Parkay's Place

Humble before you Stumple

2009-08-20T14:04:00.000-07:00

Hello my fellow bloggers, long time, no hear from. I truly apologize for that. I've been dealing with a lot of family stuff, church stuff and just stuff in general. Life still goes on in spite of what we go through.....

So with that I pray that all is well with all of you and your families. I wanted to share something I wrote when I was asked by my Pastor to give a word of encouragement. He told me that I had to pick the subject. At first all the excuses I could possibly think of came to the surface. I immediately starting saying things like and I quote, "he must be tripping", yeah, I said that to myself of course, "I don't want to do this, Dang,I wish he would ask somebody else", I don't like standing in front of people and giving a speech. I sure didn't like it in school. I know that I am going to mess this up, I'm too nervous and what could I possibly say to my church members. Yeah, I could go on and on. I sounded like a 16 year kid!

The only good thing about this is that he asked 3 other women in my church that never did this before either, so I felt a little better as time went on. But while going through all these "unneccessary" emotions, I realized that I didn't want to be disobedient. So with that said, I found my topic. I would like to share what I wrote with all of you.

HUMBLE BEFORE YOU STUMBLE

Humble – means not proud or arrogant; modest, feeling of insignificance; Low in rank, importance or status. Or simply, courteously respectful.

Stumble – means “ To make a slip, mistake, or blunder; To falter or hesitate. To stagger or fall. “ To Discover or meet with accidentally or unexpectedly – Ex: “ To stumble on, upon or across “.

When I put these two words together, and apply them to the word I come up with “ Do not be proud or arrogant, but be modest, courteous & respectful before you slip, make a mistake, blunder, hesitate, stagger, or fall accidentally or unexpectedly.

Matthew 23:12- Jesus says “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

So lets take a look at the word exhalt.

Exalt – means to “To raise in rank, honor, power, character & quality. To elevate or to praise.

But when you elevate & praise yourself, you are not following the word of God. To humble oneself is to bring down the pride of another or to reduce him or her to a state of abasement “A clearer example of this is to “Humble an arrogant enemy “.

Phillippians 2:8-11 “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross! “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

This scripture stresses both the totality and the climax of Jesus’ obedience and the full extent of his humbleness. He was willing to die for us!

Even while Jesus was nailed to a cross, pierced in his side, and suffered many other afflictions he still humbled himself unto the Father. At any time he could have asked for help or called upon angels to save him, but As the scripture reads “ He humbled himself & became obedient to death, therefore God exalted him to the highest place “.

Meaning that there is no doubt of his rank or glorious position conferred on Jesus due to his selfless act for man.

My testimony to these facts are as follows: After reading and re-reading these scriptures, I asked myself why do I stumble so much in my Christian walk? Well to put it simply - I was not reading my word daily nor was I applying it in the areas where I found myself stumbling the most. By that I also mean I would apply myself weakly in some areas, stronger in others and I still wanted to be (if you will) recognized as a good Christian woman.

Whether it be monetary or lending a hand for whatever the need was at the time for others, I still believed that all good deeds were recognized by the Father no matter how small. As long as I was a genuinely nice person, God would be pleased with just that. I felt he wasn’t looking for me to save anybody, my Pastor and assistant Pastor had to do that. I pay my tithes, attend church regularly “again” and I tell people who “I am comfortable with” about the Lord and what he’s done for me.

But nevertheless, I still want to stay behind the scenes. Why? It’s more comfortable for me. As Mike would say I’m in my comfort zone when I’m behind the scenes. Don’t ask me to come out of it because I am already doing my part. Why do I have to speak in front of everybody? That’s not me. I found out quickly that Pastor wasn’t going to allow me to stay in my confined circle. If I did, I would become stagnant and stunt my own growth. But The truth of the matter is - When you open your mind and your heart to his Word, a humble spirit will follow.

The word clearly says that we must humble ourselves before God and he will be the one to exhalt us to higher places. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks - I was doing the exact opposite. I was not humbling myself before the Lord for his favor, but before man. I have come to the conclusion that pleasing my Pastor and the people I love was only part of it.

Then just like that, I wanted to do this assignment for the right reasons. I no longer felt that I wasn’t good enough or saved enough to stand before you. I stopped allowing the enemy to keep telling me that I didn’t know enough of his word to speak it out loud. I started getting rid of the thoughts that I had too much stuff in my life to get up here and speak about the goodness of the Lord. Having these kind of thoughts made me “stumble” into self doubt.

That is not the ways of our Lord. He doesn’t teach us to have a spirit of fear. My ultimate goal is to praise the Lord and do the things that are pleasing in his eyesight and not mans. And as I learn through the teachings here at Christian Fellowship I know I can be what God wants or expects me to be in him. I am learning that using our gifts or strengthening ones we didn’t even know we had is a part of this walk.

This walk takes a lot of your personal time, it takes patience but most of all it takes reading his word daily for yourself. Once you do that and make it a routine, you can begin to apply it to your own life.

2-Timothy Ch2 vs 15 says “ Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth”.

Now that’s inspiration. I believe that the real test is really between me and the God I serve and not as a contest between you and I. I must admit that it took this assignment to bring all these points out to the forefront for me. I consider myself a proud person, and I got it going on in a lot of ways. But, in those stumbling moments when I should be using his word to lift me up, I instead fall back, stagger, hesitate, stray off course, doubt, blunder and stumble face forward. But you know what--God has already given me the power to overcome all these things in his word.

In order to be more successful in my Christian walk, I must pray often, read his word every day and ask for discernment in what I am taking in. That way I can become more humble and stop looking toward man to exhalt me for my efforts no matter how subtle. I am not there yet, but I can honestly tell you this. I am not stumbling over my own feet as much as I use to. Jesus has already demonstrated what “true” humility is for all of us. He has surpassed all understanding when he gave up everything so that we could live.

In closing I leave you with this scripture, 1st Corithians 2 vs 9 - "however, as it is written, no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who Love him". Now with that said---are you willing to Humble Before You Stumble?

