I’ve been struggling with really bad teeth for years. I’m never going to be able to afford dentures so I decided to ask for help by creating a GoFund Me page. It took me some time to gather the courage to create and share this page because honestly? I feel it’s selfish. But I’m desperate now. Bad teeth can lead to other health issues.
Due to soft teeth and multiple medications that cause tooth decay, my mouth is full of broken and decayed teeth.
I hate smiling because I’m so embarrassed of my teeth.
I am asking for your help in sharing this page and maybe consider donating if you can.
For those of you wondering about my absence, I had foot surgery on October 23rd and have been recovering. I’m on crutches and in a boot until around the 8th of December. I can’t sit at my desk very long because I have to keep my foot elevated as much as possible. I have a laptop but it needs maintenance and I can’t afford it right now. I am out of work until January.
I just wanted to hop on here and say hey!! I’m starting to work on some blog topics and hope to be back on here soon!!
I’ve been listening to a lot of sermons by Adrian Rogers lately. If you have never heard him, please check out his website, http://www.lwf.org. Love Worth Finding ministries was founded by Rogers in 1987. On their website you can listen to sermons, both audio and television and you can download his sermon notes/outlines as well.
Rogers was so passionate about winning souls to Christ and it showed in every one of his sermons. I came across a particular one titled “Every Christian an Evangelist.” that really struck home with me. I’m going to share the link so you can watch the sermon. I think it’s very beneficial.
As Christians we are called to evangelize. According to Rogers, “We can’t all bepreachersbut we can all be reachers.” It is our duty to win souls to the Lord.
Spiritual Gifts
Have you ever taken a spiritual gifts test to discover what your spiritual gift might be? As believers we are all gifted in one way or another. We all have that God given gift when we become believers.
Well I took one the other night and according to this test I have the gift of exhortation. People with this gift have the ability to encourage others through the written or spoken word and Biblical truth. I don’t pretend to know everything but I do hope this blog reaches out to those searching for the truth.
When I first started this blog I wasn’t where I needed to be with the Lord. I had backslidden pretty far. But in the summer of 2017 I finally got right with the Lord and started blogging for Jesus.
I discovered the other night that God is using my natural ability to write to reach out to the world and hopefully encourage whoever takes the time to read my blog.
I never put the two together. Not until last night.
Philip, the Evangelist
In the book of Acts, chapter 8 verse 26, we read about Philip. Philip was one of the first to take the Good News of Christ to those outside the borders of Judiasm. He was a strong and effective evangelist. He was directed by an angel to head to Gaza and there, he met an Ethiopian eunuch who was reading in the book of Isaiah and had questions about what he was reading.
The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.” Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” The man replied, ” How can I unless someone instructs me. And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him.
Acts 8:29-31
Philip told the Ethiopian man all about the Good News of Jesus and the man accepted Christ and immediately wanted to be baptized!
Philip exemplifies early Christian evangelists, whom the Holy Spirit empowered and guided. He was obedient and followed Jesus, telling others about Him.
The Great Commission
You see, God has a plan for each and every one of us. Every Christian is to be an evangelist. We need to be endeavoring to bring souls to Christ.
We don’t know what opportunities God may have in store for us but if we are obedient and follow his will, He WILL make them known.
Who knows? Maybe the next person you reach out to will turn out to be the next Billy Graham or D.L Moody! According to Adrian Rogers, in “1885 a Sunday School teacher led an uneducated shoe clerk to faith in Christ who became the great evangelist Dwight L. Moody. God used Moody to inspire the British pastor F.B. Meyer whom God then used to inspire Wilbur Chapman. Chapman was then used in the life of W.A Sunday, who preached revival meetings that spawned prayer meetings in Charlotte, North Carolina seeking God to send a revival to Charlotte. A revival did come to Charlotte and a 16 year old named Billy Graham was saved.“
I find that so awesome!
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you and lo I am with you always even to the end of the age.
I’ve been feeling off lately. My body just doesn’t want to cooperate. Costochondritis (An inflammation of the cartilage that connects a rib to the breastbone.) reared it’s ugly head last week which almost ALWAYS indicates a flare up is in my near future. And yes, it started showing up earlier this week.
It also doesn’t help that there are not one but TWO systems moving in our direction. Whenever it gets rainy and dreary, my body practically screams at me. I woke up this morning and immediately knew it was going to be one of those days. I felt it in my bones before I even got out of bed. I had to call out at work because there was no way I was going to be able to stand on my feet for 5 hours.
Have any of y’all heard of Adrian Rogers? I had heard the name before but I recently have really gotten into his sermons that you can find at www.lwf.org He has really great sermons, including a series he preached on the book of Revelation. He sadly passed away back in 2005. But he has left a legacy!
This particular sermon really stepped on my toes and got me to thinking about how I’m living.
September 11th. I remember it like it was yesterday….as I’m sure all of you feel the same. I was taking classes at my community college. I had Psychology that day at 11 so I was so excited to be able to sleep in. However, my mom called me from work around 8:45 or so and told me to turn on the TV. I literally had just turned it on and was in shock at what I was seeing and then I saw the second plane hit. I was rendered speechless! I didn’t know what was going on!
I got to my class and the professor sort of hesitated before speaking and then just told us “class dismissed. I can’t teach you while our world is under attack. It’s too surreal.”
I haven’t written a poem in quite some time….I used to write them all the time. I could pop them out round the clock! But then I stopped. I guess I lost my creativity for awhile.
So please don’t be too harsh with this poem. I wanted to write….to express my feelings about the anniversary of September 11th. #neverforget
19 Years Ago
19 years ago our world was forever changed 19 years ago nothing would ever be the same 19 years ago we watched in horror As the buildings came tumbling down
Thousands of people Going about their morning Unaware of was what about to happen Unaware of the evil about to take place
So much evil so much hate When will this end or is it too late?
