The Daily Devotional Blog

I'm still searching. Who am I?  That's what I've been asking myself lately? It's been happening even since I found out more about my family history. I found out my great grandfather was a slave and what made that more real was that I was finally able to put a name with it, as well as, a little information about his slave master. It makes me feel a particular way. It's hard to explain. I'm just wondering who I am really. What was my family like? How did they survive back then? How were they treated? Why did slavery in this country even happen anyway? Yeah yeah yeah, I know the economic reasons part, then the racism part after that. I'm just wondering why, from a spiritual perspective. What was the point of it? I know there was a point, because God allows certain things for certain reasons. Yet those reasons are sometimes beyond our scope of knowledge and rationale. Still I continue to ponder such an awful time in history. What was God trying

The world is at your fingers tips. Keeping juggling. I stumbled across another article that talks about some of the elements of leadership.  One of the things the article mentioned about spiritual leaders (I'm referring to anyone who brings people to Christ) is that they're restless. Boy oh boy can I can identify. The article said the following: "Spiritual leaders have a holy discontentment with the status quo. Non-leaders have inertia that causes them to settle in and makes them very hard to move off of dead center. Leaders have a hankering to change, to move, to reach out, to grow, and to take a group or an institution to new dimensions of ministry."  How many of you can relate? From a young age I knew I was a leader. I just always acted like a manager and a girl who liked to help people in some way. I remember at about 10 years old, always being the teacher leading my brother and sister during the class in our makeshift bedroom classroom. I would

Are you ready for the test? Haven't we heard the teacher is always quiet during a test?  That's true and I would go a step further and say the student is also quiet. At least a great student should be. Silence is important in order for the student to concentrate and focus on passing the test.  In God's kingdom He's generally quiet when we're going through the test (and sometimes the testing phase).  After the test is over the grade determines if we will pass to the next level. If we pass we will be set aside to be useful to God and suitable to good work (2 Timothy 2:21).   How many of us will move on? How much do we study? Did we listen in class? Do our homework?  Going to the next level requires intentionality; diligence, and plain old hard work. Retention is out of the question if we want to see advancement. All of that means staying focused on God's success plan. Remaining committed to Him. Reading His word (the bible). Weeding out dis

The Lord has given you boldness, power, love, & self-control. Walk in it. A short time ago I was talking to a little girl who said she was afraid of thunder and lightening.    I asked her why and she didn't know. All she know was that she would cry and tremble during the entire duration of the thunder and lightening in what seemed to her, a never-ending nightmare. I told her to speak faith every time she felt that way about the thunder and lightening and anything else in her life. I told her about a certain scripture that spoke to that issue and that things would change for her if she believed they would (faith). I printed out the following power-words and told her to post them somewhere prominent:  " for God gave us a spirit NOT of fear but of power and love and self-control ( 2 Timothy 1 :7).   I know that little girl is going to be ok, because she was serious in saying those words and making them mean something over her life. She recited them a few times a

You can't help that you're great. Yep you read it right, users and winners. Let's get right to it. I'll start with the winners first. They are the people who just mind their own business, they're on their grind, they're positive, and they're trying their best to live right. They still fall short sometimes, yet God knows the pureness of their heart. Their life trajectory looks towards heaven. Then you have the users. Another name for them could be classified as the haters. They only call or come around when they need something from you. It can be tangible or intangible. They want to use you up for all you're worth and spit you out again. Isn't it amazing how a user/hater will hate and still smile in your face, all the time wanna take your place? That's a saying from my pastor, Pastor Henderson, of New Beginnings Church in Matthews, NC. Quite fitting for this blog post, wouldn't you say? Nevertheless, haters are the people who

Relax, it's ok. According to dictionary.com, rejuvenate means to restore to a former state; make fresh or new again. Sometimes that's what we need in order to feel alive again. Sometimes we simply need a make-over and a do-over. There's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with going on a vacation or taking a break from the things that add stress to our lives. I'm talking about those things that are sometimes beyond our control. It may be a job situation that God has not released us from yet, but it causes pressure in our lives. Or perhaps a school or business endeavor that we are committed to and that would be catastrophic to get out of. There are simply some things in life that we may not want to do, but we just have to do, at least for a certain amount of time.  That's life. But here's the good news: it's ok to treat ourselves to the things that rejuvenate us to make us feel brand new again. We should do more of that. In fac

Out with the old, in with the new. Remember the 1983 movie, Trading Places , with Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd?  It was a movie about what happens when a  wealthy and a poor man trade places and who they become as a result of their new lives. It was a funny movie, but also the reality of what happens when people take on new changes in life. It's like trading in our old selves with our new selves. Although Eddie Murphy's character was poor and became wealthy and the opposite for Dan Aykroyd's character, in the end they both learn valuable lessons about life and the importance of accepting people for people. They both became better, more thoughtful and loving people. Overall, the movie had a great message.   That's kind of how it works when we accept God in our lives. The old has passed away and the new has come ( 2 Corinthians 5 :17). We have traded places with our old self and now we are new creations in Christ. And let me tell you, that is a wonderful

We can bounce right back after life's events, as we continue to seek God's kingdom. They're pulled, they bend, they stretch, they expand, and they bounce right back. Rubber bands. There's much we can learn from the attributes of such a great invention. They're so many features and functions of them that I couldn't even begin to explain. In John Maxwell's blog post titled, Bounce Back from your Setback , he says, "having a community of people who love and support you is an important key to bouncing back from disappointment. This, above all, has the most impact on a person’s level of resilience; the larger the network of support and care, the more able a person is to be resilient." In other words, people need people during tough times. It's not a good idea to try to get through things by ourselves. We don't know everything, so we may miss out on what's best for us. I know I did at one point in my life. Remember my tellin

God's covenant stands forever.  "I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth" ( Genesis 9:13).  Those were the spoken words of the covenant or agreement that God made with His people after the flood. He told Noah He would never flood the earth again.  Wasn't that great?  Not so much the flood part, although that was awesome too. I'm talking about the agreement part. That resonates with me, because God has made an agreement with me too. He's made lots of them regarding different things at different times of my life. They're all over the bible. Some more general and some specific. One which I often talk about in my blog is that He will never leave me or overlook (forsake) me. So that means when rough and tough roads come, I can think of God's rainbow and it's just another reminder of His love for me. All I have to do is just picture His covenant then I'm good and I know t

Just start small and be consistent In my continuing reading of the book, Mini Habits , you can probably tell 2 things. 1-that I'm taking my time reading it, because I'm reading other things, as well and 2-I'm using the Mini Habits philosophy in carrying out the task of reading it, because I'm checking in with you from time to time. That means I read a little bit everyday. The Mini Habits book is 125 pages and I'm on around page 54 so I have no idea when I will finish, but I will finish and I will continue to update you periodically as promised.  Regarding will power and staying on track with whatever the tasks (habits) are at hand that we're trying to develop and remain consistent, the following are the five main causes of ego-depletion or will power depletion according to Guise (albeit will power still remains superior to motivation, however, since we're not robots we can still run out of will power): Effort "Mini h

Have you asked yourself lately what type of impact your making in another's life? Or have you considered the type of fruit you're producing? Or if any person, place, or thing around you is multiplying for the better? Or if there exists any fruitful followers? Or if you're influencing positive change in anybody, or any place, or anything? These are great questions to ask ourselves, because how we answer them is an indication of the type of life we're living. I'll go further and say it may even dictate our quality of life, because I think the people who have the most fulfillment are the ones helping others in some way. Remember, a seed must die in order to develop other seeds? It's all about planting great seeds   (John 12:24). This is how we ultimately help people become better people. Imagine if all of us did that? For  daily encouragement, visit and share this blog, my  Facebook ,  Twitter ,  Instagram ,  Pinterest ,  Linkedin , & Snapc

The armor of God is our protection When I lost my twin boys 5 months in utero, some people thought I should get over it immediately.  You know why some people think they have a right to tell you how to feel about trauma? Because it never happened to them. But, God will strengthen you in time to be able to use your pain for His glorious gain. Stay with Him and you will help many people. While time has made dealing with my pain and suffering easier (it's been over 24 years), I will always have a sad spot in my heart about what happened and how it happened. I still have good days and bad days and that's ok (over time the good days far outnumber the bad days). Besides the pain of losing my precious bundles of joy, it was also clear medical negligence on the part of the medical staff. Yet, I decided back then that I would not wallow in my grief and that I had to forgive the medical staff. To forgive meant I refused to walk around with hate inside of me -- that would have

