Happy Anniversary to meeeee!!!!

Today dh and I celebrate 11 years of marriage. I can honestly say without a doubt, I would marry him all over again. Each year with him has been better than the last. He is a great husband, father, lover, friend, and provider. He loves me for me, he really loves the Lord, he has a great relationship with the Supremes, and he gives to others. Earlier this year he got a citizen's award for his charity work in the community, this past week, he got the sharp troop award. He is quiet and humble but he has a big heart. He is the kind of man every woman should have and the kind I pray the Supremes marry. After all this time, you are still the one!!!

Powerful word continued...

34And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

I found some interesting info about the crucifixion and the events leading up to it. Just like Jesus, we have to endure before we carry the cross. Jesus already denied His flesh when He prayed in the garden prior to being turned over to the guards. Roman citizens were exempt from crucifixion because it was considered a disgraceful way to die. Isn't it ironic?

Jesus was flogged before He picked up his cross. Here is some info I found on flogging during that time:

"It is at this point that Jesus suffers a severe physical beating. (Edwards) During a flogging, a victim was tied to a post, leaving his back entirely exposed. The Romans used a whip, called a flagrum or flagellum which consisted of small pieces of bone and metal attached to a number of leather strands. The number of strikes is not recorded in the gospels. The number of blows in Jewish law was set in Deuteronomy 25:3 at forty, but later reduced to 39 to prevent excessive blows by a counting error. (Holmans). The victim often died from the beating. (39 hits were believed to bring the criminal to "one from death".) Roman law did not put any limits on the number of blows given. (McDowell) During the flogging, the skin was stripped from the back, exposing a bloody mass of muscle and bone ("hamburger " : Metherall). Extreme blood loss occurred from this beating, weakening the victim. perhaps to the point of being unconscious."

Isaiah 50:6: "I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting."

So what is Jesus asking us to do? Now most of us will probably NEVER experience Jesus did physically but we go through emotional beatings to serve Him. I know when I gave my life to Him, I had a lot of folks saying some mean things about me that hurt me to the core. I wanted to retaliate but didn't. So when you go to this next level after denying yourself, be ready to deal with a lot of heat from people. Even other Christians that may say, "you don't have to do all that."

"The site of the crucifixion was usually along a well-traveled road, where criminals became a public spectacle. Their humiliation by such a death could be seen by all." So after being beaten, we are now exposed to all as sinners. This is when folks come out of the wood works bringing up our past. Or they make up lies and say mean things to others and spread gossip. After all of this, Jesus died. Just like we have to. We have to die to our past, die from our fears, and die from our heartache. The cross was a physical way of showing someone had sinned or broken a law. Jesus was without sin but He carried it for us.

So are you ready to carry your cross? Are you ready to allow yourself to be exposed for who you were so you can become who you need to be? Can you die to the things that keep you from Christ? I pray these questions will stop and make you think about how much Jesus loves us and how great a task we have before us as those who serve Him. The Lord's business is serious business. It is not for the weak but with Christ, we have strength to do all things!!! Be blessed!!!! Q

Pics from my trip

I had the pleasure of meeting the beautiful AtlantaJJ while I was in Atlanta a few weeks ago. She is beautiful on the inside and out. She brought her ds along and he made sure he got in a pic as well. He is so cute and smart. When I found out how old she was, I was blown away. Let's just say she is a few years younger than my mom but she doesn't look a day over 35!!! Q

Powerful word continued

Thanks everyone. Okay here is the first part that I want us to focus on:
34And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him [b]deny himself[/b], and [b]take up his cross[/b], and [b]follow me.[/b]

As you can see, there are 3 things Jesus is telling his disciples to do, 1-deny himself, 2-take up his cross, and 3-follow me. If you notice, you won't find an or, only and. Which means all 3 things HAVE to be done!!! The wonderful thing about God is He never asks us to do something He will, hasn't or won't do. Jesus first denied Himself by coming down from heaven. I am sure he would have been fine staying on the throne but he didn't. Throughout His life, He continued to deny himself from all the things that would keep Him from completing his task.

I looked up the word deny on dictionary.com and here are some definitions:
to withhold something from, or refuse to grant a request of:
to refuse to recognize or acknowledge; disown; disavow; repudiate:

—Idiom
deny oneself, to refrain from satisfying one's desires or needs; practice self-denial.

This is mentioned first because this is the hardest thing for us to do. But we HAVE to do it in order to please God. So many of us struggle because we refuse to deny ourselves the things this world has told us are okay like, lying, fornicating, gossiping, cursing, or watching porn. Some things we need to deny aren't sins themselves but we put them in place of God which is a sin. It can be people, the tv, the internet, and the list goes on. One of the main reasons why we are in financial turmoil is because we refuse to deny ourselves of things we don't need. We have too many clothes, too many shoes, too many bags, too much of a lot of stuff. But yet we don't reach out and say a kind word to others. We don't give of our time to help feed the hungry, or clothe the naked. We are so stuck on ourselves that we never stop to bless someone else. Jesus blessed folks up until His death and the same people He knew would eventually turn their backs on Him.

Antonyms:
1. admit, accept. 3. allow.
So if we choose to deny ourselves the things that are not of God we are then doing the opposite. We are now admitting we are sinners and need God's forgiveness and guidance. We accept Christ's love for us and we now allow ourselves to embrace the things that are of the Lord.

I want all of you to sit down tonight and pray to the Lord. Ask Him to reveal those things you haven't denied yourself of but you know you should. If you need to, make a list and began to pray and ask God for strength so you can remove those things out of your life. God is looking for His people to rise up and set the standard. For too long we have been just getting by but that is not what we are called to do. You can't fake serving Him, you either do or you don't. Man may be fooled but God never is. He is ready to pour out His blessings on His children but only those who are truly serving Him. How do you do that, by denying yourself and accepting Him. John said it perfectly, I must decrease so that He may increase. The only way to do that is to deny yourself and accept Him. Be blessed. Q

I got a powerful word from the Lord today

Well actually, it was something I've read numerous times but today, it was like reading it for the first time. I've been thinking about it and dissecting it. It's so powerful, it brought me to tears. I hesitated about posting but at the same time, I can't help but share. So anyway, the scripture is Mark 8:34-38. I am still breaking some things down and I will make it available later but I want to encourage you all to read it and pray over it as well. It is such a key scripture to who we are and what Christ requires of us but I think what is REALLY being said is often overlooked.

We are at a key point in history my brothers and sisters. The Lord is about to do something great but we have to be ready. It won't be easy but the blessings will be so worth it. We have all seen, used, and heard the term What Would Jesus Do and this scripture ties in with it. We must really step back and examine ourselves.
Are we really being who Christ called us to be?
Are we really putting God first?
Are you hot, cold, or lukewarm?
Are we making the sacrifices needed to serve Him or are we fooling ourselves?
Have you done all you can to serve the Lord and stand out or have you blended with the crowd?
Why are we still struggling with the same sins for all these years?
What is keeping you from your breakthrough?

These are the questions I asked myself when I read the scriptures and I encourage you to do the same. It's time for us to stop playing and start doing. We have to pee or get off the pot. Be blessed. Q
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This dude tried to mack me

So last week dh and I were in ATL for a conference. We took the Marta to our hotel because because parking was $10 a day at the GWCC. So there we were riding on the train. I was in my clergy, suit, collar and all and the train was packed so we got split up. I was standing by the door and this dude noticed me. So he starts asking about the conference and stuff. I mentioned Tyler Perry being there and he tells me that his company represents 2 of TP's actors. I look him up and down and just blink and nod. First he is shorter than me, next I can't believe he is running that lame old line. He is telling me all this I listen because I knew our stop was coming up soon.

But low and behold, he gets off too. So we are waiting for the next train. Dh is standing near me but you wouldn't know we were together because he had on a suit with a b-ball cap and was nodding his head. So dude asks, "what's your official title." I say, "I'm a minister." Then he asks "so can you get married and are you allowed to date?" I say, "yes we can get married and I'm actually married." So I turned to dh and say, "this is my husband right here, T." And on cue T turns to dude and shakes his hand. Now this guy was about 5'7" and dh is about 6'1". The look on his face was priceless. Needless to say the convo was over after that!!! Too bad cuz I was going to quote some scriptures, LOL. Q

I cut my hair

I forgot to post about my cut. I've been thinking about it for a minute esp since I think I hit my terminal length. Plus I got a little lazy and wasn't caring for my ends like I should. I am at bra strap length again so it's still long but manageable. I will post pics when I get a break. I'm also looking into going the all natural route. I am becoming more concerned about how certain chemicals interact with my thyroid condition. It's going to be hard finding a substitute for my beloved pantene hair mask and aphogee, but I am determined. I will be slowly getting rid of my products. Pray for me!!! Q

I got my Iron Chef on!!!

I took out some random ingredients and decided to put together a meal using them. I had some chicken breast, broccoli, linguine, chicken broth, soy sauce, powdered ginger, and cornstarch. I don't know the exact measurements but here goes:
4 chicken breast cut put
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp of ginger
1 T of cornstarch
2 cups of broccoli
8 oz of linguine
1 cup of chicken broth

Cook linguine and set aside. Mix ginger, soy sauce, cornstarch and chicken in a bowl. Cook chicken on med heat until browned about 10 minutes. Add broccoli and broth and cook for another 2 minutes. Toss in linguine and serve.

I don't have a pic because my family ate it up before I had a chance to. Try it and let me know how it works for you. Q