Needless to say I rocked the house. So did the other 3 women. We all thought that we would fail before we even started the process. But I tell you this, We can do all things through Christ that strenghtens us!!! I am definitely reading my bible more and a whole new world is opening up before my eyes. Our Pastor was so pleased that he wants us all to do it again. All I could say was oh oh, now he wants us to be Evangelists, LOL, Ummmm, Evangelist Jones, kind of catchy isn't it.

Take care people, and know that the kid is back where she belongs. I like this a whole lot better than facebook. Besides, I don't even know how to use facebook, LOL ~ PEACE & LOVE

Scripture for Today

2009-02-19T09:03:00.000-08:00

Hello fellow bloggers ~ I pray that all is well with you.

Greatness Within
"However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves" (II Corinthians 4:7, AMP).

Did you know that you have greatness inside of you? As a believer, the Holy Spirit actually dwells within you. You have all the power and authority in heaven and earth living on the inside of you!

All throughout life, God gives us opportunities to discover that greatness on the inside of us. When we overcome obstacles, we are tapping into that strength and greatness within. One thing I've learned is that God doesn't allow big challenges to face small people.

You may be facing something big today. It may seem like it's over your head, but that is a sure sign you’re a big person with a big destiny. You may feel small, you may not see how it's going to work out, but you've got to remember who you are; a child of The Most High God. You have been created in His image. You're wearing your crown of favor, and you are carrying His greatness on the inside of you. Have the attitude that says, "This may be extraordinary, but I know I'm an extraordinary person serving an extraordinary God." Stand in faith knowing that you have the victory because you have His greatness living on the inside of you!

A Prayer for Today
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your greatness on the inside of me. I choose to stand in faith today knowing that with You, I will overcome every challenge and every obstacle. I bless Your holy Name. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Wow what a powerful praise statement. When I read this particular scripture I started thinking about everything that has happened in my life last year and the beginning of this year. I recently discovered that my mother's sister is no longer in remission and her cancer has returned with a vengence. Now mind you right before my mom died we had lost one of her sisters and one of her brothers to cancer. Then my first cousin (who is the same age that I am) told me yesterday that she has cancer. She had already lost her son to some type of blood disorder the year before and he was only 19. A few months ago, a few of my younger cousins found out that they have cancer. On top of that, one of my friends lost her son another friend lost her sister and another close friend lost her husband this week. Needless to say I became overwhelmed with everything that was happening around me. At first I was like my God, what is going on! Why is there so much cancer in my family God? Why are so many people dying from sudden heart attacks God? Why are these deadly diseases affecting so many people that I care about God? WHY GOD??? DAMN!!! I was so so angry. Cancer is the same disease that killed my mother!! It started to seem like the more I served him the more things were going wrong. I know that sounds bad but let me finish and please excuse the cuss word. To me the enemy was attacking everything I cared about.

During this small breakdown, my mind was pondering over each event and then I started to pray. Suddenly, I started to feel at peace inspite of all the things I was complaining about. Why?? Because I have the gift. "His" holy spirit that dwells within me spoke to me softly and encouragingly said, be still. I am in control. It's time for you to use what I have given you to help others. Now I don't consider myself real religious but I'm telling you I felt like God was finally speaking to me and me alone. And just like that the weight of everything going on left my shoulders. I also know that God was giving me the opportunity to serve him more by telling others about his goodness. So now when I try to comfort someone I tell them that Jesus is the greatest comforter of all time. I pray for them and with them. I don't know if they believed me or not but I believe that some seeds were planted. Whatever happens after that I give God the glory.

Now, do I always feel this strongly. Heck no, I am still growing. What I do know is that I don't stay down anymore. I now seek the counsel of the most high. So believe me when I say "just like that" I felt renewed all over again. I was able to reach down deep and remember who I belong to.

In closing I just want to say that losing people we love is never easy.
We must learn to draw nearer to God during these times and help others who may not know him. It is in his word that we can have victory over a death sentence with an eternal life sentence just by accepting Jesus as our personal savior.
This is also the way to see our loved ones again. My friends......I can't even begin to tell you how good it feels to even utter those words I just said out loud.

So please excuse me for rambling on and thanks for listening ~ Luv Ya ~ PEACE~

Daily Scripture

2009-01-18T18:14:00.000-08:00

Good evening blog world and God's Blessings to you always. I know its been a while and I missed posting with you. No mini vacations, just working and blessed to be working. Although I complain about this and that sometimes I must pause to say "Thank you Lord for all you do even when I don't deserve it". Stay rooted my family of Palm trees! I appreciate you!

Nothing Can Hold You Back

"The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree..." (Psalm 92:12).

Have you ever seen a palm tree in the midst of a great storm or hurricane?
That tree may be bent so far over that it's almost touching the ground, but
when the wind finally stops, that palm tree bounces right back up. And do you
know that while that palm tree is hunched over under the pressure of the
storm, it is actually growing stronger?

The reason God said we'd flourish like a palm tree is because He knew there
would be difficult times. He knew things would come against us to try to
steal our joy and victory. God said, "You're going to be like a palm tree
because the storms of life will come, the winds will blow, but you are going
to come right back up again stronger than before." Nothing can hold you back!
No weapon formed against you will ever prosper. No matter what's happening in
the world around you, keep standing. Keep praying. Keep believing. Your
brightest days are right out in front of you, and God's plan is to bring you
blessing and victory all the days of your life.

A Prayer for Today

Father in heaven, thank You for making me strong in You. I trust that You are
working in my life, even in the midst of the storms. I know You will bring me
out stronger, wiser, and better off than ever before. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

To my blog buddies

Man I am so glad I finally found some time to catch up on your interesting posts tonight. Your latest blogs prompted me to pick out the above scripture I received a few weeks ago. Praise God that his word can reach us through this great instrument (the internet). I am always blessed in one way or another by what I've read here. I truly believe that we are all one of God's palm trees. There are times when we have to go through some heart breaking situations where we find ourselves tossing and turning, in disbelief (no this can't be happening to me syndrome) and having to bend over backwards. But the good news is we serve a God that is ever present. He doesn't put more on us then we can bare (even when we think its too much) and he gives us the strength to bounce back up again. It took a while for this to sink in my brain but I believe by his grace I got it now.

