Grateful for forgiveness

Have you ever noticed how some people are so much more excited about the prospect of forgiveness than others? There's always somebody in church who shouts a little bit louder or dances a little bit more. I'm not talking about those who scream the loudest so they can gain some attention; I'm talking about those whose gratitude shows on their faces. Those who know exactly what their lives would gave been like if they hadn't been delivered by their saviour. We could learn a thing or two from them.

As humans, we tend to be more grateful and show more gratitude when or situations are more dire and desperate. For those of us whose lives haven't been too horrible before Christ, our gratitude runs a little bit shallower. Think about it. You knew where your next meal was coming from, you knew where your children were at night and life was generally OK save for the fact that we did not have eternal life. We're the ones who tend to place less significance on the gift of salvation. The mother who had a had time feeding her children or keeping a roof over their heads; she's the one you outta talk to about gratitude.

Even Jesus pointed it out. In Luke 7:47 NLT “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” Mary Magdalene poured an entire bottle of expensive perfume on Jesus' feet and those around him just could not understand why. While their gratitude ran shallow, hers ran deep. There was more for her to be grateful for.

But it is possible to be more grateful for the gift of salvation. After all, no matter how uncomplicated our lives were before Christ, we would still end up in hell without salvation. Let's learn a thing or two from the Mary Magdalenes in or congregations today and let our gratitude run a little bit deeper. Now, when you see someone worshipping in earnest, understand that they have simply been through too much not to worship their saviour. You don't know or understand the cost of their praise. Until you know their story, or all the things that they've been through, don't hate on their worship. Rather, step your gratitude up just a little bit. It will do wonders for your faith.

Remember that those who've been forgiven little show little love, those who've been forgiven much, show much love.

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity, Trusting God with your Future,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

New Year's Resolution? Or Procrastination?

Do you make new year's resolutions? Once upon a time, I did. I wrote them down, stuck them on my mirror and declared all the wonderful things that I would do in the new year. That is, until I realised that making a resolution is a very fancy way to procrastinate. You see, making a new years resolution means that you are actually saying "I am going to wait for the new year to actually make any changes in my life". It almost gives you a get out of jail free card for this year, this month, this week, today. It means that whilst you're planning for next year, you can ignore this year. It's an easy way to say, I don't quite feel like doing the necessary stuff now, so I'll wait till next year to do it.

So, I stopped making resolutions. Instead, I began to concentrate on making real changes to my life; now. Who says that on December 22 you can't decide that things need to be different and start making the change now? Why wait nine days to do something you can do now? What if you're told that you won't live to see the next nine days? Will you still decide to wait to make the changes you believe need to be made to the way you live, or think or act?

Procrastination is the killer of dreams, destinies and Christian lives. Don't let it make a casualty out of yours. By all means, declare some things over your 2013, but don't wait till it gets here to get things moving.

Be blessed!

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity, Trusting God with your Future,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

Stay Alert!

Focus is always important in the Christian walk. It is almost certain that you will go absolutely nowhere if you don't keep your focus on Christ. A perfect example of this is Peter when he attempted to walk on water. The minute he took his eyes off Christ, he began to sink.

It is easy in our present day life to take our eyes off Christ and begin to sink. It's a very dangerous thing for us nowadays because half the time, we don't even realise that we are sinking. It has become incredibly easy for us Christians to rationalise a lot of things and that is the most dangerous part.


Recently, I had an experience. Somebody said something to me that made me lose my focus. All of a sudden, I began to look at my leadership with a magnifying glass. I found everything that could possibly be wrong with their style. I didn't criticise them outwardly, but I did it inwardly and my heart grew bitter. I got to the point where my desire for the things of God dropped to dangerously low levels. In my head, I rationalised that "church" was the problem. To me, if only things were different with my leadership I wouldn't be feeling so spiritually dry. Oh really?

What actually happened to me was that I lost my focus. My eyes came off of Christ and onto man. A place where they should never be. Whilst leadership must always lead lives that won't be a stumbling block to others, we must remember that leaders are humans and they WILL make mistakes. If you keep your eyes on them and not on Christ, you WILL stumble and fall, or sink. In my case, I sank like a stone in a pond; a dark, murky pond. I was so scared that I told a friend I was afraid that I was backsliding in my heart. It was so filled with bitterness and resentment.

All that came from just one conversation. Well, really it was just one line from the conversation. It sank deep in my spirit and took root there. It nearly destroyed me. Luckily for me, I still had my desire for God and because of that desire, He was able to get through the noise of bitterness and resentment and pull me out from the bottom of the pond.

Ladies and gentlemen, I tell you my story so that you DO NOT, make the same mistake I did. After fifteen years of Christianity, I took my eyes from Christ for only just a few seconds and it took two months for me to recover. Yes, two months. The devil knows exactly what season of our lives we're going through and he knows when we are ripe for certain types of attacks. Because of my current circumstances, I fell easily for my "friend's" comments.

So friends, please "Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8)

Have a focused Day!

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity, Trusting God with your Future,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

Trusting God with your Future - The Devotional

Announcing the release of "Trusting God with your Future" the devotional.

This is a small collection of devotions meant to encourage, strengthen and stir the hearts of Christians. Trust is a complicated issue, especially when applied to someone we can't see. Not only is this book about trust, but it's about the everyday situations that affect out trust in God.

Each lesson in this book is one the author has experienced and learned herself. There are personal testimonies and experiences that are meant to inspire and to challenge.

As the author states in one of the devotions included in this book, "In the party of life, God is the one guest you always invite because he always brings and amazing gift!" May this gift from her heart bless yours.

Trusting God with your Future is Book Two in the Soul Food series. 

Grab your copy here: 

Can you just "be" in God's presence?

What is your desire? Do you desire to be with God more than you desire food?

One thing that is lacking in a lot of Christian lives is the desire to really be with God. If you're in a relationship with a man or woman, you have a great desire to be around them and to spend time with them. Great relationships are the ones where two people can just be in each other's presence, no talking, just being. You simply enjoy being in close proximity to your mate. You just love being around him or her. You don't need gifts or a conversation, just knowing that your significant other just wants to be with you makes you feel special right?


God feels that way about us. He's happy when we just want to be in his presence. When we're not asking for anything, when we're just being in His presence. That's real love. Our relationship with God should be so comfortable that we can just be in His presence. When we can just enjoy the moments with Him, when we can just love him.

I'm challenging you today to work towards a relationship where you can just be content with being in God's presence. It will make a world of difference in your relationship with Him.

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity, Trusting God with your Future,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

God rewards the Diligent

Ok, So I have been silent for almost a month, but I must say that I am proud of you guys, you've been coming back to the page and reading the previous bits of wisdom that God deposited in me months ago.

Today, this post is a little testimony and there's a lesson to be learnt here, I promise.

I've been extremely busy for the past six or so weeks. I've been trying to prepare for a pretty important exam and I wanted to get it done before November 1. See, this year I had two goals for myself.
1. Get qualified in my field
2. Develop myself as a writer

I've done a little of both all year, but that one important exam I really wanted to complete before the end of the year. However, every year from November 1- 30, about 300,000 crazy writers from around the globe come together for an event called National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Us crazies come together and try to pen 50,000 words strung together in a half-decent draft of a novel. I participated last year and did pretty well for my first attempt. I reached the goal and eventually published the novel (Nightmare at Emerald High).

So this year, determined to get some writing done after ignoring it for several months (since I published Finding Romeo in August), I decided to write my exam by Oct 31, just so that I can do NaNoWriMo.

Well folks, I wrote the exam on Oct 31 and waited for 10 nail-biting seconds whilst the computer system tallied up my score and let me have its decision. I failed. Yup. Miserably. My own mother was shocked. The last time I failed an exam I was in Secondary School... that's about 12 years ago....sigh.

Now what? I need to repeat the exam before the end of the year, but I really, really want to do NaNoWriMo. Decisions, decisions, choices, choices.

On November first, depressed from my failure the day before, I put fingers to keyboard. I hit the word goal for the day, but only half-heartedly. I still didn't think I'd be able to do this and study at the same time. On November 2, I wrote nothing, deciding that the exam was more important. On November three, I woke up a couple hours earlier than usual feeling really guilty for abandoning a great story. So I wrote again, only, I was already behind on my word count and I really needed to study. On day four, I decided to give up. I didn't write at all. I was going to prepare for my exam and try for NaNoWriMo next year.

Friends are awesome people to have around right? Especially ones that understand your goals. One of them challenged me to keep going, so on day 8, I put fingers to keyboard again, hopelessly behind on the target word count, but determined. I wrote for about an hour and a half everyday and studied for two. It was hard, really, really hard. There were days when I gave writing most of my energy and studying got only what was left. There were days when I did the reverse. Sometimes, no matter how much I wrote, I felt like the goal was simply unattainable. Either I win this thing and fail my exam, or the exact opposite. But, failure is not an option. I'm an over achiever so failure depresses me. So everyday, I kept plodding along. Hitting the keys, then hitting the books. Still, the goal kept slipping further and further away from me.

So guess who I turned to. There's one man who cares about the things that you care about. So, I stopped one day and said God, I'd really like to accomplish these goals, will you help me? Then I put fingers to keyboard. In the space of about 6 hours (in three sittings), I had written 11,257 words and just like that, I was back on target and poised to reach my 50,000 word goal! Not only that, I'd been struggling with grasping some of the material for this exam, but in the days leading to the end of the month, things that made no sense before, suddenly became as clear as day.

See, that's the God that we serve. He's able to do ANYTHING! Seriously, anything. In His word, he says that we can be confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases Him (1 John 4:14). My biggest comfort since the day I became a Christian 15 years ago has always been that God is concerned about the things that bother me at night. He's concerned about the goals I set for myself and the things I desire for my life. He's concerned about whether I'm happy or depressed. I KNOW that I didn't do the last month by myself. I KNOW that all those ideas didn't just come flooding into my brain because I'm brilliant (I'm really not). I KNOW that God is able to open up thought patterns and processes and make things appear as plain as day. See, that's the God I serve.

He rewards the diligent. Even though I felt discouraged and my goals looked like they were unattainable, I kept writing anyway. Most days, I felt like I was writing pure nonsense but I wrote anyway. God rewards that kind of diligence, in any area of our lives but especially in service to Him.

My exam is still a few days away, but I'm a lot more confident now than in the days leading to the October 31 disaster. (I'll let you guys know how that goes.)

My encouragement today is to stay focused, remain diligent and always include God in the mix. Now that November is over and NaNoWriMo is done, I promise to post more often!

Be Blessed!

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity, Trusting God with your Future,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

Trusting God with your Future - Part 2

It gets really hard to trust God with your future when at best, it seems dismal. When you look at what life will be with your current circumstances, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep walking in faith. You almost begin to lose hope, get cynical and maybe even turn your back on God but trust me, that's the time when you need to trust Him even more.

See, through the years that I've been a Christian, I've learnt something very important. It's when we feel most alone, or even deserted, those are the moments when God is working on us the hardest.

With the kinds of futures that God has promised us, we can't go in with the bad habits of the past. If we did, we'd make the same mistakes of our past. Sometimes, our cleansing requires isolation. Sometimes, it requires that we be stripped of the things that we love most. Sometimes it requires that we simply learn to listen. Other times, it requires that our trust and faith be built. God ALWAYS knows which path will be best for us. ALWAYS. And in the moments when we feel the most despair, our breakthrough is usually just around the corner.

