In my 1st book, Beach Blessings, I share my thoughts about God while enjoying and photographing His beautiful scenery at the beach. The beach gives me time to relax and savor the moving of His Holy Spirit, while listening to the contemporary Christian music on my phone.
I’m praying my book will bring Holy Spirit peace and calm to your heart as you drink in God’s beautiful scenery and learn of His faithful promises to you.
Please feel free to comment, ask questions, share prayer requests, or declare praise reports, when you’re directed by the QR code to my YouTube Channel at the end of my book, or simply share your thoughts while on this blog.
Please take a moment today to listen to the beautiful music and lyrics to: “Beloved” by Jordan Felice and “Testify” by needtobreathe.
Psalm 150:6, “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.”
To get an autographed copy, or copies, of Beach Blessings, simply click on the PayPal button. Each book is $15.00 (+ shipping and handling).
Here’s a great idea, purchase two, keep one and give one as a gift!
Beach Blessings has 6 chapters, contains beach photos taken by me, along with Scriptures, contemporary Christian song suggestions to listen to, and devotional questions at the end of each chapter. Great for Bible studies.
My 2nd book, Let God Build It, and my 3rd book, a Christian fiction illustrated children’s book, called The Little Star That Couldn’t Shine, will both be published soon, also.
I’ve lost a lot of very special people over the last few years. I wrote this song for the ones who passed away in my life.
R.I.P my dear friends, well meet again..
-Sorry about the feedback I recorded on a mic :D-SONG LYRICS:
Dani and Lizzy – Dancing in the SkyVERSE 1:
What does it look like in heaven
is it peaceful and free like they say
does the sun shine bright forever
have your fears and your pain gone awayPRE HOOK:
cause Here on earth it feels like everything.. good is missing, since you left
here on earth everything is different, there is an emptinessHOOK:
I hope your dancing in the sky
I hope your singing with the angels choir
I hope the angels, know what they have
I bet it’s nice up in heaven since you arrivedVERSE 2:
Tell me, what do you do up in heaven
are you’re days filled with love and light
is there music? is there art and invention
tell me are you happy and more alive
PRE HOOK:
cause Here on earth it feels like everything.. good is missing, since you left
here on earth everything is different, there is an emptiness
HOOK:
I hope your dancing in the sky
I hope your singing with the angels choir
I hope the angels, know what they have
I bet it’s nice up in heaven since you arrived
I’ve lost a lot of very special people over the last few years. I wrote this song for the ones who passed away in my life.
R.I.P my dear friends, well meet again..
-Sorry about the feedback I recorded on a mic :D-SONG LYRICS:
Dani and Lizzy – Dancing in the SkyVERSE 1:
What does it look like in heaven
is it peaceful and free like they say
does the sun shine bright forever
have your fears and your pain gone awayPRE HOOK:
cause Here on earth it feels like everything.. good is missing, since you left
here on earth everything is different, there is an emptinessHOOK:
I hope your dancing in the sky
I hope your singing with the angels choir
I hope the angels, know what they have
I bet it’s nice up in heaven since you arrivedVERSE 2:
Tell me, what do you do up in heaven
are you’re days filled with love and light
is there music? is there art and invention
tell me are you happy and more alive
PRE HOOK:
cause Here on earth it feels like everything.. good is missing, since you left
here on earth everything is different, there is an emptiness
HOOK:
I hope your dancing in the sky
I hope your singing with the angels choir
I hope the angels, know what they have
I bet it’s nice up in heaven since you arrived
As I write this, I’m sitting in the makeup aisle of our local Target store. A friend recently texted me from a different makeup aisle and told me it felt like one of the most oppressive places in the world. I wanted to find out what he meant. And now that I’m sitting here, I’m beginning to agree with him. Words have power, and the words on display in this aisle have a deep power. Words and phrases like:
Affordably gorgeous,
Infallible,
Flawless finish,
Brilliant strength,
Liquid power,
Go nude,
Age defying,
Instant age rewind,
Choose your dream,
Nearly naked, and
Natural beauty.
When you have a daughter you start to realize she’s just as strong as everyone else in the house—a force to be reckoned with, a soul on fire with the same life and gifts and passions as any man. But sitting in this store aisle, you also begin to realize most people won’t see her that way. They’ll see her as a pretty face and a body to enjoy. And they’ll tell her she has to look a certain way to have any worth or influence.
But words do have power and maybe, just maybe, the words of a father can begin to compete with the words of the world. Maybe a father’s words can deliver his daughter through this gauntlet of institutionalized shame and into a deep, unshakeable sense of her own worthiness and beauty.
