As I was laying down to sleep on Wednesday night I was quite restless. Perhaps it was the late-night chocolate, or perhaps it was that state of the world, or even could have been me staring at my phone screen for too long playing Fishdom. Regardless of the reason, I routed to Youtube to stream the book of Psalms with music in order to go to sleep. Upon my journey to slumberland, a collection of verses rang out to me upon hearing them. 

 

 

Psalms 9:15-20 (NKJV)
The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
The Lord is known by his acts of justice; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.
The wicked go down to the realm of the dead, all the nations that forget God.
But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish.

Arise, Lord, do not let mortals triumph; let the nations be judged in your presence.
Strike them with terror, Lord; let the nations know they are only mortal.

I am not sure how long after hearing this I fell asleep, but when I woke up (2 hours early) I was reminded of my mental note to share this on the blog.

It is a jaw drop verse set for me in relation to what we as a country, nation, and world are going through right now. Like there is no doubt that we, as a whole, have turned our back or stepped away from God (the true creator God, accessible through Jesus alone who gifts His precious Holy Spirit upon all who believe), because like umm yeah. While I am not here to debate that, simply put the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23), and from I can see these definitely are not the top attributes of humankind.

Do I think all is lost? No, I don’t. I only think all is lost if someone takes their last breath and hasn’t accepted Jesus Christ as savior. There is no reason why “we” the individual, and “we” the people, cannot do better or be better, regardless of what our family, friends, or government officials say. Does being better mean acknowledging who the Trinity is? Yes. Because it is from God we get moral law, by Jesus Christ'ss sacrifice and resurrection are we redeemed, and it is by His Spirit we are transformed evermore.

Looking for encouragement, guidance, or inspiration? We have been watching Charles Stanley, Michael Youssef, and Allan Parr. in the recent weeks for our daily devotional time. May they be of benefit to you, as they have been to us and so many others. 

Peace, love, and blessings to you, through our Savior, Jesus Christ! 💙

Though the election is over and the next president has been set (Kamala and Biden did give quite the hopeful announcement address last night), I wanted to share this message, Policies, Persons, and Paths to Ruin, by John Piper. Though I mailed in my ballot in mid-October, it speaks in ways that I cannot, why I too didn't choose either of the two mainline candidates when I put forth my vote for President. The message is still relevant for now and in the future, may you read it with an open heart and mindset upon the Lord, His Word, and His kingdom. 

Please, love, and blessings to you, through our Savior, Jesus Christ! 💙

Hubs and I watched this video about a week ago, shared it with my BestieBooBaller middle of this week, wanted to put it up on the blog too. A short, but very powerful and forever relevant message from Dr. Charles Stanely, Satan's Strategy to Defeat Us.

Peace, love, and blessings to you through our Savior, Jesus Christ! 💙

 

About a month ago now I participated in the 2020 Uplift Gathering by Loved + Blessed. Though I didn’t join in the breakout sessions I was definitely “meant” to be there for the speakers (aka encouragers) and will take some of what I learned over the two days with me for life! I ended up pinning down 11 pages of notes and wanted to say a huge **THANK YOU** to all of the presenters and people involved in this effort (though they may never read this, and that is OK, may the Spirit send the gratitude on for me). 😊

Sooooo here are my notes. The theme was JOY, but more specifically "How To Choose Joy Even When ..."  To be noted, did not write down when Jamila spoke, since she was the main moderator/host and dropping nuggets of joy gold here and there, but seriously, I so appreciate her listening to God’s prompting and doing what she is doing 24/7.

           

          

           

            

            

                                            

Peeps featured in the above photos are: 

Jamila Jackson
Maeglin
Hannah Barefoot 
Rachael Gilbert
Melanie Ezechi (Social Worker Superstar)
Julie Landreth
Paula Bryant-Ellis
Ralonda Dittmar
Christol (Retired Track & Field Athlete, Current Minister & Faith/Fitness Coach)

What did I take away most from the gathering? There really isn't just one thing. There are many littles and many bigs, that I hope you take away yourself from the notes above. 😉

Peace, love, and blessings to you, through our Savior, Jesus Christ! 💙

 

Are you in need of prayer and/or someone to share your burden, stand in faith, and take it to the Lord? Call 1-877-800-7729 because PCRN has prayer warriors on stand by. You can text or call (24/7, 365) and someone will be there waiting for you! 

