When you are conversing with someone, can you see their words? You see lips moving, but you cannot see words! Have you ever wondered why?

In the beginning, God said let us make man in our image and after our likeness. He formed man from the dust of the ground; then after God formed man – He took his breath. God. TOOK. HIS. OWN. BREATH…and blew in the nostrils of man – and the man stood up and became a soul.

So you are NOT your body! Your body will return back from whence it came- the dust of the ground. Adam didn’t become a soul until God blew into his nostrils.

What is God? God is a spirit. They that worship Him must do what???

So if God blew HIS SPIRIT into Adam and Adam began breathing what are we?

If we were made in the image of God, and His likeness what are we? We are a spirit as well.

This is why life and death are in the power of the tongue. Your words are living. God blew his spirit in man and man became a living soul. Whatever I speak, I am either sowing seeds of corruption or seeds of righteousness. That is why we must be quick to hear…slow to speak.

There is a decision we must make with controlling our verbiage and the tone that we use. This decision is one we do not like to take ownership of. We place onus on someone else, based on how that person treats us, when in reality, there is no excuse.

“Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” Colossians 4:6 NKJV<

Grace should always be the focal point of our speech and conversation. We should talk of the great things and wonders of grace, which God has done for us, that  would be edifying to our Savior and for the glory of God.

Our conversation should always be graceful, so that we can minister grace to the hearer. If you don’t speak graciously, how can you minister grace?

If we focus on what we say and how we say it, then there’s no room for obscene words, subliminal messages, filthiness, foolish talking, and jesting, as the scripture says.

Ephesians 5:4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.<

Think about this: If we feared God in our speech, we wouldn’t have to think twice about what to say. The reason why so many evil things proceed out of our mouths is because the fear of God is not before our eyes. 👀

Words are powerful. Not only can they destroy lives but also bring healing.

The choice is yours. What power will you demonstrate through your words on today?

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue; those who love it will eat its fruit.” Proverbs 18:21 CEB

We share our visions and goals with those we would think would support us but instead they oppose us. Their words hurt like a burn from a flame. The reaction from that one person we trusted was not anticipated. Their words had such an astounding impact that the passion we once had, about the vision the Lord gave, fizzles.

We then sit the vision down, cover it up, and float through life asking our Father for our purpose when He has already vividly displayed it on the canvas of your mind. We begin to just exist and not live.

Let me say this right here: criticism is not “constructive” when it does not motivate, stimulate, uplift, encourage and make a person more confident or enlightened.

<<
mmm…that’s called nitpicking, or destructive criticism.

Your. Life. Matters.

Why is it that the vision you had for a business, or a book has not been seen anywhere? Why when you think about your dreams, your heart burns with excitement? Then, your mind takes over and you begin to think of what it would take to put this plan in motion, or the negative seed someone planted, and then the fire burns out again.

Here come the negative thoughts: It seems too great. You cannot do it. You do not have the financial resources or just resources in general. Where will you begin? Let me tell what I DO know. God will make provision for the vision. If He gave it to you, He will direct you on how to execute His plan. Oh yes it is His plan. Your own thoughts could not come up with something so elaborate and creative that no one else in the WORLD had this idea.

God told us to write the vision– research how to make a vision board.

“Then the Lord answered me and said: write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.”< strong>Habakkuk 2:2-3<<<<
the Lord. Seek Him. Live your life for Him. Remove the handcuffs of guilt and discouragement. Everyday speak life in and over your life:

“I can make it”

“I am the apple of the eyes of My Father”

“He made me for a specific purpose”

“He made me for a time such as this”

“I am important”

“I am an overcomer”

“I can do this”

“I am the work of Your hands”

“I have no idea what today holds, but Lord I know you are holding me through the day which means it will all work together for my good and your glory.”

Your life matters because of God, not people. Now go and be great!

“The Lord will perfect that which concerns me: Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever; do not forsake the works of Your hands.” Psalms 138:8 NKJV

Missing pieces

I do not know about you, but 2017 went by so quickly, it is hard to believe. The end of Quarter 2 and all of Quarter 3 were much of a blur; I was missing a piece of my life. Not once did I think I would begin this year without a midnight call/text/reflection with my mother on what we would accomplish this year and what she would do to be able to enjoy her summer with the grands, without being inhibited by Adult Asthma/shortness of breath. Since November 2017, I have been mentally preparing for her birthday (January 17^th). She would be turning 62 and I would be presenting her with 62 roses for loving me all of her 62 years, even though God introduced me to her, after the first 20 years of her life had passed. My momma was being prepare especially for me, the day that she was born.

