Blended Sistas

Good morning Lord Day: Today I will, by your grace, be aware, of when I’m tempted to take the easy out or take a situation into my own hands and, by either, turn away from you. Page 40 What happens when we take matters into our own hands? I can’t speak for you but I know for me that when I try to do it all on my own I stumble and fall every time. I have been trying to be more intentional about seeking God out before making big decisions but I will admit I still struggle with including him in the day to day! Anyone else have this issue? A great way to nip that in the bud is starting out the day asking for Gods guidance. Reading your devotional (even if you are way ahead of the host lol). Repeat after me: when I take things into my own hands I lose the opportunity to allow God to work in my behalf. (I actually substituted “lose” with the possibility of forfeiting a blessing from God, because let’s face facts there are occasions when God blesses us even when we think we are leavi...

 Today I will choose to trust you rather than fear the very real things there are to fear in this fallen world. This past weekend I got to fulfill a long time dream. And the most amazing part of this whole thing was the fact that I let go of my fears and put my trust in God. When I opened my devotional up to today’s page I couldn’t help but laugh. I see you God!  So ask yourself a few questions.  What dreams has God placed in your heart that you have struggled to hit the go button on? Don’t tell me he hasn’t placed a dream in your heart, because the God I know created each and every one of us here for a purpose. Have you been like me and found yourself doubting your ability to fulfill those dreams? What if you really trusted God and let go of what ever fears that get in the way? There are so many distractions in the world that will paralyze us and keep us from doing the things that we should be doing. The one thing this pandemic has taught me is th...

So instead of me giving my thoughts on page 34 I would love to hear your thoughts from Day 15...Today I will ask you to show me an opportunity to be a Good Samaritan. Read Luke 10:30, 33-34 What message does God have for you in this account of the wild eyed man?

Day 14 Today I will savor the fact that I am your daughter, a princess in the family of the King of kings! Page 32 I see a theme forming from this devotional! As I read today’s lesson I kept hearing...you are fearfully and wonderfully made! What each of the ladies in the Bible have in common (other than the fact they are woman) is the fact that they had struggles, hard times, fears, and dreams just as we all do. But in the end they did not let those struggles keep them down. For anyone who says that woman are not an important part of the Bible or that they are portrayed as less then, must not have got the message I get from this passage. I now that in Gods eyes I am special and in fact I am a child (princess) of a king! Bit not just any king. I am a child of the Most High King! And as his daughters, we are important to him! But as Sheila stated many times, we are so busy looking behind rather than ahead that we miss the most important lesson. We are his workmanship ...

Day 13 Today I will be your student, listening for you to show me when I’ve mentally and emotionally crossed over from healthy guilt to destructive shame. Page 30 Mental health is one of those issues that we find hard to talk about. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US. I only mention this because with the isolation of Covid 19 it’s important to be aware. Mental health doesn’t just affect non-Christians. It can affect anyone. The last few weeks we have been bombar ded with images of hate, racism, brutality and anger. If we are not careful this can take over our mind and affect our mental and even our physical well-being. That is why it’s so important to be rooted and grounded in the word of God. While reading this devotion I kept going back to what Sheila said about the ways the enemy can whisper in your ear. I feel it’s important to remember that we are loved. We are worth loving. We are a precious creation. A daughter of the Most High God! That nothin...

Good Morning Lord Day 12 (Page 28)                     Today I will remember who I am in Christ. I would really like your take on this particular devotional. I have often struggled with low self-esteem. So much so that when it came to parenting my girls I made a point of telling them that could do and be anything they set their mind to. And if at first they didn’t succeed to try, try, try again. Sometimes I wonder though if I should have focused more on the fact that “we are fearfully and wonderfully made” by God and that he is all that we need because we are his children. I know there has been many times where I did not embrace the truth of who I am in Christ. Even though I have heard it (and even preached it) time and time again, I still was not convinced.   Am I the only one that has found it hard to fully embrace the concept that God delights in little old me? An...

Today I will slow down enough to notice your fingerprints on your amazing creation. Page 26 Ok, you know I had to go look up the video “The Greatness of God”. And frankly after that I didn’t get much father in the devotional. LOL I will say this….our God is amazing! How he created us. How he formed us in his image. His works are marvelous! Not because we are marvelous but because he took such care in the making of the human form. If you think about the human body, and all of its complexities. Like just wow!   No wonder today’s devotional title is named what it is! How often do we just go through the day, never really thinking about God’s creations. Just look at the world. The animals. So many things God made and it’s beautiful, so unique and so different. As humans, now two are alike (not even twins). God did that all by himself. For me it put new meaning to the scripture from Psalms 139: 13-16 For You formed my inward parts; You  [ a ] covered me in my ...

