Today, not only do I pray for myself but I am also praying for my CHAMPION friends. Praying for those that are dealing with sickness, lack of finances, for those looking for a job and those searching for peace.
I pray that the Lord would silence the doubters/enemies in your life that have you feeling like you can't make it, when in fact the word of God has declared that you are above and not beneath, you are the head and not the tail.(Deuteronomy 28:13) Stand up tall and use your kingdom authority and let satan know to get thee behind you! (Matthew 16:23)
Yes, you may be on medicine but God gives us wisdom and direction and through his word we can declare that "by his stripes you are healed of your infirmities." Isaiah 53:5
Thank you for the direction of our finances, according to Proverbs 3:5-6 that we should trust in you, so we trust you with our finances, thank you that you are helping us to become better stewards over what you have given us. Help us to hold onto your word found in 2 Corinthians 9:10 "For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you."
Lord we know that we are faced with tough economic times and jobs are scarce however, Lord you can provide. I pray that you would open our minds up to the creativity that you have given us for we know that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalms 139:14 it is in our wonderfulness that our creativity can be poured out...I pray that through this process new ideas and businesses are birthed!
For my friends that are wrestling with life and you feel as if you are being penned down to the ground and you can't take another breath, I pray that you will begin to receive God's peace. May his peace saturate every restless area of your life, may you not look to others for peace but look solely to God. Lean on his everlasting arms...."Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7
As we continue to seek you God, I pray that you would give my friends strength, without your strength, they will not have your joy. So today may we all receive your strength. Help us to not go weary in doing well, and even though our legs feel week, help us to be mindful that the race isn't given to the swift nor to the strong, but to the one who endures until the end. For you are the author and finisher of our faith, it is in you that we put our trust! (Nehemiah 8:10, Galatians 6:9, Ecclesiastes 9:11, Hebrews 12:2, Psalms 20:7; 56:3)
In Jesus Name!
Amen!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Saturday, December 31, 2011
2012 Prayer
Lord, thank you for allowing us to see the end of another year 2011 and the beginning of a new year 2012! While some had victories others had losses that were so hard to bare. My prayer is God that you would heal my friends that have lost loved ones throughout this year. A difficult and painful year for some, I pray that you help them to cast all their cares on you. God only you know their hearts and the grief that they have had to deal with and while they walk around with a smile and a praise on their lips, their heart is broken. I just pray that you would shower them with your love. Send the right people to be around them to help encourage and lift their spirits, comfort them through your word.
Several have lost jobs this year, I pray that you would continue to be Jehovah Jireh our provider. As the uncertainty of not knowing where and how things are going to get paid, Lord please send them a ram in the bush. There are some who have faced foreclosure and are worried about finding a place to stay, my prayer is that you would direct them to the right people and place, that landlords will look past credit issues and will allow them to have a place to stay.
For some 2011 was the conception year where they saw the dreams and promises from afar, but it wasn't time for them to be released. I pray that as you embark on this new year that you prepare yourself for the promises. Make room for the things of God that he has prepared for you and your families. No longer see yourself lacking but see yourself in the fullness of God.
Finally my 2012 prayer concludes on these words: that this will be a year of release of dreams and promises,a year of renewal of the mind, body and spirit, a year where you will not settle, but you will take hold of the promises that have been given to you and a year of restoration for those that have had losses (family, job, homes, cars)that you and your families would receive GOD'S (his)unlimited resources. 2012 May it be A GOD SIZED YEAR!
Forgetting those things that are behind continue to press forward! 2012 will be a year of RELEASE.
Several have lost jobs this year, I pray that you would continue to be Jehovah Jireh our provider. As the uncertainty of not knowing where and how things are going to get paid, Lord please send them a ram in the bush. There are some who have faced foreclosure and are worried about finding a place to stay, my prayer is that you would direct them to the right people and place, that landlords will look past credit issues and will allow them to have a place to stay.