Where were you when our nation was attacked? Where were you When our freedom was threatened?
Were you sitting in a classroom Confused at what you were seeing? The horror of it all unraveling As you tried to take it in?
Or perhaps you were at home Maybe sipping your morning coffee You turned on your TV Just in time to see the second plane…
The world stopped moving That Tuesday morning… But it also brought us together Determined to pick up the pieces Determined to rise up
September 11, 2001 Forever etched in our minds Forever in our heart.
In my heart of hearts I truly believe that Jesus is returning for His Church soon and it burdens me that you will be left behind in the resulting world. You’ll still have a chance to repent and accept Christ during the following tribulation days, but it will be unbearably hard to keep the faith […]
“A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
Therefore put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after every battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet and take the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” (Ephesians 6:10-18, NLT)
***I’ve never had so much trouble writing a post. But Satan knows this message is meant to be shared and he tried everything, and I mean, EVERYTHING, he could to prevent me from writing this. But God wins. Every time, God wins.***
You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:14-16, NLT
What does it meant to be a light in the world?
As believers, we are called to be the light in the darkness of the world. But what does it mean?
Jesus is the light of the world. It says so in John 8:12! “Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me you won’t have to walk in darkness because you will have the light that leads to life.”
Don’t hide your testimony or be ashamed to take your Bible to work. Don’t be afraid to pray over your lunch at school. Let others know that you love the Lord Jesus.
“For God who said “Let there be light in the darkness” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6, NLT)
We can be a light in someone else’s dark world. By letting Jesus be our example, we can reach out.
There is a movie called I’m Not Ashamed that I’ve mentioned before but it’s such a powerful movie that I want to talk about it again.
The movie is based on Rachel Joy Scott, the first victim in the Columbine shootings back in 1999. Her story is so uplifting and moving.
I don’t understand this but for some reason I’ve always been drawn to her story. Her legacy has brought so many people to Christ. I have a couple of books that were written based on her journals she kept. She kept many journals. And guess what? She struggled just like anyone else.
She wasn’t perfect, not even close. She had her share of struggles with all things that most teens struggle with. She just chose to stay close to Christ in order to fight her demons.
Rachel genuinely had a love for others and was so compassionate towards them despite the way they treated her. She showed her love in many aspects of her life and worked hard to be the person God created her to be.
Rachel made the decision to “love people with a heart of compassion and see and love people as Jesus does.
Colossians 3:12-13 says “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness and patience, bearing with one another, and if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive.” (ESV)
I want to live a life like that. A life devoted to Christ and serving His people. I want to be able to show compassion towards those that don’t necessarily show compassion towards me.
I don’t want to be ashamed. I want to be that light that shines so bright that makes people ask what is so different about me.
Living Like Jesus
There is a song called Jesus, Friend of Sinners by Casting Crowns that I absolutely love. I feel the lyrics say it all.
“The world is on their way to You But they’re tripping over me Always looking around but never looking up I’m so double minded A plank eyed saint with dirty hands”
How can we live like Jesus if we’re stumbling blocks to unbelievers? How will they see Jesus if we’re not living a life pleasing to Christ?
We must live like Jesus. Truly live for Him, living in such a way that oozes the love of Jesus and His light. So what does living like Jesus look like?
Romans 12:2 tells us “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (NLT)
By copying the behavior and customs of this world we aren’t living as a light in this world. We aren’t living like Christ. We are to let God transform us into a new person so that we can shine God’s light wherever we are.
Being a light in this hate filled world won’t always be easy but we owe it to unbelievers everywhere to live a life pleasing to the Lord.
Loving Others
Further in Romans 12 Paul tells us “Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble and keep on praying. When Gods’ people are in need be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. (Romans 12:9-13 NLT)
People notice our actions, our words. And by living as a light we have a chance to speak God’s Word without even saying a single word. People will take notice of the way we are living our life and it’s going to make them question what exactly it is that makes us different.
We must love like Jesus.
The light of the world we share is Jesus. As they see glimpses of Him and His truth, they are drawn to Him.
I don’t know about you but I have a really bad tendency to focus on my past. My regrets. My heartache. My disappointments. My failures. You get the picture. I find myself wallowing in what could have been, in what I should have done or said. But what’s the point?
Why do we do that? Why do we look at our failures and mistakes and live in them? What’s that going to do? Absolutely nothing except make us miserable and depressed.
It’s hard to forget the past sometimes. I get it. I have so many regrets. We all do. But I have to believe I wouldn’t be where I am today without those regrets. I have learned from those mistakes. And it’s made me a better person. Does that make sense?
Read what Paul has to say in Philippians 3:13-14, “No dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it but I focus on this one thing: forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
When we become Christians, our new life begins! We shouldn’t be looking to our past!
Paul reminds us of this in 2 Corinthians 5:17,
“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
Don’t let your past define you. It’s not who you are. You are much more than your past mistakes. You are a child of God and you are LOVED!
Satan LOVES to drudge up whatever he can to make us miserable. Don’t let him.
Don’t allow Satan to rob you of your future by making you live in your past.
I’m looking at different ways to do the fast, such as the 16/8 method where you have a window of time to eat (8 hours) and then you fast the other 16. So if I was to try this method, I would eat between the hours of noon to 8PM and then fast from 8PM to noon. This method is probably the easiest since you are asleep for a majority of the 16 hour fast.
My weight has reached a number that I am NOT happy with. I haven’t been happy for the longest time.
My medications (at least 4 of them) cause weight gain so losing this weight is not going to be easy but I’m going to give it my all. I didn’t put the weight on overnight and it’s not going to come off overnight, you know?