A father’s words aren’t different words, but they are words with a radically different meaning:
Brilliant strength. May your strength be not in your fingernails but in your heart. May you discern in your center who you are, and then may you fearfully but tenaciously live it out in the world.
Choose your dream. But not from a department store shelf. Find the still-quiet place within you. A real dream has been planted there. Discover what you want to do in the world. And when you have chosen, may you faithfully pursue it, with integrity and with hope.
Naked. The world wants you to take your clothes off. Please keep them on. But take your gloves off. Pull no punches. Say what is in your heart. Be vulnerable. Embrace risk. Love a world that barely knows what it means to love itself. Do so nakedly. Openly. With abandon.
Infallible. May you be constantly, infallibly aware that infallibility doesn’t exist. It’s an illusion created by people interested in your wallet. If you choose to seek perfection, may it be in an infallible grace—for yourself, and for everyone around you.
Age defying. Your skin will wrinkle and your youth will fade, but your soul is ageless. It will always know how to play and how to enjoy and how to revel in this one-chance life. May you always defiantly resist the aging of your spirit.
Flawless finish. Your finish has nothing to do with how your face looks today and everything to do with how your life looks on your last day. May your years be a preparation for that day. May you be aged by grace, may you grow in wisdom, and may your love become big enough to embrace all people. May your flawless finish be a peaceful embrace of the end and the unknown that follows, and may it thus be a gift to everyone who cherishes you.
Little One, you love everything pink and frilly and I will surely understand if someday makeup is important to you. But I pray three words will remain more important to you—the last three words you say every night, when I ask the question: “Where are you the most beautiful?” Three words so bright no concealer can cover them.
Where are you the most beautiful?
On the inside.
From my heart to yours,
Daddy
Like the last letter I wrote to my daughter, I wrote this first for her and the day I’ll eventually read it to her. But I also wrote it for every woman who needs to hear the words of a father. Women, no one else can define your beauty for you. But they’ll try.
My daughter is four years-old now. If her awakening to the makeup aisle comes at the typical age, I figure we have about five years to radically alter the arc of history and the subjugation-by-image of the female gender. We’ve got a lot of work to do. And it begins in the heart of each and every woman.
Audio: Click here to hear an audio version of this post
Next Post: “The Key to a Man’s Heart (and Why He Gets Road Rage)”
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Disclaimer: My writings represent a combination of my own personal opinions and my professional experiences, but they do not reflect professional advice. Interaction with me via the blog does not constitute a professional therapeutic relationship. For professional and customized advice, you should seek the services of a counselor who can dedicate the hours necessary to become more intimately familiar with your specific situation. I do not assume liability for any portion or content of material on the blog and accept no liability for damage or injury resulting from your decision to interact with the website.
Kelly is a licensed clinical psychologist, practicing at Alliance Clinical Associates in Wheaton, IL. He is also a writer and blogs regularly about the redemption of our personal, relational, and communal lives. Kelly is married, has three children, and enjoys learning from them how to be a kid again. You can find him on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.
Global Christian Ministry Forum International (GCMF Int’l) is a spiritually focused overseeing international presbytery consisting of national leaders from around the world. The presbytery provides oversight and guidance to GCMF national leaders, working in partnership for the cause of Christ. The mission of Global Christian Ministry Forum International is to link with national Christian leaders and network with them to establish effective ministry organizations in various parts of the world, whereby pastors and Christian leaders can be locally equipped, inspired, and motivated for their unique ministry.
Global Christian Ministry Forum International provides ministry credentials to qualified individuals. Ministry credentials are issued in conjunction with a national leaders’ recommendation coupled with accountability and oversight at the national level.
I’m a licensed minister with GCMF and
I’ve also spent many weeks over the years at Christian Retreat with
Kids-A-Fame Camp and
YEX Youth Camp!
Christian Retreat in Bradenton, FL, is certainly…
“an oasis of spiritual refreshment!”
They host conferences, retreats, camping, events, family church, and more…
The facility includes the conference center and church, with hotel style lodging, a cafeteria,
meeting rooms, a gymnasium, a youth center, and outdoor recreation.
As soon as you turn onto Glory Way Boulevard,
you sense the peace that permeates Christian Retreat
located on the banks of the beautiful Manatee River in East Manatee County.
Towering oaks dripping with Spanish moss shade the 110-acre property
that is home to year-round residents, overnight guests, and groups
who use the conference center to host events, meetings and camps.