For some 2011 was the conception year where they saw the dreams and promises from afar, but it wasn't time for them to be released. I pray that as you embark on this new year that you prepare yourself for the promises. Make room for the things of God that he has prepared for you and your families. No longer see yourself lacking but see yourself in the fullness of God.
Finally my 2012 prayer concludes on these words: that this will be a year of release of dreams and promises,a year of renewal of the mind, body and spirit, a year where you will not settle, but you will take hold of the promises that have been given to you and a year of restoration for those that have had losses (family, job, homes, cars)that you and your families would receive GOD'S (his)unlimited resources. 2012 May it be A GOD SIZED YEAR!
Forgetting those things that are behind continue to press forward! 2012 will be a year of RELEASE.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
The Gift!
Every year I would check to see if what I wanted was under the tree, I just knew Santa Claus would have that special gift for me....Nothing like waking up at 4am to see if what I really wanted was under the tree. Shaking boxes and turning things upside down...While I smiled, there was a part of me that was still left looking for that gift. Did my parents hide it under the couch? Where is it, why can't I find it?
You know the gift I am talking about? The one that makes you smile and all of your friends had one and it was advertised on the television, in the magazines and even on the radio...you know the gift! Ahh....exasperated by the search, I finally gave up!
Years later I recalled a time, when I found one of my presents and opened it up. YES! It's the New Edition album I wanted, but wait, I can't let my mother know that I opened my gift. See that's what my Christmas use to look like. My parents were very generous to us and even if they didn't have enough money my parents made sure that we had everything on our list. Hmmm....I can remember asking for things that I knew I didn't want but I knew my parents would make sure that I had it!
Christmas to me is special and there is a gift that I only pray that someone of you will receive if you have not received it. See that gift was wrapped up and the world could not see it, the gift was hidden, it was protected and when it was time to be opened, the gift didn't have all of the fancy paper around it or a bow on it. Yet the gift came to a dark world to bring light so that men, women, boys and girls could receive that light.
The gift I am speaking of us is none other than that of Jesus Christ. Absolutely the best gift anyone can receive. Unlike the gifts we receive at Christmas, Jesus is always with us, helping to lead us along the path of life. The gift of Jesus Christ promises to never leave us or forsake us. Furthermore, he came that we could have an abundant life, but the only way that you can have that abundant life is if you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.
"For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father [of Eternity], Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6AMP
This Christmas, consider the gift that never ends!
You know the gift I am talking about? The one that makes you smile and all of your friends had one and it was advertised on the television, in the magazines and even on the radio...you know the gift! Ahh....exasperated by the search, I finally gave up!
Years later I recalled a time, when I found one of my presents and opened it up. YES! It's the New Edition album I wanted, but wait, I can't let my mother know that I opened my gift. See that's what my Christmas use to look like. My parents were very generous to us and even if they didn't have enough money my parents made sure that we had everything on our list. Hmmm....I can remember asking for things that I knew I didn't want but I knew my parents would make sure that I had it!
Christmas to me is special and there is a gift that I only pray that someone of you will receive if you have not received it. See that gift was wrapped up and the world could not see it, the gift was hidden, it was protected and when it was time to be opened, the gift didn't have all of the fancy paper around it or a bow on it. Yet the gift came to a dark world to bring light so that men, women, boys and girls could receive that light.
The gift I am speaking of us is none other than that of Jesus Christ. Absolutely the best gift anyone can receive. Unlike the gifts we receive at Christmas, Jesus is always with us, helping to lead us along the path of life. The gift of Jesus Christ promises to never leave us or forsake us. Furthermore, he came that we could have an abundant life, but the only way that you can have that abundant life is if you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.
"For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father [of Eternity], Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6AMP
This Christmas, consider the gift that never ends!
Thursday, October 13, 2011
The Will to Live....
My great grandmother, Mama Nannie told me a story when I was little, that quite frankly scared the living day lights out of me. It was about a lady who lived in the mountains with her family. One day the lady's husband was gone and she needed wood for the stove, in order to heat the home and cook a meal. The lady left her children at the house to go and cut the wood. While cutting the wood, she was bitten by a rattle snake.
