Thank you...

Lord I just thank you for your goodness, mercy and grace always extended and covering me. I love you so and surely don't know what I would do without you.

You stay true to your word, you empower and strengthen, you bless, cover and watchover. You are all things. The great I AM! Thank you for coming to see about me and having me in your plan long before I knew you. When I look over my life, I know you were there. Things you didn't allow me to fully see, I thank you, because my feelings would not be able to hold it. I thank you. I thank you for giving me the best husband made for me and my children who are blessed and who stretch me so. Thank you for being with me through it all.

Thank you for your peace and your word. Thank you for HOPE. How could we live without the hope that is sure and true in you!!!! How could we live if not for your mercy that holds back the wrath we deserve. Thanks for being longsuffering and being slow to anger. For wishing we all would choose you. Thank you, you are to be lifted up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Techno Life

We live in a techno age with our cells, computers, blogs, facebook, myspace, texting, ipods, mp3s, and on and on. On top of that, we have reality shows, not quite reality! But nothing replaces relationships.

I was listening to a show yesterday where the host was having a discusstion about how much young people text, based on a statistical report dated in 2008. At that time the stats showed young people texting over 2000 texts a month. So, of course, by now, the stat is higher than that. Wow, Wow. He also talked about the thumb cramps and physical problems they're experiencing from texting so much. He went on to share all of the ways young people get around not being seen while texting in school and everywhere else.

My generation and those before my generation, I believe we're ok in the since, we were the last generation to have both worlds in many ways. We related, we know some old school because we were the last to be raised under the old school ways. Yet, we were the beginning of all these changes that continue to bloom. Rap & Hip Hop as we know it, computers, video games, head phones, etc. started with us, but continues to graduate into quite a mountain!

Many of the young people who came after have had a whole life of techno and less of relationships. Lacking communication skills and spelling, etc. because of how they communicate. I enjoy the different social sites, but I have been raised in a life of relationship, dialogue. I know how to spell, yet I know a few abbrevs. too.

The adults in these young peoples lives need to be careful not to send them off into techno land without building up relationships, communication and the like. They should be well grounded and connected in real reality and know how to still sit down and actually talk to one another. Limit the technology and get back to relating. For those who never really had it, get started with true relating. I mean, think about it, you have young ones standing in front of each other, texting each other instead of talking to each other right there!

P.S. It's one thing when your grounded in real reality, grounded in how to communicate and build and have real relationships with one another. But I sense many who grew up only under technology, technology will not know a real relatable world. It will become a lost art if the adults in their lives do not commit to build it in their lives. I can enjoy these things within moderation and still have these skills because I grew up in a world where you wrote hand written, personal letters, cards, invitations. You sat at a table and listened, learned, talked. You related. Be careful of the abbreviated life in your relationships and in your abbreviated text world. Make sure you know how to actually have relationships and how to spell and talk to people!

Going Off InThe Checkout Line...

Woooo Sei, Woooo Sah, Just Plain Woooooooo

That's what I needed to say today. I was in the Rite Aid today, I know for 15 min. on my way back to work from my lunch break. I had plenty of time, cause I was around the corner. I was the next to be checked out.

Okay, so I'm being patient, patiently waiting. Next thing the lady in front of me looks at her receipt and finds the item was more than she thought. That was all well and good. So her and the lady who was working the register leaves to go check it out. I stay in the line, hey, I'm next, no problem.

Why another lady came along, opened up the register over at the picture printing area, did not say, "I'll take the next person in line." No she just took whoever. Okay, fine, I'm still being patient, no need to move because I'm still next in the line. I felt it was no point in moving over there and being behind 4 to 5 folk.

Waiting, waiting, waiting... so here they are, finally. All is going well, we're moving now. No, now the lady's like. I don't want either of those, I want this. I'm still fiiiiine (smile), still being patient. She swipes her card, something comes up on the screen, three times, count them, three times, the lady at the register tells her, don't worry about that, it's nothing and there's nothing she needed to do. Does she listen, no she continues asking. Lady at register continues to tell her you don't have to do anything, so the register pops showing the transaction has gone through.