I must take the time again to thank you all for what you do in this special place. I hope to always be a source of encouragement to you as you are to me. From the moment I came in contact with the blog world, I found hope, encouragement, a vent spot, something to laugh about, shoulders to lean on, believers to share the word with and a blog family that I hold dear. May I always stay grounded in the word along with you. Again, blessings and love to you all and your families. ~ PEACE ~

Scripture for Today

2009-01-07T13:11:00.001-08:00

Hey good people, I know its been a while since I've written. I've been busy getting ready for tax season. Yes, I'm a tax lady too. Hope you all like what I've selected today.

Hope in the Lord

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:30-31, NIV).

Everyone has times when they feel tired and overwhelmed by the pressures of life. But notice, this scripture gives us a clear remedy: Hope in the Lord. It’s easy to put your hope in other things; maybe you had hope in a relationship, hope in a job, hope in the stock market. It’s time to redirect your hope to the One who will never let you down; the One who never changes, the Rock of Ages.

When you’re tempted to give up on your dreams, when you’re tempted to just settle where you are, listen to that still, small voice of hope on the inside that says, “No way. This is not who I am. I was created to live in victory. I was created to overcome this sickness. I was created to rise above these problems.” Put your hope and trust in the Lord because He is faithful! As you do, He will renew your strength. He’ll cause you to soar on wings like the eagle, and you’ll be empowered to move forward confidently into the victory He has for you!

A Prayer for Today

Father in heaven, today I choose to put my hope in You. I know You have good plans for me. Thank You for renewing my strength and keeping me close to You. Fill me with Your peace and joy today. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Isn't this wonderful to know. We have a God that is with us when we are up and down. He is doorway to new and bigger victories! Praise God that he is who is he! I am feeling better a little more each day and I can't do nothing else but thank him and all of you for your kindness and words of encouragement. I needed to hear every word that was spoken by you. I look forward to your comments and I hope my comments to you are encouraging as well. I still have my moments but I am finding comfort in church, posting with all of you and with close friends. Especially those who have been where I am. I can't thank you enough - PEACE!

Scripture for Today

2008-12-26T14:25:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, hope you had a blessed Christmas and have an even more blessed New Year.

He Is Strong in You

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness..." (Romans 8:26 NLT).

Sometimes, people get distracted by what they consider to be a disadvantage
or weakness in their lives. It may be something about their personality or
looks that they don't like. Or maybe they've been through an unfair
situation: a divorce, a bad business deal, or a bad break. We all have things that can feel like disadvantages; things that make it harder on us.
It may even be a physical handicap where you can't get around like you used
to.

But just because you have a "disadvantage," just because you've been through
a tough time, doesn't mean you're supposed to sit back and settle where you
are. God still has something great for you to do! He wants to show Himself
strong in and through you. The Holy Spirit wants to help you when you feel
weak. If you will stay in faith and not get negative toward yourself or your
future, then God can take what you think is a liability and turn it into an
asset. What you think is a disadvantage, God will turn it around to be an
advantage so you can move forward into the abundant life He has for you!

A Prayer for Today

Father in heaven, today I give You all that I am. I invite You into the weak
places in my life so that You can turn them into strengths. Thank You for
working in my life and filling me with faith and expectancy. In Jesus' Name.
Amen.

For starters, during the Christmas holiday, I was going around smiling and trying to enjoy the many festivities that was going on around me. But the truth of the matter is I was actually quite depressed and not feeling much like a child of God. And even though most of the people closest to me knew why I was kind of sad, they had no idea that the enemy had me seriously thinking that God must not love me at all. If he did, he would take away these feelings that are invading my spirit. I was pretending to be happy around everyone and acting like the only important thing right now was the birth of Christ. Yes ladies and gentlemen, my pain was that deep. I didn't even realize it until I wrote it down in this blog. I know that must sound bad to you but I'm just being honest with you all and myself. So please let me finish this before you think I've just lost my mind for saying that part out loud. The fact is that my mom's death was and still is very traumatic to me and not having a significant other right now led to some of those thoughts too. So the enemy convinced me "temporarily" that something must be wrong with me. He had me looking at my life (in the wrong light) and my so called inperfections in the man sees thing.

Then God gave me this scripture to read and it fit me like a glove. Just reading these words reminded me once again of how blessed I truly am. I started to remember that when I fall short, God doesn't hold that against me and that all my past blemishes have been washed away. He already knows what I am feeling and will bring me the comfort I so desperately need if I allow his spirit to fill me. I am beautifully made I know even my darkest hour that God loves me today, he loved me yesterday and loved me from the very moment I came into this world.

~PEACE~

Something Different

2008-12-12T10:07:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday people, I pray that all is well with you. I received this from a friend today and wanted to pass it along to you. If you have children you can truly relate to this. My children are grown now and have children of their own. However, I can still remember quite a few times when only a mother's love spared them their lives. Enjoy!

Kids in Christ:

My husband and I had been happily married (most of the time) for five years
but hadn't been blessed with a baby. I decided to do some serious praying and promised God that if he would give us a child, I would be a perfect mother, love it with all my heart and raise it with His word as my guide. God answered my prayers and blessed us with a son. The next year God blessed us with another son. The following year, He blessed us with yet another son. The year after that we were blessed with a daughter. My husband thought we'd been blessed right into poverty. We now had four children, and the oldest was only four years old. I learned never to ask God for anything unless I meant it. As a minister once told me, "If you pray for rain, make sure you carry an umbrella."

I began reading a few verses of the Bible to the children each day as they lay in their cribs. I was off to a good start. God had entrusted me with four children and I didn't want to disappoint Him. I tried to be patient the day the children smashed two dozen eggs on the kitchen floor searchingfor baby chicks. I tried to be understanding...when they started a hotel for homeless frogs in the spare bedroom, although it took me nearly two hours to catch all twenty-three frogs. When my daughter poured ketchup all over herself and rolled up in a blanket to see how it felt to be a hot dog, I tried to see the humor rather than the mess.

