When making a decision to wrong someone please make room for the consequences that comes along with that decision. Trust me it comes back, you might not know when or where but it will return to you. If you think that it is worth the risk to continue playing with the law of reaping and sowing then go ahead, I pray you can handle it.
Galatians 6:7, His Word states, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap."
It states "this" he will also reap. Not "something". Whatever "This" maybe please make sure you think it over!

I was reading about a guy who was shot in the chest and the bullet was so close to his heart to close to a main artery, the doctor told him that if he went after it, it is a possibility that the surgery could kill because the bullet was lodged in so deeply.  So he told him that the best thing was to leave it there and that was his only chance for survival.  The patient was concerned that the bullet that was designed to kill him was going to be a part of his life for the rest of his life. Literally!  He is a walking miracle.  He is living a full life with no limitation.  Thank you Jesus, for the restoring this mans life.

I said that to touch on a sensitive subject, which is deep rooted pain that could have happened recently or in childhood.  I mean pain that was designed to kill you, your purpose and try to get you to not fulfilling your destiny.  Some issues that some people have to deal with are so painful that if God would uproot that thing it is quite possible because of depth of the pain they wouldn't make it.  I know, I get it when something hurts the first thing that we want to do is to get it out. 

You may be living with pain that is deeply rooted in your soul and it won't go away I want to encourage you to allow God to make you a walking miracle.  Some things won't be completely removed but that doesn't have to limit your life, limit the quality of life. You can live a full life in spite of the things that enemy designed to kill you. I remember asking God to just take the pain that I thought was hindering me and the same scripture he said to Paul "My grace is sufficient” no matter what you are dealing with. God will get you through. 

Years later after they interviewed gunshot victim, they asked him how was it dealing with living with that bullet inside of him, his response said that he really doesn't think about it much and when he does he thinks about it he thinks how blessed he is and how he could have allowed the anger of the person to stop him from being who he is today. But with a lot of praying and a lot of soul searching he was able to forgive and move on.   I was inspired by this it was so moving.  I beg you if you are allowing the pain from the past to stop you for living your present life the life that God has for you please reevaluate your situation the past pain isn't worth your future blessings.  Forgive those who hurt you.  It is time to live a blessed life. The scars of the past pain should just be a memory on how good God is and how he blocked the enemies plan to destroy you.  Live your life on purpose with a purpose let the past go.  Be blessed!

Stolen Happiness Last Only For A Minute!!

Stolen Happiness Last Only For A Minute!!

I remember one summer day when I was a teenager and one of my friends were heading out to the skating ring and she had on a really nice outfit and I remember her being so proud because she knew she looked good.  It was kind of expensive, something that our parents couldn’t afford to buy.  After we had been there for awhile a young lady asked her where did she get that outfit from and right at that moment I noticed how her demeanor changed, she went from proud to kind of evasive, she really didn’t want to get into the details on it, because the outfit she was wearing was stolen from a department store.  Her response was she didn’t remember where she got it from. The shame of how she obtained the outfit overshadowed the fact that the outfit was really nice.  She tried to change the subject and it worked , well  it worked for the other person but my friend really had a hard time because now the outfit represented shame for her.  She couldn’t even enjoy herself after that.  

People who have gotten their desires by someone else’s loss or pain will have consequences brought down on them and sometimes they will have to pay twice as much or more.   People get away with stealing all the time in the physical but they will never get away with it in the spiritual.  One thing about someone who steals, they set themselves up to being a victim.  My friend had clothes stolen from her that same month.  Although she got away with stealing clothes she reaped what she sowed.

God sees everything, even though people might have thought they have gotten away with stealing money from someone, I am sure that they have lost more than the stole.  Stealing that job which they are probably catching hell on, could be that relationship that was stolen please have patience because you are in for a ride of your life.

I do know that you will never be able to enjoy stolen things, well at least not for long.  Anything stolen has it shame attached to it even if someone never gets caught because one day, there will be questions regarding it, and you will have to give an answer.  Whenever someone obtains things in a dishonest way God isn’t pleased.   

When we are in possession of something that wasn’t meant for us we will not be able to really enjoy the true value of it.  

I remembered feeling envious of my friends outfit because I wanted to look good also but one thing stopped me from pursuing the same path “FEAR” I wasn’t going to risk getting caught for an outfit.  If my mom couldn’t afford it I didn’t make it a priority to obtain.  I think that sometimes in life our desires for the things of the World drives us to want to take it but when we wait on God there will be no consequences attached to the blessings nor will there be shame.  Desires for the wrong things could lead us to covet. 

cov·et   

1.to desire wrongfully, inordinately, or without due regard forthe rights of others: to covet another's property.

2.to wish for, especially eagerly: He won the prize they all coveted.

Going through my divorce I experienced great desire to avoid emotional pain of it, I was to the point of desperation that I was willing to steal my peace, my happiness, my joy by being with someone else before I was divorced but I thank God that my fear stopped me.  It wasn’t the fear of anything else but me disconnecting from Him.  That was my biggest fear.  I didn’t want to pay the price for something that wouldn’t last because it was stolen.  In Proverbs 1:19 Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the lives of those who get it.

