Draw Me Close..

My encouragement to you this week is to work to draw closer to God. We ask so much from God but it's important to have a relationship with God. Let God recognize who you are by drawing closer to God every day! God will always be faithful to those who are faithful to Him.

Into your arms, I'm drawing near again, To dwell with you is my only heart's desire. Draw me close, closer than before, closer than I ever been. 

These are lyrics from William McDowell from His song Closer/Wrap Me in Your Arms. The lyrics in the song say exactly where our hearts should be directed. We should all want to dwell with God. No, I don't mean in the after life but to dwell in His spirit. Feeling that closeness to God. Knowing that He is near. We must make effort to be with God daily. Work to draw closer to God. I don't mean make some great effort but simply giving God some time. Wake up fifteen minutes earlier maybe and pray. Take 5 minutes some time in the day to thank and praise God. Open the Bible maybe before the day and at night. The little things you can do to draw closer to God. It doesn't take a crazy effort but it is a necessary thing to do. Drawing close to God gives us so much hope for our troubles. We know that our faithfulness to Him will NEVER be in vain. Not that God is a genie. But even the peace in a tough situation that is not getting better is something we can thank God for and understand better when we draw close to God.

We always are asking so much from God. We always want God to work on our behalf and that is great. But is God our first and last choice? Or just a last resort? God should always be our first and last choice. Period. But as I said, we keep looking to ask God for something. We have wants and needs from God. And God knows that. he is our source of happiness. But I tell you that it is important you get to know God. You have get to know who God is and who He is to you. Have a real relationship with God. Inform yourself of who He is through prayer and reading the word. Next put what you learn in application. If you have to learn to forgive because God forgives, do it. Learn it now. Lastly, get intimate with God. Pray and pray some more

Purpose! Let God Move Yours

My encouragement to you this week is to live each day with purpose! Live with goals in mind, passion in your heart. Give God your plans and strive to them. Don't let obstacles allow you to quit. Or you'll never see God's faithfulness work for you. You are chosen. You are special. Get what's yours!

Live with some purpose. What is the definition of purpose? 1. the reason for which something exists or is done, made,used,etc. 2. an intended or desired result; end; aim; goal.  So what is your aim or desired result for yourself today? This week? This year? What do you want to see change for yourself? What gives your purpose to exist? We have to own these things! Have a goal in mind daily that you want to see accomplished. Be proactive about it. Place some passion into this goal. If you want to see your deepest desires come into fruition, you are going to have to sweat! And be OK with that. Be OK with having to work hard. Be OK with being that much closer to your goal.

Please make sure you give God your plans! Tell God what you want no matter how absurd it may sound to the world. Give it to God and He will give you the direction you need. He will open doors that no man can shut. He will make a way. He is a keeper! He is the keeper that will never fail you. Give your plans to God! Give God all of the glory! Give Him the praise because He will come through!! Keep praying. Don't let yourself be discouraged by obstacles. Those are going to happen. Period. There will be all types of obstacles to impede you and tell you that you are a fool for praying and believing something will change. DON'T GIVE UP. Quitting is for people who don't understand God will get you through. Job lost everything in days! Still knew not to quit on God. You don't either. Obstacles will come. It really sucks too. I know because it happens to me but I know God is amazing! Trust in God and keep heading forward to your goal!

You are Chosen by God. God wanted you. God wants you to be happy. God wants you to be successful. God wants you to experience peace. You are special to God. That doesn't mean that you'll have an easy route there but I promise you'll get there. Get what's yours! Get what you came for. Don't let yourself be beaten into submission. You will cry, sweat, hurt but you will get there. Live with purpose. Move with some passion in your heart. Push yourself..Be Blessed..

God's Strength, Your Strength....Victory!

My encouragement to you this week is to let God push and build the strength within you. You have the power to overcome a lot! Push yourself. Ask God to use your strength and add His strength. Keep praying and never stop going! You will struggle but you have the strength to overcome.

