Don’t Let The Little Foxes Steal Your Blessings

We’ve entered a new year, the old has past the new has come. Don’t allow the little foxes to spoil the vine. It’s our connections to our Savior Jesus Christ. By that I mean, people who normally upset you and make you say or do things that you know you shouldn’t say or do, don’t let them do it this year. Stop right where you are and send up a small prayer, asking God to give you the patience to deal with that person. On the highway when someone cuts you off, don’t lose your cool over that. In the grand scheme of things, it’s a very minor thing, and it’s not worth loosing out on God’s very best for you. When you do things that God is not pleased with, it hinders your blessings. If you are trusting God for something in your life, stay connected to the vine, and don’t allow others to get you off track. Satan is going to do everything in his power to trip you up, but you have to be smarter than the devil. Remember he was defeated on Calvary, and you already have the victory. Hallelujah, praise the Lord.

You basically know what the people in your life are capable of doing, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to you when they do or say something to agitate or aggravate you. Again let it slid, pray about it and go on about your business. God honors faithfulness, He honors a willing and obedient servant. Someone who trust Him with all of they’re heart, knowing that He is going to work every single detail in your life out.

The Bible is clear about some things. In Proverbs we’re told, “to trust the LORD with all our hearts, and lean not to our own understanding, but in all our ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct our path.” That’s a promise that God will live up to you if you live up to your responsibility in trusting Him to do just that. God doesn’t make false promises; if He said He is going to do something, you can rest assure that God is going to take care of it. His Word is His bond. He honors it above His Name. Don’t take my word for it, read it for yourself, and when you do internalize it, and carry it with you everywhere you go. Hold onto it like you would a block of gold worth a lot of money. Remember your relationship with God is worth more than all the gold in the world, and since He created it, He can give you more gold than you know what to do with.

Let this be a year where you trust God implicitly. Don’t let doubt or fear or anything negative creep in to steal your blessing. Keep them at bay by staying in prayer with the One and only One who can help build your confidence in Him. God’s Word is true, absolutely true; in fact He said, “Let my Word be true and every man a liar.” If someone comes to you with something that is contrary to the Word of God don’t receive that into your spirit. Discard it like you would a piece of garbage. If you are not sure if what they’ve said line up with the Word of God, go into the Bible and check it out for yourself. Never take anybody’s word for anything, always check it out for yourself. That way you will be absolutely sure.

Live up to your commitments. When you make a promise follow through with it even if you don’t feel like it. Remember your Father in heavens lives up to all His commitments, He fulfills all of His promises, and He never lets us down. Let your word be your bond. Live a life of integrity. Be the person you want everyone else to be. It starts from you. If they see that you are serious, committed and a woman or man of your word, they’ll be more apt to honor that.

Remember it’s the little foxes that spoil the vine, so don’t get caught out there doing something you know you shouldn’t be doing. Trust God in all things and walk in the way that He is leading you.

Enjoying The Genuineness Of Loving Friendships

One of the things that are very important to me is good, understanding friends, something we talk about in our book, Keys to the Kingdom: A Manual for Success in Today’s World. Anyone you choose to be friends with can be your friend as long as they are in agreement. Friends can be family members or people you meet on the job, at the gym or even the grocery store. Some of them you grow up with and maintain those friendships throughout your life. Many of my family members are some of my very best friends, like my daughters for instance. I talk more about this further down, so keep reading.

Friends usually have something in common, like sports, etc. My best friend and I love to read and write. We spend a great deal of time writing articles and speeches to share with others. We love inspiring people, helping them to live their ultimate dream and to enjoy a life without limits. We’re convinced that God put us here for a reason.

We met in New York back in the mid-eighties, during the winter, and I must say we became fast friends, and it’s been that way ever since. Whenever you saw me you knew she wasn’t far behind. We enjoyed each other’s company so much so that we would spend hours trying to say goodbye, after work, after dinner, after an evening at the movies. It was really just that hard. This might sound strange, but when you have as much in common as we do, then you will understand. We enjoy sharing ideas, thoughts, accomplishments, and victories with each other. We even share our concerns and disappointments, our hurts and our pains. We assure each other with words of encouragement and through prayer. You can’t have a friendship without prayer. There are times when you will face situations much to big for you, something that only God can handle. So prayer is absolutely essential in any friendship.

As we look back over the years we know that God was preparing us for such a time as this. Just as Mordecai said to Ester, “and who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this.” God is using us in a mighty way and we’re hoping to impact as many lives as we can by what God is doing in us. We’re still practically inseparable, and we never seem to tire of one another. How do we do it, only God knows because you can get tired of anyone and want a break, but we like doing everything together. I don’t think I could ask for a better friend, nor do I think I want to, because what I have is what I call genuine friendship.

