O Give Thanks

Sunshine’s Reflections

Good morning!  Happy Thanksgiving-EVE!  I want to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving Holiday.  Take this time to rest, eat, enjoy one another, and give thanks to God for He is good and worthy of all the praise.

TFTD: O Give Thanks

Psalm 107:1

 ¹ Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!  For His mercy endures forever.

It’s Thanksgiving season.  Everyone is getting ready for the delicious food and the great fellowship that will take place.  This is the time of year where we stop and focus on the things we have to be thankful for.  We need to remember that although thanksgiving is once a year we should be thankful 365 days of the year.  Always give thanks to the Lord for He is good in spite of what you may be dealing with.  His mercy endures forever.  God is constantly sparing each and every one of us from the punishment we deserve and then He has the audacity to BLESS us with things we don’t deserve.  I don’t know about you, but I have a million things to be thankful for.

Life may not deal you the cards you think you should have but be thankful for your life. God gave it to you.  You may not have the job you want, but be thankful.  God gave it to you.  You may not have your full health, but you are still alive.  Be thankful.  You may not have the car you want, but be thankful that you can get around.  You may not live in the home you want, but thank God you have a roof over your head.  Spend less time focusing on what you don’t have and more time focusing on the blessings that God has given you.

 

There is so much to be thankful for.  Thank God for the lessons that you have learned and the trials that you have went through.  They have made you stronger and wiser.  Thank God for the people who have been removed from your life, they were only going to bring you down so rejoice for elevation.  Thank God for the people who hurt you, because they pushed you into the arms of the Lord.  I dare you to find a reason to be thankful today.  Every day take a moment to tell God thank you.

 

From my family to yours:

 Have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  God bless you all!

 

Reflections of the Son by: Nicole Ellis is available now in person, by mail order or Pay pal! Contact me at niklellis@live.com or click on the BUY BOOK NOW page on the blog*

Mrs. Nicole “Sunshine” Ellis

Can’t breathe: Try Spiritual CPR: Consistent in praying, Persistent in pursuing the knowledge of God, and Resistant to temptation.

© Nicole Ellis and Sunshine’s Reflections Blog, 2009 to 2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blogs author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Nicole L. Ellis and Sunshine’s Reflections Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Give God your best and don’t settle for less

Sunshine’s Reflections

Good morning!  Happy Tuesday to you all.  Happy Thanksgiving week to you all!  I love the holidays.  They make me feel all warm and fuzzy.  Good food and time to relax.  I’m looking forward to this Thanksgiving weekend.  I pray that God continues to cover you and your family.

TFTD: Give God your best and don’t settle for less

Colossians 3:23 (NKJV)

²³ And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,

Sunday evening I had the honor of attending a wonderful women’s day service.  The theme was “Women of Excellence”.  This preacher preached the word of God with power and authority.  The word was delivered in a plain way that made so much sense.  She spoke about mediocrity in the body of Christ.  You have different groups of people.  Some put together programs and don’t care that the program has misspelled names on it, some never learn the song they are singing in the choir because they can always look at the paper, some people don’t attend church meetings because they can always catch up from someone else.  Then you have a group of people that look over every detail of a program, constantly practice and attend every rehearsal, and love to attend every meeting so that they can receive the information first hand.  One group doesn’t really care and operates in a state of mediocrity and another group operates in excellence.

The word of God says that whenever we do anything we should do it heartily and to the Lord and not to man.  When we do anything we should do it whole heartily.  We should give our everything to make sure the outcome is pleasing to God.  We should push ourselves to the limit to ensure that God is glorified.  If you are in school, do you work with a standard of excellence.  If you are in ministry then you should give it your all to the glory of God.  At your job you should strive each day to exceed the expectations.  In your home, set an example and cook with excellence, clean with excellence, love with a sense of excellence.

We should set a standard in everything that we do to please God and not to do things trying to please man.  When your focus switches from pleasing God to pleasing man then you begin losing the essence of excellence.  Life is not a competition.  Life is about ministry.  We minister 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.  Someone is always watching you and always listening to you.  So whatever you do seek to do it in excellence.  Make your focus a godly focus and not a worldly focus.

Think about that thing you love to do and how you put your all into it.  It may be your job, you may have a hobby, you may be an artist, no matter what it is you do it with excellence.  Think about how you pay close attention to every detail and you spend tireless hours perfecting that thing.  Now ask yourself a question: Do I put the same energy and set the same standard of excellence on the thing I love into everything else I do?  Meditate on this question and then ask yourself what can I do to give God my best?  How can I raise the standard of excellence?  How can I develop an attitude that is focused on pleasing God and not about pleasing man?

