Tag Archives: Prayer

Happy New You

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Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1Thessalonians 5:23)

     This is the time at the beginning of a new year that we tend to start thinking about things that we want to change or reorder in our personal lives. Some of us may want to lose thirty-five pounds, take better care of our health, spend more time with the family, or travel to a place that we have never visited. These are all things that will help us to develop a new perspective of our lives. It creates in our mind, a “happy new you.”

    As we explore what it means to create a happy new you, it is comforting to know that God wants the same for our lives. God wants our mind, body and spirit to be kept pure until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. However, with all the issues that we faced from 2020 to this point — a world pandemic, viral mutations, food and supply shortages, political unrest, police brutality, racial tensions, mass unemployment, mass shootings, unprecedented home foreclosures, and increased domestic disputes — these kinds of issues can make it challenging to think about a new you.  Yet even in the midst of these world and personal challenges, we can make ourselves over; with the help and grace of God, “All things are still possible with God.” (Matthew 19:26) 

     To do so, it will be important for us to examine ways to look closely at how we manage our mind, body and spirit. The mind is a crucial component of our being that we have to learn to manage with care. It is the gateway that will inform our entire system. What we think is critical to how we develop a new way of living and being. Proverbs, chapter twenty-three and verse seven says, “For as he thinks in his heart so is he…”  How we think determines if we will be sick or well, happy or sad, prosperous or poor.  

     Our mind, which houses the seat of our emotions, is connected to every major organ in our bodies. This is the reason that it is so important what we think. Our minds have to be fed good and wholesome things in order to be healthy. If we sit around daily complaining about our lives, feeling sorry for ourselves, taking in negative news all day, telling ourselves that we will never have the life that we imagine, and that nothing ever works out for us, we can be sure that our mind will give us what we ask for. It will communicate with every system in our body to tell it to respond to our language. So meditate on wholesome readings, autobiographies, poems, self help materials, and music that are in line with our faith. Seek ways to enjoy life daily through fun activities with the family, spending an evening out with like-minded friends sharing intimate conversation and ideas. 

    The human body, which is made up of eleven systems, is a complex and intricate creation. As I have been engaged in the study of Anatomy and Physiology, I really have come to realize how our bodies function that we  live in daily not being fully aware of just how intricate we are made. We are masterpieces of the great wisdom of God. Whatever we mess up in one system of the body affects every other system in the body. These bodies are not robotic machines: they are delicate, which means that what we put in them to become a “new you” is critical. In this country, we have gotten away from food as medicine; but through the present day natural health movement, we are seeing a resurgence of the original intention of God. From the beginning of creation God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.” (Genesis 1:29)  

     God planned from the beginning that our food choices would be medicine for the body. The leaves of the tree were meant for healing. (Revelations 22:2) Many of the known diseases and illness in this county are directly connected to lifestyle and food choices. We have to take steps to add more fresh organic fruits and vegetables to our diet. Practice drinking half of our body weight in water daily. Yes, I really did say, “half of our body weight in water daily.” Water flushes toxins out of the body before they have a chance to affect the system negatively, and it transports valuable chemicals, nutrients and minerals to the cells. It helps to eliminate waste, regulates the body temperature, protects tissues, organs and joints, moisturizes the skin, aids in the digestion of food, and nourishes the heart and the brain. Water: it just does the body good! 

     Stop making excuses for not getting enough sleep. Let’s stop bragging about only getting three hours of sleep per day like it is a badge of honor. Sleep is a mysterious experience created by God that is used to help repair and heal during the resting moments; even our sleep has rhythms. Sleep is the pathway for dreams and visions that God uses to show us new opportunities and new ways of life. Sleep deprivation is another precursor to illness and disease in the body.  

     Get at least thirty minutes of exercise daily. Movement of the body moves chemicals in the body system that are necessary for them to function properly. Even when we can’t get outside on a regular basis, we can walk around in the house. Sit on the floor or in a chair and do some light stretching of the body to move the muscles. Take good care of the skin as it is the largest organ of the body system. What we put on the skin does matter. Toxic things that are put on the skin can have an adverse effect on our internal organs once absorbed by the skin. Read labels. Just because it is a dollar and on sale does not mean it is going to be good for us. Invest that dollar in the use of more natural products for external and internal use, such as coconut and olive oil. 

