You have the power to speak life and death...

We don't really think about how important Proverbs 18:21 truly is, but it's true. We hold this power. What power is this? The power to speak life and death.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Our words hold a tremendous power, and I really hadn't thought about that until I wrote this blog post on my author blog the other day. I mean, I knew how powerful words were, but this really drove the point home to me. Sometimes I feel like we need a reminder of it. We tend to forget how important it is.

I was reminded of it, again, this morning when I could have flown off the handle at someone for angering me. This person had their own opinions of something, and I had my opinions. And although I responded once, I refused to respond again because I didn't want to get into a fight with anyone, especially this one. Although, I had come up with this whole speech that I wanted to type up and push "send" (It was on Facebook.), I didn't. I decided to delete the post altogether and let it go. Why? Because arguing would do no good. People have their opinions, and I have mine. They're entitled to share theirs, and I'm entitled to share mine.

But the point isn't about arguing opinions, it's about arguing. I could have said some horrible things in response to this comment, and this person could have said equally horrible things. But I didn't, and I don't think this person would have either. I'm not sure, but I wasn't opening the conversation up to that. It was best to stop the negative comments altogether, and that's what I did.

See, although I have the temper of a redheaded Irish woman, I kept that anger in check - this time. I've been known to not keep my tongue in check. I've said horrible things to people before, and I'm not proud of that. But I can change that now. I can mind what I say aloud about others and myself.

When you speak something, it's out there, and you can't take it back. It's important that we let God have our mouths and speak only good things. Ephesians 4:29 says, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers."

It's our job to speak life into others and situations. We don't need to start fights, nor do we need to call other people names, etc. We need to speak positively.

In the post that I mentioned above, I ended it with, "Maybe, just maybe, you can change someone’s life, too."

Who's life can you change today by speaking positively? Who's life can you change by not starting a fight? Calling people names? What are you doing to edify others? Let them have their opinions and you have yours. Just don't fight. Don't argue. Don't bully.

Life and death are in the power of the tongue. How will you use yours today?

Realizing Who You Are in Christ

I know that I haven't posted here in a while, and I hope you'll forgive me.  It feels like life has gotten in the way, but to be honest, I was running from this project of mine. It started as a way for me to blog and connect with you in a way to help you understand the meaning of peace and refreshing.

See, God gave me the idea for a short devotional book based on the posts on this blog.  I didn't want to write because it's something that's completely new for me.  How can I write about something with authority and hope that it stikes a cord with someone?  But see, it's not my job to connect with someone about their life.  My job is to write what God tells me to because HE KNOWS how to connect with that someone.  So, I've had to learn a valuable lesson, and I have to blog and finish my book.  THAT is my job.

If you've stuck with me this far, I commend you.  It's been an amazing and eye-opening journey for me, and I hope that it has for you as well.

So, let's get on to what this post will be about today.  Realizing who you are in Christ.

Who are we?  How do we see ourselves?  I guarantee that the way you see yourself now is much different than the way God sees us.

Let me show you.  If I were to describe myself, I'd probably tell you that I'm overweight, have adult acne that drives me insane, and I have frizzy hair that I cannot tame.  What image does that strike with you?  Definitely not one that puts off a GOOD image of me, right?  In all honesty, I am overweight, and I do deal with adult acne, but my face isn't covered with it.  I'm not ugly because of my weight, and although my hair is frizzy, I love my brunette curls.  I am not an ugly woman, and please do not take that conceitedly.  Let me tell you why I say that about myself.  God said I was beautiful.

He did.  He told me that I was beautiful because I was HIS DAUGHTER!!  I am a daughter of Christ, and as His daughter, I walk in His authority.  I'm a princess.  (He told me that too.)  I walk with authority, and a princess doesn't walk with her shoulders slumped and letting the world's views of what she looks like bring her down.  No.  Just because she doesn't fit the standards of the world's view of true beauty doesn't mean she isn't beautiful.  God told her she's beautiful so she walks with that affirmation in her heart.