If you are a prayer warrior yourself and are interested in volunteering, check out their website, and apply online. As someone who has been a part of the organization for many years, I can tell you that they (we) would love to see you there (on either side of the line). 

Here is some more info from the site:

Purpose:

To offer people in every community a toll free phone number to call for prayer and to suggest referral numbers to compassionate crisis organizations that meet the mental, spiritual and physical felt needs of the people in their community.

Objective:

To establish a Prayer and Crisis Referral Network as an alternative of real hope to hurting, and burdened people. We desire to offer God's unconditional love, mercy, and hope expecting life-changing miracles through prayer. In addition, we also lend a hand of compassion by suggesting referrals to organizations and churches that meet the mental and physical needs of our callers.

Vision Statement

God has placed in our hearts a vision to offer God's love and concern to our nation, community by community, offering a message of hope 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through a phone/crisis hot line that includes prayer and suggestions to compassion based churches, ministry and organizations that meet the spiritual as well as felt needs of our callers.

Statement of Faith

WE BELIEVE the Bible is the inspired and infallible Word of God.

WE BELIEVE in one God, the Creator of all things, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

WE BELIEVE that Jesus Christ, God's only Son, died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. His shed blood and His resurrection provide the only ground for the salvation of all who believe, and faith in His finished work brings those believers into His eternal Kingdom.

WE BELIEVE that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, to convict all people of their sin, and baptize them with power, to produce godly character, and to distribute gifts throughout the church.

WE BELIEVE that the true church is composed of all who have believed in Jesus' finished work and are sacrificially following Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church.

WE BELIEVE that the church is called to worship the Lord, enjoy His Company, and grow in their knowledge of Him. The joy of this relationship is to overflow into the entire world as we declare the Gospel to the nations.

WE BELIEVE that Jesus Christ is coming again to receive the church and to judge unbelievers.

WE BELIEVE in intensive evangelism, Christian growth and discipleship.

💙 Peace, love, and blessings to you, through our Savior, Jesus Christ 💙

Taking a step back from my normal *truth for all humanity gospel* that Jesus Christ is our savior, I wanted to recommend a new video on Netflix, The Social Dilemma. It is a newly listed part documentary/part drama that tells of the unsavory side of social media, goes into the science of AI's and algorithms, and who/what we are becoming because of it. This isn't just a conspiracy theory video. It has real players of the tech industry coming clean and trying to shine a light on a problem that, if left unchecked, has the power to unravel life as we know it. The hubs and I both agree everyone currently on this globe should watch, and it should be recommended viewing for all youth before they get a phone and step into the online world. With a run time of 1 hour 38 minutes, it won't take up much of your day, but it could change more than you even realize. 

