Happy Friday

Greetings and Blessings!!

Happy Friday Everyone! Let's thank God for allowing us to see another day! Another day that is filled with new promises and new mercies. Let's give thanks to him for giving us another chance and opportunity to get it right. Take the time to give God praise and thanks for all that he has done! He is is just an awesome and wonderful God and no matter how many times we may fail he is always there to protect us, guide us, heal us, comfort us, direct us, and so much more. His love for us his pure and unconditional. We just have to seek and call on him and he will grace us with his presence to soothe our racing minds. Hope you all are doing well and that you all had a great week! We are in the last two days of the month and come Sunday we will be in the month of February. I hope that you all have gotten off to a good start to this year. If not you have eleven more months to go for it to end better than it started. Keep striving to become the person that God knows you can be. Don't let the obstacles that come deter you from what's on your heart to do. It doesn't matter what other people say or think, God gave you the vision not them. It is important that we keep God first in all that we do. Matthew 6:33 says, We must seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.


Be Blessed

Christina

Quote Of The Day

Greetings and Blessings!!!

Hope you all are doing well and that everyone's week is going great so far. Just wanted to share this with you all in getting your day started! Always know and remember that you are worthy to be loved, that you are valuable, and that God paid the ultimate price for you when he died on the cross! Thank God for the covering of his blood that was shed for all of us. You are the daughter of the Most High God and you are perfect in his eyes. It doesn't matter what others think or say what only matters is what God says. You are fearfully and wonderfully made in his image and likeness! Go forth and do well and always know that he is right there with you always.


Be Blessed

Christina

Quote Of The Day

Greetings and Blessings!!!

Hope you all are doing well! Let's thank God for allowing us to see another day! A new day that is filled with new promises and new mercies. It's the last week of the month and the month seems to have flown by. Wanted to share this quote with you all to start off the week. It is important that we give God thanks for all the things that he has blessed us with. We can't just simple thank him when everything is going our way that's not genuinely giving God praise.  In the midst of our troubles and storms we must find a way to praise our way through and be thankful for the small blessings. When we are thankful for the small blessings we will be even more grateful for when he blessings us in ways than we could ever imagine. Have a great and productive week!


Be Blessed

Christina

What's Happiness To You

Greetings and Blessings!!!


Happy Sunday Everyone!! Hope you all doing well! Thanking God for allowing us to enter into the final week of the month! Oh, where has the month gone to (lol). So I watched the movie that came on Lifetime last night, With This Ring. Overall, I would say the movie was good and I think we all can relate to the concept of the movie in some form. What I took away from watching the movie was the old sayings of don't settle and stop waiting for something or someone to come along to make you happy. One of the words one of the main characters was saying throughout the movie was she wanted to be happy or have happiness in her life. To be happy or have happiness in one's life can mean different things to different people. But the overall theme of happiness is the thought of the good life, freedom from suffering, well-being, joy, prosperity, and pleasure. At the end of the day, we all want to be happy! But getting to that place of being happy or having happiness in your life takes work. We have to get out of the mindset of waiting for something/someone to come along to make us happy. I struggled with this very thing. I always thought if I could hurry up and move out of the place where I am residing then I would be happy or that the relationship I was in would save me and that I would be happy. I was placing people and things on a pedestal and putting God on the back burner as well as myself.

But then I had gotten a very in-depth reality check and that I can't look to other people or things to make me happy. I must look to the ONE that gave up his life for me! It is amazing to know that God looks at the heart and not the outward appearance as man does. I was so lost and didn't even realize it until I experienced the situation that I went through. One of the most valuable lessons that I learn from my situation was that happiness doesn't come from the world but it comes from seeking God's face and spending time with him. One doesn't have to look to the world in order to gain happiness because whatever you gain from the world is only temporary. But when you look to God and spend time with him you not only gain happiness but joy, peace, comfort, healing, etc.

I had to and still am searching for what makes ME happy. But I know that I won't just settle to having happiness in my life but I want everlasting JOY! Joy is something the world didn't give to me and the world can't take it away from me. Joy to me is no matter what comes my way and no matter how many times life tries to knock me down, God is in control of my life. Having the quite confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright, and the determined choice to praise God in every situation! Because the God I serve will give me the strength I need to face what comes, he will direct my steps in the way he wants to me go, he will continue to work in and through me, and shape and mold me into the woman he knows I can become. It doesn't matter what society says I should be doing by this age or what I should have by this age. What matters is what God says and with God anything is possible!!!


