My Cubby Hole

Does anyone remember way back when we were in Kindergarten where we had cubby holes for each of us? When we came in, we were instructed by our teachers to put our items (book bags, pencils, etc) in there. They held our items for us. (Granted someone did take things from others at some point, but for the most part they pretty much kept our items). 


Today, I had an emotional day at work. It was a personal thing. It hurt so bad that I couldn't respond after awhile. I just had to stay quiet and focus on work. I felt like crying (at one point a tear did come into play, but I brushed that away). I didn't want to cry. 1. It was at work 2. It would activate my sinus & I'm just recovering from that (I didn't want to go back). The irony of the situation was that I had just read from a link talking about problems in the church. One way to cope with was to remember that people aren't perfect. I tried to focus on that, and let go of the bitterness that was slowly but surely making its way in me. It didn't help. I still felt hurt, anger-mixed emotions. 


After work, I went to the gym to work out, and I walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes. It was AWESOME because I kept telling myself that I couldn't do it-that 10 minutes was enough, if not too much. I let my energy focus on exercising-not food or eating. Praise and glory to God for this because most of the time I would cope with emotional issues with overeating. Yet, I couldn't eat. The Lord took that away from me. 


When I got home, I began rehashing the points that hurt, and the thought of a cubby hole came into my head. My Cubby Hole is Jesus. When I give Him things, when I place my worries, cares, hurts, anger-everything with Him, He takes care of them. Unlike the cubby hole by man's hands, Jesus 100% takes care of them. He is a Protector of our souls. I thank God for Jesus. Jesus is gonna take my hurt away, and allow me to forgive and forget. I know this as I place all in His hands. God is truly AWESOME! Glory to God!


I also know that my imperfections, God will help me with. Lord, I'm not perfect. I know this. I give this to You God. I pray that You take away them Father-that You help me overcome them as You have overcome the world. Thank You Jesus :)


I love this song by Michael W. Smith. I want to share this with you. How appropriate it is.

Until  Next Time...Lord's Willing

May God get the glory!

Your Sister in Christ

Mary

New Blog

I have decided to begin a new blog for my personal diet journal. I'm going on a diet, and have decided to post things about this diet that I'm now on. I'm in the process of creating it. The link will be mypersonaldietjournal.blogspot.com. It will be inclusive of my struggles, contain Biblical Scriptures to help, my food journal, drawing strength from the Lord, my weight, age, height, and other things. I want this journal to be an encouragement for others, because many struggle with obesitiy. I know that the Lord will help me with this. I want this to be my testimony that glorifies the Lord. I pray that many find encouragement through this blog.

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me,"

Philippians 4:13



Learning to Trust God

I love this. My friend actually emailed this to me awhile back. My other friend on Facebook reminded me of it when she posted it. I wanted to share this with all because all of us at some point have issues with trusting God. Most, if not all of us, need to learn to trust Him when minor or major things happen to us. The script is as follows:


Me: God, can I ask You a question?
God: Sure
Me: Promise You won't get mad
... God: I promise
Me: Why did You let so much stuff happen to me today?
... God: What do u mean?
Me: Well, I woke up late
God: Yes
Me: My car took forever to start
God: Okay
Me: at lunch they made my sandwich wrong & I had to wait
God: Huummm
Me: On the way home, my phone went DEAD, just as I picked up a call
God: All right
Me: And on top of it all off, when I got home ~I just want to soak my feet in my new foot massager & relax. BUT it wouldn't work!!! Nothing went right today! Why did You do that?
God: Let me see, the death angel was at your bed this morning & I had to send one
of My Angels to battle him for your life. I let you sleep through that
Me (humbled): OH
GOD: I didn't let your car start because there was a drunk driver on your route that would have hit you if you were on the road.
Me: (ashamed)
God: The first person who made your sandwich today was sick & I didn't want you to catch what they have, I knew you couldn't afford to miss work.
Me (embarrassed):Okay
God: Your phone went dead bcuz the person that was calling was going to give false witness about what you said on that call, I didn't even let you talk to them so you would be covered.
Me (softly): I see God
God: Oh and that foot massager, it had a shortage that was going to throw out all of the power in your house tonight. I didn't think you wanted to be in the dark.
Me: I'm Sorry God
God: Don't be sorry, just learn to Trust Me.... in All things , the Good & the bad.
Me: I will trust You.
God: And don't doubt that My plan for your day is Always Better than your plan.
Me: I won't God. And let me just tell you God, Thank You for Everything today.
God: You're welcome child. It was just another day being your God and I Love looking after My Children...

Until Next Time...Lord's Willing.