I just want to encourage those who pursued their fleshly desires and gotten caught up for whatever reasons there is forgiveness and restoration ahead of you if you repent.    The bible is full of restoration stories. 

Fleshly desires leads to covetous and covetous will sometimes lead you to steal.  Thou shall not steal is the eighth commandment.

  Be Blessed!! 

Luke 8:43 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years,[a] but no one could heal her. 44 She came up behind him and touched the edge ...of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.

45 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.
When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.”
46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”
47 Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. 48 Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

J.A.T : One way to tie God's hand is to have doubt and unbelief He wont move on that but He does respond to our faith. Trust and believe and watch what you will receive. remember the woman with the issue of blood had it for twelve years doctors couldnt do anything for her but she knew if she could get to Jesus and touch the cloak of his garment not His hand just something that was connected to Him gave her the healing of an issue that she had been dealing with far to long. When I read the scriptures this is what stood out to me the woman didnt have a passive wishful thinking her to be healed she knew that she would be healed. Her faith was so strong when she touched Jesus scripture says power left Him. That is strong faith. I was just thinking back when I stood on faith on some things how I received what I was believing Him for. God's Word is real it works we just have to apply it to our lives and our situations. Our situation isn't bigger than God. God is so in control if we allow Him to be. He has our solutions we just have to seek Him for them. I don't how long you have been suffering thru a situation, which can include financial troubles, divorce, bad relationships, low self esteem whatever your situation is apply the Word to it and see what you will get. Build your faith by His Word. Stop magnifying the problem and putting God under a microscope. He is bigger than any problem. It is my prayer that we allow God to be who He is.
ELOHIM: God “Creator, Mighty and Strong”
El Shaddai (Lord God Almighty)
El Elyon (The Most High God)
Adonai (Lord, Master)
Yahweh (Lord, Jehovah)
Jehovah Nissi (The Lord My Banner)
Jehovah-Raah (The Lord My Shepherd)
Jehovah Rapha (The Lord That Heals)
Jehovah Shammah (The Lord Is There)
Jehovah Tsidkenu (The Lord Our Righteousness)
Jehovah Mekoddishkem (The Lord Who Sanctifies You)
El Olam (The Everlasting God)Jehovah Jireh (The Lord Will Provide)
Jehovah Shalom (The Lord Is Peace)
Jehovah Sabaoth (The Lord of Hosts)
Qanna (Jealous)
If you can see that no matter what you are going thru you are so covered it all comes down to who God is!!
Side note as you can see He is a jealous God please don't put anybody or anything before Him!!
Be blessed!!

INSIDE OUT!!

 

 

The movie Inside Out was really entertaining as well as informative. The storyline is about a little girl named Riley who has these have these five characters of emotions that live in her mind Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and Fear. They are always in a fight to drive but Joy tries to override them all, she is the leader, it is her job to keep Riley happy, especially in this time because Riley and her parents moved to a new state. Joy has to try to make the transition smooth. I noticed that all of the other emotions were trying to control Sadness, because I don't think they even knew that sadness had a place in headquarters plus no one wants Riley to ever be sad. So they try their best to ignore that sadness is also a part of the emotions that lives in the mind of her. If Sadness touches any part of a memory it automatically will turn blue and making that memory a sad one. So Joy drew a small circle and told Sadness to stay within in the lines isolating the character Sadness from the others Joy is doing this not because she was trying to be mean but because it was Riley’s first day at her new school so Joy wanted everything to go right. Riley was asked to stand up and introduce herself and where she came from somehow Sadness must have left the circle and triggered something in her mind because Riley began to cry in front of the class Joy tried to intervene and somehow got sucked out headquarters (Riley's mind) along with Sadness. So while Joy and Sadness are out of the headquarters, that left Riley with the other 3 emotions, Anger, Disgust and Fear driving the console of her mind trying to keep Riley emotional state stable. That was a disaster because while Joy and Sadness try to find their way back they are noticing the memories that shaped Riley’s core islands meaning the core memories like family, friend and goofball that made Riley who she was, started to crumble one island at a time. It was getting so bad that Riley became isolated, very distant from her parents, she became a little depressed and the other 3 emotions did not know what to do so Anger took control of the console making Riley so upset that she chooses to run away and she decides to get on a bus back to Minnesota. Joy and Sadness makes it back to headquarters finally, Now their job is to try to get Riley to change her mind but Joy was unable to do that, so she asked Sadness to take over and when she did, Riley changed her mind and got off the bus, she ran home as her parents were in a panic but relieved to see her, she walks in and tells them the truth, which was that she tried to be happy about moving to a new city but she misses her old life and they hugged her, they told her that it was ok to be sad about moving to a new city and they also told her that they themselves missed Minnesota, it was at that moment with a hug of course that Riley embraced her new life with a smile. All is well with her well at least for now.

