I Am Blessed

5/17/15

GOD bless you.  You’re blessed and highly favored.  Have a blessed day.  We’ve all used one or all of these phrases at one time or another but I wonder if any of us really understand how profound the word BLESSED really is.  It’s not just another buzz word, or a word we toss around and wait to see where it lands or who it lands on.  It's a word from the word of GOD to be held in high regard.

We’re so busy imparting this word on others that we may not take the time to really examine the word or note the implication on our own lives.  Why do we go out of our way and expend energy to say it to someone else so freely, yet when it comes to ourselves how vocal are we? Could it be that we think someone else deserves to be blessed more that we do?  Or could it be that we don’t believe it ourselves?  When is the last time you said ‘’I AM BLESSED.”

GOD extends HIS blessings to all.  HIS blessing is offered to all regardless of age or race or ethnicity.  There are no boundaries.  When we really know we are blessed we won’t say it under our breath but we’ll begin to shout it from the roof tops, “I AM BLESSED.”

In the Bible the word blessed is mentioned 327 times.  The word bless is mentioned 127 times.  And the word blessing is mentioned 67 times.  The word blessed represents GOD’s relationship with HIS children/HIS people that spans from the beginning of time.  When GOD called Abram to go to the Promised Land (Genesis 12:1-3), He promised to bless him, make his name great, and through him he blessed millions. In Genesis 22:16-18, GOD again blesses Abram due to his obedience to GOD's commands.

GOD has given us a gift that no one else can give us.  To be blessed is our inheritance through the blessings that are eternal.  This is what a prominent female Bible teacher says I am blessed means:  I am Bountifully Loved Extravagantly Saved Supplied Empowered Delivered.  BLESSED!    

This is what I AM BLESSED has come to mean to me just in my writing this blog.  For those of you have been following my blog, I’ve said on more than one occasion, the message at times is for me first before I can even post it for you; this is one of those times.  Since writing this blog I have come to view these words in a different manner.  I AM BLESSED is more than 3 words that I say.  It’s a reality check for my spirit.  It’s the foundation that I can use to stand on and receive what GOD has for me.  It’s a testimony of fact, not fiction.  It’s a statement of faith that reminds me that GOD is with me.  It gives me strength when I’m weak.  It’s a proclamation of trust.  Every breath I take, every move I make, every opportunity to live and shine for HIM my blessing.  When I think about where I’ve been, what I’ve come through, how I was able to get through and who brought me through the health scares, financial issues, things and people that had me in bondage, losses and life's painful defeats I must declare, I’m blessed beyond measure.  I don’t make a six figure salary or live in a mansion or drive a big fancy car but I AM STILL BLESSED.  HE loves me, HE loves you and that in itself is the ultimate blessing and promise.

Every single day, there’s something to give thanks for.  Life is something that should remind each of us of how blessed we are regardless of where we are or what we're going through victory is just a prayer away. We are HIS people, we are HIS children, WE ARE BLESSED beloved.  Every day when we get up let’s begin our day by saying, “I AM (Bountifully Loved Extravagantly Saved Supplied Empowered Delivered)  BLESSED but this time, say it and believe it with all of our heart.  Begin saying it this week, everyday with boldness.  Just think how mad the enemy will be if we all start our day, go through our day and end our day saying “I AM BLESSED” living our lives like the blessed children of GOD that we are.  

The Bible says:   

James 1:25

Being A BlessingSanctification, Means And Results Scripture, Sufficiency Ofdiscipleship, benefits of

Hearing God's WordPerfection, DivineForgetting ThingsReward, Divine

But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

John 10:10

Abundant LifeDestructionStealingPassover lambBattlesBlessedControlling Your ThoughtsThose Who DestroyemptinessFountains Of LifeLife In Christ

EnlargementAbundance, SpiritualPlenty Through ChristGospel, Promises OfFulnessBeing A BlessingMission, Of Jesus ChristAcknowledging GodSpiritual Progresseternal life, nature of

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

Philippians 4:19

AffluenceBlessedBeautifulAcknowledging GodBecoming A ChristianSecurityDivine Suppliesequipping, spiritualProvisions

Plenty Through ChristGenerosity, God'sGod's ProvisionBack to schoolGod, The ProviderPromises To Stand onRiches, SpiritualRiches Of GraceBeing A Blessing

And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Deuteronomy 15:10

BlessedGrudgesMasters

Resentment, Against PeopleSaints, Care For The Poor

"You shall generously give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings.

