The Blues

Monday, December 10, 2018

Welcome to my Monday Blog, dear hearts! Thank you for your time and I always welcome your comments. I appreciate all of you and hope you know how important you are to me!

Have you ever had one of those days when you felt un-well and just too weary to go out or interact with the outside world – you know, a touch of The Blues? Truth is, we’ve all had those days, from time to time…we’re not robots, are we? The important thing for us to acknowledge and consider is how we deal with the blue days when they stop by for a misery visit. The how we deal with the situation usually determines how long the visit will last.

Our Gift of Life comes to us in many forms and “The Blues” is just part of it. Many times God is placing us precisely where we need to be and in certain situations, that very place will be joined by challenges – some great, some small. It’s how we deal with the potential crisis that is so important because this is when God is teaching us to trust in Him. I can’t tell you how many times in my life I’ve wiggled and wobbled around a situation only to come to the conclusion that once again, I thought I knew best…even though in my heart-of-hearts, I had my doubts. In His mighty wisdom though, God just sat back and allowed my will to move forward. Oh, I forgot to mention the fact that in each instance I would end up with a bad case of The Blues and hide out for a few days until I came to my spiritual senses. Thank God He knows what we’re both doing!

When all’s well and we least expect it, something comes out of the “blue” and we’ll end up with a case of The Blues if we don’t handle it properly. Being human is basically our biggest problem – we think we know best –  Not always the case, is it?

So, how do we stay well and keep The Blues at bay?  Funny you should ask…

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” – Proverbs 3:5

“In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”    – Proverbs 3:6

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” – Romans 15:13

WOW!! All we have to do is…BELIEVE IN HIM –  a sure-fire way to keep The Blues away!

This week, my prayer for us all is that we will put our faith and trust in Him. Words can come too easy; however, God wants actions to match our  words of testament and promise. Let’s pray for each other that we will keep our promises to Him and in doing so, we may be worthy of our Gift of Life He has bestowed upon us. Amen.

GOD is Good! GOD is Great!! Always!!!

I love you,

Margaret

My spiritual thriller, “That Melvin Bray” is available on Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Giving & Taking

December 3, 2018

Welcome to my Monday blog, dear ones! Thank you for your time, support and comments. I love you and appreciate you today and always.

Thanksgiving has come and gone now and hopefully we were all reminded of just how thankful we are for all that we have. As for me, I was reminded of the good ole’ bad days when times were not so plentiful. Many times while growing up, Thanksgivings would have been rather bleak at my house had it not been for the kindness of good friends and neighbors. We were poor and we knew it. We were grateful for our blessings and learned early on in life that “it could be worse”…my darling Mother would remind us of this fact every once in a while…”children, we must be grateful for what we do have and remember that there are those who have even less.” 

Thanksgiving has become my second favorite holiday (Christmas is first for obvious reasons), because Thanksgiving is the day which touches my heart in a way that causes me to want to be a giver and not just a taker. In my book, giving and taking go hand and hand and if you’re going to take, you must give back…in some way. Period.

We don’t have to wait until Thanksgiving each year to show our kindness by giving something to those who are less fortunate. Kindness is an act which is just waiting to happen…in any moment at any given time. WE may have to stop once in a while and take inventory of all we have and how we might be a giver to one less fortunate. I see myself as a giver; however, I know that I need to do more to walk-my-talk in the eyes of my awesome Lord.

My prayer for us all this week is that we’ll challenge ourselves with one question: “Am I giving or taking?”

GOD is Good! GOD is Great!! Always!!!

I love you,

Margaret

My spiritual thriller, “That Melvin Bray” is available on Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

Peacemaker?

Monday, November 26, 2018

Welcome to my Monday Blog my friends! I appreciate each and every one of you and hope your Thanksgiving was one of Joy and Peace.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”             – Matthew 5:9

We all know and understand how our World is changing…frankly, it’s difficult to imagine, let alone embrace the recent tone and temperament which has befallen our daily lives…right before our very eyes! Nothing is ever simple…but we mustn’t allow the hate and anger brewing all around us to attach itself to us.

We do have choices, don’t we, my friends? Of course, we do! We may choose to be selfish, reckless and angry, or we may elect to walk on a path of Peace. If we have peace in our hearts, we have a special gift to use – WE are children of God…His Peacemakers!

My prayer for us all is that we’ll choose to embrace the idea of PEACE in all we do this week…our thoughts, our words and our actions. Let’s walk-our-talk and be a light for all those we encounter as we go about our daily lives, trusting that each one of us can in fact, be a Peacemaker.

