You do not define me

For years I let others define who I was, what I would become and where I was going. Then reality hit. My walk with God became stronger, I started to not only hear His voice, but I listened and obeyed. And my walk with God grew and I understood more. I found out I knew less than I thought, but wanted more of Him. And the more I listened I came to realize that God is the only one who can define me. He created me, planned my destiny and has written the script. No one else can define who I am, where I am going and what I can accomplish through and by the grace of God. You do not define me. God already did.

Blessed Assurance

Wonderful old hymn brings me peace, keeps me centered and is calming. "blessed assurance. Jesus is mine. Oh what a foretaste of glory divine. I'm an heir of salvation. Purchased by God. Born of his spirit. Washed in his blood. This is my story. This is my song. Praising my saviour. All the day long. This is my story. This is my song. Praising my saviour. All the day long."

God turns it around for the good

What was meant to destroy you, God WILL turn it around for the good. Let's just face the facts. Satan is not planning events for your life that are good. He wants you to fail and not solidify your place in the kingdom. And he will use any means possible to ensure you don't hold on to God's unchanging hands. But we can stand on the promises. God did not promise a life void of problems. Our trials do make us stronger, though many times in the midst of a trial we may feel like we may not make it to the other side. But stand firm on the promise that God not only has a plan for you, but He also wants good for your life. So what may have been planned to cause your demise, God will turn it around for your good. This is easy to say, but difficult to experience. Sometimes we spend time trying to figure our way out of a problem, but we have to learn that the way out has been provided and that within God's plan is His hedge of protection which surrounds His children. We will experience peaks and valleys, trials and victories, tribulations and great wins. But evil has never triumphed over good. Satan is no match for God. And what may have been meant for your destruction will be turned around for your good. I pray that God will grant us all the strength to endure and stand fast until we see the victory of Our Lord.

Seek Him with your heart

Have you sought God with your whole heart? I thought I had been until I gave this topic more consideration and wondered if I was just doing lip service. And let me also say I wondered if my seeking was just in times of trouble. I want to be known by God as one of His children who seeks Him with my whole heart. I am a very blessed person. I believe God is ever present with me and guides my steps. I am also grateful that He communes with me and speaks to my heart. It sometimes surprises me that out of no where God plants thoughts of encouragement and words of wisdom that help me in a current need for direction or words that will lead me in the future. But late last night or maybe it was early this morning I asked God to plant His thoughts in me and let my thoughts be pleasing to Him. That's when I started pondering seeking Him with my whole heart. I think I have been seeking Him with part of my heart at times, but during times of stress I seem to be able to put my whole heart into follow after God. I don't want to be part time. I want my walk with God to be 100% without wavering. If we seek Him, we will find Him. If we knock, the door will open. If we ask, He will do it. So I ask God to help me gain a deeper understanding of how He wants me to seek Him with my whole heart.

God is carrying you to the place you should be

We have all probably heard or read the poem entitled "footprints" where in the end God is carrying us. God has always carried us, even during those times we thought we were in control or we thought we could do it alone. God carries us in good times and bad. That's what fathers do. But take it a step further and recognize that God is gently and lovingly carrying you to the next spot on this journey. Sometimes we feel like we always need to see where we are going. But blind faith is at times needed, but difficult. Trust God to have your best interests at heart as He takes you to your next mountain or through the next valley. Again, this may require blind faith. But say it with me as I say it for all of us, God will carry you to the place you should be.

God balances the books

Ask every financial advisor and planner out there and they will tell you the benefits of saving, investing, planning and looking towards the future. But sometimes we just need to go back to the basics of debits and credits. You have to at least have as much in the bank as you plan to take out. Books that are not balanced will lead to stress, frustration and overall imbalance. But what about our spiritual lives? We can never invest more into our walk with God than what God invests in our success. No matter how much we pray, those prayers are just deposits that God covers with his grace and love. But no matter what we do in the name of our God, it never is a balance towards what He does and gives us. But God is not keeping score with our lives. He just keeps giving and giving and pouring into us until we overflow. So we will always owe God, so to speak, yet He does not keep a set of books to see if we are giving as much as we get. Gods grace covers our shortfalls because He balances the books.

Do you hear what I hear?

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: Deuteronomy 6:4. Old Testament. Israel is the chosen people of God. Chosen. God's. His. If you have time, read the entire 6th chapter of Deuteronomy. Eye opening and very clear in God's direction for His people. His words are matter of fact. I'm so grateful when God speaks with such clarity that there is no need for me to wonder nor speculate. Do you hear what I hear? I hear His voice telling me that He is the one and only God. And He is One.

My help comes from God

I will lift my eyes unto the hill from which comes my help. My help comes from God, who made heaven and earth. He is my strength. What an amazing God. The master planner. Help to all mankind. Forgiver of our sins. A very present help in time of trouble. Lifter of my soul. Redeemer of the nation. Healer. Deliverer. Lover of my soul. Overseer of my fate. Hope for tomorrow. Keeper of today. Leader. Provider. He is my all. Mighty to save. Holder of the keys. Way maker. Door keeper. He holds me in the palm of His hand. That's why I lift my eyes to the hill. My help comes from God.

God will take care of you

I guess Satan does not want me to share the thoughts in my heart since I put some words down and poof, they disappeared. Oh well, I am trying again. If you have been a Christian for any length of time someone has said to you "trust in God". There are moments in time or possibly even days that trusting is easier said than done. As humans we try hard to maintain control over our lives. I think it's because we know deep down we have no real control. We all get to that point where we know we have to have steadfast faith in God, but what happens when we waiver? The past few weeks have been exceptionally stressful for a member of my family. It was so easy for me to say "God will not leave you alone and has everything over control". But the more I thought about the words that came out out of my mouth, I had to admit that I am not always at that place of full trust. As a matter of fact, I have to come clean and say I am human and I doubt. I want to be one of those Christians who lives in the clouds every day, but my feet are on this earth with some very real stumbles and falls. But my doubts don't negate the facts. God has it all under control. He will take care of all of your needs. Even when we don't see the open door, God carries the keys. Trust in God. He knows and holds our future. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God has a plan for us and His plan includes peace and hope. So even if doubts plague you, hold on with all that is within you and tell God that you will trust Him because you know He cares for you. God wants your life to be full and filled with Him. He only wants the good for you, even if all you see on the horizon is the bad. He has the plan for your life. Trust Him enough to recognize you can't do it on your own and put your faith and hope in Him. God is and will take care of you.

This vast earth

From sea to shining sea. Right now I am literally in the middle of the ocean on a cruise and enjoying the splendors of God's handiwork. Only God could create the earth with oceans spread far and wide. Only God could provide man with the knowledge to build a multi ton ship that could sail the open seas. Only God's handiwork could help His creations on this earth fully comprehend the wonders of the world. Thank you God. I am amazed by you.

Hurricane Sandy prayers

I grew up outside of NYC in Connecticut. I certainly spent plenty of time in NY and NJ during my formative years. Now that I reside in Houston and have experienced the devastation of a hurricane, I know that we as Christians need to band together in prayer for those who are probably experiencing a great deal of fear and uncertainty. My prayers are with those on the east coast. Please don't think you are forgotten. You are being bathed in our prayers. Our hope is in God. Rest in His loving arms.