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Jesus has delivered me and set me free from the chains that used to hold me. I used to be bound in so many, many ways that I couldn’t see myself clearly. But now I see me—through a glass of freedom and liberty that is uninhibited by people’s opinions of me. Let me be clear—I have come to realize that only what God thinks truly matters to me. If something in my life is going on that has the power to shut heaven’s doors to me, then it would be incumbent upon me to expeditiously make the adjustments that are necessary. However, if things in my life that are going on is not a heaven or a hell issue, then it will not get my immediate attention, sentiments, or expression. I intend to be moved by God’s perspective in these last days I have to breathe this air that God has given to me—because ONLY what I do for Christ will remain when I stand before the judgement seat. I am truly free. I am committed wholeheartedly to the expression of God's freedom running through my veins with loyalty to His power at work within me. Tell me, can you relate to this freedom of expression? Please leave your comments or send me a note. I would love to hear from you! With love, Felicia Whoever the Son has set free, is free indeed! https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%208%3A36&version=NIV

I wonder how exponentially our lives would grow and expand for the Kingdom if only we all could become increasingly aware of God's desire to be good to us. The word "realize" in its root form is to bring into existence, to make or cause to become real (Webster), and it brings with it the sense of understanding clearly and comprehending the reality of something. Now on the other hand, to fully realize how blessed we are requires faith, diligence, resilience, and patience. These necessary traits would equip you and I along the journey as we wait in expectancy for God to fulfill our dreams and to deliver on His promises. For example, if I am a writer and I dream of writing a best selling novel, I must first write the book, locate an editor, and a publisher to assist me in creating the final product. There must be a seed planted within me as a writer that this dream can be realized, and as such, I would keep writing until the completed book can be found on a bookshelf with millions of copies sold, and then the full realization of the dream occurs. I would become that best selling author--the full realization of that dream would become a reality. I truly believe that to realize how blessed we are means to be thankful in all things, and to depend on God through ALL the ups and downs of life. Paul put it this way, "I am not complaining about having too little. I have learned to be satisfied with whatever I have." (Philippians 4:11 CEV) For one to know how blessed they are in every experience, they must be thankful for what they do have, and to be as equally thankful for the things that they do not have in their possession. There is typically a learning curve to employing the contentment skillset in our daily living. We must be content (in a state of peaceful happiness) because it would diminish the threat of being controlled by circumstances. And this posture would produce the full realization of where the joy level comes, because true joy does not depend on external circumstances! Hallelujah! I pray that you and I would come into the full realization each and every day in knowing that we are blessed. We are blessed to prosper and blessed to succeed. Contentment means that because we trust God in ALL things, we can focus on the manifestation of God at work in our lives each and every moment. This strong focus on God produces an awareness of His Presence in all that we do, thus creating within us the full realization of just how blessed we are. Hallelujah! --Jesus is Lord