To nourish our spirit, there is nowhere else to go, but to the Creator of  our being. We are the expressed image of God in the earth. (Genesis 1:26-27)  The moment that we move away from the source of our creation we will malfunction.(Genesis 3) From our creation, when God blew the breath of life into our being, we became a living spirit.(Genesis 2:7) Relying on anyone or anything other than God, we will surely abandon our life source. To develop our spirit, we need the Holy Spirit and the word of God. The Holy Spirit and the word bring life. (Luke 11:13; John 6:35; Romans 8:1-2) The word and Holy Spirit are like the air that we breathe. It is important to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to develop times to read the word daily. I appreciate the age of technology and the use of electronic Bibles, but I believe that due to the crucial times that we are living in, we have to make sure that we have a Bible in our homes so that when things get shut down in our world, we don’t have to shut down because we can’t get the word of God. Purchase Bibles for our children and grandchildren and teach them the reason that it is important for them to have one, and get back to BRING IT TO CHURCH when coming to worship. Let’s start a movement of getting back to bringing the Bible to church!  

    Prayer is the way that we draw close and commune with God. The Bible tells us that it was Jesus’ custom to seek God early in the morning. (Mark 1:25) Early morning is a good practice because it gives us the opportunity to connect with God before we interact with our family and the rest of the world. Early morning opens us to center our being so that we clean our souls and get clear instructions on hearing from God throughout the day. Prayer is the key to building our relationship with God. It helps us to see the world with new eyes and brings us to conscious awareness of our state of being, surroundings, and reactions when dealing with others. Prayer even has a direct correlation on our brain and nervous system. 

     As we move forward into a new year, we can all have a “happy new you,” but we have to be willing to make changes in our mind, body and spirit, knowing that all heaven is helping us and cheering us forward. Have A Happy New You!~Peace 

A Black Woman: Looking at Blackness Through the Eyes of Howard Thurman’s Jesus and the Disinherited

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“Do not envy the oppressor, And choose none of his ways;” Proverbs 3:31 NKJV

I had to look back and examine myself, not through the eyes of my disinherited self first as Howard Thurman so beautifully conveyed, but I had to look at myself before my brutal captivity and inhuman travel from my homeland that I would never see again. 

I needed to look back at the narrative of me before the 400 years of my ancestral enslavement on the American and Caribbean shores. There in the cradle of civilization called “The land of the Blacks” was my motherhood, my Queenship, my rulership, my intelligence, my connection to the Creator of the Universe, and never will I forget my oneness with my Black King, my man.

There was no fear in me, no deception, no hated, only love. Love was my guiding principle. I was taught that love was the ruling idea of the circle of all life. My love was pure and innocent. It was the genus of my creativity, my sensuality, and the sharing of my gifts to expand the world. My Black King, with me always at his side, had no intimidation of me, no insecurities regarding my love, my beauty or my intelligence. I cultivated him and he cultivated me. My King and I were fully conscious in our understanding that our rulership together would be the glory and legacy that we would leave as a model to generations unborn.

He and I were indeed kissed by the sun, and manifested no shame as we wore our Blackness with dignity and as the gift that we knew it was meant to be. My inheritance was life, peace, prosperity, and wealth. My understanding of this richness was that it was to be shared with all; it too was my divine gift. There were no exclusions of humanity due to shades of hue. I was in tune with the chemistry and biology of melanin. My soul and connection to universal wisdom was that I was one with everything.

I was and still am powerful Black woman. I am a daughter of the Most High God who was born with an inheritance; but there came a shift in psychology. A new mind invaded my land and my wealth. A mind that was not enlightened with oneness. A mind that was full of fear, hate, deception and empty of love. This mind was scattered, deranged, deluded, psychotic, sociopathic, sadistic, narcissistic and schizophrenic. I witnessed this mind that lacked oneness with the Creator of the Universe destroy the fabric of communities around the world. In fact, this mind thought that it was God. My King and I were a threat to this crazed ego that pretended friendship of peace, yet used its power to demean, pillage, ravage, rape and destroy me, my people and my land. 

This mind introduced a psychology that hated my Blackness, and communicated on the world stage that my being, hue and melanin was inferior, inhuman, and that I was designed and destined to be sold for human ownership. So ripped away from my land, my man, separated and shackled in chains aboard a ship headed to a strange shore, I was subjected to a new psychology.  This new psychology gave my captors permission to beat, rape, impregnate, separate and sell the life that came through my womb away as property. This new mind destroyed my man, dethroned him as a King, and labeled him a brute beast. His power, understanding, love, friendship and peace was replaced with conditioned hatred of himself, of me, and at times of his own seed. Envy of our oppressors’ power and success took over his mind and ways.

My man, my King, wanted to experience again his intelligence, wealth and power. Through this captivity, my King and I lost something. We lost each other. We lost our connection. We lost our oneness. We lost our genuine love for humanity beginning with each other. I am his Black Queen, and he is my Black King. It is now time for him and I to go back and restore our community with the right mind, the Jesus mind, as we learn how to love and build each other again. It is time for the disinherited Black woman with her Black man to share our pain, and struggle to regain our spiritual power even though we still live in a strange land. 

I say to my King, look at me, remember me. I too have been kissed by the sun. Abandon the oppressors’ psychology and ways. I am not to be feared, deceived, or hated. You and I are the principle of love, and the embodiment of love’s movement. I understand your pain. Your pain is my pain too. I am a Black woman and your Black Queen. I am here to help us regain our inheritance!

I offer ideas that can support our desire to move towards manifesting change in our families, neighborhood, organizations and spiritual communities:

  1. Acknowledge that we have been psychologically conditioned in our mind to hate, fear,  deceive and mistrust each other as Black people by the ruling dominate culture.
  2. Develop think tanks (small groups) to begin having strategic conversations about how we were systematically indoctrinated to hate, fear, envy, and mistrust each other. Explore ways to develop a new psychology ( patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving) in-line with our historical self.
  3. Forgive one another for ways that we have been the instrument of each other’s pain.
  4. Confess the we took on the ways of our oppressor that manifested in our families, neighborhood and spiritual communities of worship.
  5. Develop an individual and collective plan of action that will support members of our families, neighborhoods, organizations and spiritual communities to refrain from deviant, inhuman, and less negative emotional reactions against ourselves and others.
  6. To every Black man, treat every Black woman as a Queen. Value her as a powerful spiritual gifted being and life giver. This is her inheritance!

Thurman, Howard. ( 1976). Jesus and the Disinherited Beacon Press, Boston Massachusetts.

Women Who Lead Other Women In Darkness

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“This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” I John 1:5-6 NKJV

On October 27, 2020, I read the story about one of the most modern-day cult leaders of an organization called “NXIVM” who was sentenced to 120 years in prison. As a graduate in sociology, and psychology, I have for years been interested in group and cult behavior. There was a time that I thought I strictly wanted to be a researcher, and teacher to help bring awareness and strategy on how to bring group change that would create better individuals and stronger communities. As I have read the story and history of the cult NXIUM, I am illuminated yet again on the power of mind control and the danger of blind loyalty. 

The leader of this cult had a powerful mind-controlling influence over the women in this organization. Many of these women were brilliant intellectually in their own right — successful, influential, and some had amassed and used great financial wealth to help numerous ventures of this leader.

When women, the mothers of life, can be used to lead other women in darkness, this is a sad state of affairs. The power of darkness is real. The women in this organization were brainwashed by a powerful, charismatic leader who engaged in dark psychology for years to control their minds. 

Mind control is real; but, when we as women do not deal well with our vulnerabilities and with the strong need for male leadership or intimacy in our lives, mind control becomes easy and detrimental. Following and partnering with male leadership, and visions that connect with our spirit and aspirations, is a noble endeavor because God created male and female to be one creation to expand the universe with goodness and blessings. (Genesis 1:28 ) We were created to work together in harmony to bring love and peace to the world, but our power ought never to turn into corruption.

To walk in power as women, it is not necessary for us to castrate and belittle men to prove how powerful we are, though we have suffered much in a male dominated society. We don’t have to be agents of dark practices. It is time for women to wake up to our power and become wiser about being in tune with our vulnerabilities and needs. When we are aware of our vulnerabilities, we make stronger emotional and ethical decisions because we recognize what we are being led to do, and how we are being programmed to think, especially when we are being led to compromise our ethical living.

