The devotional referenced 2 Corinthians 1:3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ , the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort. (KJV)   Did you catch that??? The God of ALL comfort!

But wait! There’s more!  2 Corinthians 1:4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. (KJV)

Yes you read it correctly ALLLLLLLLL not just some of our tribulations, but all of them! I am so happy to know that, but God blesses us to be a blessing, not only will He comfort you in your times of need, but He blesses you to be a comforter to others in their time of trouble.  OH YEAH, HE’S THAT BAD! WOOP WOOOP!

As I thought about God’s comfort, the feel, the smell it reminded of one of my favorite songs, Beautiful, by India.Arie.  Here is a portion of the song that describes so well God’s place of comfort.

“I wanna go to a place where I am nothing and everything
That exists between here and nowhere
I wanna go to a place where time has no consequences oh yeah
The sky opens to my prayers”

Ahhh yes, that is the place of comfort, God’s heavenly comfort.  I pray today that I never deny God the opportunity to comfort me.. I want to cuddle up in that space of cloud pillows that smell freshly lined dried in the warmest sun and the coolest breeze, where I’m nothing at all, but everything in the hands of my Lord, where time doesn’t exist and where the sky opens and receives my prayers.

I pray you allow yourself a trip to….beautiful

That’s a beautiful thought; Turn your face to the SON. Can you imagine, when your feeling a bit low as we all do at times and will at times, you can be lifted by just turning your face to the SON? Can you imagine celebrating the birth of a new baby; yours or otherwise, and rejoicing by turning your face to the SON?! Oh, man, how about when you are on the verge, of slipping back into that old sinful nature, but instead you…turn your face to the SON? Or just because you realized, you woke up ALIVE, you turn your face to the SON.

The song says, “Cause Jesus is my portion, a constant friend is He, His eye is on the sparrow, so I know He watches me”.

He is my portion, everything I need, everything you need is in that portion! He is your friend, one like no other has been, will be, or can be. He watches the sparrow, THE SPARROW, what more do you think He’s doing for you, me, whom He made in HIS image.

Today, I choose to get my portion, by being like a rose and turning my face to The SON. Won’t you enjoy the rays with me?

Be blessed!

K

Has anyone ever said or given you the impression that they didn’t take you seriously because they know yo’ momma an’dem? Or given you a look like “who does she think she is because I remember when….”

All your trying to do is help them, and they can’t get past the point that your younger than them, not as privileged as them, not as educated as them, or that they knew you when…
It’s sad to know that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ experienced this same rejection. As I sit in the car waiting for 2 of my top 3 guys of all time (my hubby and our youngest son- the other 3rd that’s missing is our eldest son AJ) to come out of the barbershop I began to read the scripture for our Sunday school lesson and all I could think is, “dang have we kicked Jesus out of our ‘hood?” Jesus said that a prophet gets no respect in his own ‘hood, and the Bible goes on to say, that he didn’t do many miracles their because of their lack of faith! Dang! The King of kings and the Lord of lord’s has stepped into your ‘hood and He leaves and take His power with Him because we don’t have the faith to believe that He is Who He say He is. Ain’t that some mess?! It got me to thinking, our land isn’t healed because we don’t have the faith to believe that it can be. Our aunties, uncles, cousins. momma’s and daddies can’t kick the habit because we don’t have the faith to believe they can. Jesus has come to your ‘hood and is saying. “I’m here what do you need? All I require is that you believe I am, and believe I can.” That’s it! You ain’t gotta pay for it, you ain’t gotta beg for it, just…..believe.

Believe He can and He will! Oh taste and see that the Lord is good!!!

Don’t kick Him out, embrace Him with all that you have, and He can, wants to, and will do the rest! You are blessed….if you wanna be!

The other day, I was going through hell! I felt like I had descended into the pits of all pits, and I just wanted to scream to cry. to punch someone! Anything to get that monkey off of my back! As I sat there an continued to fume, I got up from my desk and pulled my friend away and said ” I’m getting a divorce! I can’t take it anymore! Enough iis enough!!

Cookie walked me to a back hallway and allowed me to cry, be angry and even say I wanted a divorce, all without judgment.

Siderbar, Cookie is that chick! I mean really she is about her business and understands the pit, and recognizes that she belongs in a palace! In her own words “I ain’t got time for no Peanut butter and Jelly!” Meaning she has no time for mess! Prayer warrior, Missionary appointed by God! I swear she’s like the 1 woman Red Cross!!! Oookkkkkk back to the topic…(Hey Cooooke!!)

