God's Gift to You

16 Because he was full of grace and truth, from him we all received one gift after another. John 1:16(NCV) 

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Have you   taken the time lately  to  really   think about  the  gifts that Christ  has blessed  you with over the years?  I know  sometimes  we can   get   so  caught up in what  going  wrong   in our lives that  we  forget to acknowledge how  we  are  blessed beyond  measure on a  daily basis.  Unfortunately   sometimes it takes the  absence  of  our  gifts for  the vial  to be  taken off of  our eyes, so that  we   realize how   much God  sustains us each day. 

Think about it  this way,  your  life  is a  gift. Every ability that you have, every resource that you  have access to  is  only possible because of what  the Lord  has  spoken into  existence. Salvation is  a gift.  The fact  that   God was  willing  gave the life of His only son and  that  Jesus  saw  value in us so much so that He was  willing  to   give his life for  us speaks  volumes  about their  love for  us.

The  grace of  God  is  so  amazing.  He still  cover  us  even  when  we  don't  acknowledge  His hand on  our lives.  He  never  gives up on us  because  He loves  us  and wants us to succeed. He has given us purpose and  the  Lord   will  diligently  pursue  us  until   he  see's the  fruit  of  His   works bloom  in our lives.

So  when you are  tempted to complain I  challenge  you to shift your thinking  from  yourself  and place your  focus  on  God.  Begin to list  in your mind the  gifts   that  God has  given you over the years  and think  of  how  He has  impacted  your life through His   grace.  I  guarantee   that    you'll  lose  count.  

Listen,  I  know  that  life happens  and  we  all have trails that we have to face but  just take heart to that  He is  present in your life and He will never   allow   you to arrive  at  a  crossroad  that He isn't  willing  guide you through.  You are  covered  and  you will win  just  keep  going and keep your  eye's on   the Lord.

Love,

Staying Connected

John 15:5(NCV) 5 “I am the vine, and you are the branches. If any remain in me and I remain in them, they produce much fruit. But without me they can do nothing.  

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In our day to day  life   we are  faced  with so many  things that  are  competing  for our   attention.  We can be distracted  by   so  many things like     relationships ,   work , or  our social  lives.  It's  easy to become consumed with those things and  as  a  result we begin to neglect  carving out  time to spend with the  Lord.  This is no  coincidence.  The  enemies  mission is to keep  you  distracted.  He  knows when we put off time with   the  Lord  we  miss out  on  valuable  moments where God   pours into us granting us   wisdom  and the discernment that we need to navigate through life.

Staying connected  to  the Lord  and  His  word is the  only thing that  will sustain us  throughout life's up's and downs.   When we partner  with God's will and rely  on  Him as  our  main  source  it  doesn't  leave  much room for the  enemies  plans.   We are  better  equipped  to  stand firm on  our  faith  and we  won't  be  easily   shaken when the unexpected happens.  Spending  time with the   Lord   gives us  endless access to  His  resources.With Him there is nothing that  life  can  throw our way that  we  cannot   power  through because of the  foundation that the Lord has  created in our heart  through  quality   time spent with Him.

Without  God  pointing us in the right  direction  we  have nothing  and we  are  basically  a  walking  target for failure , when we  trust the  Lord  with our  time and  really  tune  in to  His  leading there  is nothing that  God cannot  do  in   us  and through  us.    God  has  a wealth of  knowledge and  wisdom that He  wants  us to  take advantage of  so I  you encourage to  be  deliberate  about   spending time at the  feet  of the  Lord. 

  Find  a time  that   you can  tuck away to  a quiet  place  to  talk to  the  Lord and study.  I know  we   all have  a lot on our plates  especially with the holiday  season and you may be  thinking  that you  don't  know where you'll find the time.   The truth is if you  find that you don't have time  to  spend with the  Lord   you are  simply too busy  and you need to change your priorities.  When you feel that  tugging  at your heart  don't   ignore it,  the  Lord  has  something  far more  important  for you than  anyone  else  has to offer.  Whether  it's first thing in the morning,  on your  lunch  break or  at night before  bed.  Today  make a  plan  to  spend time with Christ.  It will be  the  best  decision  you've  every made.

