One of my favorites by Tamia ... Throwback from 2004 :)
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Tamia-Poetry
God Can Set You Free from Your Shame
Daily Devotion From Joyce Meyer
Do you ever wonder what life was like for Adam and Eve before they sinned?
Genesis 2:25 tells us that though Adam and Eve were naked in the Garden of Eden, they were not ashamed. I believe that in addition to indicating they were without clothes, this Scripture also implies they were totally open and honest with each other, not hiding behind any masks, not playing any games. They were free to be themselves because they had no sense of shame. Once they had sinned, however, they hid themselves (see Genesis 3:6-8)
If not for the work Jesus did on the cross, all of us would have to live with overwhelming shame of sin. But because of His sacrifice, mankind has the opportunty to enjoy perfect freedom with one another and with God.
Unfortunately, most of us still live with the burden of shame, even though the Word of God promises us and assures us that we can be free of it (see Isaiah 61:7).
God can deliver you from shame. Pray and ask Him to set you free from the shame that tries to build up within you.
Do you ever wonder what life was like for Adam and Eve before they sinned?
Genesis 2:25 tells us that though Adam and Eve were naked in the Garden of Eden, they were not ashamed. I believe that in addition to indicating they were without clothes, this Scripture also implies they were totally open and honest with each other, not hiding behind any masks, not playing any games. They were free to be themselves because they had no sense of shame. Once they had sinned, however, they hid themselves (see Genesis 3:6-8)
If not for the work Jesus did on the cross, all of us would have to live with overwhelming shame of sin. But because of His sacrifice, mankind has the opportunty to enjoy perfect freedom with one another and with God.
Unfortunately, most of us still live with the burden of shame, even though the Word of God promises us and assures us that we can be free of it (see Isaiah 61:7).
God can deliver you from shame. Pray and ask Him to set you free from the shame that tries to build up within you.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Passing Life's Tests
Daily Devotion From Joyce Meyer
Life is filled with challenges that test our determination and our faith in God. Whether we're faced with impending threat of evil or with everyday hassles, the quality of our character is sure to be tested on a regular basis.
It would be a great mistake to overlook the fact that God test our hearts, our emotions and our minds. What does it mean to test something? It means to put pressure on it to see if it will do what it says it will do. Will it hold up under stress? Can it perform at the level its maker says it can? Is it genuine when measured against a true standard of quality?
God does the same with us.
Are you being tested today? The key is to keep trusting God, even if you don't understand. There is no such thing as trusting god without unanswered questions, but when you push ahead, despite your doubts, He will build you up and make you strong.
Life is filled with challenges that test our determination and our faith in God. Whether we're faced with impending threat of evil or with everyday hassles, the quality of our character is sure to be tested on a regular basis.
It would be a great mistake to overlook the fact that God test our hearts, our emotions and our minds. What does it mean to test something? It means to put pressure on it to see if it will do what it says it will do. Will it hold up under stress? Can it perform at the level its maker says it can? Is it genuine when measured against a true standard of quality?
God does the same with us.
Are you being tested today? The key is to keep trusting God, even if you don't understand. There is no such thing as trusting god without unanswered questions, but when you push ahead, despite your doubts, He will build you up and make you strong.
What Controls You?
He who angers you controls you! Ever gotten so upset about something and after you calm down you realize how small the situation was and how it could have been handled in a different manner. Don't worry, I do it all the time and I've been thinking of some solutions to minimize this or all in all cease the opportunity to even allow myself to get so upset.
My job requires me to talk to many people on a daily basis. Some are nice, and some are very rude and even racial. I tend to get so worked up that I have to put my phone on mute and vent. As I started thinking about my frustration I realized that words truly can control someone. No matter how much u sing "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me"! All I can say is that the words may not hurt you physically, but they can effect you mentally.
Therefore I'm working on reading and meditating more often. The daily devotionals really minister to me and that's why I decide to share them with you guys as much as I can. Meditating on more positive things can benefit and help you take on different things in a calmer manner. I will keep you guys posted on how this works for me. Wish me luck ;)
My job requires me to talk to many people on a daily basis. Some are nice, and some are very rude and even racial. I tend to get so worked up that I have to put my phone on mute and vent. As I started thinking about my frustration I realized that words truly can control someone. No matter how much u sing "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me"! All I can say is that the words may not hurt you physically, but they can effect you mentally.
Therefore I'm working on reading and meditating more often. The daily devotionals really minister to me and that's why I decide to share them with you guys as much as I can. Meditating on more positive things can benefit and help you take on different things in a calmer manner. I will keep you guys posted on how this works for me. Wish me luck ;)
Friday, June 15, 2012
Meet The New Sampler
Wow ... who knew that sampling was this fun. I just received my lovely Target beauty bag (Thanks to Miss Dre) in the mail today, along with a Purex sample, and a Stay Free sample! As I've been saying, I love the 4 letter word, F R E E! The beauty bag is cute and lots of goodies came inside, peep them below.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Blogger Interactions ...