Peace, love, and blessings to you, through our Savior, Jesus Christ. 💙

***Photo Source: Netflix 

First and foremost I hope all who read this are doing well. That even if you might be going through something, that you have a peace within side you that transcends because of the Holy Spirit. Many I know at this current time are longing to go home (aka heaven), but as more people long I can't help but think of how many people I know wouldn't be in attendance. If you have ever wanted to know more about God and/or being saved please check out the links below. Or I would be happy to chat, always about anything! 

~~~~

Gender and gender roles is a topic that is on a lot of tongues these days. Take a listen to this very short video with John Piper which might bring encouragement to you as a woman or it might even make you question what you believe on the topic. I am withholding my own opinions at this time but just felt led to share it. 

(View On Youtube)

Peace, love and blessings to you, through our Savior, Jesus Christ. 💙

What is required for Salvation?
Can you believe this?
Salvation / Sinners Prayer 

Image by Kranich17

Well sometimes things just do not work out as expected and my latest blog post was just that. 

Please accept my apologies for the multiple emails you may have received, formatting errors kept making the whole blog go wonky and I surmised it must have been the overall size of the original and then the broken down 4 parts still was causing an issue. To fix I have created a public Google doc with all I wanted to share. 

The original post was as follows:

 With over six-thousand Bible verse pins on my Pinterest board (In Christ Alone) that have been curated over a decade, I wanted to share some of those here. There are a lot of amazing text/typography/graphic/traditional artists and I enjoy *so much* sharing their content and Biblical scripture truth. 

I do hope you enjoy this collection, and it really was fun going back and revisiting some I haven't seen in years. 😊 However, it was hard to not ~add them all~ as count as of posting this is exactly 6,603 in total. Tee-Hee, seriously though the Bible is the word of God and the text within is quite AH-MAZ-ING! I attempted to link who created the image or where I received it, to give credit where credit is due. 

Above all, may God be glorified, and may the truth of the gospel be received by all the nations!

Curious as to what all images were curated? You can find them here. 

Peace, love, and blessings to you, through the Savior, Jesus Christ! 💙

This might not be the easiest verse blast to read, but it is so important. God is love, but one day, there will be a final judgment for each individual, and as the verses below will show, God is actually "judging" the nations at all times. This is His right, as Creator of the world, and I hope that the words below (listed from Old Testament to New) will ultimately encourage you to draw closer to the Trinity, realizing your need for a Savior for payment for your sins, and provide hope for that which is and that which is to come. 

As always, love, peace, and blessings to you, through our savior, Jesus Christ. 💙

Love, peace and blessing to you, through our Savior, Jesus Christ. 💙

The prophet Jeremiah, whose writings are quoted in snippets all over social media, had this full doctrine charge to say, well not he, but the Lord God used him to speak these words to the people (Judah), but is very applicable to us today. It establishes who we, the people are, in relation to a Holy and just God. One that is above our ways (Isaiah 55:8), yet we try to put Him in a box of our own design. 

This is one of the many places that bring up the deceit of humankind and our feeble see-saw nature. Examples are shown through-out the Bible, from Cain and Able to the Israelite nation wondering 40 years, to Judas. We are born into a fallen world and therefore born into sin. You don’t have to teach a child how to lie, it is a trait that we, as humans, seem to just pick up. Unchecked emotions and selfish-nature can cause “the best of us” to do something we would not have normally done in a clear headspace, and no one can deny it. Henceforth a “temporary insanity plea” would not even exist. Right?

This is one of the things that keep people from accepting the truth of the gospel. You/me/we may be considered good to a world around us and un-needing of a savior, but what does “being good” look like to this world, in our current time or place, when there is so much backwards in our society that is openly tolerated (abortion, racial injustice, the mockery of God, etc)?

We are not holy on our own accord, only the Trinity is, and He (the Father) sent His Son (Jesus Christ) to Earth (100% man, 100% God) to make a way back, so that He (the Father) might look upon us a holy (Hebrews 10:10).

The law was originally given to the Jewish people to set them apart and reveal their sins. The first of those laws, the Ten Commandments were given as an original moral guideline, since cultures were engulfed in ungodly practices, witchcraft, child sacrifices, and the list goes on.

When I look at my own life, I can see how even I allowed the good and evil switch to take hold at times, it always starts out small at first, but can have a nasty grasp if left unaddressed.

