Nov 22nd Daily Reflection

Today as we give thanks for all we have in our lives, my thought wander to the Haitian people. This is a country that gets every disaster that passes its way, however, the people continue to give praise and thanksgiving for things that we would consider not worthy. I have been blessed to go work with the Haitian people as part of the Carter Work Project and Habitat for Humanity. I will spend a week in Hait as part of a 600 volunteer crew building 100 homes. I am freaking out with joy because I know that this life altering experience will bring me closer to the Lord and allow me to learn how to give thanks and rejoice for all the blessings in my life. I will be off-line until Dec 3rd.

How are you giving thanks for all the blessings you have in your life?

Nov 21st Daily Reflection

Giving thanks! Spending time truly giving thanks to the Lord for all your blessings! I love to celebrate, from I was a little, if there was an opportunity to celebrate, I was there. I still get excited when I hear a friend, team member or even a stranger accomplish something I can celebrate! It is just recently, that I realize I love celebrating so much because I love giving thanks! Thanksgiving season or harvest as it is called in Belize has always been my favorite time of the year because I get to give thanks and celebrate without anything major happening! Today as I write this , my heart is doing back flips and I am freaking out with joy because I have so many things to give thanks for, I will never finish giving thanks even if I never receive another blessings! In the season of thanksgiving, please remember to stop and give thanks to the smallest blessings as you would the largest ones.

How is giving thanks helping you be a conduit of the Lord's love?

Nov 20th Daily Reflection

Unconditional love - that's what the Lord has for us. And it can be seen when we make mistakes, wonder away from him or do things that are ungodly because he still loves us and continues to bestore blessings upon us. Why does the Lord love us unconditionally? I believe it is because it he wants us to only adore him. By only adoring him,we are more likely to be good Christians living the word instead of getting caught up in ceremonies that don't touch our hearts. I believe the best way to exprience the Lord's love is to make a mistake because that is why you see him love most clearly.

How are you experiencing the Lord's unconditional love?

Nov 19th Daily Reflection

Leave outcomes up to the Lord, image going thru life leaving the ultimate outcomes up to the Lord leaving you free to make mistakes, be fearless and being okay with getting ridicule for trusting the Lord! I tried it for a week and found life so much more fulfilling than when I am trying to control things. It was so much more fulfilling that I decided to do it as much as possible - sometimes, I wonder away and don't do it. However, whenever I am close to the Lord, I find life freeing because I am leaving the outcome up to him.

How is leaving the outcome up the Lord freeing you to do his work?

Nov 18th Daily Reflection

How does having the peace of the Lord affect your life? Over the past few weeks, I realized that the peace of the Lord has been taking the place of other things in my life. One thing I am starting to become aware of is having a drink, my normal routine was have a few drinks to relax everyday. Now, I get home, go about my business and even forgot to have a drink and when I do have one, it takes such a long time to finish it that is completely watered down.  I don't need a drink to relax because I am alway in a state of peace and relaxation! Wow, what a powerful way to be - having the peace of the Lord keeping you calm and centered.

How is the peace of the Lord centering you?

Nov 17th Daily Reflection

I woke up giddy with excitement! I am excited because the Lord is guiding my life and things are happening that I only dreamt about! And as I tried to calm my excitement, I read today's devotion and realized that I should not calm it! If my excitement is because of the blessings of the Lord, calming it is like committing a sin. And as I continued to reflect, I felt a feeling of clalmness mixed with excitement, another new feeling that is a direct result of surrendering to the Lord!

How is only following the Lord creating excitement in your life?

Nov 16th Daily Reflection

Looking out unto today, seems confusing and crazy, however, that craziness goes away when you know that the Lord is by your side! I woke up this morning and felt a little out of sorts and then I read this devotion and realized that I was unconsciously getting worked up over a really intense schedule. So I pulled out my devotion and read and as I was reading, I felt myself relaxing and realizing that the day will be awesome because I can give all my concerns up to the Lord! Tension left my body and my smile was once again genuine! Constant reminder everyday to fully surrender to the Lord and your smile will be awesome!

How are you smiling today?

Nov 15th Daily Reflection

Focus on your problems and you will lose sight of the Lord and are guaranteed to create additional problems with whatever solution your human brain can come up with. However, if you take your problem offer it up to the Lord, the solutions will be so simple, impactful and create so much love that you will wonder if you truly had a problem or simply a task to be completed. Fully surrendering to the Lord is one of the hardest thing to do because you can't see him and others are always questioning your faith, however, if you can defend your faith by simply saying because I believe and during times of doubt saying I believe - life will evolve from full of problems to full of really cool tasks!

How is offering up your problems to the Lord creating peace in your life?

Nov 14th Daily Reflection

Have you ever stopped and reflected on the things you do just to be loved by another human? Can you recall holding yourself back because you wanted another human to love you? Or maybe you were the human who put requirements in place before others could receive your love? Now image only needing to love the Lord and by only loving the Lord, you are able to love everyone because you are receiving so much love from the Lord you have to share it with others.....Image others going around spreading love in an unconditional manner....That is what the Lord wants from us, to love him and by loving him, receive his love in such abundance that the only thing you can do is love others!

How is loving the Lord helping you love others unconditionally?

Nov 13th Daily Reflection

The Joy and Peace of the Lord with you all day long! Do we really have this joy and peace all day long or do we do things to short circuit it? Do we actively look for the Joy and Peace or do we simply get consumed in ourselves that we miss opportunities to truly appreciate it? Over the past month, I have actively seeked out the opportunities to appreciate the Joy and Peace of the Lord, and the most interesting thing is happening in my life - no matter what happens I am constantly at peace, decisions are easier to make because they are constantly being made with the guidance of the Lord! If we decide to have the Joy and Peace of the Lord all day long, we will have it! At first it might be weird, however, after a few weeks, you will notice somethingis different with your life and then you will realize what that difference is and people around you will notice a difference even if they can't say what it is.

