Stand on the Promise!

A story in the bible that intrigues me is the story of Abraham and Sarah.  I'm pretty sure most people have heard or read their story.  In a nutshell, God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations and that his wife Sarah would give birth to a son despite the fact that Abraham and Sarah were advanced in years.  Eventually, Sarah did give birth to a son when she was about 90 years old and Abraham was about 100 years old.  I would suggest reading it if you haven't already, it's a good story with a couple of twists and turns.  You can find it in Genesis.

What was most intriguing to me about the story was not the fact they were able to have a baby despite their advanced ages.  I was mostly intrigued by the faith of Abraham.  Romans 4:19-20 states "without weakening in his faith, he (Abraham) faced the fact that his body was as good as dead-since he was about 100 years old and Sarah's womb was dead.  Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had the power to do what He had promised."

Abraham was an awesome man of faith.  He basically said that I know me and my wife are so old that we are close to the grave but I'm not gonna focus on that because God gave me a promise and there is nothing too hard for him.  So I'm gonna believe God and praise Him in advance for the promise that is on the way.  That is exactly what Abraham did and God saw him as righteous.  

It took MANY years for the promise to manifest, but Abraham did not waver in his faith.  He stood right there on his promise and he waited patiently for God to move.  He didn't consider his circumstances nor did he complain about how long it was taking.  He just stood on the promise and praised God.  Abraham was fully persuaded that God had the power to do what He promised to do. That means that he completely believed God.  There was not a doubt in his mind and he didn't struggle with unbelief.  I imagine it was like having tunnel vision.  He blocked out everything around him such as naysayers, doubt, worry and unbelief and he looked straight ahead focusing only on the promise of God.

Anybody out there want to be more like Abraham? I know I do.  I would like to get to a place where I stop wavering, stop doubting, stop being impatient, and stop allowing unbelief to steal the hope and joy of the promises that I know God has for me.  I want to get to a place where I can praise in spite of how long it's taking instead of complain.  God honors faith not complaints.

So, let's be more like Abraham.  Let's get rid of  the doubt, worry and unbelief and begin to praise God in advance for the promises that are coming our way.  Stand strong in faith on the promises that you know God has spoken to you.  I would even suggest writing them down and during those times when you're feeling like nothing is going right, pull out those promises, praise God for them and become strengthened in your faith. God is not slack concerning his promises. 

With Gallons of Love,

J.G.

How I Was Blessed By A Plant!

A few months ago, my husband made a hobby out of growing potted plants.  He loves his plants and he takes good care of them.  He even named a couple of them lol.  I think he has a "green thumb" because his plants have been flourishing.  A couple of months ago, he decided to grow a plant for me.  He ended up naming the plant "Teeter" because it was the smallest of the plants that were growing at the time.  Within a few weeks, Teeter shot up and is now the tallest of all of the plants. About  3 weeks ago, we noticed that Teeter had a bud at the tip of tallest stem.  We had no idea what would be blooming or how long it would take because they were wildflower seeds.  But we have been watching it with anticipation over the weeks.

This morning, I didn't wake up in the best mood.  I woke up feeling a little discouraged and a tad bit stressed about a couple of situations that are going on.  I didn't feel like getting up to do my daily devotional, I just wanted to lay in the bed and sleep until it was time for work.  I decided to get on up and have my devotional time.  I'm so glad I did because the lesson was right on time.  It talked about overcoming worry through praising God.  Although, I still felt a little discouraged after reading the devotional I decided that I would put into practice what I just learned.  I began to take my eyes off what was wrong and begin to focus on what was right.  I began to pray and thank God for everything that I could think of and my spirits were immediately lifted.

Before I began my devotional I got up to determine if I was going to turn the light on in the room or use the natural light.  I decided to go with natural light so I opened the curtains. We have sliding doors in our bedroom which leads to a balcony and that is where my husband keeps his plants.  I opened the curtains around 9:15 a.m. I glanced at the plants and there they were all doing fine, nothing had changed.  Teeter still had the bud.  I didn't think anything of it and went ahead with devotion.  During the time that I was praising and thanking God, I was also getting ready for work.  My mood had completed changed and I was feeling great.  My gospel music was playing and I continued to just thank God.  I came in the room and sat on the bed to put on lotion and I happened to glance over to where the plants were and to my surprise Teeter had bloomed just that fast.  I was so elated when I saw the beautiful purple flower.