What stood out to me as I was watching the movie was one that Joy treated Sadness, differently from the other emotions, like she didn't respect Sadness. She would give Anger, Disgust and Fear assignments but she told Sadness just to stay away because her job was to always keep Riley happy and never wanted her to experience sadness. They treated the character Sadness like she had no place in the mind of Riley. But in the end Sadness was needed in order for Joy to take control. Sounds so familiar to me because I myself hated to feel sad because it leaves you like you have no control over things, I so often set sadness in the little circle that was meant to keep sadness out of my expressed emotions instead I allowed anger, fear to drive my emotions and just like it was disastrous in the movie, same in my personal life. I was a mess…. I said all of that to say that your emotional state is very important in your personality and the only way you can control them is by acknowledging how you feel be truthful with yourselves, if you are sad then you have the right to be sad and work on what is the cause of the sadness but never dismiss the way you or anyone else may feel that is the worst thing you can do. I can make things a lot worse in the end if you don't deal with it as soon as possible. And try not to substitute sadness with anger. You don’t want to do that because anger is always accompanied by disgust and fear. God didn't give us a spirit of fear. It is a fight to control our emotions because sometimes the negative emotions need some air time lol!! Even before you get out of bed on some days, something in your spirit isn't right, you just woke up, but you feel some type of way, you have to pray that spirit away because it will only bring out the negative emotions and possibly ruin your whole day. You know when someone cuts you off when you are driving, what emotion takes control? Or when you have to do something that you never have done before what emotion sets in? What goes on in the inside of you will be played out on the outside. Pray at night don't bring the problems, the bad emotions of the day into your bed, empty them give them to God.

Philippians 4:6 ►Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. What happens if Joy is not in control of your emotions? I am so glad you ask! You have pray to get her in control again, by using the Word of God to fight any negative emotions. 2 Corinthians 10:5 we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. You have to get to know God and His will for your lives. When you find out all the promises He has for us you will not allow any stinking thinking to stop you, if you ever see this movie, I want to point out how the emotions were fighting over what emotions was going to take control of console of the mind if something happened. It is a fight to have Joy and peace no matter what is going on in your life, you will have capture of thoughts and fight to control your emotions but I believe it is worth it.

Trust and Believe.

 

Apply the Word!!

 

God Bless.

Snap Out Of It!!!

One day last year when I was at home in bed taking a nap, my lights were cut off. OMG!! Really I couldn't believe it because it was my first day home on one of my R & R from being overseas, I was so tired but I totally forgot paying the bill, I just wanted to get some rest but when I heard the ac and the lights go out all on the same time, that is when I realized what I forgot to do. I jumped out of bed and began to run around like a chicken with its head cut off. I panic...ked; I wandered around for about twenty minutes couldn’t think. I was trying to put on my clothes trying to find keys like I had to get out of there. I literally didn't know what to do. I was so focused that my lights were off, I was really crazy that day. I had to calm myself down literally and I said to myself Carolyn just pay it, the money was in the bank call it in and just pay it. The solution was just that simple!! I don’t know why that affected me like that like I didn’t have the means to correct the problem……

I said that to say to stop panicking, stop running around in circles, losing your mind because you are so busy focusing on that problem, that circumstance , like we have no hope, don't get me wrong I am not comparing my minor inconvenience to your major situation, all I am saying is everything is fixable in Jesus. I know when we experience gloomy, dark, or sad moments unexpectedly, our first reaction might be to panic because some are very painful, scary, doubtful or just sometimes seems to be unfair, I mean you didn’t know where this came from but you suddenly in it. I want to encourage you by telling you to be still, be prayerful and listen to what God is saying about your situation and know that everything will work out. The problem is already solved; the solution is already laid out. Whatever you might be facing today or in the future the Word says in Psalms 23:4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Stand on that because we will have to experience moments that is designed to kill, steal and destroy us but in Isaiah 54:17 No weapons that are formed will prosper. Don’t allow your situation to diminish God's promises. I can attest to that!! . I pray for peace on any situation that is troublesome, bothersome or just a plain annoyance to you. Power of Jesus is limitless trust Him in all things!!!
Side notes
1. Even though it was my fault that I was in the dark because I forgot to pay it, I still experienced this period for a short time it was back on in the matter of an hour. This will only be temporary.
2. Sometimes God will allow the lights to go out to turn the lights on in your memory to do what He told you to do and get you out of that comfortable zone that you been laying in for quite sometimes. lol
3. Panicking is just a waste of time literally!! Be Blessed!!

It's their wrong why don't you feel right!!!