Be Blessed

Christina

Who Are You Following?

Greetings and Blessings!!

Happy Saturday Everyone!! Hope you all are doing well! So I am reading this 365 daily devotional called Jesus Calling by Sarah Young and it is awesome! I know I'm in only in the month of January reading this devotional but I truly recommend you all getting this book! I got mine from Half- price books in the clearance section! So this morning devotional, I wanted to share with you all and the importance of knowing who you follow in your time of need. God paid the ultimate sacrifice when he died upon the cross. He died so that we wouldn't have to and he took on the sins of not only yours and mine but of this world. So why is it hard for us to seek him and follow his word? Why do we feel that we can have one foot in the door with God and the other foot out in the world? Why do we have a hard time trusting him and only him? This world didn't die for us but God did! He came so that we could have life and have it more abundantly. We can't serve two masters and think that it is okay. We as believers and followers of Christ will go through hardships and difficulties. But it is in those times that we seek God and praise our way through. Thank him for what we are going through instead of asking the question of "why me"? Thank him that it is you because he is doing a good work in and through you for his Glory! We can't just give him praise when things our going our way and then freak out when things start to unravel and seek temporary pleasures of this world so that we can mask the pain of what we don't want to deal with. Where is your FAITH? Where is your TRUST IN HIM? God has gone before you and made all of your crooked paths straight but are you willing to walk along side him and take up your cross to see where he is trying to lead you.


Be Blessed

Christina

Quote Of The Day

Greetings and Blessings!!

Hope you are doing well! We only have a few more days until the weekend and I hope that everyone's week is going great! Sharing this quote with you all and how it is important for all of us to know that the answers from God will come but on his on timing. We get so frazzled about what the day brings before the day even starts or we consume ourselves with endless thoughts of worry about the situations we are dealing with. Seek God's face and enter into his courts with praise! Be thankful and a cheerful giver for he knows all about our troubles. He has already gone before us and made our crooked paths straight and he already knows what lies ahead. We just have to put our hope, faith, and trust in him. Don't let what is happening around you affect what's happening within you. Sometimes it's not about our situation or circumstance but about how we deal with what we are going through. Give God thanks for all that he has done and all that he continues to do and thank God in advance for what is to come....Because your breakthrough is on the way!!!

Be Blessed

Christina

Quote Of The Day

Greetings and Blessing!!

Hope you all are doing well and that everyone's week is going great so far! Wanted to share this awesome quote with you all! It is so important that we spend quality and quiet time with our Father! There is nothing wrong with following or liking inspirational posts or hearing a word from your favorite speaker but we can't let those things be our only source of hearing and reading from God. We have to genuinely seek him and open up our Bibles and spend time with him. We have to seek his still small voice and hear what he as to say regarding our lives. We have to block out the noise that is around us and be still. If we can make time for everything else then we can make time to spend and sit at the feet of God.

Be Blessed

Christina

Mending A Broken Heart

Greetings and Blessings!!

Happy Sunday Everyone! I hope you all are doing well and that everyone had a great and blessed weekend! I didn't attend church this morning but watched it online and the message was about mending a broken heart. I looked up the definition of broken from the Merriam-Webster definition states broken as, separated into parts or pieces by being hit, damaged, etc., not working properly, and not kept or honored. We all experience heartbreak of some kind in our lives. Heartbreak doesn't necessarily mean relational but it could mean financial, as well us breaking our own hearts by taking on something that we weren't supposed to do. Of course, no one wants to experience heartbreak of any kind but they do happen. The scripture for the sermon was taken from Psalm 55: 1-8, 12-14, 22 Job 24:12. There were three main key points and the first was knowing that broken hearts do happen. It is important for us to know that we are not exempt from getting our hearts broken. Just as we are meant to suffer for a little while, heartache and pain are meant to happen to us as well. But when we experience getting our heart broken we tend to question ourselves and our self-worth. We tend to question why would someone or something that we love so much would hurt us so bad. We start to think that something is wrong with us because you've given your all into something or someone and it turns around slaps you in the face because what you thought was good is not the case.