As she took in my pain, and gave me her thoughts, she hugged me and said,” let’s pray” she went into a prayer that was appointed and anointed by God! Left no stone unturned for the enemy to use as weapons later! She covered it all! And I was so grateful. When I walked away I said, ” now THAT is a real friend!”

So my take-away on this, a real friend, will always pray for you and with you….so you DON’T end up in jail!

You are blessed, if you choose to accept it!

So today not to long ago, I was shown a lesson in just how true these words are. A little background, I met a phenomenal woman of God some time ago, who didn’t know me from a can of paint, but she knew that the God she served was the same God that I was struggling to know. We talked for a bit (actually, we talked for hours!!) and one of (the many) the things that stuck out that she said was ”My Father wants to know, why are you struggling with the fact that you have the presence of the Holy Ghost?” “You are struggling for no reason because you have It!” Needless to say I almost hit the floor, door, wall, whatever was close by, because that was an ongoing internal battle that I had. And nobody, I mean NObody could have known that…but God!

So flash forward to today and for some reason, I’ve been dealing with that same battle. But God reminded me not only of the conversation with Helen, but He also reminded me of His promise, His truth, that He will never leave me nor forsake me.

Here’s what happened….so we have a 6 year old, and its winter here and everyday he loses a hat! On the bus, in school, at home…doesn’t fail! I mean really we celebrate when he has his hat! So yesterday Chris and I took him to Marshals, got him a new HAT and coat, and literally he wore the hat to church and we came home….with the hat. This morning, it’s not even 10 am we are leaving out , and yup…you guessed it he can’t find his hat. Brand new hat! Only worn once hat! The hat!!! So we are looking all over his room, I’m on my mommy tyrant..”You just got it! You better find it! I can’t believe this! I mean we are in the closet, under the bed, in the hamper…we are looking everywhere! So after about 15 minutes of looking, God makes me pause for a second, and tells me to look at my Punkin. So I do and he’s standing there with the biggest brown eyes, his nice new coat, and a sad face because he just can’t figure out, what happened to the hat. I look at him and I say “you know what buddy, this is a time to laugh….laugh real hard!” He asks “why” I say because we searched all over this house for your hat that…..was……attached to you the whole time!!!! I mean we looked every where and the hat was basically looking with us because it was attached to the velcro on his coat!!! Hilarious!!

And my sweet heavenly Father nudged me and said…”that’s you!” I’m like huh? He says, “you keep running in circles seeking Me, seeking My presence and the whole time, I’m attached to you wondering if you will ever just stop and see and remember that I said I will Never leave you nor forsake you! And as long as I am God (which will be forever, and forever some more), Never means NEVER!!!! So stop searching, and open your eyes and see that I’m attached to you because you belong to me!!”

WOW!!!! (I pause and  I sigh at this point………….) All I can say is praise Your name Father, You are and will always be He that  is the TRUE and LIVING God, and thank you for loving me so much!

He sent me a power packed word, while I’m searching for a hat, that was never lost!!

Are you searching…stand still and ask Our Lord and Savior to show you Himself….and He will!
You are blessed….IF you choose to accept it!

Just stopped by to say to my fellow believers, take this moment to say THANK YOU!!! It’s truly a beautiful thing!

I cried and cried some more. I even sent him a text message and said, “this is it! I can’t do this anymore, I’m checking myself into the hospital, because I just can handle this thing called life anymore!”
He asked me, “babe, did you pray? Did you read? Did you WRITE?” My reply to each question…”NOPE I CAN’T!” See isn’t it funny how my husband immediately recognized my “arsenal of weapons” to use to fight this war and I didn’t? War?? Oh yes, it was a war, and honey, I was losing…..BIG TIME!
This whole meltdown started Friday. that I noticed, but I’m sure it began long before that. I cried, Friday, and woke up with swollen eyes. I cried all day Saturday…just couldn’t take it! Just couldn’t! When I fell asleep Saturday night I had the worst dream! It shook me to the core, and forced me to get up and grab my Bible and my journal. The Holy Spirit led me to read about the last days leading up to the crucifixion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As I read, I begin to write and God showed me that He saved the revelation of this Word, for that very moment in my life! And boy, was it a REVELATION! I’m crying “nobody loves me, nobody cares, nobody is willing to sacrifice anything for me….and here it was in my face BAM!!! Nobody what??!!