I've recently been going through what I call a midnight period. All around me, everything seems so dark. I've been thrust into isolation and I feel like I've been stripped. Trust me, it is SO HARD to trust God in moments like that. When I wrote "Trusting God with your Future" part one, I made a special effort to start telling God daily, in spite of my struggles, that I'd still trust Him with my future. Sometimes, it got pretty hard to say those words;, the sceptic in my head would try to scream "What kind of loving God would put you through all this?" But, deep in my heart, I KNOW that I can trust God with my future. I mean, who else am I going to trust with it? Myself? Seriously? I think not. My track record proves that all I can do on my own is mess up my life. I'd rather leave it in the hands of One who I know to be capable. Wouldn't you agree?

I'll be honest, sometimes it's just pretty darn hard to trust God, especially when He's not telling you why He's doing what He's doing. But I encourage you, no I implore you, please, now is not the time to stop trusting Him. His promises ALWAYS stand. If you keep your end of the bargain, He WILL come through for you. Though your life may seem as dark as night right now, know that morning ALWAYS comes and with the morning, comes unspeakable joy. Your circumstances will make you stronger, and with each new test of your strength, you'll build great spiritual muscle and one day, you'll look back at this period and wonder what all the fuss was about.

Trust God with your future, even when it's dark outside!

This devotion and others like it can be found in one title (kindle or paperback).

Click the link below to grab your copy.

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity, Trusting God with your Future,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

Guest Appearance by Sharon Srock

To my lovely readers, please help me welcome fellow author, Sharon Srock to this blog. Sharon has a new novel, called Callie coming out soon and she's here to tell us a little bit about it and about herself.

Sharon Srock lives with her husband, Larry, and two dogs in Rural Oklahoma. She is a mother, grandmother, and Sunday School teacher. Sharon has one and three-quarters jobs and writes in her spare time. Her favorite hobby is traveling with her grandchildren. She is a member of the ACFW and currently serves as treasurer for her local chapter. Sharon’s writing credits include numerous poems and short stories published in science fiction fanzines.

Here's a few interesting tid-bits about Sharon and her book.

How much of yourself do you write into your characters?

I don’t, intentionally, write any of me into my characters. That doesn’t mean you won’t find a little piece of me in all of the women. Callie teaches Sunday school and loves her guacamole, Terri is looking for God’s will in her life and arguing the whole way, Pam is learning lessons in forgiveness. Yep, there I am.

How do you keep your sanity in this crazy fast paced world of ours?

I guess I’m a product of our environment. I like being busy. Even on a vacation I have to consciously tell myself to slow down and enjoy the moment. Sanity…I’m a writer, that option took a hike a few years back.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

I’m going to assume you don’t mean raising terrific daughters. Really? This book. Not just for the validation or a sense of “I can really do this”. But because I feel like it represent me, finally finding God’s place for me.

What is your favorite food?

I have two rules when I cook. If it’s sweet add chocolate. If it isn’t sweet add cheese.

Of all the current technological marvels, which is your favorite and why?

My GPS. I don’t navigate. Now I don’t have to.

What do you hope readers will take away from this book?

That sometimes we spend too much time beating ourselves up for something God has already forgiven and forgotten. That we do a disservice to ourselves and others when we indulge in those feelings.

And here's a bit more information about the book, Callie: 

Three dire circumstances. Three desperate prayers. One miracle to save them all.

Callie Stillman is drawn to the evasive girl who’s befriended her granddaughter, but the last time Callie tried to help a child, her efforts backfired. Memories of the tiny coffin still haunt her.

Samantha and Iris Evans should be worried about homework, not whether they can pool enough cash to survive another week of caring for an infant while evading the authorities.

Steve Evans wants a second chance at fatherhood, but his children are missing.  And no one seems to want to help the former addict who deserted his family.

For Steve to regain the relationship he abandoned, for his girls to receive the care they deserve, Callie must surrender her fear and rely on God to work the miracle they all need.

A God who will ALWAYS be there!

One of the attributes of God I love the most is the fact that He will ALWAYS be there. There's a feeling of dread you get when you think about someone you love not being there at some point in the future. It's a very hard thing to think about. It's a thought that you just want to blot of of your head and never think again. My heart begins to race when I think I may lose a loved one and almost immediately I begin to wonder what my life will be like without them. It almost makes me want to begin mourning for their loss now.

I like the fact that with God, I'll never have to have that feeling. I'll never have to think about losing Him, because he will always be there. He will never die. His presence brings me great comfort and I will always have it. Oh wow, what a God right? How many others can boast about a God who actually hears them, speaks to them, comforts them and who they know will ALWAYS be there for them.

I don't know about you but my heart is comforted by the fact that such an awesome God will always love me and I'll never, ever lose Him. I just thought I'd share that bit of comfort with you today. Maybe you never thought about it quite like this, but it's worth the thought really cause now I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Don't you just love it when God does that to you?

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

Praying without Ceasing

What does praying without ceasing mean? Does it mean that you spend every moment of every day for the rest of your life locked in a prayer closet somewhere praying your heart out? Nope. It means that your life must be one of constant prayer. That means consulting God should be a regular part of your life. It should be as automatic as panicking.

When something bad is about to happen to you, like say for example, you're about to get hit by a truck, you don't stop to think about your next action, you don't weigh the pros and cons, you don't take time to determine if the truck will really hit you or not, you simply move out of the way, it's automatic. When you life is threatened, your panic switch flips immediately. Your prayer life should be like that, automatic.

