For the next 31 days this blog will display the blessings of anointed declarations and insights from my pastor, Joel Osteen, whom I love and adore.  Let those who enter these pages be blessed beyond their wildest dreams and discover the real truth about who they are and who they are meant to be!


DAY 1
I am going to receive the new opportunities GOD has for me.  I know there are dreams He will bring to pass in my life.  I choose not to settle, but to pursue my GOD-given goals, knowing it's never too late to accomplish everything GOD has placed in my heart.  This is my declaration of who I am. 

That dream that is on the inside is part of your purpose, it's part of who you were created to be.  That's why it's so important that we don't keep making excuses....that we don't keep putting it off.  This means you may have to prune some things out of your life so you can go back school at night & get the training that you need......so you can get up & go to the gym early so you can get back into shape & live a long healthy life...... you may have to stretch yourself to write that book, to start that business, to coach the ball team, to go on the missionary trip.  Whatever it is .... GOD is saying now is the time to get started.....now is the time to get out of your comfort zone and pursue those GOD-given goals.   Let me encourage you to start taking steps toward them even if they're small steps.  If your dream is to be in ministry, don't wait for Billy Graham to call you, go up to the prison and encourage the inmates....or start a Bible study at the office, at your home.  If your dream is to have your own business, you can't just sit back and expect GOD to hand it to you on a silver platter..... start researching it, develop your business plan.....learn from others.....get good advice.  The scripture says to give yourself to your gift.  That means do whatever you can to make it happen.  You may have tried & it not worked out.  Listen,  this is a new day and every disappointment and everything that didn't work out ~ GOD didn't waste that.....He used it to deposit something on the inside.  That's what's got you prepared for where you are right now.  It may not have happened in the past but the most important time of your life is the next 24 hours.  What are you gonna do with the time you have left?  You & I can't afford to sit around, waste another year with no passion, thinking we don't have what it takes in a career we don't enjoy....... giving the best of our life to something that doesn't excite us.  Well make up your mind with me that you're gonna make the changes and that you're gonna start moving toward your destiny.  That means that we're gonna get out of our comfort zones.....we're gonna start stretching.  We're gonna dream bigger....we're gonna think better ... we're gonna act wiser......we're gonna rise and accomplish everything that GOD's placed in our heart.   Friends, life is too short to live complacent.  If you're not actively moving toward your purpose, taking steps to grow & improve, then that will keep you from experiencing life to the full.  The scripture says in Proverbs, "complacency kills."  That means being stuck in a rut , not growing, not pursuing opportunities....that'll kill your passion, kill your dreams, kill your sense of purpose.  On a regular basis you need to re-evaluate what you're doing, what your goals are, what are you pursuing, and be willing to make the necessary adjustments.  There's nothing worse than going thru life being dissatisfied, knowing that we're doing less than what He's created us to be.   Many people today are living with a low-level pain because they're not pursuing their dreams, they're not following their passions......they keep putting things on hold, making excuses, and they live with this feeling of dissatisfaction.  Today is a new day.....GOD is lighting a new fire inside .... dreams are coming back to life...... hope is being restored..... vision is being reignited .... As you start moving toward your purpose, that low-level pain will go.  The blahs....the no enthusiasm will leave and you'll feel a spring come back into your step.  You'll felt the sense of destiny....knowing that GOD is breathing in your direction.  You were made for more......you are anointed, equipped, empowered......... don't you dare settle where you are...... GOD has greater things in your future.  You may have put it on hold for a long time...... the good news is it's not too late to get started.  You can begin right now.  If you'll make that decision to shake off the complacency and start pursuing what GOD placed in your heart......you can still become everything GOD's      created you to be.  

And that, as they say, is that!  Amen!  

Sharoni
...giving voice to those with none....

Ordinary vs. Extraordinary

"I am going to live happily & see today as a gift from GOD. I'm thankful for my relationships, my health & the opportunities GOD's given me. When I think back on what He's done, I'm filled with hope & with gratitude. I'm expecting great things for others around me too, & I pray that my joy & happiness will brighten someone else's day. This is my declaration of who I am."