So I follow a couple of blogs and I am interested to expand my list. Who are some of your favorite bloggers?? Comment below with some recommendations. I truly love the helpful information that I find on blogs like; Miss Dre "So She Writes" .. "Miss FabEllis" ... "The Girly Blog" ... and a couple more. Leave me feedback guys, I'm interested to know :)
Versona Accessories
How many of you guys love accessories??? Well those of you that do I must introduce you to Versona Accessories (if you are not already familiar with them). This store is awesome and they have great accessories and clothing items. A couple of weeks ago while I was in Montgomery my sister and I shopped there. OMG, they have a variety of things for every occasion. I purchased the ring and the earrings below for under $5.00 on clearance. Stop by your local location and check them out. I guarantee you will fall in love. Visit www.versonaaccessories.com to find a store near you.
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| Simple, but Cute |
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| Love The Colors |
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"Back View"
Are You Enjoying Life?
I'm a sucker for quotes with meaning ... and this one gives you something to think about. Are you enjoying life, or are you too worried about the days ahead?? Who guaranteed you days ahead in the 1st place?? With so much going on in the world today, let us be thankful, grateful, and happy in the moment we have because tomorrow is never promised. Just a thought ;)
Take God Out of the "Emergency Only" Box!
"Daily Devotion From Joyce Meyer"
I used to spend time with God once in awhile or when my life was in big trouble. Eventually I learned that if I ever wanted to stop living from one emergency to the next, I needed to seek God every day as if I were in desperate need of Him.
It's true that God will always help us when we come to Him. But if we want constant victory, we need to take God out of our "emergency only" box and invite Him into our everyday lives.
God wants us to get personal with Him. He proves this by the fact that He lives withing us.
When Jesus died on the cross, He opened the way for us to get personal with almighty God. If God had wanted an "emergency only" relationship, He might just visit on occasion, but He certainly would not have come to take up permanent residence within us.
What an awesome thought! God is your personal friend! Will you remove Him from the "emergency only" box today?
I used to spend time with God once in awhile or when my life was in big trouble. Eventually I learned that if I ever wanted to stop living from one emergency to the next, I needed to seek God every day as if I were in desperate need of Him.
It's true that God will always help us when we come to Him. But if we want constant victory, we need to take God out of our "emergency only" box and invite Him into our everyday lives.
God wants us to get personal with Him. He proves this by the fact that He lives withing us.
When Jesus died on the cross, He opened the way for us to get personal with almighty God. If God had wanted an "emergency only" relationship, He might just visit on occasion, but He certainly would not have come to take up permanent residence within us.
What an awesome thought! God is your personal friend! Will you remove Him from the "emergency only" box today?
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Daily Devotional From Joyce Meyer
The Evidence of the Holy Spirit
There are too many unhappy born-again, Spirit-filled believers who don't know what it's like to remain full of the Spirit of God by acknowledging Him and pursuing His ways daily. The Holy Spirit is in them, but they don't let the evidence of it show up in their normal, day-to-day life.
It is possible to fill a glass with water without filling it to full capacity. Likewise, when we are born again we have the Holy Spirit in us, but we may not yet be totally filled and have the evidence of His power in our lives.
Acts 4:31 reports that when people were filled with the Holy Spirit, they spoke the Word of God "with freedom and boldness and courage."
It does not please God when people leave Him out of their daily lives and then follow religious formulas to try to appease Him. Instead, He wants us to live the Spirit-filled life of freedom, boldness and courage.
I urge you to let God work freely in every area of your life through the power of the Holy Spirit.
There are too many unhappy born-again, Spirit-filled believers who don't know what it's like to remain full of the Spirit of God by acknowledging Him and pursuing His ways daily. The Holy Spirit is in them, but they don't let the evidence of it show up in their normal, day-to-day life.
It is possible to fill a glass with water without filling it to full capacity. Likewise, when we are born again we have the Holy Spirit in us, but we may not yet be totally filled and have the evidence of His power in our lives.
Acts 4:31 reports that when people were filled with the Holy Spirit, they spoke the Word of God "with freedom and boldness and courage."
It does not please God when people leave Him out of their daily lives and then follow religious formulas to try to appease Him. Instead, He wants us to live the Spirit-filled life of freedom, boldness and courage.
I urge you to let God work freely in every area of your life through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Daily Devotion From Joyce Meyer
Being an Imitator of God
Being a Christian isn't about making a weekly trip to church. We need to develop the character of God so others can actually see Jesus working in a practical way.
