Free your Mind..............

It was an ordinary Friday at work....dress down and waiting for for 5 o'clock to come! I like to listen to the radio at work and sing as I do my job when I have the chance. In other words...I like to whistle while I work! Amen! But this particular Friday, I was excited because of what was to come later that evening. So I was singing and had a little extra pep in my step. You see, we recently began a Youth Service for the youth of Greater Danbury area. And I was excited to see the young people come out and worship on a Friday night when they could have chosen to be any other place rather than the house of the Lord. Envogue's song had been placed in my spirit and had been ministering to me in its own way. Anyway, later that evening, I had the pleasure of welcoming the youth to Freedom Friday. During that time, this song just rolled off my tongue in the greeting as I was speaking from the heart without having anything prepared. With that, I began to seek God's direction on what exactly He needed for me to say in this message. I understood there was a message for me in there that God wanted me to bring to His people. You see, I had begun researching another topic that I thought was the message. And you know what, I could not get that message together to save my life! Then I knew, it was because it was my message and not God's message. The message was one thing and the research showed something entirely different...so needless to say....I had to leave that alone because that was not God's direction for me. In my heart, I believe Satan had planted a topic in my mind that I wanted to speak on and he wanted to confuse me and make me frustrated. So my mind had began to focus on that topic without the involvement of the spirit of the Lord. My mind had been affected and was cloudy because I thought that I was saying what people wanted to hear. Satan is good for that at causing confusing and doubt in our minds as he is a mastermind with getting in our minds. But God moved and spoke and said..."No, my love....I need you to speak only on what I give you and you will know that it is of me because it will flow from me through you." So that is how I ended up here. There is a word from the Lord today...not from Shirley. So hear me on this....There is a word from the Lord today and not from Shirley. So I ask you to look beyond Shirley and see only the message of the Lord.

The mind is a wondrous thing and as the expression goes...."a terrible thing to waste."

The mind according to Wikipedia.org is the aspect of intellect and consciousness experienced as combinations of thought, perception, memory, emotion, will and imagination, including all unconscious cognitive processes. The term is often used to refer, by implication, to the thought processes of reason. It goes on to say that "in popular usage mind is frequently synonymous with thought: the private conversation with ourselves that we carry on "inside our heads." Furthermore according to Wikipedia, thus we "make up our minds," "change our minds" or are "of tow minds" about something. One of the key attributes of the mind in this sense is that it is a private sphere to which no one but the owner has access. No one else can "know our mind." They can interpret only what we consciously or unconsciously communicate." (Wikipedia.org)


There are times when the mind is clear and your thoughts are pleasant and your good judgment is not questionable and you are able to make sound decisions. Then there are other times when the mind is cloudy and your thoughts are corrupted blocking your sound judgement. For example, your circumstances and situations are staying on your mind both day and night and they are weighing you down. You keep thinking and wondering "What on earth am I going to do and how am I going to fix this mess?" You are worried, you are scared, you are angry and you are an emotional wreck. Satan has seen your weakness and found a way into your mind and so now you are feeling, hopeless and helpless and you feel that your situation is less that hopeless. The mind is racing....going from one thought to another. The problem here is that the mind is so succumbed by all these negative thoughts that you cannot hear the Lord speaking because your negative thoughts are much too loud. Stop right there. Take a moment and free your mind. Well...you say...that is much easier said than done. And that's a song anyway by EnVogue, you say. Why yes it is, but let me just say that when you focus your time and your energy on God and ask God to help you, your mind can experience that peace and joy. Because the rest of the song goes....."Free your mind.....and the rest will follow. Free your mind....and the rest will follow. Let me say it one more time....."Free your mind........and the rest will follow. You see when you begin to pray and meditate on the Word of God and put your trust and your faith and your focus solely on Him, the fog begins to lift and clear and you are able to get back to the path that God has routed out for you and directed you to follow. Thus the Word of God says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding and He will direct your path." All of your mind should be focused on God, not just a part, but all of your mind. Some people tend to think that if they can gain more ability to move beyond their circumstances first, then they will be able to serve God later. I too am guilty of that...we are all guilty of that. Now I am not saying that the problems will instantly disappear, but you will be able to face them with a clear mind and a sound mind with confidence because God will take over and began to lead and guide you through. The Bible tells us in Matthew 6:33, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." When you are seeking out God first, everything begins to fall into place. Your mind is free of all negativity and everything, yes everything begins to fall into place....in other words....the rest will follow. My God! That is an awesome thing. Not having to worry about anything because our Heavenly Father will supply all of our needs and not only that He has worked out a perfect plan for our lives. All of the burdens, the headaches, the worries.....I encourage to release them now in the name of Jesus. Free your mind today and let the God in you take control of all things and yes.....the rest will follow. Amen.