To God Be The Glory

Your Sister in Christ,

Mary

Important Question For Christians

There is a question many questions have to ask themselves: Are you willing to SACRIFICE the WORD of GOD in order to get on the good side of people? Sadly, my Brothers & Sisters in Christ, so many are doing this very thing, thinking that by gaining this person's friendship, that they are gaining their souls to Christ, but they are doing the complete opposite, including losing their own souls. Revelation 22:19 states, "And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things that are written in this book." The Word says this-not me.

We have to understand that as Christians our concern is for the souls. This concern has to be open, loving, tenderhearted, kind, compassionate, and also honest to others. Notice, I underlined and highlighted honest. Somehow, people withhold the Truth. For example, we are seeing, an alarming rate I might add, that homosexuality is becoming a norm for today's generation. We see so many people proclaiming to be Christians (only God knows the heart), but embracing homosexuality and homosexual marriages. Now, I mention this because I have seen the actor Martin Sheen, a very great actor, who is a devout Catholic. He signed a letter to the President to support gay marriage (see this link for further reading on his support http://www.ontheredcarpet.com/Anne-Hathaway--more-celebrities-urge-Obama-to-support-gay-marriage-rights/8016714). I understand that many people claim to be Christians & many are not. I can't say because I'm not God, but what he has said contradicts the scriptures. For example, Leviticus 20:13 and Romans 1:26-32 are examples that strongly go against homosexuality. 

Now, I can't say what these people are thinking. I'm not God, but I can say that they just contradicted the Word of God. I can also say that many Christians are willing to sacrifice, to divide, to "cherry-pick" as my co-worker said, to skip the Word of God in order to please people. They want friendships with them. They want their money lining their pocketbooks. They want to be people pleasers. Galatians 1:10 addresses this: "For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ." Pleasing people will cause you to lose out big time. 

Christians have to tell the Truth, the whole Truth, & nothing but the Truth. Look, I know that it is hard going out there and facing rejection. We still are in the flesh, & rejection still hurts, but look at it like this: would you rather hear Jesus tell you depart me from me for I never knew you or hear man call you a name (homophobic, bigot, hater, etc..they get creative in the insult department), hell or heaven, applause of men or the applause of the angels? You have to weigh this. What is more important to you? Is Christ important or are people's opinions more important? 

I encourage each and everyone of my Brothers & Sisters in Christ to examine yourself in this area. Ask yourself this question. Let it guide you in checking yourself. Lord knows, I have to & will. The Lord gave me this thought. So, I have to ponder it just as well as you. 

To God Be the Glory,

Until Next Time...Lord's Willing

Your Sister in Christ,

Mary

A Tough Night

Last night was very rough. There was definitely a lot of drama in my household last night. My brother ended up going to the hospital. It only took the EMS awhile to get in and him out. Their excuse was that they had to wait for the cops to go in first before they could go in. You see my sister told them that he had gotten hit in the head with a baseball bat. Hence, they thought the environment (her house) was hostile. I understand their reasoning & rationale. I really do. However, my sister clearly explained to them that it was not the place that he got hit. Yet, they continued to ignore this, waiting outside while my brother was having a seizure (or so I was told. At that point, I was at home with my parents). My oldest sister couldn't reach us on the house phone because it is messed up (AT&T really need to get that fixed) neither could she get me on my cellphone because I was in the other room while it was charging. Dad's cellphone was turned off. Eventually, the house phone was picked up. I made the mistake of picking it up because she cussed me out. I handed the phone over to mom, & that is when we were told what happened to him. He eventually went to the hospital, and thank the Lord he is at home fine.

There is always drama with my brother. You see, my brother is an alcoholic and drug addict. He, from his behavior, seems to have no real desire to get real help. If he did, he would seek the Lord. He would seek His help. Yes, I support AA and drug rehabilitation centers, but I'm also aware that without a spiritual rebirth, without accepting Jesus as Lord & Savior, without a belief that by His stripes we are healed, these would be pointless. Even if my parents did get some type of conservatorship (which I still do champion), unless he has Jesus, plus a true desire to get well, he won't. I do believe in intercessory prayer, I will continue to do this for him. 

I also believe my Heavenly Father is more than capable of healing my brother. I believe that my Heavenly Father is the same God that opened up the womb of a old, barren woman named Sarah. I believe that my Heavenly Father is the same God today as He was yesterday-that He still works miracles, that he still heals. So, I know He is more than capable of doing this.

I pray for divine intervention for my brother. I pray that God heals him. Greater is God in us than he that is in the world. I believe that. I have to keep on believing in God. I'll be frank, it is not easy. It is not easy to continue seeing my brother self destruct. It's not easy seeing my 60 + year old parents worry about him. It's not easy seeing him go to the hospital every single time he goes to the hospital (which has been a few times). It's also not easy calling your pastor up and asking her to pray at 9:15 at night. It's not easy having to continue the repetitive pattern with my brother. My whole family continues to go around and around with him. It's not easy dealing with a drug addict and an alcoholic. It really is not-even for a Christian.

