Executing God's Plan I've always loved the story of Joseph in the Bible. The situation didn't appear promising because we couldn't see the full picture: Joseph was shown a vision of promise while in the Spirit. However, in the flesh, he was sold into slavery by his brothers. It didn't appear to be a blessing, but that single action ultimately opened the door for Joseph's dreams to be fulfilled, and was a part of God's plan all along. In the process of his brothers trying to d

A Message To Our Blog Readers... Accepting Jesus Christ is one of the most life-changing, mind-altering experiences anyone can have! Realizing that this life is more than money, finding out that Heaven and Hell are real, knowing that there's a Spiritual enemy that has already been defeated by an all-knowing and all-powerful Creator -- it's a lot to digest. One of the greatest rewards after making Jesus your Lord & Savior is knowing that you will indeed live forever! However,

Weaving Our Generational God Through Generational Gaps Parenting is a joyful experience. From the initial excitement of finding out that she is pregnant to discovering the gender of the baby. From the wonder of first seeing the uniqueness of God’s little creations in our arms to hearing them babble their first word. From witnessing the awkwardness of taking their very first step to seeing them confidently step up to the first grade, the memories of parenting are abundant. As

Blinded By Sin One of the things I appreciate about Pastor Paul's teaching is how well he breaks down the Word of God. He never just reads a verse and keeps it moving. He reads the verse, defines any vocabulary that may need clarification, then he'll read the same verse in a different Bible version for a different perspective -- followed by reading scriptures before and after the initial verse for full context. Then he'll use an analogy, reference, or a hilarious joke to make

There are times in life where you analyze where you are vs where you want to be. When we look at the gap it can force us to think about how big or small that gap is and why. Some of us blame our parents, we say to ourselves, "If I'd been born with parents like ______, I would've reached my goal." We say, "If I'd gone to _______ school, I'd have reached my goal". We say, "If my friends truly supported me, I would've been further ahead". Maybe an "if" is true. The problem is, n

Growing From MILK To MEAT I was raised in the Christian church. I grew up having Bible studies in the living room, sitting in church pews for hours on end, and learned all of the famous Bible stories. It wasn't until I gave my life to Christ for myself , and started taking my faith seriously, that I realized just how much of a spiritual baby I was! Accepting Jesus Christ is an overwhelming feeling of love, and appreciation, for the sacrifice God gave through Jesus' death, bur

Preparing For Our Day Of Temptation By now, we know about “the slap heard round the world”. I’m talking about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock, the host of The Oscars over the weekend, for making an off-handed joke about Will’s wife, Jada, shaving her head like a soldier due to an illness. This has everyone from all genres and backgrounds giving their take as to who was right, who was wrong, and what they would’ve done if placed in a similar situation. If I may, I'd like to add

God's Divine Example I still can’t believe I’m a father! My twin boys are about to turn one, and it’s crazy how fast time has flown by! I have enough experienced parents around me to know that taking in each moment while I can is vital in these early years. From non-stop bottles to everlasting diapers -- I find myself reliving every moment to savor it as well as I can. My boys are at the point where they are starting to walk. My oldest grabs things and pulls himself up, the w

Stop Making Excuses, And Just Connect! I remember growing up in the 90’s thinking how advanced technology was because there were so many ways to connect with people. Colored TVs with the antenna... House phones, payphones, and beepers... "Fat-back" computers with the tower on the side, and keyboards that connected with an actual wire -- the technical options were endless! I don’t know about you guys, but in my Caribbean household, we even took it a step further! We didn't hav

Knowing What We're Made Of We are the salt of this World! Our Dad says so... Have you ever made it your business to eat food you knew was TASTELESS? Neither have I... Our Heavenly Dad told us that He put us on this Earth to be its flavor. We are what gives this wicked world taste! Turn up the flavor by showing SODIUM FAITH: make it a point to HELP & SERVE everyone around you, all while sharing the seasoning of Christ by telling someone about what He's already done in your lif

Speaking God's Love Language Jeff and I have been together for some time now. When we first dated, our infatuation stage was soooo sweet! Why? We never argued, we intentionally made time to be with each other, and it seemed like he always knew what to do to put a smile on my face. Whenever we were together, it was a vibe -- we had so much fun! 13 years and 3 kids later, we're at a different (better, and more realistic) stage of our relationship. At our last anniversary dinner

Ditching Disobedience There is a moment, right before you step into the promises of God, where you heavily entertain the thought of giving up. "If my life stays the way it is, that's ok." "Maybe I'm not cut out for this." God, through Jesus Christ, is a redeemer by nature. He can redeem your time, money, and your life. He will redeem! However, His ability and promise to redeem doesn’t mean that things won't be lost or forfeited as a result of your disobedience, or delayed obe

Celebrating The Only Gift That Matters So, Christmas is just a few days away! Ornaments abound, with dazzling lights sparkling outside the window pane, causing the eyes of onlookers to enter into a hypnotic stare... A touch of snow gently lays its opaque glaze atop the roof as each flake fitted uniquely so releases its cloak, like the morning dew on the grass... The aroma of hot chocolate mixed with eggnog permeates the corridors, while “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire” fa

Practical Encouragement For When Life Doesn't Go As Planned If you’re like me, God has given you a vision of where He wants to take you. You keep on believing and believing, and after turning several corners (without things turning out as you thought they would), you begin to lose faith. Every corner turned without your expected end takes a little more faith from you. Your faith becomes fatigued, and you become weary in well-doing. There are about 20 scriptures I can give you

Celebrating Christ Beyond Holiday Tradition The holiday season is HERE, and Christmas is just a few weeks away! Growing up, the award for 'Mercedes' favorite holiday', hands down, went to Christmas. I can remember my family and I assembled the prickly, white faux tree we used every year. My father and brother managed the entire operation. Between sneaking candy out of the Christmas stockings hanging on the wall, when I wasn't supposed to (don't you dare judge me), I'd help as

The Watering Challenge

Jesus made it clear to the Pharisees that He didn't come to do away with the Law, but to completely fulfill it. As the fulfiller, He had the license to re-write our love story with our Father in Heaven by converting 'religion' into 'relationship'. I'm a huge fan of how Jesus disrupted the fakeness and hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders during that time. They looked good on the outside and seemed to be fruitful, but much like inedible decorative fruit, they were plastic in the Sp

Sharpening Our Effectiveness In This Secular World Back in my school days, I used pencils to write down notes, solve math problems, and to make free-hand drawings. Why use a pen, permanent marker, or another definitive writing tool when I could make a mistake at any point? Using a pencil gave me the grace to do what I needed to do, erase any mistakes I made along the way, and to continue with my task. As Believers, we are figurative 'pencils' -- living in a fleshy vessel, wit

Casting Cares, Fasting Fears, and Shedding Sin...

Making God The Final Authority