Don’t worry. This is not a sad, devotion. Nor am I seeking for sympathy. In fact, it is just the opposite.

Have you ever attempted to put together a jigsaw puzzle? What about a puzzle with hundreds of pieces where you would work on one part, and someone else would begin another part? Whether you were in your youth or adulthood when you put together puzzles, they seem to provide a sense of anxiety and calmness all at the same time. Although the final image is given on the cover of the puzzle box, producing the desired outcome yourself gives a sense of accomplishment. But, what if a piece goes missing? A bit of franticness sets in. That one piece, prevents the puzzle from being whole- or complete.

Here’s a thought: The missing puzzle piece does not change the image. The picture is not distorted. The other pieces that fit perfectly together are not suddenly difficult to view. Your image just doesn’t look like the image you expected to see from the picture on the box.

The loss of my mother does not change the image of God in me. It does not change the fact that I have a purpose to fulfill. In fact, my pain has caused me to seek my Savior more sincerely and has defined my future more clearly. While the other pieces of my life (children, husband, business endeavors, etc.) fit perfectly together, they are only distorted if I allow the hurt to consume me. My children are still beautiful; my husband still makes me laugh and finds a way to comfort me through my pain. The image of my life now, just does not visually appear as I had expected.

The missing piece to your life’s puzzle isn’t missing either. There’s just a bigger puzzle.

Nanna’s (that’s what my babies call my mom) puzzle piece was needed in the piece of the puzzle my Father is working on. He hasn’t gotten to the section that I am on just yet, so I will continue to be the piece that I am, so that I can doing my part to complete the big picture.

Instead, by speaking the truth with love, let’s grow in every way into Christ, 16 who is the head. The whole body grows from him, as it is joined and held together by all the supporting ligaments. The body makes itself grow in that it builds itself up with love as each one does its part. Ephesians 4:15-16 (CEB)

I encourage you on today to continue to do your part.

• Maybe you loss a job. It’ll be fine. That job was the wrong piece.
• Perhaps you as well have lost a loved one as well. That’s okay – that person was needed now to aid in completing the big picture.
• Maybe the relationship you desired was suddenly broken off. No worries! You are a part of the puzzle that is creating the head; that person was a part of the tail. There was no connection.

Our Father has us in the palm of His hands. He does not desire that we should hurt. Just know that everything is working for our good and for His glory.

In 2018, seek peace and pursue it. Find the good in every challenge, trial, heartbreak, misunderstanding, and negative Nancy. The green pastures you desire in 2018 require a completely different mindset than what you carried in 2017.

So, I changed my mindset; I am not missing a piece. I will always have this piece of my heart that smiles, whenever I think of my mother.

Happy New Year!

Earlier this week, I had a dream that myself and my husband were seated at a desk. We had a list of names of people who we were preparing to give gifts to. We would call each person individually, and they would come and receive their gift. There was this name at the top of the list. I kept repeating the first name- never getting to the end of the list. I kept calling the first name on the list.

The name of the person on the list was: Elkanah Wilktish or Wilkish. When I awoke from the dream, I could not remember the last name but I knew I had heard of the first name.

I had read of a man in the Bible by the name of Elkanah. I had studied his family extensively. He was the father of Samuel, and the husband of Hannah and Peninnah. That story didn’t seem befitting for the dream I had, so I looked up the first name as I saw it on my list, in my dream:

El Kanna

I bout passed out.

El Kanna is a name for God. It means that He is a jealous God. We take jealous to mean a bad thing and it is, when associated with negative behavior. Sinful jealousy is associated with coveting.

“You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.” James‬ ‭4:2-3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

To covet is to strongly desire something belonging to someone else. Covetousness is not being content with what God has given us and overly fascinated with what God has given someone else.

Godly jealousy is a person who is attentive in guarding a possession. The Bible states it as such:

“You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.” Exodus 20:5 NLT

In other words, our Father has vowed to protect those whom He love. After all that He has done and is doing for us, how dare we expect something good from another source? How dare we love, desire, or expect something good from ANY. SINFUL. PLACE, when He has labored, sacrificed, and committed His ways to finding us and loving us? God cannot stand when we place nouns (people, places, or things) before Him. Truth be told, is He wrong?

When you go above and beyond to express your care and concern for others, don’t you want to be acknowledged and appreciated?

God sent his son Jesus to shed his blood in place of our bloodshed. He cannot fathom or understand how or why we would act, think, or believe that our source would come from something or someone worldly.

God is a jealous God. He is El Kanna!