Ephesians 5:1 says that we are to be imitators of God. Unfortunately, saying it is a lot easier than actually doing it. So many times we do things that don't reflect God at all. It's easy to get discouraged, give up on and condemn ourselves when we fall short.
Thankfully, God isn't bothered that we haven't arrived yet. He knows we're only human. He knows that we're not going to instantly, perfectly mirror Him overnight, but he does want us to continue growing.
We're not meant to live stagnant lives, never moving forward in our faith. Where's the adventure in that? We need to be able to look back on our life and see some changes taking place.
I used to be a Pharisee. I think I could have been the chief of Pharisees. I had a real religious act going on, but I wasn't really doing anything to truly "imitate" God. At some point, God led me to ask myself: "What am I doing to be more like God? Am I actually helping anybody? Am I just in this thing so God will make my life better?"
When we're in a place of questioning, that's the best place to be. It's a place of constantly striving toward being more like Christ.
As you're striving, don't fall into the trap of perfectionism and self-condemnation. We all make mistakes but the important thing is to be willing to take steps every day toward being more like God.
Being a Christian isn't about making a weekly trip to church. We need to develop the character of God so others can actually see Jesus working in a practical way.
Ephesians 5:1 says that we are to be imitators of God. Unfortunately, saying it is a lot easier than actually doing it. So many times we do things that don't reflect God at all. It's easy to get discouraged, give up on and condemn ourselves when we fall short.
Thankfully, God isn't bothered that we haven't arrived yet. He knows we're only human. He knows that we're not going to instantly, perfectly mirror Him overnight, but he does want us to continue growing.
We're not meant to live stagnant lives, never moving forward in our faith. Where's the adventure in that? We need to be able to look back on our life and see some changes taking place.
I used to be a Pharisee. I think I could have been the chief of Pharisees. I had a real religious act going on, but I wasn't really doing anything to truly "imitate" God. At some point, God led me to ask myself: "What am I doing to be more like God? Am I actually helping anybody? Am I just in this thing so God will make my life better?"
When we're in a place of questioning, that's the best place to be. It's a place of constantly striving toward being more like Christ.
As you're striving, don't fall into the trap of perfectionism and self-condemnation. We all make mistakes but the important thing is to be willing to take steps every day toward being more like God.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Daily Devotion From Joyce Meyer
God's Agape Love
The Bible talks about various kinds of love. There's the Greek word "phileo," which means friendship or tender affection. Then there's "eros," which is the passionate love we feel for a lover. But there's a third kind, a higher kind of love.
"Agape" is the kind of love God has toward His Son and the human race. It's a love that sacrifices, the love that we see in John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son .. "(NIV).
There are so many scriptures on this topic. It's really something you should sit down and study personally. Another scripture that teaches the concept of agape love is Matthew 5:44. It tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.
It's not difficult to pray for people who are good to you. But it does stretch you to pray for people who have wounded you. It's easy to hang out with your friends at church. But it's harder to seek out the person who looks like they're miserable and alone and just listen to them for awhile. That's agape love. It's sacrificing your comfort to do what's righteous.
You can 'agape love' people by being patient with them, by being understanding with them, by saying anything when you could. As humans, we are inherently selfish, constantly asking, "What about me?" It's time to declare war on selfishness with the power of agape love.
It's time to be good and loving to people on purpose as we study and understand what scripture says about love. And let the agape love of God in you overflow to others.
The Bible talks about various kinds of love. There's the Greek word "phileo," which means friendship or tender affection. Then there's "eros," which is the passionate love we feel for a lover. But there's a third kind, a higher kind of love.
"Agape" is the kind of love God has toward His Son and the human race. It's a love that sacrifices, the love that we see in John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son .. "(NIV).
There are so many scriptures on this topic. It's really something you should sit down and study personally. Another scripture that teaches the concept of agape love is Matthew 5:44. It tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.
It's not difficult to pray for people who are good to you. But it does stretch you to pray for people who have wounded you. It's easy to hang out with your friends at church. But it's harder to seek out the person who looks like they're miserable and alone and just listen to them for awhile. That's agape love. It's sacrificing your comfort to do what's righteous.
You can 'agape love' people by being patient with them, by being understanding with them, by saying anything when you could. As humans, we are inherently selfish, constantly asking, "What about me?" It's time to declare war on selfishness with the power of agape love.
It's time to be good and loving to people on purpose as we study and understand what scripture says about love. And let the agape love of God in you overflow to others.
"Sunday Worship"
Greetings everyone ... Hope you all have had a wonderful day and weekend. I'm feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. I attended service today at St. James United Methodist Church (Alpharetta, Ga) and I must say the presence of the Lord was there. Not only that, but the Reverend and the members are so welcoming and friendly. I didn't feel like I was overlooked, because they surely acknowledged the visitors and also called upon me after service to offer me a church home and provide information about the festivities they offer. In fact they have vocational bible school going on all next week and I will surely be in attendance. I really enjoyed the sermon and I made notes of somethings that I wish to share with you.