Philippians 4:13

AthletesAmazingBeing ConfidentCoolBeautifulBad HabitsBattlesAcknowledging GodBeing A Perfect ChristianBack to schoolBeing A SoldierAdversityBeing AfraidAbilityBecoming A ChristianBlessedAnxiety

Enabling GraceVictory, Over Spiritual ForcesAll Things Being PossibleConqueringStrength, God Is OurComfortingDeterminationFaultsAbility, Of The ChristianBecoming More Like ChristGod Giving StrengthResurrection, SpiritualBad InfluenceDivine Assistance, GivenPossibilities For PeopleSpiritual Warfare, As ConflictAggression

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Isaiah 41:10

AnxietyComfortingBeing AfraidAmazingAdversityBecoming A ChristianBattlesBeing ConfidentBeing A Perfect ChristianBeautifulBad LeadershipBecoming More Like ChristBad LanguagePessimismDoubt, Dealing WithAdultsGod Giving StrengthStrength, SpiritualHelpfulnessConquering

ProtectionSuffering, Encouragements InLonelinessSustaining ProvidenceReliabilityAssurance, nature ofStrength, God Is OurHand Of GodEncouragement In LifeRescueConfidence In God, Produces BoldnessProtection, From GodPeace, Divine In OtBeing BetrayedGod With YouRight Hand Of GodGod, Righteousness OfBeing A Know It AllAcknowledging GodComfort, When Lonely

'Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.'

I AM BLESSED!

GOD BLESS 

FIRST A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR:  IT FEELS GOOD TO BE BACK DOING WHAT I'VE BEEN CALLED TO DO. I TOOK A LEAVE RIGHT AT THE HEIGHT OF THE SUCCESS OF THIS PUBLICATION, BUT WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL OF MY READERS, ESPECIALLY THOSE IN THE 11 COUNTRIES THAT HAVE BEEN READING MY BLOG AND CONTINUED TO READ THE BLOG DURING MY ON-LINE ABSENCE.  I HUMBLY THANK THOSE READERS IN THE STATES AND ABROAD FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND PROMISE THAT I WILL CONTINUE TO ENCOURAGE YOU AS GOD GIVES ME THE WORDS TO DO SO.

Perfect

5/4/15

There is one word in the dictionary that I feel does not belong there and that word is perfect.  Regardless of the hype, there are only a few things in this world that are truly perfect.  A perfect golf game for instance, or a perfect bowling score or a perfect test score, these are a few of the exceptions to the rule.

But for any of us to presume that any person or circumstance is perfect is deceiving and we are deceiving ourselves.  We have been programmed to shun anything imperfect and to constantly seek perfection.  The constant relentless brainwashing in TV ads, magazine articles, radio announcements, movies, etc. leads us to believe that anything less than perfect or anyone that has flaws is unacceptable and not worthy.

But if we look at the one truth that is liberating, and allow it so set us free, we will soon understand that there are no perfect employers, companies, pastors, churches, wives, husbands, siblings, children and so on.  And for some people this is a hard pill to swallow.

We are constantly seeking to find the perfect house, car, mate, job, friend, etc. and if the dictionary's definition of perfect sets the standard for true happiness, then we have set ourselves up to fail based on our perception of what perfect is and we miss the blessings of what happiness is.

We are not a flawless society.  A person’s search for perfection in their marriage, in their relationships, in their peers, in their employers, in their employees, in their parents, in their children has many times put the relationship at risk because it is based on what our perception of perfect is based on unreal expectations.  Marriages have failed, relationships have become estranged because perfect was the standard for the relationship. 

How many people have taken their lives because they either could not live up to their perfect reputations, their parent’s wishes, the unreasonable expectations of their spouse or some other person's expectation?  How many people lost their jobs because an employer wanted everything done perfectly and anything less was not acceptable?  We took the word perfect and ran with it.  I even found myself, after being off work for a year, praying asking GOD for that perfect job which I have since come to realize does not exist but a purposeful job does. 

We should thank GOD for imperfections because it is when we are imperfect, or the situation or circumstance is imperfect that we realize how much we need GOD and how we must to look to HIM to be all we need and give us all that we need.

