STOP! LOOK! LISTEN!

Hey everyone! Feels like forever since I last spoke to you. It’s a really busy time for me and my family, so please continue to pray for us as we move forward.

Before I continue, I have to give you a few important details. Many times the Lord will speak to me through songs. One of my friends in Oklahoma said it best this past weekend, “You’re like a jukebox.” Unashamedly, I have to agree. He gives me messages through songs quite often. With that being said, let’s continue.

Today I was doing chores around the house and I started to here this song in my head. Considering the fact that I have only heard this song twice in my life, I figured it was “being played” for a reason. So I Googled it and pulled it up on Youtube. Well, I closed my eyes and listened as they sang “He’s here.” All of a sudden, I felt so much peace. It was incredible. By the end of that song I was in a totally different place. I knew God was so present that nothing could move me!

So I encourage you today to Stop, Look, & Listen. I know this phrase is normally used as safety precautions for pedestrians , but I believe this applies to our daily walk of life as well.

Stop and get a hold of this message. Lay aside the distractions and still your mind. Choose to be at rest with the idea that God really is in control. Cease all of your striving to obtain accomplishment and know that He is God of heaven and earth. He knows your needs and He is well able to establish you. {Psalms 46}

Look to the one who holds your times and seasons in His hand. Fix your focus. In the midst of all the shaking around the earth, and in all the storms and battles you face see that there is nothing on earth that can take you out of His hand. See the salvation He has prepared for you in this day and hour. {Exodus 14:13}

Listen. The sounds that you are listening to are vital to the choices you make. And the choices you make will always lay out the paths you take. Let the sound of this song, sung by Eddie James and his team, penetrate every part of your being and every circumstance around you. Sometimes all you need is a sound of deliverance to bring you into a new place. It’s in that unusual place that the hope of humanity is revealed. {Psalms 89:15}

SEEK AND YOU SHALL FIND. BLESS YOU!



Hag 2:7 And I will shake all the nations; and the desire of all nations shall come; and I will fill this house with glory, says Jehovah of Hosts.

Lord of Creation
Giver of Salvation
Hope of the Nations
Healer, Redeemer and King
Mighty Deliverer
Defense and Conqueror
My Chain Breaker
He will set the captives free

Darkest Days…Finest Hour!

Hey everybody! How’s it going? Great day to be alive, huh?

Thanks for all the wonderful feedback regarding the blog. I love you guys! That’s why you’re my favorites!!!

Lately, I find everyone I talk to is either in two places. Either they’re discovering new paths or they’re discovering their new identity which is who they really are. I’m sure, for all of you “highly-favored” folks, it’s probably both. Hahaha!

I want to encourage you today and hopefully position you to see things a bit differently. My goal is to propel you past what you’ve known and push you toward something greater. I want you to “go for the gold,” but we must remember there’s no victory without a challenge. That being said…let’s dive in!

About five years ago, I went through some MAJOR challenges. I felt caught up in a nightmare and just wanted to wake up. See, within a little over a year I had lost my home, my mom and my baby. It seemed like I was living under a curse. To be honest, I don’t even remember the sun shining at all during that time. Those days seemed extremely dark. On top of that, one of my kids slipped into a major depression and started acting out uncontrollably; and before I knew it, I was just as depressed. Every time I felt like I was at a point where I could finally begin to breathe, another tragedy would strike and take the wind right out of me. Death was all around me. Spiritually, I was holding on for dear life. I found myself in a place that no amount of human effort could rescue me from.

Bitterness and anger set in rather quickly. It seemed like the world was warring against me. I took the position that said “if you don’t need me, I don’t need you.” I began to despise those around me and even those in leadership over me; never admitting my problem was with God, not man. Basically, I thought God had abandoned me. I thought He left me to face this “heated battle” called life by myself.

After a while (four months to be exact), I began to realize that there was nothing in my being that was going to lift me out of this horrendous pit. Then one day the Light broke in. I realized that I didn’t need to know why all these things had happened. I needed the strength to overcome them. I needed God. He was the answer. He was the Only One who completely overcame death and I needed Him desperately to drive it away from me. All of a sudden my self-pity turned into a sincere cry for help. I cried out to God, He rescued me and set me on a new course. He showed me an overcoming path.

