Tag: Inspiration

3 Years and Counting!

Today is my 3 year blog anniversary!! It’s been a wonderful 3 years and I am blessed to have the privilege to have this blog and interact with all of you regularly. Thank you for following me, reading my posts, liking my posts, commenting on my posts, and sharing my posts. It really means a lot to me, and I thank God for each one of you!!

I still remember the day I published my first post. I also remember feeling nervous, but three years later, I can say I am glad I did it. I am thankful for the growth the Lord has given my blog because two years ago I had less than fifty followers. I started this blog to encourage my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus; and I am honored to be able to do so.

Thank you again for the encouragement and support I have received from all of you. Your amazing blogs have inspired me to keep going; and I know that behind every amazing blog, is an amazing blogger!

Please keep writing and sharing what God has placed on your hearts. I pray that God’s love and joy would continue to overflow in your lives as you seek Him daily. ❤️

Photo by: Ylanite Koppens of the Netherlands 🇳🇱

But Be Of Good Cheer

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33, KJB)

There are no words more comforting than the words of Jesus. As I was watching the news recently, His words came to my mind, “Be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.” I felt peace knowing that God is still in control.

During times like these, where sin is running rampant in the world, it takes perseverance to hold on and keep trusting in God. Perseverance that can only come from His power working in us. It takes faith to keep believing that God cares and understands every hurt, every struggle. It takes faith to believe that He sees every injustice, yet still has a plan to bring about good in His time and His way.

Photo by: Pixabay

Many of us have had those quiet moments where we question God and wonder “why?” The list of whys can go on and on. However, as I reflect on the words of Jesus, I’m reminded that He has overcome the whys of this world. Knowing that He has overcome brings us hope.

I pray that the joy of the Lord would be your strength. I pray that His peace would guard your heart and mind. I pray that your every need would be supplied. I pray that His words would light your path. I pray that you would fear not as you continue to trust and obey the Lord.

Be of good cheer, Jesus has overcome the world!

Sunshine Blogger Award

Thank you Mrs. Holliman @ GOD’S LOVE for nominating me for “The Sunshine Blogger Award”☀️. Thank you also for the sunshine that you bring to our blogging community. Please visit Mrs. Holliman’s blog, where she joyfully shares God’s Love with others. ❤️

The Sunshine Blogger Award is given by bloggers to bloggers who inspire positiveness and creativity in the blogging community. The rules are:
1. Thank blogger(s) who nominated you and link back to their blog.
2. List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or on your blog.
3. Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you.
4. Nominate up to 11 new blogs to receive the award, write them 11 new questions and notify them about the nomination.

Mrs. Holliman’s Questions to me:
1. Do you think your name is cute? Yes, I’m thankful for my name.


2. If you had a chance to name yourself, which name would you choose and why? I wouldn’t change my name.


3. Do you have any hobbies other than writing? I enjoy walking, reading, and watching movies.


4. Be it books or movies, if given a chance, which character’s life would you choose to live and why? I have never thought of being a character from a book/movie, however, if I had to choose, hopefully it would be someone who has helped to change lives for the better.


5. If you have a job now, are you happy with it? If you could change it now, which one would you choose? I love my job! I don’t have a desire to change it at this time.


6. Do you like to cook? Yes. It’s much more enjoyable now since I’ve been working from home and have extra time.


7. Do you believe in predictions made for your zodiac sign? No, I don’t follow horoscopes.


8. So far are you proud and satisfied with your blog’s progress? Yes I am thankful!


9. What’s the most useless piece of knowledge you know? I’m not sure. 🤔


10. Which is your favorite work from your blog? Leave the link so that everyone can enjoy!! One of my favorites is, “The Lord Is God”.

Any of my followers who would like to accept this award and answer these questions, please feel free. 🤗

There Is Only One You

Psalm 139:13-15 ESV, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.”

Photo by: Andrea Piacquadio of Hungary 🇭🇺

We are each uniquely made. The Lord knew us before we were even formed in the womb of our mother’s. He has a purpose and a plan for each of us. As Christians we hear those words a lot, that God has a purpose and a plan for us. But choosing to believe what we hear and read, while putting it into action is what will mature us in the Lord.

Photo by: Andrea Piacquadio of Hungary 🇭🇺

There is no need to compete with others. There is only one you, and the Lord desires to use you to make a difference and touch lives. His power working in you and through you will give you the strength you need. If you feel insufficient for the task at hand, than you are in the perfect position to be used by the Lord. In our insufficiency, His grace is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9)

I enjoyed this post by Jeanne @ Garden Faith: Power of God: Ephesians 3:20-21, reminding us about God’s power working in our lives. Thanks Jeanne! 🌺

Florida Memories: Keep Praying For Our College Students

This month marks one year ago that my daughter graduated from college (May 1, 2019). I always loved my visits to the college campus, which was located right in the heart of Miami. Seeing the young adults around the campus as I drove to my daughter’s dorm, was a joyful experience for me. I felt excited for them. There was something about the atmosphere on the campus that seemed so fresh and promising.

Campus Main Entrance

During my daughter’s four years at the university, she was a resident in almost every dorm on campus. Moving her in and out of dorms became a part of our normal routine. Her favorite dwelling were the campus studio apartments that she stayed in during her final semester of her senior year. It was her first time being in her own personal space, without roommates or suite mates.

