Seasons Greetings!

This is a simple animation that I did with Adobe CS4 Flash.

Happy Born Again Birthday To Me!

Thirteen years ago on the Saturday after Thanksgiving I gave my life to the Lord. I was in my college dorm room lying across my bed feeling rejected and hurt. Sometimes people don’t accept God until all hell has broken loose in their life. I wish I could say that wasn’t the case for me but it was. I needed God really bad then, but you know what, I STILL need God really bad now.  That was the best decision of my life: one that I don’t regret making during my college years.

The past few years have been hard for me. They left a lot to be desired but thank God that He brought me through those trials. I remember thinking that it seemed like my best days were behind me. I was making more money back then. I had money left over from paycheck to paycheck. But the Lord assured me that my best days are still before me. God has been excellent. I have to praise Him for his continuous support. I was facing foreclosure this year but God kept me in my house. My little cousin was killed in a hit and run accident but God’s grace has sustained our family. Another cousin needed a heart transplant and received one through the grace of God. There were a few other emergency situations that took place in my family this year but God kept us through those times.  He’s been covering us under the shadow of HIS wings and I’m not moving from that place. I have so much to be thankful for! God is TOO good! I give HIM all the glory & praise for blessing my life. 

Lusting After God

Lust is one of those words that is instantly thought of as negative because it is associated with a strong desire for something, often sexual. It is wanting something to gratify or please our flesh. When we turn those strong desires toward God they can be beneficial to our walk with Christ. It’s a prerequisite to living a life full of worship. God should be the object of our affections. Lusting after God means that we long for, crave for, and thirst for Him. I love the way David illustrated this point in Psalms 63:1, O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. His desire for God was vital to his life. God is the fulfillment in all that we need, want or desire.

Running to God

It was 5:30AM and my alarm had just gone off. Instead of sleepily hitting the snooze button and rolling over to go back to sleep, I grab my phone to call my sister.  As soon as my eyes had opened, I heard the words to that beautiful song Whitney Houston sung in the Preacher’s Wife, ‘I’ll hasten to His throne.’  What made that song come to my heart I don’t know but I was super excited. I felt like God was excited about my sister & I meeting Him in prayer. My sister couldn’t recall the song at the time and I definitely couldn’t sing it to her, especially with my ‘frog lady voice’ that I have most early mornings. The name of the song is “I Love the Lord” featuring the Georgia Mass Choir. It is basically about hastening or running to the throne of God when we are facing trouble and trials. We don’t have to run to His throne only when situations are bad, though.  We can run to His throne just because…. Just to worship Him. Like children who rush outside when they’ve been waiting for their parents to come home; they just miss seeing their mom and dad and are glad to be in their presence again.

My Heart is Inditing a Lovely Matter.

My heart is inditing a good matter. Those words kept coming to my mind as I listened and sang along with Israel Houghton’s My Tribute Medley.

How can I say thanks for the things you have done for me. Things so undeserved yet you gave to prove your love for me. And the voices of a million angels could not express my gratitude. All that I am and ever hope to be, I owe it all to thee.

Chorus: To God be the glory, to God be the glory, to God be the glory for the things He has done. He has done.

Just let me live my life. Let it be pleasing Lord to thee. Should I get any praise, let it go to Calvary.

How great is our God. How great is our God. How great is our God….

As I sang the lyrics to this beautiful song I realized how much it made me want to love God more. Can a song make you love God more? Its weird but that is what I was feeling. I was loving God ‘hard.’ My grandmother used to refer to people loving hard, as in ‘giving it all, holding nothing back.’ All I could say was “I love you so much, God.” My heart felt like it was literally throbbing for God. I know people have used the term ‘heart throb’ often, but I’m not using it as a cliché. My heart was pulsating as I worshipped God. I thought, ‘Wow, Israel is so talented. His song makes me want to love God more.’ My heart is inditing a good matter, continued coming to my mind. It was Psalm 45:1. As I continued to sing about how great God is, I read the scripture and wondered on how it applied to me. So much revelation came forth after I read a few commentaries.

This scripture was the beginning of a poem that someone was writing about the King. The writer’s heart was engaged and it was bubbling over. The writer had so much love towards the king that he couldn’t really speak to express the emotions coming from his heart. He felt that by writing what he was feeling it would give greater clarity to what he was trying to say. This is understandable for me. I am a much better writer than I am a speaker.

The psalmist was describing exactly how I felt. My heart was overflowing with love for God as I repeated, “I love you so much”, over and over again.

We can all experience what the writer was expressing. God wants our hearts, our undivided attention. He wants us to crave him and be in love with Him. David said as the deer pants after the water brooks so pants my soul after God. God is so wonderful. I know that it is His love that I was feeling because His love is ‘poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit’. Isn’t it wonderful to know that He pours His love into our hearts so we can have a glimpse of how much He loves us?

