Blessed AND I Know It...

I'm BLESSED and I know it! 

I was sent an e-mail this past week and there were a few things that jumped out at me.  The first one was this :

"Where did so many of us get the idea that if we are too happy, something terrible is going to happen?"

I decided to face the fact that I have a good life.  I don't have to walk around looking at the glass half empty and worrying if something bad is going to happen to me.  I don't have to feel bad because God has blessed me abundantly.  I don't have to allow others to dump their garbage on me to make me feel stinky.  I'm BLESSED and I know it. 

I choose to walk around with a smile on my face and a song in my heart.  It's really okay to be happy.  God wants us to enjoy all the great and wonderful things that He has put on this earth. 

Everyone doesn't have to have gone through hard and terrible times to have a testimony - sometimes the fact that God sheltered us and covered us and kept us from foolishness is testimony enough.  

I'm BLESSED and I know it!

Back on Track…

I think we can all attest to the fact that there has been something to come along in our lives that just completely knocked us off of our feet.  I mean this thing took the wind out of our sails and made us retreat to solitary confinement.  I know it happened to me.  I can remember how terrible I felt and how I didn’t want to be around anyone and bothered by anybody.  But what I came to understand through it all was how the enemy wants us to do just that – be alone.  Because when we are alone, he has time to talk to us and manipulate our feelings and emotions.  It’s during this time where some of us may not even want to attend regular church services or take time to pray because we may feel, ‘what’s the use – does God care?’  That’s how I started to feel…

This situation could be something we caused or it can even be something that God allowed to happen. Whatever the case – it’s time to get back on track!  Our feelings and emotions can become our greatest enemy if we allow them to be.  We can’t always go on how we feel – we have to go on what we know.

Romans 8:28...” And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”


If you truly trust and believe in the power of the Almighty God – then get up!  The more time we spend focusing on what happened, the longer it takes for our true blessings to manifest.  We’ve encircled this mountain long enough.  God has a blessing just for you!


Jeremiah 29:11 – 12…”For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.”

Someone is Watching You…

“Your actions are speaking so loud, I can’t hear what you’re saying.” – Unknown

I read this quote once and it really stood out to me on how people view what you do more than what you say, ESPECIALLY when you are professing to be a Christian.  The Bible instructs us on more than one occasion to be careful of how we behave.  I don’t mean for you to be on your best behavior because someone is watching, but to be on your best behavior because it’s a lifestyle. 

I Timothy 4:12…”but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”

Romans 14:12-13…”So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.”

I Corinthians 10:23…”All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.” – (my interpretation of this is that just because something is true doesn’t mean you should always have something to say about it because it may harm another who is not strong).

I Corinthians 8:9…”But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak.”

Point blank, don’t just talk about how God says we are to live, BE ABOUT IT!  Malachi chapter 2 tells of how the priests were rebuked because the sin in their lives were causing others to go astray.  We have a responsibility as people of God to be Holy examples for others to follow.  If we live like those in the world, then why would they want to be saved?

The Guy in the Glass

I heard this poem quoted at a conference that I recently attended and it resounded with me.  We can go out and achieve all sorts of goals and accomplishments, but at the end of the day, are we truly happy with ourselves?  When we look at ourselves in the mirror, do we like what we see?  Whatever the situation may call for - always be true to yourself!

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The Guy in the Glass by Dale Wimbrow, (c) 1934

When you get what you want in your struggle for pelf (money or wealth),

And the world makes you King for a day,

Then go to the mirror and look at yourself,

And see what that guy has to say.  

For it isn't your Father, or Mother, or Wife,

Who judgement upon you must pass.

The feller whose verdict counts most in your life

Is the guy staring back from the glass.  

He's the feller to please, never mind all the rest,

For he's with you clear up to the end,

And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test

If the guy in the glass is your friend.  

You may be like Jack Horner and "chisel" a plum,

And think you're a wonderful guy,

But the man in the glass says you're only a bum

If you can't look him straight in the eye.  

You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years,

And get pats on the back as you pass,

But your final reward will be heartaches and tears

If you've cheated the guy in the glass.

Gifts & Talents

There is a story in Matthew 25 starting at the 15th verse that tells how the Lord gave three men talents based upon their abilities. One He gave five, the other two and the last one.  The first two doubled their talents, but the man given the one talent buried his in the earth.  When the Lord returned, He praised the ones who went out and increased their talents, but He verbally reprimanded the one who did nothing with what God had given him.  The Lord called him "wicked and slothful!"