I am still on that course. It has been challenging, but ever-rewarding. I am learning and discovering so much every day. One valuable thing I have learned on this new path is that there is always a way out or maybe I should say, a way through. God sent His Son to secure a way out of every mess we’d ever find ourselves in. We must be willing to seek Him to find it. The best part about God’s path is it brings us into new life, new joy and new strength.

So, watcha still doing here? Seek the Lord and let Him take you beyond the disappointment, hurt, anger and fear. He has a better way. Your finest hour is right past your darkest days. So...Get going!

NO FINER TIME THAN THE PRESENT!

photo by flickr

Do the Itty Bitty Thing...It's Worth It!

Good day, mighty one! Yes, I said mighty. Were you not created by the Almighty One? Were you not given breath and strength by the All-Powerful One? And aren’t you the same person that has been given His divine power for all things that pertain to life and godliness? Yeah, I thought I was talking to the right person. {Gen 2:7, 2 Peter 1:3}

I’m not going to be long today…I think. Just stay with me for a second.

Ever since I wrote the " The Itty Bitty Piece that Stopped Everything”, the Lord has been reiterating this over, and over, and over…and over. I’ll give you an example.

Last night I went to a fabulous meeting at Glory of Zion. I drove home, sat on my bed and all of a sudden my left ear became extremely stopped up. I was faintly able to hear. It happened so fast that it really scared me. I asked my husband to pray for it. Nothing changed. I kept saying, “I’m not going to worry about it,” although that seemed kind of impossible. I thought, “Who knows? I may wake up in the morning and it will be completely healed.” So I went to bed with a small grain of faith.

Well, morning came. No change. I still felt like I was flying in an airplane. I could barely hear in my left ear. I pulled and dug, pushed and tug and everything in between. Then I said, “ok I’m setting the army against this! I need help.” So, I texted a few buddies in my distress, explained the problem and asked them to pray.

Not long after that, I went to the store to buy some breakfast foods. Still in much distress, I parked the car and said “Lord I give this situation to you. I mean after all I still have one good ear, right?” I got out the car and walked through the electrical sliding doors and the Lord said, “Go and look for some ear drops.” So I bought a box and returned home.

I went home and put the drops in my ear and nothing happened. But a few hours later, I was lying on my bed and I discovered there was something in my ear that now seemed to be within reach. It was a big piece of wax! I know…go ahead and say it. Ewww!!!

The point is there are itty bitty things blocking us from hearing the one thing that God is telling us to do. We must pay close attention to “the thing” that is being released for us to move forward rightly into our future. We will not be able to move forward in a right way without it.

Many times God speaks and says very practical things such as: “Break away from doing _________ for a while, build a strong relationship with such and such, show up every Tuesday for the prayer meeting, or go ask your neighbor if they need any help.” If we are not willing to do these things, we stay where we are physically, spiritually & emotionally. Become a willing vessel and you’ll be filled with more than you can ever imagine.

Isaiah 1:19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;

photo by Tim Stone

The Itty Bitty Piece that Stopped Everything

Hope you had a great weekend! Mine? Glad you asked. If I had to put it in a word, I would say "my weekend was revelatory. Simply revelatory...nothing complex...but still deep." Read with me as I explain.

My sister Toni and I went out Friday evening to see a movie for our Mother's day weekend opener. Well, on our way back home from the movie theater, I decided to stop at Walgreens to pick up some pictures that I had ordered. We ran in quickly, paid for the pictures and were back out the door. We then hopped into the car to leave. Well, I started the car and shifted the lever into reverse but to my surprise the car did not move. The gears weren’t shifting into place. I could move the lever but the gears were not shifting! Oh my goodness! HOW COULD IT APPEAR to be shifting BUT IN ACTUALITY IT WASN'T DOING ANYTHING! "How could this be happening," I shouted. I finally took a breath and called my husband, James.

