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In the Storm – by Shirrell Wells

When a storm rages in our lives and we are in the middle of it, often all we can see, and feel is the effects of what is surrounding us.

After the storm, in the quiet and lull of the aftermath, all our eye and heart can see is the devastation and ruin of what was. But God is the rebuilder of everything that is broken!

Sometimes He allows storms to totally break and pull to the ground what we consider the important things in our lives. He may do this to remove anything that we have set above Him, to test our faith, to see if we truly rely on Him.

We feel the circumstances are harsh, we often feel abandoned; but God only has our best interest in mind. He removes things from our lives that we in ourselves do not have the power or the desire to remove. Like a clay vessel He breaks us and remolds us into vessels of honor and good.

Then He takes the brokenness and emptiness and begins to create who we are destined to be, if we allow Him to.

He never harms us, but He does test our faith and integrity. He will mold and shape us to be stronger, to be holy, to be set apart for the goodness and the greatness of His blessing and plan for our lives.

He has plans and a purpose for everyone, but it is up to us to accept, receive and obey. When we do He can truly work in us the perfectness of His will.

When we submit and set aside our own agendas and desires and become obedient and open to His plan that we are at peace. When we walk in righteousness we can receive the blessing that He has promised to us.

His word is true and perfect, it will never fail. He exalts His Word above His own name. Consider all that His name entails!  He is our Peace, He is our Healer, He is our Supplier, He is our refuge! What we need in any moment, HE IS!  He is everything we can ever need or hope for!  I can’t even begin to describe all that His name is. But this I do know, when you receive a promise from God, you can be confident that it will come to pass.  It may not be in the timing you have in mind, but it will come in the perfect order and time, and it will never be late!

2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people’s conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but all should turn to repentance.”

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Ever Have One of These Days? – by LaDonna Slade

Yep, those are mine!

Now, I don’t recall what happened or why my fashion sense suddenly went ‘color crayons’, but obviously, something was a bit off with my day.  I could only hope that no one saw me.

As I looked at this picture it made me think of how we can get in such a rush to deal with the day’s activities that we forget to check to see if WE are ready for the day.

So, how do we check if we are ready for the day?

There are some things that we can do to help us determine if we are at a good starting point for the day.   The cool part this is that we can do it before we even get out of bed in the morning.

I like to call it the ‘Before My Feet Hit the Floor’ checklist.  It’s just 5 simple things:

-Before My Feet Hit the Floor Checklist-

1.  Eyes Open (check)

2.  Check your Spirit – Thank the Source of your life for waking you up (check, check)

3. Check your Soul – Now, this one is simply checking to see if your mind, will, and emotions are in a good place.  Did you wake up worried, nervous, afraid or even mad?   That definitely is not going to make for a good day.  Just lay there and see what soul adjustments need to be made.  (check, check, check)

4. Check your Body – Will your body be able to do the things you have on your ‘to do’ list for the day? If not, then you have to make the adjustments and not allow yourself to get frustrated. (check, check, check, check)

5. Get Out of Bed and Go for your God-Given Dreams!

Of course, we expect all things to be positive as we go through this checklist but life sometimes says that won’t always be the case. The goal of this practice is to know what may cause you limitations in your day.  So, as you go through this checklist, be honest with yourself, make the necessary adjustments and “give yourself a break” in the pursuit of a having a “good” day.

Pretty much like I did when I stepped out of my house looking like I got dressed in the dark. I had already started my day, so I had to wear it like a champ. However, at the end of that day,  I looked at myself again, I frowned because I felt a little embarrassed, then I giggled because I was starting to give myself a break, then I laughed out loud and shared it.    Thanks for letting me share it with you.

Psalm 139:14 – I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Thank you Father for making me so wonderfully complex!