What are you willing to give up?

Sunshine’s Reflections

Good afternoon!  Before I leave for my vacation I wanted to leave you with today’s blog!

TFTD: What are you willing to give up?

Matthew 16:25 (NKJV)

²⁵ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

Life is all about give and take.  In order to gain certain things, positions, accolades, possessions, etc., you have to give up somethings.  My question for you today is, “What are you willing to give up in order to gain more of Christ?” 

We live in a “Have it your way” society.  People want, what they want, when they want it, and they want it right now.  Some people will lie, steal, cheat, and kill to gain titles of power.  Some people will turn on their own families in order to gain an extra dollar.  I’ve witnessed people go through some extreme lengths in order to have their way and please their flesh.  I am here to tell you what the word of God says, If you desire to have things your way and to please your flesh you will lose your life.  Our flesh desires things that are contrary to the word of God.  I don’t know about you, but I cannot afford to put my flesh before God or I will run the risk of dying physically, mentally, emotionally, and more importantly spiritually.

What are you willing to give up in order to gain a closer relationship with Christ?  What fleshly desires are you willing to let go of in order to have eternal life?  Are you willing to give up fornication, drinking, cussing, stealing, fighting, lying, cheating, drugs, idolatry, homosexuality, bitterness, jealously, anger, malice, pride and more?  Are you willing to put God first before your desires? 

I made a decision to surrender my life to Christ a long time ago and it has not been easy, but it’s been worth it.  When you decide to give your life to Christ, you will gain eternal life (John 3:16).  Everytime I’ve tried to do things my way I’ve struggled and caused more damage to myself than was necessary.  Now, I’m willing to give up a lot in order to gain a deeper intimate relationship Christ.  What I give up doesn’t even compare to what God has waiting for me.  It’s so worth living for Christ.  What are you willing to give up?

I pray that you take time to examine your heart and examine your relationship with Christ and see what you need to give up for HIM!

~God Bless

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.

VACATION

I’m going on vacation and I’ll be back next week!!!

God bless!

Spiritually Pregnant-Time to Carry the Vision to Term

Sunshine’s Reflections

Good afternoon!  Happy Tuesday to you all.  I have great news, in case you forgot, GOD STILL SITS ON THE THRONE!!!  It is great to know that God sits high and looks low.  It’s awesome to know that He will meet you where you are and pick you up and dust you off.  God great GOD!!!

TFTD: Spiritually Pregnant-Time to Carry the Vision to Term

Habakkuk 2:2-3 (NKJV)

² Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it.³ For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.

Habakkuk 2:2-3 is one of my favorite passages of scripture.  I am a living witness that when you have a vision, write it down, take it to God, look at it and pray over it, God will bring that vision to fruition. 

God has been placing a few things on my heart lately and I didn’t understand why He was doing this because they weren’t on my vision list.  I couldn’t understand why God would be showing me things, that I didn’t think I was qualified to carry out.  Then God begin showing me that there are things that He wants to birth in me that I am incapable of seeing for myself, however they have been apart of His plan all along. 

This leads me to todays blog, God has placed something on your heart to start and to carry out and you are so afraid that you will fail, you are apprehensive about your abilities to start and finish this task, you are doubtful about the outcome and you are confused about why God chose you.  Maybe you don’t think you have the time or money to carry out this vision.  We’ll I’m here to tell you that God wants to birth something new in you.

Some of you are spiritually pregnant right now with a vision that God has placed within your belly.  He knew that you would be the right person for the job.  Now don’t allow doubt, fear, insecurity or naysayers to cause you to abort the vision that God has placed within you.  It’s time to carry the vision to FULL term! 

What do you need to do to carry your spiritual pregnancy to term?  I’m glad you asked. 

1. Eat nutritious meals-Feed on the Word of God.  You must give this new vision the fruits of the spirit so that it will grow into what God wants it to be.
2. Exercise-You must walk in the ways of the Lord daily.  Get moving and start putting the plans of God to action. 
3. Get a good Support system-You have to surround yourself with people who will pour into your life and not suck you dry.  You need all the support you can get with this new spiritual baby that you are going to birth.
4. Increase your Faith-You have to trust that God will see you through this spiritual pregnancy.
5. Pray-You have to pray daily.  When you get discouraged remember that though the vision may tarry, it will come to pass.  Pray for God to give you patience and strength to endure the spiritual pregnancy.
6. Write the vision-Get a vision board, a vision card, a vision picture so that you can see what your spiritual baby will look like.  Add things to your board and see what you have to look forward to.
7. Deliver-When you get to the end of carrying the vision, make sure you deliver the vision.  Don’t get all the way to the end and decide to give it up.  It’s time to push and see what comes to pass!

I don’t know what God has shown you, but I do know that God has placed a great work within you and now it’s time for you to carry this vision to term.  I look forward to hearing about all the new spiritual babies that will be born. 

Have a wonderful day and God bless!

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.

YOU MAKE ME HAPPY

Sunshine’s Reflections

Good morning beautiful people!!!  Happy Wednesday to you all!

