Double Portion Inspiration

Roslyn and I love to pray for others.  It's a pleasure for us to agree with people about their individual requests.  When I reviewed some of the recent prayer requests from friends, family, and associates, I realized that many of them had a common theme.    They needed healing !   Psalms103:2-3 shares:   Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases ...   This simple verse is powerful!  For many of us, it's easier to believe that our sins are forgiven but we struggle with the latter part of the verse where it shares that the Lord heals ALL our diseases.    WHY?   Our healing is a finished work of the cross.  By HIS stripes we are healed!  Don't doubt it.  Declare it in your environment, despite how you feel or the diagnosis you may have just received.  Let the following scriptures minister to your needs....

"Why can't they see in me what I see in myself?"   "Why can't I get that loan to start my business?"  "How could they tell me no"?  "Why didn't I get into that university"?   "Will I ever get married?"  "I've worked all my life for this, only to hear NO...UGH"  Have you ever had moments with these type of questions?  You applied, asked for, competed, studied and the final answer was REJECTION ! You believe you possessed the ability to achieve your goal, but someone comes along and tells you NO .   It can start you down a journey of losing confidence in yourself.  You think, "maybe I'm not that good" simply because you were rejected. Rejection is a natural part of life.  We don't always receive what we dream or prepare for. But that doesn't mean that denial is the end of the story.  Sometimes we have to put in a bit more work, try again or patiently find another path. ...

2015 Christmas Photo Mt. Dora, FL Photo Credits: Delana Brooks It's been quite some time since I posted.  I looked back and realized that I last posted in November.  I'm so thankful that our blog is a joint effort and my sister held it down for the past few months.  My world is a little chaotic with two kids in sports, finishing up studies for a industry designation all while being a mom, wife, chef, church & community volunteer.  Whew!  I'm tired just thinking of it. This was supposed to be a post at Christmas but I never found the time to post it.  I still feel inclined to share it so here we go..... During the holidays, my 7 year old son asked, "Mom, have I been naughty?"  My initial thought was, "of course you have" but I didn't want to crush him.  I figured he was asking because it was the holidays and a common question is, "have you been naughty or nice?"  In the American tradition, Santa Clause knows if you've bee...

With the power of social media, we can be captivated by the lifestyle of others (celebrities, friends, acquaintances, etc.).  When we do this, we lose sight of the journey that has been carved out just for us.  We can mature into a space where we accept where we are (reality) and then decide to make small steps as a catalyst for greater change. In my last post,  we talked about the excuses we use to derail achieving our New Year's Resolutions.  It's been less than 14 days, have you remained true to the goals you set for yourself?  Ok, back to my original point. When we view our life through the lense of someone else, we lose focus of our own journey. We want to RUSH our results and sidestep our road to success. We must HONOR AND RESPECT our own journey! When we finally get to the gym, we can look at the sizes and shapes of those around us.  If we focus on the one that "weighs" less than us or runs faster than us, then we think our body shape or pe...

A new year is here - 2016 is in full swing.  It is incredible to be blessed to see another year.  Renee and I took a hiatus from blogging to unplug, refresh and recharge for the new year.  The feeling in the air is a fresh start, a new outlook, strong optimism on the outcome for the many days ahead.  I wish I could bottle all the positive energy in the atmosphere. Did you make a resolution, set an intention or talk to your loved one about your 2016 goals? Most people have strong intentions but many failed attempts .  You want to lose weight but just don't feel motivated to start or sustain an exercise regimen.  You want to slash your financial debt, but one of the department stores just had their largest sale of the year and you blew that goal within hours of setting it.  What about wanting to be more organized?  Well, the load of clothes you washed on Saturday still sits in the dryer a week later. What causes our failed attempts at...

That's right, we are only 11 days away from Christmas.  Most people schedule's are packed with holiday parties, social events and family gatherings.  The weather has not been as cool or dry as it normally is in December, so it has lulled people into thinking they have more time to prepare for Christmas than they do. As you rush around to beat the holiday rush, find a way to truly just ENJOY the season.  We only have a few more days left in 2015.  The days left on the calendar are evaporating like the mist on a foggy morning.  SLOW down, BREATHE and relish in the fact that you are alive. I recently had the opportunity to join my sister on her annual "Christmas photo session".  It was a blast and thankfully the weather turned out perfect.  As we went to a park overlooking a lake, the water was serene and the sky was the perfect shade of blue.  Our mom joined us, which was icing on the cake.  My oldest is 15 years old, and this is the fi...

As we head into Thanksgiving, I thought it would be  fun to repost one of my favorite Thanksgiving posts. ENJOY! ****************************************************************************************************** We traditionally gather together with a large sampling of our family members.  Everyone under one roof is loud from the football games playing on the tv, kids playing games, and the rest of us reminiscing and catching up with each other.  Seeing cousins, uncles, and aunts, that you haven't seen in awhile is such a joy.   The agenda for the event is simple. Bring a dish. Say a prayer of thanks. Eat like tomorrow may not come. We have a traditional southern Thanksgiving meal.  However, the other day I realized, there's some traditional items  I've never enjoyed .  Some would say it's a tragedy but I would say, why add something new to the menu?  If you think I'm missing out, leave a comment a...