See I was ” looking for love in all the wrong places, looking for love!” ( I think that’s a song….) But I digress….I was looking for someone that I loved here on this earth, to make the sacrifice that was already made by Jesus! A sacrifice that even on their best day, they couldn’t fulfill!!! Seriously, no dis’, but its real talk! God begin to reveal to me that HE made the ultimate sacrifice! He sent His Son, to take on the weight of this world…better yet, He sent His Son to take on the weight of ME! WOW!!!! Huge!

So as I’m riding on the bus,( now I’m at my desk), I can’t help but think, that Jesus truly was the ULTIMATE GIFT! I sat and thought about what it really meant for Him to take on the sin of this world. He took on everything….the murdered and the murderer, the molested and the molester, the lied to and the liar, the burglar and the burglarized, the hurt, and the hurter, the slave and the slave master, the adulterer, the fornicator, the abused, the victimized, you name it, He hung on the cross and bore the weight of EVERY SIN TO EVER BE COMMITED BY EVERYONE WHO WALKED AND WOULD WALK THE FACE OF THIS EARTH! Man………..all……for ……me, truly, the ULTIMATE GIFT!

So on this God-given morning I am stepping with new purpose because during that middle of the night experience when I read about what Jesus did for me, a piece of me died…you know that piece who said…”Nobody has ever done anything for me!” Well it died! And if it ever tries to resurrect itself, I can stand firm in the truth that my savior Jesus has done more that I am worthy to ask for in a lifetime, but He thought that I was worth it, truly a gift!

I am learning that I have to be strengthened on the inside to deal with this life on the outside, I read that before Jesus did anything, He prayed, and I’m sure it was for strength to make it through whatever He had to do that day, and if it worked for Him, I’m certain it will work for me! His word tells me that if I want to follow Him. I have to deny myself and take up my cross everyday….He’s so mindful that He said everyday, which means He allows us to rest at night…I just love Him!

But I just will leave you with this, if your looking for the perfect gift for someone, share who Jesus is….and I bet no one can EVER top that gift!

You Are Blessed!!

STAND UP!

For the past few months we  have been instructed to dream.  We have been told and taught to give our dreams back to God, because this way, He will be able to trust us with more of the dream.  We have talked about dreamers and dream snatchers; Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar, and the three Hebrew boys.  We have been in the lion’s den, and the furnace.  We’ve had a conference, and conversations, we’ve laughed, we’ve cried and we’ve dreamed some amazing dreams.  But beyond dreaming, what have you done?  The sad reality is, that some of us have done nothing! So the task for you tonight is to STAND UP! 

See standing is more than being in a still upright position on your two feet.  It requires action! It requires YOU to do somethings!  The Bible teaches us in James 2:26 that faith without works is dead! So you can shout from the roof top that you have faith that your dreams will come true, but if you aren’t doing the dream work; YOU CAN FORGET ABOUT IT!  It is time to stop complaining that people don’t understand, and that people don’t support your dreams.  They are just tired of hearing you talk about it! They don’t believe in your dreams, because you don’t believe in your dreams!

Standing up is a simple statement, but a tough process.  Your current nature won’t allow you to stand, so you have to push past what you know, and step into the unknown.  Push past your adversary and reach out for you Saviour.  Kick down your fears and stand up in faith.  See standing is dream work, and dream work won’t always be fun, it won’t always be convenient , but dream work will ALWAYS be worth it!

This is not a one shot deal, you’ve gotta continue to stand.  Standing takes courage, commitment boldness and the willingness to be knocked down but the determination to get back up…. unshaken! Now THAT is standing!   In standing you pray, in standing you worship, in standing you study, in standing you sing, in standing you may cry, in standing you fight!  Because here, in this place, you will see what was truly spoken by God into your dust.

Ladies, it’s time……….STAND UP!