TFTD: You make me Happy

Psalm 92:4 (NKJV)

⁴ For You, Lord, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands.

I woke up thinking about how awesome God is and it made me think of the song Happy by Tasha Cobbs.  Please go listen to this song on YouTube.  She is an anointed woman of God and this song is my love song to the Lord. 

The song says,

“You make me happy, You make me whole, You take the pain away, I’m so in love with you! 

Everything about you is right, It covers all my wrongs, Your life saved my Life.  

With You is where I belong.  I belong to you Lord! 

I’m so in love with You, can’t make it without You, I live to worship You, Forever Me and You!”

This is my love song to the Lord because God makes me happy, He makes me whole.  I was broken and bound before Christ.  I was miserable without Him and once I accepted Christ and developed a relationship with Him, I have never been the same.  I’m in love with the Lord.  When I hear this song I envision dancing in a field of flowers with Jesus.   

Every single thing about the Lord is right.  There is nothing wrong with the Lord.  He is so awesome that as blemished and stained as I am and can often get, He covers every single one of my wrongs!!!  You would have to be crazy not to love someone who loves you like this.  Jesus’ life saved my life.  YEAH!!!! I don’t know about you, but I get excited when I think about the Lord.  His blood covers a multitude of sins and He still looks at me untarnished.  God looks at you like this too.  He is waiting for you if you haven’t accepted Him, and if you know Christ, but have strayed, He is ready to welcome you home.  Don’t put off receiving, embracing, and accepting the love of Christ. 

Lord, YOU MAKE ME HAPPY!!! I LOVE YOU AND I WORSHIP YOU FOR BEING AN AWESOME GOD WHO LOVED ME SO MUCH THAT YOU SENT YOUR ONLY SON TO DIE FOR ME (John 3:16).  I can’t make it without YOU, I live to worship you.  I’m so in love with you!!!  Tasha Cobbs got it right when she wrote this song.

God bless! 

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.

Fill my cup Lord!

Sunshine’s Reflections

Good morning!  Happy Monday to you all!  I pray that your Father’s Day weekend was a blessed one!  I am so grateful for my father, my grandfather, my husband, my father-in-law, and all of the other men in my life.  God bless you all!

TFTD: Fill my cup Lord!

Matthew 7:7 (NKJV)

⁷ “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Psalm 23:5 (NKJV)

⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.

The past month, I haven’t been as active with the blog and it’s not because I have forgotten about you or that I am too busy or that I don’t love the blog any more.  On the contrary, I love the blog so much that I have been on a journey seeking the Lord.  I started a journey over a month ago asking the Lord to FILL MY CUP!

I am truly honored that God blessed me with this blog ministry.  I love that I can share God-inspired thoughts with people who I have never met.  Writing a blog daily or weekly is not easy.  I don’t take my assignment lightly and I don’t want to pour out anything that is contrary to the Word of God, thus my reason for asking the Lord to FILL MY CUP!  There are times in our lives when we have to step back and sit at God’s feet so that He can pour into us.

I serve in a lot of ministries.  My first ministry to my family as a wife and mother requires that I give my all physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.  I also have the ministry of being a daughter, a sister, a friend, a co-worker, an employee, a graduate student, an author, a ministry leader, and so much more.  Every role that you operate in life is a ministry.  The reason why your life is a ministry is because you are serving people, people are watching you for guidance and instruction, people may look to you for inspiration or encouragement, God is holding you responsible for certain aspects of your life and certain people.  SO NEWS FLASH YOU ARE A WALKING, EATING, SLEEPING, BREATHING MINISTRY!!! 

Now, I took serious inventory over my life and I had to ask the Lord to fill my cup, not because I was empty, but because I know the importance of being filled with the things of the Holy Spirit versus being filled with the things of my flesh and the world.  I know that I am nothing without Christ and I need Him to fill my cup daily!  As I serve you, my fellow blog community, I want to make sure that I pour into your lives from the over flow of my cup.  I want my family and friends to receive the extra from my cup so that I can live to my full potential from what is inside of me.  I don’t want to give anyone a drained, overwhelmed, overworked, stressed out, mentally unstable, emotionally unbalanced, physically destroyed version of me.  I want to pour out what God has poured into me.  I want you all to receive the overflow. 

So when I’m silent don’t worry, don’t fret, just know that sometimes you have to be quiet in order to receive the fullness of God.  Sometimes you can’t do anything, but sit at His feet and Bask in His presence.  The Lord has truly filled my cup beyond measure and I am so overjoyed to be a child of God.  I’m so glad that I know Him for myself.  I’m so glad that my cup is running over!

I challenge you all to seek the Lord for yourself.  Like Matthew 7:7 says, seek Him and you will find Him.  If you really want the Lord, just seek Him!  When you seek the Lord, you will find Him and He will pour into your life in such a way that your cup will run over.  Make sure your spiritual tank is full this morning.  Make sure when you pour into others you are pouring from the overflow and not the reserve!

God bless!  My cup runneth over for all of you! 