As I was sitting there staring at the flower and taking pictures to send to my husband, something dropped in my spirit.  I heard the words "that's just how God works...quickly and suddenly."  I became even more excited.  When I first opened the curtain at 9:15 a.m. Teeter was still a bud and when I looked back out around 10:40 a.m. there was all of a sudden a beautiful purple flower.   I felt like God was letting me know that I don't have to worry because everything is going to be alright.  If we keep our eyes on Jesus He will SUDDENLY change our situation.  He has the power to do it.  The fact that the flower was purple was a double blessing because that it is my favorite color.  I believe God orchestrated all of the events of that morning.  I believe that since I chose to PRAISE instead of have a pity party, that he decided to bless and speak to me through a plant.

If you find yourself worrying about situations that you have no control over, give them to God and choose to PRAISE.  There is nothing too hard for God and He has the power to turn your situation around at a moments notice.  He is a God of SUDDENLY!

Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over what God had prepared for the people, because the thing came about suddenly. II Chronicles 2:29.

With Gallons of Love,

J.G.
   

God Has A Plan!

Have you ever sat, pondering over your life and felt that where you are in life was not apart of your plans?! This has often been a struggle for me.  I would sit and think about all of the grandiose plans I made for myself when I was a young adult and compare those plans to where I am now.  My life currently looks nothing like the life I planned all those years ago.  But, life happens and things don't always go as planned.  As I sat and thought about things, I would be discouraged and begin to have a pity party.  One day, God led me to Jeremiah 29:11, which says, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

This verse has been very encouraging to me.  It tells me that just because my plans didn't work doesn't mean my life can't still be great.  God has plans for me and His plans are far greater than anything I could have ever imagined.  He has a purpose for everything that I have been through and all of my shortcomings, for all of my accomplishments and all of the things that I didn't accomplish. God can take what I see as failure and turn it into something amazing.  "Now unto Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think. according to the power that works in us" Ephesians 3:20.   

All I have to do is put my trust in Him.  Trust that regardless of  how it looks, I am right where God wants me to be at this time.  Trust that as long as I am in God's will doing what He wants me to do, in due time I will reap a harvest.  I have learned that God does not do things the way we may think he should.  "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways" Isaiah 55:8.  God doesn't always take us in a straight line to get us from point A to point B.  He sometimes takes us through hills and valleys.  In our eyes it may seem like things aren't working out or falling into place.  But in God's eyes, we are right where He wants us.

If you're struggling today with where you are in life, just know that God does have a plan.  Even if you may have fallen off and gotten off track in your walk, God can meet you where you are and get you back on course.  Seek God and Trust His Plan.  It will all work out in the end!

With Gallons of Love,

J.G. 

Family Fun!

Once I married my husband, I was blessed to become a stepmom to an awesome teenage son.  He is a sweet kid, very respectful and well behaved.  We have always gotten along and had a good relationship even during the time my husband and I were dating.  One thing that I have learned about teenagers is that they are completely consumed with their own little world which includes cell phones, video games, and any other devices that they can get their hands on.  The only time they come up for air is when it's time to eat.  They could really care less about spending quality time with their parents in my opinion lol.

Recently, we have began having Family Game Night in our house.  It is TONS of fun yet it also a way to get our son to engage and spend quality time with us.  The three of us look forward to it every weekend.  We typically sit and eat together and then pull out the games. We have been playing games such as UNO and Dominoes.  We keep track of who comes out on top each week and the "losers" try to take the title from the winner.  Just a little friendly competition lol.  As it stands now, I am the Queen of UNO and my husband is the King of Dominoes lol.  Our game nights have been such a hit that I will be adding more games to our repertoire!  We really do have a great time and our son even asks to play.  It has proven to be a great way to get him away from the devices and spending time with us.  I would recommend all families try it if you aren't already.  It's a very entertaining and inexpensive way to have Family Fun!

With Gallons of Love,

J.G.

A Dream Come True (Testimony)

Writing has always been a personal passion of mine.  I say personal because until recently it was always something that I kept to myself.  I would share a poem with others here and there but writing was something that I mainly shared with God only.  I remember having tons of journals filled with poems, prayers, letters to God, dreams, goals and whatever else was on my heart.  I enjoyed writing in school; English was always one of my favorite subjects.  I remember taking English IV as a senior and being the only person in class to receive a 100% on our first big writing assignment.  In college, a couple of professors told me that I was a good writer.  One professor told me that one day PhD would be behind my name.  Although very flattering, that isn't something that I see in my future lol.

I enjoyed writing but since it was something I pretty much kept to myself, I never really made any goals for myself relating to writing.  I never pursued making a career out of it, never thought about authoring a book or anything.  The only dream that I had relating to writing was to one day write articles for a magazine.  It was one of those things that I would jump at the opportunity to do but never thought that the opportunity would present itself.  I didn't know anything about magazine writing or how to get started.  I just knew that I wanted to one day write encouraging articles that would inspire others.

In November 2015, I was scrolling through the "People You May Know" section on Facebook.  I came across a familiar name and face from way back in the past, Kimi Johnson!  I clicked on her page and one of the first things I noticed was that she published a magazine called "Purpose Driven Women."  I began to read some of the articles and enjoyed them very much.  I then began to wonder if she was looking for writers and thought about messaging her.  My nerves got the best of me and I needed to talk it out with someone.  I called one of my best friends and biggest supporters, Mrs. Cobb, and she encouraged me as always to step out on faith! I also read one of Kimi's articles that talked about stepping out on faith.  So, I took a deep breath and sent the message.  Putting yourself out there can be nerve wrecking for fear of rejection but that's where faith comes in.  

  

I nervously waited for her reply and to my surprise she replied within the hour. She told me that she enjoyed reading my blog and that she wanted to discuss joining the team.  I was elated! We talked a couple of weeks later and I was on my way to writing my first article for the magazine!  I could not wait for the magazine to come out on February 1. It was so very exciting to see the title of my article, Love 365, on the front cover and to see my article in the magazine.  I'll never forget the feeling!  It truly was A Dream Come True! I will be writing bi-monthly articles in the Family section of the magazine.  God is truly good.

I would like to thank Kimi Johnson at Purpose Driven Women for making my dream a reality. I would also like to thank my personal editor, my mom lol.  She reads every single thing that I write.  Please subscribe and support Purpose Driven Women Magazine at www.pdwmag.com.  Kimi Johnson has done an amazing job.

And remember, never give up on your dreams because Dreams Really Do Come True!!

With Gallons of Love,

J.G.

2016 Sugar Paper Planner Review (For My Planner Girls)

Recently, I have been into paper planning to try to help myself stay organized.  Paper planning is basically using an actual planner to plan and write out your day as opposed to some type of electronic device. Paper planning isn't for everyone.  A lot of people these days just prefer to keep up with things on their phones.  I love to write so actually writing things out in a planner is right up my alley! YouTube helped me to discover that there is whole planner community.  There are many types and brands of planners.  Prices can range anywhere from $10 - $80.  The more expensive planners are very nice, however; the way my bank account is set up...lol.  Last year, I actually did purchase one of the more expensive and well known brands.  It was very nice and customized but in the end I felt like I wasted money because it just did not work for me.  It was just too much going on.  

For 2016, I wanted to find something that worked for me.  I stalked every popular planner brand's website and Instagram pages for the last couple months in 2015. I was two weeks into January and still had not made a choice.  I wasn't really feeling spending a ton of money so one day I just decided to see what Target had to offer.  That's when I discovered the Sugar Paper Planner line.  I was able to find a functional planner that fit MY needs and it only costs $10!  So far, I have been LOVING my new planner.  I was skeptical at first because it was so cheap.  But so far, so good.  It has a weekly and monthly layout so that I can plan my entire month as well as each week.  It also has a notes section in the back which I love.  If you're interested in the Sugar Paper Planner, there are a couple YouTube videos you can check out or you can head to your local Target.  I think it is a great planner for the price and it is very functional.  I'll see how it holds up throughout the year!

With Gallons of Love,

J.G.

6 Months & Counting...

Today, I would like to wish the love of my life, my best friend, MY husband a Happy 6 Month Anniversary!! Yay!!! I thank God for my husband. He is truly an amazing man and he is absolutely perfect for this girl right here lol. He puts up with me which sometimes isn't the easiest thing to do so I've heard lol. He is a very kind and strong man. I am so very proud of him. I have seen him grow in so many ways. We have had some ups and downs in our relationship, yet he has remained constant.  He is a great supporter and I can truly say that he has my back.  We have each other's back and God is in the center.

Some may not celebrate 6 month anniversaries but I enjoy celebrating the small things.  Some marriages are headed for a downward spiral at 6 months and I can speak from a past experience.  So the fact that my husband and I are very happy at this point is worth celebrating in my book!  We took the day off from work and just hung out with each other.  We went to lunch, ran errands, watched some Netflix and chilled ;-) It was a great day!  I asked my husband how he thought the first six months were and he said that it has been "interesting yet fun."  I would have to agree with him. It can be very interesting living with a person for the first time.  You get to know them in ways that you haven't known them before and learn things about him that you may not have known.  We're learning to just go with the flow and adjust as necessary.  The fun part is experiencing life together.  Being able to be with your best friend everyday.  Making memories.  Living, Laughing and Loving Together.  It's a great time.

I'm looking forward to the next 6 months.  I pray that God continues to bless our union and continues to help us grow together as one.  Happy Anniversary Mr. Gallon!! I love you to the moon and back.  I enjoy doing life with you.  Forever your Mrs!

With Gallons of Love,

J.G.