concern me, trouble me, bother me or things I just plain want to know what God would have me do – I pray!  Prayer should not be a drudgery, it should be a time of conversation with your Father.  If you find prayer to be a drag – you simply need to find a better way to approach it!  You don’t have to be sitting in a pew to approach your Heavenly Father (although that is a place of quiet and I find it to be a place where I can be alone without interruption before my Father).  You can talk to God ANYWHERE.  Perhaps go for a walk? Go for a drive – I will say that working two jobs and being a divorced mother with two children, there have been many a day when I have (while caught in traffic) had long conversations with my Father while driving in to work.  I’m quite sure that people seeing my lips moving and an occasional hand gesturing while in traffic, driving have probably thought I was insane – but some of my best conversations with my Father have been at times such as these.
The truth of the matter is you can pray ANYWHERE.  In the movie The War Room the women cleaned out there closets and used them as “prayer closets.”  I thought that was a creative idea.  I opened the door of my walk in closet and got totally distracted by ALL the junk I have folded up and stored in there and not liking small enclosed spaces, I decided instead that I would use my bedroom as my “prayer closet.”  I grabbed a notebook and began to write my prayer requests down as I brought them to the attention of my Father.  It is amazing how quickly time goes by when you are focused on praying and communicating things that are important to you, things that you are seeking an answer from with your Heavenly Father.  Two hours quickly went by and I had only touched the surface of all the things that were in my mind and on my heart.  Next to each item I had brought to God’s attention I drew a line.  A line to which once I have received an answer from God I will fill in next to that item.  God ANSWERS prayer.  I want to record when He answered as well as what that answer was.  It is exciting when you see that God hears you.  That He cares.  I find it greatly encouraging when I have received an answer from the Lord, even if the answer is one that I did not expect.  There is NO GREATER JOY than being in the center of God’s will.  Even being sure of what God’s will is.  There have been so many weeks lately, where I have thought about Moses, and how He was focused upon going up that mountain and seeing and hearing from God.  He came back down with His face radiating the glory of His time with God.  I want that! I want to have the assurance that I know what God wants for me!  That He and I have this amazing relationship – communicating.  I want that!  With the knowledge of what God’s will is comes that peace that passes all understanding and that is something that in this day and age we badly need.

Do you believe in prayer? Have you tried it?  Of course the first step is making Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior – the first prayer you should be praying or an example of one is that which allows you to come before the Father and the only one who provides that bridge is Jesus.  He died on the cross for forgiveness of our sins and the ONLY WAY to come to the Father is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.  In order to do so, you have to pray a prayer such as this:
“Father God, I come before You through the shed blood of Your Son, Jesus Christ who has made a way where previously there was no way.  I believe that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, that He lived and was crucified on the cross for forgiveness of my sins and that He rose from the dead and is seated at the right hand of the Father.  I ask, Jesus that You would come in to my life and be my Lord and Savior. I thank You in Jesus name I pray. AMEN.”

The Bible tells us:
“God so loved the world that He gave His Only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

There is NO greater joy than being in a relationship with your Creator.  I have fallen tremendously in love with my Father over the last 29 years I have been a Christian (since I myself prayed that prayer).  I have had struggles and victories that have come only because of Him and through Him.  I believe that life is a journey for each of us.  Each of our journeys are as unique and different as our hand prints.  God has NO favors.  He loves YOU.  He wants to be in a relationship with you.  He wants you to know Him.  The best way to do that is through His instructional book (The Bible) and through prayer (conversation with Him).  You don’t have to believe my words – just TRY what I have written and see for yourself.  When I came to Christ and prayed that prayer my conversation with God was, “Okay Lord – IF you are REAL YOU need to reveal yourself to ME.  IF we are to have a relationship as I am being told we can – I need YOU to prove it.  Not because of what people tell me – but because of what YOU tell me and what YOU do.”  In the 29 years since I have said that to Him – He has shown me that He is real in only a way I can receive it.  He WILL do the same for you.  As I have said throughout my blog – I don’t have all the answers, I am FAR from perfect and there is much work that God is doing with me.  BUT I DO KNOW WHO IT IS WHO HAS THE ANSWERS and I can direct you to Him.  We were created to have a relationship with God, throughout our lives we constantly try to fill it with other things – but the truth of the matter is – the only one who can fill that void in us is God.  We were made to be in a relationship with Him, it is only when we realize that and acknowledge our need for Him that we are able to be filled with that peace that passes all understanding that can ONLY come from being with Him.  The Bible tells us:
“Taste and see that the Lord is good.”  (Psalm 34:8)

Honestly, there is no greater joy.  No matter the turmoil and spiritual war that is around us – and as you can hear from the news our world is in turmoil.  The only One who can restore our peace is our Creator.  Prayer is our greatest weapon against confusion, discouragement, depression, anxiety and all the things that would bring you down.  TRY IT.  See for yourself.  God is good, He is real, He loves you and He cares.