This passage of scripture can be applied to all of our lives.  God has equipped each of us with gifts or talents to be used for His glory and to be used to bless others.  Just as in the example above, I believe that it grieves the Lord when we sit on the gifts and talents that He has given us.  You don't have to be on a public platform to have your gifts and talents recognized and God can use each and every one of us in many different ways.

For example, this weekend I had the opportunity to open my home to some dear friends and together we all learned how to calculate our net worth and how to write a budget for the betterment of our households.  Someone with the gift/talent of financial management "volunteered" her time to come out and meet with us individually.  Her gift/talent has served to increase the knowledge of a group of women who now can go out and educate others on how to manage their finances more wisely.  I'm sure the Lord smiled down on her for that. 

What is your gift or talent?  Are you not allowing God to get the glory through you?  Could you be reaching out and helping someone, but you are not?  Could you be doing more with what God has blessed you with?

Proverbs 18:16...A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.

God is Speaking – Just Listen…

The last few weeks I have been so anxious and uptight due to mainly some changes going on at work and trying to plan a great birthday bash for a loved one.  My sleep has been off, I’ve lost my appetite, I haven’t been smiling as much and so forth.  However, through it all God was speaking if I would have just stopped and listened…

Those who know me know how much I love to send thoughts for the day – well some of my staff members have caught on to it and one young lady in particular has really blessed me recently.  She took the time to have a white board put up in her office and each day she writes a new thought to help others stay encouraged.  We work in a hospital, so this is great for patients that may be having a rough day.  Today her thought that she paraphrased came from James 1:22 (NIV)…” Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”  God was speaking directly to me through her white board message!  On top of that I read a message from Joel and Victoria Osteen telling us that “we don’t have to live under the burden of fear and we don’t have to live with anxiety.”  To press the matter further, my Pastor spoke along the same lines in one of his recent messages. 

I’ve been listening to the word, but not doing what it says.  The word tells me that when I am weak to say that I am strong…the word tells me to be anxious for nothing, but in all things by prayer make my requests known to God….the word tells me to trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not to my own understanding. 

God had been speaking all along, but I wasn’t listening.  By not listening, I wasn’t being a doer of the word.  By not being a doer of the word, I wasn’t being a good example.  God is Speaking – Just Listen…

One Crisis to the Next…

If we aren’t careful, we can run from one crisis to the next in our lives, with no break in between, and before we know it - we are completely exhausted!  The crazy thing about it is that many times, it’s not our own personal crisis.

This morning as I drove to work, I was speaking with friend about some of the different issues she has faced in life and I told her something along the lines of, “ever since I have known you, you’ve been from one crisis to the next and none of them have been your own.”  The Bible tells us not to cast our pearls before swine and sometimes we want to help people out of situations BUT these people aren’t trying to help themselves.  We become their Rescue Engine and whenever there is a fire in their lives, they look for us to come running.  However, at some point in time if you keep up this behavior you are going to run out of steam.  Then when you run out of steam, who is there to pick you up?

Stop allowing someone else’s crisis to be your own.  Allow people the opportunity to work through their own issues so that they learn from their mistakes.  Stand quietly on the sideline and pray for them that God would give them guidance and direction.  This is the best type of Rescue Engine for you to be.

Look back over your life from year to date….  Is it your crisis?

Can God Trust You?

As I dressed for work the other morning, I listened to a pastor who used a common every day scenario to try and explain the rationale of Jesus' thinking and it was common sense to me, but may not be to another, so I share.

He said, if you had a friend that didn't take care of their own things....their stuff was always beat down and poorly kept and that friend came to you and asked to borrow something of yours - are you going to lend it out to them?  Those of us who understand that the word "no" isn't a bad word would give that person another option to obtaining what they needed in lieu of giving up your goods.

Well, I'm sure God looks down and thinks the same thing.  If your house is always dirty and/or unorganized - why should He bless you with another?  If you never take the time to wash and clean out your current car - why should He bless you with another?  If you mismanage the money that you have now - why should He bless you with more?  If you're not loyal, honest and trustworthy with the relationships in your life now - why should He send you a spouse to not appreciate?

It's simple - CAN GOD TRUST YOU?