Determined to take the fresh cut wood home, the lady wrapped her leg, with an old piece of scarf, picked the wood up and hobbled down the dirt road. Racing through her mind were all the thoughts of what her elders had told her growing up that you can not survive a rattle snake bite, and that most people die within minutes of being bitten. Not giving up she hobbled some more down the road, her clothes now were wet from sweat and her breathing was real deep and heavy. The fifteen minute walk home seemed as eternity and with each deep breath she began to think of things that made her life happy. She recalled the day she met her husband, her wedding, the birth of her children, the days of sitting around the wood stove making stew, the smell of rain and with all these thoughts she began to feel better. Finally making it home, she collapsed at the door, her children ran over to her not knowing what was wrong. They noticed the bloody scarf on her leg and she managed to tell them what happened, the eldest child wanted to go and fetch the family doctor who lived five miles down the dirt road. Sitting up the lady, told her children don't worry about me, I will be alright. Amazed at their mother's words, they began to cry, she encouraged them not to cry but to help her up. She told them I have lived a full life and I know God, but before I leave this place there are a few things that I must do.
Motioning with her index finger she told her son, to put the wood in the stove and to start the fire, so that the house would be warm and so that they could cook. With each passing second the mother found something to do, she hobbled to sink and started prepping the food, she wanted to make sure the children had food to eat until their father came home in a few days. In more ways than one she was preparing them for her death. She uttered to them where they can find certain things that they may need in the future. The clothes were washed on the washing board and the dinner was now prepared. Her words became few and her deep breaths were getting shallow by the minute. The once vibrant woman was at the end of her life and she knew it, at her request they all sat at the kitchen table while she laid on a make shift cot in the kitchen, her eyes dim, she watched the children slowly eat their food.
One of the children began to call her mother's name, the woman barely alive said I am going to sleep and when I wake up, I will be ok, everything will be ok...crying the children understood their mother was saying goodbye. Trying to make her comfortable, the children took her the cot to the bedroom. Night had fallen and the only lights were those in the sky, the stars. The children could hardly stay awake as they were torn with grief. In the middle of the night one of the children woke up to check the mother's pulse....as he walked closer he heard his mom reciting ..."The Lord's Prayer", chiming in with his mother he began saying the passage over and over. Time passed and the woman's vital signs was getting better after each time the verse was recited. Daylight came and the woman was better she was healed.
The woman is like all of us, who have been bitten by a snake in life, it could be in relationships, on our jobs, in our finances and even our health. What I found most interesting about this story is that the woman despite her circumstance kept going. She knew she had to get the wood home, she had to wash the clothes and prepare enough food for the family. What this woman had was a WILL TO LIVE. Today you may find yourself in a similar situation and the bite hurts, but God doesn't want you to give up, he wants you to stay in the race, because someone is depending on you to survive, you do matter! Speak the word over your circumstance, pray and watch God do a miracle in your life. Be encouraged, weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning, while you may have cried last night, you can rejoice, it's morning!
Determined to take the fresh cut wood home, the lady wrapped her leg, with an old piece of scarf, picked the wood up and hobbled down the dirt road. Racing through her mind were all the thoughts of what her elders had told her growing up that you can not survive a rattle snake bite, and that most people die within minutes of being bitten. Not giving up she hobbled some more down the road, her clothes now were wet from sweat and her breathing was real deep and heavy. The fifteen minute walk home seemed as eternity and with each deep breath she began to think of things that made her life happy. She recalled the day she met her husband, her wedding, the birth of her children, the days of sitting around the wood stove making stew, the smell of rain and with all these thoughts she began to feel better. Finally making it home, she collapsed at the door, her children ran over to her not knowing what was wrong. They noticed the bloody scarf on her leg and she managed to tell them what happened, the eldest child wanted to go and fetch the family doctor who lived five miles down the dirt road. Sitting up the lady, told her children don't worry about me, I will be alright. Amazed at their mother's words, they began to cry, she encouraged them not to cry but to help her up. She told them I have lived a full life and I know God, but before I leave this place there are a few things that I must do.