Campus Studio Apartments

I learned from watching and listening to her that dorm life is certainly not without challenges. However I’m thankful she was able to endure the ups and downs. She did amazing! I told her Panther Hall (the freshman dorm) would always be my favorite one because that is where her journey began. During her junior year (if I remember correctly), she lived in Everglades Hall. Everglades Hall always gave me a sense of sadness. The year before she moved in there, a young man was found in his room, he passed away from a drug overdose. He was a junior with one more year to go. My heart went out to his parents who lived out of state in North Carolina. Can you imagine getting that call?

Everglades Hall

I will always have fond memories of my college mom days. Especially our time together on the weekends, when she was able to come home for visits. Or those beautiful sunny Saturday afternoons I’d make my way to Miami (about an hour drive) to spend the day with her. Miami has many great restaurants, and we enjoyed visiting them!

The best vegan pizza I ever had!

As a college mom, prayer for my daughter was always of utmost importance. I knew that she was now a young adult who had to start making her own decisions and experience life for herself. That’s never an easy transition for a parent, and it’s prayer that helps us through. We have to trust God that the lessons we taught them will resonate. We have to trust that He has a good plan for their lives.

Photo by: Nguyễn Lâm

College students need our prayers. College is a tough time for a young adult. Many of them are out on their own for the first time. Not only do they have a whole lot of school work, but they also have peer pressure, pressure from society to follow a certain path, big decisions to make about their futures, and many other trials they are trying to work through. They need our support. So please join me in praying for our young adult college students. Thank you for your prayers!

Colossians 4:2 ESV, “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.”

Previous Florida Memories post: Florida Memories: The Sweet Fragrance of Jesus

Jesus Makes Us Beautiful

Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

It’s beautiful how Jesus makes us beautiful. When we submit ourselves to Him, it’s a wonder how He works in our lives. The closer we draw to Him, the more our hearts change, so we can reflect His glory. We just have to remember that it’s His timing and not our own. If you’re like me, you may have days when you become frustrated because your progress seems slow. Or perhaps you sometimes find yourself struggling to overcome a certain sin. As long as we’re diligently seeking Him, we are moving forward. We can see how far He’s brought us when we think about how we used to be. We are becoming beautiful as we dwell in the presence of our Savior and saturate our hearts with His Word.

Viewing our lives from an eternal perspective as God does, causes us to bubble over with joy and hope. For we know that where we are now is certainly not the end. On the other side of our earthly life, is more than we can even begin to imagine.

Stay focused on the One who makes you beautiful.

Photo by: Philippe Donn of Uruguay 🇺🇾

Author’s Recognition Award

Thank you Beverley 🌟 for creating this award and thanks for nominating me. It’s commendable of you to think of others in this way! I am enjoying your book, “Harm Not The Oil and Wine: Is This a Promise of Hope for Refugees?”

Purpose of the Award
This award was created by Beverley @ Becomingtheoilandwine blog to support our fellow bloggers who have written and published books or who are in the process of writing a book. You are free to write as much as possible about your book and the reasons why you have decided to write a book. Remember, we are all winners in the Kingdom of God, and God wants the best for us.

Rules of the Award
• Create a new post on your blog using the above picture logo or create one of your own.
• Copy and paste the Purpose of the Award and the Rules of the Award on your post.
• Thank the person who nominated you and post a link to their blog.
• Include the links to the creator of the Award and the inspirational post: Celebrating and Supporting our fellow Authors.
• Write a brief description of the books you have written or the book that you are currently writing.
• Include a link to your published books or the potential date of publishing.
• Nominate at least five bloggers who have published a book or who are currently writing or thinking about writing a book.
• Support at least one of the bloggers you have nominated by either purchasing one of their books or sharing the links to their books.
• If a nominee has not written a book, share one of their blog posts.

My 3 Books: Below are the links to my 3 books. You can click on the links for a description. My hope and prayer is that the words of these books would be an extension to the love of Jesus Christ and cause those who read it to draw closer to Him. He is always faithful! ❤️

Drawing Closer to Christ: Honoring Jesus At Work

Drawing Closer to Christ: Her Hurting Heart Healed: Relying on the love of Jesus to heal your heart

Drawing Closer to Christ: 31 Days of Inspirational Writings to Help Encourage Your Faith in Jesus

To My Nominees: Thank you for your contributions! I look forward to hearing more about your books, if you choose to participate. Even if you have not written a book, thanks for the beautiful writings you share here on the blog. Hopefully you will publish your writings one day soon! ✍🏼 🌟

To anyone reading this: If you are an author please feel free to accept this award and tell us more about your book(s). Thanks for sharing! 🤗

Marisa has a book called, Broken Cookies Taste Just as Sweet: The Amazing Grace of Motherhood, Marriage, and Miracles on the Spectrum”

Vivian mentioned her friend Kim’s book, “Learning To Be Content”. Kim also has other books available.

Georgetta and Charles have written several biblically based study guides.

Yonnie shares the gift of life through poetry, stories, testimonies, and creative writing.

Brother Craig shares his poetry and creative writings.

Giftedminds Writers has a variety of online books available.

Warren shares a variety of heartfelt and thought provoking writings.

Carly hopes to publish her book, “Good Enough” this summer. She will share her story of transformation.