'Tis The Season

I’m still a kid at heart. I love the Christmas season! It’s the time of year when folks show love and kindness to one another in honor of the birth of Jesus Christ. No matter how the world commercializes it, the Christmas season brings the world together to show kindness and to give gifts to one another.
I know it sounds like I’m looking at the world through rose-colored glasses, but as a believer I know that we believers have a great responsibility to demonstrate the true meaning of the season. It is a season of sharing, of giving. It is a season of love.
So, this season, give of yourself, give love. Give of your time to others, lend a patient ear to listen to others, say a simple prayer with those who are in need, and donate your money and your time to quietly help those who are not as fortunate as you and your family.
If you focus on giving love this Christmas season, I guarantee that you will recapture that child-like spirit of Christmas.
Now, get out there and let your light shine!

Enjoying the Ride

November 2011 marks two calendar years since I lost my job. And when I say lost, I mean I was terminated from my last job. After working at a small company as an HR manager for over two years, I had lulled myself into a false sense of security that I was okay financially and that I could continue my current lifestyle until I decided to retire and move to Florida (or some southward destination), and play golf everyday. But God had a different plan. After my ego got over the shame of losing my job, that old demon fear took hold of my mind and spirit. The fear was that I would not be able to sustain a comfortable lifestyle, that I would grow old alone and broke. The fear was palpable; I knew what it was, and I knew that I had to do something to get it out of my thoughts. I know that the battleground of good versus evil is in my mind, and for a hot minute, I forgot who I was and WHOSE I was. As the prodigal son did after he wasted all his inheritance on riotous living, and was fighting for food in the pigpen (read this parable in Luke 15:11-36), I came to myself. I came to remember that God has always been my provider, and I had no reason to fear that He would stop providing for me now. I had to rebuke the spirit of fear, learn how to renew my mind daily (read Romans 12:1-2), meditate on the Word, keep a prayer life, and to maintain a spirit of praise and thanksgiving. As I celebrate this two year anniversary of something that the enemy meant for evil, I can see and rejoice about how God has turned it into something for His good! I will share more personal testimonies of how God has kept me, restored me, and moved me to a new level of undertanding of trusting and believing God. God has kept me well these past two years, and has shown me that this is the time to pursue the desires of my heart. I have learned how to enjoy the ride and let God be in charge of my life. Do you have a testimony of what God has done for YOU lately?

Flowing in your Spiritual Gifts

Everyone of you has God-given talents that can be utilized everyday to promote the glory of God. Notice I did not say promote your career, make you wealthy, or to improve your relationships.  Those would be just by-products; the main reason why God has gifted you with special talents and abilities is so that you can glorify God.
Once you take the focus off yourself, and focus on Him, He will start to reveal some things to you about His perfect will for your life, and you will experience a quantum leap forward in operating in your God-given talents and abilities. So, glorify Him today in every thing that you say and do, and keep your “spiritual” ears open to hear His direction for your life.

"You Want Fries With That?"

Most of us spoiled US citizens have heard this question when placing an order at a fast food restaurant. “You want fries with that?” In other words, can we add to your cost and to your calorie intake by offering you the obligatory french fries to go with that fast food burger? Or, can we “up size” or “supersize” your order, and make each item larger, bigger, more? We may not want to admit how many times we have responded affirmatively to those questions. Hey, let’s face it. We are a fast food nation and a microwave generation that expect our food and our services to miraculously appear or happen almost the minute our brain thinks we need to have it. No wonder one of the largest US cable companies has a slogan that includes the words “On Demand.” Americans DEMAND it, and they expect to GET IT NOW. Ah, but we don’t have a remote control for our lives that would enable us to use a “Pause” button to savor a good circumstance, a “REVERSE” button to replay a past, pleasant experience, or a “FAST FORWARD” button to rush to a hopefully better future. If anyone could market that type of remote control, they would be a gazillionaire. God, the Creator of the universe, the heavenly Father of you and me, knows all things, and does not exist in time. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He knows your past, present and future. The Bible says in Jer 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” God loves you so much that He thinks good thoughts about you! And He wants to give you a good outcome or “expected end.” Can we be patient and faithful to Him and His Word that our lives are and will be victorious, peaceful, and joyful? Show patience today and move into your next season of blessings! Do you remember how patient God was with you while you were yet living in sin? Can we wait on the Lord and give Him praise and thanksgiving during our waiting time? Remember, He is not a fast food, on demand God….but He is always right on time.