Motioning with her index finger she told her son, to put the wood in the stove and to start the fire, so that the house would be warm and so that they could cook. With each passing second the mother found something to do, she hobbled to sink and started prepping the food, she wanted to make sure the children had food to eat until their father came home in a few days. In more ways than one she was preparing them for her death. She uttered to them where they can find certain things that they may need in the future. The clothes were washed on the washing board and the dinner was now prepared. Her words became few and her deep breaths were getting shallow by the minute. The once vibrant woman was at the end of her life and she knew it, at her request they all sat at the kitchen table while she laid on a make shift cot in the kitchen, her eyes dim, she watched the children slowly eat their food.
One of the children began to call her mother's name, the woman barely alive said I am going to sleep and when I wake up, I will be ok, everything will be ok...crying the children understood their mother was saying goodbye. Trying to make her comfortable, the children took her the cot to the bedroom. Night had fallen and the only lights were those in the sky, the stars. The children could hardly stay awake as they were torn with grief. In the middle of the night one of the children woke up to check the mother's pulse....as he walked closer he heard his mom reciting ..."The Lord's Prayer", chiming in with his mother he began saying the passage over and over. Time passed and the woman's vital signs was getting better after each time the verse was recited. Daylight came and the woman was better she was healed.
The woman is like all of us, who have been bitten by a snake in life, it could be in relationships, on our jobs, in our finances and even our health. What I found most interesting about this story is that the woman despite her circumstance kept going. She knew she had to get the wood home, she had to wash the clothes and prepare enough food for the family. What this woman had was a WILL TO LIVE. Today you may find yourself in a similar situation and the bite hurts, but God doesn't want you to give up, he wants you to stay in the race, because someone is depending on you to survive, you do matter! Speak the word over your circumstance, pray and watch God do a miracle in your life. Be encouraged, weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning, while you may have cried last night, you can rejoice, it's morning!
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Coming Off The Vine
My tomato's in the backyard were starting to weigh the vine down and droop over. As the "gardener", daily I watched them, but I didn't take the time to pluck them from the vine. It was way past the time for them to be released from the vine as they were not created to stay there. CHAMPIONS we often struggle with when to leave and when to stay as it pertains to things in life.
Our minds go back and forth, with the thoughts that if we leave, we will be hurting someone's feelings or if we stay a little bit longer we will be helping someone. Don't make a decision based on a roller coaster emotion, but look at your situation and make a conscience decision as to where you are right now in your life. What were you called to do? If you answered the question and know what you are to do, then my next question is why are you still on the vine? When will you decide that it's time for you to branch off in another direction? Don't stay connected so long that you become unproductive and start to droop or shall I say die on the vine, just like you moved on in school, it may be time for you to move on with your life! The weight of others, will bring you down, release any negative thoughts and people. Focus on positive thoughts and allow it to take root into your mind.
CHAMPIONS right now at this very moment, be honest with yourself and re-evaluate your circumstances and move forward! Think about what ignites you and what motivates you. As I finish typing I want to leave you with this parting thought....are you willing to come off of the vine?
Our minds go back and forth, with the thoughts that if we leave, we will be hurting someone's feelings or if we stay a little bit longer we will be helping someone. Don't make a decision based on a roller coaster emotion, but look at your situation and make a conscience decision as to where you are right now in your life. What were you called to do? If you answered the question and know what you are to do, then my next question is why are you still on the vine? When will you decide that it's time for you to branch off in another direction? Don't stay connected so long that you become unproductive and start to droop or shall I say die on the vine, just like you moved on in school, it may be time for you to move on with your life! The weight of others, will bring you down, release any negative thoughts and people. Focus on positive thoughts and allow it to take root into your mind.
CHAMPIONS right now at this very moment, be honest with yourself and re-evaluate your circumstances and move forward! Think about what ignites you and what motivates you. As I finish typing I want to leave you with this parting thought....are you willing to come off of the vine?