Have a blessed day and remember to operate in excellence.

Reflections of the Son by: Nicole Ellis is available now in person, by mail order or Pay pal! Contact me at niklellis@live.com or click on the BUY BOOK NOW page on the blog*

Mrs. Nicole “Sunshine” Ellis

Can’t breathe: Try Spiritual CPR: Consistent in praying, Persistent in pursuing the knowledge of God, and Resistant to temptation.

© Nicole Ellis and Sunshine’s Reflections Blog, 2009 to 2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blogs author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Nicole L. Ellis and Sunshine’s Reflections Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Celebrate your children

Sunshine’s Reflections

It’s Friday!  All praise to God for waking me up this morning.  Oh yes, I don’t take waking up for granted.  Someone didn’t wake up this morning and God granted me another day to live for Him.  Life is a gift so handle it with care.

TFTD: Celebrate your children

Ephesians 6:4 (NKJV)

⁴ And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

This is a PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: celebrate your children because if you don’t the world will.  Everyone may not be a biological parent, but you may know a child and serve as a mentor, a source of encouragement, an aunt or uncle, or a spiritual parent; no matter what capacity you serve in, its time to encourage the children and celebrate them.

Our children will make mistakes and fall short at times, and the world is cruel enough that it will beat them down we don’t have to join in and do the same.  We can discipline our children and even seek advice on raising them, but the time is now to celebrate them more than we criticize them.  Some parents don’t even know who their children are or what their dreams and goals are.  Some parents are so preoccupied with life that the only time they mention their kids is when things go wrong.  Some parents talk so bad about their kids that it begins shaping who the child thinks they will become.  Bullying is at an all time high and has taken on a form that most parents can’t combat; cyber bullying.  The world is cruel and the people in it are worst, but as a body of believers we have to celebrate our children.  We need to be their biggest cheerleader. 

PARENTS: You may not understand the drive of your child or their vision may not be what you envisioned for their life, but I encourage you don’t put their light out.  God placed something within them that you may not understand.  Encourage them.  Celebrate them.  Pray for and with them.  Fast on their behalf.  Don’t tear them down because they are not like you.  Don’t tear them down because they are not meeting all of your expectations.  Celebrate your kids.  The words you speak in a child’s life can either tear them down or motivate them to move forward in life.  Teach your kids life is not about competing with other people, but being the best person they can be.  God has destined them to be an individual they are royalty so celebrate them!  And make sure you are consistent and genuine!  Children are smart and they can sniff out the fakes even when it comes from those close to them.  Make celebrating your kids a permanent way of life!

Parents we are an example to our children of what Christ’s love looks and feels like.  We are an extension of His love.  When we fall He still loves us and when we do well He celebrate us with His favor, grace and mercy.  What example are you demonstrating to your children.  We have a responsible to our children and if we don’t celebrate them some young boy, some young girl, some gang, some drug, some addiction will celebrate them.

Do something nice to celebrate your child today!

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Our children are the leaders of tomorrow, so what are you pouring into them today?

Reflections of the Son by: Nicole Ellis is available now in person, by mail order or Pay pal! Contact me at niklellis@live.com or click on the BUY BOOK NOW page on the blog*

Mrs. Nicole “Sunshine” Ellis

Can’t breathe: Try Spiritual CPR: Consistent in praying, Persistent in pursuing the knowledge of God, and Resistant to temptation.

© Nicole Ellis and Sunshine’s Reflections Blog, 2009 to 2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blogs author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Nicole L. Ellis and Sunshine’s Reflections Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Poetry Corner “My desire became Yours”

Poetry Corner

Good afternoon!  Happy Wednesday.  You have successfully made it to the hump.  The year is nearly over.  Take a moment to think back on the beginning of the year, did you think you would be where you are today?  I must admit as ambitious as I am I didn’t see God carrying me to where I am today.  I am so grateful that I can go to God in prayer with my hopes and dreams and He always seems to exceed them.  I love the Lord and each day I pray that someone else will grow to love Him a little more than I do. 

My desire became Yours

by: Nicole Ellis

I use to want a lot of frivolous things

Things without substance or value

I use to seek to please the flesh

I use to appease the eye and not the mind

I allowed my soul to starve due to spiritual malnutrition

And somewhere along the line I found you

When I found you, it was as if you were waiting for me

Your arms were opened wide

Your compassion overshadowed me

And before I knew it was You, I remembered I had felt this before

I felt this feeling of safety and protection

I wanted to know You

I had to get closer to the One who covered me

The One who loved me beyond me loving myself

I no longer desired worldly things

I desired the things of You

My desires became Yours

My life has meaning

Dreams have become reality

Fears have been diminished

Visions have been expanded the moment I focused on You

Now my desires are Yours…

 

~We all have desires, dreams, goals, visions, and hopes and sometimes we can put so much time and energy into things that we forget about God.  It’s because of His love, grace, and mercy that we are even able to live today.  I am a witness that when your desire becomes to do the will of the Lord then He will honor the desires of your heart.  Things that you thought would never come to fruition will begin to blossom in ways that you never imagined.  I dare you to try Christ and give your life to His will and His way and watch Him blow your mind.