There are always red flags; sometimes we may not see them right away because the power of deception and delusion is real and strong.  But in time, and with prayer, our internal discernment will help us to make right decisions that will not lead us down the road of darkness, nor to influence other women in a life of darkness.

It is time for women to wake up to our power. It is time to expose leadership that operates in corruption in any organization or system. There are many lives that have been broken, and trust that may not be easily restored. It is time to have the conversations that are necessary to bring real, genuine women empowerment and healing in the lives of women.  We can no longer be silent in the face of mass abuse of the life givers of our world.

I want to list these ideas for the purpose of increasing awareness and empowering women to think about when we feel strongly that we are under a mind controlling leader, system or organization:

  1. Be aware of our vulnerabilities ( esteem, identity, losses, successes, failures, relationships, career desires, human needs)
  2. Listen and don’t ignore our intuition. It is a candle of the Holy Spirit in our soul.
  3. Connect with woman who are going to connect us to living in light, not to darkness.
  4. Never compromise our integrity and ethics; they are too valuable.
  5. Give no human being the power to control our lives and decisions. Watch for controlling behaviors no matter how innocent they may seem.
  6. Avoid secret societies and groups that make us offer some form of collateral ( lies, favors, sex, theft, drugs, blood covenants, murder, marriage swapping, branding), to hold secrets that demean our humanity.
  7. Never allow ourselves to be isolated from trusted family, and friends with whom we can be open and share our vulnerable thoughts and feelings. 

Heavenly Father,

Bring healing and renewal to the mind, heart, and life of any woman who has been under the power and persuasion of mind control. Remind her of her power and purpose in You. Give her new direction for her life that will be a manifestation of Your love, grace, mercy and goodness. Amen! 

Combating The Spirit of Hatred

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“Ask of me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” Psalms 2:8-9

There are times when it is difficult to walk in the gifts of God. When I was a child, I found it difficult to share what I was experiencing in the Spirit; but that is not the case today. In June 2017, there was a major transition in my life. I took on an assignment in the Western Region. It was one of the hardest decisions of my entire life, but I knew God was calling me to an assignment of spiritual warfare. Along with several co-laborers who operate in the prophetic calling, I engaged in extensive counseling and research of the Western Region before I made my journey to the West.

We understood that the warfare would be intense because the cosmic influence over the region was heavy and the demonic darkness has worked for years to control the West. This darkness has not only taken a firm hold of the region, but it has also impacted the spirit of local churches across denominational and non-denominational lines. The spirit of hatred is operating in the churches and seeking to destroy. In some instances, I encountered the demonic spirit of hatred just because I showed up for the assignment here in the West. God made it clear to me that I had encountered this spirit. Hatred is a nasty spirit that aims to destroy everything God desires to accomplish through His servants. It is a subtle and dangerous spirit that masquerades as an angel of light – for a while – then it unleashes its venom. The kindred spirit that accompanies the demon of hatred is the lying spirit. It speaks calculated lies with intention. Its aim is to gratify its fleshly desires and to discredit the prophetic voice of God. But the alarming thing is that any individual, clergy or laity, can be open to this hateful spirit; it simply needs a body to operate through. It nestles itself in the broken and insecure places in the soul of those who are unguarded against it or leave themselves accessible to it.

The spirit of hatred can hide temporarily, but not for long because of its agenda to dishonor and sabotage its target. The only thing that closes the door on the spirit of hatred is repentance, renouncing sin, and filling the empty place in the soul with the Spirit of Love. To the pastors, leaders, and laity in the western region, we have to search our hearts and attend to our daily walk moment by moment. When we are hurt by any matter or we face challenges with others, harboring hatred will not solve the problem. Hatred unchecked will take anyone deeper into bondage and will keep us in the hands of the enemy by carrying out his will instead of the will of God. We have to evaluate ourselves and close the gap because this spirit has a strong presence in the western region of the country, and many of the churches are being taken hostage by it. Even children and youth are affected by it.

