Happy New Year!

To God Be the Glory!

Happy New Year!

Isaiah 42:9
Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.
Isaiah 43:19
Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

Functioning in Dysfunction : hmm???

Too often in life, many people become experts at functioning in their dysfunction.

How do you recognize when your life is so dysfunctional?

Have you survived this way so long that you don’t know what it is like to live any other way?

Have you learned to cope so long that you would not recognize normality if it suddenly entered your life?

OR

Do you recognize how dysfunctional you are and you don’t know what to do about it?

Are you sick and tired from coping and pretending that everything in your life is okay?

Do you view normality as being so far from you that you see it, but it appears to be beyond your grasp?

Merry Christmas!

May your Christmas Day be filled with joy and peace. Remember that Jesus is the true reason for the season.

Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

What Do You Do When You Don't Know What To Do?

Sometimes the dilemmas that we are faced with, in life, present us with choices that we don't like. We don't like either side of the dilemma. However, we know that if we want a different outcome, we must do something different.

When life is so full of choices, do you continue to play it safe and keep getting the same outcome, or do you venture out and hope to discover something new?

Prayer: Bridle My Tongue!

Psalm 141:3 Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.


Dear Heavenly Father,
Enable me to bridle my tongue when I am tempted to say things that I will later regret or things that I don’t necessarily mean. Teach me to say what you would say concerning all situations, and help me to know that when I respond in silence that silence is not a bad thing. Even Your son, Jesus, responded in silence as He took his finger and wrote on the ground in John 8:6. Thank you, Father, that I understand that bridling the tongue is a practice of true Christianity because your Word says in James 1:26 that If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.


In Jesus’ name,
Amen


Psalm 141:3 Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.

Days Like This

Struggling to accept the things I can not change.
Moma said there would be days like this!

Work With What You Got

When God created you, He created one of a kind. No one can beat you at being you. Learn to love and appreciate the person that God created. Accentuate what you have and know that no amount of complaining will change your weight, your shape, or your features. If you can not make it up, shape it up, or exercise it away - learn to deal with it!

Psalm 139:14
I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: ...

Prayer Of Thanks

Majestic Heavenly Father,

Thou art strong and mighty. Thou art mighty in battle. Thank you for being God in my life. Thank you for your holy presence. Thank you for guiding me, guarding me and growing me. You are my all and all. There is none like you. I will dwell in your secret place forever, Amen

(Prayer) Cast Your Cares On Him

Lord, The Great I Am,give me the mindset to understand that I can NOT change other people -I can only change me. Thank you, God, for renewing my mind so that I will not manipulate others into doing things my way. Thank you, God, for allowing me to realize that if you don’t change them then it won’t be done through any efforts of my own.

With your help,
I WILL take my hands off of the situation, and
I WILL trust you to fix it or to do what you would with it.

Father, in Jesus name, I turn this person, this problem, and this situation over to you. I cast the anxiety, the distress, and the pain over onto YOU. Help me to walk in peace regarding this matter.

In Jesus name,
Amen

Stop Trying To Change Other People!

Stop Trying To Change Other People!
There are times when the advice that we give falls on deaf ears. When someone that we love fails to take heed , we must conclude that only God can change their actions and their attitude. “Preaching” at someone does not cause them to change. Talking about someone does not cause them to change. Fussing and cursing at someone does not bring about change. We must stop manipulating others into responding and reacting the way that we think is appropriate. THAT is manipulation, and manipulation is control. Others will only change when they change their mindset.

Be ye transformed by the RENEWING of your mind.
Romans 12:2

… but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, …

A "Right-Now" Word

Exodus 33:14,17

Amplified Bible (AMP)


14And the Lord said, My Presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.

17And the Lord said to Moses, I will do this thing also that you have asked, for you have found favor, loving-kindness, and mercy in My sight and I know you personally and by name.

When Helping Others Is Hurting You

When Helping Others Is Hurting You

Learn to know when enough is enough. Our Lord and Savior expects us to help those in need. He even expects us to go that extra mile. But, when that extra mile hurts us and people that we love, it is time to say enough is enough. That does not mean that we have to stop helping altogether. It does mean that we might have to find an alternate way to help the one in need.

If loaning others money is taking bread out of your family’s mouth, maybe you need to do something else.

If spending time with other folk's children is causing you to neglect your own, it’s time to do something else.

If being there for everybody else is causing you to never be there for the one that you promised to love and cherish, maybe you need to do something else.

If being over-sensitive to the needs of others is hardening your heart against your own, it’s time to do something else.