2 Samuel 13 Summary
 
Amnon fell in love with his half sister, Tamar, the full sister of Absalom. He was frustrated to the point of illness because he couldn’t sleep with her. One day, his cousin, Jonadab asked him why he look so sad. Amnon said he is in love with Tamar. Jonadab suggested that he pretend to be sick and lie on his bed. When his fatehr come to see him, he should ask for his sister Tamar to come and prepare food so that he can see her and eat it. Amnon did as Jonadab suggested. When David came to see Amnon, Amnon requested for his half sister Tamar to come and make a special bread so that he can watch her and eat the bread from her hand. Tamar did came and prepared the bread.
When she brought the bread to Amnon, Amnon refused to eat. Instead, Amnon bade everyone in the house to leave then he instructed Tamar to bring th ebread to her. As Tamar brought the bread to him, he grabbed her and raped her. Tamar rebuked Amnon for doing that. Tamar said Amnon could have asked the king to let him marry her but Amnon would not listen. Amnon was strong so he overpower her and raped her. The daughters of the king used to wear long gown. After Amnon’s servant sent her out, she tore her garment and put ashes on her head and wept aloud as she walked away. Absalom heard about it and soon Tamar moved into his house. Tamar was always pitiful because of the incident,

Things that stood out to me:  
Amnon allowed his flesh to control him which in turn made him ill physical and mentally.
He had people around him that came up with scheme to fulfill his fleshly desire instead of helping him through the situation the right way.
Tamar tried to reason with him but he didn’t listen to her to do it the right way so he raped her, his so called love turned into hate not because of anything that she had done.  I really think that he didn’t want to really face the truth about his actions so he just treated her like she was in the wrong like some many other people.
After being violated by her own brother, Tamar was the one that walked away with the shame because of his decision to do such a horrible thing. And this was really my main point that I wanted to get to, some people who become victims of someone else’s bad decisions bad actions turn them into the walking dead.  The bible said that Tamar lived as a desolate woman.  Unfortunately this is still common today  I have seen some women who are living their lives the same way  because of betrayal, violation, divorce,  break-up, whatever the reason that has them scared and scarred so severely that they feel that they could never recover from it.   Do not get me wrong what happened to Tamar was horrible and I don’t and  would  not minimize her pain that she endured and that goes for the women who had been betrayed, violated, divorced and experiencing a break up because they are life altering experiences but I can say that God heals and he restores. I pray that whoever this might be for please seek God and allow His love and His plan and the blessings that He has in store for you to be manifested.  Tamar couldn’t get passed it so her life was limited to that day.  Don’t allow your life to be limited to that day the betrayal or that life altering thing that happened you can move pass it, don’t allow the bad decisions of others to be a door blocker to your future.  Trust and believe!!  Be blessed!!







 

Stop Looking Back

Stop Looking Back
Carolyn McCardell

When watching scary movies like Friday the 13th, when the villain Jason was chasing his victims though the woods I noticed that the victims always seem to fall and end up getting caught. I know it was just a movie and I should not put too much thought into but I could not help but to wonder why is it that they always seem to fall.  I noticed instead of them looking ahead to get escape the danger they were always looking back. It was the looking back that caused them to fall.

 This reminds of me Genesis 19:26  Lot ’s wife when she disobeyed the command of not looking back she became a pillar of salt. The Hebrew for “looked back” means more than to glance over one’s shoulder. It means to regard, to consider, to pay attention to.   When God is trying to move us to safe place we must trust Him enough to know the place He is bringing us out of can’t compare to the place He is taking us to.  We get so fixated on the past we until we become stagnant staying in that place of danger and pain.  Sometimes He removes people and things from our lives in order to save us. It is so hard, nearly impossible to move forward looking backwards. Looking ahead is what is going to get you out of your situation. There is no point in looking back about the relationship that failed, no looking back about the person who had wronged you, no looking back on the things that you cannot change. I love this prayer “Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” There is no sense in looking back on what happened yesterday or years ago. Let it go and start moving forward. Your past does not define your future. The only reason you need your past is to reflect back on how good God is. Don’t be a victim of your past.  God Bless

Don't Fall For It!!

Don’t Fall For It.
By Carolyn McCardell

In the movie, I was speaking of "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Bolt Thief" when Percy found out who he truly was, and the powers he possessed, he decided to take a journey in hopes of rescuing his mom his mom who was taken by Hades because of stolen the Lightning bolt. He only had a short time to get everything done. He was on track until he arrived in Las Vegas at the Locus Hotel. Everything in the hotel was just charming and seemed so accommodating to him. The hostess were serving appetizers which they called Locus flowers, he was just living it up laughing and what seemed to him was fun and games and he lost his focus and forgot the reasons that he was there. But what he didn't know was that this was a trick from his enemy to keep him there forever. What the locus flower was doing to him was interfering with his senses, it was distracting him from his journey, when Percy Jackson finally came out of the trans he found out that he had lost four days of the Journey.

This really spoke to me about how when we as Christians have it in our minds to pursue our journey (walking with Christ) the enemy tries to distract, detour us from our purpose. Sin is one of our biggest detour we get so caught up in the things that seem and feel desirable. Sin is a set up just like the locus hotel, was it is a trap to keep us there forever. It interferes with our spiritual senses we become dull to sin we are unable to discern what is true. It disconnects us from God.