Do I say *awesome humans* and mean it? I do, we were all handcrafted and created by God, the same God that stitched together the universe, but we are in desperate need of a Savior to be reconciled back to Him.  

Do I say this to *trigger and upset you*? I write it in hope that if there is anyone whoever reads this that doesn’t have a personal relationship with Abba Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit of God, that it might lead them to that choice. Or strengthen believers in their own walk with the Trinity. There is so much false doctrine going around, and it is very important that we search the scriptures ourselves, and ask God for wisdom and guidance. 

The Bible is not all sunshine and roses, and yes, God is Love, but let us not forget about His plan, which does include all who oppose Him being sent to an eternal, never-ending, tormenting fire for all eternity. 

This is serious business and I do not know how much time any of us have left, but today is a great day, to accept Jesus Christ into your life, as King, Lord, and Savior, and start your own communion with the Trinity.

Love, peace, and blessings to you through the Savior, Jesus Christ. 💙

Have you ever woken up from a restful sleep and the first thing that enters your mind are “way/ways you went wrong” in your past? Well that is totally what happened to me last tonight, and it was a particular event that happened before I even reached high school, so like 23 years ago.

What-the-what I found myself questioning as I tossed and turned at 1:45 a.m., trying to go back to sleep, however, nope that was not how it all played out. Instead, I came, sat at my computer and started watching Youtube videos, pinning, and all the while reminding myself about forgiveness.

I must write to share that I give God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit many thanks, praise and adoration for everything, for being with me, and keeping me around (in this world) even though I fallen many times. There have been times in my life when I sought death, lived like I did not know God (even though I 100% did), and just royally messed stuff up. However, God is a mighty God, and as we are told in, 1 Samuel 16:7, “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” The Creator knows us better than we know ourselves, and has a purpose and plan for you and I, Psalm139.   

As I have shared, this whole pandemic – house locked time has allowed me a lot of time to reconnect and refocus. However, with that has come a fair bit of condemnation for things in my past. Even though I have repented, and I didn’t know what I didn’t know at the time (in regard to some teachers / preachers I used to listen to), it still happens.  We all grow, change and evolve during our lives (or should), and not only do we need to ask God for forgiveness, but we need to accept it ourselves, and extend that forgiveness to others. Also I write condemnation, because I sincerely believe most (if any) of this is not coming from God, because there is normally a small after echo that tells me to “stop doing all things for God and the Kingdom because you are not worthy and it isn’t worth it”, so yeah …

This is not saying I am never brought under conviction, but there is a difference. I found a post that sums it up pretty well :

• Conviction is from God (accept it); condemnation is from Satan (reject it).
• Conviction leads you to repentance; condemnation drives you to despair.
• Conviction inspires you to keep striving; condemnation tells you to quit.
• Conviction says God will help you; condemnation says there’s no hope for you.
• Conviction shows you the answer; condemnation only shows you the problem.
• Conviction helps you change; condemnation says you’ll never change.

Also, we are told in the Bible, that God doesn’t remember our sins (Hebrews 8:12, “For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”) and an article (audio and text) by John Piper can be found here in more detail on that topic, should your desire further study.

Yet, we are told multiples times that we will be attacked by the evil of this world (spiritual warfare), and to be honest, all I want (and I will say it on repeat for years to come), is that people come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and develop a personal relationship with the Trinity (Creator God, Son/Savior Jesus and Helper Holy Spirit). I’ve always written in hopes that I can encourage, plant a seed, water what has already been planted, but in no way think myself higher than anyone, and surely not better than the Redeemer of this world, for only by His sacrifice can I be called worthy.

I conclude with this, no one knows the time or place of Jesus’s return (rapture and/or 2^nd "official coming" aka anti-Christ dethroned), but what I do know is that there isn’t a better time than now, to accept that Jesus Christ is the risen Son of the Holy God, and give your life over to Him.

This is why I write. This is why I design pins. This is why I help and do everything else that I do.

I know where I am going when I take my final breath, do you?

Love, peace, and blessings to you through the Savior, Jesus Christ. 🖤