The speakers at the morning and evening services were phenomenal…
Rev. Eugene Weaver, our GCMF President, Pastor Emmanuel Derry from Trinadad, Dr. Phil Derstine, Pastor of Christian Retreat Family Church, which was founded by his Father, Dr. Gerald Derstine.
The worship/choir music was anointed, also…
Led by Worship Pastor, Rick Giannico, of Glad Tidings Assembly
God has raised Pastor Rick up in this fellowship
and has equipped him to encourage others to fall in love with Jesus
and to make “Melodies from the heart unto the Lord”.
The Lord has blessed Pastor Rick with an ability to write songs, such as;
“‘Indebted”, “‘Lord Of Everything”, “Glory, Glory To The Lamb”‘, “Rescue Me” and several others.
The songs God gives him are specific for a time and season for the ministry of the church.
“In February 2013, we conducted our first crusade in Vero Beach, Florida,
and the Holy Spirit moved mightily.
Then, in September we had our second outreach in the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.
There we saw some 20,000 in attendance,
and nearly 2000 people make a decision for Christ!
Now, we will continue across the nation,
Gospel crusade after Gospel crusade, from stadium to stadium.
This is not the day to join the choir of the despaired
but to ‘blow the trumpet of God in Zion.’
This day is the best day ever, because it is the day of salvation.
There will be a crop for God’s glory, not a flop.”
“Evangelism must always lead into the church.
This is a central truth I have practiced everywhere.
I, the evangelist, bring my nets and borrow the boats of the local churches.
Together we will cast our nets into the human ocean
and pull them in to be emptied on the beach.
My promise to you is not to take a single fish
but to leave them all with the local churches.
Then I will dry and mend my nets and move to the next place.”
“I am scanning the skies for men and women
who pray and weep for the salvation of America.
As Bill Bright used to say, ‘Let’s leave our logos and egos.’
Let’s rally at the foot of the Cross of Calvary
And preach the Gospel of salvation to the nation.
The Holy Spirit will cooperate.
God is pouring out His Spirit
With glorious indifference to our differences!
He said, ‘I will pour out of my Spirit on all flesh.’
And it seems to me He pours Himself into the mold of any vessel.
Please determine how you and your church
can participate in any of these upcoming crusades.”
“The primary truth about God is that He is the Deliverer, the Emancipator, and the Savior.
He is God only to the free.
Faith is a venture that turns life into an adventure.
Doubts get us nowhere.
They are mooring ropes.
Believing God means we cast off,
like ships designed for riding the high seas and going somewhere.
Faith inspires. Doubt paralyzes.
Faith says, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’
Unbelief does nothing.
Faith in God is exciting.
I’m an incurable believer, and I don’t want to be cured!
God bless you!”
Rev. Reinhard Bonnke, Evangelist
hwww.facebook.com/evangelistreinhardbonnkettps://
I walk the streets of London And notice in the faces passing by Something that makes me stop and listen My heart grows heavy with the cry
Where is the hope for London? You whisper and my heart begins to soar As I’m reminded Every street in London in Yours, oh yes, it is
I walk the dirt roads of Uganda I see the scars that war has left behind Hope like the sun is fading They’re waiting for a cure no one can find
And I hear children’s voices singing Of a God who heals and rescues and restores And I’m reminded That every child in Africa is Yours
And it’s all Yours, God, Yours, God Everything is Yours From the stars in the sky To the depths of the ocean floor
And it’s all Yours, God, Yours, God Everything is Yours You’re the Maker and Keeper Father and Ruler of everything, it’s all Yours
And I walk the sidewalks of Nashville Like Singapore, Manila and Shanghai I brush by the beggar’s hand and the wealthy man And everywhere I look I realize
That just like the streets of London For every man and woman, boy and girl All of creation This is our Father’s world
And it’s all Yours, God, Yours, God Everything is Yours From the stars in the sky To the depths of the ocean floor
And it’s all Yours, God, Yours, God Everything is Yours You’re the Maker and Keeper Father and Ruler of everything
It’s all Yours, God It’s all Yours, God It’s all Yours, God It’s all Yours, God
The glory is Yours, God All the honor is Yours, God The power is Yours, God The glory is Yours, God You’re the King of kings And Lord of lords
And it’s all Yours, God, Yours, God Everything is Yours From the stars in the sky To the depths of the ocean floor
And it’s all Yours, God, Yours, God Everything is Yours All the greatness and power The glory and splendor and majesty Everything is Yours, yeah, it’s all Yours
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A text & video blog striving to honor Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ through Bible lessons, devotionals, Sunday School studies and small group studies.