When you wake up in the morning, God should be the first person on your mind, and even if the time you set aside for your devotions is not in the morning, there should still be a desire to say hello to him, much like you desire to say hello to your spouse or the rest of your family.  Prayer should be your first reaction to everything, you should be so tight with God that talking to him becomes as normal as talking to your best friend.

Praying without ceasing does not require a locked closet door, just lifestyle of prayer. Make prayer the first thing you do in any situation. Make prayer a constant part of your life and before long it will be something you do without even thinking about it.

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

Intimacy

Jesus makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! Say that sentence out loud. Feels kind of corny doesn't it. Now think about it, is it true? Does the thought of your saviour stir a tingling in your spirit? Does thinking about the last time you spent quality time with him make your heart sing? Can you even remember the last time you spent quality time with him?

This morning I woke up and started my day the way I usually do, in prayer. In the midst of it, I had that feeling I usually get when I'm talking to someone of the opposite sex that I REALLY like. My insides tingled. Wow. I was thrilled. For me, that meant that my relationship with God was growing. That meant that our intimacy level was getting stronger. That meant that I was truly in love with the one person who would always give that love back. For me, that was something amazing.

So I challenge you today, what's your intimacy level like? Does God make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? Do you desire to spend time with Him the way you desire to spend time with your significant other? Do you miss Him? Do you miss His presence? Do you miss His voice? Do you recognise His voice the second you hear it?

Do you?

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

Do you need a Do-over?

Ever have one of those moments when you just feel like you need to start over. Sometimes it feels like everything is falling apart, or you've made a mess out of a situation, or maybe even your whole life and you feel like a do over is necessary.

One of the reasons I love God is that with Him do-overs are entirely possible. God is the one person who will forget your past mistakes and never bring them back to haunt you. He will never ever bring those things up again.

A do-over is not a bad thing. Whilst I don't recommend hitting restart every two weeks, I find it commendable that one can look back at their life and see what's wrong with it and make changes. That's what Christianity is all about, constantly making changes to the places in our lives where we fell short at one point or another. Sometimes, it's just necessary to stop for a moment, assess where you're going and change direction.

I've been a Christian for about 15 years and at this point in my life when I look back, I'm not satisfied with certain things. I guess one of the pitfalls of becoming a Christian at an early age is that you tend to start off with the mentality that "I can make changes to my life later, I've still got time." That kind of thinking tends to follow you as you grow older and procrastination becomes a nasty habit. Before you know it, many years have passed and you're standing a few steps behind a point where you were before. One thing I've learned is that in the Christian life, if you're not moving forward, you'll be moving back. There's no such thing as standing in one place with Christianity because the minute you become lukewarm, the enemy moves in to try to reclaim you.

So I've started my do-over, and as I go along, God is showing me things that I either need to change or simply get rid of. He's also showing things that I can do much better. The process is painful but the amazing thing about God is that He has shown me the finish line even though I'm nowhere near it. I know that the end product MUST be great because the creator of heaven and earth is the one working on me. And have you seen earth? Earth is a masterpiece, so can you imagine what I'll look like when he's done? Wow!

So my encouragement to you today is this: Don't be afraid to stop and access your life. Don't be afraid to hit restart if necessary. And most definitely, don't be afraid to let God work on you, He's pretty good at it.

Be Blessed!

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

It's not over!

On Israel Houghton's latest album, there's a track that says, "It's not over, it's not finished, it's not ending...It's only the beginning. When God is in it, all things are new."

That statement could not be any more true! You see, several times we look back at our lives, whether we've been Christians for a long time or whether we've only just begun our walk, and we realise that we have wasted a lot of time on things that were not important. There were detours along our path that took us to places we shouldn't have been, places we didn't want to be in and places we were forced to be in. These things took up precious time and resources and many of the goals we have for our lives were not realised.

You get to see friends moving forwards, moving at the speed of light past you and you can't help but wondering, "Lord, when am I going to get to do all those wonderful things you have promised."

But guess what? IT'S NOT OVER! Life isn't over. As long as you're breathing it is still possible to reach your goals. They may not happen at the time you wanted them to, but it's not over. Your friends may be moving through life at the speed of light, but some things are best done a bit slower and as you grow older and wiser, you realise that it was a good thing that God made you wait to do certain things.

When God makes a promise, He keeps it. Sometimes His promises are conditional and there are certain things you need to do in order for other things to happen, but God always keeps his end of the bargain. He is always just waiting for you to get to the right stage of maturity before He pours out His blessings. You see, for your own good, there are some things that God just won't give you until you're ready. If you haven't learnt to spend money wisely and He has promised you financial freedom, you probably won't get a great new job until you learn to manage the salary of the smaller one. So sometimes, we are actually the ones holding our promises back.

Even if you've met the conditions of your promise, don't give up if you don't see anything happening, because remember, God's timing is what matters, not ours, no matter how old you think you may be getting. It's not over, God is not finished. There's still time to accomplish your goals. Write them down and write down the promises God made to you concerning them. Remind yourself that it's not over until God says so.

When God is in it, All things are New!

Have a blessed day!

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

Is Holiness Attainable?

You must be holy because I, the Lord, am holy. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own. (Leviticus 20:26 NLT)

The word holy means having a spiritually pure quality. Nobody else on earth is holy like God. No person place or thing, not in the true sense of the word. So why then does he ask us to be holy like him? Sometimes it feels like you might just be fighting a losing battle, trying to be holy like God. But I'm reminded by the fact that God only gives us stuff we can handle, so if he has asked that we remain holy then it's fair enough to say that holiness is indeed attainable.