Crossing the Finish Line and Going for the Gold!

I can remember once in my life that I actually competed in a walk-a-thon requiring the physical activity of walking. What you have to understand about me is, I am not one for marathons, races or any competitions of any sort if I have to get all sweaty and exude physical strength. That has just never been my thing. I don't like working out even if it is for my own good because that means that I would have to condition my body and exert muscle strength. Well......I just don't like that! Last year, I set out to start exercising and changing my eating habits in order to create a healthier me. It started out rather slow and was very challenging in the beginning because I don't like that sort of thing. But I was committed to a healthier me. A friend and I began a walking regime around my apartment complex in the wee hours of the morning. Now, she is not a morning person......so that in an of itself was a challenge! But that's another story! Praise God for her! There would be days when it would be raining and we could not walk so we began to to Tae-Bo in my living room in lieu of walking. Have you ever worked out to one of Billy Blanks videos? Billy is tough and his workouts are very rigorous so until you get used to it.....Billy will kick your butt! There were mornings when we would be mumbling under our breath as we worked out with Billy or either we both would end up passed out in the floor. But we got used to it and it became somewhat easier and we began to look forward to the workouts...well....I....began to workout. I'm going to keep praying for my sister! Amen! But then something happened with my knee and I had to undergo a second knee surgery and I had to go through physical therapy and rehabilitation to strengthen and get my knee back in working order. After all of that was done, I had lost sight of a healthier me and I could not seem to get back into my workout routine. I tried a few times but I was not fully focused on the end results. You see I had lost my drive and I had lost sight of my personal goal. I had veered from my lane in the race to a healthier me. And that's how our personal lives are. We get out of the gate to a strong start but then we get distracted by something on the sidelines and we lose sight of the finish line. We have all gotten off to a strong start with full speed and determination of winning our race but somewhere along the way, we lose steam and began to fall behind the in the race. You see, it is not how strong we get out of the gate, it's how strong we finish the race. What this means, is we all set our sights high and are conditioned for a well run race, but in our race, we will come up against obstacles that were not part of our planned course. And......we just don't know what to do or how to handle the obstacles that have been placed in the lane that we were assigned. You see, those obstacles can be seem to be quite high...too high for us to jump over or either they appear to be too wide....to wide for us to go around. And because we have not been conditioned to run on an obstacle course, we fear that we will stumble and fall. I am here to tell you that it is OK to stumble and fall because God will be there to pick you up and dust you off and get you back in the race in the right lane! He has conditioned us to run a strong race and more importantly given us all the training that we need to finish strong and cross the finish line. But no need to stop there with only crossing the finish line, why not set your sight on the gold that God has waiting for you once you cross that finish line. Now somebody ought to stand on their feet right now giving God the Glory because that is Good News! In spite of the many turmoils of life, God is with us throughout the entire race! Praise God! One thing you should take away here if you get nothing else out of this message is this. It is not how fast you get out of the gate, but how consistent you are in your running and that you finish strong with your eyes focused on the gold. The Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes Chapter 7:8 "The end of the matter is better than its beginning and patience is better than pride." What am I saying here? Most of us are running a race to get a reward that is tangible and one that we can brag and boast about. But the real prize is a seat in the kingdom of God, being able to sit at His welcome table feasting on milk and honey and walking the streets paved with gold. You see, we get so bogged down with what is going on in our lives with obstacle after obstacle, we veer from our lane. If you have ever competed in any type of race, you know that the rule is to stay in your lane, right? We were never promised an easy race but He has assigned our own personal lane and developed it just for us. therefore, he has conditioned us for what He has planned for us. Every person that has ever competed in a race or marathon has to undergo weeks, months, even years of training. We have been given the Word of God as our training manual and if we follow its instruction, we can run our race. We may be slow and steady. We may even quaver along the way. And we may even cross lanes sometimes. Life sometimes takes us off the beaten path luring us into other lanes. But that's OK because we have all crossed lanes before. The key is to recognize from the training that has been etched in your heart through the Word of God and move back into your lane. Stay focused on your race. Finish your race strong. Keep in mind as you run your race, there are markers along the course that tell you where you are in your race and if you need to exert more speed or if you need to pull back. Sometimes we are running a little too fast and we need to slow it down. Sometimes we are running too slow and need to pick up the pace. But at any point in time when the race is difficult, always go back to your training, which is the Word of God, watch your markers along the way and pray for understanding. I encourage you all to day to run. Keep running. Gauge your pace and run steady. Finish strong. The gold is waiting! Be blessed my sisters and brothers!

