I Sing Because I Am Happy!

What an awesome God we serve!

On our drive to Eastern Kentucky University today, Sheena made note that I kept replaying and singing out of tune to the BeBe and CeCe Winans' song, "Grace". I said, "Sheena, grace, oh, grace, what would I do without grace, where would I be without grace?" I know she did not truly comprehend what I was relaying to her, but my God knows that it is only HIS grace that has kept me! It was HIS grace that redeemed me. I just had to praise God on my way to EKU today because as I looked at my daughter, I remembered that time when I was not the mother that I was supposed to be. I was up in the club, running the streets of Belize City. I thank God for grace and mercy because as Bebe sings, "mercy helped me see I have been living a lie." Yep, God's mercy, that is, His favor! If God did not favor me, trust me, I would probably still be running in and out of those clubs, yes, even at this supposedly matured age.

My friends, I am not looking back, I am not turning back, but I have not forgotten where I used to be, how I used to be. It is only the grace of God that has me still standing; it is only the grace of God that has me clothed in good faculty; it is only the grace of God that I am alive today; it is only by the grace of God that I am the mother I am today. My friends, I am just keeping it real with you. I know how far God has brought me and that is the reason why I sing the way I do, even if it is off-keyed; why I praise the way I praise; why I pray the way I pray; why I testify the way I testify; why I jump the way I jump! Grace, oh grace!

My God has redeemed me; HE has cleaned me up from the inside to the outside and I am living in submission to His will. Just as David was a man after God's own heart, so am I, a woman after God's own heart! I sing because I am happy; I sing because I am free! And who the Son sets free, is free indeed! This sister is walking on the road to freedom!


John 8:36, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." (NIV)

Be blessed,
Therese from Belize

Life Is Indeed Great!

To God be the glory!

One of my little brothers at my church always say, "Life is great!" I used to say, men, I wish I could be like him, but now I understand exactly what he means. My friends, life is indeed great! It is great because my God gave me another opportunity today to get it right with HIM; life is indeed great because God extended His mercy and grace today on me. Life is great whenever we live to see another day. Life is indeed great when we get to enter through a door that we thought would never be opened for us to enter. Let us appreciate the life that God has given to us. There are many who did not make it today, many who died without confessing their sins to our Lord; many died just as they were ready to serve the Lord. Life is great for us because we still have breath of life!

My friends, it is important we get it right with Christ...TODAY. Do not delay. James warns us not to boast about tomorrow. We find the apostle warning us in his epistle, Chapter 4:13-15, "Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” (NIV) Our lives are indeed like a mist, that is why we must be thankful and grateful each and every day to God. God extends love to His children even though we do not show Him love. I can tell you, life is indeed great! Why? Because I am redeemed, my God has forgiven me of my sins and He has set me free! So yes, who the Son sets free is free indeed!

Life is great! (JaRae West, my young brother at Mt. Calvary Missionary Baptist Church)

Be blessed,
Therese from Belize

Is God Really Listening?

Greetings, my dear friends, in the name of Jesus!

Has it ever happened to you where you just end up at a scripture that you had no idea how you reached there? Well, that happened to me today. I came across the Book of Habakkuk. Habakkuk was a prophet, but oh what a complainer he was. He complained and complained to God about one thing to the other, complained about whined about everyone and everything. How many of us have asked, just as Habakkuk had, "How long, LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen?" (Habakkuk 1:2, NIV). My friends, God does listen to us but I have found, from my own personal experiences, that sometimes God just wants me to let HIM be God all by Himself. Sometimes, God just wants me to sit still and let HIM be. Sometimes, God just wants me to praise Him instead of complaining to Him, sometimes He is waiting on my worship instead of my whining. Rev. Richard Gaines of Consolidated Baptist Church, reminded his flock that they must worship when their backs are against the wall. Rev. Gaines said worship is a lifestyle; it is something that you do morning, noon and night, and even in between. One's worship must be consistent and authentic (Rev. Gaines New Year's Service Sermon). God hears His children all the time, but we do not hear God most of the time.

Finally, in Chapter 3, Habakkuk took himself in prayer to the Lord. "LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, LORD. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy." (Habakkuk 3:2, NIV) Believers and non-believers, complainers and whiners, backsliders and fence sitters, one-day Christians and babes-in-Christ, when you are tired of being in Habakkuk's shoes, pray earnestly and without ceasing, praise with all thanksgiving in your heart, pray and praise and let God. God does listen to us, but we do not listen to Him. We are too busy caught up trying to solve problems and deal with situations on our own. Make that change today, and let God. Jesus tells us in the Gospel according to John, Chapter 15:5-8, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." Hallelujah!! Look at the promises that God has given us when we worship Him! Worship Him, praise Him, and pray to Him.

God bless,
Therese from Belize

Exchanging Mockery for Model

My dear friends! Greetings, in the name of Jesus!