As the nation around us celebrates our 'independence', I have a mixed headspace with what all else is going on here in our country, social unrest, political absurdity, and the pandemic. Our county is the worst in the state at the moment, and we are not in the same county as Atlanta. People in the masses are not adhering to the rules, and even some of my friends think it is a lie (though I know someone who passed away from Covid-19 and another who recovered). I have found myself becoming consumed with who is doing what, and why aren't they doing a, b or c when those options are "clearly" the better choices for humankind. However, I can talk, text, or write until I pass out, but ultimately each of us is grown and responsible for our own lives/choices. It was upon hearing this video I finally realized that what was going on, and that is that my focus in these moments are off of Jesus, and drowning in the world. 

When I reflect on what quarantine life has been for me, outside of everyone else and everything outside of my control, it has been pretty great. The reason for that is because it has given me a lot of time to realign, refocus, and reconnect with the One who gave His life for mine, and it is something I want to hold on to. I have been many people in my life (as I am sure you have too), made good choices and bad choices, but I am always my best when I am in constant communion with God, and doing what He desires for me to do every day. Also, I am stuck in my *first purchased home* with my (sweetie buns) hubs and awesome Momma, who are my top 2 peeps in this world. 

So I pen this to say, if you are feeling anxious, depressed, confused, or baffled, take a moment to reflect and ask God to show you "what the in the bananas is up" because He will answer you, though sometimes it might come from an unlikely source, and not the moment you asked for it. 

So freedom eh? Though I see-saw thoughts on just "how free are we" in America from time to time, I do know that freedom in Christ is 100% real. 

Here is what the Billy Graham Evangelical Association has to say on freedom, from the article found here. 

1. People have been searching for it for thousands of years.

The quest for freedom is a theme found throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. Just three chapters into the story of God’s creation, humanity gave up its freedom by choosing to rebel against God. From that time forward, the perfect freedom God created in the Garden of Eden was gone, and the long-term effects were both physical and spiritual.

The Old Testament of the Bible records how God’s people lost their physical freedom time and again as various empires overtook them (most notably the Egyptians, as recorded in the book of Exodus).

The loss of physical freedom was often tied to spiritual disobedience like worshiping false gods. But time and again, the one true God forgave His people and rescued them. When God freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, He was foreshadowing the arrival of Jesus Christ, who came to free humanity from sin—the spiritual slavery that leads to death.

Today, many people are living in spiritual slavery without realizing it. They chase false gods of money, success, personal comfort and romantic love—only to realize they still have an emptiness that can’t be filled by any of those things.

2. God’s answer to our loss of freedom has always been Jesus Christ.

When Jesus began his short period of ministry on the earth, He announced He was the One that God’s people had been waiting for since the fall of humanity. He did this by reading a particular passage from the book of Isaiah—a passage his listeners knew was referring to the Messiah, or the Savior of the world.

The words had been written hundreds of years earlier and spoke of a new freedom that was coming in the future. When Jesus stood up to read, He was saying the future had arrived. Liberty would come through Him.

“And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’

And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing’” (Luke 4:17-21).

3. Jesus came to free us from death, sin and anything that enslaves us.

The core message of the Christian faith—the Gospel—is that Jesus Christ rescues us from the slavery of sin and offers true freedom in this life and beyond. This is what Jesus said:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

The Good News—the best news ever—is that faith in Jesus frees us from the death we deserve for sinning against God. It frees us from the punishment that would be inflicted upon us at the end of our lives for the evil things we’ve thought and done.

While Christ followers still battle with sin, they are no longer slaves to it. Through the power of Christ, His people can be set free from the bondage of greed, vanity, pride, pornography, addiction, abusive behavior, gluttony, selfishness—and any other sin under the sun. Here’s what Jesus said about the freedom He offers:

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).

“Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:34-36).

4. God gives us freedom to choose our own path.

God created human beings, not robots. We don’t have to accept the freedom He offers us through Jesus Christ. He gives each person the free will to accept or reject His salvation. But the Bible warns that hell is a real place where real people end up when they knowingly reject the truth.

Likewise, those who choose Christ are not forced to obey Him at every turn. But God makes it clear: the best life is one that’s devoted to honoring Him. As the Apostle Paul explained to some of the first Christians:

