Just Me: The Inside Look

"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.  The brave man is not who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." Nelson Mandela 2014 absolutely did not start out the way I hope/planned, but admittedly, I am beyond grateful it did.  I am sure if you enjoy reading this blog, then you do too...  Please don't take that as being cocky because it's truly not meant that way.   I am simply just saying that this blog probably wouldn't exist today had my world not flipped upside down. In John 10:10 it says: "The theif comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." If there was one verse I had to choose to sum up my life this year, John 10:10 would surely be it!  My life hit me like a ton of bricks last January, as many of you already know, but what the enemy always forgets to anticipate with me is how hard I come back swinging... It really i

"Let us always meet each other with a smile, for a smile is the  beginning of love." Mother Teresa Love is a hard thing to grasp.  Sometimes it's hard for us to understand love because our normal of love wasn't that of someone else we may know.  It's hard to understand how someone can love you sometimes...or maybe even why. The definition of love is simple: Love~ An intense feeling of deep affection. A person or thing that one loves. Feel a deep romantic  or sexual attachment to (someone). GREAT!  I know what love is...It tells us how we feel when we love someone, but it doesn't tell us what to do when that someone hurts us. It doesn't tell us how to handle the heartache and pain.  It doesn't explain why some of us feel we aren't worthy to be loved. Growing up I knew what love was.  I would give my love freely, but in return  I would always be filled with disappointment and heartache.  I put too much expectation in

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God." Corrie ten Boom Looking back on my younger years, I am not sure that I feared much of anything...well, except heights.  I was, if you can believe it or not, more bold than I am now.  In fact, one of my closest friends recently told me that I scared her the most out of all her friends because if I had my mind set on doing something, I'd do it and then go back to her later and tell her what I did.  Of course, for the sole purpose of not being talked out of what I was about to do...yes I was rebellious as ever!  However, that is a story for another time. ;) Many people saw me different than what I saw within myself.  When they looked at me they saw this bold, outspoken, strong-willed person with a huge heart, but on the inside I carried many scars. I loved many, but was hurt deeply by the ones I held closest to my heart, repeatedly.  (If any of you have read The Loneliest Heart, then you have read about

"Half a truth is often a great lie." Benjamin Franklin One of my biggest pet peeves is being lied to, and yet, I've been known to tell even the smallest white lie.  The biggest lie I tell people is that I'm okay.  Knowing full and well I am ready to rip someones head off... It's what I like to call human nature.  It's something we all have done at some point (big or small), even if we didn't know it at the time.   The fact is, I don't like my personal life and what I am going through to be broadcast across the world, if I did, well Facebook would definitely be the place!  That's why I still can't believe God called me to do a blog...He has such a sense of humor! It says in I Timothy 2:4: "God desires all men to be saved and to come to the full knowledge of the truth." What really is our truth?  What do we know?  What standards do we live by?  Who are we as individuals?  And the biggest question is, are w

"The Promises of God are greater than the threats of the enemy." God-Still-Speaks.com It was brought to my attention that many people don't really look up verses (Seeeeeee, I listen) and because I feel so strongly about holding on to the promises of God, as believers, I decided to take time to write the ones I listed in the previous blog.   However, before I write them down I need you to know that holding onto the promises of God is important as believers.  It is what gets us through life and they were already fulfilled all we have to do is trust God enough not to doubt and believe His word is truth.  It's time we stand of faith and allow God to do the rest! Nothing is too small for God.  He CAN restore your finances!  He CAN restore your health! He CAN restore your broken relationships!  And all He is asking of you is to believe what was already given. The first thing we must and should do as believer is to seek God first, just like it says

Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all the darkness." Desmond Tutu We all know times are hard and this economy, well sucks.  When everything is falling down around us it's hard to have faith,  much less hope. "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." Romans 5:1-5 In order to have hope, you must first have faith.  In order to have faith, you must first be able to fully trust in God. I have always believed in God, but trust

  "For I will restore you to health And I will heal you of your wounds,'declares the Lord, 'Because they have called you an outcast, saying: "It is Zion; no one cares for her." Jeremiah 30:17 Today marks a special day for me in some way or another.  It's the 2 year anniversary of a major surgery that was performed to initially save my life.  One that I felt unworthy of, and sometimes still do.  So, today I give you, my fellow readers, an inside look on one of my many testimonies: For many years now I have been overweight.  After my 3rd child I was at a grand total of  195 lbs, which in my eyes was horrific because growing up I couldn't gain weight if I tried.  Well, that and I lived in a household where looks meant everything.  I was bound by depression due to the circumstances of my home life so I didn't have any motivation to lose it, even though occasionally I would try.  However, nothing was dropping.  I even sought help from m

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." Martin Luther King, Jr. Taking a leap of faith is sometimes hard, especially in a world that is crumbling around you. Everywhere I turn these days I see turmoil, heartache, and even sadness.  I see believers and lost souls searching for answers, not realizing that our Heavenly Father is in the midst and standing right next to them waiting for us all to ask for help. "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe in also Me." John 14:1 NASB I recall so many times giving up because what I was going through was too hard/difficult for me to get through.  I felt tired, weak and alone.  Do you want to know a secret?  I still feel that way at times.  However, the one thing that changed was knowing when to call on God to help my troubled heart. We all tell God, and everyone else for that matter, our problems.  Heck, Facebook has become the platform for mo