What I like about God's request is that in asking us to be holy as He is holy, he has requested that we strive for the rest of our lives to be like Him. God knows that as human beings with our sinful nature, we will fall sometimes, but his request reminds us to keep going. It's almost as if the minute we fall, our conscience whispers to us, "get up, be holy", so we get up and we keep moving. What that continuous request does, is cause us to grow, so that as time progresses, the things that use to trip us up and threaten our holiness before God, no longer even catch a passes glance from us. We grow simply by heeding the call to be holy each day.

Holiness doesn't mean that we have to walk around dressed in robes, hiding our faces and and ignoring the fun things in life though. It means that whilst we enjoy these fun things we are to remember that we are different from the people around us and even though we love them, we can't be like them. Holiness means recognizing that your body is God's house and it should be kept clean. Holiness means recognizing that you are special and living that way. Not with your head stuck in the clouds ignoring those around you, but with the understanding that you are to be different.

So God is our standard for holiness, and He's the ultimate standard since nobody else is as holy as Him. So like the saying goes, if you reach the for the moon, even if you don't get the there, you'll land among the stars. However, for our purposes, I'd like to say that when you land among the stars you are in an even better position to head for the moon again.

Be blessed everyone and have a Holy day!

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

Christian Discipline

Self-discipline has so many applications in so many areas of our lives. Success in almost anything requires an attitude of self-discipline. In order to succeed at school we must be disciplined enough to apply ourselves to our studies continuously. Keeping healthy requires that we discipline ourselves and hold back on some of the things that we would love to eat. It also takes discipline to stick to an exercise regimen.

The same holds true for our Christian walk. It takes discipline to wake up an hour earlier every morning to spend extra time in prayer. It takes discipline to make changes to your lifestyle. It takes discipline to walk away from relationships that are damaging to your Christian life. Self-discipline therefore is an essential attribute for maintaining a healthy Christian life, just as it is essential in our natural lives.

How then do you build discipline? Good question. I've been trying to develop mine for a very long time now. I still have not arrived, but I can tell you what has worked for me so far.

First and foremost, in order to be disciplined and diligent about anything, you have to want it. That thing has to be part of your bigger life goals. For example, you will only be disciplined about school work if earning a degree someday is part of the larger goals you have for your life. If you aren't all that interested in school and what lies beyond it, then you won't apply yourself to it. The same is true with Christianity. If you aren't interested in a deep relationship with God then there will be no desire to make the extra effort required to build one. So step one in the process towards discipline is to analyze your wants. Do you want a deeper relationship with God?

After you know what you want, you must make some kind of effort towards gaining it right? You can't expect to just sit still and watch things happen. Nothing will ever happen that way. So the next step is to actually move. Do something. Set your alarm. Set reminders on your computer. Put up stickers in your room to remind you. Do what it takes. Like the Nike slogan says, just do it. Sometimes we just need to get off our butts and just do what you need to do. Nobody else can do it for you. The effort must be yours. So really this process of discipline is actually about you. What do you want and how are you planning to get it? It will always start and end with you actually doing something. So one day at a time, one step at a time DO SOMETHING. Get up, get going!

If you want the power of God to manifest even greater in your life, then you have to do something. Build your relationship, spend the time growing your spiritual muscles. Get moving!

Have a discipline-filled day!    

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo                 

Stay Focused!

In a world filled with distractions, one of the hardest things to do is remain focused. There's so much happening in our lives, so many things that cause stress or come under the guise of helping us relax but what they really do is take us away from the things that are most important.

One of the most important elements required for a Christian walk to be successful is focus. We need to know where we're going and why in order to get there. Our eyes must always be kept on Christ or else we'll begin to sink. Peter had a hard time remaining focused when he was walking on water with Christ. I don't blame him, the waves were moving all around him and in the middle of his walk it must have suddenly dawned on him that he was walking on water! I'm pretty sure that the devil had a hand in whispering that to him, providing a distraction just long enough for Peter to shift his focus.

It has always been super easy for me to lose focus, I sometimes joke and say that I have the attention span of a mosquito. Doesn't matter what I'm doing, if a butterfly passes by me, it's going take my attention and probably keep it for a little while, just long enough for me to forget what I was doing! Needless to say then, that my Christian life has suffered a bit because of this lack of focus. God has spoken many promises to me over the years and I always tend to forget them when they are most important. When you forget the promises, you forget why you are doing what you are doing and it becomes easy to lose hope and faith. That's what makes focus so important.

My encouragement to you is to keep your eyes steady on Christ, remember his promises, cut out the distractions that will cause you to forget why you are doing what you are doing. Sometimes you just need to step away from the noise of social networking, committee meetings, and even family. Steal a moment for yourself , bask in God's presence and let him remind you of what's important. Don't lose focus, it's the worst thing that could happen to your Christian walk.

Stay Focused!

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

When God's desires become Yours

A few posts ago, we talked about throwing temper tantrums when God doesn't give us exactly what we want. A sure sign of Christian maturity is watching the thing we want most walk away from us and being able to say, "God, it wasn't your will for me, so I'm OK with that."

Christian growth is about getting to the point in your life where your desires for your life is what God desires for your life. It takes years of trusting God and years of developing your faith, but when you get to that place, it's one of the most amazing experiences.

Of course, most times I write a post, it's out of my own experiences. So here I am now, on the lonely road, watching the one thing I prayed and asked God for specifically (I actually stood and pointed at it and said "God, I want THAT one"), walk away from me. My heart is a little sad, but that's because I'm human, not because I'm mourning. My desires for my life is what God desires for me.

I'm a little amazed at myself because only a few short months ago, I would have thrown a temper tantrum and today I'm totally calm, that's how I know that God has been doing amazing work in me.