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Preface: I started writing this blog on Friday…but had to put it on pause…sorry for the delay :”)

I asked Abba Friday (11/13), “whats on my agenda today” and He said, read Matthew chapter 3.  I said , “Matthew chapter 3?” “Yes.” ” OK”. And so the conversation went.  I read the entire chapter and froze when I read verse 9!  My God, we are repeating the same pattern that was displayed then! We are hiding behind “titles”.  Then, the people thought they were safe from the pits of hell because they were “Children of Abraham” today, we feel we are safe from the pits of hell because we call ourselves “Christians.”  It threw me for a loop, because John the Baptist was so real, he basically said, “you fools come a dime a dozen!! Children of Abraham?? PUH-LEEZE! God can draft up more where you came from so that whole cover up is NOT working!!!  How many times do we see and post  on Facebook, see and write in text messages, or speak and hear in conversation, IM’A CHRISTIAN, IM’A CHRISTIAN, IM’A CHRISTIAN….

As I read this book in Matthew, I could hear Abba saying…Christians??? CHRISTIANS???? C H R I S T I A N S???? I’M NOT IMPRESSED!   We have become so comfortable with this new found title that we profess Christianity and live like satan worshippers! OH NO, NOT ME YOU SAY??? Well let me ask you this….how many conversations have you entertained that tore someone down instead of esteemed them?  How many times did someone give you too much change back in a store, and you kept it?? How many times did your children (yours or ones you know) make a mistake and you practically ripped their heads off with your words?? How many times have you opted to stay home from church service because you had “better things” to do? How many times have you reached for the remote, all the while feeling in your spirit that Abba wanted to talk to you? At this place….you can add your own, HOW MANY TIMES question, because I’m not even gonna front, my hands were up on ALL of these! Maybe not in recent history, but nevertheless, I’ve done them all!  I pointed these out to just say, this is NOT the behavior of a Christian.  We have to do more than profess it, we have to L I V E it! And the beautiful thing is , is that God already knows that we can’t do it on our own, hence the beautiful lil’ (pretty big in my mind) gifts called Grace and Mercy! 

God wants us to go beyond salvation, and really walk into Kingdom living! Kingdom living is giving God some time in our day, after all He is the one that gave us the day! The least that we can do is share it with Him!  Share Him with a stranger, heck, share Him with a friend! We know that we are in love with Jesus and more than impressed and in awe with all that He’s done for us when we share Him.  It’s like getting that perfect pair of jeans. You know the ones you put on and can’t nobody tell you nothing!? You feel so good in them you don’t want to take them off, and when someone compliments you on them you AUTOMATICALLY give up the store name, location, price and exactly where in the store they can find them… “girl when you walk in the door walk 3 feet, take a quick left and BAM they’re gonna be right there folded on the tables!”  And your excited to tell them and can’t wait for them to experience what you do in those jeans.  Well that is the same, attitude we should have when sharing Jesus, this is apart of us living out our titles as Christians.  When someone says, girl, you look great! Have you lost weight? Your reply is honey, I lost the weight of the world, and picked up a beautiful new life! They’re gonna be intrigued, just by the enthusiasm in your voice. Oh yeah it takes practice and boldness, because sharing Jesus has become a “crazy” persons thing to do and who wants to be labeled crazy right? But our blueprint for this life (The Bible) tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:27 that God uses the foolish things in order to make those of us who feel we are wise, confused… so be crazy for Jesus! Cuz folk will be looking at you as if your foolish, but Lord knows you are wiser than they could EVER imagine!

OK I’m gonna wrap this up because I don’t wanna get preachy, because that was not my intent, but I just wanted to share that it’s time to live as Christians, and not just make the phrase a cliché! Think about this, why aren’t people flocking to God? The reason, WE, you me and Baebae n’nem are confessing Christianity, but our lives are a screwed up, finger popping in’da club, ’40 on Saturday, and singin’ in the choir on Sunday MESS! There is nothing attractive about  our lives, nothing that will pull them from the world… but as John the Baptist said as he baptized by water, LIVE! LIVE! LIVE! Let your life reflect the wonders of our Savior. Does it mean that your life is absolutely perfect…NO, but does it mean that you have power in this life, ABSOLUTELY YES!

Jesus is so beautiful, that no matter what happened yesterday, He has blessed you with today to get it right, apologize, and accept Him fully. He teaches us that it is not His will that anyone, ANYONE should die and go to hell ( 2 Peter 3:9) but that we all come to know Him and accept Him. But God wants us to know that He’s coming back(( 2 Peter 3:10), we may be dead when He does, or we may be alive, we don’t know, and don’t trick yourself into thinking that you know, and that you have “time”, the time is now! Do it now… God is not asking for you to be perfect…He’s just asking for you to be willing….

Be blessed and LIVE!!!