Daily Devotional – 8/3/15 “The enemy’s open position”

The devil will use you as long as you’re usable and as soon as you’ve done that which he has endorsed you for; he’ll cast you aside. Yea, the enemy makes your living good, while you’re on his payroll but soon your assignment will end and then you’ll be right back in a jacked up situation trying to figure out how you ended up there. Aren’t you tired of playing both sides, yet? Are you not tired of being used, yet? Chile, the enemy doesn’t care whether you survive in this thang because all he cares about is getting the job done. It’s like working at a temporary service. They send you out to these temporary jobs and they really aren’t concerned whether or not you have benefits, they just need workers. They really don’t care if this is your area of expertise because they’ll train you to do what they need at the time, they just need workers. They really aren’t concerned with much because as soon as you stop doing what they ask, miss a day, be late or better yet; finish the assignment, your job is done. And now, here you are back at the drawing board looking for another job.

The enemy is the same. He’s conniving and doesn’t give a darn about you or your feelings; he just needs workers. Yea, he’ll pay you and he’ll even give you a few rewards but when you’re done; he’ll cast you aside. Then you’ll be back in your pit, crying out to God for help when you should have cut ties with the enemy to begin with. God keeps saying, I’m here but you’re still crying. And then He’ll ask the question like Jesus did in John 8:43, “Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me!” He’ll say like John 8:44, “For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.” Is this you? Is this your character? No, then why consistently be used by the enemy? You do understand his retirement plan, don’t you? (I’ve heard it’s hot). But when you get tired, you’ll give your resignation letter and God will be waiting for He forgives and forgets (when you repent) but you have to get up and make the first move!

**Cover Reveal – Ms. Nice Nasty, Cam’s Confession

11791849_861706553917678_840585635_nCamille Holden-Shannon has always known who she was, well that was until she faced the ultimate betrayal at the hands of someone she thought she knew. It forced her to hide the person she was and become a force to be reckoned with. She created the facade of Cam to mask her pain and now it’s become first nature. Yes, in the courtroom, Camille commands the attention but in the bedroom; it’s Cam that is laying down the law!

You got to know Cam in A Secret Worth Keeping and even better in Ms. Nice Nasty but in this special edition of Ms. Nice Nasty, Cam’s Confession; Camille finally breaks her silence and lets you in on how Cam came to be. Is she ready to let Cam go in order to save her marriage and possibly her career? Will therapy finally give her the breakthrough she needs to let the secret life go? Or will Cam still be in denial about it all? Find out in this 11,000 word addition of Ms. Nice Nasty.  Also, get a sneak peek into Ms. Nice Nasty 2 with a look into the first two unedited chapters.

– Coming in September!

Daily Devotional – 7/30/15 – A prayer for the need of God!


Our Father in Heaven, Holy is thy name; may your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Father, as I come petitioning your throne, I first thank you for another day you’ve allowed your children to see, thank you for another opportunity to experience your anointing and thank you Father for another chance to witness your grace. Now, oh God, I lay out in the spiritual before your throne, pleading for my Christian brothers and sisters. I stretch out my hands before you Father, praying on behalf of those who can’t seem to find the words to pray for themselves. For the parent who is standing vigil by her child’s hospital bed, for the parent who is looking at the balance in their checking account trying to figure out how to make it until next week with no groceries or gas, for the parent who is trying to see how to purchase school uniforms and supplies, for the parent who is still trying to pay last month’s rent, for the parent who is still without their medicine and for the parent who doesn’t have air yet is still trying to put on a brave face; God, I come before you on their behalf crying out to you to see about them! For the parent who has to bury another child, for the person who has to bury another family member, for the person who lost their job and is now on the verge of being homeless, for the person who is on the way back to the doctor for test results, for the person who needs a job and keeps getting turned down; help them now Father! For the person who is dealing with a demon on the inside of them that they can’t seem to let go of, for that person who is secretly battling an addiction, for the person who is abusive at home to their spouse and children, for the person who won’t let go of anger and bitterness; help them Father and forgive them in the pardon of their sins. Lord, we need you here. We need your help to stop the senseless killings that are going on in our streets. We need you to shut the hands of those who seek to do violence. Shut up the mouths of those who speak evil. We need you! Oh God! I come praying to you, standing in the gap; crying out for you to come and see about your people! Do it now Father for your children.

Amen!

Daily Devotional – 7/29/15 “God’s surgery … No appointment needed!”

You have to be broken to be mended, hurt to be healed, knocked down to get up and sometimes cast out just to get in. Oh, I know it doesn’t feel good but who said pain did. When you go through surgery, don’t you come out in pain? Yet after your recovery, you feel whole again. When you break a bone, doesn’t it hurt? Yet after it heals, most times you can’t even tell it was once shattered in places. When your heart gets torn into pieces, does it not hurt? Yet when it is mended and it begins to be loved by the right somebody, they’ll never see the shattered pieces of what was. Beloved, if you aren’t broke, how can the potter fix you? Yea, we dress our fleshly bodies up to look good but all God has to do is run us through His x-ray machine and He’ll see all the places that need repairing. His machine will show the holes in our spirit from not taking Him at His word but instead taking man at theirs. It’ll show the scar tissue on our back from the constant misuse of folk we thought were our friend. It’ll show the defeats in our heart caused by the many folk we’ve allowed to have access when we should have patiently waited on God. It’ll show the poison in our blood from being connected to the wrong folk. It’ll even show the clogs in our arteries from being hooked up with mess! And all God is getting ready to do, is perform surgery!

Yea, it’s going to hurt but that’s the hurt of what you’re already going through because with God, He has some good anesthesia that kicks in; called grace and mercy. He’ll lay you out and turn on the bypass machine. You’ll start to hear a little bit of Amazing Grace humming in your ear but that’s just the music He normally plays during surgery, close your eyes. While you drift off to sleep, God begins to work. He moves all through the intricate parts of your body performing surgery. He removes your clogged arteries of anger so that love can now freely flow. He gives you a blood transfusion removing your toxin filled blood and replacing it with His (your blood types match). He decided to leave the scar tissue on your back because that’ll be part of your testimony after the recovery. He moves down and gives you more strength in your legs because He has more work for you to do. Then He removes that old heart you had and replaces it with a new one because the old one no longer fits. He then looks you over and He is pleased with His work so He turns down the anesthesia and turn off the bypass machine and you begin to stir. He tells grace and mercy to stay by your bed side keeping you comfortable until you’re able to get up. Then He leans over and whisper, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)” Now, here you are; fresh out of surgery, recovery going good … What are you going to do? You are made for this but you have to believe in yourself enough to go in, go through and then come out.

Daily Devotional – 7/28/15 “We serve a God …”

We serve a God that allows it to rain and the sun to shine at the same time. We serve a God who will allow us to be temporarily out of funds yet not without our needs being met. We serve a God who will cover us, even in our mess, when we know we should have been dead by now. We serve a God that allows doors to open even when we haven’t knocked. We serve a mighty God that won’t allow us to suffer in our storm even when we may not have served Him in a while! I said on Saturday to a room full of women, that even though we may be fighting a war; it doesn’t mean we didn’t come to win. We lose when we stop fighting. Baby, don’t you realize that as long as we are in the fight, the battle, the war, the storm, the valley or climbing to go somewhere that we have a chance of coming out victorious? We lose the chance of winning when we give up.

Yea, I know you are tired; I know death has shown up and it knocked the wind out of your lungs, I get the fact that you’re still dealing with messy folk, I understand as soon as you get one enemy gone two come back, I know that you are sick of being sick, I know you’re burnt out on being broke, weary from job hunting, depressed by your afflictions, held hostage by your addiction and weighed down by your burdens but chile, we serve a God who is able to help us through all of these things! But get this, we’ve got to get up out of the pit we’ve placed ourselves in and give Him that which we are toiling with. God can’t handle our problems if we are still trying to fix them ourselves. Psalm 55:22 says this, “Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.” 1 Peter 5:7 says this, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” Proverbs 3:6 says this, “Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” And Proverbs 16:3 says this, “Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed.” Will all your days be great? No. Will everything work out in your favor, all the time? No. Yet, we serve a God who will never leave you nor forsake you but you have to know that you have to go through, sometime! Just stay in the fight. As long as you fight, you have a chance of coming out victorious. You lose when you quit! You lose when you give up!