Have a blessed day!

Reflections of the Son by: Nicole Ellis is available now in person, by mail order or Pay pal! Contact me at niklellis@live.com or click on the BUY BOOK NOW page on the blog*

Mrs. Nicole “Sunshine” Ellis

Can’t breathe: Try Spiritual CPR: Consistent in praying, Persistent in pursuing the knowledge of God, and Resistant to temptation.

© Nicole Ellis and Sunshine’s Reflections Blog, 2009 to 2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blogs author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Nicole L. Ellis and Sunshine’s Reflections Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Give yourself permission to forgive

Sunshine’s Reflections

 

Good afternoon.  Happy Monday to you all!

TFTD: Give yourself permission to forgive

Matthew 6:14 (NIV)

   ¹⁴ For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

 

 
Have you ever had someone offend you or hurt you?  Have you every thought that you could never forgive a person for committing a certain act against you?  I know there have been times in my life that I have been hurt and I said, “I would never forgive them for hurting me.”  There have even been times when I didn’t want to forgive another person because it was known how badly I had been hurt and it wouldn’t make sense to the world if I forgave that person.

I love how God provides revelation in ways that are so casual yet so profound.  God reminded me this weekend that I can give myself permission to forgive.  I was like, “God, what do you mean I can give myself permission to forgive?”  God showed me that even though society may say I shouldn’t forgive people for certain offenses, I can tell myself it’s okay to forgive them.  WOW!  How powerful is that?  1. If I don’t forgive others for sinning against me God will not forgive me of my offenses, 2. When I don’t forgive others I in turn place myself in spiritual, mental, and emotional bondage.  I have given myself a prison sentence based on having an unforgiving heart., 3. I block my opportunity to witness to others when I don’t forgive, 4. It can affect my physical health when I don’t forgive.  Every time I see the person who offended and they are doing well I can begin stressing and become physically sick, 5. I can damage future relationships when I don’t forgive and the list goes on.

I know your friends have told you that you shouldn’t forgive that co-worker who stole from you, or that you should never forgive that spouse who hurt you, or you should not forgive that church member or even the church who hurt you, or that family member who caused so much emotional damage, but I am here to tell you that you can give yourself permission to forgive them.  It’s okay to forgive and as a matter of fact it’s necessary to live a healthy spiritual life by forgiving those who have offended you.

These people may never apologize and some may never acknowledge that they did anything wrong, but you have to learn to forgive and let go.  Forgiveness=freedom!  When you forgive you will become free from the bondage that you have placed on yourself.  Give yourself permission to forgive today so that God can forgive you.

Have a blessed day.

Reflections of the Son by: Nicole Ellis is available now in person, by mail order or Pay pal! Contact me at niklellis@live.com or click on the BUY BOOK NOW page on the blog*

Mrs. Nicole “Sunshine” Ellis

Can’t breathe: Try Spiritual CPR: Consistent in praying, Persistent in pursuing the knowledge of God, and Resistant to temptation.

© Nicole Ellis and Sunshine’s Reflections Blog, 2009 to 2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blogs author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Nicole L. Ellis and Sunshine’s Reflections Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Happy Veterans Day

Good morning!  Happy Friday to you all! 

Happy Veterans Day to all the men and women who serve our country and to those who gave their lives for this country;

We salute you today!

Do something nice for a someone in the service; pay for their gas, pass out thank you cards, or simply say thank you.  These men and women sacrifice so much for us and this is a small way to say thanks!

 

God bless!

~Nicole “Sunshine” Ellis

You have to CHOOSE

Sunshine’s Reflections

Good afternoon!  It’s Voting day.   I hope you made it to the polls today.  If not, you still have time.  Please exercise your right to vote.  People fought, prayed, and died for you to be able to vote.  Once upon a time ALL men couldn’t vote and women couldn’t either.  SO take your place and vote!!!

Joshua 24:15 (NKJV)

¹⁵ And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

TFTD: You have to choose

Life is made up of a series of choices.  One decision will affect the next decision and so forth.  Your choices can also affect different people and you will end up creating a ripple affect in the lives of everyone around you.  Some decisions are not that important like will you put ketchup on your french fries or on the side, but there are other decisions that are extremely important.

