God Always Fulfills His Promises

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^“36 “See, your cousin Elizabeth, as old as she is, is going to give birth to a child. She was not able to have children before, but now she is in her sixth month. ³⁷ For God can do all things.” ³⁸ Then Mary said, “I am willing to be used of the Lord. Let it happen to me as you have said.” Then the angel went away from her.”-Luke 1:36-38

We are in the final month of this year and decade. Christmas is a beautiful season of joy, miracles, hope, peace and more. As we look forward to celebrating the birth of Jesus, may we pause and remember that God always keeps his promises. His timing is always better than ours and he is so faithful. In today’s scripture, Mary has been visited by an angel named Gabriel who has informed her that she is giving birth to the Messiah. You can read the full story by clicking here.  Mary was astonished and shocked but then submitted to God’s will. Then she was informed her cousin, Elizabeth, was in her sixth month of pregnancy with John the Baptist.

In this season of miracles, may we hold on to God and his promises. Even on the hardest day of our life, may we look back to the very first Christmas. May we look to Jesus and be reminded of the ultimate promise God kept for us. He sent a redemptive Savior who has assured us of eternal life and an abundant life. Sometimes, we can become so defeated and hopeless because of a setback, heartbreak or disappointment. Allow God, one moment at a time to restore, heal and renew you. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

As we continue our march to 2020, allow us to remember God and his promises. God is stronger than our pain, failures, sorrow, anxiety, health challenges, relationship storms, life changes and more. We serve a God who cannot be defeated. When Jesus was born, our birthright as children of God was solidified. As  you wrap gifts, fellowship with friends and family, listen to Christmas carols, watch Hallmark and Lifetime movies, shop for yourself and loved ones, may you see the fulfilled promise of Jesus’ birth. May God continue to illuminate your heart, mind and soul this season and always. May God bless you as he takes you on a beautiful path of healing and restoration.

A Daily Posture of Gratitude and Thanksgiving

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“Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.  For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.“-Psalm 95:2-3

We serve an awesome and matchless God. He loves us so much that he made a provision for our sins through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. I want to encourage us to never take our salvation and abundant life for granted. What a beautiful gift of abundant and eternal life we received when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  We should always be in a posture of Thanksgiving.  This holiday season and beyond, allow us to fix our eyes on God. God is our everything and through him we can take our next breath and have our next heartbeat. We want to always give God our best.

I want to also encourage us to open our eyes and hearts to ourselves and the people around us. Starting with yourself, please take a moment to pause and show gratitude toward yourself. Everything may not be perfect but you are standing in 2019 on the door step of 2020 which is a new decade and year. You made it. We made it. Next, take a moment to look at the people around us. There are some people who are grieving the loss of a loved one, friend, dream, job, friendship and more. Please make sure that you take this precious time to reach out to others. It could be through a prayer, phone call, text, email or face to face visit. However, you decide to be a neighbor, please do it. I am thankful for you reading my blog. I will never take you or your time for granted. I am going to close our time in prayer.

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for a new day. You are the author and finisher of our faith. You sit high but you look low and are ever mindful of us individually and collectively as your children. Thank you for being a God who is always with is in the valley, on the mountaintop and every other moment in between loving us unconditionally. God, we thank you for this season of gratitude and thanksgiving. Allow us to always have a posture of thanksgiving and gratitude. Help us never to take you, ourselves or anyone else around us for granted. I pray right now in the name of Jesus for the person praying this prayer who does not know you. I pray they will confess that they are sinner and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I pray they will join a bible based church and reach out to a loving Christian to walk their new life as a Christian.