On a trip a few years ago to Alaska, I began to think over my life and to reminisce about the path towards the journey that has bought me this far—by faith. As I began to recollect, I stumbled upon all the things I have had to overcome to get to where I am now in my life. Now I realize that those obstacles were blessings in the midst of my mess, because if it were not for the mess I would not have known that I needed the Savior. I did not always have faith. There were many dark days when I was all alone with my thoughts. I remember at one point in my life when I was living life with my head hanging down, walking recklessly into a deep valley of despair. I listened to those self-sabotaging thoughts so much that the course of my life had taken a shift and it was spiraling downward, so I built a wall of fear, anxiety, and regrets. But, I had to look up… LOOK UP... I know that there are people everywhere with a story of how God helped them to look up. David is a great example. When the enemies of David (the Philistines) came to check on what was up with his apparent success amongst the people, it was primarily because they could see with their eyes and hear with their ears that the favor of God was upon the life of David. They took special note of David’s prosperity, his following, the people that were loyal to him, and the victorious living he was putting forth, but they were not willing to seek the God of whom David was loyal to. David sought God in all his endeavors and the hand of God was upon David for good, even when he messed up. David sought God for direction, insight, support, and to be certain that God would be with him all the way! LOOK UP... Not only did David overcome the Philistines by Divine Providence, he overcame all the vexatious neighbors in the community that desired to snuff out the hand of God upon him. You have no idea of how this reminds me of myself, and many of you that are reading this. There are aggressors in every battle, in every story there is always an opponent and an antagonist that is seeking to be the obstacle to the destined greatness that God has laid out for those that trust Him. Those vexatious neighbors have heard that God has anointed you with great wisdom, power, strength and ability. Therefore, the enemy has sent out those adversaries to crush you and your projects, crush you and your ministry, crush you and your finances, crush you and your business, crush you and anyone connected to you while your vision is in the stage of infancy… LOOK UP... I realize that people see where you are now, but they don’t know your story… They don’t know how you were able to arrive at your present destination in one piece with your mind intact. Many things were lost along the way: relationships, friends, money, jobs, possessions! And yet, even though there are many scars and battle wounds that will never disappear, the very fact that scars exist is a testimony of God’s goodness, His faithfulness, His power, strength and abilities on your behalf. I believe it is good that scars exist because the presence of marks reminds us of the goodness of Jesus, and help us to remember that if it was not for the Lord that was on our side we would have lost every battle! Hallelujah! The Bible says that as soon as David heard that they were coming (2 Samuel 5:17-19), he went down to the hold so that he could secure his position through prayer and seeking the Lord. David was certain that communication with God would provide an advantage over any vexatious spirit. David went down to the hold. This posture is reminiscent of bowing down to seek the Lord in prayer and supplication. As a matter of fact, Scripture records that David did nothing until he enquired of the Lord. When David enquired of the Lord, it was two-fold. First, he asked, “Shall I go up?” Secondly, he asked, “Will God deliver this into my hands?” Have you asked God what to do about those troublesome situations in your life? Have you asked God about the potential outcome of the concerns in your heart? David received his answer of beneficial outcomes and that made his praise ONE-DIMENSIONAL! He gave God all credit for his success, He glorified God as the Mighty One that defeats every adversary and subdues every vexation of spirit. Listen, if God desires to use us, to send us, to defend us, to comfort us, to manifest and pour out His love upon us then He will be with us and He will stand by us so that we can overcome any spiritual foe and vexatious occurrences in our lives. We should know that vexatious spirits are sent by the enemy to harass us, to frustrate us, to bring disorder and stress to our lives to the point of nonrecognition as servants of our God. WE MUST LOOK UP TO GOD, HUMBLE OURSELVES IN PRAYER, AND SEEK GOD FOR DIRECTION. The enemies and foes that appear at every turn is no match for our God! Hallelujah! --Jesus is Lord

"Before a young woman's turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics (Esther 2:12, NIV). A humble appearance and a pleasing disposition highlights Esther more than all the other women, and gains her favor with a representative from the King's Court to prepare her for a chance to meet the King. She is instantly provided cosmetics, her portion of food, and seven chosen young women to serve her every need. Esther gets an advancement to the best place in the harem because the Hand of the Lord was upon her life, and God wanted to use her vessel to serve His chosen people. I am always amazed every time I read the story of Esther. She is a lowly girl, from an unsuspecting place, and without a well-know name to partner with her throughout the journey of her life. Think about it... She is not very well known in her community, and she has nothing--absolutely nothing to offer anyone. And yet, she is taken from the place where many young women were gathered. She was transferred from the nurturing arms of her guardian into the favored position of the man that was responsible to keep the women until they were summoned by the King. The women had to be prepared for twelve long months before the King had a chance to take one glance at any of them. Esther is so pleasing to the King's servant that she "wins" his favor. This form of favor that can only be found in Esther has a sense of actively "gaining" rather than the more subdued "finding" grace, favor, or kindness in our Lord's sight. Many women strive and work diligently to be heard, seen, looked upon, provided for, and spoken for--but God's grace cannot be earned or purchased! Sometimes God may place people in our lives to serve as the conduit or the passageway by which we traverse to get to the place where He desires for us to be. Many of us may find the idea of waiting to allow time for the Lord to prepare us for His blessings may consider the thought of patiently waiting on Him eluding. But, I want to encourage you today through this story to see how during some of the most uncertain times in our lives, God is yet preparing us so that we can present our best scent to the world and the atmosphere in which we live in. Esther had twelve months...it was customary for the women to wait their turn to go in to see the king. It is beneficial for the assignment to have the time for preparation! Hallelujah! Six months of basic skin health care with oils to address those troublesome skin conditions such as cracks, wrinkles, sunburn, and dry skin which was followed by six months of spices, and fragrances to enhance and polish each girl's natural beauty. These treatments were designed to ensure that the beauty of the woman within could be seen and scented to anyone that came into her presence. Our lives have a scent. Before meeting our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we each have picked up sun parched skin and dry lips, cracked hands and feet, muddled minds and wayward attitudes that hinder the beauty and the aroma of the Queens we are now for Christ. But, we can wait on the Lord until He renews, revives, resuscitates, and rewards our faith during our time spent in His Presence. He can cleanse us, exfoliate us, and make us new, He will impart within us the sweet smelling aroma of His Son so that we enter rooms noticeably beautiful from the inside out, because His Scent will change the atmosphere. A Godly Scent will always be the best Scent of a Woman... ---Felicia Ashley Alston