How do we keep from falling for this trap by putting on the full Armour of God? In Ephesians 6 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Just like Percy, it is possible for us to fall into the same traps and fall into sin which can be adultery, fornicating, substance abuse or whatever has us, we have to do what one of my favorites song the lyric says "We fall down, but we get up" by Donnie McClurkin. When we get up we have to repent and keep on striving on our journey without looking back. In 1 John 2 1: My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if you do sin, there is someone to plead for you before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who pleases God completely.2 He is the sacrifice for our sins. He takes not only our sins away but the sins of all the world. And how can we be sure that we belong to him? By obeying his commandments. 4 If someone says, "I belong to God," but doesn't obey God's commandments, that person is a liar and does not live in the truth. 5 But those who obey God's word really do love him. That is the way to know whether or not we live in him.

Keep in mind Percy's enemy was not only out to kill him but to distract him from his purpose. The enemy does not only try steal, kill, or destroy us but also tries to steal our time by distracting us placing things that are extremely pleasing to us that is outside God’s will for our lives like adultery, fornication, and etc. Percy had lost four days of his Journey falling for the tricks of the enemy. We can get back money, we can get our relationships back, but one thing we cant never get back is time. Lost time is something we cannot ever recover. How much time are we willing to lose? I want to enjoy the fullness of God. We can obtain the fullness of God by applying and living by His Word.

Remember when we find out who we are in Christ be prepared for the tricks and lies of the enemy and the only way we can recognize them is by the truth which is the Word of God.

God Bless

Is your marriage in a state of complacency?

Is your marriage in a state of complacency? 

I see so many marriages that are in trouble and they don't even see it. Complacency is the root of this trouble. This word means : self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies. Being complacent is dangerous to your marriages because people become lax and lack the motivation to safe guard their marria

ges and this can cause other things to creep into it....which includes finances, adultery, the act of singleness, a lot of other things that I can mention that are destroying marriages.

Marriage could be one of the hardest if not the hardest merger that you might experience in your life time. It is a partnership, if the partners of a company spends 80 percent of their time doing things that doesn't benefit the company really spending time trying please themselves and try to build a strong profitable company with the other twenty percent then that company is doomed to fail. Like wise you can not have a successful marriage putting twenty percent of work in that is so impossible. People who do this have become have become complacent.

I hate to see complacency prevail in our lives when it's so directly contrary to the teaching of Christ.
--Jimmy Carter American, President

When God is in your marriage there isn't anything to hard for Him to correct. He can correct the complacency in the marriage. If He isnt in it then it is so possible that your marriage is in trouble. You have to make a decision that you are going to put in the effort to ensure that you have a strong marriage which means that you have to become more than roommates.

When two people actually become one they have to give up part of themselves in order to do that. I always said if you are doing everything you want to do then someone is suffering. Don't take each other for granted. The enemy is looking to come in and destroy marriages don't give him any room. There are instructions that you will need to follow in order for you to have a marriage that glorifies God and it is located in His word . His love letter to us. Spend time together reading it, and applying it. Making sure that you guys have quality time together is really needed. Take time to date your spouse dating shouldn't ever stop. In order not fall in the state of complacency I took some pointers from one of my favorite movies 50 first dates. The main character was dating this woman who had a head injury that affected her memory and in order for them to be together he would have to get her to fall in love with him everyday so he came up with different ways to do this on a daily basis I just love that concept that he loved her that much that he would go so far to keep their love alive and I think we all can learn a lesson or two from it. Communication is major in any area of your life especially in marriage. People change everyday by communicating with each other you can learn of that change a make adjustments accordingly.

Be aware of the state of your marriage. It is dangerous for your marriage to be in a complacent state. Start praying before things get to this stage. Pray for revelation of deficiencies that you might have that will hinder you for having a marriage that glorifies God. We have to learn how to be married. I look forward to experiencing the marriage that God intended me to have. I am praying for you guys and really know when your marriage is centered around God ,you will overcome any obstacles that the enemy will try to throw at you. When you start living for Him things will start to fall in place, it wont be perfect but I promise you it will be a marriage of purpose. Be blessed!!

The Source

"The Source"

By: Carolyn McCardell

I took my youngest son to the movies awhile back to see “Percy Jackson and the Olympians the lightning thief”. The story was about Percy Jackson who was a Demi-god (son of a god and a human). The main character in the movie (Percy) was falsely accused of stealing the lightning bolt of the Chief God Zeus and had to retrieve it before the earth is torn asunder by the warring gods. Percy always knew it was something unique about him, but he didn't realize to what extent, until the lightning bolt came up missing. His mom and his protector had to take him to a training camp for people with special powers like him. He had no idea of his powers or how to use them. In one part of the movie Percy was thrown into a fight as a part of his training with the daughter of Wisdom, who simply tore him to pieces. After the battle, Percy was just lying down bruised, and counted out by the spectators. While lying on the ground, he heard a voice which was his father Poseidon (the god of the sea), telling Percy to go to the water, because it is the source of his powers. So just by placing his hand in the water his wounds began to heal, and his strength was not only renewed, but he was stronger than before. As he started to approach his opponent again this time he had the courage and confidence. The change in his demeanor was so noticeable that his opponent got extremely nervous and knew instantly that she was defeated.