The second key point was being careful of what you allow in your heart while it's broken. This key point is so major because while we are hurting and saddened by our heart brokenness, it is important to be mindful of what we allow within our hearts. I've experienced heartbreak and it was not pleasant whatsoever. And it wasn't just a relationship heartbreak but a cultivation of things that I wasn't prepared to handle when things came to blow. It was something that I have never experienced in my life before and it was devastating to me as well. But while in my heart brokenness, it was important that I didn't allow things of negativity into my spirit. Such things as resentment, anger, vengeance, bitterness, etc. Now this wasn't an easy task to do by any means because when you are hurting and still getting kicked down when you are already down, you want the other person(s) to experience what you are experiencing but in a worse way than you are feeling. It is by God's grace and mercy that I am not what or who hurt me. Meaning that I haven't taken on those seeping feelings that I felt by what happened to me. It is so important for us to guard our hearts at all times! Proverbs 4:23 says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life".

The last key point was be willing to take your hurts to the MENDER of BROKEN HEARTS! This point brought it all home. We have to be willing to take our broken pieces to him so that HE CAN FIX IT. We can't do the fixing ourselves but GOD CAN and HE WILL if you just take all that brokenness that you have stored up within yourself to him. He is the fixer and finisher of all things. He can fix and restore us to something new and better then before. No matter where the brokenness comes from, he will carry you through.

I enjoyed this message and wanted to share it with you all because it is so important that we don't become what hurt us. Heartbreak isn't something that no one wants to experience but it will happen. It is so easy to succumb to the feelings that one goes through when dealing with heartbreak, But I am a witness that with God by your side and in your life, you don't have to become what or who did you wrong. You have the choice to choose differently and become a new creation. What was meant to harm you he can turn it around for your good if you are willing to give him your hurts, disappointments, sadness, frustrations, anger, pain, etc. He will use what was meant to tear you down and birth something new within you! He's already there waiting for you to give it to him, you just have to take the first step in letting it go!

Be Blessed

Christina

Quote Of The Day

Greetings and Blessings!!!

Hope you all are doing well and that everyone's week has been going great! The weekend is almost here!! Just wanted to share this with you and how it is important to remember that no matter what has happened in your life, you will be fine! No matter who hurt you or what obstacles you've faced you are still here and still standing! You have purpose and you have a life to be lived and fulfilled! God doesn't want us walking around sad, depressed, or defeated he wants to see us with joy, peace and with the expectation of what is to come in your life. You will make it no matter what, you have to say it and believe in what your saying!!!

Be Blessed

Christina

Seeking God Wholeheartedly

Greetings and Blessings!!


I hope you all are doing well. I hope that everyone's week is going great thus far and that you all are having a great start off into the New Year. I know that in my last post I had shared with you that I am doing the 21 days REBIRTH Fast that Saved In The City is having. We are currently on the third day and the topic of the day was to worship with a whole heart. I've come to really understand what that means. When it comes to worship, we all have our different takes on it because we are all different. It is so important that we seek God with our whole heart and be genuine when it comes to seeking his face and being in his presence. As I've mentioned before, I had a relationship with God but I really didn't. I was that lukewarm Christian, I prayed every so often, I gave thanks when needed, and I went to him when I needed something or when I was in distress about something. But I never fully gave it my all meaning I didn't read my Bible and study and truly mediate on his word.

Now, as I am desiring to have a relationship with God and become closer to him. I must worship with my whole heart. When it comes to seeking his face and being within his presence, I really have to be serious about it. When studying/reading the Bible, I have to be open and attentive to what I am reading and how I can apply it to my life. Its not about reading scriptures to read them because you feel obligated. Its about giving thanks for all that he has done and giving thanks for what is to come. Its about giving thanks in spite of your circumstances or situation. Its about truly being on one accord with God and praising your way through whatever you are facing.

If we don't want to be mistreated by people who do things halfheartedly then we shouldn't mistreat God by worshiping him halfheartedly. So whenever you seek God, do it with your whole heart and be genuine about it.

Be Blessed

Christina

21 Days REBIRTH FAST

Greetings and Blessings!!!

Happy Sunday Everyone!!! Just wanted to share with you this fast and prayer that I am doing that Saved In The City is having. The fast and prayer starts today so you can go to their website and download the devotional and there is also prayer every morning at 6 AM CST/7 AM EST. I encourage everyone to partake in this prayer, fasting, and personal devotional time with God. As I wrote in my journal this morning, I don't want to look at this fast as being its 21 days but look at that I am spending more time with God and that I am sacrificing something in order to receive what HE has for me. Hope you all have a great and blessed week!!

