Remember The Sabbath, Keep It Holy!

I TAKE a sabbath day of rest every week! God created us to work six days and take one day off to rest. When we go against that principle we get stressed out and exhausted. Ever since I began practicing this principle, I've felt like I can manage my schedule and better prioritize what needs to get done because I can think more clearly after resting.

What got me in the habit of consistently TAKING my sabbath day of rest was a major life event that caused me to change my outlook on life and to make some major changes to protect my health. Life's demands on me had caused me to run 25/8 (not 24/7) full throttle, because I felt I HAD to do it all in order to get it all done!

I worked overtime. I worked constantly. I worked long and hard over a long period of time (five years) and my body went on strike and WOULD NOT COMPLY ANYMORE with the demands I had placed on myself. I had forsaken my sabbath day of rest for the illusion of getting more done and it was a LIE!!! I was (medically) forced to go lay down somewhere for many months due to the physical, mental and emotional exhaustion I had experienced and eventually had to retire from that very stressful job.

I had to get back to the basics of my instruction manual on life! God created us to work 6 days and rest 1 day on a weekly cycle, that's how we were designed! When we don't comply, we become ill, sick, bodies broke down, etc. as our bodies DEMAND the rest it needs to repair itself. When we are sick we slow down, take to our beds and sleep and rest until we get better. Our bodies are saying if we would only do this on a weekly basis, consistently, then "we (our bodies) wouldn't have to shut you down with sickness and disease in order to force you to give us time to REST!!"

MORAL of the story? Schedule and TAKE your SABBATH weekly! Do a word study on the meaning of sabbath and make a personal application to your life. Practice keeping the sabbath, it's the ONLY DAY that God commanded (10 Commandments) for us to keep HOLY! I can't wait to read your praise reports of living a more balanced life after becoming a SABBATH KEEPER! God WILL redeem time on your behalf and enable you to accomplish more in six days than you ever did in seven. It's the same principle that's in effect with tithing. Give God His 10% off the top and He makes sure that the remaining 90% that's left over covers all your expenses and more! Remember the sabbath, keep it holy, because our obedience to God's life principles produces prosperity in every aspect of our lives.

Again I say YOU MUST TAKE THE TIME TO DO THIS or you will forever feel overwhelmed, trust me - I'm older and wiser! ♥

ONE BLESSING!

For some of you the harvest that you are shouting about is nothing compared to the future harvest that you are going to get. But because you are currently faithful over little, get ready for much because much is coming your way. The Bible says that He would "Pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it" (Malachi 3:10). You don't need 50 blessings, you just need ONE BLESSING!

God said that He would bring so much out of that ONE BLESSING that it would overflow out over the edges of your life because you won't have room to contain it! I declare that the ministry of My #1 will be laser focused to accomplish that which God has ordained it to do in the lives of His people. Amen!

Spiritual Revelation Through Conference Attendance

I just came off of two weeks straight of conference attendance and all I can say is that I am in AWE of God! Intensified, concentrated time with God should be a part of every believer's life. If you can do it with and along with others of like mind, it is incredible!

I attended the Kingdom Builder's Prayer Insitiute's Prayer Conference first and I experienced a spiritual shift that I didn't recognize was happening until after it happened. Has that ever happened to you? You didn't realize you were changed until AFTER it happened! I felt like the words to the song, "I looked at my hands and they looked new, I looked at my feet and they did too!" Be on the look out for nuggets of wisdom I will share from the Prayer Conference as I chew the cud on the revelations I received at that conference.

The second conference I attended was Woman Thou Art Loosed 2011 and this year God allowed me to volunteer behind the scenes and experiencing it from that perspective was eye opening! God allowed me to walk around and bless people who I saw needed a kind word and become a listening ear to those who needed to process all that had happened to them in that meeting. Many who attended stated it was their first time at a WTAL Conference and they could hardly stand it because the anointing was very heavy due to the Glory of God in the place! We could hardly speak because of the power of His presence and when we could do so, we could only grunt and shake our heads in awe! WOW, God, WOW! That's all I can say for now. That life changing experience will be one for the record books, I am sure of it! I am still shaking my head at it all as I await the DVDs to view what I missed and I was there!