In spite of changing over twenty-five thousand diapers, never eating a hot meal and never sleeping for more than thirty minutes at a time, I still thank God daily for my children. While I couldn't keep my promise to be a perfect mother - I didn't even come close...I did keep my promise to raise them in the Word of God. I knew I was missing the mark just a little when I told my daughter we were going to church to worship God and she wanted to bring a bar of soap along to "wash up" Jesus, too. Something was lost in the translation when I explained that God gave us everlasting life, and my son thought it was generous of God to give us his "last wife."

My proudest moment came during the children's Christmas pageant. My daughter was playing Mary,two of my sons were shepherds and my youngest son was a wise man. This
was their moment to shine. My five-year-old shepherd had practiced his line,"We found the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes." But he was nervous and said,"The baby was wrapped in wrinkled clothes." My four-year-old "Mary" said,"That's not 'wrinkled clothes,' silly. That's dirty, rotten clothes." A wrestling match broke out between Mary and the shepherd and was stopped by an angel, who bent her halo and lost her left wing.

I slouched a little lower in my seat when my Mary dropped the doll representing Baby Jesus, and it bounced down the aisle crying, "Mama-mama." Mary grabbed the doll,
wrapped it back up and held it tightly as the wise men arrived. My other son stepped forward wearing a bathrobe and a paper crown, knelt at the manger and announced, "We are the three wise men, and we are bringing gifts of gold, common sense and fur."

The congregation dissolved into laughter, and the pageant got a standing ovation. "I've never enjoyed a Christmas program as much as this one," laughed the pastor, wiping tears from his eyes. "For the rest of my life, I'll never hear the Christmas story without thinking of gold, common sense and fur." "My children are my pride and my joy and my greatest blessing," I said as I dug through my purse for an aspirin.

What a beautiful story! I would also like to share this with you today:

Jesus had no servants,
yet they called Him Master.

Had no degree,
yet they called Him Teacher.

Had no medicines,
yet they called Him Healer.

Had no army,
yet kings feared Him.

He won no military battles,
yet He conquered the world.

He committed no crime,
yet they crucified Him.

He was buried in a tomb,
yet He lives today.

Feel honored
to serve such a Leader
who loves us.

If you believe in God and in Jesus Christ His Son, pass it on ~PEACE~

Thursday's Scripture

2008-12-11T10:41:00.000-08:00

Happy Thursday people hope you enjoy the scripture today.

Choose Life
I have set before you life and death, the blessings and the curses; therefore choose life…” (Deuteronomy 30:19, AMP)

Every day we have the opportunity to choose thoughts of life and victory or choose thoughts of defeat and despair. God promises that when we choose His ways, we are choosing life and victory.

Imagine that you’re holding a glass of dirty water. It’s full of all kinds of particles, sand, and dirt. If you were to start pouring good, clean water into that glass and let it overflow, eventually, all the dirty water would be gone and you would have a glass of perfectly clear water. Your life works the same way. You are renewed by the washing of the water of the Word of God. You may be carrying particles of dirt from the past. You may have old destructive habits or mindsets that you are trying to get rid of. But the more you pour God’s Word into yourself, the more clean and alive everything becomes. Don’t choose to sit around with that mucky, dirty water on the inside of you. Allow His Word to cleanse you by reading and declaring it over yourself every day. As you choose His Word, you choose His life, and you’ll experience His hand of blessing in ways you never dreamed!

A Prayer for Today

Father in heaven, thank You for Your promise of life and blessing. I choose life in You today and invite You to wash me with Your Word. Help me to stay close to You always. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

God is so GOOD!! I am so glad he's in the washing away our sin business. Aren't you glad for that today. I know I am. I was a messy, unclean vessel but he is cleaning me up. THAT IS SO AWESOME YALL ~PEACE~

Daily Seed

2008-12-10T08:35:00.000-08:00

Happy Wednesday Everyone, I pray that all is well with you.

Work out your own salvation (Philippians 2:12, NKJ).

When you make Jesus the Lord of your life, some things will change in you immediately and other things will be worked out over time. You may have addictions or sickness that you are instantly freed from, but yet, you may have wrong attitudes or other areas that are still in the process of changing. That’s because God is doing both a work in you and a work with you. He reveals His power to us and then gives us the opportunity to work with Him in the process of restoring and renewing our lives.

You work out your salvation by obeying His Word and surrendering every area of your life to Him. You are working out your salvation when you choose to do the right thing, even when it’s difficult. You are working out your salvation when you stand strong and resist temptation. Remember, God is the one at work in you to give you the power to work out your salvation. He’s empowered you to overcome every obstacle! As you cultivate what He’s deposited within you, you’ll experience more of His power so you can live the life of victory He has in store for you!

A Prayer for Today
Heavenly Father, thank You for the work You are doing in my life. I choose to work with You so that I can live the life of victory You have prepared. Help me to be an example of Your love and faithfulness. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

After reading this daily seed it really made me think about my own path to salvation and how far I have come as a new christian. It took a while but I am starting to understand that even small changes touches God's heart and turns the wheels of progress. At first I didn't think I was truly saved because I really didn't feel any different. I guess I expected trumpets to sound or that all of my troubles would be over because I accepted Christ as my personal savior. Well you know this doesn't happen nor did I stop doing everything I was doing (sin) all at once.

I am now coming to the realization that by studying his word and believeing in his promises I am working on my own salvation. I'm finding out daily that changing personal behaviors that doesn't benefit me or anyone else is not always easy but with the proper guidance and the will to change for the better, positive change will happen. For example, I use to cuss like a sailor. When I say cuss, I mean every other word was a cuss word. You would think that I couldn't get a major point across if I didn't use influential cuss words. Now for me this was normal behavior because just about everyone I associated with cussed too. Now that I am saved I no longer cuss like I did and when I do, I start convicting myself. It's kind of funny to me now because after all I was grown and grown ups could cuss if they wanted to. Learning of Christ and his ways makes you want to do things differently if you are serious about your walk. I have a new purpose in life and being negative doesn't support that purpose. I am changing and I feel "darn", lol, good about it. That's progress!

