Releasing The Rocks

"I can change. I can live out my imagination instead of my memory. I can tie myself to my limitless potential instead of my limiting past." ~ Stephen R. Covey

What if you were told that you had just a few more hours remaining before you died, and if you wanted to live you would have to give up the one thing that you hold most dear to your heart? That sounds like a radical change, doesn't it? It is hard to imagine that one would not choose life instead of death.

What if your family was at the edge of an emotional cliff and was about to 'helter-skelter' to the bottom and all you needed to do to save yourselves was to drop your bad attitude and the baggage of your past? If that was all it took to gain your life back, difficult as it may be – you might try to work on your behavior to change it so that you can be free to live.

Permission Is Empowerment!

This is so profound, I just thought to share it with you. How do you see yourself as a Leader? Do you have the full support of those that you have been chosen to lead? 

It is clear that we are living in a society today that is complex and diverse and that we are forced to come up with winning strategies that will clearly not sit well with everyone. Our bottom-line begins with a $ sign and ends with a $ sign. Things like downsizing, right sizing, streamlining, standardizing, layoffs, budget cuts have now become the new buzz words - But notwithstanding all of that, when you have the permission of the ones that you lead, it is an honor. It is empowerment!

It's A Process

You’re probably not an international star of television and movies whose lives are constantly under public scrutiny and played out like a soap opera in the world wide media, or whose lives are often compounded by the intrusive manner of the paparazzi, which seemingly cannot get enough of the microwave frenzy for their unsaturated appetites.

In fairness to them all though, we all have one thing in common, that is, we are all human beings. And as long as we live on this earth, we will continue to have problems and challenges of varying sorts. Since we are obviously not different, are they better than we are? No. We too will make mistakes, some genuine, and some not so.  These things, hopefully for us, while they may not make it as the cover story of People Magazine, The Huffington Post or even the New York Times, they will continue to be a commonality among us that ever so often we become inundated by problems and challenges with their increasingly complex nature.

At times they will cause you to feel overwhelmed. As if to complicate the matter, people around you are either uncaring, unfair, or they are just not sensitive to the battles and struggles you are faced with. But that’s okay, it a part of life. It’s a process that we all have to go through. It’s a journey of faith. Sometimes the road is extremely smooth while at other times, metaphorically speaking; you meet up with ‘pot holes,’ ‘speed bumps.’ ‘Cracks in the wall,’ ‘the curtain of night,’ ‘needle in the hay stack,’ ‘raking of the ground,’ and pruning of your spiritual tree.’

How To Regain Your Identity After Jail

Okay, here's the deal - if you creased your forehead and squinted your eyes at the title of this post, I'm with you. It was my exact reaction upon going behind the scenes and came across this as one of the things that two persons had searched through my blog looking for answers to this week. My gut instinct told me to take a stroll back down memory lane to last November 2012 and sure enough there was this article, Reclaim Your Identity And Regain Your Destiny . But still it left me wondering to myself, 'did I really meet their expectations by the suggestions that were offered back then in that article?' Hopefully, I did. Nevertheless, I am leaning towards empathy and though to expound on the subject and even provide a different perspective.

If the truth be told about us, all of us at some point in our lives have been imprisoned - if not physically, and I hope it's not the case for you, then spiritually. It is a matter of having done wrong. You are tried in a court of law, with your peers as your jurors, and if found guilty, the judge hands down his sentence and you are incarcerated. That's the physical. On the other hand, spiritually, sin in our lives through breaking God's commands/laws brings with it an immediate death sentence.

Hold Your Head Up High!

Hold your head up high, the sky is the limit; 

Walk tall, your dreams are reality,

no jokes! no gimmicks!

Keep your focus, you're here for a purpose.

It's in Him you find peace and joy

Encapsulated in His presence

under immunity, the enemy's weapons

God's anointing will destroy!

Keep on holding your head up high,

Don't ever look back, nothing to gain, 

that's a fact!