Thank you Lord, for both of these "Kairos" experiences! I know they are preparations for the next level in my life and I am working out the revelations privately by fasting and praying before sharing them publicly!

My Latest Road Trip!

Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted!

I have been pondering how to share what I experienced this weekend on my road trip and so far, this is the best that I can come up with: 

What really counts? 

Money?  Insignificant!

What really matters?

A high number of book sales? I thought so!

What really counts then?

What has God given me? That's what I am responsible for.

What really matters then?

A saving Knowledge of Jesus Christ!!

As usual when I have a book signing, I set a goal of how many books I want to sell and this time was no different. With my goal in mind and my events planned out, I was sure to hit it this weekend, right? Right!

On the drive down, God  and I talked and I heard some things that I didn’t pay attention to before and knew this trip would be different, I just didn’t know how different! From the start I had a feeling this would be a breakthrough weekend for my hometown; I just didn’t know what to expect.

God showed up and out through the crowds that were just large enough for Him to walk among us and touch and heal hearts and minds that have been damaged by so much loss. The emotional healing that was available through our instant transparency with each other fostered this miracle. They were able to witness first hand my triumph after tragedy because I was there in the flesh and not just a story they read somewhere in the papers. Miriam was there, my family confirmed my testimony and shared their pain about my story and the healing began to flow! My hometown finally had someone who could identify with their multiple losses and who could attest to the faithfulness of God to keep you in the midst of multiple storms. 

That very anointing of God’s Spirit lead to my invite to the Troy Davis Memorial service where God used me again to refocus the audience on His Sovereignty in the midst of that tragedy. Sunday morning found us in the same spiritual vein when Pastor Webster preached from Philippians 3:8 where Paul counted everything he had accomplished before Christ as dog doo-doo compared to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ! WOW!

Three times the same message was confirmed to me that my assignment which God has given to me is not to sell a lot of books at book signings, but to make sure that all within my hearing know the saving Knowledge of Jesus Christ! My story aids me in this responsibility because it helps to bring the point home of the difference God made in my life, but the whole gist of it all is to bring everyone’s thoughts inward to themselves to make sure they are ready and prepared to meet their God and Maker when their time comes!

WOW! What a burden lifter that was for me! Every time I come back from a book signing one of the first questions I am asked is, “How many books did you sell?” My success was rated by how many books I sold and I thought so to until this weekend! I always had these anointed experiences where God used me to usher healing to my attendees but I never got to share that part because after I gave them a number they would say, “Oh well, better luck next time, you will sell more books or make your quota eventually!” 

I didn’t understand why those statements rubbed me the wrong way. I knew that the ministry of My #1 was successful just not by the terms they used. There has not been one time that I have ministered that the people were not healed and made whole. Everyone reports that either the book or listening to me share my testimony has delivered them from their spirit of heaviness and grief.  I give them a new perspective, God’s perspective, of the big picture that’s going on that they play a minor role in. It begins the renewing of their mind and leads them to where they can follow up and read on their own. The same God, who did it for me, will do the same for them, if they seek Him! 

I give them inspiration to hope again, to believe that their best is STILL yet to come in spite of the multiple losses they may have suffered and THAT to me IS A SUCCESSFUL BOOK SIGNING!

So from this point on, I will measure my success by the number of lives changed rather than books sold and I want you all to ask me for that number instead! BTW, that number was in the hundreds this weekend, I didn’t get to do an actual head count! J

Now to answer the original question posed of what really counts? 

Count your blessings, 

Name them one by one! 

Count your blessings,

See what the Lord has done!

Count your blessings, 

Name them one by one! 

Count your many blessings,

See what God has done!

Where will you go when all is lost? Who will you turn to?