So what's the next step? What do you do when the one thing you wanted is no longer in the picture? Well, you wait of course. Over the course of the fifteen years I've been a Christian, I've learned that God never takes something away from you just for the sake of doing so, He does it because it's in the way of the REAL thing that he wants to give you. That excites me for one awesome reason. In the party of life, God is the one guest you always invite because he always brings  an AMAZING gift.

Christian maturity has the added bonus of keeping you focused whilst God gets your gift ready. Whilst He does that, you must be ready yourself because His gifts ALWAYS have conditions.  Christian maturity is about the marriage of faith, hope and trust. When these three come together, it is easy to remain focused on the ultimate goal, not on the one thing you wanted which slipped out of your grasp.

So today, don't mourn for what you have lost, but be joyful, because the gift your God is preparing must be something really awesome!
Be blessed!

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

Loving on your God

You know how everybody always says that a relationship with God should be treated like any other relationship? You talk to Him like a friend, rely on Him like a father etc.

Well, today I was thinking, what if we treated God the same way we did the love of our lives? We say we love Him right? When you're in love with someone don't you call them everyday for no reason other than to say hi? Don't you tell them how you feel? Aren't you concerned about how your actions will make them feel? Don't you try to do things to keep your relationship fresh? And doesn't it pain you to realize that the relationship is going badly; I'm sure you'd do anything you could to fix it right?

So how about we start treating our relationship with God like that? How about we make talking to him daily our number one priority? How about we not only tell him how much we really love him, but show him also by doing the things that please him?  How about we keep our relationship fresh by trying to learn something new about Him as often as we can? How about we spend time in his presence just "chilling" with Him, instead of asking for something every time you meet with Him?

Isn't that what a REAL relationship is about; cherishing the person you love and the moments you spend with Him? Doing the things that pleases Him? If you notice that your relationship may be dying then do what you must to rekindle it.

If you love your God, then show it! Love on your God! Wake up each day and tell Him how you really feel about Him before you even think of asking for anything. Show Him that you care by following his commandments and His directions for your life. Maintain your relationship, don't let God do all the talking, the seeking and the loving. Pull away from the daily hubbub of your life and just "be" with Him.

LOVE ON YOUR GOD!

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

True Joy transcends your circumstances!

There's a difference between Joy and happiness and its a pretty big difference. Nehemiah instructed the people of Jerusalem, "Don't be dejected and sad because the joy of the Lord is your strength." I believe that you can be joyful even when you are not happy with a  situation.

Real joy does not rely on the circumstances around you the way happiness does.  You are happy on your wedding day or on the day your child is born. You will not be happy if you lose your job. Happiness requires that things go right around you. As a Christian, if you haven't found out yet, you will find out soon, that things don't always go the way we want it to. The enemy is seeking every opportunity he can to sabotage our plans and God's plan for us.

So how then can we be joyful? True joy comes from God. Knowing that He loves us and that He's got our backs is an amazing thing. True joy transcends our circumstances. True joy allows us to keep walking forward when your circumstances dictate that you sit down. True joy comes from a spirit that knows that God is still in control so it isn't affected by our situations.

True joy comes from God, happiness comes from earthly pleasures.

Today you can smile even when things aren't going right because you know that God has got your back. His joy is your strength and will propeller you forward.

BE BLESSED!

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

Trusting God with your Future

Until very recently, it was hard for me to let go of my plans for myself and for my future. It wasn't that I didn't trust God to take care of me, but not knowing EXACTLY how things were going to turn out and what direction we would be going in was killing me.

You see, like a lot of Christians, I wanted to trust God on my terms. I wanted to provide the road map and simply instruct God to make it work. But guess what, it doesn't work that way. God doesn't work according to our plans, He works only on His terms. Why does He work like that? Because He has the BIG picture. You see, God knows what lies ahead for us at every turn in the road. He knows when the devil is going to attack, why and how. So don't you think it is a good idea to trust the person with all that knowledge.

This is probably my third post on trust, simply because it is a huge issue for me and I know, a huge issue for a lot of other Christians. I'm going through a very difficult time right now and through most of it, I've managed to keep a smile on my face. Yesterday, somebody looked at me thoughtfully and told me "You know, you're a very strong person." I simply smiled without responding because I know how much I cry and scream at night when there's no one around. I know how much I yell at God for not allowing things to work out my way. But I'm still smiling right? Why? Because through everything, even though things are not working out exactly as I want them to, God holds my future in His hands, and I've finally figured out the secret, His plans for my future are excellent, even though I don't know exactly what they are.

I've found new meaning in the phrase, "The joy of the Lord is my strength" because the smile on my face is God's response to my prayers. I can smile genuinely and be joyful even when I am not happy and that's what keeps me sane. That's what keeps me able to function when my world seems to be falling apart. There are some things as a Christian that you'll never really understand until you experience it and for me, this was one of them.

So, I've finally learnt to trust God with my future, and daily, when I'm tempted to scream at God, I'm reminded, "Trust me with you Future". It's a giant step but it really helped to know that the master of the universe is interested in what you're going to eat tomorrow.

Through trials and adversities, if we learn to stand still a moment knowing that our God is awesome and interested in us, we could learn to trust his plans for our future, we could learn to lean on Him and not worry so much. We could learn to smile when we've lost our jobs, our hope and maybe even a little faith, not because we're happy but because we've got a joy that will never go away.

Trust God with your future, His plans are perfect and will work if you don't interfere.

Remember:

When the oceans rise and thunders roar,

He will soar with you above the storm.

Be still, know that he is God!

Trust God with your future! (Jeremiah 29:11)



This devotion and others like it can be found in one book (kindle or paperback)
To purchase, simply click the link below.