I forgot about the bad report that I had received regarding my car and the repairs that I needed. It was just me lying on my bed telling God how much I love Him.

Know How The Story Ends.

Recently I've been thinking of all Jesus had to go through while on Earth before being crucified. He was beaten badly. I began to feel sad for a second but then realized it HAD to be done. For me to be sitting here with hope for tomorrow, Jesus had to endure through those things to get to [Resurrection] Sunday morning. I know it's not Easter but the Resurrection of Jesus is an every day message. We can get through these light afflictions because joy comes in the morning. Jesus had a purpose. Although on the night before He was taken He prayed to the Father three times, 'if it is possible let this cup pass from me'; He wanted to fulfill the Father's will more than His own, 'not my will but thou will be done'. Ultimately it was Jesus' will, too. His sole purpose was to do what He saw His Father do. Say what His Father said. Jesus was the perfect Son, doing exactly what He was told to do, not straying although it appeared that His Father had left Him. How many times has the temptation been there to stray from what you know to do just because things don't look like they are working out the way they are suppose to. We can't lose heart because of the way things appear. We know how the story is suppose to end. Why do we want to give up? The scripture says we are hard pressed on every side but we are not crushed. What ever doesn't kill us makes us stronger. Remember which side wins. All things work together for your good. Know how the story ends.

Happy Mother's Day 2011!

Thank God for my beautiful mom! Like a lot of teenagers I went through the stage of thinking that I knew more than her. Who was I kidding? Now I am grateful for the many times I can call her and ask her advice about everything. From cooking a roast to changing a flat tire, I've learned and am still learning so much from my mom. She's always been there for my greatest achievements and my failures, reminding me that all things are gonna work out for my good. Not only today but, every day I choose to honor her because I know that it will increase the days of my life. As proverbs 31:28 mentions, 'I rise up and call her blessed!' Happy Mother's Day, mom!

National Day of Prayer 2011

I woke up earlier than usual this morning and started praying. The urge was very strong to pray. Imagine my surprise to learn that today is the National Day of Prayer! As an intercessor, my spirit was ready to join in with millions of others that are praying today. Hopefully this day will turn into many days for people to pray. The need is always there. We are to 'pray without ceasing'! The following is my introductory prayer video. Stay tuned for more to come.

Which God are you talking about?

I feel the need to clarify who I'm talking about when I speak of God. I am a Christian so I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and that He is also the Son of God the Father. The term 'god' floats around so much and often I discover that the God that I believe in is not the same god that others are referring to. When I talk about God, I'm talking about the Number 1, Premier, Supreme, Magnificent, Greatest, Chief, Finest, Most Excellent, Preeminent, Outstanding, Celebrated, Remarkable, Exalted GOD! The Almighty! He calls Himself 'I AM.' You know how people call you on the phone and say, "This is me."  I've had as many as 4 people calling or leaving messages saying, "This is me." He would say, "This is I AM," and you wouldn't have a question of which I AM is calling because there is only one.

I JUST WANT YOU.

I just finished reading Hadassah, One Night With the King by Tommy Tenney. I love the story of Esther and how she came to her position as queen. Not to mention all the beauty treatments and similarities to a beauty pageant. There is a part in the book that really stood out for me. When Esther has been taken to the palace against her will as part of the command for all the young virgins to come, she misses Mordecai, the man that raised her, very much. When she gets a chance to see him, she hugs him and they both cry from the joy of being together again, although it’s for a brief moment. Esther then goes back to her quarters and God's Spirit begins to speak to her. Since so much has happened in her life up to this point, she secretly had a negative attitude towards God. Remember she was an orphan. The book describes her family being brutally murdered, her only friend taken to become a eunuch, her current plight of being taken away from her beloved 'Poppa' aka Mordecai. She didn't understand how God could allow all these things to happen to her. Who hasn't ever been mad at God for some reason or another? A failed marriage, child abuse, death of a loved one, lost job, etc. The list goes on for reasons that people become mad at God.

God's Spirit asked her why she couldn't weep at his presence and rejoice at finding it the way she did Mordecai's presence. Of course, this is Tommy Tenney's artistic license, but it was a beautiful moment when Esther saw God's heart towards her. She felt His heart and His presence. Her attitude towards God changed. Who's heart wouldn't melt after that experience? He had 'created within her a clean heart and renewed a right spirit within her.'

God loves us so much. He wants us to love Him back but His love is not based on whether we love Him or not. He doesn't love you just because you love Him. Or because [you think] you do all the right things. One of my friends has been saying this scripture a lot lately. Romans 5:8, But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. It was before we became the sweet, lovable people we are today. (Smile)

So before God ask you or me the question that was posed to Esther, let our answer be: I JUST WANT YOU. This is a beautiful song by Vicki Yohe.