Extreme Makeover

Has anyone ever watched the show "Extreme Makeover?" I love that show when I have time to watch because it focuses on helping families that are in need of assistance in some way and their home has suffered for lack of income to repair it properly because of the extenuating circumstances. So it is very moving to watch families get their lives back on track or at least get the help that will allow them to experience life in a better way. As we watch the show, you'll notice how everything is done in phase. The crew comes in and analyzes the situation to see how bad the home really is. Next step of the process is moving the family away from the home by sending them on a wonderful vacation to escape what is about to happen to their old home. While the family is away, the crew moves to the demolition phase and completely destroy the old home with all the cracks and crevices from lack of attention to its foundation. Lastly, a newly constructed home is built to serve all the needs of the family. So to review, there are 4 steps of involved.....analyze, move/protect, demolition and finally......a new construction. The family comes back to a new beautiful home with a stronger and more solid foundation equipped to serve all of the needs of the family. OK so now that you understand what is involved to get to the new construction, let's look at us. In our personal lives, there are many challenges that keep us from living up to our full potential. In some cases, some of us struggle with addictions and there are may.....not just drugs. An addiction can be anything that is bad for you with drugs and alcohol being the most common. But there are other addictions such as tobacco from smoking, overeating, overspending, obsessed with sex and the list goes on and on. With these addictions, we usually end up in a place where we don't want to be or need to be.....usually and most unfortunately.....rock bottom. Satan has convinced us that these things are good for us and Satan has convinced us that we need these things in order to live a good life. And yes.....we enjoy them at the time....but after a while the effect is long lasting and we find ourselves needing more and before we know what hit us, we have destroyed our lives. But I am here to tell you that there is a God that sits high and looks low and analyzes our situation to see how bad we have messed up and He is just waiting to make us whole again. But the Good News is there is nothing to bad or too difficult that our God cannot repair! Of course He is watching and waiting for us to get so frustrated with trying to fix our our own problems and when we get to that point, we feel complete hopelessness. We feel that God has totally forgotten about us. We need to stop trying to fix our own problems because we then turn to God as an alternative for fixing our problems. This is where so many of us go wrong........God should always be our Primary problem solver. In turning back to God, we are wanting to move away from the things that are binding us and keeping us from giving God all of our praise. We want God to move those conflicts and barriers that are blocking our view of what is most important in our life. We ask God to remove and resolve everything in our path that is preventing us from seeing the God that is faithful and true to His Word. Now that we are weak and lacking that spiritual strength and power that can only come from God. God hears our cries of pain and desperation and begins to move in our lives. He begins to demolish all that is in our way and everything that is blocking our view that keeps us from seeing Him in all of His glory. Praise God! When we begin to focus on God and not our own circumstances and situation, we can see how God brings in His wrecking ball breaking down those obstacles and those barriers that have us bound and are preventing us from seeing the Glory of God! God provides us with the tools we need as He performs the necessary demolition in our lives making us ready for the new construction! In the book of Ephesians Chapter 6:13-16, God makes mention of the tools we need to get through the demolition period in our lives because its going to be rough! "There fore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything to stand, Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." Hallelujah! Praise God! God is able to get us through weakest and the darkest moments of our lives, if we only Trust Him. So after all has been said and done and the demolition is over, out of the wreckage comes a beautiful new construction in us. Because we put our trust and faith in God we were able to move and turn away from those things that were binding us and we learned that we can cast our burdens on Him. Because we put our faith in God, He has demolished those things in us that were destroying us either physically or mentally and because of our faith in God, He has created in us a clean heart and a renewed spirit. Somebody ought to be excited about that and shouting right about now! Thank you oh Great Jehovah for making me over again! I encourage you all right now to allow God to perform that Extreme Makeover that is needed in your life to! Praise Him! Amen!

Sing a Song

From time to time, I find myself singing a familiar tune whether it is of the secular world or the spiritual world that lifts my spirit. There is a group that was founded in the late 60's that topped the charts consistently with big time hits over the next few decades. This group has a unique and distinct sound and is one of the most musically accomplished and critically acclaimed bands of all time. I am speaking of Earth, Wind and Fire, the group named after the "Elements" and known to many of us as EWF. EWF produced many albums in their peak years of which many of us used to dance to in the nightclubs. Come on now, we have not been saved all of our lives, so don't trip! EWF produced an incredible song from their album "Gratitude" that became their second number one album. More significantly, a song that has always impacted me and my outlook on things came from that album. I know you all know a little something about "Sing a Song!" It reached the pop charts Top 10 and the R&B charts Top 5. The lyrics go a little something like this: "when you feel down and out, sing a song, it'll make your day. Here's a chance to shout. Sing a Song, it'll make a way. Sometimes it's hard to care, Sing a Song, it'll make your day. A smile so hard to bear, sing a song, it'll make your way." When I hear this song, I think of happiness and it brings a smile to my face because whatever I may be going through, I can sing a song, and it'll make my day much brighter. When you think about this, music can be quite encouraging. One thing we know about our culture is that music was a driving force in survival of our ancestors of whom some were slaves. And instead of them being down and out because of their oppression and depression, they sang to get them through each day. Their songs helped them to endure the hardship of laboring long hours in the fields and being mistreated and abused by their owner. In our busy everyday lives, we face challenges and struggles with our families, with our work and just life in general. The uniqueness about music is God will give you a song at the time you need it most that will speak directly to your heart and your spirit. I love to sing and I love to listen to music.....particularly music that ministers to the soul. God has a way of soothing the pain and the hell you are going through by dropping that song into your spirit. Isn't that good news to know that God uses all kind of tools.....even music to embellish us with hope and and encouragement! Just to share with you an overview of my story without great detail.....Satan has come into my life and is trying to attack one of my children. Because I know God and what He can do.......I can adamantly say "Satan....you cannot and will not have my child that God gave to me. God gave her to me to protect and care for on this earth and she is His child.......and she is not yours to take away!" I have cried and prayed repeatedly and I can feel and see the movement of God through the entire situation. He is a faithful God, a trustworthy God, and He is an abled God! My child has been and will continue to be covered in the blood of Jesus. I have commanded those demons that inhibit her body to go and leave my child and go back to the pits of hell where they belong. I will not give up nor give in. My song and my testimony is "It ain't over until God says it's over." God has shown my family and I favor on many occasions and this is no different. My joy and peace comes from singing songs of Zion and praises to my Lord and Savior. I want to encourage you all today to sing a song. It will give you peace, hope and encourage you to forget the struggles and the challenges that have been holding you back......... so that you can 'keep pressing on towards the goal to win the prize that God has for you.' (Philippians 3:12-14). Sing a song, to give you joy and it will bring with it calmness and peace to any situation. God's Word tells us that "Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning." Hallelujah! Vickie Winans sings a song called "Ain't no need to worry........ it'll be all over in the morning." Somebody out to be shouting praises right about now and thanking God for that song that was just placed in your heart and it is starting to minister to your soul and your situation right now! Praise God! He's worthy! God is a burden bearer and a heavy load sharer! He is the Greatest problem solver of all time. Stand up saints and sing your song! Get up out of your misery and start singing now! I dare you to be bold enough to sing songs of praise to the Lord and King to bring you peace and begin the process of restoration not only for you but for your family and even..........your enemies. Let music minister to your heart and soul. God rejoices over our singing. Sing even if you cannot even carry a turn in a bucket with a lid! I want to leave you with this written Word of God from Isaiah 35:10.............."and the ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing, everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away." Be encouraged today because God has given all of us a song to sing! Sing your song boldly for the Lord with all that you have within you! Amen!

