Studying to Show Myself Approved...

Hello All,

I took the day off to finish my research paper. I'm plugging away at the library thanking God that I get this chunk of time to focus.

I'll be back tomorrow!

Verse of the Day: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15

God's Benefits

Today is a day for thanksgiving. Blessed be the name of the Lord! God is so good, and I just want to share the joy in my heart with all of you today.

This morning a Psalm was ringing in my spirit. It says, bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits... (Psalm 103:2) Have you really thought about the benefits that you receive from serving the Lord? Have you pondered on all of the things you are privy to as His beloved child?

I was thinking about them this morning.

Just being able to have joy in my heart and a smile on my lips is a benefit. There are so many people who have no joy. There are numerous folks who can't figure out a reason to smile or be happy. And not all of them are in trouble or facing problems. They simply don't have joy.

Or, how about the fact that we get the benefit of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit? When we have questions, are troubled, or need direction, He is there to help guide and direct us. He is there to help us understand the ways of God helping us to grow in our faith. All we have to do is make ourselves available to Him and the Holy Spirit is right there to gird us up.

We also get the benefit of prayer. We get to approach God's throne and talk about anything we want to. Large or small, pressing or seemingly 'unimportant', God is interested in it all. He hears us every time we speak to Him. Isn't that amazing?

What are some of the benefits that you enjoy about being a child of God? What things that He has given us do you hold most dear? Take some time today to give thanks to the Lord for His many blessings and benefits that He has granted to us His children.

Verse of the Day: Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits... Psalm 103:1, 2

Afternoon Ti: Do More Than Just Enough

The fields are ripe with harvest!
Let's get to work!

It's graduation season here at my school. And today I was running around getting things together to ensure that our Seniors have a happy matriculation with everything they need taken care of.

Walking through the school, you can tell that some of the students have already checked out. They're already acting as if they've gotten their diploma. They don't see the need to keep pushing or to try hard to finish strong. They're just coasting to the finish line. They're doing just enough to get by.

There are a few, however, who are still hard at work. These are the ones who've built a foundation of excellence and don't want to see their record smudged one iota. They don't care that they have accomplished enough, they want to exeed enough. These are the ones who I'm running around finding awards and other accolades to hand to them at the end of their journey.

We are on our own Christian journey in this life. Some of us are just coasting to get by. We see no point in striving to do more. We've accepted Jesus as our personal Savior. We know that we're getting into heaven. That's enough for us.

Then there are those of us who have chosen to do the work of the ministry as well. We are striving to do more for the Kingdom. We are building a foundation of excellence. We have sought out God's will for our lives, and we are doing all we can to live it. We've taken up Jesus' Great Commission and witness the gospel to those who need to hear it. We make sure to live our lives according to the principles and tenets set forth in God's Word.

As a result, we're seeing God's blessings flow in our lives. We're experiencing God's great love on a daily basis. We lack no good thing, and God's peace reigns in our hearts.

For those hard workers, can you imagine what God's got waiting for you in heaven? Can you even think of what God's waiting to award you with once you come before His eternal throne?

For those who are just coasting in your Christian life, why are you sitting on the sidelines? Are you serving justice to the great gift of salvation that you received? What do you think your Heavenly Father will say once you come before His eternal throne?

Let's all make sure that our work for the Kingdom is making our Father proud!

Verse of the Day: What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. James 2:14-17

Thanksgiving Friday!

It's Friday! Let's give God some praise and thanksgiving!

Today, I'm thankful for man's ability to communicate. I know it seems weird, but I am grateful for it. Just sitting down and talking with someone, sharing a conversation, learning something new... it's priceless. You can learn so much when you take the time to have a genuine exchange with someone.

I can only imagine what Jesus was able to share with His disciples in their private talks. Who knows what gems of wisdom and insight He was able to share? Even His casual conversation had to be filled with cherished words!

Make sure you take the time to engage someone in some real conversation this weekend. Share what's on your heart and listen to what's on theirs. You might learn something new, you might form a stronger bond, you might even gain a new friend.

I'm also thankful for this warm weather that's descending on Chicago. We were in limbo for a minute, but spring is finally peeking through! Last night was an amazing night where the rain just poured down! Perfect sleeping weather. Lord, thanks for the nice weather!