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

Finding Romeo - FREE

We spent five Mondays examining the issues dealt with in the book "Finding Romeo" and I'm sure that those who followed the discussions will agree that they were five interesting topics. Some of them are topics that many Christians shy away from but that's the point of "Finding Romeo." A lot of Christian authors shy away from certain issues that are a reality in our world, trying not to offend others and scare away readers, but I think it's time that some things are dealt with the same way that we live through them.

Today is a good day to walk down memory lane with me and revisit some of the discussions. It's not too late to add your own views and Today you have a unique opportunity. If you have a Kindle, then Finding Romeo is FREE! For today and tomorrow ONLY, as in, it will not be free on Kindle again in the foreseeable future.

Grab a copy of the book and join in the discussions. Let me know what you think about Daynia and Richard and the complexities of their tumultuous romance.

Here are the discussions, be blessed and let us know what you think.

• Practical Ways to Wait till Marriage to have Sex
• Love Triangles - Would you stay?
• Betrayal in Relationships
• Can you Make someone else Love you? 
• Do People treat you badly because you allow them to? 

Now, before the fun's over, head on over to Amazon and beef up your kindle with a free copy of "Finding Romeo"

Lies, betrayal and deceit. That’s what Daynia gets when all she really wants is her Romeo, someone to save her from the dead end she calls her life. When Richard rides in, she’s convinced that he’s the one and latches on, hanging on to him for dear life. If only…

Richard is haunted by his own past and finds Daynia to be a welcomed distraction. When ex-girlfriend Kayla returns to claim her beau, Richard is left with a decision that he is unwilling to make.

How much is a girl willing to take before she realizes that her dream Romeo is really a nightmare?

Are you an Ungrateful Human?

So yesterday morning I was getting ready for church and I was doing something I always do, praying under my breath whilst doing something else. I was praying about a particular situation that has been haunting me for a little while - hence the reason I was praying whilst dressing. Anyways, in the middle of my muttered prayer a thought hit me quite suddenly - Human beings are the most ungrateful creatures on the planet!

What? Where did that come from? Well, listen to this. If you were walking along the road and stopped at an intersection to cross, you look both ways and it's clear so you decide to cross. Just as you step onto the roadway, a car comes barrelling around the corner about to hit you. Out of the blue, a total stranger jumps out into the street and pulls you away from the oncoming vehicle, saving your life. You are so stunned and elated that you can't stop saying thank you. The stranger is bashful and thinks nothing of his act, after all, you're another human being and as far as he sees it, he just couldn't let you die. But here's the twist, would you after being so thankful to this stranger for saving your life, now turn around and tell him, "hey, I'm hungry aren't you going to feed me?" There's no way you'd do that right? I mean that man saved your life, at this point you need nothing else from him in order to be thankful right?

Newsflash, we do that to God every single day. He saved us, he's clothed us and fed us, but instead of being satisfied with the last thing he did for us, we ask for more, and more and more. "Hey God, what about the mortgage?" As soon as he's done that we yell, "Hey God, how come you didn't take care of my student loans too?"

Now don't get me wrong, the Bible clearly tells us that God will supply ALL of our needs. However, in a lot of cases we have lost focus on the real relationship with God. That relationship is not about how many bills he can clear for us or anything else of that sort. It's based purely on his love for us. As a matter of fact, without his love, we simply wouldn't exist. His love was most evident when he saved us from eternal death. He's the stranger who walked into the path of the oncoming vehicle just to pull us out of the way and we're grateful for all of two seconds before we bring the next request to Him.

My encouragement to us all today is to concentrate on being thankful to God a little bit more. He knows about the rent and the bills and the job that we so desperately need, but guess what, you're still standing, so that means that he's always been on the job, keeping you alive, so say thank you for that. Instead of bombarding him with requests, build a relationship, a real one, one that involves getting to know him. He knows your heart and by sheer virtue of your tight relationship with him, he'll provide your NEEDS. It doesn't mean that you don't have to ask, because the Bible does say to "Ask and it shall be given unto you" (Matt 7:7) but it also says:

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. Matthew 6:33


Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

Little Sins or Big Sins?

Recently, on my peaceful 238 square mile island, a beautiful 17yr old girl was brutally murdered. She was in the prime of her life, just having received the results of her CXC examinations, the most important thing in the life of an island teen. Life had just begun for her, and just like that, it was cut off.

Several people on the island would like to see the perpetrator hang and many would do it themselves if given the chance. I'm so mad at him, I would probably join the angry mob too. However, lately, I've done some thinking. Murder is definitely a horrible crime and the person who murdered this young girl must definitely come to justice, but what about the rest of us? As Christians, we know that all sin is equal in the eyes of God. Murder may seem bigger, but at the end of the day, the liar will receive the same level of punishment.

All sin makes us sinners, and all sin cuts us off from our holy God. No matter how "big" our sin, we cannot commune with God unless we have been cleansed. So what does that mean for those of us who are not murderers? It means that we are just as guilty. Our sins are not lesser and if we do not repent of them, we will NOT receive eternal life.

We could spend the rest of our lives going to church, but if we don't get rid of the little things that keep popping up in our lives, like the lies, the gossip, the petty stealing (of your bosses time and copy paper), we'll end up in the same place as the horrific murderer. A bit sobering isn't it. The bible reminds us that if we hate our brother we are basically the same as a murderer.

ALL sin leads to death because it disqualifies us from living with God, regardless of how great or small it seems. Don't minimize "little" sins or overrate "big" sins. Your "little white lie" is the same as the act of a rapist or a murderer in God's eyes. All sin separates us from God, but they can ALL be forgiven.

So today, even as I mourn for the tragedy that has befallen this young lady, I'm sobered by the fact that for hating the murderer, I'm no better than him. For stealing the copy paper in the office, I'm no better than him. For lying my way out of an unwanted date, I'm no better than him. We all need redemption, no matter how little the sin appears in our eyes.