Nothing is ever simple, but Peacemakers are sure special in the eyes of God and therefore, we must be Joyful in our actions and spread that Joy in His holy name. Amen.

GOD is Good! GOD is Great!! Always!!!

I love you,

Margaret

My spiritual thriller, “That Melvin Bray” is available on Amazon

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Monday November 19, 2018

Welcome, to my Monday Blog, my dear friends!! Thank you for visiting and I always welcome your comments!

Most of you know by now that I have a sense of humor…that’s just one of my many gifts from God and the cartoon above is part of that sense of humor; however, I’m most serious about the true meaning of Thanksgiving and this Thursday is Thanksgiving, in our beloved America, dear hearts.  I hope we’ll all be celebrating this occasion with family and friends where possible.

Thanksgiving is a word that appears before the word Thanksgiving Day  and after thanksgiver in the Mirriam-Webster Dictionary. One of the definitions of the word is “a prayer expressing gratitude”. Well, I have such a prayer below for us all to consider this Thanksgiving…

• “Help Me Thanksgiving Day Prayer:

O God, when I have food, help me to remember the hungry; When I have work, help me to remember the jobless; When I have a home, help me to remember those who have no home at all; When I am without pain, help me to remember those who suffer, And remembering, help me to destroy my complacency; bestir my compassion, and be concerned enough to help; By word and deed, those who cry out for what we take for granted. Amen.”

What a beautifully profound prayer of Thanks!

My prayer for us all this week is that our hearts will be filled with love and gratitude towards one another and that we will share where we can, with those who may need a helping hand, a kind word, a hug, a prayer, whatever the need may be…as Thanksgiving is yet a perfect time for giving thanks and lending a helping hand where we can. Amen.

GOD is Good! GOD is Great!! Always!!!

I love you and HAPPY THANKSGIVING,

Margaret

*”Help Me Prayer” – Samuel F. Pugh

My spiritual thriller, “That Melvin Bray”, is available on Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRAISE = POWER!

Monday, November 12, 2018

Happy Monday, my dear friends and welcome to my Blog!

First, I love you. I may not know you personally, but I love you just the same, as I believe we are all God’s children – Brothers and sisters in Christ our Lord. Thank you for taking your time to visit with me here each week! Only God knows what you truly mean to me. YOU are my blessing!

I have a thing about praising folks…for me, it’s an act of kindness. We never know the extent of others’ woes, challenges, loss, and the like, do we? Actually, very seldom do I ever tell the full extent of my own personal trials; however, I assure you I spend a good bit of time on my knees praying for God’s Will in my own Life...”and while I’m down here Lord, please cause me to listen with both ears and please make sure I fully understand your answer!”  Then when I get up off my knees, I praise Him to high heaven!! He is my Savior!!

There are times, however, that I catch myself going a little too far…like my will is more important than His. That never ever works out very well, trust me. I’ve found that sometimes, not always, there are times that I act as though I know what’s best for me…fortunately though, He steps in and gives me just enough rope to trip myself up, reminding me that I had PRAISED Him for showing me the right way to deal with that situation, yet I try to manipulate His perfect will for me. I’m ashamed. I ask for His forgiveness. He forgives me.

What we all have going for us though, is that our heavenly Father knows how fallible each of us is. He knows we will indeed take the wrong path sometimes and need a do-over; however, because of His almighty wisdom and love for us, He doesn’t kick us out or tell us to get lost… we’re already lost. Instead, He waits for us to realize our bad behavior/sins and allows us once again, to PRAISE Him and continue to ask Him to stay with us and never leave us.

Now before you go start thinking that I think I’m so special and “all that”, hold on a minute – Eureka!! I have simply learned what being a Child of God truly means. As a result of this peaceful knowledge, I know that I am weak and He is strong; I know very little, He knows all; I am nothing without Him and everything with Him, He loves me inspite of all my faults; He forgives me; He will never forsake me; He wants me to live my life with Him and for Him – In fact, He died for me!! I must be special…but then, I know He died for YOU, too, and we are all special in His Holy eyes. Amen!

WHEN YOU ENTER HIS PRESENCE WITH PRAISE, HE ENTERS YOUR CIRCUMSATANCE WITH POWER!!

My prayer for all of us this week, is simple: I pray for all our souls, that we  will give Him the daily incredible PRAISE He so deserves, by living our lives for Him…By living our lives for Him, remembering that we are to take one day at a time.

“Therefore, stop worrying about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” – Matthew 6:34

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!”                    – Psalm 150:6

GOD is Good! GOD is Great!! Always!!!

I love you,

Margaret

My spiritual thriller, “That Melvin Bray” is available on Amazon

 

 

 

 

God Showed Me The Way

October 29, 2018

Welcome to my Monday Blog, my Friends!

