Happy Monday beautiful people! Please know that whatever you put before God, He hears you. When you cry out to Him, He will answer. The beauty of prayer is knowing that He listens and He will act. As you start a new week put your trust in Him. No matter the mountain or challenges you face, God will make you bold with strength. Be blessed!
For His Glory Only,
XOXO
Danielle J.
Last month’s blog series was focused on “No Stagnation”. As I prayed for what to discuss this month, I really didn’t have an answer. I started writing another series but it didn’t feel right. As we progressed through the first week of August, I’ll be honest … I was struggling with what to share. As I continued to pray, I received an overwhelming response dealing with the August Bible Challenge which is promoting peace. I realized that many of us are struggling in this area, so I decided to help shed some light and tackle this topic. This first post we will focus on accepting peace.
In order to be at peace, you must accept the Provider of Peace. True peace comes from knowing Jesus Christ and establishing a relationship with Him. If you have not made peace with God and accepted Him as your personal Savior – I truly encourage you to do so. When you have Christ, you have hope. When you have hope, you then are at peace. We get unsettled easily because Christ is not our anchor. If Christ was truly your anchor, he would be the source of your peace.
One thing we must realize is that peace comes from God - not our jobs, getting in a relationship/married etc We make peace about people, places and things when true peace comes from Christ. Trust me, once you achieve the things you want you can still be in personal conflict. They are only fulfilling for a moment, peace from God is eternal.
Acceptance means the action of consenting to receive or undertake something offered. Christ offers peace that surpasses all understanding. Philippians 4:7 says “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”. The peace that Christ provides will guard both your mind & heart. The first step is acceptance. First you must accept Christ as you Savior. If you have already done so, you must accept that Christ is the source of your peace. Putting your source in anything else is fatal and will only leave you disappointed.
It is also important to accept peace from others. This means if someone is extending their hand or an “olive branch” … swallow your pride, forgive and move forward. When you do not forgive others, you are held in captivity and bondage. You do more damage to yourself than others. If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you (Matthew 6:14).
To close, I leave you with Romans 15:13 – “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
For His Glory Only,
XOXO
Danielle J.
At one point in our lives, we have struggled with peace.
In the month of August, we will be focused on peace. In conjunction of the August Bible Challenge, I encourage you to read the blog posts that will be posted every Friday dealing with peace.
First we will discuss accepting peace. This is the foundation. Then we will discuss seeking peace, speaking peace and then putting what we have learned in practice.
I hope you are able to join me. Each Friday, the newest blog post will be available by 6 am.
Let's walk in peace!
For His Glory Only,
XOXO
Danielle J.
Life comes at us fast sometimes. We are bombarded by our different responsibilities, bad news, challenges and obstacles. We need God to revive, restore and renew us in every aspect of our lives, but today I will focus on relationships (marriages specifically).
Have you ever received a massage? Laid out on the beach with a cold glass of lemonade? Taken a vacation? These are things that provide relaxation and relief. It is important that we take a moment for ourselves, a moment to truly concentrate on the rejuvenation of our marriage. In your single years you experienced stress in many areas – work, school, family, and possibly friends. Those things do not disappear once you get married.
As a married couple, you deal with double of the stress because you have become one. You must find a healthy way to deal with the “issues of life”. The way that you dealt with stress in singlehood may or may not work in marriage. You must be willing to change your coping mechanisms. If you were one that dealt with stress by shutting everyone out …. that doesn’t work so well in marriage. It is important to find a good coping mechanism with the things life throws at you.
The Word of God is able to restore and revive us. John 1:1-5 says "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." I love the ending of the verse which states “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it”. Darkness will come, however, it will not overtake the light. The light drives out darkness, so let your light shine in your marriage, within your friendships and amongst family.
My prayer is that God will revive, restore and renew us. May He breathe new life into every dusty part of our marriage that’s been forgotten or neglected. Revive the covenant we share and made in front of family and friends, & strengthen our resolve to live out every promise we made. For those who are struggling, please know that God specializes in miracles. He gives hope where all hope was lost. God commands life with His Word, and by that same Word we know that He is able to do more than we could do on our own.
Thank God for your marriage. Ask for forgiveness for the many times you took your marriage for granted. Ask for forgiveness for the days we’ve let your pride get in the way of love. Thank God for His incomparable grace that puts sin behind us, and the everlasting hope that is standing before us.
To my followers who are single: Find healthy ways to deal with stress. That may be journaling, going out for a walk/run, an outing with friends, or speaking to a counselor. Build the foundation now so that when you do get married you have a healthy coping mechanism established.
To my followers who are married: With your spouse, be open to communicate the way you currently deal with stress and what would be best for the marriage. If you went into the marriage without the best way, you can still build one. Be willing to change. Also, be able to communicate with your spouse the areas that you feel may not be working well. We all are able to grow!
For His Glory Only,
XOXO
Danielle J.
If you have God, you have everything you need. Today I encourage you to sit in His presence and let Him know He is all that you need and want. He is our heart’s desire.