Abba Father is not pleased because we have the power within us to close the door on this spirit by walking in unified prayer, forgiveness, and love with everyone. Love is God’s command. (John 13:34) This is God’s way of being. There are consequences for maintaining a spirit of hatred. The Word of God says, “Evil will never leave the house of one who pays back evil for good.” (Proverbs 17:13 NIV) Here is the warning: The anger of the Father is being poured out, but we can repent and turn back His hand. (Isaiah 42:25)

This is the question; why would we want our entire house destroyed as a result of harboring and practicing hatred? Wherever we see hatred, it is time to confront and expose it for what it really is. If we cast hatred out of those who have been carriers of that spirit and replace it with God’s radical love, I believe we will see God do an amazing work in our midst.

Let us do our part to start this revival by examining our own hearts. If we find that hatred is operating through us, we must acknowledge that spirit, confront it, and repent in Jesus’ mighty name. God is calling us to a higher place of praise and to transform The Church ~ Love!

Get Up With A New Determination

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At the opening of 2019, I was flooded with thoughts about my life, my friendship with God, motherhood, marriage, ministry, and my relationships with others – in that order amazingly. I came to realize how my life was impacted by all of these roles. My ministry assignment in San Francisco, which has taken me away from extended family and close friends, has been one of the most difficult and yet rewarding endeavors of my life. It has opened and stretched me to a new determination. I do understand now why God allowed and opened this door of opportunity for His glory and insight.

I am going to new levels. There have been some painful moments on this journey; aloneness, but not lonely, rejection in unexpected ways, and misunderstood intentions. However, some things have been made clear to me. I have gained insight into obscure matters that blindsided me. I can see clearly now. What I love about friendship with God is that it never changes and God will never allow me to walk in the dark. God is consistent in His love and care for me as a human being created in His image. There are no contradictions in His character. His love endures forever.

I have all of this stuff inside me to fulfill and I know I have to work with a new determination to complete it. I have never been jealous or envious of the dreams and goals of others. I have been a cheerleader for other people’s dreams and have sacrificed much of my time and energy to see their dreams happen. I will continue to help others and encourage them to go after God’s best for their lives; but I woke up recently with a new determination to fulfill my dreams.

    I don’t ever want to stop dreaming. I don’t believe it is God’s will that I pour all of my life into someone else’s dream while my dream dies on the vine. God said in His Word, “be fruitful and multiply.” (Genesis 1:28) That means I should be increasing in whatever God has planted in me to advance His Kingdom.

Reader, on this journey of life, you are going to meet people in the world who are takers. They have unrealistic expectations of your pouring all of yourself into their dreams and goals, but they can never celebrate yours. You have to know when it is time to wake up or you could die asleep.  Don’t die with your dreams unfulfilled. You might have to take a season away from environments and people who are killing you. Get up with a new determination to start working on something. Even if it seems small, just do it! Help others, yes, but don’t get so absorbed that you can’t see clearly what God wants to do in and through your life. Decide today that, with a new determination, you will fulfill your dreams for God’s glory and honor!

Peace,

 

Come Holy Spirit, Come

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Heavenly Father, we have gathered here in this place in the name of Jesus. We want to give You thanks, glory, honor, and praise. We have come to seek Your face and to worship You in Spirit and in Truth. Thank You that we can approach Your throne of grace with boldness in our time of need; and right now, we need You.

Father, You promised us a comforter, teacher, and helper as believers who have been bought with a price by the blood of Jesus. We plead the blood of Jesus over our prayers right now. We have come to this place asking that You will cleanse and purify us by the power of Your Word and Holy Spirit.

We have come for You to put the search light on all of our hearts to show us how we have fallen short of Your perfect will for our lives. Search us oh God, and know our hearts, try us and know our thoughts and see if there is any wicked way in us and lead us into the way everlasting. (Psalms139) We have come to humble ourselves under Your mighty hand. We have come to seek Your face. We have come to be healed, delivered, transformed, and set free. We have come for our miracle!