Reverend McQueen delivered a message with metaphors of a baseball game. 3 strikes in baseball means your out (Which is what the devil would tell you, but God says different)
... I went to hear a word and that's just what I received.
He says,
"God will interrupt you in your pursuit of happiness to wake you up and remind you to refocus."
"There's got to be some pain in order to get to your break through.
"My best days are ahead of me and not behind me"
"God will place you in the wilderness to prepare you for the battle"
"When God give you vision, he also gives you provision"
Reverend McQueen delivered a message with metaphors of a baseball game. 3 strikes in baseball means your out (Which is what the devil would tell you, but God says different)
... I went to hear a word and that's just what I received.
He says,
"God will interrupt you in your pursuit of happiness to wake you up and remind you to refocus."
"There's got to be some pain in order to get to your break through.
"My best days are ahead of me and not behind me"
"God will place you in the wilderness to prepare you for the battle"
"When God give you vision, he also gives you provision"
Saturday, June 2, 2012
The $1.00 menu :)
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What's that 4 letter word?
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| All we need is LOVE |
What's 4 letters, unexplainable; yet there's a definition for it? It makes some people feel happy, it makes some people feel sad. It can be the best gift, or the worst curse. Many have tried to explain it; yet it still remains unexplainable for some. It's called LOVE.
People sing about it, people cry about it, people lust about it, and people get hurt by it. How ironic that 1 of the best things that you can do, can also be the hardest thing for you to do. From birth we are loved and throughout life we are loved. I am astonded of the fact that we love because God first loved us. We are created in a remarkable image, yet we can make the image appear so ugly at times.
1 John 4:16-18 says "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
That's something to think about .. God says 1 thing and man says another ... Wikipedia gives you a definition ...
love/ləv/
| Noun: |
| |
| Verb: |
| |
| Synonyms: |
noun. affection - fondness - darling - passion
verb. like - be fond of - fancy - adore
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But what do you think of it ... Whats your definition of LOVE??
Friday, June 1, 2012
Daily Devotion From Joyce Meyer
Social Justice
It's simply wrong to see or hear of someone in need and do absolutely nothing. Let me explain ...
Awhile ago, the Lord revealed to me just how strongly He feels about wanting me to work for justice for the oppressed. It's part of His calling for all in the body of Christ. He's been looking for people to help the fatherless, the widows, the oppressed, the poor, the lonely and forgotten since He gave the law in Old Testament times.
Speaking through Moses, He said, " You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child" (Exodus 22:22 AMP). God is not partial, "He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger or temporary resident and gives him food and clothing" (Deuteronomy 10:18 AMP). God told the people that if they fed the strangers, the widows and the fatherless, He would bless the work of their hands (see Deuteronomy 14:29).
Some of the most lonely and forgotten people in the world today are the girls who have been forced into prostitution in order to survive, the orphan boy in Africa whose parents have died of AIDS, the prisoner who spends day after day alone in a prison cell,the homeless man living on the streets ... there are plenty of people in need out there.
This can all seem overwhelming, and you might be thinking, "What can I do about this?' God has taught me that while I cannot solve everything, if I relieve the suffering of just one person, I am making a difference.
Please don't think that what you have to give isn't enough. The hurting, broken, hungry and homeless are all around. Will you help them today?
It's simply wrong to see or hear of someone in need and do absolutely nothing. Let me explain ...
Awhile ago, the Lord revealed to me just how strongly He feels about wanting me to work for justice for the oppressed. It's part of His calling for all in the body of Christ. He's been looking for people to help the fatherless, the widows, the oppressed, the poor, the lonely and forgotten since He gave the law in Old Testament times.
Speaking through Moses, He said, " You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child" (Exodus 22:22 AMP). God is not partial, "He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger or temporary resident and gives him food and clothing" (Deuteronomy 10:18 AMP). God told the people that if they fed the strangers, the widows and the fatherless, He would bless the work of their hands (see Deuteronomy 14:29).
Some of the most lonely and forgotten people in the world today are the girls who have been forced into prostitution in order to survive, the orphan boy in Africa whose parents have died of AIDS, the prisoner who spends day after day alone in a prison cell,the homeless man living on the streets ... there are plenty of people in need out there.
This can all seem overwhelming, and you might be thinking, "What can I do about this?' God has taught me that while I cannot solve everything, if I relieve the suffering of just one person, I am making a difference.
Please don't think that what you have to give isn't enough. The hurting, broken, hungry and homeless are all around. Will you help them today?
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