"My God is so big, so strong and so mighty. There's nothing. my God cannot do" This was part of one of the first songs I ever learned as a child in church. It was just a song to me then and now as I reflect on it, it is a message I realize more and more each day. My God is big, mighty, and strong. He has strong shoulders that can carry any load that I am putting on Him! I trust God to carry my burdens. i trust God to be all of my strength and all of my help. But do I trust the strength inside me? I know that my strength does not parallel God, but there is a strength in me that God put there! I am not weak. Through Him who lives in me there is great strength! There is great strength in me! There is great strength in all of us! We are chosen by God to be made for struggle.

God has placed some strength in all of us that we don't realize until it is really time to put it to work! There are some of us who feel like we are incapable of so much on our own. That is not true. Yes, we turn to God but God put a strength  and ability in all of us! Not in some people. You think that you have to run to others to always get you through but God didn't design you to always look to other's strength! He put something in you! Use what God has put in you. You have the strength and power to overcome so much if you are willing to try. Push yourself! How will you know what you are capable of doing when you are always placing limits on yourself? How can you know that God is with you and will help you when you are always quitting at the first sign of trouble? Find your strength in the Lord! Remember God does not fail! God will not use this opportunity to fail you. Draw your strength from knowing that God is not a failure! There has never been a fight God has lost!

Ask God for His strength to add on to yours. Believe me, I know it can get so hard to be in good spirits in the midst of trial. Just trying to be in good spirits can be so draining. It can be so physically exhausting. It can be so emotionally exhausting. Crying all the time. The pain never stops. Please Saint, hold on! God is going to pull you through. Push yourself as tiring as it's already been. Do it! You have to win this fight. You cannot afford to lose. Find the strength in you Saint! Ask God to be all your strength when yours runs faint. God is going to handle it. Keep praying about it! Get on your knees and cry out to God. God will listen. He will not turn His face from you! This will be a struggle but you can handle it. You can do it! You have the greatest help you will ever need. Use God! Dig deep and get the strength in you!..Be Blessed..

God Won't Fail You!

My encouragement to you this week is remain encouraged no matter how it looks until your miracle arrives!  Don't you dare lose hope in God. God has never failed you and He isn't going to now! It hurts but trust He will step in on time. He will keep His promises to you. KEEP PRAYING and KEEP TRYING! God will make a way!

Your miracle is on the way! Your day of peace is on its way. I know what it feels like. I know the thoughts that go through all of our heads. I have bee so discouraged again, again, and again about some thing that hasn't happened for me yet. I think the thoughts like, " what happened to my life?' "This is it for me. I'm not going to make it through this. "Maybe this is what my life will always be like." THEN after I come out of my troubles, I ask myself, "How in the heck did I start doubting God's power and God's promises for me?" God has NEVER failed me! God will never fail me! What ever I am going through now, God won't fail me on this one! Some of us have been dealing with the pain for weeks, months, and year but BUT I am telling you DO  NOT give up! You had better not!

   I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? (Psalm 121:1-2)

 God is all of our help! We have all suffered setbacks in our lives. In this time of uncertainty,  our personal struggles can bring fear and doubt into our lives.  It is hard enough to survive much less have any hope for the future. But God is our help! All of our help hat we will ever need. God's promises are real. Marianne Lord says this, "God always has  a plan.  For believers, whether you are experiencing a time of peace in your life or enduring the heat of a painful struggle, you have the assurance of knowing that all things are being directed by the hand of God.  When it seems as though you are being defeated, it just means that your victory is near.  There is nothing to fear in any battle  for the war of life has already been won at the cross!  Never surrender to him what Christ has paid a price to give you!" I know it hurts. The pain may seem almost unbearable. But please hold on to you faith. If you are willing to struggle and endure, this means you are willing to be saved! Tears will be shed. Days of pains will happen. But I promise you God will give you a little something daily if you are willing to hang on to him. God is working on it. Open your heart to see God work. Your battles are not yours to fight when you surrender them to Christ.  Whatever valley of despair you may be in right now, remember that it is not your permanent location. This won't always be your life! Things will change! Yes, it's been a long time but this won't be your forever! God promises you that!