We confess that we and our ancestors have sinned against You. We did not keep Your covenant of holiness, love, righteousness, and peace. We have inflicted pain and abuse on one another. We have turned a deaf ear to the cries of the poor, orphans, and widows. We have shown prejudice, racism, sexism, deception, oppressiveness, pride, arrogance, and selfishness in our dealings with one another. We have been sinful in mind, body, and spirit. We have not treated our bodies as the temple of Your Holy Spirit; but Father, search us right now, purify us right now, and fill us with Your precious Holy Spirit.

Father, the land we live in is sick and diseased and we do not have any power of our own to heal and change it. Start with Your church, Your called out assembly. Let judgement begin with us because we have failed to seek You and to walk in unity. We opened the door for the enemy to work and wreak havoc in Your house of prayer. We have been at war with one another. There is violence in our families, in our churches, in our communities, and in the institutions of the land. There are race riots, divisions, and brutalities. Injustices are being inflicted upon the disadvantaged and the marginalized. Our children are suffering in the streets.

Immorality is at an all-time high and has blinded us to our inhumanity toward one another. Cleanse us; let the world see that we really are Your people by our love for You and for our neighbors of all nations. Help us to reach people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us go preaching that Your Kingdom has come.

Right now we decree and declare that nothing will hinder us from this prayer hour. We bind the demonic spirits of uncleanness, fear, disruption, pride, envy, jealousy, selfishness, hatred, misunderstanding, violence, anger, and rage.

We loose purity, faith, unity, cooperation, understanding, and love. We decree and declare that we are covered during this prayer time in the full armor according to Ephesians 6:10-18. Bring on a fresh move of the Holy Spirit in our church, on the people, the pastor, and the leaders in Jesus name ~ Amen!

John 14:13, John 4:24, Hebrews 4:16, John 14:16, 1 Corinthians 6:20, 2 Corinthians 7:1,1Peter 5:6, Nehemiah 1:6, 1Corinthians 6:19,
1 Peter 4:17, Mark 11:17, John 13

A Prayer for the Restoration of Love

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So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ” (Luke 10:27 NKJV)

Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus, we want to thank You for giving us the opportunity to approach your throne of grace for our needs. We recognize that we need You to lead and guide us into all truth. We live in an age of apathy, indifference, and unforgiveness. In this age, the souls of humanity are tried so much so that the love of many grows cold. Provide for the Body of Christ a fresh revelation of what it means to love You and our neighbors. Help us to rekindle our faith, trust, and passion to express our love for You and others in tangible and meaningful ways so that someone’s life will be changed as a result. Help us to grow in the wisdom and understanding that we cannot claim to be walking in love and disconnecting ourselves from one another. Make it plain to our hearts that we are one as You and Christ are one.  Remind us that love is not just something we say; it is what we do in thought, word, and deed. Give us the knowledge that love is the real power we are to seek.  Thank You Father for hearing this prayer. We know that You always hear and will answer the prayers of the righteous. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

A Prayer Against Evil

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Heavenly Father,

Thank You for this day. This is a day that You have made and we will rejoice and be glad in it. Thank You for the privilege to come before Your presence. We believe that in Your presence is fullness of joy and at Your right hand there are treasures forever more. Create in each of us a clean heart. Examine our thoughts, words, and deeds and help us to align our intentions and motives with Your Word.

We have faced many challenges at the hands of persons who have done us harm and have committed great injustices against us. Some of us are still hurting, while some of us are working to put our lives back together through the power of Your Word. Help us to remember not to take matters into our own hands when we are hurting. Help us to cast all of our cares upon You because You care for us.

Father, teach us to watch as well as pray with the full understanding and awareness that our adversary seeks to steal, kill, and destroy, and that we can overcome the enemy’s work by relying on Your Word. Your Word is the lamp for our feet and the light for our path. Keep us steadfast and unmovable. Teach us to keep our hearts with all diligence because out of them flow the issues of life. Give us the passion to mediate on Your Word daily.

Speak life to our hearts today so that we will go forward and share that life with others. Be with us today as we give encouragement and compassion to others, understanding that it will be returned to us pressed down, shaken together, and running over. Heal hearts and minds today and while doing so, teach us to love our enemies and to bless them.

Father, You have great things in store for us and Your wonders You will perform on our behalf. We give You thanks and praise for what You are going to accomplish in our lives. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit and guide us in Your holy way. In Jesus name ~ Amen!

Desperate for Healing

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Recently I read a story in the Bible about a woman whose daughter was seriously ill. As I reflected on this story, it offered no real details about the nature of the illness that this little girl was suffering. So, I did not know if it was physical, mental, spiritual, or emotional.  All I could glean from this story is that this mother was desperate for a healing for her daughter.

You see, the interesting thing about this story is that she was a Gentile woman seeking out Jesus, a Jew, for healing.  It is revealed in the story that she heard about the healing power of Jesus. A Gentile woman in the first century could risk great suffering by approaching any man in public, particularly a Jewish man, but her little daughter was deathly ill and she just wanted her to be well.

Her faith for her daughter to be healed was powerful! She continued to believe for her daughter’s healing and for an opportunity to get to Jesus to present her request. Upon arriving at the place where Jesus was, she sought him in great humility only to hear from Jesus himself that he had to get healing to his Jewish community first before he could offer it to the Gentiles. Wow, how discouraging that could have been; but this woman was so desperate for a healing that she was not affected personally by Jesus’ words, not sulking,  feeling dejected, or leaving the scene with her head hung low.

This message from Jesus did not deter this woman, but made her even more relentless in her pursuit; she was desperate for a healing for her little daughter. Her persistent faith in Jesus’ ability so impressed him that he celebrated and honored this woman’s faith. He declared her little daughter healed and sent the woman back home in peace. When this mother arrived at home, her daughter was resting peacefully. You can read the entire story in the Bible in the book of Mark, chapter seven, verses twenty-four through thirty.

I can so identify with this woman whose pain and struggle I understand. In 2013, my own daughter, at the age of twenty- three was abruptly challenged by a mental illness. As a professional having worked with many families over the years, encouraging them and compassionately walking them through their dilemmas, I found myself confronted with a faith crisis. It became a lonely and difficult journey to see my child in torment daily, trying desperately to understand the change in her life and struggling to get back to the normalcy she remembered without doctors, counselors, and medication.

Mental illness is real and it happens across cultures, regardless of economic status, to real human beings who want to be loved and treated with understanding, dignity, and respect. Even my family has had to struggle for understanding, services, support, and committed advocacy for my daughter. As a mother and a Mental Health Professional, I had to step up and be all of these things for my daughter. At times, my road has been met with challenges and we are still facing challenges.

It has been my unrelenting faith in God and my commitment not to give up on my daughter as she makes her way back to wholeness that has gotten us through.  I, too, am a mother who is desperate for a healing for my daughter, and I believe God has heard and will answer my prayers and the prayers of so many other mothers and fathers who are on this journey. My faith in God has grown even stronger, and I have not wavered in my commitment to be a voice for the mentally ill. I am even more committed to help them share their stories of pain and struggle.

I still believe Jesus is the answer. My daughter and I, along with many other daughters in the world who are suffering, wait like this woman who took her daughter’s needs to Jesus and heard him say, “Go home, your daughter is well.” I don’t mind waiting to hear those words!

To mothers everywhere who have a daughter or a son affected by mental illness, I am desperately seeking in faith for Jesus to grant their healing. Be encouraged; reach out in the community for support. There are still good people who are advocating for the mentally ill.

I am on the journey with you! ~ Peace

God Heal America

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So often we hear the words, “God bless America.” Many use these words to impart blessings on this nation when it is faced with challenges, threats of violence, acts of terrorism, or natural disasters that hit our homeland. I have grown up in America and it has been a great place to live. I love the freedoms we enjoy in this country and the opportunities that are afforded to anyone with a dream of becoming whatever they desire to become without limits. America is a wonderful place to live. It is one of the most prosperous nations in the world. Abundant monetary wealth and resources flow through it, unlike many impoverished countries that are still trying to rise up from the dark ages. America is a great place to be.

As an African American female who grew up in poverty, I remember the season my mother had to access the welfare system just to keep me, my sisters, and my brother together after our father left the home. She understood that she had to find a way to survive and keep her children comfortable and fed. I knew we did not have a lot of money, but what I also knew in my heart was that I lived in a house of love. We had a strong extended family that my siblings and I shared with weekly. There was not a week that went by when someone was not visiting or living in our home. I felt that it was a caring place where people loved to be.

