As I am on my hop, skip, and a jump of a flight over to New Orleans, I am reminded that God’s got this. Yesterday at church, before giving the sermon, my Uncle Pastor asked us to get out of our seats, go to someone, hug their necks, and tell them that “God’s got this”. So, as I sit on my plane, mid-sleep, we hit some turbulence. My normal reaction is to open the window just to be sure we’re flying through clouds, but not this time. Nope, I opened my eyes, grabbed my iPad and started writing this post. God’s got this, Tam.

I am very selfish when it comes to God at times. I tend to think He does things just for me. Like a Facebook post a friend posted on yesterday. She confessed to praying about something, not fully turning it over to God which in turn caused her to take action outside of God’s plan. Guilty as charged, your Honor. This time I did not open my window. After all, I did ask Him to be the pilot, and to get me to my destination in safety, without incident. Did I not? What if there is no cloud, then what? This holds true for every prayer. I don’t have to ask God only to turn around and try to figure it out myself or check on God to see if He needs any help. He does not need me to check His work. So whatever the “this” is in your life just know that all is under control. All things are working out for your good, but you’ve got to trust that God’s got it. He’s got it and it’s all good!!

-Stay Charmed

CC

Coach Will, my boot camp trainer, often times gives inspirational speeches after training sessions. Last night, he asked if when we look in the mirror, do we love what we see? Of course, an email and Facebook posts to the group soon followed. Within the email is an assignment and today’s assignment is to write down 5 things that make us happy and 5 things we love about ourselves. Some circumstances in life can cause even the happiest person to doubt themselves. I decided to do the assignment and share it with you guys. Here goes:

5 things that make me happy: 1. Being blessed to see a new day which means another opportunity to be great and audacious;  2. Being able to freely read my Bible and say my prayers; 3. My family and friends who are my biggest supporters, and love me unconditionally; 4. My career and team members; 5. My blog. It allows me to be transparent. I keep several journals and notebooks (love taking notes, jotting things down etc) , but sharing allows someone to read this who might be going through something similar, needs a word of encouragement, a good laugh, or whatever the case.

5 things I love about myself: 1. My smile; 2. My laugh; 3. My hair; 4. My pug nose as my Granny used to call it, and 5. My love for giving back.

Fortunately, I could go on and on, but I need to get ready for work. You know, we never know where God is leading us. I’ve chosen to be happy because it really is a choice. Some things and people come at the right moment. When circumstances arise, it’s assignments like this that force us to look at things with perspective. I have so much to be happy about and grateful for. Thanks Coach!

Choose to be happy!! Need a push? Check out Pharrell’s ‘Happy’ video!!! It’s the happiest!

Stay Charmed,

CC

This morning I opened my Bible to Hebrews 11: 1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” I know that God is dealing with me in this area. One way we demonstrate our faith is through obedience. Faith is knowing that if I seek God diligently, make sacrifices, fear God, and obey His word, that He will be pleased with me. Faith is knowing that His answer may not be what I want to hear, but that it is the best answer for me in any given situation. Faith is stepping out of His way, and letting Him handle the things in which I cannot control. And that which I can control is my responsibility. If I were in need of job, it would be up to me to actively look for work. Not to say that He can’t drop a job in my lap, He’s done that in a sense, but I was busy doing the job He’d already given me to the best of my abilities. So, faith without works is dead. God is faithful. He doesn’t know how not to be. In other words, He will do His part. We show Him that we trust Him by activating our faith.

When we ask, according to His will, we must activate our faith. One of my favorite stories in the Bible is Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his only son. God blessed him and Sara with a son even in their old age. That part alone is worth noting, but Abraham was willing to offer his only son as a sacrifice before the Lord. He trusted that God would raise Isaac up even in death. It didn’t go that far, but what awesome faith Abraham had. Am I willing to sacrifice the one thing I desire most from the Lord? Are you? Trusting that even if it’s taken away/never granted from/to us that He will provide something greater. There are things that I hope for, and in some cases there is no evidence that I’ll see them, but I am standing in faith that when I do my part, God will show up. And sometimes He shows up even when we don’t. Let’s please Him today; activate your faith.

Stay Charmed,

CC

Today I am thankful for God’s comfort. We all endure valleys in life, but we can rest assured that God will be there to comfort us. This has been extremely helpful for me on today. I woke up this morning feeling a little tired and worn out, but hearing my Mother’s voice and God speaking to me through my daily devotional, I am feeling much more joyous. And now I am ready to conquer my day.

God is never too far. Whether we are experiencing trials that we have created for ourselves or ones that we couldn’t avoid, God is there to comfort us. He can use us even in this season of our lives. Undoubtedly, He is preparing us for the next one.

Stay Charmed,

CC

 When there is shaky ground all around, it’s the peace of God that keeps us from falling off the edge. When all of our efforts seem to prove in vain, and we cannot understand why something APPEARS to not be going in our favor, rest in the promise of Philippians 4:7. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. We don’t have all of the answers, and we may never be privy to why? But we do have the privilege of knowing the One who knows the who, what, when, where, and how! Today, I struggle with this. But I know that God has my back, and that He cares for me and every area of my life.

Stay Charmed,

CC

It’s Friday! That means more to some than it does to others. To mean it means that I don’t have to get up in the morning to come to work, but it doesn’t mean that I get to sleep in. I am fortunate enough to love my job. I believe that God put me here for such a time as this. But when I first started in this department, I thought, oh my gosh, these people are so much smarter than I am. I was intimidated. They were using words I swear they made up. My Mom has always told me that I am smart, but some Moms have their kids on American Idol too…… As time passed, I began to learn a lot from them, but I was also able to impart some of my knowledge on to them. What I didn’t do was let fear overcome me to the point that I went running back to what was familiar. I pressed through.

I can’t say that I have done that in every area of my life. This just came to me….in another area of my life when something made me uncomfortable or was moving me towards something unfamiliar, I went back to a situation God had clearly removed me from. Why do we do that? Why do we trust God with this, but not that?  The bible clearly states to cast ALL, not some, a few, one or two, but ALL of our cares or anxiety upon Him because He cares for you. The finite wisdom that I have leads me to believe that God cares about EVERY area of my life. Not just the big stuff. From something as little as, Lord, where did I leave my keys to Lord, is he the one?  

So, my challenge to you to on this fabulous Friday is to trust God with, in, and through it all. He cares about the whole person and every situation. If He is taking you through something that feels uncomfortable begin to trust that He will go with you.

Happy Friday and…..

Stay Charmed,

CC

The Golden Girl tune always comes to mind when I think of my friends. My friends are much like my sisters who are much like my best friends. I am grateful. Reach out to a friend today!

Stay Charmed,

CC

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.