My precious pastor blessed us this year with a 31 day walk of declarations of who we are as GOD's children. It has blessed me beyond belief and daily been "life" for me. So today was also special.....aren't they all?

Then I read (from another source direction) Romans 8: 12-18, first in the Amplified and then in The Message. I love both! It reminded me that we are not called to ordinary.... we are called to extraordinary ... above, beyond all "normal" expectations ...

to achieve greatness and live goodness .....

as children of the Most High GOD, we are heirs .... heirs of the great, magnificent Kingdom of GOD ..... the Kingdom of Heaven.....

see, Disney didn't have so wrong .... we really are princes and princesses ..... joint heirs with the Son of the living GOD .... the Messiah .... the last Adam ....

so ..... v. 18 isn't far off either ....

the "sufferings" of this world are not worth being compared with the glory that is about to be revealed .... to us ... in us.... for us ... conferred on us!

"We experience life on GOD's terms ... GOD's Spirit touches our spirits & confirms who we really are ....." The Message Romans 8

Yep, I'm extraordinary all right! Yes indeedy! :)

Sharoni

....giving voice to those with none ....

Behold!

GOD's glory can be seen in the most interesting places...things....events.......

Waves of GOD's glory......

like waves in the ocean each is unique .... extravagant beauty out of seemingly mundane things......

water and air made into wondrous works of art ......

made of ordinary dust of the earth, we humans are another gallery to display His glory ....

the extraordinary ingredient ~ His very breath

our lives are brief and seen by few yet each is a beautiful moment created by Him to say to the world, "Behold! Your GOD....the work of His hands" . . . .

Sharoni

....giving voice to those with none.....

Interrupting the Normal

I am preparing myself to interrupt the normal. Okay, okay....yeah, wondering what that means exactly, huh? I live in a rut...... a rut of consumption.

My husband & I laugh about the obsession I have with food. Do I weigh 200+ pounds? No...... would the average ordinary walking down the street person look at me and think I was fat? No.....especially not in this city. Actually, compared to the great vast majority here I am not at all overweight. But am I? Yes. Technically, by nutritional and health standards I have crossed over the line and am "obese!" Does that make me crazy? Yep. Does it make me crazy enough to want to fix it? Yep? Do I have the resolve, the drive, the self-control to accomplish this? Not right now.

My husband falls on the floor laughing about watching me in a grocery store.....he says it's almost orgasmic, my delight with the adventure! Crazy, the lens others see us through. But he's right....and it makes me laugh out loud as I write this.

But I now have health issues that demand I pay attention to this issue. As a nurse, I know what I face should I not gain some control here. As a woman, it really irritates me to want to be the "who" I am physically and have allowed myself to "unbe" that person! So.....do I now have resolve to "go there?" Can I climb that mountain? Do I want to climb that mountain? Yep. I want to. Am I resolved? Sorta....... so I am now on a journey to become.... willing.... to really have the resolve to allow GOD to lead me on this journey of faith. Because that's what this really is......surrendering to Him and who He's called me to be. To behave as royalty and an heir of the Kingdom of Heaven.

So, I purchased two items to guide me through, from two very faithful members of my eternal family, Lisa TerKeurst and Chris Seay.....both bold pioneers with courage and a call from our LORD to share their understanding and insights.

I now borrow from Lisa's foreword in Chris' book "A Place at the Table.....40 days of Solidarity with the Poor"......

Like Lisa, I feel ordinary and that's ok. But it's never been ok for me with the things of GOD or His Kingdom....never. There is one area I have yet to surrender to Him and that is this one of eating. He makes all things good, but what we do with them and how we do it determines what is ok for us and not......

So, now I enter preparation stage.....

His very extraordinary presence has invaded my very ordinary place here.......

so now I intend to let GOD "interrupt the ruts of normal. The normal that keeps us distracted and blinded & without expectation of something more. But one thing is certain: the something more we're made to experience with GOD can only be found outside the ruts" (Seay, 2012, p. 10).

"....this journey isn't about our power, strength of character, or self-control. It is a journey of surrender to GOD that will usher us from rut dwelling to transformed living" (p. 11).

I want this to be a time to "stop the rut of constant inhale. Taking in, taking in, taking in. It clogs the soul" ...... so I want to "learn to exhale with great thanksgiving. To ponder what GOD might bring close during this" time, and yes, 'sigh!' fast.

"For this place where our souls breathe and dream once again" (Seay, 2012, p. 11).

Dreaming.......

Sharoni

...giving voice to those with none....

Such love as this....

So today I read a lovely story by Max Lucado (1999) in his sweet little book "The Gift"...... it spoke so deeply to me that I gasped & dropped a tear or two on the page. Enjoy........

"A friend of mine was at Disney World some time back. He and his family sought a place to rest in CInderella's castle. Unfortunately, so did everyone else. The place was packed with kids and parents. Suddenly all the children rushed to one side. Had it been a boat, the castle would have tipped over. Cinderella had entered.

Cinderella. The pristine princess. A gorgeous young girl with each hair in place, flawless skin, and a beaming smile. She stood waist-deep in a garden of kids, each wanting to touch and be touched.

The other side of the castle was now vacant except for a boy maybe seven or eight years old. His age was hard to determine because of the disfigurement of his body. Dwarfed in height, face deformed, he stood watching quietly and wistfully holding the hand of an older brother.

Don't you know what he wanted? He wanted to be with the children. He longed to be in the middle of the kids reaching for Cinderella, calling her name. But can't you feel his fear, fear of yet another rejection? Fear of being taunted again, mocked again?

Don't you wish Cinderella would go to him? Guess what? She did!

She noticed the little boy. She immediately began walking in his direction. Politely but firmly inching through the crowd of children, she finally broke free. She walked quickly across the floor, knelt at eye level with the stunned little boy, and placed a kiss on his face."

Did you feel it? Did you gasp? Did a tear drop from your eye? I'm all choked up again just from the re-reading and sharing it here. Powerful this thing called compassion. Even more powerful this love.....such love as this.

Well...... That's just what Jesus does. He walks up to us and kisses our face....in whatever shape it may be in. It does not matter to Him because He sees us just as He make us.....beautiful.

Break free........

Sharoni

....giving voice to those with none....

Jewels on the Water

The sun shines on the water like diamonds.....it is mesmerizing..... almost hypnotic as the wind gently moves the water to shoreline.

It is a beautiful day..... the sun is bright..... everything surrounding this place lushly green ....

the sky is a lovely gentle blue .......

and there is a soft, gentle breeze across my face as I partake of the sound of the waterfall as it overwhelms the faint noise of traffic in the distance........

The music of nature........

Peace and glory of the day......

things not to be missed.......

Sharoni

...giving voice to those with none....

Moment of Happiness

So...I have a lovely new MacBook Air..... it's a precious gift from my husband in celebration of my birthday, Christmas and upcoming graduation from graduate school with my MSN! Yay!!

Anyway....despite the learning curve I endure, it is a continual joy to me in the fun little things, tricks, bells, and whistles it holds. I do understand why there is such a cult following of Apple products. I am a bit concerned about the fragility of these products, but I do my best to protect them because I like them! It's kinda like a new little pet. :)

Anyway, today I learned how to delete a document. Okay...so you may not be impressed, but by golly I am! This is not an easy feat for one who struggled for years (yes, years people!) with copy/paste on PC's....but that's another story for reals!

Anyway.....it's delightful really how the system is set up and makes something otherwise droll so much fun! I laughed out loud as I emptied the trash to a sound of crunching paper! Could there be anything more fun?

It's the little things in life, people..... the little things! Never forget that!

Find joy in all things....even taking out the trash on your Mac! :)

Sharoni

...giving voice to those with none...