Today I’m sharing a post from October, 2015 and hope it brings some insight and even Joy…we all have our problems, don’t we, my dears? The best advice I can give anyone is NEVER EVER NEVER GIVE UP…and of course, ALWAYS PRAY FOR A MIRACLE!!

So, a couple of weeks ago, I had an incredible evening in Atlanta, where I was the guest author of a large book club…the entire evening (7p-11p) was laced with pure Joy…there was a feeling of love floating in the air, and an obvious  look of peace and tranquility in everyone. We discussed my book, we laughed, we cried and we even shared a fabulous Italian dinner, compliments of the one and only “Ippolitos Italian Restaurant” (if you’ve read my book, you know all about Ippolitos!!).  Anyway, I also speak a lot about angels in my book and trust me, there were several angels there with us that night! I’ve had many book signings over the past few years, sharing my story of how Jesus changes everything and He has brought me such Joy at all of them…this one, however, I feel will become overwhelmingly historic and I’m so grateful!!

It’s amazing what God can do in our lives if we just sit back and feel His awesome Spirit working inside us!! I was truly so blessed to be a part of such an uplifting and curious group of readers that evening!

The question below is the ONE question I get at every single book signing event I attend and…it was also a question from a reader way back on October 25, 2015:

“I’d like to share a comment from “About the Author,” found on my website https://authormargaretmcbride.wordpress.com/, with you today…”

“Margaret,
How did you find the courage to re-live such a devastating account of troubling memories of a childhood surrounded by fear and sadness within your own family? I envy your perseverance and ability to forgive the outrageous acts of cruelty that you and your siblings were forced to endure at the hands of your father.” ❤️

My reply:

“Hi dear Friend,
Ya know, that one question seems to come up more than any other when I’m discussing my book and I realize that until I started writing about my past, I had pretty much hidden it away — so far away in fact that I truly wasn’t consciously aware that I had been suffering my past my whole life. That, of course is why I referred to myself in the book as the “great pretender”. As I got deeper and deeper into the past, my heart and mind became friends and began to work together in the process of healing me. The more I wrote, the more I cried; the more I cried, the more I prayed for God’s mercy, guidance and spiritual healing. By the time I finished the book which took four years, all my prayers had been answered and I was able to come out of the dark and face it all once and for all. I was well aware that all this suffering was based on one fact: I had been so mad at my father my entire life that I had become emotionally, spiritually and even physically drained.
So, your question was, “How did you find the courage to relive all those devastating memories?”

My answer: “GOD SHOWED ME THE WAY – all the way to the very last word on the very last page of my book. It’s truly amazing too, that as painful as it was, I felt His presence and never once doubted for a minute that He was in charge of this project. I just put down one word at a time…word, after word, after word.”

My prayer for us all this week is… “Never cease praying and never give up on God because…God is Good. God is Great!! Always!!!

Bless you, my dears.

I love you,

❤️Margaret

PS My whole story is available on amazon in my novel, “That Melvin Bray”

If Only We Could…

October 22, 2018

Happy Monday and welcome to my Monday Blog my Dears!! I hope your weekend was one of Joy and Peace. Ya know, it seems more difficult than ever to experience such feelings these days…if we think about the unrest all around God’s World. Why is it so difficult for some to just live and love?

It seems so simple, but as the world exists today, this appears to be impossible; however, I know nothing’s impossible for God...NOTHING!! I also believe that God keeps time as He sees fit, and we only have to trust in Him to show us the right road to take while we’re here on His Earth. We have only to believe in Him, trust in Him and have Faith in Him to work His miracles.

We’re truly a mixed brew of God’s children here…and as children do, we don’t always follow our Father’s “House Rules”. Fortunately for us, our Father will forgive us – if only we ask Him and hold that dear in our hearts, so as not to ignore God’s Word, but rather to live each day honoring His Word. We’re all sinners…period…but that’s not to say we can’t get up every single day and put God first in all we do, so as to show him our respect, love and faith and that we do indeed honor His Word by living the best life we can in His Holy name. Amen!

My prayer for all of us this week is that we will make a serious effort to show God , by our actions and words, how much we love Him and honor Him. This will be evident as we focus on ONE thing this week:

LOVE ONE ANOTHER –

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”  – John 13:34

“No man hath beheld God at any time: if we love one another, God abideth in  us, and his love is perfected in us.” – 1 John 4:12

GOD is Good! GOD is Great!! Always!!!

I love you,

Margaret

My spiritual thriller, “That Melvin Bray” is available on Amazon