Isaiah 58:11  The LORD will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.

You must keep trying to get your life together. God is a powerful Savior and He can turn it around in a second. But I ask you to get trying. You will have setback after setback. Yes, I said it. I am not going to lie to you. It will happen maybe once or a few times. You have to keep a positive attitude.  People with positive attitudes see setbacks for what they really are. When you have a setback, it’s not a brick wall that must be climbed. You’ve merely met a gate; it may delay you for a second, but if you open that gate and move through it, you’ll soon be on your way. Believe in God and I promise you, though yo may struggle, you'll get there. Next thing, get a plan for what you want to happen for yourself. How can you want a victory but not have a clue to get your victory? Sometimes it is out your hands but you have an idea of what you want your life to be. Even if your plan is only prayer because that's all you can do, have a plan! But for some of us who aren't willing to take control, you have got to get off your butt! Yes, God's plan will be the plan that happens at the end but present what you want and how you plan to get there and let God order your steps. Lastly, believe in yourself. Believe in the power of God. But push yourself. Please push. Believe in yourself that this will happen for you! This is going to happen. Pray!Pray! Pray! Believe in God! Believe in you! God won't fail you! Be Blessed!

God Has a Second Chance for You

My encouragement to you this week is to trust God gives second chances! He will never let you be bound by your mistakes. Call to God! He welcomes anyone who is looking for help, no matter how desperate the trouble! God can change it!

In Nahum chapter 1, it says, " God is good, a hiding place in tough times. He recognizes and welcomes anyone looking for help, No matter how desperate the trouble." So in my encouragement, I am using words given from the Bible. In this book from verse 1-10, it's telling us that God is serious business. God is to be taken seriously and take at His word. I'm seriously telling you that the Lord is full of grace. The Lord is forgiving. The Lord is very kind and very gentle. We have messed up and have asked God to help us over and over again/ We have failed at something and even right now are begging God to give us a second chance. God will do it! I'm not saying live your life to mess up and God always clean up after you but in this life we will make mistakes. That is a part of life that we will not avoid. Some mistakes can be small, while some feels like the earth has literally moved for you. God will help with both mistakes. No problem. He is a God of much grace and much forgiveness. He won't let you be bound by your mistakes. If so, how will He get the glory out of your life? I'm not saying He is just going to fix it right away either. It may take some time BUT He will do EVERYTHING that He has promised! He promised to take care of you and second chance falls under that. Maybe you've failed at something in life, and you think that dream is lost. I can tell you, though, from my own experience, that we serve the God of second chances. Whether it's marriage, a job, a relationship, health, emotions, or your finances, God hasn't given up on you. He wants to heal you, make you right, and guide you into the purpose He has for your life. If you're obedient, God will give you every tool and circumstance you need to accomplish it.

My next point to you is to never sell God short! I said it last week in my encouragement, don't put limits on God. He can do much more that we can!  We all tend to expect too little from God. We tend to imagine that he's angry with us, that he carries a grudge and refuses to give us a second chance. That's not the God of the Bible, and that's certainly not Jesus .Jesus continually reached out to people like you and me, people who need a second chance. Some had enough faith to receive it. Will you accept the second chance that God is offering you today? See God realistically. See him mending your disappointment. See him running out to meet you, to give you another chance. Your life isn't wrecked for good. The most loving, powerful being in the universe wants to heal it, and he DOES have the power and creativity to do just that.Will you trust Him to do that? Will you allow God to do what He said He would do for you? Will you let God be God?

God can change it. God can change anything that you allow God to change. But on your part, obedience is a must! You have a job to do as well. You want God to give you a second chance, but are you working to your second chance? Are you still doing the exact same thing that leaves you feeling like your progress is in cement? You have got to push forward and you have to remain obedient! Let's look at the life of Paul. Paul persecuted Christians. Paul was known for His malice he used to spread to Christians. What did God do with Him? God used Him! Paul was willing to push past his own heinous past and be obedient to God. To this day, Paul is hands down one of the most influential persons in history. God uses those who allow themselves to be used. God will give people another chance! God will give YOU another chance! Call Him!! Remain patient!! Be obedient! Hold yourself to a high standard! While getting this second chance, this is NOT THE TIME TO START SETTLING!!! You work towards the life you want when you come out of this now! Don't say,  "when I come out of this." Start on your life now while Gd is pulling you out. When you come out, enjoy and celebrate God for what He has helped you work towards...Be Blessed...

God Has No Limits!! He Can!

My encouragement to you this week is to stop placing limits on the power of God. You may not be able to do it but He can! Don't limit His impact in your life. He can turn around ANY situation if you're ready to trust Him totally as THEE awesome Provider. You just let God be God.

Here are few facts: God is omniscient. God is omnipresent. God is omnipotent. All that boils down to is God is greater than us! That is a fact of the matter. With knowing this REALITY, stop placing limits on God. Just because you have tried and tried and failed, that is no reason to place any limits on God. If you understand that God is greater than all of our efforts combined, then don't categorize God to be a God of limits. God can really blow your mind when you let God be omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. God can impact your life in such a way that you won't even believe. Look what He has done for you now and realize that He is working on your life so much. Look at how many pits that He has taken your from. When you were ready to quit, God wasn't going to let you quit! God can impact your life in a major way! You have to make sure you are not limiting His impact in your life by claiming your situation hopeless, to the point where you render God as ordinary. There is nothing ordinary about God. Nothing is too hard for God. No task is too big. He does not get weary or discouraged. No matter what you might be facing, God can help you. Nothing is too hard for Him. No need is to great for him to meet. No problem is to complicated for Him to solve. No prayer is too difficult for Him to answer.

Trust Him as THEE awesome Provider. God is a great Provider for those who call on Him. He is able. He will save you. Only trust Him and you will see Him show up. Come to the Lord. Come to Him with a heart open to receive what God has for you. Ephesians 3:20 says, " Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." So it says right there that He can blow our minds. He can do what we can't even fathom. But that is going to come from a heart that is open and ready to trust. Trust God as a great Provider.

Let God be God. Let God act on your behalf. Let God be your deliverer. Your Healer. Your Protector. Your Strength. Your EVERYTHING. Let God be all that He has made Himself to be to you and everyone! Remember you are not ordinary. God has a calling on your life. God chose you! Be Blessed!

Go Through It! God Is With You!

My encouragement to you this week is to stop trying to go around something that God has called you to go through! I know it's hard. You have to go through it. You're going to make it! Believe in God's saving hand. Remember, you're not ordinary! God chose you! Don't quit on yourself and don't quit on God.


Many of us, we are trying to find ways to get out of our circumstances and go around them at all costs. We try to foolishly ignore them like they will go away or try to minimize them. Or we go around trying so hard to pretend like it's all together and nothing is the matter. at all costs, hiding our problems from even those who love us most. Saint, you have ti go through this situation whatever it is that is hurting you so much. And I know you ate it. I know it is bringing more pain to your life than at times you can handle. I know it hurts. I AM RIGHT THERE WITH YOU!!! I won't soapbox about me but trust me, I know what it means to hurt and suffer on the inside with no one knowing. I am ready to run from my troubles too but I know that is not what God wants me to do. I know this may get extreme but did Jesus run from the cross? I know you may think, " I am not Jesus." Fair. And I am not asking you to be either. But remember He knew going through pain would have a great result afterwards. The same is going to happen with you if you are willing to submit and let God work.


