Gratitude Archive

We Are Walking in God’s Shoes

LoLo Roberts

I am sitting in my office daydreaming and totally not focused because I have a cold. As my mind wanders, I look down and see the shoes I am wearing. They are nothing special, just simple sandals that are easy to slip on and off. I find them to be comfortable so I wear them quite often. Today though, they look different to me with a different meaning.

These shoes I take for granted were bought with money my husband earned (as I make no money in my ministry). Money from his job that his paycheck provides. A paycheck that God provides with His love and mercy. The sandals appear different this morning. I see them as God’s sandals that I walk in.

Today, I realize that these shoes originated from God’s love for me and it is my purpose to do His work in them. Each morning as I wake up, I ask God to bless me with opportunities to serve Him and fulfill His work on this day. I realize this means to be obedient and faithful in my daily walk. My walk in these shoes must represent God’s work.

I am up by 6am every morning and my shoes hit my feet by 7am and are removed many times late at night. I stand in my shoes with our homeless community, sit with elderly folks that their family have forgotten, as well as victims of violent crime. These shoes walk with me everywhere and see each person I see. They hear the stories of God’s people who have lost HOPE. My shoes provide a foundation for God’s work in me.

Again, as I look down at my worn sandals, I think of Him. God reminds me daily that we have free will and we can choose to do good or be self-centered. I have to choose to stand firm on His foundation and when I walk in His shoes, I must represent Him. I have many opportunities in a day to think of myself instead of Our Father. I remind myself to whom these shoes belong, as well as whom I belong to.

I remind others that if we are solidifying a business deal and we see the chance to make extra money because the client won’t question the price, we must remember whose shoes we stand in. We need to turn away from instant gratification and wait for God’s rewards for being as fair and honest. The extra chunk of money seems like a great “bonus” for us but, nothing compares to external life. We well know too, that God is our provider and if we are honest and fair to others, we see tenfold the blessings.

Another example I share is if we choose to gossip in God’s shoes. I know it is our human conditioning to want to gossip, as it makes us feel better about ourselves, it is not from God. It is from Satan and he is never worthy to stand in our shoes that belong to God. We are believers in Christ which gifts us the Holy Spirit, God within us. God within us standing in God’s shoes. Why would we want to remove God’s love from us to benefit from what’s here on this earth?

God designed us to be Christlike in all we do. He blessed us with His love, grace, and mercy. He blessed us with shoes that belong to Him. Use your shoes to remember how mighty and loving God is and that they are your foundation. The foundation that is firm and supports you from the bottom of your feet to the top of your head. The foundation filled with the Holy Spirit. As I looked at my shoes, this came to my mind…..

These are God’s shoes which He had made. These are God’s shoes for with His life He paid.

Please look down at your shoes today and think of them in a different way. My love and gratitude for you-LoLo

A Disciple Looking Out of the Boat

LoLo Roberts

I think it’s safe to say we all know Matthew 14:22-31. It’s the passage in Scripture when Peter walks on water to Jesus. If you don’t know this passage, I have shared it here.

Jesus Walks on the Water

22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

29 “Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

I understand the lesson being taught to Peter, but I have one question, what did the disciples learn by watching Peter climb out of the boat? I think about this often. When I observe another person in a trial or struggle, what do I learn? Also, why didn’t any other disciple get out of the boat?

This is only my opinion, I am not a Biblical scholar or theologian. I think God places us in “the boat” for several reasons. My first thought is to build our faith but that is obvious. Maybe the disciples were scared of drowning so they uncourageously stayed in the boat. Maybe they are like me and sometimes I have to process in my brain what is going on and that takes a bit more time for me than others. I definitely am a visual person and have to see things to understand. Perhaps the disciples are like me. I have to see an action being completed for me to understand and learn. I am constantly learning on YouTube because I can watch a process and them perform the task. Possibly the disciples would have gotten out of the boat after they saw Jesus save Peter.

Jesus was walking on water and told Peter to come to Him, maybe they didn’t have trust in Jesus like Peter did. Peter was a rebel and fearless so it makes sense he would get out of the boat. BUT, being fearless will get you out of the boat, TRUST keeps you on top of the water. Peter got distracted which caused his trust to slip and into the water he went. It was a simple distraction of the wind blowing (possible the waves). I have done this many times. I jump into a project without consulting God and then kaploosh, I’m down in the water asking Him to save me.

