Birth-days

It's my birthday...so today I celebrate God's gift to me--LIFE. And the icing on the cake is ETERNAL LIFE as freely given to me when I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and thus was BORN AGAIN. ("In reply Jesus declared, 'I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." -- John 3:3)

As I read what has become embraced by me as the "Birthday Psalm 139," I'm reminded of God's love, favor and purposes so inventively built into our lives. "...For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be..."

My prayer today is that the Holy Spirit empowers us to continue to believe, walk and breath in God's promises, plans, and purposes for our lives. In Jesus' Name I pray this. Amen. So be it!

© 2005, Stanice Anderson, Inspirational Speaker & Author of I Say A Prayer For Me: One Woman’s Life of Faith and Triumph, www.stanice.com

Self-Inflicted

Let us take a moment to briefly look at what a mutated and degenerative web we weave when we duck, dodge, and deceive. We know what the right thing to do is and yet we try to get around doing it. We try to find an easier or softer way—but that way always results in unnecessary and self-inflicted pain. We don’t have to surrender to living that way. We can look up and call on God to help us do what we, in and of ourselves, lack the power to do—the right thing!

© 2002, Stanice Anderson – excerpt from I Say A Prayer For Me

Unconditionally

Photo: My Son & Granddaughter
Many of us have done things in our past that we are not proud of, are embarrassed about, or even feel a residue of shame when we think about the selfishness and self-centeredness of some of the bad choices we made. However, some of us have also experienced the unconditional love of a child, whether our own or someone else’s, and as a result of looking into these forgiving faces our cooled hearts are warmed and we get a glimpse of God’s unconditional love and forgiveness.
© 2002, Stanice Anderson – excerpt from I Say A Prayer For Me