“’All things are lawful for me,’” but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but I will not be dominated by anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12).

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13).

Coram Deo awesome humans ❤ 

& 

Peace and blessings to you through Jesus Christ. ✞

For as long as I can remember I have always struggled with wanting to be perfect. Not in a prideful way, but just in a, to be perfect is to be 100% and doesn’t perfection mean no problems, or issues, or failings, guilt or shame and everything would be all good, all the time?

My perfection idealism, I have been shown, is a longing for Heaven. It isn’t just me who I want to be perfect, I want everything and everyone to be perfect as well.

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
Revelation 21:4 (NIV)

While we cannot be perfect (completely sinless) in this life, we can work every day at being refined by the Creator. There was a perfect one, Jesus and His life had issues and problems, though he had no failings, He was sinless. And by His sinlessness, sacrifice, and resurrection, God looks at us (those who have accepted Him as savior) as perfect too.

This is the good news, the gospel, the message of salvation.

This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Romans 3:22-24 (NIV)

Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
Isaiah 1:18 (ESV)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9 (NIV)

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV)

And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.
1 John 3:5 (NKJV)

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16 (ESV)

Please do not be discouraged either when I write we cannot be completely sinless. I know there is some debate on this topic. However, let's be real with one another, the world we live in is pretty vile, and God’s ways/nature is on point, pure and above that which we can comprehend at times. Do we in 2020 even know every time we do fall anymore, as sin is stitched through the fabric of our society? Not that we are under the law but look at it for comparison in this instance, the rules, and regs that were set forth, or look at the 10 commandments and compare that with some of the shows we all watch. Though we are not “doing it ourselves” does focusing our mind on such things have the potential to distort us and cause us to fall (even if in other ways), I do think so.

Whew. 

Ok this has taken a bit of an unexpected turn as writing has continued, and I will conclude with this.

As always, I do not write things from a lofty, above everyone else, perspective. I do not think I am better than any of you and, if anything (from time to time), I feel like the worst human that ever has existed. It is only by Jesus Christ, do I have hope. There are many wrong choices I have made in life, even knowing the truth of Salvation and having a relationship with the Trinity, because of free will. Yet, we always have the chance to pick up, start again, and be a better person through the Trinity. Memories of my past try to eat away at my future, but I know and trust that what is in God’s word is true.

The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”
Hebrews 10:15-17 (NIV)

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Psalm 103:11-12 (NIV)

Peace and blessings to you through Jesus Christ. ❤

Wow, wow, wow! 

Is it a recommended watch? For sure! 

Will I be checking out Christ Crucified next? Oh yes! **Note: I started to watch the 2nd installment and had to stop 30 minutes in. Though it might be beneficial for some, I cannot say the same for myself. Perhaps I am on false teaching-learning overload? But nonetheless, I will not be watching it. 

Admittedly, in years before I did watch some of the people mentioned in this film, though never as a solitary source of teaching. It isn't something I will hide as Joyce Meyers is written about in 31 Rays of Hope. However, I never bought into prosperity gospel or faith healing (for all). Some of the most devout believers with rock-solid faith I've ever met, happen to be some of the poorest and sickest people I've known. Yet, their testimonies are all about how God is WITH them, regardless. How they would rather be cast down in this life (by our society standards) than to ever spend a day not knowing who God was. 

It has always been hard for me to reconcile some teachers/preachers/whoever sitting on millions and millions when there are so many people who could benefit from those funds. It is not a sin to have money, however, the love of money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10). 

Search Results

Web result

As I am working on the audio version of the devo, (which will be available for free, details to be sorted out later), I realized that some of the words and phrases I used could be misleading considering what I didn't know was going on/being taught in so many churches. For the past 5 years or so, my main teachers have been Charles Stanley, Michael Youseff, and Allen Parr. I also happen to have a very faith strong mom who has much wisdom, even though she doesn't think it. Even know I check before I repin a verse if it doesn't look quite right. I learned early on to check the scriptures for myself to make sure what I was being fed was a lie or carefully twisted truth. 