Be Blessed

Christina

Getting Back To The Basics

Greetings and Blessings!!

Hope you all are doing well. I also hope that everyone had a great weekend! Let's thank God for allowing us to enter into another week. Let's thank God for this week that will be filled with goodness and blessings!! I wanted to share with you in how important it is for us to get back to the basics for this New Year. In the world we live in today, technology has advanced and will continue to advance at a rapid rate to simplify our lives and allow us to have everything at our fingertips. By being so caught up in the worldly tasks, we often lose time in spending time with God, spending time with family/friends, and getting to do things that we enjoy to do. It is so important within this New Year, that we really maintain our focus on setting out the goals that we want to achieve/accomplish this year.  

When it comes to getting back to the basics it strengthens our foundation. It is important to have a solid and strong foundation because if one doesn't it won't be able to withstand what is to come. Whatever happen or didn't happen last year, you can't take into this New Year! Last year was only preparation for this year! You can't move forward and onward with the mentality of last year, you have to shift your mindset that this year will be better than 2014. 

If we are really serious about having a relationship with God, we have to really seek and pursue him! If we have the time to seek and pursue other things then we surely have the time to genuinely seek God and be in his presence. God is always there, he didn't move or vanished to someplace else, he's there in the midst of EVERYTHING. You moved or you did have a relationship with him until you got what you wanted and then you checked out! As I stated in a previous post, we are not excluded from going through difficult times in our lives. We can't just give God the praise when things are going our way. We will have difficult times and have seasons where it feels as though our backs are up against a wall and there's no way out. 

But this is where our foundation, our faith, our trust in him comes in. This is what getting back to the basics is all about. Setting side alone/quiet time with God to be in his presence. We can't always be on our phones, on social media, busy with work, doing tasks at home. We have to get away from all the NOISE and have one-on-one time with him. The time is now for us to be about our business not only in our personal lives but especially in our spiritual lives. 

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" Romans 12:2 

Be Blessed

Christina 

There Is Hope

Greetings and Blessings!!


Hope you all are doing well! I hope that everyone's week is going great! I just wanted to share with you the devotionals that I read this morning. I have a Women's Devotional Bible and then I am reading Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. So I am trying to get into the habit of praying before I read my devotionals instead of reading them then praying. I want to start off by praying of course to give thanks to God but to ask him to let my mind and heart be open and attentive to what I am reading. I always ask him to speak to me however the Holy Spirit wants to speak to me and that I am aware that he is speaking to me and I'm not in my own thoughts. So this morning, I did pray then I read my two devotionals for the day. What I realized from reading them is that they both shared a common theme which was clinging in hope/taking refuge in God. Both of my devotionals spoke about how no matter what may come your way, you must cling or take refuge in God. If you seek him he will give you rest, peace, comfort, understanding, etc. If you seek him in the midst of everything he will be your every present help. If you seek him he will be there to guide you along the way.

So when circumstances or situations arise that you weren't expecting to happen instead of stressing, worrying, or being afraid. Take refuge in God and cling your hope in HIM! When you seek him wholeheartedly he will give you the strength to carry you through whatever it is your're facing. In good times and bad times cling in hope and take refuge in God!!!


Be Blessed

Christina

Stay Prayed Up

Greetings and Blessings!!

Hope you all are doing well. Hope that everyone had a great start to this week! Just wanted to share in how important it is for us to keep our minds stayed on God at all times. I had a pretty good day but a phone call I had gotten totally took me by surprise and kinda messed with my mood. I went from being in a pleasant mood to being annoyed a frustrated with what I was being told. And immediately mind my was gearing towards just negative thoughts and worrying was creeping in. As soon as I got home, I went into my quite time and I wrote in my journal about how I was feeling and then I read some scriptures in my Bible and then I prayed. I felt so good after I got done with my quiet time and then I saw this

The enemy will use any and every thing to distract you from praying and spending time with God. He will use any tatic he can to seen you off in another direction. It is so important that we stay prayed up at all times. We have to keep our minds, hearts on guard at all times. Because the enemy knows our weak spots he knows what will send us over the edge. But we serve an awesome and mighty God that will never leave us nor forsake us. All things are possible through him we just have to seek him wholeheartedly. No matter what comes your way, pray your way through it!