I promise you that you are going to make it. I promise you that you will not fail at this. God does not benefit at all from letting you fail when you are calling on His name and His help. You just keep going through. I promise you that you will be successful. I promise you that You are going to make it through this trial just like you hav made it through your other one trials. This may even be the biggest trial of your life thus far so the magnitude of it may seem so overwhelming. It may feel like this one is going to be the one that's finally going to make you lose it. Hold it together and keep going. You keep pushing yourself until you make it. Believe in the saving hand of God. What can our God not save us from?? He will empower you. He will renew your strength. He will make you successful. Read Is. 40:29 and read the promise of God. Believe that God will save you! He tells you cast these burden on Him in 1 Peter 5:7. He is going to sustain you! 


You are no ordinary person! You have been chosen by God! He will not let you fail at this! You have to remember who you serve and that He that lives in YOU is greater than that of the world. That is a fact. Don't quit on yourself in your hard times. God can release you rom these hard times. Let God break those chains in your mind and you press forward! God is more powerful than any problem that we are going through and you are strong enough to make it. Please don't quit right now guys. I know it's getting harder and harder to deal with the problem. But please don't quit. You will make it! God is on control so trust me: IT WILL WORK FOR YOUR GOOD!!...Be Blessed...

There is Something Special About You..!!

My encouragement to you this week is to remember you are no ordinary person. You have been chosen by God to be special! God has plans for you. Trials will come. You will endure then flourish! God will complete the work He began in you. He will never fail a special person like you!

What does it mean to be ordinary? Ordinary means: plain or undistinguished; of no special quality or interest; commonplace; unexceptional. Is that what we are to think when we see you? Plain? Unexceptional? Is that how you think of yourself? Do you feel that there is nothing that makes you special? I pray that this isn't the case. But if you do feel this way, cease and desist. Stop that way of thinking immediately. You are very special. No matter what, you are special. You always will be special. 

Some people may think" yeah, yeah God loves me, but he loves everyone. To him I’m just one of millions of Christians. God has his favorites and I’m not one of them." We may think we are being humble thinking this way. But what we're really doing was accusing God of imperfect love. That isn't of God. God's love is perfect in every way possible. You have been chosen by God and God has very special plans for you. He wants to see you thrive into a special person. He wants the glory out of your life so God won't fail you. 

We have to hang on to God. Trust God has a very special plan for you. Some of us are enduring the worst times of our lives right now. There are days, more recently even with God blessing me, I want to quit. I get very frustrated with my life. I look up to Heaven and ask God "Can I come home?" I know I'm being very candid with you now but I want you to know that we are all facing trials, even the author of the encouragement lol. But I know God will never leave me! He noticed me even when I felt invisible. When unspeakable pain gripped me, God gripped harder. When I had no fight left, He fought for me.  When I felt un-lovable, He showered His love upon me. This is the God that I serve! Trials will come. Endure with God and know that you are made of something special! You have been through trial before! God pulled you through then and He will now! Because you are made of something greater than what is causing you pain! 

God will complete what He began in you. He says it in Philippians 1:6, " For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."  Paul writes this. I love how He starts, I AM CONFIDENT. How confident are you in God? Do you trust with your head or heart? Use your heart. Think about what God has done before and trust God to keep you ALL the days of your life. God will never fail a special person like you! There is something special about you and God wants to grow it and use it for His glory! God wants all of you to show that those who trust in Him, He will keep them! My encouragement to you, remember you are special! So special!..Be Blessed...

Take God at His Word! God Keeps a Promise!

My encouragement to you this week is to take God at His word. If He said He will be whatever you need Him to be, trust God to do that. You are NOT exempt from His blessings. God needs a heart that is ready to believe God is able to do what He said He will do at all times!

