What a privilege to read and study the book of Esther this week. What a great story that God is sovereign over every area of our lives. Sovereign means He is in control and knows what is going to happen to each of us!! The book of Esther is a reminder of God’s divine guidance and care over our lives.  He cares so much for us!! Although we may question certain circumstances in our lives, we must have faith that God is in control!  We must have faith and work through both the pleasant and difficult times so that we can serve Him effectively – at home, at church, and…

When I read this earlier in the week I felt a shift. God opened my eyes and revealed a deep truth. I’m so thankful my sister gave me permission to share her beautiful testimony. To walk through what she’s going through with eyes only focused on Jesus puts all of our trivial day to day issues in perspective. Keep sharing little sister. God’s plan is greater than we can ever imagine – you are loved and fully armored by God. **************************************** This journey has been one of the hardest things in my life. I never wanted to be a warrior or discover my strength’s depths. I wanted to continue living…

Webster’s defines PRIDE as a deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements. The Bible describes PRIDE as giving ourselves credit for something that God has accomplished! Ultimately pride is self-worship. Pride is taking credit when all the credit and glory go to God. Think of a major accomplishment in your life. Perhaps it was a successful project, a big sale, a pay raise, a bigger house…… Were you proud of yourself or did you give God credit for helping you achieve this? Satan was cast out of Heaven because of pride. Nothing good can come of pride. Only destruction. 1 Corinthians 4:6, “What do you have that you…

As Christians, ever have a day or maybe even a week or month or year when it seems that everything is against you – when you feel like you are on trial or you are suffering greatly?  When your reputation may be at stake? In the Bible, it describes how an apostle of Jesus Christ named Paul led and planted churches for years, but also faced so many trials and suffered greatly. In the last week I was given scripture to go read by my Christian mentor and also the Pastor at my church. It was 2 Corinthians 12:9, so I have been studying it this week. Wow is all…

God doesn’t like to shout. Don’t get me wrong. He will get our attention if we aren’t listening. But we can often find God gently whispering in the quietness of our surrendered heart. If we are listening. I love this story about Elijah in the cave! Elijah felt defeated and ready to give up.  So he retreated to a cave to hide. But from the cave on Mount Sinai he witnessed a mighty windstorm, an earthquake, and a fire. But the Lord wasn’t in these loud and powerful events.  Seems odd right? “And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his…

Robert Morris says the following: “Our words have power because we were created in the image of a God who spoke with creative power! It is so important for us to control our tongues. LIFE or DEATH is in the power of our tongues!! Are we speaking life over our marriages, our children, our friends, and our coworkers? Stop speaking death. Start speaking life!” It is our choice to speak life!  Take notice today how you speak to people or about them – what does it bring? Life or death? Choose to speak life! . We encourage you to read Pastor Robert’s book, “The Power Of Your Words.”  It will…

The below quote picture starts off Chapter 3 from “The Power of Your Words” – the name of chapter 3 is “Can I Speak Freely?”  Robert Morris tells us that ALL words spoken come at a cost and when we say “can I speak freely” many have no sense of what it is about to cost them!  In my opinion, many of us walk around with “no cost” stamped on our foreheads, we speak whatever we want, when we want, to whoever we want. Sometimes these words spoken can be reckless and cruel and cost us so so very much. As Christians, we have dual citizenship in both the country…

A good friend suggested I read “The Power of Your Words.”  I am so thankful she cared enough to suggest this book to me! This book is written by Pastor Robert Morris and he communicates how God can bless your life through the words you speak. “The quality of the life you are living depends on what you have been saying.” Robert Morris Phew, get ready to get your toes stepped on a bit, but oh it is so worth it!! He connects everything to scripture, so it is God’s way not Robert’s. Remember leaders, we need to be intentional with our learning and also be uncomfortable…this means we are…

The first word Jesus spoke during the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) was “blessed.” I closed my eyes and thought about this moment. A large crowd of followers gathered around Jesus. He sat on a mountain side as His disciples gathered. I imagine Him sitting on higher ground provided by the mountain slope so all could see Him. I hear babies crying, people chattering in passing, maybe even a dog barking. But I imagine when Jesus spoke the word “blessed” that silence fell on the crowd. The Latin word for blessed comes from “beatus” – it was a powerful word not spoken about humans because it carried a divine…

The story of Nehemiah in the Bible is so inspiring for today’s Christians and especially if you value leadership.  This chapter is a model for all leaders no matter where you work or what you do! Nehemiah was a man of character, persistence, and most of all prayer.  He was a brilliant planner, organizer, and motivator who God blessed greatly.  Under his leadership, the wall of Jerusalem was rebuilt in 52 days – which seemed at that time to be an “impossible task” for the Jews. #teamwork When we think of leaders in the workplace, in ministry, or at home –  we often think of people with tons of power…