Encouraged by God's Word

Posts Tagged ‘encouragement’

Hello Family,

On Sunday, August 8, 2010 I started a new workout routine.

I had to do it for a couple of reasons. One was I didn’t like what I saw when I looked in the mirror. And another was I was getting tired of my 15 year old daughter talking about my gut and how bad I looked and how fat I was, and so on and so on.

As far as working out I had an idea of what I wanted to do but I knew I had to be mentally ready for the challenge. After some research I took the plunge and invested in the P90X Extreme Home Fitness Workout Program. I know you’ve seen the infomercials. Ordinary people who have transformed their bodies in 90 days doing this extreme fitness program. I knew that this was my time to make a change.

I had a friend of mine who I went to college with who did the program with her husband and she was telling me that because they did it together, they were able to push and motivate each other and complete it. She told me that that was one of the major reasons she was able to do it because it was a hard routine.

After that discussion, I knew I was ready to do it. I was mentally ready, I had my equipment and my meal plan was all set but there was one thing missing. I didn’t have that person there to push and encourage me. So what I did was I went to teambeachbody.com and searched for some support and I was fortunate enough to find a group of people who were starting P90X on the same day as I was.

Now these folks are my virtual workout partners and we have been doing this thing together from the very beginning. I am there to support them and they’re there to support me. We talk about our victories and our challenges and we ALWAYS encourage one another no matter what.

In your everyday life are you there for your brother or sister when they need you? Do you share your challenges and struggles with those close to you so that they can help you through those hard times?

James 5:16 says Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

With my P90X virtual workout partners we’ve made it our priority to be responsible to each other and to be there for one another. We post messages on our message board on a regular basis just to see how everyone is doing. We are accountable to each other. When someone seems to be slacking, it is our job to boast them up. And if they miss a workout for some reason that’s out of their control, we don’t bash them. We lift them up and push them to make up the workout and to continue to press on.

In life we all should be accountable to someone. There should be some checks and balances in our lives to ensure we are functioning at our best. If we don’t have people to check on us to make sure we’re doing what we should be doing, our perception of how we’re living will be skewed. We may not think that our offenses are wrong in our own eyes but someone else may see it another way. We always need that other person there to see things from a different perspective other than our own.

If you don’t have any life workout partners find some now. Make sure they are willing to be honest with you when you need correction and there for you when you need to be lifted up. When you’re struggling the most and want to quit is when you need your accountability partner there to tell you to “keep going” or “you can make it”. You also need them there to pray for you when you need healing.

Be Encouraged and Have a Great Day!

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Hello Family,

On Saturday, August 28, 2010 my church, The First Baptist Church of Glenarden, received The Hoodie Award. Now I have to admit that when I heard we were nominated for it a few months ago I was a little skeptical. I had never heard of The Hoodie Award but it sounded stupid. It sounded like it was something that was ghetto (from the hood) and I wasn’t feeling it.

After I checked it out I discovered that it wasn’t quite what I thought it was. And when I found out why we were nominated I was proud of my church.

The Hoodie Award is an award that is given by entertainer Steve Harvey and it honors schools, local leaders and businesses from all over the nation in a variety of categories to include Best High School Teacher, Best High School, Best Soul Food, Best Community Leader, Best Church and many more.

My church won the category of Best Church because of the work we do in our community and world wide.

This award definitely fits with our mission statement of Developing Dynamic Disciples. We don’t want to be a church where folks come in on Sunday mornings, get their weekly fix and then go about their business and not God’s business. We want to be a church that is living out the great commission to teach people to be great disciples (Matthew 28:16-20).

What about you? Are you doing what God has called you to do? Does the work you do make your community better or are you one who is bitter and complains all the time about what is going on?

If you’re not using your gifts and resources and working to improve someone else’s life, then what is your purpose?

1 John 3:17-19 says But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.

Our church is blessed and if we don’t use what we have to bless others, we are not living according to the word. We are in direct violation of the scripture by not showing love for our fellow man.

I tell my kids all the time that I’m not too concerned about what you say you’re going to do. I’m more concerned about what you’re going to do. Your Actions Speak Louder Than Words.

Our members are charged to have a ‘vineyard’ mentality. We are called to work and give back and not sit back and be leeches and take, take, take.

Now our pastor has said on a number of occasions of how proud he is of our members and I’m sure he enjoyed the fact that our church has received this national recognition but if no one ever patted us on the back as a church and told us we were doing a great job, it wouldn’t matter. You know why? Because we don’t do what we do to get approval from man. We do what we do to minister to a hurting people. We do what we do to help the lost. We’re not in this thing to get all puffed up and boast of our good works. NO! We’re commissioned by God to spread the good news of Jesus Christ.

What are you doing to make this world a better place? How are you impacting your hood?

If God was giving out awards, would your name be engraved on one for the work you’re doing? It should be. If not then maybe you need to do something about it.

Be Encouraged and Have an Award Winning Day!

Hello Family,

There was a movie that came out in 1979 and it was about a gang called “The Warriors”. In the beginning of the movie the Warriors were accused of killing Cyrus, the leader of the Gramercy Riffs during a truce in Central Park, NY.

As the Warriors fought their way back home to Coney Island, they came up against other gangs that were trying to kill them. They faced all types of adversity; some brawls, police pursuits, lives were lost and there were other struggles and tribulations.