Be Blessed

Christina

Quote Of The Day

Greetings and Blessings!!

I hope you all are doing well and that you had a great weekend! Just wanted to share this quote with you all as we enter into a new week. No matter what happens in our lives we have to learn how to trust the process. Yes, this may seem like a difficult task to do but as we go through life we have to be willing to let go of trying to have control over things and just embrace this thing called life and trust the process. We are not excluded from going through difficult times and situations but it is during these times is when we must have faith in God that whatever is happening is for his divine reasoning. We must believe that something better is coming once we past through the dark clouds. So whatever is to unfold during this month, this year trust the process and seek the lesson from what you are going through. Hope you all have a great and blessed week!!!

Be Blessed

Christina

Why Are We Waiting To Make Sacrifices For God?

Greetings and Blessings!!

I hope you all are doing well! I hope that everyone has gotten a great start off into the New Year! In this post, I wanted to share on the topic of sacrificing. One of the definitions of sacrifice means to give up (something important or valued) for the sake of other considerations. Another definition means the act of giving up something that you want to keep especially in order to get or do something else or to help someone. Of course, throughout my life I knew the definition of the word sacrifice but I never fully understood it. I knew that God made the ultimate sacrifice in dying on the cross for all of our sins. From reading my devotional from this morning and from being on a conference call on last night regarding the topic of sacrifice, I have a better understanding about the word sacrifice and its meaning. I am continuing to develop and grow a closer relationship with God and in order for me to do that I must set aside some alone/quiet time with him. Typically, when we (myself included) the first thing we do in the morning as soon as we wake up is get on social media (Facebook, IG, etc), check our emails. send/reply text messages, etc. And then we typically go about our daily routine such as showering, making/eating breakfast, getting dressed, and then heading out the door to either work, school, or to run errands for the day.

Then as the day progresses, we are combated with different personalities and situations that we didn't or weren't expecting to face as we headed out the door in the morning. We must take the time out to have some alone time with God. We must sacrifice a few minutes of the morning BEFORE we start our day to sit and be still at the feet of our FATHER. If we can get up early to do other things then we can spend at least ten or fifteen minutes of alone time with GOD. In doing so, our minds, hearts, and spirits are renewed for the day and they are strengthen in order for us to deal with whatever we face as the day goes on. We are also giving God thanks for waking us up in our right minds and thanking him for another day that he has blessed us to see.

Also, when it comes to sacrificing, we are giving up something in order to receive what God has promised. He is asking for something that we are wanting to keep. He knows that he has something better that he wants to give us but are we willing to let go of the very thing that he is asking us for? Whether it be a relationship/friendship. job, those feelings of resentment, anger, sadness, bitterness, etc. Holding on to these things doesn't do us any good and the question that comes into play is that of why are we so afraid to let go of the very thing that he is telling us to give to him? Is it the fear that we won't get anything in return? Is is the fact that we don't truly trust God?

So as you go throughout this year, ask yourself what am I willing to give up to get what God has promised? Don't do something because you feel OBLIGATED but do something because it is set on your heat to do. God only wants the best for us and just as we hold God to his word he will hold us to ours.

Be Blessed

Christina

Happy New Year

Greetings and Blessings!!

Happy New Year Everyone!!! Its the first day of the New Year, let's thank God for allowing us to make it to see this day! Thank God for this day that is filled with new promises and new mercies. However you all spent your time in bringing in the New Year, I pray that you all had a great time and made it home safely. I am looking forward to what this year will bring. I speak life over everything no matter the circumstance. The power of life and death lies within the tongue, so if you speak doubt, negativity, defeat, etc in your life then that is what is going to show up. But if you speak life and give God the praise in spite of whats going on, he will do good work in and through you! Let this year be about our actions and not just our words. Because we can say we are going to do this or that but we fall short on being fully committed to doing what we said we would do.

I am so excited to see what God is going to do for not only myself but for you all as well. I pray that he continues to use me as a vessel to be a blessing to others. I pray that he continues to speak to me in using this blogging platform to speak HIS WORD and be a source of ENCOURAGEMENT to you all. For it is not about me but about HIM!! May you all have a blessed and great day and year!!!

Be Blessed

Christina