Today I will focus on being your friend. Page 24 So much of what I do is tied up in how I serve. It’s hard sometimes for me to step away from that and just bask in being a child of God. I feel like I am on all of the time. So this devotional today really made me take inventory of what my identity really is. Yes I am a pastor’s wife, a women’s ministry leader and a minister.   So many hats, but the most important hat should be that I am friend to God. Not because of what I do for him but because of who he is. The reminded me of the song…”I am a friend of God. I am a friend of God. I am a friend of God, he calls me friend”. But do you really think of him as your friend? Comment below with your thoughts on this. When we think about the fact that God doesn’t need anything from us (other then to worship him). And that he loves us just for whom we are (unconditionally). So when we serve just to say we are serving (without really knowing God) than just as Sheila said it ...

Good morning Lord! Today I will consider what it means that you are my friend! Page 22 in your book I don’t know about you but after the last few weeks I need a friend.   And I’m so grateful that God is my savior but also that I can call him friend! Maybe our little sabbatical last week was just what we needed to be reminded that he is our friend! I think sometimes (at least for me) we get caught up in the mission and forgot all about the personal relationship with Christ! Yes we are called to act as an ambassador for Christ but what’s the benefit in that if we don’t bask in his love. If we don’t walk in the garden with him. If we don’t have conversation with him when times are tough or when we celebrate? Man when Sheila said to be warned that we could run ourselves ragged doing things for God. It struck a cord with me. I’ve been in ministry for over 26. Not even counting the years spent in church as a youth.   Raised by preachers and teachers fo...

Good Morning Lord Day 8  Today I will remember that my failure to forgive myself is a prideful choice to not receive your grace. Page 20 After reading today’s devotional I tried to imagine myself in Paul’s shoes. And then imagine God forgiving him. Sometimes we can be our own worse enemies. We beat ourselves up about all of the things that we have done wrong in our past. And as much as we hate to admit it…we often ask for forgiveness and then pick that burden right back up again. Today’s devotional reminds us that Gods grace is sufficient and that we cannot let our pride get in the way of receiving his grace. That we have a choice to let go or to keep on holding on to the old stuff. Paul received God’s forgiveness so why can’t I? I know it’s hard to even think about forgiving with all that we have seen these last few weeks. But God has called us to forgive even our enemies. Forgiving someone is a powerful tool. And it can bring healing. Not just to the...

Day 7 Today I will let your light Shine into my hidden places Do you know that nothing is to hard for our God to handle? That he knows where the hidden places are in your heart? If I could go back and talk to the girl in this photo I would tell her that she was loved. And that she mattered to God.  You may not have the same baggage that the woman at the well did. But we all have moments that we are ashamed of. Things we don’t want others to know about.  I’m not asking anyone to share that here but just know that God sees, and he knows and he still loves you. And whatever your hidden secrets may be, know that God is there and wants to see you through those hard places. While you are in devotion with him…get it all out. Tell him about how you are really feeling. Even if you are mad, or sad or somewhere in between…God can handle it. Let his love heal you and set you free from the shame and guilt. We tend to take our burdens to the altar and then pick t...

Day 6 Today I Will Praise You For Your Amazing Grace! I love the song. Amazing grace how sweet the sound! It’s one of the few hymns from back in the day that speaks to me. The photo above is of me and my aunt. Whenever I hear and old hymn I think of her. She taught my family so much about God's grace.  So many time I felt lost and alone, and so not worth Gods Grace. But yet he loved me anyway! The  fact that he was willing to sacrifice his life on my behalf! That completely blows my mind. As many times as I have heard it I still don’t understand it but I’m grateful!! Do you find it hard to accept Gods Grace? If you think about the fact that Grace means Gods unmerited favor! That pretty much sums it up. God already knew we didn’t deserve his grace and love but he loves us anyway! Despite ourselves! That should be reason enough to praise him! It’s definitely reason enough to thank him!! I am a people pleaser by nature. I want everyone to be ha...

Day 5 Today I will practice keeping my mind “stayed on you”. OK . How many of us actually practice keeping our mind stayed on God?                     That one kind of slapped me in the face. Do I really keep my mind stayed on Jesus like the song says? Am I being intentional in seeking him out as a regular part f my day? Or do I get easily distracted? Anyone else besides me experience what Pat did in the book? When you are going through some tough times. Do you turn to him? I said in my sermon last Sunday that I had a peace that I didn’t even understand despite the pandemic. I think I finally understood the scripture about having the kind of peace that surpasses all understanding. Because frankly if there was ever a time to panic, now would be that time. Instead I keep wondering why everyone is running around going crazy because they are being told to just sit still. Chill ...