Many of us have journeyed the distance of 2023 thus far with many accomplishments, some setbacks, a few trials and tests, and some heartaches and disappointments. Regardless of how each of us may categorize or compartmentalized the things that we have encountered this year, I want to remind you that God is not finished yet—so don’t throw in the towel! Don’t give up, don’t turn your back on the things God has promised you. Because what He has promised—He can and will perform it. (Romans 4:21 KJV). Do you truly know that God is able to perform absolutely everything? Are you fully persuaded? It takes faith for one to be fully persuaded that God is able to do just what He promised. We must be focused and diligent in our work to please God on a daily basis. I realize that the enemy throws things in the way to hinder progress; however, he cannot stop what God has blessed. Sometimes it gets a little difficult to keep moving in the midst of adversity; but we all MUST remember that faith without works will never produce the harvest in our lives that God has promised. So, it is imperative to keep praying, keep pressing, keep reading the word, don’t forget to assemble with other believers of like precious faith, keep believing! While at times it may seem like what we are praying for will never come to pass, we have to keep praying. It may seem like the business is never going to really prosper; however, we must know in our hearts that if God promised it would survive--we must put in the work to keep building and believing. It may appear that no one is on our side, we must realize that there are more with us than against us (2 Kings 6:16 NCV). When things just don’t seem to be going in the right direction it can bring more heartbreak and disillusionment; however, we must remember that we are more than conquerors through Him. (Romans 8:31-39 NKJV) When those times arrive that are meant to discourage, and they will–just don’t quit! Remember, it’s all part of the process! It is in times of discouragement that we must stir ourselves up by remembrance and speak life into the spirit of doubt and unbelief because things are not always the way they appear. We must encourage ourselves in the Lord! (1 Samuel 30:6 KJV) We must look through the eyes of faith to know that realizing the promises that God has made–takes a process! Webster defines process as a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end. With this definition in mind, let’s look at Philippians 1:6. Paul says, “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6 NRSV) Paul was fully convinced that what God had promised, He was able to accomplish! Paul had no doubt that God would continue in the Philippians what He had began to do within them. As a matter of fact, he was sure that God would work in them until the day of Christ Jesus! The very fact that God cannot lie makes it all the more worth it to go the distance! He will not leave us unfinished or unfulfilled—but, it is a team effort. Not only do we need to trust the process, we each have a responsibility to fight the good fight of faith, knowing that most days our best efforts will still come up short. But through humility and a repentant heart God will see our need for His help and He will provide grace when we need it. God is at work to will and to work for His good pleasure. He is a very present help! Hallelujah! Trusting the Process might seem to some a cliché…but TRUSTING in GOD is necessary as part of the journey, a part of a larger process that would lead to winning. --Jesus is Lord

Sharing My Thoughts from My World Hello! I have always enjoyed sharing my faith with others. In society today with social media, podcasts, and online formats, I truly believe that many opportunities exist to express one's love for the Lord, to build another's faith, and to pray and uplift others. And that is exactly what this blog is all about! Many years ago, I asked God to help me create a space where I can write and speak unhindered by waiting for opportunities to show up! I have always been excited about my faith and about God, and I desire to help people (women) experience God in ways they may have never thought possible. For the past few years I have been working behind the scenes creating a space where I can share the gospel and where I can create videos to post on social media sites. I also have a live-streaming studio that I built with the help of God, because I certainly did not know I had a talent for technology. Perhaps one day I will do a blog post about my studio so that you can see how far I have journeyed in creating a space for me to share God's goodness with each of you. Soon I hope to start that podcast that I have been dreaming about starting for a number of years now. I use my office/studio to study God's Word, conduct video conferences, and to create videos and reels to post on Instagram and Facebook! Faith in God's Word changes us from the inside out and gives us the strength and courage to allow His word to change us, so that we experience the abundant aromatic life that only a relationship with Jesus can provide. What I Believe Join me in empowering women. Together, we can make a difference Please join me by following me on social media. Please leave a comment or a note!