Now, ok, I'm thinking, yeeeehhhh, we can move on now. Nooooooo, she has to fill out the slips because of the cancellations. Guess what, I'm still doing fine, hadn't gone off yet. But, then, after all that, everyone in the line having left and moved over to the other line, been checked out or getting checked out, me still in the line I started out with because she was the only one in front of me... why did she then proceed to have a discussion with the lady at the register about the receipt and how it should be done, and this, and that, WELLLLLLL, that was it!

Before I knew it, I started telling the lady how ridiculous all of this was and could she please move it along, then she had a few words with me and the lady at the register, I continued, she continued and so on. I was sooo through and couldn't believe I had ended up there. Well I did! Although I didn't curse at her, but I went back and forth with her. I had, had enough!

It's the small things, irritating things, that can get you in life, not the big stuff. Yeah, the devil tried me today, I immediately said, Lord forgive me! Thank God for forgiveness. P.S. Right after all that, you know I got in my car and every single car on the lot moved as slow as possible, folk turning corners for an extra 20 min. (lol) BEWARE OF THE SMALL THINGS THAT WILL TRY TO TRIP US UP!

Favor

It's been a good day! God has moved in two situations on my family's behalf. It's always a wonder to see God's favor in action in your life. He's faithful! Thank you Lord for the things you did for us today and for showing us you were in it, every step of the way!

Weekend: McCullough Homes

This weekend, I had the great and awesome opportunity to give back!

I was contacted a little while ago by a lady who was apart of putting together a Mother's Day special day for the Mothers at McCullough Homes. She told me they did it every year. Another lady had gotten my makeup business brochure from somewhere and asked that I be contacted to be apart of the special day.

Initially, when I was contacted, I wasn't sure what it was about and wasn't familiar with the name of the lady who requested me so I thought she may have had the wrong number. Eventually I got the jist of what she was saying, but since I had a previous engagement, I wasn't available.

A day or two went by, and I continued to think about that call. Eventually, I contacted her back, within the same week and told her, I got to thinking about her call and planned to look into seeing if someone could fill in for me so I could participate. Long story short, I was covered and able to participate.

I am so glad I did. It was one of those God ordained moments. I thank you Lord for that opportunity. I was blessed by all the ladies just as they were blessed by me. To be able to use this gift of Makeup Artistry for persons who may never received that type of pampering was so uplifting as I saw them transform before my eyes. The smiles, hugs and looks in their eyes were worth their weight in gold.

Make sure you don't miss those God moments in your life of being a vessel to be used in another's life!

Friday

So glad it is Friday. I think we're always glad when Friday comes. At the same time, I try not to rush life because everyday you rush, you bring yourself to a quicker end.

Often, we may have dates and events that are coming up throughout the year and are prone to say, "Man, I can't wait for this or wait for that..." I often think that if I rush my days towards this date or that date, or this vacation or that, before you know it, the school year that hasn't yet finished to start the summer that has not even begun, will be over while I rush to get to the next thing!

No, I do not wish to rush my life from event to event. It's far better to learn to enjoy the journey one moment at a time. No problem in looking forward to these upcoming events, but no need to rush your day, week and month until you look up and a whole other year of your life has once again passed by.

Let's slow down and continue to smell the roses on our way...

Having An Open Life...

I use to wonder why I just couldn't cut off or close off or be a little more private with my life or get involved so much with things. There are people I know who's lives are like that where they don't.

There have been times when I wished to have that life when things got hard or when I fell flat on my face in front of many because of the sacrifice of putting myself out there. But over time, I learned to accept the way the Lord made me. It has not always been easy, but it's more than clear that I couldn't help it if I wanted to. Those who live a more private life may be called to it.

I have written for newletters, I have shared testimonies in writing, I have blogs, Myspace and more recently Twitter and Facebook. I get involved with many things and am passionate about many things. I share my life often, in a myriad of ways. I just share, share, share.

The great things that have come out of it far outweigh those hard times.

I'm glad to take the risk and sacrifice putting myself out there. It shows I'm getting older and totally settling into every aspect of me! Can we say almost 40 (lol)

So Much More To Me

Aptly Titled.

Often in a day to day life, I find there's so much more that I don't get to share. Often we live in a life where we must meet others where they are. It's very rare when you have those moments with others where you can really have the conversations you would love to have.

Ahhhhh, but the moments you meet people and sit down and have those conversations, or those times when you're around Praisers, people who love talking about the Lord, you have a piece/slice of heaven right here in that moment.

Welling Up With His Love...

The more you pour out His love on others, the more the stream wells up within you and continues to pour out. I like to listen and watch the Lakewood services online with Pastor Osteen because they show the whole service! The broadcast only shows a snippet, but when you experience the whole service, what a service it is! Often, in the services, Pastor Osteen cries, a lot of those times when he cries, he says how he is overwhelmed with God's love for people, or overwhelmed with all God has done. I know when they broadcasted the recent service in the Yankee stadium, towards the end of the service he cried for quite some time. What God had just done and everything that was happening in that moment caused him to break down into tears.

I sooo identify with that. I love to encourage others, in a myriad of ways. I would feel so dried up and dead if I didn't get a chance to lift someone else up. In those moments of Pastor Osteen's tears, I find myself time and time again welling up right with him. It's just one of those spirit connected moments that you can't put into words. I just get what he's feeling in that moment. It's like God's love washing all over you, through you and onto others, all at the same time. It can be so overwhelming.

I Use To Write...

I use to write a lot. Articles, testimony's, journaling, etc. Then, I went through a shutting down of sorts for some years. Kind of like a shutting off of the damn. I haven't questioned it. I didn't want to force it. The Lord had His reasons.

I've gone through many a process in that time, and just as quickly as a season is shut down, is as quickly as it can be opened back up. I feel the damn has been broken and the waters are about to flow again.

Being In Love With The Lord

Have you ever heard of that!

I remember, many years ago, when I use to write for a newsletter, how I was writing a testimony I had at the time. Within the testimony, I stated how I was in love with the Lord.

One of the readers of the newsletter spoke with me and said how they didn't get that, even thought eeeew (lol). At that time, that person only equated being in love to being in love with her man. But, it's not limited to those kinds of relationships. The more you get to know the Lord, walk with Him, experience HIM, not religion, but HIM... you fall in love.

I fell in love with the Lord, many years ago, and am still in love. As the hymn goes, Jesus is sweeter than the day before. As scripture says, He's sweeter than a honeycomb!

Yes He is! He's given me that true peace that surpasses all understanding! He walks with me, leads, guides and corrects. I just simply love HIM! As the dear panteth after waters, so I pant after HIM and He always quenches my thirst with the waters that well up within unto everlasting life.

I love the story of David! All the wrong he had done in life, yet God chose David, He still used him. And moreover, God said David was a man who had a heart for Him!

God and Prodigals

I want to share my notes with you. Maybe something I share, you can identify with or be of help to you!
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Taken from my notes on Back To The Bible's "Meet with God" weekly devotions booklet (Lesson on "God and Prodigals" - Luke 15:11-24)

Although I'm not in a state of being a prodigal, when reading this lesson and examining myself in it, I found the area of staying on course with consistent study to be what stood out for me and was able to connect some of what a prodigal experiences to what I or anyone could experience in not staying consistent in this area. And so, I share my notes.
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My thoughts after doing my reading: When I get away from consistent study, quiet time in His word, it's like the prodigal in the way of taking myself away, not receiving the full benefits of our relating through His word, waddling around with the pigs as the prodigal did until I come to and realize I've gotten off the mark. I need to confess my sin and go back to the Father in consistent study, and He welcomes me.

Goal: Stay on course with regular study.

My prayer: Lord, thank you for always being patient with me, waiting for me and not banging me over the head, rather being gentle in the process. Thank you for wooing me and for your outstretched arms. Help me in this goal to be consistent, and I pray it doesn't have to take something harsh or drastic to keep me on track. May I follow after your gentle leading and wooing of my soul's deep need for you in and through it all. In Jesus' name, Amen.

I see me in all of your prodigals, thank you for choosing all of us anyway and in spite of my, our prodigal ways.
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Taken from book on the Prodigal's transformation: Prodigal develops conviction of not being in the right place, seeks help, follows through on conviction with action, confronts failure, personal confession, returns to the Father with a spirit of submission.
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I am overwhelmed with your love Lord! I well up at the thought of you. My heart wants you, loves you, pants after you. Sorry for the times I'm prone to wander. Thank you for giving me a heart for you always, inspite of my human frailty and failings!