Watching this video I was shown what I have been wondering for years, "why are people leaving the Church?" Well if you believe God is anything other than what He says He is (in the Bible), that Jesus was not all man and all God when He walked this Earth, or that the Holy Spirit is some sort of genie to grant your every whim, (just to name a few errors pointed on) well then, it sounds like a false religion, not a relationship.  I can understand why if people have been taught that God wants us all to have Rolls Royces, never get sick, and have the cream of the crop everything (mostly centered on financial success and stability), they would feel punished when it wasn't received. They would feel abandoned by God, discarded, and left out in the cold. 

But what falseness this is! Jesus had a hard life, and he said, "Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours." John 15:20 

The video is excellent (though some of the lies were hard to stomach), so I won't say much more but will close with these 7 truths: 

#1 - God is the Creator of the world, all that we know and don't know. Colossians 1:16
#2 - God is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. Psalm 139
#3 - Jesus is the Son of God. Matthew 3:17
#4 - It was the Father's plan for Him to be born as a human, yet fully God at the same time. 100 Verse List
#5 - It is by Jesus Christ alone that we are saved from our sins and reconciled back to God. John 14:6 & Romans 10:9
#6 - The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, our advocate, and helper. Verse List
#7 - Father, Son, and Spirit (Trinity) desire a relationship with YOU! 2 Peter 3:9

Peace and blessings to you through Jesus Christ! ❤

⇑ Curious where the closing comes from? Ephesians 1:2-4, blessings are about so much more than the tangible. 

If you know me in my personal life, or ever had the pleasure of being apart of one of my errr 3 or 4 Facebooks, and who knows what else along the years, you might question “what the what is up with her?”.

I have extreme social media anxiety, and it messes me with me in ways that others might see as foolish, but the thoughts, once there, cannot stop going around in my head. Rather than a way to connect, I saw many years ago people (in my own circle) straight posting one thing online (ex. we are so in love) but in reality, they were about to be divorced. This combined with a few other reasons, such as obsessive checking,  getting “in trouble” with friends if I didn’t post where I was, and other lifestyle changes beckoned me to step away from FB for good. Slowly all the others took the same turn, and the last time I posted on my personal Insta (now deleted) was the afternoon before I met my now-husband (12/2017).

Even now admittedly, I struggle with even the company Gram, because of expectations vs. reality, and a pressure that no one puts on me, but is there within my thoughts. Thus, going forward even that will be treated differently, though not going away entirely.

I have known so many great people through-out my life, and some people I fell out of touch with because of my lack of social media, but I hope for everyone (I have ever known) the very best. Mental health is something I have struggled with all of my life (though have kept that fact hidden from many), and I came to understand/realize that no one can fix it for you (aside from God), but regardless you have to be proactive about it on your own (avoiding triggers).

Simply put and reconfirmed over the past weeks, I am happier and have a better mental balance when my social media is limited to posting devotionals and pinning on Pinterest. Does that make me a weirdo? Perhaps in some peoples eyes, but I’m an imperfect, saved by the grace of God, Jesus Freak who has been called weird since I was a tot, and the only opinion that carries any weight in the grand scheme of things is what God/Jesus/Holy Spirit thinks of me (or any of us).

You will never hear me say that I am an open book, but if you have any questions or comments about this post, please let me know. I will answer as appropriate, and above all hope this provides peace, comfort, and clarification to anyone who may read it. ❤

Peace and blessings to you through Jesus Christ. 💙

This week we have been working on refining an upcoming pin design (hopefully July release) and writing the corresponding devotional. Which had to be re-written as the initial drafts were way too long to fit neatly on a compact card, as there is just so much that can be said about transformation. Really the Bible is filled with scriptures that speak to our soul’s evolution (for better or worse), so to get that extra info out, here is a verse blast for your viewing and learning pleasure. Along with a video, because well music is quite important to me and my personal relationship with the Trinity, and this song is awesome. 😊

*All base images are free use on Pixabay, then further edited and designed by me.  
Feel free to post and share verses as you see fit.
Why don't I "watermark" 24/7? Well because I don't own the copyright to God's word, and I go back and forth with doing it vs. not doing it.  
Also, blogger would not let me embed the video from Shonlock's actual account (for some reason #grrr), but you can subscribe for more awesome tunes here. 

Peace and blessings to you through Jesus Christ. 💙