"God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?" (Numbers 29:13) Read that. Marinate on that. Wrap your mind around this verse. God won't lie to us! God will not let us down in any sense. If you truly believe in the words of this verse, then my plea to you is to take God at His word. Believe that every word spoken out of the mouth of God is a fact! That is exactly what every word spoken by word is: Fact! Or even better TRUTH! God tells us that He will fulfill a promise to us and that He will do!
What are some of the promises of God? Let me run through a few for you. In Jeremiah 29:11, He promises us to give us a future and hope. In Matthew 11:28-29, He promises to give us rest when we are weary and burdened. In Philippians 4:19, He promises to supply ALL of our needs. In Romans, 10:9, He promises to forgive us for all our sins if we confess. Lastly, in Romans 8:37-39, He promises to give us victory through Christ! The question I have for you, are you brave and trusting enough to take God at His word? Can you trust God to provide everything that we need in this life? Can you trust God at His word? God said He will be whatever we need Him to be for us and that was not a lie. The verses I illustrated are words from God. Trust God to come through on His promises to you. God will not let you down!
I know some of us are reading this and we are saying to ourselves, "I want to believe but it's so hard. My life has been so bad. Things are not working out the way that I thought they would." You are not exempt from His blessing. God is going to bring you out. God's amazing will bring you out. Listen to me, take God at His word. God will come through. I am sure that it has been hard but no matter what, take God at His word. Live like you are. Don't hedge your bet. Be all in! If you say, "I trust God", you have a RESPONSIBILITY to live in such a manner. I'm not saying you won't be hurt, disappointed, or get angry but you do have to keep your faith at all times. Exemplify your faith. Not just when you get a moment of relief, or a little good news in your situation. Don't wait for a breakthrough to say "I know God is with me." God is always with you. And if you know that, don't start doubting that your life will change. Look at those verses. Believe in what God said!
Saints, another thing we have to do is go after what we want. We can't keep talking about the aspirations for our life and how we want God to change things without working for it. James 2:14-18 says, "¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? ¹⁵ Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶ If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷ In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. ¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”   Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. If we have faith, go chase what you are after. If you want God to establish the work of your hands, give God something to establish. Get to work on what means the world to you. "May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us--yes, establish the work of our hands." (Psalm 90:17) God will grant us favor. turn to Him. Seek Him and believe in Him. Work for your desires and watch God establish all that He PROMISED He said He would! Ready your heart. Ready your intentions. Ready yourself for God to blow your mind. Your responsibility now is to line up our faith and actions. Keep praying. Keep pressing. Keep moving. Keep trusting. God will keep a Promise!

Get Your Peace!

My encouragement to you this week is to seek peace for your life. You may have to forgive another who has wronged you. Or forgive yourself for your mistakes. You may have to let something or someone go. But seek peace no matter what it costs you! You need it!

"Dedicate yourself to the good you deserve and desire for yourself. Give yourself peace of mind. You deserve to be happy. You deserve delight. Hannah Arendt "

These words ring very true. I love this quote. The last two lines especially. " You deserve to be happy. You deserve delight." That is the truth you deserve peace for yourself in all areas of your life. You have to dedicate yourself to that though. You have to work through all of your troubles. I guarantee you that you will see some.trouble on your way to peace. You can't understand and appreciate peace until you have been through some turmoil so expect it! Some battles last longer than what you want BUT you dedicate yourself to the peace you deserve.

You can't expect peace to find it if you are not even seeking it. You have to seek peace in your life understanding the power it has. It's freedom. Freedom of some pain, disappointments, and hangups. That is very important. It may come from.forgiveness of self for some of the things you have done which have caused you pain or still are. You can't bombard yourself with criticisms and bad remarks. We are human. Things will happen. Ask yourself, " Do I really want to move on?" Think how important it is to make sure you move forward for your peace of mind. I'll answer that for you: IT IS IMPORTANT! It is crucial. How can you get the most out of life with no peace? You can't. But you must dedicate yourself to the good of this purpose. So it may mean forgiving another person who has hurt you. Do it. Don't walk around angry or hurt. Do it immediately. It's important for your mind, day, and interactions with others.

Peace may costs you a lot as well but you would be wise to do what you have to do. It may take some hard decision making. But do it. We all get scared to do that at times but I'm telling you to do it. From letting anger or people go. Just being brave enough to realize that something will take you out so you have to make a hard decision soon. I pray you are willing to sacrifice for your peace. Seek peace at all times for yourself. Pray on it. PRAY on it! You'll get the right answer. I promise you...Be Blessed...