I could speculate that this lesson was only for Peter and it wasn’t the disciples “time” to come out of the boat. I know God shows us things so we don’t have to go through a particular trial. I have witnessed in my ministry walks with victims of violent crime, the homeless, as well as families that are food insecure. I personally haven’t been called out of “the boat” with these difficulties as of yet. I believe God has me minister to these groups to open my eyes and build my faith. He places others in my life that I can help bridge the gap for others just as others were there for me when I needed “gaps” filled. You can sometimes stay in “the boat” and learn just as valuable lesson. God is good like that. God shows me others needs without me having the same needs because I am watching from “the boat”.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,  so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

Jesus walked on this earth out of love. God’s inspired Word, known as the Bible teaches us how to live a blessed life and how to have peace in our struggles. When Jesus left, He gifted us the Holy Spirit, God within us. He wouldn’t physically be here to call us out of the boat and walk on water leading us to learn to love and trust Him, so we have Him within us. He still grabs us out of the water and saves us just like Peter but, it is through the Holy spirit and not his physical hand.

Jesus used miracles to teach faith. Jesus did miracles for good and showed His love so others could understand. Jesus Christ is God “Incarnate,” and that wasn’t something many could comprehend at that time and even now. By doing miracles, Jesus helped the community believe He is God incarnate as a human.

Psalm 77:14 says You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.

When we understand that Peter walking on water was a miracle and built faith (with Peter and the disciples) and that God has the power to do anything the passage becomes clearer. Medical miracles, financial miracles, relationship miracles happen every day. God still shows us that we can get out of “the boat” and have faith He is there for us.

My love and gratitude for you-LoLo

I Have Been Silent for a Purpose.

LoLo Roberts

It has been months since I have blogged, recorded a video for You Tube, or been on Instagram. The purpose? To be closer to God. I have had many trials since Ash Wednesday. Some personal that I won’t talk about right now but several I will.

Let me start with Ash Wednesday. This was a day that God placed a very uncertain obstacle in my path that would require much patience and waiting. I am still waiting for God’s resolution. My health is fine incase you wander down that path. Ash Wednesday was truly different for me this year. I saw people on Facebook giving up a certain liquor they loved while others proclaimed they would be kinder to others. This was their sacrifice during the Lenten season. I am not speaking against their choices, God knew my sacrifice would be different.

God lead me to draw closer to Him and not the things of the world. He led me to post on Facebook, “40 People for 40 Days”. I would begin praying for anyone that asked me to cover them, a family member, a friend, situation, health concern, or absolutely anything that fell into God’s righteousness. Let me tell you what my prayers were everyday.

22 were for health and healing, 2 for sobriety for a family member, 2 were for grief, 4 were for severe anxiety, 7 were unspecified and asked for prayers of covering, 3 were for employment uncertainties, 5 were for financial relief, 8 were for children that had pulled away from God, 1 was for a child struggling with mental unbalance, 6 were complete families and their struggles, 2 were for moms that were not fully participating in their kids lives, 13 were for elderly friends and family members, and several were peppered in daily as I saw need through my own eyes. God took me way past 40.

God opened my eyes during this 40 days in a way He never has before. I prayed daily before going to bed and started at 8:30 pm. I am not going to lie, this was a long process as I prayed individually for these people. I did on 3 occasions ask God to forgive me, but I was weary toward the end and did ask Him to do a complete covering over my whole list as I was unable to pray individually. Nightly, as I prayed, I felt my prayers become more intentional and specific for each person. I felt the Holy Spirit develop the prayers within my heart with an emotion I had never felt before. I felt God pulling me closer to Him each night as I gave my time to Him and not the world. I saw God maturing me spiritually.

God also showed me another important lesson as I prayed for others, and that was to refocus on gratitude. I had taken many of these walks in prayer for myself throughout the years. A walk with family members needing healing, financial issues, personal healing, sobriety for myself, relief from severe anxiety, I had prayed for all of these for myself. God showed me His goodness that currently I wasn’t in a walk with these struggles. He showed me how He had held my hand and healed me. I was reminded to never forget to be grateful when we aren’t in a walk that others are. Oh, I have other struggles but I don’t fear because God is with me and will never leave me.

Below is a picture of the prayer stones I gifted the people that asked me to pray for them. I purposely used an ink that I knew would wear off and shared with them this message. “This small stone has a cross on it. If the cross disappears, look at the stone. Jesus is your rock and foundation, even if feels like He’s not near, be reminded of this message. He is your rock.”

Since Ash Wednesday, I have had many friends diagnosed with new illnesses, cancers, unknown masses in their body, and now mental stress ignited out of the mass shooting in my hometown. I am again in prayer for all of them and it’s a large number.