He cannot tolerate anything that stands between Him and the love of our hearts. He is jealous of our trust. He would not let us trust in this world, and quite frankly, I wouldn’t dare disrespect Him like that.

What about you?

“Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there. When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them. But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God. He made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He keeps every promise forever.” Psalms 146:3-6 NLT

There was a woman in the Bible by the name of Naomi. Naomi’s husband Elimelech made the decision for the family to leave their home in Bethlehem because there was a famine in their country. So he moved his family to survive. They settled in Moab. The Moabites did not serve the true and living God. They worshiped idol Gods. Yet, Elimelch and his family held true to their foundation in the midst of worldly people (please catch that).

The world is not supposed to draw us. We are supposed to draw them. Your environment should not be able to dictate or change your conviction. When the folks at the job complain about management or other co-workers, we should not participate in those discussions. How can we draw when we are spectators and participants? When it appears as if those who are doing it all the way wrong and are prospering more than you who are doing it all the way right, their prosperity is limited, stop viewing prosperity through the eyes of a non-believer. Prosperity is not in things. Your blessings are infinite. The peace of God, which surpasses any of our earthly understanding comes FROM God and is a blessing only granted to believers. Ooh Jesus.

Let me move on. The two sons of Naomi and Elimelech find wives and they get married. One marries a woman named Ruth and the other Orpah. A few years past and Elimlech, Naomi’s husband, dies. Soon after, her two sons die. After about 10 years of living in Moab, Naomi loses her two sons and now she is left with her daughter in-laws. Naomi still talks to her family back in Bethlehem to see how things are going and she hears, that God has removed the famine. And she is like: “I’m going home.” I need to be with my people.

Naomi urges her daughter in-laws to go back to Moab. We know the story. They both say no…we not leaving and they all kiss and hug. Then Naomi says it again. When Naomi begins to talk about that man, the women not having a husband, and all the benefits of being married…someone begins to have second thoughts.

Naomi says: “I don’t have sons in my womb and even if the lord blesses me to marry again, will you wait until they are of age?” Orpah thinketh now. She like: WAYMENT. No husband? No chance to bare children? I’m getting old but I ain’t old YET. I’m not gone be able to do it. Orpah, whose name in Hebrew means: double-minded, does an about face and that was the last time we hear of her.

Here this: can I be real with you? Don’t you ever compromise your salvation. Don’t you dare let things take away your salvation. The spirit is very intelligent. Your father does not play games. He does not want his baby girls intermingling and sowing seeds of spiritual interracial relationships. Why? Because you begin to care about the things of the world and not of God and the children are lost and if not careful…you fear children to serve idol Gods.

• No one is teaching them how to pray.
• Nobody is teaching them there is hope in Jesus.
• Nobody is teaching them about patience.
• Nobody is teaching them about the vine.

Let that man find you. Get lost so he can find his favor. If you single, and desire to be married – set the environment. GO practice. Learn how to cook, learn how to clean, learn how to use coupons and make your money stretch. Learn how to be faithful in a few things. Learn how to budget your bills and pay them on time.

Ruth goes on to meet Boaz.

Orpah goes back to her people and her God. Not only did Orpah separate from her family that she lived with for about ten years, she separated herself from the true and living God.

Orpah disconnected from the source.

One woman went on to experience abundant life; the other, to the unknown.

What will you do when life sends you a chemical imbalance? Will you turn back to your old ways or will you get on your knees, call on Jesus, and BELIEVE he will move on your behalf?

As long as “things” were good, Orpah was good. As soon as trouble arose, she was gone. What will you let bring separation between you and your Savior?

What if Boaz was meant for Orpah? We will never know. Orpah removed her hand off the plow and returned to serving idol God’s and she lost her place in history – his story…the story of redemption that Ruth and Naomi experienced.

Who or what will you allow to separate you from the Love of Christ? We quote the scriptures but we are slowly disconnecting daily. No matter who returns, don’t go back.

Isaiah 53:5 (NKJV)

“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”

“At what point is it enough? You do not want to be acquainted with sacrifice. You do not want to be acquainted with suffering and yet you want me to supply you with everything you desire. I sacrificed my life for you. My Father loves you SO much, that He was willing to offer Me for you. And because I love my Father so, I love what and who He loves and I desire to please Him and make Him happy. Therefore I was willing to give my life for yours. He saw something in you. He made you. He knows you. So since He felt so strongly about you, I said okay…Father, I’ll do it. Not only did He but so did I. You do realize I was there when our Father created you, right? He was so excited that He wanted you to have access to everything that would make you happy.