Lot's wife turned around and came to a screeching halt

being turned into a pillar of salt.

But you, hold your head up high;

keep the right attitude.

Nothing to loose except you'll gain high altitude.

God's promises are yea and amen,

all your needs He said He will supply until the very end.

Take A Leap Of Faith

Pleasing God requires faith, not in man, but in God Himself. Why faith? That's because, if you and I are going to have it, then we must be able to see it in advance of the manifestation. We must put what are saying into action and take a leap of faith. Faith can move mountains (problems and difficulties) that we face out of our lives. Faith is what we can see in the spiritual realm when all the lights are turned off and everything is pitch dark in your life. Faith is the radar that can see through any thick fog and the darkest of your cloudy days. It is not about worrying but about believing that when you open up your mouth to speak and words are released into the causal realm, you shall have whatsoever you asked or prayed for.

Every moment of the day is an act of faith. It is something that brings meaning and purpose to our very existence here on earth. For most of us our faith may be strong, and for others it may hang on the thinnest of threads. Regardless, we need it to go on. We all have been given a measure of faith. We hold on to that faith that God created all things, that He hung the moon, sun and the stars for a purpose and that they will not fall from the sky on us. It is by the power of faith we hope to accomplish every enduring task we face each day. We hold on to that measure of faith that you and I could not wake ourselves up and that there is a reason for actually getting up in the morning and for participating in life.

It's My Birthday Yeah!

I awakened today with new hopes, dreams and anticipation of what God has planned for my life. It's my special day! It's my birthday! It's an even greater honor for me to have received so many birthday wishes from my social media friends. This birthday blessing below that I now share with you stood out for me. It came from one of my facebook friends - someone who I have never met in person. Isn't God amazing?

From Dewrie "Ray" Buggs Jr.

Happy Birthday my awesome friend. Hoping that your day will be as special as you are. Make sure that on this day you count your life by smiles, not tears. and count your age by friends, not years. Simply keep in mind that you're not getting older, you're getting better. Keep in mind this birthday brings with it all the success and fulfillment your heart desires. In keeping this in mind know that all the great things in life and your birth on this day will bring you an extra share of all that makes you happiest.

You are loved, protected, favored and blessed! You are cherished, gifted and filled with goodness. You are a valuable and irreplaceable. You are a hidden treasure that’s worth searching out. You are not a mistake, you are written in God’s plan, you have a purpose and you were sent on purpose to carry out His purpose.

My 17 Best Relationship Advice

How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh how beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Mount Gilead. Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn, coming up from washing. Each has its twin; not one of them is alone. Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon; your mouth is lovely. Your temples behind your veil are like the halves of pomgranate. Your neck is like the tower of David, built with elegance; on it hang a thousand shields, all of them shields of warriors. Your two breasts are like two fawns, like twin fawns of a gazelle that browse among the lilies...(Song of Solomon 4:1-5)

My lover is radiant and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand. His head is purest gold; his hair is wavy and black as a raven. His eyes are like doves by the water streams, washed in milk, mounted like jewels. His cheeks are like bed of spice yielding perfume. His lips are like lilies dripping with myrrh. His arms are of gold set with chrysolite. His body is like polished ivory decorated with sapphires..(Song of Solomon 5:10-14) 

Over the past week, I have published articles on a theme based on relationship matters. I trust that you are left feeling empowered just as much as I have! In summary as I promised, here now are my 17 best tips/advice on making your relationship last for a lifetime:-

Beyond The 'I Do" by Pastor Ava Baird

Being married for the past 30 years, I found out that the question God asked in Amos 3:3 is so interesting and important..."Can two walk together except they agree?" When we find ourselves in a relationship; be it friendship, marital, business or even courtship, the adhesive in these relationships is agreement. I also found out that there are periods of times when the adhesive becomes so thin that you would sometimes wonder if the relationship would fall apart.