Stop allowing others to borrow your money, steal your peace, consume your time, and zap your energy. Recognize when people are sucking the very life from you and from yours. It is only when you change your attitude and your actions will helping others stop hurting you.

Sometimes, you have got to teach a brother to fish instead of giving him a fish. Sometimes, you have got to empower people instead of enabling people. You can’t expect others to learn responsibility when you are always carrying their load!

Just Tell It!

Just because good sound advice and counsel did not work for you does not mean that it will not work for someone else. If the advice is Godly, share it with someone else that may be struggling in the same area that you are struggling. The very thing that you have to share may be the very thing that someone else needs to hear. Someone needs to hear your testimony.
Someone needs to take your advice.
Someone needs to hear your story.
Don't hesitate - -tell it!

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly....(Psalm 1:1)

Friend Or Foe?

I don't understand how someone who calls himself/herself a friend can withhold pertinent information that could possibly harm you or embarass you.

I don't understand how a true friend could know that "someone else" does not like you, and at the same time allow you to laugh and grin with that "someone else".

True friends cover you and protect you. They know how to hide your flaws - not expose them. True friends monitor you when you are going through - they don't abandon you.

It hurts me deeply when I discover that a "friend" has not been the friend to me that I have been to him/her.

Are these people friends or foes? Weigh in!

Proverbs 18:24
A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

An Aah- ha Moment

You can not force, manipulate, or pressure others into accepting you, appreciating you or loving you. YOU must accept YOU. YOU must appreciate YOU. YOU must love YOU. Be who God created you to be!


Psalm 139:14

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

Reality Check!

Sometimes reality stares us in the face in a way that we can't ignore. Reality is a reflection of who we really are which includes our strengths, our weaknesses, our successes and even our failures. When reality stares us in the face, it doesn't matter how much we try to ignore it, we can't. Reality is painful. It is what it is.

Sometimes, reality forces us to take a look at ourselves and see
- just how stupid we are,
- just how insignificant we are,
- just how vulnerable we are,
- just how much of a victim we are,
- just how pathetic we are,
- just how out of control we are,
- just how desperate we are,
- just what a fool we are. For what? Is it worth it?

Stop Being A Victim !

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to continue biting the inside of your jaw - in the very same place? Have you ever wondered why you bit your jaw this afternoon in the same place that you bit your jaw this morning? Why does that seem to always happen? The next time you accidentally bite the inside of your jaw, notice how that part of your jaw seems to poke out. The bitten area seems to stand out- waiting to be bitten again and again. Ouch!

There are times in life when we are victims of some misfortune or malady. When we become a victim of a situation, we become weak in that area of our life. As a result, we have no defense in that area and the same thing keeps happening over and over again. We can’t seem to figure out how or why the same stuff keeps happening. We want it to stop, but we don’t know how to make it stop. We don’t know how to regain control.

3 Steps To Stop Being A Victim

1) Recognize that you and only you can take charge of you.

2) Heal the initial wound. Fix the first situation. Too often, we try to build a
new house on a broken foundation. If the foundation is cracked, you will spend time repairing when you could be spending time polishing and enhancing. Broken foundations can only be repaired from the bottom up - not the top down.

3) Build a wall of protection. It is hard for the enemy to enter a mighty fortress.

Encourage Yourself!

Sometimes, you have to encourage yourself!

On a certain occasion in the Old Testament, David and his men returned to their camp. When they returned, they discovered that the enemy had invaded the city and captured their wives, sons, and daughters. After David and his men had a pity party, David realized that his own men planned to kill him and David encouraged himself.

It was only when David encouraged himself that he had a conversation with God. God gave him permission to go into the enemy's camp and take back everything that the enemy had stolen.

There are times, in life, when we have to encourage ourselves. When others turn their back on you, encourage yourself! When it seems as if the whole world is against you, encourage yourself!


but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.
(I Samuel 30:6)

My Soul Cries Out!

There are times when we resolve that we are not going to "cry over spilled milk". We know that there is nothing we can do about what happened or what did not happen in the past. No amount of human effort can change it or erase it. Regardless to how hard we try or how resourceful we become, we can't ease the pain nor can we ease the frustration. It doesn't matter how hard we try, our own human abilities just CAN NOT do it.

Even when we resolve that
"it" is over,
"it" is in the past,
"it" didn't happen or

"it" won't happen, there are those days when we awaken and a part of our soul cries out in agony. Tears of despair seem to drown us as we gasp in desparation for hope and just enough strength to make it through one more day. At times, the cry is so loud that it almost overtakes us. The cry is overwhelming. No one else seems to hear our cry. How can they not hear the cry when the sound abates with every tick of the clock? My soul cries out!