So – I carried a cross and only one…ONE person was willing to help me. I was beaten to the point of being unrecognized. I was left to die alone. The same ones that laughed at me, I died for. I had metal nails hammered into my hands and the most sensitive parts of my feet- because my Father wanted to be with you. He wanted to re-establish a relationship with you. He wants you to experience the power of His majesty, His glory and His love. I took beatings (stripes) for your sins. I took beatings for your rejections of My Father.

• You may have suffered a loss of a child, but My Father didn’t ask for YOU to sacrifice your child’s life. He sacrificed His own.
• You may have lost a job- your dream job, but you didn’t die of starvation. My Father STILL provided a way for you to eat.
• You may have been diagnosed with an illness in your body, but sickness is not from My Father. That’s an attempt of the enemy for you to question the power and authority you have and the Love my Father has. He said whatever you unlock on earth would be unlocked in Heaven and whatever you lock up on earth would be locked in heaven.

1. My Father thought that it was a reasonable service (a job that was not difficult) for you to present your body to Him, to be used by Him, but somehow it became unreasonable for you.
2. It’s unreasonable for you to give your tithes and offerings, but it’s reasonable for me to open the windows of Heaven and bless you.
3. It’s unreasonable for you to confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that I am REAL and not just a story in a bible, but it’s reasonable for you to ask me to give you all of your heart’s desires.
4. It’s unreasonable for you to take the time to learn who I am and establish a relationship with me, but it’s reasonable for you to ask me to give you a relationship with a man or a woman.

Do not forget to remember, that I love you! And my entire mission, my whole existence and purpose, was to prove to you how much my Father and I love you. Is not that enough for you to fight for your relationship with me?

Don’t forget to remember that I love you. Your brother, Jesus.”

(Another conversation I’ve had in my mind about what Jesus could be thinking).

🎶🎶 I love you Jesus. I worship and adore you.

The Bible provides us with principles and instructions on what we should do and not do if we desire to spend eternal life with our Father and to see Jesus reign in the glory which He had, before the foundation of the world. The Bible also gives us ways in which we can overcome some of life’s most challenging obstacles. For example.

Psalm 100:4 (NKJV)
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

This scripture provides a direct incentive connected to praising the Lord. Basically, God is telling us: “When you come to my house, come in with expectation; come in thanking me. It does not matter what is going on, on the outside of my house. I invited you to my house for a reason. If you thank and praise me while you’re inside of my house, I can take care of what is going on – on the outside of my house. Don’t come in here complaining. I already know what you have gotten yourself into. I already know what is going on in your life.  Don’t come to my house with a defeated attitude. I don’t lose and I don’t breed losers. Everything I created was good. My children are more than conquerors because they know who their daddy is.”

Romans 8:37 (NKJV)
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

Oh my Lord. I imagine God saying that to us, but sometimes when I enter the praise and worship service, I feel heaviness. I do not feel a spirit of thanksgiving and gratitude. I could equate that to being able to discern the burdens of life that some may be carrying but I cannot seem to infer that or make that connection. Here is why.

I believe that our flesh has become an appetite suppressant for the Spirit to move in our lives and for us to conduct ourselves as children of the Most High.

“The actions that are produced by selfish motives are obvious, since they include sexual immorality, moral corruption, doing whatever feels good, idolatry, drug use and casting spells, hate, fighting, obsession, losing your temper, competitive opposition, conflict, selfishness, group rivalry, jealousy, drunkenness, partying, and other things like that. I warn you as I have already warned you, that those who do these kinds of things won’t inherit God’s kingdom.” Galatians‬ ‭5:19-21‬ ‭CEB‬‬

We must have an appetite for serving the Lord, for who He is and not for what He can provide in the natural realm. In other words, our spiritual relationship with Christ is tied to how we understand our need for Him. Realistically, we don’t feel we need Him if he is not giving us something that we desire. Or we only need Him for a relationship, a job, a place to live and utilities. We enter his gates thinking about what we need God to pay or what bill collection notice we have received, which suppresses our appetite for loving our Father unconditionally.

Psalm 34:8  (NKJV)
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

• If you have not tasted and seen how good Jesus is, then you can’t hunger and thirst for Him.
• If you have not tasted, seen, and understood the sacrifices made on our behalf, then you really are not hungry for righteousness.

What does this mean?

We must have an experience – an encounter…a RUDE awakening to understand the miracle and the blessing of this blessed assurance we have been given. Honey!! You telling me I can SIT in heavenly places, on earth? Jesus you saying that in the midst of chaos and confusion in every corner of this universe…I. CAN. SIT. IN. HEAVENLY. PLACES WITH MY SAVIOR?