See, we shouldn't care what the world thinks about us.  I don't.  I know that God says I'm beautiful, so I listen to Him. He's told me that I'm His princess, so I walk with that authority.  God told me that He is preparing my future, so I walk knowing that My God is taking care of me.  What else do I need?  I certainly don't need the lies of the devil and this world to bring me down and make me think that God's worth isn't something.  I'm holding out for God's promises, and I'm not looking back.

Sunday evening at church, I overheard a young girl of ten or eleven talking about her weight.  She said that she was fat for her age.  I called her over and said, "Honey, listen to me.  I don't want to hear you talking about yourself like that.  You certainly aren't fat, and you are a beautiful young woman.  So please, don't call yourself that because if you say it enough, you'll start believing it."

I know this from experience.  I called myself fat from the very first day that I heard others say that I was, and although I am overweight, I kept that "fat" attitude stuck in my head, never believing I was pretty enough or good enough for anyone else.  What I didn't know or want to believe was that it didn't matter. Who needs negative people in their lives?  Certainly not me!  I've cut ties with people who can't see me for my true worth which is God's Child.  They don't need a place in my life, and they don't need a place in yours either.

I encourage you today, look in the mirror and say, "I'm a beautiful Child of God and just because the world says I'm ugly doesn't mean it's true!  That's a lie out of the pit of hell, and I refuse to believe a lie of the devil!  I AM BEAUTIFUL!"

God has laid it on my heart to share my story with y'all.  That's just part of it, and I'm sure a more detailed version will come later.  I haven't written it out, and I'm kind of scared to.  I don't like dealing with that emotional side, but I've put some of that emotion into an upcoming Christian novel titled, Entertaining Angels.

I know I don't discuss my writing career on here much because this isn't what this blog is for, but Entertaining Angels was written for the sole purpose of teaching young women their true worth and beauty.  When it's finally released (which I hope will be in March), I'll announce it here as well.

Until then, you can sign up for my newsletter at www.emeraldbarnes.us to stay up to date with my writing career and follow ebarnes23.wordpress.com.

I hope you realize just how beautiful you are, brothers and sisters in Christ, and if you have a story to share, please share in the comments or through my email.  If you have questions about finding your true worth, I'll help as much as I can.  You can reach me at emerald_barnes (at) yahoo (dot) com

Much love and God Bless!
xoxo

Victory is Ours for the Taking!

It's not big news when I say that Jesus died on the cross.  It's not big news when I tell you that in dying on the cross, He died to take away our sins and make a way straight to Him that isn't through sacrifice.  But when Jesus died, crying out, "It is finished," (John 19:30) what was He really saying?

I'm sure there are many different things that Jesus meant when He cried out these words.  He could've meant that His reason for being on Earth was done or that He knew it was His last moments.  What I think it means - well, one of the meanings of this phrase - was that He had given us victory.  That when it was finished, the victory, over situations in our life, battles, is ours. 

See, as a Christian, we are in constant battle with Satan's forces.  The devil will come against us faster than we can think.  He tells us lies, very convincing lies, brings us down, strikes us with fear and sickness, but we don't have to live that life.  Why?  Because the battle has already been won!  When Jesus died, He took care of that for us!

When God sent His Son, Jesus, to die for us on the cross, He knew that with His death we would have victory.  So why are we still fighting these battles that have already been won?

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:57)

It's simple.  We're human, and we want to do things on our own.  We want the doctor to fix our aches or medicine to take away the depression.  But we have to learn to let that go.  Reach out and grab your victory.  It's there for the taking.  

God wants us to live a life of honor and glory in His Name.  That also means that we can use His Name to proclaim our victory because it gives GOD the honor He's so deserving of.  We have power in the Name of Jesus to overcome devils, make mountains move!  That means that our mountains, the things that cause us to stumble or completely stop us from having faith because they are weighing us down, will MOVE simply because we have victory through Jesus!

Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: (Zechariah 4:7)

Put your faith into that victory.  I know that it's hard, but if we have faith as a grain of mustard seed  (That's about the size of a poppy seed.), we can move mountains, casts trees into seas, and they will have to obey us because we are speaking this in the Name of Jesus.  (Matthew 17:20, Luke 17:6) 

That's not a lot of faith that is required of us if you think about it, but somehow, we make it into a lot.  We make our molehills mountains instead.  Step back, take a deep breath, and step over that molehill before it becomes a mountain.  Who art thou, O great mountain?   Who is this mountain to stop us?  In the Name of Jesus, it will be nothing but a plain - flat land for us to walk across instead of being stopped by a gigantic rock.  

Step into faith and cast away that mountain.  WE HAVE THE VICTORY!  CLAIM IT TODAY!


For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.  (1 John 5:4)

Too stressed to be blessed?

Do you know the old saying, "Too blessed to be stressed"?  Well, it's actually true, but we tend to lose sight of that during the stressful moments of our life.  Sure, we know that we're blessed, but when the world is weighing on your shoulders, it's hard to see that.  Really hard.

I battle stress and worry on a daily basis.  It's hard for me to overcome.  Hard but not impossible. 

I picked up my Promises for Women from God's Word book and was flipping through it.   I just wanted to read a few verses of something before going to sleep.  I notice the header, Stress, on one of the pages.  I began reading the verses it gave.  One of them was, Psalm 23.  I thought Well how on earth is that gonna help my stress?  I kept reading, hoping that I would come across something to use for when I'm stressed.  I ended up reading through seven passages about stress. 

You know, I was uncertain about how those certain passages spoke to my stress.  Until I came to the last passage.  Phillippians 4: 6-7

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (ESV)

I'm not sure what version of the Bible is used in this book, but I like the wording of it.

Never worry about anything.  But in every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks.  Then God's peace, which goes beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your thoughts and emotions through Christ Jesus.

Now, I've read these verses a hundred times before.  But, it struck me.  Why was I worrying about things that I couldn't control?  Why wasn't I seeking God about my worries and asking Him for help instead of doing things my way and by myself.  And God, well, He will guard your emotions and give you peace!

It's hard, I know, to let God take things in His hands.  Heck, we're stupid little fleshly humans.  We want to do things ourselves and not trust God.  When we shut Him out like that though, we're keeping ourselves from experiencing peace of mind.

Think about that for a moment.  We're giving up our peace solely because we don't want to trust God and stop worrying. 

My challenge for you (and me) is to give up the things that are stressing us and talk to God.  He'll guard us and give us peace.


As an author, these mostly pertains to fellow authors, but the tips may be helpful in addition to this post, at helping you de-stress.  Check out this blog post on my writing blog.

Dream in 2013

Do you have dreams/goals for your life?  Chances are, as a human, you do.  Most of us do have dreams for our lives.  These dreams could be your New Year’s Resolutions or goals you’ve wanted to achieve for a while now.  Is there a specific dream that you thought was “too big” to fulfill?  Why do you think that is?  Is anything “too big” for God?  Shouldn’t we start dreaming God-sized dreams?

In our church, we have been discussing what we want to see for this year, about what our dreams are.  We believe that this is the year for dreams to come to life. 

I believe that the dreams you have for yourself are dreams put there for a reason.  They’re dreams that you desire for yourself, and that’s definitely not wrong.  It’s not wrong to want something. 

But, when we want something, we think, “Why should we get it?”  Why indeed.  But why don’t we transfer that “why” into “why not?”  Why can’t that happen for you?  There’s no reason that it shouldn’t. 

Dr. David Cole (Virginia Tech Professor) found the following:
People who wrote their goals earned 9 times as much as those who didn't.
He asked people "What are your goals for life?"
80% didn't know.
16% have goals but never have written them down.
4% written their goals but never review them.
1% wrote goals and review them on a weekly basis

Those 1% are millionaires.

