Dream Deferred

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up

Like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore--

And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over--

like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags

like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

~ Langston Hughes

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What does happen to your dreams when they don't come true? What happens when all that you have prayed for just doesn't come to pass? What do you do?

Funny thing is I don't have the answer. I'm looking for it. I had a dream and *poof* it just disappeared. Did it go into thin air, somewhere off into the atmosphere? Is it floating just above my head, but just out of my grasp? Is it buried beneath my feet, down in the dark cold earth? Did it sink down into the bottom of the ocean, suffocating among the seaweed and kelp? Where is it?

I wonder if that's what happened to my dreams because that's how I feel. One moment I feel as though I'm floating above, watching my own suffering below. Other times I feel buried underneath the cold weight of sadness. And yet again sometimes I feel as though I have been holding my breath for so long under water that my lungs are about to explode.

So this blog is supposed to be about faith and devotion. And at this moment I am searching for a spiritual meaning to the deferral of my dreams. What is God's divine purpose?

I HAVE NO IDEA

Right now I'm ticked with God. He knows and I know it so let's not pretend otherwise. I mean it was a pretty important dream. It wasn't a dream to win the lottery or anything like that. It was a dream that had meaning and substance and value and purpose. This dream had past and present and future. It has history. It was a yesterday, today and tomorrow dream. But it is no more. And so now what?

I am devoid of understanding right now. I miss my dream and it's only minutes old in it's death. I simply can't grasp it right now.

But as miserable as I am right now; as angry and confused and sad as I am. I still know that God has a purpose and a plan for my life. Even though I may be stopped dead in my tracks I hold on to the fact that before I was formed in my mother's womb He knew me and set me apart. My faith may be shaken, but it's not broken. I know that the thoughts that God has towards me are good and not evil; that He plans to prosper me and not harm me. That He has for me hope and a future.

My teary eyes may not be able to see that future. It may be blurry right now but I know that it is there. And it's that implanted hope that will get me up tomorrow morning. And the next day and the next day and the next, until His plan bears out.

But until then pray for me. Pray my continued strength in the Lord.

In love,

Mona

Looking Back

Everyone has a beginning. God said in Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.”

That is your beginning. A moment of thought in God’s mind. A fleeting speck of time so small that we can’t even think it or imagine it with our little brains. It was in that 1 billionth of a nanosecond that you began. Because God *thought* you.

And what did He think? He said in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope – to bring you to an expected end.”

In a piece of time that we can’t even fathom, God thought you. He thought peace for you. He thought about your future. He placed in you hope. And you were still only a thought, an idea, a figment of His imagination and He already had a plan.

So you were born. Some of you into poverty. Some into the middle class. Maybe some rich. Some to a single mom. Some to a two-parent home. Some to an alcoholic. Some to a drug addict. Some to a teacher. Some to a prostitute. Some of you had blond hair. Others had brown hair. Some had naps and some had curls. Some had brown eyes and others had blue or green. Some were early and some were late.

But the one thing each of us has in common is that we were all born with a soul already hardwired with the hope and future that God thought for us. Each of us was born with a mustard seed of faith and a yearning in our heart for God.

And so we grew up. We grew from Mother May I to I wish my mother would get off my back.

From big wheels to texting behind the wheel

From baby dolls to Come on Baby, if you loved me you would

From EZ Bake Oven to a bun in the oven

From Ring Around the Rosie to with this ring I thee wed.

From Duck Duck Goose to duck, there’s goes my husband

From hopscotch to I’ll have another scotch

From kickball to an eight ball

Life happens. Real life on this planet ruled by evil. We steal. We lie. We act up on our jobs. We smoke weed or crack, we drink, we gamble, we have sex, we get abused and we abuse others. We abort babies. We mistreat our loved ones. We cheat on our tests and our spouses too.

We sin.

We lose our faith. We can’t feel our hope and we throw away our future. We forget.

But no matter how down and out we get, no matter how low. No matter how sick and tired of being sick and tired we get, one day something inside of us cries out to the Lord.

Remember me
Remember me
Ohhh, ohh Lord
Remember me

This is how we used to start service at St Paul Baptist Church in Geneva when I was a kid. Someone would moan:

Remember me
Remember me
Ohhh, ohh Lord
Remember me

Father I stretch
My hands to thee
No other, no other help
I know

And God remembered.