Ephesians 2:6 (NKJV)
and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

Yes, but it is only in Jesus and through my appetite for loving Him.

1. I can write until my fingers turn blue.
2. I can speak a message that can rain down the presence of God like a thick fog

but if you have not come to the realization of who Jesus is in your life, personally and what He has done for you, all this here is foolishness to you.

Because Jesus loved me, when I rejected Him. He saved me, when I did not want to be rescued. He literally, PULLED me out of despair and destruction! That is enough to desire to get know Him and why He loves me so. What about you?

The conclusion of the matter is this: God still gets the glory because of WHO He is and because of who He is, I have an insatiable appetite to know more about Him. Why?

I. AM. SAVED.

Romans 5:8 (NKJV)
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

The Bible begins with a familiar scripture that we all have come to know- whether we have a relationship or not:

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (Genesis 1:1, KJV)

God created everything on heaven and earth. If you read further in this chapter, we learn that we are the only beings created in the image of God:

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Genesis 1:27, KJV)

What does this actually mean? To carry an image means someone or something is the visual representation. My 8 year old looks JUST like my husband. If men could bear children, he would have had her without my assistance.

Sydney is (as we say) the spitting image of her dad. Or let’s say you had a relationship with a child and the parent. Let’s say the child has now become an adult but when you hear them speak, you make a comment: “You sound just like…?”

God says He created man in HIS OWN IMAGE, but what does that really mean? It means that we are to live as the image-bearers of our Father.

• Everything we think should reflect our Father.
• Everything we say should point to God.
• Everything we do, should be a reflection of what we have both seen and read that He would do.

The image is distorted by sin. Sin is the problem that taints our image.

The image of God is a distinct privilege and indescribable value that animals just did not have access to. Oh my Father! What a privilege that we take too gingerly.

Now that God has sent His Son, Jesus and everything flows through Him,we can conform to His image – which places us back into right-standing with who we really are.

“We know that God works all things together for good for the ones who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose. We know this because God knew them in advance, and he decided in advance that they would be conformed to the image of his Son. That way his Son would be the first of many brothers and sisters. Those who God decided in advance would be conformed to his Son, he also called. Those whom he called, he also made righteous. Those whom he made righteous, he also glorified. So what are we going to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He didn’t spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. Won’t he also freely give us all things with him?” Romans‬ ‭8:28-32‬ ‭CEB‬‬

How can you reflect God’s image through your life, today?

Have you ever felt that you woke up on the right side of the bed? You meditated, prayed, and somehow had a little extra energy to start the day off right.

I felt that way today. I was determined to feel accomplished and not to allow the mindset of Monday to get the best of me.

I have been able to get through Monday’s a little easier. If you have been reading any of my devotions, you know that Mondays are harder for me emotionally, due to the passing of my mother, 6 months ago.

Today- I closed on the property she lived in…where we found her- my condo. My husband has been all that I could ever ask. I have not been to the property since my mother passed. He handled the showings and everything. I cannot explain how thankful I am for his strength. I am thankful that my children’s memories are all comical. One of my daughters had a moment a few weeks ago. My mother made the girls some quilts by hand. It is something that her mother, my Granny, would always do for the Grandma. The weather has since gotten cold and Asia decided to pull out her quilt. Asia said the quilt had a scent like Nanna’s house and it made her cry in the night. She doesn’t want to wash it. Normally, I would have the ewww face

but I’m okay with her holding on to it for a tad bit longer, without the quilt seeing the washer.

I have had a lump in my throat all day. Tears rolled down my face at the closing. You never know what event will trigger an emotion. I’m already trying to prepare myself for her birthday- January 17th.

Life has a way of making you appreciate her. I feel so inconsistent at times- which is rare from a person who is a professional planner. Spontaneity is not a strength of mine. Things have to make since and occur in chronological order. My emotions have no mental order as of late. I believe that pain pushes us into our purpose and I am eagerly awaiting the purpose of this pain.

Why am I sharing this?

When I feel myself caving in, my Father always sends me a reminder that He is with me. He is with you too. Calamity does not occur in the life of a Christian to make us suffer for no legitimate reason. Everything works together for good. Whether today started off rough, your not so good day is finally ending, or if you are in the midst of the worst day ever…there is someone who can make it better. Oh my Father- thank you for holding my hand today and carrying my heart. I needed you in the worst way, and you were with me.

“For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’ Isaiah‬ ‭41:13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