With married couples, when the "I do" is said and the wedding gown and the tuxedo are removed, then the real life begins. For some, the marriage after brings a rude awakening; "Honey I never knew you snored, much less that loud." "Oh, do I?" "I'm sorry sweetheart, but I never knew you burped in your sleep!" The thing is, it is quite OK when we can laugh out loud about such comments, but when we become upset either by the comment which was made or the deed done by the other person, it's another story.

It Takes Two Of Us...

I ended my previos article "Let's Chit Chat: Just To Be Close.." by saying that God is the only source and giver of love. [And that] One must know God to know true, authentic, no strings attached love! What substantiates this truth you might ask? By the recalls of 1 John 4:7, it says, "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God."

It is easy to comprehend then why some persons can fall out of love and break up with each other at the same speed of lightening with which they got together in the forst instance. Some have even gone as far as tying the knot only to wake up one morning and realized that they've made a huge mistake. In the interest of time and not making this column too lengthy, I refer you to an article I wrote entitled, "No Greater Love," where three different kinds of love (eros, philos and agape) were explained.

On that note I come to one of my big pet peeves, which is this - It baffles me how a guy could meet a girl for the very first time and would have the audosity to say to her, "I love you" and he is clueless about who she really is, her background etc. He may even try to take of her clothes with his eyes while they are out on their first date. Now let's assume the girl, unclear about his motive, succumbs to that kind of masked deception, and she becomes entangled in his web, you understasnd why some relationships are not working out today. Making a further assumption that they went ahead and got married, it's a marriage that is likely to fail from the start.

Let's Chit Chat: Just To Be Close...

Who am I? What makes you and I so special that we stand out or, what makes another person become drawn to or attracted to us? Perhaps, single and dating? Then, why am I with that guy or why am I with that girl? Is it really true love or is it just infatuation that only a matter of time the incompatibilities become apparent, the flames dwindle and die, and we just fall out of love? What attracted us to each other in the first instance? Married, perhaps? What unique qualities do we find in each other that even at times when we get on each others' last nerve, we can still say, my "boo" or my "babe" is the best thing that ever happened to me and I won't give him/her up for nothing? What are we really looking for in our relationships?  Have you ever stopped to think and ask yourself any of these questions?

I base my musings today on this one fundamental premise and that is, "one of the greatest setbacks that currently exists in Christiandom and on a much broader scale, in the world, is that we do not know who we are and so we often miss out on the peace, joy, happiness, and the satisfaction of the abundant life that was promised to us. In addition, it is nearly impossible to find someone at the level of your choosing (business partner, platonic relation, intimate partner/husband/wife) who is capable of understanding and respecting your deepest vulnerabilities when you aren't clear about them yourself, either.

Let's Chit Chat About Those Stuff

This past week the focus of my Blog was mostly on successful/healthy living from God's perspective. But as we approach the horizon of yet another week in this new year, I will turn the focus for a brief moment on relationship, friendship, love and the power that lies with it. There are many today who I believe can do with a relationship makeover - whether it's business, platonic or intimate etc. As it relates to friendship, there are those of us who for whatever reason have lost some friends along the way. For others that are single and maybe still searching for that person who we can definitely say, "Aha, he/she is truly the love of my life," can do with a few tips on what exactly to look for. Already found your true love and married, a few tips will be offered to you as well, that is, beyond the, "I Do." Having said that....

Ralph Waldo Emerson Waldo on the matter of friendship once said, "The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when they discover that someone else believe in them and is willing to trust them." There is absolute truth to this concept!

Lead Me..

"The task of leadership is not to put greatness into humanity, but to elicit it, for the greatness is already there." ~ John Buchan

There is no other hope then that I can lean upon so I ask you to lead me Lord, lead me by the hand and help me face the rising sun.....all my life you are my light, you are the lamp upon my feet.......Lead me Lord

The Leader In You by Ava Baird

"Ye are of God little children and have overcome them because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world." ~ (1 John 4:4)

New Year greetings to all!!!