If we stop wasting our time looking for perfection in any man, woman or situation and begin to concentrate and focus on the perfect JESUS and cling to the perfect CREATOR, GOD HIMSELF, then and then only will we find that perfect peace that is promised throughout HIS perfect word . 

GOD BLESS YOU

ARE WE KNOWN BY OUR REPUTATION OR OUR FRAGRANCE?

OCTOBER 20, 2014

There was a comedy show with a familiar theme song that you will remember if you remember the show.  The show was Cheers and the theme song’s lyrics were:

You wanna go where people know,
people are all the same,
You wanna go where everybody knows
your name.

Although these words were found true, it was also true that each one of the characters, although known by their names, were also known by their reputation and character. 

Life for us who aren’t actors is no different.  We each have a reputation that we tend to live up to.  

We have a reputation in our home, in the workplace, in our church and in our inner circle and each of our reputations may be different in each of our environments.

Our reputations (yes reputations plural) may be different in each of our environments.  We don’t act the same way at home as we do at work or as we do at church because for some reason we become different people with different reputations for different reasons.  Regard-less of the environment, we must ask ourselves are we in character? or out of character?

Our reputation whether good or bad, honorable or dishonorable, highly regarded or disre-garded or one of repute or ill repute is something that follows us all of our lives and sadly, we get labeled by our reputation instead of our fragrance.  A reputation can be a good thing but character is better.  John Wooden said “your reputation is who people think you are your character is who you really are.”  So who are we really?    What is our reputation?  What is your reputation?  It is our reputation that is what people will remember when we leave the room or is it our fragrance?

I’ll be honest with you; I’ve left a room where people were made aware of my reputation.  I’m a no nonsense person when it comes to advocating and fighting for those who don’t have a voice or who have been done an injustice and I’ve became known as an advocate and fighter.  I have also BTT (Before the transformation) had a reputation of being pig headed and strong willed.

Over the years as my relationship with CHRIST has grown and HIS work in my life has me leaving something different behind. I don’t leave the stench of having to have the last say, or being right or pride; all that has dissipated.  I now, because of GOD’s handiwork, leave something completely different behind.  I’ve been touched by the MASTER and because of HIS grace there is sweet fragrance that is left behind.  Not because of me but because of HIM in me.   But there are times that I miss the mark like everyone else.  I 'm still a work in progress.

We are to be the fragrance that is spoken of in the Bible:

2 Corinthians 2:14-16 but thanks are to GOD, who in CHRIST always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads, the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of CHRIST to GOD among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.

It is said that humans can distinguish over 10,000 different smells.  But as CHRISTIANS we’re only interested in one aroma that is given off to those that we come in contact with.  We’ve been handpicked, saved, sanctified and set apart to spread the fragrance of life.  We are chosen to be the sweet aroma that moves among the lost and brokenhearted for HIS name sake.   And make no mistake this aroma has nothing to do with reputation.

My reputation is meaningless, but the character of who I represent and the aroma dispelled from my life, my service, and my works which remains in the environment long after I’ve left is because of HIS transforming power in my life.  It's not the person that shines, it's life changing power of GOD that sets us apart.

Living in this world today reputations are over rated.  The current situations of this world are in need of the spreading the knowledge of who CHRIST is.  Some will appreciate the message that we spread while others won’t.  Some will like us for what we’ve shared while others will hate us.  Some may be drawn to us while others may reject us.  Some may draw near to us while others will run from us.  

Our purpose and task at hand is to spread the aroma and the message so we must be reminded that we have no control over how or if the people receive it.  At the end of the day all we have to do is live out the message.

To be associated with that amazing scent always wearing that same signature scent so when we leave an environment the people will get a whiff of the fragrance of CHRIST left behind is key in the times we’re living in.  Our natural sense of smell is powerful so why not leave an aroma be-hind that can cause others to experience the unconditional love of CHRIST.

When you leave an environment what do people remember about you the most?  Your reputation or your fragrance?  That’s a lot for all of us to think about.

GOD BLESS

SEPARATION ANXIETY

10/13/14

Separation anxiety disorder (SAD) is a psychological condition in which an individual experiences excessive anxiety regarding separation from home or from people to whom the individual has a strong emotional attachment (e.g. a parent, grandparents, or siblings).