To tell you the truth I have been blessed with lots of good friends, friends I grew up with, friends I acquired along life’s journey. I lost a best friend a year ago this month to an aneurysm. It was a great loss. She left suddenly without warning and that’s how it is sometimes, which makes it terribly important to tell people how you feel about them while they’re still around. Maintain a loving, honest relationship without all the bickering and fighting. It’s not worth it. Life is to short. The Bible tells us that we’re like vapor, here today gone tomorrow, and that’s just how quickly it can happen.

My dear friend never got the chance to fulfill the call on her life. I wonder if she even knew what it was or perhaps her existence was to do just what she did, making people feel comfortable around her, always knowing just what to say, and always sporting a big beautiful smile. When I reflect back I think about those wonderful traits that made her uniquely who she was, and I can still see that smile and those big beautiful hazel eyes that sparkled just as bright and lively as her lovely smile.

I can truly boast many great friends, my adoring daughters being among them. I enjoy spending time in their presence talking to them about any and everything we can think of, politics, religion, the economy, the latest fashion, movie, play, you name it we talk about it. One thing I realized long ago, I can learn from my daughters. Just because I’m their mother and older than they are doesn’t mean I know everything. I can stand to learn a thing or two and I can learn it from them. This I must say to all the mother’s out there is a very liberating acknowledgement.

My daughters share things with me that I consider equally as important as anything I share with them. We help each other through difficult times. We laugh at funny things. We pray for one another, and we share lots of information. We laugh together, cry together, and take trips together. Recently we spent the Thanksgiving Day holiday with my mother also their grandmother, and we were four generations strong. Family came from all over, California, Indiana, Virginia, New York and Nevada. We had an awesome time talking about everything from politics to religion, playing games and laughing our hearts content. I consider all members of my family genuine friends that I can share my life with and vice versa.

“No medicine is more valuable, none more efficacious, none better suited to the cure of all our temporal ills than a friend to whom we may turn for consolation in time of trouble, and with whom we may share our happiness in times of joy.”
Geoffrey Chaucer

Living My Ultimate Dream

I'm living my deepest dream by fulfilling the wonderful call on my life. Funny how your childhood passion can become your lifelong dream. I started out with a passion for reading, which quickly turned into a desire to write. How did I know that I would one day be doing this professionally as an adult. I didn't at the time, but God revealed it to me while I was working for Corporate America. Corporate America was never it for me; while i enjoyed it while I was there I knew greater things awaited my attention. It was just a pit stop for greater things. I always knew I was destined for something more, something far more significant, and something that would define me as a child of God. Yes, God was instrumental in bringing me to this point. I couldn't have done it without Him. He is my rock and my salvation, my provider, and my protector, and I know that He loves me unconditionally.

So in my opinion there are two great things that we can have in life, besides an intimate personal relationship with God, through His Son and our Savior Jesus Christ. I have all three, fortunately. My relationship with God is so wonderful, it's almost indescrible. I feel a closeness to Him that anyone in their right mind would give their right leg for, and I cherish my relationship with God more than anything else in the whole wide world. I feel fortunate and bless to know Him on an intimate level. I feel priviledged to call Him Father. I feel honored to know that I am loved more than any human being could ever love me. I feel singled out and doted upon by a gracious loving and giving Father.

Some people choose to call Him daddy, I like calling Him Father. It seems to connotate a mature relationship. I stopped drinking milk a long time ago. I am now feasting on the choicest of meats, and I have to tell you I love it.
When I'm in the presence of God I feel His undivided attention. I feel His eyes are solely upon me, while I know they are watching the whole world, but that's the way my Father makes you feel. It may sound a bit selfish on my part, but it's nice, especially when you come from a big family like I did. It's nice to know that you can spend quality time in the presence of the Lord and walk away feeling totally fulfilled. It's something many of us long for in large families. What we wouldn't give for our parents' undivided attention, well now you can absolutely have it with God.
He's omnipresent. He can be everywhere all at once and still make you feel like you're the only one.

Family and friends are the other two. It's nice to have a wonderfully supportive family and good friends who never seem to let you down. Sure we're all different, that's the beauty of life, besides we were all created with an individual plan in mind. What would this world be like if we were all clones? There would be no great debates, no great artist, no great great writers, intelluctuals to stimulate our minds, no great motivators or Bible scholars to teach us the Word of God. We were put here to fulfill our ultimate dream. So lets get started.