By HIS Grace

My family and I enjoyed a great 3-day weekend.  My husband and I attended the "Love and Respect" marriage conference that our church hosted, it was AWESOME!  We learned how women speak "pink" and men speak "blue" and that there is no wrong or right, but, that we are different and it's okay to be different.  I also learned about unconditional respect and how that is what the Lord requires of wives to give to their husbands ... that spoke volumes! I look forward to expounding on this in future posts to come. We also celebrated our oldest son's birthday early with a mini-getaway and a visit to one of his favorite places, Lego-land. Although we had a great weekend as a married couple and family, this weekend also showed me how far I have come when it comes to my reaction towards others.  The Lord has really shown me a lot of mercy when it comes to the way I react in situations that I have no control over.  And He has also given me the grace (stre...

Today, all across the world, people are celebrating Valentine's Day.  Hollywood is spending thousands of dollars renting out restaurants, buying expensive jewelry, in the real-world; husbands our sending their wives flowers at work, and ladies are getting their hair and nails done for a night out on the town.  It will be an exciting day.  A day filled with romance, happiness, and love.  Today I am reflecting on love.  I am thankful for a day that has been carved out, for individuals to express their love to one another a little more than they would on any other day.  But, I don't put this day above any other day.  For me, I  am going about this day, thanking the Lord, that I can tell my husband "Happy Valentine's Day" and it is said with meaning and love.  For my husband and I, who have been married for 11 years, celebrating today is a miracle.  Not because one of us almost past away, or had taken very ill.  But, because there was...

This month is Black History month and I enjoy seeing the different memorials honoring historical African-American leaders and learning of their accomplishments.  I know that a big recognition of this, is the fact that the black people are no longer enslaved ... they have received their Freedom! And I am truly grateful for that, I am a beneficiary of it.  In this post I am going to reflect on freedom.  Not the type of freedom that was given to the slaves, although I don't take anything away from that and the presence that it has in our world today.  I'm going to reflect on the freedom that we receive from the lord ... a freedom that not only sets us free, but allows us to be clean and pure.  To be free of something, you first had to have been enslaved to it, held in bondage by it.  So many things can keep us bound; addictions, sinful behavior, mindsets and attitudes, personality traits, etc.  Some may agree that we have become enslaved to this "technolo...

When I think about the footsteps that I am taking through life, I have to pause for a moment and think about if I am "living in the right now."  When I think about that, for me that means; I am not taking yesterday into today.  Yesterday's problems and worries.  Yesterday's disappointments and failures. Yesterday's hiccups and setbacks.  Because if I am trusting the Lord each and everyday and moving about in HIS presence, then, there is no need for yesterday.  The Lord's mercies are brand new everyday.  My family and I live a busy life.  Busy with purpose. Every task has a meaning to it.  And we are careful to what we allow into our day and lives.  For us, there is no room for baggage.  We are learning to close the gap of that space in our lives that allows us to hold on to things that need to be released to the Lord. Our family has trusted the Lord for so much in the past 3 years. We made the choice to give Him full access in our live...