We are all important, to Him; we are all of value to Him!

Make your decision now before the storms come and when it does you will know where to run to for safety! I am blessed to be your blessing, Love Bernice 

The Boaz Factor...When you are Ready for the Right One!

Looking for love? Hoped you would be a June bride by now? For women currently in a relationship, knowing who Boaz is will save your heart from putting in more time into something that will NOT materialize.You will be encouraged by my guest, Brenda Bradley's book The Boaz Factor...When you are Ready for the Right One!, which has been compared to Steve Harvey's "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man".  

During our interview, Brenda shares what are the signs of a Boaz man and why you can't turn your man into a Boaz! Tune in to listen as she makes the subject matter so simple that even a baby can understand it! When you are ready for the right one check this interview out!

The Bigger Picture!

My guest, Kent Whitaker, has experienced the deepest depth of lows and the highest height of highs in the span of the last eight years. He was a victim of a home invasion that killed half his family and later found out that the mastermind behind it was his own son!. In his book, Murder By Family, he shares his journey through grief and loss, forgiveness of and love for his eldest son. Listen in on our conversation as I talk with Kent, he can really relate to my own story of triumph over tragedy because he is living that same transforming story!
Listen to Part 2 of my interview with Kent Whitaker and his new wife Tanya and their ministry Bigger Picture Ministries!

The Road to Divorce Recovery

Are you divorced? Has it been years since your divorce but you still have bitterness in your heart as a result of it? Today's guest, Nina Wilson Jones, of The New Directions Center will share her story and how she began her own journey to spiritual wholeness after divorce. If you want to know why she still carries her ex-husband's last name (Jones) tune in to this week's show to find out!

 

A Christian Response to a National Tragedy

Each week on my show, I share portions of my own transforming story of Triumph over Tragedy and invite my guests to tell their stories to encourage you, my listeners, to believe that you are not alone when you face tragic experiences. Today’s show will be different in light of the violent tragedy we experienced as a nation less than ten days ago in Tuscan, AZ. I purposely held back one week from responding to this tragedy because I didn’t want my response to get lost in the multitude of articles and sound bites regarding our national response to this tragedy.

I also wanted to see if there would be a definitive Christian response to this tragedy besides praying for the victim’s families. Prayer works, I don’t deny its power, but after the funerals on last week, the families are asking themselves, ‘Now what?’

Are You Emotionally Ready to Move Forward into 2011?

This holiday season has been very challenging for me for several reasons. In this interview, I share with transparency and authenticity how I have struggled through my own emotional triggers this month and how I decided to move foward (again) in spite of them. Dr. Carolyn Miller, who is also a personal friend, and I talked about the recent deaths of loved ones in my family, along with Miriam making 10 years old and how I underestimated their impact on me.

I share candidly and openly with the listening audience, the process I worked through to gain insight about my emotional issues and how I arrived at the decision to go back into therapy for a season to help me reconcile them. I had to recognize there was a problem before I could confront it. I pray that if you identify with me in this interview that you follow my example and get the help you need to move forward emotionally in 2011!

How To Bounce Back From Setbacks!

This past weekend I facilitated a city-wide Handling Grief and Loss during the Holidays Seminar that was open and free to the public. The experience was awesome because everyone was bereaved that attended this seminar and they all received a breakthrough and healing in their grief journeys. I was so overwhelmed by the positive comments and feedback that I received from the attendees that I invited a few of them from that seminar as guests on the show today.

Their comments and posts on the FB Fan page for ‘My #1 Is Still My #1!’ inspired the idea for me to have them on the show as guests so that you all can hear them testify from their own mouths of the emotional healing ministry that the book, “My #1 Is Still My #1!” has made in their lives. I wanted them to share the breakthroughs they received as a result of participating in my grief and loss seminar. I believe there is an unseen, all powerful source in the person of GOD who will walk you through your crisis if you submit to the process.

To God Be The Glory for empowering these attendees to break out from the spirit of heaviness they were living with!