It is a great joy and a precious privilege to be given this opportunity to share on Minister Yvonne Wilson's Blog, Empowerment Moments. She has been an inspiration to readers around the world and has indeed touched lives, pointing them in the direction of our precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Author and Finisher of our faith.

As we watched the old year rolled by and faded right before our very eyes, it is amazing to behold and witness this brand new year opening up like an enormous door, with its path leading to an undetermined future of the next moment, day, month and even our lifetime. The thought of what will be the outcome of this year brings a flash of visions, hopes and dreams and for some, fear and anxiety.

One Year Strong Today!

 Approximately one year ago today January 10th, I received divine inspiration to commence this Blog. It all came about while I was in the midst of deep distress, fear, rejection, persecution and the voice within me that just kept on crying out. Providence interrupted, and as God heard my cry, He asked me this one simple question, "Who better to encourage and empower yourself but you through the word of God?" The birthing took place and from that moment I  have been blogging and writing inspirational articles sharing with others through my own life experiences and pointing others in the direction of renewed faith, hope and trust in the one true living God.

I want you to know that it has been a superbly amazing journey while three things remained constant in my life. Firstly, writing has always been my passion, simply because I believe that I am able to express and communicate my ideas and thoughts best when I do it through my writings. Secondly, I write because I believe through my voice that I can communicate for those who for whatever reason their voice has been shut up and are not able to express for themselves their beliefs, ideas, thoughts, and emotions. Thirdly, I have found one of the greatest miseries in life is when you have something to say, you know what you have to say can make a difference and there is no one to say it to, except that is, you write it.

Financial Success: It's Part Of God's Plan

"And the Lord hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels and asses." (Genesis 24:35) "But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day." (Deut. 8:18)

Ever since the beginning of time and all throughout the Bible, God gives us a clear indication of His thoughts and His intent to purposely bless us in ways that are totally unimaginable. It is part of His blueprint for our success and a snippet of the abundant life total package that He has promised to us through His Son Jesus Christ. As a Christian, herein lies the key to your wealth and abundance. It is not achieved through world systems, it is not from the 9-5 pay cheque, nor does it come from the power ball winning lotto ticket. It is through placing ALL your trust and faith in God.

Healthy Living: Lest We Forget!

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land. But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.." (Isaiah 1:18-20)

With all the prophecies that have gone out on all our behalf, it is well that we wait with great anticipation for the future blessings, the promise of transformation and manifestation into our lives. And because it is God's nature and His character that He cannot lie, the prophecies will be fulfilled. The harvest that we await will come, which I must add, will be totally dependent upon the kinds of seeds that we have sown in time past.

Successful Living: God's Prescription To Us

image via bing.com

It was Helen Keller who once said, "Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose."

The Bible says, "Keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity." (Proverbs 3:1-2 NIV) "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and thou shalt have good success." (Joshua 1:8) 

I am almost certain if I were to conduct a survey, the overwhelming majority of us would say that among our main goals in life would be (a) to be happy; (b) to be healthy; (c) to be successful; (d) to live long.

You R Your Own Success Story, Tell It!

Okay ya'll, I have a small confession to make! What's the secret confession you asked? Well, before I give it, we all have them, don't we? Uum, I hope you did not say NO, because the truth be told, we all have them....small ones, not so small ones, the big ones, even the jaw dropping ones!

So this is my not so secret (anymore) confession, "I do not make New Years resolution! No, I don't and I do not feel guilty about not doing so!" I won't get into the details about the why of it, let's just say that me personally, I do not make myself promises/New Years resolutions that I know deep within myself I'll break even before the first month of the year gets done...I mean yoyo diets that gives microwave fat burning results from our body from the foods that our mouth should not have taken in in the first place...signing up for the gym subscription that we never use....like saying I am going to make serious changes in spending habits (like happiness comes in a box from Amazon.com). This one is not for you right? Hope not. By now though, I believe we got the picture.