Recently I participated in an Evening of Empowerment for victims of violent crime. I again set out my prayer request bucket to allow another Holy Spirit driven 40 days of prayers for those in need. This is a picture of that little bucket that quickly filled.

I had hoped to show you some of the handwritten prayer requests but most included the victim’s name and would always respect their privacy. I was able to crop these 2 prayer requests to show you the magnitude of their requests.

A home and forgiveness………the things we take for granted. My heart breaks when I read these two request. I have always had an address and a place to live. This young woman was in her early twenties and has been homeless since she was 18. Every day she is looking for a safe place to be, a place most of us take for granted. The other request is vague and asks for forgiveness. A gift God gives freely and to anyone that asks. Many of us are afraid to ask for God’s forgiveness because we are ashamed or don’t feel worthy. We are worthy and we are loved. These beautiful women from that event that have blessed me to be their prayer warrior will be covered and I will intercede on their behalf.

Ezekiel 22. https://www.gotquestions.org/stand-in-the-gap.html

I am asking you today to build your prayer life for yourself and for others. The power of prayer changes lives and I am a witness to this. I prayed for 40 days starting Ash Wednesday, 23 people told me at different times though out the 40 days to continue my prayers because they saw God moving. That is a huge number for me as most people I pray for don’t recognize God’s blessing but recognize the need to pray. We have to open our eyes to His work that completes the period of praying. My ministry came from the love and messages at Chase Oaks Church in Plano, Texas. It is a come as you are church allowing you to walk into our church without fear with the understanding no one is perfect but God loves you as you are.

https://www.chaseoaks.org/

My love and gratitude for you reading my blog. LoLo

Knowing the Peace of God

LoLo Roberts

Jesus said in John 14:27:

“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.”

Yesterday, I spoke to a retirement community on practicing gratitude to know God’s love. I told them stories of how my first marriage was destroyed by drugs and alcohol, my daughter’s bout with OCD and anxiety, and how I walked through my dad dying as my granddaughter was is intrauterine with a serious birth defect. I spoke of how the only way I was able to walk through each of these struggles was not only with gratitude, but with God’s peace. The peace that Jesus gifts us. The group made repeated comment about me smiling and being so pleasant after such difficult walks. I confirmed for them that it is the peace Jesus left and gave to me as a Believer.

I was asked by one of the residents, “What does God’s peace feel like?”. I thought about that for a minute before answering. “God’s peace,” I said, “is like being in a warm therapeutic bath. The water is just the perfect temperature, your muscles are relaxed, your heartbeat is calm, and your mind is serene. You lose sense of what’s happening outside that moment and just feel calm.” To me, that is how God’s peace feels.

The next question I received was, “What can I do for my friend that suffers with anxiety?” Again, I gave myself a moment before speaking. “Does your friend have a relationship with God?” I asked gently. “I don’t know,” he said.” I encouraged him to have her breath deeply when she feel anxious and think of things that make her grateful. When we understand that deep breathing oxygenates the brain and gratitude fills the heart, we become calmer. I also told the group that it is impossible to have a negative and positive thought exist in the brain at the same time. If she can remove the negative anxiety with the positive thoughts of gratitude she would begin to calm herself.

After the group discussion and I was packing up my things, the man brought the woman to me. “This is my friend” he shared with me. I looked up to see a lady with very nervous eyes and restless movements. “Hi,” I smiled at her and said “do you suffer with anxiety?” I of course knew the answer by her movements. She proceeded to tell me she has panic attacks, worries constantly, and never sleeps at night. I could feel her pain in my heart. I knew the struggle well as I was the same many years ago.

I first questioned her about her faith and relationship with God. She said she struggles with faith. She grew up in a Catholic church and never felt she was allowed to be close to God. She said she had to follow the rules of the Catholic church that included praying to saints and confessing to a human man in confessional booth. Please know I am relating what she said and not condemning the Catholic church.

I took a deep breath and chose my words carefully as this can be interpreted by some as incorrect doctrine in many churches. “My friend,” I softly spoke to her, “God wants you to talk directly to Him. He is your Heavenly Father and He wants peace in your life. God doesn’t give fear and anxiety, He comforts these emotions. I know it’s hard for you to hear, but please know you are His and He is yours. You have full access to Him any time you need Him.”

I reached into my bag and pulled out a HOPE prayer stone and handed it to her. “This is a prayer stone. You will see your thumb fits into the curve of the heart. You can hold this prayer stone and pray or just find comfort by rubbing it between your thumb and forefinger. Ask God to ease your worries as you hold it and carry it in your pocket to always have with you when you need it.”

