Valentine’s day is this Thursday, February 14 and it is a day of anticipation for people who exchange cards and gifts with their significant other and loved ones.  But for some people who are not in a relationship, or have loss a loved one, or maybe their spouse or mate doesn’t celebrate, this could actually be a day that bring on discouragement, depression or loneliness.  But it doesn’t need to be! I challenge you to celebrate yourself on this day of love.  I challenge you to love on yourself! Buy your own flowers or candy.  Take yourself out to dinner, or to the movies, or maybe have a candlelight bubble bath with a good book! The important thing to know is that you are enough! You don’t have to wait until you are in a relationship to feel loved.  You were wonderfully and fearfully made and God loves you.

There is nothing selfish about self-love and guess what? You don’t even have to wait for Valentine’s day or any other holiday to show yourself some love in balanced way.  You can do it today.

Take care and be blessed.

What do you do concerning the matters of your heart? How do you handle them? Do you internalize them? Do you talk about them with your mentor, friend, or spiritual adviser? Or do you pray about what’s going on in your heart? Or maybe you are the type of person that does all of the above.  Actually there is no right or wrong answer to this question.  In fact, I have done them all.  But, I must confess that my best option has been to pray about the matters of my heart.  I believe that when I cast my cares upon the Lord, it opens the door for God to work in my life and in the lives of the people I love and it releases the pressure and stress of what concerns me.

I encourage you to make a decision today to cast all your cares on the Lord and begin to trust Him to take care of you as well as the matters of your heart.  And you know what, I am confident that your heart will thank you!

Closet-cleaning is a timeless ritual some of us do at home.  We go through our closets once or twice a year to get rid of tons of old shoes and clothes that we no longer wear.  May I introduce another ritual to consider?  It is closet-cleaning of the heart.  Take a moment to reflect on what’s going on in your heart and pray that God remove any thoughts and desires that do not serve you and are not pleasing in His sight.  Ask him to heal you of your broken heart , and remove any remnants of unforgiveness of others, as well as any blame, shame or guilt from past decisions made in life.  Why wait! Do it today.

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. (Psalms 51:10)

How an oyster handles irritating objects, such as a grain of sand can serve as an example of how we can handle frustrations and irritating people.  You see the oyster take its time to coat the grain of sand with a smooth substance called nacre.  It doesn’t just sit there and be content with being irritated and in our case, frustrated. It patiently works with the grain, coating it until it transforms to a beautiful mother of pearl.

Know that when trials, tribulations, difficult people and circumstances come into our life, they strengthen our character, increase our faith, as well as purify us.  So the next time you are going through, think of the oyster.

I have a question for you.  Where do you place your trust? Do you place your trust solely on what you see? Or how you feel? What about your job? is that where you place your trust?  Maybe you place your trust in the amount of zeros listed in your bank account? Or you may say that you trust no one but yourself.  You see the job, the bank account and how you feel are all subject to change.  But I have good news for you!  God does not change and he is faithful too! I invite you to place your trust in Him and acknowledge Him in all your ways and he shall direct your path.

If you want to know how to win favor in life, the good book has the answer it says to let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, and write them on the tablet of your heart.  Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. (Proverbs 3:3-4).

I have a question for you, when was the last time you did a heart check-up to see what was written on it? Love or hate? Faith or fear? Take a moment to reflect on it.

We don’t know what the new year will bring, but our greatest resolution could be to spend more time in fellowship with God.  Whatever comes into our life, we can pray, turn it over to the Lord, and rejoice in Him.  So while it is good to make resolutions to lose weight, exercise or save more.  Our resolution could be to take our blessings to the Lord in thanksgiving and our burdens to Him in prayer.

May I submit this resolution to you for consideration?  As we closeout 2018 and welcome 2019, I would like to take this time to wish you a Happy New Year!  May your new year be filled with joy, peace and love; especially the warmth of God’s love. Take care and be blessed!

There were three prominent women in the bible named Mary.  First, there was Mary of Bethany, she is the one who sat at Jesus’s feet and Mary of Magdala, she is the one who supported Jesus’ ministry from her own resources (Luke 8:1-3) and then there is Mary, the one who gave birth to baby Jesus.

I am truly grateful for all of the contributions that these women gave, especially to the Mary, who said, “yes” to giving birth to our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.

Merry Christmas!

Here is what it looks like when we surrender to God unconditionally:

We give him all of our days of the week not just Sundays.

We give him our attitudes as well as our behaviors and actions.

We give him our hearts and our plans.

When we accept Jesus as Lord, the Holy Spirit comes and live within us unconditionally. Isn’t it time that we live for God and surrender our life to Him unconditionally?

Think and pray about it.

Our time is given to us by God’s grace.  Every second, minute, and hour of each day is God’s gift to us.  How we use our time is our gift to God.

Our talents are our natural abilities to perform certain tasks with superior quality and less effort than others.

Our treasures are the resources and possessions that we have received from the hand of God and of course our hard work.

Our time, talents and treasures are all gifts from God.  How we manage all of these gifts would decide whether we are good stewards or not.  Do you consider yourself a good steward? What can you do to make yourself a great one?  Think about it.

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalms 90:12 (NIV)