What is this cry that plays and replays like a broken record? What is "it'? "It' is the dream that turned into a nightmare. "It" is the pregnancy that never happened. "It" is the shame and degradation that never seems to go away. "It" is the guilt from the past that forever haunts your present. "It" is the anger that won't go away. "It" is the disrespect that you continue to face. "It" is the marriage that failed and the relationship that turned sour. "It" is that one desire that won't happen because you are too old or your body is too broken down.

Everybody has or has had an "it" that often cries out louder than any emergency siren. No one can erase or outrun "it". The challenge is to hear "it" and face "it". How can a cry that shatters our soul not be heard by anyone else? My soul cries out!

What will I do when my soul cries out? How will I face this challenge? How will I deal with "it" before "it deals with me? That is the challenge- to say the right thing when the wrong thing sits at the tip of my tongue. The challenge is to do what is right even when you don't want to do it. The challenge is to know that you can overcome and that, in spite of what you are going through, you will overcome!

What If?

There is an ever popular phrase of encouragement that says, "When life gives you a bowl of lemons, make lemonade". What do you do on those mornings when you wake up and you don't feel like making lemonade out of your lemons? What if you want to tell everybody how you really feel? What if you want to tell that certain someone where to go? What if you just want to say, " the h--- with it"?

Rewrite The Script!

There comes a time when the script that you wrote for your life does not line up with actuality.

• Perhaps, you have waited for your life to come into alignment with the script 
• Perhaps, you have struggled and tried to manipulate your life into
  alignment with the script; and
• Perhaps, you have even believed that your life would come into alignment
  with the script - only to discover that it is not going to happen. (There
  are many reasons why it is not going to happen, but I'll save that for
  another post.)

As a result, you are depressed, discouraged, and disappointed to the point where you feel as if you are not going to make it.  You are convinced that no one understands, and no one cares.  You constantly replay the perfect script that you wrote for your life.  Regardless to how many times you replay the script, it always falls short of reality.  As a matter of fact, reality seems to move farther and farther away from your perfect script.

If you are going to survive and stop the mental torture and bondage that you allow, you must rewrite your script.  You can't move forward with a backwards mentality.  The old script that you replay everyday has gotten you nowhere.  You are still broke, busted, and disgusted.  You are still messed up from the floor up.

Please understand me - you may discover that the new script won't work any better than the old one did. But one thing is for sure, you can't keep doing the same thing and expect a different result.  If you are going to survive, you must play the cards that you have been dealt.  You can't play my hand, and I can't play yours.

I challenge you today, to rewrite your script.  Stop allowing things to happen, and make some things happen.

When the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, the majority of them had a wilderness script.  Their script allowed them to survive only in the wilderness.  They could not survive in the promise land with a wilderness script.  Therefore, they were not allowed to go into Canaan.  Only those who had a promise land script were allowed to go into the promised land.

Which script do you have?  Is it for the wilderness? - the one that has you bound, trapped and preparing you to die before you reach your destination.  Or, is it for the promised land? - the one that declares to the world that

-you will make it,
-you will overcome,
-you will have joy,
-you will have peace, etc.

Be Blessed!

Stay On The Wall!

Some of you started 2011 with precise goals in mind and fervor to accomplish each task; However, as January has come to an end, and February has begun, you find your fervor dwindling with the passing of each day. Perhaps, you have begun to doubt whether you will ever accomplish the things that you planned to do. What you must understand is that most meaningful things take time and that even Rome was not built in a day. Don't lose your focus.

I'm reminded of a story about a man who was doing a great work- rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem that had been destroyed by the enemy (in the book of Nehemiah). When his enemies heard about his work, they tried to distract him and to coerce him into stopping his work. This man, Nehemiah, refused to stop his assignment. As a matter of fact, he told his enemies, " I am doing a great work and cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave to come down to you? " (Nehemiah 6:3)

If you are at this point, I encourage you to not abandon the good work that you have started. I encourage you to "Stay on the wall"!

Prayer For the Haters

Thank you , Lord, for allowing me to experience your very presence this day. Give me a portion of your enabling ability that will prevent me from being sensitive to the negative influences of other people. Show me how to walk and show me how to talk when I am in the midst of haters. I will not pay attention to their faces , nor will I be moved by their negative comments. I WILL lift up mine eyes unto YOU. I WILL keep my mind stayed on thee. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Psalm 121:1
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
Psalm 121:1-3 (in Context) Psalm 121 (Whole Chapter)

Isaiah 26:3
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.