Love,

Test of Your Faith

 2 My brothers and sisters, when you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, 3 because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience. James 1:2-3(NCV)

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When you read    James 1:2  it   can  be a  difficult  concept to wrap your mind around. I don't know about you but  when I  read this  I have  some questions.  How  can   I  find  joy  within my  troubles?  My  situation isn't  fun,  I am  uncomfortable  and  what I am dealing with  is hard.  When you get to  verse 3 it  makes  things   a bit more clear,  

"Troubles test your faith, and  this will give you  patience"

While you are  feeling  anxious and you don't know  how  or  when  things  will  work out  ask yourself ,  will you stand firm in your faith  and  trust  that the Lord will get you through it   will you pass the  test of faith?  When you are  going through  a  rough  time    it  forces you   out of your  comfort  zone   and  you must  decide that  your  problem isn't  bigger than    God's ability  to  sustain you.


Trusting  God's plan for  our lives   requires   a lot  patience  from us because  we must completely let go  of our own  logic and totally  rely  on  God's timing.  We  often  view  letting  go as   defeat   and  we  struggle with  not  being in  control.   The truth  is   that   we  can only  win when we  let go and  believe that  God is in the midst of your  trails  working things out on our  behalf.


Don't  be  mislead by  defeating thoughts that try to weigh you  down or the  things that  try to  distract you from moving forward.  God  would never  allow you to    go through a  trail  that  had  no  purpose.  Every things that you have gone through or  are  currently  going through is  a  stepping stone towards  and stronger  more  patient you.    Don't  despise  the process just  trust  God and He will take  care of  the  rest.

Love,

What Is Your First Response?

Psalm 9:10 (NCV) 10 Those who know the Lord trust him,  because he will not leave those who come to him.

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When you are  going through trying  circumstances what is  you first  response? 

• Do you isolate yourself  from everyone  and  begin to internalize   how  you could have   done things  differently 
•  Lash out at others due to being  so overwhelmed and  frustrated
•   Or  do you    spill out  every thought or  concern to anyone that will sit  long enough to listen?

Your  response  to  difficult  circumstances is  an  indicator of  where your  faith  lies.   Knowing  the Lord  for yourself and trusting his  hand on your life means that  seeking Him first is  the  best  choice to  finding  a resolution and  moving forward.   If  coming before  God with your  concerns is  an afterthought it's  time to shift your perspective. 

I admit that  I  am definitely   one who isolates and  internalizes everything!  It's  hard  for me  to  immediately  express how I am feeling  in the moment . I've  always  admired those  who are  able to  express themselves  well under difficult  circumstances.  It  definitely   takes me a lot  longer to gather my thoughts together.

 I hadn't really thought about the way I dealt with things in life when I began to feel overwhelmed until recently.  I'm learning that sometime you have to take a  step back and ask yourself  if the Lord is willing to  take on   my  burdens and replace it  with  peace of mind , why would I waste so much   time  trying to figure things out on  my  own? He  wants me  to be free!

Having a  circle  of  friends to  confide in is  great and it is a very  important part of your spiritual  growth but don't overlook the  fact that  you need to hear   from the Lord first and  then  go to others for support as  God leads you.  When  you are  under pressure  don't allow it to weigh you down to the  point where you're  alienating  your  friends and loved  ones.  God is  more than capable of handling your  anger  as well as  your  pain so  vent to Him and receive His peace.


This week I encourage you  to  trust  God  and cling to Him when you are  faced with  difficult  situations or  difficult  people.  When you trust the  Lord , He promises never to leave you. He will  relieve   you  of   your  burdens and  grant you clear thinking so that you may move forward.  Surrender it  all to Him today! 

Love,

Let God Fill Your Voids

Then Jesus said, “I am the bread that gives life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.John 6:35 NCV

All  pictures are taken and edited by Lesli Allyn  Blogs unless otherwise  stated. 

Over the  years I've  learned   that  the Lord is   the only one that  can  really  renew  me from the inside out.   Everything else that I've  tried to   use  to  fill voids   only  work for so long  and  before  I   knew it   I  realized that  I  haven't  filled the  void  at  all  but I've only  covered it temporarily. 

For  a heart that  is  broken  and  a spirit that is  shaken there  is nothing  like the  loving  touch of   Christ.  Jesus  promised that  those  who  seek Him  will  have  life   and  that He  would  fill every  area in our lives where we  are  experiencing  lack. This is good  news,  it means that we don't have to  carry pain,  we don't  have to be  weighed  down by  the burdens  of  life  because  the   Lord  is   willing  to take on everything that  is weighing us  down.

  I can tell you from   personal experience that  when  you use  your own  methods to  cope with  life's up's  and  down's it  will always  lead  you back to where you  started in the first place.  A broken heart and loneliness will try to  convince you that  a relationship, people and things will make things better; But  I'm  here to tell you that those things are  only temporary  quick fixes.  When  we really   let  go and  trust  God with  our pain  He  will masterfully  mend every piece of your fractured  heart.

Don't waste  another  day or  another  moment  trying to sort things out on your  own,  surrender   it  all to  the  Lord  today.   Declare that every thing that   has kept  you pressed  down  has  to be  submitted  to the  power  of Christ.  With  the  Lord  on  our  side  there is  nothing that  we  cannot    overcome and  with Him we win.   Don't  give up, continue to worship your way through it and  know that  the Lord will  guide  you to the other side of your pain right into victory.

Love,

The Gift of Grace

 8 I mean that you have been saved by grace through believing. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. 9 It was not the result of your own efforts, so you cannot brag about it. 10 God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing.  Ephesians 2:8-10 (NCV)

All photos  are taken and edited by Lesli Allyn Blogs unless otherwise stated. 

The  Gift  of  salvation is  something that   we  sometimes take  for  granted , the  depth  of  Christ love  for us is  truly  amazing.   It is   easy  to  be  disconnected from the  word  and gloss over key points that we  really need to digest but    I want to  encourage you to take the time to   really  think about   what  it  looked  like for  Christ  to put His  life  on the line  in order  to  save ours.

Wisdom is  recognizing  our  dependence on  God  for  everything in our lives; From our  next  meal to the  our next  breath, we  cannot  take  credit  for  anything that we  have. it's  because of   Lord  that we have  the privilege  to  walk out  our purpose.  Nothing  just happens   chance  the  Lord is always  actively  working   in our  lives and     pouring out  His  grace  to us  each and everyday.  I don't know about you but I need  His  grace each and every  day.

10 God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing.  -Eph 2:10

Because of the  grace that  God  extended to us it   is  important for  us to mirror that  same  grace towards other that  haven't  quite  matured in their  walk with Christ.  I know that I have  been guilty  at  one point or another  of not  being understanding  of those  who were  struggling in areas  that  I  wasn't.  This is  why it  is  important to  surround yourself with other  believer  who   you can draw wisdom from  and  who will also hold you  accountable.  We  need  one another , we all need  a support system in  our lives to keep us  motivated. 

God  has  a plan and  a  purpose  for  each of our lives,  how  awesome is it to know that we are important enough to  the Lord  that  He  has  placed  a calling  on our lives.   There is assignment  that  only  we  can  walk out because  He has   chosen us .  You may  not understand   the purpose  for  every  twist and turn on the road  to your purpose but  what you can be sure of is  that God  will   complete the work that He  began in you .  Keep pushing forward , remain  humble  and  continue to trust His timing.

Love,

You are A Walking Miracle

 I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart.I will tell all the miracles you have done. Psalm 9:1 (NCV)

All photos  are  taken  edited  by Lesli Allyn Blogs  unless otherwise stated.

Your life  is  a miracle, you may  not  have  ever  thought of your  life as a  miracle  but it is. Every day that  we wake up,   every breath  that  we    take  even  when  we  take His provision  for granted, the Lord remains the  same  and  never changes  who He is.  It is   a  testament to  his   goodness   and  the depth of his  love for us.  It is  a blessing to be  called his. God  looks at  us  and  see's  our purpose and we  are  valuable in His  eye's.

Think about it  this way,  without  the Lords  hand on our  lives  where would we  be , how  would  we  even  begin to survive the  storms in our lives?  I'm  sure if you took  a  moment  to  look over events in your life   you will   find   that  there where times  where  you were  unsure of how   things would  come together but  God  opened a  door,  set up  the right meetings  and  things worked out.  

We all have  story to tell  and our  story is  worth sharing  with others.    It  vital to the growth of the  body  of Christ to  be transparent  and share  our  testimonies. Your  testimony  can  give hope to someone  who  is  going through something that you've  experienced or  it  could be  the  nudge  that  someone needs to   accept  Christ. 



God  has  been  more than   amazing to me  and I know that   many  can  say the  same thing about  God in their  lives.  If  you haven't  already today, take the  time to   thank  God  for   loving you as  you are  and  for  never  leaving  you  to sort  through your  own issues and   hangup's   alone.   God has  been  so faithful even  as  we  fall short  the  Lord hasn't  lost  sight of  us for one moment.  We  are  all walking miracles.  Share your  story with someone today,  in  person or  over social  media.  It  doesn't matter how you do it just  take  advantage of  the moment  and  share  the  goodness of  God today.

Love,