I pray in the name of Jesus for those who are dealing with any type of grief. I pray you would come close to them and comfort them. I pray you would pour out your love, peace and comfort during this time. I pray for those who are struggling in a relationship, friendship, their finances, health or anything else that could hinder their praise to you. I pray that they would stay in your word, pray and praise you during their storm. We know that nothing is too big or impossible for you. God, we love you. We thank you in advance for the great things you have in store for us. I say this prayer in the matchless name of our risen Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

God Deserves First Place In Our Lives

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“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”-Matthew 6:33

Last Monday, I did a HIIT boxing workout with weights. This workout was an intentional challenge for me. There was a time in my life the thought of doing a workout like this would challenge and frighten me. Now, I welcome the challenge and opportunity to push myself a little harder. I was little sore days after my workout but I am so happy I finished the workout and it was excellent. I must lean on my rock and foundation who is God when approaching a challenge. I used to live in paralyzed fear of taking risks. I am now realizing that I do not want to have a bunch of regrets but want to live my life. I want to enjoy my life.

Are you living a life that includes risks or is your life predictable and controlled by you? Today’s scripture focuses on God’s promise for us. When God is first in our lives, he will take care of everything in our lives. It does not say when we do things in our own strength and put God to the side that he will bless us. God is our living water, daily vitamin and essential to living. We depend on God for our next breath and heartbeat. We must make it a priority to spend uninterrupted and intentional time with God. We are all different and our time with God will look different but the key is daily time with God. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us.”

My prayer for us is that we will place God first. That no person, place or thing will hinder or disrupt our time with God. We will place sacred boundaries around our schedule and lives to keep God first in our daily lives. God should always be first place in our lives. As we move toward Thanksgiving 2019 and the end of 2020, may we stay in a posture of joy, thanksgiving, peace and love. As God pours into us, we can pour into ourselves and others. May God bless us as we continue to place him in first place in our lives always. God bless you!

 

 

Love Is The Remedy To Heartbreak

 

 

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1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

Fall is a hard season for me. I am reminded of the loved ones I have lost to death. I am reminded of the friendships and relationships that ended in the fall. I am reminded of other horrific events that occurred and are part of my story. Certain scents and events of fall will bring up a painful memory. Heartbreak is a part of everyone’s story. When our hearts are broken, it is painful event. We may still be dealing with the effects a heartbreak that occurred years and decades ago. Even during our heartbreak, God is with us. He will never abandon or forsake us. I want to encourage you to allow God to mend your heart day by day. When God heals and mends us, there is no doubt that it is him.

Today’s scripture is a reminder that nothing is too small or big for God. Whatever or whoever has you anxious, angry, upset, disappointed or heartbroken, give it or them to God. I know during the worst moments of my life; God was with me. He is always with all of us. I also want to encourage you to open your eyes to the people around you. Someone close to you may be dealing with heartbreak and needs your support. I am thankful for my tribe. I had a moment recently where I had to let my tribe know I needed their prayers and support. It felt so good to unload my burdens and be lifted in prayer because I was having trouble praying for myself. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. “

1 Corinthians 13 is beautiful reminder of the gift of love. I know sometimes love has pain and hurts but we need to remember love is always a great starting point. When we love others, we give them the benefit of doubt. We express patience when we have none left. We show joy and gratitude daily because they are a special gift from God. We love ourselves so that we can love the people around us. I would encourage you to read 1 Corinthians 13 on a regular basis to be reminded of the love God has for each of us and we should express to one another. I am honored to be walking life with you. May God continue to bless and keep you today and always.

Your Tears Are Always Valid!

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“You keep track of all my sorrows.^[a] You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.”-Psalm 56:8

Earlier this week, I was sobbing about a few different things and a dear friend of mine said something to me that pierced my soul. She said that my tears are valid. There used to be a time in my life that I used to be ashamed of many things including my tears. I now realized the gift of my tears. Our tears are what one of my spiritual mothers calls “a cleansing of our soul”. I want to encourage you to cry or sob if you need to cleanse your soul, grieve, release something to God or whatever your reason is but you should do it. We should never hide or push down your tears. In today’s scripture, we are reminded that God captures our tears.

God is with us every moment of our lives. When we are joyful, devastated or in between, God is with us. We have no reason to think that are tears are not important. Our tears just like every other aspect of our lives our important to God. You do not have to explain your tears to anyone else. If you need to cry, do it. If we did not need to cry, God would not have given us the ability to do so. I am so thankful for my tribe who gives me the space and freedom to cry as I need to do so. I am not judged or shamed for my tears. I have many people who are available to sit with me and be present, who give me a box of tissue and pray with and for me. Psalm 42:3 says, “My tears have been my food day and night, While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?””

I also know how to sit with someone during their tears and allow them to cry. We must do unto others as we want others  to do unto us. I am honored to be a friend who has lovingly been present with someone during their moment of cleansing,  grief or sadness. I want to encourage you to allow yourself the freedom and space to cry. If you are in prayer or just feel a sob coming up, do not put it aside. Allow yourself to cry and remember that everything, eventually, in due time will be alright. If you have tears that are backdated that you never cried, that is okay. You can cry and grieve over something you have avoided or delayed your tears. May God bless you and keep you as you continue be more than what he has called you to be.

You Are God’s Excellent Masterpiece!

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¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”-Jeremiah 29:11-13

There was a time in my life that I was more focused on the negative voices around me that I refused to walk in the gifts God had entrusted to me. I was more concerned about conforming to a lifestyle and standard that was below what Jesus had died for me than obeying and trusting God’s voice and calling for my life.  Each of us has been perfectly created by God for a purpose and calling. Each of us have a unique purpose and calling.  You are not a mistake. God knew what he was doing when he created each of us. He made us look a certain way on purpose. He picked our biological families on purpose. God is the author of each of our stories and we need to allow ourselves to see ourselves as God sees each of us.

Today’s scripture focuses on remembering God knows the plans for our lives. God does not want to harm any us but he has a purpose for each of us. When we call on God, pray to him and seek him with our heart, we will see a shift in how we see ourselves. We will no longer focus on ourselves and what is within our so called control. We will broaden our focus and our minds on God and what he says about us and our lives. We do not need anyone to cosign or approve of our calling or purpose. Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?“

I would like to ask you to take a moment and ask yourself this question: Are you living the life Jesus died for you to have?” Jesus died for us to have the best that life has to offer while we walk in our purpose and calling. Anything you believe is a hindrance has been taken care of by Jesus. All of us are needed to make the Body of Christ and world better. So take whatever necessary steps you need by praying, surrounding yourself with positive voices, read the word of God, have an accountability partner and more.  May God bless all of us as we come up higher in God and all he has called us to be on his behalf. He is a faithful God and loved all of us too much to fail us.

Dear 2019: You Cannot Destroy Me!

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Dear 2019,

What a year! On December 31, 2018 as I waited for the clock to strike midnight, I was so excited about fresh new year of endless possibilities. I was basking in the glow of a new year when one storm after another came upon the horizon. I have cried tears of sorrow over the loss of friends through death and disassociation. I had sleepless nights because of a letter or email that shattered my world. I have had moments where I thought that I was going to be too tired to go on BUT God was always with me. He never abandoned me. He never left me alone. He was always with me. As I look toward the finish line of 2019, I know that I will not be destroyed and I will finish 2019 in victory. 

I will always be victorious because as a child of God, that is my inheritance. I cannot be defeated because Jesus died for all things including defeat. I do not have a defeated posture but one of praise and prayer. Despite all the storms of 2019, there has been a lot of beautiful sunshine and mountaintop moments. I have seen healing and restoration first hand. I have seen God make a way out of no way in the midnight hour. I have seen answers to prayers manifest themselves publicly to glorify God. I thank God for being my everything in the valleys, mountaintop and in between moments.

As this year comes to an end, 2019 I want to put you on notice. I am going to finish this year in more peace, love, joy and more. There will be tears and moments that will try to take my breath away but I know the God that I love and serve will continue to be with me. Since God is in my corner, I know that no person, place or thing can defeat or harm me. yes, there will be missteps and failures but I know God will redeem and restore those things for him to be glorified. Thank you 2019 for all the lessons, growth, tears, victories, defeats and more. I know all things will come together and work together for my God because I love God. To God be the glory!

Love a Victorious Queen and Child of God,

Ada