The HOPE hearts are custom made here in Texas by a nonprofit named Coventry Reserve. Adult special needs friends make them out of pottery clay. I share them in our community when I meet someone like this new friend.

Before leaving the community, I prayed over her. I ask God to show her that His presence is with her and gave her permission to call on Him personally in her own words of fear and worry.

Last night as I slept, I woke up about every 45-60 minutes. Each time I was awakened and feeling my peace, I asked God to please let my new friend sleep quietly through the night. I think this happened 6 or 7 times and each time I repeated my request. “Please Father, may (friend’s name) be sleeping and resting without worry. May she wake up in peace and feeling Your love for her just like I do.”

It’s now morning and I don’t know how my new friend slept, but I do know Our loving God and I trust He has this handled.

Thank you for reading my blog post and I pray you are feeling God’s love for you this very day. My love and gratitude-LoLo.

2 Thessalonians 3:16
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.

I am What I Eat, Drink, Sleep, and so on…..

LoLo Roberts

There is an old saying, “You are what you eat.”. I find this saying to be so true. I personally can tell if I am eating in a way to care for my body. If I eat luscious foods like berries and citrus, leafy greens, lean meat, and grains I run on full energy. If I indulge in cookies, chips, white bread, or a fatty steak, I feel the inflammation in my body.

In the past, I had an “off” day where I ate a big hamburger with a side of fries for dinner. It was about one hour later when I felt bloated and tired. I laid around like a slug and didn’t get the laundry done that was sorted and piled up on the floor to complete. My body was struggling to be energetic. I was what I ate.

I have been sober for six years now. I never drink alcohol because I don’t want to fall back into the 4:30 bottle of wine syndrome. The syndrome that ends up with me pouring out 750mls of sweet wine into a glass and getting nothing done. I also rarely drink a soda, sweet tea, or other sugary drinks. My body just doesn’t process sugar well and it drags me down after a sugar crash. I was what I drank.

I have always been a person that needs at least 8-9 hours of sleep a night. I suffered from insomnia for several years. I would toss and turn all night long. I would only have short periods of sleep for 45 minutes to an hour at a time. This sleep pattern started as a result of constant anxiety. I would wake up as if I was a zombie. I would blunder through the day unfocused, tired, and foggy. I was how I slept.

I didn’t like the way I was living; what I ate, drank, and slept. I remembered the Scripture about my body.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20  Do you not know that your body is a house of God where the Holy Spirit lives? God gave you His Holy Spirit. Now you belong to God. You do not belong to yourselves.  God bought you with a great price. So honor God with your body. You belong to Him.

I read this Scripture over and over. So honor God with your body. You belong to Him.

I belong to Him, honor Him. I have been obese, an alcoholic, lazy, and sick. All of these descriptions came from me honoring me and what I wanted. None of these honored God.

There is so much science that proves that caring for your body offers you less mental stress, less illness, and better sleep patterns. I know many people need the science to change, but I only needed the Scriptures.

1 Corinthians 3:17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

This verse talks about God’s temple and community in the church. Although it references a physical temple building, we are all walking temples that need to be holy and righteous. Caring for ourselves and His word through our treatment of our bodies. A temple building needs maintenance and care. It needs the foundation watered so it doesn’t settle and crack. It needs repair and corrections immediately and not left undone for deterioration. We need the same maintenance, health checkup, devoted time for prayer, serving others in need, exercising, eating a nutritious diet. This is how we keep our temple sound and righteous.

Romans 12:1-2 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

What does it mean when Paul says to be a living sacrifice and do not conform to this world? Animals were sacrificed as atonement and as an offering to God. We have many ways of offering ourselves to God as a sacrifice. The first way of course is by living a righteous life. We do this by being in the Bible as we enrich our hearts and minds to God’s Word. The other way Paul is telling us to honor God is by not conforming to the world’s beliefs. Do not drink to excess, do not offer your body to many people for pleasure over God’s purpose for sex, and be honest and truthful. There are many things we may be enticed and tempted to do with our bodies because it feels good or may alleviate pain or trauma. We should deal with anything we are tempted with by going first to God and asking Him to help us. Simple prayer can change your heart.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

One of the greatest gifts that God offers us is that even when we fall down by overeating, drinking too much, or by not honoring our bodies as God’s temple is His gift to make us new. If today is a day that you may not be proud of what you’ve done or who you have become, turn to God. Let Him refresh your temple and start anew. You may do this by eating healthy, nutritious foods, putting down that wine or beer, taking a brisk walk, and opening up the Bible. Breathe in the goodness of being a temple that honors God. Care for His temple that you are and rejoice.

May God bless you on this day. My love and gratitude-LoLo