My son loved that part and so did I because that particular scene in the movie spoke to me because Christ has given us the living water the Holy Spirit. We can only get our strength from Him. He is the one who heals our wounds when we have been beating down by our adversary. Whether it is a divorce, broken/bad relationships, destructive decisions that we have made, Christ is the one that we need to turn to so that we can face our adversary with courage and confidence. What I didn’t mention about the movie, was that Percy was always drawn to water, but he never quite knew why until the voice of his Father told him that the water was the source of his strength.

On the spiritual side, if you are not hearing the voice of our Heavenly Father by reading and hearing His Word, you will never know how powerful you are through Christ. It is physically impossible to survive without water. Likewise, spiritually we cannot live without the Living Water that Christ provides. He is the source for our lives. Just like Percy you might feel awkward but just don’t know why or you feel an insatiable thirst that cannot be quenched by the World. I was reading John 4:13-14 it says “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

It is my prayer everyone will be Applying Biblically scriptures for Life Essentials, so at the end of the day you can say that I’M A.B.L.E. Being a Christian is not only a title but a lifestyle. By applying God's Word to our daily lives, we can have the victory over our trials and tribulations that we might encounter but here is the challenge, we cannot apply something that we don't know.  In order to know Gods word we have to diligently seek Him by studying and meditating on the Word of God, followed by daily prayer should be a daily. By doing this, we have the privilege of drinking from His presence by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Remember the power of the (Living Water)!

God Bless!!

Sicker than Before

Sicker than before

In my favorite movie the sixth sense it is about a boy who communicates with spirits that don't know they're dead one of the spirits was a little girl in this scene the little girl gave the boy a video to give her dad to play at her funeral because her step mom was keeping her sick by putting poison in her food. After he viewed the video her father turned to his wife and said you were keeping her sick.

In the movie it never really touched on why the step mom would do this maybe it was out of jealousy for the daughter, maybe it could be out just wanting attention, or could have been out of pure malice ,I don’t know but what I do know is that there are people in our lives who appear to love us, who appear that they want the best for us but in reality they are feeding us poison that could eventually lead us to our deaths. 

When I was thinking back about this scene I remembered how loving the mom appeared to be spoon feeding her as if she wanted to make her better. Just know that the enemy doesn't always use strangers to harm us he may use our friends and sometimes even family. I remember the little girl didn't want to eat the soup because she said it tasted funny and she felt bad every time she ate the soup. She knew something wasn't right and that is why she setup a video for her dad to see. 

If someone in your life is keeping you sick you have to identify them so you can move away from them because it can kill you and your spirit. You would know this by the Word of God if it doesn’t sound right to you that is a sign, if you are sicker than before when you are dealing with them then that is a sign, pray for God to give you the discernment in identifying the people who threatened your spiritual growth. God will reveal to you the truth. When He does move to a safe place, and pray for them, you don’t have to try to figure out the details why they are doing what they are doing just get to a safe place which is in His Word. 

When the step mom was confronted she appeared to be grieving for the lost of the daughter maybe it wasn't her intention for her to die maybe it was the sickness in her that made her do the things that she has done. I don’t know, all I know is that is so important that we take an active part in knowing what is being imparted in our spirits. If it goes against the Word of God then it is poison and it is designed to keep you sick and eventually will kill. Identify the people in your lives.

Be blessed.

Agitator

I'M A.B.L.E>Agitator
Carolyn McCardell

I recently went into Home Depot looking for a new washer. Among the washers there were some that had agitators and some that didn’t. I ask the sales person, aside from the cost, what was the difference between the two? He told me that the one without the agitator is gentler on fabrics verses the agitator which is harsh on fabrics and over time wears them down. He told me the washer without the agitator was more expensive but eventually I would be saving money because it used less water. This information was surprising to me because I thought that washers needed the agitator to get the clothes clean. I had no idea that it was the agitator that was actually damaging my clothes!!

I thought about this and I applied it to my life. I asked myself, was I an agitator? My answer to this question unfortunately was yes. I have been an agitator towards my husband. The meaning of agitator is one who stirs up public feeling on controversial issues. Every time I would nag about something that I perceived he should being doing or every time I would ask him to solve a problem that I knew he couldn’t solve this would cause him to be agitated. Every time I would deal with him harshly I was wearing him down. I thought as long as I was speaking the truth then I was ok, I was just being real. But when I read Ephesians 4:15 about speaking the truth in love this made me feel bad about the words I chose to use. The agitation that he must have felt, after looking up the word agitation which means an A stirring up or arousing; disturbance of tranquility; disturbance of mind which shows itself by physical excitement; perturbation; as, to cause any one agitation. Not only was I an agitator toward my husband but I dealt with my boys just a harshly. In proverbs 14:1 a wise woman builds her home but the foolish woman tears it down with her own hands. I was tearing my home down by being a agitator.
But glory be to God that he gave me the ability to recognize that agitating spirit” and allowing me to correct my behavior.