Have an awesome Monday! 

 

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 Belated Father’s Day

Happy Belated Father’s Day

Happy belated Father’s Day to all of the fathers who are providing for their families, encouraging their families, protecting and praying for their families, leading by example, supporting their families, loving their families, guiding their families, taking their families to church, spending quality time with their families, listening to their families, making memories with their families, disciplining their children and more. 

 

Father’s we need you.   We need you to teach our young boys how to respect themselves and how to respect others.  We need you to teach them how to pull up their pants and walk tall.  We need you to teach them how to treat young ladies and how to talk to them.  We need you to teach them to put God first in all that they do.  We need you to teach them to stay in school and off of the streets.  We need you to teach them to go to church and become involved at a young age.  We need you to challenge them to be the best that they can be and never settle for less.  We need you to teach them how to be a man, but show them it’s okay to cry.  We need you to teach them that real men fall to their knees and pray daily.  We need you to take your place as men of God and raise these boys to be god-fearing men.  FATHERS WE NEED YOU!!!!

 

Fathers we need you to show your daughters the love of Christ.  We need you to show them what a god-fearing man looks like.  We need you to demonstrate  what a real man looks like, so when she gets older she won’t settle for less.  We need you to treat your daughter like a princess, so when she is older she will expect to be treated as a queen.  We need you to encourage her and to pray for her.  We need you to be present in her life spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically because one day she will need to know that you are there.  We need you to teach her how to defend herself.  We need you to teach her how to demand respect by respecting herself.  Fathers we need you!  We love you and we thank you!!!! 

 

I just wanted to say thank you to all of the men who are operating as FATHERS!!!  It takes more to being a father than making a baby.  Happy belated Father’s Day to all of the wonderful men who are operating as such!

 

God bless!!!

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-Your Grace

Poetry Corner

Good morning!  Happy Friday!  I pray that your week has been a blessed one and even if you faced some challenges or some test, I pray that you found the blessing in your pressing.

Your Grace

by: Nicole Ellis

Your grace

Lord, where would I be

If you had not loved me beyond me loving myself

Where would I be

If you would have kept your grace from me

Your grace is more than sufficient

You overshadow me with things I don’t deserve

You move mountains and open up heavens gates

Just to pour out blessings over my head

You allow me to fly high over adversity

Your grace

Lord, where would I be

I would constantly struggle to fit in

I would drown myself in sin

I would stop fighting and give in

If it had not been for your grace

YOUR GRACE!

Lord thank you for your GRACE!

Grace is the manifestation of God’s favor.  God grace pardons you from things you deserve and blesses you with things you don’t deserve.  Someone is gainfully employed in a position that they are not qualified for, but God’s grace.  Someone is living in a house they couldn’t afford, but God’s grace.  Someone is still alive after living in a world of sin because God saved you with grace!  I don’t know about you, but I know God spared my life and I am grateful for His grace!  Take a moment to think about where you would be if it had not been for God’s grace.  Then I want you to live a life that reflects His grace!  Stop wallowing in self-pity and rejoice on how far God has brought you.  If it had not been for His grace, you would be in a much worst state of mind and situation.  TRUST ME!!! God’s Grace is SUFFICIENT!!!  LORD, THANK YOU FOR YOUR GRACE!!!

Have a blessed day and weekend! 

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.

What’s your desire?

Sunshine’s Reflections

Good morning!  Happy Tuesday to you all! 

TFTD: What’s your desire?

Psalm 37:4(NKJV)

⁴ Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

What are your heart’s desires?  When was the last time you sat down and really asked yourself this question?  The next question is, do you delight yourself in the Lord?  Do you try to live a life that is pleasing to Him?  I notice that everyone has desires, the problem is they don’t follow the way or the will of the Lord.

I’m a witness that God will give you the desires of your heart and exceed your desires when you live a life that is pleasing to Him.  Please notice, I didn’t say live a perfect life because there is no such thing, but you have to make a conscious effort to live a life that is pleasing to God.  God loves blessing His children.  He loves taking your vision and multiplying it by a number bigger than you can imagine.  God is a vision expanding God. 

I want to encourage you to take time and search your heart and figure out what you desire and then I dare you to take it to God.  I dare you to leave your heart’s desires at the feet of God and watch Him take it, bless it, and allow it to manifest in a way that will blow your mind.  Sometimes we complain about God not answering our prayers, but God knows that it’s not our heart’s desire, rather it’s our lustful desires.  Sometimes we desire things for fleshly gain and God will not bless any mess.  God actually does us a favor by denying us things we think are our heart’s desires. 

I want to encourage you to delight yourself in the Lord.  The message translations says “Get insurance with God…keep company with God”.  Make God your priority and watch how the things you thought you wanted will begin to shift and line up with His principles and commandments.  When this takes place God will bless you with your heart’s desires.  BELIEVE ME, I’m A LIVING WITNESS, GOD WILL GIVE YOU YOUR HEART’S DESIRES AND MORE!

Have a blessed day and take time to examine your relationship with God and your hearts desires. 

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.