In April, 1989 my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer that had spread to her lungs and lymph nodes.  I was 3,000 miles away and was trying to do my part as the oldest daughter I felt compelled to do as much as I could.  Within a year, I traveled to Ohio 3 times, every 3 months and the final trip was April, 1990 my mother’s funeral.   When my mother was critically ill I found I needed to talk to someone.  It was a hard to do but I began see a psychologist and he asked me “what was going on in my life”? I quickly told him about my mother.  And for the visits that followed, every time he mentioned my mother I began crying, she was alive, and I was grieving before we even knew what GOD’s plan was for her life.  I remember the counselor saying I was having separation anxiety.  My mother and I wasn’t as close as she was with my younger sister, I wasn’t her favorite and I had been on my own since I was 16 and yet I felt like something was being torn away from me.  

Anytime we’re separated from someone by choice or by circumstance, it’s agonizing.  The pain is relentless.  Think back at a time that you were separated from someone you loved.  My memory is as if it was yesterday.  The pain was so deep that I couldn’t breathe.  It’s as though my life had been sucked right out of me.  Does this bring back memories for you?  Do you remember how you felt?

Sometimes we step outside the parameters of our relationship with GOD.  We push the envelope.  We know in our heart where we’re to be, what we’re to do, what we’re to say, how we’re to act, the character that HE expects of us, the vocation that HE wants for us, yet we cause that separation between us and GOD.  And anyone who truly knows the depth of GOD’s love and the sacrifice that HE gave for us, has said yes to HIM and has developed a relationship with HIM knows that any separation from GOD or perceived distancing  causes separation anxiety at its highest point.

Even when we’ve stayed inside the boundaries and are on point, on track and are following the steps that have been ordered, the slightest separation or perceived distancing from GOD is unbearable.  About 13 years ago an incident happened at work that caused me to leave the premises in a fragile state.  I was broken and all I knew is I needed to hear from GOD.  I needed to feel HIS presence.  I went to the park where I had gone so many times to commune with HIM, and to be in total fellowship with HIM as I had done so many times before.  It was one of the places where I found peace and comfort in the arms of my FATHER and it kept me going.  I’d sat on top of the park bench for hours waiting to hear from GOD, waiting for that shroud of peace and comfort that I desperately needed but it didn’t come.  I was crying and waiting and waiting and crying and I felt I was the only one left on the planet and no one but GOD understood me and the situation at hand.  Some would say I was being persecuted on the job, I wouldn’t say persecuted, but I will say the pressure of what was going on at the job was unbearable.  And here I was waiting for GOD to speak to me, to rescue me, to pull me up out of the pit that I was sinking into, but HE never answered. 

Day after day after day I’d go to a hill, park my car, look out over the city, pray, cry and wait for GOD, and I was steadily asking HIM where are YOU?  Speak to me.  I felt hopeless, lifeless and was growing faint in my faith.  Running on in this race wasn’t in my vocabulary nor my heart, I was hurting not because of the trial I was going through but because I had separation anxiety.  I was being temporary separated from GOD and all I knew was this had to be temporal because if it lasted for more than a season, I wouldn’t make it.  I had just started growing in my faith; I was coming to know GOD and not just knowing about HIM.  I liked the feeling of seeking HIM, serving HIM, having HIM use me for HIS glory and to touch lives.  But where was HE?

I was nowhere near where I am in CHRIST today and this was a painful test.  I went to HIM non-stop asking HIM to show me HIS presence.  And then it happened that warmth, joy, the touch and the hand of GOD that I had longed to feel was there and joy filled my heart in the crevices that had been broken.  

I think sometimes we get caught up in our circumstances, in our storms and we become paralysed and forget that HE is with us in the midst of it all and we let the paralysis turn into fear and the fear puts a distance between GOD and us and that’s when we feel that sense of separation.  The distance is quickly resolved when we realize we are in the palm of HIS hands always and that HE’s never left us. 

If you’ve felt separated from GOD let me tell you, there’s no such thing.  There’s no reality in this statement because NOTHING CAN SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD.  Romans 8:35,37-39.  35 Can anything ever separate us from CHRIST’s love? Does it mean HE no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? ” ^[a]) ³⁷ No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through CHRIST who loved us.  ³⁸ And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from GOD’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, ^[b] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from GOD’s love. ³⁹ No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of GOD that is revealed in CHRIST JESUS our LORD.

Be anxious for nothing, HE IS WITH YOU!