Always winning with the Lord. Won. Winning . Going to win again.     Past, present, future. It doesn't matter what happened. It doesn't matter what is happening now. And it doesn't matter what will happen. God is in control and He's ordering our steps. When we follow Him, He ensures our steps are made perfect. It's when we get off course that we mess things up.  There is only one way to win and that is with God on our side. He can defeat the things we can't. So, yes I'm still winning and so are you I hope. You know why I'm so sure of that for myself? Because all the hell I had in my life; all the pain I have endured; all the pain others have endured, are the fuel that makes my fire burn. As traumatic and sorrowful as some of my life was and as challenging as some of my present circumstances are, I know God is making ways out of no ways. He's turning what the devil did to His people, around for His glory. That gives me solace and ho

You are a champion. You are here on purpose. "Never give up. Never give up! Never give up!! Never, never, never-never-never-never!'" ~Winston Churchill "Without commitment, people give up easily; they have no staying power at all. If you want to be one who never gives up, commitment is the key" ~Joyce Meyer, Never Give Up! p. 109) If you are an avid reader of my blog, you will see a common thread among the majority of my posts and that is simply, to stay in the race, push through the pain, be determined to be determined, and know that God has a plan for your life. None of us are here by accident. God is not a God of accidents. He is a purposeful and strategic God. He is the Lord of lords and the King of kings. He is the Starter and the Finisher. He is the Alpha and the Omega .  He is the Almighty God who can do anything and everything, including direct you and your life. You feeling weak? He is your strength. You feeling sad? He is your joy

This thing, the couch can be a problem if we're not careful. It's one of the most ingenious inventions of all time. The Couch.  Even if it's uncomfortable, it's comfortable. It can be the most raggedy, tattered, ugliest couches, yet lay down on it, especially with that remote and your favorite show and it's all she wrote. You're good, you're in the zone, and nobody better come for you.  But ...that couch has been the reason for so many unfulfilled hopes. That couch has held up countless dreams. It has even stopped my flow too many times to even think about. The more I read about the people who have achieved great things the more I understand that they were the people who stayed away from that dreaded couch. For, that couch (with that remote and refrigerator) have been the enemy to progress, movement, innovation, and success. Sometimes it's best not to even lay eyes on it, because it's so tempting. But we must not let temptation get th

God hasn't given us a spirit of fear. We must fight for those who need us. A short time ago I wrote about warrior faith (blog post March 4, 2016).  In that post I talked about how David rose up against his enemy, Goliath . The main weapon David had to beat Goliath was David's faith (trust/belief) in God. David went in that battle with the mindset that he was going to win. Period. End of story.  And of course he won.  He didn't stop. Nobody threw Him off. His life wasn't easy, but he stayed with God. He made mistakes and God stayed with him. David never gave up. He kept going.  That's what we have to do no matter the obstacles and mountains.  I was just thinking about life yesterday when I was driving. I was thinking about the pain people are in. Sometimes I cry, because of that pain. Yet I know there is going to be a bright light that shines all the time, because of all the hurt. I'm on a quest to fight for that light to shine so ot

Jesus is the light of the world -- the only light of the world. No matter what happens in the world, we must stay focused on what it is we are doing for Christ. We can't be moved or swayed by anything that tries to get us off course. Focus is paramount. What is your gift? What would you do if money were no object? What drives you? What moves you? What do you enjoy doing? What is that awesome gift God has given you to impact the world? That's it. Use it. That's why you were born.  That is the thing you can't let people, places or things stifle in you to the point where you don't use it. Sometimes if a person, place or thing doesn't agree with who you are, they/it may try to muzzle your voice. I have a problem with that. It really bugs me. Why do people want to be able to have their thoughts, opinions, and movements, while others can't? We can't have a double standard where one person can exercise their rights freely and the other ca

God created us to make a difference, not to walk around afraid to ruffle feathers. The home of the brave are the warriors who are not afraid to stand for change; to stand for what's right. They are not in the business of placating the status quo. There are many in the bible who stood for worthy causes and who put the people in front of themselves. They did the hard things in the name of Godly leadership. They had it rough at times, but they were like pros who made it look easy. That's what you do when God is with you. It doesn't matter who comes against you, you stand for something. Moses did; Joseph did; David did; Esther did; The Samaritan Woman did. And every last one of them was blessed and highly favored for walking in the mandates of God. They were all the courageous ones. The ones who were probably scared deep down when they thought about what they were really up against, but fearless and bold as God was with them. They knew it was worth it -- using

eBook: In Sharon's Heart, Oh My God: Establishing a foundation and relationship with God Description: In Sharon’s Heart is a series of books inspired by God and His holy word, the bible. My writing comes from a biblical foundation and underpinning of biblical truth. In other words you will not find any crazy talk in any of my books. What you will find in my books is what lives in my heart and what I think about regarding lots of different topics. If our heart is pure and if we continue to have a heart for the Lord, then He will guide what we say and what we do. With such a foundation we will do and say honorable and smart things to the best of our ability. I believe the Lord will bless our endeavors. From a Godly heart perspective, there is something for everybody within the pages of every book, which will help people do what many of us should want to do: Go to the next lev-el in what God has for us. I do not know about you, but I am really serious about get

Positive Self-talk: A little journal book with BIG talk ,   is a tiny journal book. It has less than 50 pages with oversized fonts and it has lots of space to write.  Description: POSITIVE Self-talk, A little journal book with BIG talk…is a journal book about speaking to yourself from that positive place inside yourself. This journal book is for anyone who dares to dream and who dares to stand up for that which has been placed inside of them. This journal book is for the person who will never give up. Why a journal book? Internalizing your thoughts by placing each word on “paper” will help take you to that place only you and God knows. Each word will help you to go inside yourself and will enable you to start speaking life to all aspects of your life. When you know better, you do better. There is only one you and you are not an accident. It is important to use vocabulary that is positive no matter what you may be going through. Positive words transfer to powerfu

You're so cool. 'Who we are in the inside relates directly to whom we have dwelling in us--Christ' (Charles Stanley, Living In His Sufficiency). That means when we know who we are in Christ, we can truly conquer the world. In other words, we can walk in confidence that what we are going to do will get done. The obstacles or roadblocks do not matter. When God is for us who can be against us ? He will protect us and shield us from any and everything that will get in the way of the path He has set for us. He directs them and there is nothing that will stop Him. Everything is well planned out already. It's been like that for a long time. And we can walk boldly in knowing that.  Where do you get your confidence?  If it comes from God, you're pretty solid. If it doesn't, the foundation will be a bit shaky. I would ask you to reconsider if God isn't your source of strength, because with God as our provider, our needs are met and when our needs ar

God's love is real and it's around us all the time. That's what the Lord says to us.  "I love you." Yes, He is telling us that no matter what we're up against; no matter the tide of the land right now; no matter what things seem like, He loves us.  All of us. It doesn't matter what we look like. Jesus is no respecter of persons, which means He doesn't show favoritism (He shows favor, but not favoritism). We are all His children. God loves us.  Sometimes people have a hard time with the concept that someone loves us that we can't see. Can we see air? Can we see the blood flowing through our veins? Can we see the world spinning? Can we see the frontal lobe of our brain thinking? Yet, all of it is crucial to our being and functioning. Without any of those things we cease to exist.   That's how it is with God. He's omnipresent and so is His love. We can't see His love, but it is around us all the time. And when we

In Sharon's Heart Website is inspired by God. It will have lots of the latest commentary and testimonies of people who have gone through something or who are currently going through something, and who have and will come out on the other side.  Yes, they will have some stories to tell about how God brought them through. If you could only imagine.  Come to In Sharon's Heart Website for inspiration and encouragement. And watch God move mightily in the lives of His people. 

eBook: In Sharon's Heart, Never Give Up, You Can Do It Description: In Sharon's Heart, Never Give Up, You Can Do It, is based on some of In Sharon's Heart blog posts about faith and never giving up. I know what pain feels like and I know what giving up what God has for me feels like too. There was a time when I lived in darkness, sadness, and depression. I didn't know I was depressed. I was just going through life doing the things I know I needed to get done for survival (work, church, family, school and hardly any friends). But now all of that has changed. Through my pain I am now a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) and because of my pain, I am writing for others' gain. That's right, In Sharon's Heart, Never Give Up, You Can Do It , is about having victory after the storm, after the fire, after the treacherous mountain, and after the deserted valley.  If I can sit here and write these words to you, you can for sure, do everything that

Be encouraged in the Lord. Look up. I know how it feels when things are not moving fast enough. I get discouraged too. Just, because I blog and things, doesn't mean I never go there. I'm human.  Yet, I know what God said. He's told me quite a bit through His word (the bible), His prophets, through dreams, and through visions. What has He told you? What are you holding onto in these sometimes dark days? Whatever it is you must not grow weary and give up, because the storm won't last forever.  Hold on to something that brings you to His glorious light. Find some scripture (my blogs are full of them) or a positive place where you have experienced Him and hold on to that. When you hold on to the light you will see and there is never a reason to look down, because God is above (the devil and evil are below). Thus, we must continue to look towards The One who will direct our lives to His goodness and mercy. As we, " trust in the Lord with all our h