He remembered that we thought of Him one lonely night, even while we were drunk or high or laying up in that bed. He remembered that He heard our mamas and our grandmamas praying for us every night and every Sunday morning in church.

He remember all that He had planted inside of us in that moment so long long ago. He remembered that He sent His Son to die on the Cross for our every sin. He remembered that we were His children.

And in that 1 billionth of a nanosecond that it took to remember, our past was erased. God said that as far as the East is from the West is how far He has separated our sins from us. He said He would cast all our sins in the depths of the sea.

And so we begin to travel down a new road. Fresh start. Clean slate. New mercy.

The problem is that God cast our sins away, but not our memories. Not our friends. Not our families. Not our neighborhoods. Not all of the bars, crackhouses or dealers. Not this world.

All of that is still there. Calling to us from the past. Some days it feels like it’s barreling down on us. Breathing right down our necks. Do we dare to look back?

Yes and No

Sometimes you gotta look back just to see how far you’ve come. You gotta peek back and see that’s it’s been a week since you had a drink. It’s been 6 weeks since you cussed anybody out. It’s been 3 months since you smoked a little weed. It’s been 9 months since you chose not to abort that baby. It’s been a year since you stopped using sex as a weapon. It’s been 5 years since you put that crack pipe down. It’s been 17 years since you let a man beat you. It’s been 25 years since you’ve been molested. It’s been 42 years since God had that first thought about me.

Oh yeah, you gotta peek back there every now and again to understand where God has brought you from. You take a glimpse back but you keep it moving forward.

You don’t turn back. You don’t go back. Sometimes the past is so familiar and so normal that some days it may seem easier to just turn back. Sinning is easy. Making the tough choice to do right is hard.

Sodom and Gomorrah is your past. God destroyed it with raining fire. It’s just ashes now. It’s done and over with.

God’s chosen path for your life is ahead of you. It’s through the desert sometimes, but it’s ahead. It’s around a corner you can’t see, but it’s ahead. It’s through struggles, but it’s ahead.

And yes, you might walk through the shadow of valley of death, but don’t fear, God is with you. He orders the steps of a good man and good woman. And though you fall, you will not be cast down because the Lord holds you up with His hand.

God’s purpose for your life is ahead not behind. The lives you will affect are in front of you. The souls you bring to kingdom are ahead. The full use of your gifts and callings are to come.

Your past is behind you and its purpose is to push you forward; to keep you pressing towards the goal. (Phil 3:13-14) But you can’t live back there rehashing all the things you have done or have been done to you.

God said forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. (Isaiah 43:18-19)

But be confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)

Keep moving forward.

In love,

Mona

The Hand

My father listened to all kinds of music. I was lucky enough to be exposed to jazz, blues, rhythm & blues, country, pop and even a little classical. He even managed to throw in some spoken word with Nikki Giovanni and Gil Scott Heron. One artist that he listened to a lot, and who is in my iPod right now is Bill Withers. He has a song called Grandma's Hand that can still make me cry today.

This song reminded me so much of my own grandma Jessie, who I was very very close to. She died April 14, 2002 but she is still so much a part of my life. But mostly my prayer life. She used to literally pray under her breath all day long. While cooking, cleaning or whatever, you could hear her soft whispered words calling out to the Lord. Funny thing is I do the same thing today. I miss her.

My favorite verse from the song is "Grandma's Hands used to lift her face and tell her, "Baby, Grandma understands that you really love that man. Put yourself in Jesus hands"

No matter what we're going through, that is what we need to do: PUT OURSELVES IN GOD'S HANDS!

In God's hand there is security. "He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken." Psalm 62:2

In God's hand there is peace. "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you." Isaiah 26:3

In God's hand there is strength. "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1

In God's hand there is rest. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

In God's hand there is safety. "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.” John 10:27-30

To put yourself in God's hands requires that you surrender all of yourself to Him. That you knowingly and consciously decide that you want His will and not your own. That you will trust Him completely in all things and that you will wait on Him.

Once you totally surrender it all to Him, you will find yourself at peace. There is peace in knowing that God's perfect will for your live is at hand. God knows the plans He has for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Just call upon Him and pray to Him. He will listen.

Put yourself in His Hands and wait. But while you're waiting, praise, pray and worship!

In love,

Mona

L.O.V.E.

L.O.V.E

I’ve been loving someone all of my life. I love my mom, my dad, my brother, my grandparents and all the rest of the family. I didn’t know really what it meant as a child. I just knew they were there for me whenever I needed them. I loved without plan. It just was.

I had a son, Andrew, when I was 18. I guarantee you that he introduced me to a love that has no definition. A love that makes you do the unthinkable and think the un-doable to ensure his survival.

Not too long after Andrew, I would find my soulmate, Brian. A man that I know was given to me from God. He rescued me from me and I found out about a whole different kind of love. A love that sacrifices and builds and bonds and creates and upholds. It was a love of choice.

And then my daughter Aja came and another dimension of love was added. A love that engendered protection and encouraging and strengthening and uplifting. A “girls rule” kind of love that only she and I share.

And of course there is my love of God. A love so personal and deep and surrounding that I couldn’t really express it properly, so I won’t even try.

I thought I knew what love was; until I came close to losing it. And then God talked to me about loving. Not just when things are good, but truly loving when things are ruff. When mortgages are being foreclosed; when marriages are on the rocks; when children are on drugs; when the ones we trust betray us, when jobs are nowhere to be found; when your friends turn their backs on you. That’s when the loving gets hard but when it is needed the most.

And as God is prone to do, He gave us some information and instructions about love. But lesson #1 is that God is love and you are from God so you are love. What love is, God is and you are. What loves does, God does and so do you. So when I say love I mean we!

He said:

Love is patient: that means we wait; we endure; we don’t fret

Love is kind: we are gentle and considerate; we speak life

Love does not envy: we don’t want what we can’t have. We don’t begrudge another people their successes or their gifts

Love does not boast: we don’t take all the credit for the good and we don’t go around bragging about what we do and what we have

Love is not proud: we don’t walk around thinking we’re better than others. We’re not high and mighty

Love is not rude: we don’t talk to people any kind of way

Love is not self-seeking: we’re not selfish and only putting our needs and desires ahead of others

Love is not easily angered: We must have long fuses and we don’t go off on each other at the drop of a hat. We have self control

Love keeps no record of wrongs: We don’t keep a mental notebook of every time someone did or said something that hurt us. WE FORGIVE

Love does not delight in evil: We do not wish ill on others.

Love rejoices with the truth: We tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth – and not just our version of the truth.

Love always protects: We take care of each other

Love always trusts: We believe and have faith that God will do just what He said He is going to do

Love always hopes: We confidently expect our destiny to be fulfilled

Love always perseveres: We stand even in the face of obstacles. We survive

Love never fails: We ain’t going nowhere!

We can be the most eloquent speaker, preacher and teacher of all time, but if we are not speaking life to those are dying, our words are meaningless noise.

We might be able to speak prophesies from the heavens and hear the Holy Spirit like we hear me now, and have the faith of all the ages but if we can’t love those who hate us then we are nothing.

We can give away all of our shoes, purses, houses and throw ourselves on the fire for a great cause, but if we can’t show the love of God to everyone then we get nothing in return.

But all of these things will eventually go away and only three things will be left; faith, hope and love. And we know that the greatest of these is love. God is the greatest of these. You are the greatest of these. We are the greatest of these.

L.O.V.E. Love Overcomes Virtually Everything

In love,

Mona

Dori's Mustard Seed

Faith. What a huge five-letter word. F A I T H

The bible says "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1. Now I understand that to mean that faith is the foundation of all that I hope for and that I believe, without a shadow of doubt, in what I cannot yet see.

I believe that faith is the very essence of our Christian walk. It is by faith that we believe in God and the Bible as the God-breathed Word of truth. It is by faith that we believe in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. By faith we believe that we are saved by the Blood of the Lamb and are assured a home in Heaven after this life is done. And I have faith in these things to the very core of my being. You could not change my mind about them, not ever.

I got the big stuff down pat. But every day normal faith can be hard for me. As soon as something doesn't go the way I think it should go, my faith gets a little shaken. When I want to go north and everything starts to go south, then my faith starts to shake, rattle and roll. I have questioned my faith. I'm not ashamed to admit it either. Why do I question? Because I lose sight of God's purpose. Especially when God has said A and everything around me says Z.

But true faith is that un-wavering belief in God's plan for your life, no matter what is happening around you. Faith says "I know what God has said. I know what I see and hear and it doesn't matter because I know what God has said." THAT IS HARD!

The enemy knows it's hard and he is working overtime to keep you to focused on what you see and hear with your natural eyes and ears; NOT what God has spoken over your life or what you know to be true in Spirit. He figures if he gets you to question, gets you to lose faith, you'll give up on God and His plan.

Well the enemy can't take from God. The Lord gave each of us a measure of faith. So no matter how shaky your faith gets, you will always have that measure. It's that measure that tells you to get up and keep it moving.

Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20

I get knocked down and I get back up. That's faith. I get disappointed and remain hopeful. That's faith. I get angry at God and get on my knees to tell Him so. That's faith. I am consumed by sadness but keep praying. That is faith.

I don't know where the road is going but I keep walking anyway. That's faith.

Not my will, God, but Your will be done. That's faith.

It doesn't matter if things don't look like they are working out. God is making a way. All you have to do is....

z

Doesn't matter what it looks like, feels likes, tastes like or smells like right now. Just keep going. Keep praying. Keep praising. Keep worshipping. Keep reading. Keep believing.

Just keep swimming, in faith.

"We live by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7

In love,

Mona

Liar Liar Pants on Fire

There's no cute story today. Just some hard truth-telling. Pray for me, because the enemy does not like to be exposed. But here it is...

#1 The devil is a liar. There, I said it. He is and the sooner we admit it the better off we'll be. My mom says, "Tell the truth and shame the devil." Well it's time.

"He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native tongue, for he is a liar and the father of lies." John 8:44

The enemy has had me bound and I didn't even know it. I thought that because I go to church, and worship and pray that the enemy could not have his hands on me. Boy was I wrong. He was so slick about it that I didn't even notice it. Imagine that every negative human emotion we feel is like a piece of string. Every time I felt a negative emotion the enemy would tie together a piece of string. Every bout of anger, resentment, frustration, hatred, apathy, sadness, self-pity, disgust or doubt made my bits of string into twine. Then into rope. Then into chains. And it was with those chains that he entangled me within myself. All the while telling me that I was never going to be free. That I was never going to get the desires of my heart. That God wasn't listening.

#2 The devil is a thief. He wants to take everything that you have.

"The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy." John 10:10

I have always known that he wanted to steal my joy. I've heard that time and time again. But I didn't notice that he was also trying to steal my peace, my sanity, my trust, my faith, my family, my relationships, my mind and my soul.

And the worst part about it is that I didn't even realize what was happening. All this time I had been praying for all kinds of things. I had put my problems on the altar so many times. I had asked God to have His way in my situation. I had given myself over to God's will rather than my own. I had repented often and asked for forgiveness plenty, but I never once asked God to break the chains and heal the wounds. How could I have? I didn't know they were there! Sure I had spoken about not letting me be angry or resentful and stuff anymore. But I had no idea about the long-term affects of these feelings from the past.

Thankfully God revealed to me that the next stage of my growth and development relied on seeing this truth and acting on it. I had to ask God to unlock the chains and to remove the enemies hold on my mind. But I also had to ask him to heal the many, many wounds that created the chains in the first place. All of that old crap that I've been holding on to. Every hurt words spoken to me, every pain inflicted by someone else, every betrayal and broken trust - all created the chains that held me down. Silent chains of animosity and resentment kept me from moving forward in true freedom.

Now that the chains are breaking and the wounds are healing. It's time to get back my stuff from the enemy. Ty Tribbet says it best "I want it all back. Everything that you took from me, I want it!" And I will get it back. God put a provision in the bible for someone stealing from me.

"Yet, if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold, though it costs him all the wealth of his house." Proverbs 6:31

So when I am restored, I will have seven times more peace, seven times more love, seven times a stronger marriage, seven times more joy and I'll love seven times stronger and longer! Perhaps my prayer life will be seven times more effective and I'll forgive seven times faster. I will have seven times the faith and trust and maybe...just maybe, I'll end up seven times saner.

Oh, one last truth...

#3 The devil is defeated.

"And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever." Revelations 20:10

But until that time, dig deep and expose the wounds that created the chains you have. Seek the healing of the Lord. Confront the enemy's lies and expose him. Then go about getting back all that he has stolen from you. Your innocence, your trust, your childhood, your children, whatever.... Get it back, sevenfold.

Ty also said something else that I love...

"Devil, if you only knew what I was gonna be after the storm, you wouldn't have even bothered me. But now I'm stronger and I've got more power. I'm a little bit wiser and I've got more strength. I got the anointing. Got God's favor and I'M STILL STANDING and I want everything back!

I'M still standing.
I'm STILL standing.
I'm still STANDING!

Where's my stuff?

In love,
Mona

Case Closed

Chances are anyone reading this blog has been to court at least once. If you're anything like me, a speeder, you've been many many times. And if you're lucky enough to have never been to court, count your blessings and tell me your secret! Anyway... going to court and standing in front of a judge is VERY intimidating. I don't care how big and bad you are in your real life, the minute you are in front of that large and looming bench, being looked down upon by that judge, your inside shake. And that's just for a speeding ticket! UGH!

Can you imagine having to go before "The Supremes"? Oh my God. The Supreme Court is the highest court in this land and they have the final say on cases here in the US. There isn't anywhere else to go after a Supreme Court hearing. That's it... case closed!

Right now, at this very moment, all of us are going through something. Aren't we always. And hopefully we have brought this something before the Lord and left it there. Chances are we went and took it back a few times, but at some point we finally finally finally left it there. I bet when we did, God sent us a word, a vision, a promise that everything was going to be alright. He gave us truth to stand on, scriptures to bury in our hearts and a praise in our mouth. He gave us what we would need to hold on to while He is working things out.

Did you know that once we gave it to God that IT WAS ALREADY DONE? It's already done right now in the spiritual realm and what we're doing is waiting for the manifestation of this thing here in this place.

But there are two little problems. 1) Sometimes we don't always remember that it is done. Sometimes we worry and fret and question and over think our situation and 2) the enemy also knows that it is already done AND the enemy knows that we're getting a little shaky. Actually that's a big problem. See the enemy's job is to take advantage of our weaknesses in every way possible. The enemy wants to feed off of our fear and anxiety and make us question even more.

So you must remember "CASE CLOSED!"

See when we took our situation to the throne, it started a court proceeding. The enemy stood as the accuser/prosecutor - his job was to lay out all of our sins, faults and failures before the court. He explained that we were sinners and should not have our problems solved. But our advocate/lawyer Jesus argued our case before the Highest Court. Jesus told the Judge that we were His children. That we believed in His life, His death and His Resurrection - and because of that we had the power to overcome any situation... in His Name. The Judge, our ever faithful God, heard both sides and declared that we were free. The gavel dropped and God declared "CASE CLOSED".

"Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." John 3:18

So when the enemy tries to tell you that it's not going to happen, that you should give up, just remind him, and yourself---case closed. We have our verdict. Case closed. No fear. No anxiety. No worry. Case closed.

Just waiting patiently for it to be manifest.

And while we wait...

While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

~John Waller, "While I'm Waiting" from the movie Fireproof

In love,

Mona

Out In The Desert

Having lived on and traveled through the West Coast, I have experienced my fair share of desert. I've driven through the Mojave Desert, Death Valley and experienced the vast desert that lies between San Diego and Arizona. I've also been to Las Vegas, a city that sits literally right in the middle of a desert. The one thing they all have in common is that they are hot and dry.

I remember seeing cartoons where the characters were traveling or lost in a desert and undoubtedly someone would come across a mirage or an optical illusion. I remember a character was hot and thirsty and thought they saw a soda machine standing out in the sand. He excitedly ran over to it only to discover that it was just a large cactus. His eyes and his mind were just playing a trick on him.

I have found myself in a spiritual desert, feeling hot and dry and empty. I didn't start out there, of course but things I did or didn't do brought my there slowly but surely without me even realizing it.

