The Daily Devotional Blog

You ever heard the phrase, "stay in your lane?" It's a way of saying, to just concentrate and focus on what God told us to do. Remaining in our flow, continuing to strive to go higher, being our best and authentic selves. Or it could be mean simply minding our own business and not worrying about what the next person is doing. When we stay in our lane there's very little chance of causing a collision or bumping into another person or anything else we had no business bumping into.   If we will run our own race and look straight ahead, we are liable to see God and all He has for us. It's about staying in tune with what He's told us to do.  When we run our own race we are not competing against anyone. Our sights are on the Lord. We don't have any reason to get distracted or to fall into the things that may do us harm. It's about running our race for Jesus. "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw of

...and you shall receive. Yes, you shall get the desires of your heart when you ask the Lord for what you need. That's the spiritual part of it. Your chances of receiving what you want also increase dramatically when you ask for things in the natural. That means, we have a greater opportunity of getting closer to greater things when we open our mouths to God and to man. It's amazing how many of us don't use what we have to get what we want. Use your voice to ask. No, God is not a santa claus and no He's not a genie who performs when we rub the bottle. But He is a God, the God , who wants us to seek Him first. That's means uttering words to Him and being led by the holy spirit (that's another blog post though).  The bottom line is that He's God. The one and only. Like no other can or will be. And He wants the best for us. His answer may not be yes, but it may not be no either. It simply may be, later. It may be that He wants us to trust Him even m

Friends, how many of us have them? Friends, ones we can depend on. Friends, before we go any further, lets be friends. Those are some of the lyrics from a 1980's song by Whodini. It had a catchy beat too, which made it easier to resonate with people. I still like that song. It had a great message about friendship.  I thought it fitting to write about friendship today, because 1-my next eBook will be on the subject (it's been on my mind) and 2-Some of us take friendship lightly. We oftentimes take the people who are always there for us, for granted. True friendship is hard to find. Some people are so flaky. They're here today and gone tomorrow, especially if we say or do one little thing wrong. Who has time for that? That's not real friendship, because it's based on conditions. Don't settle for that type of friendship just to say you have a friend. God has much better than that for us.  Look, if you have even one person in your life who is al

"And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth a nd multiply in it.” ( Genesis 9 :7).  That's what the Lord told Noah after He made a covenant/agreement with Noah that he and his family would be blessed as they would go about their lives keeping God first. Noah was a blessed man by God.  I believe we can be as Noah. We can also go forth and multiply in doing whatever it is the Lord would have us to do. Wherever He says go, we shall go. Whatever He says do, we shall proceed accordingly. And when we do that He will continually order and direct our paths to great things. We will be blessed to be a blessing. We will be anointed to help others with the gifts He has given us. We weren't given our gifts just to line our bank accounts and sit fat and happy. Those are God's gifts we have on loan.  So whatever order He gives us, we will go if we are to fulfill all He has for our lives and those we will touch. Keep and

I hope you're keeping your eye on the target, on the bullseye. You have to do that in order for progress to happen -- in order for the greatness in you to come out of you. Stay on your grind. Stay focused. I know it's hard to do that sometimes when it seems as though things are moving at a glacial pace. Trust me, I know the feeling. What I also know is if we will continue going forward even if it's one inch at a time, the Lord will give us little reminders that He's with us and guiding our steps. We will know it was Him, because He will give us gentle nudges that motivate us to stay with it and to not give up. He sees what we're doing and where our heart is. He wants us to represent Him and He is positioning us to go to the right places at the appointed times. He knows what we need to do and who we need to be in order for primetime (whatever that means for you).  " Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans"  ( Proverbs 16

We are all precious in God's sight. He loves us unconditionally. There is no reason to feel anything other than special and cherished. God is the only constant in our lives if we allow Him to be (remember, free will?) He will enable us to soar to new heights. That's what He does for His precious jewels -- the people who love Him back and seek Him always.  Don't grow discouraged or lose hope, because of all the trouble of today. God's power and love surpasses everything we could possibly understand. Just rest in knowing that He loves you and He gave up a lot for you. " For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" ( John 3 :16). That's something to have joy about.  For daily encouragement, visit and share this blog, my  Facebook ,  Twitter ,  Instagram ,   Pinterest ,  Linkedin , & Snapchat: InSharonsHeart.

America, the beautiful.  She will always be beautiful to me. It doesn't matter what the past tells me, what the present shows me, and what the future holds for me. I will love my country to the end. I was born and raised here. That counts for many things. Namely, that it's my home. To deny my country because of what I see, is to deny the home town I was born and bred in. Just as the Lord will never leave or forsake me, I won't leave or forsake my home.  America, the beautiful.  It's stretching and busting at its seams now. The darkness is coming to light today. It will get worse before it gets better. And there will be great and lasting lessons learned. Such is life though. Don't we always come out on top when we're fighting the storm? It's difficult pushing our way through, yet we rise. And come out better and stronger. But to win, there can no longer exist a them and an us. In order to win, we can't leave anyone behind.  America, t

We have to do what we can do in order to go on everyday.  We have to think positive thoughts even if we have to force ourselves to. We must not carry the weight of the world on our shoulders. Don't take on the burdens of what God handles on our behalf. This is a challenging time right now, but we have to push ourselves to be encouraged even when it seems things are getting worse, not better.  We have to be of much faith. This is not the time to give up our faith. This is the time to fight for it. Where does your inner strength lie? Who does it lie with? If it's with Jesus Christ, you can draw from Him at anytime and He will give you peace amidst the storms. He will wipe your tears of pain and anguish. He will make your crooked places straight. I'm telling you what I know. You mustn't give up and think God is unaware of what is going on in the city and in the field. He is working behind the scenes to make it make sense to us. How much of it will make sense,

Do you know you're blessed with the gifts God has given you?  Yes, that's right.  What are you doing with your gifts? Who are you helping with them? I'm here to tell you that you have something about you and your life that are attractive to people. Yes you. You have walked a path, albeit it difficult maybe, that others will be inspired and helped tremendously by. Your life is not a lie. Your testimony, journey, and story is meaningful and people will be touched by it. It was not an accident that you went through it. It was a miracle that you survived it and came out bigger, better, and stronger. That's amazing. Some people would have folded under the pressure, but you didn't. You fought your way through it even though you felt weakened, pained, and more sorrowful than you ever felt in your life. But   when you were weak, the Lord was strong   ( 1   Corinthians 12 :10b). I know, because my words are speaking to myself, as well as, to you. For, it takes

There are just some things we will never figure out and there are some things that fit together like a puzzle.  God works for our own good. He loves us and we have to accept what He's doing even when we don't understand. Our lives are in His hands and He dictates everything that happens or doesn't happen.  I will continue to trust Him throughout it all. His ways are far better than my ways. All will be alright with Him ordering our steps and paving our paths. As we believe in Him, we'll be alright. We have to let our faith work for us.  God said, "for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" ( Isaiah 55 :8/9).  Whether everything fits together or not, we will come out on top as we trust in Him.  For daily encouragement, visit and share this blog, my  Facebook ,  Twitter ,  Instagra

Whoever the people are who support your hustle, your grind, your goals, keep them close. They're probably your inner circle and if they're with you on a consistent basis during your ups and downs; your highs and lows, keep them close. They care for you and love you in spite of it all. They may not be around you all the time, but they are a phone call, text, or visit away and they will drop everything for you. They return your texts, your calls, and will make time for you when they're busy. We need people like that around us, because life is hard sometimes, especially when you have aspirations to do great things. We can't have fair weathered friends who are here today and gone tomorrow. Who are with us when they think we're closer to success, but leave us if one little thing goes wrong. Those people are not ones to rely on, because they are unreliable. So, although things may be hard and challenging now and it may look as though your breakthrough is so f

One of the reasons education is awesome is because it equips us with knowledge. And whoever said knowledge is power was on to something, if you ask me. But I guess I'm a bit biased since I am a teacher.  But whoever said wisdom is power, was brilliant. Knowledge is simply knowing, which is good, it's a start. Yet wisdom is taking that knowledge and applying it to situations and circumstances in order for life to get better in some way. Needless to say, if one has wisdom, by default knowledge proceeds it. Thus, praying for wisdom is a no brainier. That was one of the smart moves of King Solomon (1 Kings 3) when God asked him what he wanted and he replied, wisdom.  Wisdom is necessary in order to be impactful in the world. It's crucial to helping others, because we have to know what thus says the Lord regarding certain things. Wisdom will better enable us to use discernment (Godly insight). And at the end of the day, "how much better is it to get wisdom than

eBook: In Sharon's Heart: Having a Positive Attitude in Spite of it All Description : "In Sharon's Heart, Having a Positive Attitude in Spite of it All" , is a book from some of my blog posts. The book is about maintaining a positive outlook even though life may not be that easy. In other words, whatever you're confronted with is temporary and having the right attitude is paramount to the outcome. Storms don't last forever, so a lifetime of going through storms should not happen. Think about real life storms. What storm lasts a lifetime? None that I know of. The God we serve does not want us to wallow in self-pity. Thus, it makes sense for us to remain faithful that God will carry us through. Jesus died so we could have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10), not so we can wallow in a lifetime of grief. So whatever life throws you, just know this: Having a Positive Attitude in Spite of it All will help get you to the finish li

How are you with being alone? I ask, because some people really hate it. They hate being by themselves for a long length of time. I know "length of time" is relative, but I'm talking about a few hours. Some people despise it. They don't want to be alone for any part of the day if it involves them being with themselves. And if we don't want to be alone for hours, we certainly don't want to be alone for days, weeks, months, or years.  Why do you think that is?  I have my thoughts about it and you know I'm going to speak on it. I mean comon, that's what my blog is for right? I think it's because some people think they need other people around them to fill a void. Yet, there's no need for that. Let me explain, we should have people we like and love in our lives, there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, it's great. But when we want people in place of God, because we don't want to work on ourselves, then there lies the prob

Ok I have a confession to make: Yesterday I didn't have faith as small as a mustard seed.  There, I said it.  I won't go into detail to protect the innocent, but I'll just say, I asked a friend to stand in for me, because I couldn't be at a certain place at a certain time. When the person didn't respond fast enough I got impatient and made other plans. Yet the person was making provisions to help me out, but by the time I found out the person could do it, it was too late.  I should have just waited.  Impatience has been a struggle for me for many years and from time to time it creeps back in, but nothing major though. Thank God I'm on my way to complete deliverance. Anyway, I'm just being transparent in telling you that I fell short (again) and although it won't be the last time, at least I'm ok talking about it. At one time I would have been uncomfortable with putting any part of my business out there, but that was then and th

Yesterday's blog pos t was part one about how I wasted a lot of time feeling sorry for myself, because of life's downs.  Today I want to tell you what I did to snap myself out of it and how I started using my time more wisely. For starters, God revealed what I was going through, to the pastor of my current church. When I spoke to my pastor he was able to talk to me about my past, my present, and my future. That conversation was a defining moment in my life. I write about it in my eBook, Why Some People are Under Constant Stress and Pressure. The conversation made me think about what I was prioritizing in my life and how I had put God on the back burner. I had given a failed relationship just about all of my attention, as well as, life's struggles and challenges. I put them in front of God. I used to just go through life's run-of-the-mill motions in the daytime, but late in the midnight hour I was a miserable mess. Once my head hit that pillow I used to think about

As some of you may know, part of my testimony is about the precious time I wasted being sad and depressed at night when my head hit that pillow. You may ask yourself how anyone can be ok at certain times and not ok at other times. It's just like anything else. A person can smoke at work and not want to touch another cigarette any other time of the day. Or a person may work-out while on vacation, but as soon as they get back home the last thing they want to see is a treadmill. It's about turning our emotions on and off whenever the time is convenient for us.  And that's a dangerous game we play with ourselves.  It's a cop-out and it's a form of giving up, because we don't want to do what it takes to get the blessings. We don't want to be consistent. And we don't really want to give our problems over to God. We say we want all those things, but we don't, because we're doing nothing to get them. So we resort to doing easy when easy wo

It's a little scary, isn't it?  Going higher. When some of us are afraid of heights. We may know God told us to climb and to keep climbing, yet we are uncomfortable about the unknown. Where exactly are we going? We have some idea, but we don't know everything and every level gets more and more uncertain. Yet God says continue on. That's when new faith has to kick in over and over again. We are relying on total faith. It's almost as though we are out of control and in control at the same time. Out of control, because we have to trust God completely and in control, because we trust God completely. As long as we trust Him and where He's taking us we'll be just fine. A-okay. He never fails us. Never. Just follow Him. " Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun ( Psalm 37 :5). Yep, He'll take you higher and you will shine like a

You won't be in it long... the wilderness. That depends on you though. It depends on how long it will take you to trust God. To trust in His every move, in His every way, in His every Word. Will we trust Him or will we wander around in crazy town for 40 years? That's what the Israelites did (see Numbers 32 :13). They were in the wilderness, the wasteland, the desert, far longer than God wanted them to be. They were blessed just as you and I are, but like them, how many times did we hold up our blessings?  It's time to get out of the wilderness. It's crazy hot in the daytime and frigid cold at night. We don't have to be there longer than we should be. Don't get me wrong though, the wilderness is many times necessary to trust God, but to stay there longer than God has for us is not necessary. Why don't we go ahead and do what we have to do to make it to Canaan? We will still have to fight, but isn't it great to fight a fight you've

You have power. So, yesterday I'm listening to a deep woman speaking on a show and she says something so profound that I had to write about it.  She said, when someone betrays us and we think it's one of the worst things someone can do to us or one of the most pathetic things that can happen in our lives, what's even worse is when we betray ourselves. Our thinking may be, "how could they hurt me so bad" when the reality is we were not true to ourselves to allow that hurt. For clarity she (nor I) am speaking about the people who could not fend for themselves (ie, kids or people in particular situations with no escape). She was referring to able-minded and able-bodied individuals who didn't exercise their God-given right to choose better for themselves. People who compromised who we were, made excuses by settling for less, felt sorry for ourselves, or gave in to pressure. The list goes on. In other words, the people who allowed themselves to be treat