Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Peace in the Time of Trouble

Today I saw this on one of my cousin's facebook page....

 Jacob cheated, Peter had a temper, David had an affair, Noah got drunk, Jonah ran from God, Moses committed murder, Gideon was insecure, Miriam gossiped, Martha worried, Thomas doubted, Sara was impatient, Elijah was moody, Zacchaeus was short, Abraham was old & Lazarus was dead. God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the CALLED!!! Re-post if you're not perfect, but God is still working on YOU!!!Yep, HE is still working on me.

It made me stop and think that even though we all make mistakes, that God's plans do not fail! He will bring to pass what he has promised to you....





I never saw this as more true than today....it seemed life was going so great for us. I felt like I was in a new stage of my journey with the King. He was moving in my life, other people's lives were being impacted in a good way and then they too were becoming stronger in their walk. Yep, I was feeling pretty good about things.....then some struggles began. Little things really, sort of came up out of no-where...

Then, when I felt at my lowest point, the enemy came and tried to tell me, that with all I had seen God do,  how did I end up in this little mess? That I must not be doing something right, I must not be deserving enough.....but then...

I began to pray and God brought this scripture to me memory (Phil. 1:6)....and I realized that even though unpleasant things happen, mistakes are made, life gets a little tedious at times, that I am still able to be used by God regardless of the circumstances I am in at the moment. As long as I have a willing heart that is open to Him, then He comes and restores me and lifts me up. 

I know what God has said to me, I know what He has promised, and I know He will fulfull all that He has planned for me.....so I will continue to walk in His truths...

Be Blessed Today

"In the Shelter of His Arms" 

This song really spoke to me today, and I hope it blesses you. It is the version by Jimmy Swaggart...but if you don't care for him, just listen past who is singing and hear the message of the song. Just click on the link and you will be blessed!

 

Monday, January 9, 2012

A Bit of Nostalgia

Sitting here today just thinking and listening to some old songs that I grew up on......oh the memories that flood my mind of the church services I have sat in, played music in and basked in the presence of God. Now don't get me wrong, I love the new stuff, the contemporary worship, but it is just something about these songs, like Vestal Goodman singing "I Hold a Clear Title" and "I Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now"...it just stirs your soul and gives you that confidence that all those that have gone before us on this journey have made it and we can too! Change is good, but sometimes we need to remember where we came from, knowing that change is necessary, but also knowing that these songs, these messages, shaped us to who we are today. Maybe we don't attend the mainline church anymore, but that does not mean that the people that go there are wrong in their worship or their faith!  We need to appreciate those guys that came before us and broke the ground for us to have religious freedom that we have today. It was in a pentecostal church that I heard the message of Jesus and Salvation....that heritage that was passed on to me, makes me the woman I am today. It is because of those messages that my faith is strong, that I am not shaken by what comes. That old church that people want to get so far away from is what paved the way for you to have your church today. We have to remember that we are all children of God, we are all on the same journey, we have the same struggles, the same kinds of victories.....we need each other, regardless of the denomination that someone attends.....they can still impact your life! Let's go forward this week and appreciate each other a little more, with a little more understanding that others are not wrong, just different. Be Blessed!!

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Valentine Memories


 Some of my favorite childhood memories will always include the classroom Valentine's Day party......I loved making the decorated boxes to hold all the Valentine's, and then getting home and reading all of them from my friends. We had a boy in our class named A.W., not a joke that was his real name! Anyway every holiday his Mom would always make each child in his class a craft that held candy and pencils.... it was awesome! Of course back then we were allowed to bring treats from home....cupcakes with that really sweet icing were some of my favorites. Now that I have children of my own, I still try to make that day special for them by letting them know how special they are to me and how much I love them. One year I made these little heart cakes for each one of them, gave them a special gift, then took them to eat at their favorite steak place and to the movies to see "Nanny McPhee." It is still one of my favorite memories with them. Now days we usually fix a special meal together, and we all eat by candlelight. They get excited b/c I let them use the "fine china"....and of course we drink our tea out of our wine glasses. Everyone dresses up and we take lots of pictures.

Well, if you would like to create a one of a kind memory gift this year for your child, sister, Mom, wife, girlfriend....etc... why not let me create a special wearable bling art shirt, pants, tote bag or on anything else that may come to mind like hand towels for example....

Any of the designs you see here can be made for adults or youth sizes....message me at frank_n_regina@yahoo.com or on facebook I am listed under "Regina Sullivan"