James arrived and found a young man trying to assist us in some way. The young man was trying to be helpful, but we all realized that we were still getting nowhere. After an hour of trying this and that out of complete frustration, I called my insurance company and they called a towing service. I decided to use my husband’s truck to take Toni home. Well the tow truck guy arrived and told James what thought the problem was. He showed James how to maneuver it so that he could drive the car home. Well, it worked! So much so, that it gave James the oomph and confidence to take a look at it the next morning.

So after being under the car for about an hour, James came to me and said, “I think I found your problem.” He then lifted up this extremely tiny, circular piece of plastic. It looked like it had to belong to something bigger for it to have any purpose at all. I immediately thought, “Wow that’s what is causing this! You have got to be kidding!” So, James went to the store and bought a piece like it. It was $6.78. He came home, replaced it and the car was and still is in motion again.

So, my sister called me the next day and I was telling her how the situation turned out. I began to go on and on about how it all revolved around this itty bitty piece. I said “man, that itty bitty piece was able to stop that entire car from functioning rightly. As I said that, I was brought back to the time I had spent reading my bible that morning. I had been reading in I Chronicles where David had numbered the men and the Lord became angry. He offered David a choice of what type of punishment would he rather come under. David chose the one where he would be under the hand of God. BUT, 70,000 men fell under the sword of the Angel of the Lord that day from ONE (1) person’s lack of submission to God. Then the Lord began to reveal the power of one person’s complete submission. He showed me how we can shift things and create right alignment in the Earth simply because we are in a right position of alignment!!! Wow we can be advocates for millions when everyone of us are in the place God has called us to; doing what He tells us to do and saying what He tells us to say. From a right place, we can cause a major SHIFT!

As a side note, I had been ignorantly damaging that little piece on my car by doing something so simple that did not appear harmful at all. I had no idea that missing one step could throw out my entire gear system. Wow…who said ignorance is bliss? In God’s mercy, he sent the right tow truck guy who had experience with this type of problem. He was able to identify the problem and shed light on what I had been doing wrong. At first I felt a little embarrassed because I felt like I had caused the problem; but later I began to feel smarter. In a moment, I learned something I had never known before and it will keep me MOVING IN A MORE SECURE WAY!

There are so many lessons in this one itty bitty moment of time. Even as you read through this posting today,something stood out to you. That is most likely the itty bitty piece that you need to get moving. Apply it to your life today and MOVE FORWARD!

Father, I pray thank you that you allowed something in my life to break down so it could be put together to perform at maximum potential. I thank you for restoring my vehicle and my life to move forward in a better, stronger, more secure way. I pray that you would do the same for all who would read this. In Jesus' name...Amen.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NLT)

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. ¹² In those days when you pray, I will listen. ¹³ If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.

Photo by Ole Houen

Mom...Can I talk to you for a second?

This message touched me deeper than any screen work Tyler Perry has ever done! He sent this out to those on his email list on April 7, 2011. As Mother's Day is approaching all I can think about is this "heart to heart message" from Tyler.

So sit back and relax. Go and get yourself something to drink if you need to and REALLY ponder these kind words from Mr. Perry as he speaks directly to you.

And for the record, I love Prayfit.com! Just keep reading and you'll understand why I said that. Hahaha!!!


From Tyler's journal:


Can I talk to you for a second?

I want to talk to all of you who are taking care of the kids, taking care of your husbands and wives, girlfriends or boyfriends, to those of you who are working to make ends meet, to those of you who are worried about everyone and everything else, so much so that you have taken yourself off the list. I need to tell you something. If you're not at the top of your own list then you are doing all those people in your life a huge disservice.

My mother had diabetes. She lost her eyesight, lost her kidneys and eventually lost her life. Sometimes I get so mad and angry that she is not here. What I know for sure is that God does not make any mistakes. So, I accept His will. I think the thing that makes me the angriest is Diabetes is preventable and reversible. Did you know that with diet and exercise, lots of people have prevented and even reversed it? I kid you not. I'm serious! Diabetes is not just "a little sugar" like the old folks say, it is a slow killer. The good news is that you don't have to have it.