March 16, 2016

A Penny For Your Thoughts? He Created You - He Knows Them Already!


The Bible Tells us "He knows our thoughts before we even think them."(Psalm 139:2)
 Perhaps He is more aware of what you are thinking than you are...
Oh if only I could have a dollar for every time I wished I knew for absolute sure what God is saying to me…  Although I am glad we are under grace and not under the law anymore I have often envied Moses for those times he went up to the mountain and heard, “THUS SAITH THE LORD!!” Boldly proclaimed.  Moses came down from those mountains with the a surety that he knew what it was God wanted him to do – even with his self-doubts of his ability to do it!
Often times we get in the way of our own selves…  I often find myself scratching my head with a “duh” look on my face asking God, “Is this what you mean?  Or was it this?  You want me to do this? Or was it this?”  Thank God I serve a patient God – He has to be to be in a relationship with me…
Sometimes life feels so scary and uncertain.  There are times when God wants us to step out on faith and I find myself hesitating and measuring each step before stepping or lambasting myself for the miss-steps from my prodigal time, afraid that I will stupidly repeat a history I have no intention of experiencing again, but the saying, “Once bitten, twice shy…” Goes through my head or “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me…”  Those kind of sayings can cause one to keep their foot lifted high in the air – caught mid-step instead of going forward in your walk as God intended you to do…
I don’t want to miss out on the “ALL” that God has for me – and yet I don’t want to misinterpret what it is that “ALL” is…  We serve a God who was generous enough to create us with “free will” and the ability to make decisions and choices on our own – but OH how I wish it were otherwise.  I wish that once we, of our own free will and accord gave our lives over to Him (making Him our Lord and Savior) that we simply have in doing so, given Him the wheel and put ourselves on “automatic pilot.”  We can fold our arms behind our head and whistle a happy song – allowing God to drive the car of our life… Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way… How I wish it did.  Do you think that is laziness???  I suppose it doesn’t matter one way or another because the truth is – that is not how life is.  I am very thankful that God knows our hearts.  That He knows our thoughts before we even think them.  There are times when I can’t find the adequate words to express to Him, yet there is peace in knowing that He knows!
There have been times in my walk where I have been floored by the beauty and abundancy of the blessing God has bestowed on me, because what He has in store for us is so much better than what we could ever plan for ourselves, the problem is we don’t trust Him enough to wait to receive that blessing and the problem comes when we try to “do it ourselves” and not allow Him to bestow on us the abundancy that He desires… We get in our own way.
“EXCUSE ME SELF, GET OUTTA THE WAY!!!”
Perhaps that should be my prayer from now on… Because the joy in receiving what God has blessed me with makes praise and worship naturally occur… Not that you should only praise and worship God when He blesses you – He is worthy to be praised ALL the time and if we thought on all the blessings we have in our lives instead of concentrating on life’s problems and our lack and our struggles in life we would freely do so… Hmmmm – even in writing this I am seeing that this is one area where ol’ slewfoot trips us up… Keeps us downcast and worried and caught up in our situations so that we are so heavy hearted that we can’t see the beauty of what’s before us…  Makes you think doesn’t it?
Sometimes you have been praying about something and God has already answered that prayer – only you aren’t recognizing that the answer is right before you!  Perhaps we have become so disillusioned by the negativity in the world we live in, that we naturally hang our heads in shame waiting to be put down or rejected – when God is saying, “YES!” Or “Look at what I have for you!”  And the beauty of it is more than we can fathom because many of us haven’t learned how to accept… And we wonder WHY God isn’t answering our prayers.  It’s not that He isn’t answering them we just don’t know how to see and/or accept His answer…
Lord, please open up our minds to receive, open up our ears to hear, open up our eyes to see.”
God is real.  He is the same today as He was yesterday as He will be tomorrow and He is concerned about YOU.  He hears YOU.  And most of all - HE LOVES YOU.