One important decision is deciding who you will serve.  You have to choose who you will serve.  Maybe you grew up in a household that never believed in God or maybe they served other gods, now you have to decide if you will serve the gods that your parents served or if you will serve Jesus Christ.  The choice is ultimately yours.

As for me and my house, we serve the Lord.  There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it.  I value what I learned from my family, but at some point I had to choose to grow further in the Lord.  My parents faith can’t keep me, I have to develop my own.  The same goes for you.  Your grandmother prayed for you since you were little and God honors those prayers, but at some point you have to decide who you will serve.

You can’t serve man and God.  You have to choose one!  Some women are desperate for a relationship and they are going out of their way to serve a man in order to get a man and keep a man.  They have made a man their mini god.  Some men are seeking promotions on their job and they sacrifice and compromise their ethics in order to gain approval from their boss.  They have made their supervisor their mini god.  Now some people may not like this one, but some folks are so adamant about doing any and everything their pastor says without ever consulting God that they end up making their pastor a mini god.  You have to choose this day who you will serve. 

Be careful about the people and activities that you allow to take priority in your life.  We were designed to give God all the glory.  When you turn around and make things or people your new god you have decided that you are not going to serve God.  You can’t serve the world and serve the Lord, you must choose.

No matter where you are in your spiritual walk, there will come a time when we all have to choose who we will serve.  The bible says in Philippians 2:10-11  “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” The choice is yours, who will you serve?

Have a blessed day.  Choose who you will serve, TODAY!

 

Reflections of the Son by: Nicole Ellis is available now in person, by mail order or Pay pal! Contact me at niklellis@live.com or click on the BUY BOOK NOW page on the blog*

 

 Mrs. Nicole “Sunshine” Ellis

 

Can’t breathe: Try Spiritual CPR: Consistent in praying, Persistent in pursuing the knowledge of God, and Resistant to temptation.

 

© Nicole Ellis and Sunshine’s Reflections Blog, 2009 to 2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blogs author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Nicole L. Ellis and Sunshine’s Reflections Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 

Election Day: GET OUT AN VOTE

Good morning.  Today is Election Day!  

I won’t tell you who to vote for, but I will encourage you to get out and vote.  If you are 18 years or older than you need to vote.  Your vote does count.

 This election is just as important as a presidential election.  Never let anyone tell you that these elections are not important.  Do your research and remember you vote counts.  Everyone needs to vote.  No matter what side you are on, please go out and vote.

When you don’t vote you are still making a choice, unfortunately you are letting someone else vote for you.

Exercise your right and VOTE!!!!  

God bless!

~Nicole “Sunshine” Ellis

Walk in your destiny and not in someone’s shadow

Sunshine’s Reflections

Good afternoon!  Happy Monday.  I pray that everyone had a wonderful weekend and I pray that you enjoyed that extra hour of sleep on Sunday morning.

TFTD: Walk in your destiny and not in someone’s shadow

Deuteronomy 5:33 (NKJV)

³³ You shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.

God created each and every one of you to be unique individuals.  You were all created in His image, however you all serve different purposes.  He appointed you for a specific task and a different reason than your neighbor.  He has an assignment for you and it’s time to stop trying to imitate people in the world and imitate Christ.   It’s time to walk in your destiny and stop trying to walk in someone else’s. 

There are a lot of people in the body of Christ who are operating outside of their calling.  They are so busy trying to live in someone else’s shadow that they are abandoning their destiny.  When you operate outside of your calling you end up hurting two groups of people; the people you are not supposed to serve and the people you are supposed to serve.  Someone reading this today is operating outside of where God has called you and there are people suffering at your hands.  There are people who need you, but you are not making yourself available to them.  The word of God calls us to walk in the way that HE commands us to walk.  It’s time to walk in your destiny and not in someone’s shadow.

You can’t duplicate someone’s anointing , so stop trying.  God has placed some unique and useful gifts within you and you are squandering them because you are trying to be like someone else.  God wants you to be like Him.  He will enhance your gifts if you follow His instructions.  You will never be like someone else because God didn’t design you to be like anyone else.  All you can do is be the best “you” God created you to be.  You have to be confident that God will complete what He started in you.  He has a plan for your life and you can’t get to the next chapter if you are trying to be like someone else.  Embrace who God called you to be.

You can’t duplicate someone else’s favor. God gave them that.  Man can’t give divine favor, only God can.  So stop trying to seek favor from man.  When God places favor over your life, He will give you favor among others.  You may see that someone has favor in certain areas of their life and desire the same thing, but copying them won’t get you the favor they are experiencing.  You have to seek God for the things He has for your life.  Put on your walking shoes and begin walking into your destiny and not in someone’s shadow. 