IT IS WHAT IT IS???

Have you ever prayed or asked someone to pray for you about something, then about ten minutes later; you say something contrary to your prayer?

I was talking to the Lord tonight about a predicament that I was facing. I had taken a few steps to work it out but was not feeling like it was going to change. I said, “Lord, I don’t know if this term fits this situation or not but, ‘It is what it is.’ Meaning, it’s the way it is and you [I] can’t change it. Its hopeless, just deal with it.

I said this in ignorance because after I thought about what that term means I had to recant that statement.  I said, ‘Wait a minute…that doesn’t apply to my life.’ It’s not what it is. It’s what God says it is.

I forget sometimes that nothing is too hard for God. It’s like I give Him easy stuff and I hold on to more challenging things with worry. You take care of that God but I’m going to worry about this one.  Why is it so easy to forget how mighty our God is? I forgot who I was talking to. Lord, forgive me for forgetting how great You are; that You are looking all over the earth to see who You can show yourself strong to.

The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.

Psalm 119:130, NKJV.

God’s words bring light. That means it brings hope to dark, hopeless situations.  It brings insight. It causes you to take a look from another direction, taking a different point of view. My statement was indeed ‘simple’ but it eventually caused me to pay closer attention to the words that I speak. I can’t afford to speak words that imply that things are so hopeless that they can’t be changed.

I’m an optimistic person. Not only is the glass half full, my cup is meant to be running over. 

Moving Beyond My Solar Eclipse.

For this blog to be a blessing to people there is a deal of transparency on my part that is involved. I don’t know just how transparent I want to be but I learned something today. I was talking to a friend about God and how we can let our issues get in the way of seeing Him. It’s like a total solar eclipse.

During the time of a total solar eclipse the moon comes in between the earth and the sun. For a few minutes the sky is either totally black or we see the moon with the outline of the sun around it a few hours. That is what happened to me in my view of God. I let my issues/failures get in between me and God and I couldn’t see Him. All I saw were my issues. But as I began to praise God in spite of MYSELF, my focus on those issues shifted and I could see His goodness again. I could see His sweet, tender mercies that are renewed everyday.

I was disappointed in myself for doing something that I said I would not do again. Like most people, when I mess up I’m my own worse enemy. I will mope around and after a few days talk to God about it. But that wasn’t the case today. I had to get in an atmosphere of praise & worship so that “I” could move out of the way. My eyes were on me and not on HIM. He promised that if I keep my eyes on HIM he would keep me in perfect peace. I feel like preaching in here...LOL. So don’t let your issues or worries get in the way of seeing God. He is not going anywhere. Just like in a total eclipse the sun is not moving. It’s the moon that is moving. So when your worries or issues get in the way and you can’t see the goodness of God, lift up some praise & worship and watch how it moves out of the way and His GOODNESS shines through.  Your focus won’t be on you but on HIM.

Romans 8:38-39, the amplified version says it best:

38For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers, 39Nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We have not because we ask not? Part 2

Here is a video showing more jewelry that I received. God is good. You can read the previous post here.

God knows how to use Adobe Photoshop!

I love God so much. I really wish I could hug Him. He is so smart. He knows absolutely EVERYTHING! GOD I LOVE YOU!! Yeah, I'm shouting because I want Him to know how much I love Him. He knows how to use Adobe Photoshop and create banners. I tried designing my blog's banner many times and after what seemed like the 50th time it began to come together for me. I was working on it until the wee hours of the morning. Then all of a sudden I was led to place one image here and some type there and 'WOW' its done and I love it! Here are just a few attempts and you can see the final banner on display. Just in case I change it, I'm going to post it below.

My Spirit Sings: Moving Forward

When I wake up in the morning most of the time there is a song on my heart. I always think of this as my spirit singing. I love music. I grew up loving it because my dad is a musician and was always in a band. My mom always had the radio on. Most of the songs that I hear are christian songs but there have been times when they are secular. I believe that what you listen to makes deposits on your spirit. Music can make you feel good, sad, angry, sexy, confident, etc. That is why listening to positive things is so important. It can build you up in areas that you need to be built up in. Use it to your advantage. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Even those times that I hear a secular song in my spirit its always a message that I need to hear. One morning I woke up hearing Survivor by Destiny's Child. I could be wondering about things the night before and as soon as I open my eyes its like the radio turns on in the inside of me. It will even continue through out the day. I know many people are like that. Your spirit is always singing. We have to tune in to see what God wants to say to us. The song on my heart this morning is Moving Forward by Israel Houghton. Just for a second last night I became a little discouraged about my future. I've got to get a thicker skin. It only lasted a moment but I guess it was enough for God to address it through this song. In this video, Israel talks about this song.

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