The World Needs Jesus and Love

In the midst of the riots happening in Ferguson, MO, the spiritual persecution overseas, police brutality, etc, I just wanted to share my thoughts. This morning as I was making my way to work I saw a post on facebook that stated the following:

"I am crying for America. The struggle is real for OUR boys... personally feel as though the election of President Obama changed race relations in the USA for the worse. What are your thoughts?" When I read the statement and the question, my response was the following:

"This nation needs Jesus. People are just now standing up and enraged about what's happening. Why didn't more people stand up and fight years ago for education, racism, youth, etc. Why don't we stand up just because we care enough about ourselves? It seems that someone always has to die or endure injustice in order for this nation to pay attention. Sad... #Praying." My response alluded to the fact that we can't place blame on one person when our nation has been suffering for years from senseless crimes, poor job market, racism, etc. Some of these tragedies have been a result of our own fault. It's unfortunate that these events has horrifically accumulated over the years. And yet, we still go back to the same way of treating each other. We still separate ourselves from each other out of fear. We still harm each other with our words and actions. We need to wake up and realize that what we need is Jesus and love. We need to pray for each other and love each other more. 

So as I went about the rest of my day, I came across a post Heather Lindsey wrote on her page. She mentioned the many incidents that have taken place and how the Lord led her to read Hebrews 3 & 4. She mentioned that she kept seeing the words, "don't harden your heart, don't harden your heart" several times in both chapters. Then later on this evening, I tuned in to Girl Talk with my sis Gloria Warren and her monthly study was entitled, "Love Endures All." Basically the Word and the monthly study explained how we must not become bitter and angry in the midst of what's going on.  It's hard to do, but we must pray through the situations that are taking place. It's amazing how I saw several messages throughout the day that were written and spoken in different ways but they all boiled down to two topics, Jesus and love. One thing remains, the Word of God is sovereign and true; the same yesterday, today, and forever.



God bless,
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Be encouraged and JUST WRITE

I've recently joined a Writer's Critique Group with my church and every last Thursday of the month, we meet to give feedback, accountability, and encouragement to each other. The name of the group is JUST WRITE and it's been a wonderful experience learning from other writers as well as challenging myself to do more with my writing.  At our last meeting, I was recently given a challenge to use the words JUST WRITE to create affirmations for myself during devotional time as I embark on my writing journey. As I was brainstorming and writing, the process reminded me of when I was a teenager. I would come up with different acronyms and quotes as encouragement to help me remember things. Here are my affirmations I wrote last night:

J.  Jesus is the light, the way, and the truth.
U. Utilize all of your gifts for the Kingdom
S.  Speak over yourself God's truth
T. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding
 
W.We are more than conquerors
R. Refresh and renew your mind and spirit in the Word
I.   I am a child of God, fearfully and wonderfully made. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
T.  Telling your story will free others.
E.  Encourage yourself and others. Embrace the pain, accept the process, and evolve in your purpose.


Peace and blessings.