You know this is hard for a man like me! I gave my mother everything she ever thought she could want, but what I could not give her was her health. What I could not give her was the mindset to want to put herself first. I couldn't will her the strength to take care of herself. She accepted diabetes as her reality and it became her life and her death. She was only 64.

Is this you? Are you putting everything and everybody before yourself? Before your health? Please, don't let your loved ones go through what my sisters, brother and I have gone through because of losing her. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!

Cut back on the starches, sodas, sweets, and go for a run if you can. If you can't, go for a walk. Get active. Commit to putting yourself on your list. You have to be first before you can help anyone else.

Celebrity trainer, Jimmy Pena, wrote a great book called "PrayFit". This is a good read to get you motivated and started. If you want to take your life back, this book can help you. God bless!

CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ON http://www.prayfit.com/

Tyler

Happy Mother's Day!!!

No More Superficial (Part 2) - It's Time!

After I saw this video, I knew God had me on the right track.

The Lord is shouting "It's time for my people to demonstrate who I AM, not what they have imagined Me to be. They must speak as I speak and do as I do, NOT what they have imagined what I would say or do." Vain imaginations can only take you to one place...Error.

When GOD shows up, people know. They sense that there is a supernatural love and power working for them, propelling them into more life and liberty. It is a power that is completely beyond the self-absorbed human nature and comes to fully opposes it!

Right before I woke up this morning, I had a dream that I feel is completely relevant to this subject. The dream was pretty simple. So, here it is...

My family and I were living in this community that seemed very different from the one I live in now. My 1st cousin and his wife had just moved in the house next door. It seemed like my cousin was spending a lot of time observing me and my family. I didn't feel any wrong motives or any personal intrusion by his continued spectating. I just happened to notice that I would always see him sitting at the front door peering through it or he'd be standing by a window looking at us. Then, all of a sudden he and his wife came over and asked "where can we go to buy a new car." I directed them to the dealership and they seemed very happy. I remember being very excited for them because they were getting a brand new car! They were really examining a certain car to make sure it had EVERYTHING! It looked great from the outside, but their intense looks said "we're not buying it if it doesn't have everything we're looking for." Then I woke up.

I believe the Lord is saying through this dream that there are those who need to know what you are doing and saying is "THE REAL THING!" THEY NEED TO SEE IT!!! They are tired of "buying into something" that has no life, no power, no love, and no concern for them. People who simply look good on the outside but have no heart for those around them are simply artificial. GOD IS REAL! HE IS GENUINELY CONCERNED FOR PEOPLE! People in the world and especially in the Church need the God in you to be demonstrated. They need the TRUE AND LIVING GOD who cares!!! I believe the Lord is grieved when He has a people that stand on Christian platforms but they do not set the stage for Him to be glorified through power and love.

The video below was broadcasted today by Joyce Meyer's ministries. I pray you watch this and let God stir you in A WHOLE NEW WAY!

Cmon, say it with me..."IT'S TIME!!!"

click on this link...http://www.joycemeyer.org/BroadcastHome.aspx?video=Taking_Christ_to_the_Streets

NO MORE SUPERFICIAL!

Hi people! Got a few questions...let me know when you're ready...ok...read.

Imagine you are sitting on a park bench with God...yes...God. As He lifts up His face and turns to you, He says...

" WHO? Who will do it? Who is really willing to stand in the gap? Who is willing to lay down his life for a friend? Who is willing to love the Lord with all of their heart and their neighbor? Who is willing to allow mercy to triumph over judgment? Who is willing to lay down their desires so that the Lord may have His desire? Who is willing to walk in forgiveness and walk away from offenses?"

These are some of the questions I believe we all must take a good look at. What are our hearts really saying? Are we REALLY saying yes to all of these questions or are our mouths just giving correct answers? Hmmm...good time for a coffee break, huh? Yeah...I know. But I'm almost finished.

2Ch 16:9 says "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars."

When our hearts are perfect toward Him, we will make room for Him to show Himself strong in our relationship with Him and our relationships with others. He will change our hearts and give us His nature. When we get to this level we will ultimately have REAL-ATIONSHIPS!

photo by RedJinn:...