Take a listen to William McDowell – All I Want Is You. This song is so simple, and yet so beautiful. Be blessed!
For His Glory Only,
XOXO
Danielle J.
Marcus and I met at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) as college freshmen. We shared a chemistry lab class together for the Spring 2010 semester. We spoke occasionally on a "hi" and "bye" basis, and at the end of the spring 2010 semester, we went our separate ways pursuing different degrees: me- BS in Health Science/Occupation and Wellness, him- doctorate of pharmacy. I graduated in the spring of 2013 then entered in my studies as an occupational therapy student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Marcus continued at FAMU as a PharmD candidate.
Fast forward to the spring of 2015, I was in my 2nd year of my Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy degree, Marcus a P4 PharmD candidate. Marcus and I began engaging in conversation on Facebook through a bible verse challenge in which we shared our favorite bible verses with one another. One particular night, I shared a sermon that I watched on YouTube with Marcus. Marcus then messaged me to discuss the sermon, and we began conversing frequently about GOD which then led to their courtship, which started on March 24th, 2015. Right away, we set boundaries and vowed to honor GOD by: not engaging in physical intimacy, and by promoting GOD's word, using our courtship for GOD's purpose and honor. Less than a year later, we were engaged on March 20th, 2016.
Marcus and I have realized that flesh (humans) without the spirit of GOD is disastrous. We can do nothing without Christ, which means we need Him for ALL things- including loving one another. Christ calls us to remain in Him, which means- remain obedient and focused on His word. “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me...........But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!” John 15:4, 7 (NLT). During our courtship, we focused on remaining in Christ and growing into our GOD-given roles and purpose. By focusing on GOD and using scripture to guide our actions we have been able to work through problems and also avoid many problems.
We have learned that we can only do things with GOD's strength. Our strength comes solely from Him.
Life is beautiful because GOD created it. Everything He creates is beautiful. The grass is as green as our perspective, so daily we must choose to see things beautifully and be grateful and content for all that we have. Our outlook has become more focused on what Christ thinks about us instead of what people think about us. We cannot please both Christ and this world for the standards of both are different. So we work to be approved by GOD.
We would encourage anyone in courtships to pursue GOD and to stay focused on Him, not on anyone or anything of this world. Don't be distracted- distractions are avoided by focusing on Christ. Every answer to any question is found in the Bible. Use it daily.
Adrienne – Thank you so much for sharing your love story! May God bless your upcoming nuptials and union. We appreciate your support!
For His Glory Only,
XOXO
Danielle J.
#MotivationalMonday Happy Monday beautiful people! We are all busy. The question is - are you productive? I encourage you to be productive. Write down what you would like to achieve, set an action plan, & knock it out. STAY FOCUSED! Be blessed!
For His Glory Only,
XOXO
Danielle
For this edition we will be discussing stagnation in our social life.
Remember the definition: Being stagnant means having stopped, as by ceasing to run or flow; failure to develop, progress, or advance. The state or quality of being or feeling sluggish and/or dull.
For this post I wanted to focus on friendships, social life and community involvement.
We were not built to be singular individuals that have no interaction with others. Friendships have a long history dating back to Biblical times. I believe that Jesus not only saw the disciples as individuals who would carry out His vision, but also His friends. John 15:13 says “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends”. That is exactly what Christ did not only for us, but also the disciples. Friendships are a bond that transcends distance, time, hardships and even pains. You ever pick up the phone and talk to a friend you haven’t spoken to for years, and it is like you spoke yesterday? That is the power of friendship.
If you are feeling stagnant in the area of friendships, social life and community involvement – I recommend joining an organization that will assist you to meet like-minded individuals. These individuals should provide support in the areas that are the most important to you.
When I moved back to Orlando, FL after being in Tampa, FL for quite some time – I needed to meet some people. Although Orlando was the town where I grew up (middle school & high school), things had changed, people moved and I even changed. After much time I decided to join the Central Florida Urban League Young Professionals where I met some awesome people and made lasting friendships. I also was able to assist in making a positive impact on the community. On top of that, the organization assisted me in growing both personally and professionally. Through the connections made within the organization, I got the final push to establish La Belle Vie Essentials. You can find local chapters of both the National Urban League and National Urban League Young Professionals chapters here.
If you do not become part of the National Urban League, there are so many organizations where you can meet like-minded individuals. This may be within your church, a fraternity or sorority, or other community organizations. The important thing is to take the steps to put yourself out there and make the effort to get to know those around you.
I’ll have to do a separate blog on friendships, and the power of friendships. The important thing about stagnation is making forward steps. If you are struggling in this area – you may need a change of environment and surroundings. This will assist you in making the important connections we need to grow.
This ends our blog series this month. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did! Remember NO STAGNATION in area of our lives. We have discussed spiritual, professional, relationships and our social life. Let’s make sure we are taking forward steps towards our goals.
If you have a blog topic you think we should cover, please comment below! We are very open to any ideas!
For His glory only!
XOXO
Danielle J.