Agitating other people to the point of anger is not the Will of God. Provoking anger is demeaning and very disrespectful and it the opposite of showing love, caring, kindness, and compassion Are you a agitator or you stirring things up in someone which can be a husband, a child, a friend, a coworker, etc.? If so please learn from my testimony, an agitator is not needed to get the job done in fact without it you would use less energy and wont damage or wear down the people we are suppose to lift up and encourage!! In I Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

God Bless!!

J. A. T

Some people are just living to die and there are others that are fighting to live. Don't live your life without hope, without expectation. Jesus didn't die for us for us to have no hope. He died so we can live. I see some many people who are fighting cancer some of them dying of cancer who really spend their weak moments encouraging someone who has a broken heart. I know this is because I was the one who was being encouraged by someone who was fighting for their life. I noticed her strength her determination her faith. I didnt know what she was going thru until after she listened to my issues of pain. I felt so bad after hearing what she was going through but it gave me what I needed to know which is everyone is going through somethings but it is all about perspective. I took notice of how different our perspectives were mine was a place of just giving up and hers was that she is going to do whatever it took to live. She said it didnt feel good and she had bad moments but she prayed for strength to get thru those moments. So trust me when i tell you when you decide that you want to fight to live your perspective will change. You will start to include Jesus in your issues. I don't know what u might be facing today but I dare u to pray and not about your issues ask God to reveal to you who is worst off than you are and start to pray for them. I am not trying to minimize your pain, your worries, issues or circumstances I am trying to get you to fight to get to the maximum of what God has for you. Don't allow your issues to keep you in a vicious cycle of living your life just making it. I have learned that I can not put magnifying glass to my emotions or issues it makes it bigger than what it is and put God under the microscope making Him smaller than who He is. Not ever good to do. So what ever you are facing today face it with hope and expect to make it to the other side because there is another side and when u know that you will start fighting to live the life that Christ died for you to have. Remember it could be worst. Take time to pray for someone else.
Be Blessed

Never allow your emotions to override the truth

My stepfather use to fuss with everyone he was a man who drove you crazy but no one could stay mad at him long. One of his favorite saying when fussing with my mom was that if she continue to do whatever they were fussing about that all of her children will be born naked lol!! My mom was so caught up in the fussing that she denied that it could ever be possible. She told him that he was a lie that none of her kids were born naked and then she had to think about it lol!!

Point of the story is never allow your emotions to override your senses or the truth. The truth is the truth whether you are mad or not. Every child will be born naked and no amount of anger could ever change that , People see the truth through their own emotions and no matter if they are mad at you or not you are who you are. And that is the truth nothing else matters. My stepfather knew how to push her buttons and others know how to push yours and the way you can deal with that is dont allow your emotions to take over. Be Blessed

No Story No Glory

If you are dealing with something and shame is keeping you quiet
If your shame is louder than you cry out.
If you are drowning and you are to ashamed to ask for help.
If you are drinking or doing drugs to forget your shame.
I just want you to know that
shame/silence is the one of the biggest weapon that the enemy uses against  Christians
shame is meant to keep you silent and silent is meant to keep you in bondage
And bondage is meant to keep you stagnant
Stagnancy means not to advance or develop.

In the ER on electronic monitor when a line is the same all the way across the screen means that the person has flat lined and flat lined means that person has died. The meaning of flat lined: in a state of no progress or advancement and that is what the enemy wants for our lives. He not only wants us to be physically dead he also wants us to be spiritually dead not living the life that God wants us to live.
God can only get the glory when we open our mouths. Don’t live in bondage because you are too afraid to say something. I have did things based on my own understanding because I did not have the courage to open my mouth about the things that enemy had me to believe.
No matter what we have done it can never separate us from God’s love.

No story no Glory.

J.A.T>Will for my life

One thing I use to fear the most is living life according to my will that may lead me to die outside of God's Will for my life. . It isnt about me. I know my life has purpose and has to glorify Him according to Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. If you are living inside God's Will that means you will die inside His will. Get into His Word find out what is His will for your life. Be Blessed

Who I Use to Be

Who I Use to Be

Who I use to be,is not who I am today but I can not deny who I was, no matter what If was filled with anger then I use to filled with anger, If was bitter then I was bitter, if I had low self esteem then that is what I had. I can not deny who I use to be nor do I have any desires to because who I use to be goes hand and hand on who I am today. Who I am today is a God fearing who had issues of anger, bitterness and a low self esteem but Glory be to God for his transformation of who I am.

I was reading the bible and I read how Saul (Paul) had persecuted anyone who believed in Jesus how much comtempt he had for them how he throwing them into jail to putting them to death. He basically told the people who were following Jesus I will see you dead! Until one day that he encountered a devine presence on a trip to Damascus!! His liffe was never the same after that. His name was changed from Saul to Paul a he was a great Apostle. What a transformation.