Once upon a time I was going along, having a good prayer life, seeking God's face all the time, praising and worshipping whenever I could and then I got DERAILED <---------(link to another entry). Well I picked myself up and dusted myself off but something had changed and I didn't even know it. I slowed down on my praying and praising and worshipping. I didn't quit. I just eased back little by little.

One day I was laying around and realized hey, it's been a minute since I've been on my knees. And I told myself "Well, I am still a little ticked with God about the whole derailment thing. I'll start again soon. I'm still feeling at peace. I still know God's in charge and it's all good." And that conversation continued and continued and continued. I would tell myself that God knows my heart. He knows better that I do what I'm going through. I'm not feeling any conflicts or anxiety.

I had built up plenty of peace and joy from before. My storehouse was FULL of prayers and praise and worship. A few days here and there won't hurt. I still feel at peace and it's all good. And it was true...I did have a plenty of Prayers and Grace and Mercy stored up, (we'll call it PGM for short). But guess what happened each and day? I USED SOME OF MY PGM!

Every day, from the time I opened my eyes until I closed them again at night, I would use a measure of PGM. I don't know if I used a cup one day or a gallon the next. But I was using up all of the PGM I had stored and was NEVER REPLENISHING IT. And it started getting low. I didn't know it was. I didn't feel like it was. But it was. Imagine that I bought a ton of flour and put it up in a barn, but I baked bread every day of the week. Eventually, over time, you know I am bound to run out.

So without even realizing it, I was traveling myself through a desert situation. Please note that no one else is involved here. This is ALL ME! Now when I started this trip, I had plenty of food and water (my PGM) but I started using it every day until eventually I found myself dashing towards a soda machine only to find out that it was just a cactus. I was seeing mirages; situations and issues that my mind was creating because I was running so low on my PGMs.

But oh don't you know that the Lord is good! Just before it got too late... right before I ran all out of PGM, I found myself walking right upon an oasis. An oasis is a small fertile or green area in a desert, usually having a spring or a well. Ooh thank you Jesus. See in the middle of my self-created desert trip, God sent me a lifeline. A place to stop and get a drink and take a good look at what I had been doing. A place to rest and realize and repent. No judgement or punishment. He wasn't going to let me run dry. He would never let my storehouse get all the way empty.

"Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs." Isaiah 35:6-7

That stream in the desert allowed me to get re-focused, re-energized and re-charged. And most importantly, allowed me to start re-filling my storehouse of PGM. It's wasn't too late for me and it's not too late for you. God has your oasis ready. Just seek him with your whole heart. He doesn't care why you left or where you went...He only cares that you come back.

In love,

Mona

Read The Will

When rich or famous people die, one of the first questions folks ask is about the will. Who did they leave their money and possessions to? How much money did they have? Did they leave someone out of the will? Who will take over their business or have guardianship of their children. This is recently played out when Michael Jackson died. There was so much hype over the reading of the will.

But these are important questions to ask, and not just of the rich and famous. My husband and I each have a will and, trust me, neither of us are either rich or famous! But the will is important because it tells our loved ones what our final wishes are. What we want to happen to our kids, our home, etc. We don't want those decisions left to other people. The will is our voice.

What is an heir? A person who inherits or has the rights of inheritance. If I was a millionaire and died, my two children would inherit that money and share it 50/50. It would be theirs and they would have the right to spend it as they decided. If they were minors, I would provide a guardian to watch over the money until they were older. But the money is theirs and the will proves it.

Did you know that right now, there is a will with your name in it? At this very moment, you are an heir or heiress. Not like Paris Hilton or Caroline Kennedy. But you have a great inheritance already in store!

When you accept Jesus Christ as your personal savior your name goes in the will. When you accept that His death was the ultimate sacrifice for your sins, you get a share in the inheritance. When you acknowledge that He rose again on the third day conquering death, you get the right to share the wealth.

How do you know you're in the will?

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 8:16-17

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:26-29

But what is the inheritance?

LOVE: Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. John 14:21

FORGIVENESS: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

THE NAME: You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. John 15:16

THE HOLY SPIRIT: If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. John 14:15-17

PEACE: Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27

ETERNAL LIFE: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

THE KINGDOM: Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Matthew 7:21

Oh but there is so much more. You should go and see for yourself.

Know your inheritance. Read the Bible. Read the Will.

In love,

Mona