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Insecure One
To look at me now, you would not have known that I was once shy. You would have never known that I was overweight, had a jeri curl and even wore some very unattractive glasses and I do mean very unattractive glasses.
Words play a significant role in our everyday life, we put words in the atmosphere almost every second of the minute. Words of love, peace, confusion, and hate circulate in the air. Our words are just as valuable as our money, they both can cause you to be wealthy, if invested in the right thing or they can cause your poverty, if not properly budgeted, which could cause your demise. When you are told over and over that you are "fat" or picked on by other children, you loose your sense of being. Those words cut, they pierce your soul. Words can be the quickest death sentence, it has the ability to destroy a person in a matter of moments.
I lived behind the shadow of my older sister who was a cheerleader, ran track, was Ms. Popular and what I deem to be everything but "beauty queen." Don't get me wrong, I love my sister with my whole being, but in the wings of the shadow, I heard from older adults (non-family members), oh you are Carmen, you are the fat one, your sister is the pretty one. With my emotions running high, I just didn't think I was pretty enough or that I would ever be able to be a leader. Emotion being defined as a "state of feeling", caused me to want to be "liked."
Almost reluctant to tell this part of the story, I thought about all of the young girls who are sitting in the shadow of the wings. As a grew, I matured but there was still a sense of insecurity that plagued my mind. I would work extra hard to have good grades, besides, I felt that looks were not on my side. My insecurities took me down a path that was not healthy for any teenager. More and more I felt that if people called me over weight, then I had to live up to it, so I would deal with my pressures by eating. Here is a truth, the very thing I said I was not, I became. I fought hard not to gain weight, but the more I heard the comments the more I would eat.
My insecurities finally subsided when I started pressing in to who is Carmen....who is this young girl turned woman, who is this that's afraid to come out of the wings? Who is behind the words of hurt, what is her talent, who is she trying to be like....when will she find her own self? All these questions were embedded in my mind, until one day I decided to step out of the shadow and onto a path that had my name on it.
It was a process, but once I realized who I was and who I belonged to and my purpose, I began to walk everyday in it....no more shyness, I was a volcano waiting to erupt. I had a face, a name and a voice. My shyness was now gone and I emerged into a leader. I turned that negative energy and words into something positive...life as I knew was different, no longer were my skies gray but it was a beautiful array of colors! In my quest to come out of the shadow of someone else, I developed this zeal to speak life and to encourage others, that later would lead me to accepting the calling on my life as an Evangelist.
To the young lady or man reading this, it's okay to feel insecure but it is not okay to stay there. Insecurities will bleed into relationships and will cause you to hide from everyone. When God created you and I he saw something beautiful and while we may not always see what God sees, we are valuable and worthy.
For those that sometimes use negative words, be careful of what you release into the air, someone may hear it and go in a shell. Stick and stones may break your bones, but words will never hurt....that's a LIE! Elie Wiesel quote says it best "Our words can kill as well as heal." CHAMPIONS, today let's choose words that will HEAL. Words that will bring life and not death to any situation.
CHAMPIONS, I am praying for you as you walk out of the shadows and into the light!
Words play a significant role in our everyday life, we put words in the atmosphere almost every second of the minute. Words of love, peace, confusion, and hate circulate in the air. Our words are just as valuable as our money, they both can cause you to be wealthy, if invested in the right thing or they can cause your poverty, if not properly budgeted, which could cause your demise. When you are told over and over that you are "fat" or picked on by other children, you loose your sense of being. Those words cut, they pierce your soul. Words can be the quickest death sentence, it has the ability to destroy a person in a matter of moments.
I lived behind the shadow of my older sister who was a cheerleader, ran track, was Ms. Popular and what I deem to be everything but "beauty queen." Don't get me wrong, I love my sister with my whole being, but in the wings of the shadow, I heard from older adults (non-family members), oh you are Carmen, you are the fat one, your sister is the pretty one. With my emotions running high, I just didn't think I was pretty enough or that I would ever be able to be a leader. Emotion being defined as a "state of feeling", caused me to want to be "liked."