What to do when you Lose Power

It is no surprise that storms sometimes come along and sometimes those storms can be terribly devastating. And some storms are very severe, however not severe enough to destroy the foundation of the building. These storms can produce rain, gusty winds and even hail. They can cause us to lose power. Perhaps during these storms, a tree falls on your power line bringing the line down and causing you to lose power. Sometimes we have warnings that a storm may be coming, and we simply ignore the warning, thinking the environment is not conducive for a storm. But then the storm hits, and our power line goes down creating a blackout. We scurry about looking for alternative power sources such as candles, oil lanterns or portable gas grills in some cases to tie us over until the storm is over and the power can be restored. So what to do while you are waiting for power restoration? I'm so glad you asked God's word tells us in Psalm 68:35 "You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!" So the Good news is this.....we are always connected to the "main breaker" Hallelujah! Even through the heavy rains, the strong winds and even through the hail. Through prayer and fasting, we can refuel our power supply. You see, through our problems, we tend to weaken because we worry, but God uses our weaknesses to His glory, for during this time of weakness, He is perfecting our strength. As our lives seem to fall apart, we begin to feel as though we have lost power because we are struggling with so many things. And we begin to question God....wondering "Why me Lord?" But remember this....why not you or why not me? God is listening and waiting as we try to resolve our issues all on our own. When we get tired of trying to fix our mess by ourselves and begin to look to the Lord and call upon Him, the only one who is able to keep us from falling, instantly our power will be restored. You see, God is not the one who turned off the power. We allow ourselves to get caught up in the storm with worries, stress and everyday struggles and we lose hope and our faith begins to waver because you see, we are looking for alternative power sources other than God. So the storm continues to rage in our lives, getting stronger and more fierce allowing Satan to enter our lives feeling us with lies of doubt, fear and desperation. But I'm here to tell you that God did not give us the spirit of fear but of power and love. Wow...there's that main power source again. We disconnect ourselves, but I'm here to tell you that God can reconnect us, replenish us, re-direct us, re-stock us, rejuvenate us and turn on a light so bright within our hearts that will never need to be replaced!! In fact it is an infinite bulb, an everlasting glow! When you feel like your power has gone out and you can't see your way through the darkness, let go and let God refill you power supply. Be blessed my sisters and brothers for God's incredible love is with you always.

I am so over that!

Just when you think that things are starting to turn around for you, Satan throws another monkey wrench in your plans. Anybody been there? I have been there so many times and I get so frustrated because I have my hopes up that I have turned the corner only to get smacked in the face with something else. This makes you just want to throw your hands up and just give up. You want to carry your depression and frustration with you wherever you go. But the bad thing your bad mood can be infectious and can end up affecting those around you. That's not a good thing. A bad mood begats a bad mood. So enough. Don't you want to be happy and encouraging to others? Then get over it! What I'm saying is this. Trust God. Depend on God. Lean on God through the good times and the bad. God is bigger than your circumstances and situations and He can mend the broken, He can change your circumstances, He can fill you with abounding joy. So I encourage you today to repeat after me....I am so over that! Don't allow problems to rob you of your joy or to control your emotions. Pray about everything and cling to your faith in God. So come on....say it with me now...Satan, Iam so over it! Satan, you have no power here! Satan, you have no dominion here! I have been washed in the blood of Jesus and therefore I can cast my cares on Him. I will not worry about things beyond my control. The Word reminds us in John 14:1 when Jesus was talking to the Disciples prior to His descent into heaven "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God ; trust also in me". Simply put He has not forgotten about you nor me. He wants us to encourage one another so I say to you once again to say it with me....."I'm so over that!"

The Best is Yet to Come!

Have you ever wondered why when you get saved you continually start to run into road blocks and obstacles? I have wondered this many, many times in my life, now that I am saved and born again. My life is constantly full of trials and tribulations. And although, I am going through the valley, I know in my heart that my breakthrough is coming...because God said so and the Bible tells us that the Lord is faithful in his promise. You see the closer you get to a breakthrough, the busier Satan becomes trying to destroy you with doubt and confusion. Thankfully, we serve a God that is with us always, even through the darkest moments. So as you go through your struggles, you are being prepared for something bigger and better than what you could ever imagine. The storms in your life are strengthening your faith and are used to show God that your faith is genuine. You may have never seen God, but you have felt Him and His presence and through that you have great joy in knowing that troubles do not last always. Remain faithful, pray daily, and meditate often and know that the best is yet to come my sisters and brothers!

Reference - I Peter 1:3-12