Hello and how are you?

I've been away for 6 weeks and only now starting to recover. I was so fortunate in being treated to a lifetime holiday I could not obtain in my own strength.

I remember in 2018 I prayed to ask the Lord if it would be possible for me to go overseas to Australia to visit my brother. I was very upset and thought I would never leave South Africa never mind going overseas.

But God hears all our prayers, I realize that today and when I was in Australia I realized God answers prayers.

So some background in 2019 my brother who lives in Australia actually came to visit all of us here in South Africa. It was such a lovely time and I expressed my desire to visit him but I didn't have the means.  I am unemployed and I don't have two cents to rub together.

Well, my brother bought me a ticket to visit him in December 2019 and my husband was gracious in allowing me to travel overseas. My daughter gave me cash to go over and to pay for my visa and other important documents. I went overseas with a lot of cash in my pocket and also had such a great time.  My brother is such a great guy, he spent all of this time with me.  We went everywhere with my sister in law Carla and little Jadyn, I saw all of Adelaide and had the most wonderful time of my life.

If you truly pray and God knows your heart I believe He is able to answer every prayer. God is so wonderful and He answered my prayers. I am still amazed at this great vacation,

my thanks and gratefulness is towards the Lord my God, my brother and sister in law and my daughter.  All of you made this possible for me to take a lifetime vacation, one that I can never ever do on my own.

Lord you are more than I can explain and You are wonderful, Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty I am the most grateful person that lives.

Praise and honor to the name of the LORD, Amen

Praise the Lord

I realised that my life cannot change if I didn't change my way of thinking.

Philippians 4:8-9 Living Bible 

8 And now, brothers, as I close this letter, let me say this one more thing: Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely, and dwell on the fine, good things in others. Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned from me and saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with you.

I decided to focus my mind on the Lord Jesus Christ, I am negatively inclined and I struggle with negative thoughts all the time. I realized that if I was serious about changing my negative thoughts to a more positive way of life I had to take my thoughts captive.

When you read Philippians 4 verses 8 you are reminded of thinking positive thinking. Not focusing on the negative things in life that break you down. Let God's Word, the Bible grow in you. Learn to focus on verses that build you up and start your spiritual growth by studying God's word.

Please pray with me, Lord, please help me stay focused on Your Word, lead me and guide me. Help me turn my dark and negative thoughts back to You, in Jesus name amen

4 Tier Wedding Cake

Finally done, this was quite a job,
I hope my client is happy 

I never realized it would take so much time.

Thank you so much for 

the opportunity

:-)

#expect!

2 Timothy 1:7 Amplified Bible 

7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control].

The Lord, God understands me very well, I am expecting good things to come forth and I am not going to doubt myself. When I look at my life and see how it has progressed I know and expect good things to come my way. I believe that I have been raised with the Lord Jesus Christ and I have power right now in my own life. The Holy Spirit is in me, giving me the power to overcome temptation, the power to change my life for the better, the power to forgive and speak God's Word and see God's promises show up in my life. I have the power to be healed in my own life.

At the moment I am expecting great things to happen, I have something I am waiting for and I believe I can think big and ask big, and that there is Power of God's Spirit living in me will bring everything to pass in my own life. I pray this in Jesus's name, amen

"The sound of a gentle blowing."

1 Kings 19:12 Amplified Bible 

12 After the earthquake, [there was] a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire, [there was] the sound of a gentle blowing.

When I feel worried and anxious I turn to the Lord and I realize that the fear I am feeling isn't from the Lord. God, isn't someone who brings fear into my life, the devil does that. Constant poking me reminding me of all I have failed at.

The LORD speaks to me in a gentle whisper. Not shouting at me, threw stuff at me. The funny thing is I can't handle the "gentle whisper." The minute anybody speaks words of kindness and is gentle towards me I miss the point. I start crying.

Prayer

Lord, Father God, You know my heart and my fears. Today please speak to me in a gentle whisper, I am in need of Your Holy Spirit, Lord. Amen

I feel like a cracked pot, full of wholes

Isaiah 64: 8 ESV
"Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand."

Simply put, I have come to realize that I am a cracked pot, I have so many flaws it scars me at time. Then I start judging myself and believe that I cannot come into the presence of the LORD because of everything going on inside of me.

Today I want to say yes, I have flaws, I am not perfect but I feel like I am a work in progress.  I want to encourage and help others feel better about themselves. We are in the LORD's hand. He is busy working with us.

Prayer

Father God, humly I want to pray for forgiveness of sins. Lord, You are Holy and You are worthy of so many praises and I want to bring You all the glory and honor to Your Holy Name. I am nothing Lord without You, a cracked pot with too many wholes. Please help me to be diligent in following You, as my spirit needs You today. Amen

Removing distractions

Matthew 6:33 Amplified Bible 

33 But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.

There can be a number of things that have the ability to distract me, I seem to focus on something and before I realize it I have become so involved it's scary. We need to prioritize our time with the Lord. Making time to spend in God's presence and making time for prayer. 

The Lord wants us to be moved by His Holy Spirit, not by our busyness. When we seek God first with our whole heart, we will find Him.

Lord humbly I pray help me get rid of the distractions in my own life, guide me and lead me with the Holy Spirit, in Jesus Christ name amen

Pray for others

Craig Groeschel "Prayer is never a last line of defense. It's our first line of offense."

James 5: 13 - 16 NIV
Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

When it comes to praying for other I have come to realize that we all feel encouraged by prayer. It helps us stay focused and we know God is in control. When we pray for other people we are standing in the gap. Or we are in front of the battle. Our prayer life and our time spent in God's presence bring us closer to Him. When we are praying for other we are drawing near to the Lord. I want to challenge you today, get your knees down on the ground and start praying for others. God is waiting to hear from you.

My prayers are always for my family and friends first, I pray for each person by name. Its my way of asking the Lord God to please keep an eye out for my family and friends. I know God hears my prayers and I believe He loves me.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I know that I do not have a chance to do anything on my own, but when I come before You and pray for Your help I have every chance in the world because I believe and trust in You. Lord I want to ask please send Your Holy Spirit to help me, I cannot do this on my own. I know the Holy Spirit knows me far better than I know myself, knows my pregnant condition and keeps me present before YOU Lord God.

As written in Philemon 1 verse 4 to 7 "I always thank God when I am praying for you, dear Philemon, because I keep hearing of your love and trust in the Lord Jesus and in His people. And I pray that as you share your faith with others it will grip their lives too, as they see the wealth of good things in you that come from Christ Jesus. I myself have gained much joy and comfort from your love, my brother because your kindness has so often refreshed the hearts of God's people.

Please Lord send the Holy Spirit into each of our lives, give us the necessary wisdom and insight we need for today. Thank You, Lord for watching over us. Amen

Pray like Jesus

Mark 7:31-35 Amplified Bible 

31 Soon after this Jesus left the region of Tyre, and passed through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, through the region of Decapolis [the ten Hellenistic cities]. 32 They brought to Him a man who was deaf and had difficulty speaking, and they begged Jesus to place His hand on him. 33 Jesus, taking him aside by himself, away from the crowd, put His fingers into the man’s ears, and after spitting, He touched the man’s tongue [with the saliva]; 34 and looking up to heaven, He sighed deeply and said to the man, “Ephphatha,” which [in Aramaic] means, “Be opened and released!” 35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he began speaking plainly.

When you start reading the New Testament Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John you will notice that the Lord Jesus prayed a number of times. Breaking away from the people the Lord Jesus took time to speak to God. 

We should take the time and speak to God, He is waiting for me and you. If the Lord Jesus made time to speak with God, so should we. It's very important to do this every time we get. Speak to God before you speak to someone else, He can help You.

Lord humbly I pray to help me develop my relationship with You, so that I am able to speak to You openly and truthfully. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen

#LackOfKnowledge

#LackOfKnowledge

1 Corinthians 2:2 English Standard Version (ESV)

2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

I don't believe that I am very smart and I am constantly trying to upskill myself. Lately, I feel that I just can't remember so many things. Hosea 4 verse 6 in the Amplified says "The Lord Himself said, "My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge..."

I have come to a place in my life where I realize the importance of learning spiritual things. Instead of seeking worlding knowledge, I want to focus all my energies on the Word of God. I want to grow spiritually.

Prayer

Lord, Jesus, I want to pursue the Word of God, and I want to grow spiritually, I don't want to waste my time with carnal knowledge which won't get me into heave. I dedicate my life, my mind and body, and soul into Your hands, let my spiritual eyes be open to Your Word today, help me in my pursuits of the Word, in the name of Jesus Christ amen

#Sacrifice_all_of_ourselves_to_God

#Sacrifice_all_of_ourselves_to_God

Romans 12:1 (ESV)

A Living Sacrifice

12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

It is my heart's desire to present my body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. I want to be accepted by God and I want my body to be a temple of my God. I believe that the Holy Spirit lives in my body and that I am supposed to use my body to worship God.

I am not perfect and I am sure I need a lot of work but just as I am I concentrate my life into the hands of the Lord. God knows and understands my thinking and I want God's approval in my own life.  I cannot see myself without the LORD in my life.

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, I am taking my everyday ordinary life, my sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life, and I place it before YOU LORD as an offering. I am embracing what YOU LORD is doing for me, I believe LORD you bring the best out of me, developing a well-formed maturity within me. Thank You, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen