Archive for the ‘Encouragement’ Category

Right now my daughter is in our living room watching a Sesame Street DVD, and singing and dancing along with Oscar the Grouch to the song “I love Trash;” and I am smiling on the inside of my soul. My inner song goes like “I love God…., oh, I love life …., oh, I love my children…., oh, I love my family…., oh, I love my friends and did I mention I love life too.” Read the rest of this entry »

You may be wondering what’s up with the three titles above. Well, honestly I didn’t want to choose between any of these three prospective titles because they all reflect what I am going to write about. So you pick whichever one you like the best and let me know, okay.

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I’m not referring to the new show that premiered on various channels like Discovery, Animal Planet, TLC and others recently, a mini-series  about life on this beautiful and amazing planet, aptly named “Life.”  Neither, am I talking about canceled NBC t.v series (which I very much liked) also called “Life,” about a reinstated police detective who was previously serving a life sentence in prison.

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There is a Christian hymn which goes by the same name. These words speak truth into my heart.

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TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
“For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight”
(Ephesians 1:4, NIV)

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria
Did you know God had a plan for you before the foundations of the earth? He created you to be holy and blameless in His sight. Why? He chose you to be His ambassador, His representative on the earth. God created you to reflect His glory. He created you to reflect His character, His righteousness, His holiness. Think about that for a moment. Part of your purpose on this earth is to be a representative for the King of kings and the Lord of lords. That should make you want to walk a little differently. It should make you want to talk differently. It should make you think a little more carefully about the places you go and the things you do.

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Fear is a powerful emotion, one that could kill us figuratively and literally. It is the biggest weapon Satan can form against us to destroy lives; our own and the lives of others.

I was already growing into an extremely fearful person, now as a parent and a wife my fear has drastically increased. Now I’m not only afraid of the bad things that can happen to me but to my husband and children as well; and believe me, I can imagine 1’000 or more ways bad things that could hurt them and then me.
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I am not as confident a woman as I’d like to be. I’m still trying to figure a lot of stuff out; like how to be the woman God designed me to be; how to pursue excellence; in the way I live my life; the way I raise my children; as a wife; a writer; a woman in ministry and whatever else I set out to do with my life. I thought this book might offer some inspiration and help me in my quest to be a confident woman, mother, wife and leader. So far I have read the first four chapters. So here are some excerpts here and there, that I have absorb about what I read so far. Read the rest of this entry »

“Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.”
—Oprah Winfrey
(1954-); television host, actress, philanthopist

“Love is always bestowed as a gift – freely, willingly, and without expectation. We don’t love to be loved; we love to love.”
—Leo F. Buscaglia
(1924-1998); professor, author

“You know you’re in love when you don’t want to fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.”
—Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel
(1904-1991); Writer, Cartoonist

“Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So… get on your way.”
—Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel
(1904-1991); Writer, Cartoonist

“The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”
—Bertrand Russell
(1872-1970); Philosopher, Mathematician

“It always seems impossible until its done.”
—Nelson Mandela
(1918-); former President of South Africa

“All human wisdom is summed up in two words; wait and hope.”
—Alexandre Dumas
(1802-1870); Writer

“Never talk defeat. Use words like hope, belief, faith, victory.”
—Norman Vincent Peale
(1898-1993); author, preacher

“The giving of love is an education in itself.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt
(1884-1962); First Lady, diplomat, activist

“Don’t be afraid to be amazing.”
—Andy Offutt Irwin
(1957-); storyteller, singer-songwriter

“Hope is always available to us. When we feel defeated, we need only take a deep breath and say, “Yes,” and hope will reappear.”
—Monroe Forester

“Every now and again take a good look at something not made with hands: a mountain, a star, the turn of a stream. There will come to you wisdom and patience and solace and, above all, the assurance that you are not alone in the world.”
—Sidney Lovett
(-); minister

“Rejoice in the things that are present; all else is beyond thee.”
—Michel de Montaigne
(1533-1592); Essayist, Author

“Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.”
—Kahlil Gibran
(1883-1931); Artist, Poet, And Writer

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
—Albert Einstein
(1879-1955); theoretical physicist, philosopher

“Love the moment. Flowers grow out of dark moments. Therefore, each moment is vital. It affects the whole. Life is a succession of such moments and to live each, is to succeed.”
—Sister Mary Corita Kent
(1918-1986); artist, educator

“Love life and life will love you back. Love people and they will love you back.”
—Arthur Rubinstein
(1887-1982); pianist

“I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.”
—Agatha Christie
(1890-1976); writer

Here  is the revamped music video of “We are the World.”  Now called “We are the World-25 for Haiti.”

Haters out there talking about how it sucks. I don’t think it sucks at all and I am not comparing it to the original. It is modern and more relevant to these times.

Two complaints though; why the heck did they make Lil’Wayne one of the featured artist, yuck! and some of the lyrics were revised; taking mention of God out of the picture. What’s up with that, who can lend a helping hand greater than God? I’m scared to live in a world trying to live without God.

omitted lines:
And their lives will be stronger and free
As God has shown us by turning stones to bread
And so we all must lend a helping hand

revised lines:
So their cries for help will not be in vain
We can’t let them suffer
No we cannot turn away
Right now they need a helping hand

I like the duet with Janet and Micheal Jackson; I like the Hip-Hop ensemble; I like most of the artists featured in the video excluding Lil’Wayne; I like the scenes depicting a hopeful spirit of the Haitian people amidst tragedy. I think it is a cool video. I hope it raises alot of money to help Haiti and inspire people to give whatever they can. After all that is what it is all about, right?

Hi, Good Morning ya’ll, how are you doing today?

Well me, I am just fine. This year has started out a little rough and challenging; especially in three areas; finances; miscarriages and first trimester blues; but even though things are still a bit challenging now; I see my life turning around like I knew it would and it feels wonderful.

My mother and little sister  Tatyanna (10 yrs old) arrived here safely, Sunday  at about minutes to 2 a.m; July 26^th, now we have a full apartment; I can’t tell you how much I am glad to see them; how grateful I am they are here and I want them to have the best experience of their lives; well until another best experience of their lives come along. So far so good; she (my mom) has only been here two days and those days already have felt so full and rewarding.

In the last two weeks; things have really began to turn around for us financially; I mean we still have a lot of catching up to do but jobs are coming; God is providing; our fridge and cupboards are full; in the last two weeks; I have received physical and spiritual blessings that I that I have been praying for, for so long; I am eternally grateful to my Heavenly Daddy; it really makes me want to fight to improve myself, strengthen and improve my attitude, especially during the tough times, so much more. I want to be the woman he designed me to be; I want to bless and praise God for blessing me; not only with the physical items; but with the wonderful, loving, kind hearted people in my life; awesome siblings; the greatest husband a woman can ask for; the most beautiful and sweetest mother a girl can be blessed with; the smartest, prettiest, most athletic, confident, talented daughter in the world; a wonderfully active baby boy in my tummy, who is staying healthy for mommy, a loving Church-family and so, so much more. Thank you God; Thank you, Jesus.

From conversations I have been having with my mother lately; about my life and even things she can see for herself without me pointing it out; I realize how favored my life is and always have been; despite; financial and anxiety troubles. Did you know that I have hardly had to buy a single thing for my baby girl since I have moved to America? Do you know I have free medical care and my daughter will receive free schooling in September? Did you know I have hardly shop for my own food for the last two years; and believe it or not I have sort of complained about that. Did you know that my God (hopefully your God too) is an awesome God? I certainly do.

I often wonder why God has found favor on my life; is it because of my kindness and generosity towards others; is it because of the tithes we have paid whenever we received a payment of some sort; is it my prays, the prays of others or my mother’s prays over my life for all my life (like I am doing for Kytara and Kenei now); is it our service to our church; is it God’s grace or is it because we accepted him as Lord and Savior; I think it is all those things and maybe so much more. I know one thing; it’s not just because I am good looking (smile). Once again; thank you; God Almighty.

Today is my dad’s 52^nd birthday (another blessing) and tomorrow is my sister Arriel’s 16^th birthday (another blessing). I hope I can in some way make both those birthdays special; for my dad; a phone call and my sister, so much more.

Please pray; my family and I have a great summer; we handle the heat well; we receive all or many of the desires of our hearts; happy birthdays; enjoyable and successful Vacation Bible School, final youth meeting until September (Friday, July 31^st), trip to a theme park (Aug 15^th) with the Church, baby shower and more. Share with me your prayer request and I’ll pray for you too.

Love Latisha