Are you ready to walk into your destiny?  Have a blessed day walking in your calling.  Remember God has a plan for you and your plan looks different from the person next to you. 

Reflections of the Son by: Nicole Ellis is available now in person, by mail order or Pay pal! Contact me at niklellis@live.com or click on the BUY BOOK NOW page on the blog*

 Mrs. Nicole “Sunshine” Ellis

Can’t breathe: Try Spiritual CPR: Consistent in praying, Persistent in pursuing the knowledge of God, and Resistant to temptation.

© Nicole Ellis and Sunshine’s Reflections Blog, 2009 to 2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blogs author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Nicole L. Ellis and Sunshine’s Reflections Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

It’s a new season….time to change

Sunshine’s Reflections

Good morning!  Happy Wednesday!  It’s hump day already.  Hallelujah for bringing us to the hump and I’ll thank Him in advance for carrying us over the hump.  I pray that you have a blessed day.

TFTD: It’s a new season…time to change

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

 ¹ To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: 
² A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; ³ A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down,
And a time to build up; ⁴ A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; ⁵ A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; ⁶ A time to gain, And a time to lose;  A time to keep, And a time to throw away; ⁷ A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence,
And a time to speak; ⁸ A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace.

November is here and temperatures have dropped.  In some areas, snow has made it’s appearance.  It’s no secret that the seasons have changed.  There are four seasons in the year; summer, spring, winter, and fall.  Although the weather is sometimes unpredictable we can generally gauge when it’s time to switch from our summer wardrobe to our winter wardrobe.  We are aware that the seasons are about to change thus meaning we have to change.  When a new season comes, it’s time to change.

This concept of seasons changing applies to our day-to-day life.  Ecclesiastes 3 tells us that everything has its time.  We have to be mindful that when a season changes in our life it’s time for us to change along with the season.  It’s a dangerous thing to remain stubborn or comfortable in a season.  For example, if I continued wearing my summer apparel of shorts and a tank top in the winter when it’s snowing I could catch a deathly cold, get frost-bitten, I would look crazy, and I would also be extremely uncomfortable just to name a few things that could happen.  I have to exercise common sense and wisdom and change as the season require me to change.  It’s important that I adjust to the new season. 

There’s a time to weep and a time to laugh, but some people are still crying in the season where they are supposed to be enjoying life.  There is a time to keep things and people and a time to throw things away, but someone is holding on to a relationship in a season when they are supposed to let it go.  When we try to take the attitudes and practices of last season into our new season we are blocking our blessings and limiting God.  Stop trying to do the same thing you did last fall this fall, stop trying to bring last years anointing into this year.  God is able to equip you with all that you need for this new season.  You wonder why you aren’t successful in a particular area in your life the same time of year?  We’ll I’ll tell you, it’s because you keep trying to do the same old thing from last season.  It’s time to embrace the new season and follow God’s will.

It’s a new season and it’s time to change.  You can’t continue doing the same thing from your past in your present and expect new results.  It’s time to step outside of your comfort zone, it’s time to die to your selfish desires and submit to the will and desires of God.  He wants to push you to a new level and you can’t get there if you don’t allow yourself to be changed!!!

It’s a new season and God has some new things waiting for you, but you have to walk in your season.  Like the lyrics to the song “New Season” says, “It’s a new season, it’s a new day.A fresh anointing is flowing my way.”  God will provide you a fresh anointing for the new season that you are in.  Stop trying to recycle the anointing from last season.  God has something FRESH and new for you! 

Are you ready to step into your new season?  If you are then you must realize it’s time to change!  You can no longer operate in the same manner.  God wants to do something drastic in your life.  Are you ready to change?

I pray that you take time to embrace the new season that God has placed before you.  Everyone’s season is different.  Someone may be in a season of sewing where as their neighbor may be in a season of reaping a harvest.  No matter what season you are in, seek God in the direction you should go in and embrace the change and stop resisting!!!

Have a blessed day!

Reflections of the Son by: Nicole Ellis is available now in person, by mail order or Pay pal! Contact me at niklellis@live.com or click on the BUY BOOK NOW page on the blog*

 Mrs. Nicole “Sunshine” Ellis

Can’t breathe: Try Spiritual CPR: Consistent in praying, Persistent in pursuing the knowledge of God, and Resistant to temptation.

© Nicole Ellis and Sunshine’s Reflections Blog, 2009 to 2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blogs author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Nicole L. Ellis and Sunshine’s Reflections Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.