Almost reluctant to tell this part of the story, I thought about all of the young girls who are sitting in the shadow of the wings. As a grew, I matured but there was still a sense of insecurity that plagued my mind. I would work extra hard to have good grades, besides, I felt that looks were not on my side. My insecurities took me down a path that was not healthy for any teenager. More and more I felt that if people called me over weight, then I had to live up to it, so I would deal with my pressures by eating. Here is a truth, the very thing I said I was not, I became. I fought hard not to gain weight, but the more I heard the comments the more I would eat.
My insecurities finally subsided when I started pressing in to who is Carmen....who is this young girl turned woman, who is this that's afraid to come out of the wings? Who is behind the words of hurt, what is her talent, who is she trying to be like....when will she find her own self? All these questions were embedded in my mind, until one day I decided to step out of the shadow and onto a path that had my name on it.
It was a process, but once I realized who I was and who I belonged to and my purpose, I began to walk everyday in it....no more shyness, I was a volcano waiting to erupt. I had a face, a name and a voice. My shyness was now gone and I emerged into a leader. I turned that negative energy and words into something positive...life as I knew was different, no longer were my skies gray but it was a beautiful array of colors! In my quest to come out of the shadow of someone else, I developed this zeal to speak life and to encourage others, that later would lead me to accepting the calling on my life as an Evangelist.
To the young lady or man reading this, it's okay to feel insecure but it is not okay to stay there. Insecurities will bleed into relationships and will cause you to hide from everyone. When God created you and I he saw something beautiful and while we may not always see what God sees, we are valuable and worthy.
For those that sometimes use negative words, be careful of what you release into the air, someone may hear it and go in a shell. Stick and stones may break your bones, but words will never hurt....that's a LIE! Elie Wiesel quote says it best "Our words can kill as well as heal." CHAMPIONS, today let's choose words that will HEAL. Words that will bring life and not death to any situation.
CHAMPIONS, I am praying for you as you walk out of the shadows and into the light!
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Remembering to Pray
Today is a sombering day, yet a day of reflection. A day where ten years ago we questioned our freedom as Americans, we questioned our security at airport terminals,train stations and bus stations.
Ten years ago, we watched in shock, we looked in the sky and for once in our lives felt as if what we once knew as freedom, was stripped from us in a moment. We can't help but to remember the visuals of how the streets of New York were covered in billows of dust, or how we saw the second plane hit or how we saw people running, even jumping for their lives.
Emotionally America connected with the family members who had lost loved ones, we watched with tearful eyes as loved ones were searching for their, mother, sister, daughter, father and friends. Although ten years have passed we have not forgotten about what happened to those in New York, DC, and Pennsylvania.
Our hearts still cry, and even in the cry we can find HOPE! Hope that is being restored to those that lost HOPE in AMERICA. After 9/11 everyone came together regardless of race and religion and PRAYED. Today let us remember to pray for the families of the victims, the families of our first responders and to even pray for our enemies and in that prayer, we will be confident and ask GOD to continue to heal our land.
May God Bless America!
Ten years ago, we watched in shock, we looked in the sky and for once in our lives felt as if what we once knew as freedom, was stripped from us in a moment. We can't help but to remember the visuals of how the streets of New York were covered in billows of dust, or how we saw the second plane hit or how we saw people running, even jumping for their lives.
Emotionally America connected with the family members who had lost loved ones, we watched with tearful eyes as loved ones were searching for their, mother, sister, daughter, father and friends. Although ten years have passed we have not forgotten about what happened to those in New York, DC, and Pennsylvania.
Our hearts still cry, and even in the cry we can find HOPE! Hope that is being restored to those that lost HOPE in AMERICA. After 9/11 everyone came together regardless of race and religion and PRAYED. Today let us remember to pray for the families of the victims, the families of our first responders and to even pray for our enemies and in that prayer, we will be confident and ask GOD to continue to heal our land.
May God Bless America!
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