Now don't get me wrong I still have slip ups. And yes when I am around some of those same people (including family members), I still want to fit in like before but fitting in is just not that important anymore. I know that certain things just aren't right in the eyes of the Lord and if I want to please God some things had to change. I also use to believe that as long as I wasn't intentionally hurting someone then I was still a good person and that was christian enough for me. Thank God I no longer feel that way.

In closing, I know that I will never be perfect and God doesn't expect me to be. But what he does expect is some sort of progress. I may not be totally right in my thinking but I'm growing people. Letting others know about his goodness is a given. Hope this truly helps somebody in some way - PEACE

Daily Seed

2008-12-09T04:58:00.000-08:00

Happy Tuesday Everyone - and yes I'm saying that loudly because Monday night was a killer but I survived, praise God. Without further ado, I'll explain this as briefly as possible. I'm sure you have all had your own computer "horror" stories and know that a working computer is a blessing. But when it doesn't work, oh well, let the stress begin! Why me Lord, why me. Yes, I was back to that again. I remember saying to myself "this time Lord I was prepared" But was I? I will say this - God is working on a sister with this patience thing. Today's seed answered some very important questions for me and helped me re-evauluate my situation. So please read on and then I will attempt to explain where I am going with all this....

Today's Seed

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet
inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary
troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is
seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Cor 4:16-18 NIV)

Prayer: LORD, things You command often sound unusual or outright impossible.
To fix my eyes on what is unseen is a paradox. It is contradictory and sounds
impossible. It would be, except for faith. Help me have faith to see what is
not seen with natural eyes and receive what is impossible to obtain by
natural means. Nothing is impossible with You, so if I am with You, nothing
is impossible for me through You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Now back to my story.... I know for a fact that I have a problem with patience. I also have issues with reading technical manuals when it comes to a computer which involves patience. When I want something fixed nothing should stand in the way because I have prepared for all the unseen situations. Well folks once again, I am reminded that is not how things really work. The more I read and hear God's word through the teachings of my Pastor things are constantly being revealed to me about myself. Yes you guessed it, one of them is my lack of patience and the simple fact that its not always about me. Now if I believe in his word, then everything will work out for my good including my computer woes. Right? Well, God didn't give me a magic wand that fixes everything in an instant. And just because I'm saved now doesn't mean that I won't have problems in my walk. I'm not saying that I believed that everything would be peaches and cream from now on but if I prepared for things before they happened then I would be ahead of the game so to speak. So please bare with me a little longer and hopefully what I am trying to relay to you will finally make some real sense. Not too long ago my system crashed and I had to get a new computer (so I thought). So I said to myself that this time I was going to be prepared for anything. I bought a computer with more memory, more power, external hard drives, etc.; I invested in a company that restores your information at a remote place too. I was determined this time around to protect my interests whatever the cost. Even with all this preparation I still couldn't retrieve my information. Why? Because I forgot a very crucial adminstrative password that stops me from getting to it. I remember all of them but one. User account name. I can't think of it to save my life. Can you imagine how I felt when my computer instructed me (the owner) that I don't have administrative rights! Can you believe this mess! Well I guess you can guess what happened next......I started to lose all hope just like that. Why? Because I was prepared this time, but again, was I?

I even called for backup from a very good friend of mine who helped me restore my operating system because I was afraid of doing it by myself. Oh, I forgot to tell you that I had to do all this because of some error that kept coming up everytime I turned on my computer and it was affecting my computer's performance. I even had the HP tech people (several times) try to remove it (who are suppose to be the experts) and even they couldn't fix it. But to shorten this story even further, I was finally told that I had to restore my operating system and of course I freaked. I'm telling you that if my friend wasn't here with me I would have been cussing those folks out royally and all my christian behavior would have went out of the window. In my mind this just shouldn't be happening because I was prepared for everything (concerning my computer ) no matter what it was. Even my virus protections were up and running.

Well folks I found out last night that we will always be unprepared if we don't have faith. No matter how much we try to prepare for things in this life, most things won't work without God in it. Needless to say my problem was an internal one. I forgot a major password that gives the administrator rights to perform certain functions nor did I write it down. That's why I can't retrieve the information even though its there floating in the background. I can see where its stored but I can't use it. It's the same with God's word. If we don't meditate on it, store it in our minds, apply it to our lives and write it down in our hearts daily, it won't work and becomes useless. So I said to the Lord, didn't I prepare for the impossible? I believe his answer is in this daily seed.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.I am not to lose heart and that my troubles are momentary.

If I trust in his Word then I must believe that he will get me out of this jam like all the other jams he's gotten me out of. He's the administrator of my life and I have to rely on him. It was never me fixing anything but it was his grace allowing me to do things through him. All I could say was Wow. What an awesome God we serve even when we don't serve him right.

Hopefully I didn't sound too crazy with this post today but I haven't been to sleep yall and this was in my spirit this morning. Reading this seed reminded me that even things unseen can work in my favor. Whether its my computer, relationships with the people I love or troubles on my job, he is allowing things to happen in my life for my good. There is always a lesson to be learned in everything we go through. Prayerfully we can all be better prepared for the things that will come our way. I sure hope this message was helpful to someone. I am just going to trust in the Lord and know that he is God and he can fix anything. All I have to do is be more patient - PEACE!

Wednesday & Thursday Scriptures

2008-12-01T07:37:00.000-08:00

Good day good people - yes folks, I am still catching up with things. It's been a busy week but I still want to share these scriptures with you. So I hope you enjoy them and they bless you in some way

Wednesday's Scripture

Put It Into Action

And I am praying that you will put into action the generosity that comes from
your faith as you understand and experience all the good things we have in
Christ" (Philemon 1:6, NLT).

The Bible tells us that faith without works is dead. That means if you don't
put your faith into action, it's not really faith, it's just nice ideas. But
when God truly does a work in our lives, it affects everything about us - our
words, our thoughts, our actions. How do you know someone is generous? By
their generous actions. How do you know someone is kind? By their kind
actions. How do you know someone is gentle? By their gentle actions. How
do you know someone is a follower of Christ? By their Christ-like actions!

Can people tell by your actions that you belong to God? We all have areas
that we can come up higher in, but the Good News is that God is at work in
our lives to mold us and make us more like Him. Ask Him to search your heart
and mind today. Surrender any area of your life that isn't pleasing to Him.
Invite Him to have His way in your life and allow Him to finish His perfect
work in you!

A Prayer for Today
Father in heaven, thank You for changing me, for making me more like You. I
invite Your love to do a work in my heart so that You are reflected in
everything I say and do. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

=========================================================
Thursday's Scripture

Offer Continually

Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God,
proclaiming our allegiance to his name" (Hebrews 13:15, NLT).

Praise is more than just singing songs in church on Sunday. In fact, praise
isn't even about singing songs! Praise is a heart attitude. Praise in your
heart prompts singing songs, but it can also be manifest in many different
ways. Your words, your actions, your daily life are all ways you give Him
praise. Like the verse says, when your actions or words declare your
allegiance to His Name, that's giving God praise. How do your actions declare
your allegiance to Him? By simply obeying His Word. When we continually
follow His commands, even when it's uncomfortable, even when we don't feel
like it, even when we are tired, that's offering a sacrifice of praise to
Him.

Remember, praise is a powerful weapon. Many times in the Old Testament, when
God's people would go into battle, they would send the worshipers out first.
Praise precedes the victory. When you live a life that offers Him continual
praise, you will see continual victory in every area of your life!

A Prayer for Today
Father in heaven, I do offer You continual praise. I choose to follow Your
Word so that You may be glorified through me. Let everything within me honor
you in all that I do. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

I would also like to share an experience I had the day before Thanksgiving....

On Wednesday night my church fed a homeless shelter and anyone in the neighborhood that wanted to eat a Thanksgiving dinner. With all the preparation it took to fix such a meal, I was extremely tired but excited at the same time. After the dinner and the singing from our choir along with a few guest singers that ministered to the people, we gave the children new down coats that were donated to the church. The look on these children's faces was like watching children on christmas day who just received all the toys that they wanted. We also made sure that they had enough food to last them through this holiday. I was totally awestruck to see so many people in need of a hearty meal, encouragement, prayer and a few hugs. They were so very appreciative and kept thanking us but at the same time I was thanking them for the opportunity to do something for them and wished that I could do more. Well needless to say my soul was fed that night too. Giving is the true meaning of this season and if its in our power to give we should do it by free will. I also watched some of those people get saved that might not have been saved if it wasn't for the small act of kindness showed to them that night. All I could do after that was Praise him for all the blessings me and the people I hold dear to my heart have today whether realized or not realized. God does deserve all the praise! He is good yall all the time and I was again reminded of how blessed I truly am ~ PEACE!

Scripture for Today

2008-11-28T07:40:00.000-08:00

Hello good people, hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving Holiday

I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one
can close" (Revelation 3:8, NLT).

God is ready to present you with new opportunities. He wants to open new
doors before you. It doesn't matter what's happening in the world around you,
in the economy, the housing industry, or with job reports; God's Word still
remains true. He rewards the people who seek after Him. He's not the least
bit concerned about how He's going to supply your needs. There is no
recession in heaven. He has His eye on you, and He still opens doors that no
one can shut! In an instant, He can bring the right people into your life,
the right opportunities, and the right resources to take you to a new level.

But in order to go to a higher level, you have to have a higher way of
thinking. You can't stay focused on what's happening in the natural nor allow
worry and fear to fill your thoughts. Remember, God's ways are higher than
our ways. He is working on your behalf behind the scenes in the supernatural
realm. Choose to keep an attitude of faith and expectancy. As you do, you'll
move forward through the open doors of blessing God has prepared for you.

A Prayer for Today

Father in heaven, I bless Your holy name. Thank You for opening doors for me
that no one can close. Fill me with Your peace and joy today as I wait on
You. In Jesus' Name Amen.

PEACE

Wednesday's Scripture

2008-11-22T08:19:00.001-08:00

Good afternoon good people, and yes this blog is extremely late. I haven't had time to post the daily seed/scriptures lately so I apologize for that. Of course when I can I will still share them with you first chance I get. Don't know about you guys but the people whom I've been working with for over 22 years are acting kind of funny since OBAMA WON. But that's just their prejudice coming out to the forefront. It's always been there and for a few days the fake smiles stopped and their true selves started showing up in sudlte and not so sudtle ways. I couldn't even hear a pin drop the next day after the election. Nevertheless, God is "Still" Good and I won't let them "steal" my joy about this monumental event. Yall know we must pray for our President daily because the enemy is after him too especially now.

I also Know to I have stay on my P's and Q's and only blog during my lunch break and from home from now on because I am under a microscope. So please pray for me as I continue to pray for you. Yes, its getting like that but you know what, its also time for me to walk boldly through this nonsense and ask God to clear my path and for me to put on the "Full Armor of God", Ephesians Chapter 6, Verse 10 - 20".

Who would have thought that "Parkay" would have felt the spirit of a testimoney coming out of all of this. About 9 months ago, the old me would have gotten ulgy (just like them) and pointed out that everyone else in here takes time outs and I'm not doing anything that no one else isn't doing including supervisors. I don't like being singled out especially when the color card is being used but it is what it is. The old me would have started cussing folks out left and right. Well needles to say I had to start praying to myself because the anger in me was rising fast for the audacity of these folks. Now this is a first for me because yall know a sista ain't (yes I said ain't) going to handle it like Jesus would. So Free Spirit if your reading this I'm telling you that I believe the enemy is mad because I am new in Christ (just like you) and trying my darnest to live for the Lord and not people.

Man, I know for a fact that nothing but Jesus stopped me from doing what I do best (cussing folks) when I am angry and saying things that would have gotten me a negative reprimand that would have landed in my personnel file and used against me later. I already know that the enemy in this place is famous for that even if I was speaking the truth as I see it. Then after the fact, I would end up beating myself up later for allowing that to happen and not being more professional about it. Losing my cool in the office like that would have done more damage to me than the people I was angry at. I would have simply given them more ammunition to use against me even though I felt justified for striking back at them. I realized that it would also be too late to reverse or dodge the bullets from that point on, if you know what I mean. Now I'm not saying that I'm not still angry about this but what I am saying is when I started to doubt that I wasn't getting this Jesus saving thing, God used this situation to show me that I am getting it. I didn't allow my light to go completely dim but saints it was flickering, hahaha. But on a serious note, I still need much work in this area. I can't remember right now that scripture that says, "greater is He that is within me, or something like that and if you know it please pass it on to me so that I can learn it by heart, lol. This is definitely a testimony for bible study when I get up the nerve like I do on paper.

Now with that said let me share a word with you...

Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 7:20 AM
Subject: Wednesday's Scripture

Look for Opportunity
Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his
mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains"
(Colossians 4:3, NLT).

I know you probably read about Paul but there is always something to learn from his experiences. Please read on:

Paul was writing these words while he was in chains in prison. He was
arrested for preaching the gospel. Everything in his surroundings shouted
"limitations," but instead of looking at his surroundings, Paul kept his eyes
on the limitless God. He kept looking for the open door of opportunity that
God would have for him next.

No matter what "chains" you may feel like you are in today, remember, we
serve a God who's in the business of setting people free. Remember, He has
equipped you with His power. He's promised to walk with you all the days of
your life. When doors look closed all around you, when your surroundings look
limited, when you feel like you're in chains, remember, God is still at work
in your life.

Like Paul, keep your hopes up. Keep expecting. Keep believing. Pray for those
opportunities to be opened to you. If you fall, get right back up and press
forward with even greater determination to accomplish the dream that God has
planted in your heart. The prayer of the righteous avails much, so keep
praying because He promises to break the chains and open doors of opportunity
in your life.

A Prayer for Today

Father in heaven, I choose to take my eyes off my surroundings and focus on
You. I choose to focus on the passion and dream You've planted in my heart. I
trust that You are working behind the scenes, opening doors of opportunity.
In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Now how appropriate is Paul's testimony to me especially in light of what I just talked about. Everything we go through is in his word. All the chains that bound us can be removed. Just awesome I tell you.

AWESOME! ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR WEEKEND PEOPLE!

~PEACE~

PS. Please excuse all typos and mispellings. I was rushing this one yall - Later

Wednesday'

2008-11-22T08:19:00.000-08:00

Encouragement for Today

2008-11-19T09:06:00.000-08:00

Hello people, I pray that all is well with you. I would like to share something with you that was passed along to me today concerning things that I am sure most of us have felt before. I really like the way she so eloguently put it into perspective and words. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

The Lord is my strength - and my salvation
The Lord is the strength of my life - whom shall I fear....?!
Whom shall I fear....?!
Whom shall I fear....?!
The Lord is the strength of my life
Whom shall I fear?
Psalms 27
Isaiah 12:2-4

I was sitting here today thinking about some things that I have been experiencing in my life lately. Things that have weakened me - things that have destroyed my trust in people - things that have allowed me to feel depressed, disappointed, and discouraged. Things that have made me insecure, but this song rang true in my spirit, even though it's a song that I haven't heard in years. I began to think on the words as I typed them to hang in my cubicle at work - The LORD IS my strength! It reminded me. Even though I already know - even though I used these same words to encourage others - it reminded ME. When I'm feeling weak, when I'm feeling that I'm all alone and no one will understand, when I'm feeling discouraged, disappointed, set back - the LORD IS!!

Whom shall I fear?! - more of a declaration of surety than a question
exposed. I shall fear no problem or situation no matter how large it may seem - my God is stronger than any enemy I may be faced with. As long as I remember to think on the things of God when my heart is feeling heavy and
weighed down and that I can't move on - then the Peace of God will over
shadow me AND my situations until the storm has passed.

Philippians 4:8-9
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, an heard, and seen in me, do: and
the God of peace shall be with you.

Be Encouraged!!

TRULY AWESOME - YA THINK - PEACE!

Scripture/Seed

2008-11-17T07:25:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone - Be Blessed!

Monday's Seed for November 17, 2008

Come, let us return to the LORD! He has torn us in pieces; now he will heal us. He has injured us; now he will bandage our wounds. In just a short time, he will restore us so we can live in his presence. Oh, that we might know the LORD! Let us press on to know him! Then he will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring." (Hosea 6:1-3 NLT)

Prayer: LORD, it is never too late to truly repent! Thank You for Your willingness to accept my heart of repentance and seeking You, regardless of what I have done. Heal me, restore me, and bring me back in fellowship with You. I set my heart to press on to find my place in Your heart. In Jesus' name, Amen.

With all of that said isnt it a blessing to know that even when we mess up God still forgives and loves us. We should all thank God for his mercy, today, tomorrow and always!

After reading many emails today there was one email from a friend of mine that was entitled I love you. The message was very strong (to me) and I would like to share it with you.

"God doesn't give you the people you want, He gives you the people you NEED.
To help you, to hurt you, to leave you, to love you and to make you into the person you were meant to be".

Isn't that a powerful message! Prayerfully this statement has a message in it for you. PEACE!

Friday's Scriptures/Message

2008-11-14T09:52:00.001-08:00

Hello people, how are you all today.....I decided to share some scriptures and daily seeds with you starting with Thursday Seed. If you like to, you can comment on how something I post here may touched you and from time to time I will share the same with all of you.

Thursday's Seed, November 13, 2008 - Be Blessed!

Share Your Life
We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too" (1 Thessalonians 2:8).

People all over the world are searching for grace and peace. They are powerful forces in the life of the believer. First of all, we are saved by God’s grace through faith. We don’t deserve it and can’t earn His grace and forgiveness, but He gives it to us anyway. Grace is God’s favor that opens the door to salvation, but it doesn’t stop there. His grace is supernatural and an empowerment to live the life God has called us to here on earth.
Peace is every bit as powerful. It’s not just a feeling; it’s a state of being. Peace means "to set at one again." We are settled internally. And nothing externally can move us from our position of peace.

Receive His grace and peace today and declare it over the lives of the people around you. Remember, as you sow words of blessing into the lives of others, you’ll see that increase of harvest in your own life in return!

My Prayer for Today
Father in heaven, thank You for Your grace and peace at work in my life. I choose to stand in my position of peace by following your Word and staying in the plan You have for me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Fridays Scripture, November 14, 2008 - Be Blessed!

Let His Love Show
We know, dear brothers and sisters, that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people" (1 Thessalonians 1:4, NLT).
Paul starts his letter to the Thessalonians with a compliment and exhortation about how well they were living. He could see God’s love in them. He told them that the way they responded to the Gospel and the way the Holy Spirit confirmed their faith was evidence that God was holding them in high esteem. In other words, by their actions, they were letting God’s love show through them.
When others look at your life, do they know that God loves you? Can they see the change in you? Do they know you are a follower of His? Remember, the evidence is in your words and actions. The most important thing you could ever know and show is that God loves you. His love changes us. His love empowers us. His love takes us to new levels. His love gives us eternal life. Open your heart fully and receive His love today. Then turn around and love Him in return by following His commands. Make the decision today to let His love show all over you!

My Prayer for Today
Father in heaven, thank You for loving me, for empowering me, and changing me to be more like You. Have Your way in my heart so that I can be a shining light of Your love to the people around me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Parkay - PEACE

2008-11-13T08:38:00.000-08:00

Good afternoon people and welcome to my first post. After reading someone else's blog page and looking at all the positive things they wrote about I was suddenly at a lost for words. (No, this doesn't happen very often, so you can imagine my shock). I am like, what can I possible write about to people who never met me or even knew I existed before I decided to blog. So I guess I'll start by talking about what I learned at bible study last night. Please forgive the typos.

Our topic was about worrying about things beyond our control, how anxiety contributes to our stress and not trusting God with everything we go through as christians. I'll begin with the scriptures we were studying in Phillippians 4:6-7 (The New Standard Bible Version) and it states, 6-Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. I remember thinking about this verse as I read it and what it might possibly mean to me personally. But before I go into that, the 7th verse states, "And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Now if this is true then I shouldn't worry about not being able to pay bills, losing weight and a few other things that have me bound because God got my back. Well my friends, that is only part of the truth. Yes God "has" my back but what did I do to contribute to this situation that I now find myself in. What I did instead was think back to a time when I was paying my bills on time, cared about my health and was doing things to help me lose weight. I also had to think about what I was doing now that was so different from what I was doing then. In other words my friends I had to do some serious soul searching. Reading these scriptures prompted me to re-evaluate why I am suddently having these problems. I have a good job, I own my own home and I have always been able to maintain them. Yes, I still do but I'm struggling because of dumb decisions and things I've been doing lately.

First, I had to admit to myself that things changed and went on a downward spiral since my mother died on August 1, 2008. That's when I didn't care about me anymore. Before her death, taking care of her was my major concern and she needed me. Besides that the things I was doing were only giving me temporary gratification and satisfaction during the times I felt helpless. I felt helpless because I couldn't take away all she was going through. So what did I do, I started gambling heavily. Now mind you, I've always gambled but now I was borrowing money to do it from my credit cards. A BIG no no. When I wanted something to make me feel good I ate things that tasted good but was no good for me. To explain this even further, I started going to the casinos like 2 and 3 times a week and dumping money like I had it like that. Now that's a bit much from going there from once a month or once every 2 months. I stopped cooking and was eating mostly fast foods and buying stuff full of sugar knowing I am a borderline diabetic. To me, doing these things seemed to lesson my stress. My mom was dying from lung cancer that spread and was eating away at her entire body. Have any of you ever watched someone you love go through radiation or chemotherapy before? There are just no words to explain what I watched her go through and what it did to my spirit. I stopped caring about me and my own health issues because all I could think about was my mom. Please don't think that I am blaming her for all of this. I'm not. I do know that it was my own spiritual weakness and not being in the word that allowed the enemy to penetrate my mind and take away my ability to make good decisions for myself. I just didn't realize how much trouble I was getting myself into. Some people turn to drugs or alcohol but with me it was gambling and food. In saying all that I am simply saying that I learned last night that praying and bringing my troubles to the Lord was and is the very thing that is helped me get pass the traumatic experience of losing my mother. Instead of being anxious and pondering over everything that happens in my life I was bringing everything to God in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving in my heart. I was finally bringing my requests and making them known to our Almighty Father. And that is how I am now finding peace in knowing that God is in control and his love surpasses all comprehension and allowing this principle to guard my heart and my mind. It's a beautiful feeling when you start to cast all of your cares and give them to Jesus who loves and cares for you. Especially when you think that no one understands what you are going through.

The enemy used my mom's illness as an entrance way to my heart to suck what joy I had away from me. It was also easier for me to crave for things that could hurt me the most. I can now thank God for allowing me to have my mother for 68 years and take hold of my life again. I am allowing his word to finally give me some comfort and healing. It's true that life's experiences will still happen to us. But we have a comforter that is waiting for our call for help during these times. So my testimony today is that God's word can be what you need it to be. You just got to put in some time to study it, absorb it in your heart and apply it to your life. We must praise him while going through bad seasons and when things are going right. So take the time to read and marvel at all his wonders. Not only will you please God you will start to feel his blessings more and more and you won't succumb to the enemy so easily when going through trouble and strife.

Okay, I know I've said a mouth full so I will end this today by saying trust in his word. God bless you people - PEACE