The meaning of transformation: A marked change, as in appearance or character, usually for the better.

Without that transformation happening we would be missing thirteen of twenty-seven books of the New Testament. Now keep in mind Paul never denied who he was!! 1 Timothy 1:12-15, I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

So when someone remembers who you use to be just admit it and say thanks be to God that I am not that same person. Let me introduce to “Who I am today” Who I am in Christ. A great friend well a great sister wrote something for me one day which was so profound she said I was who my circumstances made me to be, to now being the daughter of the Most High!! Amen!! Your past doesn’t cancel out your future it is just a testimony of the Goodness of God!!

Remember you are in the process of being transformed and true transformation is a process so you are not going to be perfect so don’t get discouraged when you make mistakes because that is apart of the spiritual development. In Philippians 3:12-16 12 Not that I have already attained this—that is, I have not already been perfected—but I strive to lay hold of that for which I also was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: forgetting the things behind and reaching out for the things ahead, 14 with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are “perfect” embrace this point of view. If you think otherwise, God will reveal to you the error of your ways. 16 Nevertheless, let us live up to the standard that we have already attained. Keep striving!! Keep the faith!! No matter who you use to be!!

God Bless!!

Fear of the Unknown

Fear of the Unknown

Thinking back when I was going through my divorce and the emotions that came along with it. I really can't explain how painful this process was for me. What I can disclose is that I hadn't ever experienced that much pain before. My world as I knew it was turned upside down going through a divorce is extremely hard and emotionally draining. Change was knocking at my door and I was not ready to deal with it. I have always been afraid of change even if the situation was going from bad to good. The fear of the unknown stops me and makes me want to turn back to the familiar. I know what I had,  I just don’t know what I will get was one of my biggest fear. Should I turn back to what I have always known which is pain, rejection anger and most of all insecurities or should I move forward and trusting God was my one of my biggest struggle. One of my old friends told me that she had a vision that I was in the hall way and there were two doors one was closed and dark, the other one was open and was bright but something in me was focused on the closed dark door. My ex husband has even told me that I embraced pain as a way of life. That was then and this is now I have no reason to be afraid of the unknown because in God’s word in Jeremiah 29:11 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 

Moving ahead to something new is scary for everyone , doubt creeps in but it requires that we have faith that God is there every step of the way. My divorce is final and I have no choice but to trust that God’s Will for my life is for my good and I can't allow my emotions to send me into panic mode like I have no hope. When we allow our emotions to drive, we tend to do and say stupid stuff but if we stand firm on God’s Word we will see the victory. I received this verse this morning which is from Exodus 14:13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” not only did I receive this morning. In this verse I just replaced Egyptians with what I was going thru, so it said the pain I feel today I will never see again. So I just want to encourage you that whatever you are going thru that has you worried or in pain let it go and let God fight it for you. When you read further down in Exodus 14 15 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. 17 I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. God is telling us to move on and He will make a way out for us and He will allow our problems, trials and tribulations to come after us not to get us but so that He can get the Glory. I have to admit moving on to the next chapter in my life was scary but when I read the Word I have hope that He allowed me to go through this for my good but His Glory. As I was writing this, a text message came thru with the scripture Isaiah 43:19 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. God is so amazing!! He is with us in our darkest moments please just know that.  Trust and believe what God is doing in your life. 

Be Blessed!!

Chinese water torture

Attn:

Chinese water torture is a process in which water is slowly dripped onto a person's forehead, allegedly driving the restrained victim insane. Women if you are constantly nagging your husband (boyfriend) this could be consider torture and will eventually drive him to brink of insanity. Proverbs 27:15 A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike. I been there, done that it doesn't work. Here are two definitions that are important
1. nagging- To annoy by constant scolding, complaining, or urging.
2. contentious- tending to argue or quarrel
If your using one or both of these method to get your spouse (boyfriend) right . PLEASE STOP IT FOR THE SAKE OF HIS INSANITY OR YOUR MARRIAGE (Relationship). It is not your job to get anyone right but SELF. Go to God and leave His job to Him. Focus on what He has called you to do which is to respect your spouse. I dont care if you had been doing it for five minutes or 15 years it needs to stop today. Your house should be contentious free and a no nagging zone. As a woman, I don't want to compared to a rainy day because sometimes too much rain shuts things down, it can destroy and besides that you cant build anything in the rain. Trust me when I say when you stop the nagging and start praying Watch God Move in your Marriage.

Men if you see this in your wife (girlfriend) pray for her to be delivered from that spirit and while you are praying please ask God to help you discern between nagging and addressing concerns there is a difference and if she is addressing concerns she has that right. If a woman feels that she has to nag you to get something done then it is a communication breakdown some where and as the leader of your home it is your responsibility to address it.

Be encouraged it is never too late to begin again.

God Bless