Doesn't it stand to reason that that 1% have figured out a good formula for pursing their dreams?

Habakkuk 2: 2, 3 (ESV) says, “And the Lord answered me: write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.  For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end – it will not lie.  If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.”

Even the Bible tells us to write down our visions and make it plan on tablets.   So, my family and I have begun writing down our dreams.  So far, things are coming to pass!  My sister wrote down something that pertained to her and her husband’s financial needs, and it came true!  God answered their request!  He saw their dream and gave it to them!

I wrote down something, and thus far, it is coming to pass!  I can see it; I can feel it; I believe it. 

Now, believing it, that’s the key!  Don’t just write down your dreams and let them pass by.  Put some stock behind them.  Vision them coming true, believe they’ll come true!  Why not?  Why wouldn’t God give you what you want? 

God is there is every aspect of our lives: financially, socially, emotionally, physically, in health.  He isn’t a onetime only God!  He’s an ALWAYS God! 

Write down your dreams.  Focus on those dreams.  Pray about those dreams.  Believe in those dreams.  Why not?

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs 19:18

Feel free to download this, edit it in Photoshop, Paint, whatever, and write down your dreams!  It can't hurt!

Who Directs Your Path?

We like to plan our future.  We like to plan ahead the day.  And when we make decisions, we want to make them according to our plans.  But what about the One who created us?  What does He want us to do?



Twice in the book of Proverbs does is say, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death."  Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25

So, if that wasn't the case, why would he tell us twice?  We need to get it in our heads that one way is death, the other life.  The footnote in my study Bible sent me to Matthew 7:13,14.  This is the end of the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus is distinguishing the line between destruction and life.  Which meant, if you didn't follow Him, you would be sent to destruction.  He emphasized that we needed to choose life, choose Him.

These verses in Proverbs are indicating that exact thing.  Solomon, in this case, was telling us that we, as man, will see things that seem right but will eventually lead man to death.  So, we need to be wise and choose the right path.

But choosing the right path isn't easy.  Even Jesus said it wouldn't be easy in Matthew 7:14, "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."

It is important to remember that although life is difficult and we want to take the easy way out, we can't.  We have to take the right path.  That is the most important fact.

So, how do we figure out this right path and avoid death and destruction?  We pray.  I know I've quoted these verses a lot, but it's so important that we learn it.

Proverbs 3:5,6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths."

Acknowledge God and trust that He will take you where you need to go.  Like Jesus said, it won't be easy.  Life isn't easy, but God knows what He's doing.  We have to trust in Him. Trust that He knows our future, and He knows how it all ends.  He knows what is, and will, be best for us.

Proverbs 16:1 says, "The preparations of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord."

Everyone is subject to God's will and way, no matter how much planning we, man, put into it.  Have you ever thought that life wasn't going like you wanted it to?  That nothing was going according to plan?  I have.  I've been there, many times!  I knew that God had a plan for me, but I didn't want to wait for it.  And, I wanted it to be what I wanted, not what God wanted.  I was wrong.  I was heading down the path of destruction.

One day, after praying about something that I thought was going in the wrong direction, God revealed to me something that I would have never had if I had gone down the path I wanted to go down.  I wouldn't have been able to freely worship God if I had gotten my way.

I thought about that, and immediately, I thanked God for stopping that path.  Because, I didn't want a life where I couldn't praise my King freely.  He gave me life.  He gave me everything.  Why should I NOT trust Him when He directs my path in a different way?  I didn't have an answer.  Because God has my answer.  He knows exactly what will happen and when it will happen and how it will happen.  That should be good enough for me.  That should be good enough for all of us.  It's just that we aren't taking the "me, me, me" out of GOD's plan for us.

"A man's heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps." Proverbs 16:7

Who directs your path?  You or the Lord?