Day 4 Today I will listen for your voice directly and not rely on what someone else has heard you say. When I see people struggling with listening to what others have to say when we talk about God and our relationship with him, I realize that for many of them it’s because they don’t have or feel as if they have that personal relationship with Christ. So it’s hard for them to relate to how we may feel about God, and about his existence. About why we worship and adore him. How we go to him in prayer and how we rely on him daily. It’s not until you come to a personal relationship with our lord and savior that you get it. Until you seek out his word for yourself. Spend some time in prayer with him or spend some time studying his word. That’s when the relationship changes. That’s why this time we are spending with God right now is so wonderful. For many of us we don’t have the same stuff distracting us that we did before. I know for me, I am more determined than ever to carv...

Day 3 Today I Will Follow Jesus Man this one hit home for me. Because I feel like I’ve been dealing with some tough stuff for the last few years and I almost let those things pull me away from God. And pull me away from my purpose.  How have you felt during the tough times? Did you draw nearer to God or did you feel like you were out there all alone? I can so relate to what Sheila said about faith. How she felt sometimes as if it was her lack of faith that kept her from having a good life. When the reality is that our faith is not so much about what we bring to the table, but us relying on God to take care of things even when we don’t understand it, even when it doesn’t make sense and even when it doesn’t seem to be going so well. And the statement at the end when she says what did I do wrong and the answer she got back was... you have done everything wrong but I love you anyway!  That’s unconditional love! When have you been shown unconditiona...

Day 2: Today I will rest in the truth that you are always watching over me. God is watching over you. There use to be this song that we sang in church when I was a child ...all day, all night. Angels watching over you me right now. All day, all night...Angels watching over you. But do you think about the fact that God is watching over you as well? As many times as I heard the song I don’t think I really thought much of the meaning behind it. Or the fact  that God is watching over me all day and all night. I should feel comfort from that knowledge. So when Sheila said God never closes his eyes and that he’s always watching over you. Watching out for you. That puts a new perspective on things. To me it’s different from when we say that God knows and sees everything. That says to me that we can’t hide from him. Whether doing good or bad. But when I hear he’s watching over me that makes me feel protected. That I am important to God. Kind of like when a mother ...

Day 1: Today I will look for evidence that you are in everything I encounter! I still struggle with seeing God in everything I encounter. I think it’s just human to want to handle things on our own. We figure that can’t really matter to God. Or we say this is to small to bother him with so we find ourselves taking it on by ourselves. But right now on this time of quarantine many of us feel like we have no control. We didn’t sign up for this that’s for sure. I find it way easier to turn to God for the big stuff. Often times thinking that’s the only time it’s worth involving him. I can handle the small stuff myself! The reality is that God should be in the center of everything we do. Every decision we make because more then likely when we make the decision on our own we will mess up. That’s actually why the scripture used in the book works so well for this subject. Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understandin...

Good Morning Sistas! Welcome to our first devotional series…Good Morning Lord, I Don’t know where You’re Going Today, But I’m Going With You by Sheila Walsh .  I love how the forward to this book begins. For the most part I would say that I could be considered a morning person. I rarely struggle with getting up and starting my day. And I don’t need a cup of coffee before I greet people. So here is my story…around the time I turned 40 my inner alarm clock started to wake me up around about 5 am. It didn’t matter what time of the night I went to bed. I would be bright eyed and ready to go! No matter how much I tried to fight it once I was awake that was it. It didn’t make sense to lie in the bed and stare at the ceiling while Marc lay beside me sleeping. So I would get up and go in my family room and scroll through either Facebook, or Instagram. Some mornings I’d think about getting up to start cleaning, but the problem with that is I would have probably woke everyone e...

Join us here on Facebook to be a part of our Devotional Group. Our first study will begin on May 17th. We are using Sheila Walsh devotional " Good Morning Lord ". You can purchase a hard copy but I would suggest if you have a tablet or a kindle to just upload a digital copy which is much cheaper.  The way this will work is, each Sunday I will upload a short video message about the daily devotionals from that week (the first video will go up on May the 17th, so be sure to start your journey on May 10th in preparation) . You will have time to r ead it throughout the week at your leisure and then I will ask that you participate in a discussion of the weeks topic here on Facebook . A kind of "how was your week", and what blessings did you receive from the devotional. Hence the need for a journal and your bible (or bible app). This will be a group effort so be ready to share your journey with the other ladies gathered here. See you soon. 

Welcome To Blended Sista's Devotional group. I look forward to getting to know each and everyone of you as take this journey together and we delve into God's word! Be blessed my sista's in Christ!