Lastly, I'm thankful for my family. This week I had two of my friends and close family lose a member of their family. One of them was younger than me. I always take these moments to remember that none of us are promised tomorrow. Have you shown love to those close to you this week? Don't let another day pass without getting in contact with them and sharing your love. Thank you, Lord, for blessing me with a wonderful circle of family and friends.

Have a blessed weekend!

Verse of the Day: Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely... Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains. Psalm 147:1, 8

National Day of Prayer

Hello Everyone! Today is the National Day of Prayer. One thing I am learning in my class this semester is that a lot of the things our nation was founded upon goes back to having freedoms with our spiritual lives. I'm so grateful to live in a country that allows me to worship God freely.

In the spirit of this day dedicated to prayer, I want to encourage you to make sure you talk to God today more than you usually do. If you pray once a day, try twice. If you do a morning and evening prayer, throw in a lunchtime one too. Just up the ante.

Some of you might even use this day as an open door to offer prayer to someone else: You know today is the National Day of Prayer. You want me to pray for you for anything? And then take them to the throne room. Right then and there.


Prayer is simply talking with God. It doesn't always have to be deep. It doesn't always have to be some super-spiritual ritual. It's just a conversation between you and your Creator. That's all.

Just make sure it's a conversation though. Don't do all the talking. Give the Lord a chance to reply. God desires to speak with us. He loves to interact and fellowship with His people. Don't let today pass by without spending some time talking to Him.

God Bless America!

Verse of the Day: But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me. Psalm 66:19, 20

Take A Moment For Joy

Today, I want to encourage you to do something to make yourself smile. Take a moment and give yourself some pleasure on purpose!

Last night I purposefully took some time to read a book. It wasn't for ministry, it wasn't for school, and it wasn't for self-help. I just started reading a novel because it is something that I love to do, and I haven't made time just to get lost in a book in a while. It was only about 30 minutes, but I enjoyed those 30 minutes!

Sometimes the cares of life can overtake us to where we are paying attention to things that need to get done, but we are missing out on the things we want to do. In everything there should be a balance.

Jesus made time to attend dinners and parties. He took time out to play with little children. He took time to Himself. He enjoyed His friends.

And He was still able to complete all that He was called to do.

Don't let your hard work kill your times of joy. Take some time to laugh, do something you love, and give yourself some pleasure.

It could be as simple as stopping to listen to the birds singing. It could be as big as taking a day off work just to be able to allow your brain to rest. You might want to visit that new restaurant that you've been passing by every day. Or maybe you want to go out for a few rounds of bowling. It might be something as simple as spending an afternoon with your child.

Whatever it is, take some time to enjoy your life! Don't let the days keep passing without you experiencing some joy. God wants you to enjoy your life. So, make some time to do so.

Verse of the Day: Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. Psalm 16:11

Come Out of Dream Land!

All of us have dreams. We all have these scenarios that dance through our heads of things that we believe will make us exceptionally happy. Maybe it's getting a new job... It could be writing a novel... Somehow getting a whole lot of money, so we don't have to work... Or, maybe it's finally being able to fit into that size we've been chasing for years...

Many of us sit and mull over our dreams. We may even start planning and outline some action points for us to pursue. We might even start walking down the road to our goal.

Yet, so many of us lose steam and wind up giving up on our dreams. So many of us wind up never seeing the joy of fulfillment. So many of us look back with regret.

Today, I'm meditating on living the dream. And, you know what? Living the dream takes work. That's what stops a lot of us.

In order to get the new job, we've got to find it, send out our resume, interview, and secure it. Writing a novel means we have to take the time to write the novel. Money doesn't just fall out of the sky. Most of the time it comes from hard work and dedication to a great idea. Fitting into that size means we have to exercise and eat right.

So, a lot of us just default to regret. We give up and allow our dreams to remain dreams because it's too much work to make them real.

I don't want to wind up in regret. I'm sure you don't either. Let's all come out of dream land and make our dreams reality! Let's put our hands to the plow and work hard to achieve our visions of success!

Dreams can come true. Are you willing to put in the work to accomplish your dream?

Verse of the Day: Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3 (NLT, emphasis added)