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard. Romans 3:23 (NLT)

Bringing Glory to the Father

A surefire way to bring glory to God is by obeying his commandments. John 15:10 tells us that when we obey God's commandments we remain in his love.

We heard people saying over and over that most Christians don't behave like true Christians. There's also the debate in the Christian community about what is right and what isn't, mostly from a doctrinal standpoint but the bible clearly states what the requirements are for being a true disciple of Christ. The answer is simple, "when you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples."

So what does it mean then to produce fruit. Christ in his time here on earth likened us to branches stemming from a vine (himself). This means that we are part of him. He is the source of our nourishment. He provides us with everything we need to be productive; to produce fruit. Galatians 5:22 tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. As a child growing up I always thought that these were plural, however in every version of the bible I've ever read the word fruit is singular. That means that every aspect of that fruit MUST be part of our lives. In other words, if something is missing then our fruit bearing is not complete. That's not to say that you have failed as a Christian, but it means that you still have something to strive for and something to work on.

So back to our original scripture. "When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my father. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father's commandments and remain in his love." John 15:8,10

Go out today and follow Christ's commands, be productive and produce fruit!

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret 

Stop Worrying

Every once in a while God does a super effective job of reminding me that I don't follow my own advice. Some time ago I wrote a devotional called Worry. The book of Proverbs is very correct when it states that worry weighs a person down. So why am I still worrying?

The answer is simple, I'm a compulsive worrier. Yet, I'm a child of God so why am I worrying? In Phillipians 4:6 we are admonished that we should be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanks-giving present your requests to God. So why are there so many Christians who are compulsive worriers like me.

We believe in a God for whom doing the impossible is like taking out the trash, it's normal and it's routine. He doesn't have to work hard to fix anything, he just does it. What irks us humans, is the fact that he does it in his own time. I know for sure that I'd like my problems solved by the end of the day but God knows the right time to do everything. He doesn't take our problems away just because we worry about them. Neither does he expect us to sit there all day worrying about them either. What He does expect is that we'll turn everything over to him and then be comforted in the fact that the creator of the universe has got our backs.

1 Peter 5:7 says to give all your worries and cares to God for he cares about you. ALL your worries and cares, not some. Sometimes I wonder if worry does not stem out of a lack of trust. We can say we trust God at face value and we may even trust him with a few little things, but I've found that when big things happen I tend to try to fix my problems on my own. Unconsciously, I behave like I don't trust God to handle my big things. Even though I pray and ask for his help, when I leave the foot of the cross, I take my burdens back with me.

Now, I know I'm not the only person who does that! So today, my little bit of encouragement is really just a reminder. STOP WORRYING! You've already prayed about the situation. You've already asked God for his help. He's already promised to sort things out for you, so please stop worrying. Stop losing sleep. Stop fussing, fretting and thinking till your hair falls out. Trust God to sort your situation out and sit back and watch him work.

Yeah, trust me, I know that it's easier said than done, I live it every day. Sometimes you just have to remind yourself. So right about now, we're going to do a practical exercise.

1. Grab a few pieces of paper and a marker. 
2. Pick up your bible and your favorite concordance or topical bible (the internet may be a better tool for this step)
3. Search for every scripture verse you can find related to the word worry. 
4. Highlight every promise God has made to us about taking care of our situations
5. Write them down on your scraps of paper
6. Every night, stick a new scrap of paper up on your mirror with a different scripture verse. That way, every morning whilst you prepare for work, you'll be reminded that God has got it under control! 

Be blessed and stop worrying! 

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

Fun Friday Giveaway - Growth Lessons

Fun Friday kicks off Weekend Giveaway #4

This weekend one paperback copy of Growth Lessons by Naty Matos is up for grabs.

Growth Lessons is an inspirational devotional with the blueprint for the everyday Christian Living. It's a journey through the scriptures of how to face normal every day situations that we can take for granted and how to submit them to the will of God.

This book is a must read for the new believer to understand the practical concepts of the Christian Lifestyle. It’s also a must read for the seasoned believer to affirm their faith through those details that seem unimportant but matter the most in the journey with God.

To enter, please do one of the following: 

1. Answer the trivia question (25 points)
2. Tweet about the giveaway (10 points)
3. Follow Naty Matos on Twitter (5 points)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Is it harder for a Christian to find a mate?

It's Discussion Monday! 

We have come to the end of our Finding Romeo discussions. Next week's discussion will be something unrelated to the book. I do hope that you have found these discussions enlightening and they have helped you understand the book a bit better.

Is it harder for a Christian to find a mate?

If you visit any Christian church you will often find many single people in the congregation and most of them will be single women. So why is it then that perfectly good respectable women are sitting in church pews waiting for years before they find a mate? Sometimes they never even get married.

In Finding Romeo, Daynia's best friend Ashley makes the observation that it is harder for a Christian to find a mate. What do you think?

My thinking on the subject is this:

1. Population dynamics makes it that way. In general there are more women on the planet than men but in church the ratio is seriously skewed. Look around, there are hardly any men in the pews!
2. Christians are a lot pickier about who their husbands/wives should be and rightfully so. In order to walk in the will of God for your life, it is important to have the right person by your side. The wrong person can cause you to abort our destiny. These are things that a Christian has running through the backs of their mind constantly. 
3. Not every person we see in church every Sunday is genuine! Part of the issue is that in church there are wolves hiding in sheep's clothing. From the outside a person may look like a good God-fearing man/woman, however, the minute you begin to date them, you realize it's a whole other story. 

So do you agree that it's harder for a Christian to find a mate or do you think that the opposite is the case?

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret