I remember as a child singing, “My Hope is Built on Nothing Less” as a Congregation Song at my home Church. Back then it seemed as though we sung it every Sunday and the most excitement I would get from it was watching Sister McQuarrie. Sister McQuarrie was a woman who not only stood out with her bright red lipstick and busty chest, but stood out because in the midst of our strong Gospel Choir, Sister McQuarrie would sing every song as if she was the lead singer in an Opera and I thought it was hilarious!
 
I can hear her voice now singing the song, you see her voice would start off soft, “My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.” But something would happen when she got to the chorus, it was if she had received a double shot of assurance and confidence. It was as if the Lord had turned on the light and any problems, pressures, or perplexities she may have had, were pushed right out of the way. And in her strong soprano voice, she bolted out declaring, “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand: all other ground is sinking sand.”
 
As a child, I was amused by her and I didn’t quite understand the meaning of the song, but oh what a difference life and time brings. When I feel like all hope is gone or like our Sister Naomi, that there was not even time left to hope, I can recall verse 4, “When He shall come with trumpet sound, Oh, may I then in Him be found, Clothed in His righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before the throne!” On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand: all other ground is sinking sand.” Dear Sisters, despite what it feels like, sounds like or looks like, don’t lose your hope this Christmas Season!
 

 
Out of the 21 Bible Versions I read for Hebrews 11:1, 17 of them start out with the word, “Now”. The word “now” is always present; it’s always pointing to this very moment, time and instant. Now is immediately, instantly and promptly. There is no hesitation in the word now. There is no delay in the word now. And the past is not even considered in the word now. The word now is active and so must our faith!
 
Our faith in what God says cannot start tomorrow when the problem pops up, next week when the opportunity arrives, next month when the impossible occurs or even next year for a goal to take place. Our faith has to be ever present; moment by moment, minute by minute and second by second, if we are going to live abundantly through Jesus Christ our Lord.   
 
Faith has to be ever present because our very hope clings to our faith; without faith we have no hope. Our ability to have “Now Faith” gives us the hope to face the uncertainties of tomorrow. Our ability to have “Now Faith” removes our fears and frustrations because we are confident in the One who holds our future. Our ability to have “Now Faith” dumps every thought of drought, despair, depression, divorce, death and denial and replaces it with hope, confidence, expectation, and anticipation. Our “Now Faith” gives us the evidence that what can’t yet be seen by man, has already been signed, sealed and delivered by The God of man!
 
Oh Dear Sister, December is the month to have “Now Faith”, for over 2000 years ago, there was a promise issued to the people that a Messiah would be born and yet many missed it because they did not have “Now Faith”.
 
As my Pastor, Bishop Urundi Knox says, “Faith is NOW” – do you have “Now Faith”?
 
 

This verse literally arrested my entire being and brought me to instant repentance. If I am the temple in which houses the Precious, Powerful Holy Spirit how could I ever not be enough? The answer came to me just as quick; I will feel I'm not enough when I:
• Walk in the flesh and not in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16)
• Quench The Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19)
• Grieve The Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30)
• Deny The Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:5) Oh, Great God, forgive me in the name of Jesus. Holy Spirit remind me of the words that I cry over when I sing I give myself away,  "My life is not my own. To you I belong. I give myself, I give myself to you". I desire to be in a constant state of giving myself to you. Daddy, you are amazing! I believe and receive that because YOU ARE, I am enough!

The Water Walking Women Team is full of trepidation as well as excitement as we embark upon a new journey in ministry. For the past four years, we have had (and will continue to have) our conferences on cruise ship. We meet awesome women while conquering our fears together in various life-changing intimate settings. However, in our fifth year of ministry, God has invited us to not only get out of the boat, but walk on dry land and declare to His beloved daughters that they are enough (see our website for details)!

In the midst of home life, work life, church life, social life, it still seems as if we have NO LIFE! When I say “no life”, I mean a life of abundance; substance and significance. We give, BUT it doesn’t seem like we have given enough. We do, BUT it doesn’t seem like we have done enough. We go, BUT it doesn’t seem like we have gone enough.

Then, those ridiculous thoughts begin to flood our minds, “I’m not good enough, I’m not smart enough, I’m not pretty enough, I’m not young enough, I’m not old enough, I’m not wise enough, I’m not strong enough, I’m not worthy enough…”. However, in the midst of all those loud and chaotic thoughts, Our Creator and Loving Father constantly whispers, “Daughter, your are more than enough!”

So, for the entire year, we are committing ourselves to offer prayers every week for all women of every age, ethnicity, backgrounds, and denominations that she will come to the resolve and boldly proclaim, “I Am Enough”.

Join us as we begin our journey through praise and prayer led by Ebony Lewis at 12:15pm PST/3:15pm EST. The number is 605.475.4810 and access code is 1048502#. Click HERE to submit a prayer request/praise report.

Please note that all of our calls are recorded. To hear them, call 605.474.4848, enter the same access code and hit # for the most recent call.

Walking with the King in 2014!
 
 
 

Get Rid of “It”!
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1
 
I'm not sure of what your "it" is but if it is cluttering your space it's time to get rid of it. We are on the brink of a new year and to go into 2014 with 2013 clutter isn’t wise!
 
Those of you, who know me, know that I love clothes and shoes. So much so, that I would rather give money then give away my clothes and/or shoes. However, I'm literally running out of space and that's nerve wrecking because I can't go shopping for more while all these GREAT after Christmas deals are going on (DON'T JUDGE ME - LOL).
 
So this morning I woke up and had this “bright idea” to get rid of old clothes, items I couldn't fit (this was hard because I'm going to lose weight NEXT year) and place all my Spring and Summer clothes in the basement. Who would have thought that I would have a basement…I digress!
 
At first it was extremely difficult. I found myself arguing with myself about wearing "it" with something else, what if I really lose the weight and I've now thrown away perfectly good jeans; some of you are really catching my drift!
 
However, to my great disbelief, I started feeling better. My drawers were easy to open, the bar the hangers held on to in my closet no longer buckled and I was able to find my clothes with ease. Yet most of all I fell GREAT! It literally feels like a huge weight has been lifted off of me. I am able to bless someone else with these items and in turn open myself up for more of God's blessings!
 
Sisters, we have 6 days until 2014. What is your "it" that you need to get rid of, throw away, or cast out? My physical “it” were clothes, but it enlightened me on my spiritual state.
 
The days of harboring unforgiveness, rehearsing episodes of wrong treatments done to you, hate, back biting, jealousy, envy, strife, insecurity, low self esteem, lack of self worth and significance is over. We matter to God. We truly are valuable, loved, and accepted and we can’t move forward “effectively” bogged down with weights!
 
So, let's not go in to 2014 with 2013's clutter. Let's go into 2014 decluttered and ready to be a reservoir that God's grace, mercy, promises, love, and forgiveness flows from to others.
 
Let's Get Rid of It  Sister, We Are Enough!
 

 
Comfort. Peace. Calm. Confidence. Assurance. I felt each of these as I read today’s Scripture. To know that when I abide in Him, He will not only be with me, but ensures me that the cares of this world will not consume me! To know that when I’m drifted into the deep end of life and trouble comes my way I need not be afraid. Why? Because when I abide in my Savior, He grants me security!
 
When the tidal waves of life rush in with the attempt to drown out God's purpose and plans for my life it is imperative that I abide in Him for safety. This Scripture promises that we will not drown!
 
Lastly, I was comforted by the fact that when I’m in a hellish situation, He will be my shield. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been in some seasons of oppression (some I caused and some Satan brought) and honestly, some of those seasons consumed me because I did not abide in Him. I was cussing instead of converting, I was screaming instead of singing and I was pouting instead of praying! However, I can recall other seasons where I stayed connected. I prayed, praised, forsook not the fellowship with other believers and came out not looking like what I went through!
 
Only by His grace and mercy was I not consumed. Only by abiding in Him can we experience His perfect peace. The song writer penned it best, “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back” – there is too much at stake!
 
If you desires Security, Safety, and Shield, choose to abide in Him today!

 
Over a year ago, I was asked by my General Manager to be a Service Culture Manager at my job. The job of a Service Culture Manager is to implement and infuse our Brand and Beliefs into our employees interaction with one another and our guests. When he asked me, my heart leaped for joy because I thrive at opportunities to  enrich the lives of others.
 
A couple of weeks ago, my Human Resource Director shared that she would be going to California next month for Service Culture training and if I was still interested. I told her that I was and she shared that she would email the General Manager for his approval. I hadn’t heard back from her and boy did those weeks “feel” like forever! During my waiting period, doubt entered my mind and I began to think, “Maybe they are going to ask someone who is more qualified to go”, “Maybe I’m not cut out for this” and the like.
 
I finally heard back from her on Monday and I was approved and needed to register for the course because there were only 58 seats left. So I purchased my airline ticket, booked my hotel reservation, turned in my expense report but couldn’t seem to register for the class. Fret, anxiety, impatience, nervousness and every other adjective came to mind AGAIN because I thought the class had reached capacity! I had to calm myself down and rest in the fact that the Lord’s plans stand firm forever and His intentions can never be shaken.

I was not abiding in Him so I did not have the blessed assurance that all would work out for my good. I had forgotten how He had chosen me for this position over a year ago. And although I had to wait a year, my “due season” had arrived; despite what it looked like, felt like and appeared like at that very moment!
 
I had to remind myself of this month’s Prayer Theme – Abiding in Him! It’s not enough to just abide in Him with spiritual matters, but we must abide in Him in ALL matters. Proverbs 3:5-6 says to trust in the Lord with ALL not some of our heart and lean not to our own understanding. In all of our ways acknowledge Him and sit back, relax, and watch Him direct all of our paths (my emphasis added)!!!
 

 
Last night before closing Bible Study, my Pastor shared that one of our New Members (a warm seasoned gentlemen) would be getting baptized. He told us that this man did not want to wait until Sunday to show what had taken place inwardly, but desired to be baptized on that evening – a WEDNESDAY! So without further delay, the congregation began to sing, “Take me to the water” (my Baptist roots sprang up JOYOUSLY – lol) in preparation of his baptism.
 
However, before we could utter another word of the song, my Pastor asked us to cease. He shared that He was moved by the Holy Spirit to “Open the doors of the church” at that moment. To our praise, excitement, tears and worship, eight people got out of their seats, walked down the aisles of Ebenezer Ministries and accepted CHRIST as their Lord and Personal Savior! But wait, it gets better, two young men decided to get baptized right then and there! It was powerful – the Lord was glorified and we were edified to see THREE GENERATIONS OF MEN say YES to JESUS!
 
After witnessing the power of God so evidently last night, I could not help but to think of this month’s prayer theme, “Abiding”. The disciples had been very busy the past three years working alongside of Jesus; they had the Power present in human form daily, but soon they were not going to. Jesus was letting them know that when He leaves, it was going to be of utmost importance that they stay connected to Him (The Vine) if they wanted to be effective in Ministry.
 
My Pastor and the New Member both had a positive effect on us last night. It was through them abiding and being obedient, that we saw men and women giving themselves to the Lord. There is POWER in ABIDING!
 

 
Hello Daughter of The King:
 
Wow, “Daughter of The King”, that just brought a sense of peace to me when I typed it. I wonder how our life, family, church, and community would benefit if we lived in that fact?!?! Sorry, I digress. For the month of October our prayer theme will be “Abiding”. Webster’s Dictionary has several meanings of the word, but here are some of my favorites:

• To wait for
• To endure without yielding
• To accept without objection
• To continue in a place

 
It’s when we wait for the Lord, endure the process without yielding to Self, Satan or Society, accept His Word as the final authority over our lives without objection and continue in Him, that we experience LIFE more abundantly! When we do these things consistently, the bullets Satan shoots at us turn out to be blanks. They don’t phase us, they don’t move us from the vine, they don’t surprise us, nor do they falter our faith in the Triune God!
 
When we abide in Him, He will prepare us for everything that comes our way. He will grant us peace in the middle of our storm, calm in the middle of our chaos, and endurance in the middle of an earthquake. God our Father, Jesus our Savior, Holy Spirit our Sustainer gives us a Blessed Assurance when we Abide in Him!