So, 2011 is here and many of us have made, once again, "resolutions". Some are preposterous, some are just plain ridiculous, while others are believable, achievable, and sincere. We, and when I used the word, "we", (I am referring to disciples of Christ and the unsaved), throw around the word "resolution" like it is a Frisbee. I went to the Oxford Dictionary to confirm my understanding of the word. According to the Oxford Dictionary, it defines the word resolution (noun) as "a firm decision to do or not to do something."

Resolution - a firm decision to do or not to do something. As I reflect over my life in 2010, I can only come up with one firm decision: 2011, I will be living in submission to God's will. I will be that evangelist, the missionary, the testifier of God's goodness and mercy, but most importantly, I will be that street corner witness for Christ! You see, my friends, as I look back over my life, hallelujah, God has redeemed me, He took me, yes, this wretch like me and HE shaped me, He renewed me, He molded me, and HE chastised me out of love. And because my God has done so much for me, because my God has brought me from darkness into light, I promised God, not man, that I will forever praise HIS name, I will work vigorously and earnestly to spread the good news of Jesus Christ to every and any one, and I am talking about those outside the walls of the church!

My friends, I do not know about you, but I must continue to walk in the path of the Lord. I must continue with all strength and vigor to spread the good news of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Let me tell you something, especially those of you who are still not living in submission of the Lord. You see, in Psalm 1, stanzas 1 through 6, David tells me this:
"Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or
stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his
law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of
water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not
wither — whatever they do prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like
chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand
in the judgment,nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of
the wicked leads to destruction." (NIV)

My friends, I encourage you today, the beginning of 2011, to stop being a mockery, stop being a fool, stop being a follower of idiots and idolaters and adulterers and occults. It is time you begin your walk in submission of God's will. It is time for your breakthrough but you must do as David encourages, that is, meditate on God's Word, day and night! Look at the promise...mediate, delight in the law of the Lord and guess what? Whatever you do will prosper! Glory!!! Remember, the way of the wicked leads to destruction. My friends, 2010 saw enough destruction in your lives, get on track with God and you will see how much you will prosper.

Our God is worthy to be praised! Hallelujah!! Amen.

God bless,
Therese from Belize

Becoming A Woman of God

Greetings, my friends!

I come writing so humbly giving all glory and honor to God! As I approach another year of life, I am so tickled as I see all the wondrous workings of God in my life. This wondrous workings did not happen overnight, believe me. I had to get in total obedience with the will of God, that was the only way, God told me, He would have it. As I serve the Lord, I realize that becoming that woman, that woman that God intends for me to be takes hard work and dedication to the will of God. It does not come overnight, it comes with daily reading and studying of the Word, daily living of the life that God sets out in His holy book, daily repentance and love towards others. Becoming a woman of God requires that the household loves and serves the Lord.

I reflected back to a luncheon I attended which was hosted by the Ministers and Deacons Wives Ministry of my church. The theme of the luncheon was "The Chosen Lady -A Woman Worth Imitating". As I continue to work on becoming the woman that God wants me to be, I pray that as other women, including my daughter and my nieces, look at my life, they will see the God in me, the chosen lady, a woman worth imitating.

I pray each day for God's continued mercy and grace. I pray each day that the Lord keeps me humble and grounded as I walk in His path so that young and old women may see that I am just a sinner saved by God's grace, redeemed and sanctified and would want to know God more and more because they see that His light is shining in and through me!

To God be the glory from whom all blessings flow!

Have You Extended Mercy Lately?

My dear friends:

As my birthday draws closer, I cannot help but first, and foremost, thank God for my life. I have not always been the role model, the disciple, the Christ follower, oh no. But, I thank God for salvation and redemption. I know it is only God’s favor over my life that I am able to stand and walk and leap and jump and skip! My quote for today reads, “Be on the lookout for mercies. The more we look for them, the more of them we will see. Blessings brighten when we count them.” – Maltbie D. Babcock

I am consciously aware of mercy, that is, God’s favor given to me, even though I do not deserve it. When I look at the people God uses to do His work, I get so thrilled because if HE used them, HE surely can use me. I am just an ordinary woman saved by God’s grace, favored with His mercy, once lost but now found, trying to live the life that is pleasing unto Him. My favorite apostle, Paul, reminds me in Ephesians 2:4-5: “But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” (NIV)

God has showered me with so many blessings, I will forever praise His name. I ask you today to have mercy on someone because God has extended mercy on to you.

To God be the glory!
Therese from Belize

Two Are Better Than One

Today, my devotional quote read: “Rich is the woman who has a praying friend.”
– Janice Hughes

I give God all the glory for my riches because of the praying friends I have in my life. I know I cannot make it on my own without others interceding on my behalf. I always thanks God for my family who prayed for me each and every day when I was walking outside of the will of God.

Janice Hughes' quote brought my attention directly to Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. I read this scripture all the time, especially when I am standing in agreement with my Sisters.
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” (NIV)

I can be assured that I have at least one sister, one friend who prays for me daily and continuously. I am rich because I have friends who lift me up on the daily in their prayers and my sisters and my friends know that they do not have to ask me to pray for them, I do it because that's what I do (and the Holy Spirit convicts me to pray for others).


You pray for me, I pray for you! God bless you!

Therese from Belize