Many family members knew of our financially disadvantaged situation. However, they found ways to encourage us and build our self-esteem by reminding us that we could grow up to become whatever we desired to be. They never made us feel bad about not having money or being on welfare. There was so much love. We lived in a time when families looked out for each other.

I remember the community I grew up in where people shared out of their meager resources. If my mother or grandmother knew of a family that probably had no food or clothes, they would cook for them or invite them over to eat. They bought clothes for the children even if they had to go to thrift stores. They would wash the clothes and take them over as if they were brand new. I saw appreciation on the faces of those parents and children. As a child, it always warmed my heart to see this kind of sharing in one community in an American city. There was a sort of healing that was experienced in those families. It was love in action. They always knew there was a house they could go to in the community where someone was sharing out of their limited resources.

In America today, there are many families in need. Many are trying to make ends meet as they are living well below the national poverty line. There are poor people in this country who do want more for their families. Many of them are working class people who go to their 9 to 5’s daily, still cannot make ends meet, and have to access the welfare system just to survive.

The national poverty line according to Health care.gov is as follows:
• $12,060 for individuals
• $16,240 for a family of 2
• $20,420 for a family of 3
• $24,600 for a family of 4
• $28,780 for a family of 5
• $32,960 for a family of 6
• $37,140 for a family of 7
• $41,320 for a family of 8

Without creating a daily budget to represent these families, observing these numbers based on household composition alone shows that in America’s current economy, many of these families are homeless or near homelessness – and they work every day. Something is wrong in a country that brags about its prosperity, military power, big government, technology, great institutions of higher learning, and great minds – yet it still has not figured out how to ensure that all of its citizens have a place to live, food to eat, safety, security, and are extended a hand-up so they can pursue their purpose and destiny.

Sociology was one of my college majors. One area I studied was Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy Needs: physiological needs, safety needs, belonging and love needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs. I believe if we still look at this hierarchy, we will see that many of the people living in poverty are not able to move beyond the first level. It is a struggle for people to find purpose and destiny when they are hungry, they don’t feel safe, and no one is encouraging them to do or be more. Who can actualize when they are hungry and cannot even see clearly how to get out of poverty? People are not really looking for a hand out; they want a hand up. The gifted and well-known artist, James Brown, has a song that says, ‘I Don’t Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing.’  The lyrics spoke his sentiments to America; ‘Just open the doors and I will make my own way.’ People really want to do for themselves, but they are deprived of the opportunities to do so.

America must realize that people in poverty just want an open door – an opportunity to actualize the dreams in their hearts and souls. It is time for America to develop a productive plan to move people forward and into better lives.  The greed, the pride, the arrogance, the violence, and the economic disparity in our country must be healed. There needs to be a positive plan that works for the poor in this country. God did bless America. But what has been done with those blessings?

America was founded upon a mandate from God to follow Christ and be an example of the believer for the whole world to see.  God blessed America with prosperity, but what has been done with that prosperity? I’ll tell you what was done with it. Resources, influence, and wealth were used to enslave human beings who were created in the image of God, for which America has yet to repent of.  The indigenous people of this land were tricked and cast aside on reservations to keep them under control. Wars were created for the cause of greed and not for national safely. The blood of the innocent was shed. Young men and women of color were wrongfully imprisoned in the prime and strength of their youth. Rivers, lakes, and streams were poisoned to wipe out neighborhoods and people groups. Policing systems were corrupted to cut down our youth in the streets. Nation groups were discriminated against because of their ethnicity when America was charged to love all. Our nation’s government is corrupt and her policies are created in the special interest of the rich.

The cry of the poor and the innocent has come to the ears of heaven and God will answer their cry. It is time for America to heal and live out her pledge; “One Nation, Under God, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for All.” Are you true to your pledge, America? No, you are not. You practice national prejudice. You create division rather than unity. You tolerate injustice and corruption in the legal system. America needs to be healed because her whole heart is sick.

America, I implore you, let your soul be healed and let that healing run like water into the streets. The cry of the poor and the needy has now come up before the True and Living God and the Lord will answer their cry!

From this day forward, I issue a new cry: “God Heal America.” ~ Peace

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