Drugs & alcohol truly destroy families & lives. The fact of the matter is that I'm not the only one that is going through this. Many people have family members in this scenario. As Christians, it's time to step up our prayers. It's time for us to step up our intercessory prayers. The devil has a strong hold on people with these drugs. He really does, but I truly believe that we can break these strongs by the power of Christ. James 5:16b lets us know that "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Constant prayers, effectual prayers of a righteous person can do so much.

I take last night & all that happened as a trust builder in the Lord. I leaned not to my own understanding of what was happening, but to Him. I depended on God for divine healing, & He did so. He stepped in. It was really hard. It really was because the whole thing felt like the day that I found out that my 16 year old nephew had died (one day of his 17th birthday). Yet, I went to the Word. The Word lets us know that we are healed by His stripes (Isaiah 53:5/1 Peter 2:24). Well, I definitely leaned on this & proclaimed it. I put my trust in the Lord. I will continue to put my trust in Him.

For those that are going through this, put your trust in the Lord. Pray for those that you love. Pray for all those that are going through. By the grace & power of God, we will get through this together.

Until Next Time...Lord's Willing

Still - Hillsong [Lyrics]

I'm No Idle Christian

Dictionary.com defines idle as the following: 1.not working or active; unemployed; doing nothing; 2:. not spent or filled with activity; 3. not in use or operation; not kept busy; 4. habitually doing nothing or avoiding work; lazy; 5. of no real worth, importance, or significance.

I'm NO IDLE CHRISTIAN. As a matter of fact no Christian should be idle. Jesus commanded us to preach & teach the Word. Yet, when a Christians sees a wrong, they do not want anything to do with it. They don't want to say that it is wrong, but let it go. The Komen G foundation is a foundation in raising money to fight cancer, & yet they fund PP. PP is short for Planned Parenthood. Yes, that is that notorious organization that provides & encourages abortions. Many people expect Christians to lend money to an organization that lends money to an organization that supports abortion. Really? Are we really to do this? Answer: No.

I was on charismamag.com on the news link. It showed how The Komen G Foundation was turning from what they had earlier stated. They had earlier stated that they would stop funding PP. Yet, so many people bombarded them that they caved in and went back on their word. I read a commentary. The commentary when this way:

1BethelPlace1Collapse

If one works with the poor, ministering to single moms and more, one would realize abortion does not trump everything. The truth is many women need the free medical care PP provides, despite their abortions.
Saints are deluding themselves in thinking that you can vote for anyone, no matter what else they stand for, AS LONG AS THEY ARE AGAINST ABORTION, or terminating a service that serves and helps many, despite abortion.
Abortion is only stopped when women are educated, ministered to and offered help in having and caring the baby. But of course, saints hate free healthcare, don't they?

Of course, I responded to this. My job is to highlight the wrong, & try to encourage people in the Word of the Lord. This woman would have me stand by & say "Well, they provide free medical clinics, so that overrides the wrong with abortion". NO!

I will not accept anything because it has more good than bad. I will not over look something that is clearly an issue. I will not be idle. I will stand up & fight for the rights of ALL lives-not just adults but babies as well! A problem is a problem & no amount of good can erase the bad.

Christians have become lazy when it comes to tackling abortion. They have also confused ministering. We all know that God is not the author of confusion. So if they are confusing ministering there is an issue. Ministering does require us to listen, to absorb, to pay attention. It also requires us to encourage, to be supportive, but also to tell the truth. I'm not going to lie nor will I sit by idly while something that contradicts the Word of God is going on. If you want an idle Christian, I'm not your woman.

I'm a woman of God. I take my role as a Christian seriously. I don't straddle any lines, but walk the way God would have me. Of course, I make mistakes, but I repent & move on. Christians have to be concerned for other peoples' welfare. That concern should have us doing all we can for them. There is no Christian that sits down when something wrong is going on. They stand up, they speak out, & they fight the good fight.

Society leads us to believe that it is better to just let things be. Things will be better if we just shut up & look the other way. Well, Jesus is certainly not looking the other way while we look the other way. I'm sorry, but He isn't. Wrong is wrong and right is right. As a Christian, I will not & cannot be idle while the devil tries to have his way. I will stand up, I will pray, I will do what the Lord will have me to do. I will not back up!

Don't be idle Church. Stand up & fight the good fight of faith, laying claim to eternal life. Do the Will of God & not of man!

Until Next Time...Lord's Willing

1 Peter 5:8

King James Version (KJV)

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

1 Timothy 6:12

King James Version (KJV)

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.