When the Warriors finally made it back to their home turf, there was one last rival gang waiting for them called the Rogues. When Luther, the leader of the Rogues, saw the Warriors he started chanting, “Warriors, come out to play-yay.” in a creaky, demented voice. Now he really didn’t want to play, he and the Rogues wanted to kill the Warriors.

When the Warriors were facing the Rogues in the last battle, the truth was made known, they were found innocent and the Warriors were vindicated. The Warriors came out victorious!

A Warrior is defined as a man (or woman) engaged or experienced in warfare. A person engaged in some struggle or conflict.

Psalm 50:15 says Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.

As you go through your troubled days, are you acting like a warrior or a wimp? Are you fighting or are you giving up? 

The Lord wants us to call on Him when we are in trouble because He will deliver us from whatever we face. And all He asked is that we glorify Him. Give Him the credit that is due and realize that He is in control and He has our back.

And how do we call on Him? We PRAY!

The battle we fight is not a physical battle so physical weapons are no good. The knives, guns, broken bottles and pipes used by gang members are worthless. We must enter into the spiritual realm and use our spiritual weapons to defeat the enemy.

Are you a warrior who is fighting and doing all you can do to win? Are you a warrior who won’t back down from a brawl? Are you a warrior who is strong in the Lord?

When the enemy comes your way to fight, I don’t want you to think about the saying from the movie, “Warriors, come out to play-yay”. I want you to turn it around and shout, “Warriors, Come Out and Pray-yay!” and pray your way to VICTORY!

Be Encouraged and Have a Prayerful Weekend!

Hello Family,

I know some of you remember that song by Carl Carlton. C’mon and sing it with me…She’s a bad mamma jamma…Just as fine as she can be…hey! And then the song goes on to describe her physical attributes and how attractive she is but I want to talk about someone else who is a whole lot better than the woman Carl Carlton was talking about

and I want you to see if you can figure out who it is.

She has a lot of qualities that make her so fine, we would be foolish not to be involved with her. She has it all and when we have her, she makes us better in so many ways. Because of her, we’re able to reach heights we never could have imagined. People look up to us when we have her and seek our knowledge. She’s a lot deeper and insightful than any physical being. She is profound and meaningful.

Do you know who I’m talking about?

Her name is WISDOM and according to the word:

She will help you grow in knowledge.

A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels. -Proverbs 1:5

She makes you happy.

Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding! -Proverbs 3:13

She will give you recognition.

The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the legacy of fools. -Proverbs 3:35

She is close like family.

Say to wisdom, “you are my sister!” and call understanding, your nearest kin, -Proverbs 7:4

She is contagious.

Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. -Proverbs 9:9

She brings pride to the family.

A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is the grief to his mother. -Proverbs 10:1

She brings joy to other’s hearts.

My son, if your heart is wise, my heart will rejoice—indeed, I myself; -Proverbs 23:15

She makes you strong.

A wise man is strong, yes, a man of knowledge increases strength; -Proverbs 24:5

So instead of looking for that bad mamma jamma who is physically attractive on the outside and has no substance and can’t do anything for you, fill yourself with wisdom and live a prosperous, spirit filled life.

Be Encouraged and Have a Wisdom Filled Weekend!

Hello Family,

Lately my mind has been preoccupied with a lot of things. I have one child who just graduated from high school and will be attending college in the fall. My other two children are running track and that keeps me busy with practice and track meets that last all day long on Saturdays and some on Sundays. And I have other things that I’m involved with and MANY things that I need to catch up on. The “to do” list is out of control.

In the midst of everything, I’ve gotten out of my routine. The things that I do that bring balance to my life and keep me grounded have been disturbed.

And it’s no one’s fault but my own.

Because I’m not in my flow, I find myself being worried about things more than I normally would be. I feel as though my faith is wavering. Sometimes I just can’t see how God is going to work it out.

I had a conversation with a fellow Hamptonian Horace Christian and we were talking business but in reality it was ministry because he said some things that reminded me about what I needed to do and what I needed to be about. I don’t think it was his intention but he was right on point.

Afterwards I started to think how lately I’ve been limiting the power of God in my life. I didn’t have big expectations of Him. My limited mind got in the way of my limitless God.

Psalm 27: 14 (Amplified Bible) says Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.

We limit our blessings because we look at life from our perspective. We think that if we can think it, it can happen. Conversely, we think that if we CAN’T think it, it CAN’T happen.

Stinkin’ thinkin’ like this puts handcuffs on God and He can’t and won’t move in our lives until we adjust the barometer of our faith that we have.

There’s nothing too hard for Him to handle.

There’s a song called the “The Harvest Song” written by Anthony Brown who is a member of my home church, The First Baptist Church of Glenarden. The best part of the song for me is the vamp.

Solo: I don’t know just how He’s gonna do it but
Choir: But I know that He’s gonna do somethin’
Solo: I don’t know how He’ll meet the need but
Choir: All I know is He’s gonna do somethin’
Solo: I don’t know how He’ll save the day but
Choir: But I know that He’s gonna do somethin’
Solo: All I know is somehow, someway
Choir: All I know is He’s gonna do somethin’

Plain and simple, I don’t know how, when and where God is going to do it, but He’s gonna do something unexpected. It’s up to me to keep the faith and walk with the blessed assurance that God knows exactly what I need and when I need it.

Be brave and of good courage, have a strong and enduring heart and expect God to do some awesome things in your life.

Be Encouraged and Have a Faith Filled Weekend!

P.S. Go check out “The Harvest Song” on YouTube.