May you find the Joy and Peace of the Lord today and every other day!

Nove 12th Daily Reflection

Receiving the blessings of the Lord in abundance, this past week, I should have been stressed and to the point of unhappiness since it seems like I would not be able to effect the change I wanted at the rate I wanted. Then something interesting happened, it was a relatively calm week, I got to spend time simply relaxing and for a brief moment, I started to feel guilty then I realized I was in this state because of the blessings of the Lord! Because I was staying close to him, I was in constant contact with his peace and because I am at peace, I can process the human world in a manner that results in the changes that moves everyone forward and as such I was able to receive the many blessings with open hands and heart!

How are you experiencing the many blessings of the Lord?

Nov 10th Daily Reflection

Staying in the Lord's presence. As I go thru my day, I can see how staying in his presence is helping me remain at peace and helping me be loving when my human mind wants me to attack. By staying close to him, walking away for a moment when things get tense all lead to a level of peace that can't be shaken! And it's that level of peace that propels us forward everyday.

What are you doing to maintain your level of peace?

Nov 9th Daily Reflection

Yesterday an incident happened at the office that left me stunned - I was in disbelief that a co-worker could act unprofessional. That incident bothered me and I wondered do I say something or let it go. I kept thinking about it, asked a few people for their opinion and then thought, why am I not giving this decision up to the Lord. And once I gave the decision up to the Lord, peace returned. I was at peace because I knew that providing feedback whether or not it was received in a positive manner was the godly thing to do. It would be ungodly for me to watch a co-worker fail and not say or do something about it! And just like that, I was able to move on and continue spreading the Lord's love.

How have you seen peace return to your life after doing the difficult but godly thing?

Nov 8th Daily Reflection

Today's daily reflection is about trusting the Lord during difficult times and I smiled because as I trust him, my work becomes easier. I am currently in one of the most difficult position I have ever had - the volume of work almost doesn't seem to fit into one day but somehow it fits! It fits because the Lord is guiding the day. As I walk thru the day, I am open to letting people know that they need to slow down for me, repeat because I am confused, that I love them especially if they make a mistake, and that at the end of the day we will be successful because the Lord guided us to succes. With that position, I can work a 12 hr day and feel excited at the end, I can stop and meditate during the day and I can be fearless in my walk! All because of the Lord! And the amazing and inspiring results I am seeing only confirms my position that letting the Lord guide your day means every and any thing is possible!

How is letting the Lord guide your day helping you achieve success?

Nov 7th Daily Reflection

When things get rough, when you are under asault, when others question your commitment, know that if you follow the Lord, all things will work out perfectly! If you have doubts, it is a reminder to stop and spend some time with the Lord! Spending time with the Lord will clear up all doubts and give you the confidence to withstand all negativity! I am smiling because yesterday, I had a day like that and by spending time doing small prays I was able to get thru, a bit worn but knowing fully why I felt the way I did and was able to express it. I can't believe it took me 41 years to find the peace of the Lord, but I did and every moment I give thanks for finding it!

How are you using the Lord to get thru difficult times?

Nov 6th Daily Reflection

Focus on the Lord and try to please only the Lord. I smile because recently, I strayed away from that guideline which resulted in a tense moment, however, because I am always looking for the blessings of the Lord, I saw the blessings in my misstep! It's amazing that even when we make a mistake, if we realize that we caused it, the Lord will send a wonderful blessing so that the mistake looks like something great! I experienced that recently and must say, I am excited to make another mistake because thru mistakes, blessings are also rained upon us!

How are you turning mistakes into blessings?

Nov 5th Daily Reflection

Since my Emmaus retreat, I feel as if the Lord has enveloped me with his love and protection and nothing can go wrong. Things that were once difficult for me are now easy, things that once caused me stressed no longer causes me stress, where others see problems, I know see possibilities, even my desire to be right has lessen. And as I was reflecting on this during my 80 mile bike ride, I realized that this is happening because the Lord is directing my life! I am no longer in control, he is in ultimate control and as such, things are going great! And when something doesn't go according to plan, I stop and wait for the blessings and because I am looking for the blessings of the disappointment, it always comes! The elusive peace of the Lord is now with me and as such, I can spread that peace to others.

How is being close to the Lord bringing you peace?

Nov 3rd Daily Reflection

Disappointments - good or bad? Most of our lives we were taught that disappointments are bad, however, they are actually good. The deep teachings of the bible talks of disappointment as a wonderful thing because it encourages us to go back to the Lord and what better place can we be but next to the Lord? And if the best place to be is next to the Lord and disappointments cause to be there, then disappointments are the best things that could happen to us. I also find that viewing disappointment as a blessings allows me to move pass it quickly and ALWAYS there is something wonderful on the other side!

How are you giving thanks and praises for your disappointments?

Nov 2nd Daily Reflection

I am taking on a new assignment at the office which is possibly the most difficult assignment I have had to date all while keeping all of my current responsibilities. At first I was feeling stressed and not worthy, then I stopped, exhauled and went to the Lord. The Lord whispered that this the best thing that could happen to me and that it is a perfect opportunity to be the conduit of the Lord's love. And as I started to see the possibilities, my stress gave wa to joy and excitement! I know that this new assignment will be awesome because the Lord will be by my side!

How does knowing the Lord is by your side turn your stress into excitement?